Red clover (Trifolium pratense) has revealed herself to me in many different phases of my life. When I’ve asked for a plant guide, red clover peeked her cute little blush-red blossoms through the grasses beneath my feet, her unassuming stem just nearly tall enough to make herself seen amongst her other green friends. When I’ve sat in contemplation, asking for guidance around healing aspects of my womanhood, red clover gently eased her way into my consciousness, encouraging me to take a closer look at a plant that has been a long-time companion.
Trifolium translates to “three leaves.” In the realm of female (lunar) medicine, these three leaves symbolically correspond to the Triple Goddess or the three major phases in a woman’s life: Maiden, Mother, and Crone.
THE THREE PHASES OF THE TRIPLE GODDESS
The Maiden correlates to the waxing crescent moon and is symbolic of spring time, youth, playfulness, and new beginnings. Often this correlates to menarche (the onset of menstruation) or the adolescent phase of a woman’s life, but it can signify any time that she is cycling through a new creative phase or project. It is a time when a woman is experiencing outer transformation and creative visions of the future.
The Mother represents the full moon and the summer season, as well as adulthood, fertility, giving, healing, and compassion. This symbolizes the childbearing or reproductive years of a woman’s life. Even if a woman does not become a mother, she is still developing her inner mother—her inner nurturer—and learning how to fully love herself and generously give, love, and show up for people in her life other than herself. During this time, Mothers are learning how to manifest the big dreams of the Maiden, so this phase can also represent any time that a woman is in an actively creative cycle.
The Crone signifies the waning crescent moon and autumn, wisdom, intuition, and aging. This is the phase of the Wise Woman, the honored and respected Visionary. Crones are often postmenopausal women (those who have undergone the cessation of their menstrual periods); however, the Crone stage of life can represent any time when a women is letting go of a creative cycle. It is a period of powerful inner transformation, as it necessitates surrendering to change and renewal, and using their wisdom and heightened intuitive capacities to guide and support their community of other Crones, Mothers, and Maidens.
Each phase is a rite of passage: a significant change from one cycle of a woman’s life into another.
Unfortunately, these rites of passage are often surrounded with negativity and a lack of information for those moving into a new phase. Do you remember what it was like to go through puberty? To have your first menses? For many women, this part of their lives was filled with shame, embarrassment, or uncertainty; feelings that are out of alignment with the power this transformative life phase can hold. Equally so, the menopausal transition can often have many negative connotations. Many people associate menopause with loss—loss of fertility, youth, and physical energy—and do not associate it with the rewards that the Crone phase of a woman’s life brings about: the gaining of a higher level of inner transformation, creativity, insight, spirituality, wisdom, intuition, honor, and reverence. There are many ancestral and societal reasons for this, but red clover’s medicine can help guide those who need more support during these times of change.
Red clover is the archetypal plant to help guide you through major life transitions.
She is your plant ally during times of change, whether those are the significant phases of your life as a woman, the shifting and transforming tides of our inner awareness, or even a life-changing diagnosis such as cancer. During these times, it can be hard to find hope amongst the chaos of change, but red clover’s healing power lies in her ability to bring hope to any situation.
Red clover connects you with your inner child, full of innocent wonder, curiosity, and joy.
Herbalist Matthew Wood likes to say that red clover exudes childlike optimism—her little flower heads look just like “Little Red Riding Hood”! Her gift to you is helping you tap into and express your inner child, waking up an innately hopeful and lighthearted outlook and connecting you to your own well of love that exists inside of you—love for yourself and love for all other beings. Truly, unabashed (un-“adult”-erated) self-compassion, love, and understanding are the best medicines you can offer yourself. During these times of change, when you might be struggling with a major life transition or a medical diagnosis, sweet red clover can help restore a sense of hope and optimism about life.
She is pure nourishment for your body and soul—some of the sweetest medicine on Earth!
Bees love this medicine! The sweetest food on Earth is made by these hardworking little insects: clover honey. Just smell a fresh red clover blossom and you’ll sense the light, familiar fragrance of honey on its petals. Now close your eyes and imagine a summer meadow filled with red clover blossoms, the air sweetened with the light scent of its flowers. Hear the buzzing of the bees as they move from blossom to blossom. How nurturing and lovely this all feels! Just the picture of this alone is enough to raise our own spirits and fill us with a sense of peace.
Red clover’s sweet taste is reflective of her nutritive qualities—both physical and psychospiritual. As a phytoestrogen, she nourishes the feminine and helps bring estrogen levels back into balance, whether estrogen is too high or too low. As a gentle lymphogogue (a plant that promotes lymph flow), red clover nourishes that which provides for and nourishes all of human life: the breasts. Red clover is a wonderful herb for breast pain, fibrocystic breasts, mastitis, and breast cysts, and she is a useful ally for supporting healthy lymph flow to the breast tissue. Similarly, red clover also has an affinity to the lymph nodes of the neck and can help decongest and resolve any encysted glands or tissues in the area of the throat. In a psychospiritual sense, these encysted lesions may be walled-off traumas or past assaults to our ability to speak up. Red clover thus nurtures our unique voice and guides us to express ourselves and speak our truth straight from our hearts.
In a greater sense, she nourishes the creative force that grows from heart-centered awareness, allowing our visions and creations to be in alignment with our heart’s purpose and higher good.
With that said, there is a sense of purification in the way that red clover teaches us how to follow our creative path and inner voice. We let go of limiting, “adult”-erated, toxic beliefs and consciously hone in on our true nature—one that is already innately whole, generous, compassionate, and joyful. In a physiological sense, the blush-red color of red clover is a symbol of her blood-purifying properties, reflecting her botanical status as an “alterative”—an herb that alters the body in a non-specific way, which is commonly referred to as a “blood cleanser” or “blood purifier.” Generally, alteratives act on the lymphatic system and liver to remove toxic waste products. Part of red clover’s physically-nourishing capabilities lie in her ability to purify the blood of waste, allowing our organs and tissues to receive fresh, nutrient-rich blood. Her medicine is truly holistic: she helps us release toxicity both physically and psychospiritually.
Just like all plants, red clover’s medicine affects our bodies as well as our minds and spirits.
To work with red clover as a medicine, consider first developing a relationship with the plant prior to taking her internally as a tea or tincture. Befriend her in her natural environment, sit with her and watch the bees dance around her blossoms, meditate in her presence, cultivate her in your garden. When you have familiarized yourself with the plant, make a strong tea. The sweet, lightly floral herbal infusion is wonderful with a bit of honey! If you’d like to use a tincture or alcoholic extract of the plant, Matthew Wood recommends a dosage of 3 drops three times daily for 6 weeks to achieve optimal effects. The blossoms and seed sprouts also make beautiful additions to salads.
Remember that plants are our teachers and thus their medicine is far greater than the effects of their chemical constituents, so know that whichever ways you choose to work with red clover will allow you to incorporate her teachings and offer potential for healing.
Note: I attempt to refer to plants by ‘he’ or ‘she’ not to assign them genders, but to personify plants and to speak about them like we would our fellow humans. I believe that by giving a plant a pronoun other than ‘it,’ we can relate more deeply to our plant allies, care for them in ways we would care for other humans or animals, and better realize our interconnectedness with all living beings here on Earth.
