"50 of the world's most powerful magical plants used by witches"
Wise women, apothecaries, witches, herbalists: whatever you call them, those who cultivate plants for their fabled mystical and healing properties have existed for thousands of years.
Witch’s Garden describes over 50 of the world’s most powerful magical plants and their uses, mythical and proven. From the screaming mandrake to calming St John’s Wort, the history of these esoteric species is often as dark and elusive as the art of herbalism itself. Including tales of remedies for everything from bad weather and broken hearts to protection from evil and the invocation of immortality, the book features exquisite botanical illustrations and fascinating specimens held within the archives of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, while archival images depicting occult practices evoke the bewitching nature of these mysterious species.
Review by Atnoon
"An interesting story that explores the mysterious encounter between a plant and a witch."
What is a witch?
They perform rituals with demons, kidnap and eat children, deliver bread with flying brooms, or sometimes defeat villains that threaten the safety of society.
A witch who was suspected by the public as disturbing and feared for hundreds of years. Witches have changed their image countless times since the dark past, when their perception has changed into a fantastic and mysterious figure. However, there is an unchanging characteristic of witches. They were well aware of how to use plants.
Of course, because there is no magic, women historically called 'witches' were generally those who understood the medical effects of plants well. Therefore, from the present point of view, these people, called 'witches', were botanists, sometimes medical personnel who treated the sick, and psychologists who controlled the mind. Furthermore, they were also storytellers who created various superstitions and myths to explain the effects of plants showing phenomena that could not be scientifically proved. Records of the plants they discovered and collected continue to be handed down even today when science has exploded.
Starting with the beliefs of ancient society, this book tells why some ingredients were demons or gifts from God, believed to make someone fall in love or have nightmares, and what plants are growing in the witch's garden.
Author's review
What is a “witch’s garden”? A garden owned by a person of magic – or a plot growing plants to ward off evil? For that matter, why do we associate the word “witch” with “evil”? For many people today, being a witch is a good thing, beneficial and joyful. In other parts of
the world, witchcraft is still something to be feared.
However precarious life is today, for our ancestors it was even more dangerous, even more mysterious. Who knew what made humans healthy, successful, wealthy
or loved? Everyone, from scholars to local practitioners, looked to the natural world around them for answers, and plants were obvious candidates for making sense of life. “Wise women”, herbalists, apothecaries and witches worked in not dissimilar ways to early scholars, philosophers and scientists: empirically, testing out plants to see what they did, especially as medicines. The “cunning folk” also added a mystical element: explaining the role of plants in both spiritual and everyday life. Over thousands of years, complex folkloric traditions evolved, sometimes independently similar in different parts of the world.
The line between science and magic has always been thin; add religion into the mix and opinions – and emotions – begin to heat up. Plants became battlegrounds: as cultures waxed and waned, a herb “belonging” to a goddess might be reassigned to a saint – or to the devil. Boundaries became blurred.
Astrology, for example, remained a serious point of consideration in medicine well into the Christian period. As the wealth of folklore grew, so too did the
romance around it. We are not immune from that glamour today.
Folklore and superstition, both local and general, do not die easily, but they do change. Sometimes, properties of a plant can take on two diametrically opposed qualities according to region, culture and even individuals.
A book this size cannot begin to fully explore the complex and confusing history of herbs and the place they hold in our lives, even today. All it can do
is dip a toe into the basic concepts of what makes plant lore so very fascinating. Witch’s Garden looks at the ancient beginnings of practices and beliefs,
some herbal pioneers and one or two of the “big ideas”. It focuses on some of the most important plants, their historical uses and often contradictory
associations, and is illustrated with beautiful pages from books and herbals kept in the archives at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Here’s hoping it will
inspire further reading and a deeper dive into the extraordinary world of plant lore.
— Sandra Lawrence
Sandra Lawrence
Sandra Lawrence is a journalist and author. She writes for the Evening Standard, Guardian, Financial Times, Times, Londonist.com and the English Garden. She is the London columnist for British Heritage magazine and is on the Q&A panel of experts for History Revealed magazine.
"50 of the world's most powerful magical plants used by witches"
Wise women, apothecaries, witches, herbalists: whatever you call them, those who cultivate plants for their fabled mystical and healing properties have existed for thousands of years.
Witch’s Garden describes over 50 of the world’s most powerful magical plants and their uses, mythical and proven. From the screaming mandrake to calming St John’s Wort, the history of these esoteric species is often as dark and elusive as the art of herbalism itself. Including tales of remedies for everything from bad weather and broken hearts to protection from evil and the invocation of immortality, the book features exquisite botanical illustrations and fascinating specimens held within the archives of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, while archival images depicting occult practices evoke the bewitching nature of these mysterious species.
Review by Atnoon
"An interesting story that explores the mysterious encounter between a plant and a witch."
What is a witch?
They perform rituals with demons, kidnap and eat children, deliver bread with flying brooms, or sometimes defeat villains that threaten the safety of society.
A witch who was suspected by the public as disturbing and feared for hundreds of years. Witches have changed their image countless times since the dark past, when their perception has changed into a fantastic and mysterious figure. However, there is an unchanging characteristic of witches. They were well aware of how to use plants.
Of course, because there is no magic, women historically called 'witches' were generally those who understood the medical effects of plants well. Therefore, from the present point of view, these people, called 'witches', were botanists, sometimes medical personnel who treated the sick, and psychologists who controlled the mind. Furthermore, they were also storytellers who created various superstitions and myths to explain the effects of plants showing phenomena that could not be scientifically proved. Records of the plants they discovered and collected continue to be handed down even today when science has exploded.
Starting with the beliefs of ancient society, this book tells why some ingredients were demons or gifts from God, believed to make someone fall in love or have nightmares, and what plants are growing in the witch's garden.
Author's review
What is a “witch’s garden”? A garden owned by a person of magic – or a plot growing plants to ward off evil? For that matter, why do we associate the word “witch” with “evil”? For many people today, being a witch is a good thing, beneficial and joyful. In other parts of
the world, witchcraft is still something to be feared.
However precarious life is today, for our ancestors it was even more dangerous, even more mysterious. Who knew what made humans healthy, successful, wealthy
or loved? Everyone, from scholars to local practitioners, looked to the natural world around them for answers, and plants were obvious candidates for making sense of life. “Wise women”, herbalists, apothecaries and witches worked in not dissimilar ways to early scholars, philosophers and scientists: empirically, testing out plants to see what they did, especially as medicines. The “cunning folk” also added a mystical element: explaining the role of plants in both spiritual and everyday life. Over thousands of years, complex folkloric traditions evolved, sometimes independently similar in different parts of the world.
The line between science and magic has always been thin; add religion into the mix and opinions – and emotions – begin to heat up. Plants became battlegrounds: as cultures waxed and waned, a herb “belonging” to a goddess might be reassigned to a saint – or to the devil. Boundaries became blurred.
Astrology, for example, remained a serious point of consideration in medicine well into the Christian period. As the wealth of folklore grew, so too did the
romance around it. We are not immune from that glamour today.
Folklore and superstition, both local and general, do not die easily, but they do change. Sometimes, properties of a plant can take on two diametrically opposed qualities according to region, culture and even individuals.
A book this size cannot begin to fully explore the complex and confusing history of herbs and the place they hold in our lives, even today. All it can do
is dip a toe into the basic concepts of what makes plant lore so very fascinating. Witch’s Garden looks at the ancient beginnings of practices and beliefs,
some herbal pioneers and one or two of the “big ideas”. It focuses on some of the most important plants, their historical uses and often contradictory
associations, and is illustrated with beautiful pages from books and herbals kept in the archives at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Here’s hoping it will
inspire further reading and a deeper dive into the extraordinary world of plant lore.
— Sandra Lawrence
Sandra Lawrence
Sandra Lawrence is a journalist and author. She writes for the Evening Standard, Guardian, Financial Times, Times, Londonist.com and the English Garden. She is the London columnist for British Heritage magazine and is on the Q&A panel of experts for History Revealed magazine.
| WITCH'S GARDEN |
| €20.00 |
| Author. Sandra Lawrence |
| 165 x 231mm, 208pages |
| ISBN 9791188594276 |
| Date of issue Nov 05, 2023 |
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