The Herbal Alchemist's Handbook: A Grimoire of Philtres. Elixirs, Oils, Incense, and Formulas for Ritual Use

by Karen Harrison

Herbs have been used for medicine, magic, and ritual for centuries. The ancient arts of Herbal Alchemy and Herbal Magick combine an understanding of the healing and energizing effects of herbs (roots, leaves, flowers, resins and essential oils) with an understanding of the cycles of the natural world--the astrological movement of the stars and planets, and the cycles of the earth’s seasons.

In this easy-to-use compendium of herbs and their energy associations, master herbalist and magick practitioner Karen Harrison offers formulas anyone can use to obtain courage, creativity, and lasting health, and to increase prosperity and to enhance psychic and spiritual powers. Harrison shows how to select herbs based on their astrological associations as well as their medicinal properties. With a materia magica of more than 150 herbs and a multitude of recipes, readers will learn how to blend incense, ceremonial oils, bath salts, herbal amulets, fluid condensers, and herbal philtres; and how to use them in meditation, ritual, or energy work.

Discover the best herbs to improve any area of your life!

Genres: Witchcraft, Alchemy, Nonfiction, Herbs, Spirituality, Occult, Health

258 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 1, 2011

Reviews

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book. It gave me new ideas and inspired me to try new things, which is something I'm always grateful to find. Her overview of planetary energies and how those correspond to various herbs was useful to me, because while I am familiar with the uses of herbs within ritual and witchcraft related contexts, I've never delved into just what it means that - for example- fly agaric is an "herb of Pluto." Now I have a better understanding of just what that implies. Yes I know, I probably should have looked deeper into the system years ago, but I didn't!

I was really intrigued by the incorporation of numerology in formula composition, and already have a personal blend in the works. The natal chart/horoscope formula method is also interesting, but I need to broaden my horizons a bit more in astrology before messing with it. Not saying that she didn't supply enough information to successfully jump right in, I just prefer to do a bit more reading first. My astrological experience/forays only includes looking at my daily horoscope in the newspaper while drinking my first cup of coffee in the morning...

Is this the be all and end all reference on this subject? Absolutely not, but it's a good primer on it. There are formulas and rituals for each planet, so the reader is encouraged to get a feel for working with various botanicals and familiarizing themselves with the properties through a hands-on approach. I really enjoy tooling around with herbs and oils (and setting them on fire or stuffing them in pouches with rocks and other stuff) and jump at any exercise that gives me a legitimate, educational reason to buy more for my already overflowing cabinet. I'm delighted to be working outside my comfort zone with some botanicals that I have never worked with before. Her practical advice for actually making things like bath salts/teas, oil blends and loose incenses is awesome. Read through it and you'll avoid screwing up your blends and kitchen equipment while experimenting. Trust me, some of those oils, resins and flowers are so pricey that you will want to waste as little as possible.

I do have a few caveats about the appendices. For the most part, the information is solid, but I did catch some typos. The chart for daily planetary energies for the outer three planets is off. I had to white it out and put the planet names under the proper days. Appendix A has a few contradictory listings of correspondences when compared against subsequent assignations given for particular elemental energies. Sneaky stuff like that is unfortunately in more than just a couple of listings.

I advise anyone who is serious about doing this kind of work to grab another reference for herbs and do some cross-checking. I advise cross-checking no matter what kind of esoteric work is being performed, honestly. Even Cunningham's reference guide will do. It also has more listings. Paul Beyerl's books are also excellent references and guides. Beyerl also goes more in depth about the medicinal and toxic properties of the plants, which is highly important: some things should never be ingested, bathed in or even touched with bare hands, and it's best to know these things before wading in.

Happy herbing!

[Nicole Reid · Rating 2 out of 5]

My biggest concern with this book is the same concern I find I have with pretty much any book that lists properties and correspondences of any kind. That concern is: where the heck did the author come by the information she included in this book?

There is no bibliography or works cited of any kind, and that’s worrisome because it’s not as if the author pulled all the information in the book out of nowhere. She had to learn it somewhere and as there’s no credit given how am I to know that any of the information isn’t just made up or part of the author’s own unverified personal gnosis?

As an herbalist myself, I’m glad to see the Latin names of the herbs mentioned in the Herbal Materia Magicka included with their common names - this is a really important aspect of plant names that is often overlooked by beginners who might not know that one common name can be used for several different plants.

Because of the lack of references to support the veracity of the information in this book, I find it hard to trust in the claims about which plants are associated with which planets. Says who? The author? Based on what? A masters degree in herbology doesn’t confer this kind of information. So where did it come from?

There’s a lot of information in this book that could be useful. But just trusting in the author’s say-so from decades of experience isn’t enough for me. I want to know where she came by her information.

It’s curious that recommendations for this book come from the likes of Christopher Penczak and Judika Illes and that the book is published by an esoteric publisher. I’d have expected more throughness from the editors and at least a section on other magickal works to consult and cross-reference.

[Rosemary Bloom · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is heavily concentrated on aligning your work with planetary influences, something that I am not a huge believer in. Another who does find that helpful may find this useful. There are no recipes or instructions that stand out more than other books on herbalism. I did not finish the entire book.

[TresJ · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book. I need to order a hardcopy of it! Its not as 'woo-woo' as the title sounds. It is a extremely in depth primer on understanding and using natural oils and herbs in everyday uses.

[Kayley · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's a great book, but I just wish the sections were organized better.

[Annemarie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a very interesting read, especially since I knew so little about the subject. I did notice one of the tables was incorrect (or the text describing it was wrong, one or the other).

[Pasquale Grasso · Rating 5 out of 5]

So much great information! A must have for herbalist and witch alike!

[Spider Goddess · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent reference book. Though I did enjoy reading it from cover-to-cover, this only acquainted me with all of the valuable information contained herein. I shall refer back to it regularly, I am sure.

[Aphrodisiastes Le fay · Rating 5 out of 5]

EXCELLENTE. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND. :)

[Shannon Dillman · Rating 2 out of 5]

Easy to put this book down. Was hoping for more healing properties and less magic. Nothing to write home about.

[Axel]

the books are interesting

[Angela Pippinger · Rating 3 out of 5]

http://thepaganmomblog.com/reviews/th...