Holly's Protection

The month of Decembers heralds for many, the upcoming event of Christmas, celebrated in the middle of winter when the trees have no leaves and the world has botanically gone to sleep. Its celebratory origins began long ago, in the deep history of ancient peoples of northern Europe.

Each year, we decorate with evergreen trees, branches, and winter blooming plants and by understanding some of the Christmas botany we can connect into the ancient European customs of times long past, when humans had a far greater connection with nature than most people in modern day times. They held reverence for the sun and held an annual celebration to mark it's re-birth at the winter solstice on December 21st, which was also the start of Yuletide. Houses were decorated with holly, ivy, mistletoe, and other plants which were still living and growing strong at that time of year, symbolic reminders of rebirth, a return to life, the changing of the seasons and a return to longer days.

One such plant that is synonymous with winter and the Christmas season is Holly,

forming one of the most striking objects in the wintry woodland, with its glossy leaves and clusters of brilliant scarlet berries. Also known as English holl, Christmas Holly, Common Holly and English Holly. It is from the Aquifoliaceae family and has the Latin name Ilex auifolium, ilex meaning holm-oak, or great scarlet oak, and aquifolium meaning prickly or pointed leaves.

The connection in its Latin name to the Oak tree brings to mind a story about the 'Oak King and Holly King', representing the personification of summer and winter. They were locked in a never-ending battle for seasonal supremacy. Both Kings represented solar lightness, darkness, crop renewal, and growth. During the warm days of spring and summer and when in full leaf, the Oak King is at the height of his strength. Then on the approach of winter and with the loss of the Oak King’s leaves, the Holly King regains power through the autumn and winter months.

Holly's strength in its spiky edges was thought to keep evil spirits at bay and so it was brought into the home for protection during the cold dark days, hung over doorways and thresholds of the home, it was also special to the Romans, who were known to gift it to one another for good luck each year.

Medicinally there was an emphasis on Holly’s calming and soothing properties. These included the ability to reduce fevers, swelling, and arthritis throughout the body, with the bark occasionally recommended as a sedative.

As with any medicinal plant, there are of course warnings that should be heeded.

Foremost among them is to avoid the berries of all Ilex species, as they possess totally different qualities to the leaves, being violently emetic and purgative, causing excessive vomiting soon after they are swallowed, though the birds have no problem eating them in large quantities.

Today, modern science has confirmed the anti-inflammatory properties of Chinese holly (I. cornuta) in particular. In the study, holly leaf extract resulted in reduced levels of biomarkers for inflammation, such as nitric oxide, prostaglandin, and interleukin. This would indicate that Holly leaf extract as a potential remedy for hypertension, rheumatism, and pain is justified.

Due to some of the toxic chemical compounds that can be found in Holly it is a plant best left to the professionals when working with it medicinally, but there is another way Holly can be worked with safely to support us and that is through its flower essence. This type of remedy is growing in popularity and is thought to work on an energetic level to lift the mood, release fear, and revitalize a worn spirit. Making them at home is a joyful experience in radical self-care, intention-setting, and mindful action. It's also marvelously easy, but for flowers from a Holly bush you will need to wait until the month of May, when it bears clusters of small, whitish flowers.

Developed by Dr. Edward Bach, an early 20th-century homeopath, his flower essence remedies are thought to convey an uplifting energetic imprint into water. Bach believed that each flower harbored its own distinct energetic vibration, imprinting this energy into the water. Accordingly, practitioners believe that ingesting floral essences in microdoses, helps convey that vibrational energy to the people who take them. Holly can be found as a Bach flower remedy - the keywords for prescribing it are "Hatred", "Envy", "Jealousy" and "Suspicion".

These key words are also mentioned by Matthew Wood and Amanda Nicole in their video about Holly Bat Medicine, 'Holly flower essence can help with feelings of hate, bitterness, envy, jealousy or malice, it goes to work on those emotions so that the heart can be open. It can help to discern what is loving and what is not, acting like a sonar, echoing out love and sending it back to us, it protects from anything that is not unconditional love. When someone is expressing hatred or fear, paranoia or envy, there can be a lack of self love and so Holly can begin to help do that work in the heart, dissipating those shadow emotions. When we are acting from a place of fear, rather than a place of love we are unable to make rational decisions about our path, what we are going to do, or how we are going to handle a certain situation - Holly helps find the root of the emotion so we can figure out where we are coming from and what the motive is for the decisions we are making, rather than acting from paranoia and fear.' www.facebook.com/matthewwoodinstituteofherbalism/videos/bat-holly-medicine/3041348552651056/

This theme of protection against negativity, either from within us or from others, loops us back around to the ancient peoples belief of Holly protecting against evil spirits (negative energy). So, while we may never be able to say definitively that holly wards off evil spirits and embodies the purity of new life in the depth of winter, we can certainly say that holly possesses real medicinal properties, which were recognized by ancient peoples and which are relevant even in our modern culture of concrete and plastic. And that’s as good a reason as any to hang some holly at your door.

Flower Essence Recipe

Ingredients

• 1 cup edible fresh flowers

• 1 cup spring water

• 1 cup brandy

Equipment

• Scissors

• Clear Glass Bowl

• Fine-mesh Sieve

• Pint-sized amber or cobalt glass jar

• Eye Dropper

• 1-ounce amber or cobalt glass vial

Instructions Selecting flowers.

• In the morning, pluck flowers and then add them to a mason jar, be conscious of not taking more than you need to work with, so that other flowers can mature into berries. The number of flowers can depend on what you feel appropriate, it can be just 3 or it could be 5 or so, taking care to work quickly so as to prevent wilting.

Infusing the flowers in water.

• Pour about 1 cup spring water into a clear glass bowl, and then set the bowl in direct sunlight for 2 to 4 hours. Make sure that you keep the flower infusion in direct sunlight the entire time, and that no shadows pass over your bowl.

• Strain the flower essence water through a fine-mesh sieve into a pint-sized jar, discarding the spent flowers and preserving the water.

Preparing the mother essence.

• Pour 1 cup brandy into the quart jar that holds flower essence water. Seal the jar and store it in a dark cupboard up to 6 years.

Preparing a dosing essence.

• Using an eyedropper, place 10 drops of the mother essence into a 1-ounce vial. Fill the vial with ½ ounce brandy and ½ ounce water. Tap the bottle in the palm of your hand, and take a few drops under your tongue as needed throughout the day.

How much to take

Flower remedies are a gentle remedy. Take 2 to 4 drops of the dosing essence under your tongue up to 4 times a day.

Tips for Making Flower Essences

It's easy to make your own flower essences. You'll need a few household items, a sunny day, and a place to gather flowers. Beyond that, keep these simple tips in mind:

• Start in the morning on a sunny day, gathering flowers still fresh with morning dew is thought to bring the most beneficial effects. And these essences rely on sunlight to release the plant's energy.

• Gather flowers you recognize and know to be safe. Since you remove all plant material from the essence, these remedies are safe. However, you should still exercise caution and pick only those flowers you recognize, can name, and know to be edible.

• Use clear glass for infusing the flowers. Traditionally clear glass is used to prepare the infusion, as it allows the sun's rays to better penetrate the water.

• Use dark glass to store the flower essences. Traditionally, dark glass is used to maintain the "bioactivity" of the remedy.

• Store your essence in a dark cupboard, away from direct light and heat.

• If you avoid alcohol, try using vinegar or vegetable glycerin in place of brandy. Store this essence in the fridge.