Mugwort Artemisia douglasiana

Mugwort Plant  

Mugwort Moon Magic Oil  

Indications for Mugwort Flower Essence  

The Mugwort plant exalts in the full solar flame of July and August, blooming with small tufts of yellow flowers densely clustered on long stalks. The dark green leaves have a pungent aroma and are silvery green on their underside. The silver sheen of the Mugwort gives us a key for understanding this plant's Greek name of Artemisia, for   Artemis   , the goddess of the moon. Artemis is more than the evanescent night-shining being that we might typically associate with the moon. She is the strong and bright twin-sister of Apollo, god of the sun. Also called Diana, or goddess of the hunt, she is often depicted with a bow-and-arrow, denoting her focused and highly conscious identity. This twin-sister of the sun exalts in the fullness of summer, bestowing a unique alchemy of beneficent moon qualities which balance and enhance the solar radiations of summer. 

 When we rub the leaves of the Mugwort, we have a feeling for the soul mood which this plant imparts its pungent aroma grounds our senses and bodily awareness, but at the same time its warmth lifts and expands our consciousness. In the Greek temple of Ephesus, Artemis was depicted as a many-breasted goddess, denoting the overflowing fertility and spaciousness which we feel at summer when the earth is covered with flowers and fruits, and has breathed out into the cosmos. Our bodily self needs the experience of the fertile and nurturing earth during summer time, so that it can stay connected with the earth while being drawn into the fullness and expansion of solar radiance and warmth. According to an ancient herbal custom, a crown made from the sprays of Mugwort is worn on the head during the summer to protect from fatigue and sunstroke and from exposure to adverse elemental influences when the soul is more loosely connected to the earth.

Mugwort Moon Magic  

The abundant and expansive lunar qualities of Mugwort make it a plant which is highly favored for the feminine reproductive system. Mugwort Moon Magic is valued by midwives who use it to stimulate the uterus at the concluding stages of pregnancy and throughout the birthing process, as well as to facilitate lactation for the nursing mother. Mugwort oil is very helpful for toning the reproductive system and enhancing female fertility; rhythmic application of this oil can encourage the menstrual cycle to be more regular and harmonious. Just as we can observe how the moon exerts a magnetic influence on ocean tides by pulling forces to the periphery, the Mugwort Moon Magic is especially beneficial for menstrual cycles which tend to be erratic or are longer than a moon cycle (28 days).  

Please note: although Mugwort Moon Magic can be used to prepare the body for pregnancy, it should not be used during pregnancy itself, as its expansive and stimulating forces are usually too strong for the containment which is required during the delicate formative stages of pregnancy.  

While Mugwort oil holds some specific benefits for women's reproductive cycles, it has many other qualities which are very salutary for a wide spectrum of general health needs. In oriental acupuncture,   moxa   is gathered from the downy silver underside of the Mugwort plant, and is applied as a smoke to meridian areas which need to be brought into greater warmth and expansiveness. Mugwort oil can provide these same qualities without the intrusion of smoke which can be too invasive or irritating for some individuals. Mugwort Moon Magic pulls forces to the periphery and can be specifically applied to key meridian areas which are blocked and stagnant, as well as used for over-all massage. Mugwort oil should be particularly considered for parts of the body which are lacking in circulation and appear blue or feel cold.  

Mugwort Moon Magic also balances those who may have too many summer forces and are thus quite psychically expanded and dreamy. Such persons are easily impregnated by lunar forces and may tend toward hysteria or convulsive states. Mugwort has the unique capability of uniting   lunar forces with solar forces   and thus facilitates the integration of thoughts with feelings, clarity of psychic impressions and dream recall. Mugwort Moon Magic especially helps to build the cohesiveness of psychic forces with bodily awareness. Regular application of this oil on the breast and the heart areas will help to balance and center the three lower embodiment chakras with the three higher spiritual energy centers of the soul.

Flower essence indications:

Positive qualities: Integrating psychic and dream experiences with daily life; multi-dimensional consciousness

Patterns of imbalance: Inability to harmonize psychic forces, tendency to hysteria or emotionality, overactive psychic life out of touch with the physical world  

The soul is only half alive if it does not experience itself when asleep. The body may vegetate during sleep, but the soul has the capacity to awaken to another dimension of life. Mugwort enhances the receptive quality of the psyche, allowing greater awareness of dreams, so that the Self can gain insight about the affairs of daily life and can access guidance and direction from the spiritual world. This essence particularly helps the soul to navigate within the flow of psychic life, so that it is neither lost nor overwhelmed. It helps to balance transitions between day and night consciousness, assisting the individual to remain connected in a healthy way with the practical and physical world. This balance is very important, for when the moon forces become too predominant or inappropriately expressed, the soul becomes irrational, hysterical, or overly emotional. Mugwort helps to direct the psychic life into its proper sphere, gradually opening the soul to expanded consciousness.