Rowan Remedies

Latin:Viscum album

Also Known As: All Heal, Birdlime, Devil’s Fuge, Donnerbesen, European Mistletoe, Golden Bough, Holy Wood, Misseltoe, Thunderbesem, Witches Broom, Wood of the Cross, Herbe de la Croix, Mystyldene, Lignum Crucis, Lignum Sanctae Crucis.

Family:Loranthaceae

Habitat and Description: Mistletoe is a parasitic plant usually found growing on Apple trees, although it sometimes will grow on Hawthorn or Ash and very occasionally on Oak. It usually grows in the form of a clump, with leathery spear shaped leaves that vary from golden green to more of a grey green in colour depending on the time of year. It has small greenish flowers that are found at the tips of the twigs as well as growing at the base of the leaf stems, which are followed by the familiar white berries, which begin as a greenish colour in October, becoming fully ripe in December. There’s masses of the stuff growing in the orchards around Glastonbury, appropriately enough.

Parts Used: The leafy branches

Constituents: Glycoproteins, mistletoe lectins and viscumin, polypeptides known as viscotoxins, flavonoids (usually quercetin derived and partially dependant on the host tree), caffeic, p-coumaric, ferrulic acids, polyphenolic acid derivatives, polysaccharides (especially in the berries), triterpenes including betulinic acid, lupeol, oleanolic and ursolic acids, lignans and some alkaloids, flavonoids, sugars, protein, amines, terpenoids, sterols, mucilage and tannins. Apparently some of the active ingredients include lectins which stimulate neutrophils, and viscotoxin, which is cardioselective and reduces the ventricular rate, explaining its use as a heart herb. flavonoid

Planetary Influence: The Sun / Jupiter

Associated Deities and Heroes: Apollo, Balder, Cerridwen, Freya, Frigga, Lord of the Trees, Odin, Venus, to which I think can also be added deities such as Cernunnos, Herne, Hecate and Arianrhod, due to the fact that while some authors classify this plant as exclusively male, in fact it can be viewed as male at some times of year, when the plant is golden coloured, and feminine when in berry, at which time it is associated with the moon and with Lunar deities. It’s one of the favourite druid mystery herbs, posing an interesting paradox all on its own.

Festival: Yuletide

Constitution:warm and dry – although some list it as cool and dry – an ambiguity that certainly fits well with this plant!

Actions and Indications: Mistletoe could be powdered and drunk as a remedy for the ‘falling sickness’ – possibly epilepsy. The plant is warming and drying.

There is quite a long list of uses for mistletoe, including to treat hypertension and arteriosclerosis when combined with Equisetum arvense. It also has a variety of uses in treating nervous complaints, including to treat insomnia, nervous excitability, hyperactivity, limb twitching, epilepsy, tinnitus, headaches, dizziness and fatigue. There has been some success in using the herb in the treatment of cancer – the juice of the berry applied to external cancers has been used since the time of the druids, and some research has been done on injecting extracts of mistletoe to treat cancer. The berry can be used as an immune enhancer, but as they are far more potent than the herb, they should be used with great care.

The drugs Iscador, Helixor and Plenosol are mistletoe derivatives that have been successfully used in the treatment of cancer, based on work done by Rudolph Steiner. These herbal extracts work by boosting the body’s non-specific defense mechanisms, considerably improving patient health and diminishing tumour size.

The properties of the Mistletoe depend in part on the host tree, which is not surprising under the circumstances. Mistletoe grown on Salix spp has the most active constituents, although I’ve been unable to find out whether this is for topical injection or as a tincture or infusion. Rudolph Steiner advocated fermented mistletoe extracts for the treatment of cancer.

The herb has been shown to have some success in the treatment of Hepatitis C, however as the study was conducted on a very small number of people, little further research has been done and this use can not be confirmed.

Mistletoe is a tonic to the abdomen as it relaxes nerve tension. It is a cardiac tonic as it strengthens the heart beat and increases a slow pulse. It can be used to relieve oedema, stimulates granulation and the formation of new connective tissue. It enhances the cytotoxic and immunostimulant properties of natural killer cells. It was also used in a study to treat post Chernobyl respiratory disease in children, where the symptoms of fatigue, headache, pyrexia, emotional instability and musculoskeletal pain were much reduced.

Mistletoe is used to balance circulation and relieve palpitations, as well as having a diuretic effect that acts on oedema. It also stops spasms and eases spasmodic dysmenorrhoea, dissolves deposits, is anti inflammatory and can be used to relieve eczema. The plant can be used to stimulate immunity and reduce tumors, and gives vitality to the blood, reducing congestion and acting as a styptic. It can also be used to soften boils and draw pus when used as a poultice. Interestingly, one of the authors I researched stated that the berries of European Mistletoe are not poisonous (contrary to most authors opinions) however the berries of the American Mistletoe (Phoradendron flavescens) are toxic and should not be used internally.

Spiritual and Energetic Uses: Mistletoe is used for people going through a period of change and transition, as it gives strength and energy and is a bringer of love and goodwill. In the language of flowers, Mistletoe means ‘I surmount all difficulties’ – appropriate for a plant that grows in a tree, and occupies a rather precarious existence!

I think that this plant could also be used to bring about balance between active masculine and passive feminine energies within the body, allowing a better balance between, for example, the drive to succeed and the ability to realise when a person has enough already. It could possibly also be used to encourage patience.

The plant can be used for mental tension and emotional pain, as well as for those who have lost a loved one. This would fit, as emotional pain and loss can often be found linked in with life change.

Magical Uses: Mistletoe is used for protection, love, hunting, fertility, health and exorcism, an interesting range of uses given that the herb has both masculine and feminine energies. A ring of mistletoe wood will ward off sickness when worn, as well as being protective against lightening, and the plant itself when placed near the bedroom door will grant pleasant dreams. The herb can also be used to bring good luck in hunting, and can be worn by women to encourage conception. The leaves and berries, when placed in a child’s cradle, will protect the baby from being stolen by fairies. Mistletoe burned as an incense banishes evil, and when worn around the neck it will grant invisibility.

Folklore: It is a fairly well known piece of folklore that Mistletoe was sacred to the druids, especially when it was found growing on Oak – although this would not have happened very often as it is not a tree Mistletoe prefers to grow on. When found growing on Oak, the mistletoe was cut with a gold sickle held by a druid in white robes, and then caught by a white cloth before it touched the ground. After this, two white bulls would be sacrificed below the Oak tree. If the mistletoe touched the ground, it was held to be an omen of great misfortune for the nation. The druids would only gather it at the beginning of the year, after dreams directing that the herb should be sought. The Oak tree was held in great veneration by the Druids as being the tree of their God, so when mistletoe was found growing in the tree’s branches, it was taken to be an indication that their God was closer to them than normal. Interestingly, Mrs Grieve disagrees with this assessment, and instead states that the Oak was held in respect if Mistletoe was found growing on it due to the range of illnesses it could cure – although this could be because this theory dates from an earlier time that was not so accepting of paganism.

The growth of mistletoe on the English Oak was considered a highly magical phenomenon in ancient Britain, because the Oak is not generally preferred by the Mistletoe. The druids thought that the joining of the two species was brought about by the Gods, because it happens so rarely. This is interesting considering that Mistletoe is traditionally considered to be masculine, and this would be particularly true at the Winter Solstice, when it would be gathered. Mistletoe was anciently known as druad-lus, the ‘druid’s plant’.

Mistletoe is also mentioned in the Norse legends, as being the herb used to kill Baldur, the second son of Odin and Frigg, who was known for his good heart and temperament. Following the dream of his own demise, Baldur speaks to his mother, who then speaks to all the elements and creatures to obtain promises that none of them will hurt the young God. The Trickster God, Loki, dressed as a woman and went to speak to Frigg. In conversation, Frigg mentioned that Mistletoe had not promised not to harm the young God, being too young itself at the time. Loki, leaving the house, immediately travelled to where the promises were being tested and each element was being thrown at Baldur, and threw a mistletoe twig at the youth, who was immediately struck dead. This ended an age of purity and innocence which will continue until the rebirth of all creation. The young God was restored to life and mistletoe was given to the Goddess of Love (Frigg) who decided that anyone passing underneath it should receive a kiss, so that the plant would become the symbol of love instead of hate. This is the precursor of our modern tradition of kissing under mistletoe at Christmas. The condition of the herb being given into the dominion of Frigg was that it never touch the earth, which was Loki’s domain. This was possibly a way of ‘making it up’ to the plant for being the instrument of Baldur’s death, as well as keeping it out of the way of Loki and preventing the plant being used a second time.

The mistletoe is central to the Druid Mysteries, one of which is that the plant changes polarity on the seventh and twenty eight day of each moon, in tune with a woman’s menstrual cycle.

Dose: 2-6g or equivalent three times a day, 8-10 drops of the liquid extract per day, or 1 heaped tsp to a cup of cold water, to be taken ½ a cup at a time. Another author recommends the dose as being 2mls of tincture or 30mls of infusion three times a day.

Contraindications: This herb should not be used in pregnancy. Use of high doses can cause gastrointestinal irritation.

Notes:The use of this herb for hypertension is an interesting one, and would perhaps be most useful in the treatment of stress induced hypertension, in addition to hypertension where this has been caused by cardiac problems such as insufficiency or heart failure. The plant itself is a fascinating one, with both male and female influences, and has a wide range of folklore surrounding it. I had not considered it much before for anything other than the treatment of hypertension, but will be reconsidering this from here on in the hopes that it will prove useful for a wider range of patients. It may be suitable for energetic use as well if included in tiny quantities (drop doses as opposed to the small dose used to bring about physical change).

Brought to you by Alex English at http://www.eldrumherbs.co.uk