In November and December 2023 two articles on this website provided an account of the folklore of mistletoe, Viscum album.  Written by the website’s compiler these posts were dismissive  of the connection between mistletoe and Druids, and other mystical beliefs.  This post kindly supplied by Charlotte Pulver, of Pulver’s Apothecary which ‘works to provide handcrafted medicinal oils to the public’, provides an alternative view of the plant.

‘Mistletoe truly is such a gift of medicine in the world.  We are so blessed in the U.K. to have this blessed Teacher Plant growing in abundance; a deeply sacred and revered plant within all Celtic cultures.  A true balm for the soul.  In the realms of medicine making mistletoe is truly an all time fav’ of mine.

This beauty wasn’t called ”All Heal” by the Druids and our ancestors for nothing.  It has the ability to impart such depth of holy consciousness of life which can restore the mind/body in all ways.  I call it a super-duper sparkly enlightening medicine – and, yes, it is the medicine of the light, to nourish and help you see through the winter’s night.

It expresses the external forces of nature very readily – growing in a timeless manner, not towards the sun and growing in all directions.  Abiding by its own apparent seasonal growing phases, such as producing berries in winter and sporadically flowering any time of year.  It is truly the plant of the other world, of magic and the Fae.

To imbibe a few drops of mistletoe hydrosol literally feels like imbibing the Spirit of Solstice. And I don’t say that lightly.

In alchemy it is a solar plant.  In the coldest and darkest days its inner solar essence strengthens and deepens, and its berries ripen further.  It is a plant that grows between heaven and earth, for it takes root directly onto the branches of trees and not in soil, thus absorbing an electrical charge which is of both polarities.

It is a bridge maker, a communicator, a hermetic messenger between the heavens and earth.  It is a medicine of deep creativity, fertility, immunity … and also incredibly sparkly.  I’ve had people say to me when they’ve imbibed a few drops of mistletoe hydrosol that they can feel and see the sparkles of their souls.  It helps you rest so deeply in your Self.  To sleep and dream well.

Yes, it is the plant of love and connection too because it boosts oxytocin, the hormone of connecting, bonding and bliss, in the brain.

This beloved plant can assist humanity with so many things, namely PTSD, anxiety, depression, insomnia, addictions, autoimmune disorders, a great adjunct during cancer treatment, heart support, antiviral, for nervous system disorders such as epilepsy, physical pain, hormone imbalance, and a natural aphrodisiac!

All hail mistletoe!.’

In December and January each year Charlotte runs Alchemy and Making Days for people who would like to ‘connect with the profound consciousness of mistletoe’, at the Apothecary Garden in Butleigh, Somerset.  For details and bookings see pulvers.apothecary@gmail.com

Also of interest:  Kayleigh Sinclair, ‘Marvellous mistletoe’ in Herbs (magazine of the Herb Society) 49 (3): 16-17, 2024.

Images:  on hawthorn, Crataegus monogyna, Upminster, London Borough of Havering, November 2024; upper inset, advertisement in The Oracle, a community newsletter, Glastonbury, Somerset, December 2015; middle inset, bunch of mistletoe decorating commercial premises in Tenbury Wells, Worcestershire for the town’s annual Mistletoe Festival, 7 December 2024; lower inset, Shropshire mistletoe on sale in Oxford Covered Market, 29 November 2024.

25 November 2024; last updated 8 December 2024