St. Johns Wort (Hypericum performitum)
The St. John's Wort plants grow wildly in a vast array of terrains. The leaves are long and pale green. The five-petaled blossoms are yellow with blood-red tips that look as if the petals were dipped lightly in blood, and when pinched, they turn entirely red, appearing to "bleed". For most people, the prefered form is in store-bought capsules, though it may also be used in the form of a liquid.
HEALING
Depression: St. John's Wort is loved for its power in dealing with mild depression, anxiety, and nervousness. The chemicals in St. John's Wort work to stop destruction of general "feel good" enzymes and amines. Thanks to the fact that the effects of St. John's Wort are broken up into different mechanisms rather than just one powerful function, there are fewer side effects than other remedies may offer. You can use the product in many forms - tea, capsules, powders, oil, liquids, tablets, and whole dried leaves. Regardless of the form, buy only a product which tells the hypericin concentration and follow the dosage instructions on the packaging.
Improvement of depression should be noticeable in 2 to 6 weeks, so give it time before giving up on it.
WARNING: Do not use St. John's Wort if you are on a prescription antidepressant, specifically protease reuptake inhibitors such as Paxil. Excessive sun exposure should be avoided when using the herb because it is likely to cause photosensitivity.
Wounds: Some claim that St. John's Wort oil, when applied to a wound, helps aid in healing and staunch bleeding. The oil is made from St. John's Wort flowers infused in olive oil.
Bedwetting: St. John's Wort can be effectively used to help with children who experience incontinence of urine at night. The child may be given a tea made of the herb or one ounce of the herb can be infused in a pint of water and a couple teaspoons can be given to the child before bed.
FOLKLORE and HISTORY
St. John's Wort blooms around the time of John the Baptist's death, hence the name.
The sap is red and looks much like blood. In Celtic lore, it is said that if someone stepped on the plant while on the Isle of Wright at twilight, a faerie horse would appear and carry them around until dawn.
It was also believed that the herb could strip a witch of her will. During the Burning Times, a handful of St. John's Wort was stuffed into an accused witch's mouth to force her to confess.
Trefoil, vervain, John's wort, dill,Â
Hinders witches of their will
(Sir Walter Scott, The Nativity Chant)
Welsh families also used St. John's Wort to judge the life span of family members. A sprig of the herb was assigned to each person in the family and hung from the rafters at night. Then in the morning, the length of each person's life was judged by how shriveled their sprig was.
St. John's Wort was also weaved into wreathes for protection. It is used in many cultures to exorcise demons and ghosts.