Clary Sage
salvia sclarea

AKA
Clarry
Orvale
Toute-bonne
Clear Eye
Eyebright

PARTS USED
herb and leaves, both fresh and dry

USE
Clary is known for its ability to enhance vision,
protecting not only one's physical eyesight
but promoting increased skill while
in meditation and visionary states.

Seeds are the most useful part of the plant
for this purpose and may be extracted
as a wash to make a magickal lotion
which may be used in the magickal healing
of afflictions to a person's sight.

Leaves are used to adulterate digitalis.
dried root and the seeds were formerly
used in domestic medicine.

CONSTITUENTS
Salvia Sclarea yields an oil with a highly aromatic odour,
resembling that of ambergris.
It is known commercially as Clary Oil,
or Muscatel Sage, and is largely used
as a fixer of perfumes.
Pinene, cineol, and linalol have been
isolated from this oil.

French Oil of Clary
has a specific gravity of 0.895 to 0.930,
and is soluble in two volumes of
80 per cent. alcohol.
German oil of Clary has a specific
gravity of 0.910 to 0.960,
and is soluble in two volumes
of 90 per cent alcohol.

MEDICINAL ACTIONS AND USES
Antispasmodic
balsamic
carminative
tonic
aromatic
aperitive
astringent
pectoral

It has mostly been employed
in disordered states of the digestion,
as a stomachic, and has proved
useful in kidney diseases.

Seeds when soaked in water
for a few minutes form a thick mucilage,
which is efficacious in removing
particles of dust from the eye.

Gerard says:
'It purgeth them exceedingly from the
waterish humerous rednesse, inflammation,
and drives other maladies or all
that happens unto the eies and takes away
the paine and smarting thereof,
especially being put into the eies
one seed at a time and no more.'

Culpepper tells us:
'For tumours, swellings, make a mucilage
of the seeds and apply to the spot.
This will also draw splinters and thorns
out of the flesh....
For hot inflammation and boils
before they rupture, use a salve made
of the leaves boiled with hot vinegar,
honey being added later till the
required consistency is obtained.'
He recommends a powder of the dry roots
taken as snuff to relieve headache,
and 'the fresh leaves, fried in butter,
first dipped in a batter of flour,
egges, and a little milke,
serve as a dish to the table that is not
unpleasant to any and exceedingly profitable.'

Juice of the herb
drunk in ale and beer,
as well as the ordinary infusion,
has been recommended as very helpful
in all women's diseases and ailments.

In Jamaica, where the plant is found,
it was much in use among the negroes,
who considered it cooling & cleansing
for ulcers, & inflammations of the eyes.
decoction of the leaves
boiled in coco-nut oil was used
by them to cure the stings of scorpions.
Clary & a Jamaican species of Vervain
form two of the ingredients of an
aromatic warm bath sometimes
prescribed there with benefit.

For violent cases of hysteria or wind colic,
a spirituous tincture has been found of use,
made by macerating in warm water for fourteen days,
2 OZ. of dried Clary leaves and flowers,
1 OZ. of Chamomile flowers,
1/2 oz. bruised Avens root,
2 drachms of bruised
Caraway and Coriander seeds, and 3 drachms
of bruised Burdock seeds, adding 2 pints
of proof spirit, then filtering and diluting
with double quantity of water
- a wineglassful being the dose.


Majik

artemisia spinescens
artemisia tridentia
salvia apiana
salvia officinalis
salvia sclarea
salvia verbenaca

estrogen-like-properties
natural asringent


SOURCES
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10082002