Materia Medica: Plantain and Red Clover
Plantain
Plantago major
Actions: Astringent, vulnerary, diuretic, demulcent, inflammation modulator, antiseptic
Parts Used: Leaves and seeds
Plantain is often known as nature’s bandage. The leaves can be chewed up and held on a sting, splinter, or wound to promote healing and draw out the venom or foreign object. The flat leaf can also be wrapped around the same kinds of wounds. The astringency pulls out what’s unwanted and knits the tissues back together while also providing cooling relief to the irritation.
This drawing action is also useful for drawing out sticky mucus in the lungs as well as tooth and gum infections.
Plantain is readily available and grows easily. It uses this drawing action to draw nutrients up from the ground in areas where other plants can’t. This means it grows well in hard soil, in between cracks in the sidewalks, and other disturbed areas. When colonizers came to America, they brought plantain, probably via the seeds on their shoes, and unwittingly spread it everywhere they went. This earned it the name Whiteman’s Foot.
We can look at the gifts of plantain in a few different ways. On the one hand, plantain shows us that medicine is at our fingertips. We have all the knowledge we need to move forward and heal ourselves. It teaches us resilience through its ability to pull nutrients from wherever it lands. It’s one of the most common and successful “weeds,” and teaches us strength and adaptability.
On the other hand, plantain also invites us to consider the impact we have on ourselves and others. Colonizers introduced this sturdy plant to America, and luckily it turned out to be an incredibly helpful plant ally. But these people also brought disease, destruction, racism, and violence upon the land that they claimed. Plantain is a reminder that we have an effect on the world around us, whether we realize it or not.
Consider that fact as you reflect on plantain. Take time to notice the influence you have on those around you. How will your action or inaction change your surroundings?
Red Clover
Trifolium pratense
Action: Alterative, sedative, lymphatic, anticoagulant, antispasmodic
Parts Used: leave and blooms
Historically, red clover has been used as cattle fodder. She’s a great soil builder and often grows in disturbed areas. Her triple leaves remind us of the triple goddess - the maiden, mother and crone embodied in mythologies such as the story of Persephone and her mother, Diana, and the phases of the moon. This form indicates her use for menopausal symptoms and balancing female hormones. She’s also a blood thinner, and has been indicated to help loosen clots during menstrual cycles.
She can be used for skin complaints like bites, stings, and psoriasis. She’s also been indicated in cancer treatment. This along with her ability to bloom twice a year has earned her the reputation as a “second chance remedy.”
In some folk magic traditions, this plant is used in love spells.
Red clover is a signal of hope, second chances, and the divine feminine. When this card shows up, consider the feminine aspects within you. This isn’t gender specific – these more slow, intuitive, thoughtful aspects exist within all of us. How can you tap into that?
Alternatively, are there any areas of your life that have felt futile? Surely there is hope to be found even in the most despairing of circumstances. Red clover invites us to find that sense of quiet optimism that comes from the willingness to let go and trust the process.