Wormwood - Absinthe Fever's Forum

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-- By Ari in California on Tue, 30 Jan 2007 at 22:54.

I would call that "wormwood's bogus secret" While A.A. does contain thujone it has been shown that only a tiny amount of thujone ends up in absinthe so wormwood was singled out as the dangerous part of absinthe because of a chemical barely found in absinthe. The extreme bitterness of A.A. most likely prevented people from ingesting noticeable amounts of thujone.
Whatever the possible effects of AA it's ironic the chemical it's most famous for most likely doesn't cause them.

Magical wormwood

-- By Aaron in Fairview, OK on Wed, 7 Mar 2007 at 11:03.

I thought this was interesting (from paganwiccan.about.com):

Wormwood is used to enhance psychic abilities, divination, astral work and any rituals involving the spirit world. If you burn wormwood as an incense, make sure the room is well ventilated. Dried wormwood can protect your home as well.

According to old folk tales, burning wormwood and sandalwood in a cemetary would enable you to speak to the dead. Also, a charm of dried wormwood will protect you from sea serpents (in case that's a problem in your life) :-)

Wormwood in wicca

-- By Angela in Norwich UK on Mon, 26 Mar 2007 at 10:13.

From wikipedia:

"Within such religious practicies as Wicca, both Wormwood and Mugwort are believed to have multiple effects on the psychic abilities of the practitioner. Because of the power believed to be inherent in certain herbs of the genus Artemisia, many believers cultivate the plants in a "moon garden".

"The beliefs surrounding this genus are founded upon the strong association between the herbs of the genus Artemisia and the moon goddess Artemis, who is believed to hold these powers. She is known also by Diana, Selene, and Pheobe. In Hellenistic culture, Artemis was a goddess of the hunt, and protector of the forest and children."

Nice site by the way!

Bitter wormwood

-- By Mirabel in United Kingdom on Thu, 29 Mar 2007 at 21:07.

"For the lips of an adulteress drip honey,
And smoother than oil is her speech;
But in the end she is bitter as wormwood,
Sharp as a two-edged sword.
Her feet go down to death,
Her steps lay hold of Sheol. "

Proverbs 5:4

Wormwood

-- By Kamaile in Georgia on Sat, 31 Mar 2007 at 14:49.

Good Afternoon

Mirabel, I see that you quote Proverbs. I have a question about wormwood in the Bible "...he hast made me drunken with wormwood."(Lamentations 3:15) Would this have been wormwood liquor like absinthe or does chewing wormwood cause intoxication?

"Behold, I will feed them with wormwood, and make them drink the water of gall..."(Jeremiah 23:15)"

Use in ritual?

-- By Tess B in Lincs on Mon, 16 Apr 2007 at 08:05.

I believe that there are actually two constituents of
wormwood - absinthine and anabsinthine. It has traditionaly been used to make beer (wormwood ale) and also a wine tonic to cure stomach upsets, as you say. But wormwood was also widley used in religion. There is a Mexican festival that uses garlands of the plant, during a pre Christian ritual worship of the Salt Goddess. In fact, wormwood plays an important part in many ancient magic rituals - I was wondering if it was this fact that influenced the belief that absinthe had the power to create shamanic type visons? I am not sure what wormwood is used for - to conjure up spirits or something? It's an interesting thought. I must admit that I've never had any deities turn up when I've been drinking absinthe, but then the modern day absinthe doesn't contain as much wormwood.

Chewing Wormwood

-- By Arthur Bots in Kentucky on Sat, 23 Jun 2007 at 22:18.

To Kamaile in Georgia:

When I read your question about the wormwood bible reference and whether it involved drinking or chewing the wormwood, I was also interested in the answer, so I did a little researching and found the following information:

"The plant contains ethereal oils (such as cineole, or wormwood oil, and thujone), flavonoids, triterpenes, and coumarin derivatives. Chewing some leaves will kill the fatigue and stimulate the nervous system. It was also used as an anthelminthic, so it is sometimes confused with wormwood (Artemisia absinthium)"

Keep in mind, the article that contained this information was about common wormwood (Artemisia vulgaris), but I still think that it's applicable to your question. If common wormwood is able to create these sensations, then I would guess that actual wormwood would create even more intense effects.

I'll keep searching for more information on wormwood chewing and let you know if I come across anything else of interest ;-)

wow

-- By travis in australia on Thu, 23 Aug 2007 at 08:44.

i have never had a hangover quite like it crazy stuff dont mess with this stuff unless you want to feel pain

When sexually frustrated people ruin forums

-- By Madeline in Washington, DC on Thu, 6 Mar 2008 at 05:03.

It is quite unfortunate when sexually frustrated people ruin good forums. Pedophilia, Racism, Sexism, ect...is unfortunately something "people" of low IQ and/or those that have deep seated psychological issues contend with. We can only pity them. The question we all have is, why did they pick this forum (about Artemisia Absinthe/Wormwood)? Maybe they need to go to "AA" and reconsider "worming" their way into good forums :-)

When sexually frustrated people ruin good forums

-- By Madeline in Washington, D.C. on Thu, 6 Mar 2008 at 05:44.

Addendum: A Bitter person finds a forum about a Bitter herb.

From Wikipedia:

"A number of Bible scholars consider the term Wormwood to be a purely symbolic representation of the bitterness that will fill the earth during troubled times, noting that the plant for which Wormwood is named, Artemisia absinthium, is a known Biblical metaphor for things that are unpalatably BITTER."

Wormwood is a plant that has fascinated humanity since the days of the Romans.

About the wormwood plant

The Vaults of Erowid site has a section about wormwood with information, photos of the plant and even experiences by people who have "experimented" with wormwood.

Wormwood tea anyone? The Golden Harvest Organics site has the recipe (the tea is to be used as a natural insect repellent, not drunk!), plus some tips on growing and harvesting the plant.

Purdue University's Center for New Crops & Plant Products has a short entry on wormwood that gives its common names, habitat and desription.