Hi, my loves and welcome to WiccaNow. Recently I’ve been sharing guides to the magickal properties of some of my favourite herbs and plants, like this guide to the magickal properties of yarrow, another all about patchouli, a post about hibiscus and also a guide to the magickal uses of lemons. Today I want to continue with this by sharing my guide to the amazing magickal properties of sunflowers.
Sunflowers have a very long history as a magickal plant, having been used by Native American tribes for thousands of years. The Aztecs used them as part of their religious ceremonies to worship the sun deities. The magickal properties of sunflowers include fertility, happiness, luck and loyalty. Medicinally, sunflowers can be used to reduce inflammation and to treat coughs.
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.
History of Sunflowers
Sunflowers, the most common of which is called Helianthus Annuus, are native to North America and belong to the Asteraceae family. There is evidence that sunflowers were being cultivated by American Indians, in what is now known as Arizona and New Mexico, as early as 3000BC. They were a common crop and are thought to have been domesticated before corn.
American Indian tribes used the seeds to make flour for bread and cakes. They also added this flour to other vegetables like beans, corn and squash. The seeds were commonly eaten as a snack and were also pressed to make oil. The oil was used to treat skin and hair and other parts of the plant were used to make dyes for textiles and body painting. The stalks of the sunflowers were dried and used as building materials.
It’s believed that Native American tribes cultivated the sunflower plant into the single-stemmed plant we commonly see today. In its original form, it was a much bushier plant with multiple flower heads.
In the 1500s, Spanish explorers brought sunflower seeds back to Europe. The flowers were cultivated widely but were mainly ornamental. By 1716, a patent was granted in England for a technique to extract the oil from the seeds.
Russia is credited with spreading the popularity of sunflowers, and much of this is down Peter the Great who appears to have loved the plant. Texts from 1769 mention that sunflowers had moved from purely ornamental plants to being used to make oil. By the 1830s sunflower oil was being produced on a commercial scale. Part of the rise in popularity of sunflower oil was due to the Russian Orthodox Church. The Church forbid the consumption of most oils during lent, however, sunflower oil wasn’t on this list which meant that it rose immensely in popularity.
By the early 1800s, over 2 million acres of sunflowers had been planted by Russian farmers. There were two different types of sunflowers being planted, with one type being used for oil production and the other being used to produce sunflower seeds for consumption.
By the late 1800s, Russian sunflower seeds found their way back the US. Most likely, this came from Russian immigrants bringing seeds with them. The first commercial sunflower crops in the US were used as silage feed for poultry. The first commercial sunflower oil was produced in 1926 by the Missouri Sunflower Growers’ Association.
The Canadian Government started an official breeding program during the 1930s where they used seeds brought into Canada by Russian Immigrants. Canadians appreciated the oil so much that an increasing number of acres were planted with sunflower crops. By 1946 a small oil plant was built by Canadian farmers.
In 1964 the Government licensed a seed called “Peredovik” which had a high oil and seed yield. Throughout this time production in Canada and the US increased and by the 70s hybridized seeds had been produced which increased oil and seed production and the plant’s resistance to diseases.
During the late 1970s, increased demand for sunflower oil from Europe meant that crop acreage in the US exploded. Europeans had been using more and more sunflower oil as they learned that animal fats could negatively impact cholesterol. The Russian supplies of oil weren’t able to cope with the demand and Europeans started importing sunflower seeds from the US in order to crush them in local mills. This has changed today, with Europe producing most of its own sunflower seeds and the imports from the US being relatively minimal.
Today, the main producers of sunflower products in the world are again Russia and Ukraine. Combined they produce around…
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