Hopman - Secret medicines from your garden: plants for healing, spirituality, and magic

SECRET MEDICINES
from Your
GARDEN

Rare are those herbalists who understand the perfection of balance when knowledge is based both upon the wisdom that has survived the passing of millennia and knowledge that is affirmed with the modern tools of research and analysis. I encourage you to take the intimate journey Ellen Evert Hopman offers you in Secret Medicines from Your Garden. Her opening sentence resounds as a truth in my own life as well. And from that sentence onward, as she shares her own journey into the study of herbal medicine, she will engage you as a trusted friend and as someone who goes out of her way to always speak with clarity. The recipes and preparations are delicious, the medicinal information trustworthy, and the historical references reflect academic accuracy. This book should go home with you. And then? Let Ellen take you on a wonderful journey into our herbal world.

PAUL BEYERL, MASTER HERBALIST, AUTHOR OF THE MASTER BOOK OF HERBALISM, AND FOUNDER OF THE HERMITS GROVE

This is the most tantalizing type of herb bookthe kind I love mostfilled with lore and history, myth and magic, and the authors own rich experiences weaving the tales together. We are led on a most unique multidimensional journey to the heart of herbalism. Along the way we are taught how to use plants for medicine, daily well-being, ritual, and ceremony.

ROSEMARY GLADSTAR, HERBALIST, FOUNDER OF
UNITED PLANT SAVERS, AND AUTHOR OF
PLANTING THE FUTURE: SAVING OUR MEDICINAL HERBS

Just like in nature where you encounter the same herb many times but in different ways, Ellen Evert Hopmans new book takes you on a spiraling exploration into the world of healing plants. Your first encounter is a taste, the next a healing brew, and then a story as if around a campfire. She also shares, for the first time in print, the brilliant herbal formulation technique of the late (great) herbalist William LeSassier. What a delight to journey with Ellen as she shares her extensive experience and knowledge of the rich diversity found in each plant!

PAM MONTGOMERY, HERBALIST, EDUCATOR,
AND AUTHOR OF PLANT SPIRIT HEALING AND PARTNER EARTH

Ellen Evert Hopman is a master herbalist who understands both the physical and spiritual nature of plants. In Secret Medicines from Your Garden she draws on her extensive experience and brings us a wonderful book that is so much more than the average herbal. Packed full of practical guidance, accessible information, and useful recipes, this original and beautifully illustrated book takes us deep into nature and teaches how plants can nourish both body and soul. Ellen is making a significant contribution to contemporary plant wisdom. Highly recommended for anyone interested in plant spirits, herbal lore, and plant magic.

CAROLE GUYETT, MEDICAL HERBALIST,
CELTIC PRIESTESS, AND AUTHOR OF SACRED PLANT INITIATIONS

Like a box of bonbons, this collection of arcane and useful herbal lore will delight and entertain you, no matter your mood. Secret Medicines from Your Garden courses through bee-humming meadows and skirts hedgerows guarded by rowan woods, while eating flower sandwiches and pouring libations for the fairies. You will love this new and wonderful treasure from the enchanted pen of Ms. Hopman.

SUSUN S. WEED, AUTHOR OF THE WISE WOMAN HERBAL SERIES

Her eyes opened to the power and beauty of nature first by the Franciscan community near Assissi in northern Italy and subsequently by the New Age community of Findhorn in Scotland, Ellen Evert Hopman felt called to work with plants in all their forms and guises. After an herbal apprenticeship with William LeSassier, the visionary herbalist and creator of the Triune formulation system, she spent five years studying the herbal ways of Native American elders. Declaring herbalism a lifelong learning path, this book is a distillation of all the knowledge she has acquired from the natural world and its benefits for our physical, mental, and spiritual health. It is a fascinating, educational, and highly enjoyable read brimming with practical ideas, recipes, and rich in history as well an important reference work from an accomplished herbalist, author, and all around plant woman.

ALEX DOVER, MEDICAL HERBALIST

This book is multifaceted, a gem that is full of information about our personal green paths that encompass medicine, food, religion, and ritual.

MARY PAT PALMER, REGISTERED HERBALIST AND DIRECTOR OF THE PHILO SCHOOL OF HERBAL ENERGETICS, PHILO, CALIFORNIA

A delightful collection of natures wisdom translated into an easy-to-follow instructional book of herbal medicine. Ellen provides a great medicinal resource while inviting you to cultivate your intuition and connect with the spiritual components of plant medicine.

AVIVA D. WERTKIN, N.D., FOUNDER OF NATURAE MEDICAL

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

A big thank-you to my primary teacher, William LeSassier, for his excellent apprenticeship many years ago, to author and herbalist Matthew Wood, who introduced me to animal medicines, and to the Plant Foragers group (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/PlantForagers/) for their spirited discussions and love of all plants. Thanks to Lewis Blake for comments about Hickory nut milk, and thanks as always to Joyce Sweeney for her help. Thanks to Dr. Patrick MacManaway, Scottish geomancer and dowser, for ideas on how to work with Land Spirits. A big thank-you to Alex Dover, BSc (Hons) in herbal medicine from the University of Westminster, London, for helping me confirm the energetics of plants and to Mary Pat Palmer of the Philo School of Herbal Energetics, Philo, California, for comments on Cannabis, a most misunderstood herb.

Most of all, a big thank-you to the Green Nations, the plants and trees that have sustained our bodies and spirits for millions of years:

A Blessing on the plants,
algae of the oceans,
wet mosses,
and Forest ferns.
A Blessing on the shady trees,
protective Oaks,
holly and rowan that feed the birds,
cedar and juniper,
spicebush and maple.
A Blessing on the fruitwoods,
and the woods that build our homes,
our furniture,
our sailboats and spoons,
and give us leaves for books.
A Blessing on the herbs of the fields,
damp in summer mornings,
and on all the plants that fill the table,
giving their lives in silent sacrifice:
the carrots and tomatoes,
the rice and the plums,
blessings on them all.
Deep in the forest, in a circle of trees
Is where they bless me,
close by a running brook and
weathered stone.
Quiet and still their beauty,
roots running deep,
I bless them and thank them
every day.

AUTHORS NOTE ON HOW TO USE THIS BOOK

In the event of a medical situation please seek the assistance of a competent health professional. Persons on medications prescribed by a health professional should always seek advice before ingesting herbal preparations. Please consult a naturopathic physician or search online for herb and drug interactions or drug and herb contraindications before combining herbs and allopathic medicines.

Any dosages mentioned are for an adult weighing approximately one hundred and fifty pounds. Amounts should be halved for a child who weighs seventy-five pounds, and quartered for a child of thirty pounds. Infants can get the benefits of herbal remedies via their mothers breast milk.