When the de Danaans arrived in Ireland, they had to do battle with the Fir Bolg, the indigenous people of Eire. The Fir Bolg lived close to the Earth and followed the path of the Moon. They had been oppressed and enslaved by the Fomorii, a northern race of seafarers, and were not inclined to welcome more invaders. And so the first Battle of Moytura was fought in County Sligo in 487 BC. Dian Cecht, with his son, Miach, and his daughter, Airmid, assembled a great cauldron, and filled it with a herbal potion. They chanted healing spells over it and any warrior who was wounded was put into it and restored whole and healthy. Any wound could be healed as long as the body remained intact.

During battle, Nuada, the leader of the de Danaans lost his arm and was forced to relinquish the throne as a result of the deformity, as it was said to rule one must be at all times, whole of body, mind and spirit. Airmid’s father, Dian Cecht, fashioned a silver arm for Nuada so he could return as ruler of the land. Dian Cecht’s son, Miach, believed that with his own skill as a surgeon and his sister Airmid’s aptitude for regeneration, an even better solution was possible. Together, they rebuilt Nuada’s arm of flesh - regrowing it from the very stump that remained of his arm. Dian Cecht was furious when he found out. He flew into a jealous rage and attacked his son, killing him. Miach was buried in a place of honor by Nuada’s orders, who was so grateful for his restored hand.

Deeply grieving, Airmid went to her brother’s grave and laid a cairn of stones around the burial plot. She went there everyday to grieve. Then, after a year, she came upon hundreds of herbs growing where her brother’s body was buried – dandelion grew from his liver, chamomile from his belly, comfrey from his bones, hawthorn from his heart and so on, 365 in all - the exact amount of joints and sinew in Miach's body. Each plant would heal that part of the body it had sprouted from. She spread her cloak and began to gather up the herbs according to their properties, listening to each Plant’s whispers and learning how it was to be used to heal the body. Airmid learned how to heal every ailment that was or would be, to the point of learning the how to use the plants to give the gift of immortality.

Her father found her there and became even more enraged, furious that his son should try to surpass him again, even in death. In his fury Dian Cecht whipped up a mighty wind and spread the healing herbs into it, scattering them across the entire world. This is why they say to this day nobody knows all the herbs and their healing properties, only those that are touched by Awen or intuitive knowledge can know. Airmid, already knowing the way of immortality, therefore became the Patron Goddess of Healers, Herbalists and Weedwives.

the Origin of Healing Herbs: Irish Mythology

Rosehip Elixir