Money, prosperity, anti-hunger.
Put a small jar in the cupboard or pantry to ward off poverty and hunger.
Burn in a cauldron and use the ashes in amulets for protection from hunger and poverty.
Also Called: Lucerne, Buffalo Herb, Purple Medic
Alfalfa has been used traditionally for treating infections resulting from surgical incisions, bedsores and inner ear problems.
Early Americans used alfalfa to treat arthritis, boils, cancer, scurvy, and urinary and bowel problems.
Alfalfa leaves, either fresh or dried, have traditionally been used as a nutritive tonic to stimulate the appetite and promote weight gain.
The plant has an oestrogenic action and could prove useful in treating problems related to menstruation and the menopause.
Some caution is advised in the use of this plant, however. It should not be prescribed to people with auto-immune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis.
The plant is antiscorbutic, aperient, diuretic, oxytocic, haemostatic, nutritive, stimulant and tonic. The expressed juice is emetic and is also anodyne in the treatment of gravel.
The plant is taken internally for debility in convalescence or anaemia, haemorrhage, menopausal complaints, pre-menstrual tension, fibroids etc.
A poultice of the heated leaves has been applied to the ear in the treatment of earache.
The leaves are rich in vitamin K which is used medicinally to encourage the clotting of blood. This is valuable in the treatment of jaundice.
The plant is grown commercially as a source of chlorophyll and carotene, both of which have proven health benefits. The leaves also contain the anti-oxidant tricin.
The root is febrifuge and is also prescribed in cases of highly coloured urine.
Extracts of the plant are antibacterial.
