My Friend Mugwort

I will have Mugwort (Artemisia vulgaris) bundles for burning on my table at May Day Space’s World of Witches market tomorrow. Use them for cleansing, clearing, honoring what has passed and making way for the new.

Mugwort is an herb of strength and protection, supportive for doing dreamwork and remaining steady in the face of obstacles. Knowing that I have dried Mugwort to burn at home has gotten me through many an intense day, many an intense week. Last winter solstice I burned Mugwort late into the night, giving thanks for all of the shadow and light I had passed through the previous year. For internal use, I love to use it to ease menstrual cramps and as a grounding influence in digestive bitters.

I work as a gardener in a public park in Manhattan, where stands of Mugwort, a plant native to Europe, crowd out the plants native to the Northeast that we are attempting to establish. We don’t spray pesticides or herbicides in the park and there are large quantities of it readily available throughout. My work has been my main source of late. Walking through the streets of NYC with freshly-harvested bundles of Mugwort this season was an experience of fullness and bliss. I had close to a dozen conversations with strangers about why it is a friend to me—to us—encouraging people to harvest it whenever safely possible.

There is much more to say about this powerful friend! But I will leave it here for now.