Introduction

Plants have always been part of magic and religion: as offerings, incense and amulets, as medicines governed by the planets, and — in some traditions — as sacraments believed to open the way to the gods. This section covers the history of herbal magic from the Greek root-cutters and the doctrine of signatures to Culpeper's planetary herbal and the green witchcraft of today; the lore of mandrake, vervain, mugwort and the witch's garden; and the religious use of cannabis, soma, the Eleusinian kykeon, peyote, ayahuasca and other entheogens, described historically and anthropologically, with attention to law and safety.