Scott Cunningham - 8 April

About the Author Scott Cunningham practiced elemental magic for over twenty years. He was the author of more than thirty books, both fiction and non-fiction, the majority of them published by Llewellyn Publications. Scotts books reflect a broad range of interests within the New Age sphere, where he was highly regarded. He passed from this life on March 28, 1993, after a long illness. CUNNINGHAMs ENCYCLOPEDIA
of MAGICAL
HERBS SCOTT CUNNINGHAM Llewellyn Publications Woodbury, Minnesota Copyright Information Cunninghams Encyclopedia of Magical Herbs . 1985 by Scott Cunningham, and 2000 by the Scott Cunningham estate.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any matter whatsoever, including Internet usage, without written permission from Llewellyn Publications, except in the form of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. As the purchaser of this e-book, you are granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on screen. The text may not be otherwise reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, or recorded on any other storage device in any form or by any means. Any unauthorized usage of the text without express written permission of the publisher is a violation of the authors copyright and is illegal and punishable by law. First e-book edition 2012 E-book ISBN: 9780738717135 Cover Image by Hrana Janto / FR Cover design by Lisa Novak Herbal Consultant: Elizabeth Ann Johnson Interior design and editing by Matthew Segaard Llewellyn Publications is an imprint of Llewellyn Worldwide Ltd.

Llewellyn Publications does not participate in, endorse, or have any authority or responsibility concerning private business arrangements between our authors and the public. Any Internet references contained in this work are current at publication time, but the publisher cannot guarantee that a specific reference will continue or be maintained. Please refer to the publishers website for links to current author websites. The old-fashioned remedies in this book are historical references used for teaching purposes only. The recipes are not for commercial use or profit. The contents are not meant to diagnose, treat, prescribe, or substitute consultation with a licensed healthcare professional.

Llewellyn Publications Llewellyn Worldwide Ltd. 2143 Wooddale Drive Woodbury, MN 55125 www.llewellyn.com Manufactured in the United States of America For Mom and Dad Contents : The Basics The Powers of Herbs Magical Ways Spells and Procedures Magical Intentions The Herbs : Tables & Appendices Acknowledgments My thanks go to these and many other individuals who shared information or offered criticism: Don Kraig, for suggestions on an early draft of this work; Ron Garst for spending a few evenings talking of oils and incenses; Ed and Marilee Snowden for (again) allowing me access to their library, as well as to Ms. Snowden for proofreading the final manuscript; Daniel Weime for sharing his herbal secrets and allowing some to be published here, and to all my friends who supported and encouraged me during the completion of this work. Preface I was a young man when I began to write what was eventually to become Magical Herbalism . Frustrated at the lack of information concerning herb magic and at the surfeit of interest in my teachers and fellow occult students I set out to investigate this nearly lost art. This search took me through worlds and experiences of which I had scarcely dreamt.

Nights spent reading ancient books and manuscripts while sipping herbal teas led to practical application; I collected herbs by moonlight and brewed up spells on deserted beaches. Slowly the pieces fell into my hands. At last I gathered up the threads of the ancient ways and, from them, wove a system of herb magic. The more I experienced herb magic the more I realized its true powers. It may well be the most ancient and yet the most practical form of magic, for its tools grow all around us, even in the concrete-laden cities in which so many of us live. After witnessing the power of herbs I decided to write a book explaining these lost ways.

Thus, Magical Herbalism was born. Five years and several drafts later it was published. During this process my research into and work with herb magic hadnt halted. Most of what I was learning could not be incorporated into Magical Herbalism , and so I decided that it had to wait for a later book. My early work was almost solely concerned with Old World plants, and this is reflected in Magical Herbalism . (Some of these Polynesian plants have been included in this work, but the majority must wait for a future book on Hawaiian magic: Hawaiian Magic & Spirituality , Llewellyn, 1994.) With the amount of new information I had uncovered I soon realized that the second herbal would be a veritable encyclopedia of herb magic. (Some of these Polynesian plants have been included in this work, but the majority must wait for a future book on Hawaiian magic: Hawaiian Magic & Spirituality , Llewellyn, 1994.) With the amount of new information I had uncovered I soon realized that the second herbal would be a veritable encyclopedia of herb magic.

Hence, this book. The present work is not a guide to herb magic, only minimal information is given in these pages concerning it. That ground is covered in Magical Herbalism . Do you wish to attract a lover? Carry a bag of rose petals or an orris root. Want to stop a toothache? Chew an elder twig and drive it into a wall. This is the type of magic that abounds in these pagesquick, uncomplicated, non-ritualistic.

All-purpose spells are presented in the first section of the book for use where needed. While most of the magic presented here deals with everyday problems, more complex subjects are also broached in the textinvisibility, materialization of spirits, attaining immortality and so on. Such information is presented because it is traditional, interesting, and romantic, not necessarily for its practical application. Similarly, the references to guarding against sea serpent bites and causing fairies to appear are included because such information fires the imagination, a necessity for effective magic. This is not a book of quaintly impossible spells; it is an infinitely practical collection of herb magic which anyone can put to use. I have limited myself strictly to the magical uses of herbs in this book; no medicinal information is presented here because there are a wealth of reliable guides available in this area.

I have also bypassed the mythological and historical backgrounds of most of the plants except where relevant. Those who seek destructive magic within these pages will be disappointed; none exists here, for such magic leads to its users destruction. A work of this type can never be completed; more secrets lie in waiting for discovery. It is the authors responsibility to decide when to stop nurturing and send a book out into the world to find its legs. I do so now, with the hope that it will stimulate others toward discovering and using the secrets of herb magic. Part I The Basics The Powers of Herbs How does it work? When people discover Im a magical herbalist, this is one of two questions asked.

The other usually refers to my state of mental health. Nonetheless, the first question is a valid one and has never been satisfactorily explained. The basis of herb magicand all magicis the power. This power has worn many names and forms through the centuries; at times even its existence was kept secret; at others it was common knowledge. The power is that which generated and maintains the universe. It is the power that germinates seeds, raises winds, and spins our planet.

It is the energy behind birth, life, and death. Everything in the universe was created by it, contains a bit of it, and is answerable to it. In other words, the power is the life-force, the stuff of creation. It is the very substance of existence itself. The power as I see it has no name. It has been deified and anthropomorphized into a thousand-thousand Gods and Goddesses, spirits, demons and other unearthly beings.