Links & Bibliography

I am creating my links page and recommended reading with a list of themes, which will be added to over time.

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Earth Pathways Diary and Wall Calendar

I am a director, and co-creator of the Earth Pathways Cooperative. Each year it is my great pleasure and delight to gather together the writing and artwork that has been sent to us, to create our yearly publication, the Earth Pathways diary. We also produce a wall calendar and journals.

The Earth Pathways diary and calendar are a networking resource and a great source of inspiration for the growing community of people who are willing to actively create positive change in their lives for the benefit of the Earth. Submissions are open to all, so if you have something to share, go to our website and download a submissions form!

For more information, sample pages and to sign up for our newsletter please visit our website: earthpathwaysdiary.co.uk

To see work from the artists and writers we have published, see our showcase website: earthpathwaysshowcase.uk

For up-to-the-minute news about what we are up to, follow us on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.

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Plant Spirit Medicine

'Plant Spirit Medicine' or 'Intuitive Herbalism' are terms used for subliminal communication of the heart, which creates a deepening of our relationship with plants and trees. I explored this in my newsletter of January 2015. Here are a few recommendations I would like to share if you would like to explore this edge further.

Plant Spirit Medicine Recommended Reading

Eliot Cowan - Plant Spirit Medicine
Elliot was one of the first westerners to be talking about this subject. In 2014 he bought out a new edition of this classic book; with new insights, new conclusions and new chapters. An essential read.

Stephen Harrod Buhner - The Lost Language of Plants - The Ecological Importance of Plant Medicines to Life on Earth.
First published 2002

Stephen Harrod Buhner - The Secret Teachings of Plants - The Intelligence of the Heart in Direct Perception of Nature. First published 2004
This was the first book of Stephen Buhner that I read. It is created with two sections: one that explores the natural world from the intelligence of the mind and the other half of the book from the intelligence of the heart. I helps us to really see these two modes of perception.

Stephen Harrod Buhner - Plant Intelligence and the Imaginal Realm - Beyond the Doors of Perception into the Dreaming of Earth. First Published 2014
This is his latest book and I am just beginning reading it. There's a lot in it that just need sitting with, so I will probably be some time reading and absorbing it. I read a few pages most days. Those few pages fill me up.

Stephan Harding - Animate Earth - Science, Intuition and Gaia
First published 2006, but I have the second edition, published in 2013, which includes fungi and many new updates. It is such an inspirational read and fills you with a deep reverence for the beautiful interconnected complexity of the Earth, our home.

Nathaniel Hughes and Fiona Owen - Intuitive Herbalism
This charming little book is a delight to have, hold and be inspired by. Nathaniel Hughes guides you through how to approach plants intuitively and how to be open to the journey with them as our teachers. Fiona Owens illustrations are stunning! This is the first volume in the series of books 'Weeds in the Heart'. Buy direct from their website: www.weedsintheheart.org.uk

Plant Spirit Medicine Recommended Website Links

Stephan Harrod Buhner ~ www.gaianstudies.org/Stephen.html

Eliot Cowan ~ plantspiritmedicine.org
Lots on this site including podcasts to listen to.

The Herbarium - Blog for Traditional Herbalists in Times of Transition theherbarium.wordpress.com

Wonderful blogs and articles about plants and trees from herbalist Cathy Skipper ~ cathyskipper.wordpress.com

Makers of Flower Essences at sacred sites ~ www.wildmedicine.co.uk

The British Association of Flower Essence Producers ~ www.bafep.com

School for Intuitive Herbalism ~ www.intuitiveherbalism.org.uk

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Kitchen Medicine

I heartily recommend all these wonderful herbalists and field guides. They are my top favourite people, books and websites

Field Guides

Harraps Wild Flowers by Simon Harrap - this is my new favourite and top recommendation!!
Wild Flowers of Britain and Northern Europe by Marjorie Blamey, Richard Fitter and Alistair Fitter.
Wild Flowers of Britain by Roger Phillips.

Foraging and Wild Food

Hedgerow Cookbook by Glennie Kindred.
The Elder in History, Myth and Cookery by Ria Loohuizen.
Food for Free by Richard Mabey
The Hedgerow Handbook - Recipes, Remedies and Rituals by Adele Nozedar. Includes fabulous drawings by Lizzie Harper.
Wild Food by Roger Phillips
Field Guide to Edible Mushrooms of Britain and Europe by Peter Jordan

Herb Books

Hedgerow Medicine by Julie Bruton-Seal and Mathew Seal
My favourite herbal, full of sound herbal information, interesting facts and snippets, and more importantly it teaches you to think and act like a herbalist. www.hedgerowmedicine.com

A Modern Herbal by Mrs M Grieve. First published 1933.
The most comprehensive study still today and a must for all those interested in herbs and our native plants.

The Illustrated Herbal Handbook by Juliette de Bairacli Levy.
The great grandmother of modern herbalists, who sadly died a few years ago. She learnt from gypsy lore and her understanding of healing animals remains invaluable.

A Woman's Book of Herbs by Elizabeth Brooke

The Holistic Herbal by David Hoffman.

Herbal Healers by Glennie Kindred. 21 familiar kitchen and garden herbs.

Practical Herbs by Henriette Kress.

The Complete Floral Healer by Annie McIntyre

The Healing Power of Celtic Plants. Their history, their use and the scientific evidence that they work by Angela Paine.

The Sensory Herbal Handbook by the Seed Sistas. - sensorysolutions.co.uk. Read my praises for this book here.

Websites

I use all these great sites for herbal reference and inspiration. My heartfelt thanks to them all!

Herbalists in Times of Transition: theherbarium.wordpress.com ~ Part of the Transition Movement. A fantastic site with lots of great recipes and plant information

Nathaniel Hughes: ruskinapothecary.weedsintheheart.org.uk ~ I love everything about Nathaniel's way of working. His books and methods are a joy!

Dee Dade: hedgerowherbs.co.uk ~ a good friend and wonderful herbalist. She runs Courses in Dorset

Hedgerow Medicine: hedgerowmedicine.com ~ I Love everything that Julie and Mathew Seal do! This site has a great A-Z of herbs and their uses

Richard Whelan: rjwhelan.co.nz ~ The A-Z of plants on this site is packed with information

Cathy Skipper: cathyskipper.wordpress.com ~ interesting articles and blogs

Jim Macdonald: herbcraft.org ~ great articles and writings on herbs

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Book Reviews

Sometimes I am asked to review or write a testimonial for other people’s books and I include the more recent ones I have reviewed here:

Yoga Through the Year by Jilly Shipway

This is a special kind of yoga book, one that empowers us to step towards our own authentic holistic wisdom and bring this into our daily yoga practice. Jilly encourages us to align ourselves to our intuitive selves through our inspired personal connection to the seasonal flow of the natural world around us, with mindfulness and gratitude. I Love it! I will move forwards now with this book as my daily guide. I am very thankful to Jilly Shipway for opening this more integrated path for my yoga practice.

Jilly’s calm clear voice shines through this special book, as she guides us though simple, accessible, uncomplicated yoga poses and meditations that connect us to each of the seasons, helping us to be more in touch with the Earth, to deepen our journey with trees and to become more aware of our feelings. Her strong clear heart energy inspires my day to gratitude and mindfulness and helps me to bring myself into balance and connection with all that I hold dear around me.

I found this book so inspiring and it has had a big impact on me. It has helped me to bring my daily yoga practice into a more integrated and balanced practice that is inclusive of the Earth and the seasonal flow of life. Reading this book has empowered me to approach my yoga practice more creatively, with sensitivity to how I am feeling and in alignment with the season. It brings me into greater harmony with myself and into greater balance with the Earth around me.

This special book has gifted me a more integrated approach to my Yoga practice. Jilly’s instructions are clear and easy to follow and gently bring us into balance of heart, mind and body, to bring healing on many levels. It is full of inspiring ways to bring the physical practice of yoga into an integrated way of life, and inspires us to step into the unity of our interconnected selves each time we step onto our yoga mats.

I Love this book! It has helped shift my yoga practice to a new, more integrated level and to bring it into my everyday life. It inspires me to be creative with my yoga practice, and to anchor what I do more fully into the flow of the Earth’s yearly cycle and in my gratitude for life.

The Children’s Forest by Dawn Casey, Anna Richardson, and Helen d’Ascoli

This delightful and deeply connecting book is an inspiration and call to all, to immerse ourselves in the forest, amongst the trees and the plants that have so many gifts to share with us. It speaks from the intelligence of Nature, which makes this important landmark book a profound breath of fresh forest air. Herein lies a rich treasure of beauty, creativity, and understanding that encourages true deep connection with the natural world of the forest. At this time when so many are hearing the call to return to a deeper relationship with Nature, this book has something for us all, children and adults alike. I highly recommend it.

Press release

The Sensory Herbal Handbook – Connecting with the Medicinal power of your Local Plants by The Seed Sistas

I Love this Book! It is a tonic and a joy! Its light shines like a beacon of hope in the dark. I step inside its pages and I am home, amongst my kin ~ the beautiful, deeply caring, wise, knowledgeable and honourable Seed Sistas. Thank you! I have waited a long time for this book to be written by these very special women – Fiona Heckles, Karen Lawton and Belle Benfield. It is a much needed and timely guide to understanding herbalism at a sensory and intuitive level. This is a book of great beauty ~ that feeds the soul as well as the mind. It opens our hearts to the wonder of the plants and the power they have to heal us on many levels. The Seed Sistas teach us how to understand our own bodies, and to approach healing from a place of reverence and deep gratitude for the wild plants, and help us to become part of a happier, healthier reality.

This is also important book of our time and captures the spirit of the rising movement for change. The Seed Sistas approach to herbalism is profoundly interconnected with our growing need to protect the Earth and to be in partnership with Nature. The writing inspires us to value, protect and nurture the wild edges of our lands and the wild places where our precious native plants grow, and to help us to explore and develop our sensitivity to the plants. This is also more than just a herbal. It is as much about our shift in thinking towards a more holistic future as it is about the herbs themselves. It unlocks and opens a door to our interconnected relationship with the Earth and the healing that takes place on many levels when become open to the mutually beneficial relationship between plants and humans.

As the Seed Sistas share their journey with us, our own journey shifts and aligns to receive their wisdom and their inspired understanding. We absorb their deep commitment to creative positive change and their connection to the Earth and Nature through their journey with the healing plants. Their passion and devotion shines through every page and is infectious! Their Love of plants, their joy for their work and lives, their knowledge, deep understanding and their allegiance to our collective shift towards holistic thinking shines through these inspirational pages. This is a book that inspires us to care for our beautiful Earth and our special wild plants, to care for ourselves and each other; to become engaged with healing, with an awareness of the synthesis between our physical and emotional health.

This wonderful, powerful and deeply connecting book helps me remember I am part of this beautiful dance between our Earth’s complex eco-system and a long history of humans and plants working together for healing. My heart leaps to greet this deep wisdom. I am rooted by it. I expand into it. My soul is nurtured by it and my sense of eco-engagement is inspired by it.

This wild and expressive book encourages us to discover and adventure into the world of plant medicine, through our minds, our intuitive responses and our heart connections. It is as big and expansive as the wonderful Seed Sistas are themselves. It stirs us to care for our selves, each other, and our precious Earth. This book inspires total reference for life. It is a cross-pollination, cross fertilisation, an interweaving of many systems and many paths, all bought together through the Seed Sistas natural reverence for life, and their love of our wild plants and their many uses. I couldn’t put it down. It captivated me and I sank deeply and thankfully into the nurturing wisdom and supportive words that shine from these pages. Here is a comprehensive and inspirational guide to working with our wild plants. Playful, joyful, deep, wise, connecting, knowledgeable, creative, shamanic, expansive, mind expanding, heart expanding, soul expanding, offering key tools for finding our way, though the use of meditation, observation, intuition, affirmations, mantras, poetry, and drawing,

This book holds the key for healthy lifestyle choices, for helping us to find our equilibrium and balance, empowering us to be active in our own healing, and to becoming more attuned to our seasonal journey and the wild plants growing around us. It encourages us to grow and adapt to these changing times, with the plants as our allies; inspiring us to engage with Nature, and to get out there and experience the wild plants and their vast healing abilities for ourselves.

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