Medicine Grove: A Shamanic Herbal (Paperback)

~ (Author) "My canoe rounds a bend in the quick-flowing, slender river, and I see that the facing bank of the next curve is lined with a..." (more)
Key Phrases: shamanic herbalism, use root divisions, mouthful doses, United States, Water Habitat, North America (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review

This well-written and inspiring book goes a long way towards reawakening our ancient connection with the magical Green World. -- Northwindvisions.com

Review

"To anyone interested in the spiritual aspect of herbs, Medicine Grove will be a revelation to read. Cruden's ideas are fresh and appealing, and though she adapts them from the indigenous attitudes toward the plant world, she shows us how to incorporate them in our modern lives."
(Barbara MacPherson, The Herb Quarterly )

"Whatever kind of shamanic herbalism you're into, this book can help you refine your craft and strengthen your alliance with herbs."
(Paula Amero, Magical Blend )

"This well-written and inspiring book goes a long way towards reawakening our ancient connection with the magical Green World."
(Northwindvisions.com )

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Destiny Books (May 1, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0892816473
• ISBN-13: 978-0892816477
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.5 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #836,882 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

32 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars marvelous medicine from Loren Cruden, March 25, 2000

By A Customer

As an herbalist, I am always looking to expand my knowledge of the plant world. Its great to know textbook uses of herbs and one can be quite successful in employing these techniques however, to learn directly from the plants is a true blessing and a healer's dream. Loren Cruden directs us to do this in her fabulous book, Medicine Grove. She is undoubtedly in tune with nature and while I believe she is gifted in this area, I also believe she consciously works at it. She generously shares her knowledge in this book, making it possible for all of us to re-connect with the spirits of the plant world. Thank-you Loren! In addition to spirit world connection tips, there's an excellent materia medica, tips for growing herbs and forms for applying medicinal herbs along with many unusual herbal tidbits included in the appendices. While I have a rather large herbal library, this is an outstanding addition. Put this book beside Eliot Cowan's Plant Spirit Medicine - they're a powerful pair!

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Actually deserves the word "shamanic"..., January 14, 2006

By	Raven Kaldera "Raven Kaldera" (MA) - See all my reviews

As a northern-tradition shaman and an herbalist, this was a good find for once. I'm extremely skeptical of any book with "shamanic" in the title, having been burned on that account many times in the past. ("The Shaman's Body" was so bad that I almost puked, and "The Truth About Shamanism" deserves to be burned on a Beltane bonefire.) But this one was actually good.

It's written by a spirit-worker who does things mostly in Native American traditions, largely because of the area she works in - the Northwest, where there are many fewer European transplanted plants, and the ecosystem is largely still Native, and that's who trained her. it says more than any other herbal I've ever read about actually talking to the plant spirits; her Materia Medica section actually talks about each one from the point of view of a living being with an essence rather than just an inert thing with alkaloids in it.

As a shaman who works with plant spirits on a regular basis, I was thrilled. She differentiates between naturopathic herbalism (purging, working with medical science), naturalistic herbalism (the Wise Woman stuff, working organically) and shamanic herbalism (ask the darn plants what they want!) She repeatedly emphazises the importance of a good relationship to the spirit of each plant that you work with. While she works in an entirely different cultural system than my own northern-tradition shamanism, her writings ring true and she seems to be for real.

Certainly her chapter on psychoactive plants is one of the sanest and most practical that I've seen. She says that it isn't, for her, about whether one chooses to interact with them, but how - and gives a list of ritual steps to take in order to create a relationship with the plant before ingesting the substance - including letting the plant tell you whether it's even appropriate.

One of the few books on the market that actually earns the "shamanic" name in my narrow estimation. Worth bothering to get and read, no matter what cultural tradition you're in.

-Raven Kaldera
http://www.cauldronfarm.com/nts

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A fine balance, July 6, 2006

By	K. Nabours (Louisiana) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

While I disagree with the previous reviewer regarding Arnold Mindell's "The Shaman's Body" (the work is brilliant and practical--it has actually changed my life--but is more of the Castaneda tradition in language, operation, and purpose), I concur that Loren Cruden's shamanic herbal is a wonderful book. I had been seeking some perspective from a middle ground between the straight plant-spirit shamanism of Eliot Cowan's excellent book and the too-linear, too-rote herbalism of most formal programs of study of the materia medica. Cruden is it!