Common Sow Thistle
Sonchus oleraceus1:1.5 Ethanol based Spagyric tincture of fresh, organic Sow-Thistle (whole plant), plant salts added.
Planetary Ruler: Jupiter
Physical Properties*:
This herb is a common ‘pot herb’ used in many places of the world, cooked or fresh in salads. It has a wide range of useful properties including: Antidepressant, Anxiolytic (decreases anxiety), sedative, antinociceptive (eases pain), febrifuge (eases fevers), tonic, anti-inflammatory, hepatic (improves liver functions), antimicrobial, antimalarial, antitumour, antioxidant, anticancer, and it is blood purifying. The plant has been used to treat headaches, inflammation, rheumatism, general pains, infections, liver infections, hepatitis, salmonella infections, fever, warts, eye problems, diarrhea, and menstrual problems (brings on menstruation, improves flow where it is patchy/scanty). In significant doses it can act as a hydroguge cathartic, meaning that it will promote watery evacuation of the bowels – useful if one is in need of laxative action. It is a nutritious plant that contains vitamins A, B1, B2, B3, B6, K and C, as well as the minerals calcium, magnesium, iron, sodium, potassium and zinc – this makes it an excellent every day for supporting the liver (which has 540 functions to undertake daily) as well as nourishing the entire being through the blood.
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Emotional/Spiritual Properties*:
Herbs that grow as prolifically as Sow-Thistle, that have accompanied colonialists, explorers and frontier folk alike have a generous quality to them. It belongs to the same Asteraceae family as the Dandelion, and, like dandelions, produces fluffy seeds that are easily carried by the winds… a symbolism that parallels its accompaniment of sailors and settlers alike. Sow thistle imparts lessons for those of us living on lands that our ancestors took from first nations people, it enables us to move beyond the guilt we may feel for displacing the original inhabitants of the land, so as to begin honouring and more deeply appreciating the lands we live in and the ways of the people whose ancestors have lived there for aeons. It’s nutritious profile and ability to inhabit many different types of terrain, from dunes, to pastures, construction sites to waterways, forests to disturbed and burnt areas, indicate that it gifts us the ability to work with what we’ve got. Jupiter plants help us to zoom out and gain a higher perspective that guides us live more accordantly with everyone’s desires for fairness and a more fruitful human-Earth relationship, Sow Thistle thus encourages us to take to the drawing board of our life to explore inspirations of sustainability, get in touch with our unique role in creating a new Earth and then put those ideas and realisations in to practice. Many of us come from a past that squanders the Earth’s resources, Sow Thistle helps to appreciate the abundance and celebrate it in steady ways that create more richness and harmony with nature…
Cautions/contraindications:
-Excessive doses can cause colic and tenesmus (cramping rectal pain).
-Drugs that have significant action in the liver should be combined with caution.
