Periwinkle, Vinca minor, is a popular garden plant. Understandably so, because it’s not only an evergreen, it also has very cheerful, purple flowers. And many people consider it an useful border plant because it covers the ground. I happened to stumble upon her in the woods recently, but, unfortunately, periwinkle is hard to find in the wild these days.
Medicinally, periwinkle is an asset to any home pharmacy because it affects many ailments where restoring a good blood flow is important. Think of proper functioning of the brain and head in general and memory disorders and headaches in particular. Periwinkle also impacts the effect of neurotransmitters, making it an excellent plant to use in those conditions where these play a role, such as depression, anxiety and agitation.
Magically, the periwinkle also has quite a reputation. It is a powerful shamanic plant which counteracts possession and evil intentions. It recovers lost memories and is therefore extremely useful in restoring trauma-induced amnesia. Please note that the person who gets their memories back is ready to deal with them. This is an application that only an expert should use. Periwinkle is also a good plant to use in love magic and can be used for divination.
Periwinkle is a plant with a creeping rhizome. It is an evergreen and provides good ground cover. Its stems can become up to 3 meters long, but are seldom more than 30 centimetres from the ground. The stems are woody and smooth with opposite, leathery, dark green leaves. The leaves are placed on a short twig, elliptical in shape, 3 to 5 cm long and about 2 cm wide. The lilac to purple flowers grow in the leaf axils. They are about 3 cm in diameter and have 5 corolla lobes that are obliquely truncated. There is a white ring in the throat of the flower. The fruit consists of 2 follicles and contains many seeds.
We know with certainty that periwinkle has been used since the beginning of our calender because there is written evidence of this. It is likely that our usage of this plant goes back even further.
Periwinkle is a death plant and is involved in several old burial customs. When an unmarried woman died, a wreath of this plant was placed on the grave. The periwinkle is associated with death anyway and is often planted in cemeteries, especially children’s graves.
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