> Holistic Healing > Herbal Remedies > A-F > calendula (marigold) (Calendula officinalis)

Calendula (Calendula officinalis) the common pot marigold, has been used since ancient times to treat complaints ranging from skin problems to cancer. Today, it is one of the most commonly used medicinal herbs, especially topically and as a gargle to control bleeding after tooth extractions.

Calendula seems to draw in the sunshine’s soothing, healing rays. It looks sunny, too, like a bright yellow or orange daisy and will flourish in almost any garden, generously reseeding itself for the next year.

Ointments made with calendula heal wounds, scrapes and diaper rash quickly and gently. The petals can be added to salads or used as a substitute for saffron in rice and soup. They give colour to cheese, butter, milk desserts and cakes.

Homeopathically, Calendula is amazing! The first time I had a glimpse of its healing powers was several years ago when my son planed off the end of his finger working on his house. The nail and flesh were shaved off and the bone was in full view.

He took several doses of Arnica (Arnica montana), the first remedy for any type of trauma or injury. Then high doses of Hypericum perforatum alleviated the pain within a few minutes. Having Hypericum in a tiny inhaler bottle, he could use it whenever he needed.

Homeopathic Calendula (200C) was put into a dropper bottle with distilled water and a bit of alcohol to preserve it and a drop was put on the wound once or twice daily. It was also added to the water in which the wound was soaked.

The healing process was marvelous! The end of both the finger and the nail grew back and today I am unable to tell which finger was injured. Calendula is antiseptic and prevents the formation of pus. It causes a scar to form without contraction of tissue and in many cases, scarring is hardly noticeable.

In Germany, calendula is regarded as a cancer cure. It has been used to treat tumours and cysts and has brought relief to many new moms as they bravely endure their post-partum stitches.

A granule of homeopathic Calendula in a dropper of water with a bit of vodka works wonders if a few drops are put in water and poured over any sore area.

In her book Physician’s Posy (1969), Dr Dorothy Shepherd proclaims about calendula: "Let me affirm to my medical colleagues that, on my solemn oath, after many years’ experience, I get no erysipelas, no pyaemia, no septiceaemia and no tetanus. And many of the cases I have seen were already heavily infected with staphylococci or streptococci. Also they get on rapidly and heal more quickly than in the old days when I followed slavishly in the footsteps of my surgical teachers and used the antiseptics of the day."

Sometimes the exotic cures we search for are trampled under our feet in our own gardens!

Diane Fuller practises homeopathy in Prince George, British Columbia.

Source: alive #224, June 2001