Mugwort

[Briton]

(My highlight)

No one ever talks about 'spirit plants', always 'spirit animals', yet I do have plants amongst my ever growing mob of imaginary friends. Mugwort is one of my main pals from the floral realm. Other than Oak, Mugwort is so far the only plant I've worked with that speaks to me verbally. Other plants give me images or feelings, but don't engage me in small-talk. Oak will speak in words, but has a formal and somewhat regal style. He speaks, but only when there is something he needs me to know. Mugwort on the other hand is very friendly and down-to-earth. He will talk to me all the way home if I've gone out to collect some, and keep talking whether I answer or not. It's as though he has a vested interest in mankind and especially our creative and magical arts. I currently have a mugwort plant on my kitchen windowsill called Morgan that I've been taking photos of and may, depending on the outcome, be blogging about at some point when the current saga has concluded.

I know what you mean. I am far more connected to plants, particularly trees, and fungi than animals. At the moment I have no response from plants, or anything, but I guess these things take time. Personally for me, elm is the most majestic of trees, with hazel most approachable. As for herbal plants, I really need to go on a short herbalism course in order to properly identify them in the wild as so many have poisonous cousins. It is interesting that people use(d) mugwort for the entheogenic properties. However, and this may just be because I have bought packaged stuff which has low thujone levels, but all it does is send me into a deep sleep. I am curious about entheogens, particularly thujone, so I might try and create a tea from the wild stuff. Do you know, is there anything I could mix it up with when picking?

Aaanyway.. I agree that mugwort makes a fabulous alternative to sage (sage was at one time also one of my 'spirit plants'), although in my experience, while both will purify the area, the atmosphere left is quite different between the two. Mugwort feels more magical and transformative, while sage feels more grounding and healing. I'd be very much interested in hearing about your own experiences once you start working with mugwort.

I'll let you know!

Oh and mugwort seeds are ready to collect up here at around samhain. It might be a little sooner for you. The plants are flowering at the moment but they're considered a weed so if you want to you can find a nice established plant and dig it up roots and all and transplant it in your garden. In my experience it's quite happy for you to do this, but if you think about it but either physically can't (as in, its roots are under paving slabs <-personal experience), or forget, it has a weird way of making you!

Around here, if I have made a positive ID, it grows on the side of every field and down the canal. No difficulty in getting some, but a matter of where to put it! No physic garden yet

Oh and if you're using in tea, try mixing with chamomile. I just use supermarket tea bags, but you will probably be able to locate it wild in your area if you prefer that, we have it here but it seems to do better when we have hotter summers and it's warmer generally in your part of the island so I daresay it grows better there. I won't say why in case I influence your experience. Just try it with and without the chamomile and see if you notice a difference.

I'll give it a go! I believe I have found it but again, you don't want to pick and consume the wrong daisy, like with yarrow, the wrong umbellifer could be fatal!

[Jembru]

Re: Is your practice bioregional?

I know what you mean. I am far more connected to plants, particularly trees, and fungi than animals. At the moment I have no response from plants, or anything, but I guess these things take time. Personally for me, elm is the most majestic of trees, with hazel most approachable. As for herbal plants, I really need to go on a short herbalism course in order to properly identify them in the wild as so many have poisonous cousins. It is interesting that people use(d) mugwort for the entheogenic properties. However, and this may just be because I have bought packaged stuff which has low thujone levels, but all it does is send me into a deep sleep. I am curious about entheogens, particularly thujone, so I might try and create a tea from the wild stuff. Do you know, is there anything I could mix it up with when picking?

There is a plant I've seen growing in the park (where mugwort doesn't appear to grow), that has a similar shape to mugwort. When you see them together though, you can really see the difference. Mugwort is a rich dark green with redish stems and under the leaf is soft and silvery. The other plant, which I think is probably ragweed, is a paler green and has less elongated 'fingers' on the leaves. I'm at the park tomorrow so I'll try to get some photos.

There's an article that explains the difference between mugwort and ragweed here, but I'm not convinced that the top image she posts, and the ones of the younger plant are mugwort. The closer images further down definitely are, but the leaves in the very top image seem far too rounded and a lighter green. You can see the red stems on the young plants but where one has an upturned leaf it doesn't seem silvery, and the leaf shape generally seems too wide. It may just be a regional difference though.

Where you've spotted the mugwort sounds right though. Up here it doesn't colonise but grows as individual plants dotted about along footpaths and on roadsides. I never find it in wooded areas up here, which is probably why it doesn't grow in the park or cemetery; they both have a lot of trees.

I understand your feelings about not wanting to misidentify something. Those darned umbellifers! We have sweet cicely up here (it was apparently grown as a kitchen herb up here at one time), but I'm always a bit dubious about collecting it. It's easy to identify because the leaves taste sweet, but I'd rather not risk a mouthful of hemlock!

[Briton]

Re: Is your practice bioregional?

I will have to take a photo because your description of mugwort fits the bill but virtually none of those photos do!

The stem is reddish and the leafs have soft silvery hair on the underside. The thing is, this plant is not only everywhere but there are no other similar plants growing. It's either all mugwort, or all not!

[Jembru]

Re: Is your practice bioregional?

I will have to take a photo because your description of mugwort fits the bill but virtually none of those photos do!

The stem is reddish and the leafs have soft silvery hair on the underside. The thing is, this plant is not only everywhere but there are no other similar plants growing. It's either all mugwort, or all not!

I was actually in two minds about sharing that article because some of those images just don't look like mugwort to me either. In addition to the images I've already mentioned, the one where there appears to be a carpet of mugwort is also weird to me. I've never seen mugwort grow like that. It might grow close to other mugwort, but it is always individual plants when I find it. Yet her images of the close up of the leaves look exactly like the mugwort I know and love. Was she talking about another species but used close up images depicting artemesis vulgaris that grows here?

It does seem that there are several plants that get lumped under the name 'mugwort'. When I do an image search for mugwort I keep finding that plant with the parsley-like leaves popping up. Maybe that's a different artemesia species that grows elsewhere but also gets called mugwort?

Maybe I'm the one in the wrong of course, but I really don't think so. The plant that grows around here looks like this;





The flowers are just starting to open on some plants, so I think the mugwort in your area is probably in full flower. You might also notice that like in the top image, the younger stems are green. You'll know it's mugwort though, because the older wood will be red. I've never seen a plant that is completely green. There's always at least some redness towards the base of the plant.

I've so far never come across anything with the same overall shape and colour as mugwort that it could be confused with. Like I say, the leaves of the ragweed (or whatever it is I keep finding in the park) are vaguely similar, but they're paler and the plant doesn't have the same over all habit as mugwort. Some poppy varieties have mugwort-ish leaves too, but again, the plant is a completely different shape, height and colour.

[Briton]

Re: Mugwort

I have not seen any flowers so I assumed the flowering season was already done!

[Jembru]

Re: Mugwort

Oh? Then ours must be way behind yours then! We've had a pretty hot summer too. Mind you, the roses up here all flowered a good 2 weeks later than last year, so maybe our seasons are a bit further behind than usual. Hope that doesn't mean I'll have to wait longer for autumn!

[Briton]

Re: Mugwort

It doesn't take much latitude to affect the shift in season. I'm about 45 minutes from Southampton, and you only have to go to Cornwall or Devon to grow exotic plants with greater ease, so I wouldn't be surprised if we were ahead. It does mean though that next summer is further away for you, lucky!

[Ula]

Re: Mugwort

Use Mugwort with Yarrow a good bit when making divination tea or incense. Talk about two herbs liking each other.