FOREWORD

By Chris Aldridge

Across the vastness of Gaia, the Gods have nurtured plants both for their own pleasures and for the benefit of humans along the often hard roads of life. The beautiful blooms of the world have greeted us alongside every path we have walked, even in Divine manifestations such as Chloris, the Goddess of Flowers. The plants and herbs of Earth are literally a plethora of gifts from the immortals, placed in various areas around us so that with each passing step we take, there might be assistance from the Divine world that never wishes to abandon us or see us in agony or despair. Like a caring and compassionate mother or father or good friends, the Gods leave us little gifts around the house to make our day just a bit better.

There is hardly a God without a plant of their own, whether it be the precious hyacinth of Apollo (formed from his admiration for humans), the intriguing cypress of Artemis, the elaborate and liberating vines of Dionysus, or the pure and as of today unknown Moly that Hermes gave Odysseus to shield him from the magic of a chaotic Witch. There is also hardly a spell or ritual that cannot be benefited by a plant, whether it be a Rose for Aphrodite’s love or a simple stick of Sage to banish evil or negativity.

Sometimes the Gods themselves were even symbolized by plants or natural growths or had their sanctuaries established around them. Trees were made into sacred precincts in very early times, where they were sectioned off with decoration, creating an important religious center. In modern times, Pagans might even consider themselves to have been visited or contacted by Hermes if they were to suddenly be given his sacred flower, the Crocus. Or, if someone adheres to an animistic Pagan religion, they would see their Gods everywhere, in all things natural.

Our relationship with the Gods, combined with the knowledge we have gained throughout thousands of years, has given us the simple yet universally powerful blessings of the plant and herbal world, whether it helps us with spiritual work or to cure our most serious illnesses through modern medicine. These gifts of the Gods have literally saved our lives in every way possible. Although, sadly, humans haven’t always accepted their assistance. Locked up in the cages of our own ignorance, we cannot see that many of our medical issues, physical and mental, could be solved by simple cannabis. Humans often wonder why the Gods won’t help them, and yet we refuse their help every day. But the aid and remedies are out there, waiting for us to take them.

Go for a stroll in Nature while asking the Gods for guidance, and you may very well be pointed in the direction of one of these many known or unknown life-forms from the blessed soil of Mother Earth. That’s why this book is an amazing resource for Pagans who seek the old Gods and the natural ways of life. Here, the simplest as well as the most complex herbs and plants are brought to practical and possible light, and many amazing secrets, methods, and bits of knowledge are revealed with such detail and precision that even temples and religious orders may find it helpful to house it in their libraries today.

Ellen leads the reader and/or practitioner through a fantastic world of illustration, description, and method, bringing her plant and herbal knowledge and mankind’s essential elements together for the benefit of all people. It’s as if the herbal world itself is housed inside its own universal temple, and in the reader’s hands is now that temple’s holy book.

CHRIS ALDRIDGE is an American writer, theologian, and mythologist and who has been an active priest in ancient Greek practices since 2009. He owns and operates his own temple and sanctuary grounds in Machesney Park, Illinois. Find him online at www.caldridge.net and www.totgg.org.