Plantain
Gender: Feminine
Planet: Venus
Element: Earth
Chakra Colour: Orange
Medicinal Uses: Plantain is used externally for bites, stings, burns and minor cuts and wounds as well skin afflictions. The juice can be applied directly, or the herb may be prepared as a plaster to treat boils, carbuncles and tumours. It tends to be used for internal afflictions of the respiratory system, asthma, cough, catarrhal congestion etc. It is also used for diarrhoea or afflictions of the urinary tract. It has a soothing action and astringent action on the mucous membranes. A leaf poultice is used to speed a wounds healing. The leaves treat urinary infections, burns, bee stings, hemorrhoids, and conjunctivitis. They are mucilaginous and expectorant. The Seeds are high in fiber; their mucilage may lower cholesterol and is used in cosmetics. In the wild, if you are injured chew on the leaves of the plantain to make a spit-poultice, then place this on the wound using a small amount of dirt to bind it if necessary, this will pull all the germs and help promote healing, and this can also work for removing splinters.
Magical Uses: Plantain worn as an amulet it protects against the hidden dangers of travel – such as snake bites and insect stings. In Ireland it is associated with St. Patrick, patron saint of Ireland – interestingly, St. Patrick is also associated with averting snakes.
It is used in protection spells for the home and the car as well as for travelers, especially those traveling on a road (which is where this plant likes to grow). The plantain can give power to magical workings in general. The herb is also used in healing sachets, specifically for headaches and fatigue.
Other names: Plantago, Cuckoo’s Bread, Englishman’s Foot, The Leaf of Patrick, Patrick’s Dock, Ripple
Grass, St. Patrick’s Leaf, Slanlus, Snakebite, Snakeweed, Waybread, Waybroad, Weybroed, White Man’s Foot.
Contraindications: Do not use if you are pregnant, taking Lithium, or if you are diabetic.
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