Achillea Millefolium - in Popular Culture

In Popular Culture

Stories about yarrow feature in traditional Chinese culture. For example, it is said to grow around the grave of Confucius. Also, the most authentic way to cast the Yi Jing is to use dried yarrow stalks. The stems are said to be good for divining the future. Chinese proverbs claim yarrow brightens the eyes and promotes intelligence. Yarrow and tortoiseshell are considered to be lucky in Chinese tradition. Oriental tradition also assured mountain wanderers that where the yarrow grew, neither tigers or wolves nor poisonous plants would be found.

In classical tradition, Homer tells of the centaur Chiron, who conveyed herbal secrets to his human pupils, and taught Achilles to use yarrow on the battle grounds of Troy. Achilles is said to have used it to stop the bleeding wounds of his soldiers. For centuries, it has been carried in battle because of its magical, as well as medicinal, properties. Western European tradition also connects yarrow with a goddess and a demon. Yarrow was a witching herb, used to summon the devil or drive him away, but it was also a loving herb in the domain of Aphrodite.

Yarrow also featured in British folk customs and beliefs. It was one of the herbs put in Saxon amulets. These amulets were for protection from everything from blindness to barking dogs. In the Middle Ages, witches were said to use yarrow to make incantations. This may be the source for the common names devil's nettle, devil's plaything, and bad man's plaything. Some people believed one could determine the devotion of a lover by poking a yarrow leaf up one's nostril and twitching the leaf while saying, "Yarroway, yarroway, bear a white blow: if my love loves me, my nose will bleed now". (Yarrow is a nasal irritant, and generally causes the nose to bleed if inserted.) Nursery rhymes say yarrow sachet under one's pillow will cause dreams of one's own true love. Dreaming of cabbages (the leaves do have a similar scent) will allow death or other serious misfortune to strike. A folk belief states a bunch of dried yarrow used in wedding decorations hung over the bed will ensure a lasting love for at least seven years.

In literature, in the book The Glass Bead Game by Hermann Hesse, Elder Brother uses yarrow stalks to divine the will of the Oracle.