The fifth day of the fifth month in the lunar calendar is our traditional Dragon Boat Festival. On this day, according to custom, besides eating zongzi (sticky rice dumplings), people also hold a series of activities to ward off evil and avoid misfortune. May is considered an ominous month in folk beliefs, often referred to as the “poisonous month.” By this time, summer has gradually set in, the weather grows hotter, and pests and various bacteria multiply rapidly, leading to the proliferation of miasma, making people highly susceptible to illness. To cope with the ominous month and avoid being tainted by disease, on Dragon Boat Festival, every household would gather mugwort from the fields, either hanging it up, wearing it, using it for cleansing, or consuming it to ward off evil, expel toxins, and maintain health.
Mugwort, also known as mugwort leaf, mugwort herb, common mugwort, Chinese mugwort, sweet wormwood, fragrant mugwort, medicinal grass, moxa, etc., belongs to the Asteraceae family and is a perennial herb that commonly grows along roadsides, in mountain gullies, fields, hillsides, and other uncultivated areas. The fifth month of the lunar calendar is the optimal period for the market availability of mugwort, when the leaves are both tender and juicy, as well as lush and robust. Whether used medicinally or as food, they can exert their maximum efficacy during this time.
According to Traditional Chinese Medicine, mugwort leaves have a warm nature, a pungent taste, and a fragrant aroma. They enter the liver, spleen, and kidney meridians and have the effects of regulating qi and blood, expelling cold and dampness, promoting circulation, warming the meridians to relieve pain, reducing swelling and dispersing nodules, stopping bleeding and stabilizing pregnancy, restoring yang to save from collapse, killing parasites and relieving itching, stopping diarrhea, and alleviating depression. They are particularly effective for conditions such as rheumatism and arthralgia due to deficiency and cold in the elderly, discomfort in the limbs and joints, pain in the lower back and legs, cold and pain in the abdomen in women, irregular menstruation due to cold, infertility due to cold uterus, excessive menstrual bleeding, metrorrhagia and leukorrhea, and more.
Moxibustion with Mugwort Treats Illnesses and Prolongs Life
Mugwort can treat a hundred diseases through moxibustion and is a valuable herb for doctors. As early as in “The Book of Mencius – Li Lou Chapter,” there was a saying: “For a seven-year illness, seek three-year-old mugwort.” In “Compendium of Materia Medica,” Li Shizhen wrote: “Mugwort drives away cold and dampness; for those with weak Qi in the Dan Tian region and cold in the chest and abdomen, place aged mugwort in a cloth and apply it to the abdomen and umbilicus. The benefits are indescribable.” Ancient people emphasized that “aged mugwort is the best,” and the moxa sticks and cones used in moxibustion are primarily made from aged mugwort. Moxibustion not only treats illnesses but also prolongs life. Sun Simiao in the Tang Dynasty frequently used mugwort to warm the Zusanli acupoint, and he lived to be over 100 years old.
Regularly applying moxibustion to points such as Zusanli, Qihai, and the navel (Shenque acupoint) has the effect of warming yang and cultivating primordial energy, preventing illness and maintaining health. Modern medical research has confirmed that moxibustion can regulate gastrointestinal motility, dilate and contract blood vessels, promote adrenal secretion, and enhance immune function. Regular moxibustion of health points can make one feel comfortable throughout the body, clear-minded and refreshed, and achieve the effect of strengthening the body.
Burning Mugwort Repels Insects and Prevents Illness
There is a saying: “Always keep mugwort at home, and neither young nor old will suffer from illness.” During Dragon Boat Festival, there is also a custom in China of collecting and inserting mugwort leaves and wearing sachets to repel insects and ward off evil.
After Dragon Boat Festival, summer arrives, and mosquitoes and flies proliferate, with illnesses spreading. Therefore, paying attention to environmental hygiene is crucial at this time. Plants like mugwort and calamus contain various volatile aromatic oils, which have insect-repelling and bactericidal effects. They are essential ingredients for producing mosquito repellents and disinfectant incense, which are very beneficial for dispelling foul odors and purifying the air. Collecting some mugwort leaves and placing them on doorways can kill pests and eliminate toxins and repel mosquitoes and flies.
A proverb once circulated among the people: “Having three years' worth of mugwort at home means no need for a doctor.” The smoke produced by burning mugwort can effectively inhibit the spread of multiple pathogens in the air and is harmless to humans and animals. Modern scientific research has proven that the water-soluble components in mugwort, such as camphene and thujone, have certain bactericidal and inhibitory effects against Mycobacterium tuberculosis, Salmonella typhi, Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, Corynebacterium diphtheriae, adenovirus, influenza virus, herpesvirus, and others. Using mugwort smoke is also a good method for disinfecting and sterilizing homes. During the plum rain season and when flu is prevalent, using 1-5 grams of mugwort per square meter, smoking it for 0.5-1 hour, and repeating this 1-2 times a week can significantly reduce the number of common pathogenic bacteria, viruses, and fungi, playing a certain role in disease prevention.
Mugwort Water Relieves Dampness and Itching
In daily health care and therapeutic practices, there are even more external uses for mugwort. Applying decoctions or mugwort oil externally, inhaling the scent, bathing, and soaking feet can have effects such as relieving asthma and coughing, dispelling dampness and itching, and aiding sleep.
Taking a bath with mugwort water in the summer not only removes sweat odor and leaves the body with a faint fragrance but also relieves itching and dampness, prevents mosquito bites, and has unexpected effects on folliculitis, eczema, and skin pruritus. For instance, taking a decoction of an appropriate amount of mugwort, ginger, jujubes, and brown sugar can alleviate dysmenorrhea symptoms; taking a decoction of 50 grams of mugwort, 2 eggs, and an appropriate amount of sugar can be consumed before bedtime to warm the kidneys and aid sleep; postpartum women using mugwort water for bathing or fumigation can help regulate qi and blood and assist in the elimination of lochia. Young women who spend a lot of time in air-conditioned rooms in summer can drink tea made from mugwort to dispel internal cold and dampness and prevent rheumatic joint disease. Regularly washing hair with mugwort water can also help control oiliness, dandruff, and prevent hair loss. Boiling mugwort decoction and using it to fumigate joints is a common folk method for treating arthritis.
Furthermore, soaking feet in mugwort water before bedtime every night can remove internal false fire, nourish yin and supplement the kidneys, and relieve fatigue; using mugwort and ginger to soak feet can be used for wind-cold colds, arthritis, bronchitis, asthma, and other conditions; using mugwort and safflower to soak feet can improve blood circulation and alleviate numbness or stasis in the hands and feet; using mugwort and salt to soak feet is suitable for those with excess heat in the upper part of the body and can relieve toothache, throat pain, irritability, cold in the lower part of the body, swelling in the legs and feet, and other symptoms; using mugwort and Sichuan pepper to soak feet can treat sweaty feet, foot odor, athlete's foot, eczema, and other conditions.
However, although mugwort is excellent, individuals with a constitution characterized by damp-heat, yin deficiency and yang exuberance, or blood heat should use or avoid mugwort with caution. Additionally, pregnant women experiencing unexplained bleeding or abdominal pain should consult a doctor for diagnosis and use under professional guidance.
Mugwort Food Recommendations
Mugwort is not only a widely used medicinal herb but also a common wild vegetable. The mugwort in the fifth month of the lunar calendar is both tender and robust and can be used to make dishes such as mugwort glutinous rice balls, mugwort wontons, mugwort porridge, and mugwort omelets. Depending on different constitutions, mugwort can be combined with different medicinal herbs and ingredients to create medicinal diets for therapeutic and health-maintenance purposes. Below are several common mugwort porridge recipes, each with its own benefits, so why not give them a try?
Sweet Mugwort Soup
15 grams of mug