I am choosing this as a place to begin not to offend or correct other pagans or wiccans, nor Christians... nor anyone else for that matter... but the issues here are fundamental ones, more so, they are universal
The Bible begins speaking disparagingly of Wormwood, honors and exalts it further on as a bitter herb of the Passover, and then disparages it yet again toward the very end, in the Book of Revelations. Why does it do this?
My own feeling, my own tradition, is that this is the use of a travestic style. At face value, it leaves something to be desired, and yet is not worthy of discarding, for not so deep beneath the surface, there are a multitude of worthy reasons, if we are willing to be persistent. In this way, also, what it inspires us to seek that which is implied, that which abbreviates a great wealth of information that could not otherwise find its way into print... at least not without becoming unweildly. Many volumes worth of notions might be compressed into a few lines of questionable text in what is perhaps literally, a holographic fashion. It is the same sort of thematic analysis which is of such great importance to modern mythographers and folklorists, i.e., variations of analysis in the same style as the motif-indexing of Stith Thompson's standard reference works, that avail us to unlock these secrets.
If we were to make a diagram of the way the Bible speaks of Wormwood, then, low on the ends but praised highly in the middle, it might look like the astrological glyph for Libra. Is this of pertainence then to the context? For an issue to be treated with fairness, as the Bible does toward the middle, is characteristic of the fairness bestowed under Libra in positive expression; conversely the unfairness that is bestowed in characteristic of the negative expression of same.
While it is completely unfair to lay upon Libra this connotation exclusively, for Any sign of the Zodiac can be capable of unfairness, still, this gives us possible insights into the use of Astrological Medicine to help heal or to remedy what is exemplified here. By embodying the essence of bigotry in this regard, much like the negative role models embodied by Coyote, the Trickster, in the respective traditions, we are encouraged toward an anatomy of the underlying biological causes, and in the end may be provided with tools for healing bigotry and achieving the peace that is one of the great and noble objectives of Libran energy.
So, too, is such an arch as the sign of Libra literally found on the flesh of our modern Wormwood... a very curious and deliberate-looking gesture, for while the name Wormwood may, and likely so, come from its use to kill various kinds of worms that contribute to the disease, and the common "worm-like" bend at the base of Artemisia absinthium serve as a clear and notable Signature of this property... this sign can be seen as well as the graceful arc of the glyph of the Balance, Libra, as much as it can be seen as well as a sign of prayer and faith, symbolized by kneeling, for this very same feature when found in various bamboo specie is known as "geniculation", or kneeling.
We are alerted as well to consider how often it is this influence, or lack of its mastery, that confounds the good natured modern Christian. Under the influence of Libra, one might be attracted by a sense of beauty and fairness that is obvious within the church. And yet, on discovering the vestiges of unresolved issues within the Church and its beliefs, put peace before truth and remain silent in the face of such lingering ideosyncracies such as rob Christians of their credibility even in the course of works noble by anyone’s standards, but also those which go further than this in causing harm.
That John The Baptist, writing in Greek, on a Greek island, as well as his higher sources, should be unfamiliar with the customs and thoughts of the Greeks is questionable; so, too is the notion that he should expect his writings to be found or evaluated by someone other than Greeks themselves.
And yet, within the understanding of the Greeks and their customs, no matter how obscure, falls either the hysterical travesty, or the fatal and unbelievable error as the naming of a "poison star", Wormwood. In the Bible’s Book of Revelations, this "star" is prophesied to poison a third of the waters on earth. In the Greek way of thinking, our modern Wormwood, or any Wormwood- which is perhaps literally any, every and all species of Artemisia- are to be considered quite the opposite, and life itself is likely to depend on this understanding.
Whether through killing vermin and their larvae which render the water undrinkable, though purifying it by possessing such molecules as molecular peroxides, or even though the fluffy flowers acting as strainers, or some part of the plant acting as bio-flocculants… Whether is is through repelling disease-bearing creatures from drinking from public water supplies and aquaducts, and contaminating them in the process, or even sparing people much of the thirst and desperation that might cause them to feel forced to utilize even known contaminated sources of water…
Wormwood is a purifier of water, one easily recalled, as the Signature of Wormwood (Artemisia absinthum), extends to the way the plant sprays of silvery cut leaves resembles the ocean’s waves spraying against the rocks, or water spraying freely from a fountain.
Furthermore, this Signature of silver and water may also allude to water purifying properties, in the very same sense that silver itself may have been long known to possess powers of purifying water… In much the sense that this century saw the use of silver compounds as antiseptics, and the sale of silver compounds in camping goods stores or departments stores, as water-purification tablets.
This may extend to the very silver facades conveniently attatched to the name of Artemis in the Bible. To hold the ancients in high esteem, or at least as innocent until proven guilty… They may not have favored jewelry out of vanity, or beautification-- much as ancient amulets are anything but mere decorations-- but for such purposes so fundamentally related, first and foremost, to the continuing of their existence in this world… That is, to treat life as a Sacred gift, and to try to use wisdom to protect it accordingly.
Further evidence that the ancients possessed such knowledge and ideas about metals may take some of its most straightforward from under the mention of an ancient alloy, called "Electrum"; so too did such ideas about silver continue into "folklore" of the past few centuries.
So, too does the notion that Wormwood should be "a symbol of the bitterness of captivity", seem to in no way resemble the words of the being who has been such an advocate of forgiveness, , that one is advised not to "allow the sun to set on your anger", meaning to forgive someone even before a day has passed.
Thus, herein lies some of the tragedy... In having apparently taking the Bible too literally (you will note that this is something else that Astrology describes as occurring when Libra or those influenced by it are affected in a negative way) or having glossed over the ideosyncracies in the name of keeping peace... Likewise, the Sign of Aries where Culpeper assigned Artemisias, most notably mugwort, is notably the opposite Sign of Libra.
What the Bible does is help to demonstrate some of the Astrological signatures, and as often happens with plants, here is an opposite pair of Signs or powers which are both present. At the root of this is both the need for these opposites to experience balance and harmony to appreciate the plant. Not content to rest hopes upon a paradox or "Catch 22", however, these is a vast likelihood that if not proper appreciation automaticaly putting these forces of consciousness into harmony, that the correct and moderate use of the plant will.
And of course there is a certain poetry in this as well. At some point in Christendom, Wormwood received the casual reputation as having sprung up in the tracks of the serpent Satan as he fled the Garden of Eden. Beauty being in the eye of the beholder, it would be a relatively pointless gesture to cast aspersions at the herb… more beauty and purpose might be found in simply taking this to be a education in the use of Providence, in this case, Wormwood, and treating the elements of the story as contextual qualifiers to illustrate these purposes.
Not ironically, this passage traditionally contains disparagement of another group of plants of great and importance. This uncharacteristic and off-color remark may often comprise an impediment to appreciation of the Providence that occurs in the form of those plants which bear thorns and thistles. The St. Mary's Thistle may rival or exceed the reputations of many Artemisias, including Wormwood, as having medicinal values which aid the liver… Although it is possible that this connection serves as a generic label to suggest they are sharing many significant properties.
The Biblical story of Genesis is interesting alone in the fact that when Adam covers himself with a fig leaf, depending on the particular fig, there is the chance that he is making a gesture so arbitrary as to be comical, for the shape of some fig leaves is phallic. Thus to do so would hardly be the intended act of concealment. It would however be a gesture in accordance with the Doctrine of Signatures, that function following is the appropriate method of receipt of Providence, that the form should suggest to use the role of the item in question.
It is also notable that it contains a rare soluable paradox. Routinely, paradoxes have the effect of subjugating or irritating. After the first minute of intrigue, one approaches annoyance with the perennially unfathomable paradox such as "which came first, the chicken or the egg". Those that are irritated are the fortunate ones, for there have been times when paradoxes and even psuedo-paradoxes have been so drastically mistaken for great wisdom or profundity that the net effect has been to spontaneously create unquestioning devotees for those speaking them.
The paradoxical question that Genesis attempts to answer is the question "how could mankind gain free will of his own free will", and it is a profound one. If we think that our capacity for human free will was forced upon us, especially by some random force or some cynical gesture of fate, chances are we are not having the appreciation weilding out own free will. We may therefore likely to be in a situation where someone is making all of our choices for us. In effect, we may be slaves. (Not ironically, this is the very issue that surfaces again around Wormwood in the later Biblical story of the Exodus.)
Hence, Genesis contains a great bit of wisdom for virtually anyone and everyone, in this deviated form, for we are allowed thereby to dwell upon the vast improbability that man has received free will of his own free will as opposed to having it forced on him, and the value lies not in the insistance that this is The way in which it happened, but that this illustrates A way in which this improbable or even impossible thing Could have happened. Perhaps where we see that there is one way, we may discover other ways, more uniquely our own, which are more plausible or satisfying to us personally. Therein, then, lies the value of Genesis, that not only is a paradox resolved, but that paradox is one of the greatest philosophical questions possible. The answer we receive if we are willing allows us to treasure our free will, Liberates us, potentially, form all possible slavery, rather than irritating or subjugating us. It is literary treasure of the rarest kind, regardless of orientation, persuasion, or belief system.
Of course, thematically as opposed to ironically, this is just the point…We must be allowed the Freedom, the exercise of Free Will, God-given or otherwise, to interpret this material in a way that is rewarding and enlightening. (Of course, the stamina, courage, and fortitude to do so could come, if need be, from the herb itself). Our understanding of the particular material thus also relies on certain other, inevitable departures. One botanical of the story, the "Fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil" is of course the critical agent. (Perhaps not ironically, some specie of fig have been found to contain the neurotransmitter serotonin; depeletion of serotonin in long-term substance abuse runs parallel to the degradation of higher reasoning and mental bondage to substance abuse. Likewise this biblical fruit has been stylized as an apple, known to have the reputation for fighting "brain fatigue" and subsequently the corresponding lapses in judgement, though its content of phosophorus).
The key thing to remember in this interpretation is that in order to exercise choice, one must possess knowledge of the options. People are forced into slavery when they are not aware of the means in which to escape it. To have options limited by ignorace, is to be subject to infringement on the power of choice, infringement upon Free Will. To choose between good and evil, one must therefore possess a knowledge of what evil is. Therefore, the "Fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil" is the "The Fruit of the Tree of Free Will".
Thus, these ideosyncracies serve to highlight significant questions, and encourage our ability to choose between right and wrong.
As to the fullness of the reasons that Wormwood may have been attatched to this, as has been said before, the Artemisias are agents which can compliment our stamina, our fortitude, our courage, and our determination… to help us not tire of thinking our choices over, to help us be free of fatigue or pain infringing on our knowledge of options, to help us not to tire of struggling and striving always, to do the best that we can.
While in the sense of misuse, Wormwood has a reputation for damaging the facilities of higher reasoning, it is nonetheless clear that in correct use, it can strengthen, and possibly heal the same facilities… If in no other way, in the way that is known to every homeopath or wiccan, that what can harm can heal, if it is used in a more proper way.
It may yet be proven that the particular nutritional properties that Artemisias may possess, many of them having their abundant seeds utilized for food by Native Americans, have particular proportions of amino acids that are also particular nourishing to the centers of higher human reasoning.
The placement of Wormwood in this position in the story of Genesis may also carry a wealth of other connotations, for Wormwood has a reputation for repelling serpents and venomous beasts, for use as an anti-venom in cases of poisonous bites, and may have earned those reputations for reasons. Likewise, this reputation seems to have been extended to an ability to ward off "sea-serpents", probably more properly an ability to fight nausea and sea-sickness, or reduce the amount of food ingested with may present a danger in such occurrances. This may also account for mugwort being the particular choice of a number of known tobacco substitutes to receive the folk name, "Sailor's Tobacco"; it may be the most effective of the lot at fighting nausea.
Like the known properties of Wormwood in relation to worms, from killing tapeworms to killing the larvae of worms when they are present in drinking water, these properties too can be observed through the Doctrine of Signatures and the worm-like or serpent-like geniculation or undulation often occurring at the base of the stem of Wormwood.
Additionally, we can fairly say that something such as this well-respected tonic is a compliment, an accessory, to our free will, through those very properties. Why do we sometimes even knowingly make wrong or poor choices? Sometimes we simply tired, or not feeling up to the task of what would be better. Sometimes we are simply not thinking clearly. It is here that Wormwood can be a "Godsend".
The abilities of Wormwood that are alluded to in the Bible of course continue… But running parallel to Paul's ideosyncratic encounters with the Ephesians and their Goddess, is the work of the Ephesian, Callimachos. Perhaps another victim of overly-literal thinking, Callimachos is historically regarded as a man, who exhibited homosexual and pedophilic tendencies, owing to the poetry of this author that survives. Still, Callimachos is the author of a rich and stirring Hymn to Artemis, far outshining the Homeric work of the same nature. That the traditions of Artemis, the proctectoress of children, would accept a token of honor from a predator is dubious.
Hence, if we grant the personage of Callimachos both the benefit of the doubt, and therefore the artistic liberty to both write simply from the point of veiw of such a predator, and to be doing so not for the sake of celebrating or glorifying such tendencies, nor creating sympathy for such a mindset… If we allow that the work of someone who has permitted to afford both lavish and insightful praise toward the patron of children has a likelihood of doing so for the sake of shining illumination into the nature of the predicament of a predator, we may see something valuable emerge.
The Epigram in question reads as follows, as taken from the modern translation by Diane Raynor and Stanley Lombardo (Callimachus: Hymns, Epigrams, Select Fragments):
"Half my soul has is breathing well,
Half's in love or gone to hell,
I can't tell which, but probably,
It's trafficking in pederastery.
Although I told those boys, "Steer clear,
Don't let that runaway come near"
I know it's flirting there, the flit,
Someone help me hunt for it".
An earlier translation from a Loeb edition by A.W. and G. R. Mair, reads similarly (Callimachus: Hymns and Epigrams/Lycophron/Aratus):
"Half of my soul still lives,
But half I know not whether Love or Death has stolen;
Only it is vanished.
Has it gone again to where the boys are?
And yet I forebade them often:
"O youths, receive not the runaway!"
There help me, someone to search;
For there somewhere of a surety flits
That lovesick one, worthy to die by stoning".
The translation by Raynor and Lombardi may lack several of the subtleties, but it is particularly fluid and evocative for the purpose, for with the line, "Who will help me hunt", we have evoked spontaneously the Ephesian patroness of hunting, Artemis, Protectoress of Children and Goddess of the Hunt. While it is speculative to merely assert that where Artemis is mentioned, her herbs will not be far behind, we can make a much stronger can than that, for many of the elements of this work reflect known properties of these herbs. "Half my soul's still breathing well" evokes the properties of these herbs for benefitting respiratory conditions (and indeed, analytically, this has already touched on a significant clue, the labored breathing associated with extreme conditions of sexuality), to the implication of astral projection or out of body travel. The various aspects of astral projection are indeed closely affiliated with at least one Artemisia; mugwort constantly appears in wiccan and pagan herbals as being a herb which can facilitate this ability.
While some of the subtleties will be foregone because of the limited scope of this discussion, note here the implication that, serendipitously or Providentially, that what can benefit astral travel may automatically exert governing influence so that the inherent possibility that the facility could be misused for voyeurism or for selection of victims is significantly offset. The larger implication of this context is that the condition in question may be caused or contributed to by what can be, for all intents and purposes, an incomplete return to the body from a (possibly involuntary) astral projection, just as the Epigram also points out the possibility that for all intents and purposes, the condition can also be approached effectively as a respiratory problem, or at least that such a condition should be initially ruled out as a contributor.
Not ironically, various Artemisias have been employed by Native Americans as remedies for loneliness in the solitary and elderly, and this is probably reflected also in the European folk names for various Artemisias that are sometimes still in use, such as "Old Man" and "Old Woman". This strikes a great chord of harmony with the term that appears in the last line of the earlier translation, "lovesick".
Even the use of the word, "flit", implying an insect, is a significant clue, owing to the greatly notorious insect-repellent properties of many if not all of the Artemisias.
Perhaps, more importantly, the issue of Volition appears here, the idea that these occurrances are happening contrary to the will of the one from whose point of view is artistically expressed here. The idea that there is a lack of control, or the perception of a lack of control is an important one; indeed, in interviewing convicted sexual offenders and questioning them as to the reasons for what they have done, one is likely to encounter again and again, in addition to those who seem incapable of grasping the conventional ethics that designate such actions as criminal offenses, for which Wormwood has previously been noted as a possible agent of assistance, such expressions as "I didn't want to, but I couldn't stop myself",
Perhaps the relevance becomes more clear if they were to express the same sentiment as "I was tired of fighting with myself", or "I was tired of fighting the urges". Tired. The same word we could hear for asking refugees why they chose to lay down along roadsides and die, "I was just too tired to continue". It is here that the stamina-promoting powers of Artemisias indeed seem pertainent.
Still, the possible values of Artemisias to oxygenate or promote oxygenation should not be overlooked, for the use of the term "flit" not only implies the Artemisias by way of their insect-repelling properties, but at present, insects are noted to be attracted, much as the predator, self-destructively or even suicidally, to danger. For the insects, this takes the form of an attraction to carbon dioxide, to the extent that researchers looking for possible disease-transmission vectors, take samplings of insect populations of areas using dry ice, which thaws to produce carbon dioxide gas, as the sole attractant. Likewise, fire consumes oxygen. We are not only advised of environments and factors that could help act as triggers for such behaviors, but even more emphatically of possible underlying biological conditions. Certainly, some of the aspects that are evoked herein may be more promising than the possibly dubious modern stragem of "chemical castoration", and indeed, the issues of gender that are highlighted may comprise a great deal of why such stragems may leave something to be desired, as well as other significant factors.
Such an association or a resemblance can also be seen as an expression of the Doctrine of Signatures, and may have been conciously noted as such by the ancients.
There are implications here that in proper use, if the thujone in Wormwood is capable of causing brain damage, much as is also said of aspirin (some physicians warn that aspirin's mechanism of relieving pain may be by killing the cells which percieve pain, and finding this leaving something to be desired without further knowledge, issue appropriate cautions), that in some applications the damage may be Selective, and perhaps in the instance in question, are capable of selectively destroying either cells that are "mis-wired" with the objectional behavioral modes in question, or those cells which may be "mis-wired" to cause the physiological symptoms which may produce many of the symptomatic behaviors.
Likewise, such lines of exploratory inquiry may also yeild great insights into mechanisms and remedialities for other undesirable or criminl behaviors.
Certainly, there is a also a great deal more relevant to the protection of children that is subsequently evoked by the piece in question, once it has helped us establish guidelines for the possible practices and perroguetives of the ancient Priestess of Artemis. This key to interpretation of that tradition alerts us to many possibilities, including the direct derivate of her identity as Mistress of the Woods, as to the likelihood that abuses may involve abductions, may occur in secluded wooded areas, and the role that unfamiliarity with the woods, the resources, and therefore the options and alternatives to compliance with abuse plays in coercion.
While all of this is highly speculative, it will nonetheless be inappropriate to suspect these things and not make them available for attention. Likewise, thujone itself and the way it is regarded still requires attention. Wormwood in significant doses is regarded as poisonous for its thujone content, in spite of the fact that it enjoys nonetheless a great deal of external medical use, finding its way into numerous topical linaments and analgesic creams. Even though it is found in combination with other analgesic agents such as methyl salicylate (oil of wintergreen) and therefore normally considered to be used in such products purely for its aromatic qualities, this would in fact be a dubious gesture, for Wormwood is not prized by many people for its aroma, quite the contrary. Additionally, Wormwood or dilutions of oil of Wormwood have the same medical properties without the additions of other analgesic agents.
Some specie of Tansy are also regarded as poisonous, again because of the considerable content of thujone.
Nonetheless, not only is Sage possessed of appreciable thujone, and normally approached without such cautionary considerations, even when quantity is considered, but Feverfew is liable to be another specie, sometimes classified amongst the Tansies (Tanacetum sp.) as opposed to the genus Chrysanthemum, which may weild considerable thujone or equivalent substances. Appropriately, Feverfew is highly prized in the treatment of migraines, and requires considerable time to work its effects, and thus may be another example of killing brain cells which particularly contribute to ailments, apparently with great selectivity. Although there are cautions about the use of Feverfew, and certainly use during pregnancy is quite possible as being strongly and emphatically contraindicated just as the Artemisias would be, it generally does not share the reputation for being "poisonous" that is often afforded to Wormwood and Tansy.
Conversely, the aromas of Wormwood and Tansy have been known to Cause migraine in susceptible individuals. There may be some potential that carried on one's person, Wormwood may affect the potential predator in such a way as to biochemically alter the tendency for predation even outside of the tonic properties, such as by inducing a severe headache or other alternation of neurotransmitters. The ancients may have observed a tendency for potenial predators to have a high incidence of this sort of response to the agents in question, although if such a reaction is consistently present, it may not at all reliably indicate this particular sense or type of personal compromise. It could occur at a high rate simply in people who are discontent with conditions in their place of employment and feel disempowered to change these conditions. But it is possible that the protective connotation of carrying Wormwood could Predominantly apply in such a context.
While this does not automatically indicate that conventional usage of sage or Feverfew are not unwise or undesirable, it may indicate that appropriately, Wormwood has once again been the victim of prejudice and been shouldered with an undeserved reputation. Likewise, while I would never personally think seriously of concocting or ingesting Absinthe, the circumstances that surround its prohibition are strikingly similar to the elements of the sensationalist process in which cannabis became a criminalized, controlled substance, the latter case being a long and tangled story of special favors afforded certain special interest groups, and ultimately of denying consitutionally-promised religious rights to various groups as well, and in this way may again be the victim of prejudice and descrimination.
Again, we can return to the Bible as the oldest recognizable source of such an attitude of ill-speaking and scapegoating.
Although the oldest versions of the Bible may be less rich in references to Wormwood, other versions still illustrate the climate that tends to surround it quite well, again, that Wormwood is disparaged in the beginning, exalted in the middle, and disparaged at the end, and it is disparaged on the exact same grounds it is disparaged… On account of its formidable bitterness.
Indeed, this is the very model of senseless prejudice, and would be preposterous and of no value outright were it not for the underlying benevolence, of alluding to its value in these very conditions by the use of such a model. Indeed, this raises an important point, because Wormwood's beauty and purpose are often times inseparable from this very bitterness, for its effects proceed by way of being a bitter tonic, whose effects Dr. Simon Mills illuminates for us, that the very taste can cause changes in the gastrointestinal system which relate to its biologically beneficial activities. It does not need to be ingested.
Likewise, appearing in the story of the Exodus in ostensibly preposterous fashion, the Biblical coverage is again something to contend with. It may indeed be preposterous to begin with that the Egyptians were keepers of slaves; time and again we find evidence of a technological prowess that, like our own, rules out the need for slaves. The Egyptians may have also been generous with knowledge even to a fault, often decorating public places with artwork which in its fashion explains many of their resources and capabilities. Much of the theme of Wormwood and bondage that is begun in Genesis points out the great ease with which Mental bondage, Mental slavery can occur. Any bondage which the Hebrew might have experienced, were they in reality so wayward, might have been of this kind, or the bondage of having families which were not as a whole able to travel. It would be much the same if at this moment I were to lead an Exodus into the desert, I will hear that the children and the elderly are in no shape to travel, and that no one can bear to leave them behind. Thus may it have been then.
Thus, again the role of Wormwood as an agent which gives stamina, eases pains, eases hunger and thirst and fatigue, which may prevent heatstoke and oxygen deficit in the desert, and which may offset the excessive counterproductive intake of carbohydrates from leaven goods by re-adjusting the uptake of carbohydrates in the intestines where it occurs, and likewise helps to procure reliable drinking water, another great issue of the story of the Exodus, and numerous other relevant purposes in addition. Rather than strengthen people to carry great and burdensome treasures across a threatening desert, they may help people to have apply higher reasoning to what it valuable, and to have entirely different priorities. Not in disagreement is the premise that, like the alchemic symbolism that occurs in the later Book of Revelations where Wormwood, not coincidentally, again appears, that knowledge and materials of alchemic gold making rule out the need to be burdened with transporting treasure, when such treasures can be fashioned at some later more convenient time. It is, appropriately, a powerful rationale to heed the Biblical Commandment not to covet.
Likewise, the punishment inflicted on the Egyptians is another dubious aspersion. If we compare the twelve plagues with the ethnobotanical records which we possess for Wormwood or other Artemisias, will we find that Artemisia has been widely known to be capable of warding off all of them entirely? Thus, rather than the portrait of an God who cannot abide in his own rules of the importance of forgiveness, we may have a portrait of a God who is willing to risk the blame for the sake of advertising these important values of Wormwood.
Additionally, in regards to the rest of the story, while again, little of it can necessarily be taken literally, there promises to be material of great value there which can be identified by the Thematic keys that are present. There is much discussion of first born children, which is not strangely appropriate to the discussion of Wormwood as a birth medicine and yet one which must be avoided during pregnancy. Just as a physical agent for facilitating any Exodus can be found in Wormwood, and the ignorance of this alone enough to cause a very real physical and geographical bondage, so too is the premise tangible that ignorance of the properties of Wormwood is enough to cause a plague of the loss of unborn children, all without any actions of Pharoahs, deities, and curses aside.
Indeed, the rationale for the exaltation of Wormwood as one of the Maror, or bitter herbs of the Passover is dubious. The idea of making a symbol of bitterness, a potential source of constant rekindling of an ancient anger seems in direct opposition to the Biblical advice that one should Not hold on to anger even until the very evening, that, literally "the sun should not set on anger", the wisdom of which can be enjoyed by any and all.
Even less purposeful seems the designation of a potential miscarriage-inducing drug as a religious sacrament, especially if it is administered or distributed without the appropriate cautions.
What is interesting is that digging deeper into this story, there is the aspect of bloodying doorways so that a curse will literally "Pass Over". By our standards, this does, and should, seem unnecessary and barbaric. What might make sense of this, however, is to recall the Doctrine of Signatures which has so often shed light on the abilities of the Artemisias as the tentative mode of the labelling of elements of Providence. The Doctrine would continually advise us that what we need will be found as close as possible to where it is needed as often as possible. One herb which we can expect to occur the closest our own doorways is Doorweed, or knotgrass (Polygonum aviculare, in the family Polygonaceae, the buckwheat family) and it does so with a rather uncanny and almost "supernatural" insistence, for it seems to favor hard-packed soils, in contradiction to the preferrences of many or most plants.
Likwise, in addition to its habit of "greying", that is, the leaves mysteriously turn a pale white, like the leaves or undersides of leaves of Artemisias, almost as often its leaves tends to turn a dark, blood red, whereby "blood" would be an appropriate euphemism, much like "eye of newt" and "wing of bat" called for in fanciful literature in witches' brews have eluded many people as being fanciful names for parts of plants.
Not surprisingly, a quick survey of ethnobotanical literature on Polygonum aviculare rapidly reveals that certain Native American peoples have indeed used this plant to prevent miscarriage! It is one of a great few at present known to possess such a property. Thus, if we are not encouraged that Wormwood is, like most plants may inevitably be, a sort of give-and-take set of properties, wherein while the leaf material may contain miscarriage-promoting substances, the seedmeal or pollen may contain material which is antidotal to this effect, or alone has the opposite affect, we may be encouraged that the addition of the Doorweed (or an appropriate, closely related specie) whose seed has often been employed as food by various peoples, may be able to offset some of the risk of miscarriage in any situation where the tonic properties of material comparable to Wormwood must be used out of sheer necessity.
Chemical studies of Polygonum aviculare reveal the presence of glutamine. This amino acid has been implicated in several studies of substances in the body which pertain to prevention of birth defects. It has been postulated that its role may pertain to countering the damaging effects of free-radicals, possibly through participation in the formation of glutathione. Glutamine also enjoys use as a hangover preventative and anti-alcoholic agent. Indeed, in retrospect, it seems easily wondered if that which can preserve an adult from some of the ravages of alcohol can play any role in protecting an unborn child from the same, or possibly the damaging effects of other substances of abuse. (This role of glutamine is also noted to have been visible through the way in which various botanicals are contextually qualified by their appearance in the Ryder Tarot, which is explored in the Tarot essays at this site).
It is noteworthy as well that to apply the Doctrine of Signatures, Polygonum aviculare, because of its characteristics, and their resemblances to Artemisias, could be considered to bear a set antidotal look-alike Signature that would announce these possibilities to the Signaturist or Ecclectic herbalist. Likwise, enthobotanical systems of classifications of plants, like those which the Navaho Indians are demonstated to have employed, might classify knotgrass "as" an Artemisia, further narrowing the seemingly unrelated natures of these plants, having the same unusual leaf characteristics and other unusual properties, and the occurance of numerous tiny flowers, a Signature which may consistently refer to infants or unborn children as well as many other meanings that it can carry.
Wormwood. A plant that is not only beautiful in appearance, but an astonishing piece of Providence, a creation that would make any creator proud... but even more than this, through its Power of Providence, be an indispensible aid to the efforts of Christian relief organizations... has unrightfully been disparaged, and even worse, ignored.
Whether at issue is Wormwood’s use in tonics and linaments, so sadly needed by refugees who are weakened and otherwise in no condition to flee to safety without unbearable pains, of rheumatism, old age, and more- and perish by the wayside as millions of refugees move on, unable to carry the fallen... Or the larvacidal power, urgently needed to purify water for the desperate thirst that drives refugees to drink vermin-infested water... Or the insect repellant power to keep disease carrying insects at a distance... or even the records of Native American use of many specie of Artemisia for food- utilizing the protien-rich and abundant seeds... or the possibilities that the prolific, drought-tolerant, and possibly nitrogen-fixing-- allowing the advance of agriculture with decreased need for fertilizers, as well as retaining water and topsoil-- plants can be used to rapidly convert sheer, shifting, barren sands into potentially fertile land in an amazingly short time... even when no monies are available to devote to such purposes, or supplies cannot be safely delivered where they are needed... or even if we are talking about the ailments and tendencies which promote the attitudes which so complicate the so-called "human condition"... Wormwood may be an answer... Just as it may have been in the eyes of the ancients, who walked and worked close to the earth, who took great pains to immortalize these facts...
Likewise, modern US Army research has taken very serious looks at another Artemisia, Sweet Annie (Artemisia annua) for its ability to combat malaria. Numerous references to respectable and scholarly literature is available in this matter, but to again look at the likelihood of overlap of properties that seem to occur in the Artemisias, it is quite reasonable to suspect that not only can this particular herb of the Goddess fight malaria, but also repel the insects which spread the disease in the first place, and even neutralize some of the factors that contribute to the breeding grounds of these insects. Thus, Sweet Annie promises to be far more than a cure for problems in "underdeveloped" areas, it may easily be proven to be prevention of such problems.
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