The name thyme comes from the Greek thymos — meaning:

• Spirit

• Courage

• Vital force

In Homeric times, soldiers bathed in thyme smoke before battle.
Not to smell nice.
To summon soul-fire.

Thyme was believed to call back the breath, focus the will, and drive out cowardice.

“He’s full of thymos,” they’d say.
Meaning: He’s ready to die for something.

⚰️ The Herb of Good Deaths

In ancient Egypt, thyme was embalming spice.
In Rome, it was laid in funeral rites.
In the Middle Ages, it was stitched into shrouds.

Why?

• It preserves flesh

• It purifies air

• It was believed to help the soul navigate the underworld

Thyme was a bridge herb—smelling both of life and decay, courage and goodbye.

The Victorians later made it a symbol of farewell and remembrance.

😴 Thyme for Sleepwalkers and Dream Cleaners

Thyme wasn’t just for war and wake.

In folk practice:

• It was burned to chase nightmares

• Slipped under pillows to see spirits in dreams

• Worn by witches to astral travel without losing the way back

In Scottish and Irish lore, thyme belonged to the fairy world.
Offerings of thyme were left at liminal spaces—doorways, graves, crossroads.

Because thyme could pierce the veil.

🔥 Thyme and the Witch

During the Inquisition, thyme became… suspicious.

• Burned by midwives

• Carried by hedge witches

• Used in steam baths for “unclean” ailments (read: female power)

Churchmen hated it.
Too much smoke, womb, and mystery.

Thyme was rebellion wrapped in scent.

🧙‍♀️ Modern Magic: The Revival Has Begun

Today’s herbal rebels are pulling thyme back from the spice rack to:

• Cleanse altars

• Protect homes

• Smudge before birth and death rituals

• Brew into anointing oils and grief baths

Because some of us remember what it really is.

Not garnish.
But gateway.

🪦 Thyme for the Dead, Again

Let’s close where the ancients began:

In some Mediterranean villages, thyme is still planted on graves.
Not for beauty.
But because it’s said to:

• Keep the spirit calm

• Keep evil away

• Keep the living in conversation with the gone

It’s one of the few herbs that heals both sides of the veil.