DOSE:

1 drop

Mugwort

(extract)

BODY WEIGHT:

151 lb

PSA: When I say “mugwort oil,” I do NOT mean essential oil. Do not apply essential oils directly to your skin. By “mugwort oil,” I mean an extract of mugwort herb via some gentle carrier oil, like olive or almond oil.

A buddy of mine was showing off her stash of herbs when I spotted a small vial of “mugwort oil.” I was only familiar with mugwort’s aqueous and alcoholic extracts, so I pointed out the oil and asked about it. Said buddy quickly opened the cap and placed a drop on my wrist, perfume-style. She began to tell me a story about how she had got it from some witchy artisan in some witchy boutique, but I had stopped listening—I was already nose-deep in my wrists. “Oh, I am INTO this!” The smell was sharp, cold, and very pretty—minty up front with undertones of that weird, earthy twang that I associate with mugwort. I spent the rest of the evening sneaking little sniffs here and there, thinking little of it…but that night, I found myself in a lucid dream shortly after falling asleep, with vivid dreams throughout the night.

Now, I had built a novice dreaming practice at this point, and I almost never dreamt lucidly before the latter half of the night—science suggests that this is due to the increased amount of REM vs deep sleep that occurs as the night goes on. I told my friend about my experience after waking, and she filled me in a bit more…

Apparently, the oil was her preferred way of getting the effects of mugwort. She found (and I agreed) that even small amounts of mugwort tincture could be too intense and last too long, with noticeable effects for days after ingestion. Indeed, I had given mugwort a wide berth since trying a couple drops of the tincture—they had made me so emotionally sensitive that I felt a bit of a mess during the day. The tincture had helped me dream for sure, but I couldn’t hack the side-effects. Smelling the oil, however, offered a milder yet still-effective portal to dreamland.

For science’s sake, I waited another day until my dreams became less vivid and returned to baseline before returning to the oil to play around. I came to a solid, two-step method:

1. APPLY ONE DROP OF MUGWORT OIL ON THE UPPER LIP BEFORE SLEEPING.
2. SLEEP.

The first night was all anxiety dreams, half-awake dreams, and dreams of being late—every one as clear and memorable as the waking day. The next night was just as vivid, but with more of my normal dream content. By the third day of sleeping with the oil under my nose, I could count on one or two lucid dreams in the second half of the night. After that third day I stopped using the oil, but I was still dreaming lucidly and vividly for nights to come —I guess once my dreaming muscles were “warmed up,” I didn’t need the oil’s help as much. I will say that my sleep quality was markedly low during those first few days, and I felt tired during the day. (I believe I was missing out in deep sleep in favor for a night of full REM.) That said, my sleep was deep as ever on the night I stopped applying the oil, and I retained dream vividness without losing sleep quality in the days that followed.

I feel like it can be hard to get into lucid dreaming, and the oft-recommended oneirogenic teas/tinctures can be finicky. I’d like to boost inhaled mugwort oil as a low-risk, low-skill lucid dreaming tool.

Exp Year: 2023	ExpID: 117812
Gender: Not Specified
Age at time of experience: 25
Published: Feb 6, 2024	Views: 15
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Mugwort (292), Dreams (85) : Retrospective / Summary (11), Preparation / Recipes (30), General (1), Alone (16)