Book Review
The Healing Plants of the Celtic Druids
by Angela Paine

304 Pages

 

 

I have to be honest; this is one of those books that I found so enjoyable it was hard to figure out what to include in the review. The Healing Plants of the Celtic Druids is a book that I feel should be included in a witch’s collection of books. Mx. Paine explains in chapter 1, why she wrote this book. In this chapter, she also teaches a little bit about the ancient Celtic world, including mining, farming, trade, places of worship, the role of the Druids in ancient Celtic Britain, and ancient Celtic medicine.

Mx. Paine wrote about only what the Ancient Druids would use. But there is a lot of research that is included to show the author knows what she is stating. Mx. Paine, talks about growing, finding herbs, preserving them, making infusions, teas and soups. She even goes into depth of what alcohol to use according to what form of herb you’re using if you want to make a tincture.

The first three chapters are about why she wrote this book, the plants; how to find them, recognize them and use them, and the medicinal plants of the US and the UK. There is some fascinating history in that part of the book; then she breaks the book down into sections. Part two is the native plants; part three is a few poisonous plants. Part four is the Roman Invasion; part five is the medicinal plants introduced by the Romans used by the ancient Celts.

I like that Mx. Paine breaks each plant down, with a common name, followed by the Latin name of the plant. Each entry for each plant contains habitat, season, how to grow, parts used, preservation, properties, chemical constitutes, research, and how to use, dose and contraindications.

So, each entry for the 17 native plants, contains all this information. The author talks about the Physicians of Myddvai (this is something I had to look up because I’d never heard of it before.) Marsh Mallow (Althea officinalis) was one of the more exciting plant entries to me. I had not realized the length of time it has been in Britain. And today’s research and Marsh Mallow’s medicinal properties.

In the poisonous plant section, she lists 12 different plants, but she only goes in-depth in three different ones. One of them being Opium Poppy (Papaver somniferum), she gives some details on the history of the Opium Wars. She also provides some of the chemical constitutes of poppy seeds; the chemical constitutes of opium, properties, and the warning of this plant.

I’ve never researched the history of plants, herbs, or spices. I didn’t know that it was Romans were the ones who brought some of the common spices I use today, such as; celery (Apium graveolent), onions (Allium cepa), garlic (Allium sativum), chives( Allium schoenoprasum), sage (Salvia officinalis), fennel (Foeniculum vulgare), and wormwood( Artemisia absinthium) to ancient Celtic Britain.

Sage (Salvia officinalis), lavender (Lavandula angustifolia), rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis), and garlic (Allium sativum) a part of my everyday cooking I was surprised to find that they all started in the Roman empire. Even garlic was supposed to have originated somewhere between West China, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan. Garlic is a daily staple in my kitchen. Now, I have a more informed outlook on my kitchen spices and herbs I use in incense.

 

 

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About the Author:

Dawn Borries is a prolific reader, having 3 books going at any given time. Dawn uses Tarot cards, Intuitive insights, and Numerology in her sessions with clients. She is also an Ordained Minister, Reiki and La Ho Chi Practitioner and Master. She is a certified EFT and TFT Counselor. Dawn calls herself a Spiritual Counselor, and Unicorn Lover. She can be found @eagleandunicorn on Facebook or @eagle_unicorn on Twitter.