When I founded my indie publishing house, Starflower Press, the name felt less like a choice and more like a gentle, celestial calling. As an author, an Australian, and a long-term resident of the breathtaking, rural landscapes of Cumbria, my life has always been a jigsaw of different horizons. But beneath the soil of my current life lies a long, unbroken root system stretching back through generations of German ancestors and ancestresses.

Lately, I have been looking closely at the brilliant, five-pointed blue blossoms that give my indie publishing house its name. In English, we call it Borage or Starflower.

But if you travel back into the folklore of my ancestral homeland, you discover that this humble plant (known there as Borretsch) carries a powerful spiritual medicine. I find it so interesting that this medicine mirrors the alchemy of writing, storytelling, and the courage it takes to put ink to paper.

 

For my page here, at Ink and Starflower, I want to share a few beautiful threads of German folklore that reveal why this blue star is the perfect patron for our creative journeys.

 

The Remedy for Schwermut (Melancholy)

In traditional German herbalism, heavily influenced by the mystic Hildegard von Bingen, borage was affectionately called Herzfreund: the Friend of the Heart. This flower was grown and gathered to banish Schwermut, that stagnant melancholy that can cloud the human spirit.

 

Every writer knows the weight of Schwermut, and the self-doubt that whispers before we begin a new chapter. We know all too well the fear that our words aren’t enough. In the German tradition, Starflower is the antidote: a botanical reminder that the stories we tell have the power to lift the heavy heart, bringing vital energy, joy, and light back into the darkness.

Mut: The Warrior’s Courage to Create

Long before it was cultivated in cottage gardens, ancient European warriors used borage to brew teas that would conquer fear before battle. They knew this as the herb of courage (Mut).

 

To be an author, and to choose the path of independent publishing, is an act of quiet warriorhood. I know from years of experience that it requires immense bravery to pull a story from the deep, invisible well of your soul, and then offer it to the world. When I press ink to paper, under the banner of the Starflower, I’m invoking that ancestral courage. I’m choosing to be brave with my truth.

 

The Amulet in the Schoolbag

An old, domestic German custom involved parents tucking fresh borage leaves into their children’s Schultaschen (school bags) as they headed off to lessons. The starflower was carried as a living amulet for mental clarity, confidence, and academic triumph.

 

At Starflower Press, I like to think we’re doing something similar for our authors and readers. Every book midwived into existence is a sacred talisman sent out into the world. Each one carries clarity, wisdom, and the triumph of the human imagination. We’re packing the “school bags” of the world with stories that enlighten, educate, entertain or empower.

A Ritual for Eternal Commitment

In regional German romance lore, the starflower was used in water-divination to test the depth of love. A single blossom was placed upon the surface of a moving stream. If the delicate blue flower tossed erratically, the love was fleeting. But if the blue star rested completely still against the current, it symbolised an unchanging, eternal devotion.

 

This is how I view the relationship between Ink and Starflower. The printed word is a way of standing still amidst the chaotic currents of modern life. A book is a commitment to a truth, a poem, imagination, memory, love, or a piece of history. Perhaps it is the wedding celebrant in me who likes to think it’s a ‘vow’ that this particular story matters enough to be preserved forever.

Cultivating the Seventh Herb

In Germany today, Borretsch is celebrated as one of the strict, non-negotiable “seven sacred herbs” used to create the iconic, traditional Grüne Soße (Green Sauce), a dish that symbolises the return of Spring, renewal, and local pride.

 

Storytelling is our cultural renewal. Just as the Earth relies on these ancient herbs to awaken after a long Winter, our culture relies on independent voices to stir the spirit and bring about a collective Springtime.

 

Leaving Our Mark

From my ancestral German roots, across the oceans to Australia, my years living, marrying and becoming a mother in New Zealand, and into the mist-wrapped fells of Cumbria, the Starflower has followed me. This simple, beautiful blue flower links my past to my present, and my heritage to my craft.

 

The next time you hold a book from Starflower Press, or read a line of ink spilt from a brave heart, look closely at the invisible blue star stamped upon it. It’s there to bring you courage, to lighten your heart, and to remind you that your story, too, is part of a wondrous, celestial design.

 

With love and ink,
Veronika Sophia Robinson