Latin: Melissa officinalis
Also Known As: Bee Balm, Sweet Balm, Melissa, Balm, Honey Balm, Sweet Melissa, Heart's Delight, the Elixir of Life, Lemon Balsam, Tourengane, Oghoul
Family: Lamiaceae
Habitat and Description: Lemon Balm is a beautiful herb originally native to the Mediterranean which now grows quite happily in gardens all over the UK. It is a sweet lemon scented perennial that grows to around 3 feet tall, and can and will seed itself all over your garden if you don't keep an eye on it! The flowers are small and white, opening from pale yellow buds into the classic lamiaceae shaped flowers with a lower lip and overhanging 'eyebrow'. The stem is square and fairly coarse, difficult to break by hand, especially further towards the base. The leaves are roughly oval and quite deeply veined, with delicate toothing around the edges. If you allow the plant to go to seed, it will self propagate easily so if you don't want the lovely Melissa to overrun your garden, nip the flower heads off as soon as they reach the end of their flowering cycle. If you don't want to grow the plant from seed, it can be rooted easily from cuttings stood in water until new roots form.
There are some very pretty cultivar varieties of Lemon Balm available, in particular the golden version and the variegated version which is usually gold, green and white, or some combination thereof.
Parts Used: Leaves, which are gathered in late spring, just as the flowers begin to open. Fresh plant matter is better than dried – if you are going to try the plant, do it quickly as if it loses its green colour it also loses much of its medicinal value.
Constituents: Volatile oils containing monoterpenes which may be partly responsible for the nervine and sedative effects of the herb. It also contains the antiseptic geraniol, as well as flavonoids including rosmarinic acid, and triterpenes such as ursolic acid. Tannins and bitters are present, as are minerals.
Planetary Influence: Jupiter / Moon / Venus – there seems to be differing opinions on which planet rules this plant. Culpeper reckons it is ruled by Jupiter, whereas more recent authors think it is ruled by the Moon and / or Venus, possibly because of its long association with Moon Goddesses in myth and legend.
Associated Deities and Heroes: Diana, Artemis, Moon Goddesses in general.
Festival: I think it's probably best suited to the Summer Solstice.
Constitution: Temperate
Actions and Indications: Lemon Balm is used for a fairly wide variety of complaints in herbal medicine.
The herb can be used to sharpen concentration and memory, to ease mild depression and soothe anxiety and nervous over excitement, and is well suited to those who really dislike cold, damp weather, finding that it affects their mood accordingly. Lemon Balm can be used to breathe sunshine into clouded minds. Use it also for those who find their nervous agitation has an adverse effect on their digestion, causing loss of appetite, nausea and indigestion. The herb can be used to relieve the symptoms of the early stages of Alzheimers, such as forgetfulness and short temper – probably as a result of frustration with the impaired memory. As a glycerite, sweetened tea or honey, it can be given to children struggling with ADHD to allow them to concentrate better and maintain more stable moods. Lastly, the herb can be added to mixtures to promote sleep and relieve insomnia.
Melissa is antiviral, including to Herpes virus 1 & 2 and can be applied to cold sores as well as taken internally for this.
Due to its soothing, antispasmodic and carminative effects, Lemon Balm is a wonderfully soothing digestive herb, an excellent tea to relieve colic, bloating and wind, IBS and intestinal spasms, as well as to encourage the appetite in those who find they don't generally get hungry.
As a women's remedy, Lemon Balm can relieve the cramping pain of dysmenorrhoea, or painful menstruation, as well as encouraging the onset of menstruation and soothing the irritation and discomfort of pre menstrual awareness, making the experience something you can learn from instead of simply endure. Some recommend the herb for the nausea associated with early pregnancy, although given that it can also be used to encourage the onset of menstruation, I think there are probably safer remedies out there for this. It can be used in the last three weeks of pregnancy as a preparation for labour, and is particularly useful for the new mother struggling with the sudden addition of a demanding infant to the household, especially when this causes depression and anxiety. Add Melissa to a bath to bring on a delayed period and relieve cramping. Use the herb to ease the process of the menopause, to soothe hot flushes and mood swings, as well as palpitations.
Melissa is a mild circulatory stimulant and can be used to strengthen the heart, especially when combined with other herbs for this purpose such as Hawthorn.
Use to lower fevers and as a relaxing herb as part of a remedy for asthma, coughs and catarrh.
Topically, the herb can be used to draw boils to a head and encourage them to burst and then heal. Apply to burns, stings and blisters. Internally and externally the herb can apparently be of benefit to those who suffer from overly sweaty palms, though I have not had the chance to try this with any patients thus far.
Spiritual and Energetic Uses: Lemon Balm is used for those who give out too much love, to encourage more of a balance, as well as for those who are unable to receive love. The herb works on the emotional heart, bringing balance and an overall lightness. Give to those who worry, who regularly feel overwhelmed by life and all of its challenges. It can allow focus and a certain stability in the thought processes, allowing a calm centre in the eye of the storm when events run out of control.
Give to women who have been through any kind of sexual trauma, ranging from abortion and miscarriage across to rape and abuse. For everyone, not just women, the herb is used to encourage self belief and self love, but not in an arrogant, egotistical way, more in an inner self trust in one's own abilities to weather storms and endure change and the challenges life throws our way.
Magical Uses: Lemon Balm has a fairly strong association with water, and thus with the emotions and their balance and understanding. In magical charms and recipes, it can be used to stuff dream pillows or as part of an incense to invoke the element of water, though I think using it as a herbal tea or libation would be the more practical application of the herb, personally.
Add the herb to sachets, libations, drinks and incense used in healing magic to strengthen the working. In particular, the herb is considered suitable for rituals to help those suffering from mental illness.
Some also link the herb with love magic, especially that used to attract a partner. Steep it in wine and share it with your partner to deepen and strengthen your bond. In a more general way, the herb can be used to allow one to be open to the love of whatever Gods they worship.
The herb can also be added to any food or drink used during moon magic, due to its association with the Moon Goddess. I'd be inclined to use it when working with the Moon in Her youthful maiden aspect as well, as both Diana and Artemis are huntress Goddesses.
Folklore: Drinking a cup of the tea once a day was said to lengthen the life span by quite a considerable amount – Llewelyn, who was prince of Glamorgan in the 13th century, did just this and lived to the ripe old age of 108. Another gentleman who apparently drank the tea daily was John Hussey of Sydenham, and apparently he lived to the age of 116, though I can't find the original source of this information to ascertain exactly when the aforementioned gentleman lived.
The great physician Paracelsus thought Lemon Balm to be one of the most important herbs, able even to restore life! Pliny wrote that if the herb was applied to a sword that had made a wound, the injury would immediately be repaired and the blood flow stopped. Pretty impressive stuff, though I doubt most warriors would have wanted this effect given that the general point of drawing a sword on someone was to wound or kill them!
The herb gained the name Bee Balm partly because folklore reckons that if you rub the plant on the hives, you will keep your bees from swarming as well as attracting new bees to the hives. Melissa is basically Greek for honey bee.
Carmelite water, an old traditional remedy for nervous palpitations and anxiety, is composed of Lemon Balm, Lemon peel, Angelica root and Nutmeg.
Dose: 5g of herb to a cup of boiling water – about one heaped teaspoon of herb, basically. More if you are using fresh plant matter. For tincture doses, no more than 10mls to a single dose. I'd probably use no more than about 30mls as part of a combined prescription and am more likely to suggest it to be used as a daily tea instead of a tincture.
Contraindications: Generally safe for all, but large doses may not be a good idea for those suffering with hypothyroidism as the herb can act as a thyroxin inhibitor in larger doses. The jury is out over whether or not Lemon Balm is safe during pregnancy – personally I wouldn't use it except for in the last three weeks, after all why take unnecessary risks?