Customer Reviews
magical herbs only, but very practical guide - By: E. osborn, 10 Jul 2008 
i will admit, it frustrates me a little that there is only magic herbal propertiesin this book. however, I understand that cunningham has done this so as not to confuse readers
despite this it is a book i constantly read through for all my magical herbal needs. clearly written with helpful tables, pictures & a folk name cross reference, it is my first recommendation for a magical herbal book
Doubtful accuracy - By: vapidness, 31 May 2007 
Don't use this as a source for information about medicinal herbs. There are a lot of inaccuraciesin this area- for an introduction to medical herbalism, look for works (for example) by either David Hoffman or Penelope Ody.
Knowing about the inaccuraciesin the information on the medicinal qualities of herbs has made me very wary about the information given on the magical qualities of herbs. Cunningham may be more knowledgable & accurate when it comes to magical uses of herbs than he is on the subject of medical herbalism, but I have been reluctant to rely on this as a single source for magical herbalism. Unfortunately there are very few other reference works on magical herbalismin print to use for cross-referencing, & Cunningham's book is usually recommended as the standard work.
Dreadful - gives genuine practitioners a bad name. - By: N. Holt, 12 Jan 2006 
I was very disappointed with this book. After reading so many positive reviews I was expecting a serious work based on careful research, but it is nothing of the kind. The descriptions of magical properties of herbs are extremely vague & give no information as to the source of the lore. Some of them miss out traditional magical properties that have been recognised for thousands of years (e.g. mandrake) while others descriptions are just plain wrong. For example, he tells us that Absinthe is 'highly addictive' & dangerous, both of which are simply untrue.
Most of the booksin the bibliography are American. While this is not necessarily a bad thing (there are some worthwhile books by American authors on this subject), it does suggest a certain lazinessin his research.
He makes very grand claims for the power of herbs, going so far as to claim that hanging a herb bagin your house is a more effective deterrent to burglars than getting decent locks. This is very obviously not true, but similarly outlandish claims are made throughought the book with no evidence to back them up & no sources given. My impression is that he has not critically analysed any of his sources, & has simply made up information to fillin any gaps.
Lots of illustrations are missing & some of the descriptions appearin the wrong place (e.g. garlic under aloe instead of allium).
Books like this give practitioners of magic a bad name. There is a sound basis for herbal magic, & it's unfortunate that the author could not restrict himself to these rather than abandoning sense & manufacturing claims which have no basis. It is a book for people who would like to feel that they can work effective magic without doing any research, but is of no use to anyone with a serious interestin the uses of herbs or the nature of magic.
Strictly for new-agers - a very shoddy piece of work.
How did I cope before it! - By: Lucy Orchard, 22 Dec 2004 
I have had mine a few years now & I wish I had put a protective cover on it as I have really given mine a bashing! It is great for information when working spells & a fantastic read for when you are creating. A great book for novices or more familiar Wiccans, a source of inspiration.
An essential for people who work with herbs. - By: , 09 Jul 2004 This is a brilliant book & very informative. It's an essential for those who work with herbs a lot for magical uses, it's a great handbook to use when looking up certain properties of a herb, so great if you are also wanting to make your own gifts (herb pillows, bath teas etc).
