Estafiate and the Artemisias
I have an intimate relationship with the Artemisias.
They turn me on. They whisper to my soul. They magickalize everything they touch. They help us assimilate, digest, and process EVERYTHING we consume, EVERYTHING we believe, and EVERYTHING we desire.
Mugwort. Prairie Sage. Wormwood. Estafiate. Silver Sage. Sagebrush. Absinthe. There are more.
Artemisias beckon us closer to the place where inner wildness and divinity merge…named for the Goddess of the moon, wild Animals, hunting, stewardship, chastity AND childbirth, the Artemisias are powerful allies in all of these arenas.
Estafiate, or Western Mugwort, is Artemisia ludoviciana. It is the Mugwort that grows close to me, the one I’ve been obsessed with since I first heard its name during a class with Peter Bigfoot in 2009. Since then I have been on a mission to find, commune, and practice when allowed to do so.
This plant is a purification medicine, thinning the veil, and making appear things which aren’t immediately visible to our physical, tangible, human known senses. But it requires purity in approach and desire. Her revelations only come to those she deems worth it.
Western Mugwort enhances perception when consumed, and clears entities and attachments from the aura when burned. Try similar to Common Mugwort, Artemisia vulgaris…but potentized by her proximity and chosen home.
Bitter as heck, this medicinal plant is anti-fungal (especially in the respiratory tract), antihelmentic, stomachic, bitter, and female system tonic, possibly emmenagogue. I don’t recommend sweetening this tea. Artemisias want you raw and wild, and want to be consumed the same way.
Several years ago I had an experience with a Mugwort plant. I was invited to harvest from my friend's garden (a dear friend who is named for the Moon, Diane), and while cutting and sitting, I received many messages about my path in this lifetime. Particularly about hunting. This particular harvest was during the Scorpio full moon, a time when the veil is thin and transformation and alignment are up for assimilation if we're willing.
I made smudge wands with that Mugwort, infused some in tallow, and made many teas for women's cycles. Since then I have used Mugwort and Estafiate as hunting amulets; aids for protection, clarity, and rightness of both thought and action in taking life to secure one's own survival. It's a powerful plant for hunters, seekers, shamanic practitioners, and anyone who works in the realms between worlds, in taking life, in bringing life Earthside, in dealing with the Underworld.
How to incorporate Artemisias into your healing work:
*Grow it. She likes sun and well drained soil, and there is sure to be a variety that will thrive wherever you are. Make sure you get medicinal varieties and not just ornamental ones.
*Tea - very bitter, but very useful for rituals for purification, seeking guidance, and seeing - ALSO, for a wide variety of solar plexus issues aka assimilation and assertion issues (will power for example), stomach complaints, constipation, spastic colon, parasitic and fungal infections
*Fixed Oil - Oil infusions are wonderful for self care rituals, for annointing the womb, breasts, legs, and anywhere you feel called, especially during the menstrual cycle, labor + delivery, and after childbirth (Some say Mugwort is a threat to pregnancy so consult with someone before getting down with it if you're pregnant)
*Smoke Clearning or Smudge - burning the Mugworts will definitely enhance your ritual and magickal practices, prayer, and meditation. It can have a dramatic impact on dreamtime, so use caution if you already have intense dream cycles. Burning is a particularly useful delivery when you're trying to rid your aura and psyche of negative attachments, trauma, past life experiences, and unresolved karma
There are so many ways to utilize this magnificent genre of plants into your healing practice. I'm surely gonna write more at some point. But for now, start by learning about the species who grow near you, and pay attention to them. Grow them. Harvest what you grow. Practice. This is the way.
((I’ve been known to make smoke clearing wands from Estafiate when I find a patch big enough, so if you’re interested let me know and I’ll put you on the list for next season’s harvest.))