Wormwood

Wormwood
(Artemisia absinthium) Poison

For internal use: Do not exceed 1/2 g of the dried herb in tea 2-3 times a day.

Folknames: Absinthe, Old Woman, Crown for a King, Madderwort, Wormot.

Gender: Masculine

Planet: Mars

Element: Fire

Deities: Iris, Diana, Artemis
Powers: Psychic Powers, Protection, Love, Calling Spirit

Magical Uses: Wormwood is burned in incenses designed to aid in developing psychic powers, and is also worn for this purpose. Carried, wormwood protects not only against bewitchment, but also from the bit of sea serpents. Also, according to ancient traditions, it counteracts the effects of poisoning by hemlock and toadstools, but I couldn't bet my life on its effectiveness in this area. Hung from the rear-view mirror, wormwood protects the vehicle from accidents on treacherous roads.
   Wormwood is also sometimes used in love infusions, probably because it was once made into an alcoholic beverage called absinthe.  This highly-addictived and dangerous liqueur is not outlawed or banned in many countries, but the reputation lingers and wormwood is still used in love mixtures. One such use is to place it under the bed to draw a loved one.
   Wormwood is also burned to summon spirits. It is sometimes mixed with sandalwood for this purpose. If burned in graveyards the spirits of the dead will rise and speak, according to old grimoires.
(Sounds like a great Samhain experiement.....)
From "Cunningham's Encyclopedia of Magical Herbs"

The Common Wormwood held a high reputation in medicine among the Ancients. Tusser (1577), in July's Husbandry, says:


'While Wormwood hath seed get a handful or twaine

To save against March, to make flea to refraine:

Where chamber is sweeped and Wormwood is strowne,

What saver is better (if physick be true)

For places infected than Wormwood and Rue?

It is a comfort for hart and the braine

And therefore to have it it is not in vaine.'
 
 
Besides being strewn in chambers as Tusser recommended, it used to be laid amongstuffs and furs to keep away moths and insects.


According to the Ancients, Wormwood counteracted the effects of poisoning by hemlock, toadstools and the biting of the seadragon. The plant was of some importance among the Mexicans, who celebrated their great festival of the Goddess of Salt by a ceremonial dance of women, who wore on their heads garlands of Wormwood.



With the exception of Rue, Wormwood is the bitterest herb known, but it is very wholesome and used to be in much request by brewers for use instead of hops. The leaves resist putrefaction, and have been on that account a principal ingredient in antiseptic fomentations.

Culpepper, writing of the three Wormwoods most in use, the Common Wormwood, Sea Wormwood and Roman Wormwood, tells us: 'Each kind has its particular virtues' . . . the Common Wormwood is 'the strongest,' the Sea Wormwood, 'the second in bitterness,' whereas the Roman Wormwood, 'to be found in botanic gardens' - the first two being wild - 'joins a great deal of aromatic flavour with but little bitterness.'


The Common Wormwood grows on roadsides and waste places, and is found over the greater part of Europe and Siberia, having been formerly much cultivated for its qualities. In Britain, it appears to be truly indigenous near the sea and locally in many other parts of England and Scotland, from Forfar southwards. In Ireland it is a doubtful native. It has become naturalized in the United States.

Roman Wormwood

Roman wormwood, Artemisia pontica, with its silvery fern-like leaves can  grow up to 4ft (1.2m) in height and is hardy to zone 5.  Propagated from cuttings, the ferny leaves will provide a striking contrast when planted as a backdrop to the broad, velvet leaves of purple sage, Salvia officinalis ‘Purpurea’. All artemisias prefer sunny, well-drained locations in order to flourish.

Roman Wormwood (Artemesia Pontica) is not indigenous to this country, being a native of Southern Europe. It grows about the same height as the Common Wormwood, but has smaller and more finely cut leaves, the segments being narrower, the upper leaves more resembling those of Southernwood; the leaves are white with fine hairs on both upper and under surfaces. The flowers, which blossom in July, are numerous, at the tops of the branches, and are darker and much smaller than those of Common Wormwood.

This is the most delicate though the least strong of the Wormwoods; the aromatic flavour with which its bitterness is mixed causes it to be employed in making the liqueur Vermuth.



Medicinally, the fresh tops are used, and also the whole herb, dried. Much of the A. Pontica in commerce is A. maritima.



Culpepper considered the Roman Wormwood 'excellent to strengthen the stomach.' Also that 'the juice of the fresh tops is good against obstructions of the liver and spleen. . . . An infusion of the flowering tops strengthens digestion. A tincture is good against gravel and gives great relief in the gout.'



Dr. John Hill says of this plant that it is the 'most delicate, but of least strength. The Wormwood wine, so famous with the Germans, is made with Roman Wormwood, put into the juice and work'd with it; it is a strong and an excellent wine, not unpleasant, yet of such efficacy to give an appetite that the Germans drink a glass with every other mouthful, and that way eat for hours together, without sickness or indigestion.'

Common Wormwood: 


Description---The root is perennial, and from it arise branched, firm, leafy stems, sometimes almost woody at the base. The flowering stem is 2 to 2 1/2 feet high and whitish, being closely covered with fine silky hairs. The leaves, which are also whitish on both sides from the same reason, are about 3 inches long by 1 1/2 broad, cut into deeply and repeatedly (about three times pinnatifid), the segments being narrow (linear) and blunt. The leaf-stalks are slightly winged at the margin. The small, nearly globular flowerheads are arranged in an erect, leafy panicle, the leaves on the flower-stalks being reduced to three, or even one linear segment, and the little flowers themselves being pendulous and of a greenish-yellow tint. They bloom from July to October. The ripe fruits are not crowned by a tuft of hairs, or pappus, as in the majority of the Compositae family.
 
 
Parts Used---The whole herb - leaves and tops - gathered in July and August, when the plant is in flower and dried.




Collect only on a dry day, after the sun has dried off the dew. Cut off the upper green portion and reject the lower parts of the stems, together with any discoloured or insect-eaten leaves. Tie loosely in bunches of uniform size and length, about six stalks to a bunch, and spread out in shape of a fan, so that the air can get to all parts. Hang over strings, in the open, on a fine, sunny, warm day, but in half-shade, otherwise the leaves will become tindery; the drying must not be done in full sunlight, or the aromatic properties will be partly lost. Aromatic herbs should be dried at a temperature of about 70 degrees. If no sun is available, the bunches may be hung over strings in a covered shed, or disused greenhouse, or in a sunny warm attic, provided there is ample ventilation, so that the moist heated air may escape. The room may also be heated with a coke or anthracite stove, care being taken that the window is kept open during the day. If after some days the leaves are crisp and the stalks still damp, hang the bunches over a stove, when the stalks will quickly finish drying. Uniformity in size in the bunches is important, as it facilitates packing. When the drying process is completed, pack away at once in airtight boxes, as otherwise the herbs will absorb about 12 per cent moisture from the air.

Resources: http://www.botanical.com/botanical/mgmh/w/wormwo37.html
 
 
Here is a link to an interesting article on Moon Gardens in Wormwood plays a large part:
http://www.richters.com/newdisplay.cgi?page=MagazineRack/Articles/moongarden.html&cart_id=111.102
 
 
And from:  http://altnature.com/library/wormwood.htm
 

WORMWOOD



Artemisia Absinthium



Other names: Artemisia Absinthium



Habitat: Forested areas of the United States and Europe.



Properties: Wormwood tea is used as a liver remedy to dispel the symptoms of jaundice and to remove depression and melancholy. A light infusion of the flowers and fresh leaves promotes digestion, increases the appetite, and strengthens the stomach - if nausea results, the dose ahs been too strong. Wormwood was once used in the production of Absinthe, a liqueur, and some home brewers still add it to mead (honey wine). Used occasionally it will soothe the nerves and balance the mind.



Wormwood is a classic herb for the Samhain season. In October the wheel of the year stops for a magical 3 day interlude before the feast of Samhain, which ushers in the death and rebirth of the seasonal wheel of the year. At Samhain we place gifts of food on our altars, and out-of-doors, extending hospitality to the disembodied ancestors who are surely among us. We light dark candles and call our dear departed, especially those most recently dead. Wormwood, when added to herbal incense, is an aid in opening the psychic centers. When these centers are open and receptive, we may better communicate with those who have "passed over". Its been written that wormwood and sandlewood (an herb of purification and high spiritual energy) burned together near a gravesite will summon the spirit of the departed. Wormwood is a banishing herb, used to rid a person or an area of anger and negativity. In ancient Mexico, women enacted a ritual dance in honor of the Goddess of Salt where they wore garlands of wormwood in their hair. To divine the face of your future lover, take dried marjoram, thyme, and wormwood, grind them to a powder and cook them gently with honey and vinegar to make a paste. Anoint your third eye center with the mix and ask three times that a vision of your lover's face be granted to you in your sleep. Wear the mixture to bed. Wormwood is strewn behind furniture, under pillows and in corners to repel fleas. It is laid among woolens and furs to repel moths. On Samhain strew it in your ritual fire as a protection against malevolent spirits.



CAUTION: As with all mind altering substances, it can easily be abused. Persons who become addicted to absinthe experience giddiness and even convulsions. The flowers and buds are the best part for medicinal use. One ounce of the flowers can be tinctured in a pint of brandy for six weeks, strained, and used for the relief of gravel and gout. The dose is one tablespoon twice a day. One ounce of the flowers and buds can be covered with a pint and a half of boiling water and steeped for 12 hours. The dose is two tablespoons three times a day for a week, then followed by a daily dose for maintenance. Do this to promote digestion. The dried and powdered herb is used as a vermifuge (gets rid of worms - thus the source of its name). Use the infusion to promote menstruation and as an antiseptic wash for wounds and skin irritations. The tea is used to help alleviate the bail of childbirth. The oil is used to relieve the pain of arthritic rheumatism and neuralgia.



WARNING: The oil is pure poison and should only be used externally! Never take this herb for more than a few weeks.



Copyright 1996, 1998 by Lori Herron, R.N.and Alternative Nature

And from Alchemy Works - one of my favorite herbal lore websites:

Wormwood Herb

Artemisia absinthum



This herb is ruled by Mars because of its warming properties, and so Culpeper, the seventeenth-century herbalist, considered it a good treatment for injuries done by "martial creatures" such as wasps, hornets, or scorpions. It is especially connected to snakes: mythology tells that it grew in the tracks of the snake expelled from Eden, for instance, and it was considered a protectant against snake bites. In its association with Mars, wormwood is generally good in protection spells and also a tool for getting vengence through sorcery. In Russia, wormwood was effective against the green-haired Rusalki, female water spirits who in spring would leave their watery bodies and walk in the woods. In the region of Saratov, Rusalki were frightening creatures ill-disposed towards humans and eager to use their sharp claws. If you had to go into the woods when the Rusalki were about, you were advised to carry a handful a wormwood, which they could not stand.



Non-Magickal Uses



Wormwood has traditionally been used in the West to repel bugs from stored clothing, as a strewing herb, and the seeds taken internally in small amounts to get rid of worms (thus the name). Steeped in ink, wormwood would then protect the paper written on from being eaten by mice (because of its bitterness). It is antiseptic. But it is also a constituent of absinthe (visit the Absinthe FAQ). This plant grows wild all over Europe and the US. The bitter component of wormwood is an alkaloid, absinthin, which is separate from the essential oil, thujone. Absinthin is removed by tincturing (soaking the plant in water or alcohol). Absinthe cannot be made by tincturing, only by distillation.


http://www.alchemy-works.com/herb_wormwood.html