Stinging Nettles

Urtica dioica

common nettles, stinging nettles, common stinging nettles, burn nettle, nettle leaf, nettle, nettles, and stinger

Stinging Nettles History and Folkore

My first introduction to the folk tradition of Nettles was The Wild Swans story collected by Hans Christian Andersen, for several reasons. I was aware of nettles as a food and witchcraft material as a kiddo as “stewed nettles” was on the Angela Lansbury witches menu in Bedknobs and Broomsticks- still my favorite witch movie. I didn’t have personal experience with nettles at the time as I’d not yet found them growing near me. I imagined them as a sort of angry spinach (keeping in mind that spinach could give you magically strong like Popeye) and couldn’t imagine knitting or weaving with them. When I first discovered nettles growing wild I understood. They produce long, stiff stalks that can be broken down into fibers for weaving.

The idea of nettles being used to break a spell was a much easier idea for me to swallow. They are clearly magical and I instinctively knew that any stinging or prickly plant was protective; like wasps stings to protect a hive. And I had been well exposed to the idea of magical blankets from prayer quilts and knitting bees at church. Why not magical tunics? The only difference is that nettles is bringing the protective powers from the plant, versus magick being infused into the fiber through prayer. Surely a combination would be even more potent.

Nettle based fiber doesn’t get much attention, but it was likely used extensively in early textile production. The Lusehøj burial mound found in Voldtofte, Denmark estimated to date from about 900-700 BCE  that consists of many rich grave goods, including cremated human remains wrapped in nettle cloth. The cloth was originally thought to be flax, as flax, hemp and nettle fibers can be difficult to distinguish with the naked eye. An electron microscope was used to confirm this find. This find tells us that nettle cloth was not considered just peasant cloth, as it was good enough to wrap the bones of someone who was born with a wealth of grave goods. Does this mean that nettle cloth was a traditional winding cloth of the wealthy? No. It also doesn’t confirm that nettle was associated with death. That person’s loved one may just have used what they had available that suited the task.

The isotopic signature of the textile, indicates that it was not grown locally, but in Austria. This indicates that the fiber was imported. Considering that nettles grow quite prevalently in Denmark, it was perhaps brought in as a finished or near finished product rather than a raw material. This indicates that nettle textiles were considered interesting enough to import and export, regardless of the prevalence of the nettle plant in the wild. As processing nettles into fiber is rather a process- the processing may have been where the value lay.

It is also interesting to note that the region the nettle fiber originated, was particularly known for its flax production. So if they had access to the nettles, they had access to the flax, and they chose nettles on purpose.

Stinging Nettles in the Garden

Stinging nettles is a perennial plant native to Eurasia and North Africa that is now naturalized in temperate regions worldwide. Nettles likes rich, moist soil and is an indicator for high levels of nitrogen and phosphorous in the soil. I find it likes to volunteer along the fence lines of animal pens, particularly my duck yard.

The entire plant is covered with hollow, stinging hairs that inject irritating chemicals into the skin upon contact, leading to a lingering stinging sensation and skin irritation and inflammation. The degree of irritation varies by individual, variety and subspecies, some hairs lack the histamine injection and are just prickly- especially along the stem. But it pays to wear gloves and long sleeves whenever handling Uritica spp. The chemical irritants are deactivated by drying, heating or crushing- whip it in the blender into a smoothie or pesto and it won’t burn your lips.

The plant grows from a stiff, erect stem which bears green, serrated, spearhead-shaped leaves in an opposite arrangement. The flowers form in clusters in axillary inflorescences that looks like a bunch of tiny flowers spilling out of the plant’s armpits. Nettles are dioecious, each individual has either male pollen-producing flowers or female seed-producing flowers. These flowers are tiny and may be yellow, purple, green or any combination of these.

Nettles are perennial – they will die back completely in freezing weather and grow up from their yellowish rhizomes each spring.

Stinging Nettles prefer moist, well drained soil and full sun to partial shade

While stinging nettles is often wildharvested, you can also grow it in your garden to ensure a steady supply. It is a hardy perennial that comes back bolder and bushier every year, so make sure you put it somewhere you will want it to stay indefinitely.

The easiest way to get your own stinging nettle is to divide an existing plant. A sharp shovel down the middle of the rhizomatous root will split the plant in half. Tuck in the soil around the mother plant and give it a bit of mulch in thanks- some nitrogen rich compost would be ideal. Then, take home your root and bury it where you want it. I would cut the stems down to a few inches long before I tried dividing the plant, for convenience and safety.

It is also not terribly hard to grow from seed. The seeds do need cold stratification and exposure to light to germinate reliably. Planting in the fall, winter sowing or placing the seeds in a container with moist sand in the freezer can do the stratification trick. To ensure they get light while germinating, just sprinkle the seeds on top of the soil and tamp them down lightly. Keep them moist and remember to give them plenty of nitrogen rich compost a few times a year and they will keep coming back with lovely spring greens.

Stinging nettles is a great addition to a butterfly garden as it plays host to more than one hundred invertebrate species.

Do wear gloves and long sleeves while harvesting your nettles. Those stings can be really irritating. Rubbing it with dock leaves is the traditional remedy, but plantago also works, and I personally like to do a baking soda scrub.

Stinging Nettles in the Kitchen

Hildegaard von Bingen (Physica 12c) noted that nettle leaves, picked very young and cooked are very good food that cleanses the stomach and removes mucus from it.

Mrs Grieves notes that nettle beer was made for the old folks to help with their gout and rheumatism. And also that it was a nice drink without that benefit.

Nettles are a highly nutritious green that keeps on giving. Nettle leaves harvested before the plant flowers are one of the tastier wild greens. Once they are cooked, blended into a smoothie or pesto, or dried, the stingers go dormant.  It can be cooked like spinach, added to omelets or quiche, or dried for tea.

Nettles contain significant amounts of Vitamin K, Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Manganese, Calcium and Iron, with modest amounts of B-complex vitamins, magnesium and potassium; and trace amounts of choline, boron, silica, sulfur, zinc, copper, phosphorus, selenium and sodium. Specific amounts vary by processing methods.

Urtica dioica for Healing

Nettle leaf poultice is recommended by Dioscorides and Galen for various wounds that are inflamed and resistant to healing. (I would use plantago for this purpose, personally, but it’s good to have options)

Dioscorides also recommended various nettle concoctions for various respiratory complaints including sore throat, chest congestion and lung infections. Modern herbalists often recommend urtica for allergic symptoms as well. A nettle honey or oxymel serves as an easy to swallow dose for these.

Nettle Honey for coughs and congestion:

1 part dried nettle leaves to 1 part honey. Pour the honey over the nettles and stir gently to remove any air bubbles. Let rest for 1-2 weeks. Strain through a cheesecloth or fine mesh strainer  into a clean jar. You can heat the honey gently under warm water if it is too thick to strain easily. To retain its natural enzyme activity, try to keep it below 95°F (35°C). Only use fully dried leaves when infusing honey, fresh leaves contain too much water content which can lead to spoilage and encourage the growth of bacteria.

Culpeper extolled urtica’s diuretic qualities, and recommended it for passing stones, as well as recommending it be included in an ointment for wounds and ulcers. He recommended it be processed while in flower for best efficacy.

 

Stinging Nettles Magick

The energy of stinging nettles corresponds with that of Mars and Ares, due to its stinging nature and its nutritive affinity for the blood. It also corresponds to the Earth element, due to its highly nutritive nature.

Nettles can be powdered and scattered around boundaries to protect those within. It can also be added as in irritant in your classic witches bottle protection spell. It is particularly useful in defensive magic, particularly in reversals as nettles bites back, and in hex-breaking. It may be added to a cleansing bath or burned during uncrossing spells.

Nettles is also useful for inner strength and resilience and can be used in spells for courage, strengthening of resolve, or to stand strong in the face of others’ scorn. Nettle tea may be ingested as part of these spells (it is perfectly safe and nutritious, barring allergies) , and/or dried nettle may be carried in a protection spell sachet.

Nettle fibers can be used for anything you would use cordage for in a protection spell.

Nettles protection magic is especially effective for those who are already strong, as nettles has no patience for coddling weaklings or whiners. That is, it is a powerful ally, but it can be demanding and overwhelming.

Read More Online

Nettles at Caterpillar Food Plants https://www.caterpillarfoodplants.com/nettles.html

De Material Medica at the Internet Archives https://archive.org/stream/de-materia-medica/scribd-download.com_dioscorides-de-materia-medica_djvu.txt

A Modern Herbal by Mrs. M. Grieve https://botanical.com/botanical/mgmh/n/nettle03.html#les

(You can also purchase a physical copy on Amazon. A Modern Herbal: The Medicinal, Culinary, Cosmetic, and Economic Properties, Cultivation, and Folklore of Herbs, Grasses, Fungi, Shrubs, and Trees with All Their Modern Scientific Uses by Margaret Grieve)

Nettle As a Distinct Bronze Age Textile Plant at nature.com https://www.nature.com/articles/srep00664