Maia Toll - The Illustrated Herbiary: Guidance and Rituals from 36 Bewitching Botanicals

The mission of Storey Publishing is to serve our customers by publishing practical information that encourages personal independence in harmony with the environment.

Edited by Carleen Madigan

Art direction and book design by Jessica Armstrong

Text production by Erin Dawson

Illustrations by Kate OHara

Author photo by Emily Nichols Photography

2018 by Maia Toll

Ebook production by Kristy L. MacWilliams

Ebook version 1.1

August 7, 2018

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Toll, Maia, author.

Title: The illustrated herbiary : guidance and rituals from 36 bewitching botanicals / by Maia Toll.

Description: North Adams, MA : Storey Publishing, 2018.

Identifiers: LCCN 2018002245 (print) | LCCN 2018004090 (ebook) | ISBN 9781612129693 (ebook) | ISBN 9781612129686 (hardcover with 9 cardstock sheets in a bound-in envelope : alk. paper)

Subjects: LCSH: Medicinal plants. | PlantsSymbolic aspects.

Classification: LCC QK99.A1 (ebook) | LCC QK99.A1 T64 2018 (print) | DDC 581.6/34dc23

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2018002245

This publication is intended to provide educational information on the covered subject. It is not intended to take the place of personalized medical conseling, diagnosis, and treatment from a trained health professional.

To the wild ones and the mythic souls who walk amongst us, unseen...

... And to Gina McGarry, for teaching me to listen for them.

A bestiary is a collection of short descriptions about all sorts of animals, real and imaginary, birds and even rocks, accompanied by a moralising explanation. Although it deals with the natural world it was never meant to be a scientific text and should not be read as such. Some observations may be quite accurate but they are given the same weight as totally fabulous accounts.... A great deal of its charm comes from the humour and imagination of the illustrations, painted partly for pleasure but justified as a didactic tool to improve the minds of ordinary people, in such a way that the soul will at least perceive physically things which it has difficulty grasping mentally: that what they have difficulty comprehending with their ears, they will perceive with their eyes. (Aberdeen Bestiary, folio 25v, circa 1200).

- University of Aberdeen, The Aberdeen Bestiary MS24 About the Manuscript (from the website)

An herbiary is a collection of short writings about botanicals: medicinal, decorative, and whimsical. Although it alludes to healing properties, it was never meant to be prescriptive. Many observations are quite accurate, but they should not be seen as superior to creative or fanciful descriptions and symbolic flights of fancy. A great deal of its charm comes from the depth and creativity of its illustrations, allowing us to see what otherwise would remain hidden.

- Maia Toll

The bus rolled through the Irish countryside, pulling over from time to time so the driver could shout a greeting to a gentleman corralling sheep off the road or a woman parking her car a few blocks from the next station stop.

What I remember now, more than a dozen years later, is the vibrancy of the green that surrounded us. The air seemed to shimmer with it, the color refracting and multiplying.

I had come to Ireland to study plants, apprenticing myself to a traditional healer and herbalist for a years span. I was to live in her house, help with the gardens and medicine making, sit with her as clients came to call, and, through osmosis, learn a calling that has always been as much an art as a science.

Back home in the States we focused on the science. We justified using alternative medicine by pointing to properly conducted studies with statistically significant control groups. We could make the sensuous beauty of a rose as dry and antiseptic as an aspirin tablet... and feel justified in doing so because it gained a modicum of acceptance, albeit grudging, for this age-old healing practice.

But in the emerald swath of Irelands center, near the Hill of Uisneach (said to be the umbilicus of the island), I learned the art of botanical medicine and the magic of coming into communion with the plant world. And that has changed everything for me.

I want to gift you this sense of connection.

Connection with the plant world may seem a small thing, but once you step into it youll realize it is profound and playful, granular and encompassing. Whether this is a first step on your journey into the green world or a reminder of magic youve come to know deeply, I hope this book, this herbiary, ignites your imagination, your passion, and your love for living in deep connection with the earth.

Apprenticed to a medicine woman sounds terribly romantic. Indeed, at times it was terrible, and at times it was romantic. Sometimes it was mystical, but most often it was simply lonely.

Living in the middle of cow pastures with no car, an hours walk from town, leads to introspection, experimentation, and a lot of listening to the wind, to the birds, and to the plants.