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The Book of Herbal Wisdom: Using Plants as Medicines
Hailed as a “classic” by leading herbalist Rosemary Gladstar, this botanical compendium provides a wide-ranging history of herbalism and useful guidance for healing with herbs
Matthew Wood is one of the United States’ most renowned herbalists and the author of Seven Plants as Healers , a watershed book in teaching herbal healing as a part of total wellness. With The Book of Herbal Wisdom , he continues and expands this study, creating a must-read guide for anyone who works in the natural health field or is interested in self-healing with herbs.
Wood creates a vast and sweeping history of herbalism, drawing on Western botanical knowledge, homeopathy, Traditional Chinese medicine, and Native American shamanic botany. Detailing the history and use of more than forty plants, he shows how each tradition views a plant, as well as its use in cases drawn from his own herbal and homeopathic practice. An initial section describes signatures, similar, and patterns in these traditions, and elements, temperaments, and constitutions. Wood has two to demonstrate how herbal medicines are agents of healing and wisdom, and to give the reader a useful catalog of plants for medicinal uses. His clinical observations of his patients bear the wry wisdom of the country doctor; his love of plants is evident in lush botanical descriptions, which show the connection between remedies—whether homeopathic, Chinese, or Native American—and the plants from which they are derived.
An introduction to centuries of lore about healing from indigenous traditions, The Book of Herbal Wisdom integrates and describes North American Indian medicine, homeopathy, Traditional Chinese Medicine, and Western herbalism like no other contemporary botanical compendium.
Matthew Wood is one of the United States’ most renowned herbalists and the author of Seven Plants as Healers , a watershed book in teaching herbal healing as a part of total wellness. With The Book of Herbal Wisdom , he continues and expands this study, creating a must-read guide for anyone who works in the natural health field or is interested in self-healing with herbs.
Wood creates a vast and sweeping history of herbalism, drawing on Western botanical knowledge, homeopathy, Traditional Chinese medicine, and Native American shamanic botany. Detailing the history and use of more than forty plants, he shows how each tradition views a plant, as well as its use in cases drawn from his own herbal and homeopathic practice. An initial section describes signatures, similar, and patterns in these traditions, and elements, temperaments, and constitutions. Wood has two to demonstrate how herbal medicines are agents of healing and wisdom, and to give the reader a useful catalog of plants for medicinal uses. His clinical observations of his patients bear the wry wisdom of the country doctor; his love of plants is evident in lush botanical descriptions, which show the connection between remedies—whether homeopathic, Chinese, or Native American—and the plants from which they are derived.
An introduction to centuries of lore about healing from indigenous traditions, The Book of Herbal Wisdom integrates and describes North American Indian medicine, homeopathy, Traditional Chinese Medicine, and Western herbalism like no other contemporary botanical compendium.
580 pages, Paperback
First published September 15, 1997
109 people are currently reading
1789 people want to read
About the author
Matthew Wood
65 books109 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads data base.
Matthew Wood has been a practicing herbalist since 1982. In a period when many authors and lecturers are merely "arm chair herbalists" who offer theories and opinions based on book learning, and others have turned to the exotic traditions of India or China, he has been an active practitioner of traditional Western herbalism. He has helped tens of thousands of clients over the years, with many difficult health problems. While Matthew believes in the virtue of many other healing modalities, he has always been inspired to learn, preserve, and practice the tradition of herbal medicine descending to us from our European, Anglo-American, and Native American heritage. He is a member of the American Herbalists Guild (registered herbalist) and has earned his Masters of Science degree from the Scottish School of Herbal Medicine (accredited by the University of Wales).
Matthew has lectured in all parts of the United States, from Georgia to Maine, New York to California, and Santa Fe to Sperryville, Virginia. He has also taught in Canada, Scotland, England, and Australia. He is known throughout the world as an excellent teacher of herbal medicine. He is also the author of four acclaimed books on herbal medicine, published by North Atlantic Books, in Berkeley, CA:
Seven Herbs, Plants as Teachers (1987)
Vitalism, The History of Herbalism, Homeopathy, and Flower Essences, originally entitled The Magical Staff (1993)
The Book of Herbal Wisdom (1998)
The Practice of Traditional Western Herbalism (2004)
Matthew Wood has been a practicing herbalist since 1982. In a period when many authors and lecturers are merely "arm chair herbalists" who offer theories and opinions based on book learning, and others have turned to the exotic traditions of India or China, he has been an active practitioner of traditional Western herbalism. He has helped tens of thousands of clients over the years, with many difficult health problems. While Matthew believes in the virtue of many other healing modalities, he has always been inspired to learn, preserve, and practice the tradition of herbal medicine descending to us from our European, Anglo-American, and Native American heritage. He is a member of the American Herbalists Guild (registered herbalist) and has earned his Masters of Science degree from the Scottish School of Herbal Medicine (accredited by the University of Wales).
Matthew has lectured in all parts of the United States, from Georgia to Maine, New York to California, and Santa Fe to Sperryville, Virginia. He has also taught in Canada, Scotland, England, and Australia. He is known throughout the world as an excellent teacher of herbal medicine. He is also the author of four acclaimed books on herbal medicine, published by North Atlantic Books, in Berkeley, CA:
Seven Herbs, Plants as Teachers (1987)
Vitalism, The History of Herbalism, Homeopathy, and Flower Essences, originally entitled The Magical Staff (1993)
The Book of Herbal Wisdom (1998)
The Practice of Traditional Western Herbalism (2004)
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Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews
March 23, 2010
This is a wonderful book about North American herbs. I have really enjoyed it and especially learning about the fascinating world of plant signatures. The only thing that keeps me from giving this a 4 or 5 star rating, is that I was hoping for some real direction and instructions on how I can use these medicines at home. Instead, the homeopathic dosages are listed in several of the herb descriptions and along with example stories of success. I wish it had recipes for tinctures and salves and such that I could practically use at home, as well as instructions for processing these easily found herbs in other ways. I will keep this around as a reference book and find some sort of companion guide with recipes to go along with it.
December 1, 2017
This is the first book I've read by Wood. I really like how he integrates native American medicine, folklore, fae and shamanism. The descriptions of each herb are lengthy albeit long. He prescribes only a few drops at a time so I'm not sure I would follow that amount. Also this book does not show you how to make your own teas, tinctures. For that you have to read Rosemary Gladstar's book on medicinal herbs. I look forward to reading his other books.
February 28, 2019
Review - The Book of Herbal Wisdom: Using Plants as Medicines by Matthew Wood, Berkeley, CA: North Atlantic Books, 1997.
After reviewing “Herbal Allies” by Robert Rogers, a book that I found very important to my personal journey into medicinal plants, Rogers emailed me, thanking me for the review, but he added that I needed to review Matthew Wood’s books. With this introduction I was led to Wood’s book, “The Book of Herbal Wisdom: Using Plants as Medicines.” His stories of 41 different medicinal plants are very useful, enlightening and readable. I will select several to review, but most important are the six preliminary chapters that provide ways or systems for categorizing the plants medicines and medical problems, thus giving a clearer system as how the plants can be used.
One of the most important ideas I have gained from reading these books is to more deeply recognize how our Great Mother Earth has created all life to be interdependent upon each other for a healthy and sustainable balance, and when used properly the Earth’s flora becomes a very important piece in maintaining this healthy balance. One of my beliefs is that about ten thousand years ago with the beginning of the era of agriculture and the domestication of animals we began to believe in the so called knowledge of good and evil that gave us controlling dominion over the Earth. Because of our greed for wealth this beginning has led to the destruction of the Earth, destroying the Earth that had so healthily maintained the hunter-gatherers of the earlier era. This knowledge threw us out of the Garden of Eden and is where our current medical practices have been amiss by ignoring the beautiful healthy and sustainable balance of all life that our Mother Earth has provided.
This belief is beautifully restated by Matthew Wood. He begins with the idea that plants have stories to tell, stories that “begin in the hidden depths of the earth, in the unknown light of a place called the Underworld. From this source of mystery and power, the healing power and wisdom of the herbs ray out like a light, into our world. They never lose the magic that is innate to the inhabitants of the world of mystery… People try to press herbs into a rational scientific box. This is not only entirely foreign to them, it kills their spirit and does not make ours soar” (P. 4). The excitement I am finding in my own journey is to connect with the plants in the Underworld through shamanic dreamtime journeying using ecstatic trance. As Wood describes, the power of animal spirit guides, the bear, the wolf, and the turtle teach us so much, but the spirit guides of the medicinal herbs are also available to us if we open ourselves to them through observation and dreamtime experiences as found in vision quests. The American Indians, as well as the ancient Greeks, believed in the knowledge that comes from dreamtime.
Wood then proceeds by offering several useful systems for listening to the herbal spirit guides. One prominent way is to recognize the signatures of the plants. The doctrine of signatures “is that a plant resembles the disease, organ or person for which it is remedial”…“Signatures represent configurations of energy or patterns in plants and these correspond to similar patterns in people. We are not looking for superficial resemblances, but for one that operates on the level of essence.” (Pgs. 21-22). This essence is found through intuition and imagination, again bringing us into the realm of dreamtime. Dreamtime I find is best accessed through our nighttime dreams and through such waking dream experiences as found in hypnotic and ecstatic trance, experiences that take us into the spirit world where the signatures of plants become clear. One of Wood’s examples is of the Juniper, a saxifrage with roots that clove and break apart rock, thus it is suited for breaking kidney stones, especially meaningful to me since I have been recently diagnosed as having a kidney stone. I experienced this signature characteristic of the Juniper as I sat before and communed with one while in ecstatic trance, a Juniper that is growing on a rock shelf of blue stone at our home in the Hudson Valley of New York.
Wood then examines a number of interesting classification schemes. First is the Greek four humors or temperaments: the sanguine of people possessing an excess of red bile or blood causing them to be impulsive and joyful but without restraints, thus with a tendency towards hemorrhage by being careless. Then there is the choleric or bilious temperament for those with an excess of yellow bile or choler who tend to be willful and angry with jaundice, liver or digestive problems. Third is the phlegmatic temperament of those who are full of mucus, moody and sentimental. And finally there are those with a melancholic or black bile temperament who tend towards inactivity and death.
Another scheme is of plants that are categorized as hot or cold and moist or dry with these characteristics graded from one to five in intensity, e.g. the juniper berry is cold and dry in the third degree. Another scheme is the four elements of earth, air, fire and water with possibly a fifth element, the spiritual. The Chinese scheme of Yin and Yang is also considered. How these classification schemes may be used in classifying medicinal plants and medical problems is considered, each adding something to the wisdom of medicinal herbs.
I found the next chapter on Alchemy and Chemistry the most enlightening. During the seventeenth century emerged the beginning of our understanding of what our Earth is composed with the discovery of a number of elements such as phosphorus, gold, iron, sodium and sulfur. Over the next century this list of inorganic elements grew, but understanding the nature of organic substances lagged behind. The organic substances were recognized as different from the inorganic elements and initially were categorized in a broad classification scheme of their effect on the human body: the bitters, tannins, volatile oils, resins, carbohydrates, mucilage, salts and minerals, saponins, alkaloids, phenolic compounds, flavonoids, cardiac glycosides, coumarins, acids, and anthraquinones. For example, the wide varieties of bitters have a bitter taste and stimulate secretion of digestive juices and functioning of the liver. The resins produced by plants and trees are for protection against fungal infections or injuries. The tannins are astringents to bind and tone tissues. This classification of organic compounds has become very useful in describing the beneficial nature of the medicinal plants and herbs, and it is used along with the hot/cold and moist/dry scheme throughout the remainder of the book as Wood describes his list of medicinal herbs. Wood prefers to use small doses of his herbs and uses them individually though he is not against the use of combinations of the herbs.
Of the 41 herbs that Wood describes I will review just three, Burdock, Nettles, and Yarrow, three that grow in great profusion in our area of the country. Burdock and Nettles are especially important to me because they were the first that I grew accustom to using in our garden and yard. We have enjoyed eating the young shoots of nettles each spring but with the frequent stings we received from our stand of nettles we quickly learned to appreciate the burdock because of the way that with a quick rub the burdock leaf takes away the sting. Also of curiosity is that the two plants seem to generally grow near each other.
Stinging Nettles
In each chapter Wood begins with a description of how the plant is used then concludes the chapter with how it is prepared and the dosage to be used. From antiquity the mature Nettle stalks have been used for the strength of the fiber of which it is composed, fiber used for making cloths, rope and netting. The linen made from this fiber has been unearthed from two thousand year old burial sites yet in good condition. When during the world wars Germany was cut off from a source of cotton their uniforms were made from Nettles, and now in such places as gun shows it is sorry to see that the German uniforms are found still in beautiful shape whereas the American uniforms are rarely available.
Nettles like especially rich soil and flourishes near septic systems and outhouses. This trait may be the reason why it is the highest vegetable source for protein and is enriched with nitrates and uric acid. Because of its high ability to remove uric acid it is a very good remedy for kidney problems and gout, and because of its high nutritional value it is used to treat anemia. It is also used to treat inactivity and has been used to whip paralyzed limbs to bring the muscles back into action. Matthew Wood offers many stories of when the plants have been used most effectively. One example is of a man with a serious back injury who was told he would never walk again, but by repeatedly forcing himself to walk through a patch of nettles he managed to regain his ability to walk. The formic acid that produces the sting quickly deteriorates after picking so in order to benefit from this plant it must be used quickly or freeze-dried. It also removes mucus and phlegm so is good for opening the lungs, cleaning the kidneys and treating fevers. It is a hot and dry plant so it is useful in cold and damp situation such as in London. Lastly it almost immediately gives relief to the pain of burns and promotes rapid healing as is suggested by its burning, stinging signature. Nettles can be hung to dry in the shade on a warm dry day, though it must be used more persistently when dried in this way. It can be tinctured in brandy or vodka.
Burdock
Burdock is another plant that cleanses the liver and kidneys as a blood purifier. It is classified as a cooling and moderately drying plant. Its cooling nature makes sense in treating the hot sting of Nettles by neutralizing the formic acid. Its personality may be described by its deep and strong roots. It is slow, steady and strong. Its hardy influence can rejuvenate old deep down chronic conditions. The bitter yet sweet roots with their high oil content when nibbled on raw assists digestion and relieves inflammation such as from a sore throat. The seed can be ground in a coffee mill and used for the same purposes. Its signature large leaves like those of mullein and comfrey have a strong action on the skin and lungs, and the burs seize like Velcro to improve memory. It is also effective in treating problems with the uterus and a swollen prostate. A stored root quickly goes rancid because of its high oil content so it is best stored in brandy or glycerin.
Yarrow
The sticks of the stems of Yarrow have been used in China as divining sticks. Medically its more magical use is to stem arterial bleeding of deep cuts and wounds that cut to the bone. One signature of the plant is it lacy leaf in which the leaf segments cut back to the central vein or back to the bone. Wood suggests that in stemming the flow of blood Yarrow causes the artery to suck up the blood. It also lessens fevers. The Chinese think of heat as causing the blood to become restless, thus the cool nature of Yarrow quiets the blood. It is also used as a bitter tonic for digestion. It grows in rough and gravely soil and the juice of its young leaves is used in healing. A poultice of Yarrow is good to reduce swelling and blood blisters. One of Wood’s examples is of a man who was unconscious and hospitalized due to a brain aneurism and was not expected to regain consciousness. A friend spent her time dripping yarrow on his lips, and he woke after a week and soon regained most of his previous functions. This cold and dry plant can make the mind calm and rational, and it induces sleep. It has a strong affinity to blood and bleeding such that it is important for female complaints as a menstrual regulator. It is also used as a medicine for skin cancer. I have several pre-cancer lesions on my forehead so have been using a tincture of yarrow which seems to be healing the lesions. The plant is most powerful when it is grown in sandy, gravely soil. Yarrow grown in rich soil where it may grow to over three feet tall should be avoided.
In my continued pursuit of understanding the medical nature or uses of plants this book is an important resource for the 41 plants Wood reviews. Though his descriptions of the plants are most enjoyable reading, and I have read a number of these descriptions, there is so much information that to benefit most from the book is to return to the description of a particular plant when communing with the spirit of the plant. I have been visiting these plants while in ecstatic trance and find that these trance experiences bring me very close to the plant where they become alive within me. On these ecstatic trance journeys I use three ecstatic trance postures, first a divination posture to ask questions regarding the beneficial nature of the plant, second a healing posture where I hold the plant next to my heart to hear what it has to say to me, and third, a metamorphosis or shape-shifting posture to become the plant to bring it alive within me. Over these three sessions, each at least a day apart, I learn much of the personality of the plant as it becomes part of me. It is during this process that I find reading about the plant, especially Wood’s description, most powerful as the plant become alive within me such that it will not be forgotten. Also in this process of learning I find that I cannot visit the spirits of more than three plants per month, otherwise what I leaning is lost in confusion. During this time of learning about a particular plant it is beneficial to use it for how it is meant to be used. This is one reason why I have selected Stinging Nettles, Burdock and Yarrow.
After reviewing “Herbal Allies” by Robert Rogers, a book that I found very important to my personal journey into medicinal plants, Rogers emailed me, thanking me for the review, but he added that I needed to review Matthew Wood’s books. With this introduction I was led to Wood’s book, “The Book of Herbal Wisdom: Using Plants as Medicines.” His stories of 41 different medicinal plants are very useful, enlightening and readable. I will select several to review, but most important are the six preliminary chapters that provide ways or systems for categorizing the plants medicines and medical problems, thus giving a clearer system as how the plants can be used.
One of the most important ideas I have gained from reading these books is to more deeply recognize how our Great Mother Earth has created all life to be interdependent upon each other for a healthy and sustainable balance, and when used properly the Earth’s flora becomes a very important piece in maintaining this healthy balance. One of my beliefs is that about ten thousand years ago with the beginning of the era of agriculture and the domestication of animals we began to believe in the so called knowledge of good and evil that gave us controlling dominion over the Earth. Because of our greed for wealth this beginning has led to the destruction of the Earth, destroying the Earth that had so healthily maintained the hunter-gatherers of the earlier era. This knowledge threw us out of the Garden of Eden and is where our current medical practices have been amiss by ignoring the beautiful healthy and sustainable balance of all life that our Mother Earth has provided.
This belief is beautifully restated by Matthew Wood. He begins with the idea that plants have stories to tell, stories that “begin in the hidden depths of the earth, in the unknown light of a place called the Underworld. From this source of mystery and power, the healing power and wisdom of the herbs ray out like a light, into our world. They never lose the magic that is innate to the inhabitants of the world of mystery… People try to press herbs into a rational scientific box. This is not only entirely foreign to them, it kills their spirit and does not make ours soar” (P. 4). The excitement I am finding in my own journey is to connect with the plants in the Underworld through shamanic dreamtime journeying using ecstatic trance. As Wood describes, the power of animal spirit guides, the bear, the wolf, and the turtle teach us so much, but the spirit guides of the medicinal herbs are also available to us if we open ourselves to them through observation and dreamtime experiences as found in vision quests. The American Indians, as well as the ancient Greeks, believed in the knowledge that comes from dreamtime.
Wood then proceeds by offering several useful systems for listening to the herbal spirit guides. One prominent way is to recognize the signatures of the plants. The doctrine of signatures “is that a plant resembles the disease, organ or person for which it is remedial”…“Signatures represent configurations of energy or patterns in plants and these correspond to similar patterns in people. We are not looking for superficial resemblances, but for one that operates on the level of essence.” (Pgs. 21-22). This essence is found through intuition and imagination, again bringing us into the realm of dreamtime. Dreamtime I find is best accessed through our nighttime dreams and through such waking dream experiences as found in hypnotic and ecstatic trance, experiences that take us into the spirit world where the signatures of plants become clear. One of Wood’s examples is of the Juniper, a saxifrage with roots that clove and break apart rock, thus it is suited for breaking kidney stones, especially meaningful to me since I have been recently diagnosed as having a kidney stone. I experienced this signature characteristic of the Juniper as I sat before and communed with one while in ecstatic trance, a Juniper that is growing on a rock shelf of blue stone at our home in the Hudson Valley of New York.
Wood then examines a number of interesting classification schemes. First is the Greek four humors or temperaments: the sanguine of people possessing an excess of red bile or blood causing them to be impulsive and joyful but without restraints, thus with a tendency towards hemorrhage by being careless. Then there is the choleric or bilious temperament for those with an excess of yellow bile or choler who tend to be willful and angry with jaundice, liver or digestive problems. Third is the phlegmatic temperament of those who are full of mucus, moody and sentimental. And finally there are those with a melancholic or black bile temperament who tend towards inactivity and death.
Another scheme is of plants that are categorized as hot or cold and moist or dry with these characteristics graded from one to five in intensity, e.g. the juniper berry is cold and dry in the third degree. Another scheme is the four elements of earth, air, fire and water with possibly a fifth element, the spiritual. The Chinese scheme of Yin and Yang is also considered. How these classification schemes may be used in classifying medicinal plants and medical problems is considered, each adding something to the wisdom of medicinal herbs.
I found the next chapter on Alchemy and Chemistry the most enlightening. During the seventeenth century emerged the beginning of our understanding of what our Earth is composed with the discovery of a number of elements such as phosphorus, gold, iron, sodium and sulfur. Over the next century this list of inorganic elements grew, but understanding the nature of organic substances lagged behind. The organic substances were recognized as different from the inorganic elements and initially were categorized in a broad classification scheme of their effect on the human body: the bitters, tannins, volatile oils, resins, carbohydrates, mucilage, salts and minerals, saponins, alkaloids, phenolic compounds, flavonoids, cardiac glycosides, coumarins, acids, and anthraquinones. For example, the wide varieties of bitters have a bitter taste and stimulate secretion of digestive juices and functioning of the liver. The resins produced by plants and trees are for protection against fungal infections or injuries. The tannins are astringents to bind and tone tissues. This classification of organic compounds has become very useful in describing the beneficial nature of the medicinal plants and herbs, and it is used along with the hot/cold and moist/dry scheme throughout the remainder of the book as Wood describes his list of medicinal herbs. Wood prefers to use small doses of his herbs and uses them individually though he is not against the use of combinations of the herbs.
Of the 41 herbs that Wood describes I will review just three, Burdock, Nettles, and Yarrow, three that grow in great profusion in our area of the country. Burdock and Nettles are especially important to me because they were the first that I grew accustom to using in our garden and yard. We have enjoyed eating the young shoots of nettles each spring but with the frequent stings we received from our stand of nettles we quickly learned to appreciate the burdock because of the way that with a quick rub the burdock leaf takes away the sting. Also of curiosity is that the two plants seem to generally grow near each other.
Stinging Nettles
In each chapter Wood begins with a description of how the plant is used then concludes the chapter with how it is prepared and the dosage to be used. From antiquity the mature Nettle stalks have been used for the strength of the fiber of which it is composed, fiber used for making cloths, rope and netting. The linen made from this fiber has been unearthed from two thousand year old burial sites yet in good condition. When during the world wars Germany was cut off from a source of cotton their uniforms were made from Nettles, and now in such places as gun shows it is sorry to see that the German uniforms are found still in beautiful shape whereas the American uniforms are rarely available.
Nettles like especially rich soil and flourishes near septic systems and outhouses. This trait may be the reason why it is the highest vegetable source for protein and is enriched with nitrates and uric acid. Because of its high ability to remove uric acid it is a very good remedy for kidney problems and gout, and because of its high nutritional value it is used to treat anemia. It is also used to treat inactivity and has been used to whip paralyzed limbs to bring the muscles back into action. Matthew Wood offers many stories of when the plants have been used most effectively. One example is of a man with a serious back injury who was told he would never walk again, but by repeatedly forcing himself to walk through a patch of nettles he managed to regain his ability to walk. The formic acid that produces the sting quickly deteriorates after picking so in order to benefit from this plant it must be used quickly or freeze-dried. It also removes mucus and phlegm so is good for opening the lungs, cleaning the kidneys and treating fevers. It is a hot and dry plant so it is useful in cold and damp situation such as in London. Lastly it almost immediately gives relief to the pain of burns and promotes rapid healing as is suggested by its burning, stinging signature. Nettles can be hung to dry in the shade on a warm dry day, though it must be used more persistently when dried in this way. It can be tinctured in brandy or vodka.
Burdock
Burdock is another plant that cleanses the liver and kidneys as a blood purifier. It is classified as a cooling and moderately drying plant. Its cooling nature makes sense in treating the hot sting of Nettles by neutralizing the formic acid. Its personality may be described by its deep and strong roots. It is slow, steady and strong. Its hardy influence can rejuvenate old deep down chronic conditions. The bitter yet sweet roots with their high oil content when nibbled on raw assists digestion and relieves inflammation such as from a sore throat. The seed can be ground in a coffee mill and used for the same purposes. Its signature large leaves like those of mullein and comfrey have a strong action on the skin and lungs, and the burs seize like Velcro to improve memory. It is also effective in treating problems with the uterus and a swollen prostate. A stored root quickly goes rancid because of its high oil content so it is best stored in brandy or glycerin.
Yarrow
The sticks of the stems of Yarrow have been used in China as divining sticks. Medically its more magical use is to stem arterial bleeding of deep cuts and wounds that cut to the bone. One signature of the plant is it lacy leaf in which the leaf segments cut back to the central vein or back to the bone. Wood suggests that in stemming the flow of blood Yarrow causes the artery to suck up the blood. It also lessens fevers. The Chinese think of heat as causing the blood to become restless, thus the cool nature of Yarrow quiets the blood. It is also used as a bitter tonic for digestion. It grows in rough and gravely soil and the juice of its young leaves is used in healing. A poultice of Yarrow is good to reduce swelling and blood blisters. One of Wood’s examples is of a man who was unconscious and hospitalized due to a brain aneurism and was not expected to regain consciousness. A friend spent her time dripping yarrow on his lips, and he woke after a week and soon regained most of his previous functions. This cold and dry plant can make the mind calm and rational, and it induces sleep. It has a strong affinity to blood and bleeding such that it is important for female complaints as a menstrual regulator. It is also used as a medicine for skin cancer. I have several pre-cancer lesions on my forehead so have been using a tincture of yarrow which seems to be healing the lesions. The plant is most powerful when it is grown in sandy, gravely soil. Yarrow grown in rich soil where it may grow to over three feet tall should be avoided.
In my continued pursuit of understanding the medical nature or uses of plants this book is an important resource for the 41 plants Wood reviews. Though his descriptions of the plants are most enjoyable reading, and I have read a number of these descriptions, there is so much information that to benefit most from the book is to return to the description of a particular plant when communing with the spirit of the plant. I have been visiting these plants while in ecstatic trance and find that these trance experiences bring me very close to the plant where they become alive within me. On these ecstatic trance journeys I use three ecstatic trance postures, first a divination posture to ask questions regarding the beneficial nature of the plant, second a healing posture where I hold the plant next to my heart to hear what it has to say to me, and third, a metamorphosis or shape-shifting posture to become the plant to bring it alive within me. Over these three sessions, each at least a day apart, I learn much of the personality of the plant as it becomes part of me. It is during this process that I find reading about the plant, especially Wood’s description, most powerful as the plant become alive within me such that it will not be forgotten. Also in this process of learning I find that I cannot visit the spirits of more than three plants per month, otherwise what I leaning is lost in confusion. During this time of learning about a particular plant it is beneficial to use it for how it is meant to be used. This is one reason why I have selected Stinging Nettles, Burdock and Yarrow.
March 14, 2021
I could reread this 10 more times and still find new things -- matthew wood is incredibly experienced and knowledgable and expresses the essential qualities of the plants he chose to write about in an extraordinarily astute manner. The level of research and personal experience contained in this book is unbelievable - I've never heard anyone talk about plants the way he does, and I feel I understand some of these plants so much better than before. (particularly chamomile, red clover, and elderberry)
May 22, 2008
More to come on this when the book is finished, but Matthew Wood is an amazing writer. He makes the folkloric traditions surrounding the many many plants he discusses come to life while never loosing the thread of semi-scientific thought that gives herbalism what little authority it has in these modern times.
February 6, 2008
ok, this book is sort of like reading fairy tales, only all of the stories go something like this: a person has an incurable problem, takes three drops of some particular extract of an herb, and voila! they are cured. i love it. good information, but the stories are to be taken with a grain of salt. nice connections to chinese medicine in a western herbalist context.
January 16, 2023
A very readable guide to herbal medicine, with many of the author's experiences as a practitioner and personal use. At no point was it dry or boring, and it could well have been dry for a 500+ page book on plants.
Highly recommended for anyone interested in growing or using herbs for health and well-being or as part of a course in the subject.
Highly recommended for anyone interested in growing or using herbs for health and well-being or as part of a course in the subject.
November 5, 2019
I never thought I would read what could be considered a "reference book" all the way through but I found Wood's style very engaging and once I got into it very satisfying with the knowledge I was receiving. I ordered more of his books.
January 17, 2024
Matthew is such an amazing healer. This book tells of his wide diversity of knowledge - Native American medicine, Chinese medicine, Homeopathy and western herbalism. His historical knowledge is highlighted in this book as well.
April 18, 2020
This is one of the best herbals I have used. These plants are wonderful cures and palliatives. Thank you so much for writing this book. You have changed my life.
November 27, 2023
My fave of Wood's books. Love the stories, the info on doses. Highly recommend.
April 18, 2024
I only wish I could identify 1/4 of the plants named in this book. As a strong believer in natural medicine, this book was an eye-opener. Will definitely share it with others. Really unsure why the author, in the 21st century, kept referring to Native Americans as "Indians".
February 16, 2017
This book has excellent content. I am docking one star partially because its scope is more limited than I'd like and partially because I found it hard to quickly understand each herb. For example, if I was interested in what nettles was good for I'd have to read most of the nettles section. It also looked like things were written for people with more experience than I had.
On the positive side there were thorough descriptions, the healing properties are more proven and less anecdotal than many sources. There are also sections on magical uses, dosages, preparations and toxicity.
On the positive side there were thorough descriptions, the healing properties are more proven and less anecdotal than many sources. There are also sections on magical uses, dosages, preparations and toxicity.
January 5, 2008
Only a handful of plants, but an extensive analysis of each one, covering folk use as well as current wisdom.
December 3, 2008
Wonderful materia medica of western herbs written by an amazing soul.
January 5, 2009
An excellent book, crammed with fascinating information and observations. Matthew Wood is a thinker, and it comes through clearly in his books.
July 14, 2009
Very interesting. Well written, a little dry. I would have liked to see clearer colour illustrations.
November 4, 2009
Would recommend Woods's "The Practice of Traditional Western Herbalism" over this one, but this one does have info on a larger number of plants.
July 4, 2010
Really good book of herbs and their uses from the Native American viewpoint giving a cosmological context.
July 9, 2011
One of my favorite herb books by one of my favorite authors.
June 3, 2012
An excellent book an well worth the price!
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June 18, 2012good
December 1, 2013
one of the best herb books I have read, informative and interesting it reads like a great novel as well as a great text book
September 29, 2014
Potent information and a great read! Loved the stories.
January 26, 2016
Another amazing required herbal resource. i am so grateful for the abundance of practitioners devoted to the plants and the craft.
December 18, 2016
You love herbalism this is a book for you.
Matthew Woods is a man of great knowledge.
Matthew Woods is a man of great knowledge.
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