A Very Witchy Herb for Halloween and Samhain

Halloween is just around the corner. This holiday was originally inspired by Samhain. Samhain (pronounced saa-wn) is a Celtic holiday that marks the turning of the circle of the seasons into the dark times.

Samhain marks the halfway point between fall equinox and winter solstice. It is the end of the harvest season and the beginning of winter. It is the start of the new year.

It is the time when the veil thins, the doors to other worlds open, and spirits from other realms visit the realm of the living. It is a prime time to reach into your dreams for answers to deep questions and connections to ancestors.

Cronewort is the perfect herb for Samhain and Halloween.

It can help you to get in touch with ancestors in your dreams, aid in divination and opening the third eye, help you locate the local witchy healer, protect you from spooky beings, and aid in digesting and metabolizing all that candy.

Commonly known as mugwort, this herb is found growing wild in many places in the world. Like a true weed, it has traveled the world and found many places to call home. It grows abundantly on Deer Isle, along roadsides and shorelines. Even this time of year, the plant is tall and has just finished flowering.

It still appears to be in its glory, even when most perennials have already gone to sleep for the winter.

It is called mugwort, because it was a popular herb to add to beer for flavor and effect, before hops became the most popular herb to add.

The botanical name for cronewort is Artemisa vulgaris. The Artemisia genus is a large genus that includes plants like sage brush and wormwood. Vulgaris is a name that means "common". Cronewort is more commonly found in the wild than the other Artemisia species. The Artemisia genus is very possibly named after Artemis, a goddess of healing, the moon, and the hunt.

Susun Weed dubbed this herb with the name Cronewort. The story goes that she greeted the plant as Mugwort. The plant responded to her, "Don't call me Mugwort. I have nothing to do with the drunken fantasies of men. Call me Cronewort. See the silver hairs on the back of my leaves? I offer you the visions of the wise old crone."

Cronewort is a bringer of dreams. The scented leaves are dried and sewn into dream pillows. Place a small sachet of cronewort under your pillow and you will become aware of your dreams and be able to work with them more easily.

It is also burned as an "energetic incense" to help in divination, opening the third eye, and aiding meditation.

This can be helpful if you are connecting with ancestor spirits or looking for answers that may be buried in your subconscious.

Cronewort is known as the witchs' herb. Historically it was a symbol that was placed by the door of the local witch healer and midwife. Sometimes the shape of the leaf or the plant was hung on the door or the plant was planted outside the door.

It was a preferred herb of midwives and female healers (aka witches).

Cronewort tincture or tea is known to ease complaints related to female reproductive organs. Especially known for easing menstrual cramps, moderating mestrual bleeding, and bringing on a period. For this reason it isnot recommended that pregnant people take large amounts internally.

Cronewort is a bitter and aromatic herb.

These properties and tastes improve digestion and liver function as a tincture or tea. They also help to ease gas pains and intestinal spasms. This could be helpful if you have eaten too many Halloween treats!

Cronewort has a high in mineral content. The best way to extract them is by making a cronewort vinegar. You can harvest the tender green leaves and roots in the spring and infuse them in ACV for 4-6 weeks. It can be used in dressings and marinades.

Cronewort is traditionally known as an herb for protection.

It is hung in houses, burned as "energetic incense", and planted outside homes to protect them and the people in them from ill-meaning people, microbes, and spirits. It is also an anti-microbial and anthelmintic (kills worms and parasites), though other species of Artemisia are better at this.

Whether it is helping you to get in touch with your ancestors in dreams, helping you locate the local witchy healer, protecting you from spooky beings, or helping you digest and metabolize all that candy, cronewort is your Samhain/Halloween herb!