As I told you all, expect more witchy based posts. Today is a little about herbs being used for more than just cooking, it is a book review of sorts. Now I know most of you who cook for yourselves use spices, even if it is only salt and pepper. Did you know that spices and herbs are used for many more things? For centuries herbs have been used for medicinal purposes and still are today. Tea is a common way to administer specific remedies.
Herbs go beyond even medicine and tea though. I enjoy tea on a daily basis but I also use herbs for magickal purposes. When speaking metaphysically, herbs have such a huge range of purposes. This doesn’t mean I’m stirring a cauldron and throwing in the eye of newt and mandrake root. Basil is great for luck, adding it to an organza bag with some crystals that are also intended to bring luck and prosperity is a great way to use this herb in particular. Bay leaves are great for many medicinal things but also great for quick spells. Write what you want to manifest and meditate, putting your intention into the leaf. Once ready, burn it…that’s it. A lot of magick is about using your intent to manifest your desires…the law of attraction.
I am not an all-knowing herbologist, though I hope to start working with herbs and oils more often. Moon Books has given me the chance to start doing that by allowing me to review this amazing book. Let’s take a look and I’ll move on to my thought of the book when done.
Herbs: Medicinal, Magical, Marvelous
Author: Deborah J. Martin
Published: October 16th, 2010
Publisher: Moon Books
Book Length: 480 Pages
Genre: Non-Fiction, Spirituality, Reference, Pagan, Witchcraft
Rating: ♥ ♥ ♥
Buy the book: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Book Depository (Use my referral ID (TheBibliophagist)
Disclaimer: I was given a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This in no way impacts my review of this book.
For millennia, man has been using herbs; in food, for healing, and for magical purposes. Only in the last hundred years have the magical and medicinal properties of herbs been separated by scientists and the magical community. This book reunites the two into a comprehensive reference. Drawing on her years of practice and research, Deborah Martin has compiled information on over three hundred herbs. Avoiding the confusion of common names which can vary by region, she uses the Latin binomial or scientific names for all the plants but gives the reader a cheat sheet for easy reference. Written with a touch of humor, she details the difference between synthetic drugs and herbal alternatives. Lists make looking up an herb for a simple ailment or magical spell effortless. Also given are instructions for different types of herbal preparations and their medicinal and magical uses.
Ideally, this book would be the most amazing book filled with herbs all around the world…wrong… Though it is an amazing book I did find that it was missing some common herbs. The real reason I gave this 3 hearts rather than 5 was the lack of images and information about how to harvest or use the herb. Let’s start with the cover first though before we get too far.
Isn’t this a simple yet appealing cover? It eludes to the idea that you don’t need much when it comes to herbs to make a difference. The wood background and green bottom of the book work really well together, bringing a very earthy feel to the image. Opening the book, you’ll first be met with some informational writing. The book begins by talking a bit about herbs within medicine and magick. This is wonderful because sometimes we pick up a book looking for background information as well.
When it comes to the herbs, there are six different appendixes. I really appreciate this as it makes it much easier to find whatever herb you are looking for. When you search through the book and find the herb you are met with a page full of information! The scientific name of the plant is on the top of the page. You learn what plant family it belongs to, the medicinal uses, magickal uses, the parts used, and who shouldn’t use it. One of my favorite aspects is that it tells you what planet and element the herb is associated with! This allows you to properly incorporate it into any magickal working.
This is a great book for anyone looking to learn more about herbs but keep in mind there are no images here so if that is what you want, this might not be the best choice. It does offer a lot of information and could be used as a supplement to another book. I wish there was also more information about harvesting or using the herb. Other than that, this is very information packed and useful.