COMMON NAMES : Agrimony, church steeples, sticklewort

ELEMENT : Air

RULING PLANET : Jupiter

GENDER : Masculine

MAGICKAL POWERS : Protection, sleep

DESCRIPTION : This herb has dark green hairy leaves and stalks. The leaves are odd, pinnate and alternate on the stalk. The stalks are mostly unbranched. The average size is 2-3 feet wide and up to 5 feet high. The yellow flowers are quite small (3/8 of an inch across). Blooms appear in June through September. They have a spicy apricot scent, and the whole plant is aromatic. The seeds are enclosed in a bristly burr that sticks to almost anything that brushes against it.

CULTIVATION : Plant Agrimony in full sun in ordinary garden soil.

PART OF THE PLANT USED : All aerial parts of this plant may be used.

COLLECTION : The best time to collect the flowers is when the plant is just starting to bloom. The leaves and stems may be collected anytime. Dry in a shady spot where the temperature does not exceed 40 degrees C.

PLANT ANALYSIS : Agrimony contains tannins, glycosidal bitters, nicontic acid, silicic acid, iron, vitamins B and K.

MEDICINAL USES : The plant has an astringent action on the digestive system. It is useful for bowel complaints such as diarrhoea and relaxed bowels, chronic mucus diseases, asthma, fevers and colds. In a poultice it is helpful for bruises. A tea may be drunk for use as a diuretic, or used as a gargle for a sore throat. A wine decoction may be used on the skin to draw out thorns and splinters. It has been given to cattle with respiratory problems.

DOSAGE : Adult: as a tea, 1/2 teacup sized portion every 4 hours, sweeten with honey or maple syrup

MAGICAL USES: Use in sachets and in spells for protection, and to banish negative energy. Also used to reverse spells sent against the magician. But being Wiccan, this should not be necessary. Remember the rule of 3. Don't hex anyone because it will come back to you three times as hard.

Put a sprig of agrimony under your pillow to help you sleep.

Agrimony was once used to detect the presence of witches.

LORE : This plant has been used since classical times. The Greek physician Galen said agrimony was " very beneficial for the bowels". The later Anglo-Saxon herbalists recommended agrimony mixed with human blood and pounded frogs for internal bleeding. Medieval manuscripts contain many spells that use agrimony. To enchant someone and to make them sleep, a medieval author recommends the following: