The Encyclopedia of Crystals, Herbs, and New Age Elements: An A to Z Guide to New Age Elements and How to Use Them - Adams Media 2016

Evening Primrose
The Power of Herbs: Herbs and Spices

ORIGINS

Evening primrose is a flowering plant of the Onagraceae family, which is native to the Americas. Its cup-shaped yellow flowers have four petals each and open in the evening (hence the name). The young roots and shoots can be eaten like a vegetable, and the whole plant can be used for medicinal and other purposes.

HISTORY/LORE

Many Native American tribes, including the Cherokee, Iroquois, and Ojibwa, used evening primrose for various rituals and remedies. They used it as a poultice to treat bruises, as a salve to relieve skin irritations, and as a tea for weight loss. Evening primrose root was also heated and applied to hemorrhoids to relieve pain and reduce swelling. The Shakers, a religious sect founded in England in the eighteenth century, used evening primrose in many of their natural remedies, including poultices for wounds and teas for upset stomach.

USES

Healing Uses: Evening primrose is high in essential fatty acids that are necessary for good health. Women can take evening primrose oil as a nutritional supplement to ease symptoms of PMS or to boost fertility. The oil can also be used to treat skin issues such as eczema and rosacea by applying it to the affected area. A tea made from the leaves, stems, and roots, applied externally, is nourishing for the skin.

Magical Uses: Because it blooms at night, evening primrose is great for use in moon ceremonies. Add evening primrose to bathwater to enhance inner beauty or use it in a spell for good luck in your career. It can also be used to attract faeries.

Personal/Spiritual Growth: As an evening bloomer, this flower shines its own light in the dark and encourages you to do the same. Evening primrose stimulates the solar plexus and heart chakras, allowing you to open yourself up to love without fear of betrayal or rejection. It also enhances creativity.