Summer Greetings and Mugwort Musings
It's been awhile beloveds. I have been blessed this summer with time on the big island of Hawaii with my farm-ily, a return to the magic of the Oregon Country Fair with my daughter and dear friends that included a 2000 mile road trip, and time with my sangha and teacher to practice together in the depths of devotion, not to mention some profound time in the foothills with the plants, especially the divine Mugwort. In fact there's a short article at the bottom of this email to introduce you to this ancient herb known as Nagadamani, molush, and yoldst wyrta.
I've also enjoyed a full summer with clients who have been gracious and patient with my travel schedule and their own trips and travails. It is a blessing to weave in and out with one another in a tapestry of mutual nourishment and care. I so appreciate the expansive out-breath of summer.
In other exciting news, I have a new website!
My old website was infected with malware and it was definitely the push I needed to evolve. So here it is, the new and improved anahatahelangarts.net, built by the lovely and talented Alexis Schoppe Cronk.
Scroll down to the bottom of this email to head to my Baba Yaga Botanicals Etsy shop, full up after summer harvests and alchemical kitchen witchery. You can also purchase some of my botanical items, like customer favorites Calendula/Lavender Salve and Nasya Oil at Heritage Goods and Supply in Carpinteria.
I look forward to seeing you soon for therapeutic bodywork, Ayurvedic bodywork, Integrative Holistic Health Counseling, private yoga instruction, herbal support, and seasonal workshops.
Long Day Blessings,
~Liz
Baba Yaga Botanicals Shop is Open!
Come find Nasya oil, Ayurvedic thaila, salve, bath herbs, and more at Baba Yaga Botanicals, full up after summer harvest.
The beautiful plant in the center here is Artemsia douglasiana, native mugwort of California. To the right is Artemesia californica, or western sage, which is not a true sage but an Artemesia. Both of these plants have been used traditionally in Chumash medicine for 1000's of years. To the left is Salvia mellifera, black sage, a favorite of the bees and of humans as well. Black sage was the most commonly used cooking herb of the Chumash people. All three of these herbs make a great bath tea for relieving pain and relaxing nerves and muscles.
Mugwort Musings
Nagadamani, yoldst wyrta (oldest herb), molush (Chumash name), dream sage, these are some of the names for mugwort, specifically Artemesia vulgaris for Indian and Chinese mugwort and Artemesia douglasiana in the case of our local native mugwort here in Santa Barbara. So many Artemesias are powerful herbs with a long history of relationship with humans and presence on this planet. Mugwort has been on this earth since before the ice age.
The Sanskrit name, naga damani means 'snake belt', like the one that the elephant headed god Ganesh is wearing in the picture at the beginning of this newsletter. According to Rita Shukla in the Times of India:
“Lord Ganesha's belly represents the whole cosmos, the seven realms above and below and the seven oceans are inside Ganesha's cosmic belly. These are held together by the cosmic energy (kundalini) symbolized by the huge snake around him. The snake that runs round his waist represents energy in all forms."
That is a powerful name to associate mugwort with; energy in all forms, the cosmic energy, kundalini, serpiente cosmica, that which holds everything together and animates it all. I have to say, she lives up to her names.
I spent nine days this summer on a simple monodiet of kitchari to make myself receptive to mugwort's wisdom and energy. I spent every day oiling, drinking tea, and bathing in mugwort, as well as traveling to sit with her in the foothills and meditate in her natural environment along the creeks in the canyons. My intention was to go deeper with mugwort as an ally and to learn more directly from her, to supplement the many ways I have learned 'about' her. It was a deep, powerful, and transformative experience.
On a practical level mugwort is penetrating. Mugwort is used in moxabustion in TCM to move stagnant energies and bring Chi/Prana and fresh blood to an area. Mugwort can help as an anupan, or carrier, to take other herbs deeper into the body due to her penetrating deep nature. Mugwort can relieve pain, having a special affinity for menstrual cramps when rubbed on the belly as an herb infused oil.
Chumash people have used Artemesia douglasiana as a treatment for arthritis and tooth pain and against fevers and flu.The Chumash, Paiute and other California indigenous peoples consider mugwort to be a magical plant and burn the dried leaves to create a smoke which is inhaled to promote healthy sleep, sacred dreams, and to ward off evil spirits. According to my teachers Cecilia Garcia and john Adams in their book Healing with Medicinal Plants of the West: “The pleasant, sage smell of the dream sage induces aromatherapy that will help promote dreaming. This helps heal the spirit. When the spirit remembers to be normal, the body can heal."
Mugwort is an emmenagogue and helps to bring on sluggish moons or regulate unpredictable moons. Drinking the tea or taking tincture is contraindicated during pregnancy and nursing, but using the infused oil is a boon during these times. In fact, alcohol extractions in general are not recommended due to the thujone content of mugwort which can cause hallucinations and convulsions. Very little of this is present in a water or oil extract.
Mugwort can be used as an antispasmodic, antidepressive, anti-anxiety, and nervine tonic, to name a few more of her talents.
According to Sebastian Pole in Ayurvedic Medicine mugwort; stops bleeding, awakens digestion, is a heart tonic, balances all three doshas, prevents skin diseases and itching, and cleans the blood of toxins.
Historically mugwort has been used in several disparate cultures as an ally for visionary dreaming, not just by the natives of turtle island. In India mugwort is used to support processing karmas within the astral realm before they get activated in our dense and difficult waking life. Mugwort is an ally in shamanic trance as well as lucid dreaming.
Mugwort has been associated with the goddess in many cultures. She is aligned with Artemis, Greek goddess of the moon (which mugwort is strongly associated with as well), the goddess of the hunt, perpetually youthful and wild. Artemis is also the midwife, the gatekeeper at birth and death, and mugwort is deeply related to women's moon cycles and reproductive health. This is where the Latin name Artemesia comes from. In India she is associated with the goddess Svapna Varahi, a boar headed goddess who digs into the subconscious and unconscious to help us clear obstructions and karma in the dream time. She is a fierce protectress.
Mugwort is in fact a goddess in her own right.
"Plants as Mothers and Goddesses, I address you. May I gain light, energy, sustenance, your soul, you, who are a conscious being." ~Rg Veda
Check out Baba Yaga Botanicals for wildcrafted and homegrown Nagadamani thaila (traditionally infused herbal oil).
As always, these are limited edition, small batch, handmade alchemy, so get yours while supplies last.
Herbal oiling/oleation is a delightful way to engage with mugwort, an herb that is quite bitter and difficult to drink, but can be applied through oil and in the bath with great efficacy and delight. Transdermal application of herbal intelligence through infused oils has been a method in India for hundreds if not thousands of year.
Blessings of the Green World to you,
~Liz
