On Herbs and Magick

[Golliath]

I am a very big fan of herbs. No pun intented. I love using herbs for their healing attributes, aswell as their magickal ones. So I was wondering if anyone had any idea were I could locate some sort of magickal-herbal encyclopedia-type book...

Yeah I know... nerd >.<;;;


Any help is extremely appreciated. Thanks!

[HetHert]

Cunningham has an excellent magickal herbal reference.

Also Miller's book The Magic and Ritual Use of Herbs is an excellent source

http://www.amazon.com/Cunninghams-Encyclopedia-Magical-Llewellyns-Sourcebook/dp/0875421229/sr=8-2/qid=1157395887/ref=sr_1_2/103-8065015-9522242?ie=UTF8&s=books

http://www.amazon.com/Magical-Ritual-Use-Herbs/dp/0892814012/ref=pd_sim_dbs_b_4/103-8065015-9522242?ie=UTF8

[Aidron]

Cunningham has an excellent magickal herbal reference.

http://www.amazon.com/Cunninghams-Encyclopedia-Magical-Llewellyns-Sourcebook/dp/0875421229/sr=8-2/qid=1157395887/ref=sr_1_2/103-8065015-9522242?ie=UTF8&s=books


He does. Deb Lipp also makes good use (although it is not the focus of any of her books I've read) of aligning various botanicals to the elements and planets.

Personally, the best way I've worked this out is to take what I can from sources like the aforementioned, researching historical references, then adding and subtracting my own because a lot of them simply do not make sense; Dragon's Blood and love for example seems unsuitable, but it is quite a common association.

[HetHert]

There is another book I have that equates the alchemal and zodiacal references to the herbs so that you can best align them to your intentions....

John Greer's Natural Magick book is good for this as well but its not the book I'm thinking of which is at home and I'm at work.

Sigh...

Cunningham is alot of the lore, and you can align the use of the herbs he lists with your intent. But if your into more ceremonial and stricter characteristics I can dig up better books. Greer is good for that as he is a ceremonial magician who pays attention to the alchemal natures of the herbs but his book doesn't touch upon as many as I would like to have seen.

AHA!!

I found the one that I love the most...
Herbs in Magic and Alchemy: Techniques from Ancient Herbal Lore by C. L. Zalewski

Greer sites this one in his work...sometimes they don't completely jive on corropsondances but in those cases go with what the herb is telling you.

I might also suggest that you go ahead and get a good book on general herbalism. Herbalism in and of itsself will also teach you the ways of the magical uses of herbs by their very nature. You'll want to study their appearance, taste, smell, color, texture, affinities for areas of growth, etc. It all equates into how the herb is going to behave in your magic.

So invest well in some run of the mill herbal books. I suggest going through the bibliographies of the Magical herbal books like that of Greer's (his are well researched) and investing in the books that they used for they're research.

Hope this helps.

[Theres]

Paul Beyerl's 'Master Book of Herbalism' is excellent, with sections on magical AND medicinal uses, an excellent correspondence section (which Cunningham cannot claim), dosages, lore, etc.

[_Banbha_]

Here are some interesting links I recently found. If you check in the Kitchen, Green and Hedgewitch's in Paths, I'm sure you'll find more reccomendations....:)


Some witchy stuff:Witches Flying Oinment (http://www.a1b2c3.com/drugs/var009.htm)
Flying Oinment Recipes (http://www.geocities.com/ottomr/flying_ointment/recipes.html)

Here's an online classic herbal ( a must have for me) that goes into some great folklore and magical use information: A Modern Herbal by Mrs Grieves (http://www.botanical.com/botanical/mgmh/mgmh.html)

[Semjaza]

AHA!!

I found the one that I love the most...
Herbs in Magic and Alchemy: Techniques from Ancient Herbal Lore by C. L. Zalewski


I picked this one out of the used section of my local pagan bookstore... Still haven't read it; when I flip through it, some of the correspondences look familiar, and the rest I can't understand... Guess I'll have learn a bit about ceremonial magic... *sigh* :)



Paul Beyerl's 'Master Book of Herbalism' is excellent, with sections on magical AND medicinal uses, an excellent correspondence section (which Cunningham cannot claim), dosages, lore, etc.

I'll second the vote for Beyerl, his book is comprehensive and the herbs are described lovingly... I just wonder what orifice he pulled some of his correspondences out of :) And some of the obvious (to me, anyway) ones he left out...

If you like to base your correspondences out of North and Western European Folklore, I'd suggest Witchcraft Medicine by Christina Muller-Ebling, Wolf-Dieter Storl, and Christian Ratsch...

There's also the Recommended Herbal Books thread in the Books forum... :)

Cheers,

Semjaza
FFFF

[_Banbha_]

If you like to base your correspondences out of North and Western European Folklore, I'd suggest Witchcraft Medicine by Christina Muller-Ebling, Wolf-Dieter Storl, and Christian Ratsch...

This is the book I was trying to think of...so highly reccomended everywhere it's mentioned. I must be sure it's on the top of my list for buying. :)

I agree with you on the Beryl book too. Very good, but with some qualifiers.

[HetHert]

Paul Beyerl's 'Master Book of Herbalism' is excellent, with sections on magical AND medicinal uses, an excellent correspondence section (which Cunningham cannot claim), dosages, lore, etc.

Now I have to go downstairs and look for it.

HetHert <-- Work's for a very large used bookstore. I hope I find it and don't have to buy it off Amazon.

*scampers off downstairs to find the book! :weirdsmil

[Libris]

I like Cunningham's Encyclopedia as well. There's also Drew's "Wicca Formulary and Herbal". It has some good info and entries on more herbs than any other formulary I've looked at but it has issues...

I haven't found any book on herbs that I feel is wonderful so this is what I suggest:

Buy a big blank book (border's has some for 5-7$) and then dedicate a full page (front and back) for each entry. Making them in alphabetical order helps when you're trying to find a particular entry. Also, you might want even more than one page for certain herbs like mugwort, basil, lavender etc... Then research about each herb and transcribe what you find into your book. This not only helps you learn more than just reading but you end up with a great encyclopedia of your own. I love mine. I've added dried specimens, recipes, cultivation notes and little snippets of lore I've come across. Its great fun for herb nerds :abanana:

[Cindlady2]

You might also want to check out MW's GREEN ROOM we've often talked about books there.

[~Elise~]

www.botanical.com (http://www.botanical.com)

Elise

[omar]

Mine is "The Magical and Ritual use of Herbs",by Richard Alan Miller.

[magickal_realism]

I second the recommendation of Beyerl's Master Book of Herbalism, and I often consult his Compendium of Magical Herbs. I also strongly suggest you keep a copy of a medical herbal onhand and consult that along with your magical herbal.
I like the Herb Book by John Lust, and I also lucked into a copy of a Physician's Desk Reference of Herbs.

For historical curiosity, you might want to check out http://www.bibliomania.com/2/1/66/113/frameset.html

Culpepper's Herbal -- but a lot has been discovered about plants, so whether for magical or medical use (either way you are exposed to the plants volatile oils somehow)... make sure you spend equal time on lore and pragmatics. Pubmed and scholar.google.com are friends for this stuff.