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Witchcraft Medicine: Healing Arts, Shamanic Practices, and Forbidden Plants
An in-depth investigation of traditional European folk medicine and the healing arts of witches
Explores the outlawed medicine of witches suppressed by the state and the Church and how these plants can be used today
Reveals that female shamanic medicine can be found in cultures all over the world
Illustrated with color and black-and-white art reproductions dating back to the 16th century
Witch medicine is wild medicine. It does more than make one healthy, it creates lust and knowledge, ecstasy and mythological insight. In Witchcraft Medicine the authors take the reader on a journey that examines the women who mix the potions and become the healers; the legacy of Hecate; the demonization of nature's healing powers and sensuousness; the sorceress as shaman; and the plants associated with witches and devils. They explore important seasonal festivals and the plants associated with them, such as wolf's claw and calendula as herbs of the solstice and alder as an herb of the time of the dead--Samhain or Halloween. They also look at the history of forbidden medicine from the Inquisition to current drug laws, with an eye toward how the sacred plants of our forebears can be used once again.
Explores the outlawed medicine of witches suppressed by the state and the Church and how these plants can be used today
Reveals that female shamanic medicine can be found in cultures all over the world
Illustrated with color and black-and-white art reproductions dating back to the 16th century
Witch medicine is wild medicine. It does more than make one healthy, it creates lust and knowledge, ecstasy and mythological insight. In Witchcraft Medicine the authors take the reader on a journey that examines the women who mix the potions and become the healers; the legacy of Hecate; the demonization of nature's healing powers and sensuousness; the sorceress as shaman; and the plants associated with witches and devils. They explore important seasonal festivals and the plants associated with them, such as wolf's claw and calendula as herbs of the solstice and alder as an herb of the time of the dead--Samhain or Halloween. They also look at the history of forbidden medicine from the Inquisition to current drug laws, with an eye toward how the sacred plants of our forebears can be used once again.
272 pages, Paperback
First published June 1, 1998
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
July 27, 2012
I bought this book with some pretty high expectations.....A bit of a let down. All I can say is nothing new hear. The book gave a pretty basic over view of the intertwining history between witchcraft and herbalism. Those with a knowledge of Witchcraft 101 or higher I advise you to look elsewhere.
The forest or the wilderness was at onetime home for human kind and believe me Europe was covered with dense forests. Man was a nomadic hunter moving to this place and that place with the animals he hunted. In time man mastered agriculture and learned how to domesticate animals. With this domestication man began building his villages and becoming alienated from the forests. A hedge surrounded the forest and it was in the deep dark forest where all sorts of scary things dwelt. To keep himself safe man grew a hedge around his village to keep the forest out and his family safe inside.
The witch of the wise women used to live close to the hedge. They would communicate with the plant spirits and learn about different cures and how to work with the plants. The women were guided by the spirit of the plants. Wise women were respected and feared. To cure meant that one was able to poison.
The earth was considered the mother, Frau Holle, who later would become demonized as an old hag in faery tales. The Horned God was represented by the sun or the sky and was the one who ploughed the field and placed his seed. The mother gave birth and received the dead body after life was over.
The book does cover the mythos of witchcraft rather well. Christian Raatsch writes good chapters on Ethneogens and Hekate the Goddess of the witches. Reading his chapters did clarify things with regards to Hekate and her relation to the moon, Roman Diana, Prosperina and Artemis. I finally understood how Ayahuasca worked and the role of DMT and MAO inhibitors. Written throughout the chapters are lengthy descriptions of the herbs along with a wood cut illustration. I would rather see a photo.
Baneful herbs like Aconite, belladonna, henbane and others were used by witches to astral project and get to the realm of the spirits. The church would later ban these herbs for their association with witchcraft and possession was enough to have someone prosecuted during the burning times. Still these baneful herbs had many medicinal uses that are over looked.
The persecution started by the church and male dominated medical industry continues to this day. Backed by a staunch Christian mentality herbs like hemp, coca and a few others are outlawed despite the scientific proof demonstrating their health benefits. If someone does get intoxicated here and there like a drink after work what of it? It is wrong because someone chewed on a a coca leaf or smoked a joint. The witch scare continues under the form of a scare against drugs.
Despite the over all good view of history and uses of various herbs the book would have benefited the inclusion of some herbal recipes, especially flying ointments which seem rather hard to find. The book could have also added in more historical details.
The forest or the wilderness was at onetime home for human kind and believe me Europe was covered with dense forests. Man was a nomadic hunter moving to this place and that place with the animals he hunted. In time man mastered agriculture and learned how to domesticate animals. With this domestication man began building his villages and becoming alienated from the forests. A hedge surrounded the forest and it was in the deep dark forest where all sorts of scary things dwelt. To keep himself safe man grew a hedge around his village to keep the forest out and his family safe inside.
The witch of the wise women used to live close to the hedge. They would communicate with the plant spirits and learn about different cures and how to work with the plants. The women were guided by the spirit of the plants. Wise women were respected and feared. To cure meant that one was able to poison.
The earth was considered the mother, Frau Holle, who later would become demonized as an old hag in faery tales. The Horned God was represented by the sun or the sky and was the one who ploughed the field and placed his seed. The mother gave birth and received the dead body after life was over.
The book does cover the mythos of witchcraft rather well. Christian Raatsch writes good chapters on Ethneogens and Hekate the Goddess of the witches. Reading his chapters did clarify things with regards to Hekate and her relation to the moon, Roman Diana, Prosperina and Artemis. I finally understood how Ayahuasca worked and the role of DMT and MAO inhibitors. Written throughout the chapters are lengthy descriptions of the herbs along with a wood cut illustration. I would rather see a photo.
Baneful herbs like Aconite, belladonna, henbane and others were used by witches to astral project and get to the realm of the spirits. The church would later ban these herbs for their association with witchcraft and possession was enough to have someone prosecuted during the burning times. Still these baneful herbs had many medicinal uses that are over looked.
The persecution started by the church and male dominated medical industry continues to this day. Backed by a staunch Christian mentality herbs like hemp, coca and a few others are outlawed despite the scientific proof demonstrating their health benefits. If someone does get intoxicated here and there like a drink after work what of it? It is wrong because someone chewed on a a coca leaf or smoked a joint. The witch scare continues under the form of a scare against drugs.
Despite the over all good view of history and uses of various herbs the book would have benefited the inclusion of some herbal recipes, especially flying ointments which seem rather hard to find. The book could have also added in more historical details.
August 13, 2009
A blatant stroking of the newly new age feminine ego. There were so many blatantly WRONG facts by page 3, it was difficult for me to read further. I opened the book to the hedgewitch chapter. OMG... "In the neolithic age, farms were passed down matrilinearly." Okay, prove that fact... you got this information how, by pottery shards? Really, bulloney! You mean the men just up and gave up their hegemony to hand over a valuable thing like that? Where's the proof? There is none! and it went downhill from there... that women did this and women had that power, all intuitively guessed of course, as there is no fact to back this up. stroke me stroke me!
The historical facts were so wrong and the books that they quoted were so general. Course not many people would be reading Hans Peter Duerr at the same time so they wouldn't know that this book which uses his book as some kind of name dropping reference, didn't really quote him. And since they didn't directly quote him, just DROPPED HIS BOOK NAME, people wouldn't know the funny business going on.
This is a real shame as I think the herbal information may hold some water.... why fill the rest of it with new age fantasy?
*sigh* if you just HAVE to have this book, don't read anything but the herbal information and take THAT with a grain of salt... it may be true, but is it worth it to prove every little thing? This is really the type of book Llewellyn would publish, so if you like Llewellyn books, really, this book is for you, slim on facts, great on fantasy.
The historical facts were so wrong and the books that they quoted were so general. Course not many people would be reading Hans Peter Duerr at the same time so they wouldn't know that this book which uses his book as some kind of name dropping reference, didn't really quote him. And since they didn't directly quote him, just DROPPED HIS BOOK NAME, people wouldn't know the funny business going on.
This is a real shame as I think the herbal information may hold some water.... why fill the rest of it with new age fantasy?
*sigh* if you just HAVE to have this book, don't read anything but the herbal information and take THAT with a grain of salt... it may be true, but is it worth it to prove every little thing? This is really the type of book Llewellyn would publish, so if you like Llewellyn books, really, this book is for you, slim on facts, great on fantasy.
July 23, 2021
Witchcraft Medicine is a well-researched, informative read. It was written in the 1990s and as with any book, the time it was written needs to be taken into account when reading the book. This is by no means a reason to not read this book. If anything, it is interesting to anthropologists and historians to see how culture and perspectives change over time. As research continues to be conducted, theories evolve. As such, some theories discussed in this book (evolution/Neanderthal theory, Wicca beliefs, etc.) are interesting to read to see the perspective of the time but need to be read with a critical eye. These theories are only a small portion of the text; however, and the book is overall extremely well written.
It can be a bit slow since it is more academic in nature. While a lot it typically lost in translation, there are still many subtle nuances in the text where you can glean more by reading between the lines. I would recommend this book to historians, fellow anthropologists, and believers in witchcraft medicine.
It can be a bit slow since it is more academic in nature. While a lot it typically lost in translation, there are still many subtle nuances in the text where you can glean more by reading between the lines. I would recommend this book to historians, fellow anthropologists, and believers in witchcraft medicine.
October 26, 2012
I could never quite get a handle on this book, either how it was written or how it was organized; I wonder if maybe something was lost in the translation from the German.
In any case, this is a strange beast. It's meticulously cited when it comes to matters of herbal medicine, but the authors will periodically make incredibly controversial claims with no citation whatsoever. For example, at one point in the book they state that Moses was probably a magician who managed to fool the Jews into believing he was divinely inspired...and there's no citation to any work that backs up this theory. Why put in something that could potentially alienate so many readers when it's not even relevant?
Furthermore, the book doesn't make a strong case for the fact that herbal and folk medicine is much more effective than modern science gives it credit for, which appears to be the main point. Virtually every herb is credited with being good for menstrual cramps, as an abortifacient, and easing inflammation, or some combination thereof with a few more maladies thrown in. How useful could these herbs have been if they were all used for basically the same things, and incredibly varied symptoms that don't seem to have much to do with each other? All the herbs blur together since none of them seem to have specific uses; just about the only thing I specifically remember is that Belladonna is poisonous-- and it's probably ALSO an abortifacient.
Please note, I'm not saying that herbal medicine necessarily isn't useful, just that this book doesn't make that case very well.
It probably seems like I'm writing off the book as useless, which isn't really true; it's a lavishly illustrated, beautiful book. And the lore sections, which go into the associations between different plants and different pagan goddesses, are interesting, even if they do suffer from the same general problem of every goddess seemingly being associated with all the same herbs, because they're all "faces" of the same deity, or something. I don't regret buying it just for the illustrations and lore, but I think anyone who comes into it looking for solid information on herbal medicine, as used by the "witches" of yore, will probably be disappointed.
In any case, this is a strange beast. It's meticulously cited when it comes to matters of herbal medicine, but the authors will periodically make incredibly controversial claims with no citation whatsoever. For example, at one point in the book they state that Moses was probably a magician who managed to fool the Jews into believing he was divinely inspired...and there's no citation to any work that backs up this theory. Why put in something that could potentially alienate so many readers when it's not even relevant?
Furthermore, the book doesn't make a strong case for the fact that herbal and folk medicine is much more effective than modern science gives it credit for, which appears to be the main point. Virtually every herb is credited with being good for menstrual cramps, as an abortifacient, and easing inflammation, or some combination thereof with a few more maladies thrown in. How useful could these herbs have been if they were all used for basically the same things, and incredibly varied symptoms that don't seem to have much to do with each other? All the herbs blur together since none of them seem to have specific uses; just about the only thing I specifically remember is that Belladonna is poisonous-- and it's probably ALSO an abortifacient.
Please note, I'm not saying that herbal medicine necessarily isn't useful, just that this book doesn't make that case very well.
It probably seems like I'm writing off the book as useless, which isn't really true; it's a lavishly illustrated, beautiful book. And the lore sections, which go into the associations between different plants and different pagan goddesses, are interesting, even if they do suffer from the same general problem of every goddess seemingly being associated with all the same herbs, because they're all "faces" of the same deity, or something. I don't regret buying it just for the illustrations and lore, but I think anyone who comes into it looking for solid information on herbal medicine, as used by the "witches" of yore, will probably be disappointed.
August 2, 2007
The most important book for anyone who is considering the path of the Mother Goddess. This book shows us the true side of the witch: she is not a crazed woman flying on a broom in league with the devil, nor is she a wicca follower doing blind rituals. She is an herbal woman; a healer from the hedgerow. She uses sacred plants that can transform her conciousness and allow her to properly worship the Earth. The witch is a shaman.
This book is filled with sources and references, and unlike any random witch/wicca book it is written by acclaimed historians, anthropologists, and ethnobotanists. Christian Rätsch is one of the leading anthropologists and ethnobotanists in the world and brings to the book the emphasis of the witch as a shaman. He is the author of Marijuana Medicine, The Encyclopedia of Psychoactive Plants, The Dictionary of Sacred and Magical Plants, and co-author of Plants of the Gods. Claudia Muller-Ebeling and Wolf-dieter Storl also contribute to the book.
The book contains valuable information and preperations of medicinal and psychoactive plants. It gives historical accounts and folkloric traditions behind many of these plants. It discusses the similiarity between the persecution of the psychoactive plant using woman and the current persecution of psychoactive plant users some 500 years later. The Inquisition, the authors tell us, has not yet ended.
This book is filled with sources and references, and unlike any random witch/wicca book it is written by acclaimed historians, anthropologists, and ethnobotanists. Christian Rätsch is one of the leading anthropologists and ethnobotanists in the world and brings to the book the emphasis of the witch as a shaman. He is the author of Marijuana Medicine, The Encyclopedia of Psychoactive Plants, The Dictionary of Sacred and Magical Plants, and co-author of Plants of the Gods. Claudia Muller-Ebeling and Wolf-dieter Storl also contribute to the book.
The book contains valuable information and preperations of medicinal and psychoactive plants. It gives historical accounts and folkloric traditions behind many of these plants. It discusses the similiarity between the persecution of the psychoactive plant using woman and the current persecution of psychoactive plant users some 500 years later. The Inquisition, the authors tell us, has not yet ended.
August 22, 2021
This was a difficult, dense read. Translated from German, it contained a lot of the original German (with translations) as well as clear information on plants using the Latin names. I struggled to follow a flow to the book, but that may be because different chapters were written by different authors. The book contains a huge amount of replications of art, footnotes, and quotes, all very much cited. Most of the art, unfortunately, was relegated to postage-stamp sized black and white pictures in the margins, which made it very difficult to see them. The authors often described the art they referenced, which was helpful, since I could not see what they were talking about.
The book culminated into a chapter equating witchcraft medicine with the modern drug war. Although this is a logical progression, and a completely viable and defensible position, some of the statements in this chapter were patently wrong. They described modern pharmaceuticals as "inert." They basically dismissed the entire modern pharmaceutical system as a hoax. It was a little too much for me. There was a paragraph about a specific patent containing several errors regarding the patent system and how it functions. This was surprising given the heavy research that went into this book.
There is a lot of interesting information in here. It's definitely worth a slow read. It may be worthwhile to pull up some of the art online so you can see it better. Those who have a stronger background in visual art or herbalism may find this to be easier to follow than I did.
What I would say, though, is that by the end, I think I understood the theme that eluded me as I read most of the book. Herbs and herbal medicine has been connected to witchcraft throughout the centuries, both in reality and in mythology. As witchcraft became demonized by the rise of Christianity, so did the herbs and herbal medicines connected to them. Ultimately, the current drug war, specifically on cannabis and coca leaves, is an extension of that. Natural herbs that have beneficial qualities are demonized and banned by the Christian Right that controls most Western countries. This is not to say there aren't problems with these plants. The point is that most of the plants that have been used over the centuries have both positive and negative attributes, and the job of the witch is to strike a balance between poison and healing medicine. The persecution of and attempt at eradication of witches has led to the loss of the knowledge so essential to the use of these plants.
Though I struggled somewhat with the text, the overarching theme and much of the information within the book was interesting and worth digging into more.
The book culminated into a chapter equating witchcraft medicine with the modern drug war. Although this is a logical progression, and a completely viable and defensible position, some of the statements in this chapter were patently wrong. They described modern pharmaceuticals as "inert." They basically dismissed the entire modern pharmaceutical system as a hoax. It was a little too much for me. There was a paragraph about a specific patent containing several errors regarding the patent system and how it functions. This was surprising given the heavy research that went into this book.
There is a lot of interesting information in here. It's definitely worth a slow read. It may be worthwhile to pull up some of the art online so you can see it better. Those who have a stronger background in visual art or herbalism may find this to be easier to follow than I did.
What I would say, though, is that by the end, I think I understood the theme that eluded me as I read most of the book. Herbs and herbal medicine has been connected to witchcraft throughout the centuries, both in reality and in mythology. As witchcraft became demonized by the rise of Christianity, so did the herbs and herbal medicines connected to them. Ultimately, the current drug war, specifically on cannabis and coca leaves, is an extension of that. Natural herbs that have beneficial qualities are demonized and banned by the Christian Right that controls most Western countries. This is not to say there aren't problems with these plants. The point is that most of the plants that have been used over the centuries have both positive and negative attributes, and the job of the witch is to strike a balance between poison and healing medicine. The persecution of and attempt at eradication of witches has led to the loss of the knowledge so essential to the use of these plants.
Though I struggled somewhat with the text, the overarching theme and much of the information within the book was interesting and worth digging into more.
July 29, 2022
A book to read slowly, thoughtfully and to savor each idea.
This is as much a social history of women and natural medicine and the implications of withdrawing from the natural world as it is a explication of symbols and the uses/symbolism of plants in the natural world. These are things women know, have known for millennia and need to reacquaint themselves with, despite the "modern medical community" and its patriarchal attitude towards that which has been known since the beginning.
Must read for herbalists and anyone trying to connect with natural health.
This is as much a social history of women and natural medicine and the implications of withdrawing from the natural world as it is a explication of symbols and the uses/symbolism of plants in the natural world. These are things women know, have known for millennia and need to reacquaint themselves with, despite the "modern medical community" and its patriarchal attitude towards that which has been known since the beginning.
Must read for herbalists and anyone trying to connect with natural health.
February 18, 2020
I was so disapointed with this book, it looked beautiful and sounded perfect for my interests. However the amount of misinformation such a Samhain being an Irish god was not only laughable but slightly worrying that people with Phd s cant do proper research.
The images are beautiful admittedly but when you cant even get simple facts right you cant be expected to believe anything else thats written in it.
The images are beautiful admittedly but when you cant even get simple facts right you cant be expected to believe anything else thats written in it.
August 12, 2018
A piece of information I needed.
I gave it a good rating because it had a small piece of information which i did not know. And it was of a topic i am intimately familiar with but did not know this one part. And with that part it has lead me along a bread crumb trail that will answer what I question.
I gave it a good rating because it had a small piece of information which i did not know. And it was of a topic i am intimately familiar with but did not know this one part. And with that part it has lead me along a bread crumb trail that will answer what I question.
October 18, 2017
This was an extremely enjoyable and intriguing collection. If you want to know more about medieval European witchcraft lore especially as it relates to the use of plant medicines, read this book. I only wished it was longer, this is a verdant topic.
October 3, 2019
Absolutely one of my fave reference books about pharmakeia, the practice of holistic herbalism descended from ancient Hekatean Witches.
August 1, 2021
As with any other book with Ratsch as a co-author, this is a must read and I'd submit a must own.
August 31, 2021
A really dense and fascinating resource.
If you are interested on European and German folk practice and herbal lore this is a great resource
I am getting a lot out of
There are sections by
If you are interested on European and German folk practice and herbal lore this is a great resource
I am getting a lot out of
There are sections by
May 11, 2013
This book suffers badly from undecided organization. Is it a collection of loosely related articles by several authors, a joint project, someone's theses?
Subject matter rambles from chapter to chapter covering such topics as artistic portrayals of witches and the herbs associated with them, universal shamanism, and comparisons of modern drug laws to the Inquisition. A lot of it, save for the occasional tidbit of mythology or botany, presumes heavily on Margaret Murray's now disproven theories regarding the presence of a universal pagan religion in Western Europe which is then combined with radical New Age feminism. The entire volume is colored by the authors' obviously negative view of Christianity. The authors also commit the cardinal sin of using either their own or each others' past works with no further resources or support to bolster their claims.
It just doesn't deliver what the title promises.
It does, however, have value as a look at western European --- particularly German --- mindsets regarding the various subjects within the context of their own culture. By reading carefully and supplementing with more reliable resources, one can still glean quite a bit of useful information on western European folk medicine and lore, medicinal and culinary uses for herbs, and descriptions of the plants in all stages of life. The illustrations of the plants, particularly in early chapters, are beautifully rendered. Where they are genuinely knowledgeable, the authors highlight some interesting correlations which the reader might not have previously considered.
Not recommended for those just beginning their studies and the contents will only annoy those who are experienced in the subject matter. It would be grwat for group discussion or a humanities course. As a book about medicine and witchcraft or even plant medicine it's useless.
Subject matter rambles from chapter to chapter covering such topics as artistic portrayals of witches and the herbs associated with them, universal shamanism, and comparisons of modern drug laws to the Inquisition. A lot of it, save for the occasional tidbit of mythology or botany, presumes heavily on Margaret Murray's now disproven theories regarding the presence of a universal pagan religion in Western Europe which is then combined with radical New Age feminism. The entire volume is colored by the authors' obviously negative view of Christianity. The authors also commit the cardinal sin of using either their own or each others' past works with no further resources or support to bolster their claims.
It just doesn't deliver what the title promises.
It does, however, have value as a look at western European --- particularly German --- mindsets regarding the various subjects within the context of their own culture. By reading carefully and supplementing with more reliable resources, one can still glean quite a bit of useful information on western European folk medicine and lore, medicinal and culinary uses for herbs, and descriptions of the plants in all stages of life. The illustrations of the plants, particularly in early chapters, are beautifully rendered. Where they are genuinely knowledgeable, the authors highlight some interesting correlations which the reader might not have previously considered.
Not recommended for those just beginning their studies and the contents will only annoy those who are experienced in the subject matter. It would be grwat for group discussion or a humanities course. As a book about medicine and witchcraft or even plant medicine it's useless.
May 26, 2019
I loved the first half of the book which was written by Wolf Storl. He's got excellent information and is able to see the whole, big picture. The history bit by Müller-Ebeling was alright, but yeah... knew that already. Women herbalists have always been vilified. The Medieval historical recipes were kind of interesting but along the "eye of newt" kind whipped together for the Christian interrogators, rather than something I could actually find useful. While the very last bit was a rant against those who are restricting access to plants just to make a buck. Which is frustrating I agree, but a bit of preaching to the choir since the book seems to be geared towards magical practitioners who want to learn more about herbs and shamanic practices. That said, it's entirely worth the money just for Wolf's great information.
February 7, 2020
European, ancient, ritual use of herbs, herbal lore, new names, stories
Want to read
January 17, 2015tuebl ebook
May 19, 2016
F*n Brilliant! Anything by Ratsch is exceptional research in my opinion!
August 23, 2012
Another Storl read.
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews