Claudia Müller-Ebeling, Ph.D., an art historian and anthropologist, is the coauthor of Shamanism and Tantra in the Himalayas and was editor in chief of Dao, a magazine about the health and longevity practices of the Far East. She lives in Hamburg, Germany. Christian Rätsch, Ph.D. (1957 – 2022), was a world-renowned anthropologist and ethnopharmacologist who specialized in the shamanic uses of plants. He is the author of The Encyclopedia of Psychoactive Plants and Marijuana Medicine, and coauthor of Plants of the Gods and Shamanism and Tantra in the Himalayas. He lived in Hamburg, Germany, and lectured around the world. Wolf-Dieter Storl is a cultural anthropologist and ethnobotanist who has taught at Kent State University, as well as in Vienna, Berne, and Benares. He lives in Allgäu, Germany, and is the author of Culture and Horticulture: A Philosophy of Gardening.

Introduction: Is Witchcraft Medicine Good Medicine?WOLF-DIETER STORL1. The Wild Earth and Its Children The Power of the WildernessDivine Visitors to the Small Cultural IslandMidsummer's DreamThe August FestivalThe EquinoxThe Time of the Dead: Samhain, HalloweenRites of Initiation2. The Old Woman in the HedgerowThe ChimneyThe Wrath of VenusThe New Science3. The Witch As ShamanDevil Worship The Buck: The Divine DispenserThe World TreeThe Flight to the Holy MountainFlying OintmentSex and Fertility MagicWeather Magic4. Midwives: Fertility and BirthThe Way into ExistenceThe Children's Springs at Lolarka KundThe Time of BegettingPregnancyBirthThe Hebe-Ahnin and the Men's ChildbedAfter the Birth5. The Mother of DeathFlowers for the DeadThe Festival of the DeadThe Dead and the VegetationThe Dead As Dispensers of FertilityCHRISTIAN RÄTSCH6. Witchcraft Medicine: the Legacy of HecateGardens of the Gods and Herbs of the Witches The Garden of the Great GoddessThe Garden of HecateThe Garden of MedeaThe Garden of CirceThe Garden of ArtemisFlying Ointments and Lovers' Salves As MedicinePharmakon WineCLAUDIA MÜLLER-EBELING7. Images of Witches: The Demonization of Nature's Healing Powers The Image of the WitchMary: The Chaste Cultural HeroineThe Witch: The Sensuous Natural Woman The Demonization of Nature and SensualitySinister Companions of the WitchPoison Mixers and HealersThe Demonization of Medicinal and Poisonous PlantsThe Healing of the Microcosm and MacrocosmRübezahl: Herbalist and Weather GodSeeress and Goddess of FateFrom the Goddess to the WitchThe Witch As the Temptation of Saint AnthonySaturn: Master of the WitchesThe Painters of WitchesCHRISTIAN RÄTSCH8. Witchcraft Medicine: Forbidden Medicine-From the Inquisition to the Drug LawsCoca and CocainePoppy and OpiumMescaline and Psilocybin: The Forbidden Souls of the GodsAyahuasca: The Conquest Is Not OverThe "Drug" BusinessNews Update: Hemp Seeds Outlawed!Appendix: Plants Associated with Witches and DevilsBibliographyIndex

WITCHCRAFT / SHAMANISM "Witchcraft Medicine is a work of brilliant and passionate scholarship, fabulously illustrated, that recovers the lost knowledge of the European shamanic tradition. It is both a guide and an enthusiastic ode to the visionary edge of the botanical realm." --Daniel Pinchbeck, author of Breaking Open the Head: A Psychedelic Journey into the Heart of Contemporary Shamanism "This is a fascinating work of great importance that is incredibly well researched and documented. And brave. From the first impassioned paragraph to the last words, I was spellbound. Anyone interested in medicine, herbalism, the healing arts, and spiritual phenomena will find this book thought provoking and empowering." --Rosemary Gladstar, president of United Plant Savers and author of Herbal Healing for Women Witch medicine is wild medicine. It does more than make one healthy; it encourages knowledge and engenders ecstasy and mythological insight. In Witchcraft Medicine the authors take the reader on a journey that examines the women from centuries past who mixed the potions and became the healers. As humans left the "thorny brush" and settled into agrarian societies, elements of nature (including human nature) became identified as wild and destructive, and the culture of the witch was born. Through study of ancient and medieval texts and the artwork of the early Renaissance, the authors explore the demonization of nature's healing powers and sensuousness, the legacy of Hecate, the sorceress as shaman, and the plants associated with witches. They describe important seasonal festivals and the plants used in these celebrations and rituals. They also look at the history of forbidden medicine from the Inquisition to current drug laws, with an eye toward how sacred plants of witchcraft can be used once again. CLAUDIA MuLLER-EBELING, PH.D., art historian and anthropologist, is the coauthor of Shamanism and Tantra in the Himalayas and was editor in chief of Dao, a magazine about the health and longevity practices of the Far East. She lives in Hamburg, Germany. CHRISTIAN RaTSCH, PH.D., is a world-renowned anthropologist and ethnopharmacologist who specializes in the shamanic uses of plants. The author of Marijuana Medicine and coauthor of Plants of the Gods, he lives in Hamburg, Germany. WOLF-DIETER STORL, PH.D., is a cultural anthropologist and ethnobotanist who has taught at Kent State University, as well as in Vienna, Berne, and Benares. He lives in Allgau, Germany, and is the author of Culture and Horticulture: A Philosophy of Gardening.