by JF Holland
Magical Use: To induce sleep, long life, peace, wishes, protection, love, purification, it is thrown onto the Midsummer fires by Witches as a sacrifice to the ancient gods. In Spain and Portugal, it is used for strewing the floors of churches and houses on festive occasions, or to make bonfires on St. Johns Day, when evil spirits are supposed to be abroad. Growing lavender in your garden is said to bring good luck. Traditionally fragrant bundles of lavender were placed in the hands of women during childbirth to bring courage and strength.
Lemon Balm:
General: Herbalists refer to the plant as lemon balm, aromatherapists use the botanical name Melissa, both refer to the same plant, Melissa officinalis.
Medicinal Use: Lemon balm can be very helpful for those times when nerves, headaches and/or mild depression are preventing you from relaxing and getting a good night’s sleep. Combined with valerian, it may even be more beneficial than many prescription sleep aids. Lemon balm's sedative and analgesic properties make it a favourite remedy for women having cramping, painful periods or any kind of stomach upset.
Lemon balm has antibacterial and antiviral properties, and like all of its mint family relatives, a cup of hot lemon balm tea induces perspiration to help break a fever. Lemon balm extracts are also effective against herpes, cold sores and mumps viruses.
Spiritual Use: Lemon Balm is used to help in past life regression for understanding current life; to fulfil and balance your karma, for psychic properties. A relaxant to release tension and achieve spiritual growth. Raises your spirits, is healing; for bouncing back after a mishap.
Marigold: (See Calendula).
Melissa: (See Lemon Balm)
Marjoram:
General: Attributed to Venus by the Romans, but also sometimes to Aphrodite, Thor and Jupiter. Sweet marjoram has been long used historically to treat anxiety and insomnia. Today it is more a culinary herb used in favour of the more aromatic, relative 'Oregano'.
Medicinal Use: Its properties are stimulant, carminative, diaphoretic and mildly tonic; a useful emmenagogue. In the commencement of measles, it is useful in producing a gentle perspiration and bringing out the eruption, being given in the form of a warm infusion, which is also valuable in spasms, colic, and to give relief from pain in dyspeptic complaints. Marjoram was also used in combination with other calming herbs to promote healthy restful sleep, and the dried leaves make an excellent stuffing for sleep pillows.
Magical Use: Used for protection, love, healing, given to a grieving person to bring them happiness. Marjoram is incorporated into charms and spells to draw love and fertility. It is rumoured to help keep a married couple happily together.
Mint:
General: Mint is for symbolic of success, motivation, money, healing. It is a cure-all, relaxes the nerves and stimulates the brain.
Medicinal Use: Mint in tea form aids upset stomachs, flu, and can be used to ease hiccups. Inhalations of the leaves in boiling water is recommended for head colds and asthma. Mint tea used instead of aspirin is great for headaches, particularly premenstrual headaches. Aids the respiratory and circulatory systems. An anti-inflammatory and an antiseptic. Ideal for treating indigestion, flatulence, varicose veins, headaches, migraine, skin irritations, rheumatism, toothache, and general fatigue.
Magical Use: Used for healing, strength, to augment power, luck, travel.
Mistletoe:
General: Mistletoe is for romance, searching and fertility. Is one of the most sacred Druid herbs. Helps you to perceive the other world, for overcoming difficulties, health and searching.
Medicinal Use: It diminishes high blood pressure and regulates the heartbeat. A reputation for curing the 'falling sickness' epilepsy- and other convulsive nervous disorders. It has also been employed in checking internal haemorrhage. Mistletoe herb was used historically in Old Europe for treatment of epilepsy and other convulsive nervous disorders and was used extensively in the 16th and 17th centuries. Mistletoe is a nervine, and a narcotic, that is, it has a profound effect on the nervous system. Extreme caution is advised with this herb. It is not to be used while pregnant.
Spiritual Use: Mistletoe was sacred to the Druids, and branches of mistletoe were hung from the ceilings to ward off evil spirits in ancient Europe. The British Celts decorated their house with holly, mistletoe, and ivy to celebrate the winter solstice. The European mistletoe, Viscum album, figured prominently in Greek mythology, and is believed to be The Golden Bough of Aeneas, ancestor of the Romans. The Norse god Baldr was killed with mistletoe. He was restored to life, and mistletoe was then given into the keeping of the goddess of Love, and it was ordained that everyone who passed under it should receive a kiss, to show that the branch had become an emblem of love, and not of hate.
Magical Use: Carry or wear for aid in conception; protection against lightning, fires, and misfortune; burn mistletoe to banish evil; placed at the head of the bed, it gives restful sleep and beautiful dreams.
Mugwort:
Medicinal Use: Leaf tea diuretic, induces sweating. Regulates erratic menstruation, brings on delayed periods, expels afterbirth, helps with menopausal symptoms. Promotes appetite and bile production, tonic for digestion. Tonic for nerves; mild sedative. Used for bronchitis, colds, colic, kidney ailments, fevers. Bath additive for rheumatism and tired legs. Juice relieves itching of poison oak. Disinfectant and antiseptic. Used for moxibustion.
Traditional Magical Use: In the Middle Ages, mugwort was connected with St. John the Baptist, who was said to have worn a belt of the herb during his time in the wilderness. St. John's Herb, as the plant became known, had the power to drive out demons, and sprays of the herbs were worn around the head-on St. John's Eve as a protection against possession by evil forces. In China, bunches of mugwort were hung in the home during the Dragon Festival to keep away evil spirits. The Ainus of Japan burn bunches to exorcise spirits of disease, who are thought to hatethe odour. Planted along roadsides by the Romans, who put sprigs in their shoes to prevent aching feet on long journeys. Carry to ward against wild beasts, poison, and stroke. Prevents elves and other evil things from entering houses. Said to cure madness and aid in astral projection.
A pillow stuffed with mugwort and slept upon will produce prophetic dreams. Mugwort is burned during scrying rituals, and a mugwort-and-honey infusion is drunk before divination. The infusion is also used to wash crystal balls and magic mirrors, and mugwort leaves are placed around the base of the ball, or beneath it, to aid in psychic workings. Pick just before sunrise on the waxing moon, preferably from a plant that leans north. A Roman invocation to be used when picking mugwort is: Tollam te artemisia, ne lassus sim in via.
Shamanic Magical Use: This is the plant of Midgard, burned at the start of a ritual. One starts and ends with Mugwort, as one starts and ends with Midgard. Its shamanic purpose is purification. We tend to think of purification, in these days of advanced medical antisepsis, as being sterile. To us, "pure" has come to mean "without life". When we use something, whose basic power is purification, we expect, on some level, for it to clean everything and leave it a blank slate. However, that's not what magical purification actually does.
Mugwort is the herb that is most often burned as recels, the Old English word for incense; pronounced ray-kels. The act of burning it is referred to as recaning, which can be pronounced various ways, but the most graceful seems to be reek-en-ing; the verb recan is cognate to our work "reek". Celtic-tradition people use the term saining. It's an alternative to the Native American-derived term "smudging", and it can be bound in lashed bundles and burned in the same way as white sagebrush. It also has a clearing effect on the mind, and a heightening of the extra senses, so it is a good thing to start any working that is going to involve an altered or trance state at some point.
Parsley:
Medicinal Use: Fresh parsley leaves in tea form are a treatment for cramps, while dried root decoctions eases urinary infections and arthritis. Externally, crushed leaves relieve insect bites, and may be applied in poultice form to sprains.
Both parsley leaf and root can be used in teas as a diuretic to rid the body of excess water. This may explain its folklore reputation for helping gout and rheumatism. Parsley does inhibit the histamines that trigger allergies so may help treat sinus infection and congestion.
Sacred Use: Sacred to Persephone, parsley was used in the victory wreaths of the Isthmian games by the Greeks. Some also attribute it to Aphrodite and Venus, and with Mother goddesses. Parsley was thought to come from the blood of Archemorus, a servant of Death.
Magical Use: Used in magic for purification and protection.
Plantain:
Medicinal Use: Rub fresh juice on nettle stings and insect bites. Roots and leaves help urinary tract, kidneys, and bladder. Heals gastrointestinal ulcers. Used in ointment for haemorrhoids. Use in external wash for sores, boils, inflammations, and ringworm infestations. Decoction used for thrush in children. Seeds are edible and can be ground into flour, their mucilage lowers cholesterol. Confirmed antimicrobial; stimulates healing processes.
Traditional Magical Use: Bind with red wool to the head to cure headaches. Like mugwort, place in shoes to cure weariness on long trips. Hang it in your car to prevent evil from entering. Carrying the root protects from snakebite. Said to cause regeneration - Pliny claimed that if several pieces of flesh are boiled in a pot with plantain, it will join them again.
Shamanic Magical Use: This is the plant of Helheim, the land of the Dead. Its shamanic uses are many and varied and rather subtle. First, it can create a certain amount of invisibility for a short period of time. Notice how the weedy plantain manages to make itself so inconspicuous? That's a power that you can harness, especially if you are journeying or path walking. Second, it can be used in recels to speak to the ancestors, or to find your way to the Helvegr. Its name "waybread" echoes this usage - waybread will help you find the way.
Rosemary:
General: Rosemary is a common European Herb, used for remembrance, for mental agility, purification and loyalty. It was placed on the graves of English heroes.
Medicinal Use: Promotes healing of wounds, acts as an antiseptic, and can be a mild stimulant. Good in teas for treating flu, stress, and headaches or body aches. Mental and physical booster. Used for treating muscular sprains, arthritis, rheumatism, depression, fatigue, memory loss, migraine headaches, coughs, flu and diabetes. Excellent remedy for acne or cellulite. Oil of rosemary is excellent in hair conditioners, and the flowers of this herb may be added to lotion recipes to improve the complexion
Magical Use: It is used as a smudge or dried and sprinkled on coal to release the smoke to purify an area. to improve memory, sleep, purification, youth, love, power, healing, and protection. Place a sprig under your pillow for sleep and healing. Rosemary has a long herbal tradition as an herb that improves concentration and memory, Greek students would braid Rosemary into their hair to help them with their exams. Modern science attributes much of rosemary's action on the central nervous system to its potent antioxidant, rosmarinic acid.
Sage:
General: Sage is a shrubby perennial herb of the mint family native to the Mediterranean. There are over 500 varieties of sage, and most are medicinally useful. They grow throughout the tropical and temperate zones and many of them have medicinal and culinary value.
Medicinal Use: The colonists also considered sage a valuable remedy for colds and fevers in the harsh New England winters. Sage has excellent antibacterial and astringent properties, which explains it popular use in gargles for sore throats, gingivitis and sore gums. A strong sage tea or tincture diluted with water can be used. Sage is an excellent natural disinfectant and deodorizer, drying perspiration and helping to eliminate body odour. Extracts of sage are used in personal skin care for its capacity to heal the skin as well. Chinese medicine uses red sage, Salvia miltiorrhiza, combined with dan-gui (dong quai), to regulate menstrual flow. Both clinical studies and traditional wisdom agree that sage (Salvia officinalis) or Spanish sage (S. lavandulifolia) has positive effects on memory and concentration in both older people with cognitive problems and younger people with AD. (1)
Shamaic Use: Sage is for health, longevity, wisdom, esteem, wishes, happy home and safety for children. Sage's Latin name comes from the word salvere which means to be healthy. Sage was a sacred ceremonial herb of the Romans and was associated with immortality, and was interestingly said to increase mental capacity. The Greek Theophrastus classified sage as a "coronary herbe", because it flushed disease from the body, easing any undue strain on the heart. Salvia divinorum also known as 'Diviner's Sage', 'Sage of the Seers', or simply by the genus name, Salvia, is known as the most psychoactive of the salvias.
Valerian:
General: Also called 'All Heal'. Common throughout Europe and Asia.
Medicinal Use: The root of V. officinalis is intended when Valerian is mentioned. Valerian is a powerful nervine, stimulant, carminative and antispasmodic. It has a remarkable influence on the cerebro-spinal system, and is used as a sedative to the higher nerve centres in conditions of nervous unrest, St. Vitus's dance, hypochondriasis, neuralgic pains and the like.
The drug allays pain and promotes sleep. It is of especial use and benefit to those suffering from nervous overstrain, as it possesses none of the after-effects produced by narcotics. During the recent War, when air-raids were a serious strain on the overwrought nerves of civilian men and women, Valerian, prescribed with other simple ingredients, taken in a single dose, or repeated according to the need, proved wonderfully efficacious, preventing or minimizing serious results. Though in ordinary doses, it exerts an influence quieting and soothing in its nature upon the brain and nervous system, large doses, too often repeated, have a tendency to produce pain in the head, heaviness and stupor.
It is commonly administered as Tinctura Valerianae Ammoniata, and often in association with the alkali bromides, and is sometimes given in combination with quinine, the tonic powers of which it appreciably increases. Oil of Valerian is employed to a considerable extent on the Continent as a popular remedy for cholera, in the form of cholera drops, and also to a certain extent in soap perfumery.
Ettmuller writes of its virtues in strengthening the eyesight, especially when this is weakened by want of energy in the optic nerve. The juice of the fresh root, under the name of Energetene of Valerian, has of late been recommended as more certain in its effects, and of value as a narcotic in insomnia, and as an anti-convulsant in epilepsy. Having also some slight influence upon the circulation, slowing the heart and increasing its force, it has been used in the treatment of cardiac palpitations. Valerian was first brought to notice as a specific for epilepsy by Fabius Calumna in 1592, he having cured himself of the disease with it.
Culpepper (1649) joins with many old writers to recommend the use both of herb and root, and praises the herb for its longevity and many comforting virtues, reminding us that it is 'under the influence of Mercury, and therefore hath a warming faculty.'
In the Middle Ages, the root was used not only as a medicine but also as a spice, and even as a perfume. It was the custom to lay the roots among clothes as a perfume (vide Turner, Herbal, 1568, Pt. III, p. 56), just as some of the Himalayan Valerians are still used in the East, especially V. Jatamansi, the Nard of the Ancients, believed to be the Spikenard referred to in the Scriptures. It is still much used in ointments. Its odour is not so unpleasant as that of our native Valerians, and this and other species of Valerian are used by Asiatic nations in the manufacture of precious scents. Several aromatic roots were known to the Ancients under the name of Nardus, distinguished according to their origin or place of growth by the names of Nardus indica, N. celtica, N. montana, etc., and supposed to have been derived from different valerianaceous plants. Thus the N. indica is referred to V. Jatamansi (Roxb.), of Bengal, the N. celtica to V. celtica (Linn.), inhabiting the Alps and the N. montana to V. tuberosa, which grows in the mountains of the south of Europe.
Verbena, Lemon:
General: Chile and Peru. Cultiv
ated in European gardens.
Medicinal Use: Febrifuge, sedative. The uses of Lemon Verbena are similar to those of mint, orange flowers, or Melissa, as a stomachic and antispasmodic in dyspepsia, indigestion and flatulence, stimulating skin and stomach. The leaves, which have been suggested to replace tea, will retain their odour for years and are used in perfumery. They should be gathered at flowering time.
Spiritual Use: Verbena or Vervain has long been associated with divine and other supernatural forces. It was called "tears of Isis" in Ancient Egypt, and later on "Juno's tears". In Ancient Greece, it was dedicated to Eos Erigineia. In the early Christian era, folk legend stated that Common Vervain (V. officinalis) was used to staunch Jesus' wounds after his removal from the cross. It was consequently called "Holy Herb" or (e.g. in Wales) "Devil's bane". Other European examples of sacred herbs include Yarrow, and Mugwort.
Tiger Balm:
General: Originally named for containing tiger bone, an ingredient in traditional Chinese medicine dating back 1,500 years to treat pain, inflammation and to strengthen muscle. Tiger Balm now consists purely of herbal ingredients.
Yarrow:
General: Other names - 'Milfoil', 'Old Man's Pepper', 'Nosebleed'.
Medicinal Use: The chemical makeup of yarrow is complex, and it contains many active medicinal compounds in addition to the tannins and volatile oil azulene. These compounds are anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, and help relax blood vessels. It's feathery leaves making an ideal astringent swab to encourage clotting. Yarrow skin washes and leaf poultices can staunch bleeding and help to disinfect cuts and scrapes; taken as a tea it can help slow heavy menstrual bleeding as well. Note: Avoid in pregnancy, can cause allergic skin reactions in sensitive people who suffer from allergies
