Our Lady's Mantle ! When I musing stray
In leafy June along the mossy sward,
No flower that blooms more fixes my regard
Than thy green leaf, though simple its array;
For thou to me art as some minstrel's lay,
Depicting manners of the olden time,
When on Inch Cailliach's isle the convent chime
Summoned to Vespers at the close of day.
Tis pleasant 'mid the never-ending strife
Of this too busy, mammon-loving age,
When Nature's gentler charms so few engage,
To muse at leisure on the quiet life
Of earlier days, when every humble flower
Was known to all, and cherished as a dower.
~To Our Lady's Mantle from Sonnets and Miscellaneous Poems By James Inglis, 1853
Other Names: Common Lady's Mantle, Lion's Foot, Copan an Druichd, Bear's Foot, Falluing Mhuire, Nine Hooks, Frauenmantle, Pied-de-lion.
Description: Lady's mantle is a lovely perennial that is a member of the rosaceae family. It can be found growing in the wild in England, Scotland, Canada, Greenland, and in much of Northern Europe and Asia.
It
could be described as a demure plant, but as Ms Grieve said 'the rich
form of its foliage and the beautiful shape of its clustering blossoms
make it worthy of notice'.
It is a low growing plant that doesn't
grow to much more than 14 inches in height, and it has pretty
yellowish-green flowers free of petals. It's prize feature is the
wonderfully 'scalloped' leaves, which is said to resemble the Virgin
Mary's cloak, from which it gets its name.
Warnings: As
with all herbs, one should make sure to be thoroughly informed before
ingesting them, and is best to do so under the guidance of a qualified
healer.
Lady's mantle has reportedly been linked with
liver damage in some cases, and many herbalists warn to women notify
their health practitioner if they are pregnant or breastfeeding before
ingesting the herb.
Cultivating: The
natural habitat of lady's mantle is quite vast from meadows, sunny
woodlands, by streams and other moist areas, as well as mountainous
regions. It is a plant that does well in cooler climates and is
generally thought to be suitable for hardiness zones 3 to 7.
Growing
it from seed can be sometimes difficult, so it might be easier just to
by seedlings or plants from a nursery. If you are going to grow it from
seed, just keep in mind that it is quite slow to germinate.
Plant
in the spring once there is no more chance of frost, in a spot that is
anywhere from full sun to partial shade. It will do well in just about
any type of soil, just make sure it is well-drained.
Mulching
is a good idea, but lady's mantle is apparently quite
drought-resistant. Also keep in mind that if it is doing well, it will
drop plenty of seeds and spread, so you can always dead head the flowers
if you want to have some control over this.
Some other plants that looks beautiful growing with lady's mantle are poppy, iris, fleabane, phlox, lily, and catmint.
Medicinal/Remedial Properties and Lore: Astringent, anti-inflammatory, diuretic, emmenagogue, febrifuge, sedative, styptic, tonic, vulnerary.
Lady's
mantle has a long history of use for healing an assortment of ailments:
from wounds and bruises, to vomiting and other stomach problems, as
well as women's complaints.
One of the most interesting
recommendations I found was from good old Culpeper who said, 'such women
that have large breasts, causing them to grow less and hard, being both
drank and outwordly applied'.
He also suggested its use for
women who wished to conceive by drinking a tea, and claimed that it was
great for wounds 'green, not suffering any corruption to remain behind,
and cures all old sores, though fistulois and hollow'.
Onto
Brother Aloysius, who recommended it for heavy bleeding, ulcerated
lungs, dysentery, consumption, and ulcers. Like Culpeper, he also
mentions in its helpfulness in the boob department, but this time for
'swollen' breasts.
Susun Weed proposes a tincture of fresh root
as 'an excellent blood coagulant' and advocates its use for all types of
'female problems' {
Wise Woman Herbal for the Childbearing Year}.
I
can attest the helpfulness of lady's mantle when it comes to PMS and
periods; I like making a tea with it paired with lemon balm {also great
for these issues} because it does taste a little bitter and lemon balm
has a more pleasant taste.
Magical Properties and Lore:
The Latin name
Alchemilla roughly
translates 'small magical one', and was a plant of Alchemists who
collected the dew found on the leaves for their workings.
In the book
Folk-Lore of Women by
Thomas Firminger Thiselton-Dyer
(1906) it is said that lady's mantle 'was once in great repute with
ladies; for, according to Hoffman, it had the power of restoring
feminine beauty, however faded, to its early freshness'. Some women would collect dew found on the leaves on Bealtaine morning for this purpose.
Associated
with the Virgin Mary, as the leaves are said to resemble her mantle, I
also remember hearing a story when I was younger that the leaves were
used as cloaks by the Good Folk.
Because of its use in women's health and healing, I have come to associate lady's mantle with the Goddesses Brigid {there is
speculation by some folks that it is a herb historically tied to her} and Airmid.
According
to some lady's mantle is connected to the planet and Goddess Venus, as
well as other fertility, and Earth Goddesses. In some Swedish {and other
Northern European traditions} it is placed under a woman's pillow if
she wishes to dream of her future children; if worn in her hair during
sex she would certainly become with child.
It was thought to ward
off storms in Eastern Europe by burning it in a fire and letting the
smoke go to the sky, or by hanging in windows and doors a farm would be
kept safe from Nature's wrath.
In
Polish-American Folklore by Deborah Anders Silverman she says that small wreaths of various types of herbs including lady's mantle are hung in homes to ward off evil spirits.
This is a herb that I like to use in
tealeaf readings when the topic is one of
love
involving women {romantic, family, or platonic} and fertility of all
types. I also think it is a splendid herb for love workings and for decorating on Bealtaine and Midsummer.
Other Uses: The young leaves of lady's mantle are edible and can be served up raw or cooked, and the roots are also edible cooked.
Sláinte!
Laurel
