Folk names:  Hook- heal,   Sickly-wort,  Carpenter’s herb.

Self heal survives well in grasslands, waste spaces and more open woodlands. A close cut lawn in summer can look beautiful with the purple flowers of self heal to enliven the otherwise monocultural sward. There is a rarer species known as the cut-leaved self heal ( Prunella laciniata) which has cut leaves and white flowers.
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Both the Latin and common name of this plant point to its continued use as a herb. Prunella or Brunella is the German name for a sore throat. Dioscorides knew of the plant’s use for sore throats and treated inflammations of the throat and tonsils with this plant.

Its common name self heal implies an obvious connotation to medicinal usage. In the doctrines of signatures( the concept that every plant has a signature that implies its use), the flower of this plant is said to resemble a hook and as in the past the most common wounds were from billhooks and sickles this implied its use to stanch bleeding.
Self heal does staunch bleeding effectively and is also used for internal bleeding as a syrup or as a tea.
It is also used for respiratory complaints, piles and in Ireland to treat heart trouble. It is less known as a cure for colds.

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Autumn Equinox 20th September- 31st October
 
Autumn is a time of ripening and the beginning of maturity as we enter into an older phase of the life cycle. We gather the harvest of the year and reflect on the season behind us as we step into our strength, wiser and more confident of our abilities.
 
This time of high tides and abundant fruit reflects the life-giving properties of the experienced mature mother as she radiates vitality before retreating into her depths at Samhain. The male energy is also at his peak, mature, giving, and nurturing. He has nothing to prove for he also radiates an inner strength as the fruition of his life unfolds.
 
The guardian of this time is the fruiting Elder that can cure ailments and guide you at this time. She is the protector of the land, the animals and the mind. A powerful symbol of strength and wisdom.
 Use this time to truly acknowledge all you have achieved this year and in your life.
​Be at ease, confident in your abilities and allowing them to nurture and aid a new generation.

This is a good time in the words of Sir Walter Scott ( 1759-1796) -
 
​“To see the heath-flower withered on the hill,
To listen to the woods' expiring lay,
To note the red leaf shivering on the spray,
To mark the last bright tints the mountain stain,
On the waste fields to trace the gleaner's way ,
And moralise on mortal joy and pain.”

If you would like to learn more about the traditions of the land you may wish to enrol on our Woodland Bard Course.

The honeysuckle's name invokes the beauty of a scented plant enticing pollinators to its embrace and the gift of nectar. It speaks in lore of affection as it binds itself to a tree and reaches to the sun and faithfulness to enrich the shaded woodland by its climbing efforts.​

Quite over-canopied with luscious woodbine...
Shakespeare
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However it is also known as woodbine as it clambers up the trees, twisting in such a way it carves itself into the wood for eternity giving rise to 'dragon wands' which symbolise the rising of the earth energy upon the branch of the tree.

It was Shakespeare who also spoke of this twisting and although referred to gently he did not deny its strength. and its relationship with the life-giving sun, which does not penetrate the depths of the earth where it grows.

'So doth the woodbine the sweet honeysuckle
Gently entwist...'

'steal into the pleached bower, where honeysuckles ripen'd by the sun,
forbid the sun to enter...'


In Celtic lore the honeysuckle is exalted as the 'King of the Trees' by Iubdhan, the king of the leprechauns.

'Monarch of Inis Fail's Forests woodbine is, whom none may hold captive; no feeble sovereign's effort is it to hug all tough trees in his embrace...'

A climber that is very much celebrated with its nectar rich trumpet-like flowers which exude a scent on summer evenings. Its leaves are amongst the first to appear in the woodland scene sometimes as early as December. If honeysuckle is brought into the house it is said a wedding will follow and placed in a girl’s bedroom will bring dreams of love.

Samuel Pepys, a 17th Century diarist called honeysuckle the trumpet flower whose bugles blow scent instead of sound. 
Honeysuckle flowers can be used to help headaches, lung diseases and asthma.
Its bark can make cordage and it is said it was used as rope to move the great stones of stonehenge!

It seems this climber has been respected throughout history as a king and a lover, a woodland delight to be respected and honoured. 

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                 Ancient Sweet Chestnut Tree                                                    Ancient Lime Tree

I travel along the Wessex ridgeway like a highway man flanked by a shrubbery of grey and pussy willow intermingled with old hazel coppice. The ash trees stretch up high above the shrubbery and in the fields ancient oak and  lime have an indomitable presence.

A single shrunken, withered chestnut tree, a relic of noble splendour is hollowed out as a stately home to wildlife reminding me of the poem The Hollow Tree by John Claire:

How oft a summer shower hath started me 
To seek for shelter in an hollow tree:
Old huge ash-dotterel wasted to a shell,
Whose vigorous head still grew and flourished well..

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                              Wild angelica                                                               Sun spurge

I then enter the watery realms guarded by water pepper and angelica creates a canopy of its own.

In desolate places, where dark moisture breeds
The pipy hemlock to strange overgrowth
John Keats

Then as I emerge from the mysteries only dark and moist places tell, I witness chenopodiums (goosefoots) and cardamines ( bittercresses) scattered in the fields whilst a lone sun spurge decorates the grass amongst white archangel.

                Rosebay willowherb                                                                 Shepherds purse

A purple haze of rosebay willowherb with shepherds purse educates the wanderer of past land management.
Fallen relics of brick arches, woodland tracks leading to pastures edged with melilot, redshank, mayweed and fumitory.
Spongy wet paths support brooklime and drier paths breed flowering chickweed, plantain and wild pansy.
I could be a marauding Viking or a settled Saxon as the timeless Wessex landscape unfolds before me.

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As with any herb that incudes ‘officinalis’ in its botanical name it has a long history of use, this coupled with the fact its generic name ‘Verbena’ is a Roman term for alter plants used for sacrifices points to a very interesting plant.

However it is pre-Roman that its connections with healing and spirituality begin. Vervain is thought to have been used similarly to Sage in the Native American traditions, purifying and cleansing ceremonial and living spaces.

Individuals have also used the plant for their own protection against infection and calamity. Worn as a talisman around one's neck it is said to help with headaches and poisonous bites. It is thought that it can used for both creating spells and as a antidote for spells. In short this plant has played a key role in Shamanic practices in the British Isles. Due to the fact it is not a true native of Ireland there is little evidence of its herbal use in this Country.

As with many plants with a key role in folk traditions, science also points to why this plant has been used extensively. The plant contains ‘verbenaline’ which is a chemical renowned for its ability to reduce fevers and pain.  An infusion of this plant can induce sweating and used with yarrow is an effective herb for coughs and colds. More often than not the plant has been used as an external application for inflammations and sores. Internally it also can be taken as a strengthening tonic.

After a motor accident I used the mixture of vervain and yarrow to ease pain and strengthen my recovery.

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Lughnasa 1st August- 19th September
 
On Tuesday at the feast of the rise of the sun
And the back of the ear of the corn to the East
I will go forth with my sickle down
While the fruitful ear is in my grasp
I will raise mine eye upwards
I will turn on my heel quickly.
 
Rightway as travels the sun
From the direction of the East to the West
From the direction of the North with motion slow
To the very core of the direction of the South.
 
I will give thanks to the King of Grace
For the growing crops of the ground
He will give food to ourselves and to the flocks
According as He disposeth me.
Traditional Reaping blessing translated by Alexander Carmichael.
 
The above Gaelic blessing illustrates a connection to the land. In the book of the Dun Cow written around 1100 it is clearly a legal obligation to gather for the festivals so all that partake in the harvest also partake in the work needed and the celebration of the fecundity of the land.
 
The word Lughnasa can be translated as the fair or assembly of Lugh, a deity who is said to be the master of all craft. When he fought the Fomhoire, the terms spoken between Lugh and Bres were very much about the best way to work the land. However as with many of the old traditions it is to the Goddess we must turn to honour. 
 
Lugh is holding this feast to honour his foster-mother, the goddess Tailtiu who died after spending a year clearing a great plain to feed the people. The foster-mother in Celtic society was held in great esteem and importance.
The Goddess Brighit known as the foster-mother of Jesus in her form as a Christian Saint.
 
The festival of Lughnasa is therefore to honour the sacrifice of the goddess of the land to feed the people.
 
Light a candle to honour the Mother earth who gives to us all without any reward; reflect on your actions this year, have you helped be a caretaker of the sacred land or have you taken without care? What can you give back to earth, how can you lessen your impact? Meditate on the beauty of nature and the role you play in her cycle.

If you would like to learn more about the traditions of the land you may wish to enrol on our Woodland Bard Course.