Hawthorn, The Heart's Protector

Hawthorn
I have been doing an herb of the week for a local shop, Aries Moon in Lenoir, for almost a year now and thought it might be wonderful to expand the info! Not to mention it would make me use my blog more which has been needed for a while! 

I am teaching a class on the Heart this weekend and thought it would be perfect to start this new venture with a strong heart and faerie plant! 
Dried Hawthorn Berries
Hawthorn trees are in the rose family. They have beautiful white 5 petaled flowers and HUGE thorns! This completely speaks to the spiritual uses of this plant. Protection of the heart! Hawthorn is an excellent protector and wards off evil while at the same time healing the emotional heart, bringing back the hope and happiness we might have lost. Particularly after a very bad heart break, death, or betrayal. Put the protection together with the heart healing and you have a very strong spiritual medicine. This tree loves the in between places at the edges of woods and along the hedges. This speaks to me of its connection to the faeries, the keepers of the 'tween places. Hawthorn is part of the faerie trinity of Oak, Ash, and Thorn. It is said that if these three trees are found growing together faeries can be found. The energy of this plant ally can open your heart chakra and help those who have trouble feeling or giving love. 

I strung some of the berries on a string but it wasn't very easy. Soaking does help!
Hawthorn is ruled by Mars and masculine energy and of course fire which makes it perfectly suited for the Heart. It took me a minute to get around why it was masculine. I felt it somehow deeply feminine, almost like a motherly figure that would hold you close when you hurt and throw up defenses to protect you until you are ready to come out, but then I thought of something. If there ever was a perfect masculine image to go with the flowing feminine it would seem to me he would be protective of her. Caring and protecting her so she can blossom and grow. 

Hawthorn Berry Tincture
Hawthorn is a medicine of the heart from the bark to the leaves to the berries. It is most well known for the berries though. The berries are high in antioxidants and are used as a heart tonic that stimulates or depresses activity as needed for a very normalizing action on the circulatory system. Hawthorn will strengthen and tone the heart as well as open blood vessels and relax constriction and blockages. It helps to lower blood pressure and keeps healthy cholesterol levels. The berries are perhaps best used to prevent heart issues that could happen down the road. I use it daily because heart problems run in my family.

Hope you all have a beautiful week!! Blessed Viriditas!!
Misty

***The information on this blog is for educational purposes only. It is not meant to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any illness. Please seek advice from a qualified health practitioner you trust before using especially if you are pregnant, breastfeeding, have a serious medical condition, or are currently taking any medications.

*~*Sources*~*

Herbal Recipes for Vibrant Health
~Rosemary Gladstar

New Holistic Herbal
~David Hoffmann

The Complete Floral Healer
~Anne McIntyre

Encyclopedia of Magical Herbs
~Scott Cunningham

Green Witch's Herbal 
~Ellen Dugan

Garden Witchery
~Ellen Dugan

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