Vervain
Botanical: Verbena Officinalis
Family: Verbenaceae
Homeopathic remedy: Verbena Officinalis
Description: Vervain has a history of being a sacred herb. According to the legend the vervain was used to stanch the bleeding of Christ's wounds. It is a common ingredient in various love mixtures and protective and prosperity spells. The Vervain has tiny purple flowers that grow on tall spikes.
Medicinal uses: Nerve tonic, Sedative, Cholagogue, Not to be taken by pregnant women
Keywords: Willpower, Endurance, Enthusiasm, Positive, Fighter, Perfectionist, Persistence, Always going forward
Compare: Oak
Dr Bach's description: Those with fixed principles and ideas, which they are confident are right, and which they very rarely change. They have a great wish to convert all around them to their own views of life. They are strong of will and have much courage when they are convinced of those things that they wish to teach. In illness they struggle on long after many would have given up their duties.
Essence: The Vervain people are governed by the combination of Mars and Saturn energy. They focus their energy to the outside and they try to change the surroundings by their fixed ideas and actions. They are positive (they achieve a change in the outside environment) and confident that their way is the best one. This would be impossible without the correct driving force. The Vervain people have plenty of this energy. It manifests as the enthusiasm, optimism, persistence and extreme willpower. A possible similarity between the Vervain plant and the Vervain essence can be seen in the function of long spikes on which the flowers grow. The long spikes put the flowers of the Vervain on a higher position so that it can attract insects. The Vervain person uses his enthusiasm (he puts his ideas on a higher position) to attract people and to motivate them.
Although this kind of enthusiasm and willpower can seem like a very good personality trait, it has its negative aspects. The Vervain people can become overly zealous and can even become fanatics. They can have problems with relaxation, as they spend too much energy and they do not waste time in relaxing and regaining strength.
The Vervain is quite similar to the Oak. The difference between these remedies is that the Oak lacks the enthusiasm of the Vervain. Oak performs his duties because of a very strong sense of duty that does not allow him to rest or to stop. The Vervain performs his duties because of his enthusiasm and because he wants to accomplish it. The Oak must finish the work at all costs (sense of duty) and the Vervain wants to finish the work (motivation is his own need to accomplish the task).