Onomasticon of Occult Herbs: Names, Identities and Epithets of Sacred Plants

Onomasticon of Occult Herbs is a cross-cultural lexicon of sacred plant names, as they emerged from the religions and magical traditions of the world.The great procession of common plant names, given to them by humans, forms a unique body of lore passed down through time. In religion, magic and myth, these names serve a greater function than mere verbal signifiers; they operate at transcendent levels of spirit. A plant name may speak of its healing power, its legends, or its associations with gods or spirits. It may forewarn us of its potentially hazardous properties such as poison, or conversely its pleasant aspects such as scent or taste. In anthropological contexts, these names also speak to the plant's steward culture, in which traditional interaction with the plant is embedded. Onomasticon of Occult Herbs is a cross-cultural lexicon of more than 5,000 plant names, with a special focus on those herbs used in Spiritual, ceremonial and occult practice. In addition to selected annotations on the names and information on linguistic sources, the book also contains the introductory essay "A Green Cipher", which examines the powers behind the names.