While I was making my druidic cloak, the Shimmering, a couple of months ago, I was down with one of the most terrible head colds of my life. Through the haze of pain and brain fog, I turned to the journal in which I keep my observations of the Wild Without. One of my favorite plants in its pages is the Stinging Nettle, a martial herb with the excellent property of drying mucous and reducing swelling. Nicholas Culpeper, an English herbalist of some renown, wrote of the nettle:
“The roots or leaves boiled, or the juice of either of them, or both made into an electuary with honey and sugar, is a safe and sure medicine to open the pipes and passages of the lungs, which is the cause of wheezing and shortness of breath, and helps to expectorate tough phlegm, as also to raise the imposthumed pleurisy; and spend it by spitting; the same helps the swelling of the almonds of the throat, the mouth and throat being gargled therewith.”
(Culpeper, 128)
So, naturally, I had to try the stuff for my tough, wintry, phlegmatic cold. The following recipe is the result of my experiment– and it got results, fast.
- In a small saucepan, cover the bottom of the pot with 1 part each of stinging nettle leaves and of mullein.
- If you wish to flavor the syrup, and increase its capacity to soothe the throat, add 1/2 part each of lavender flower and spearmint leaf to the mix.
- Infuse these herbs in about one and a half cups of boiling water; reduce over medium heat to about a cup.
- Strain the herbs and mix the liquid with one and a half cups of sugar. Boil, and do not stir after all the sugar has dissolved. When your mixture has reduced to about two cups (some 15 minutes later), the syrup is ready!
Your liquid should be amber-colored and smell slightly of herbal cough drops.
For every 1-2 hours of congestion, one tablespoon is sufficient to clear the nasal passages and throat. Your cough will become more productive, and mucous will not form as quickly.
The expectorant properties of the mullein and the soothing flavors of mint and lavender make the syrup especially effective for head colds that have left you swimming foggily through the day. Happy and healthy sinning, my twilight companions!
Works Cited
Culpeper, Nicholas, M.D. The Complete Herbal. A. Cross, Printer, 1850, via the Gutenberg Project https://www.gutenberg.org/files/49513/49513-h/49513-h.htm. Accessed 2/16/2026
The Bright-Eyed Sinner's Sanctum 
Leave a comment