Protective Mugwort Bundle
Mugwort (àiyè 艾叶) bundle gathered ceremonially on the 5th day of the 5th lunar month (this year on May 31st, 2025) for the Dragon Boat Festival (Duanwu Festival), traditionally gathered to protect against evil forces as well as insects and other dangerous, venomous creatures. It is a double yang day, associated with Summer Solstice qi.
Orders received before May 31st will be gathered on May 31st.
Orders received after May 31st will be gathered at noon on a subsequent day.
About My Plants
I grow five different kinds of artemisias (mugworts, a member of the daisy family) in my organic gardens. This bundle will be made primarily ofartemisia vulgaris with a bit of artemisia ludoviciana and possibly a bit of californica (sage brush). This tradition is adapted to the Zone 8b bioregion of Portland, Oregon which is on the traditional lands of the Chinook-speaking peoples (Multnomah, Clackamas, Cathlamet, Wasco + others), Kalapuya, Molalla, Cowlitz and Watlala (Upper Chinook).
How to Use
This bundle is affixed to doorways (on, above, or beside) for protection. If it falls off, you can burn or compost it, as it has done its job, and you can replace it the following year.
Traditionally, this prayer is chanted while hanging the bundle:
五月五日午, 天师骑艾虎;
手持菖蒲剑, 蛇虫归地府
Wǔ yuè wǔ rì wǔ, tiān shī qí àihǔ;
shǒuchí chāngpú jiàn, shé chóng guī dìfǔ
Translation:
At Noon on the fifth day of the fifth month, The Celestial Master Zhang Daoling Rides his Mugwort (àiyè) Tiger.
In his hand he holds his sweet flag (chāngpú) sword, snakes and worms (and other deadly venomous creatures) return to their place in the earth.
This is a bundle informed by my training in Parting Clouds Daoist Education.
Bundles are free for Parting Clouds members, you pay only for shipping. Use code AIYE at checkout.
Origins
The origin of the Dragon Boat Festival (端午节, Duānwǔ Jié) is traditionally linked to the death of Qu Yuan (屈原), a patriotic poet and minister from the State of Chu during the Warring States period (c. 340–278 BCE). However, the festival likely predates him, with shamanic and agricultural roots tied to seasonal protection rituals.
Before the Qu Yuan story became dominant, the 5th lunar month was considered dangerous and inauspicious. The festival developed as a way to repel disease and evil spirits during summer heat and pestilence, honor water deities and dragons, who were believed to control rainfall and rivers, and appease spirits and seek protection with mugwort, calamus, realgar wine, and talismans. Dragon imagery, herb-hanging, and ritual races are part of pre-Confucian, possibly Wu (巫) shamanistic traditions, especially in southern China.
Mugwort (àiyè 艾叶) bundle gathered ceremonially on the 5th day of the 5th lunar month (this year on May 31st, 2025) for the Dragon Boat Festival (Duanwu Festival), traditionally gathered to protect against evil forces as well as insects and other dangerous, venomous creatures. It is a double yang day, associated with Summer Solstice qi.
Orders received before May 31st will be gathered on May 31st.
Orders received after May 31st will be gathered at noon on a subsequent day.
About My Plants
I grow five different kinds of artemisias (mugworts, a member of the daisy family) in my organic gardens. This bundle will be made primarily ofartemisia vulgaris with a bit of artemisia ludoviciana and possibly a bit of californica (sage brush). This tradition is adapted to the Zone 8b bioregion of Portland, Oregon which is on the traditional lands of the Chinook-speaking peoples (Multnomah, Clackamas, Cathlamet, Wasco + others), Kalapuya, Molalla, Cowlitz and Watlala (Upper Chinook).
How to Use
This bundle is affixed to doorways (on, above, or beside) for protection. If it falls off, you can burn or compost it, as it has done its job, and you can replace it the following year.
Traditionally, this prayer is chanted while hanging the bundle:
五月五日午, 天师骑艾虎;
手持菖蒲剑, 蛇虫归地府
Wǔ yuè wǔ rì wǔ, tiān shī qí àihǔ;
shǒuchí chāngpú jiàn, shé chóng guī dìfǔ
Translation:
At Noon on the fifth day of the fifth month, The Celestial Master Zhang Daoling Rides his Mugwort (àiyè) Tiger.
In his hand he holds his sweet flag (chāngpú) sword, snakes and worms (and other deadly venomous creatures) return to their place in the earth.
This is a bundle informed by my training in Parting Clouds Daoist Education.
Bundles are free for Parting Clouds members, you pay only for shipping. Use code AIYE at checkout.
Origins
The origin of the Dragon Boat Festival (端午节, Duānwǔ Jié) is traditionally linked to the death of Qu Yuan (屈原), a patriotic poet and minister from the State of Chu during the Warring States period (c. 340–278 BCE). However, the festival likely predates him, with shamanic and agricultural roots tied to seasonal protection rituals.
Before the Qu Yuan story became dominant, the 5th lunar month was considered dangerous and inauspicious. The festival developed as a way to repel disease and evil spirits during summer heat and pestilence, honor water deities and dragons, who were believed to control rainfall and rivers, and appease spirits and seek protection with mugwort, calamus, realgar wine, and talismans. Dragon imagery, herb-hanging, and ritual races are part of pre-Confucian, possibly Wu (巫) shamanistic traditions, especially in southern China.
Mugwort (àiyè 艾叶) bundle gathered ceremonially on the 5th day of the 5th lunar month (this year on May 31st, 2025) for the Dragon Boat Festival (Duanwu Festival), traditionally gathered to protect against evil forces as well as insects and other dangerous, venomous creatures. It is a double yang day, associated with Summer Solstice qi.
Orders received before May 31st will be gathered on May 31st.
Orders received after May 31st will be gathered at noon on a subsequent day.
About My Plants
I grow five different kinds of artemisias (mugworts, a member of the daisy family) in my organic gardens. This bundle will be made primarily ofartemisia vulgaris with a bit of artemisia ludoviciana and possibly a bit of californica (sage brush). This tradition is adapted to the Zone 8b bioregion of Portland, Oregon which is on the traditional lands of the Chinook-speaking peoples (Multnomah, Clackamas, Cathlamet, Wasco + others), Kalapuya, Molalla, Cowlitz and Watlala (Upper Chinook).
How to Use
This bundle is affixed to doorways (on, above, or beside) for protection. If it falls off, you can burn or compost it, as it has done its job, and you can replace it the following year.
Traditionally, this prayer is chanted while hanging the bundle:
五月五日午, 天师骑艾虎;
手持菖蒲剑, 蛇虫归地府
Wǔ yuè wǔ rì wǔ, tiān shī qí àihǔ;
shǒuchí chāngpú jiàn, shé chóng guī dìfǔ
Translation:
At Noon on the fifth day of the fifth month, The Celestial Master Zhang Daoling Rides his Mugwort (àiyè) Tiger.
In his hand he holds his sweet flag (chāngpú) sword, snakes and worms (and other deadly venomous creatures) return to their place in the earth.
This is a bundle informed by my training in Parting Clouds Daoist Education.
Bundles are free for Parting Clouds members, you pay only for shipping. Use code AIYE at checkout.
Origins
The origin of the Dragon Boat Festival (端午节, Duānwǔ Jié) is traditionally linked to the death of Qu Yuan (屈原), a patriotic poet and minister from the State of Chu during the Warring States period (c. 340–278 BCE). However, the festival likely predates him, with shamanic and agricultural roots tied to seasonal protection rituals.
Before the Qu Yuan story became dominant, the 5th lunar month was considered dangerous and inauspicious. The festival developed as a way to repel disease and evil spirits during summer heat and pestilence, honor water deities and dragons, who were believed to control rainfall and rivers, and appease spirits and seek protection with mugwort, calamus, realgar wine, and talismans. Dragon imagery, herb-hanging, and ritual races are part of pre-Confucian, possibly Wu (巫) shamanistic traditions, especially in southern China.