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Myths and Folk Tales of Sacred Healing Plants
Stories are spells. Healers have long recognised the need to travel to psychic realms, from heaven to Hesperides, to effect cures. Ancient medicinal manuscripts pair myth and magical incantation with instruction on how to dig up roots, make salves and concoct tinctures.
Herba Mythica draws on this tradition and is a handbook for story-lovers and herbalists alike. Acclaimed storytellers from around the world choose plants that reflect their heritage or specialism, and notes on plant origins, symbolism and healing properties complement each tale.
Mythology suggests that every bush, every flower is a deity who mirrors the healing action of the plant: Hecate is the hypnotic Poppy, Osiris the oracular Laurel and Tara the regenerative Lotus. And in folk tales, there are Willow fathers, Hawthorn mothers and brides who marry trees.
Throughout, Sherry Robinson’s characterful drawings capture the light and shade of each plant, reminding us of their power to kill or cure.
In this compilation of leafy tales and plant magic, Xanthe has drawn on storytellers’ experience and heritage from across the globe … she has brought green enchantment to every page - Foreword from Lisa Schneidau
Lisa Schneidau,
10th January, 2023 in Natural World, Society & Culture
The use of plants as food and medicine is probably as old as man himself, and originally must have been discovered independently by different communities. Such knowledge would have been handed down orally from one generation to the next and of course it was only in historically r…
21st April, 2017 in Folklore
In honour of Earth Day, let us tell you a story. One that concerns the past and the present and tells of a possible future where stories save the day by reconnecting people and communities to the world around them and to what it means to live a good life on planet Earth. Once upo…
