🌼 Meet the Plants: Calendula

A Golden Healer of Skin & Spirit

Each year when the garden sings its midsummer song and bees dance drunkenly through sunlight, I know Calendula has returned. She shows up like a little sun in bloom, bright, cheerful, and always willing. Her petals are never shy about catching your attention, and once she’s blooming it feels like she’s here for the long haul. I find her in every patch I can spare, self-seeding generously and glowing golden through the season. She reminds me of sticky fingers in childhood gardens, of stained fingertips from plucking her blossoms and of the quiet, comforting promise: I’ve got you.

✧ A Glimpse into Her History

Calendula (Calendula officinalis) sometimes called Pot Marigold, has long been treasured across cultures. In ancient Egypt, she was prized for her rejuvenating properties. In medieval Europe, she colored soups, stews, and ointments, and garlands of her blossoms adorned altars to honor the Virgin Mary.

Her name comes from the Latin calendae, meaning the first day of the month, reflecting her habit of blooming almost year-round in temperate climates. Early herbalists believed her blooms opened with the sun and closed with nightfall, tying her closely to solar energy and cycles of light and warmth.

In folklore, she was used in love divinations and to bring cheer to the heart. A crown of calendula was said to offer protection, while an infusion could reveal fairies—or at least brighten your dreams.

🌿 Herbal & Traditional Uses

• Topical use:

  • Supports wound healing, minor burns, rashes, scrapes, and insect bites

  • Soothes eczema, dermatitis, and dry, irritated skin

  • Gentle enough for baby balms and postpartum care

• Internal use (in teas or tinctures):

  • Supports lymphatic drainage and gentle detoxification

  • Traditionally used for ulcers, digestive inflammation, and to support immune response

  • Emmenagogue, used to support menstrual balance

• Energetic / emotional uses:

  • Brings warmth and uplift to heavy hearts

  • Softens emotional inflammation

  • Invites courage and radiant self-expression

• Preparations:

  • Oil infusion, salve, tea, tincture, poultice, lotion, flower essence, glycerite

“She is sunshine in bloom—warming wounds into healing, and hearts into hope.”

🧴 Why I Work With Her in My Apothecary

Calendula is in nearly every creation I create. Her golden glow infuses so many of my oils,  balms, soaps, and lotions. Her skin soothing magic feels indispensable, especially when blended into formulas meant to heal, comfort, and nourish. She plays a starring role in products like:

• Calendula & Aloe Hand & Body Lotion
• Lemon Calendula natural herbal bar soap
• Nourishing Herbal Balm with Calendula, St. John’s Wort & Comfrey 
• Peppermint & Tea Tree Foot Therapy lotions
• Infused body oils and lotions

She feels like a balm to the soul just as much as the skin-gentle, generous, and always ready to help. Harvesting her I feel a sense of quiet partnership. Her resinous green scent on my fingers after picking tells me she’s ready to lend her strength.

⚠️ Myth vs. Truth or Safety Notes

Calendula is often confused with Tagetes (common marigold) which is a different plant with different properties. Only Calendula officinalis is used medicinally.

• Internal use should be avoided during pregnancy unless under guidance, as it may stimulate menstruation.
• Patch test for topical use, especially with sensitive individuals, although reactions are rare.
• Avoid if allergic to plants in the Asteraceae family (ragweed, daisies, etc.).

🌞 Working with the Plant Spirit

Calendula’s energy is radiant and comforting. She helps transmute heaviness into light and inflammation into flow. If you’re feeling emotionally raw or energetically burned, sit with her yellow blossoms in the sun. Keep a calendula flower on your windowsill or in your pocket as a charm for bravery and clarity. Sip on calendula tea while journaling about what needs healing- internally or externally.

Ritual tip: Add a few petals to your bath, infuse in body oil, or brew into a tea with honey and lemon for solar magic and warmth.

Affirmation: “I open to radiant healing, light, and golden resilience.”

🍯 Simple Calendula Recipes & Formulas

✧ Calendula Oil Infusion

Fill a clean jar with dried calendula flowers (important, fresh may spoil).  Cover with your choice of oil (Olive, Sweet almond, Jojoba & avocado are good choices)  Let sit in a sunny window for 4–6 weeks, shaking gently every few days.  Strain and bottle. Store in a cool dark place.

Use as is for bruises, scars, skin irritations or as a base for salves, lotions, or skin oils.

✧ Healing Calendula Salve

• 1 cup calendula-infused oil
• 1 oz beeswax (add more for a firmer balm)
• Optional: 10 drops lavender or chamomile essential oil
  

Melt oil and beeswax together gently. Stir in essential oils. Pour into tins and allow to cool.

Soothes dry skin, lips, minor cuts, and garden-worn hands.

✧ Sunny Skin Tea

• 1 part calendula
• 1 part red clover
• 1 part oatstraw
• ½ part rose petals

Steep 1 tbsp per cup of hot water, covered, for 15–20 minutes.

Nourishes skin, lymph, and mood. Lovely iced, too!

✧ Flower-Infused Honey

Layer dried calendula petals into a jar and pour raw honey over them. Stir and let infuse for 2–4 weeks.

Use in tea, on toast, or as a facial mask base.

✨ Final Thoughts

Calendula is more than a skin herb, she is an ally for comfort, courage, and calm. I return to her again and again, season after season, because she simply works—on body, mind, and spirit. If you’ve ever used a Willow Moon balm or lotion, chances are, you’ve been blessed by her golden touch.

🌼 Explore my calendula infused offerings at Willow Moon and feel her warmth for yourself.

More “Meet the Plants” posts are blooming soon!

🌿 Image Use Notice
Many of the images on this blog are my own original photography, taken during my herbal work and seasonal wanderings. Others are drawn from a licensed image library. All photos are shared here for inspiration and education only, please do not copy, download, or reuse any images without written permission. Thank you for honoring the time, energy, and spirit woven into this space.