Customer Reviews

Compendium of Herbal Magick

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I am always looking for books on herbs and herbal references. I took to herbs and their properties many years ago, healing being my original pursuit. Organic and natural healing and healthy alternatives attracted my attention back in the early 70's and its resurgence as Holistic medicine and Natural healing practices have encouraged a plethora of books on the subject.

What is different about this book is that it focuses on the magickal properties of each herb listed. As a Witch, I have always sought after these kinds of properties to include them in with the known healing aspects of herbs.

As you read through this book, you have to be amazed at the time and research Mr. Beyerl has put into this book. From the various names of each herb, (Latin, common and "also called") to the planetary associations and magical classifications to the historical references, lore and all the various associations, this book is just chock full o' information on the over 300 herbs he has listed.

The bibliography reads like a who's who of herbal references and is worth the read. This book has been very deeply researched, and the best part is that it also includes a wonderful "Part III" section of associations, correspondences and even astrological information. This makes the book a real value. The index is well thought out and very thorough, important to a book like this. If the index is lacking or poorly planned, the book becomes useless to use as a reference. Not the case here, as this is an easy to use reference book.

This is a great book and one I am glad to add to my library as a reference book for the magickal properties of herbs.

This is without mistake, among the better herbal magic books. However, I originally bought it thinking it was on herbal alchemy rather than use for spells. It has a few too many psychological cures and not very many practical ones. You have to infer about how magical cures might turn out as medical ones. And since I mentioned alchemy, most of these are turned into incense, rather than into potions or elixirs.

Otherwise, it is a very good book, especially if you're a witch in need of how to use herbs for ceremony. Ceremony is this book's specialty. It does tell many herbs used for funerals, protection, or sexual prowess.

Bright Greetings, When I first got this book I thought it was great, but upon a closer look I realized Mr. Beryl made quite a few omissions and mistakes regarding herbs and their usage. Prime example: page #250, Milkweed (Apocynum Androsaemilfolium). He suggested laying a stalk of this weed in a baby's arms at Wiccanings. If he had researched this herb in depth he would have known this is a VERY dangerous suggestion to make to the general public. (not everyone is a rocket scientist, or possesses good reasoning ability, and some might just follow his advice without precautions) This plant is a member of the TOXIC Digitalis family and could be lethal if ingested by a small one! He even went as far as to suggest using the juice of the plant as well. In my humble opinion as an old wildcrafter-buy the book, BUT..double check things if there is any suggestion of using the plant with small children or of ingesting it. (I also found errors in his nomenclature (wrong Latin name for some plants, etc.) May Your Path Be Blessed, ...

Having read and owned most of the herbal books now on the market, I can tell you from years of experience that Paul's books are well researched, well thought out, and simple to understand. Paul takes you into realms of knowledge and understanding that you do not find elsewhere. It is clear that he has been researching and working with the plants for many years. His sweetness of heart and soul come shining through in his work, and there is more information here than anyone could hope to use, not only remedially, but also magickally. This book, and all of Pauls books are a big thumbs up! Please keep it coming Paul...we await your next work with great anticipation!

I was very excited to buy this book, because here at last was an alternative to Cunningham's fluffy magical herbalism books. I was excited because it seemed that the author's research and scholarship was much greater than Cunningham's.

Unfortunately, as another reviewer pointed out, his magical corespondences seem arbitrary. Also, the plants he chooses to list seem to have come off the shelf of some musty old occult shop and not out of the author's garden. How can you claim to know anything about the plant and its powers if you know it only in death and have never experienced it alive and growing.

Also, I sadly discovered that the author's scholarship is actually somewhat lacking. He describes Milkweed as the plant which attracts Monarch Butterflies, which is correct, unfortunately he lists the plant with the scientific name "Apocynum Androsaemifolium" which, while also sometimes called milkweed, has nothing to do with monarch butterflies. This plant is also sometimes called Dogbane and its a shrub which is totally unrelated to plants in the Asclepiadaceae family, which monarchs frequent. He lists the correct milkweed under its genus name, Asclepias, and never mentions monarchs.

Since I discovered this error it has called into question all of the information in the book and I hesitate to use it as a reference in my magical practice.

As some reviewers already stated, P. Beyerl's magical corespondences (some of them) seem arbitrary. On the other hand most of them are in accord with the tradition and seems ok. But if you put these 'errors' aside, 'Compendium of Herbal Magick' is still a very good (and very nicely illustrated) book with plenty of true informations and interesting stories regarding a lot of herbs. So I think that despise some errors (here and there) in the correspondences, (more than 80% of the attributions seems ok), it is nevertheless a very pleasant and respectable lecture. Buy it for its informations, for its interesting stories and for its nice illustrations but sometimes look elsewhere for the herb's correspondences. I give it four stars.

I found this book to be a pretty helpful resource in researching the properties of herbs for magickal purposes, though I always cross-researched with other herb books, as Beyerl's entries are not always the most comprehensive. Beyerl relies quite heavily on M. Grieve's work for his lore and history. I'll grant that Grieve's work is excellent, but I would have liked to have seen Beyerl draw from a few more sources so I didn't have to!

Not a bad addition to one's bookshelf, but there may be better options out there.

Perhaps the most promising part of this book is Beyerl's astrological correspondences of the herbs. Unfortunately, it is also the part needing the most work. For example, Beyerl tells us that the energetics of a solar herb is hot and drying, and that a lunar herb is cool and moistening. This is actually very helpful information. However, he lists ginger as a lunar herb!! The logic of this absurdity defies comprehension! Ginger is one of the hottest and most drying herbs we have! Clearly it should be a solar herb! This most obvious contradiction calls into question Beyerl's other correspondence listings.

If astrological herbalism is to be taken seriously -- and there is no reason why it cannot be, assuming it accurately portrays the energetics of herbs -- it must become more rigorous, adopt accurate criteria for classification, and come up with a comprehensive and noncontradictory system that is also useful in clinical practice. Peter Holmes' book The Energetics of Western Herbs would be a useful place to begin, as he accurately describes the advantages and disadvantages of the Galenic system that astrological herbalism builds upon. Rather than attempting to interpret the planetary attributes of an herb according to its analytic effect upon isolated tissues, it would be better for astrology to develop a bodily energetics based upon the planetary archetypes. In this way, the energetics of a planet would nicely fit both physiological conditions and herbal properties, rather than trying to fit an energetic model into an anatomic model which it poorly fits. Planetary attributes of herbs must be distinguished in terms of various categories : medical/therapeutic, archetypal/active, etc. For example, certain plants have become associated with the activities of certain planets / gods which makes sense mythically, but not necessarily clinically in a medical or therapeutic sense. This does not invalidate either, but requires specific elucidation in an herbal, so we may distinguish amongst categories.

We need to be fair. Beyerl has done a great deal of synthesis in his book, especially on the magical properties of herbs, which does not particularly interest me. And he cannot be blamed for the rather pathetic state of modern astrological herbalism, which is in great need of intelligent, synthetic, and clinical revival. However, without dialogue with the author -- which I would welcome, by the way -- I cannot understand his method of planetary alignment with many of these herbs.

I will say that pages 434 - 453 ("Working With Astrological Correspondences") is one of the strongest parts of the book, which gives us an awesome and fairly comprehensive nature of the energetics of the planets. It is only when we come to the listings that I begin to question.

I purchased this book when I found as a source of information in the local herb store. It's not fluffy and gives a great list of source materials and recommendations for further reading materials. It's the only book I've read of this type that refers to herbs sacred to Gaia.

While I love this book it is not as detailed as the first. But, it is a must have for any Herbal Collection.