The Yarrow Plant – May 2003

Dear Friends,

   At last, winter has lost its icy grip on Mother Earth and spring is bringing forth its promise of renewal and rebirth. In Pennsylvania it was a very hard winter so spring comes as a special blessing this year.

  Being an herbalist, I am always astounded by the vast spectrum of emotions that well up inside me this time of year when I see all the herbs (a.k.a. weeds) making their reappearance. I feel giddy, hopeful, confident, refreshed and childlike.

   Last week while working in my yard, I bruised the leaves of a young yarrow plant and that beautifully sweet yet pungent smell filled the air as well as the core of my soul. It took me back to my childhood and the first time I smelled it (in this lifetime anyway.) I was about five years old and visiting a friend who had a wonderful meadow behind his house. As we were running through it the air just smelled so wonderful. And though at the time I didn’t know what plant had created that fragrance, there was something so magical, so familiar and so comforting about it that I knew I had to reconnect with this plant.

   The yarrow plant known as Achillea Millefolium.  First part refers to Achilles because it was said to have been used by the Greek hero to heal wounds during the Trojan War.  Millefolium means, thousand leaf which is befitting in its reference to the feathery leaves that look like plumes.

   Its remarkable ability to heal wounds made it a staple for twelfth century knights as well as Civil War soldiers. 

Love and Light, Lori