Sage

August 10, 2025, 7:13 PM

SAGE

From page 127128:

"The plants commonly called sage or sagebrush among Native people are not the domesticated, garden sages (Salvia) but rather the plants botanists recognize as wormwood or mugwort, or more technically, the various members of the genus Artemisia (see endnote #18 on page 361)

From page 361, Endnote #18:

Some California Indians do, however, use a variety of true sage, a coastal scrub plant called the California white sage: Salvia alpine."

The word Artemisia is linked with the name of the Greek goddess of vegetation, ARTEMIS, and has the root syllable art, meaning 'bear.' The Bear is a universal symbol of healing.

Sage was extremely common in the ancient world, and its scent may evoke deeply imprinted memories, even for Europeans. From thirty-five thousand to eleven thousand years ago (35,000-11,000 years ago) the northern Mediterranean region, including North Africa, Spain, Greece, Italy, Iran, and Syria, was dominated by cool, dry steppes covered with artemisia (see endnote #19 on page 361)."

From Page 361, Endnote #19:

Herbert E. Wright, "Environmental Change and the Origin of Agriculture in the Old and Newa Worlds," in Origins of Agriculture, ed. Charles A. Reed (The Hague: Mauton, 1977).

Artemisia was a common medicine in ancient Europe. In ancient Rome, artemisia absinthium tea was drunk during sacred rituals and was used as a medicine for colitis and other digestive disorders. It was even part of the prize, a gift of health, for the winner of the four-horse chariot race, symbol of the power of the Roman Empire. See Wilhelmina Feemster Jashemski, "A Pompeian Herbal: Ancient and Modern Medicinal Plants" (Austin: University of Texas Press, 1999)."

From Page 128:

"The sages commonly used by Native Americans include fringed sagebrush (Artemisia frigida, called 'Woman Sage' by the Blackfeet), and big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata). Their wonderful scent is caused by aromatic oils, including camphor. Sage has been a central fature of Native American ceremonial and healing traditions since very ancient times. Native American hunters sometimes place sage in the nose and mouth of their kill as an act of purification and respect. For similar reasons, sage may be placed in the eyes, nose, and mouth of animal skulls used in ceremonial altars."

"Sage was found among two-thousand (2,000) year old remains excavated at James Cave, New Mexico, and used as a tea or condiment by the Anasazi of the Southwest (see endnote #20 on page 362)."

From Page 362, Endnote #20:

William W. Dunmire and Gail D. Tierney, Wild Plants of the Pueblo Province (Santa Fe: Museum of New Mexico Press, 1995, page 152.