Cegin y Werin #6 - A Sip of Sunshine for Summer Solstice | St. Johns Wort & Meadowsweet

“A sip of sunshine” - St John’s Wort Hypericum Perforatum

Summer Solstice, midsummer, the longest day and shortest night, when the Earth is in it’s highest abundance, the land is bulging with the coming harvest, for our Druidic celtic forebears, Alban Hefin ‘The light of Summer’ or ‘the light of the shore’.  It’s such a full time for us here on the land, especially being in drought and having so little rain, but we wanted to pause, reflect and share something for this seasonal transition, as we always do.

Falling on Wednesday 21st June this year, this is the time when the light is at its fullest, the sun at its full strength. It’s the time of the creamy scent of the elderflower, the vanilla highlights of Meadowsweet, of the dry scent of freshly cut grass and the time when the medicine and nutrients of nature are at their most potent. Midsummer has always been the time for plucking St. John’s wort, the golden, star-shaped flower that was first of all herbs to be gathered on St. John’s Eve. Called the ‘blessed plant’ in Wales, it was renowned throughout the Celtic lands for bringing peace and prosperity to the house, health to the animals and a bountiful harvest. 

   In the Wales of the past, the young ones, bedecked in garlands of flowers, went dancing and spinning around the great fires. Young men whirled flaming brands around their heads to form sun-wheels, balanced blazing barrels on top of poles or performed feats of daring such as jumping through the tall flames – perhaps to encourage the corn to leap up too. When the flames died down to glowing coals, dancers held hands and skipped through them, being careful not to break the chain, which would bring bad luck. The ashes from the fires were believed to have magical powers, and farmers carefully collected them to scatter around their fields or the animals’ barns.

At this turning point of the seasons, there are two plants in the fields and hedgerows around us that are classic signs of the Solstice - St. John’s Wort and Meadowsweet.

St John’s Wort Hypericum Perforatum

   A common wild plant in the British countryside at this time of year, St John’s Wort is also a herbal remedy that has been used for hundreds of years to treat mental health challenges. Today it is mainly used as an over-the-counter remedy to treat mild and moderate depression, and sometimes seasonal affective disorder (SAD), mild anxiety and sleep problems. It contains many active substances, including hypericin and hyperforin, which are thought to affect mood.

“Call on St. John’s Wort when you need a sip of sunshine so you can find your light in the darkness.”

Maia Toll, The Illustrated Herbiary

This beautiful herb, famous for coming into flower around the time of the Summer Solstice, has long been considered special because its bright yellow flowers looked like the sun, which was a significant coincidence around the longest day of the year. It was common in Medieval times to collect St. Johns Wort on Minsummers’ Eve and was believed to have special protective powers. It could protect one against demons and witches. Carried in your pocket it would protect you from thunder! Particularly useful lately!

As well as protecting you from thunder, it’s used today to help ease anxiety, tension, neuralgias, seasonal affective disorder, and indeed, mild to moderate depression.  It can be used as an antiviral, expectorant, and anti-inflammatory, St. John’s wort is wonderful for soothing discomfort during illness and helping to fight infection. Think of St. John’s wort when faced with illnesses that are caused by viruses such as the common cold and the flu! 

How to use it?

Create a tincture using the fresh plant. Collect enough plant material to fill a sterilized glass jar halfway. Pour enough alcohol to cover herbs and fill the jar. Shake the mixture daily for 4 weeks. Strain the herb, reserving the liquid. Compost the herbs and bottle the tincture in a labeled amber-colored glass bottle. Keep the final tincture in a cool and dark place. Take 15-20 drops of tincture three times a day. It can also be used in tea or combined with oil to treat skin complaints.

 Meadowsweet

   You’ll notice that the hedgerows are full of a creamy-white fluff, floating above the Summer foliage like almond-scented clouds. This is Meadowsweet in full flower. Its fragrance in the evening is a telltale sign of the peak of Summer. 

   Meadowsweet was a celebrated herb in Celtic times, representing "Blodeuwedd", the flower goddess of the Mabinogion, who was created from armfulls of Meadowsweet, Oak flowers and Broom as a bride for the cursed Llew Llaw Gyffes. This gentle flower was used to attract love, peace and happiness and was especially popular in love spells and potions. Adding this flower to a bridal bouquet was thought to bring joy and blessings to the bride! Also enjoying a long history as a strewing herb, Meadowsweet's flowery, astringent properties made it an excellent choice for dwellings, serving as an insect repellent as well as a disinfectant.

   In 1838 an Italian professor, Rafaele Piria, produced salicylic acid from the flower buds of Meadowsweet. In 1897 Felix Hoffmann, working for the German drug company Bayer, synthesised salicin based on the study of meadowsweet which was better tolerated by the stomach lining. Bayer named the new drug aspirin, derived from an old botanical name for meadowsweet: Spiraea ulmaria. This in turn gave us the important class of Non-steroidal Anti-inflammatory Drugs (NSAIDs), still widely used today.

   Meadowsweet was famous as a honey-wine herb. Meadwort, or Medwort, was one of fifty ingredients in a drink called ‘Save’ mentioned by English author Geoffrey Chaucer in a Knight’s Tale. English physician and herbalist Nicholas Culpeper also recommended a leaf of meadowsweet in a cup of claret wine to give it a “fine relish”. Today, meadowsweet is also one of thirty herbs and spices added to the popular Norfolk punch cordial drink, originally made by the monks of Norfolk, England. All parts of the plant can be added to soups, sauces or stewed fruit for an aromatic flavour. The bitter roots have been used as a tea substitute along with the leaves and flowers.

   Steff made a delicious meadowsweet wine last year. It has been considered the go-to herb for indigestion, flatulence, gastric ulcers, gastric reflux, liver disorders, cystitis, diarrhoea in children, rheumatism, cellulitis, bladder stones, and oedema.

This Summer Solstice, we wish you the blessings of the season, the protection of St. Johns Wort & the chance to pause and reflect, even in the busiest of times. The plant world not only offers us medicine and healing, but also the indicators of the turning of the seasons, connecting us to rituals, ceremonies and traditions from the Wales of the past that we might like to rediscover! Look out for our next edition on ‘Cegin y Werin’, going live for Lughnasa on August 1st!