All The Love: Damiana Plant Profile

Today I get to introduce you to a plant friend that I met in one of my very first formal herbalism classes. I still remember the ease and laughter that talking about Damiana (Turnera diffusa) brought to the class - a feeling which encapsulates Damiana’s gift of joyful exchange. While Damiana is typically classified as an aphrodisiac and seen as an herb of sex and romance (which it is), Damiana is also a wonderful plant ally to work with when you’re trying to create connection with other folks in a shared space.

If you prefer to be able to easily print out the following profile as well as learn about other aphrodisiac and adaptogenic herbs, you’re invited to The Plant Ally Library.

I hope you enjoy meeting Damiana and getting to know this plant that acts as an “adaptogenic aphrodisiac” helping us to soften our edges while feeling sturdy in our sense of wellbeing.

Enjoy!

Image via (CC) H. Zell

Damiana
(Turnera diffusa)

Common + Folk Names : Pastorcita, yerba del pastor, hierba del venado, hierba de la pastora

Tarot Cards : The Lovers, Suit of Wands, Suit of Swords

Element : Fire, Air 

Zodiac Signs : Libra (Guardian & Remedy)

Planets : Venus, Mars, Mercury, Jupiter

Moon Phase : Full Moon

Parts used : Aboveground plant

Habitat : Native to the American Southwest, Mexico, and the West Indies.

Growing conditions : Rich to sandy soil with regular watering.

Collection : Collect when the flowers are blooming.

Flavor : Bitter, pungent

Temperature : Warm

Moisture : Dry

Tissue States : Cold (Depression), Stagnation (Damp), Relaxation (Damp) - learn more about traditional western herbalism energetics.

Constituents : Vitamin C, phosphorous, selenium, silicon, sulfur, flavonoids, essential oils, glycosides, damianin, beta-sitosterol, arbutin, tannin.

Actions : Adaptogen, antidepressant, alterative, anti-inflammatory, aperient, aphrodisiac, astringent, carminative, cholagogue, diuretic, emmenagogue, nervine, stomachic, urinary tonic. 

Main Uses : An herb that has recorded use stretching back to Mayan culture, Damiana has a lot to offer in the ways of herbal healing. Damiana has long been used by the indigenous peoples of the American Southwest and Mexico, including the Yaqui, Rarámuri, and Pima Bajo, including as a tonic for stomachache, a remedy for diarrhea, infertility, inflammation, for lowering blood sugar, increasing the metabolism, and low libido.¹

Damiana was one of the first herbs I was introduced to in my first round of herbal classes in Southern California and it’s honored as an important local remedy as well as a recognizable local liqueur bottled in a distinctive Goddess-shaped bottle. While Damiana is typically presented as an aphrodisiac (which is definitely is), you’ll sometimes see the plant is categorized as an adaptogen. I was taught to use it as an adaptogenic aphrodisiac, embodying the best qualities of herbal aphrodisiacs with the nourishing and restorative qualities of an adaptogen. One of the reasons that Damiana is so effective as an aphrodisiac is that it reduces stress and stress-related complaints including ulcers, colic, indigestion, poor fertility, and low libido. In addition to helping with stress relief, the adaptogenic qualities of Damiana work to regulate the pituitary gland and increase energy. 

Damiana clears brain fog and many head-related disorders including migraines and headaches, calms the nervous system, and greatly reduces overactive mental activity. For anxiety, Damiana is indicated when anxiety creates sluggishness in the mornings and becomes increasingly worse in the evenings.² Damiana can either be stimulating or relaxing to the nervous system, depending on the needs of the body. Damiana is helpful in cases of mental agitation including OCD and anxiety as well as for cases of cognitive decline, including dementia. Herbalist Thomas Bartram recommends combining Damiana with Skullcap (Scutellaria lateriflora) and Milky Oats (Avena sativa) for dementia with accompanying indications of weakness resulting in a blend which strengthens and nourishes while providing gentle stimulation which assists in cognitive function and stability.³

The herb helps the nervous system to deliver information throughout the body and as both a brain tonic and aphrodisiac helps to line up mental and physical clarity and desire (i.e. helping to alleviate the ways we can get stuck in our heads in unhelpful ways when pursuing pleasure). While the herb has soothing energies, it is also energizing in that it invigorates the mind and body, which is another reason that Damiana is such a great aphrodisiac.

image via @freestocks

As an aphrodisiac, Damiana also helps to improve libido, increase fertility and sperm count, and reconnect the body to the experience of orgasm. Energetically, the herb is said to help folks who want to to overcome shyness and fear of intimacy as well as the fear of being “good enough” in bed. Herbalist Karen M. Rose recommends Damiana for those recovering their pleasure after experiencing disconnection due to trauma.⁴ While it should not be used during pregnancy, the herb can be used during labor to aid in childbirth - it softens and opens up the birth canal. Damiana is also useful for menopausal symptoms such as hot flashes and vaginal dryness. Overall, it is an excellent herb to reconnect with pleasure in your life.

In addition to use as a nervine and aphrodisiac, Damiana can help to expel excess phlegm and dry up excess mucous in cases of colds and bronchitis. The herb helps to relax the respiratory system, calming coughs and helping to alleviate the symptoms of asthma.

Topically the herbal oil (not essential oil) can be used as a lubricant in mundane and magickal rites of sex and pleasure.

Magickal Uses : Damiana is an excellent herb for love magick, especially when sexual desire is involved. Use it in sex magick and practices, especially when it comes to communicating clearly with your partners and feeling comfortable expressing your sexuality. 

The herb also aids in the development and awakening of psychic vision. Magickal herbalist Paul Beyerl notes that Damiana has an affinity with quartz crystal and he recommends storing clear quartz in your jar of Damiana as well as making an quartz crystal oil using a base of Damiana oil.⁵

The Damiana Personality : The need of a Damiana person feels so great that they have cut themselves off from it to cope. Damiana folk want sensuality and sex but the emotional labor to experience it because of the emotional baggage they carry can feel insurmountable. There can be a pattern of denying and suppressing wants and desires which then emerge in unhealthy habits in an attempt to find the pleasure they feel denied. There can also be a fear of rejection tied up with low self-esteem that makes even the smallest dismissal from a significant other feel catastrophic, further driving a wedge between their needs and desires for physical affection. Fortunately, when Damiana folk are able to get the support they need (therapeutic, nutritional, herbal, etc) and untie the emotional knots tangling up their spirit, they can and will experience pleasure again. In fact, they’ll often find that the pleasure that they imagined was unattainable is small compared to what they are able to experience in a beneficial Damiana state. For Damiana is a patient, flexible, and wildly intelligent ally when it comes to pleasure of all kinds, not just sexual, and reconnecting us to the radiant fullness of feeling.

Contraindications : Generally regarded as safe, but may interfere with iron absorption. Avoid during pregnancy and breastfeeding. Caution with diabetes medication due to Damiana’s affect on blood sugar.

Dosage : Standard dosage.

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I believe that every plant contains the possibility of helping us to connect with our pleasure as a state of expanded connectivity where we feel good in ourselves.

Of course, there are plants that have a reputation for being very effective at helping us to connect with what feels good in our bodies and our relationships, including Milky Oat (Avena sativa), Motherwort (Leonurus cardiaca), and Lemon Balm (Melissa officinalis), to name just a few. Building a relationship with plant allies, returning your herbalism to an earth-centered practice, and allowing yourself to play with possibility as a path of healing can all help to name and experience your own pleasure. In other words, there are as many paths to pleasure as there are beings, and plant allies are just one of many helpful partnerships to finding those paths.

As you journey through the world of herbalism, I hope that you find those plant allies which help you connect with your deepest desires, and find a way to know your desires as things of loveliness and revelation throughout your life.

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Footnotes

1. Margarita Artschwager Kay, Healing with Plants in the American and Mexican West (The Tucson, Arizona: University of Arizona Press, 1996), 265.

2. Michael Alfs, 300 Herbs: Their Indications & Contraindications (New Brighton, MN: Old Theology Book House, 2003), 51.

3. Thomas Bartram, Bartram's Encyclopedia of Herbal Medicine (London: Constable & Robinson Ltd, 1998), 140.

4. Karen M. Rose, The Art & Practice of Spiritual Herbalism: Transform, Heal, & Remember with the Power of Plants and Ancestral Medicine (Beverly, MA: Quarto Publishing, 2022) 112.

5. Paul Beyerl, A Compendium of Herbal Magick (Custer, Washington: Phoenix Publishing, 1999), 150.