Mugwort Foraging and Natural Magic TSW

[causticus]

I think I just had my first super-obvious TSW magical experience last night. And lo and behold, it was from Natural Magic; the most basic of it, to be honest.

But first. I have to point out that I'm quite blessed to have an amazing park right around the corner from where I live. There's a whole system of hiking trails there and many of them pass through secluded forested areas. I've developed a fondness for a cluster of majestic Northern Red Oaks that grow in one particular corner of the park.

Anyway, I discovered a plentiful supply of Mugwort (Artemisia Vulgaris) growing alongside a couple of of the trails. I have actually been looking for Mugwort for quite some time, but my plant-identification skills are still in the amateur phase. I've found plant identification apps on my phone to be quite the useful tool for speeding along my learning process in this area. By that, I was curious what this very tall and conspicuous "weed" growing in large clusters actually was. The app pegged Mugwort being the highest likely match for this plant. I then said to myself, "duh!" Knowing this plant has magical properties, particularly associated with protection and vivid dreams, I harvested some and brought it home.



Before I went to bed I placed a couple of leaf-bunches on my night table, right next to where I sleep. And within minutes I started feeling that intense "vivid dream" haze taking over my consciousness, even before I actually fell asleep. Instant results.

Now, I've had experiences doing other types of magic, but my experiences with that tends to be on the mild side of things and never beyond the threshold of plausible deniability (in terms of those experiences being anything other than just weird sensations).

The obvious takeaway here seems that Natural Magic is probably the most accessible "gateway drug" to the realm of demonstrable magical experience out there. It's just unfortunate that unflattering labels like "witchcraft" have become attached to this age-old body of practices.

Having said all of that, I'm open to other possible uses for this magical herb!

Comments

[jprussell]

Apparently mugwort got lots of love in Anglo-Saxon Leechcraft (Stephen Pollington's book by the same title has a lot of information) - it was listed as the first and oldest of the "Nine Noble Herbs". Raven Kaldera's Northern Shamanic Herbal gives lots of examples (one interesting one: the Romans would put it in their shoes to avoid foot aches).

It seems most of its uses are linked to purification, sanctification, and banishing the unwanted - whether more routine (cleanse a house of evil spirits) or ritual (I'm about to go into a shamanic trance here).

I've also seen JMG talk about putting it under your door mat to keep away unwanted guests. And I just re-checked his Encyclopedia of Natural Magic - keeping a branch above the doorway was meant to ward away evil of all sorts, especially if it had been smoked over a fire on St. John's Eve (June 23rd, so just missed it!)

Fair warning, btw: when you burn mugwort, you might find the smell not so pleasant. To me, it has a heavy, resinous smell reminiscent of marijuana, and my wife asked me not to burn it in the house unless I absolutely had to (it's also possible I was doing it wrong, as it was among my first experiments in burning loose leaf incense on a coal).

[causticus]

Thanks for all of this!

I'm familiar with JMG's MM tidbits on Mugwort, and I also own a copy of his Encyclopedia of Natural Magic.

Shame I missed St. John's Eve!

For burning it, I presume I have to dry out the leaves first? (Sorry, I'm a total newb in this area!!) Do you know how long it takes to dry it by any chance?

[jprussell]

I am also a total newb, and so I don't know about what needs to be done to fresh-gathered herbs, but I suspect you're right that it needs drying (I bought dried mugwort from the local Wiccan shop and burned that). As for how long it takes, I know that herbs can be dried in the oven or with a dehydrator quickly, but I'm not sure on air drying. Might depend on humidity. Maybe a few days?

[methylethyl]

Clearly, I need to track down some mugwort, and get a doormat!

[boccaderlupo]

Interesting stuff. I know nothing of natural magic, but wish you well in the dreaming.

[causticus]

Thank you.

So far the dreaming was just very weird and hazy. It seems to me that the presence of Mugwort thins the veil between the material and astral, which is a good start but just the beginning. I'm definitely going to have to up my game in other areas before I can have more meaningful dreams.