Yarrow, areas for further investigation:"The successful warrior is an average man with laser-like focus."-Bruce Lee
This week we tasted the flowering tops of Yarrow, Achillea Millefolium. This herb is has long been an indispensible herb in traditional Western herbalism. The Plant Meditation Club met for our first zoom gathering. It was great to get to know everyone and meditate at the same time. This is our experience:
Mouth/Smell:
Woodsy, slightly spicy and flavor, floral, favorite smell so far!, different after taste than initial taste, grassy, some sweetness, similar to chamomile, masculine smell.
Sensations:
Stabilizing, increase in energy (just enough, was feeling slightly sleepy), slightly warming, pleasant, peaceful. Soothing. Third eye pressure. Tingling and pulsating in my hands while meditating. Comfortable.
Chill, calming, felt in the back of the throat/esophagus, stimulating, felt sinuses. Sore throat, phlegmy. Sleepy. Third eye.
Felt on diaphragm, feeling a little hunger (possibly an appetite suppressant?), warm near throat, soothing to tonsils, jaw relaxed.
Clearing nose, clear heat in ears. Helps with some kind of process with the heart.
Female reproductive organs: Vaginal walls feeling relaxed, ovaries mellowing out, cervix and vagina, opening the process of allowing outward flow. Lots of energy moving into the perineum. Feeling flower cluster up-side-down at labia and vagina. Energy is stimulating, feeling like I am being 'sorted out' in that area.
Visions/Communications:
Habitat: near mountains, likes to grow in the grass, sway in the breeze, be in the sun, be near a river/water source, but not right next to it.
Image of a reclining woman, with her outflow as the river.
It can support reaching for your desires.
Circles like a galaxy.
Believe in yourself or it's over.
Give you what you need. Balancing.
Able to feel anger (had some reasons to be angry today). The plant said "I can help you say 'Don't fuck with me.'"
How can it be most useful for resilience? "I can do anything," it says solidly. "If I want to take someone to the top (7th chakra), I can do it. If someone needs to be driven into the ground, I can do it."
My energy gets funneled to my nose. I have a way to sniff out what I want and how to find my way to it. Reminded me of warriors and blood moving through veins. Heart covered with metal (iron or steel). Heart rotating after I acknowledge this. Energy moves to the top of my head. I feel nub-like horns and curly hair up there. It reminds me of Pan. I see my energy go to the top of my skull like a white pompadour. Then the energy moves up further above and in front of my head, still my close in field of energy. It is bumpy or lumpy white light. I stay there for the rest of the meditation.
Summary/Traditional Use:
This herb has many uses! It is most often thought of as a blood regulator, with a history of being used on the battle field for cuts to the artery. The warrior applications of this herb go beyond first aid for serious injuries. The herb hones the energy to believe in yourself, go after what you want, get it, and tell people not to fuck with you. This herb has confident, focused, goal-oriented energy. 6th chakra: yes! Grounding: 100%. Balancing is a good word for this herb. That fits with the blood regulation too. Blood is all over our bodies. It is extremely destabilizing to have clots within our blood or significant cuts. This herb has the ability to help us have a strong blood flow within. Definitely good for menstrual health. We had a fairly lengthy discussion about the intuition about this herb helping with labor and menstruation, both of which are historical uses. This herb is also used for sweating fevers, and flu symptoms. It is used to stimulate hunger and with the intuition about it supressing hunger I wonder if it might be a hunger regulator too. This may be in association with making a highly functional 3rd chakra which is necessary for making your will done on the battlefield. I frequently use and recommend this herb for energy field management. Strong boundaries. Field injuries can be long term symptoms of trauma, not uncommonly from significant physical injury. This herb helps get everything back ship-shape. Have it around for first aid for cuts and bruises (I prefer the tincture for ease of use). Use it for maintainence--bath, tea or tincture--if you have blood and especially for those of us who menstruate. I could go on and on about yarrow, suffice it to say this plant meditation revealed more about its determined powerful nature and its desire to help you get what you want and need.
Enough said! Wage on!
Do you have experiences with yarrow in the clinical setting or personally? If so please add to our knowledge in the comments.