Wormwood Folklore and Uses

[glaive]

I am reading Corinne Boyer's Under the Dragon Root and thought I would share notes I took on the first herb she covers, wormwood. She lists a ton of different sources (and they are footnoted, which is an awesome improvement from Under the Witching Tree!!) - the amount of research that has gone into each herb is impressive.

Folklore​

• most bitter of all herbs, next to rue
• aka St John's Girdle, Green Ginger
  • former name referring to use of making girdle/circle with it and throwing it into midsummer eve fires for health/protection the following year
• keeps away evil spirits due to bitterness - hung in home or worn on belt
• hang wormwood around door to prevent sorcery
• carry on journey - protect traveler, prevent weariness - same with mugwort
• Germany - if person carries wormwood, they can't be bewitched
• Monmouthshire - wormwood, rue, and hyssop in coffins
• Devon - keeps away witchcraft and evil eye
• laid in infants' cradles to protect from bewitchment, the Mara (nightmare), and dark elves
• Pliny - put wormwood under pillow as a remedy for insomnia
• Anglo-Saxon culture: To dream of drinking Wormwood betokens strife
• Old English recipe from The Leechbook of Bald (9th c) - uses wormwood, lupin, henbane, garlic, fennel, corn cockle, whortleberry (etc) - protect against "the elvish race, the night goers, and people with whom the devil has intercourse"
• Serbia - girl tucks sprig into bosom when married, protect evil spells
• eve of St George ( April 22) soak wormwood and easter egg in unheated water - used as protective wash the next day
• guards against bad fairy spirits by means of various potions, teas, etc
• helps rusalje come out of their trances and protect them from rusalke
• grimoire tradition - wormwood used for spirit summoning, esp human dead
• Thessalian necromantic ink recipe - flax leaf (cloth) to write on, ink from red ochre, myrrh, wormwood juice, evergreens, flax - used to write questions to corpses (PGM p.76)
• PGM - p.122 - wormwood/ red ochre /blood of white dove / blood of crow / sap of mulberry / cinnabar / rainwater - made into ink to contact spirit Besas and have him speak in a dream oracle
  • lots of other wormwood stuff in here
• petit albert has some wormwood recipes

Boyer's Personal Uses​

• stems can be tied together and make a sweeping tool for ridding of negative spirits
• wormwood as fumigation - brings on trance, attract ghosts of human dead
  • strong by itself - add other herbs like myrrh, fir, walnut leaf, graveyard black maple leaf
  • can put blend into a pillow for dreams of beloved dead during dark part of year
• add wormwood to protective powders
  • equal parts wormwood and grave earth - call dead or protect living
  • sprinkled around a house before storm or before leaving - keep house guarded by spirits of dead and safe from thieves
• wormwood tea and salt as a wash to cleanse room/house of unwanted energy/spirit
• infused with vinegar - used externally on fungal infections, or internally for cold/flu