Flowerfolk Herbal Apothecary | Herbalist Steph Zabel | Boston, MA
  • Home
  • About
    • Kind Words
  • The Moonletter
  • Connecting with the Living Land
    • In Person Class
    • Online Class
  • Patreon
  • Articles
  • Contact
  • Home
  • About
    • Kind Words
  • The Moonletter
  • Connecting with the Living Land
    • In Person Class
    • Online Class
  • Patreon
  • Articles
  • Contact
  Flowerfolk Herbal Apothecary | Herbalist Steph Zabel | Boston, MA

mugwort

1/24/2014

 
Picturemugwort leaves
When I first moved to Boston I felt like a country girl in the big city. I’d traveled and lived in several places before, and even had an extended stay in the megacity of Mexico, D.F., but moving to Boston was different. I was here to stay, to find work, and to be able to afford the cost of living. Boston was my initiation into urban living.

There are so many things that I love about Boston and that first entranced me all those years ago. But the one thing that I did miss – and still do miss – is the lack of natural open spaces, forests and wild places.

So I found consolation in a different sort of wildness: in untamed, weedy plants that sprout up in the neglected areas of town. Of all of these – the dandelions, chickweeds, shepherd’s purses and burdocks that I came to know and love – mugwort was the one to capture me the most.

I’ve written before about mugwort and the medicinal uses it holds. But when I first made acquaintances with this graceful creature I had no idea about all of this. I just loved the beautiful shape of the plant, the silvery leaves, the height to which it can grow, and it’s peaceful stature as it sways in the wind, or in the passing rumble of a train.

I used to walk one particular route that always led me past a population of mugwort. It was an unpleasant stretch to walk through, and the mugwort always provided a glimpse of beauty and grace with its silvery green glow.

Now, years later, mugwort is one of my favorite plant allies. But the funny thing is, I don’t often use it for medicinal uses. That is, I don’t often ingest the plant. I like to have mugwort hanging in bundles around my house to make wreaths and dried arrangements with. I like to hang some near my bedside to invite in dreams when I sleep. Rarely do I make tea with it, but when I do it feels very special indeed, as if I get to commune with an old friend.

Here’s a lovely tea that I like to make after dinner to help wind down before bed-time.

1 part linden
1 part lemon balm
½ part oat tops
¼ part mugwort
small pinch of lavender

Let steep for at least 15 minutes. Sip mindfully and breathe in the vapor of the tea, and see if you don’t have a very deep night’s sleep, with dreams that you remember the next day…

ryn link
1/24/2014 01:55:21 am

this is really beautiful, Steph! mugwort was my first urban plant ID, and i was immediately delighted to look around and see Artemis all over the city.

Steph
1/24/2014 03:05:36 am

Thank you kindly, Ryn! Perhaps mugwort is the welcome committee for those of us living in the city!...


Comments are closed.


    Categories

    All
    Adaptogens
    Alfalfa
    Ashwagandha
    Birch
    Burdock
    Calendula
    Chickweed
    Codonopsis
    Dandelion
    Dreaming
    Elderberry
    Elecampane
    Events
    Fall
    Frankincense
    Harvesting
    Hawthorn
    Herbalism
    Herbs For Birth
    Herbs For Pregnancy
    Incense
    Ingredients
    Learning
    Lemon Balm
    Linden
    Local Plants
    Lunar Tea
    Milk Thistle
    Moon Tea Circle
    Mugwort
    Mullein
    Nervine Herbs
    Nettles
    Oat
    Oils
    On Becoming An Herbalist
    Oxymels
    Passionflower
    Plantain
    Plant Profile
    Pregnancy
    Raspberry Leaf
    Recipes
    Red Clover
    Roots
    Rose
    Rosehips
    Rosemary
    Sage
    Schisandra
    Seasons
    Seeds
    Skin
    Soup
    Spearmint
    Spring
    Stress
    Summer
    Tea
    Travel
    Trees
    Tulsi
    Turmeric
    Urban Herbs
    Valerian
    Violet
    Wildcrafting
    Winter
    Women's Health
    Yoga And Herbs

    Archives

    January 2022
    January 2018
    August 2017
    April 2017
    December 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    September 2015
    July 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    July 2013
    May 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    November 2012
    July 2012