My first mission, was to find Mugwort/Wormwood on short notice, as we wanted to smoke it 😄 big surprise, but it was impossible to find; I even went to a few shops, but "Armoise" (its French name) isn't sold until early spring.
We could still find some on a trail, it grows in the area next to woods, even if it's been raining non stop for a few days now, maybe I could have time to find some tomorrow, I will keep you updated on the same post.
I am sure we will have some posts about the medical aspect of the plant, if you are interested, I could extrapolate in an extra post just about it, there is so much to say about wormwood, it's an antispasmodic, sedative, tonic, helps with deworming, anticoagulant, antiseptic, anti-inflammatory, sometimes a poison and many more uses that some of you may know, like fighting cancer and COVID.
What I wanted to dive into today, it's more its spiritual aspect, and quickly look into its uses in that respect.
“When it did taste the wormwood on the nipple
Of my dug and felt it bitter, pretty fool,
To see it tetchy and fall out with the dug!”
Romeo and Juliet: Act 1, Scene 3
When I was living in South Africa, I got really interested in herbalism/herbology, there is a particular profession here, it's "Sangoma", who are healers using traditional medicine and healing methods.
I spent countless hours reading facts about plants, their effects, their counter-effects, some of them I quite frankly forgot with times, but Artemisia was always an all time favourite. I would have probably bumped into it in France, but it happened in Africa, it could have actually happened anywhere in the world, as it's a widely used herb.
Is it because it's one of the main ingredient of Absynth? Is it because of its name inspired by the goddess Artermis? Is it because it's associated to women, the womb, innocence, or just its bright colour, maybe it's because I smoked it once or twice 😁, by the way I couldn't even recall the taste of it, if I tried. Bitter maybe? Probably...
Maybe I am just saying it now, because I've been reading a bit more about Mugwort, and my heads is filled with facts, things that I didn't even know before.
This is what amazes me with herbalism, you think you know something, and then discover very important info, that people spent years to find out.
For example, farmers noticed that livestock sometimes consume it in small quantity, and chickens even bath under it, as if aware of it's insecticidal properties.
All this knowledge, took thousands of years of use, to be discovered. Some of that knowledge got lost during witch hunts, inquisitions, were apothecary books were being burnt with their owners, and many important facts have been lost throughout history.
This is the main spiritual uses of Mugwort, the fire herb, the woman, the man, Sweet Anne, Mother of herbs, felon herb, sailor’s tobacco, Saint-Peter's tobacco, and many other names, with countless ancient stories.
Cleansing (fire or water)
Let's start with its most common spiritual use, the cleansing spiritual property of the plant is well known, across all religions, pagans, non pagans, and is very similar to sage in its usage.
Sometimes gathered in a bundle (smudge stick), wormwood can be burnt and dispersed in a room, its smoke having very powerful cleansing attributes. I've also heard that during witchcraft rituals involving cauldrons, that it was always good to throw mugwort as a fire kindle, it's also used by the Bedouins as incense bringing luck to travellers, and one could even look into the Chinese practice called muxibustion which also consist of burning a small quantity of Artemisia during acupuncture, or the Chumash people from Southern California having very similar rituals, it's crazy to think that in opposite places in the world, people were doing the exact same thing, burning the same herb, with the same cleaning purpose.
It's more rare, but Artemesia is sometimes used as a cleanser in potions, or even used it bath during a cleansing wash. I am also pretty sure that a tea, infusion, or a beer will have the very same property.
Protection
It often goes hand in hand with the cleansing, though it deserved its own section. The most common way to harness the protective energy of the plant, is by making a garland crown, but I've seen a few times people having a sachet of grinded mugwort, as pendant around their neck.
In most ancient cultures, from the Celtic druids, to the Chinese Empire, a branch or a bundle of mugwort was often seen hanging on a porch, or a front door to ward off evil spirits.
As most rituals are often a matter of intentions, it's easy to understand that casting Artemisia in a sacred fire was also see as a sign of protection, especially for travellers.
Enabler & multiplier
This is probably my favourite use of mugwort. As you know the very presence of the plant seems to have a energetic amplifying effect, especially for people being already sensitive, like empaths, or people with visions, or that work with energies.
The use of a Dream Pillow has become more and more common in recent years, it is supposed to guide your sleep journey or your meditation, help you have lucid dreams (be in control of your dreams), and even could potentially emplify astral projections!
As in the picture above, you can mix it with our favourite herb from last week, they both have a calming scent, just watch out if you're pregnant not to overdo it, as it was also used as an abortion method back in the days.
How effective was it? Fuck...I dunno...
Focus & Intuition
"What kind of focus are we talking about, Ed?" you may say. Well, during my entire article, I forgot to mention one way to use Artemisia, and it might sounds ridiculous, but by actually communing with the plant, and by this I don't mean to get down and dirty with it, but by meditating in the presence of the actual plant for example, you can benefit from it and it will helps your concentration, your attention.
Having a circle of wormwood, next to your spot where you relax and sit down to listen to the birds for example, is fucking great. Though I don't own any, so it's more of a "do as say but not as I do" type of situation, and after writing this, I am actually thinking of pulling some roots tomorrow, and try to replant it next to the house.
Actually, having the entire house surrounded with Artemisia might be a brilliant idea! There are other ways to use mugwort as a tool, like a a wand for consecration, or even carrying some in a pocket, they are all very valid, there is no correct or wrong way to use it.
Sources:
https://muvs.org/en/topics/t-plants/mugwort/
https://theplanthunter.com.au/botanica/wormwood-goddess-herb/
https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1057%2F9780230105515_5
https://www.circlesanctuary.org/index.php/circle-magazine/sample-articles/ritual-tools-sacred-work-with-mugwort
https://draxe.com/nutrition/wormwood/
https://commonwealthherbs.com/mugwort-for-dreaming/
http://pistilweb.blogspot.com/2018/09/armoise-herbe-sorciere.html
I had tons of fun writing the post, all of it 100 % authentic juice, freshly squeezed out of my brain :) Thanks for creating this initiative, I will let you know if we manage to get hand on it before the end of the deadline, thanks for reading ^^
Ed