Artemisia absinthium: Difference between revisions

[unchecked revision]

[checked revision]

Latest revision as of 00:37, 22 May 2026

Plant Medicine, Rhapsodica

Artemisia absinthium

Wormwood, absinthe, la Fée Verte, the Green Muse

Wormwood is the bitter herb of Pendell's Rhapsodica, "where seeds of song are sown." Its thujone produces a clarifying agitation distinct from alcohol's depressant fog, which is why absinthe was the drink of Rimbaud, Baudelaire, Verlaine, Van Gogh, and the Paris bohemians. Banned in most of Europe and the US through the 20th century on dubious science; legal again in the EU and US since the 2000s.

Experience

👥 No personal reports yet

⚕ No clinical reports yet

Log in to add your own experience.

Problems

No problems yet. Be the first to suggest one.

+ Add a problem

Titration strategies

No titration strategies yet. Be the first to suggest one.

+ Add a titration strategy

Effects

No effects listed yet. Be the first to suggest one.

+ Add an effect

Relevant anecdote

No anecdotes yet. Share a relevant one.

+ Add an anecdote

Relevant Literature

No literature entries yet.

Log in to submit relevant literature.

References

Summary

Classes

Plant Medicine, Rhapsodica

Common uses

Creative stimulant (in absinthe)0, Vermifuge0

Pharmacy

Starting dose

A measured pour of absinthe diluted 5:1 with cold water over sugar (the louche ritual)

Preparations

Dried leaves; absinthe liqueur (120–160 proof, with hyssop, lemon balm, fennel, anise, sometimes Acorus calamus)

Pharmacology

Routes

Oral

Legal status

Currently legal in most jurisdictions with thujone limits

Purported mechanism

Active principle is thujone, a GABA-A antagonist (the opposite of most CNS depressants). Also present in cooking sage (Salvia officinalis), tansy, and Thuja cedars.

“Pendell's corner

Absinthe can excite sexuality, stimulate ideas and conversation, or dissolve the brain. Difficult choices, indeed.

— Dale Pendell, Pharmako/Poeia

@@ Line 8: / Line 8: @@
 | routes = Oral
 | mechanism = Active principle is thujone, a GABA-A antagonist (the opposite of most CNS depressants). Also present in cooking sage (''Salvia officinalis''), tansy, and ''Thuja'' cedars.
-| intro = Wormwood is the bitter herb of [[Pendell]]'s Rhapsodica — "where seeds of song are sown." Its thujone produces a clarifying agitation distinct from alcohol's depressant fog, which is why absinthe was the drink of Rimbaud, Baudelaire, Verlaine, Van Gogh, and the Paris bohemians. Banned in most of Europe and the US through the 20th century on dubious science; legal again in the EU and US since the 2000s.
+| intro = Wormwood is the bitter herb of [[Pendell]]'s Rhapsodica, "where seeds of song are sown." Its thujone produces a clarifying agitation distinct from alcohol's depressant fog, which is why absinthe was the drink of Rimbaud, Baudelaire, Verlaine, Van Gogh, and the Paris bohemians. Banned in most of Europe and the US through the 20th century on dubious science; legal again in the EU and US since the 2000s.
 | legal = Currently legal in most jurisdictions with thujone limits
 | seealso = [[Calea zacatechichi]]
@@ Line 15: / Line 15: @@
 {{PendellsCorner
-| quote  = Bitter star, the green hour, the spoon and the slotted glass &mdash; absinthe was the brewer's variation on a plant the herbalists had been brewing for two thousand years before the bohemians made it the muse of Paris. Wormwood is not the thujone alone; she is the bitterness that the bitterness was for.
+| quote  = Absinthe can excite sexuality, stimulate ideas and conversation, or dissolve the brain. Difficult choices, indeed.
 | volume = Poeia
-| voice  = curated paraphrase &mdash; replace with verbatim passage
 }}
 [[Category:Rhapsodica]]
-[[Category:Plant Medicines]]
+[[Category:Plants]]
 [[Category:Medicines]]