[Babybird]

Mugwort Herb benifits and ancient and are used in many ways with many benifits​

HERBALISMMAY 22, 2020

Mugwort: Wise Dreamweaver​

by MICAELA FOLEY
Mugwort (Artemisia vulgaris) is an herb of the world! Native to Europe and Asia, but with a naturalized domain widespread enough to include every continent, it grows wild and abundantly in sunny places with disturbed soil—no stranger to cracks in city sidewalks, fields, forests, coastal habitats, and gardens. Mugwort’s adaptability is mirrored by the myriad benefits it generously offers; its medicine has been used in many ways by many cultures since time immemorial.

Botany & Etymology​

Mugwort belongs to the Asteraceae family and the genus Artemisia, so named for the Greek deity of wild nature and the moon, Artemis. It has a fitting affinity for the moon and the dream realm, its silver-y leaves shine in moonlight. Mugwort, like most Artemisia species, has a strong, somewhat sweet aroma and very bitter taste from terpenoids and sesquiterpene lactones. A tall, hardy herb, it can grow to heights between three and six feet when mature. The stems are angular and become woody when mature, with once or twice pinnately lobed leaves that are dark green on top with a silver underside. Mugwort’s small flowers are wind-pollinated, and, when in bloom, it flowers in small, oval-shaped reddish yellow clusters.3 Mugwort also propagates easily from small fragments of rhizome, making it quite difficult to weed out!

Traditional Uses​

An indispensable herb in both European and Asian medicinal traditions, Mugwort with its bitter, aromatic flavor has long been used in the cuisine of both continents as a digestive aid and a remedy for stagnant digestive issues. In both areas, too, Mugwort’s menses stimulating emmenagogue action and affinity for the uterus was recognized and utilized.

History​

Called ‘the oldest of plants’ (yldost wyrta) by the Anglo-Saxons, it has an enduring history of magical use; it is a key ingredient in the “Charm of the Nine Worts,” a magic herbal formula believed to be given to the world by the god Woden. Ancient Romans planted Mugwort along roadsides so travelers could line their shoes with it to relieve aching feet. St. John the Baptist is said to have worn a girdle of Mugwort for protection when he set out into the wilderness and indeed, its strong, bitter compounds discourage and repel most animals and insects.
Certain Indigenous Americans used Mugwort as both a medicinal and spiritual ally; they believed crushed Mugwort leaves rubbed along the body kept ghosts away. Pagans used it in their summer solstice ceremonies during which a garland of Mugwort is worn while dancing round a fire, then thrown into the fire as a symbol of continued protection in the coming year. It was used long before Hops as a bitter flavoring agent for beer in the Middle Ages of Europe, when beer was consumed in place of clean water sources.2 In traditional Chinese medicine, Mugwort was ingested to stop excessive or inappropriate menstrual bleeding and burned atop the skin to quell rheumatic joint pain; in Brazilian folk medicine, as a remedy for stomach ulcers.