Herbal Awareness
In the plants we study, we can glimpse the tides of the universe and the interdependency of all of nature. We are in direct connection with the life cycle, from seed to sustenance; it is laid out before our eyes. The plant is fed by the earth, the sun, the elements and by our personal energy as we care for it and tend to its needs. The plant, in turn, feeds back into the cycle, releasing nutrients into the soil, oxygen into the air and energy back to us. Whether that energy is of a medical, magical, or sustainable nature is dependant upon its preparation.
That herbs can heal is not in dispute, but they can just as readily kill. The medicinal use of roots, resins, leaves and buds has evolved over thousands of years and continues to do so. Today, scientists can isolate active constituents and determine the chemical make up of a plant to validate or repudiate the herbal remedies written by ancient Egyptians and Arab healers or passed down through Anglo-Saxon cunning folk. Through the years of experimentation, reasoning, and accident, the deadly qualities of certain herbs became known, thus their study became the domain of a select few who were able to dedicate the necessary time.
The power that plants have to heal or kill, bring fertility or lay barren, produce altered states and induce prophetic visions creates a mystical veil around those who have learned to manipulate that power. Throughout history, these people have been seen as a benevolent and necessary part of society, spiritual leaders and visionaries, and they have also been vilified as poisoners and the devil’s conspirators. Yet, the use of herbs as a magical art has continued, perhaps because the vibrating energy inherent in plants becomes obvious to those who work closely with them. This energy has been personified as spirits, sprites, fairies, devas, dryads, nymphs, angels and divine beings. Regardless of the name, it is the pure essence of the plant, connected to humans through the universal energy that flows through all of nature. The practice of attuning and focusing this energy to influence a desired result is the art of herbal witchcraft.
The discipline of herbalism provides us with one of the strongest links to our ancestors that we can experience, while at the same time, it compels us to acknowledge the advances and future of our own society. What used to be “folk remedies” are now pharmaceutical extracts and possible future cures. The same resins and roots that filled ancient temples with their smoke now smolder on modern altars.
