The Witch’s Book of Simples: The simple arte of domestic folk medicine
by Melusine Draco

Keep it Simple

A Simple is a philtre derived from a single herb and was an important element among the natural resources of the parish-pump witch, wise-women and cunning-folk. Simples are common kitchen ‘stuff’ that have been handed down through generations of country people in the form of family cures for everyday ailments. Or as William Fernie wrote in his Herbal Simples (1897) The art of Simpling is as old with us as our British hills. It aims at curing common ailments with simple remedies culled from the soil, or got from home resources near at hand. These were no fancy recipes with magical formulae, and, often given as a tisane, the woman of the household was able to use the remedies to treat common ailments suffered by her family. And, this elementary form of domestic plant medicine can be as simple as a cup of chamomile tea made from flowers picked fresh from our own garden to aid sleep. This was the most elementary way to use medicinal plants since no fancy recipes or scientific acumen was needed. But this element of traditional witchcraft has long been in the shadows …

4 out of 5 fairies

Disclaimer: I’m reviewing this as an American, so what may be common knowledge for those raised in England, won’t necessarily be for those elsewhere. That said, I picked this up because I’m very curious about herbs and how they can be used in healing. Now that that’s out of the way, onto the review – While reading the introduction, I was quite surprised to see some remedies I’d never heard of, and pleasantly surprised to find ones I’d learned either growing up or from friends after I was grown. There are a lot of sources referenced and cited, and it would be easy to use the bibliography at the end to do more in-depth research. Although fresh herbs are best, if you are unable to maintain a fresh garden, then this might not be very helpful book past satisfying curiosity. I do appreciate the author saying it’s dangerous to forage any plant you’re not 100% confident identifying, as hanging out in foraging groups I’ve seen quite a few novices accidentally ingest something they shouldn’t because they decided to take a risk. My only complaint is there are a lot of quotes from other books, instead of simply summarizing them, often used to reinforce a point the author already made, and it feels like there were so many used to reach a minimum word count in some ways. Overall, I will say this is a great resource if you’re curious, want a starting point, etc., but I wouldn’t use it for medical advice without talking to someone more experienced/knowledgeable, however.

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Mélusine Draco originally trained in the magical arts of traditional British Old Craft with Bob and Mériém Clay-Egerton. She has been a magical and spiritual instructor for over 20 years with Coven of the Scales and the Temple of Khem, and writer of numerous popular books including Liber Agyptius: the Book of Egyptian Magic; The Egyptian Book of Days; The Egyptian Book of Nights; The Thelemic Handbook; The Hollow Tree, an elementary guide to the Qabalah; A Witch’s Treasury of the Countryside; Root & Branch: British Magical Tree Lore and Starchild: a rediscovery of stellar wisdom. Her highly individualistic teaching methods and writing draws on ancient sources supported by academic texts and current archaeological findings. She now lives in Ireland near the Galtee Mountains and has several titles currently published with John Hunt Publishing including the Traditional Witchcraft series.