The stinging nettle has an amazing history of being a powerful multi-use plant. It has been used since ancient times as a durable fiber, effective medicine with a multitude of healing properties, and as a nutritious food source. Stinging nettle has the reputation of being a doorway between life and death. If you delve into reading on nettle, you may come across some wives tales that describe it growing near burial grounds or out of dead bodies. The earliest known use of nettle fibers are in burial shrouds found in Denmark that date back to the Bronze age, 3000-2000 B.C.
More so than merely a death doorway, stinging nettle holds the reputation of being a protector. It has long been associated with protection, just try to mindlessly grab a fistful of nettle OUCH! Hang bundles of nettle around your home, from your clothing, or strewn in your car for protection. nettle is used in ritual or spellwork to create boundaries. Its stinging quality also makes is great for reversing spellwork.
There is also rumor that nettle protects a person from lightning, which may derive from its association with Thor, the god of thunder. However, interestingly enough, it is also correlated to Loki, the trickster god, who had a magical fishing net made from nettle. In Celtic lore, which indicated that groupings of stinging nettle were faerie hideaways or there were faerie dwellings nearby. As we know from many stories, faeries are tricksters themselves.
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