Funky Forest Health & Wellbeing
  • Home
  • About
    • About Casey
    • Philosophy >
      • Non-Diet Approach
      • Health At Every Size HAES ®
      • Intuitive Eating
      • Holistic Dietitians
    • Treatments >
      • Dietetic & Nutritional Therapy
      • Eating Disorder Therapy
      • Herbal Medicine
      • Flower Essences
      • Prenatal Nutrition & Yoga
      • Postnatal Nutrition & Yoga
  • Podcast
  • Services
    • COVID-19 Services
    • Consultations >
      • Dietitian
      • Naturopath
      • Nutritionist
      • Book a Consult
      • Consultation Info >
        • What To Expect
        • Fees & Rebates
        • Complete Wellness Program
    • Classes >
      • Schedule
      • Offerings >
        • AcroYoga
      • About
      • Praise
    • Bodywork
    • Courses
    • Freebies >
      • FREE 15 Minute Consult
      • Dark Moon Newsletter
      • A Modern Yogi's BS-Free Guide to Wellbeing
      • Elimination Diet Email Series
      • Videos
    • Upcoming Events
  • Apothecary
  • Blog
  • Contact
    • Dark Moon Newsletter
    • News

Casey's blog

The Magic & Medicine of Mugwort

29/10/2019

13 Comments

 
Picture
Mugwort. Surprisingly cheeky and brazen, like the very old withered little bent over woman who suddenly reaches up to you and plants a big juicy smacker of a kiss on your cheek. She has the vitality of somebody a quarter of her age. Wise and direct, yet joyful. She's soft without molly-coddling. She delivers her message swiftly, with mirror-like clarity yet without judgement or harshness.
Mugwort is like the grandmother you always wanted, which might be why she is often referred to by herbalists as cronewort after the wise elder archetype. Like a patient grandparent who has been ignored and not visited for far too long, she welcomes you with zeal and open, forgiving arms, eager to distil her timeless wisdom to anyone willing to listen.

Perhaps this is why she is also known as the herb for new initiates to the plant spirit path. She is so easy to talk to. She welcomes you with open, soft, silvery hands. All you have to do is open up the conversation by saying "hello". And when you do, she will gently invite you in to realms of deeper perception, where a new way of communing with plants and integrating the healing process is possible.

In my communications with her I'm always amazed at how quick and clear she is in her conversing. She is so chatty (at least, relative to other plants I've spoken with) that I often doubt myself - "did she really just say that?" - although that is becoming less of an issue with time. More about that soon.


Mugwort's genus name Artemisia hints at the moon goddess that it it's namesake. Every image I've seen of the greek goddess Artemis (or Diana, her Roman equivalent) depicts her as huntress and protector of the wild creatures of the forest. She doesn't kill indiscriminately; she brings death only when it is timely and appropriate. And she also brings life, as is evident in her traditional use by herbal midwives in labour and birth.

Edit on 14 June 2020: Since writing this article I've learnt more about mugwort and the many different species growing around the Sunshine Coast Hinterlands, where I live. I believe one of the species naturalised to this area (and pictured below) may be Chinese mugwort (Artemisia verlotiorum) which is more aromatic than common mugwort (A. vulgaris) and grows 1-3 m high. 

MEDICINE

"As the village midwife once nurtured the heart of the community with compassion, knowledge, common sense, and magic, cronewort has soothed the pain of childbirth, eased the tenderness of aching joints, comforted bellies, and instilled vision among human beings for centuries with her knowing medicine."
 - Judith Berger, Herbal Rituals
Picture

TraditionAl Uses

If you're baffled by all this talk of, well, talking with plants, let me start off with something a bit easier to wrap your head around: the herb's actions on a physical plane. I'll get to plant spirit communication shortly.

​If you've ever popped a leaf of mugwort into your mouth and had a chew, you'll know the striking but somehow comforting bitterness that emanates from her tissues.

Bitter is a taste most of us don't get enough of, despite it's wonderful health benefits. Mugwort's bitterness makes it an all-round star herb for digestive health, as well as improving overall immune function. It is particularly excellent for supporting the stomach, pancreas and liver. Mugwort is an appetite stimulant, and a balm for anyone with weak digestion and nervous dyspepsia. Like many of the other Artemisia family has traditionally been used for intestinal parasites such as worms.

A women's herb (and in particular an emmenagogue), mugwort initiates and promotes menstrual flow, making it helpful for women with amenorrhoea (as long as those periods aren't missing because of malnutrition as in most cases of hypothalamic amenorrhoea, in which case only nutritional rehabilitation will address the root cause). As Judith Berger describes so poetically in her book Herbal Rituals, it has been traditionally used to increase the efficiency of labour and birth.

Mugwort is used in Chinese medicine as the herb burnt in moxabustion. For this reason it has a particular resonance with me as my mother is Chinese and although I can't know for certain, I intuitively feel that there is a lineage of healers on that side of my family. I imagine my ancestors were very familiar with the smell of moxa as it wafted through their healing spaces.
​
Picture
Finely chopped fresh mugwort leaves, ready to be made into a fresh infused body oil. The sarong belonged to my maternal grandmother Lim Eng Sim, whose grandmother Lee Kim Toe migrated from China to Malaysia as a single mother to escape her overlording husband after chopping his pigtail off! So I'm told...

How I USE Mugwort

My absolute favourite way to use this wonderfully medicinal plant has been in applying an infused oil of fresh mugwort to my entire body, most nights. Mugwort has this ability to penetrate deeply into the tissues of the body, calming the nervous system and moistening the skin, and is an excellent carrier oil for other medicinal herbs.

Herbal body oiling is a sensuous and safe way to receive the benefits of these medicinal plants through the largest organ in your body - your skin - all whilst building body familiarity and self-intimacy through the ritual of mindful self-massage and self-touch. I personally think that body oiling is a must for all women as a way to get to know their bodies and improve body acceptance.

I have made infused mugwort oil on a new moon and on a full moon, and am currently experimenting with what works best as I plan to bottle and sell a limited volume of mugwort infused body oil in the coming months!

​I also make smudge sticks and use them in ceremonial and ritual work, both personally and during bodywork with clients. On the rare occasion I'm feeling extremely tense or nervous about something, I have smoked dried mugwort and experienced the pleasant after effect it offers; a subtle wave of the kind of relaxation and okay-ness that makes you sigh out loud. 

​I also regularly chop up small amounts of mugwort and add it to stirfries, soups and omelettes. Herbal tea infusions of mugwort, although bitter, are an enlivening way to start the day!

Magic

"...known to many as a herb of magic, cronewort allows us to live in several worlds at once, expanding and nourishing the habit of drawing our gaze before us to that which is visible, and behind us to that which is invisible. Regular use of cronewort in tea or extract strengthens our ability to absorb intuitive information as we preserve an aspect of sharpness in our interaction with the complex, topside world."
​- Judith Berger, Herbal Rituals

Dreaming

Whenever I herbal body oil with mugwort before bed, I get the best night's sleep... even with a 21 month old waking me 2-3 times a night wanting to be breastfed, and my 4-year old son (who isn't adverse to a 4am wake up) and husband all essentially sleeping in the same bed!

Also, mugwort breathes life into my dreams. Mugwort is well-known for her capacity to induce more vivid dreams and better dream recall. I find that some of these dreams are direct messages from the depths of my soul, or from my higher self, or whatever it is that watches over and animates us at our core.


For really intense dreams and memory recall, try sleeping with a few sprigs of fresh mugwort under your pillow. Be warned - the dreams you receive may have a powerful message for you!

And after a few nights you may need to back off as it really does bring your dreams to life! I find body oiling with infused mugwort oil is gentler than sleeping with a bunch of it in my bed, because whilst vivid, with body oiling my dreams don't become sagas that could fill pages and pages the next morning like they do when mugwort is right there under my head!


Judith Berger is spot on about mugwort strengthening your capacity to pick up on intuitive messages (such as those in those BIG, important dreams) whilst staying anchored to the "topside" world (i.e. not becoming so floaty you can't stay connected to waking life, as is the tendency for some constituents of some other medicinal plants). 

I've had some BIG and impactful dreams with mugwort that have changed the way I am in the world, one of which I've included at the end of this blog for those interested.


PLANT SPIRIT COMMUNICATION
This is where I may lose some readers, but I'm going to forge ahead regardless. I'm a new student to plant spirit communication, having learnt about it largely from books penned by some amazing teachers. 

To me, plant spirit communication is about getting to know a plant at a deeper level by treating the plant like a non-human person. I suppose this is an animist way of being and connecting with other sentient beings, and one I have slowly but surely grown more and more confident in.

​The opening paragraph details the way mugwort has conveyed her personality to me: as a caring grandmother, a crone, a wise woman, who gently evokes your memory and deepest inner knowing, with a sense of light-heartedness... and totally devoid of judgment. 

Conveniently, since mugwort clears channels of perception "opens up chambers of ancient memory within the brain" as Judith Berger describes in her beautiful book, plant spirit communication becomes easier with her aid. She really is the perfect plant for the new herbal initiate to begin plant spirit communication adventures with - although I personally think any and all plants (and animals, people, mountains, etc) are open to respectful communication.

Even when I've not been listening all that attentively, mugwort has found a way to grab my attention. I describe an example of this in this Instagram post.

There are wonderful resources out there exploring plant spirit communication in eloquent detail so I won't say much about it here, besides try it. These resources are listed right at the end of this blog.

Picture
Kairi in amongst the mugwort

Remembering

Mugwort has helped me remember who I am. Having babies (with all the joy and sacrifice that entails), being a busy mum setting up my private practice, and living on the bustling, highly image-focussed Gold Coast had eroded my energy reserves and to some extent, my spirit.

Since working with mugwort (in particular, the mugwort that's growing wild in the place I have just moved to) I have started teaching regular yoga classes again after a four-year hiatus. I have started practising bodywork again. I'm feeling a growing confidence and courage to create things I've been too scared to try in the past.

Mugwort has helped give me my groove back. Like the bent yet sturdy spine of the crone, she has carried me through to the other side of a dark tunnel I wasn't completely aware I had been moving through. 

I am remembering pieces of myself that I left behind some time ago. Mugwort is giving life back to those pieces that I discarded in my haste to escape from the materialism and spiritual by-passing I was witnessing in the yoga world on the Gold Coast that turned me off yoga for so long.

I'm teaching yoga again. I'm doing bodywork again. A naturally sensitive person, I'm seeing the harshness in some of my ways and learning to soften those edges that had become hardened by the sun of survival and self-preservation in a harsh and plastic world. I am learning to become more self-aware and gain more mastery of my emotions, particularly anger and self-righteousness.

I am communing with nature more and it seems the plants are much easier to communicate with, now that mugwort has opened the door.

Picture
Harvesting mugwort with my babes. It seems that kids are fantastic channels for messages from the plants when we adults aren't listening so closely!

The Emerald Dragon: a mugwort dream

If we have been too harsh, may we soften and so feel called to forgive.
It was a month since we had moved into our new home, and I had been harsh. In summoning the energy needed to find, move and create a new home from scratch I had used a lot of yang, pushing forceful energy. I’m no stranger to this, being someone who prefers action – any action! - to extensive rumination and thinking. Be damned with the consequences. Learn from your mistakes. I learn by trial and error.

But in my pushing-forward harshness I had been harsh in my relationships, particularly with my husband. I needed to soften, sensitise, and become more patient with my more ruminating, slower moving, Taurean partner. To forgive him for my perceived flaws in him, for his inertia relative to my surging forth.
 
Mugwort called out to me three times one Friday in early Spring. First, at the dairy where I now milk the cows with the kids every second week. A huge bush was growing right next to where we milk the ladies, which I thought was nice but not particularly striking.

Second, when I re-discovered my mugwort stone later that day. A bloodstone I was gifted by my spiritual teacher, which I then gifted to my mugwort plant until we moved house, had been lost in the moving kerfuffle. After a month MIA I found it behind a laundry basket and put it into my pocket.

​Finally, after an argument with Andreas who had had grumbling pain in his abdomen all week (which I had thoughtlessly dismissed as just a tummy ache that he was making a fuss out of), I was tired of "doing everything". He was angry and in pain, which wasn't helped by my insensitivity and my running a story about how much I had to do in his absence. I decided to leave the house to blow off some steam. I took the kids for a bush walk to check out a native elder tree I had spotted from the road and along the way, stumbled across a grove of wild growing mugwort!

"Three times in one day!" I thought, "she must have a message for me. Okay. I'm listening."
 
I bent down to introduce myself and open up a conversation with the mugwort, of which there were many plants spanning about five meters alongside a grove of native trees and brush. It didn't take long for me to start hearing her message. "Soften", she conveyed. Soften, yes, that probably wouldn't hurt. I took some deep breaths and got to the point where I felt more forgiving... but not entirely ready to completely open my heart to love. 

I harvested some mugwort leaves and took them home to make a bitter digestive tea for Andreas in a small act of apology.

But this medicine was for me. It wasn't her physical medicine I needed, but her guidance, her magic. I had a little mugwort tea, spoke to her asking the spirit of mugwort for guidance to find my way out of the angry, self-righteous hole I had dug for myself, and slept with her under my pillow.

Thus followed two nights of extremely vivid dreams. On waking I recalled the main features of each dream: on the first night, the number 88 repeated four times (or 8888 repeated twice) jumped out in larger-than-life digits.

The second night, I was in the presence of a gigantic emerald dragon. It was indescribably huge, and felt like it filled a deep underground cave that spanned the breadth of the universe. I knew that this dragon was invincible, yet I drove a sword through it’s soft chest into it's heart. Then I woke up.
 
The afternoon following the dragon dream I visited mugwort again and respectfully collected some young fronds to make smudge and infused oil. While I was cooking dinner and chopping mugwort into the chicken soup I was preparing for my family, I felt a silent but strong urge to open a book in which I vaguely remembered reading a dragon story.

​The book, written by my favourite yoga teacher, is organised by the five elements of Chinese medicine. Being a Wood element person I flipped straight to the Wood section. The very first story was about an emerald dragon, particularly about the qualities of it’s lion-heart: compassion, unconditional love, cutting through illusion that traps us in judgement, and being a warrior.
 
I looked down to the page number – it was 88.

​I softened immediately and knew it was time to give up the grudge I was holding against Andreas. He was hospitalised with a ruptured appendix a few days later, and I felt terrible that in my tiredness I had been so insensitive and dismissive about his condition. Luckily he recovered completely, but I'm glad I didn't carry on in my resentful, unloving headspace. I needed my heart to be pierced open, to reconnect with my compassionate heart. I needed to forgive him for the flaws I perceived in him. And I needed to forgive myself for my harshness.

It was also then that I realised the teapot I had been drinking mugwort tea out of - a teapot from an op-shop that I had only ever used for mugwort tea  - had a green, Chinese dragon on it.
​
Picture

RESOURCES

PLANT SPIRIT COMMUNICATION  
Books by 
Eliot Cowan, Pam Montgomery, and Stephen Harrod Buener
Lis Conlon's workshops in Australia, which you can catch at some gatherings including Root & Branch, and Wise Women's Gathering.


​INTUITIVE PLANT MEDICINE
Asia Suler's Intuitive Plant Medicine online course.

13 Comments
lisa stelluto
7/7/2020 10:05:41 am

Wonderful

Reply
Thembelihle
14/7/2020 03:23:30 pm

Amazing. I'm so glad I could relate. You literally expressed my feelings about this plant :) So happy I came across your article.

Reply
Grace link
26/7/2020 11:21:54 pm

Oh wow, what a story! I was looking for guidance of Mugwort (as I knew its effect can be strong and I want to tread gently) and it led me to your website and this particular story. As soon as I read about the emerald dragon, I know its about the heart chakra. How wonderful you listened and followed its guidance.

This medicine has found me recently, twice, without me looking for it. So I thought it is time for me to connect with it more. And thank you for your wonderful story and I look forward to checking out the Mugwort oil you make.

Much love
Grace x

Reply
Casey
27/7/2020 08:19:02 pm

Hi Grace,

Mugwort is such a powerful and wise medicine. Amazing how it found you twice as well! She has a tendency towards seeking people out it seems :D Looking forward to hearing about the ways you use your Mugwort oil :)

Casey x

Reply
Lakshmi
1/8/2020 03:20:55 pm

Thank you for your post, I’ve been giving mugwort to my 7yr old to strengthen his immunity and help his spleen & wasn’t certain that it was safe for children for daily use as prescribed by my herbalist. What have you noticed when your children gave it?

Reply
aaron
11/2/2021 09:55:12 am

how much is too much? I must be taking 15 grams when i brew it. I cant find the dosage anywhere

Reply
Shining Hawk Healing
18/6/2021 01:50:47 pm

I enjoyed this article very much. I would like to reference this article on my YouTube channel. If that is OK with you.

Walk in Beauty,
Toni
Shining Hawk Healing

Reply
Casey Conroy
19/6/2021 02:06:40 am

Absolutely you can, thank you :)

Reply
Jane jane
19/7/2021 07:51:51 pm

What a great story. I was being spoken to by her beautiful spirit which led me here....and then I find her everywhere. I enjoyed the story. The synchronicities are so mind blowing... a reassurance of spirit that never fails to fill us with love and magic!
I am also a lover of TCM Traditional Chinese Medicine; it is woven into my life so I am familiar with moxa. Turns out that where I park my car....i am surrounded in front and back by our dear Artemisia!

Reply
Art of Aynbath link
6/8/2021 03:47:45 pm

I think the greatest article on Mugwort I've read so far. Thanks for sharing this!!

Reply
Tiffany
18/2/2022 03:59:26 am

What a wonderful post! Very inspiring. What was the name of the Chinese medicine book?

Reply
Casey Conroy
14/5/2022 02:15:00 pm

It was Connection to Source by Gwyn Williams, one of my teachers :)

Reply
Rachael link
14/5/2022 04:50:03 pm

This was such a fascinating and captivating read. As someone who has never felt connected with plants, despite growing up in a house full of them (my Mum definitely had an affinity with plants), I found myself wondering if I could work on opening up to plants a little more. I feel the process has started very slowly since moving into my own home. I look out every day to the beautiful garden planted by the last owner and appreciate the beauty and peace it provides despite zero effort on my part. I have even started thanking the rose bush out the front of my house that has continuously bloomed the most beautiful mauve/pink roses for the 15 months I've lived here, despite never receiving a pruning or watering from me. My Reiki healer friend and intuitive tells me my Mum and Dad have something to do with that and I'm not entirely surprised. I have received so many messages to open back up to my intuitive/spiritual nature over the past few years and I am trying. It's hard after so many years of being so closed. But this beautiful piece of writing (I just adore the way your write), has really touched me. I love reading about your amazing intuitive/spiritual experiences. It fills me with wonder and hope. I admit my ears pricked up when I read that mugwort helps calm the nervous system. And then I thought about how it might feel to rub oil over this very broken and battered body of mine that I still feel so disconnected from. I wonder if the ritual and magic of mugwort could help me connect and maybe even heal this body of mine that I have mistreated and felt ashamed of for so long? I would really love to buy some oil off you if you do make some for sale. Thank you so much for being you, for sharing your wisdom. I'm so very grateful for you xxx

Reply



Leave a Reply.


    Categories


    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture

    POPULAR POSTS


    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture

    ARCHIVES


    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    July 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    July 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    June 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    January 2016
    October 2015
    September 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    March 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    December 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    December 2011
    November 2011

    MORE CATEGORIES


    All
    Allergies
    Autumn
    Ayurveda
    Babies & Children
    Best Of The Blog
    Body Care
    Body Image
    Body Inclusivity
    Body Positive
    Breakfast
    Breastfeeding
    Chocolate
    Consultations
    Cravings
    Desserts
    Detoxification
    Dinners
    Disordered Eating
    Dreaming
    Eating Disorders
    Education
    Environment
    Essential Oils
    Exercise
    Family Nutrition
    Farming
    Feminism
    Fermented Foods
    Fertility
    Fitness
    HAES
    Healing
    Health
    Health At Every Size
    Health On A Budget
    Herbal Medicine
    Herbs
    Homesteading
    Hormones
    Immune Health
    Integrative Medicine
    Intuitive Eating
    Lunch
    Magic
    Meditation
    Menopause
    Menstruation
    Metabolism
    Mindful Eating
    Moon
    Motherhood
    Movement
    My Personal Story
    Natural Cycles
    Naturopathy
    Non Diet Approach
    Non Diet Yogi Podcast
    Non-Diet Yogi Podcast
    Nutrition
    Omnivorous
    Paleo
    Permaculture
    Plant Spirit Communication
    Podcasts
    Postpartum
    Powerlifting
    Prenatal
    Probiotics
    Raw
    Recipes
    Recommended Reading
    Self Love
    Sex
    Simple Eating
    Skin
    Smoothies
    Snacks
    Social Justice
    Spirituality
    Spring
    Strength Training
    Stress
    Summer
    Superfoods
    Supplements
    The Wellness Diet
    Traditional Chinese Medicine
    Traditional Foods
    Traditional Wisdom
    Vegan
    Vegetarian
    Veterinarian
    Weight Neutral
    Wildcrafting
    Winter
    Witch
    Women's Health
    Yoga

    RSS Feed


    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
Picture
All content copyright Casey Conroy - Funky Forest Health & Wellbeing. For more information please click here to see my disclaimer.
Natural health for EVERY body. Copyright © 2019  
0432 618 279 | info@funkyforest.com.au