Chamomile: Benefits, Properties, Medicinal & Magical Uses

Latin Name

German Chamomile: Matricaria recutitaRoman Chamomile: Chameamelum nobile

Taste/Fragrance

Aromatic, slightly bitter taste. When crushed, they have a sweet apple-scented fragrance. 

Parts Used

Flowers (fresh or dried), essential oil.*Fresh flowers: pick on the day they open if possible, when the active constituents are at their strongest.

Main Constituents

Volatile oil, flavonoids, valerianic acid, coumarins, tannins, salicylates, cyanogenic glycosides.

Actions / Properties

  • Anti-microbial
  • Anti-inflammatory
  • Antispasmodic
  • Anxyolitic
  • Sedative, relaxant
  • Digestive
  • Anti-emetic
  • Carminative
  • Anti-allergenic

Indications

  • Indigestion
  • Digestive upsets
  • Stress
  • Anxiety
  • Insomnia
  • Skin irritation
  • Wound healing

Medicinal uses

Stress/anxiety/relaxation

  • Soothes nerves
  • Eases anxiety
  • Helps with stress
  • Helps with insomnia
  • Helps with irritability
  • Helps with tension
  • Calms migraines and headaches, neuralgia, toothache and earache
  • Contains spiroether, a strong antispasmodic, eases tenses muscles and period pain
  • Relieves menstrual cramps

Digestion

  • Soothes digestive problems
  • Valuable for pain, acidity, gastritis, indigestion, bloating and colic
  • Good for indigestion in general
  • Helps regulate bowels
  • Helps when suffering from nausea
  • Helps ease travel sickness
  • Good to ease discomfort when overeating
  • Uses for hiatus hernia, peptic ulcer and Crohn’s disease

Women’s Health

  • Spiroether, a strong antispasmodic, eases tense muscles and period pain
  • Relieves menstrual cramps
  • Calms tension and irritability
  • Helps with PMT, menopause and period pains

Irritation/Skin

  • Useful for hay fever and asthma
  • Can be applied to sore, itchy skin
  • Relieves eyestrain
  • Antiseptic and healing, helps minor burns and wounds
  • Helps thrush and ringworm
  • Helps ulcers, sores, eczema, psoriasis and acne

Other

  • Soothes inflamed bladder
  • Soothes cystitis

Magical uses

German chamomile

  • Used in calming and sleep incenses and brews
  • Used to attract money
  • Used to combat curses and spells

Roman chamomile

  • Used to attract money
  • Used in sleep and meditation incenses
  • Infusion is added to the bath to attract love
  • Purificatory and protective herb
  • Sprinkled around the property it removes curses and spells cast against you

Benefits

  • Safe herb, good all-rounder
  • Essential for your herbal remedies kit or cabinet
  • Great medicine for a wide range of disorders
  • The essential oil is antimicrobial and relaxant
  • Infusions can help with indigestion, nausea and diarrhoea
  • Safe for children
  • Good for insomnia (take before bed)
  • Calming for inflamed skin and skin cuts

Essential Oil Uses

  • Antimicrobial
  • Relaxant
  • Anti-inflammatory for acne, rosacea, eczema and psoriasis
  • Blends well with mandarin, neroli and rose

Safety

Avoid if allergic to the Aesteraceae daisy family.

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