Motherwort Cut, 2 oz (Leonurus cardiaca)

Do not take this as a tea, infusion, or internal preparation on the strength of anything written here. Motherwort is a traditional uterine stimulant and is specifically contraindicated in pregnancy; it can also interact with heart and blood-pressure medications, which is unsurprising for a herb named cardiaca. Any internal use of motherwort is a matter for a qualified herbalist or physician who knows your history, not for a product page. We sell this for external ritual work, and we keep it out of the kitchen on purpose. It is not a food, not a tea, and not a medicine.

2 oz cut and sifted. A working quantity for incense, sachets, and dressing work.

Leonurus cardiaca. The true motherwort of European herb lore, bitter and distinctive.

For ritual use. Burned, carried, and bagged rather than consumed.

• Weight: 2 oz, cut and sifted
• Botanical: Leonurus cardiaca
• Powers in folk tradition: Courage, protection, steadiness
• External ritual use only. Contraindicated in pregnancy. Not a food, tea, or medicine.
• SKU: HMOTC

Motherwort's magical character follows straight from its name and its bitterness. Cunningham places it under Venus and the element of Water, and gives it a single clear power: protection, and specifically the steadying of the person who carries it. It was worn to hold courage in place, to keep the heart steady in the older double sense of the organ and the nerve, and to guard against being overwhelmed.

The association with women and with the work of mothering is old and genuine, but it belonged to a herbal-medicine tradition rather than a purely magical one, which is part of why the internal-use question is a real one rather than a technicality. Worked magically, as a dried herb for burning or carrying, motherwort is a herb of steadiness under pressure: the lion-heart, holding.

1. Carry it for steadiness. A pinch in a sachet or charm bag, worked for courage and for holding the nerve in a hard stretch.
2. Burn it as incense. On a charcoal disc, for protection work. It is bitter and its smoke is assertive; a little is enough.
3. Dress a candle. Combine the cut herb with a protective oil and roll a candle in it for a steadiness working.
4. Add it to protective blends. It sits well with other guarding herbs in a bag meant to hold a boundary.
5. Keep it dry and sealed. Away from light, heat, and moisture, and away from the kitchen.

• Black Tourmaline Tumbled Chips, 1 lb. The grounding mineral for a steadiness working.
• Mullein Leaf Cut, 2 oz. A companion protective herb for incense and dream work.
• Protection Herbal Votive Candle, Black. The candle for the working the herb supports.
• Marshmallow Root Cut, 2 oz. Another folk-protective botanical for charm bags.
• White Sage Smudge Stick. For clearing the space before the working.

Can I make motherwort tea with this? Not on our say-so. Motherwort is a traditional uterine stimulant, contraindicated in pregnancy, and it can interact with heart and blood-pressure medication. Internal use is a conversation for a qualified herbalist or doctor who knows your history, not something to start from a shop page. We sell this for ritual work.

Why do you not give any internal instructions? Because the honest and safe answer depends on a person's individual health, and we are not in a position to give it. The magical uses on this page are external, and that is deliberate.

What are its correspondences? Cunningham gives motherwort to Venus and Water, with the power of protection, particularly the steadying of the one who carries it.

What does it smell like burned? Bitter and green, fairly assertive. A little goes a long way on charcoal.

Why is it called motherwort? For its long association with women's herbal traditions. That history is real, and it is also precisely why the internal-use question needs a professional rather than a product page.