Flower Power

Taking the sting out of life

Rose Morley

The first thing that comes to mind about Nettle (Urtica dioica) is its sting, with its annoyingly painful chemicals. It’s an easy herb to hate— a well-known garden in the northeast of England has even relegated Nettle to its Poison Garden. However, the touch of a Nettle can, over time, reduce the original pain by interfering with the way that our bodies transmit pain signals to the brain. Nettle takes good care of us in the end.

Nettle can grow just about anywhere— grass verges, your back garden, hedgerows, and woodlands —and Nettle flower essences are produced across the world. The Practitioner’s Encyclopedia of Flower Remedies (Harvey, 2014) tells us that Wild Plant Extension practitioners from Africa and the Amazon use Nettle to take the sting out of conflicts within a group (p.142). This perhaps makes it the ideal treatment for angst-ridden teenagers, siblings who argue, and those struggling with family feuds. In Europe, practitioners from Harebell Remedies claim that Nettle can connect us with ‘warmth, expression, communication and sharing’, and should be used for dealing with ‘withheld feelings resulting from past hurt, and the cool distant personality’ to facilitate easier relationships (p.233). Wild Flower Essences claim that Nettle essence can help to purify our aura if we feel sensitive to hostile environments, and that it provides psychic protection (just like the Walnut Bach Flower Essence and the Psychic Protection spray from the Findhorn Flower Essence range). Nettle flower essence can also help us if we have low energy, or qi. Nettle is also effective in helping open the chakras, in particular the first, third and sixth (p. 251). Finally, Deva Flower Elixirs use Nettle to help to resolve psychological problems encountered in perturbed homes. It can relieve emotional stress and bring calmness and courage after a family split or a break-up; it can also strengthen family unity (p. 263). I, for one, could have benefitted from this many years ago.

Stinging Nettle has been used for hundreds of years to treat painful muscles and joints, as well as eczema, arthritis, gout, allergies, and anaemia. Today, many people use it to treat urinary problems during the early stages of an enlarged prostate (benign prostatic hyperplasia or BPH). It is also used for urinary tract infections and in creams for treating joint pain. Nettle can reduce the vasodilators, meaning that it can relax the muscles and, in turn, enlarge the arteries to help increase blood flow. It contains many minerals like calcium, iron, phosphorus, potassium and sodium, and the magnesium found in Nettle can aid in reducing the symptoms of restless leg syndrome.

Did you know that there are also two Australian flower remedies that can help with muscle pain? These are Wild Potato Bush and Black-Eyed Susan. Fear not— Susan doesn’t have a black eye! This essence is produced in Sydney Australia, and is great for people always on the go, so use this if your weary onthe-go muscles need a bit of TLC (White, 1993:50). Meanwhile, Wild Potato Bush essence is commonly taken by pregnant women towards the end of their pregnancy when movements are restricted and muscles can have that tired, achy feeling (ibid:269). Australian Bush Remedies can not only help with the physical but the emotional, too— and we can all benefit from easing the emotions that sometimes hinder our movement, as well as muscle issues that in turn can affect our moods.

What a wonderful world we live in, with so many natural remedies right on our doorstep.

Image

Entrance to the Poison Garden at Alnwick Castle. Photo: Rose Morley

References

Harvey, C. (2014) The Practitioners Encyclopedia of Flower Remedies. Singing Dragon: London

White, I. (1993) Australian Bush Flower Essences. Inner Traditions/Bear: Rochester, VT