The Cunning Farmer

A guide to restoring the ancient relationship between farming and magic

The Cunning Farmer explores how to reconnect with nature and utilise practical, nature-based magic for gardening and farming, promoting fertility and abundance. It examines Moon work, plant magic, forest deities, Earth energies, weather magic, the cosmology of ritual, and the methods to engage with land spirits.

The book discusses folk magic traditions of North America and Western Europe, including the grimoire tradition, Western esotericism, alchemy, Kabbalah, and shamanism, as well as Taoist principles and Reiki.

For ancient people, magic and farming were intertwined, integral parts of life. Through practices such as libations, prayers, hymns, dances, sacrifices, and rituals, ancient farmers engaged sacred forces, the gods, nature spirits, and ancestors to ensure productive crops, healthy herds, favourable weather, and to release fertility energies. These rural farmer priests and priestesses of ancient times are the spiritual predecessors of today’s cunning farmers.

This book explores the folk magic traditions of North America and Western Europe, focusing on the grimoire tradition and witchcraft practices for enhanced fertility. Todd Elliott draws on Western esotericism, Taoist principles, alchemy, Kabbalah, Reiki, and shamanism to demonstrate how to employ practical, nature-based magic, just like our ancestors, for more fruitful gardening and farming.

He illustrates methods for working with land spirits, including connecting with the genius loci—the place spirit of your land. The book delves into working with Earth and Moon energies, plant magic, forest deities, and rituals. Learn how to strengthen your connection to elemental and celestial forces and explore rewilding the imagination to deepen your relationship with nature and the spirits residing within it.

The Cunning Farmer is not merely a guide to farming; it is a guide to forming a relationship with the living land. It reveals that we are surrounded by spiritual powers, and with their assistance, we can re-enchant and reconnect with the land that sustains us.