VALERIAN
Valerian is a plant that has a modern following and is usually well known even by folks who know little about herbalism. At some point or another they’ve had a cup of valerian tea when they couldn’t sleep or at the very least are familiar with the name in the same type of recognition that one has with echinacea or elderberry. There’s good reason for their reputation- and that’s simply because Valerian is remarkably effective.
There are native varieties of Valerian growing across the America’s, however most references are alluding to the old world European and Asian variety known as Garden Heliotrope or valeriana officinalis. I grow this variety in my garden and use them interchangeably with our native northwest variety valeriana sitchensis, or Sitka Valerian. Sitka valerian’s range runs from the Alaskan coast down to the tip of northern California and east towards Montana and northern Canada. This smaller, delicate variety grows in moist mountain forests and is common amongst subalpine meadows. Garden valerian also enjoys moist soil and shady crevices, but I find them to be more tolerant of full sun and regular garden conditions.
I find there are two types of people; those who can’t stand the smell of Valerian and those who find them intoxicating. I place myself firmly in the category of the latter. Fresh valerian flowers in the garden carry a floral muskiness that I’ve often tried to bottle and can never seem to capture quite right. Insects and butterflies find them attractive as well, and valerian is often sold in nurseries as great additions to pollinator gardens.
The roots of valerian lack the more delicate floral notes but entrench your senses in earthy ambrosia. They smell medicinal, animalistic, and somehow playful. I prefer to work with the fresh roots only as the scent leans toward funkier when dried, and in my practice there is less likelihood of adverse effects when working with the fresh tincture.
Valerian roots are fine, thread like and grow enmeshed in one another. Using the doctrine of signatures, we see these delicate threaded roots resemble nerves, and Valerian’s primary action is upon the nervous system.
The indication is for wired, nervous, stressed folks who become hyper in the face of stress instead of catatonic. You can’t sit still, you try to lie down and sleep and your mind is racing with thoughts. You’re up late going over things in your mind trapped in circular thought patterns. Valerian seems to work better than most plants for folks with insomnia or who wake up and can’t get back to sleep. It's the kind of herb where the more you need it, the better it works. Whereas folks who don’t fit the indication may not notice much of a difference. For someone who’s more spacey and ethereal in constitution, I would recommend a more grounding nervine (like Wood Betony) instead of/or in combination with Valerian.
Valerian is the number one non-prescription sedative used across Europe. They were used widely during both world wars as a treatment for shell shock and PTSD in soldiers as well as being introduced in tablets given to citizens living under the terror of nightly bombings. In TCM, valerian has been used to treat migraines, insomnia and depression. In my experience, especially the types of headaches that can come from over stimulation from caffeine or dehydration.
Energetically Valerian is warming, stimulating and moving. They are a safe and reliable sedative, nervine and anti-spasmodic that has a specific type of indication. If you are not a “Valerian person”, this herb can in some cases have a rather opposite effect, increasing anxiety and excitability.
Micheal Moore writes:
“Valerian is a stimulant to digestion, a stimulant to the lungs, and a stimulant to the cardiovascular output. If you are an adrenalin-stress person, with diminished intestinal tract function, have dilated and dry bronchial rings with shallow, guarded breathing and a rapid, thready adrenalin pulse…Valerian stimulates digestive functions, increases depth and efficiency of respiration, slows and strengthens the pulse, and sedates the brain. It is a tonic sedative. It fits your metabolism. If, on the other hand, you are an adrenocortical-stress person with a strong and demanding intestinal tract, good moist lungs, and the cardiovascular excess that accompanies moderate essential hypertension from increased blood volume and sodium retention, then Valerian will stimulate the functions that are already excessive - not your herb.”
The fresh root preparations have less stimulation and are a more reasonable sedative for more types of people as the dried root possesses more excitatory components. If you’ve tried dried Valerian before in tea and capsules and found it’s effects overwhelming, a fresh tincture may work differently for you.
All that being said, the best way to start working with Valerian if you aren’t sure is to start with a small dose (a few drops) and to try initially when you do not have other responsibilities so if you take too much or it does make you groggy, you won’t become more anxious about what you aren’t doing. The magic is really in the dose, so start slow and notice the sensations that arise in your body.
I also enjoy working with Valerian as a salve, which I like to rub on the soles of my feet for grounding or the temples to relieve tension and promote dreaming.
An interesting note on Valerian’s sedative qualities, is that unlike other sleep inducing hypnotics, valerian does not decrease or eliminate REM sleep. In fact, Valerian is said to decrease non-REM sleep time, thereby increasing the amount of REM sleep we have in a night. REM is where the majority of our dreams take place, meaning that Valerian is not only an herb used to promote sleep but also dreaming.
With more than 2000 years of documented use, we have a firm grasp on how Valerian was used medicinally. The folklore on valerian is another story. Due to how many pre-Christian cultures of Europe relied on oral traditions, we are left to fill in the gaps, weaving pieces of myth and story and reading between the lines to understand the role certain plants played in our ancestors' lives.
By the time Europe was colonized, knowledge had to be taken underground, layered deeply so as to remain safe. References to herbs that are known for their ability to act as wards or protect against witches/witchcraft, for example, more likely than not were often historically used by “witches” in ritual and healing.
Herta (sometimes spelled Herthra or Ertha) was a Germanic Mother goddess who has been nearly obliterated from history despite the letters of her name rearranged to spell “Earth”. She was referenced as Herta Mater Terra - Mother Earth- by the Roman historian Tacitus in his accounts on the Germanic tribes.
Archeological evidence points to Denmark and modern day Germany as the epicenter of worship, specifically a sanctuary grove on Rügen Island, in the Baltic Sea. The highest point on Rügen Island is called ‘Hertaburg’ and ruins of a castle that is believed to be her shrine can be found there.
The ancient rites of Herta were shrouded in secrecy and little is known today, whether because they were always private or were made so after invasion by the Romans, we do not know. One thread we can follow comes in the form of legend. It was said that Herta rides a deer crowned with Hops, and uses a stalk of Valerian as a riding crop to guide the stag as she moves through the night. It is worth noting that both of these plants are profoundly sedative and induce deep sleep and dream states. Could these plants have been used to access liminal states between waking and dreaming, or as an aid to journey between realms?
Valerian invites us in deeper. Beyond their medicinal qualities, Valerian is a plant that opens doorways and beckons us to walk through them. Valerian alters our perception and how we engage with the world around us, subtly shifting our breath, awareness, and movement.
