Artemisia vulgaris

Artemisia vulgaris is a perennial plant of the Asteraceae family, native to Europe, Asia, and North America. It has been used for centuries in herbal medicine and folklore for its reputed emmenagogue, digestive, and nervine properties. In homeopathy, it is prepared from the fresh flowering plant, gathered just before full bloom, and tinctured according to the methods outlined in the Homœopathic Pharmacopœia.

Traditionally used as a herbal remedy for menstrual disorders, digestive weakness, and as a protective charm in folklore. It has also been employed in moxibustion in Chinese medicine, where the dried leaves are burned over acupuncture points. In culinary contexts, mugwort has been used to flavour meats, beer, and rice cakes in Asian cuisine.

Recorded chiefly through clinical use, with early symptoms noted by Hahnemann’s contemporaries, and detailed in the works of Hering, Clarke, and Hale, based largely on observed epileptic and hysterical cases rather than formal pathogenetic provings.

• Nervous system (epilepsy, chorea, hysteria, nervous shock).
• Female reproductive system (amenorrhoea, dysmenorrhoea, hysteria linked to menses).
• Digestive organs (weak digestion, nausea).
• Senses and coordination (vertigo, tremors).
• Sleep and mental balance (post-convulsion states).

• Rest in a quiet, darkened room after convulsions.
• Gentle warmth to relieve cramps.
• Sleep after exhaustion from fits.

• Mental strain, fright, or shock.
• Suppression of menses.
• Overexertion, particularly in delicate, nervous women.
• Bright lights, noise, and excitement before fits.
• Loss of sleep.

• Cicuta virosa – More violent convulsions with opisthotonos and frothing.
• Hyoscyamus niger – More marked delirium, lasciviousness, and erratic movements.
• Ignatia amara – Emotional hysterical attacks without full convulsions.
• Cuprum metallicum – Aura in abdomen, violent spasms, cramps in calves.

• Complementary: Ignatia, Sepia.
• Antidotes: Nux vomica, Coffea.
• Follows well: Cicuta, Hyoscyamus.

A remedy for nervous system instability in sensitive, often female constitutions, where shocks to the emotions or suppression of natural functions precipitate epileptic or hysterical attacks. The combination of nervous hyper-excitability before fits and deep sleep after them is a keynote, especially when linked to menstrual irregularity.

Indispensable in menstrual epilepsy. Suited to girls approaching puberty with delayed menses and tendency to fainting or spasms. Also valuable in chorea following fright or grief. The tincture is sometimes used externally in traditional medicine for insect bites, though this is outside homeopathic usage. Potencies from 3x to 200C have been employed, higher potencies for constitutional cases.

Mind

• Hysteria from fright.
• Memory loss after fits.

Head

• Aura preceding epilepsy.
• Vertigo before menses.

Eyes

• Dim vision before attacks.
• Twitching of eyelids in chorea.

Stomach

• Nausea before convulsions.
• Appetite loss after fits.

Extremities

• Trembling in excitement.
• Weakness post-convulsion.

Generalities

• Epilepsy after fright.
• Worse before menses.

Hering – The Guiding Symptoms of Our Materia Medica: Notes on epilepsy and hysteria with menses.
Clarke – A Dictionary of Practical Materia Medica: Aura descriptions, menstrual links.
Hale – New Remedies: Clinical notes on epilepsy after fright, amenorrhoea.
Boericke – Pocket Manual: Key indications for convulsions, hysterical states.