Sacred Plant Medicine: The Wisdom in Native American Herbalism

As humans evolved on Earth they used plants for food, weapons, baskets, clothes, shelter, and medicine. Indigenous peoples the world over have been able to gather knowledge of plant uses by communicating directly with plants and honoring this sacred relationship. Stephen Harrod Buhner examines the techniques and states of mind these cultures use to explore the dimension of plant and human interactions and the territory where plants are an expression of Spirit. For each healing plant described in the book, Buhner presents medicinal uses, preparatory guidelines, and ceremonial elements such as prayers and medicine songs associated with its use.

NATIVE AMERICA / HERBALISM

"The first in-depth analysis of the processes used by Native Americans to communicate with the plant world for the purposes of healing human illness. It is a work long overdue by an author who himself 'talks' with plants as Native Americans have always done."

—William S Lyon, author of The Encyclopedia of Native American Healing and Black Elk: The Sacred Ways of a Lakota

"Buhner articulates the sacred underpinnings of the herbal world and deep ecology as only a real 'green man' can."

—David Hoffmann, author of Medical Herbalism

As humans evolved on Earth they used plants for everything imaginable—food, weapons, baskets, clothes, shelter, and medicine. Indigenous peoples the world over have been able to gather knowledge of plant uses by communicating directly with plants and honoring the sacred relationship between themselves and the plant world. Because they locate their consciousness in the heart, they are able to use the intelligence of the heart to merge their consciousness with the consciousness of any living organism.

In Sacred Plant Medicine Stephen Harrod Buhner looks at the long-standing relationship between indigenous peoples and plants and examines the techniques these cultures use to communicate with the plant world. He explores the sacred dimension of plant and human interactions—a territory where humans experience communications from plants as expressions of Spirit. For each healing plant described in the book, he presents medicinal uses, preparatory guidelines, and ceremonial elements such as prayers and medicine songs associated with the use of the plant.

STEPHEN HARROD BUHNER is an Earth Poet and senior researcher for the Foundation for Gaian Studies. He lectures throughout the United States on herbal medicine, the sacredness of plants, and the intelligence of nature. He is the author of nine works of nonfiction and one book of poetry, including The Secret Teachings of Plants and the award-winning The Lost Language of Plants.