Feverfew: Magical Properties & Uses

Feverfew is the herb of travel protection and the warding away of accidents, sudden illness, and unexpected misfortune. It is carried on journeys, placed in vehicles, and given to those setting off on long or risky travel. In protective household workings it guards against illness and misfortune that seek entry through the threshold. In healing workings it addresses conditions that come on suddenly and intensely (fevers, acute headaches, sudden episodes) rather than chronic conditions. Its Venus rulership connects it to healing that is gentle but persistent, and to the protection of those for whom the practitioner cares.

Feverfew (Tanacetum parthenium) is one of the most clinically validated herbs for migraine prevention. Multiple clinical trials have found that daily consumption of feverfew leaves or standardised extracts significantly reduces the frequency and severity of migraines in regular sufferers. It is approved as a herbal medicine for migraine prevention in several countries. It is not effective as an acute treatment once a migraine has started. It must be taken consistently over time. It should not be used in pregnancy. Some people experience mouth ulcers from chewing fresh leaves; encapsulated preparations are better tolerated.

None specific

Daisy-faced and bitter, feverfew is the small green guardian of the traveller. Carry it on the road and accidents are turned aside; plant it near the threshold and fevers will not enter. In medieval Europe it was planted around houses and used in processional garlands for protective ceremonies. Culpeper recommended it for women's complaints, melancholy, and as an antidote to opium and other narcotics. In Welsh folk tradition it was given to those in the grip of fever as a cooling and dispelling herb. The common name reflects its most direct historical use: the febrifuge that reduces fever and the symptoms accompanying it.