I have got some SUPER, SUPER sexy book porn for you today! I have the translated, edited, and annotated “Occult Botany: Sedir’s Concise Guide to Magical Plants” by Paul Sedir. Sedir, pseudonym of Yvon Le Loup, passed away in 1926, but not before becoming a pivotal figure in the French occult revival. “Occult Botany” was first published in 1902 as a textbook for students of Papus’s Ecole hermetique where he was a professor. This is being presented in a 448-page hardcover tome loaded with original illustrations and built-in ribbon bookmark. I told you it was sexy!
As much as there is to applaud and celebrate with this text coming back in to print, we first need to appreciate R. Bailey, who went above and beyond in the translation of “Occult Botany”. If you treat yourself to this book, and you rightfully should, do not ignore the “Translator’s Forward”. Bailey provides us with a brief biography of Sedir and explains the sometimes-convoluted hoops he had to jump through to insure that “Occult Botany” was understood by modern readers. Bailey translated French and Latin, astrological and elemental symbols, AND used other texts that were available during Sedir’s time to help fill in any gaps that were discovered. All of this carefully noted so that the reader can clearly tell where everything is from. Seriously.
Now that I spent a whole paragraph praising the translator, let’s say we actually discuss what Sedir offers in “Occult Botany”? This book is a wonderful, if sometimes dated, resource for lovers of plants and their magical potential. Part One, “The Plant Kingdom”, discusses the vital forces at play in the plant kingdom. The assorted correspondences between individual plants and the planets, colors, aromas, and flavors. Part Two, “Plants and Humans”, explores the nature of our relationship with plants. Sedir talks about plants restoring organic deficiencies in the physical body, restoring electromagnetic deficiencies through herbal therapeutics, and help heal the astral body through their incorporation into rituals. He also suggests humans can return the favor by cultivating them using occult horticulture, restore them with vegetation magic, and resurrect them using plant palingenesis (reproduction of ancestral characteristics in the development of an individual organism). Part Three, “A Concise Dictionary of Magical Plants.” Here are individual plants with illustrations, their elemental qualities, ruling planets, zodiacal signatures, and occult properties.
“Occult Botany” has 3 appendixes. Appendix One is devoted to occult medicine. Sedir defines occult medicine as, “any therapeutic system that, when confronted with the pathological symptoms of the physical body, bases its diagnoses on an astral examination of the patient and treats the patient’s life force in its invisible form.” Appendix Two is dedicated to Paracelsian physiology, an early medical movement based on achieving balance of the body’s microcosm and macrocosm. The last appendix is “On Opium Use”. Yes, opium. I won’t tell you what Sedir says about it, you’ll have to read the book to find out!
You can learn more here.
Are you interested in the sexy hunk of book? Then I have got great news for you! The wonderful folks at Inner Traditions sent me an extra copy of “Occult Botany,” so giveaway! As usual, I’ll be using Rafflecopter. Due to the sheer mass that is this book, this giveaway will only be open to those residing in the United States and over 18 years of age. The giveaway closes on July 10, 2021 at 11:59pm eastern.
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