Wormwood (Artemisia Absinthum) Cut & Sifted Herb – *BANEFUL

Description ShareTweetPinLinkedInPrintEmail Wormwood (Artemisia Absinthum) Cut & Sifted Herb HERB COMMON NAME :  Wormwood (*BANEFUL) HERB SCIENTIFIC NAME :  Artemisia Absinthum OTHER NAMES :  Absinthe Wormwood, Absinthe, Madderwort, Old Woman, Crown for a King, Wormot FAMILY :  Asteraceae ASSOCIATIONS & CORRESPONDENCES : Element: Air Planet: Mars Day: Monday Direction: East Zodiac Sign: Aries Chakra: 6th Third Eye Chakra (Ajna) Energy: Yang Gender: Masculine Tarot: The Tower Tarot Animal: Serpent Sabbat or Holiday: Yule, Winter Solstice, New Moon, Samhain Deity or God / Goddess Association: Artemis, Diana, Iris, the Green Man, Hel, Mordgud, Hecate, Lilith   Parts Used:  Leaf & Flowering Top Description:  Wormwood grows wild all over Europe and the US. Wormwood is a member of the daisy family. Its botanical name is for Artemis, the Greek Goddess of the hunt, wild animals and childbirth and whose legend claims helped her own mother give birth to her twin brother, Apollo. 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. The plant contains a chemical called thujone, an organic compound also found in conifers (i.e., juniper and cypress), oregano, tansy, sage and mugwort. Although the thujone content wormwood provided in absinthe was once credited for the liquor’s toxicity, it’s more likely that the alcohol content of the 90-to-148-proof beverage is more to blame. Still, the use of wormwood is generally limited to small quantities in herbal bitters. The common name, Wormwood, signifies its use as an anthelmintic (especially against roundworm, Ascaris lumbricoides, and pinworm) with symptoms of intestinal irritation. 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). The Santonin found in wormwood is insecticidal, anti-tumor and paralyzes worms. Wormwood is a bitter & carminative herb useful for indigestion, sweet/sugar cravings & blood sugar dysregulation. Sesquiterpene lactones (absinthin, artabsin, santoinin) have bitter action which stimulates taste buds and by reflex action increases appetite, gastric secretions, bile flow, and promotes digestion. Wormwood has been applied topically for rheumatic pains and infections. The Azulene found in wormwood is anti-inflammatory. The Artemisin and derivatives found in wormwood demonstrate anti-malarial and cytotoxic effects. Wormwood contains the volatile oil thujone, a monoterpene.  Like other Artemisia species, in tincture form it can be mildly psychoactive.  The leaves near the flowering tops are thought to contain higher amounts of the alkaloid. CAUTION! Consuming thujone in excess is toxic and has been linked to seizures and even death. In the United States, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) restricts any commercial product containing thujone to 10 parts per million (ppm) or less. Keep in mind that wormwood tea and extracts aren’t regulated by the FDA. Thus, they don’t fall under these regulations and harbor significantly more thujone. Historical Uses:  anti-inflammatory, inflammation, antibacterial, antifungal, antimicrobial, anti-neoplastic, anti-parasitic, antiparasitic, antimalarial, anti-malarial, malaria, antiseptic, Bitter, Carminative, Choleretic, Diuretic, Emmenagogue, Uterine stimulant, Nervine tonic, anthelmintic, roundworm, pinworm, digestion, indigestion, boost appetite, rheumatic pain, rheumatic infection, insect repellant, insecticide, anti-tumor, eases stomach pain, stomach ache, mild antidepressant, helps treat Crohn’s disease, neuroprotective, anemia, eases gas and bloating, flatulence, treats parasitic infections, worms, anemia, high fever Mystical Attributes:  Wormwood is the notorious thujone-containing herb blamed for the purported narcotic effects of absinthe. In small quantities, wormwood is said to stimulate the appetite and the mind, but in larger quantities, which vary by individual tolerance, wormwood can cause anything from headaches and nervousness to insomnia, to convulsions. Wormwood is used primarily for banishing and protection spells. 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. Wormwood 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 vengeance 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. Wormwood is traditionally known for its powers of magical enhancement, spirit work, and divination. Mugwort and wormwood are frequently used together as they complement one another, with mugwort being feminine and wormwood masculine.  They are used in incense to induce a trance and aid divination and as spirit offerings when performing ritual. Easy to grow and safe to use, mugwort and wormwood are made into oils for anointing ritual tools, especially those used for divination.  Lustral waters can be made from these plants through infusion and used to consecrate and bless sacred spaces or poured in libations to deities. Wormwood complements the feminine nature of mugwort.  It is a masculine spirit that is fiery and trickster-like, appearing as a devilish green man.  It is burned to call upon spirits of the dead and can be used for purification in necromantic rituals without clearing away spirits. In the Northern Tradition, wormwood is sacred to Hel and her underworld guardian Mordgud.  Wormwood can be used to petition this gatekeep to enter Elivdnir, Hel’s Hall. Wormwood can aid in rituals meant to release the wandering dead and send them to Helheim (House of Hell). Like the other Artemisia species, it is sacred to the goddess Artemis-Diana and other lunar deities, including Hecate, and can be taken as a sacrament during full moon rituals to symbolically ingest these goddesses.  In addition to lunar goddesses, wormwood is also favored by the goddess Lilith.  It is said to have sprouted from the ground in the wake of the serpent as it was exiled from the Garden of Eden.  In the Book of Revelation, wormwood is the name of a star or possibly an angel that is one of the harbingers of Armageddon.  “The third angel sounded his trumpet, and a great star, blazing like a torch, fell from the sky on a third of the rivers and on the springs of water – the name of the star is Wormwood.  A third of the waters turned bitter, and many people died from the waters that had become bitter.” (REVELATION 8:10-11). Magically, wormwood can be used for psychic work, protection, and calling spirits. Wormwood is a powerful banishing herb that purges parasitic entities and clears the energy field. As a ritual incense, it can be used in Samhain rites for evocation and divination. An effective ingredient in spells of vengeance, wormwood can be used to stop conflict by inhibiting the enemy or in return-to-sender spells to seal negativity with its source. Steeping wormwood in magical ink will protect what is written through sympathetic magic.  As a vermicide, it was used as a strewing herb and as an additive to ink to protect pages from mice. Mystical Intentions:  open-mindedness, banishing, sorcery, protection spells, the afterlife, anger, animal magic, anxiety, binding, clairvoyance, courage, death, defensive magic, dream work, endings, enmity, hexing, cursing, sex magic, peaceful death, power, protection from enchantment, psychic ability, contacting spirits, communicating with the dead, necromancy, visions, smudging, psychic work, clear psychic channels, astral travel, revenge, boosting power, spirit work, divination, communicating with spirits, trance, anointing, consecration, blessing, wandering spirits, clearing negative energy, reversing and deflecting curses, protection from bullying, past life reading Other Uses:  Steeped in ink, wormwood was used to protect paper that had been written on from being eaten by mice (because of its bitterness). Taste & Smell:  Wormwood smells like a savory herb, much like sage. Raw wormwood tastes bitter and herbaceous with a bitter aftertaste. Botany, Cultivation & Harvesting:  Artemisia absinthium (wormwood) is native to temperate regions of Eurasia and Northern Africa. It is also a hardy, herbaceous perennial and grows abundantly across Europe and North America. Wormwood’s straight stems grow to approximately 2-4 feet in height; on rare occasion they can reach 5 feet, and more rarely still higher. They are silvery green, grooved, and branched. The plant has fibrous roots. The plant’s leaves are greenish-grey on top and white underneath. They are covered with silky silvery-white trichomes, and they bear very small oil-producing glands. They are spirally arranged. The plant’s basal leaves measure in length up to 25 cm long; they are bipinnate to tripinnate with long petioles, with the leaves on the stem (cauline leaves) being smaller measuring just 5–10 cm long. They are also less divided, and have short petioles (leafstalk). The plant’s uppermost leaves can be both simple and sessile (without a petiole). Wormwood’s pale yellow flowers are tubular, and clustered in spherical bent-down heads (capitula). These are in turn clustered in branched and leafy panicles. Wormwood flowers from early summer to early autumn, usually in August. The plant’s fruit is a small achene. The wormwood plant grows on uncultivated, arid ground, on rocky slopes, and at the edge of footpaths and fields in sun to part sun. It succeeds in any soil. Yarrow plants are very drought tolerant. The plant is longer lived, more hardy, and even more aromatic when they are grown in a poor dry soil. Wormwood can be propagated by cuttings taken in spring or autumn in temperate climates, or by seeds in nursery beds. It also self-seeds readily. Wormwood has tiny seeds, which can be surface-sown because they need light to germinate.  The seeds can be sprinkled and patted into moist soil that is kept hydrated by misting.  Keep out of full sun and keep at room temperature until germination occurs. The plant is harvested as it is coming into flower and then dried for later use. This abundant plant produces indefinitely and can be harvested continually once established.  Often reaching a height of four to five feet when planted in the ground, it can be cut back during its second year and will replenish itself that season. Store dried wormwood herb, cut pieces and dried wormwood herb, powder in an airtight container in a cool, dry place. Wormwood is also a member of the Artemisia genus and works synergistically with mugwort.  Wormwood is an allelopathic plant, meaning it releases chemical compounds from its roots into the soil that suppress the growth of or even kill nearby plants. Contraindications & Toxicity: Like mugwort, wormwood should be avoided by pregnant women. It is an abortifacient and was used in traditional herbal preparations to induce menstruation and induce labor. Physiologically, both oil of wormwood and extract of absinthe act as nerve depressants. Constituent thujone (isolated and in high doses) is neurotoxic, causing headache, paralysis, decreased coordination, and (euphoric) hallucinations. These effects are said to be reversible. Consuming thujone in excess is toxic and has been linked to seizures and even death. Volatile oils (thujone, absitol & azulenes) are nervous system stimulants and in high doses, toxic to the central nervous system (CNS) and liver. Long-term or high dosing may cause headaches, irritate stomach, and dangerously affect the heart and arteries. Do not use if pregnant or lactating due to uterine stimulant effects. Caution in gastric and peptic ulcers, irritable/nervous states, and seizure disorders. Do not use with allergies to the Asteraceae family.   Constituents: Volatile oil (thujone, absitol & azulenes) Bitter sesquiterpenes & sesquiterpene lactones (artemisinin, absinthin, artabsin & santoinin) Flavone glycosides Hydroxycoumarins Lignans     Sources: https://spiritartsandherbs.com/sources **IMPORTANT INFORMATON: Products are sold as curio items for entertainment purposes only and based upon historical and magical uses.  We do not imply or guarantee that any items provide specific abilities, powers, outcomes, remedies, or treatments. Any information provided on listings or through private conversation is intended for educational purposes only and are based on historical folklore and traditions, and should not replace the advice of a physician. Use our products at your own risk. By purchasing this item, you understand and release Spirit Arts & Herbs Inc from any liability. No items we sell are for internal use and should never be ingested for any reason. 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