Autorentext

Matthew Wood has been a practicing herbalist for more than 40 years. An internationally known author and lecturer in the field, he holds a master of science degree in herbal medicine from the Scottish School of Herbal Medicine and is the author of several books, including The Earthwise Herbal and The Book of Herbal Wisdom. He runs an online school, the Matthew Wood Institute of Herbalism, and lives in Spring Valley, Wisconsin.

Klappentext

An experiential journey into shamanism as a spiritual path and the teachings of plants, animals, and Nature

• Explores the alphabet of Nature personified in animals and the spiritual lessons of animal medicines—animals personified in plants—including Turtle, Bear, Deer, Wolf, Alligator, and Horse Medicine teachings

• Shares profound experiences from the author’s long career as an herbalist and his first years growing up on a remote Seminole reservation in the Everglades

• Offers shamanic adventures interwoven with comparisons to the psychology of Freud and Jung, the visions of Castaneda, and the occult teachings of Steiner and Gurdjieff

Sharing profound experiences from his long career as well as his first years growing up on a remote Seminole reservation in the Everglades, renowned herbalist Matthew Wood interweaves practical herbalism and the spiritual potency of Nature to deeply explore the plant teachers, animal medicines, and foundational principles of shamanism as a spiritual path.

Wood describes a universal “language of the shamans,” based on direct, sometimes supernatural experiences as well as case studies from his practice. He examines the alphabet of Nature and spiritual lessons personified in animals and plants, especially “animal medicines”—when the plant looks like an animal. He shares accounts of Turtle Medicine plants for self-examination, Bear Medicine plants to open the imagination, and Wolf Medicine plants for wholeness and magic. He explores the plants of Alligator Medicine for healthful prosperity, Horse Medicine plants to bring the conscious self in harmony with the animal self, Badger Medicine plants to strengthen gut instincts, and many other herb and animal teachers. He also looks at plants associated with journeying to the spirit world through the medicine of Crane, Dragon, and Bat.

Revealing the shamanic roots of his herbal teachings, Matthew Wood provides not only an inside view of his lifelong spiritual path but also an immersive and experiential guide to the shamanic wisdom of countless plant and animal teachers.

Inhalt

**Introduction: Journey in Unknown Lands

1 Shamanism from Siberia to Los Angeles

2 Spirit and Medicine

3 The Shaman’s Explanation

4 Preparations for the Journey

Bear Medicine
**
Angelica

Lomatium

Oshá Root

**5 Don Juan’s “Island of the Tonal”

Wolf Medicine
**
Agrimony

Cinquefoil

Solomon’s Seal

Werewolf Root

Swallow Medicine

Celandine

Horse Medicine

St. John’s Wort

Centaury

Horse Chestnut

Warrior Medicine

Yarrow

Schizandra

Oak

**6 School for Shamans

Alligator Medicine
**
Teasel

Snake Medicine

Black Cohosh

Trickster Medicine

Poison Ivy

**Lizard Medicine

Turtle Medicine**

Gravel Root

Goldenrod

Lady’s Mantle

**7 The Animal Self

Badger Medicine**

Goldenseal

Gentian

Dragon Gallbladder Root

Yellow Dock Root

**Dog Medicine
**
Black Hoarhound

Wood Betony

Bryonia

Black Bird Medicine

**8 The Spirit Self

Eagle Medicine**

Pine

White Pine

Sun Medicine

Rosemary

Angelica

Calendula

Sunflower

Moon Medicine

Mugwort

**Cloud Medicine
**
Pulsatilla

Prairie Smoke

Smoke Medicine

Mullein

Wormwood

Ghost Pipe

Tobacco

**9 Glimpses of the Spirit World

Crane Medicine
**
Wild Geranium

Herb Robert

**Underwater Panther Medicine
**
Jack-in-the-Pulpit

White Water-lily

Dragon Medicine

Dragon Root

Tarragon

Faery Medicine

Elder

Rabbit Tobacco

Bat Medicine

Holly

**Earthkeeper Medicine
**
California Bay Laurel

**References

Index**