The Magic & Medicine of Plantain
Perhaps one of my favorite of the ‘weedy’ herbs, Plantain (Plantago major, P. lanceolata) shows up as an herbal hero in both modern materia medica and in some of our most ancient Wortcunning lore. In fact, Plantain is attested in the Lacnunga manuscript 7 times and in the Old English Herbarium 22 times! Yes, there are plants with more cred than this one, but that number of references is still quite impressive!
Plantain has become an invasive species in most parts of North American since seeds were brought with colonists as a hardy food and medicine crop. I love talking about invasive plants because these are the allies that demand our attention and have the resources for us to harvest quite liberally. When we understand the nuanced medicines and magics that can be crafted with specific invasive plants, we can make large quantities of remedy with little to no fear of over-harvesting. Obviously, growing Plantain is something I strongly suggest against- rather, here’s a plant that you can learn to confidently identify and almost surely find growing lush wherever you live. Plantain is a great herb to teach us how to harvest, how to perform and get confident with harvesting rituals and protocols, how to gather, dry, and store, and how to craft medicine. They are exceedingly forgiving, incredibly resilient and patient (more on this later), and powerful teacher plants.
In the Nigon Wyrta Galdor, the famed Nine Herbs Charm of the Lacnunga, an herbal healing and magical manuscript penned over 1,000 years ago, Plantain is called by two very special names. I would like to share a bit about those names here, and then share a free class you can watch afterward to learn about the medicinal properties of Plantain and their magical lore through a virtual herb walk you can take with me!
Wegbræd
The attested name for Plantago major in the Lacnunga is Wegbræd; pronounced like way-bread with a gently rolled ‘r’. This name refers first and foremost to the places where Plantain grows- along the way. These are plants that thrive in disturbed soil where there is a great deal of movement. Even now you will most likely find them growing in sidewalk cracks, gutters, over-watered lawns, and abandoned lots. They see the challenge of being stepped on and accept it willingly- because a great deal of their magic is about just that- being stepped on and growing back stronger and more resilient because of it!
The second word in the name is bræd which is the root of our common word ‘broad’. The leaves of Plantago major are broad, oval-shaped, and thick; tough and fibrous to the core.
So, in the folk name we know that we are working with a plant that has broad leaves and grows in wayside areas. We see this consistently in plant folklore- descriptions in the name of plant that help us know which plant we’re actually talking about. Quite helpful!
Wyrta Modor
Just as Mugwort (Artemesia vulgaris) is extoled as ‘the first among herbs’ in the Nine Herbs Charm, Plantain is celebrated as the ‘Mother of Herbs’ therein. There is so much wrapped up in this name! I have spent much time contemplating what the sage author(s) of this charm may have been sharing with us when they called Wegbræd the Mother of Herbs, and have put this question to the plant themselves. It’s such an honorific title and one that implies nurturing, way-showing, and protection from one plant to the many.
Like the other eight herbs in this charm, Plantain brings specific medicine and magic that we could think of as ‘core herbalism’; essential provisions that one would want to have in a physical and spiritual first aid kit. Ultimately, in my opinion, the Nine Herbs Charm could be approached as a selection of must have and must know herbs if they grow where you live.
Plantain
A plant that has broad leaves, grows by the wayside, and is celebrated as the Mother of all Herbs in one of our most sacred and telling of extant charms is just the beginning of who Plantain is as an herbal ally and a wyrta-wihta, plant spirit.
In the class below I’ll take you out to a local stand of Plantago major and teach you how to confidently identify them while sharing some of my favorite medicinal and magical blessings of this amazing plant ally.
References:
Stephen Pollington - Leechcraft
Nicolas Culpeper - The Complete Herbal
Maud Grieve - A Modern Herbal
