 |
Book
Review - Cunningham's Encyclopedia of Magical Herbs |
Back cover synopsis: Today the weeds and wild flowers that grace our cities and wildernesses, the ornamental and food plants in our gardens, even common houseplants still possess incredible powers. Magical herbalism is the use of these powers. |
Rhaevyn's Synopsis |
| Cunningham's Encyclopedia of Magical Herbs covers the magickal properties of all kinds of plants. It lists information such as the deity, planetary, and elemental associations, what kinds of magick each plant is best for, short stories, lore, superstitions, uses for the plants, and other interesting herbal knowledge. This is not a book specifically for learning the medical uses of plants, nor is it a guide on how to cultivate every plant in your own home. But for anyone interested in finding the perfect herb for a magickal sachet, incense, or blend, this is a very handy reference to have on hand. |
Entertainment Factor  |
| This is not a book to sit down with and read through like a novel. However, a lot of the lore is very compelling, and I often catch myself flipping pages to find out about the lore, superstitions, and "magick" involved with plants I have access to, even when I originally intended to reference the book for just one plant, and one plant ONLY. (For the record, I do the same with regular encyclopedias, dictionaries, and other "often boring," dry reference materials. I'll admit I'm biased.) |
Content and Information  |
| This is an encyclopedia of the magickal properties of plants. It does not claim to be anything else. Plants that warrant it are flagged as Poisonous to help alert people to potential harm. If the book claimed to be useful for medical purposes, I would certainly lower the rating, but it lives up to its intention. My only gripe is the pencil sketches of the plants leave much to be desired for identifying them, but if I was going to gather plants in the wild, I'd bring along a field guide with color plates instead, anyway. These aren't bad for being black and white, and the scientific names are listed so you can cross-reference with field guides if you are unsure. |
Usefulness |
| Again, for magickal purposes (am I stressing this enough?) such as sachets, charms, and even mixtures for bath teas, this is an incredibly useful book. The first section of the book describes simple procedures for spellcraft, so once you find an appropriate herb or combination of herbs, you have a guideline on how to use them. The second section is the beef of the book: The plants and their magickal information. Finally, the third section has quick reference lists, including correspondences, alternate folk names, and tables that summarize the magickal properties. So for example, if you were wanting to make a charm to help draw romantic love, but not a one-night stand of passionate lust, you can look up "love" in the tables, compare the herbs listed by going to the main section of the book, and decide on the herb that is the best all-around fit for your needs. |
Longevity |
| A lot of books might try to accomplish what Cunningham has done with this book...and they will come up short. A book that has only a section on the magickal properties of herbs will not cover half the information contained here, and I can't imagine another book could really be able to cover enough unique information that has not already been addressed in Cunningham's Encyclopedia. Cunningham really did some research and compiling in this book. It will be around for a while. I dare say it sets a high standard. |
Final Analysis  |
| If you are interested in herb-craft for magickal purposes, this is an incredibly handy book to have on hand. Its information works well with Cunningham's books on Incense, Oils, and Brews and Gem and Metal Magick to give your "spellcraft reference library" a good start. Of all of Cunningham's books these reference guides are my favorite. Again, if you are interested in medical herbalism, you won't find what you are looking for here, but then again, no one ever claimed that medical herbcraft is the focus of this book. For the few medical uses of the herbs listed in this book, always consult your doctor before taking anything internally. But if your focus is on simple, natural spellcraft enhanced by the use of herbs, you can't go wrong in adding this book to your library. |
Author:
Scott Cunningham
| BOOKS
|
I'll admit a bias...I don't like a lot of the books that Pagan authors are putting out now. I try to give fair and honest reviews, but I really think that if we want the standards of Pagan reference and literature raised, we have to be incredibly critical of what is already on the market. Just wanted to warn you ahead of time... *grin*
|
|
||