Pharmacy Mortar
and Pestle Symbolism / Mortar and Pestle Folklore The “Rx” Symbol:
Rx is an abbreviation for the Latin word for “recipe” and may
be seen more commonly today than the show globe as a symbol of the pharmacy.
Mortar and Pestle
(click for mortar / pestle charm):
The mortar and pestle were employed widely by early pharmacists to grind
and mix the herbs and minerals that were used to make medicines. Although
pharmacists do not often employ the mortar and pestle today, they remain
as a symbol of the industry.
Today's Green Witches and Herbalists, however, still employ this most valuable
tool.
In modern paganism / wicca the mortar and pestle is actually
a part of many altars.
The act of grinding herbs (make sure done clockwise) in a mortar with a
pestle is a perfect type of the male-female sexual act and the production
of something new from it, it stands as a symbol of the relationship between
Above and Below, of Goddess and God, of that which gives and that which
receives--in short, of the two aspects of our personalities.
