Thea Summer Deer - Wisdom of the plant devas: Herbal medicine for a new Earth

This book is dedicated foremost to my mother, Alice Jean Stacey, in whose garden my childhood imagination ran wild, and to my father, George Lewis Stacey, who watched me run wild and admired my courage. Without your nurturing and support the following book would not have been possible. And to all my childrennatural born, not-yet-born, adopted, step-parented, or otherwise loved, and to their childrens childrens childrenit is my greatest wish that yours be a legacy of light, because your elders were willing to embrace their darkness.

The Invocation to Kali, Part 5, 1971 by May Sarton, from Collected Poems 19301993 by May Sarton. Used by permission of W. W. Norton & Company, Inc.

The Tao is called the Great Mother/.... from Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu, A New English Version, with foreword and notes by Stephen Mitchell. Translation 1988 by Stephen Mitchell. Reprinted by permission of HarperCollins Publishers.

Out Beyond Ideas from The Essential Rumi by Jalal al-Din Muhammad Rumi, translated by Coleman Barks, 1995 by Coleman Barks, reproduced with permission.

The Song of the Self Heal Fairy from The Complete Book of the Flower Fairies by Cicely Mary Barker, 2002 by the estate of Cicely Mary Barker, reproduced with permission of the Penguin Group, Inc.

Weeds by Phillip Pulfrey, Perspectives, 2010 by Phillip Pulfrey, reproduced with permission.

Lyrics from the songs Let Us Ride and Rainbow Song by Sananda Ra, 2006 by Sananda Ra, reproduced with permission.

Lyrics from the song New Ground Breaking by Charles E. Willhide, 1995 by Charles E. Willhide, reproduced with permission

Lyrics from the song 6 Winds by John M. Roman, 2006 by John M. Roman, reproduced with permission.

Wisdom OF THE Plant Devas

What a fitting title for a marvelous book! From the opening paragraph when Thea enticingly invites us into the magical realm of the plant devas to the ending story about uva ursi, I was thoroughly and completely captivated. Though Ive experienced this sacred relationship with the plants and have read about it in several other excellent books, Theas account is refreshingly unique, deeply authentic, and easily accessible to the reader. She makes what at times may seem unbelievable to somethe ability to converse with other life-formsto be fully believable and accessible to anyone. Woven into Wisdom of the Plant Devas is Theas own wonderful story and heartfelt deep relationship with plant devas. My only criticism is that I was sorry when the book ended. I wanted more!

ROSEMARY GLADSTAR,
HERBALIST AND FOUNDER OF UNITED PLANT SAVERS,
AUTHOR OF ROSEMARY GLADSTARS FAMILY HERBAL AND
PLANTING THE FUTURE

The plants continue to turn up the volume urging us to listen to their guidance for our spiritual evolution. Wisdom of the Plant Devas is the next level of communication with the green beings, revealing important information not only about our personal growth and planetary transformation but also about our connection to the entire universe. Thea Summer Deer shares her communication with the plant devas, the architects who help deepen our relationship to the spirit of the plant, with amazing clarity, love, and light. This book is a must read for all people wanting to take up their rightful relational place in the vast web of life both earthly and beyond.

PAM MONTGOMERY,
AUTHOR OF PLANT SPIRIT HEALING

The devas will tell you their stories, recite their poetry, regale you with pronouncements, and show you their portraits. You may fall in love. You may never return.

SUSUN S. WEED,
AUTHOR OF WISE WOMAN HERBAL SERIES

Bravo! This is my new favorite plant book! To take it a step further, it is one I wish I had written. Wisdom of the Plant Devas is a rich and generous treasure trove of information and inspiration and an articulate expression of the power of spirit in medicine.

NICKI SCULLY,
AUTHOR OF PLANETARY HEALING: SPIRIT MEDICINE FOR
GLOBAL TRANSFORMATION AND POWER ANIMAL MEDITATIONS

In this lovely book, Thea Summer Deer takes us on a fascinating journey into the hidden world of the plant devas and shares their powerful message of Earth wisdom, transformation, and healing.

NATHANIEL ALTMAN,
AUTHOR OF THE DEVA HANDBOOK AND THE HONEY PRESCRIPTION

Acknowledgments

The journey of writing this book has been a stretch between left-brain research and analysis and right-brain creativity and expression. Somewhere in between I dropped into that place where the mind stops and something much greater steps in. For this I am deeply grateful to the devas for appearing in my world and allowing me into theirs. I would also like to thank the staff at Inner Traditions, Bear & Company for the part they are playing in the evolution of consciousness and for empowering our choices through the dissemination of practical and esoteric knowledge. You have affirmed my voice and that of the devas who speak through me, and you have provided the platform from which these voices can be shared.

From the center of my Medicine Wheel Garden, I would like to thank the following for your invaluable encouragement and support: Betsy Sandlin, Susun Weed, Pam Hyde-Nakai, Willie Whitefeather, Matilda Essig, Judith Kaiser, Judith Corvin-Blackburn, Joyce Oliver, Maureen Alvord, Karen Smith, Brad Collins, Lewis Mehl-Madrona, Beverly Laughing Eagle-Noble Wolf Martz, Gay Hunter, Colin Wilcox Paxton, Scott Paxton, Nancy Hatcher, and George Poirier. And to all the people who have been in my life at some point in time and nurtured the seeds of my creativity, I carry you with me still.

I would also like to thank my beautiful daughter, Lauren Nicole Loiacono, who gets the devas; Sorrel Madrona for the medicine name of Summer Deer; Andy Spraggins for the herbs, deer meat, apples, and hand drumming; Keiya for receiving me as a mother and for teaching me about the sacred feminine through belly dance; Marion Z. Skydancer, whose images inspired my vision of the devas; Adam Bruce Caddick for loving the herbs and my daughter; Jenny Bird for quiet sacred space to write and reflect on a mesa sea of sage and light; Bonnie Marie Poulin for setting me on the journey to find Hanuman; Prem Rawat for knowledge, Barbara Waters for helping me to celebrate the coyotes in my life and the Frank Waters Foundation for nurturing my creative spirit; Laura Cerwinske, sister, friend, and writing coach, who set me on this path from the beginning; Star Wolf for running ahead of the pack, nose to the ground, heart to the wind, and eyes to the heavens; Anyaa McAndrew, sister, friend, and mentor, who has the best taste in chocolate, for embodying sacred marriage with her beloved Gary Stamper; Yellow Horse Man for honoring my medicine and for his medicine of the heart; Grandma Red Leaf for holding the vision of going to water; and most important, my heartfelt gratitude to Patricia Kyritsi Howell, registered herbalist, for your mentoring, friendship, and many hours of expert botanical editing that has supported me personally and the publication of this book.

With the exception of the chapter on sagebrush, (which was written on the mesa above the Rio Grande), this book was written in two very sacred places where I have been blessed to live and to grow a garden. It is to the spirit of these places that I humbly bow: Honey Bear Mountain on the Blue Ridge Divide and Isis Cove in the Cherokee Qualla Boundary.