The Magic of Herbs

202 Pages·2019·17.069 MB·English

by  David Conway

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h
Herbalism is the earliest form of medicine known to humankind,
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its origins largely intuitive since even ailing animals seek out

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plants with healing virtues. Its subsequent development has
been governed by meticulous observation and centuries of a
practical experience. Today, despite the commercial dominance g
of the pharmaceutical industry and the scorn of some health
i
c
practitioners, more and more people are turning to the gentler,

time-honoured remedies offered by nature.
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f
the magic
This seminal work, originally published close to half a century
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ago, has been updated by the author, a life-long practitioner of
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herbal medicine. A concise natural history, with a description
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of herbs
of over one hundred of nature’s most beneficial plants, the text
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has been extended to include the most up-to-date information
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about their therapeutic worth. In addition old and new recipes
are provided not only for herbal remedies but also for wines and
cosmetics, while attention is paid also to such historical curiosities David Conway
as the Doctrine of Signatures, the Language of Flowers and the
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role of astrology in the herbal pharmacopoeia.
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v
i
d
Here, then, is a book that offers precious insight into a body of

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botanical knowledge sometimes at risk of being overlooked. It is
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also a joy to read. n
w
a
y
the
magic
of
herbs

the magic
of herbs
David Conway
The Witches’ Almanac
Newport, Rhode Island
First Published 1973
TWA Updated and Published Softcover 2019
Softcover published in 2019 by The Witches’ Almanac LTD.
P.O. Box 1292
Newport, RI 02840-9998
Text Copyright © 2019 David Conway
Illustrations, Layout and Design Copyright © 2019 The Witches’ Almanac, LTD.
Address all inquiries and information to
the witches’ almanac, ltd.
P.O. Box 1292
Newport, RI 02840-9998
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or
transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or
other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of
the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews
and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.
Softcover:
13-ISBN: 978-1-881098-53-9
Y llysiau gwyrthol berchid am
Eu lles yn fwy n’au llun
Wondrous plants, valued for
Their virtues more than their good looks
Crwys, Y Border Bach

magic of herbs
contents
Introduction 9
1 Botanical Medicine 15
2 Herbalism and Astrology 21
3 The Doctrine of Signatures 31
4 The Preparation of Herbs 37
5 Tonics and Physics 43
6 Cosmetics and Narcotics 57
7 Wines from Herbs and Flowers 75
8 The Language of Flowers 85
9 Herbal Materia Medica 97
Index of Ailments and their Herbal Treatment 190
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introduction
I
was four years old when I discovered the medicinal use of herbs.
Suspected of having caught worms from the family cat, I was
made to drink a brew composed of broom, bilberry leaves and
wormwood. (The cat was spared the medicine and left to harbour
worms in peace.) From then on throughout my childhood I was
dosed with other herbs whenever illness threatened. Their taste was
rarely pleasant, but at least they worked. So well, in fact, that at an early
age I resolved to learn all I could about them.
Here I was fortunate, because we then lived in a rural part of
Wales where people trusted herbs more than they did the modern
drugs prescribed by doctors. And among the herbal experts people
went to see was a good friend of my father’s, a widower named
Mr. James Tan’rallt.
Mr. James kept a farm on Plynlimon, a desolate range of hills
just east of Aberystwyth. To my young eyes he seemed a larg-
er-than-life character: tall, enormously stout and clad always in
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