Mugwort  (Artemisia vulgaris)

The mother herb, a sacred plant of introspection, intuition and lucid dreaming.

Mugwort has graced my path as I walk the riverbanks and enjoy its lush abundance. My journey with this enchanting plant began during my early shamanic training, where the smoky essence was used to purify our space. My teacher shared the secret that this silvery herb could be smoked, unveiling its mystical ability to journey  the realms of dreaming, waking, and vision.

This magical plant serves as a guiding light in shadow work, illuminating the hidden truths we often shy away from. It calls forth our deepest selves and intertwines with the cycles of the moon, which has enriched my shamanic journeys and shadow explorations. Journalling through the lunar phases, I’ve discovered that mugwort elevates my awareness, helping me to unearth recurring patterns. Where I might typically shy away from sorrow or discomfort, this herb gently encourages me to sit with my feelings, allowing me to embody the profound wisdom that resides just beneath the surface.

We burn mugwort for cleansing our sacred spaces, brew it into tea to enhance intuition, and adorn our homes with its presence for positive vibrations. If you are seeking to embrace lucid dreaming, placing it in a small bag or loosely under your pillow can weave the threads of awareness into the fabric of the dream world.

In tea ceremonies, mugwort becomes a vessel of intention, as I brew its leaves and stir in my desires in an anti-clockwise direction, releasing what no longer serves me, unhealthy attachments, resentments, and limiting beliefs. Stirring in my intentions of manifesting in a clockwise direction. While I find that smoking the herb heightens my psychic connection and sharpens my intuition, the tea provides a gentle yet profound nurturing of awareness.

This herb offers many feminine medicinal gifts when enjoyed as a tea or tincture. It harmonises with the rhythms of menstruation, soothing cramps with its warming embrace and enhancing blood flow. It eases digestive discomfort, alleviating wind and bloating, while its cleansing properties act as a diuretic, gentle laxative, and liver tonic.

Mugwort beckons us to reclaim our intuitive and wild gifts. I wholeheartedly recommend working with this plant for those seeking to deepen their spiritual practice. Its feminine essence gently guides us toward compassionate introspection, unveiling inner wisdom and sharpening our intuition. When we cast the light of awareness upon our shadowed corners, we transform, much like coal metamorphosing under pressure into a brilliant, clear diamond—the true self waiting to be revealed.