Shamanic Wisdom: The Spiritual Power of Plants and Animals

Sharing profound experiences from his long career and 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 and 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 Cranes, Dragons, and Bats. Throughout the shamanic adventures he shares, Wood offers profound comparisons between shamanism and the psychology of Freud and Jung, the visions of Carlos Castaneda, and the occult teachings of Rudolf Steiner and G. I. Gurdjieff.   Revealing the shamanic roots of his herbal teachings, Matthew Wood provides an inside view of his life-long spiritual path and an immersive and experiential guide to the shamanic wisdom of countless plant and animal teachers.   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. https://www.matthewwoodinstituteofherbalism.com   A Shamanic Herbal: Plant Teachers and Animal Medicines by Matthew Wood ISBN: 9798888500200, July 2024 Also available as an ebook  Paperback: $29.99, 416 pages, 6 x 9. Imprint: Healing Arts Press