Mugwort – Artemisia vulgaris
It doesn’t take much to crown Artemisia vulgaris as THE Queen of female herbal medicine. She grows in large quantities and is widely distributed in Europe, America, North Africa, Asia and Alaska. Her herbal effects are vast and explore female health and well-being from physical, emotional and spiritual perspectives.
The herb is part of an ancient Chinese remedy called “The Triple Goddess” that includes an equal portion of chickweed, mugwort and motherwort. There is much myth around this plant and equally many uses in traditional cooking. It was added to traditional beer mixtures and other drinks and was known to scare away evil spirits. The ground root used to be used against epilepsy and a weak moon cycle
We can think of her as a queen healer of inflammation, specifically for the digestive system. It kills fungal infections in the body and stimulates the bile and liver. Therefore, mugwort can be added to oily dishes.
In addition, it is THE herb for the traditional Chinese treatment of Moxa, heating accupressure points. It is an easy herb to make smudge sticks from. Burning the aromatic bitters acts as an insect repellent. It promotes lucid dreams and has a calming effect on the nervous system.
Habitat: roadsides
75-150 cm
Aug – September
Use root, leaves and flowers/ seeds
Contains ethereal oil Cineol which acts as a wormicide. Overuse has contraindications.
Herbalist Susun Weed has a nice video about ‘crownwort’, her translation of the Artemisia Vulgaris
