At a glance
- Common name
- Wormwood
- Botanical name
- Artemisia absinthium
- Family
- Asteraceae
- Parts mentioned in historical records
- Leaves and flowering tops
- Traditional correspondences
- Mars / Saturn; Fire / Air
Historical record
Recorded in ancient Egyptian papyri (1600 BCE) as an intestinal cleanser. Famous as the signature herbal ingredient in 19th-century bohemian Parisian Absinthe, the 'Green Fairy'.
Folklore and mythology
Burned on smoldering charcoal during necromantic or spirit-calling rites to summon and commune with departed ancestors. Placed in clothes wardrobes to destroy moths and parasitic insects.
Named after Artemis, yet associated with the bitter waters of divine retribution. In the Biblical Book of Revelation, the fallen star 'Wormwood' turns a third of the Earth's waters poisonously bitter.
Tradition: Biblical & Slavic Lore Associated figures: Artemis & Chernobog / Underworld Spirits
In the Book of Revelation, the fallen star named Wormwood turns waters bitter; in Slavic myth, associated with rustic Rusalki water nymphs and ancestral dead.
Burned in necromantic censers to open the veil and converse with ancestral spirits; scattered in threshold entrances to repel malevolent apparitions.
Mystical correspondences
Correspondences vary by tradition and source.
Safety first
Historical and spiritual associations do not establish that Wormwood is safe or effective. Do not use this page as instructions for ingesting, smoking, inhaling, or applying Wormwood.
This page is lore only. Do not purchase or use Wormwood.
For current safety information, check a health authority or ask a qualified clinician or pharmacist, especially during pregnancy or lactation, while taking medication, or with an allergy or health condition.