A Shamanic Herbal

A Shamanic Herbal by Matthew Wood offers an experiential journey into shamanism as a spiritual path and the teachings of plants, animals, and Nature.

It explores the alphabet of Nature personified in animals and the spiritual lessons of animal medicines—animals personified in plants—including Turtle, Bear, Deer, Wolf, Alligator, and Horse Medicine teachings.

The book shares profound experiences from the author’s long career as an herbalist and details his early years growing up on a remote Seminole reservation in the Everglades. Wood offers shamanic adventures interwoven with comparisons to the psychology of Freud and Jung, the visions of Castaneda, and the occult teachings of Steiner and Gurdjieff.

Matthew Wood describes a universal “language of the shamans,” based on direct, sometimes supernatural experiences and case studies from his practice. He examines the alphabet of Nature and spiritual lessons personified in animals and plants, especially “animal medicines” where the plant resembles an animal.

He shares accounts of Turtle Medicine plants for self-examination, Bear Medicine plants to open the imagination, and Wolf Medicine plants for wholeness and magic. Wood explores the plants of Alligator Medicine for healthful prosperity, Horse Medicine plants to bring the conscious self in harmony with the animal self, Badger Medicine plants to strengthen gut instincts, and many other herb and animal teachers. Additionally, he looks at plants associated with journeying to the spirit world through the medicine of Crane, Dragon, and Bat.

By revealing the shamanic roots of his herbal teachings, Matthew Wood provides not only an inside view of his lifelong spiritual path but also an immersive and experiential guide to the shamanic wisdom of countless plant and animal teachers.