Blue Vervain

BLUE VERVAIN
(Verbena hastata)
Family:  Verbenaceae
Blue Vervain has a cousin known as European Vervain (Verbena officinalis).  In ancient times on ancient lands, magick, the sacred, and ritual were associated with European Vervain, creating use for it in ceremonies of  initiation, divination, consecration, cleansing, protection, and sacrifice.  And so, it was gathered by some under the Dog Star on moonless nights; put in wine to contact the dead; arched above the Fire of Beltane for the safety of livestock and at Summer Solstice, cast upon the growing fields; sprinkled in homes against lightning, thieves, and demons; and taken by soldiers into battle.  It graced altars to Venus and Diana; was dedicated to Isis, goddess of birth; and girdled the necks of those led to sacrifice.
Heavy upon European Vervain was laid supernatural power, sacredness, and high accord.  This is not to say it wasn’t used medicinally; European Vervain and Blue Vervain both have well-known remedial applications and are, for the most part, interchangeable in their medicinal uses.  Although Blue Vervain has also found implementation in arcane practices, it seems to lack the richly symbolic history of European Vervain as crafted by pagans, witches, and priests who, faraway in the remote mists of time, celebrated it as a tool to control the unpredictabilities of their worlds.
Found in the United States, Blue Vervain grows robustly over most of it.  Here, the record of its use begins with the Native Americans, widens through those who later came to settle, and, as testament to its virtues, still stands today. Blue Vervain may or may not have supernatural power yet is nonetheless capable of granting its user the good fortune of relief from a great number of complaints, some of a notably modern description.
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Opening the door on a full-sun Summer’s day in Missouri’s river-crossed wild areas, one feels the waves of wet heat rolling lazy and heavy upon the river waters, easing out over bottomlands and beyond.  Where the rivers cut deep into the land, where their edges are shored up by a bramble of roots tying together generations of soil deposits, a profound fertility exists.  Following trails of spring water, streams, and creeks to these riverbanks are flowers:  wild and heady in their various presentations of form, size, and color, blossoming through the haze, tall and erect even as Summer bears down hard upon them.  These wildflowers flourish along the edges of moving water, or, for that matter, wherever land is moist, the successful quenching of their thirst a measure of the beauty of their blooms.  Stepping through wet meadow, marsh, or slough; traversing watery bottomland or probing a riverbank, one draws near to the flowers, whose colors are made vivid by close proximity:  Rose Turtlehead, Blue Cardinal, Bur Marigold, and Swamp Milkweed rise up from the mud and muck, some as high as 6 to 8 feet, signaling their ripeness through blooms in shades of rose, blue, violet, purple, yellow, and pink.  The land is pleased; the sky and water are pleased; beetles, flies, bumblebees, and songbirds are pleased; the cottontail rabbit is pleased; larvae, caterpillars, moths, and butterflies – all are pleased for these are the gifts of the flowers, unto themselves, their land, and its inhabitants:  leaves, nectar, pollen, and seeds used to feed and recycle their habitat, preserving its continuity and marking it as equal to sacred space.
Standing shoulder to shoulder with these flowers in the time of efflorescence and attraction is Blue Vervain, known also as Swamp Vervain, tall as 6 feet and bearing, on each of its pencil-thin spikes, a ring of tiny blue-purple flowers.  
The competency these wildflowers bring to the life cycle on their fertile wetlands is noted in their generosity born of need and their strength won through long survival.  They expertly extend their power to support life beyond their own, securing their place in the natural scheme of things, such as those things exist on the worn riverbanks, muddy bottomlands, and softly sinking swamps of Missouri.
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The leaves and flowers of Blue Vervain bring to the teacup or tincture bottle qualities reminiscent of the plant’s capacity in the wild for generosity and strength. Through the herb’s multiple applications, its giving nature is realized; and because it can address a mosaic of symptoms particular to complex chronic conditions as if it were a whole formula, its force as a simple medicine becomes known.
The symptoms that attract Blue Vervain spring forth from general tension due to nervous weakness and from poor performance of the liver and kidneys as a result of toxic buildup.  When left untreated, tension and toxicity can reach chronic levels producing an array of symptoms that Blue Vervain has the competency to manage.  Its nervine/relaxant quality (eases nervous tension) is the template for many of its applications as well as its role as a diaphoretic (induces sweating and stimulates detoxification).
In acute cases of viral or bacterial respiratory infection (for example, cold, flu, pneumonia, tonsillitis, sinusitis), where skin is hot and dry and there’s fever but no chills, Blue Vervain, through diaphoresis, effectively steers the fever away from becoming too high by relaxing and dilating blood vessels close to the skin’s surface and easing the skin’s pores open to the flow of sweat and fever heat. Importantly, fever is then regulated and, because skin is a pathway of elimination, toxic debris from the infection is carried off by the sweat.  An expectorant and antispasmodic as well, Blue Vervain can be applied to the congestion and spasmodic coughing that can accompany respiratory infection.
Yet, it’s in chronic conditions that Blue Vervain is more often used, particularly those resulting from nervous tension.  Flowing like water into our systems and organs, nerves, when tensed adversely by long periods of stress, can contribute to constriction and pain as well as imbalance and compromised function in many areas of the body.  Those whose health and vitality are constrained by extended stress and unattended nervous tension, who are over-driven and tight-necked, are subject to a constellation of symptoms from which may emerge one or more of the following:
restlessness, irritability, anger, anxiety, depression, insomnia, exhaustion;
drug addiction;
nerve pain, spasms, tics, seizures, dizziness, tinnitus, headache, migraine;
indigestion, IBS;
spasmodic dysmenorrhea (painful, cramping menstruation);
and/or asthmatic breathing with tightness of the chest.
 
Among its myriad qualities, Blue Vervain not only aids in relaxing tension, but is considered to be:
an analgesic (relieves pain), anti-inflammatory, and antispasmodic;
a bitter (improves digestion) and hepatic (promotes function of the liver);
a hormone balancer (helps with menstrual irregularities, PMS, and endometriosis) and uterine stimulant (helps with stalled labor);
a diuretic (improves eliminatory flow from the kidneys, assisting with urinary tract infections, stones [limited use only], and gout);
a lymphatic (moves the lymph) and detoxicant (detoxifies through sweating and through support of the liver and kidneys);
an antimicrobial (has anti-bacterial and anti-fungal effects);
and an astringent (causes contraction of tissues and may help with chronic gingivitis).
 
Especially when used as an anxiolytic (to defend against the unpredictabilities of our world), Blue Vervain’s cooling, relaxing, and healing effects upon the nerves help calm worry and fear, offering even an uplift of spirit.  As has been written, one “may have a reaction [to Blue Vervain] that manifests as a full body sigh of relief.”
Overall, Blue Vervain is a restorative tonic. As one herbalist writes, it is “a low intensity, wide spectrum treatment of chronic weakness and deficiency [and] excels at multi-faceted management of complex chronic conditions.”  As a gentle restructuring remedial, Blue Vervain reaches into our places of frailty and lack, resolving long-standing tension and toxicity and the symptoms they produce, thus restoring our vitality.  Its best use is daily for long periods of time, which yields little to no provocation of side effects.
Well-qualified on its own, it’s certainly not ill-advised to combine Blue Vervain with other herbs that complement its actions.
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Champion of its natural habitat, certifier of blooming continuity, Blue Vervain, when applied to ourselves, casts its growing seeds over our depleted fields and raises us to both health and hope.  Surely, this is a kind of magic.
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Dosing Suggestions: 
Although a very bitter tea, one cup of a weak infusion may be used up to three times a day for its nervine/relaxant benefit.  Otherwise, as  a liquid extract, one to two dropperfuls up to four time a day.  One cup of infusion, as needed, is good use of Blue Vervain as a means to induce sweating during fever.
Safety Considerations: 
Because it’s a uterine stimulant, Blue Vervain is contraindicated in pregnancy.  Avoid use if iron-deficient (Blue Vervain reduces the absorption of iron).  Avoid use if taking blood-thinning medication (Blue Vervain is a source of vitamin K which helps thicken blood).  Avoid use if taking blood pressure medication (Blue Vervain has a relaxing effect on blood vessels).  Avoid use if undergoing hormone therapy (Blue Vervain regulates estrogen and progesterone receptor binding). Extremely large doses are emetic (causing nausea and vomiting).
Side effects tend to be rare but can include gastrointestinal upset and possible development of a rash.
Appropriately, if under medical supervision and using prescription medicine, please discuss possibility of the use of this herbal medicinal with your physician(s).
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Sources:
Peter Holmes, The Energetics of Western Herbs, Volume I, Fourth Edition, Snow Lotus Press, Inc, 2007
https://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=veha2
https://plants.usda.gov/DocumentLibrary/factsheet/pdf/fs_veha2.pdf
https://www.americanmeadows.com/perennials/unique-perennials/blue-vervain-verbena-hastata
https://www.ecelecticschoolofherbalmedicine.com/blue-vervain/
https://www.herbrally.com/monographs/blue-vervain
https://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/PlantFinder/PlantFinderDetails.aspx?kempercode=z370
https://www.euphoricherbals.com/blogs/news/benefits-of-blue-vervain-a-versatile-native-herb
https://www.indigo-herbs.co.uk/natural-health-guide/benefits/vervain
http://www.afrikanheritage.com/blue-vervain/
https://www.sweetwillowwellness.com/everything-you-need-to-know-about-blue-vervain/
https://sweettntmagazine.com/vervain-blue-verbena-23-common-uses-benefits/
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