Customer Reviews

Herbal Rituals: Recipes for Everyday Living

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In beautiful, haunting prose, Judith Berger invites her readers to discover how the cycles of nature relate to so many aspects of our own bodies and souls. She does this in a way all her own. This is a gutsy, mystical book that has the power to make even the most out-of-touch urban misfit (myself included) see nature-and herbs-but also a lot filled with weeds, a faded chiffon scarf, or a crow's screech at dawn--in a new light.

The book is divided into chapters on each month, beginning marvelously, with November. Berger weaves together elements from disparate myths, religious rituals, Native American traditions, as well as memories from her own childhood, to create a living, breathing tapestry for each month, situating the reader in a vivid moment of nature's cycle. She offers recipes for meals, honey, brandies, lotions, medicinal infusions, soothing baths, and rituals in the spirit of each season.

This book would be useful to anyone who wishes to know more about the power of herbs; to anyone who feels cut off from nature, or from their own creative wellsprings; or simply to anyone who delights in magical, inspired prose. That must be why even my friend Mike, an urban, chain-smoking carnivore, to my surprise. fell under its spell, exclaiming, "This book is a gem!"

This book is perfectly charming in it's simplicity. Ms. Berger has prepared a guide for herb lovers to enrich the deep respect herbalists already feel for these magical little plants. Along with her personal stories of her past, she ends each chapter with a beautiful step by step ritual that pays homage to the month, the herb, the folklore surrounding both and the wonder of just breathing. I read this book in a day, fell behind on duties, lost track of time, and was completly happy. Of all my herbal guide books, HERBAL RITUALS is my favorite because of it's mysticism, it's kind direction and it's power in restoring the magical wonder we had as children. When I grow up, I hope to BE as full of wonder as Ms. Berger is now...and I'm 32! Bravo!

This book will become your best friend. You are invited to experience a journey filled with herbal allies just waiting to make your aquaintence. I first encountered this book at a wonderful little shop in AnnArbor Michigan and was unable to put it down even though I really wasn't able to afford it at the time. I went ahead and spent what little money I had left and have never been dissapointed.

The connection I felt to the Earth as an animate being was intensified within the first ten pages of this book. I read another ten and logged back on to Amazon to buy this book for a friend who gardens. It is a simple spiritual journey home.

Susun Weed herself gave a beautiful review on the back cover of this book. I take her advice and keep this book with me. It goes on walks in the woods with me, it rests on my night table, it even bathes with me. If you are seeking a wise guide to living the old and wild way then you have found it. Buy this book as quick as you can, you will not regret it. It's a rare thing, these kinds of books.

This book is fantastic. It takes the reader on a years journey through some simple herbs that really help to bring beauty into your life. I cant believe anyone would sell their copy.

Herbal rituals is a wonderfull invitation to experience simple herbs in an inspiring way. Reading this book I am taken away to the places the author decribes at the begining of the chapters. Following each chapter introduction there is a wealth of wisdom helping the reader to grow closer to the green friends of the earth. I rate this book on equal foting with Susun Weed's Healing Wise. Truly a valueable addition to any wisewomans library. Blessed Be.

Arwen Nightstar (whose review is below) gave me this book, and I'll be forever grateful. I think enough of it to have bought copies for numerous friends.

It's a lot more than just an introduction to the medicinal uses of several of the more versatile plants, though it's certainly that -- Berger is a fine herbalist and, what's rarer in modern herbal writers, an excellent and patient naturalist. It's also a hymn to Mama Earth in all her beauty, power and practical wisdom, and Berger's a real find as a writer (though to be picky, the book does need some editing for grammar). Her evocations of a Brooklyn childhood are especially fine.

The title is misleading; there's not much ritual here in the usual sense, so if you're looking for an herbal spellbook, this isn't it. But if you love the natural world and its cycles, or just love unusually strong writing, buy this book -- but buy several copies, because I can just about promise you're going
to want 'em for friends.

For the newcomer to herbalism seeking a more personal approach to the plant-life of the natural world, Judith Berger's book, Herbal Rituals, is an inviting exploration of the herbalist lifestyle. Structured in thirteen chapters which follow the changing seasons from month to month, the text reads more like a contemplative memoir than a DYI how-to on becoming an herbalist. Berger opens each chapter with memories from childhood and anecdotes from her later years training as an herbalist and working with others in a city community garden; each month provides a mood or focus appropriate to the time of year, and explores only one or two plants in all their complexity. Berger often pauses to explore, for example, how the physical attributes of a plant not only hint at its practical medical uses, but can tell a respectful observer more about that plant's relationship to the elements, its shapes and colors symbolic of the effects it may have emotionally and even spiritually. Recipes towards the end of each chapter incorporate the use of featured herbs into teas, bath infusions, skin- and hair-care lotions, and occasionally delicious meals, herbal uses for the everyday that often focus on strengthening the immune system and preventing physical and emotional stresses that might lead to disease. A simple table of contents allows easy reference for readers looking for a particular plant or recipe, without disrupting the story-like feel of the text itself.

Most refreshing about Berger's writing is her quiet contemplation and devoted fascination with the plant world, which shines through in every page of Herbal Rituals. Quite often while reading, I found myself recalling childhood memories of my own that echoed Berger's common experiences of a personal relationship with nature. Amusing stories about community bonding and mutual care of a public garden, as well as about beginner mistakes and faux-pas, lend an engaging familiarity to what might otherwise be an overly fact-laden book. A discussion of her year-long study of a single plant, the stinging nettle, invites the reader to slow down and spend time wondering about the many ways in which even a single herb can be integrated into daily life. Likewise, her descriptions of the year during which she refused to plant anything and instead worked only with whatever weeds happened to take root in her city garden plot make even clumsy thumbless growers like me feel up to the challenge, or at least eager to try. Recipes in Herbal Rituals are simple and seem more like cooking than chemistry, and its month-by-month structure encourages beginners to pick up the book at any time during the year to discover helpful blends to guard against winter sniffles, cool down in the summer heat, or reinvigorate the mind and body in tune with the first stirrings of spring. Although other texts may include more detailed information on a larger variety of plants, Herbal Rituals teaches the reader to view herbalism as a cultivated relationship rather than a memorization of symptoms and dosages.

Part of a larger review, to read more check out Bond of Druids: Issue 2 [...]

i wish this book was a series... it became like a special friend to spend time with and share the magical spirit of the herbal world while learning more about the plants... judith is an inspiring writer inviting the reader into her world and offering comfort and healing through her connection and teaching with the plant world. i find myself picking this book up again and again to enter a healing world of plants that judith offers to the reader. and having moved from the east coast to the west coast i love the opportunity to experience the plants through the seasons of my childhood.

Gift this book!