Eva Rose is taking the Magical Flowers Branch class on the Kitchen Witch forum and this is taken from her workbook.
Yarrow - I have always been drawn to it, ever since I was a child. Something about it calls to me. It grows wild all over where I grew up (Maine, USA), and also here in Switzerland. I decided NOT to plant it in my garden, since I can easily find it in the wild.
Also, it’s the only one of the three that I have available this time of year - I have some that I harvested and dried last summer.
One of the first things I knew about it as a kid, was that if you cut yourself while out hiking, you should apply crushed yarrow flowers to the wound to stop the bleeding and help it heal. What I didn’t know was that it was also used to cause bleeding, specifically nosebleeds to “ease a migraine”. I think I’ll skip it - shoving yarrow up my nose doesn’t sound to appealing. Although other sources say that shoving it up your nose will stop a nosebleed. Most medicinal purposes, both historical and modern, generally refer to its healing properties relating to the blood.
Magically, there seems to be quite a bit of folklore falling into 3 categories: love, the Faeries, and protection. One common piece of folklore states that having yarrow on you on your wedding day will ensure a happy marriage for 7 years. I’m hoping that one can then renew the happiness after that amount of time!
But relating to that last bit, leads me to my idea for a project with yarrow: a pouch to renew and refresh the joy of our marriage (it’s been almost 10 years). Between my job loss, the addition of a child, and so much change in the past 10 years, we need a bit of a boost to get things feeling like new again. We get so wrapped up in the mundane every day slog, that we forget to take time to enjoy our relationship.
The pouch is actually a sample that I started to knit for a Beltane themed sock - hearts, vines, buds. While I knit it, I had the thoughts of Beltane in my mind and the joy, love, and passion that goes with it. The pattern didn’t turn out the way I wanted for a sock, but it makes a perfect pouch with a bit of modification. It is light green, symbolizing new growth and the freshness of spring.
After connecting with the herb, I placed it on one of the altars next to where I weave and meditate. I also placed 2 oracle cards of Yarrow next to it (from the Druid Plant Oracle and the Witches’ Kitchen Oracle). I also chose to add a small piece of rose quartz for the gentle, loving energy to support the gentle healing energy of yarrow, and also a light pink string to tie the baggie up with. After mediating for a couple days on it, and when the time felt right, I combined the pieces together and then placed it under mattress in our room.
The other way I wanted to try connecting with Yarrow was through the Yarrow Medicine Bath in Entering Hekate’s Garden (Brannon). She states that it is for “awakening authenticity and emotional healing”:
Combine 1 T yarrow with 1 tsp Mugwort (ginger optional - I left it out as I wanted something relaxing, not invigorating). Steep in 2 cups boiling water until room temperature. Add it to the bath along with rose quartz. I also added a handful of sea salt for purification, and a handful of epsom salt for sore muscles (I had a tough winter hike through fresh snow over the weekend).
The bath was super relaxing - I lit candles and listened to an audiobook about soul retrieval (Sandra Ingerman). Had a lovely meditation and felt quite healed and refreshed afterwards. A great night sleep, too!