As mentioned in the first half of this article, Parsley was often used in ancient times for bladder and kidney disease. As happens so often, the ancients were right on target. Today, Parsley leaf tea is sometimes prescribed by Homeopathic practitioners for bladder problems, kidney stones, and urinary tract infections. The root has laxative properties.
As with all medicinal herbs, however, consult your doctor or a qualified Homeopathic practitioner before beginning herbal treatment. Especially if you think you are experiencing bladder problems, please consult a professional!
Gardening with Parsley
There is a surprising variety of Parsley available; almost 40 show up in a casual search of the garden seed catalogs. Some are grown for their leaves, others for their stems (some of which resemble celery) and others for their root. Still others are grown purely ornamentally.
If you choose to grow your own Parsley, it's one of the easiest herbs to grow. It will do fine in ordinary garden soils that are kept moist and have at least part shade. You can plant it in rows, but I use the square foot method and broadcast the seeds over a couple of weeks in Spring, ensuring a consistent crop. You can sow Parsley as soon as the soil begins to warm and weather permits. Given time to germinate, most Parsley varieties will grow steadily all Summer long.
Milder climates can enjoy some Parsley varieties all Winter long. Even with hardy varieties, however, change out the plants every two years, as they will start to seed and grow bitter.
Other Use
The culinary possibilities for Parsley are simply too numerous to mention...I suggest doing a search right here on Suite101 for some fabulous recipes including Parsley!
Parsley can also be used cosmetically. An infusion (tea) of Parsley leaves is soothing and cleansing added to bath water, shampoo, soaps, and natural skin lotions.
Magical Use
Gender: Masculine
Planet: Mercury, Mars
Element: Air
Deity: Persephone; Venus, Aphrodite
Cunningham's Encyclopedia of Magical Herbs tells us that Parley is an herb for inducing lust and fertility, yet cautions "... if you are in love, don't cut parsley, you'll cut your love as well."
Cunningham also states that Parsley can be used in purification baths. Beyerl, in a compendium of Herbal Magick, elaborates to say that this sort of bath is predisposed to invoking the Mother aspect of the Goddess.
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