Rosemary, more than a kitchen herb. Discover her secrets.

Rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis). Hailing from the Mediterranean, it’s a shrubby little plant, high in volatile oils that smell amazing. It grows very well in the warmer climates, growing into a large woody bush when left to it’s devices and considered a perennial. In the cooler climates, it’s an annual. But if you bring it inside and set it in a sunny area, it’ll continue to grow. And be ready for replanting in a garden or bed, next year.

Energetics

Rosemary is considered a warm to hot herb with drying energetics.

Make yourself a cup of rosemary tea and sip it slowly. You’ll slowly you’ll begin to feel the heat.

Properties

Rosemary can do a lot for you besides just making your food taste great. Although that’s a good property too.

The high amount of volatile oils is considered relaxing and building (or restorative) as are most plants that are highly aromatic.

It’s great for digestion and for memory, cognition and for pain relief.

Rosemary has all the anti properties, anti-microbial, antioxidant and antiseptic. Before refrigerators, Rosemary was rubbed into meats to help preserve them because of it’s antibacterial properties.

As a nervine it’s relaxing qualities can be obtained through the fragrance and the taste.

Rosemary’s hot energetics are great for cold & flu relief and it’s stimulating qualities are great for stimulating the circulation in the scalp for hair growth.

Using Rosemary for home remedies

When using rosemary in any form, you’ll be using the leaves. They’re about 1/2 to 1 inch long and once dried, they can be hard to crumble. If you have an herb cutter, it might be easier to chop them before they dry. Or you can do like I’ve done and run them through my herbal coffee grinder. But even that doesn’t always chop them well. If I find myself drying rosemary again, I’ll be cutting up the leaves before they dry.

Digestion

To use Rosemary for digestion, a tea steeped for just little longer than usual can help. You want your tea to have a slightly bitter taste.

This tea can help with digestion in general. And the relaxing qualities of the herb can help with flatulence, gas and bloating pains in the stomach.

Rosemary is commonly paired with fatty meats and meals because of this.

Memory and Concentration

Rosemary’s affinity tends toward the brain. It’s been used for memory, concentration and cognition for ages.

In fact, clinical studies have been done on Rosemary’s effect on Alzheimer patients. I wish I had known this when my dad was alive. It certainly would have been worth a try to see if it could help.

A cup of rosemary and sage is a great tasting cup of tea that I use to clear brain fog or just get my brain back on track.

Hair and Scalp Health.

Rosemary’s known to promote hair growth, strengthen follicles, and combat dandruff.

Infusing rosemary into hair rinses or using rosemary-infused oils can contribute to healthy, lustrous hair.

Just rub the rinse or oil into your scalp, allow to sit for a while and then rinse. Use a few drops of rosemary essential oil in your shampoo and get a regular dose.

All the Anti’s

Rosemary is one of those culinary herbs that covers all the anti’s. It’s an antimicrobial which means it’s antibacterial, antifungal and antiviral, an antioxidant and antiseptic. And it’s really great at killing all kinds of microbial things.

This also means it’s really great for cold and flu symptoms like helping avoid secondary infections that can come from plugged sinuses and lung congestion.

Use as a tea for cold & flu symptom, or as a wash or a poultice for cuts and other wounds or as an infused oil topically for other skin issues.

Pain relief

Rosemary is a nervine, meaning it can relax tight, tense or frayed nerves. Use a few drops of that infused oil on your temples or the back of your neck to relieve tension headaches. If you’re using essential oil, be sure to add it to a carrier oil first. Rosemary essential oil is considered a “hot oil”. It can cause surface burns when used directly on sensitive skin.

Several years back rosemary & sage tea got me through COVID. It kept my throat pain-free so I could continue to drink teas and I used it to get me through the fevers.

You can always infuse rosemary in some honey as a great throat remedy or to help relax a tight cough.

It’s a great herb to make a bath tea with. Use about 1/4 to 1/2 cup of herb tied in a bundle of cloth (so you don’t have to clean it out of the drain later) along with about 2 cups of epsom salt in a hot bath. Soak as long as the water is good and warm. When you get out, wrap up in a blanket and take a nap.

Peppermint is another pain relieving herb and the combination of rosemary and peppermint is a pretty good one, if you ask me.

Woman sitting on a couch with a cup of tea

Rosemary’s Folklore

In ancient Greece and Rome, rosemary was associated with memory and remembrance. It was used in weddings, funerals, and other ceremonies as a symbol of love, loyalty, and to remember those who had passed on.

European folklore spoke of rosemary’s to ward off evil spirits and protect against negative energies. For spiritual protection bundles of rosemary were often placed under pillows or hung in doorways.

Other cultures considered rosemary a token of friendship. Offering a sprig of rosemary symbolized trust, loyalty, and the forging of lasting friendships.

And many other cultures, including some Mediterranean countries the brides traditionally wore sprigs of rosemary in their hair to symbolize fidelity, love, and a happy marriage.

Cautions

Just like all culinary herbs and frankly, most all herbs, don’t use in medicinal amounts if you’re pregnant or breast feeding. You should avoid the essential oil too if your pregnant or breast feeding.

And rosemary can lower blood glucose levels. If you take insulin monitor your blood glucose levels carefully.

Final Thoughts on Rosemary

Rosemary is not just a delightful herb for culinary uses but it’s a powerhouse of other benefits too.

Be sure to add it to a number of your cooking adventures.

Try it as a cup of tea for no other reason than the taste and maybe the memory boost. You’d be surprised how good a cup of rosemary tea tastes.

And if you have a plant or a bush, make sure to leave some by the back door to protect against the pesky evil spirits and because it just smells so darn good.