Latin: Pulsatilla vulgaris, Anemone pulsatilla
Also Known As: Wind Flower, Meadow Anemone, Passe Flower, Easter Flower
Family: Ranunculaceae
Habitat and Description: Culpeper mentions that 'they are sown usually in the gardens of the curious, and flower in the spring time.' Pasque flower is a low growing perennial herb with rich purple to burgundy coloured flowers with golden anthers, hairy stems and finely divided leaves. The seed heads have a feathery appearance, and slightly resemble those of Old Man's Beard, a common hedgerow plant. Pasque flower grows well in alpine regions and meadowland, but can be easily crowded out by other plants when grown with other herbs in tubs. The plant prefers chalk or limestone soil.
Parts Used: Dried whole herb
Constituents: The main constituents of the plant are lactones; triterpenoids, the pulsatilla saponins based on hederagenin, tannins and volatile oils, as well as resins. flavonoidA chemical that gives a substance its flavour
Planetary Influence: Mars or Mercury – authors do not seem to agree on this one, however having tasted the tincture I'm more inclined to place it under the rule of Mercury. Many of the medicinal and energetic indications seem to support this theory.
Associated Deities and Heroes: Adonis, Venus, Aphrodite, Anemos, probably also the four winds and any Gods relating to them. May also be associated with Spring deities.
Festival: Associated with the Spring Equinox, given its longstanding association with Easter, as Pasque is another name for Easter.
Constitution: Warm & dry
Actions and Indications: Anemone is predominantly associated with the female reproductive tract, and is also used to treat the nerves and nervous system (another indication that it is probably ruled by Mercury instead of Mars.)
It is used as a female nerve relaxant, mild sedative, alterative, antibacterial, analgesic and anti spasmodic, as well as for inflammatory conditions of the reproductive organs – male and female – and to treat menstrual problems, PMT, menopausal hot flushes, amenorrhoea relating to emotional problems, dysmenorrhoea and related reproductive disorders of both the male and female tracts.
Pasque flower is an excellent nerve tonic, with analgesic properties making it excellent during childbirth, with the added bonus of a relaxing and tonic effect on the uterus which facilitates birth. It can be used after the birth for post natal depression and anxiety. In direct relation to reproductive problems, the herb can also be used to treat tension headaches related to reproductive issues.
As a nervine, it is used to treat anxiety, hyperactivity and insomnia, and some mental problems such as schizophrenia and senile dementia. It may possibly have some influence on some obsessive mental illnesses, although I would use this herb with some caution for this kind of disorder – the herb is mercurial enough as it is and could have unpredicted effects on people who are airy or fire based in nature. It can be used for nervous problems such as panic, neuralgia, depression and headaches, and for adrenal exhaustion.
Tying in to its use in the treatment of adrenal exhaustion, Pasque flower is also used to treat urinary tract problems such as bladder inflammation.
Pasque flower is also ophthalmic, expectorant, stimulant, vasotonic alterative, diaphoretic and expectorant. It can be used for assorted eye problems including glaucoma, conjunctivitis, cataracts, and eye tics, as well as for ear problems such as hearing loss, otitis media and earache.
It has some affinities with the heart and can be used to treat cardiac hypertrophy and venous congestion. It can be used to treat some digestive problems causing a white, thickly coated tongue and an inability to digest fat, and in addition to this can be used for some respiratory illnesses such as asthma relating to the reproductive tract, catarrh, bronchial inflammation, and pertussus. It stimulates the heart and circulation and is also a useful liver stimulant, relieving congestion, making it useful in the treatment of indigestion, heartburn, and fat intolerance.
The herb is stimulating and relaxing to the mucous membranes of the respiratory and digestive tracts. It is recommended for fair, blue eyed people. It can be used to treat rheumatic aches of the hands and feet and pains that move from joint to joint, as well as to support benzodiazepine withdrawal.
As Pasque flower is vasotonic alterative, it can be used to treat eruptive infections such as chickenpox, as well as to relieve boils. The infused oil or tincture can be used to relieve the pain of earache.
Spiritual and Energetic Uses: Homoeopaths use the plant for those suffering problems with a changeable or contradictory nature – another pointer that to me indicates its association with Mercury. It is possible that this use could also be applied to those with a flighty temperament, who have an inability to make decisions and follow them through.
Apparently people who benefit from Pulsatilla – both the homoeopathic preparation and the flower essence – are emotionally changeable, with the deep fear of being alone and forsaken hiding behind the laughter and tears. The flower essence provides grounding, stabilising influences as well as encouraging the emergence of the more emotional side of the personality. Anemone encourages and nurtures inner strength and allows a person to better express the inner self emotionally and spiritually, whilst bringing balance to the vital energy. This all seems interesting to me in light that Pasque flower is firey and airy – I would have thought it would be good for those who are too grounded, as well as for those who are not grounded enough. Typical Mercury ambiguity!
The plant has been used for hypochondriacs, for those who have an overactive imagination and a fear of impending danger or disease. Depression and inner unrest are important symptoms indicating the use of Anemone.
Magical Uses: The plant is used in spells for health, protection and healing. According to folklore, the flowers, when picked in early spring and wrapped in a red cloth, can prevent disease when carried on the person. The flowers can be used in all healing rituals, and red anemones can be grown in the garden to protect both home and garden.
An infused oil made from the flowers can be used to dress candles used in air magic, as the plant has a strong connection with the element of air.
Folklore: According to Frazer's ‘The Golden Bough’, the herb was first created from droplets of Adonis’ blood, when he was gored by a wild boar on Mount Lebanon, a highly significant event in the mythic cycles of the Phoenicians, and one which happens every year according to their calendar. A similar version of this myth states that the flower sprang from the tears of Aphrodite, when she learned of the death of her lover. The herb has a long association with the faerie folk, with rural people believing that the maturing flower was the perfect nesting place for fair folk. The flower petals close at sundown, so the plant has also gained the legend that woodland fairies shelter beneath the plant’s petals at night.
Another reason for the author believing it likely associated with Mercury instead of Mars is the two sided approach to it in folklore. Some legends believe the flower to be associated with healing and health, whereas others – notably the Chinese, who call it the flower of death and planted it on grave sites, and the Egyptians who associated it with ill health. The Greeks believed that the flower was given to us by the wind God, Anemos, who sent us the flowers as a herald of spring.
In his usual delightful fashion, Culpeper comments that the plant is ‘called also wind flower, because they say the flowers never open but when the wind blows. Pliny is my author; if it be not so, blame him. The seed also (if it bears any at all) flies away with the wind.’
Different versions of the origins of the Anemone flower exist. In Greek mythology, Anemone was a beautiful nymph much beloved of Zephyr, the God of the west wind. Unfortunately, Zephyr’s wife Flora was jealous of this love, and turned Anemone into a small flower. Zephyr deserted her as a result, however Boreas, God of the north wind, pursued Anemone in the spring, when the north winds encourage the flower to open. Pasque flowers growing outside forests usually indicate the presence of long gone woodlands. The flower is also often found growing around ancient grave sites where warriors have fallen, and as a result is sometimes known as Dane’s Flower, as many of these sites are in Cambridgeshire and Suffolk, where many of the battles between the Danes and the native British people took place. The plant apparently produces a beautiful rich green dye which was greatly popular in the medieval era, both for dying clothes and for painting easter eggs.
Dose: Opinions on dosage vary from author to author, but the general concensus indicates that the best dosage would be no more than 3mls, up to three times a day, of 1:10 tincture. A good drop dosage is two to three drops in water, four times per day. Personally I think erring on the side of caution is the best plan – Pasque Flower is not to be trifled with, and I would not recommend it for home medication at all as the results can be unpredictable.
Contraindications: Only the dried plant should be used in medicine. Not recommended to treat gastritis. Overuse of the plant can cause depression, upset stomach and nervousness, and the tincture can be fatal in large amounts.
Notes: I’m strongly of the opinion that this herb is ruled by Mercury rather than Mars, as this comes across in the taste of the tincture as well as in the mercurial changeability that manifests in the plant – both in what it can treat and in the occasional propensity to cause the very problems it can also be used to treat. I've noticed this in other plants ruled by Mercury, such as Valerian (Valeriana officinalis).