croneswort

if you read my article on self heal/self love, you will already know my approach to plant medicine. essentially, i commune with plants and interpret their spiritual medicine for us humans. full disclosure, i did not plan on sharing about the plants in this depth at this particular time. the plants i am sharing about are very much directing this process.

*note: i intentionally use various pronouns for croneswort. the reason being to provide opportunity for you to feel into these various options and find what feels aligned for you. it may change depending on the occasion or circumstance.

croneswort would love to introduce herself to you. she is most commonly known as mugwort. croneswort is a bushy plant that can grow a few meters tall. the tops of their leaves are dark green and the underside is said to reflect the light of the moon in colour. his unique leaf shape with simple vein signature resembles the pathways in the brain. her flowers are abundant, tiny, simple, white and yellow. their medicine is to unite both hemispheres of the brain, initiating and balancing both the deductive process of knowing and the intuitive process of knowing. highlighting the value of particular time and space for linear and non-linear processing. furthermore, the merging of the two hemispheres of the brain activates the entire limbic system, as it parts come in a pair, one on each hemisphere of the brain. this activation is a doorway to the third eye. in the truest sense of the word, a crone is a master of merging her intuition and logic to see with her third eye, isn’t she? if you’ve ever had the privilege of being in the presence of a wise crone, these attributes are sure to be remembered; a penetrating gaze, lazer-beam consciousness and untraceable wild wacky wisdom. hmmm these attributes share some similarities to the third eye, don’t they? a crone is someone who resonates with the law of trinity. hemisphere one, hemisphere two and the merging manifested through the third eye.

linking this to evolutionary astrology, the correlations to the gemini and sagittarius axis are remarkably obvious. in an over-arching way, gemini correlates to the left hemisphere of the brain (deductive logic) and sagittarius correlates to the right hemishpere of the brain (intuitive knowing). when these polarities are balanced, wisdom is the result. one without the other is simply knowing. when any planetary archetype/sign in astrology is focused on itself without an integration of its polarity point, the shadow aspects of that archetype/sign run rampant. bear in mind that i am speaking to this plant and this nodal axis in general terms and it is up to each individual to carve out their own path of knowing/wisdom that is true for them while leaving space for others to do the same.

its no secret that we are thousands of years deep in a patriarchal age and only just beginning to dismantle this. in her wisdom, croneswort knows that we already have developed a familiarity and ease with our left brain. she is here now to assist us in balancing this with our right brain; the left-hand path.

circling back to her widely known name, “mug” actually is an old english derogatory slang referring to someone who is stupid and gullible. now, i don’t know the whole origin story, however i certainly will speak on behalf of this plant: this name is an insult! it is an example of patriarchal violence against the natural unity of masculine and feminine/yin and yang and the inherent androgyny in nature. the oppression of intuitive logic.

the word “crone” is defined as an unpleasant/cruel ugly old woman who is said to have magical powers. most of us are familiar with the ridiculously problematic cartoon ‘snow white’, where an ugly old woman feeds her a poisonous apple. this is an example of the crone symbolism that permeates our collective consciousness/unconsciousness, as it is an accurate reflection of humanity’s shallow understanding of the crone. i am exercising caution here because i dare not oppress the fluctuating nature and many faces of the crone, which certainly can be ugly, cruel and unpleasant. what is the crone’s intent in representing this? possibly to convey the wisdom of full spectrum reality. teaching us not to bypass the evolutionary gifts that reside in the ugly, cruel and unpleasant parts of life. a true crone has walked the left hand path long enough to know that a particular dose of poison is medicine for the soul. she cackles at it.

croneswort poem:

croneswort on my head

my heart

my womb

third eye opens wide

in this cauldron of communion

the wild unruly one

stirs the cosmic soup

seeing through duality

poison and medicine

two sides of the same coin

what’s that in your hand?

the coin of liberation?

BAHAHAHA!