Chamomile: The Tiny Mother
Chamomile is one of those herbs that is so integrated into many of our lives that we can sometimes forget how supportive it actually is.
If you were ever given chamomile tea when you were sick, especially with a fever, and felt yourself sweat and the fever begin to pass, you’ve felt the effects of this ally. It’s a diaphoretic, which just means that it helps you sweat the fever out. The way it does this is by relaxing your muscles and blood vessels enough to allow the heat to escape.
If you’ve ever had a cup of chamomile tea to relax before bed, you’ve once again felt the power of their medicine. Chamomile is a mild nervine sedative, which simply means that it acts on our brain’s response to stress to calm us down and soothe our nervous system. This action carries into our gut as well to help with stomach aches and digestive problems. Especially if you get stomach cramps from anxiety, chamomile has been known to ease the spasms.
The flower is lightly sweet and aromatic, and becomes bitter at high doses. A bit of honey helps this, “makes the medicine go down.”
Matthew Wood describes chamomile as a remedy for “babies of all ages.” That is, when we’re feeling irritable and tense, whiny, and annoyed with the world, chamomile is our friend. I think of it most when I’m feeling whiny and childish and am looking externally for someone to solve my problems. I’ve found that chamomile soothes my mind so I can get myself out of that stuck feeling.
Topically, chamomile is anti-inflammatory and can help soothe skin that’s rough and irritated from rosacea, eczema, or psoriasis. It’s also been known to soothe joint pain.
I’ve also used chamomile topically on canker sores, creating a poultice of the flower to pack into the spot where the wound is. It doesn’t feel good, initially, but it helped to keep the inflammation down and even keep the pain away. Chamomile is generally indicated when there is heat and tension, so this makes sense.
Archetypally, chamomile teaches us balance and harmony. They come in when we’re feeling fiery and intense to restore balance to our system and help us preserve harmony within our body and our relationships. I think of this tiny, sweet little aster as a small mother, gently guiding us back to center.
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If you’re interested in learning more or working with chamomile, the Chamomile tincture and Soothing Salve will be available in the next Desert Bloom Botanica shop update December 1!
Further Reading and Resources:
Easley, Thomas and Horne, Steven. The Modern Herbal Dispensatory. North Atlantic Books, 2016
Popham, Sajah. Materia Medica Monthly. The School of Evolutionary Herbalism.
Tilgner, Sharon. Herbal Medicine From the Heart of the Earth. Wise Acres LLC, 2020.
Wood, Matthew. The Book of Herbal Wisdom. North Atlantic Books.