Chamomile is a pretty common herb, and it’s likely you have used it before, if not regularly. But I bet there is a lot about Chamomile that you didn’t know. At least I didn’t!

I started out with an entirely different herb to highlight this month, but as I was doing some Midsummer altar prep I found that Chamomile was one of the recommended and popular plants used for the Solstice. I figured it would be a great way to incorporate into two places at once! Since we will be working with Chamomile this month, we can use any left overs to put on the altar when we are done. Anytime we can reduce waste and get more than one use of something is really important in my spiritual practice, as I work a lot with Mother Gaia (momma earth), and its beneficial to her as well.

So this is what I found out about Chamomile- (I’ll post a list of references at the end of this post, in case you’re interested in the books and tools I used, and to give proper shout outs to the people/places I’ve learned from.

Chamomile is known as one of the nine sacred herbs of the Celts/Anglo Saxons. This comes from a text from the Lacnunga, a tenth century Anglo-Saxon herbal charm passed down from a Myth where the God Woden (known now as the Norse God Odin) used these nine sacred herbs to fight a dragon.

It’s a pretty cool story, and it goes further in depth and varies slightly in different old texts as it’s been passed down throughout centuries.

Chamomile is revered for both it’s medicinal and magical properties across many cultures, and can be found in rituals and medicines for many things, including sleep and meditation, and for warding off nightmares. It is especially useful if you’re trying to get yourself calmed and centered.

The dried flowers of Chamomile contain many terpenoids and flavonoids contributing to its medicinal properties. Chamomile preparations are commonly used for many ailments such as hay fever, inflammation, muscle spasms, menstrual disorders, insomnia, ulcers, wounds, gastrointestinal disorders, rheumatic pain, and hemorrhoids.

Essential oils of chamomile are used often in cosmetics and aromatherapy due to it’s great antiseptic properties.

Chamomile is a great protection herb for both home and self. You can put it into a sachet to carry with you when you think you might be in physical or energetic danger. I often use it in my protection charm bags along with a mix of protective stones and sigils. Other than drinking it as a sleepy time tea, this is probably my personal most common way of using this herb.

If you grow your own Chamomile, be sure to talk to it. Set your magical intentions when you water the plant to infuse it for your spells and manifestation rituals later on. I do this with all the herbs I grow for magic use, but Chamomile seems particularly responsive to this energy exchange.

Below is a list of ways to use Chamomile both magically and medicinally. Be sure to do your own research and use caution (or even consult a physician) before taking any herbal remedies.

I hope this gives you some ideas for using Chamomile whether you are someone who practices magick or you’re more interested for it’s health benefits.

Let me know which one’s you try, or what your current favorite ways to use Chamomile are. Herbalism itself is a sort of dying art, and I find that many things related to magick or folk medicine have been kept in families from generation to generation, and some of the best recipes and rituals are those that haven’t made it into books. They’re oral traditions that nobody has taken the time to write down yet!

I’m going to close with a little thank you to Chamomile.

Chamomile, we thank you for your healing energies. For your gentle nature, and for the magick you hold in every cell. We are grateful for your medicines and to Mother Earth for birthing and nurturing you.

Blessed Be!

References:

The Herbal Alchemist’s Handbook – Karen Harrison

Plant Witchery – Juliet Diaz

Folk Magic And Healing / An Unusual History of Everyday Plants – Fez Inkwright

The Nine Herbs Charm – http://www.mimisbrunnr.info

The Nine Herbs Charm – http://www.spitafieldslife.com