The Illustrated Herbiary: Guidance and Rituals from 36 Bewitching Botanicals

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2018 INDIES Winner Gold — Body, Mind, Spirit (Adult Nonfiction)
Nautilus Book Awards Gold Winner

Rosemary is for remembrance; sage is for wisdom. Would meditating on the starflower help heal you? Does the spirit of sweet violet have something to offer you today? Contemporary herbalist Maia Toll, author of The Illustrated Bestiary and The Illustrated Crystallary, profiles the mystical, magical, bewitching personalities of 36 powerful herbs, fruits, and flowers in this stunning volume.

The book includes a deck of 36 beautifully illustrated oracle cards — one for each plant — and ideas for readings and rituals to help you access your intuition, navigate each day's joys and problems, and tap into each plant's unique powers for healing, guidance, and wisdom.

Book Dimensions: 6.0 X 8.0 in
Page Count: 168

PRAISE

"In this delightful debut, wellness coach Toll relies on her imagination to spin a fun botanical mythology. Never aiming to share functional information about herbs (or even to document traditional magical uses), Toll jumps straight into “fanciful descriptions and symbolic flights of fancy” from her personal experiences and lively imagination to offer prompts for introspection into the natural world. Toll gives each plant a focusing sobriquet or guidance—thyme is “Distill Your Self,” yarrow is “Pocket of Protection”—and then anthropomorphizes the (always female) sprout with a personality and lesson to teach, such as “know the microworld” and “move toward your truth.” Each plant is associated with a solo ritual activity (most do not actually use plant material), reflective questions to guide self-exploration, and a quotation loosely related to a theme or story of folklore. O’Hara’s bright, bold illustrations—which introduce each entry and are also included as a divination deck—will appeal to readers with strong lines and a sense of glowing from their centers, a boldness that carries through to the more representational sketches of plants that follow. However, the use of color and multiple fonts in the text can become overly busy. This will not replace more traditional herbal guides, but it will appeal to those looking for fun new ways of considering plants." – Publishers Weekly

This book doesn’t tell a story in the traditional sense, but it tells a story about the world around you, the beauty of nature, and how you can find that same beauty inside yourself.” – Mugglenet Review

“This book is enchanting, wise, engaging, and entertaining! Filled with magic, myth, and tantalizing bits of wisdom, The Illustrated Herbiary may just be one of the most delightful and original herbals written, and definitely one of the most beautifully and lavishly illustrated. Don’t expect to learn a lot of scientific facts about herbs in this whimsical ‘herbiary,’ but be prepared to find your sense of wonder kindled and your imagination sparked as you connect in a most profound and playful relationship with the green world around you.” — Rosemary Gladstar, herbal educator, activist, and best-selling author

“Opens us to the plant world and ancient teachings from those who live close to the earth.” — Oriah Mountain Dreamer, author of The Invitation

“Part oracle, part kitchen-conversation with a beloved friend, this book is a treasure that will open your awareness to the plant world like never before.” — Asia Suler, founder One Willow Apothecaries

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