Is Mistletoe (Viscum album )a magical herb or a poisonous toxin? Truth be told, it may be just a bit of both. Albeit it’s my all-time favorite herb. Perhaps for the pagunus, (or Pagans today) it is sacred. The ancient Druids and Celtic peoples (ref: Pliny the Elder) claimed it was a cure all plant with many healing properties. It is also in the Norse tale of Baldur, and has been mentioned and studied through the centuries by other cultures.

Mistletoe hosts on trees and is considered a hemiparasitic plant. This simply means it will host on roots or shoots of another such as on an apple tree or Dogwood tree. It seems to grow in some US states and is highly attainable in Europe. It is the primary food source for a species of butterfly and yet the berries to humans have been known to be most poisonous. Poison control centers state the entire plant is poisonous, yet, when parts of the plant are properly sourced, can be safely used in your holistic green life or in your magical spells.

Perhaps if you have been googling Mistletoe, the word Cancer came up. It’s no secret that Swiss, German, and Austrian clinics have been studying the effects of mistletoe in health practices (namely fighting cancer) since the 20’s. Actual injectable mistletoe is used in European countries and is used in their therapies, however; in the states, imported injectables have been banned for some time. In Germany Mistletoe is prescribed as “Iscador” and forums on the web back in the early to mid 1990’s talked about the impact that it had on breast cancer patients. Their research, trials, and use has gone on for years. In the United States however, The National Cancer Institute talks about the USA’s stance here: Mistletoe Extracts – NCI (cancer.gov) and it appears not enough data was collected support the claims of it working, (and therefore no need to get rid big Pharma.) The protocols for USA patients with Cancer are only available if you are doing holistic cancer therapy, under a naturopath, then perhaps the chances are Mistletoe is involved in tea, pills, or tinctures somewhere in this treatment.

For healthy living purposes, Mistletoe is available in the USA as a tea you can drink, a dried herb, or a liquid form (tincture) that you drop under your tongue, or in pill/capsule form. Most often the tinctures are made from the green parts of the plant extracted in a ratio with either a glycerin or grain alcohol base. I myself procure it from Herb-Era or Secrets of the Tribe from Colorado, (glycerin) and use a dropper a day under the tongue to lower my blood pressure. They also claim it can regulate heart rhythm, calm you down (sedative), relief from headaches or anxiety, and stimulates the immune system (and a whole lot more which you can read on their website.) My husband took it during his cancer fight (the capsule and the tincture) to help boost his immune system responses. I do believe it helped calm him down from the overall stress of knowing that he was fighting cancer. Teas I have not personally used as of yet. I used Mistletoe vegan capsules in my dog’s holistic cancer treatment. It, combined with a plethora of other herbs, helped give him a better quality of life and live with the cancer longer.

In spells, the properties are truly amazing. As a white witch I really can’t get enough of it. Mistletoe can be used to ward off evil spirits. It can be used in protection spells. The berries themselves I have used as an ink in a spell to ward off unwanted harm. I have used mistletoe in healing pocket spells and also for clarify from the Elders. I will talk more about this soon, on my podcast. Stay tuned.