Moxa - Mugwort - Ai Ye - And a folk tale

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There is a Chinese folktale of long ago which tells of two sisters

who fell into the traps of a witch. One sister was eaten, but the other

escaped and hid in a tree. Although shesucceeded in overpower

the witch, the latter was transformed into nettles, thus

preventing the young girl from climbing down the tree.

A cowherd refused to help her and she had to appeal to

some shepherds , who threw a woollen quilt over the nettles.

The unfortunate girl fell awkwardly in the midst of

the nettles and was transformed into a beautiful Artemisia.

Since then, whenever one is stung by a nettle, all one needs

to do is to rub oneself with an artemisia to soothe the pain.

 

http://www.shunyata.co.uk/library/om/moxa.htm

 

Moxa is usually very inexpensive. $4 to $6 for box of 12 moxa sticks for

indirect

moxa. But, It can get very expensive. The moxa I buy for thread moxa put

directly

on the skin (direct moxa), a type of japanese therapy, is $100 for 100 grams.

Below is a description of how it is made.

 

Michael

 

Moxa is made of the dry leaves of the Artemisia vulgaris latifolia,

( Chines herb name ai ye) or common mugwort with broad leaves,

which are pluck'd off, when the Plant is very young and tender, and

hung out in the open air for a long while.

The Plant must be gather'd early in the morning, before it loses the dew,

which fell in the night, and then hung out in the air on the Westside of the

house, till it is full dry. It is afterwards laid up in the garret, and it must

be observed, that the older it is, the tenderer and better down may be

obtained from it, for which reason some keep it ten years. The preparation

of the Moxa is a matter of no great art or difficulty. In the first place,

the leaves are beaten with a pestle into the form of a coarse flax, and

then rubb'd with both hands, till they lose thecoarser fibers, and

harder membranous parts; which being done, there remains only that soft,

delicate wool.

 

 

from

http://www.luxurylane.com/thelibrary/herbsandeos/mugwort.htm

In tradition, mugwort harvested for moxibustion is gathered and dried in full

sun each summer for 8 to 9 years. Then the plants are rubbed until the downly

like fibers on the underneath side of the leaves have come off. This 'down' like

substance is sifted and packed up for moxa.

 

Even though mugwort dries in like 1/2 a day in full sun, mugwort for moxa is

prepared this way because it is believed that it absorbs the sun's fire element,

which makes the plant fibers very yang. The yang fire power is believed to be

transfered to the patient during a treatment.

http://www.acupropress.com/japanese_moxibustion.shtml