Found in the Hermetikon archive

Wormwood

Artemisia absinthium

Wormwood appears in Hermetikon as an archive-backed plant entry, with references across historical medical, magical, symbolic, and ritual contexts where the source texts support them.

Risk: high
Books: 26
Contexts: 3
Mentions: 237

Overview Reading Contexts Citations Related Books

Archive Profile

Identity, safety, and search aliases used to connect this herb to the archive.

Herb identity

Common name: wormwood
Latin name: Artemisia absinthium(candidate)
Identity note: Absinthe references may refer to the beverage rather than the plant.

Safety

high

Thujone-containing preparations raise neurotoxicity, seizure, and pregnancy concerns.

Historical archive citations are not medical advice. Use modern clinical and poison-control sources for ingestion, dosage, pregnancy, and toxicity questions.

EMA HMPC: Thujone-containing preparations raise neurotoxicity, seizure, and pregnancy concerns.

Aliases

wormwoodabsinthiumArtemisia absinthium

Wormwood in Historical Sources

Curated archive synthesis of recurring uses, recipes, rituals, and interpretive problems.

Hermetikon's curated reading of Wormwood (Artemisia absinthium) is built from 3 source-linked archive notes and 2 preparation or ritual-use entries. The strongest recurring contexts are medicine, ritual uses, and safety. Each note below links back to the archive source used for the claim.

Medicine

high

Culpeper classifies wormwood as cleansing and wind-expelling, placing it near beet, pellitory, garlic, dill, chamomile, fennel, and juniper.

Culpeper's Complete Herbal | Nicholas Culpeper | 1653

A CATALOGUE OF SIMPLES IN THE NEW DISPENSATORY.

Ritual

high

Frazer records a smoke-charm in which holy oil, laurel leaves, and wormwood are thrown on coals to stupefy witches in the clouds.

The Golden Bough | James George Frazer | 1913

Â§ 3. The Purificatory Theory of the Fire-festivals.

Safety

medium

The archive has both plant and absinthe language for wormwood; the strongest Artemisia evidence is distinct from beverage references and plant preparations.

King's American Dispensatory | Harvey Wickes Felter | 1854

Page 1184

Preparations and ritual uses

Aromatic wine

high

King's aromatic wine uses wormwood with lavender, origanum, peppermint, rosemary, and sage in stronger white wine.

King's American Dispensatory | Harvey Wickes Felter | 1854

Page 1184

Witch-smoke

high

Frazer records wormwood thrown with holy oil and laurel leaves on glowing charcoal so the smoke will stupefy witches.

The Golden Bough | James George Frazer | 1913

Â§ 3. The Purificatory Theory of the Fire-festivals.

Wormwood Archive Contexts

Compact source patterns from the extracted citation set.

Astrology

3 passages across 3 books; strongest source: Encyclopaedia of Antiquities.

Matched as wormwood; high confidence.

Preparation

11 passages across 11 books; strongest source: Balder the Beautiful, Volume I.

Matched as wormwood; high confidence.

Safety

1 passage across 1 book; strongest source: Anatomy of Melancholy.

Matched as wormwood; high confidence.

Wormwood Cited Excerpts

Representative public passages with the herb mention highlighted and linked to archive source material.

5 shown

Culpeper's Complete Herbal

Nicholas Culpeper

1653

"...Suppure.* Mallows, Marsh-mallows, White Lily leaves, &c. *Cleanse.* Pimpernel, Southernwood, Sparagus, Cetrach, Arrach, Wormwood, Beet, Pellitory of the Wall, Chamepitis, Dodder, Liverwort, Horehound, Willow leaves, &c. *Glutinate.* Marsh-mallows, Pimpernel, Centaury, Chamepitis, Mallows, Germander, Horsetail, Agrimony, Maudlin, Strawberry leaves, Woad-chervil, Plantain, Cinquefoil, Comfry, Bugle, Self-heal, Woundwort, Tormentil, Rupture-wort, Knot-grass, Tobacco. *Expel wind.* Wormwood, Garlick, Dill, Smallage, Chamomel, Epithimum, Fennel, Juniper, Marjoram, Or..."

A CATALOGUE OF SIMPLES IN THE NEW DISPENSATORY.Open in Reader

Preparationalias: wormwoodhigh confidence

King's American Dispensatory

Harvey Wickes Felter

1854

"...fluid drachms. VINUM AROMATICUM.— AROMATIC WINE. Preparation. — Take of lavender, origanum, peppermint, rosemary, sage, wormwood, of each, 1 part; stronger white wine, a sufficient quantity to make 100 parts. "Mix the solid ingredients, and reduce them to a coarse (No. 20) powder. Moisten the powder with 4 parts of stronger white wine, pack it moderatelj' in a conical class percolator, and gradually pour enough stronger white wine upon it to make' the tiltcn-.l li, |ui(l weigh 100 parts"— (f. 8. P., 1880). Action and Medical Uses. — This preparation was one of a..."

Page 1184Open in Reader

Preparationalias: wormwoodhigh confidence

The Family Herbal

John Hill

1755

"...better than all the plaisters in the world. Conserves should be made of rue, mint, scurvy-grass, wood-sorrel, and Roman wormwood. As to the four first, the leaves are to be picked off from the stalks, and beaten up with three times the weight of sugar. The tops of the young shoots of the latter are to be cut off, and they are to be beat up in the same manner. In the course of this work, many plants will be named, the green tops of which contain their virtue, these may all be made into conserves in the same manner, or as many of them added to those here named, as..."

Page 40Open in Reader

Preparationalias: wormwoodhigh confidence

The Golden Bough

James George Frazer

1913

"...the Redeemer's blood.” Also he brings out a pot of glowing charcoal on which he has thrown holy oil, laurel leaves, and wormwood to make a smoke. The fumes are supposed to ascend to the clouds and stupefy the witches, so that they tumble down to earth. And in order that they may not fall soft, but may hurt themselves very much, the yokel hastily brings out a chair and tilts it bottom up so that the witch in falling may break her legs on the legs of the chair. Worse than that, he cruelly lays scythes, bill-hooks and other formidable weapons edge upwards so as to ..."

Â§ 3. The Purificatory Theory of the Fire-festivals.Open in Reader

Preparationalias: wormwoodhigh confidence

The Golden Bough

James George Frazer

1890

"...Redeemerâ€™s blood.â€ Also he brings out a pot of glowing charcoal on which he has thrown holy oil, laurel leaves, and wormwood to make a smoke. The fumes are supposed to ascend to the clouds and stupefy the witches, so that they tumble down to earth. And in order that they may not fall soft, but may hurt themselves very much, the yokel hastily brings out a chair and tilts it bottom up so that the witch in falling may break her legs on the legs of the chair. Worse than that, he cruelly lays scythes, bill-hooks, and other formidable weapons edge upwards so as to..."

3. The Purificatory Theory of the Fire-festivalsOpen in Reader

Preparationalias: wormwoodhigh confidence

Books Mentioning Wormwood

Complete public source inventory, placed after the interpretive reading so the page opens with the most useful synthesis first.

26 books

Culpeper's Complete Herbal

Nicholas Culpeper | 1653

wormwoodabsinthium

135 mentionscited

Anatomy of Melancholy

Robert Burton | 1621

Archive Profile

Herb identity

Safety

Aliases

Wormwood in Historical Sources

Medicine

Ritual

Safety

Preparations and ritual uses

Aromatic wine

Witch-smoke

Wormwood Archive Contexts

Astrology

Preparation

Safety

Wormwood Cited Excerpts

Culpeper's Complete Herbal

King's American Dispensatory

The Family Herbal

The Golden Bough

The Golden Bough

Related Archive Material

Related herbs

Books Mentioning Wormwood