Wormwood as an Herb

(Artemisia absinthium)

The Wormwoods are members of the great family of Compositae and belong to the genus Artemisia, a group consisting of 180 species, of which four grow wild in England. The whole family is remarkable for the extreme bitterness of all parts of the plant: 'as bitter as Wormwood' is a very Ancient proverb.

According to the Ancients, Wormwood counteracted the effects of poisoning by hemlock, toadstools and the biting of the seadragon.

The plant was of some importance among the Mexicans, who celebrated their great festival of the Goddess of Salt by a ceremonial dance of women, who wore on their heads garlands of Wormwood.

Historically, wormwood was used by the Romans as a drink and to flavor wine which was then thought to promote longevity. Roman soldiers were reported to have placed it in their sandals to sooth their sore feet.

Medicinal Uses for Wormwood

With the exception of Rue, Wormwood is the bitterest herb known, but it is very wholesome and used to be in much request by brewers for use instead of hops. The leaves resist putrefaction, and have been on that account a principal ingredient in antiseptic fomentations.

Wormwood is used for all problems within the digestive system, as well as liver and bladder ailments. It has been used to remove worms from the internal digestive system. It promotes menstruation and will help with menstrual cramps.

The dried leaves are placed in the sleeping pillows of cats and dogs to repel fleas and ticks.

Wormwood Tea, made from 1 ounce of the herb, infused for 10 to 12 minutes in 1 pint of boiling water, and taken in wineglassful doses, will relieve melancholia and help to dispel the yellow hue of jaundice from the skin, as well as being a good stomachic, and with the addition of fixed alkaline salt, produced from the burnt plant, is a powerful diuretic in some dropsical cases. The ashes yield a purer alkaline salt than most other vegetables, except Beanstalks and Broom.

A light infusion of the tops of the plant, used fresh, is excellent for all disorders of the stomach, creating an appetite, promoting digestion and preventing sickness after meals, but it is said to produce the contrary effect if made too strong.

An Old Love Charm

'On St. Luke's Day, take marigold flowers, a sprig of marjoram, thyme, and a little Wormwood; dry them before a fire, rub them to powder; then sift it through a fine piece of lawn, and simmer it over a slow fire, adding a small quantity of virgin honey, and vinegar. Anoint yourself with this when you go to bed, saying the following lines three times, and you will dream of your partner "that is to be":

'St. Luke, St. Luke, be kind to me,
In dreams let me my true love see.'

Cautions

In 1975 the Food and Drug Association (FDA) placed wormwood in the unsafe category because it contains thujone, a chemical that can cause nerve damage and other negative side effects when orally ingested. This nerve damage can result in symptoms characterized by numbness, paralysis, and loss of intellectual capacity. Other side effect of wormwood include seizures, which are particularly dangerous to people with epilepsy, kidney failure, and cramping of the abdomen and uterus.

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DISCLAIMER: These pages are presented solely as a source of INFORMATION and ENTERTAINMENT and to provide stern warnings against use where appropriate. No claims are made for any historical herbal treatment. In no way can the information provided here take the place of the standard, legal, medical practice of any country. Some plants are extremely toxic and should be used only by licensed professionals. Some plants used for illness in the past have proven to be ineffective for the problems to which they were applied.