Artemisia Vulgaris - Mugwort - HELP WANTED

[Guest guest]

Dear Herbalists,

Yesterday I harvested some Mugwort. Tis August - it is in bloom -

and I hung it up to dry.

I took some of the leaves (not dried) and scrunched them up in my

hand to put into a coconut oil with Dried Rosemary and Dried

Plantain(this herb was put intothe Roman sandals to prevent aching feet

on long journeys and as they marched all over Europe I thought it would

be good to try it in one of my Coconut OIl blends).

Admittedly I should have waited till it dried but I did not.

My concern is this. After crunching the fresh leaves, my hands stung

as if I had crunched Stinging Nettles.

Has anyone ANY explanation of this?

I HAVE thoroughly checked the plant - it IS Mugwort.

As I am not usually affected by plants, I am intrigued by this (and

do wonder what will happen to me when I slather my skin with the oil).

Can ANY of you Herbalists give me some idea on this?Why did I get

that tingling/stinging sensation?..............Love Penny (extremely

puzzled)

[Guest guest]

Mugwort is a potent herb, and Jeannie Rose says it can be dangerous if not

used properly, so I'm not at all surprised by this reaction.

 

This particular herb is so potent, one does not even have to touch or take

it in order to experience an effect. It can be sewn up in a pillow and is

said to encourage REM sleep when used that way.

 

At 10:19 AM 8/20/01 -0400, you wrote:

>Dear Herbalists,

> Yesterday I harvested some Mugwort. Tis August - it is in bloom -

>and I hung it up to dry.

> I took some of the leaves (not dried) and scrunched them up in my

>hand to put into a coconut oil with Dried Rosemary and Dried

>Plantain(this herb was put intothe Roman sandals to prevent aching feet

>on long journeys and as they marched all over Europe I thought it would

>be good to try it in one of my Coconut OIl blends).

> Admittedly I should have waited till it dried but I did not.

> My concern is this. After crunching the fresh leaves, my hands stung

>as if I had crunched Stinging Nettles.

> Has anyone ANY explanation of this?

> I HAVE thoroughly checked the plant - it IS Mugwort.

> As I am not usually affected by plants, I am intrigued by this (and

>do wonder what will happen to me when I slather my skin with the oil).

> Can ANY of you Herbalists give me some idea on this?Why did I get

>that tingling/stinging sensation?..............Love Penny (extremely

>puzzled)

>

-- Michael Riversong **

Professional Harpist, Educator, and Writer **

RivEdu ** Phone: (307)635-0900 FAX (413)691-0399

http://home.earthlink.net/~mriversong