Motherwort
Leonurus cardiaca
Latin Name: Leonurus cardiaca
Common Name: Motherwort, Lion's Tale, Heartwort, throw-wort, lion's ear, yi mucao (benefit mother herb)
Family: Lamiaceae
Contraindications: Do not use if pregnant. Do not use if you have a clotting disorder. Work with an herbalist if you are on blood pressure medication. Do not give to children under 2. May not be best suited for people with a colder constitution.
Native To: central Asia (modern day Siberia and Japan) and southeastern europe (temperate Russia)
Botanical Description:
Habitat: grows near wild streams or rivers, woodlands edges, edges of yards under trees, partially shaded fence rows. Very forgiving, enjoys part sun to full sun. ****
Parts Used: Leaves ****
Key Constituents:
Caffeic acids
Tannins
glycosides (leonurine, leonuridin)
Flavonoid
Volatile Oils
Alkaloids (stachydrine, leonurinine)
diterpenes
vitamin A
Herbal Actions:
Taste: Bitter, Pungent
Energetics: Cooling
Some Ways to Work With this Plant
Motherwort is a plant that supports us in healing our mother wounding. Drinking motherwort is like applying a soothing balm on a heart that feels fluttery and anxious. Sitting with motherwort is like sitting in the lap of a loving, supportive, compassionate maternal figure. Motherwort holds and steadies our anxious fluttery heart so that we can go out into the world with courage and bravery and accomplish the things that feel hard for us to do.
In Japan, Motherwort flowers are considered a drink benefiting longevity, thus the expression, "Drink Motherwort to the despair of your heirs".
In Japan, there is a yearly Motherwort Festival held on ***the ninth day of the ninth month***, also known as Kikousouki, or the “Month of Motherwort Flowers.” During this time Motherwort flowers are eaten in rice and added to saki.
If your anxiety lives in your heart and you experience fluttering of heart, increased heart rate, motherwort can help ease this type of heart centered anxiety and stress.
In traditional Chinese medicine, motherwort is combined with dong quai to help regulate the menses cycle and reduce symptoms of PMS. (source)
if taken before your cycle and during your cycle, it can significantly decrease pain caused by periods
Motherwort is one of the best laboring and postpartum herbs to take. It helps relieve anxiety associated with childbirth, supports in strengthening the uterus, and helps in releasing the pregnancy. When taken during postpartum, it is extremely supportive in holding the new parent and mothering the new parent. It can support in preventing postpartum depression.
The Cherokees used the herb as a sedative for nervous afflictions. (source)
Native tribes in America, including the Delaware, Oklahoma, Micmac, Mohegan, and Shinnecock used motherwort infusion as a gynecological aid for “female ills” (Moerman, 1998). The Cherokee and Iroquois used it as a gastrointestinal aid to facilitate digestion and as a sedative for “nervous and hysterical affections” and as a nerve tonic, respectively, while the Cherokee also used it as a stimulant for fainting (Moerman, 1998). (source)
The flowers are also used by Hindu people in India for pujas (devotional offerings)
Ritual Uses: herb of Venus and Leo. Excellent for inclusion in the ritual cup. It is a strengthening herb, giving a person a sense of purpose, and joy in the completion of the work needed. It brings an attitude that all will succeed and allows for the growth of inner trust, knowing that all will work towards a good and positive conclusion. It is also used as an herb of protection and counter-magic
Herbal Preperations:
Sitting with the plant
we don’t always have to ingest a plant to work with it. you can simply sit with the plant and receive it’s healing and wisdom. simply find a quiet space, place the plant in front of you and/or hold the plant, and allow yourself to relax and drop into a quiet meditative state. Allow whatever thoughts that come through to come through. Do not judge them. you can sit with the plant for as long as you would like. Afterwards, journal or draw pictures of any messages or visuals that came to you.
you can also dream with the plant by placing the plant in your pillowcase, under your pillow, on your nightstand, or above your bed. journal about the dreams that come to you. you may not remember all of them and that’s okay.
Flower Essence — vibrational medicine
Flower essences capture the vibration of the plant. When we work with flower essences, we are working with the spirit and energy or the plant, not the chemical compounds of the plant. For this reason, flower essences do not have the same body impacts that teas and tinctures may have and may be accessible for those who can not consume the herb in tea or tincture form. Working with a plant that has not been harvested is optimal for flower essences. If you are interested in making a flower essence please come to the farm to harvest your own medicine!
Use motherwort flower essence when feeling an unresolved shock to the emotional heart. Could be from a trauma, neglect or loss of a loved one - may lead to feeling detached and joyless. You may feel separated from Spirit, be self critical, seek approval, or feel less than others. There may be hardness in your communication and actions to cover up insecurity. Other symptoms might include depression, high or low blood pressure, hyper or hypothyroid, physical heart problems, nervous anxiety and emotional exhaustion. These symptoms may appear or become accentuated during menopause. Motherwort flower essence works through the front of the heart chakra to help you feel/sense that your heart is connected to the matrix of ALL, the spiritual Life Force of the Universe. It invites you to experience that at the same time, in no time, your heart energy extends far into the Universe, and is only here now in this moment. This engenders deep peace and quiet. Motherwort essence promotes the heart chakra to spin with an open and stable flow, and clears the area where the heart chakra moves through your personal physical, emotional and mental energy fields. It encourages love and compassion for yourself, and soothes the sense of emotional boundary violation by another person. [source]
Infusion
boil 1 cup of water, remove from heat and pour into a mug. Add 1 tsp of dried motherwort to the water and stir—making sure all the dried herb has become saturated in water. Cover mug with plate or lid and allow the herb to steep in the water for 5 mins. For a more medicinal infusion, allow the herb to steep for at least 20 mins and strain when ready. The longer you allow it to steep, the more medicine will be extracted. This also means that the tea will be more bitter since motherwort is a very bitter tasting herb. Sweeten if necessary. drink up to 2 cups/day
You can also prepare this tea and use it as a foot soak. If you do, don’t strain the plant matter out. Just pour the tea (into a large basin or bowl that can fit your feet, add some epsom salt, add more water if needed and/or cool the temp down if need be, and soak your feet in the motherwort tea for at least 20 minutes. If you have fresh plant matter, feel free to add that to the foot soak as well.
If you have a bathtub and enjoy taking baths, pour the tea (with plant matter) into your bath. If you have fresh plant matter, feel free to add that to the bath as well.
herbs that motherwort works well with: rose, linden, hawthorn, tulsi, ginger
Tincture
Clean 1 pint size jar and lid. Chop up fresh motherwort leaves, flowers, and stems. Add the chopped up plant matter to the jar and cover with alcohol 1-2 inches above the top of the chopped plant matter. Use alcohol that is 80-120proof to ensure that medicine will be extracted from the plant matter. I like to use Everclear if I’m working with vodka. You can also use brandy instead of vodka. This will create a sweeter taste. Brandy also compounds that help reduce inflammation of arteries in the heart and as a result, lower blood pressure so using brandy when you’re working with a heart-oriented plant is always nice. Take ½ to 1 teaspoon up to twice a day.
Smoking
place dried motherwort in grinder and grind motherwort into smaller pieces. roll into joint or smoke in a bowl. i recommend smoking motherwort by itself before mixing it with other herbs like tobacco or cannabis.
References:
written by khadija khansia
This information is provided for educational purposes and is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. Use with caution and consult with a doctor or herbalist before consuming if you are pregnant or on other medications. Please do your own research before consuming to know if this medicine is right for your body.
