Synopses & Reviews
A guide to using herbs for ceremonies, rituals, and healing, based
on Native American traditions.
Medicine Grove is a comprehensive herbal, with listings for every
common herb and many wild plants of North America, and includes descriptions
of the part of the plant used, notes on preparation, lists of symptoms
alleviated by the herb, and common effects. But Medicine Grove goes
further, with chapters on gathering and growing wild herbs, using herbs
in shamanic ceremonies or as plant allies in the wilderness, and birth,
death, and dreaming herbs. Cruden combines her own first-hand experiences
with a profound knowledge of indigenous traditions, enabling the reader
to bring herbal lore into his or her own practice. She explains which herbs
are best for seasonal ceremonies, smudging, and making offerings, and tells
how to purify a sacred space. She covers topics such as vision quests,
consciousness-altering, and the special connections between certain herbs
and totem animals.
Medicine Grove brings the concept of an herbal into sacred territory,
offering guidelines for incorporating herbs into one's spiritual life,
based on the author's lifetime of work with Native American practices.
Review
"This well-written and inspiring book goes a long way towards reawakening our ancient connection with the magical Green World."
Review
"To anyone interested in the spiritual aspect of herbs, Medicine Grove will be a revelation to read. Cruden's ideas are fresh and appealing, and though she adapts them from the indigenous attitudes toward the plant world, she shows us how to incorporate them in our modern lives."
Review
"To anyone interested in the spiritual aspect of herbs, Medicine Grove will be a revelation to read. Cruden's ideas are fresh and appealing, and though she adapts them from the indigenous attitudes toward the plant world, she shows us how to incorporate them in our modern lives."
Review
"Whatever kind of shamanic herbalism you're into, this book can help you refine your craft and strengthen your alliance with herbs."
Synopsis
Medicine Grove is a comprehensive herbal, with listings for every common herb and many wild plants of North America. It includes descriptions of the part of the plant used, notes on preparation, lists of symptoms alleviated by the herb, and common effects. But
Medicine Grove goes further, with chapters on gathering and growing wild herbs, using herbs in shamanic ceremonies or as plant allies in the wilderness, and birth, death, and dreaming herbs. Cruden combines her own first-hand experiences with a profound knowledge of indigenous traditions, enabling the reader to bring herbal lore into his or her own practice. She explains which herbs are best for seasonal ceremonies, smudging, and making offerings, and tells how to purify a sacred space. She covers topics such as vision quests, consciousness-altering, and the special connections between certain herbs and totem animals.
Medicine Grove brings the concept of an herbal into sacred territory, offering guidelines for incorporating herbs into one's spiritual life, based on the author's lifetime of work with Native American practices.
Synopsis
Medicine Grove is a comprehensive herbal, with listings for every common herb and many wild plants of North America. It includes descriptions of the part of the plant used, notes on preparation, lists of symptoms alleviated by the herb, and common effects. But
Medicine Grove goes further, with chapters on gathering and growing wild herbs, using herbs in shamanic ceremonies or as plant allies in the wilderness, and birth, death, and dreaming herbs. Cruden combines her own first-hand experiences with a profound knowledge of indigenous traditions, enabling the reader to bring herbal lore into his or her own practice. She explains which herbs are best for seasonal ceremonies, smudging, and making offerings, and tells how to purify a sacred space. She covers topics such as vision quests, consciousness-altering, and the special connections between certain herbs and totem animals.
Medicine Grove brings the concept of an herbal into sacred territory, offering guidelines for incorporating herbs into one's spiritual life, based on the author's lifetime of work with Native American practices.
Description
Includes bibliographical references (p. [203]-206) and indexes.
About the Author
Loren Cruden, midwife and herbal healer, lives on a mountain in Washington State in a house that she and her son built. Following spiritual studies in Europe, Asia, and Africa, her six years of work with Lewis Sawaquat, a Potawatomie pipe carrier, deepened her engagement with the spirituality that is native to the land. Respectful of the integrity of Native American ways, she draws carefully on those and other Earth-oriented traditions to create an eclectic yet authentic spiritual practice that relies on a direct experience of the interrelatedness of all life. She is the author of Love Is Green: An Herbal for Parents, The Living Earth Tarot Deck, The Spirit of Place, and Coyote's Council Fire.
Table of Contents
Acknowledgments
Introduction
Part 1: Shamanic Herbalism
1. Gathering and Growing Herbs
2. Preparing Medicinal Remedies
3. Healing with Herbs
4. Plant Allies
5. Offering Herbs
6. Smudge Herbs
7. Maintenance Herbs
8. Ceremonial Herbs
9. Smoking Herbs and Use of Psychotropic Plants
10. Birth, Death, and Dreaming Herbs
11. Trees
Part 2: Materia Medica
Appendices
Appendix 1: General Tips for Growing Common Garden Herbs
Appendix 2: Forms for Medicinal Application of Herbs
Appendix 3: Plant Associations Within the Web of Life
Appendix 4: Herb Allies for Specific Aspects of Well-being
Appendix 5: Herbs Used in Ceremony
Suggested Reading
Sources of Supply
Plant Index
General Index