Associations
Element: Water
Planetary Ruler: Moon
Mood: Relaxing, restorative, euphoric, hormonally balancing
Folkloric: Clarity, cycles, calm
History
Clary Sage, known in earlier texts as “Clear Eye” is native to the northern Mediterranean basin, parts of North Africa and Central Asia and according to Grieve has been cultivated in the UK since 1562. When buying or browsing the herbal aisles, one should be careful not to confuse Clary Sage with Wild Clary (Salvia verbenaca) which has darker purple flowers. The scientific name of Clary Sage—Salvia sclarea—is derived from the Latin; clarus meaning 'clear' and while older remedies suggested using the mucilage from Clary seeds could clear debris from the eyes—it seems unlikely that "Clear Eye" was named as such because it was so famous for clearing the eye. I think it is more likely to be simply an English etymological morphing of the Latin sclarea back in a time where literacy was not common and people relied only on their ears to learn words. It's also worth noting that there seems some disagreement in medieval herbals as to which species (verbenaca or sclarea) the herbalists were referring to when discussing the clearing away of debris from the eyes. Furthermore, please don't try this at home! In general, leave your eyes well alone!
Clary is part of the same genus (Salvia) as other sage plants, and shares the similar characteristics of having aromatic leaves, spiking flower heads with labial/lip-like flowers, and often square stems like the rest of the Lamiaceae (mint) family. Its purple flowers look a bit similar to Garden Sage (Salvia officinalis) which is the most commonly used culinary variety, but the leaves are markedly different. Indeed both species of sage look different again from White Sage (Salvia apiana) which is the type used most often in the 'sage bundles' you'll see for sale in some new age shops (however I discourage the use of them as I will discuss below).
The topic of White Sage can be a bit divisive, but I feel it important to say a word on it because the word "sage" can sometimes be confusing when we're dealing with so many different species. Unlike Clary Sage, White Sage or Salvia apiana is endangered in its native regions, and the over harvesting of this herb for sale doesn't sit right with me. Furthermore, these bundles became popularised because of the commodification of "smudging" - which is a word that actually refers to a closed sacred practice of some Native American tribes, one that was once outlawed in the US as a way to oppress native culture and spirituality. Outside of America I can understand the history of the word "smudging" and the use of White Sage may be little known, but I hope this helps shed a bit of light on the matter and encourages you to avoid the purchase and use of both the herb and the term going forward. There are many wonderful alternative herb bundles you can burn for smoke cleansing - you can even make your own from lovely aromatic herbs in your own back yard! (Just make sure nothing you're using is poisonous or toxic!!) So not all hope is lost for those who love a bit of bundle burning.
Back to our friend Clary Sage (Salvia sclarea). The genus Salvia means to heal, and although Clary in medieval times was seen as a less potent cure-all than the Garden variety, if you ask me that is because medicine didn't (and still doesn't) always put women first. Clary Sage is a powerful helper for balancing hormones during menstruation and menopause, and the relief it can bring to my own monthly PCOS-induced horror show is certainly worthy of the Salvia name. One study (Hwang & Shin, 2015) found even just the inhalation of Clary Sage essential oil increased salivary oxytocin in women during labour, suggesting it may also have a role in supporting natural birth processes.
By the 18th century, Clary Sage found itself branching out into the alcoholic beverage industry. Its musky-sweet scent and sticky, intoxicating bloom earned it the name “muscatel sage” in parts of Germany and France, where it was added to white wines to mimic the heady sweetness of Muscat grapes. Additionally Grieve reports that in Holland it was used as a replacement for hops in beer (to what effect I cannot possibly say).
Today, you may find Clary growing happily in gardens making a lovely biennial addition for a pop of purple colour from springtime to midsummer.
Traditional Uses
I love it when a historical figure's personality comes to life on the page, and am therefore delighted to say that Nicholas Culpeper's entry in his Complete Herbal (1653) is one of his more humorous and snarky entries. While he writes that Clary (note: he uses the sclarea binomial but describes perhaps garden sage) is good for bringing forth splinters from the skin, strengthening weak backs and clearing congestion from the head, he has quite a lot of negative things to say about the common folk practice of using it to help with discharge (both in men and women) related to STIs. I leave you his passage in full for your reading pleasure:
"It is a usual course with many men, when they have got the running of the reins*, or women the whites°, to run to a bush of clary, exclaiming–Maid, bring hither the frying-pan, and fetch me some butter quickly. Then they will eat fried clary just as hogs eat acorns, and this they think will cure their disease, forsooth! Whereas, when they have devoured as much clary as will grow upon an acre of ground, their backs are as much the better as though they had never touched it–nay, perhaps, very much worse.
We will grant that clary strengthens the back; but [we] deny that the cause of the running of the reins in men, or the whites in women, lies in the back [...] and therefore for [a cure, Clary] is as proper as for me, when my toe is sore, to lay a plaster on my nose."
-Nicholas Culpeper, A Complete Herbal (1653)
*urinary tract discharge; °vaginal discharge
The essential oil, extracted from the flowering tops, is rich in linalyl acetate, linalool, and sclareol, a rare phytochemical that mimics the effect of estrogen in the body. Sclare-ol being as you might have guessed, named after Salvia sclarea where it was first identified, and where it makes up a great deal of the essential oil chemical makeup.
Its subtle euphoric effects have been studied in relation to the GABA-A receptor system in the brain, where it appears to act as a mild anxiolytic (Zhang et al., 2012). Meaning that inhaling Clary in aromatherapy may also produce some relaxing and uplifting feelings to help treat anxiety and stress.
Overall, a delightful feminine herb to add to our apothecary shelves!
Folklore
While there is not folklore specific to Clary Sage itself, I came across a rather enticing name for another species of sage, Salvia glutinosa, a yellow-flowering variety that Gerard calls in his herbal "Jupiter's Distaff." The name is perhaps quite descriptive of the shape of many sage plants, a distaff being a rod used to spin wool into yarn that often has a bulbous top to help hold the wool. To the folklorist in me though, a distaff is also a magical tool given power through interpretations of the Icelandic and Norse sagas through the shamanistic practice of seidr. While we don't know exactly what this ritual entailed or how the völva (wise women who practiced the art) could enter this state in order to tell the future (which is the key element of seidr) we do know that it was a highly valued skill, Oden himself wishing to learn the art though it be unmanly.* The other thing we know from the sagas is that in order to enter this state of trance, one must sit on a high seat and hold a distaff. There have been several burials found in Scandinavia where women were buried with iron (and therefore likely ceremonial not practical) distaffs among other fine goods. For those interested, I definitely recommend looking into the burial of the woman in Fyrkat.
So, why am I going on about Norse seers? Because it is striking to me that a plant was named Jupiter's Distaff. Jupiter of course being the Roman name for Zeus, the head of the Greco-Roman deity family tree and most powerful god of thunder, law and order. What use would Zeus have for a distaff to spin wool? That sounds more like something the Fates would do (or the Norns in Norse mythology) or that would be associated with a domestic goddess like Hestia. Sage plants are sometimes associated by ancient herbalists with Jupiter (and not the Moon as is the case with Clary), it could of course just be a nod to the planetary powers thought to control Salvia glutinosa... but I think it is very curious! Perhaps it is a nod to Oden, another Jupiter/Zeus-type figure, and Oden's learning seidr! Perhaps it is a coincidence. But I would like to think at any rate that it gives you pause to think the next time you see a sage plant growing it's proud distaff-like flowers. Perhaps one need only pluck one from the earth and let go into the otherworld, learning of the present, and shaping the future. Perhaps Clary was always there to clear your Third Eye, and help you truly see.
*there is some debate about how to translate the word ergi which has been loosely translated as unmanly, but may in fact not mean anything to do with gender at all.
Aromatic Profile
- Note: Middle
- Scent Family: Herbaceous, musky, slightly floral
Essential Oil Safety Information
- Never ingest/take internally.
- Avoid contact with eyes and mucous membranes.
- Keep away from children and pets.
- Full safety information and directions will be provided in a safety card upon purchase, please read fully.
Bibliography & Sources
Blain, J. (2002). Nine Worlds of Seid-magic. Psychology Press.
Carta, Louise (2024). Diploma Course Study Materials. The Aromatherapy Company.
Culpeper, N. (1653). The Complete Herbal. London: Peter Cole. (Public Domain)
Fries, J. (2009). Seidways. Mandrake of Oxford.
Gerard, J. (1597). The Herball or Generall Historie of Plantes. London: John Norton. (Public Domain)
Grieve, M. (1971). A modern herbal: The medicinal, culinary, cosmetic and economic properties, cultivation and folk-lore of herbs, grasses, fungi, shrubs & trees (Vols. 1–2). Dover Publications. (Original work published 1931)
Hwang, J. H., & Shin, J. W. (2015). Effects of inhalation of clary sage essential oil on oxytocin levels in women in labor. Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, 21(10), 603–610. https://doi.org/10.1089/acm.2014.0348
Lavabre, M. (2020). Essential oils and aromatherapy workbook. Healing Arts Press.
Battaglia, S. (2003). The complete guide to aromatherapy (2nd ed.). International Centre of Holistic Aromatherapy.
Tisserand, R., & Young, R. (2013). Essential oil safety: A guide for health care professionals (2nd ed.). Elsevier Health Sciences.
Zhang, Y., Wang, L., Bai, M., Ou, L., & Wang, Y. (2012). Effects of essential oil from Salvia sclarea on the GABA-A receptor in the rat hippocampus. Molecular Medicine Reports, 6(5), 1000–1004. https://doi.org/10.3892/mmr.2012.1020
