Plantain (Ribwort): Magical Properties & Uses

Plantain's primary magical uses are in healing workings and in the protection of travellers. As the plant of the road and the path it is carried to ensure safe passage and to protect against the accidents and dangers of movement through the world. In healing magic it is used in workings for the repair of the physical body, particularly for wounds and conditions of the skin. In protective magic it guards against snakebite, insect attack, and physical danger in the specific Anglo-Saxon sense: the same way it was carried in the Charm Against Poison. It is a humble, reliable, and genuinely powerful herb that is easy to overlook precisely because it grows everywhere.

Plantain (Plantago lanceolata, ribwort, and P. major, broadleaf plantain) has well-documented wound-healing and anti-inflammatory properties. The leaves contain aucubin, an iridoid glycoside with anti-inflammatory effects, and mucilage that soothes inflamed mucous membranes. It is used in European herbal medicine for coughs, bronchitis, and upper respiratory catarrh, where it has some clinical support. Applied topically as a poultice it is a traditional first aid herb for insect stings, minor cuts, and skin inflammation. Culpeper recommended it extensively for wounds and bleeding. It is edible and nutritious; young leaves can be eaten raw or cooked.

None specific

The first of the Nine Sacred Herbs of Anglo-Saxon healing (listed first in the Nine Herbs Charm of the Lacnunga with the epithet Mother of Worts) plantain is a small ribbed leaf that grows wherever the foot has trodden. Its association with roads and paths is ancient and cross-cultural: it was brought to North America by European settlers, where indigenous peoples called it White Man's Foot because it appeared wherever Europeans had been. In the Anglo-Saxon tradition it was one of the most powerful healing herbs, used for wounds, snake bite, and the effects of malevolent magic. Culpeper gave it a long and enthusiastic entry, recommending it for wounds, ulcers, and all manner of bleeding.