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WITCHCRAFT / SHAMANISM "Witchcraft Medicine is a work of brilliant and passionate scholarship, fabulously illustrated, that recovers the lost knowledge of the European shamanic tradition. It is both a guide and an enthusiastic ode to the visionary edge of the botanical realm." --Daniel Pinchbeck, author of Breaking Open the Head: A Psychedelic Journey into the Heart of Contemporary Shamanism "This is a fascinating work of great importance that is incredibly well researched and documented. And brave. From the first impassioned paragraph to the last words, I was spellbound. Anyone interested in medicine, herbalism, the healing arts, and spiritual phenomena will find this book thought provoking and empowering." --Rosemary Gladstar, president of United Plant Savers and author of Herbal Healing for Women Witch medicine is wild medicine. It does more than make one healthy; it encourages knowledge and engenders ecstasy and mythological insight. In Witchcraft Medicine the authors take the reader on a journey that examines the women from centuries past who mixed the potions and became the healers. As humans left the "thorny brush" and settled into agrarian societies, elements of nature (including human nature) became identified as wild and destructive, and the culture of the witch was born. Through study of ancient and medieval texts and the artwork of the early Renaissance, the authors explore the demonization of nature's healing powers and sensuousness, the legacy of Hecate, the sorceress as shaman, and the plants associated with witches. They describe important seasonal festivals and the plants used in these celebrations and rituals. They also look at the history of forbidden medicine from the Inquisition to current drug laws, with an eye toward how sacred plants of witchcraft can be used once again. CLAUDIA MuLLER-EBELING, PH.D., art historian and anthropologist, is the coauthor of Shamanism and Tantra in the Himalayas and was editor in chief of Dao, a magazine about the health and longevity practices of the Far East. She lives in Hamburg, Germany. CHRISTIAN RaTSCH, PH.D., is a world-renowned anthropologist and ethnopharmacologist who specializes in the shamanic uses of plants. The author of Marijuana Medicine and coauthor of Plants of the Gods, he lives in Hamburg, Germany. WOLF-DIETER STORL, PH.D., is a cultural anthropologist and ethnobotanist who has taught at Kent State University, as well as in Vienna, Berne, and Benares. He lives in Allgau, Germany, and is the author of Culture and Horticulture: A Philosophy of Gardening.
List of contents
Introduction: Is Witchcraft Medicine Good Medicine?
WOLF-DIETER STORL
1. The Wild Earth and Its Children
The Power of the Wilderness
Divine Visitors to the Small Cultural Island
Midsummer's Dream
The August Festival
The Equinox
The Time of the Dead: Samhain, Halloween
Rites of Initiation
2. The Old Woman in the Hedgerow
The Chimney
The Wrath of Venus
The New Science
3. The Witch As Shaman
Devil Worship
The Buck: The Divine Dispenser
The World Tree
The Flight to the Holy Mountain
Flying Ointment
Sex and Fertility Magic
Weather Magic
4. Midwives: Fertility and Birth
The Way into Existence
The Children's Springs at Lolarka Kund
The Time of Begetting
Pregnancy
Birth
The Hebe-Ahnin and the Men's Childbed
After the Birth
5. The Mother of Death
Flowers for the Dead
The Festival of the Dead
The Dead and the Vegetation
The Dead As Dispensers of Fertility
CHRISTIAN RÄTSCH
6. Witchcraft Medicine: the Legacy of Hecate
Gardens of the Gods and Herbs of the Witches
The Garden of the Great Goddess
The Garden of Hecate
The Garden of Medea
The Garden of Circe
The Garden of Artemis
Flying Ointments and Lovers' Salves As Medicine
Pharmakon Wine
CLAUDIA MÜLLER-EBELING
7. Images of Witches: The Demonization of Nature's Healing Powers
The Image of the Witch
Mary: The Chaste Cultural Heroine
The Witch: The Sensuous Natural Woman
The Demonization of Nature and Sensuality
Sinister Companions of the Witch
Poison Mixers and Healers
The Demonization of Medicinal and Poisonous Plants
The Healing of the Microcosm and Macrocosm
Rübezahl: Herbalist and Weather God
Seeress and Goddess of Fate
From the Goddess to the Witch
The Witch As the Temptation of Saint Anthony
Saturn: Master of the Witches
The Painters of Witches
CHRISTIAN RÄTSCH
8. Witchcraft Medicine: Forbidden Medicine-From the Inquisition to the Drug Laws
Coca and Cocaine
Poppy and Opium
Mescaline and Psilocybin: The Forbidden Souls of the Gods
Ayahuasca: The Conquest Is Not Over
The "Drug" Business
News Update: Hemp Seeds Outlawed!
Appendix: Plants Associated with Witches and Devils
Bibliography
Index
About the author
Claudia Müller-Ebeling, Ph.D., an art historian and anthropologist, is the coauthor of
Shamanism and Tantra in the Himalayas and was editor in chief of
Dao, a magazine about the health and longevity practices of the Far East. She lives in Hamburg, Germany. Christian Rätsch, Ph.D. (1957 – 2022), was a world-renowned anthropologist and ethnopharmacologist who specialized in the shamanic uses of plants. He is the author of
The Encyclopedia of Psychoactive Plants and
Marijuana Medicine, and coauthor of
Plants of the Gods and
Shamanism and Tantra in the Himalayas. He lived in Hamburg, Germany, and lectured around the world. Wolf-Dieter Storl is a cultural anthropologist and ethnobotanist who has taught at Kent State University, as well as in Vienna, Berne, and Benares. He lives in Allgäu, Germany, and is the author of
Culture and Horticulture: A Philosophy of Gardening.
Summary
An in-depth investigation of traditional European folk medicine and the healing arts of witches.
Additional text
"Witchcraft Medicine is a solid book and an essential research tool for anyone interested in European folk traditions, magic, alchemy, or herbalism."
