Writing(with)mugwort on Friday 12 september

Update (25 September): This blogpost has been transformed from an announcement and call to join… to a musing where you can find the slides (free download link) and some notes.

The call (sent in august 2025)

As some of you know, we have been organizing online and live writing(with)plant sessions for some years. Mostly we are more active at this time of the year, when the days here in the northern hemisphere are getting shorter and darker, and we tend to turn inward.  This time we invite Mugwort (Artemisia Vulgaris) as our special guest.

 You can read more about this method/practice on this page: Writing (with) plants and/our our Instagram page https://www.instagram.com/writingwithplants

You do not have to know anything about mugwort or be a writer, only a good listener 😉 

Apparently this is a tea plant

For all who want (but it is not compulsory): BYO mugwort latte – except when you are pregnant or want to become pregnant. There are stories that this plant might be a companion in coping with endometriosis.

We do not know who is reading this and we do not know your background or the background of the mugwort that you encounter, so please decide for yourself what is best for you and the plant.

And as with every plant that you do not know well, digest the plant in a small dose. There are stories about vivid dreams and deep sleep. Be aware. In general, when you are relation building with humans and plants:

get to know your relationship better in small steps, sips and stories.

mADONNA AND mUGWORT

During this writing-with-mugwort session, I began with Madonna’s Frozen. We always open our two-hour gatherings with a song, a soft landing, a chance to practice deep listening, to settle into the right mode, and to leave space for latecomers. I chose Frozen not only because of its mystical cinematography, but also because of its deeper tones, reflecting Madonna’s shift toward the spiritual and the questioning that emerged after she became a mother.

The song felt fitting, as mugwort (Artemisia vulgaris) evokes images of women, dreams, and the seasons of autumn and winter. One participant, who is researching the historical relationships between plants and people, reminded us that mugwort has long been used in European women’s practices, as well as by Indigenous peoples of Turtle Island for cleansing. From a decolonial ecofeminist perspective, it is striking, as our pharmacist participant noted, that mugwort is barely mentioned in conventional pharmacy texts. She had to turn instead to a plant tarot book from her home library, which made us wonder: why has this plant been pushed to the margins?

In this session, seven women gathered, rooted in Denmark, the USA, Portugal, Poland, Belgium, and Norway. Our conversation wove through themes such as how summer is a season of rushing and running, but how now, in this darker time of year here in the northern hemisphere, we might prepare for returning. I was reminded of mythological ecopsychologist Sharon Blackie’s eco-heroine model, where the heroine must return to her place, carrying back seeds and wisdom, or as a participant said, the huntress coming back with what she killed.

We also explored the question: why is mugwort named after Artemis? Perhaps because of its association with the moon and its effects on women’s bodies. Along the way, we discovered its many names in different languages. In the creative part of our session, we shared songs and poetry in English, Polish, and Latvian. We reflected on the plant’s aroma, her strength and persistence, strong, and her way of thriving in wounded landscapes.

Mugwort, in many traditions (especially in Slavic traditions), has been seen as a plant of protection. One participant played through her shapeshifting in Mugwort as guarding us from the fire, from being burned at the stake, like so many women once accused of witchcraft for their knowledge of plants, dreams, and healing. To sit with mugwort now is to remember those histories of silencing, and at the same time to reclaim the wisdom that survived, carried quietly through generations.

Please download the slides and let us know in the comments what you think.