"St. John's Wort Doth Charm All Witches Away..."

"St. John's wort doth charm all witches away

If gathered at midnight on the saint’s holy day.

Any devils and witches have no power to harm

Those that gather the plant for a charm:

Rub the lintels and post with that red juicy flower

No thunder nor tempest will then have the power

To hurt or hinder your houses: and bind

Round your neck a charm of similar kind."

- excerpt from a poem in a manuscript from 1400

Today has been a gorgeous Thursday! This morning I headed to one of the parks near my house for a moment I have been anticipating for weeks now! I have been watching this one particular beautiful plant begin growing, sending up green shoots and leafing as the spring grew into summer. And now, it has finally bloomed into beautiful flowers: St. John's Wort!

St. John's Wort is a very popular herb. It is very easy to find this herb in capsule form lining the shelves of drug stores and grocery stores. Many people think if this herb as the “depression herb.” It has been become a very popular remedy when feeling down and overwhelmed. It is a wonderful herb for uplifting the mood, however, the wonderful complexity and bounty of this herb has been lost in its popularity. There is so much St. John's Wort has to offer!

St. John's Wort is a fantastic herb for wounds or injuries of any sort. Today, I harvested dozens and dozens of the fresh flowering tops to make into a topical oil. When the flowers are squeezed they let out this beautiful red c

olored juice which is where the power of this plant lies! When the fresh flowers are used to make an oil, the oil takes on that beautiful red color. This oil can be applied to any injury: a wound, strained muscle, torn ligament, sprain, bruise, varicose veins, etc. St. John's Wort is almost magical in it's ability to repair da

maged nerve tissue. It has anti-inflammatory action and is a mild circulatory stimulant which is very helpful in reducing pain and speeding healing for any injury.

St. John's Wort is also very powerful when taken internally as a tea or tincture. It has a wonderful detoxifying and healing effect on the liver and digestive system. It is an incredibly powerful detoxifier for the liver, so much so that it is not safe to combine with prescription medications. It is also a bitter, so it has beneficial effects on the entire digestive system, but seems to have an affinity for to stomach/spleen area. St. John's Wort is also healing to injuries or after surgery taken internally as well as externally.

Taken as a tea or tincture or capsule, St. John's Wort does also help alleviate depression. It is a wonderful herb combined with lemon balm for SAD. St. John's Wort helps with the kind of depression known as bilious depression, or depression caused by liver stagnation and levels of toxicity in your life. This sort of depression is characterized by anger, frustration, impatience, restlessness, and discontentment. St. John's Wort can alleviate and calm those feelings.

If you plan on taking St. John's Wort as a tea, tincture, or capsule it is important to exercise some caution. Because St. John's Wort is so detoxing it will clean out any medication out of your system. It is helpful if you have discontinued a medication and want to detox. But, if you are on a needed medication, you will wipe out all the possible needed effects which could be potentially dangerous. Also, taking St. John's Wort internally can make you very sensitive to the sun and can increase the likelihood of sunburn. Interestingly, if you use St. John's Wort topically it actually works as a natural sunblock.

Today I also prepared a flower essence of St. John's Wort, which was a wonderful experience!

A flower essence is a way of capturing the energetic footprint or vibration of a plant. Each plant has it's own particular energy which provides it's own sort of healing or spiritual insight. In doing a plant spirit journey, anyone can sit with a plant and experience the message that plant's energy brings to the universe.

Today, when I sat with St. John's Wort I had an experience in which she shared some of her healing powers on a more energetic level. It seemed apparent that St. John's Wort as a flower essence is a very protective plant. I felt my own personal energy and inner light become brighter and more focused in around me. I felt that there was a subtle protective shield around me which allowed my personal energy to not be affected by other energies around me. During the experience I felt deeply relaxed and at ease. I felt a warmth in my belly and saw the color yellow. The solar plexis region and the color yellow correspond to the third chakra which is where the sense of self resides. When this chakra is balanced you feel in touch with your own personal power. Focusing on balancing this chakra means developing your self esteem and stepping into your own power. We can also limit the power that things in the physical world have over us by strengthening our inner spirit.

The St. John's Wort flower essence has a strong balancing effect on the third chakra, helps us maintain energetic boundaries, and enhances one's own sense of self power. I am excited to have this flower essence available in my apothecary and also excited to start taking this magical flower essence for my own healing process!