Mugwort- again

Just boil the water pour it on the mugwort
And cover it with anything for few minutes… Then enjoy :wink:

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U know… It’s like the peppermint & herbs like that … If u boil it … the essential oil …gone …so, u don’t enjoy wiz the taste or it’s benefits

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That’s good to know !

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I can offer a few thoughts, and I do use mugwort for meditation/ritual sometimes.

Medicinally, drink it as a tea or make it into a poultice, depending what you are using it for.

For what we do? It’s the smell. Modern science is becoming a friend to the occult scientist more and more these days. I read a study about a year back regarding olfactory input and how it stimulates the brain. One of the things mentioned was mugwort. I don’t recall the specifics, but the finding was that mugwort stimulated activity in the brain in areas that most scents did not. This makes sense, as increased activity in more obscure or less often used areas of the brain could lend you a little boost, especially when going for certain states of brain activity over all. So there really is something to it.

In incense or used as a smudge, mugwort can produce that quality. Maybe even smoked, though I tried repeatedly and never got much to show for it. What I have found works for me is taking repeated, deep whafts of the vapor that comes off the top of a good mugwort essential oil. Through the nose. Another nice effect is that it clears the sinus cavity like Vicks, allowing for better breathing when you do what you do. A diffuser might work well for this effect too, but I haven’t tried it.

Hope this helps.

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I’ve also tried smoking mugwort with not much affect.
Very interesting about the smell and brain stimulation.
Thanks for that

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Good evening and many blessings to you.
Does it matter if the Mugwort is fresh or dried?
If so, how old should it be fresh or dried? Thanks.

Mag walk can be used for many medicinal things it can stem bleeding in a wound and the tea can relax you. I don’t think it matters how old the plant is but if you google Mugwort it will tell you that most of the uses would need dry mugwort.

You mean like make tea with it?

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Everything does- as always thanks woods!

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Outside of what Amoira said what other medicinal uses is there? And how do you make/ obtain essential oil? And how do you take said oil- maybe that was addressed and I need to reread

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Mugwort is known by more than one name, and the names are very revealing.

Mugwort is called 'mug’wort because you can use it to add flavor to brews. This was a common use for it back in the day, and records suggest that beers/ales brewed with mugwort gave the drinker a nice elevated drunk, very happy and euphoric. I can believe this; the smell of fresh crushed material in the hand reminds me of Moxy soda a little.

It is also called Croneswort, mostly because it can be used to regulate stubborn menstrual cycles, but also because it was generally an older woman (crone) doing the healing, or beer brewing for that matter in regards to the first reference. For menstruation issues, pairing mugwort with some black cohosh root can be very potent. Don’t take it if you are pregnant, as it can cause miscarriage or premature birth via stimulation of the uterus. It also thins the blood, so you may want to avoid it just after giving birth, too.

It was also referred to by some in antiquity as Travelerswort. Old time European travelers were known to take fresh material, bruise it a bit, and put it in their boots to relieve sore feet. This makes a bit of sense too, because in poultice form it can be used to promote blood flow in the applied area. This method works sometimes to speed the healing of nasty bruises.

For more obscure things, I have heard it used as an anti-spasmodic for children, but I have no experience with this, and I always recommend caution when giving anything to kids, even seemingly benign plants.

I know there was something else it is commonly used for, but for the life of me I cannot recall at the moment.

I usually buy it. For purposes of smelling, a small jar can last a while, and it is cheap in comparison to a lot of essential oils. Some people sell mugwort essential that has a touch of camphor in it; usually I would avoid that, but for smelling, the camphor actually compliments it quite nicely, and has similar uses in magick anyways (divination, visions, psychic energy, etc).

You could make it via steam distillation. I find that these sort of things are very rewarding experiences, because you learn, develop skills, and bond with the plant you are working with. It’s not as concentrated without further process, though. You can find mugwort almost everywhere, btw. Super easy to identify by smell alone, too. I can literally find mugwort within 200ft of me at any given point in my town, even in the busiest areas. I just don’t suggest taking it from places where there is run off, i.e. roadsides, train tracks, etc.

Hold the open jar under your nose and slowly inhale through your sinus cavity, deeply. Exhale slowly through your mouth, but letting a little convection happen under the flap of your sinus cavity at the back of your throat, like you are identifying the bouquet of a wine or scotch. Do this a few times, or until you get where you want to be. This should not make you faint or dizzy, so if it does, STOP. We aren’t trying to do huffers here, lol :wink:

@Novembercomingfire I just now realized your avatar was the cover of a Samhain album, lol. Sweet!

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Yes sir!!!

So " vaping" as the kids call it is probably not a good idea?

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I don’t know. Never tried it with mugwort oils. I wouldn’t. On a side note, I don’t think vaping anything is a good idea any more than I think smoking is. Our lungs were never designed to do it; so just because it is not causing issues now does not mean it won’t after 20, 30, 40 years…but studies following the effects of vaping over large sample groups only stretch back maybe 10.

Mugwort helping your magick is kind of offset by lack of respiratory function, IMO.

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So the oil or just plain herb maybe over coals is the way to go? Along with sone tea?

Not in my opinion. Just a simple jar of the essential, wafted nasally. Heat changes things, IMO making it less effective. Tea is good, though.

You would have to distil, to make the essential oil

Good to know!!! I’ve found a few places to but but I’m looking into the process of making my own

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Dig into my “cool music thread posts” lots of Samhain/Danzig there. “To walk the night” is especially haunting. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=WEOzgtpPslY