It is very particular to make moxa sticks with mugwort leaves. The most important thing is that mugwort leaves must be old, not new. After harvesting and drying, Artemisia argyi leaves need to be used in Chenfang for more than three years.
According to Li Shizhen's Compendium of Materia Medica in the Ming Dynasty, "whoever needs to use Artemisia argyi for a long time, it is delicate and soft, which is called cooked Artemisia argyi." If there is moxibustion fire, it is easy to hurt muscles. "
In the Classic of Divine Moxibustion edited by Wu in Qing Dynasty, it is recorded: "Everything is fresh, but Ai is good with the old, while Ai is pure in nature, and the news is pungent, so it is used for moxibustion for fear of hurting blood. Therefore, wormwood should be stored, air-dried, cleaned and mashed at any time. After three years, it is dry and airless, and it can be used gently. "
Miao Xiyong's medical masterpiece "Processing Dafa" in the Ming Dynasty also recorded that "medicine is new and moxibustion is old".
As can be seen from the above, fresh Folium Artemisiae Argyi is used as medicine, and aged Folium Artemisiae Argyi needs moxibustion, because Ai Chen is used for moxibustion after three years of natural aging to remove dryness, which is more gentle and has stronger penetration, while using new Folium Artemisiae Argyi is easy to "hurt muscles and bones".
Shi Yu wormwood Co., Ltd. has inherited the ancient wormwood production technology, and the wormwood leaves must be dried indoors for three years before they can be used. The traditional method of making moxa with stone mortar and wooden pestle is completely adopted, and each moxa stick is hammered out.