Yarrow (Achillea millefolium) has been a favorite plant ally of mine for a long time. It is one of those incredibly versatile, indispensable herbs that every herbalist should have on hand. Yarrow has somewhat paradoxical uses which we’ll get into, but this allows it to be a plant that can help us in many different situations!
This post will discuss the physiological and psychospiritual indications for Yarrow and how this plant is the perfect ally for Aries season! Read on…
Wounded Warrior, Wounded Healer
The name “Achillea” comes from the Greek mythological warrior, Achilles. It is said that Achilles used Yarrow to stop bleeding in his wounded soldiers. “Millefolium” means “a thousand leaves,” referring to the feathered, fern-like appearance of the leaves. The leaves look like they have been cut away to their center, which is reflected in the plant’s doctrine of signatures: as a wound remedy, Yarrow is useful for injuries that “cut to the bone.”
Yarrow is also associated with the mythological Chiron, who is known as the ‘wounded healer.’ This is why Yarrow is the classic archetypal remedy for wounds, both physical (Achilles’ ‘wounded warrior’) and psychospiritual (‘wounded healer’).
Sajah Popham does a fantastic job of describing the deep psychospiritual wound that permeates much of humankind, especially those who are empathic. He says that “[w]ithout attending to our sacred wound, we cannot grow and evolve. It is our weak spot, our ‘Achilles heel.’ Yarrow helps us to face that wound.”
Yarrow as a Wound and Blood Remedy
As a ‘wounded warrior’ remedy, Yarrow is indicated for traumatic lacerations and bruises with active bleeding. A poultice of the plant makes an excellent hemostatic.
Even though it can staunch heavy bleeding, Yarrow is also a blood mover and can stimulate healthy blood flow in cases of blood stagnation and congestion. This is seen with cases of amenorrhea (lack of menstruation) and irregular menses. Yarrow’s emmenagogue action is balanced by its hemostatic ability to also reduce heavy menstrual bleeding.
As a vascular tonic and astringent, Yarrow revitalizes the venous system to remove venous stagnation, thus reducing pelvic congestion and promoting healthy blood flow. It is helpful for varicose veins, hemorrhoids, and uterine fibroids, which are all typically associated with pelvic stagnation. Adding Yarrow to sitz baths is a wonderful way to work with the plant in these situations.
Medicinal Actions
Yarrow has highly fragrant flowers that are often white but can range from pale yellow to pink. The flowers are typically used as a medicine, but the feathery leaves are also commonly utilized. Taste the flowers and you’ll get a sense of yarrow’s energetic actions: it is aromatic, stimulating, and bitter. Yarrow’s bitter qualities point to its drying and astringent nature, making it useful for damp stagnation and damp relaxation tissue states.
Yarrow is a simultaneously a warming and cooling plant, indicated for both hot/excitation and cold/depression tissue states. This may seem paradoxical, but these complementary properties point to Yarrow’s effects as a modulating and balancing remedy and its ability to treat a multitude of conditions. Yarrow really is magical that way!
Key Physical Indications and Conditions
Yarrow has an affinity to the digestive, circulatory, urinary, gynecological, and respiratory systems. Specifically, Yarrow’s main actions are on the blood, as discussed above. It is an excellent medicine for women due to its regulatory effects on menstruation.
Herbalist Matthew Wood teaches that a person who needs Yarrow typically has a red complexion and a dry tongue that is cracked down the middle with a red “feathering” pattern (like the leaf). He says that this indicates that there is heat within the system at the level of the blood.
Primarily, Yarrow is a medicine for conditions that affect the blood. It is also a key remedy for when ‘heat is trapped’ within the blood, as seen in many types of fever. As a diaphoretic, Yarrow can help bring heat and moisture to the surface, effectively reducing fevers and inducing perspiration. Yarrow’s stimulating nature also makes it effective for respiratory infections.
Yarrow is specifically indicated for the following conditions:
- Fevers
- Colds and flu, bronchitis, pneumonia, sinus congestion (drink as a hot tea)
- Liver congestion and poor detoxification (correlated with venous congestion)
- Uterine/pelvic stagnation, resulting in uterine fibroids or menstrual irregularities such as heavy menstrual bleeding or absent/infrequent/scanty menses
- Digestive upset, dyspepsia (as a bitter, Yarrow stimulates digestion)
- Circulatory congestion: high blood pressure, certain types of headaches, nosebleeds, varicose veins, hemorrhoids
- Acute or chronic urinary tract infections
I often like to work with Yarrow as a single herb, but here are two useful Yarrow combinations. Make these as herbal infusions (teas) and drink warm:
- Yarrow + Linden for hypertension (can also add Hawthorn)
- Yarrow + Peppermint for fever (can also add Elder flower)
Energetic Archetypes and Astrological Correspondences
I’ve always felt drawn to write a post about beautiful Yarrow, so it seems fitting that I should finally sit down to do it during Aries season!
Due to the plant’s relationship to the blood (Mars) and the venous system (Venus), we find that Yarrow is a good harmonizer of these two opposite yet complementary planetary energies. Since Mars rules Aries, Yarrow can therefore be a useful ally during Aries season when our Martian (love that word!) energy is prone to imbalance. An excess of Mars energy (think lots of heat) manifests as restlessness, insomnia, nervousness, fever, and possibly injuries; whereas a deficient Mars will present as coldness, fatigue, and decreased immunity. Yarrow can be helpful for either imbalance.
Yarrow is associated with the Air element due to the delicate, feathery appearance of its leaves, in addition to its bitter, drying qualities. As a plant associated with the Air element and Venus, Yarrow also aligns with the sign Libra. This is an interesting connection, as Aries and Libra are considered opposite signs since they are six signs apart in the zodiac. This association points further to Yarrow’s ability to harmonize opposing energies, referring to its contrasting yet complementary physical properties:
- Yarrow is both a blood mover and a hemostatic
- Yarrow is warming yet cooling
- Yarrow disperses moisture (as seen in damp stagnation and in fevers when moisture is trapped beneath the skin’s surface), yet it is also drying and astringent which allows it to hold in fluids (as witnessed in its effects on the venous system and conditions associated with the damp relaxation tissue state)
Boundaries and Protection
As a ‘wounded healer’ remedy, Yarrow is beneficial for people who are sensitive, empathetic, and overly susceptible to negative influences within their environment (like many healers). Even if you live in a big city or live or work with a large group of people, your energy is likely to become easily drained.
Yarrow promotes stronger boundaries and offers protection. It helps people experience compassionate awareness toward others without depleting their energy or taking on others’ negativity, thus strengthening boundaries while still allowing positive energy to flow in and out.
Yarrow may also potentially protect against radiation and EMFs, as well as the negative consequences of excessive screen time. In these cases, Yarrow flower essence is often used but drop doses of the herbal tincture can also be helpful. Yarrow helps to revitalize our energy and bring back clarity, protecting our vitality and well-being.
Psychospiritual Teachings of Yarrow
Yarrow helps us find contentment and ease with the present moment; with being who we are right now, reflected in the key phrase “I am” of Aries season. Yarrow teaches us to settle into ourselves and our truth—to truly feel into our Being and be at peace with ourselves—without letting the constant bombardment of outer energy drain away our own vitality and sense of ease. Yarrow’s plant medicine helps us heal our wounds, with the inner knowing that we are always perfect and whole in this moment, purely by bringing in the light of our consciousness to embody the totality of our Being.
As a plant ally that is associated with the Aries-Libra polarity, Yarrow helps find balance (a Libra quality) between the “me” or the “self” (Aries) and the collective “we” or the “other” (Libra). Yarrow helps us see ourselves as an integral part of the collective consciousness, separate from other living beings only in form.
Yarrow is the quintessential healer’s medicine. At a time when all of humanity is suffering yet collectively evolving and awakening to their consciousness and interconnectedness, Yarrow is an essential plant ally for us all to achieve true and lasting healing.
May this pandemic serve to awaken us all to our inner light and heal ourselves, our relationships, and our Earth.
With so much love,
Shannon
