The Folklore of Nettles: Edible Stings, Returning Curses, and Warding off Evil

15/04/2023 15 min

Listen "The Folklore of Nettles: Edible Stings, Returning Curses, and Warding off Evil"

Episode Synopsis


Most people at some point will have experienced the pain of a nettle sting. I once managed to fall hands-first from a fence into a whole patch of nettles. So it's hardly surprising that people consider them unwanted or unloved plants.

The stinging nettle, or common nettle (Urtica dioica) is Europe's most common nettle. Other names for the plant include burning weed, fire weed, and burning nettle.

It's (surprisingly) edible, and has a wealth of medicinal and magical lore in its spiky back pocket. Let's discover how you can use nettles to ward off witchcraft, boost your iron intake, and even dye fabric in this week's episode of Fabulous Folklore!

Find the images and references on the blog post: https://www.icysedgwick.com/nettles-folklore/

Join Rowan + Sage's Herbaria to learn herbalism: https://school.rowanandsage.com/courses/herbaria?affcode=437598_3qokpyep

Get your free guide to home protection the folklore way here: https://www.icysedgwick.com/fab-folklore/

Become a member of the Fabulous Folklore Family for bonus episodes and articles at https://patreon.com/bePatron?u=2380595

Enjoyed this episode and want to show your appreciation? Buy Icy a coffee to say 'thanks' at: https://ko-fi.com/icysedgwick

Request an episode: https://forms.gle/gqG7xQNLfbMg1mDv7

Tweet Icy at https://twitter.com/IcySedgwick

Find Icy on Mastodon: @[email protected]

Get extra snippets of folklore on Instagram at https://instagram.com/icysedgwick

'Like' Fabulous Folklore on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/fabulousfolklore/