Written by There is a particular kind of book that becomes furniture. Not in the dismissive sense. In the sense that it is simply always there, always open, always consulted, until its spine breaks and you buy another copy because you cannot imagine working without it. Scott Cunningham’s Encyclopedia of Magical Herbs is that kind of book. It has been in print for over forty years. There are practitioners who have worn through five copies.
The book does not teach you how to work magic. Cunningham is honest about this from the introduction – it is a reference, not a course. What it gives you is the accumulated folk knowledge of centuries, distilled into accessible entries for over 400 herbs, each noting the plant’s common and scientific names, planetary and elemental associations, gender, deity correspondences,