Elderberry is an ancient healing plant which has been used for hundreds of years to treat ailments ranging from colds and flu to skin irritations to sprains and bruises. The elder tree is seen as a holy tree in some cultures and is revered for its magickal properties and its connection to the cycle of life, death and rebirth. The magickal properties of elderberry include healing, protection, love and many more.
Disclaimer: Any medicinal benefits given here are a product of my own research and as such should not be taken over the advice of trained medical professionals. If you are ill, please go and see a doctor. Always make sure that anything you consume is 100% safe. If you are pregnant, consult your doctor or midwife before consuming something you haven’t tried before.
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History of Elderberry
Elderberry, also known as Sambucus, is a member of the Adoxaceae family. There are around 10 different species of small trees and scrubs in the Sambucus genus. It’s uncertain exactly where it originated, but its thought that elderberry is native to the temperate and subtropical areas of the Northern and Southern hemispheres.
Elderberry has been used for centuries as a medicinal plant all over the world. Its thought that it may have existed as early as 12,000BC and that its seeds were spread by the retreating Ice Age. Seeds have been found in Neolithic dwellings in Switzerland from around 2,000BC, suggesting that Elderberry may have been cultivated by then.
Theophrastus (371-287BC), a Greek herbalist, philosopher and historian, described elder in his book “Historia Plantarum” although he didn’t mention using it medicinally. Hippocrates (460-370BC) had already described its medicinal uses and by the time of Pliny the Elder (23-79AD) the properties of elder were well known. Pliny even described how the twigs could be used to make a loud pipe, something that is interesting as Native Americans made very similar pipes.
Various famous herbalists describe the medicinal benefits of Elder in their texts. It’s mentioned in Dioscorides “Materia Medica” and by 1644 a whole book was written extolling the medicinal benefits of Elder. This book by Martim Blockwich was called “The Anatomie of the Elder”.
Elder was used a lot in Native American medicine too. They used it for fevers, to ease skin complaints, as a laxative and they fermented the berries to treat rheumatism. It was also common to sprinkle the dried herbs around the home to act as an insect repellent.
Many people believed that the elder tree was a holy tree and that anyone who harmed the tree would incur a run of bad luck and illness. This still exists in the witchcraft world today with many practitioners agreeing that in order to make an elder wood wand (read about witches wands here), you need to be lucky enough to find a piece of fallen wood as anything else will bring bad luck. To read more about the folklore behind Elder, check out this interesting article from the Herb Society of America.
Fun Facts about Elderberry
- Elderberry used to be classified as part of the honeysuckle family, but after genetic research, it was reclassified in the Adoxa genus.
- While the berries are safe to eat when cooked, the raw berries, flowers, leaves and stems are actually toxic and will cause nausea among other symptoms. I found this out the hard way haha.
- Elderberries contain 2x the vitamin C of an orange and 3x the antioxidants of a blueberry.
- The stems of an elder tree have very soft cores, which mean they are easy to hollow out. This makes elder perfect for making musical instruments with.
- Legend has it that Prometheus gave humans fire in the hollowed out stem of an elder branch.
- Some people believe that elder trees are inhabited by a goddess of vegetation named Hylde Moer. Due to her inhabitation, it was believed that elder was rarely struck by lightning and…
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