Showing posts with label ethnopharmacology. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ethnopharmacology. Show all posts

Tuesday, February 22, 2011

Ethnobotany of Celtic Tradition

Keowulf 22

Two new additions to my bookshelf:

Medicinal Plants in Folk Tradition: An Ethnobotany of Britain and Ireland
- David E. Allen and Gabrielle Hatfield

"Assembled by two of the most distinguished botanical and ethnological scholars in Britain, this book chronicles the medicinal uses of more than 400 species used by the plain folk of Britain and Ireland. The history of these plants’ usages has been mined from rich firsthand accounts captured by surveys, from more than 1000 manuscript volumes of the Irish Folklore Commission, and from close to 300 other published and unpublished sources. The book includes chosen illustrations from herbals such as those by Bock, Fuchs, and Brunfels, and a selection of color photographs by Deni Brown."


The Healing Power of Celtic Plants: Their History, Their Use, and the Scientific Evidence That They Work
- Angela Paine


"Our knowledge of the Celts, who spread all over Europe a few thousand years ago, has been growing rapidly over the last few decades. One of the most fascinating aspects of their culture was their use of plant medicine. Angela Paine, who has degrees in plant chemistry from London University and has published extensively and internationally in scientific journals, provides here both a history of their use, a guide to using them today, and an account of their effectiveness in healing."

Sunday, July 18, 2010

Ethnopharmacology Of Poisonous Plants


ז' באב תש"ע
Lughnasadh 8

The Encyclopedia of Psychoactive Plants: Ethnopharmacology and Its Applications by anthropologist and ethnopharmacologist Christian Rätsch.

This new addition to my bookshelf is a superb academic reference and comprehensive text devoted to psychoactive plants. This book is a MUST-HAVE for any witch thinking about working magically and safely with Belladonna or any other potentially poisonous plant. "Each major monograph contains the plant’s scientific and common names, chemical structure, history, distribution, cultivation, appearance, preparation and dosage, ritual and medicinal uses, commercial forms and regulations, and effects, as well as research literature references." (Andy Wickens, Library Journal, August 2005)

"Christian Rätsch’s remarkable Encyclopedia of Psychoactive Plants is an essential and comprehensive work that explores not only the expanse of plants that affect human consciousness but the genetic necessity for humanity to experience wide-ranging flexibility in consciousness. The plant world is basic to us, the foundation of our food, clothing, and shelter. But Christian’s book reminds us that human/plant interactions reach much deeper than these three needs; plant intelligence reaches deep within us and teaches us to see, hear, and understand the deep meanings in the world, meanings that we need, and are meant, to encounter in order to remain human." (Stephen Harrod Buhner, author of The Secret Teachings of Plants and The Lost Language of Plants)