- Botanical Name
- Centaurea benedicta
Blessed Thistle
Details
Blessed thistle is an annual, thistle-like member of the daisy family, native to the Mediterranean parts of Europe and to western and central Asia, and introduced elsewhere, where it is often a noxious weed. It sprawls rather than standing upright, reaching about 60 centimetres, with reddish stems, leathery, hairy leaves edged in small spines, and pale yellow flowerheads wrapped in spiny bracts; the whole plant wears a light down. Grieve says the name came from its fame as a heal-all, thought able even to cure the plague, and English plague treatises praised it. In Much Ado About Nothing Margaret prescribes distilled Carduus Benedictus to Beatrice, punning on Benedick. Culpeper calls it a herb of Mars under Aries. Herbalists gave it as a bitter tonic and to bring on sweating in fevers, and Grieve records the warm infusion as a favourite for increasing a nursing mother's milk, a use Wikipedia notes has no scientific support; Northcote calls its medicinal virtues discredited. It is also a flavouring in alcoholic drinks. In magic Cunningham has it worn to protect against evil, added to purifying baths and used in spells to break hexes.
Caution
AHPA safety class 1. Allergic reactions have been reported, and anyone allergic to other daisy-family plants, such as feverfew or echinacea, should take care, since cross-reactions are common. Large doses, above about 5 g to a cup of tea, can upset the stomach and bring on vomiting. Cunningham marks it as not to be taken in pregnancy; AHPA finds safety in pregnancy and nursing not established.
Correspondences
- Elements
- Fire
- Celestial Bodies
- Mars
- Zodiac Signs
- Aries
- Colours
- None recorded
- Deities
- Pan (Greek)
Folk Names
- Blessed Knapweed
- Holy Thistle
- Spotted Thistle
- St. Benedict's Thistle
Categories
- Hex-Breaking
- Protection
- Purification
Substitutes
- Cotton Thistle
- Melancholy Thistle
- Milk Thistle
Forms
Herb
References
Notes
- Culpeper, Complete Herbal, under "Carduus Benedictus".
- Cunningham, Cunningham's Encyclopedia of Magical, under "Thistle, Holy"; p. 266.
- Gardner and McGuffin, American Herbal Products Association's, p. 240; p. xxii.
- Grieve, "Thistles."
- Kynes, Witches' Encyclopedia of Magical, under "Thistle".
- Northcote, Book of Herbs, pp. 96–97.
- Wikipedia, under "Centaurea benedicta."
- Gardner and McGuffin, American Herbal Products Association's, p. 240.
- Grieve, "Thistles."
Bibliography
- Culpeper, Nicholas. The Complete Herbal. London: Thomas Kelly, 1850. Project Gutenberg ebook 49513. Last modified October 24, 2024. Accessed October 11, 2026. https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/49513. Open the Source (opens in a new tab)
1 - Cunningham, Scott. Cunningham's Encyclopedia of Magical Herbs. 2nd ed. Woodbury, MN: Llewellyn Publications, 2012. (EPUB.)
2 - Gardner, Zoë, and Michael McGuffin, eds. American Herbal Products Association's Botanical Safety Handbook. 2nd ed. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press, 2013. (PDF.)
3 8 - Grieve, M. "Thistles." A Modern Herbal. Accessed October 11, 2026. https://www.botanical.com/botanical/mgmh/t/thistl11.html. Open the Source (opens in a new tab)
4 9 - Kynes, Sandra. The Witches' Encyclopedia of Magical Plants: History, Folklore, Correspondences, and Spells. Woodbury, MN: Llewellyn Publications, 2024. (EPUB.)
5 - Northcote, Lady Rosalind. The Book of Herbs. Handbooks of Practical Gardening 12. London: John Lane, The Bodley Head, 1903.
6 - Wikipedia, under "Centaurea benedicta." Accessed October 11, 2026. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Centaurea_benedicta&oldid=1373844987. Open the Source (opens in a new tab)
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