The lore of 502 by Redwood Gree
Yarrow (Achillea millefolium) is steeped in folklore as a powerful herb of protection, healing, and divination. Associated with the Greek hero Achilles (who supposedly used it to heal soldiers' wounds), it is called "soldier’s woundwort". It was used to ward off evil, predict love, and enhance psychic ability, often hung over doors or used in love charms.
In the Fen country and Scotland, yarrow was hung on doors or cradles to keep evil away. It was also used as a charm against thieves and bad luck. It was often used in divinatory rituals to dream of future spouses. Named Achillea after Achilles, who, under Chiron's advice, used it to stop bleeding on the battlefield. In China, its stalks are used in I Ching divination. It was believed to bring courage and, in some traditions, was associated with fairies.
A traditional spell involved finding yarrow, keeping nine stalks, and tossing the tenth while reciting a charm to protect oneself on journeys. Often hung or scattered on doorsteps during this time to prevent evil spirits from entering the home. In Celtic tradition, it was gathered with specific chants or prayers to ensure its medicinal effectiveness.
There was a grave in Iraq, dating to 60,000 years ago, of a Neanderthal who was laid to rest by his people on a bed of medicinal flowers. One of those flowers, identifiable because of the pollens in the grave, was yarrow. There's a reason so many plant people are called to the herbal path by yarrow – this is truly one of our most ancient plantcestors.
According to Maud Grieve in A Modern Herbal, yarrow’s name is a corruption of the Anglo-Saxon name for the plant – gearwe; the Dutch, yerw. To the ancients, yarrow was known as Herba militaris, the military herb. Linnæus named yarrow Achillea millefolium in 1753 after the famed Greek warrior Achilles, who used yarrow to staunch the wounds of his soldiers on the battlefield. Unfortunately, Achilles did not have dear yarrow at the time of his mortal wounding for he lamented that he would have survived had it been near. Some say that Achilles learned about the properties of yarrow while under the tutelage of his mentor Chiron. Chiron is sometimes referred to as “the wounded healer” and thus yarrow has earned a relationship with this archetype and is a valuable ally for those experiencing wounding of the soul.
Its species name, millefolium, literally means “thousand leaved” and represents the foliage of Yarrow which is so feathery that it may just have a thousand leaves after all. Its leaves look serrated, almost like a knife, showing us its doctrine of signatures of being appropriate for injuries that “cut to the bone” – this tells us much about its healing properties as a wound herb as well.
In her book, Mary Siisip Geniusz shares a variety of Anishinaabe spiritual and medicinal connections with yarrow, stating that yarrow (waabanooganzh) is a sacred medicine to those who practice the Waabanoowin religion. Yarrow would be made into a tea and used as a bath to protect the skin of those involved with their fire ceremonies, preventing the fire from burning them. Geniusz also says that:
"To the Anishinaabeg, yarrow is said to scare off evil. It is hung or tied along with sweetgrass and cedar on doors and/or windows. The yarrow is to scare off the bad. The sweetgrass is to encourage and attract the good. And the cedar is to balance the two..
In a case where a person is very worried about evil attacking them, for instance in a Bear Walk or in a haunting situation, dried yarrow is pounded and mixed with sand. The mixture is then poured across doorways and window sills or around the entire foundation of a home or around the entire perimeter of a property. It is said that evil will not cross a line of yarrow." We see these protective and spiritual connections to yarrow across other cultures as well.
Paradoxically, Yarrow was also considered an herb to avert evil spells. In the Fen country, people believed that if it were strewn on the doorstep no witch would dare entire the house. The Irish used to hang it up on St. John’s Eve to turn away illness and disperse spirits and in many places, it was hung in the home for protection. When going on a journey, you were to pull ten stalks of yarrow, keep nine, and throw the tenth away (as a tithing to the spirits), put the nine under the right heel and then evil spirits would have no power over you.
