Origin
The 9 Herbs Charm is from a 10th century book called Lacnunga, which
takes its name from the latin word Laec or “healing,” and is a book of old
remedies.
Language
The text is written in Old English and Latin. The Lacnunga also contains
recipes written in Aramaic, Hebrew, Greek, and Old Irish.
Traditional Preparation
Nine herbs common to the British Isles were prepared into a paste or
salve, all the while the healer is singing an incantation or “charm,” calling
on each herb and celebrating its virtues.
Healing Traditions of the Celtic People
Early Celtic druids left no surviving writings, so historians know very
little about them. Originally, the Celtic people occupied an area called
Gaul, comprised of many western European countries such as Belgium,
France, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Luxembourg and Germany. During
the Gallic Wars, from 58-50 BC/BCE Julius Caesar brought his armies to
Gaul and the Romans took over the area in an effort to expand their
empire. Celtic culture then expanded into the British Isles. The Romans
had long had a tradition of written history, where the Celts appear to have
only had an oral history, so as time went on and these two cultures
intermixed many Roman authors such as Pliny the Elder (24-79 AD/CE)
were able to record some of the Celtic practices regarding medicine and
healing.
Pliny the Elder described the Celtic healers, or druids, as “magicians”
and “priests” and said that they had a great fondness for plants. Greek
botanist, Dioscorides, a contemporary of Pliny who lived from 40-90 AD,
also documented some of the plants and practices of the Celtic druidic
people. The Greeks and Romans had a very practical approach to healing,
and did not believe in a magical or spiritual component to treatment, an
idea that grew out of the works of Hippocrates many centuries before.
Unlike the Greeks and Romans, Celtic healing had a very strong magical
component. Many of the Celtic remedies found in the writings of Roman
authors contained magical incantations or intricate and specific methods
for harvesting plants, for example Vervain was only harvested under a
new moon, using a sickle held in the left hand to cut the plant, then the
plant was given an offering of honey and milk.
The nine herbs charm is one such recipe, it includes nine common
herbs that were considered sacred to the Celtic people, nine also being a
sacred number. The herbs are prepared as the healer recites a lengthy
incantation wherein each herb is addressed directly and called upon to
assist in the healing. The herbs are boiled together and made into paste or
salve which is applied to the afflicted person while the charm is again
recited. The preparation was likely for infection or inflammation of the skin
as most of the charm deals with driving out infection or “poison.”
An excerpt about Plantain (Plantago Major), which was called
Waybread:
“And you waybread (plantain)
plant mother
eastward open
within mighty
over you chariots creaked
over you queens rode
over you brides tramples
over you oxen snorted
This all you then withstood
and dashed apart
as you withstand poison and infection
and that evil
that fares through the land”
Here are some websites where you can find the original Old English text
alongside modern translations:
The Nine Original Herbs:
• Mugwort (Artemesia Vulgaris)
• Plantain (Plantago Major)
• Shepherd’s Purse (Capsella Bursa Pastoris)
• Stinging Nettle (Urtica Dioica)
• Betony (Stachys Officinalis)
• Chamomile (Chamaemelum Nobile)
• Crab Apple (Malus spp.)
• Chervil (Anthriscus Cerefolium)
• Fennel (Foeniculum Vulgare)
How to make an infused oil:
• Fill a jar with plant material, if making a 9 herbs charm aim for roughly
equal amounts of each plant (you can weigh them to be more exact)
FOLK METHOD:
• Cover plants with carrier oil
• Let infuse for 4-6 weeks, shaking daily
ALCOHOL INTERMEDIARY METHOD:
• Rehydrate your herbs with a small amount of high-proof (190) clear
grain alcohol for 12-24 hours. Use just enough alcohol to moisten the
plants, do not saturate them.
• Cover herbs with carrier oil (about 6-8 oz of oil per ounce of plant
material) and blend in a blender until warm.
• Strain immediately OR warm in a double boiler over low heat for an hour
OR set in a warm place for 1-3 days, then strain.
How to make a salve:
• Combine infused oil and beeswax in a double boiler over low heat
• The ratio should be 5 parts (by volume) of oil to 1 part (by weight) of
beeswax
• Warm until the wax is fully melted
• Pour into containers and cool
Ways to use your herbal salve:
Apply to minor cuts, scrapes, bruises, burns, or chapped/dry skin
References:
Slade, Benjamin. (2002). Woden’s Nine Herbs Charm. Retrieved from https://heorot.dk/
woden-9herbs.html
Wagner, C., De Gezelle, J., & Komarnytsky, S. (2020). Celtic Provenance in Traditional Herbal Medicine of
Medieval Wales and Classical Antiquity. Frontiers in pharmacology, 11, 105. https://doi.org/10.3389/fphar.
2020.00105
Wyrtig. (2011-15). The Nine Herbs Prayer from the Lacnunga. Retrieved from https://wyrtig.com/
GardenFolklore/NineHerbsPrayer.htm
Wikipedia contributors. (2020, November 28). Gaul. In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved
18:58, December 10, 2020, from https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Gaul&oldid=991138050
By S.R. Meyrick and C.H. Smith. - from "The Costume of the Original Inhabitants of the British
Islands", Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=15351179
**The content of this post is for educational purposes only. The author disclaims any liability in connection with the use of this information. Ingesting wild plants is inherently risky. Plants can easily be mistaken and every individual will vary in their physiological response to a plant that is touched or consumed. Please do not attempt self-treatment of a medical problem without consulting a qualified health practitioner.
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