Hawthorn Berry Heart Tonic
Hawthorn Crataegus monogyna holds a sacred space in an Irish Master Herbalist’s practice.
It’s an incredible heart and circulatory tonic, protecting an strengthening the heart muscle and its blood supply. It also affects the emotional side of the heart by calming and reducing anxiety, helping with bad dreams and insomnia and smoothing inharmonious and sometimes overwhelming menopausal emotions.
The Hawthorn holds deep significance in Irish folklore and tradition, symbolizing resilience and connection to both the natural and mystical realms. Their thorns are thought to represent protection and transformation. Its association with healing broken hearts and easing anxiety is reflected in its medicinal uses, particularly in supporting heart health and emotional well-being.
Energetically, the fruit from this revered thorny tree helps us to feel safe allowing for the heart to open. When we are experiencing grief, heartache or depression, the entire chest cavity tightens and becomes restricted causing us to become closed down.
Physically, Hawthorn can protect us and make us feel stronger as it allows our heart and chest to expand so that we may breathe more deeply.
It works well with other cardiac herbs to keep the heart in healthy condition and is used as a cardiac tonic, coronary vasodilator, hypotension, hypertension, anxiolytic, antioxidant and diuretic.
It causes no toxicity, accumulation or habituation and is safe for long term use, especially in the elderly.
Cautions – never take with blood thinners. Always check with your local Master Herbalist before taking.
How to make Hawthorn Heart Tonic
Forage responsibly. Only take what you need and leave enough for others. I gather berries from trees in the ditches surrounded by fields where horses graze. They too like the Hawthorn and so I take a little from one tree and move onto the next, taking just enough for what I need. I make a small batch, I make it for myself and my family.
Get your ingredients together before you start. It is no fun looking for vegetable glycerine once you have started the process, believe me.
You will need
(to yield 1500mls (5 x 300ml bottles) of tonic)
4 litre container of Hawthorn Berries (approx)
250ml Vegetable Glycerine
250ml Brandy
5 x 300ml Amber Bottles
Water (distilled is preferable)
How to
1. Put Hawthorn berries into a stainless-steel pan and fill with water, with the water level 2 inches/ 5cm above the level of berries.
2. Heat the mixture on low to 48 degrees Celsius/ 120 degrees Fahrenheit and let simmer gentle for 30 minutes. Stir while simmering.
3. Set aside off the heat, covered, for 20 minutes.
4. Strain the liquid off into a clean container/jug and set aside for now.
5. Mash the berries with a fork/ potato masher in the original pot.
6. Add more water, this time 2.5cm/ 1 inch above the now mashed berries and mix.
7. Simmer again, this time for 20 minutes, all the while stirring.
8. Set aside off the heat covered for 20 minutes.
9. Strain the liquid off into another clean container/jug and set aside.
10. Press the remaining berries to extract any remaining liquid into this container.
11. Clean the pot.
12. Add both strained liquid mixture back to the pot and let it simmer until it reduces to a quarter of its volume. This might seem slow at first, but it can reduce quickly as time passes.
13. Let it cool.
14. Add a quarter of the volume in vegetable glycerine and brandy. If you have reduced to mixture to 1 litre, add 250mls of glycerine and 250mls of brandy.
15. Mix well and store in amber bottles in a cool place (refrigerate for long term storage).
16. Recommended dosage is half a teaspoon x 3 times per day.