Devil's Club (sḱaəkač): The Alchemist
An introduction to an elder
I first met Devil’s Club during a circumnavigation of Wy’east. I was in a tender place with my health and my spirit, and sought out the solitude of sky, stone and mountain. It was Autumn and the river crossings were low and the sky clear, some years before the new normal of wildfire smoke that now permeates the West with the smell of fear and carbon.
I was asking for a sign. A direction. A teacher, perhaps. Something or someone that could throw a rope down into the cave of my psyche and pull me up and through to the otherside. I felt marooned at sea, utterly lost and without a compass. Walking is good medicine when one finds themself without a paddle. A good long walk gives a sense of direction and purpose (even if only temporarily) and the constant changing landscape stimulates the mind to see things differently.
Wy’east is a medicine keeper of changed perception. As you walk round her, she shapeshifts. Her peak from the East looks nothing like the view from the West, the terrain mutating with elevation gain and descent. Wy’east holds the Truth that there is always more than one way to look at things.
It was my third night on the trail, and the moon was rising in the East, so full and luminous you felt like you could walk right up and kiss her. I decided to take a stroll towards the distant sound of flowing water to refill my canister and set off in the moonlight.
As I got closer to the stream, the forest darkened. The alpine meadow of Asters gave way to Fir and Cedar and the moon shone through the understory in slanted shards like a mosaic glass window.
I became aware of a presence. If you’ve ever been alone in the woods and felt the peering eyes of a coyote or bobcat watching you, then you know the feeling; a near dormant animal instinct that comes online when faced with a potential predator.
I paused mid gait to scan the trees, letting my eyes adjust to the limited light and slowed my breath until it became a whisper, my ears pricked for the smallest snap or rustle. I waited, heard nothing move, yet every cell in my body felt alive with electricity.
I kept walking, slower now, and turned the corner to see the forest fall away in a steep descent following the stream that cascaded down from the glacial run off above. The moon loomed swollen and heavy, and from this position I could gaze out at the seemingly endless rolling forests surrounding the mountain as far as I could see.
The mountainside was covered in large overlapping lily pads of green leaves, some glistening with clusters of red berries, all baring stalks covered in sharp spines. The patch was prolific, there must have been hundreds of them, up to ten feet tall creating a tunneled archway over the stream as it meandered down the slope. I had stumbled upon a Cathedral.
This was the presence I had felt. So sharp my blood was still vibrating as I sank to my knees beneath them.
Oplopanax horridus, commonly known as Devil’s Club, is a native elder of the Pacific West growing in wet, old growth, coniferous forests from Oregon up to Alaska. The name Oplopanax is indicative of their power: oplo meaning armored, panax meaning ‘heal-all’ and horridus meaning fierce. They have a long history intertwined with the native people of Turtle Island, who revered this plant as a teacher and keeper of profound spiritual medicine.
Devil’s Club stands in antithesis to white settler colonialism and it’s innate desire to conquer the landscape. The western name alone “devils club” shows a level of disdain for a plant that defies conquest. Growing in large, rhizomatically connected patches, Devil’s Club can form a boundary of spikes and thorns that make moving through them impassible, and the thorns can break off in the skin where they then fester and ooze with staphylococcus boils within 36 hours of penetration. Medicine for those who did not heed the warning. The poison is the medicine however, as the traditional treatment is to apply a strong decoction on the site of injury and to drink several cups of the same decoction daily.
Devil’s Club grows in the darkest, densest part of the forest, usually near running water where their roots can nestle into the fertile ground. They grow slowly, and hold this energy in the belly of their beingness. Sitting with Devil’s Club becomes a meditation in stillness. Time seems to move differently, non-linearly, and your perception can slip into what I call “Slow Time”, or the speed of Land.
Devil’s Club’s thorns are an essential part of their magic. As boundary keepers, they show up as protectors and guardian spirits for those who need it. Devil’s Club can help you in asserting yourself and your personal boundaries, and can also push you to stand tall in the power you possess. Holding yourself accountable to your own innate power is not easy, and often working with Devil’s Club is unpleasant, as they unravel the mess of trauma and narratives that are binding and keeping us from living in the fullness of our magic. Devil’s Club is direct and bluntly honest, and looking in the reflection they hold can be painful. But when you are ready to live your life in courage and truth, unafraid to take up space in the process, Devil’s Club will be there to sing your strength back into your bones.
The thorns can pierce the veil between worlds just as easily as they offer protection and strength. In this way, they are a shapeshifter, an ally for spiritwalkers who traverse more worlds than one. I often think of Devil’s Club as an Alchemist or Magician, opening our gates of perception and widening our view to beyond just ourselves, as they did that night on the mountain when gifting me a vision.
Devil's club is known as Bear medicine. It is said that the Tlingit learned about Devil’s Club from watching bears attempting to soothe battle wounds by chewing Devil's Club roots and berries and rolling in the patches. Traditionally Devil’s Club charcoal was mixed with bear grease for ritual tattoo ink.
Medicinally Devil’s Club is a panacea used for everything from arthritis to cancer to respiratory issues. They are in the Araliaceae family along with fellow adaptogenic plants ginseng, Siberian ginseng, and Sarsaparilla. They can support the adrenals by moderating the body's reaction to stress and trauma. Devil’s Club works on the respiratory system by acting as an expectorant, increasing and loosening mucus to instigate productive coughing and speed the healing from infections.
One of the most notable medicinal qualities is in regard to adult onset diabetes. Devil’s Club repairs metabolic function and supports the pancreas, which struggles to produce insulin properly in those with diabetes. Both tinctured and decocted Devil’s Club work to balance blood sugar and create even energy throughout the day.
I find folks can benefit from Devil’s Club if they have a heavy, stagnant, damp condition. This could look like diabetes, chronic bronchitis, arthritis, or fibromyalgia. The Devil’s Club person feels stuck, weak, and disconnected from their power and center. They may be at a crossroads, or struggling with victimhood and lingering trauma.
Due to the deep cultural ties between Devil’s Club and the native people who care for them, they are deserving of your utmost respect and honor. I approach them as a guest, a student, and most importantly, in truth. There are patches of local abundance across Oregon and Washington, but nowhere near the level of abundance that can be found further North to Alaska. For this reason, harvesting should be minimal and energetic work is encouraged.
When harvesting, rather than clip the growing stalks, I harvest the rhizomatous root sections connecting individual plants, ensuring that the plants continue to thrive. Replanting roots or segments is a reciprocal way to exchange with Devil’s Club. Pieces as small as 6” with intact bark can grow roots and sprout small stems even when laid on top of the earth, not fully submerged or conversely when buried deeply under soil or leaf debris.
Leather gloves are needed when working with Devil’s Club, and the inner bark is where the medicine lies. You want to whittle the green interior bark into shavings that can then be tinctured fresh, used for infused oils, or dried for later decoctions. I find the bark to be both sweet, pungent and bitter.
Resources:
Deur, Douglas. 2022. Gifted Earth: The Ethnobotany of the Quinault and Neighboring Tribes. Oregon State University Press.
Moore, Michael. 1993. Medicinal Plants of the Pacific West. Red Crane Books, Inc.
TRADITIONAL USE OF DEVIL’S CLUB (OPLOPANAX HORRIDUS; ARALIACEAE) BY NATIVE PEOPLES IN WESTERN NORTH AMERICAN (https://ethnobiology.org/sites/default/files/pdfs/JoE/2-1/Turner1982.pdf)
http://www.ryandrum.com/devilsclub.htm