Worts and All-Purpose Mugwort!
By Goldie Brown, Airmid by Morgaine du Mer

Hello again, Broomstix readers! It's Airmid the Wort-fairy back again to visit with you for Samhain, my favorite time of the year, which is a good time of year to talk about one of my favorite worts - Mugwort! As a matter of fact, I just finished harvesting the last of the mugwort from my herb garden. Bunches of the long, feathery stalks, including the roots, are hanging upside down in the back of my kitchen to dry out so I'll have enough mugwort to last all winter long. The Latin name for Mugwort is Artemisia Vulgaris. Artemisia is a large family of beautiful plants, named after the goddess Artemis.

Many of us cultivate it in our gardens and it also can be found growing wild in meadows almost everywhere in the northern hemisphere. This wort has been used by healers for as long as anyone can remember. What is mugwort good for? Alot!

A bundle of the fragrant fresh or dry mugwort leaves, or mugwort tea in a spray bottle, repels insect pests. Dried leaves can be put into sachets along with lavender and kept in closets or drawers to guard against moths. Bedbugs hate mugwort.

Like most old-time herbs, Mugwort has not only served as a healing plant through the ages but for magical uses as well. We know that it keeps pesky bugs away. It can also keep away other forms of pests, like nightmares, worries, and unwanted bad influences. Freshly picked or dried leaves carried in a little cloth pouch, or tucked into your bed pillow is a traditional charm to chase away evils and bring only good dreams. It can also be kept with scrying mirrors and balls to keep unwanted influences away from them, too.

Have a safe and spirited Samhain! Until next time, blessed be from Airmid.

PS--A special CAUTION: mugwort is NOT a good herb for pregnant women to handle.

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