Emmenagogues

blessed-aine:

Whilst talking with my aunt–who is a devout herbalist in another circle in her own town– about herbal remedies, she brought up the word emmenagogue. In this case, the word refers to an herb or plant that can stimulate menstrual flow. For those who may have late menstruation or elongated cycles, this may be quite a helpful remedy, but to uninformed users, it may also have detrimental effects. Most emmenagogues also act as abortifacients, as in, they may harm a pregnancy or can cause miscarriages.

My reason for writing this post is that there are some common herbs that people use for other reasons that may in fact also have emmenagogue/abortifacient properties. Most posts that I see do not address this, and I’d like my followers and the rest of the online witchblr community to be informed as well.

In most cases, you should not take more than the recommended dosage of any herb anyways, especially if you are taking other prescribed medications. If you are pregnant or are thinking of conceiving, please stay away from these herbs entirely and look for alternatives, and please make sure to do extensive research beforehand on anything you decide to use!

The emmenagogues that I have found I will list below along with their common uses otherwise. Herbs in bold are mainly used as emmenagogues and/or are dangerous in anything other than 1 gram dosing.

Angelica (heartburn, insomnia), Bay Laurel (muscle aches), Blessed Thistle (diuretic, bacterial infections) , Bloodroot (emetic, bacterial infections), Blue Cohosh (reducing inflammation, cramps), Catnip (insomnia, headaches), Chamomile (insomnia, stomach ulcers), Slippery Elm (sore throat, heartburn), Feverfew (migraines, nausea), Goldenseal (respiratory infections), Horsetail (edema, incontinence), Lady’s Slipper (insomnia, anxiety), Majoram (common cold), Marshmallow (sore throat, stomach ulcers), Mistletoe (high blood pressure), Motherwort (anxiety, high blood pressure), Mugwort (tonic, sedative), Myrrh (indigestion, cough), Parsley (menstrual flow, high blood pressure), Pennyroyal (antiseptic), Peppermint (common cold, headaches), Rue (neuromuscular problems), Sage (digestive problems, heartburn), Tansy (migraines, stomach ulcers), Verbena (sore throat, depression), Wintergreen (analgesic, cramps).

If you have any questions about this post or about other herbs and their dosing or safety concerns, please do not hesitate to contact me through my messages! I will always respond and try to give as detailed or informed of an answer as I can.

Thank you for reading, and blessed be!