St John's Wort - Hypericum Perforatum
St John's Wort - Hypericum Perforatum
The Healing Plant of Saints
St John’s Wort (SJW) is one of my favourite herbs and has so many uses that it should be a staple in anyones dispensary.
It is named after St John the Baptist and so I thought I would start there as it reveals a lot about the plant and its uses:
The feast day of St John is 24th June on midsummer day (just after the summer solstice) and this is when St John’s Wort is at its prime- flowering at the height of summer. So it’s easy to remember when to harvest- St John’s Day!
We know from Luke’s gospel that Jesus Christ was conceived six months after John and so this has been celebrated as the birth of Jesus at midwinter and John at midsummer aligning with pagan traditions for example; in Germanic mythology the god of light Baldur was also celebrated at midsummer on this day.
The relics of St John the Baptist have performed many miracles so we would not expect his plant to be anything but incredible healing which it is!
I heard herbalist Cynthia Koons say that the blood of St John the divine courses through the plant and everything one asks of the plant in good faith will be granted.
St John the Baptist lost his head after King Herod granted the wishes of Salome who performed for him. Salome’s mother famously said: Give me the head of John the Baptist here on a platter. Matthew 14:8. This is represented in the flowers of St John’s Wort which contain a healing blood red oil symbolic of the beheading and also said to represent the wounds of the martyrs.
The five-petalled flowers of SJW also represent the stigmata of Christ and resemble the shape of the cross used by the crusaders.
There is a bit more actually we can learn from it’s names:
Its botanical name hypericum could be derived from the Greek hyper meaning above and eikon meaning icon indicating a common use of SJW to be hung over icons used in prayer and veneration.
The second part of its botanical name perforatum is after the leaves which appear perforated with many fine dots. Hold a leaf up to the sun and you will see what I mean and then you know you have the right species. These are the oil glands in the leaves.
St John’s Wort has also been associated with St Joan of Arc (so aka St Joan’s Wort), the patron saint of France who was burned at the stake. This is because SJW is fab for healing burns and soothing pain which St Joan would know more about so another lesson of how it can be used!
I like starting with the legends as we learn best through story but let’s move on to how we would use St John’s Wort for our health- both physically, emotionally and spiritually from bedwetting to bells palsy and how to make the healing red oil!
So let’s get into it!
Overall, St John’s Wort is warming which means it can clear cold and stagnant forces and break down phlegm. It strengthens our vitality and the crucial forces that are needed for digestion, reproduction and metabolism. It is specific for aiding the detoxification organs the liver, skin, kidneys, colon and lungs.
To help remember other uses, remember the martyrdom of St John the Baptist and St Joan of Arc - anything involving blood, wounds and burns. But the Saints can also be invoked for support and protection from evil and we can use St John’s Wort in this way too.
Paracelsus wrote this about St John’s Wort:
Therefore, we should seek medicines with the power and strength to overcome whatever illnesses they are used against. From this it follows that God has given to Perforatum the strength to chase away the ghosts of nature, also worms, and to heal wounds and bone fractures, and all broken-heartedness…It is truly a universalis medicina beyond mankind’s creation
For ease of reference, I’ve detailed uses of SJW grouped by specific areas.
Indications:
Immunity:
So SJW is a potent anti-viral. It has been observed in clinical trials to be effective against: herpes simplex, cytomegalovirus, HIV, Hep B, Influenza, HPV and even the fave SARS-Cov-2. It is also commonly used for chicken pox and shingles both topically and internally.
If there is a viral based infection, it is definitely worth trying St John’s Wort. You can use the oil of SJW topically for outbreaks of things like cold sores, shingles and combine with internal use of the tincture.
Digestion:
I always forget that SJW works well as a digestive tonic but it does!
It can help with haemorrhoids, diarrhoea, gut inflammation, gastritis and is described as a stomach normaliser and strengthener.
In Matthew Wood’s Earthwise Herbal Volume I he included a suggestion for offensive breath: St John’s Wort mouthwash: Use 1 tbsp. and simmer 10 minutes, cool, strain and gargle before meals (3 x a day).
Susanne Fischer-Rizzi recommends 10 drops of SJW oil on a sugar cube 2-3 x daily for gastric, intestinal nervous gastric pains.
Respiration:
This is a common use for SJW anything “lung-ey” which covers catarrh and even consumption! Try for asthma and other lung conditions.
Bladder:
Particularly indicated for bedwetting. It is an overall bladder relaxer so can help with both suppressed and excessive urination. I would also sometimes use for cystitis and urethritis, particularly with this affinity with burning urination- SJW is the one for burns!
Detoxification:
SJW rules the organs of elimination but has been particularly studied for activating enzymes that are potent metabolisers of pharmaceutical drugs (see contraindications).
It is a liver strengthener and regulator so I use this for supporting hormonal detoxification as well which would be another reason why it regulates menstruation.
Women’s Health:
A good tincture or oil of SJW will be blood red so we often associate it with blood from injuries but of course, SJW will help with menstrual blood too. Use for excess bleeding, painful and irregular periods, uterine cramps and postpartum haemorrhage.
It is also recommended for breasts particularly swollen, hard tumours. Jennifer Tucker uses the oil after breast biopsies as it has an affinity for puncture wounds too.
Nervous System:
This is a huge one as homeopathy describes SJW as arnica for the nerves.
So anything related to the nervous system- remember SJW! This includes: paralysis, rheumatism, fibromyalgia, nerve pain (any neuralgia), Bell’s palsy, nervous ticks, tooth pain, ADHD, strain, shock, concussions, headaches, sciatica.
It is also a specific for breaking cycles of insomnia as well as the tincture, you could try using the herb in a sleep pillow for insomnia (pop it in a small cloth bag and sleep with it under your pillow).
I also love to use SJW oil as you can use it in massage to amplify its healing benefits or saturate a cloth with the red oil and use as liniment for rheumatism, lumbago and even MS. Jennifer Tucker did this on the spine for an MS patient.
For children you could try it in a tea for concentration problems, speech disorders and bedwetting.
More topical uses:
This is another big on as SJW is a big wound healer so prime for a first aid kit!
In summary, you could use the tincture, oil or salve for:
Skin tags, corns, boils, ulcers, radiation burns, sun burn, any burn, puncture wounds, scar pain, plantar fasciitis, abrasions, bruises, muscle strain, sun protection, restless legs - also as a suppository for HPV.
Cosmetic uses for dry, inflamed, and cracked skin. Use as a facial oil to rejuvenate the skin and activates skin metabolism. Or you could make a tea and apply as compress or in a facial steam to invigorate the skin especially if oily or blemished.
The homeopathic hypericum is usually in a first-aid kit for wounds from sharp instruments, lacerations, puncture wounds etc.
‘It is a singular wound herb; boiled in wine and drank, it heals hurts or bruises; made into an ointment, it opens obstructions, dissolves swellings, and closes up the lips of wounds,’ Nicholas Culpeper
Emotional:
This is a prime remedy for depression. So much so it was shown to be more effective than fluoxetine (Prozac) in a clinical trial. SJW excels is the depression that comes from darkness as it is a plant of light. It brings in the midsummer joy so we have hope and optimism again. It is very effective for seasonal affective disorder (SAD). We would also use it for fear of the dark- another good one for children.
In humoral medicine, the depression would be described as melancholy which is ruled by black bile- energetically this is cold and dry. When something is cold and dry it causes blockages and hardens. SJW warms up and breaks down black bile restoring the natural state of flow.
SJW is a wound healer and covers any injuries of war including PTSD.
Another gem I picked up from Matthew Wood was that SJW can retrieve lost parts of the soul - this is known as that sort of disassociation and separation caused by trauma so SJW would be great here. Also recovering from anaesthesia which has a similar effect.
Then finally, Jennifer Tucker described how SJW can be used for anticipatory grief such as when a loved one has Alzheimer’s or a terminal illness.
Spiritual:
This is a herb that flowers at midsummer when the sun is at its peak and fittingly it is a premier herb to chase away evil and darkness. It was said that the devil perforated the leaves because he worried that it had too great at healing power.
It was an important remedy for protection against witchcraft and demons. In today’s society, many would see this as psychiatric issues but I have also seen otherwise.
I read in Steve Taylor’s The Humoral Herbal
‘if one sleeps with a sprig of St John’s wort under the pillow on the 24th June it will protect one from an untimely death in the following year. To confer protection against lightening one should hang in the house or field would bring protection from any form of dark energy and putting a sprig under the pillow would ward off nightmares.’
Writing all of this, I realise how much St John’s Wort is a blessing and there are even more uses that I could and in fact, will add! There are a few notes of caution when using SJW…
Contraindications:
Many people know SJW as it is famous for interfering with medications and so it has a reputation as a dangerous herb. One to be treated with caution.
However, the reason why it is contraindicated for taking with medication is because it speeds up detoxification of these medications via the CYP450 enzyme pathway which many drugs are metabolised through.
In essence, we have a herb that supports liver detoxification making it the opposite of dangerous and in fact, extremely helpful for our overburdened livers.
If you want a certain drug in your body though then SJW is one to avoid! The contraceptive pill is a classic example of this scenario! Having said that, I have used SJW for women coming off the contraceptive pill to support the body return to its endogenous hormone production.
I have to comment that the word pharmacy is derived from the Greek φᾰρμᾰκείᾱ -pharmakeia which means taking drugs, poisoning and/or sorcery! I do like that little connection that SJW is still protecting us from sorcery through it’s actions!
SJW is also contraindicated specifically for SSRI based anti-depressants like Prozac due to the potential for serotonin syndrome.
The big one though is photo-sensitivity if you take SJW internally you may become more sensitive to the sun so this is the watch out. (Conversely using the oil of SJW topically actually protects you from the sun and heals sun burn).
Making Medicine:
If you want to use SJW then often the fresh plant is recommended to make a tincture or oil with. If you are buying it then if it is a deep-blood red colour then you will know someone has made it properly.
Or you could try making your own medicine. SJW grows in sunny, warm habitats, such as open meadows and waysides. It does not need many nutrients so can often grow in poor quality soil!
When it comes to harvesting, technically the healing red oil rises up the plant between 10am - 2pm as the sun rises so this is the best time to harvest.
Remember, like most herbs it needs to be dry when you are harvesting so save it for sunny days.
However, whenever you specify something about plants you can be sure that there will be contradictory advice!
In Medicine of the Earth by Susanne Fischer-Rizzi, she writes:
..it was common knowledge that the plant was strongest when gathered on St. John’s Day and even more magical and healthful when picked in the early morning dew. This dew was thought to be the sacred water of fertility left from the wedding of Heaven and Earth on solstice night. And in Iceland on this day people would roll in it to become strong and vigorous.
The proof is in the pudding, so you can compare the effects of the medicine of SJW covered in morning fertility dew or when it is dry. It would probably be best would be to make a tincture of the latter and an infused oil of the former as oil and water are not best pals.
Here is a quick guide to making a red oil from SJW:
What you need:
Jar with lid, label and organic olive oil and some SJW flowering plants!
What to do:
Squeeze a flower or bud between thumb and first finger to see if it leaves a red stain on the skin. If it does then you have enough oil in the flowers to make this!
Take the jar filled with oil to the plants.
Hand-pick each flower and put directly into the oil until it is three-quarters full. Ensure the flowers are covered by at least one inch of oil.
Add additional oil to within one-half inch of the top of the jar as air space will cause moisture condensation.
Keep the jar of flowers in oil outside in full sun for around 4 weeks and shake the jar daily so flowers are mixed and floating in the oil.
If the oil is deep red then strain the SJW oil into a clean dry jar using a fine cotton cloth to capture the flowers.
If it is not deep red and more of an orange and SJW is still in bloom then you can strain out your first batch of flowers and add harvest more flowers adding to the already infused oil to make it stronger.
It is now ready to use so label, date and store in a cool dark place!
You can also make more of a salve for healing wounds by mixing with beeswax, shea butter, lard, tallow and/or coconut oil.
You can make a tincture in a similar way, harvest the flowers and add vodka instead of oil. I will be writing more about how to make medicines but a quick google search will bring up some methods.
So that is St John’s Wort…hopefully you can now see why it is my favourite plant!