Mugwort Helps with Remembering Dreams
April 14, 2008 by Ryan Hurd
Filed under Dream Herbs & Supplements
Mugwort has been known for ages as a reliable dream enhancing plant. I have also had good results with this mild herb that is a close relative of wormwood and has a long history of medicinal use.
In the West, mugwort was historically associated with the Greek goddess Artemis and the moon, perhaps because it stimulates blood circulation and was used chiefly to aid painful and irregular menstruation.
Of course, Artemis is one of the Greek Gods who was known to send divine dreams. In other words, mugwort, dreams and the Moon are all bundled together in an aromatic and cosmic smudge stick.
I recommend picking fresh mugwort consciously and ritualistically and placing it close to the bed, or even under your pillow before bed. Also try burning some mugwort as incense (and even smoking it – very pleasant), which can make bedtime into a ritual that will support more dream remembrance.
Here is my recommended source for mugwort, grown organically and sustainably harvested.
Twitter
Facebook
Sign Up for e-Newsletter
Kris (6 comments.) on Mon, 21st Apr 2008 1:57 pm
Hi Ryan,
If you’re up for it, would you share some details about the results you’ve experienced with mugwort and how the dreams experienced on those nights compared to your usual dreams? I tend to avoid using supplements, herbs, pharmaceutical drugs, or natural psychotropics for dreaming (just a personal choice) but I’m still interested in learning about their effects on dreams, and I’m particularly interested in the herbs that can be traced back to their use in ancient Greece and Rome.
~Kris
Dungan on Mon, 21st Apr 2008 7:33 pm
Hi Kris! I used mugwort during my last lucid dream incubations. I generally kept the fresh-picked herb on my nightstand for a three month period during which I ritualistically prepared myself for lucid dreaming. Also, the nights that I smoked mugwort turned out to have a higher occurance of lucid dreaming, but I don’t have any statistical evidence for this.
Because mugwort is so mild, its effect may be psychosomatic, ie the power of suggestion. For my purposes, that’s fine because my aim was to have more lucid dreams, period!
In my view, any ritual practice is a good way to increase dream recall and lucidity because ritual is an ancient way of channeling intentionality. Our soma gets it; it’s neurotheology in action. Not the placebo effect, the intentionality effect.
dannon (5 comments.) on Mon, 28th Apr 2008 1:15 am
Very nice,
I have smoked mugwort, burned it as an incense and drank mugwort/mint tea before going to bed. The tea is an aquired taste. I love the smell and truly feel this plant is an ally. It does increase my dream recall. I also think Artemis is a beautiful Goddess. I even thought that before I learned that she sends divine dreams (which I just learned now)
Dungan on Mon, 28th Apr 2008 10:55 am
I haven’t tried it as a tea, sounds bitter! (on a related note: Calea zacatechichi is the most bitter tea I’ve ever made, I’ve not acquired the taste for it yet).
I have brewed several beers with mugwort (using fresh mugwort leaves and flowers instead of hops) and it made a delicious brew. Great as a stout. Any dream effects? Not that I could discern, but remember alcohol can have a dampening effect on dreaming.
dannon (5 comments.) on Mon, 5th May 2008 9:44 pm
That is a good idea. I am interested in brewing some mead. A mugwort mead sounds good. I am working on some dandelion champagne right now.
Ben (4 comments.) on Tue, 27th May 2008 4:51 pm
Hey thanks for this little bit on mugwort! It’s been on my to-do list of herbs to research and possibly try out.
Dreamer on Sun, 31st Aug 2008 4:03 pm
I sometimes have dreams of things that haven’t happened yet and have never tried using mugwort, I’m very interested to know if I can grow it here in Santa Margarita California, and where I can get seeds to get started or if it grows on the freeways around here. thanks ,
Dungan on Thu, 4th Sep 2008 12:45 am
Mugwort is very common in coastal CA, dreamer, but you’ll need to scout out your perennial springs and riparian zones. It can grow in full sun or dappled shade, but likes being close to water most of all. Seeds can be found in a number of places, online and off, but I really do suggest you find some growing near where you live first. (Makes it all that more of an adventure!)
xxxxxxxxxx111 on Sat, 20th Sep 2008 9:18 pm
all this is just weird…dandelion champagne??
Dungan on Mon, 22nd Sep 2008 1:19 pm
Dear xxxxxxxx111, don’t knock it if you haven’t tried it. Natural sodas are some of the most nutritious drinks around – they’re the reason we crave carbonated drinks like cola even though today’s sodas have no value whatsoever.
I also recommend manzanita tea – mix it with a little mineral water for a refreshing cooler.
But mugwort ale is really where it’s at – minty, clean and downright magical. Just replace your hops with mugwort – they serve the same antibacterial function. dryhopping your mugwort adds another level of zing.
joelpt on Fri, 9th Jan 2009 9:25 pm
Dried mugwort herb can be obtained from any herb shop.
And I can assure you, the effects of this herb on dreaming are NOT psychosomatic (just smelling the herbs while sleeping here). In fact I don’t recommend placing it under your pillow because the effects can be so strong that it can disturb your sleep. It’s best to put them a foot or two away from your head when you sleep; adjust as desired after doing this for a week or so. It may in fact be the subtle way that mugwort disturbs your sleep that produces the heightened dream experiences — so finding the right distance/potency is part of the process.
My experience is that it takes about 2 weeks of sleeping near mugwort for the full effects of the mugwort to be witnessed in your dreams (though you’ll probably notice after just a day or two, the effect is cumulative).
Generally I have seen the following types of changes to my dreams with the use of mugwort as described:
- Much easier to remember dreams.
- More conscious awareness during dreaming (trending towards lucid dreams).
- Much more “super-fine detail” in dreams – for instance, I sometimes find an ability in my mugwort-influenced dreams to “zoom in” on a particular visual detail to a great level of detail, or I’ll be able see the fine workings of some organism or machine in exquisite detail. A good analogy is viewing a mechanical watch’s gears from a couple feet away versus having a close-up view of those gears that encompasses your whole visual range.
- A pronounced increase in bizarre dream events/content.
Dungan on Tue, 13th Jan 2009 11:10 pm
Thanks Joel for your analysis!
Mugworting It Up at Venix Flytrap’s Anticlimax on Fri, 20th Feb 2009 7:03 pm
[...] of mugwort awaiting my conversion of it into a tea or a perhaps a smudge.?? Allegedly this will enhance my dreaming experiences, make it more likely I’ll have wicked lucid dreams and [...]
Dream a little on Tue, 28th Jul 2009 10:13 pm
hello,
I’m using Mugwort right now and I found that the first night I tried it I had a lucid dream…I had it [the mugwort] in a plastic bag about four feet away from me.
Ryan Hurd (62 comments.) on Tue, 28th Jul 2009 11:01 pm
intriguing – I’m interested to know what happens when you let the mugwort out of the bag!
Dream a little on Wed, 29th Jul 2009 12:37 pm
I’ll be sure to let you know
Dream a little on Sat, 1st Aug 2009 7:36 pm
I’ve been able to remember my dreams more easily, and I continue to sleep with a small pillow of mugwort beside my bed.
no more tea though, it was keeping me up late.
super stoner on Wed, 9th Dec 2009 10:39 am
i love this herb it smells like weed and tobacco when burnt great incense great to smoke great as tea, just be carefull the tea will melt ur brain its like being clear minded and stoned at the same time so u can think plus it burns with little resin so i must not be as bad for ur lungs as other herbs like tobacco or weed
Rich on Tue, 19th Jan 2010 1:40 am
Im wondering if mugwort works just as well in a tea rather then putting on my nightstand. If so how much should i use. Im kinda new into lucid dreaming ive only had a few real lucid dreams in my life but i really enjoy having them and i would like to have them more often.
Ryan Hurd (151 comments.) on Tue, 19th Jan 2010 12:02 pm
Rich, some people report results with mugwort tea – I’ve never tried it myself. I was given a gift for the holidays tho: a mugwort tonic. It’s delicious, and I’ve been taking a teaspoon everynight before bed. Dreams are more rememorable, that’s for sure. Still hard to tell – is it my intention to remember more dreams, or is it the mugwort’s effects, or both?
Rich on Tue, 19th Jan 2010 11:38 pm
Eitherway I believe lucid dreams are good for people they help u find out about ur innerlayer of conscience
Christian on Thu, 13th May 2010 8:19 pm
Yeah I’ve always been very interested in dreams. I’ve been reading about dimethytryptamine (DMT) the past couple months and it really changes how I look at my dreams now. I recommend you all atleast search for it and get an idea of what it is. Sorry I had nothing to contribute on the mugwort topic. I smoked calea z last night and had three dreams. The second one was a lucid dream. The third was very detailed.
Ryan Hurd (151 comments.) on Thu, 13th May 2010 8:25 pm
cool to hear about the calea Z success! lucid and vivid. that stuff is so bitter – can’t recommend it as a tea.
DMT has recently been correlated with lucid dreaming — at least DMT in ayahuasca — as they both cause brain synchronization effects on the 40 hz bandwidth.
Here’s more info about DMT (an article I wrote for livestrong)
http://www.livestrong.com/article/118820-psychological-side-effects-dmt-ingestion/
Cindy on Fri, 14th May 2010 12:04 pm
I’ve decided to give mugwart a try so I just ordered some. In the meantime,the last couple of evenings I’ve made a cup of celestial seasonings tea(green and white decaf) and added nutmeg. Both nights I experienced vivid dreams and I remembered much of them. I realize now I had a lucid dream the first night. I was trying to get away from someone and I realized since I was dreaming I could simply fly away. With that thought I actually began to fly and I could control how high etc. Then I kind of forgot I was dreaming and got all involved in the rest of the dream. The tea taste very good if you sweeten it a bit-I use stevia myself.