Hi. I was just reading the section on St. John’s Wort in the Printable Herbal Page and I noticed that there was some information not discussed regarding this important and useful herb. There are 2 herbs (and probably more) that I know of, that preparations made from them are nearly useless unless prepared from the fresh herb. St. John’s Wort is one of them (the other being Skullcap). I had made the tincture and Infused oil of St. John’s Wort a couple of times using commercialy purchased herb before I found this out. After going out and collecting the flowering tops in the woods and preparing the tincture and the infused oil, I can attest to the truth of this. When done correctly, both of these preparations will be orange in color and have a long shelf life. The times I had used dried herb, my tincture and infused oil were just a light green color, taking on the hue of the dried herb. The efficacy of the tincture and oil from fresh herb is amazing! St. John’s Wort flowers from June, even into late August and can be found along dirt roads and in clearings in the woods. Make sure to identify it correctly as it looks similar to several other plants, such as tansy. The fresh plant should be tinctured 1:1 with whatever alcohol you are using. I use Everclear, which gives a very strong tincture requiring less drops per dose. Most people use Vodka, which is fine. Just choose your Vodka with the highest alcohol content you can find. For the oil, Olive oil is good as is Safflower. Coconut Oil can also be used but, of course it has a tendency to solidify at room temperature. This is not a factor if you are heating it up to make a salve or balm. St. John’s Wort combines well with Arnica and Poplar Bud Oil (Balm of Gilead), to make a wonderful Topical Pain Relief Salve. Enjoy!
Merry meet!
I’m Kat and practice eclectic green magick and am interested in tarot, runes, ogham, herbalism, and moon magic.
Thank you for the informative post! I had heard that tinntures made with dried St John’s Wort were less effective but had not heard the same about Skullcap. I use Skullcap as a tea and find it helpful but have not made a tincture with it.
I should figure out if there’s anywhere locally I could find St Johns Wort growing. 
I would love to give this a try! Thank you for sharing.
We’re glad to have you here. 
Make yourself comfortable, explore, and feel free to ask questions!
Welcome to the group @henry ! I’m a chaos witch from Minnesota. I’ve been practicing for 35+ years.
Thank you so much for the informative post! I was unaware of this! I love that no matter how new or “old” you are in the craft we can always learn something new.
Great to have you with us and I look forward to learning more with you in the future!
Welcome to the coven I’m Devenne a chaos witch from Indiana. I work with Satan and many lovely demons 
Blessed be 
Hello @henry,
Welcome! 
Sounds like using fresh herbs are really the way to go when making tinctures with St. John’s Wort - thank you so much for sharing your crafting wisdom and experience! 
Hello and welcome! I’m Amanda from Oklahoma. Thank you for the great post!
Hi @henry my names Crystal 
a Bruja 
from Va welcome to the forum and thank you for the information on Saint John’s wort I made a tincture too and it took on a light green hue so now I now to use fresh. Thanks for the information 
Just a heads up. Dont use if u have blood pressure issues.
Merry meet @henry! Welcome to spells 8! Werr glad your hear. Thank you for this information. I know that valerian is the same way. That is why I only buy Valerian from Gia cause the use the bud of the plant.
Is that for any type of blood pressure issues? Or just high blood pressure?
I have not heard that St. John’s Wort can cause any problems with BP. There have been reports of other problems, notably interactions with other medications that are being taken. Also, I assume you are referring to taking it internally. The major use for it internally is as an antidepressant. It has been suggested that it is not effective in cases where there is a clear pathology for depression, such as in Bipolar Disorder (check M. Moore’s, “Medicinal Plants of the Pacific West”), but is better for the kind of depression that we all get, when we get “bummed out”, when things are going wrong and “life has just got you down”. In any case, I pretty much use it in external preparations, such as pain salves, muscle relaxing salves and nervines. I have not heard of any ill effects in these uses. I do make a few tinctures, which are all combination preparations with other herbs. The effects of all the herbs in these combine to enhance the effectiveness of the salves and oils and mitigate any ill effects one ingredient might have had on a particular user. Be Well.
See my reply to Mistress_Of_Herbs above. Be Well.
Oh wow that’s a long a$$ list
Yeah that’s wild. Definitely good advice 
@Mystique that is correct. Dont use if u have any blood pressure issues
Good to know! Thank you so much! I have very low blood pressure and definitely don’t want to do anything that would make it drop
@henry yes i was meaning if used internally. Whilst your info is great, its not complete. St John’s wort can cause liver and heart issues.
St. John’s Wort.
@Mystique st johns wort increases blood pressure. It can also cause an irregular heart beat. If someone has a heart condition i suggest not using it internally. As for topically there still isnt enough research on it, for me to say 100% safe. Bc salves and such absorb into the skin. But thats my opinion.
Sorry, we seem to have gone far afield from the original purpose of my post, which was to point out that IF someone wished to use St. John’s Wort for an herbal preparation, they should probably not use the dried herb, as it is ineffective. Any time anyone is considering using an herbal preparation, it is probably a good idea to research it, especially in the light of any pre-existing medical conditions and any traditional prescriptions that are being taken. St. John’s Wort can interfere with a number of prescription drugs, increasing the effects of some and decreasing the effects of others. It also can, when taken internally, increase Blood Pressure, in some cases, to dangerously high levels. I have not heard that it can decrease blood pressure. So, as for our friend who was worried about this, it probably won’t. I myself have Hypertension. I have used it, occaisionally, internally as part of a mixed tincture for temporary conditions and have not found it to increase my BP. Usually, as I said, this was part of a formula of my own, which contains seven other ingredients and has been taken for three or four doses over as many days without ill effect. I have noticed no ill effect from any of the salves containing it that I have used. Any medications, herbal or traditional, should be taken with caution and clear observation of one’s own body’s reactions. This was my first post on any of these forums, and I apologize if I “stepped on anyone’s toes”. Be well.
She’s not called Mistress of herbs for nothing 
any time I need herb information I can always count on @Mistress_Of_Herbs 
