Secrets of the Honeysuckle Tree
Honeysuckle Tree (Lonicera periclymenum)
Volume 23 of 31
Bruce Clifton
Honeysuckle Tree ~ Uilleann
Honeysuckle Tree – Ogham Tree Profile
Bruce Clifton
Group: 5th Aicme ~ Forfeda
Name: Honeysuckle / Woodbine
Ogham: Uilleann >>> Ull-yun ~ Ull-endth
Letter: UI-Pe
Lunar: Universal
Season: Summer
Element: Fire ~ Spirit
Direction: South
Moon Phase: Universal
Moon Name: Universal
Influence: Unified
Title: Shrub
Age: Half a generation
Aura: Yellow ~ Blue
Healing:
Animal Spirit:
Totems – Entities:
Gods – Deities:
Secret Harmonies:
Festival: (coming soon)
Cosmos: (coming soon)
Key Words: Happiness ~ Intuition ~
Essence of the Honeysuckle Tree
Bruce Clifton
Healing Lore of the Honeysuckle Tree
Bruce Clifton
B1
Scope & Notice
The information contained herein is for educational and entertainment purposes only. All efforts have been made to present accurate, up-to-date, reliable and complete information; however, no warranties of any kind are stated or implied. Readers should acknowledge that the author is not engaged in the rendering of medical or professional advice. The content herein should not be perceived as a substitute for professional or personal guidance. If in doubt, consult a qualified professional before attempting any techniques outlined.
The appropriate dosage or application of any natural remedy is dependent upon various factors, including age, health status, and individual circumstances. Natural products are not inherently safe, and dosage may be critical. It is best practice to begin with lower amounts and adjust as necessary. Consideration should also be given to timing, as the effectiveness of remedies may vary according to time of day and individual sensitivity.
About the Healing List
This list of ailments is not complete in its entirety; it has been limited to the most popular, with the remedies coming firstly from the tree and then vegetation dependent on the tree. It is worthy of note that there is more than one way to make a cup of tea, and many of the ingredients can be purchased online.
Honeysuckle Tree – Healing Remedies Oracle
We have alphabetised this list of healing qualities of the honeysuckle tree solely for ease of reference; they include but are not limited to:
1) Anti-inflammatory
2) Arthritis
3) Asthma
4) Bronchitis
5) Colds
6) Coughs
7) Headaches
8) Liver
9) Mouth Ulcers
10) Skin Rashes
Anti-inflammatory / Honeysuckle Tree
Ingredients
Fresh honeysuckle flowers
Fresh honeysuckle leaves
A few young honeysuckle stems
Key Properties
Traditionally used to cool, soothe and settle areas of inflammation, particularly where the skin or tissues feel hot, swollen, tender or irritated.
Traditional properties:
Anti-inflammatory
Astringent
Analgesic
Soothing
Vulnerary
Preparation
Gather a good handful of honeysuckle flowers and leaves with a few young stems. Bruise them between the hands and steep them in a bowlful of hot water, leaving everything to infuse as the water cools.
For swollen hands or feet, soak them in the warm Honeysuckle water. Knees, elbows, shoulders and aching muscles can be bathed with it or wrapped in a soft cloth soaked in the infusion. If the inflammation feels hot or the skin is irritated, leave the water to cool completely and use it as a soothing wash instead.
To make a quick Honeysuckle salve, put a handful of chopped flowers and leaves into a small pan with enough olive oil to cover them. Warm very gently for around half an hour, without frying the plant, then strain out the Honeysuckle. Return the infused oil to a gentle heat and add a small shaving of beeswax. Once the wax has melted, take it from the heat and leave it to cool. It will settle into a soft ointment that can be rubbed onto sore or troublesome areas.
If it sets harder than you would like, warm it again and add a little more oil. If it remains too runny, add another shaving of beeswax. There’s no need to turn it into a chemistry lesson — you’re simply looking for something soft enough to scoop with a fingertip and rub comfortably into the skin.
Traditional Use
Honeysuckle has traditionally been valued for soothing inflammation and irritated tissues, and this is a remedy that can change according to what is troubling you. Soak swollen fingers or feet, bathe an aching knee, cool hot and irritated skin, or wrap a warm Honeysuckle cloth around a stiff and uncomfortable joint.
The salve gives you something to keep for another day. Rub a little into aching joints, tired muscles or areas prone to soreness when making a fresh bowlful isn’t convenient. The Honeysuckle-infused oil carries the plant onto the skin, while the beeswax simply turns that oil into something easier to apply and keep.
Warm when warmth feels good, cool when the area feels hot and angry, and salve when you want something ready to hand.
Arthritis / Honeysuckle Tree
Ingredients
Fresh honeysuckle flowers
Fresh honeysuckle leaves
A few young honeysuckle stems
Key Properties
Traditionally used for rheumatic and arthritic complaints, particularly where the joints have become stiff, swollen, aching or troublesome to move.
Traditional properties:
Anti-inflammatory
Analgesic
Astringent
Soothing
Vulnerary
Preparation
Gather a good handful of honeysuckle flowers and leaves, together with a few of the softer young stems. Bruise them well and steep them in a bowlful of hot water, leaving the Honeysuckle in the water as it cools to a comfortable warmth.
For aching hands and fingers, simply put the hands into the bowl and gently move the fingers beneath the water. Arthritic feet can be treated in much the same way with a larger bowl or foot bath. Give them time to soak; part of the comfort comes from allowing the warmth to work into stiff little joints rather than hurrying the process.
Knees, elbows, wrists and other troublesome joints can be bathed generously with the warm Honeysuckle water. Where soaking isn’t practical, soak a soft cloth in the preparation, wrap it around the aching joint and leave it there while the warmth remains.
If you have a Honeysuckle salve, rub a little into the joint afterwards. This is particularly useful for fingers, knuckles, wrists, knees and feet, where a gentle massage can accompany the application.
Traditional Use
Honeysuckle has a long association with soothing inflammation and rheumatic aches. A warm bath or soak makes particularly good sense for arthritic hands and feet because the preparation can surround several painful joints at once, while bathing or wrapping allows the same remedy to be used elsewhere on the body.
It is an uncomplicated household remedy: something to reach for when the fingers have stiffened, the knees are complaining or tired feet have become sore and difficult. The warmth brings its own comfort, while Honeysuckle lends its traditional anti-inflammatory, analgesic and soothing properties to the aching joint.
Asthma / Honeysuckle Tree
Ingredients
Fresh honeysuckle flowers
A few young honeysuckle leaves
Honey
Key Properties
Traditionally used to soothe the throat and chest, ease troublesome coughing and bring comfort when breathing feels tight or irritated.
Traditional properties:
Expectorant
Antispasmodic
Anti-inflammatory
Soothing
Preparation
Gather a small handful of fresh honeysuckle flowers with a few of the younger leaves. Bruise them lightly between the fingers and place them in a cup or small pot. Pour over hot water and leave them to steep until the flowers have softened and their fragrance has passed into the water.
Strain, add a spoonful of honey and drink while pleasantly warm. Sip it slowly rather than drinking it quickly, allowing the warmth and honey to soothe the throat and chest.
Traditional Use
Honeysuckle has an old folk association with asthma and troublesome breathing. A warm flower tea was taken when the chest felt tight, irritated or burdened by coughing, particularly where mucus made breathing feel heavier.
The flowers bring the gentler, soothing side of Honeysuckle to the remedy, while the young leaves add some of the plant’s traditional astringent qualities. Honey rounds it off into the sort of simple household preparation that could be made whenever Honeysuckle was flowering in the hedgerows.
Bronchitis / Honeysuckle Tree
Ingredients
Fresh honeysuckle flowers
Fresh honeysuckle leaves
Honey
Key Properties
Traditionally used to soothe a troublesome chest, loosen congestion and calm the persistent cough that often accompanies bronchitis.
Traditional properties:
Expectorant
Anti-inflammatory
Antispasmodic
Soothing
Preparation
Gather a good handful of fresh honeysuckle flowers and a few young leaves. Bruise them lightly and simmer gently in a little water until the flowers have softened and the liquid has taken on their fragrance.
Strain while still warm, pressing the flowers and leaves to recover their juices. Stir enough honey into the honeysuckle liquid to make a light syrup, then leave it to cool.
Take a spoonful when the chest feels troublesome or the cough becomes persistent. The syrup can also be stirred into a cupful of warm water and sipped slowly.
Traditional Use
A comforting household remedy for a heavy, congested chest. Honeysuckle was traditionally valued for helping to loosen stubborn mucus and soothe irritated airways, while honey coats and comforts a throat made sore by repeated coughing. Taken by the spoonful or warmed into a drink, it offers a gentler way of using Honeysuckle when bronchitis has left the chest feeling tight, sore and weary.
Colds / Honeysuckle Tree
Ingredients
Fresh honeysuckle flowers
Fresh honeysuckle leaves
A spoonful of honey
Key Properties
Traditionally used to ease a stuffy head, soothe the throat and bring comfort during a heavy cold.
Traditional properties:
Expectorant
Diaphoretic
Febrifuge
Soothing
Preparation
Gather a small handful of honeysuckle flowers and leaves, bruise them lightly and add them to a bowlful of hot water. Allow the flowers and leaves to steep for a few minutes, breathing in the warm honeysuckle steam as the fragrance rises.
When the water has cooled and the steam has faded, strain a cupful of the honeysuckle water and stir in a spoonful of honey. Sip it warm to soothe a dry or irritated throat.
Traditional Use
A simple household remedy for those miserable, stuffy days when a cold has settled around the nose, throat and head. The warm steam helps loosen the heaviness and congestion, while the honeysuckle and honey make a soothing drink for the throat afterwards.
The same preparation gives the plant two uses rather than wasting what remains after the steam — first breathed in while hot, then enjoyed as a warm drink once cooled.
Coughs / Honeysuckle Tree
Ingredients
Fresh honeysuckle flowers
Fresh honeysuckle leaves
Honey
A little lemon, if you have one
Key Properties
Traditionally used to settle troublesome coughing, soothe a throat made sore from coughing and help loosen mucus when the chest feels congested.
Traditional properties:
Expectorant
Antitussive
Antispasmodic
Anti-inflammatory
Soothing
Preparation
Gather a small handful of honeysuckle flowers and a few young leaves. Bruise them lightly and put them into a cup or small pot, then pour over hot water and leave them to steep until the water becomes fragrant.
Strain the Honeysuckle water while it is still warm and stir in a generous spoonful of honey. A squeeze of lemon can be added if there is one in the kitchen.
Sip it slowly when the cough is troublesome. Don’t rush the cup; the warm Honeysuckle and honey are as much about soothing the throat as drinking the remedy itself.
For a cough that becomes particularly irritating at night, make the drink a little stronger and use less water, leaving it somewhere close by. A few warm mouthfuls can be taken when coughing starts rather than drinking another whole cup.
If you’d rather have something you can take by the spoonful, make a stronger Honeysuckle infusion, stir in plenty of honey while it is warm and allow it to cool. It becomes a simple Honeysuckle cough syrup without turning the remedy into anything complicated.
Traditional Use
Honeysuckle has a long folk association with coughs and congested respiratory complaints. Its flowers were valued for their expectorant and soothing qualities, particularly when coughing came with mucus, irritation or a tight and uncomfortable chest.
This is very much a cupboard remedy. Honeysuckle from the hedgerow, honey from the kitchen and lemon if there’s one about. Drink it warm during the day, keep some beside the bed when a cough is disturbing sleep, or make it stronger and take it by the spoonful.
Sometimes the simplest remedy is the easiest one to remember — Honeysuckle, honey and warmth for a troublesome cough.
Headaches / Honeysuckle Tree
Ingredients
Fresh honeysuckle flowers
Fresh honeysuckle leaves
A little honeysuckle root
Key Properties
Traditionally used for headaches, particularly where the head feels hot, heavy, tense or weary.
Traditional properties:
Cooling
Anti-inflammatory
Analgesic
Astringent
Soothing
Preparation
Gather a few fresh honeysuckle flowers and leaves. If the plant is plentiful and established, a small shaving of root can be added, although the flowers and leaves are quite enough on their own.
Bruise the Honeysuckle lightly and steep it in a cupful of hot water. Leave it for a while, allowing the flowers and leaves to soften and the water to take on their fragrance.
For a hot or heavy head, let the Honeysuckle water cool, soak a soft cloth in it and lay it across the forehead and temples. The softened flowers and leaves can be folded inside the cloth so that nothing from the preparation is wasted.
There is another, simpler way to use it. A traditional Honeysuckle infusion was also taken for headache, so the flowers and leaves can be strained away and the water sipped warm instead. If the headache has come at the end of a long or tiring day, there is no reason the two cannot be combined — drink a little of the infusion and use the remainder to cool the forehead.
Traditional Use
Honeysuckle appears in British folk tradition as a remedy for headache, including the old practice of drinking an infusion when the head was troublesome.
As a household remedy, it lends itself particularly well to those headaches described simply as a hot head, heavy head or tired head. A cool Honeysuckle cloth across the brow gives the remedy an immediate comforting use, while the infusion offers the older internal preparation.
It doesn’t need to be complicated: a little Honeysuckle, a cupful of water and somewhere quiet to sit until the head settles.
Liver / Honeysuckle Tree
Ingredients
Fresh honeysuckle leaves
A few young honeysuckle stems
Key Properties
Honeysuckle leaves have traditionally been used in preparations associated with the liver, particularly as a gentle cleansing and diuretic herb where the body was thought to need a little help clearing itself.
Traditional properties:
Hepatic
Depurative
Diuretic
Astringent
Tonic
Preparation
Gather a handful of fresh honeysuckle leaves with a few of the softer young stems. Tear or bruise them and put them into a small pan of water. Bring the water up to a gentle simmer and leave the Honeysuckle bubbling quietly for ten or fifteen minutes, making a stronger decoction than the flower teas used for coughs and colds.
Strain it into a cup and drink warm. If the taste is a little too green or bitter, a spoonful of honey can be stirred through it.
Another old-fashioned way of approaching a cleansing remedy is simply to make enough for the day. Keep the remaining decoction covered and take a small cupful later rather than making each one from scratch.
Traditional Use
The leaves of Honeysuckle have a history of being prepared as a decoction for complaints of the liver and spleen. This is where the leaves come into their own rather than the sweetly scented flowers: simmering draws out a stronger, greener preparation suited to the plant’s traditional cleansing and diuretic reputation.
It is the sort of remedy that would once have been described simply as “something to clear you out and get things moving again” — a bitterish cup taken when someone felt sluggish, heavy or generally in need of a spring clean.
Mouth Ulcers / Honeysuckle Tree
Ingredients
Fresh honeysuckle leaves
Fresh honeysuckle flowers
Key Properties
Traditionally used as a soothing and astringent mouthwash for sore gums, tender mouths and small ulcers, helping to calm irritation while gently tightening the tissues around the affected area.
Traditional properties:
Astringent
Anti-inflammatory
Antiseptic
Soothing
Vulnerary
Preparation
Gather a small handful of fresh honeysuckle leaves and flowers and bruise them lightly. Put them into a cup or small pot, pour over hot water and leave them to steep until the water has cooled.
Strain well and use the Honeysuckle water as a mouthwash. Take a mouthful, gently move it around the sore part of the mouth and then spit it out. This can be repeated several times from the same cupful.
If an ulcer is tucked away somewhere awkward — against the gum, inside the cheek or beneath the tongue — hold a little of the Honeysuckle water over that spot for a few moments before spitting it out.
The same preparation can also be used as a gargle when soreness has spread towards the back of the mouth or throat.
Traditional Use
Preparations of its leaves and flowers were used as washes and gargles for inflammations of the mouth, and this traditional use extended to sore mouths and thrush.
It makes an uncomplicated household remedy: pick a little Honeysuckle, steep it, let it cool and rinse the troublesome mouth with the resulting water. The astringent quality of the plant suits swollen or tender tissues, while its soothing character makes it useful when eating, drinking or simply moving the mouth has made an ulcer uncomfortable.
And don’t throw the remainder away — keep it covered for another rinse later in the day.
Skin Rashes / Honeysuckle Tree
Ingredients
Fresh honeysuckle leaves
Fresh honeysuckle flowers
A few young honeysuckle stems
Key Properties
Traditionally used externally to cool and soothe irritated skin, particularly where a rash feels hot, itchy, tender or uncomfortable.
Traditional properties:
Anti-inflammatory
Astringent
Antiseptic
Soothing
Vulnerary
Preparation
Gather a good handful of honeysuckle leaves and flowers with a few of the softer young stems. Bruise them lightly and steep them in a bowlful of hot water. Leave everything in the bowl until the water has cooled completely.
For a small rash, bathe the skin generously with the cool Honeysuckle water and allow it to dry naturally. If the irritation covers a larger area, make a bigger bowlful and use it as a cooling wash, gently pouring or sponging the preparation over the skin.
For itchy arms, hands or feet, the affected area can simply be soaked in the cooled infusion. And if the rash is somewhere awkward, soak a soft cloth in the Honeysuckle water and lay it over the skin for a while.
The softened leaves and flowers can also be lightly crushed together and wrapped within the cloth, making a simple Honeysuckle poultice for a particularly troublesome patch.
For a fresh Honeysuckle skin paste, put a small handful of fresh flowers and young leaves into a blender with a spoonful of Manuka honey. Add just enough of the cooled Honeysuckle infusion to help the blades turn, then blend until the leaves and flowers have broken down into a soft, spreadable paste. Smooth a little over the irritated area, leave it for a short while, then rinse away with cool Honeysuckle water.
Traditional Use
Honeysuckle has a long folk association with external washes and lotions for inflamed and irritated skin. Its cooling, astringent character makes this a particularly simple remedy when the skin feels hot, itchy or generally unhappy.
There is no need to make every rash fit the same treatment. Wash it, soak it or cool it, depending upon where the irritation appears. A hand or foot can go straight into the bowl; an arm or leg can be bathed; and a troublesome patch can have the Honeysuckle laid directly over it.
It is the sort of remedy that makes use of what is growing in the hedge: gather the Honeysuckle, bruise it, steep it, let it cool and give the irritated skin a little relief.
For something richer, blend the fresh flowers and leaves with a spoonful of Manuka honey and a splash of Honeysuckle water. This makes a soft green paste that can be spread over a small troublesome area before being washed away. The honey gives the preparation a soothing, slightly protective quality and stops the crushed plant material from simply falling away.
Celtic Tree Lore of the ?? Tree
Bruce Clifton
Folklore of the ?? Tree
Bruce Clifton
Animal Spirit of the Honeysuckle Tree
Bruce Clifton
Honeysuckle Tree – Animal Spirit Oracle
Bruce Clifton
We have alphabetised this list of animal spirit that harmonise with the honeysuckle tree solely for ease of reference; no sense of hierarchy or entitlement is intended or implied:
1) Bat
2) Bee
3) Butterfly
4) Moth
5) Mouse
Bat / Honeysuckle Tree
Bee / Honeysuckle Tree
Butterfly / Honeysuckle Tree
Moth / Honeysuckle Tree
Mouse / Honeysuckle Tree
Totems and Entities of the ?? Tree
Bruce Clifton
B1
?? Tree – Totems and Entities Oracle
Bruce Clifton
B2
Gods and Deities of the ?? Tree
Bruce Clifton
A1
?? Tree – Gods and Deities Oracle
Bruce Clifton
A2
Secret Harmonies of the ?? Tree
Bruce Clifton
B1
?? Tree – Secret Harmonies Oracle
Bruce Clifton
B2