{"id":30506,"date":"2024-10-01T12:42:48","date_gmt":"2024-10-01T16:42:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/?p=30506"},"modified":"2024-10-01T12:54:36","modified_gmt":"2024-10-01T16:54:36","slug":"book-review-the-silver-branch-and-the-otherworld-forest-magic-with-plant-and-fungi-allies-by-sean-padraig-odonoghue","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/2024\/10\/01\/book-review-the-silver-branch-and-the-otherworld-forest-magic-with-plant-and-fungi-allies-by-sean-padraig-odonoghue\/","title":{"rendered":"Book Review-The Silver Branch and the Otherworld: Forest Magic with Plant and Fungi Allies by Se\u00e1n P\u00e1draig O\u2019Donoghue"},"content":{"rendered":"

Book Review<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Silver Branch and the Otherworld: Forest Magic with Plant and Fungi Allies\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

By Se\u00e1n P\u00e1draig O’Donoghue<\/strong><\/p>\n

Publisher: Bear & Company\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

265 page paperback<\/strong><\/p>\n

Release Date: July 16th, 2024<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"
Stock Photo of The Silver Branch and the Otherworld: Forest Magic with Plant and Fungi Allies<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Silver Branch and the Otherworld: Forest Magic with Plant and Fungi Allies\u00a0<\/em>is a book filled with the wisdom of O’Donoghue’s Irish Celtic ancestry, weaving the use of entheogens like Mushrooms and Cannabis into a cohesive, animistic practice infused with witchcraft.\u00a0The Silver Branch and the Otherworld\u00a0<\/em>starts off by covering basic theory and philosophy of O’Donoghue’s practices, even giving Wheel of the Year Rituals for the 4 Sabbats of Beltaine, Lughnass\u00e1d, Samhain and Imbolc. O’Donoghue then moves the reader into the forest, giving a modest herbal, featuring plants, trees, and fungi and their potential uses and dangers in medicinal, spiritual and entheogenic uses. I particularly appreciated the author’s candid approach to psilocybin as an entheogen, mentioning experiences and preferences based off of those experiences, devoting an entire chapter to the many uses and abilities of psilocybin.<\/p>\n

I decided to review this book because of my affinity for forests, entheogenic spiritual practices, and herbalism. I found O’Donoghue’s knowledge on herbalism, Celtic magical, spiritual and philosophical beliefs to be built on solid ground, either from ancestral practices, research, or experience. As stated before, I appreciated O’Donoghue’s knowledge of psilocybin and other fungi, such as\u00a0amanita muscaria<\/em>, which was likely a commonly ingested fungi throughout Europe in ancient times. Giving tips, scientific research and data, as well as the wisdom of those who have gone before,\u00a0The Silver Branch and the Otherworld\u00a0<\/em>is a great primer for those seeking to work with psilocybin and other common entheogenic plants such as Cannabis for spiritual purposes. Apart from a concise yet thorough section on each plant, possible health cautions, as well as ecological considerations are given as well, something that I’m seeing a lot more of in herbals, and which was needed.<\/p>\n

I have no criticisms of this wonderful book, as even those following a non-Celtic path will find wisdom and bits of knowledge easily applied to any path within its pages. Because of this, I give\u00a0The Silver Branch and the Otherworld: Forest Magic with Plant and Fungi Allies\u00a0<\/em>by Se\u00e1n P\u00e1draig O’Donoghue a 5 out of 5. It’s an excellent book and gives the spiritual components to working with these plants, while giving basic health and safety information as well should you choose to ingest these plants.<\/p>\n

About the Author:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Se\u00e1n P\u00e1draig O’Donoghue\u00a0<\/strong>is a clinical herbalist, writer and teacher, weaving together traditional Western herbalism with modern science. He is a columnist for\u00a0Plant Healer Magazine\u00a0<\/em>and the founder of Otherworld Well Hedge School. He lives in western Maine.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

***<\/p>\n

Author Bio:<\/b><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Hello there! I\u2019m\u00a0the Modern Merlin<\/b>, and I\u2019ve been a Polytheist and Animist Pagan, Witch, Sorcerer, Wizard, Druid, Mystic, Ceremonial Magician, Occultist, Shaman, Seer and Soothsayer for 15 years, worshipping and casting magick with deities and spirits from many cultures, including Ancient Greece, Rome, Norse & Germanic, Celtic, Egyptian, Sumerian, as well as many Faeries, Nymphs, Dryads, Ancestors and other nature and land spirits and spirits of place. I practice Necromancy and Deathwalking, as well as Traditional Witchcraft, Druidry, Hellenism and Ceremonial Magick, incorporating all of them into a cohesive practice, with some shamanic touches. I study and practice Astrology as well as Tarot and other forms of divination such as Runes, Palmistry and Ogham. I give readings and spiritual services on my Facebook Page, The Modern Merlin<\/a>, as well other free informational posts for everyone to see!<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Book Review The Silver Branch and the Otherworld: Forest Magic with Plant and Fungi Allies\u00a0 By Se\u00e1n P\u00e1draig O’Donoghue Publisher: Bear & Company\u00a0 265 page paperback Release Date: July 16th, 2024 The Silver Branch and the Otherworld: Forest Magic with Plant and Fungi Allies\u00a0is a book filled with the wisdom of O’Donoghue’s Irish Celtic ancestry, weaving the use of entheogens like Mushrooms and Cannabis into a cohesive, animistic practice infused with witchcraft.\u00a0The Silver Branch and the Otherworld\u00a0starts off by covering basic theory and philosophy of O’Donoghue’s practices, even giving Wheel of the Year Rituals for the 4 Sabbats of Beltaine, Lughnass\u00e1d, Samhain and Imbolc. O’Donoghue then moves the reader into the forest, giving a modest herbal, featuring plants, trees, and fungi and their potential uses and dangers in medicinal, spiritual and entheogenic uses. I particularly appreciated the author’s candid approach to psilocybin as an entheogen, mentioning experiences and preferences based off of those experiences, devoting an entire chapter to the many uses and abilities of psilocybin. I decided to review this book because of my affinity for forests, entheogenic spiritual practices, and herbalism. I found O’Donoghue’s knowledge on herbalism, Celtic magical, spiritual and philosophical beliefs to be built on solid ground, either from ancestral practices, research, or experience. As stated before, I appreciated O’Donoghue’s knowledge of psilocybin and other fungi, such as\u00a0amanita muscaria, which was likely a commonly ingested fungi throughout Europe in ancient times. Giving tips, scientific research and data, as well as the wisdom of those who have gone before,\u00a0The Silver Branch and the Otherworld\u00a0is a great primer for those seeking to work with psilocybin and other common entheogenic plants such as Cannabis for spiritual purposes. Apart from a concise yet thorough section on each plant, possible health cautions, as well as ecological considerations are given as well, something that I’m seeing a lot more of in herbals, and which was needed. I have no criticisms of this wonderful book, as even those following a non-Celtic path will find wisdom and bits of knowledge easily applied to any path within its pages. Because of this, I give\u00a0The Silver Branch and the Otherworld: Forest Magic with Plant and Fungi Allies\u00a0by Se\u00e1n P\u00e1draig O’Donoghue a 5 out of 5. It’s an excellent book and gives the spiritual components to working with these plants, while giving basic health and safety information as well should you choose to ingest these plants. About the Author: Se\u00e1n P\u00e1draig O’Donoghue\u00a0is a clinical herbalist, writer and teacher, weaving together traditional Western herbalism with modern science. He is a columnist for\u00a0Plant Healer Magazine\u00a0and the founder of Otherworld Well Hedge School. He lives in western Maine.   *** Author Bio: Hello there! I\u2019m\u00a0the Modern Merlin, and I\u2019ve been a Polytheist and Animist Pagan, Witch, Sorcerer, Wizard, Druid, Mystic, Ceremonial Magician, Occultist, Shaman, Seer and Soothsayer for 15 years, worshipping and casting magick with deities and spirits from many cultures, including Ancient Greece, Rome, Norse & Germanic, Celtic, Egyptian, Sumerian, as well as many Faeries, Nymphs, Dryads, Ancestors and other nature and land spirits and spirits of place. I practice Necromancy and Deathwalking, as well as Traditional Witchcraft, Druidry, Hellenism and Ceremonial Magick, incorporating all of them into a cohesive practice, with some shamanic touches. I study and practice Astrology as well as Tarot and other forms of divination such as Runes, Palmistry and Ogham. I give readings and spiritual services on my Facebook Page, The Modern Merlin, as well other free informational posts for everyone to see!  <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":290,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"iawp_total_views":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[10005],"tags":[15063,15064,10015,10472,15083,13686,15084,12163,10060],"class_list":["post-30506","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-reviews","tag-bear-co","tag-bear-co-publishing","tag-book-review","tag-celtic","tag-forest-magic","tag-herbalism","tag-plant-magic","tag-psilocybin","tag-witchcraft"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30506","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/290"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=30506"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30506\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":30523,"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30506\/revisions\/30523"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30506"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=30506"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=30506"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}