As the herbalist for my coven, I often teach both magickal and medicinal herbal classes. Last year at our October coven meeting, I gave this presentation on Mugwort, covering practical information as well as folklore, historical information and witchcraft uses. Normally, I’d provide sources, but I’ve misplaced the notes for this class, so I hope it will suffice to say that I drew from many sources.
Latin name - Artemisia vulgaris
Other names for Mugwort: Cronewort, common wormwood wild wormwood, felon herb, St. John’s plant, chrysanthemum weed, sailor’s tobacco, moxa, Artemis herb, Naughty Man, Old Man, Old Uncle Henry, Muggons.
Often confused with Wormwood Artemisia absinthium. Mugwort leaves are green above and white underneath, with pointed tips and purplish stems. True Wormwood leaves are silvery, top and bottom.
Mugwort in Nature and the Garden
Mugwort is a member of the daisy family (Asteracea) with characteristic disk flowers in panicles, (a panicle is a flower made up of many small flowers in groups, several off the same stem) very small reddish or greenish yellow. Unlike other members of the family Asteracea, mugwort’s flowers and those of its other close Artemesia relatives, are not very showy, but do give off a great deal of pollen.
Mugwort can grow from three to six feet tall on an erect purplish stem. The leaves are feathery, grayish green with silvervy fuzz on the underside and are deeply pinnately lobed. It grows in a bush-like habit.
Mugwort blooms from July to September. It is native to Europe and Asia, but has naturalized through much of the world. Mugwort enjoys weedy areas and waste places where the soil has been disturbed with plenty of sunlight.
Mugwort is very hardy though it prefers nitrogenous soil and lots of sun. It vigorously spreads by an underground root system. Do not overwater mugwort. It is drought tolerant but does not like its feet wet. Planting in a pot will prevent it from spreading.
Harvesting and Preserving Mugwort
Harvest mugwort shortly before it flowers and hang upside down, away from sun, to dry. Collect the root in autumn. I have an herb drying rack that I hang my mugwort on, so any place where air can circulate is fine. I do not recommend drying mugwort (or most other herbs) in a dehydrator or oven, because both methods tend to over-dry, causing the plants to turn brown or grey, and lose most of their scent.
Uses Around the House
-Dried mugwort added to a fire will help keep it smoldering for a long time. The stalks make good kindling.
-The long stems make nice wreathes and garlands
-An infusion is a good all-purpose cleaner and insect repellent.
In the Kitchen
Mugwort has a bitter taste. It was used in medieval cooking to season fish and meat, especially game, and is a traditionally used herb for Christmas goose in Germany. It is also used to flavor rice cakes in Asia.
Before hops was used in beer, mugwort was used for its crucial bitter note and to help keep the beer fresh. For this purpose, it should be gathered before it flowers and dried before use.
Mugwort is a topical anesthetic with antibacterial and anti-fungal properties.
Fresh crushed mugwort leaves applied to the skink relieves burning, itching and pain, and with continued use, can help get rid of warts.
It is also said that coating your skin with mugwort juice before exposure to poison oak will prevent a rash.
It is said that chewing fresh mugwort leaves will help relieve fatigue and clear the mind. A decoration of the roots was also used for this purpose.
An infusion of fresh leaves can be used for chronic stomach complaints and to stimulate the appetite.
Mugwort has traditionally been used in Europe to induce abortion. It strengthens contractions and is used in a compress to promote labor and help expel the afterbirth. It is also used to help regulate the menstrual cycle and ease painful menstruation and the onset of menopause. Use with ginger in a tea to soothe a difficult menstruation.
It is used in traditional Chinese and Japanese medicine to make Moxas to cure rheumatism and to correct fetal position prior to delivery. The fluff is carefully removed and rolled into a cylinder which is heated and placed near pressure points to relieve pain.
Mugwort has been used for entries for mental disorders and epilepsy, as it has mild sedative and antispasmodic properties.
An infusion of the dried leaves and flowers helps expel pin worms.
Mix dried leaves with honey and apply to bruises to fade them.
Infusion - 1 oz dried herb to 1 pint boiling water for 5-10 minutes. Steeping too long will make infusion extremely bitter.
Tincture - Cover dried herb with alcohol and keep in a dark place for 2-6 weeks, shaking occasionally.
Do no continue use of mugwort for longer than one week, breaking for 2 weeks between, to avoid system build up of thujone.
Mugwort and Magic
All varieties of Artemisia are sacred to the goddess Artemis, who give comfort (or death) to women in labor. Also, Diana through association and Hecate, patron of herbalists and midwives. Mugwort is also associated with the moon which in turn is associated with the cycles of womanhood.
Mugwort is feminine, associated with the element of earth, and Venus and/or the Moon and is ruled by either Taurus or Libra.
Mugwort can be used as a sacred smoking herb or burned as a fumigant for protection or divination. It can be mixed with other herbs to smoke in a ritual context and is said to enhance astral projection, lucid dreaming and other altered states of consciousness. Keeping mugwort under your pillow or in your bedroom may encourage prophetic dreams.
Burning or smoking mugwort is another way to utilize its conscious-altering affects. Burn in an incense burner to aid divination.
A cup of mugwort tea before bed can encourage lucid dreaming.
It’s also used in protective pouches, especially those related to travel. It is said to prevent delays, and other annoyances related to travel, as well as to protect the traveler from accidents, thieves and other traveling mishaps.
Mugwort stems can be used as impromptu wands.
An herbal wash can be used to clean ritual tools, especially those used in divination.
Hanging mugwort over or on a door will keep unwelcome energies from passing through.
A garland or a girdle of mugwort can be worn while dancing around the midsummer bale fire and thrown into the fire at the end of the night to ensure protection throughout the year.
Mugwort in History and Folklore
The name “mugwort” is said to come from the plant’s traditional use of flavoring beverages. It may have also come from an old word meaning “moth,” alluding to its usefulness at keeping away pests. Another possible etymology is from Old Norse muggi, meaning marsh.
Wort is an old term for “plant,” especially one of a useful nature.
Roman soldiers put mugwort in their sandals to keep their feet from getting tired.
In Holland and Germany the plant was considered sacred to John the Baptist who presumably wore a girdle of mugwort. The plant is gathered on St. John’s Eve, made into a crown and worn to protect from possession, disease and general misfortune.
Poultry and grazing animals enjoy this plant, and it may be the same Artemisia of Pontos lauded by the ancients as excellent for fattening livestock.
In Wales, mugwort was tied to the left thigh of a woman having a difficult labor. But it was believed that if it was not removed immediately after the birth, she might hemorrhage.
In European folklore, it was said to protect against poison.
It is mentioned in the Nine Herbs Charm, a 10th century English rhyme in the Lacnunga, an Anglo-Saxon medicinal text. The charm is intended for the treatment of poisoning and infection. The numbers nine and three, significant in Germanin paganism and folklore are mentioned frequently in the charm. The poem contains both Christian and English pagan themes, including a mention of the Germanic god Woden.
“Remember, Mugwort, what you made known,
What you arranged at Regenmeld.
You were called Una, the oldest of the herbs,
You have power against three and against thirty,
You have power against poison and against infection,
You have power against the loathsome foe
Roving through the land.
And you, waybread, mother of herbs,
Open from the east, mighty inside.
Over you chariots creaked,
Over you queens rode,
Over you brides cried out,
Over you bulls snorted.
You withstood all of them,
You dashed against them.
May you likewise withstand poison and infection
And the loathsome foe roving through the land
‘Stune’ is the name of this herb,
It grew on a stone,
It stands up against poison,
It dashes against poison,
It drives out the hostile one,
It casts out the poison.
This is the herb that fought again the snake,
It has power against poison,
It has power against infection
It has power against the loathsome foe
Roving through the land.
Now, atterlothe, put to flight now,
Venom-leather, the greater poisons,
Though you are the lesser,
You the mightier, conquer the lesser poisons,
Until he is cured of both.
Remember mayth, what you made known,
What you accomplished as Alorford,
That never a man should lose his life from infection
After maythe was prepared for his food.
This is the herb that is called ‘Wergulu’.
A seal sent it across the sea-right,
A vexation to poison, a help to others.
It stands against pain,
It dashes against poison,
It has power against three and against thirty,
Against the hand of a fiend and against mighty devices,
Against the spell of mean creatures.
There the Apple accomplished it against poison
That she [the loathsome spirit] would never
Dwell in the house.
Chervil and Fennel,
Two very mighty one.
They were created by the wise Lord,
Holy in heaven as He hung;
He set and sent them to the seven worlds,
To the wretched and the fortunate,
As a help to all.
These nine have power against nine poisons.
A worm came crawling,
It killed nothing.
For Woden took nine glory-twigs,
He smote the adder that it flew apart
Into nine parts.
Now these nine herbs have power
Against nine evil spirits,
Against nine poisons and
Against nine infections.
Against the red poison,
Against the foul poison.
Against the yellow poison,
Against the green poison,
Against the black poison,
Against the blue poison,
Against the brown poison,
Against the crimson poison.
Against worm-blister,
Against water-blister,
Against thorn-blister,
Against thistle-blister,
Against ice-blister,
Against poison-blister.
Against harmfulness of the air,
Against harmfulness of the ground,
Against harmfulness of the sea.
If any poison comes flying from the east,
Or any from the north,
Or any from the south,
Or any from the west among people,
Woden stood over disease of every kind.
I alone know a running stream,
And the nine adders beware of it.
May all the weeds spring up as herbs
From their roots,
The seas slip apart,
All salt water,
When I blow this poison from your.
Mugwort, waybread open from the east,
Lamb’s cress, atterlothe, maythe, nettle,
Crab-apple, chervil and fennel, old soap;
Pound the herbs to a powder,
Mix them with the soap
And the juice of the apple.
Then prepare a pasted of water and of ashes,
Take fennel, boil it with the paste
And wash it with a beaten egg
When you apply the salve,
Both before and after.
Sing this charm three times on each of
The herbs before you prepare them,
And likewise on the apple.
And sing the same charm
Into the mouth of the man
And into both his ears,
And on wound,
Before you apply the salve.”
Additional Notes and Warnings
Judika Illes mentions mugwort in her 5000 Spells as a protection for books against vermin, suggesting that the dried leaves be placed between the pages. She also includes mugwort as a protector of animals, saying to hang it in the doorway of barns to prevent evil spirits from attacking farm animals.
Mugwort is considered a noxious week in parts of the United States. Check with your State’s laws before planting.
Pregnant women should avoid mugwort without consulting a physician first. It can be passed through mother’s milk, so should be avoided by lactating women.
Mugwort should not be used for more than one week continuously. Continued use can cause liver damage and convulsions, due to its high thujone levels.
Mugwort flowers can trigger allergies in some.