Discover Top Posts Tagged with #amy jirsa

Lavender

#book #witch #witchblr #book club #bookblr #amy jirsa #cottage witch #herbal goddess #herbs #plants #plantblr #plant witch #green witch #herb witch #nature witch #herbalism #nature #kitten #mood board #nature core #submission

Book Review: Herbal Goddess

Title: Herbal Goddess: Discover the Amazing Spirit of 12 Healing Herbs with Teas, Potions, Salves, Food, Yoga, and More

Author: Amy Jirsa

Review:

Let’s jump right into this one. Herbal Goddess is a surprisingly fast read for an informative book around 250 pages. Through the book, Amy Jirsa gives you her teas, potions, salves, food, yoga, and more(!!!) in twelve chapters, each focused on one “herb”.

I put herb in quotation marks because right from the beginning Jirsa admits to fudging the definition of herb for the sake of it. This is also an introduction to the way Jirsa plays with herbalism. As a new age herbalist, maybe that’s her thing, but I feel like (or at least I hope), most professionally trained herbalist aren’t skewing the definition of herb versus other plants just for fun.

That being said, I did feel like I learned some things about these plants even if it was something as basic as making granola. The recipes in this book are definitely the most useful part of the whole text. If you’re looking to broaden you list of go-to teas, snacks, or even soups, Jirsa has your back. She doesn’t really have your back on the medicinal side, though. While she lists the benefits of each plant, they read through like a quick list, a flash card for a test you’re super underprepared for. She also reccomends alternative medicines for treating children’s illnesses which I really can’t get behind. I didn’t expect this book to be the beginning and end of herbalism studies by any means, but I do think that if she had put as much effort into the medicinal as she did the magic, this would be a much more well-rounded book. At least she doesn’t ask you to ingest essential oils (she does recommend sniffing a lot of them, though).

I did lose whatever small bit of trust I was hanging onto as far as Jirsa’s credibility as a writer in the nettles chapter. “Nettles are what we herbalists like to call an “Old World” plant, meaning it’s been around since long before written records were kept, when herbal lore was solely an oral tradition.” That is not what Old World means. Old World means, like in history class, kiddos, the eastern continents, (Europe, Africa, Asia, etc). This is a small detail, but it isn’t an easy one to get wrong. That’s not researching and fact-checking, that’s just basic knowledge. And I double checked with other sources referencing old world plants in herbalism, and they all refer to eastern continents, not “plants that have been around before written record”. As a professional, I don’t think muddying the definitions of various pertinent vocabulary in your field is a good look.

And as for the yoga? I’d just skip it. Each chapter contains poses that Jirsa associates with each plant, but she does not (and she’s up front about this) provide a guide to yoga. If you’re a novice, you’re going to need to do more research before you dive into warrior one with her.

But don’t think I’m hating on Amy Jirsa. I admire her fire and enthusiasm for her topic. I like the way she brings practical magic into the subject. And I can’t highlight or praise enough her respect for love magic, especially in the Rose chapter. She is ethical and informative and aware of the treacherous paths that love magic can lead to and deftly steers her readers away from them.

Would I recommend Herbal Goddess? That’s a tough question. It’s a fast read, and her personality is fun. So, if you want to know if herbalism is a subject to dive further into? Sure, take Amy Jirsa’s “herb” 101 course as a tester. And hang onto the recipes! You can’t go wrong with a good chamomile tea. I wouldn’t recommend this as a reference, though.

“Lavender is good for attracting love, but it also protects against false love, fleeting infatuation, and cruelty by the potential beloved.”