The following is a mix of fact and personal practice.
Grandmother Mugwort. In my practice she is the ancestor of most of our plant medicine, and a great healer and protector.
“Remember, Mugwort, what you made known,
What you arranged at the Great proclamation.
You were called Una, the oldest of herbs,
you have power against three and against thirty,
you have power against poison and against infection,
you have power against the loathsome foe roving through the land.”
– The Lacnunga
Una is one of her names, and potentially Luna as another.
In an archived document at The Institute for Language and Folklore in Uppsala, there is another piece of lore that helps us understand her.
“Kallar du mig Gråbo,
Botar jag hvarken kuna eller ko;
Men kallar du mig Luna,
botar jag både din ko och din kona”
English:
“If you call me Mugwort,
I will cure neither wife nor cow;
But if you call me Luna,
I will cure both your cow and your wife.”
It is worth noting however that in this piece the handwriting appears to say “Duna” in cursive, but the association with Mugwort and the moon has been long standing and many translation use the name Luna if one does not use the name Una, so I imagine she finds this name more than acceptable.
What these pieces of lore teach us about working with this strong grandmother spirit is that she demands you use her spirit name if you are going to work with her for healing (physically or spiritually). She has a protocol to being approached and a level of respect that is demanded. In the same document it is noted that these names were used as a way to not disrespect the plant, and were likely used specifically as a way to avoid using a different term or name altogether, likely with some sort of consequence if this was ignored.
Luckily, I do not believe this taboo name for her was Mugwort, so I do still call her this in casual conversation. However, her true name is one that I do use if I need to wake Grandmother up to ask her for help. She is a magical plant regardless, but she is a present in a very unique way once you call her by name.
