Table Of ContentThirteen Pathways of Occult Herbalism
Thirteen Pathways of Occult Herbalism
and Other Homilies on Botanical Magic
Daniel A. Schulke
Illustrations by Benjamin A. Vierling
THREE HANDS PRESS
2017
First edition published by Three Hands Press, May
2017.
Text and images © copyright 2017 by Daniel A.
Schulke. All rights reserved. No part of this book may
be reproduced, stored in an electronic retrieval
system, or transmitted in any form or by any means,
electronic, mechanical, graphical, recording, or
otherwise, without the written permission of the
copyright holder.
‘Occult Herbalism: Ethos, Praxis, and
Spirit-Congress’ was originally published in The
Cauldron volume 127, February 2008. The version in
the present book has been revised and expanded.
‘The Green Intercessor' was originally published in
Abraxas volume 1, 2009.
Jacket cover image Witch’s Garden and rear cover
images by Benjamin A. Vierling. Jacket design by Bob
Eames. Interior book layout by Clint Marsh.
Printed in Canada
ISBN 978-1945147-32-6 (e-book)
threehandspress.com
Contents
Preface
Thirteen Pathways of Occult Herbalism
Transmission of Esoteric Occult Knowledge in the
Twenty-First Century
Occult Herbalism: Ethos, Praxis, and Spirit-Congress
The Green Intercessor: Tutelary Spirits and the
Transmission of Plant-Magic
Bibliography
Index
Preface
THE REPOSITORY of human-plant knowledge is pre
historic, and embraces arenas of understanding rou
tinely rejected by science: the magical, mystical, spir
itual, and mythical. These categories of knowledge
are bodies of instruction and mystery that were hard
won, over millennia, by technicians of magic:
shamans, sorcerers, healers, and a thousand other
specialists apprenticed to plants. Occult Herbalism,
as it is presently used in this book, encompasses as
a broad concept these zones of ritual botanical
power.
Early in my youth, driven both by curiosity and by
experiences inexplicable to science, philosophy, or
religion, I began a personal investigation into this
virid expanse of botanical power, a journey wending
from wilderness to farm, from chapel to tumulus,
from clinic to alchemical laboratory, even unto the
veils of ecstatic trance and oneiric revelation. The
fruits of this peregrination, in part, are contained
within my book Arcana Viridia: The Green Mysteries,
which began in the late 1980s as nothing more than a
record of personal observations to better my own
understanding.
Over the years, in my varied contacts with those
interested in this subject, I was frequently asked
‘how’ one comes to such knowledge. Among con
temporary students of esotericism there is consid
erable interest in how to approach plant powers from
a respectful position, yet one that also allows the full
possibilities of awakening to their mysteries. To
these people I am thankful, for the dialogues thus in
cepted catalyzed the process leading to this book.
The purpose of Thirteen Pathways is therefore to
examine routes by which we can learn of the occult
nature of plants, and in doing so, incorporate their
powers in our own mystical pursuits, and beyond.
More than mere approaches, these pathways, when
embodied, cohere a magical stance, a viewpoint
which may readily be applied to any form of magic or
spiritual approach, but also in everyday life.
In learning, acquisition of the simple facts of
knowledge is simply not enough: our study must be
immediated by personal insight, sharpened upon the
grindstone of continual practice, fortified by will
ingness to be challenged and even proven wrong, but
most importantly, the ability to strengthen one’s per
sonal path, and actuate knowledge by deed. In cases
where the practitioner serves the community, such as
offering a needed skill like midwifery or medicine,
this actuation is something that cannot be faked.
The common English idiom of possessing a
'green thumb’ or being ‘green-fingered,’ echoing old
appellations of faerie, implies a secret bond of per
sonal power with plants, particularly in horticulture.
It also suggests that some people do not possess it,
and are therefore excluded from plant power: the lack
of this miraculous green digit is often given as rea
son for a strained or nonexistent connection with
plants. This enduring perception of a relationship to
plants as being a knack, a rare gift, or as the practice
of an elite, resonates strongly with the concept of oc
cultism and magic, for these are extraordinary con
cepts, trafficking in rarity, concealment, and alien
ation. This book does not seek to render final judg
ment on this matter, but it is a useful point of begin
ning, in consideration of the rare and personal nature
of occult herbalism.
In common with The Green Mysteries, these writ
ings find their origin in learning, practice, and collab
oration with others, but also in time spent alone in
the wilderness: places of isolation and starkly alien
ating beauty, where for many years I have deliberately
sought solitude as an ‘empty vessel.’ Emergent from
a temporal trajectory passing through many circles
and fields, the present work, like that of the magical
practitioner, reminds us that knowledge is a process,
a pilgrimage, that does not cease once a thing is
learned, but rather continues to evolve and re-order
the individual. The greater the degree of practice and
immersion in these matters, the more immediate and
profound our results will be. We seek, in short, the
Stone of the Alchemists: there is a tradition, some
say heretical, that its color is Green. The True Labor
is neither easy, nor tolerant of fools: Nature is a
harsh mistress, and as the alchemists well knew, one
must be willing to pass through her disorienting
array of processes if one would glimpse beneath her
veils.
Thirteen Pathways of Occult Herbalism
MAGICAL OPERATIONS make their appearance in
the earliest of human writing, and some of the most
ancient inscriptions of mankind are formulae ex
tolling the virtues of certain plants. A certain leaf is
prescribed for the binding of a demon, or a specific
root for making an animated statue; this knowledge
is presented as authoritative and therefore worthy of
preservation. We also accept that the use of plants in
magical practices pre-dated writing systems, for this
is increasing supported by archaeological evidence.
What is more difficult to ascertain is the knowledge
base that led to this ancient sorcery, the under
standing of what gave plants their magical power,
what spirits they embodied, what was required to
work with them, and the correct manner to make use
of their properties. This body of knowledge, which we
might call a magical philosophy of trees and herbs, I
