Yarrow is the classic wound-medication product in Hildegard von Bingen´s medicinal art.
The discovery of Hildegard’s healing
When the 32-year-old doctor from Salzburg, Dr. Gottfried Hertzka, after his liberation from Dachau concentration camp by the Americans, came to Konstanz in 1945, he wanted to, with natural medicine, help humanity. He wanted, by the simplest means, help humanity to begin with a new, saner and better life. In his backpack he carried Hildegard´s, an excellent Christian man, scientific writings. Hildegard’s books differed totally from everything else, and there was nothing like it in the world. Everything else he had learned during his medical studies in Vienna faded.
He had deliberately sought out Konstanz, because he thought that in Baden, he would find Hildegard’s main food – spelt. It was, unfortunately, not as he had imagined when the Nazis had banned spelt throughout Baden.
Dr. Hertzka felt he had to devote all his time to helping all soldiers with severe war injuries. There were prisoners of war who were in great need of immediate help but in the looted pharmacy stores and residues after ‘Die Werhrmacht’ there was not much medicine to find. He was therefore forced to find herbal medicine with healing powers. For this purpose Hildegard´s medicines was available.
He went out on the meadows and fields to gather flowers and leaves of yarrow. He cooked yarrow and did swabs and laid them on slow-healing gunshot wounds and venomous injuries. To his great surprise, the wounds healed quickly and completely, just as it was in Hildegard’s ‘Physica’: “When a person is injured by accident, immediately wash with alcohol, lightly boil yarrow in water, soak a soft gauze and put it on the wound” . (Physica chapters 1-113).
Dr. Hertzka had found Hildegard’s best medicines for infected wounds and injuries – yarrow – and by the incredible healing effect, he had found evidence that it unequivocally worked like Hildegard had said. With these simple and compelling recipes the starry sky began to shine for Hildegard’s healing science.
Description of the plant and where to find it
Tribal Plantation
White yarrow, Achillea MILLEFOLIUM (Linnaeus)
For preparations use the leaves and flowers.
presence
Yarrow which grows almost everywhere is a beloved, ancient medicinal plant, which belongs to basket flowers. It grows in sunny meadows and roadsides and is 15-70 cm high.
It has characteristic double-feathered leaves and white flowers with small tongues, which grows like small baskets. It has a nice aromatic fragrance and bloom from June to October. Yarrow is growing worldwide, especially in Europe, up to the Arctic Circle. It is insensitive to drought and can grow on windswept arid lands. It grows in shade and sun, often at roadsides and can grow up to 2700 m above sea level. Yarrow is a perennial hardy plant that is very freeze resistant and in spring the rhizome sets a feathery-like leaf bouquet. The flowers grow out from the stem, and they are usually white, but pink may occur. The flowers are numerous and the Latin name ‘mille folia’ means thousand flowers.
Röllekans flowering time:
June to October.
Harvesting the whole plant under growing moon from July to September and you cut it an inch above the ground, then hang them up to the dry. The woody stem will be subsequently removed.
The use of today’s naturopathy
In phytoterapi yarrow is used today against poor appetite, flatulence, cystitis, bleeding, diarrhea, eczema, cold, gastritis, gastric ulcer, biliary colic, haemorrhoids, colic, headache, cardiovascular disorders, menstrual disorders, kidney weakness, portal vein blockage, rheumatism, claudication, (intermittent claudication ), psoriasis, sunburn, indigestion, flu, menopausal problems, throat problems and viral influenza.
The flowers, with their essential content, it can be due to their anti-allergic effect, also used in certain allergic such as hay fever.
At respiratory diseases use yarrow tea and hold your head over boiling yarrow. This alleviates hay fever and asthma.
Yarrow is especially good in the natural healing arts at:
Pain in the pelvic in women with symptoms like cramps in the abdomen, pain in lower back, colic during menstruation and breast pain during menses. Most patients who come to the doctor with these problems are not taken seriously. They are sent home with a diagnosis of ‘vegetative dysfunction’ without getting any help. It helps with yarrow, especially yarrow bath.
Circulatory disorders, heavy legs, varicose veins, claudication, circulatory problems. Yarrow help the venous return of blood to the heart. This allows blood to flow more easily and the pressure in the legs is reduced.
Additional use of yarrow is bathing or washing against nerve pain.
prescription
1 tablespoon yarrow leaf and flower, ¼ liter of boiling water, let steep for 10-15 minutes. Strain and drink hot 3 times a day for 4 weeks. Especially good for headaches and migraines. Prolonged use of yarrow can have a positive impact on age-related diseases such as angina pectoris….
