SECRET MEDICINES FROM YOUR GARDEN – PLANTS FOR HEALING, SPIRITUALITY AND MAGIC - Review

Secret Medicines from Your Garden – Plants for Healing, Spirituality and Magic, Ellen Evert Hopman, Healing Arts Press, Rochester, VT, 2016, 338pp, $19.95.

There’s a lot of information in Secret Medicines from Your Garden. As the cover says, it weaves together “ancient wisdom, mystical folklore, and modern plant research.” Ms. Hopman is a master herbalist who “explores the many uses of flowers, trees, common weeds, and ornamental plants for food, medicine, spiritual growth, and magical rituals…drawing on American, Celtic and Egyptian traditions.”

        I am not an herbalist, nor do I do much gardening, but I found the book fascinating and informative. Where some books include drawings of plants, Ms. Hopman provides full color illustrations that are incredibly helpful.

        Warnings are issued throughout, which is vital in this type of book. Those using herbs and plants should seek the assistance of a competent health professional, and be aware that any medications (prescribed or over-the-counter) can cause serious harm when interacting with certain herbs. 

        The book is divided into four parts, making it easy to find what you’re looking for. Part One is a primer explaining which herbs are best harvested and used during each season, what to use for a cold or flu, and what naturally repels mosquitoes, ticks and fleas.

        Part Two is a bit deeper, exploring the invisible dimensions of the planet world. It deals with animal spirit medicines, herbal astrology and plant spirits. The table listing the astrological nature of selected plants is useful. Cinnamon, for example, is related to the Sun and its zodiac affiliation is with Leo. This means cinnamon can bestow positive ego strength, enhance personal will, and it helps with heart, back and spine.

       We’ve all heard about people talking to plants. It does help, both the plant and the person. Have you tried singing to your plants? There are suggestions for blessing and using water, using a copper pyramid, and using intentions.

        We all love honey, and it has a lot of uses. Part Three teaches how to enjoy nature’s bounty. Hedgerows are for food, medicine and magic, and deciduous trees and conifers are for healing.

        Part Four, which teaches how to make herbal formulas, is short, but incredibly detailed.

        Ms. Hopman provides two useful tables that help in choosing plants to prepare formulas for specific needs. I was amazed at the amount of information provided in the list of plants that can improve the functions of your body’s organs and systems. The second list provides information on plants for common conditions, such as allergies and fevers. Most helpful of all, I think, is the Glossary of Herbal Contraindications. We read on the internet that a certain herb will help (or cure) a certain ailment, but do we know how to properly use that herb? Do we know what it will (or won’t) do? For example, some women use black cohosh for menopausal symptoms, but most don’t realize it can cause nausea, headaches, vertigo, impaired vision, and it should not be used if you have high blood pressure.

        Secret Medicines from Your Garden is a must-have, and should be required reading for anyone who wants to use plants and herbs for healing, spirituality and/or magic.

- Jane Lewis