Plant of the month: Elder

Common name: Elder

Latin name: Sambucus nigra

Family: Honeysuckle Family

Element: Water

There are many species of elder. The most commonly used medicinally today is

Sambucus nigra, formally called Sambucus canadensis

Common to North America, Europe, Western Asia, New Zealand, Australia and many

Pacific Islands. It is now considered an invasive.

Gender: Feminine

Process: Involution (Bringing Spirit into matter)

Energy: Cooling, drying

Planet Association: Venus, Saturn

Chakra: Root (1st chakra) Muladhara: Mula=root dhara=base,

Heart (4th Chakra) Anahata=unbroken

Part of Plant Used: Berries, flowers (Bark has been used as a purgative and is not

recommended)

Day of the Week: Friday (Viernes), Saturday (Saturn day)

Taste: Bitter, slightly sweet

History and Lore: Elder has been used as food and medicine since people have been in

contact with her. “Some say that the plant itself is an elder to the plant communities

around it, a gateway to the depths of the plant world” Buhner.

Celtic: In the Celtic Calendar a tree marks each month, Elder is the tree of the thirteenth

month and is known as Ruis and signifies the letter R. Representing the end of a cycle

for the agricultural year and a new beginning. Elder brings a message of transformation,

renewal and change. Endings symbolize beginnings with harnessing the energy of one

cycle to be used in the new cycle.

German and Scandinavian: Elder mother or Lady Elder; people must go out and ask

permission from her before the tree is touched. The correct prayers and offerings are

made first out of respect and a message comes; granting permission to use her

medicine.

Fen: Elder wood was never used as fire-wood; as it represents death and rebirth. The

tree was never touched after dark for this very reason. If Elder twigs were added to a

fire it represented displeasure by going out.

Ireland: Withes Tree: It was said that a witch can turn herself into an elder tree and the

wood is used for making magic wands. Witches rode elder sticks not broomsticks. The

scent of the white elder flowers is said to poison anyone foolish enough to fall asleep

under this tree. For the reason of sleeping under her, you can see the faeries that are

able to go into the underworld and bring back medicine. The danger is that if you were

transported there if was possible you would not be able to escape to come back.

Elder is the guardian of the underworld, where faeries and spirits of the dead reside.

The underworld is a place of transformation, death and rebirth, we go through many

underworld cycles in life bringing medicine of our transformation forward.

Charms: planted by houses to protect them from evil, lighting, to promote fertility, ward

of evil, and planted by graves. If Elder appeared to be happy near a grave of your loved

ones, you rest assured that your loved ones who crossed over are happy.

Shropshire: A necklace of Elder was hung around patients with whooping cough. In

Somerset warts were treated by cutting a leaf with the number of slits corresponding to

the number of warts; the leaf was rubbed on the warts and buried.

A way to use elder is put some flowers in pouch and hang over bed for sleep and

protection.

Why is Elder correlated to the planet of Beauty, Venus?

Sacred to many mother Goddess figures due to its white flowers. She is Elder Queen or

Good Mother, she is a protector, she represents endings and beginnings offering us

insight on what we need to let go of, she is spirit of transformation. She is adaptable and

is one of the only trees that can grow from dead parts of her own. The blossoms

symbolize the rejuvenation that we will experience from shedding our old skin, out of our

worn-ways, for the rebirth of self. This is the revealing of the beauty of the full true

authentic wise self.

How is Saturn Correlated with Elder?

Saturn is the planet of discipline and rules in a very matter of fact way. Letting us know

what is no longer working for us. We can call upon Elder to guide us, to show us, to give

us strength and protection to let go of what is no longer serving us, to shed our old skin

and move out of it and birth again in our new emerged authentic selves. Not leaving the

past behind but using our past as a strength. Elder is a teacher plant like Saturn is a

teacher planet. Elder helps us unlock ancestral patterns, looking at our inner elder.

Contains a hollow stem, meaning it is a journey plant, we can use her as a spirit to

conduct is into our inner realm, our inner elder and bring us to the other side of

transformation within.

Body: Expectorant (relieves congestion in respiratory system by bringing up mucous

and opening a pathway to be expelled), relaxing diaphoretic (reduces fever by skin),

diuretic (cleanses urinary and kidney), alterative (cleanses blood), soothing nervine

(relaxes body), mild laxative (can relieve bowels, to reduce fever), lymphagogue

(cleanses lymph)

Elder is bio-flavonoid rich, antiviral for colds and flus. What is a bio-flavonoid?

Bio-flavonoid: enhanced action of Vit C, to support blood circulation, treats allergies,

viruses and inflammation in the body. Flowers are used for fevers, ear pain, sinus congestion, wounds, skin, kidney support, blood and lymph congestion, and berries are very rich in iron, vit C, ease chest congestion and cough. Expectorant, relaxing diaphoretic (if your body needs the fever for fighting, Elder won’t bring it down, it will allow your body to fight infection), diuretic, alterative, soothing nervine, mild laxative. Elder has a traditional use in early stages of coughs, colds and flus. It can also be used for nausea when dealing with post-nasal drip. It is used in chronic conditions of sinusitis, spasmodic cough, night sweats, skin eruptions from metabolic issues. The berries are not only used for bioflavonoids, vit C and their anti-viral qualities but also for rheumatism. Elder flowers are great in Salves for rheumatism, burns and skin eruptions that needs calming such as rashes, and is used for wrinkles. Elder flower for upper respiratory system and Elder Berry for lower respiratory system.

Mind: Increases awareness of the “big picture” enhances knowledge of interconnection

of the unity in all life (we all constantly go through many death a rebirth processes, she

allows us to have faith and trust)

Heart: Opens heart to receive ancestral guidance. Opens us to compassion within,

bringing trust back into ourselves to open and receive.

Soul: Stimulating, evolutionary plant that offers guidance through the chaos of

transformation. Mother Elder is a guide, we can call on Mother Elder to help us see

what to shed and allow to see things clearing with trust and love.

Mother Elder is a wise guide who grounds us back into the body and the Earth, anchoring us deeply into the root of who we are. She restores our sense of self — not by keeping us the same, but by reminding us that change is the nature of life. Elder teaches through example. She grows by releasing what no longer serves her, shedding dead

wood without resistance. In this way, she shows us that growth does not come from holding on, but from trusting the cycle of death and renewal. What falls away becomes nourishment for what mis yet to come. She offers guidance and quiet strength. Her blossoms remind us that we, too, are capable of blooming again and again — even after long winters or deep loss. Through her berries, she teaches self-nourishment and reciprocity, showing us how the fruits of our lives can sustain both ourselves and others when they are grown in alignment with our truth.

Mother Elder is a tree — rooted and strong — yet flexible, bending rather than breaking. She does not surrender her essence, but she is always adapting to her environment. With each season, she changes shape, growing more wise, more beautiful, more expressive. Her form bears visible evidence of how many times she has lived, released, and been reborn. She is proud of these marks. They are rites of passage, not wounds.

Elder carries the wisdom of all four elements, with a sacred emphasis on Water. She moves us through our core essence, guiding emotional flow and remembrance stored within the body. Through Fire, she brings warmth, movement, and inspiration — the purifying heat of

transformation that cleanses and revitalizes our waters, releasing what no longer belongs.

Through Earth, she restores our grounding, our stability, our sense of home within ourselves.

And through Air, she offers clarity and guidance, helping us return to the breath — the bridge between body and spirit. Through Elder, we remember how to detoxify not only the physical body — the lymph, the blood, the waters of elimination — but also the emotional and energetic layers we carry. She leads us gently back to our center, to our roots, to the quiet knowing of who we are. Mother Elder teaches us this sacred truth:

We do not grow despite our endings — we grow because of them.