Book Review: ‘The Green Witch’s Herb & Plant Encyclopedia – 150 Ingredients for Everyday Witchcraft’* by Rowan Morgana
Publisher: Callisto Publishing
Release Date: 23rd July, 2024
About the Author
Rowan is a practicing witch, Wiccan Priestess, coven sister, and Crone and Craft Elder who specialises in writing spells and rituals. She is known online through her website sacredwicca.com and @morganamagickspell on instagram. Rowan’s other books include: ‘Modern Wicca’ and ‘The Solitary Wicca Guide’.
About the Book
“Infusing your craft with plants and herbs is a powerful way to connect to Mother Earth. This green witchcraft Encyclopedia explores the most essential magical plants, offering you a complete resource for safely growing, foraging, harvesting, and using everything from aloe to valerian. Discover greater harmony with nature as you harness the natural energy of plants to create healing and balance in your life.
150 PLANT PROFILES Find detailed entries for the plants and herbs green witches use the most, including photos, explanations of each plant’s magical properties, and tips for how to grow them yourself.
HERBAL MAGIC IN ACTION Experience the power of plant magic with spells and rituals to try, such as banishing negativity with catnip and clover or building a fairy altar with foxglove and thyme.
HONE YOUR PRACTICE Part reference guide and part grimoire, this books helps you develop your green witch practice by exploring how to set intentions, create a sacred space, and maintain your own garden.”
My Thoughts
Finding the perfect encyclopedia of the magical properties of herbs and plants is the ultimate goal for any witch. Although not exhaustive, The Green Witch’s Encyclopedia… is a great starting point featuring the most commonly used magical ingredients.
Aimed at green witches the first section of the book focuses on introducing you to the practice and giving an overview of working with plants and herbs. The author explores what she believes are the ‘tenets of green witchcraft’, however, they are ideas that all witches will relate to even though, as Rowan states, there are no rules to green witchcraft.
The second section of the book is useful if you are looking to grow and harvest your own plants and herbs for magical use. Rowan details everything you need to know; the dos and don’ts of indoor and outdoor plant care, from watering to harvesting. Although I do grow my own plants and herbs I did find this section quite dry and a little boring. It could be because I am already familiar with most aspects of plant care, or that it was too much like reading a school textbook, but I would have preferred a more personal tone from the author.
Section three provides some magic basics with simple spells and charms. I would consider them very ‘light’ spells that have obvious Wiccan roots. They are good for beginners and are good examples of how spell crafting, particularly with herbs and plants, works.
Obviously it was the latter part of the book; the ‘Magical Plant Profiles’ that I was most interested in. 150 herbs and plants organised alphabetically. Each profile contains all the information you could possible need to work with plants and herbs in your spells or other magical ways. It’s worth reiterating that the profiles focus on the magical properties of the plants rather than medicinal.
Practical information includes: how best to tend to and look after the plant when gardening, the size it can grow to, and safety information such as whether it is edible, toxic, poisonous or safe/unsafe for pets. The magical information is invaluable for spell work and includes: the parts of the plants to use, the magical properties, magical amplifiers, (angel, chakra, crystals, tarot card) and other magical details associated with the plant such as: planetary ruler, moon phase, element, zodiac sign, gender, and deity. All things you can use to enhance your spell work.
I particularly liked the small details about the ‘lore’ of the plant which has been drawn from history and folklore.
Last but not least, there is a really useful directory in the back that organises the herbs and plants alphabetically by need. For example if you’re looking for something to help with divination then you can find a list of relevant herbs and their page number. This is not something I have come across before and it is great for reference. It’s a quick and easy way to find ingredients that will suit your spell intentions and requirements.
*Book gifted by the publisher.