Herb Craft
By Anna Franklin and Sue Lavender
"I would highly recommend this publication...a must for your bookshelf" Beltane Fire
"....an excellent and truly comprehensive work, an essential reference and
invaluable companion for everyone interested in the use of herbs for magic and
ritual. Highly recommended" Prediction
"most comprehensive book...The sheer amount of information in this book is
staggering...books with this kind of collated information are rare treasures."
Manchester Pagan Wheel
There are many 'magical herbals' on the market today, but non [that we have seen] that deal with the Native British shaman's herb lore. Many of them are based on folk magic, a debased and distorted form of the Old Knowledge. Some are based on the principles of ritual magic, which does not honour the plant as a living spirit, but merely a tool to be used. Books on foreign shamanism are available, but do not really help the practitioner to form a bond with the spirits and Deities of our own land, Albion, which is steeped in lore and magic, if only we have eyes to see it. Every plant is a living teacher and must be approached as an individual. This book is intended to give you a glimpse into the power of plants, a starting point from which to begin your own journey of discovery.
Every society from the dawn of mankind has used herbs. They have been used to heal the body and spirit, in religious ceremonies and to communicate with the Gods. All cultures, world-wide, have recognised and practised magic. Even our own society has, as part of its inheritance, folklore tales of magicians who were capable of harnessing invisible powers and of understanding occult laws. The tribal shaman or village wise woman or cunning man served the community by healing the sick and mediating with the spirits for the benefit of the people. In these efforts herbs were their chief tools.
Few western magicians today understand or work with the Old Knowledge concerning plants. So called 'magical herbals' give instructions on how to collect a plant by drawing a circle around it, telling it a little rhyme before hacking it about, and leaving it a coin or pinch of tobacco in recompense for its trauma. What good these are to it remains a mystery. Some books will tell you that you must ask a tree or plant for its favours- walk round it three times and say "can I have a bit?". How many people know when they have got an answer? Is the plant even listening? You might as well buy a herb off the shelf in the supermarket, or pick up a dead twig from the forest floor. These instructions are based on folklore or folk magic, a debased and half forgotten form of the true knowledge. Plants and trees must be approaches as individuals, and respected as living, spiritual entities. No two oak trees have the same personality, no two yarrows have the same qualities. Some plants will give willingly, some must be courted, some hunted with stealth, others fought. Some will never give you anything. Trees and shrubs are not really 'used' magically, though this is a convenient term applied in this book. When properly approached they may share something of their life force, their spirit. True magical herbalism is not really a case of following a kind of cook book, a pinch of this and a pinch of that. It is many years of intimate study with plants themselves as the teachers.
Individual herbs and plants can be befriended as allies to enable the practitioner to travel to Otherworldly places, and to become in tune with different energies. The Craft of the magical herbalist takes many years and absolute self discipline to master. The plant itself is always the teacher. Each plant must be correctly approached and harvested in perfect condition. It must always be respected as a living being as its life force is the essence of its shamanic power. This force is harnessed by taking the plant internally, fresh or as an infusion, by smoking it or employing it in an incense or bathing herb. If the herb is approached with love and trust, its force will harmonise with the shaman and share its secrets. If the plant is taken with the wrong motives, if it is mistreated or misused, it may cause discomfort, mislead or seek to gain control of the shaman. If an enemy is made of the plant spirit it can destroy. It is a common misconception that a plant needs to have hallucinogenic properties to facilitate expansion of consciousness. Only a small number of power plants are psychedelic, and these plant spirits are the most difficult to deal with and easily overcome the weak will of anyone stupid enough to use them for recreational purposes. Every plant, from the common daisy to the mighty oak, has its own power and vibration, and by taking time to gain the trust of the plant spirit these can be shared.
500 pages covering over 200 herbs in the following detail:
Plus appendices with further correspondences, plant craft, the Wheel of the Year, making incenses and magical oils and much more.
