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Plant Magic: A Year of Green Wisdom for Pagans & Wiccans
Connect to the natural world in ways you never expected with the many magical uses of ordinary and classically witchy plants. Plant Magic presents a unique approach to working with plants in concert with the cycles of nature. Learn which ones best align with the sabbats on the Wheel of the Year and which are most useful for the time between them.
Sandra Kynes guides you through a year of plant magic, providing significant dates and detailed information on garden, wild, and household plants associated with each month. Discover activities to grow your connection with nature, such as plant-based rituals to celebrate the seasons and incense burning to attract love and prosperity. Explore ways to develop your self-expression in the craft, from placing flowers on your altar to using herbs in your divinatory practices. Featuring lore, recipes, spells, and more, Plant Magic helps you better understand and be inspired by the green world.
Sandra Kynes guides you through a year of plant magic, providing significant dates and detailed information on garden, wild, and household plants associated with each month. Discover activities to grow your connection with nature, such as plant-based rituals to celebrate the seasons and incense burning to attract love and prosperity. Explore ways to develop your self-expression in the craft, from placing flowers on your altar to using herbs in your divinatory practices. Featuring lore, recipes, spells, and more, Plant Magic helps you better understand and be inspired by the green world.
264 pages, Paperback
Published March 8, 2017
11 people are currently reading
643 people want to read
About the author
Sandra Kynes
56 books124 followersI describe myself as an explorer of myth and magic. My inquisitiveness has led me to investigate the roots of my beliefs and to integrate my spiritual path with everyday life. I like to develop creative ways to explore the world, which serves as the basis for my books. I have written nine books; numbers ten and eleven are in progress. In addition to writing, I am a yoga instructor and Reiki practitioner.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
July 28, 2017
Excellent source for planting an herb garden and utilizing their properties.
February 8, 2020
Super thorough and detailed. Well organized. Comprehensive.
February 22, 2023
Admittedly, it wasn't as bad as I expected it to be. Or, rather, the first portion of the book wasn't; there's definitely some questionable information in it, and some of it is in desperate need of clarification and expansion, but it was certainly refreshing to see such a straightforward and mundane introduction to a book about Neo-Wiccan and Neopagan magic.
I was very happy to see in particular that the first portion of the book was concerned mostly with scientific names and botanical terminology, and the like. However, as already stated, it is in major need of supplementation in that regard. And to that end, on this topic I'd recommend picking up one or more of the following books to supplement it, for anyone looking to get into plants in any fashion: Plant Families, Practical Botany for Gardeners, A Botanist's Vocabulary, and / or Latin for Gardeners. All are good starting places that cover these subjects much better than a Neopagan book can (and certainly better than this one did).
Past that, there's some very minor warnings about plant toxicity that should have especially been more broadly expanded on- especially in relation to wild foraging activities and the high prospect for misidentification; I don't think what little warnings that were there were nearly adequate enough to cover the range of dangers, even with heavy emphasis on learning Gardener's Latin, and the importance of scientific names.
The rest of the information in this chapter is of little interest to me personally- being predominantly about astrology in relation to plants and the like. I did, however, find the more in depth look at Lunar Gardening a nice touch; Lunar Gardening is one of those things that's frequently mentioned but rarely actually tackled in any sort of depth. I can't verify that the information presented on it in Plant Magic is correct or not, however, since I don't know much on the topic myself. But it was admittedly nice to see it actually expanded on for once.
Once you get into the actual meat of the book, it's not particularly interesting. It's just a list of plants and some information about them- mostly in relation to magic and the like. It's filled with your fairly typical Neopagan errors like bad historical information (regarding the origins of the Epiphany, as one example), and your stereotypical (albeit fairly minor in this case, thankfully) anti-Christian sentiments, etc. There's some folklore here and there. Some crafts, chants, and various employments. Rune and Ogham associations (if you want good information on Ogham I'd suggest The Secret Language of the Druids instead; unfortunately I don't have a good source to recommend for Runes)... And that's.... Really all the rest of the book is.
It's pretty straightforward and fairly accurate to what was advertised. I don't think I'll get much use out of this one, though, personally. However, I don't think it'd be too horrible for a beginner, maybe, who's looking to get their toes wet in a way that's not particularly overwhelming. That said, I'd definitely recommend looking at it alongside much more in depth sources- as well as my typical warnings to disregard any historical claims in favor of proper academic texts; Neopagan books remain notoriously unreliable in regards to their medical, scientific, and historical claims, and their weird brand of pseudohistory absolutely demands cross-referencing against more historical and properly scientific academic sources.
I was very happy to see in particular that the first portion of the book was concerned mostly with scientific names and botanical terminology, and the like. However, as already stated, it is in major need of supplementation in that regard. And to that end, on this topic I'd recommend picking up one or more of the following books to supplement it, for anyone looking to get into plants in any fashion: Plant Families, Practical Botany for Gardeners, A Botanist's Vocabulary, and / or Latin for Gardeners. All are good starting places that cover these subjects much better than a Neopagan book can (and certainly better than this one did).
Past that, there's some very minor warnings about plant toxicity that should have especially been more broadly expanded on- especially in relation to wild foraging activities and the high prospect for misidentification; I don't think what little warnings that were there were nearly adequate enough to cover the range of dangers, even with heavy emphasis on learning Gardener's Latin, and the importance of scientific names.
The rest of the information in this chapter is of little interest to me personally- being predominantly about astrology in relation to plants and the like. I did, however, find the more in depth look at Lunar Gardening a nice touch; Lunar Gardening is one of those things that's frequently mentioned but rarely actually tackled in any sort of depth. I can't verify that the information presented on it in Plant Magic is correct or not, however, since I don't know much on the topic myself. But it was admittedly nice to see it actually expanded on for once.
Once you get into the actual meat of the book, it's not particularly interesting. It's just a list of plants and some information about them- mostly in relation to magic and the like. It's filled with your fairly typical Neopagan errors like bad historical information (regarding the origins of the Epiphany, as one example), and your stereotypical (albeit fairly minor in this case, thankfully) anti-Christian sentiments, etc. There's some folklore here and there. Some crafts, chants, and various employments. Rune and Ogham associations (if you want good information on Ogham I'd suggest The Secret Language of the Druids instead; unfortunately I don't have a good source to recommend for Runes)... And that's.... Really all the rest of the book is.
It's pretty straightforward and fairly accurate to what was advertised. I don't think I'll get much use out of this one, though, personally. However, I don't think it'd be too horrible for a beginner, maybe, who's looking to get their toes wet in a way that's not particularly overwhelming. That said, I'd definitely recommend looking at it alongside much more in depth sources- as well as my typical warnings to disregard any historical claims in favor of proper academic texts; Neopagan books remain notoriously unreliable in regards to their medical, scientific, and historical claims, and their weird brand of pseudohistory absolutely demands cross-referencing against more historical and properly scientific academic sources.
May 1, 2017
I'm always on the look out for more plant lore. This was an interesting book that I think pagans, Wiccans, or anyone could enjoy. I was actually drawn to the book for it's recipes and found much more! Worth reading if you are into herbs, plants, gardening, worship, etc...
June 3, 2018
I enjoyed this book very much. I love learning about herbs and gardening and this book was perfect. It's a fun read. Loved it.
June 5, 2021
A big thank you to the publisher for gifting me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review! I'm always so thankful to have these opportunities!
This book is filled with lovely information! It's meant to be a companion throughout the year and the book's introduction offers this:
"This book is a tool for learning about both ordinary and classically witchy plants. Going month by month, it highlights a range of plants from small herbs to mighty trees. Included are facts about the plant’s physical characteristics, its history and folklore, and how it can be used magically. While this book focuses on North American plants, we will see how plant mythology and folklore was often carried here by European settlers and applied to similar plants. In many cases, settlers brought plants with them to the New World."
I was so excited to learn more about plants and this book didn't disappoint in the least!
Within the first chapter I was so thrilled to see a whole section on the scientific names of plants - this information is so important and I have seen a few authors skim and skimp on this information. Knowing the exact plant you're working with can literally mean life or death, so many thanks to Kynes for including this right off the bat.
We have quite a few tables and charts up front as well, which was very helpful. It might seem overwhelming at first, but this information coming at us all at once makes reading the rest of the book much easier down the line!
This book is chonky, and the reason being that notable dates for each month are outlined with a way to celebrate and observe them with plants - including incantation and some ritualized work you can do with the "On the Calendar" sections.
The "In the Garden," "In the Wild," and "In the House" sections also go into plants within the month that have correspondence or ideas that coincide.
Further, there are little spells, rituals, and other plant adjacent materials - like essential oil suggestions - that differ month to month. A wellness tea in January, and a bath suggestion in February, for example.
Overall this book is a great companion to help you tap into the energies of the plant kingdom while honoring and syncing up with the Wheel of the Year, if that is a part of your practice.
I'm very glad to have been able to use this reference!
5/5 Triquetras for a well-written, well researched book that any green witch, plant or herbal aficionado would do well to have and reference all throughout the year!
This book is filled with lovely information! It's meant to be a companion throughout the year and the book's introduction offers this:
"This book is a tool for learning about both ordinary and classically witchy plants. Going month by month, it highlights a range of plants from small herbs to mighty trees. Included are facts about the plant’s physical characteristics, its history and folklore, and how it can be used magically. While this book focuses on North American plants, we will see how plant mythology and folklore was often carried here by European settlers and applied to similar plants. In many cases, settlers brought plants with them to the New World."
I was so excited to learn more about plants and this book didn't disappoint in the least!
Within the first chapter I was so thrilled to see a whole section on the scientific names of plants - this information is so important and I have seen a few authors skim and skimp on this information. Knowing the exact plant you're working with can literally mean life or death, so many thanks to Kynes for including this right off the bat.
We have quite a few tables and charts up front as well, which was very helpful. It might seem overwhelming at first, but this information coming at us all at once makes reading the rest of the book much easier down the line!
This book is chonky, and the reason being that notable dates for each month are outlined with a way to celebrate and observe them with plants - including incantation and some ritualized work you can do with the "On the Calendar" sections.
The "In the Garden," "In the Wild," and "In the House" sections also go into plants within the month that have correspondence or ideas that coincide.
Further, there are little spells, rituals, and other plant adjacent materials - like essential oil suggestions - that differ month to month. A wellness tea in January, and a bath suggestion in February, for example.
Overall this book is a great companion to help you tap into the energies of the plant kingdom while honoring and syncing up with the Wheel of the Year, if that is a part of your practice.
I'm very glad to have been able to use this reference!
5/5 Triquetras for a well-written, well researched book that any green witch, plant or herbal aficionado would do well to have and reference all throughout the year!
July 18, 2021
I like this book. I love the opportunity to read about plant lore even in the dead of winter when northern minnesota can feel far removed yet ominously close to nature. I do need to adjust the timing by reading the month ahead and the month upcoming to get a fully comprehensive glance at available plants to harvest due to zone differences
Want to read
June 19, 2019awesome
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 19, 2023
Plant Magic: A Year of Green Wisdom for Pagans and Wiccans by Sandra Kynes
264 Pages
Publisher: Llewellyn Publications, Llewellyn Worldwide Ltd
Release Date: March 8, 2017
Nonfiction (Adult), Nature, Outdoors, House Plants, Gardening, Magic
The book is divided into twelve chapters representing each month of year. She also includes Celtic tree months, eight sabbats, and other important dates. The plants included in the book are divided into three categories – in the garden, in the wild, and in the house. She also provides planetary aspects and attributes for magical work. These are important if the plants will be used for magical purposes.
I follow the lunar cycle and astrological signs for planting and harvesting so I am glad to have this additional information. I also follow the Celtic tree month and appreciate another resource for the trees. If you like working with plants, this is an excellent resource.
264 Pages
Publisher: Llewellyn Publications, Llewellyn Worldwide Ltd
Release Date: March 8, 2017
Nonfiction (Adult), Nature, Outdoors, House Plants, Gardening, Magic
The book is divided into twelve chapters representing each month of year. She also includes Celtic tree months, eight sabbats, and other important dates. The plants included in the book are divided into three categories – in the garden, in the wild, and in the house. She also provides planetary aspects and attributes for magical work. These are important if the plants will be used for magical purposes.
I follow the lunar cycle and astrological signs for planting and harvesting so I am glad to have this additional information. I also follow the Celtic tree month and appreciate another resource for the trees. If you like working with plants, this is an excellent resource.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews