Herbal Magick: A Guide to Herbal Enchantments, Folklore, and Divination

This lovely little book is packed with information about many areas of working with plant allies. Folklore and divination, mythology and superstitions, use and traditions all combine the magick and medicine of herbal lore.

One of the best reasons to get this books is the breadth of information provided: this is a really good reference book to get you interested in various aspects of herbal lore. I especially appreciated the inclusion of dangerous plants like Belladonna and Hemlock (including frank warnings about the danger of using them). Most of the book is lore and correspondences, not anecdotes or 'how to's. The bibliography will provide options for deeper explorations.

That said, I am very uncomfortable with the inclusion of the chapters "HooDoo herbs" and "Gypsy Herb Magick" as the author is neither a practitioner of HooDoo or a member of the Romani tribe. My biggest concern however, is that if you have the 2002 printing of this book (from Citadel/ Kensington) then this new edition differs only in offering a new introduction from Arin Murphy-Hiscock.

If you want a lovely book that offers a very broad but shallow view of herbal magick this is a great book.

~review by Lisa Mc Sherry

Author: Gerina Dunwich
Weiser Books, 2019
pp. 256, $16.95