St. John's Wort Herbal Oil

St. John's Wort is a plant and medicine of multidimensional action. It can be found throughout Europe, Asia and North America along disturbed paths and even in gardens as a surprise visitor. This wild medicinal can be identified by its 5 petaled yellow flowers and perfoliate leaves appearing in an opposite leaf structure. The medicinal flowers greatly resemble shining stars while the leaves resemble a cross structure if viewed from above. Be sure to look for these identifying features since there are many varieties of St. John’s Wort both wild and cultivated. Hypericum perforatum is the most potent medicinal variety and can be most easily recognized by its tiny holes or perforations found along each leaf. 

Infused into a fresh herbal oil like the recipe below, St. John's Wort works wonders helping to heal scar tissue, surface wounds, burns, blisters, rashes, abrasions, bed-sores, boils & stings. It also makes a great massage oil for nerve pain, muscle spasm, stiffness & sprains. Specifically for viral outbreaks of the skin such as shingles and chickenpox, St. John's Wort can be used both internally and externally to help boost immunity and prevent scarring.

herbal actiOns

• Anti-depressant

• Anti-inflammatory

• Antiviral

• Antibacterial

• Astringent

• Nervine tonic

• Nerve Trophorestorative

• Hepatoprotective

• Vulnerary

Medicinal Uses & IndicatiOns

For centuries St. John's Wort has been looked upon for a variety of ailments including physical, emotional and even spiritual. Today modern science has confirmed many of these ancient uses to be true both internally and externally for wounds, burns, sprains, varicose veins, bruises, inflammation, nervous digestion, depression, viral infections, parasites, liver toxicity and the list goes on and on!

St. John's Wort is most well known as an antidepressant, however that barely begins to describe its true potential. There is no doubt it has helped thousands of people balance their emotions, but the physical mechanisms behind this action are not fully understood. It is hypothesized that St. John's Wort works as a MAOI (monoamine oxidase inhibitor) meaning it helps the body retain more happy neurochemicals such as serotonin, norepinephrine and dopamine. It also helps balance mood by working within the gut brain axis. The gut is known as our second brain deeply connected to our emotions and our conscious mind through both neurochemical receptors and the vagus nerve. This is why stress and anxiety can greatly impact digestion often causing symptoms such as leaky gut and IBS (irritable bowel syndrome). St. John's Wort works to balance stress hormones within the body, which in turn helps reset the neurological gut. Looking beyond these physical mechanisms and into the energetic realm however is where St. John's Wort works even more magic.

On an energetic level St. John's Wort gives aid to those with a depressive state that stems from psychic overwhelm. Historically this manifested into the physical world in many forms such as: epilepsy, phobias, schizophrenia, hallucinations and paralysis. It is one plant that helps illuminate the shadows within our body and mind allowing light to pierce the darkness. As a classic Sun herb, St. John's Wort works with the solar plexus chakra helping to balance our spiritual intuition and gut instinct. It is often within these parts of ourselves that we lose touch with our true calling or our true voice, which can ultimately lead to anxiety and depression. In Traditional Chinese Medicine the spirit of the mind, our consciousness, is known as the Shen (神). The literal meaning of Shen is actually "god" or "deity" which gives reference to our inner divinity. When we forget about our divine nature this is when St. John's Wort can offer the greatest help, inspiring us to remember how to trust our intuition and tap into our inner consciousness. Physically this may manifest as feelings of isolation, lack of community, disconnect, helpless depression and even leaky gut, all of which are symptoms indicating a greater disconnect to one's self.

You may also know St. John's Wort by its inability to play well with other medicines, well this is largely due to its cleansing impact on the liver. By helping the liver detoxify at a higher rate, St. John's Wort prevents other medications from staying in the body long enough to do their work. It is because of this liver cleansing action that it is often combined with other herbs in this regard to help the root cause of stress and depression, which is commonly due to a sluggish liver. For example when combined with Rosemary and Licorice, St John's Wort helps to reduce two stress hormones, cortisol and histamine.

St. John’s Wort is known for its topical antiviral, anti-inflammatory and emollient or soothing properties, making it an amazing ally for wounds, rashes, burns, bruises, sprains, varicose veins and inflammation both internally and externally. This action is brought about mainly by St. John's Wort and its ability to help repair tissues, strengthen capillaries and reduce inflammation.

Homoeopathically St. John's Wort is indicated for injuries to the nerves especially within the extremities. However, where this medicine truly shines is when there is both injury and trauma such as a fall or cut.

Energetics

St. John's Wort tends to have a dry, warming and sweet yet bitter quality, which allows it to cleanse cold and damp stagnation, and remove toxins from the body's tissues. The fire element governs our sense of self worth, our intuition, our abilities to assimilate food, and to make decisions. When this element is in excess, it can manifest as irritability, anger, autoimmunity, nervousness and a desire to control everything. On the other hand, when fire is deficient it may manifest as low energy, anemia, low libido, hypothyroidism, parasites and lack of inspiration. For those who are deficient in the fire element, St. John’s wort can help strengthen gut-level instincts, bring back our inner fire and balance the underlying causes that are often behind low energy and poor digestion such as liver congestion, leaky gut and chronic stress.

Pharmacology

• Volatile oils

• Flavonoids & proanthocyanidins 

• Naphthodianthrones (hypericin, pseudohypericin)

• Carotenoids

• Phloroglucins (hyperforin)

• Tannins

Amongst all the constituents found within St. John's Wort, Hypericin is perhaps the most studied. This constituent is what gives both the fresh plant tincture and infused oil a beautiful bright red color. Hypericin is thought to provide antiviral, anti-tumor and possibly even antidepressant actions. Another notable category of constituents within St. John's Wort is flavonoids. These bright yellow compounds often provide immune modulating, antioxidant and anti-allergic actions.

FOlklore

The name Hypericum comes from Greek, hyper meaning above and eikon meaning an icon or picture, referring to the practice of hanging St. John's Wort over doorways and religious statues to protect against demons and witchcraft. When viewed from the top the stems the leaves even create a perfect cross which refers to these protective qualities. Some sources believe that the name Hypericum may also be inspired by the Greek titan Hyperion who is the father of Helios, the Sun. This draws a connection to astrology where botanist and astrologer Nicholas Culpeper says that Hypericum“is under the celestial sign Leo, and the dominion of the Sun.” The name Perforatum comes from the presence of little perforations in the plant's leaves. Using the Doctrine of Signatures, this refers to the nature of St. John's Wort and its ability to help heal both psychic perforations as well as puncture wounds.   

St. John’s Wort is the source of many legends within early Christian practices. The name itself refers to St. John dating back to its earliest use around 6th century AD. It is said in the Gaelic tradition that the missionary St. Columba always carried with him a piece of St. John’s Wort in regards to St. John. It is also speculated that the name came to be due to the fact that St. John's feast coincides with the plant's harvesting date. Nevertheless in the Christian tradition, St. John represents light just as the flowers of St. John's Wort are often thought to resemble the light of the sun. The old English poem below dates back to around the 14th century and demonstrates just how much favor St. John's Wort was given.

"St. John’s wort doth charm all the witches away.

If gathered at midnight on the saint’s holy day.

And devils and witches have no power to harm

Those that do gather the plant for a charm:

Rub the lintels and post with that red juicy flower

No thunder nor tempest will then have the power

To hurt or to hinder your houses: and bind

Round your neck a charm of a similar kind."

St. John's Wort has also been called the "perfume of the gods" and "flower of the fairies". I have even felt the energy of faeries dancing on its leaves especially during full moon nights.

COntraindicatiOns

• Photosensitivity can occur specifically when taking the standardized extract.

• St. John's Wort is not recommended for pregnancy due to its slight emmenagogue action

• St. John's Wort appears to inhibit serotonin reuptake within the body making it dangerous to combine with MAOIs, SSRIs, narcotics and reserpine.

• Since St. John's Wort speeds up the elimination of many drugs through phase liver detoxification it may reduce active levels of indinavir, cyclosporine, theophylline, digoxin, warfarin, and oral birth control pills.

DOsage

• Infusion:  2-4 g / cup up to 4 times daily

• Tincture (1:1, 60%), 10-60 drops 1-4 times daily

• Standardized extract:  500 to 1000 mg divided daily of extract standardized to 0.3% hypericin

• Note: May take 2-4 weeks to notice clinical results.

St. JOhn's WOrt Oil

Ingredients:

• 1 Sterile Glass Jar

• 1 Metal Jar Ring or 1 Rubber Band

• Cheesecloth

• Good Quality Cold Pressed Olive Oil

• Freshly Harvested St. John's Wort Tops in Flower

• Herb Scissors

InstructiOns:

Using the herb scissors chop the St. John's Wort tops into small pieces directly into your sterile glass jar. Then, simply pour over the olive oil making sure to cover the plant material completely. Cover your oil infusion with cheese cloth cut to fit the jar opening and seal it off with either a metal jar ring or a rubber band.

Set your preparation aside near a sunny window for at least a month in order for it to fully infuse its magic. Periodically check on your oil, if it begins to smell sour or rancid throw it out entirely and start anew. After about a month, strain out the St. John's Wort using a fine strainer or more cheesecloth. Store your St. John's Wort oil in dark colored bottles for later use.

Use your oil all over the body especially after the show for maximum absorption! I love to combine my St. John's Wort oil with Cottonwood infused oil for a sweet woodsy scent. Any leftover extracted St. John's Wort plant material can also be ground up and added to sugar for a simple body scrub.

Culpeper, Nicholas (1847). The Complete Herbal. London.

Hobbs, Christopher Dr. (1989) “St. John’s Wort: A Literature Review,” HerbalGram 18/19: 24-33

Tilgner, Sharol N.D. (1999). Herbal Medicine: From the Heart of the Earth. Oregon: Wise Acres Press.

Kaptchuk, Ted (2008). The Web That Has No Weaver: Understanding Chinese Medicine. New York: McGraw-Hill.

*This information is intended for educational purposes only and is not meant to diagnose, treat, or cure any disease.