Plant Power: Yarrow
Are your eyes getting hungry for bright colors?
Mine do around this time of the year. Maybe if your eyes are craving something specific, your body is telling you to find the inherent plant magic: the Traditional Medicinal.
A couple of years ago, it was Dandelions and II designed a fragrance that captured the spicy, sun-shiny color of dandelions.
Later, I was delighted to learn that the craving for the color started around the end of that stagnant winter season, just before the time when little green dandelion greens were beginning to think of pushing up through the earth. Those richly nutritious leaves that detox the liver in time for the spring.
Reflecting on the fact that our ancestors would be nearing the end of their food stores and looking to harvest the earliest shoots in spring - - and how the dandelions and other cold-crops would have been a welcome source of nutrition.
And nature, in her infinite wisdom, has the weedy puffs ready for us when our bodies are ready to begin to move again in spring. Those tender leaves detox the dormant body and prepare it for activity - whether on the move to forage, or to prep the earth for planting.
So what did the craving for yarrow mean? Partly the color, I’m sure.
But also, Yarrow is full of a chemical when distilled into essential oils that help maintain a balanced immune system. The high azulene-content makes the oil desirable for skincare as well as keeping a cheerful disposition. It’s the same blue-tinted oil that give ‘Blue Chamomile’ the characteristic color.
Azulene is an anti-oxidant when means it protects the tissues of the body from damage due to the environment and aging: protection from blemishes and wrinkles. It conditions and soothes the skin.
So maybe it’s my dry, itchy skin that needs the love of the yarrow. Possibly a little pick me up to combat the winter blahs. I’m going to give it a try.
In doing a little digging, I was happy to learn of a body, mind and spirit connection for Yarrow
the flowers are used a symbol of protection at doors and cradles
the stalks are used in the Chinese system of divination called I Ching
and the herb is used for treating everything from cradle cap (I know this first hand) to treat fevers and bruises (Mother Earth News).
Also know as milfoil, yarrow is referenced as a medicinal herb from the first century AD - this makes my witchy heart happy - and I’ve hung a sprig along the door jamb of our front door. Just in case.
Photo: Roxanne Roxanne Designs (@roxanneroxannedeisngs on IG)
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