CRONEWORT

SELF-CARE CAN BE AS SIMPLE AS BREATHING IN CRONEWORT

There are mornings when I rise with the weight of a thousand small tasks pressing on me before the sun has even touched the horizon. My thoughts scatter in different directions, tugging me away from myself. On those mornings, I’ve learned not to run faster into the day, but to pause. To sit in stillness with an old ally: Mugwort. In folk tradition, mugwort was known as CRONEWORT, the herb of wisdom and dreams. 

Mugwort came into my life not as a bold teacher, but as a protective and grounding one.  My first connection to her came through stories shared by my herbal friends about their use of her in dream work. While I’ve never leaned into her in that way, her leaves, silvery beneath, tell a story of the memory of moonlight. For me, she has become a calming ally, a steadying, grounding presence.

When I turned fifty, several dear friends gifted me bundles of Mugwort. Those bundles felt like more than gifts; they were blessings, a recognition that Mugwort wished to walk with me as I stepped into a new season of life. I still keep those bundles hanging. 

When the morning feels hurried, I reach for them. I run my hands along the leaves, clasp my palms over my nose, and breathe her in slowly. Then I settle into the CRONE Breathe of 3 practice with three intentional breaths that pull me back into my body. Her scent is sweet, earthy and grounding, a breath of the land itself. 

WISDOM OF THE LEAF: CALIFORNIA MUGWORT (ARTEMISIA DOUGLASIANA)

Mugwort’s medicine stretches far beyond my own garden. For generations she has been called upon to calm the nervous system, clear the mind, and open the way for dreams and visions. In Traditional Chinese Medicine, her dried leaves are formed into what is called moxa and burned close to the skin to bring gentle heat into the body. This practice, known as moxibustion, has been used for centuries to warm and circulate energy, to ease pain, and to guide the body’s healing rhythms. 

I’ve always been touched by the way Mugwort shows up as a midwife’s ally in these traditions, used even to help turn a breech baby in the womb. She has also been called upon to support menstrual cycles, strengthen immunity, and nourish those with chronic conditions. Even though my own relationship with Mugwort is rooted in Humboldt soil and in the act of breathing her in, I honor that her wisdom is wide, with stories carried across continents and centuries. Whether held in the palm, tied in a bundle, or shaped into glowing moxa, she offers herself again and again as a guide toward balance and renewal.

CRONE REFLECTION

Self-care does not always look like grand rituals or long practices. Sometimes it is the pause, the breath, the hand resting on a plant ally. Mugwort teaches us that wisdom begins in rooted presence, and that even a minute with her can shift the course of an entire day.

To CRONE, Mugwort is both a protector and a guide, whispering:

“Root down, listen deeply, walk clear into what is ahead.”