Yarrow | Achillea Millefolium

Jun 6

An Ancient Warrior Queen…

Plant Reflection: The Yin & Yang of the universe is at play in the beautiful and ancient Yarrow plant.

Yarrow is an ancient plant. This is a plant that has been a companion to humans for a very long time. Use of Yarrow as a healing plant can be traced back to prehistoric times. Myths, uses and reverence abound. Yarrow is well known as the plant used by the Greek god Achilles. Achilles was said to have been dipped into a vat of Yarrow by his mother Thetis (a sea nymph), held by his heel. Hence we all have an “Achilles Heel”, a place where we can be wounded. Yarrow grows on all the major continents and wherever it is found humans quickly add Yarrow to their repertoire of healing plants. Yarrow is a complex plant that harmonizes the body, going wherever healing is needed, including physical, emotional and spiritual healing. I believe, Yarrow teaches us that all wounds can be healed. Our spirit and soul can always be returned to wholeness and filled with love, no matter how large or painful the injury.

Dramatic healing stories are common when using Yarrow. In my experience with Yarrow tincture I have seen wounds close-up almost immediately after the application of the tincture, overnight healing of deep blisters/sores and rapid healing of canker sores. I like to use Yarrow externally and internally for wound healing, doing both at the same time, taking droppers of the tincture in water by mouth and placing some on the external wound.

I have also used it as a tea to throw off colds and flu with a lot of success. Keeping the dried plant close also provides a sense of strength and calm. Having trouble holding emotional boundaries? Add a little Yarrow into your life!

I find the complexity of the healing properties are reflected in the visual appearance and the sensation of touching the plant. The flowers attract you, they are pure bone white, beautiful and waving gently in the breeze. Upon closer examination you find a complex flower with layers of petals, perfectly aligned. If you touch the flowers they are rough and tough feeling, Ahhh the dichotomy of the plant begins to reveal itself. The stalks, tall and strong are also tough to the touch. The leaves, are many toothed, soft as a feather, indeed they look like a gentle green feather, but when used on a bleeding wound they stop the blood flow and immediately begin the healing process.

Perhaps not just a plant for only the physical realms…Used in ancient China for divination with the I-Ching, the deeper and complex healing powers of Yarrow are revealed by this important usage. To me Yarrow is a plant mentor of the highest caliber. I aspire to the qualities this plant embodies, a warrior like strength to heal using the gentlest of properties combined with great beauty and a poetry of actions and energetics that address the complex nuances at play in all living beings. Keep Yarrow close at hand, she is a true protector to have at your side in life.

5 Ways to use Yarrow

As a tea. Yarrow tea will support you to throw off a cold and help with the aches & pains of the flu.
Tincture:
I wild craft my Yarrow from a beautiful stand on the coast of California. I’m very attached to this place. I find the idea that Yarrow’s mother Thetis was a sea nymph very touching and inspiring. Try my Yarrow Tincture
Cold & Flu Support - A classic herbal remedy to have on hand is: Dried: Yarrow flowers, Elder flowers and Peppermint. I like equals parts Yarrow & Elder flowers with 1/2 peppermint so…
1 Tsp Yarrow Flowers
1 Tsp Elder Flowers
1/2 Tsp Peppermint
8 ounces hot water, allow to steep for 5-15 minutes and then drink as needed.
In the garden - Grow Yarrow! To grow Yarrow is to experience the absolute magic of the plant. It’s such a pure spirit, wild and true to itself even in a garden. Use Yarrow as a source of inspiration, though we are also “garden grown” humans…we can remember to tend to our wild souls.
As protection. A sprig of Yarrow tucked into your car, a handful of dried Yarrow flowers in a glass jar that you can inhale deeply for a bit of protection and strength. These are all beautiful ways to incorporate the strengthening powers of Yarrow into your life.

***A powerful and sacred healer of the body, spirit and soul.***

Common Names: Milfoil, Old Man’s Pepper, Soldier’s Woundwort, Knight’s Milfoil, Thousand Weed, Carpenter’s Weed, Bloodwort, Staunchweed, Devil’s Nettle, Field Hop, Little Feather, Ya Luo, Warrior Plant, tao-pi pezu’ta (Teton Dakota) (trans: medicine for the wounded)

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Yarrow

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Yarrow

“Did you know…Carpenter’s and wood workers often tucked a sprig of Yarrow in amongst their tools for protection. These days I keep a sprig of Yarrow in my car for the daily freeway commute. ”

Yarrow Properties & Resources

Botanical Family: Asteraceae

Energy: Yarrow defies categories. It is both moistening and drying. Yarrow is a harmonizing herb that does what the body needs it to do. Truly a plant that seeks and understands the Yin and Yang of the universe.

Taste: Pungent, Aromatic, Bitter, Astringent. And delicious! The flavor of Yarrow is completely unique, totally not modern and magically becomes one of your favorite flavors.

Parts Used: All aerial parts of the plant may be used: flowers, leaves, stalks. The flowers are the most medicinally active, the leaves contain the most tannins. Roots are also said to be used, but I do not have any examples.

When to harvest: Can be harvested throughout the growing season, but most medicinal properties are present when in flower. (May-Sept, depending upon location)

Western Classification: anodyne, relaxing diaphoretic, diuretic, anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, antiseptic, styptic, stimulant, tonic.

Preparations & Dosage: Tea, Tincture, Poultice, Smudge

Tea: 1-2 tsp dried flower & leaf in 8oz of water

Tincture: Fresh flowers, leaf in alcohol

Poultice: Fresh leafs smashed and or chewed and placed on open wounds staunch bleeding. Rosemary Gladstar recommends powdering the dried flower & leaf and sprinkling on wounds to stop bleeding immediately.

Smudge: I have not used as a smudge yet. Native Americans are known to have used Yarrow in sweat lodges and for purification.

Medicinal Uses: The medicinal uses of Yarrow are nearly impossible to list. This powerful and complex plant has been used across time and space in a myriad of ways. Below is a list of the most common uses.

Wound healer: Stops minor and major wounds from bleeding, anodyne, and antiseptic, Yarrow has been a great healer of wounds since ancient times and across all civilizations. It stops bleeding immediately, stimulates the healing process (wounds close-up), the antibacterial and anti-inflammatory properties reduces the possibility of infection.

Blood Regulator: It’s ability to control and regulate blood flow is amazing. Commonly used externally for: cuts, scrapes, bruises, postpartum care, sores in the mouth. Yarrow also stops internal bleeding, commonly used for: bleeding hemorrhoids, nosebleeds, urinary bleeding, coughs that produce bloody mucous, and bleeding ulcers. Stimulating Yarrow can also help stimulate blood flow in varicose veins and cure stagnation in the pelvic region helping fibroids.

Colds & Flus: Powerful diaphoretic properties make Yarrow an excellent support for colds & flus with fever.

Other Uses: Steam it for asthma, tea for menstrual issues, decoction for bleeding hemorrhoids,

Active Constituents: achilleine, linalool, pinene, thujone, camphor, azulene, chamazulene, proazulene beta-carotene, vitamin C, vitamin E, flavonoids

Precautions: Yarrow is generally considered safe and non-toxic. Though allergic reactions have been recorded in some people that are sensitive to plants in the Asteraceae family. It has a stimulating action and should be avoided in the early stages of pregnancy. Though during childbirth it is used to stop excessive bleeding.

Magic & Plant Spirit Medicine: Yarrow teaches us that the deepest wounds can be healed and even the most broken spirit can be made whole again. She will help you establish emotional and spiritual boundaries. Shining her bright light on your path so that you can find your way. Yarrow is a powerful plant ally. She will never let you down and will heal you always unconditionally, sharing her strength with a true and kind heart.

Yarrow is associated with Aphrodite, Hermes, the Horned God and the hero Achilles. It is ruled by Venus and the element water and is associated with the seventh chakra. Yarrow is used for divination and love spells and in spells for contacting or seeking out a specific person. The stalks were traditionally used in China for casting the I-Ching. The Chinese say Yarrow grows around the grave of Confucius. There are many citations of Yarrow’s use by witches for casting out and calling in the devil, which alludes to Yarrow’s ability to work in two directions simultaneously. Keeping a Yarrow flower, leaves or stalk with you is said to help avoid accidents. Carpenters often carried Yarrow in their toolboxes.

Habitat & Ecology: Yarrow is naturalized across the Americas, Europe and Asia. It likes dry soils (drought tolerant), and grows in disturbed and rocky soils. I’ve seen Yarrow growing on the edge of cliffs above the ocean, in meadows and on the sides of mountains. It grows from 1-3’ tall, is a member of the Asteraceae family, with alternate feathery leaves, and has a composite white flower head with 5 ray flowers and 10-30 disk flowers. White flowered plants are preferred for medicine making. Pink/Yellow flowered Yarrow plants are considered less medicinal and not recommended for medicine making/usage.

May you enjoy the bounty of the plant world each day and remember that beauty and peace lie within and are always within reach.

Blessings, Cindy

Resources

Books:

Gladstar, Rosemary, Medicinal Herbs A Beginner’s Guide, 2012

Greive, M., A Modern Herbal, Dover 1971,

Kloss, Jethro, Back To Eden, 1994

Wood, Matthew, The Book of Herbal Wisdom, 1997

Online Sources:

Plant Profiles

https://www.herbalremediesadvice.org/yarrow-plant.html, by Rosalee de la Foret

Overview of the chemical constituents of Yarrow