Plantain, the Scorpion and the Eagle

Plantain: for stings, bites and stuckness

Plantain, both broadleaf and narrow leaf, are wonder plants, plants with superpowers. It dispels the itch and burn from bites and stings almost instantly and more more effectively than anything you can buy. I made plantain salve the day after the full moon, which we use for mosquito bites, stings, nettlerash, cats and bramble scratches and mites on the dogs.  It is a staple in my home-grown medicine cabinet and has been ‘on my list’ to write about for 10 years, so why now?

Regeneration happens in waves, according to the needs of life on Earth.  Humans have free choice in this and we just need to be ready to jump when the right wave comes along! 

This wave came with the Summer Solstice of June 2024, the turning point of the year. The full moon covered Antares, the eye of the Scorpion, watched over by Ophiuchus, the Serpent Bearer, setting up the rolling wave.  Those born within the sign of Scorpio in conventional (tropical) astrology, have the task of breaking free of the shell of the scorpion, to reveal their true selves, whilst remaining a vessel for the sacred venom. This can happen more than once in a single lifetime. The Earth chooses her warriors, but we must all learn how to handle her gifts with love and skill.

The evolving qualities of Scorpio are represented by the Eagle and the Phoenix.  The Scorpion raises its head above the Earth and develops the courage, skills and perception to fly high and hone in on its target to satisfy its needs.  However, when the conditions or needs change, the Eagle lets go of its extreme specialisation and allow itself to be reborn as the immortal Phoenix.  It makes the choice to let go of everything that is familiar, to let go, rather than to give up and die. This can happen more than once in a lifetime, through the usual stages of life and other situations such as moving to a new area, relationship and career changes.  The Scorpio transitions generate the signal changes, the points at which humanity lets go of a redundant pattern and switches-up.

My husband was born under Scorpio and is moving through the Eagle stage.  He must rebirth himself as the Phoenix, within these terms of reference, to plug into the New Earth energies.  He has some damage from neck surgery 20 years ago that has led to inflammation and a recurring sinus infection.  This is time to clear on these blockages. 

For every ailment there are multiple plants that will help bring the body back into balance.  Whenever possible, I’ll choose something that grows locally and we have plenty of plantain here, although it will disappear in the heat of the summer and return with the autumn rains.  I have some oil that I made last year and I’m making infusions to use as a nasal wash.

Image [PlantainScorpion] from a woodcut that appeared in a rare book on botany in 1483.

There are two types of plantain, broadleaf plantain, plantago major and narrow leaf or ribwort plantain, plantago lanceolata, and they both grow almost everywhere.  They grow in compacted areas, fields, Narrowleaf plantain in open fields and broadleaf on tracks or paths, or alongside them.  They are both edible and have the same medicinal benefits, supposedly, but I find that 80% broadleaf auto 20% narrow leaf works the best in a salve, it seems to be more soothing.  It’s generally reported that narrow leaf is more effective when taken internally.

The leaves are edible.  I use them in juices or occasionally steamed, as they are too tough and stringy to eat raw.  They taste mildly like chard with a slight bitterness and touch of vanilla, but they don’t do much for me in the culinary sense.

The medicinal benefits of this humble and common plant are much more exciting.  The clue to its effectiveness is where it grows, in hard compacted and neglected areas, wastelands.  It has the ability to draw towards itself things that are stuck, infected or stagnant, so that the body can recognise and expel them.  Natural plant medicine always works on the subtle body as well as the physical body and, if you pay attention, you’ll notice the subtle effects before the physical.  For Dean, the effects were mirrored by animals and Nature around us; the cats became more playful and a wild boar slept under our window that night.  I could feel the shifting and opening, followed by a stress response as his brain registered the problem it was now dealing with.  It’s always good to witness these effects, to speak of them, however slight or unsure you might be.

Plantain is very mild with minimum toxicity.  

Its main functions and indications, from The Energetics of Western Herbs, by Peter Holmes:

1. 1. CLEARS TOXIC HEAT, REDUCES INFLAMMATION AND RELIEVES SWELLING:     PROMOTES DETOXIFICATION, REMOVES LYMPH CONGESTION, REDUCES ALLERGY AND RELIEVES ECZEMA
   2. CLEARS HEAT, REDUCES MUCUS DAMP AND STOPS DISCHARGE: PROMOTES ASTRICTION AND STOPS BLEEDING
   3. TONIFIES URINARY QI, HARMONIZES URINATION AND RELIEVES INCONTINENCE
   4. PROMOTES EXPECTORATION, RESOLVES PHLEGM HEAT, RESTORES THE LUNGS AND RELIEVES COUGHING, CIRCULATES LUNG QI AND RELIVES WHEEZING
   5. PROMOTES TISSUE REPAIR AND REDUCES CONTUSION AND PAIN

Mathew Wood, in The Earthwise Herbal, has a good section on plantain and specifically notes its drawing capacity.

“As a drawing agent, I find plantain particularly useful when there are abscesses around the teeth, inflamed roots of teeth, or old lingering infections after root canal surgery. It is a specific here and it will almost never fail to draw out the pus and stop the infection, sometimes even saving the tooth where it was thought to be lost.I have seen this in dozens of cases and consider it to be personal discovery, but I note a comment by Yadubir Sinha, “In pains of any kind in teeth and gums, apply this remedy 4 times a day with cotton and see the miracle.””

At the time I put this quote in, I wondered about it.  I’ve never had a toothache and I don’t usually include anything outside of my direct experience – was I tempting fate?  Maybe so.  The next day, I got a toothache, a weird kind of ache where a wisdom tooth used to be.  I soaked a cotton ball in plantain tea and placed it on the site of the ache.  It worked.  The pain went to a kind of dull numbness and was completely gone the next day.

It is safe and good to use in dogs.  If they get any kind of tooth or gum infection, you can put the infusion is a spray bottle and apply directly to the mouth.  It’s also a good addition to their food, the chopped leaves or the oil.  For people and dogs it helps relieve indigestion, IBS and supports the kidneys.  I put a teaspoon of plantain oil in the dogs food when they need it.

This year I plan to dry some leaves to keep for a tea, as it is so soothing – good for anger, maybe?

Plantain salve recipe

• Gather plantain in the morning from a clean space, before the full moon if possible and before it has seeded.  I use 80% broadleaf to 20% narrow leaf.
• Rinse, dry and chop, cover with olive oil and simmer.  Then leave overnight.  You can make a sun oil, but that takes four weeks and the broadleaf comes out with the mosquitoes, so that’s when I need the salve.  The leaves should not turn brown, keep the heat low.  When it’s done the oils should have a slight astringent smell and have a good green colour.  
• Reheat the oil and add beeswax when the oil is hot enough to melt the wax.  Not too much beeswax, I use five dessert spoons for just under a litre of salve.  I add some lavender oil that I also made at this stage, as I like the smell and it too is soothing.

The finished salve.  This is good for three or four years.  I transfer it into little tins for easy use and accessibility.