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A review by lanternheart
The Witch's Cabinet: Plant Lore, Sorcery and Folk Tradition by Corinne Boyer
informative
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
3.5
While I enjoyed certain sections of "The Witch's Cabinet" more than others, I can't say yet whether I would recommend it based on what it purports to be: "a meditation of the shrouded dimensions of plant folklore." Boyer certainly overviews a number of superstitions and tales surrounding her chosen subjects, but the folklore within is noticeably limited: she focuses (at her own admission) largely on European and Slavic folklore, with little scope for plants of North America, Africa, Asia, etc. The introduction, written by Daniel A. Schulke, asks "of what value is such [plant] lore" as Boyer has aggregated, as she has to offer, and I come away from this book feeling enriched in some ways to answer this question, far less so in others.
As both a magic-worker and amateur historian, I was especially frustrated by Boyer's sourcing: she often cites folklore collections or magical books alongside academic sources (books from university presses, etc.), which lends them the same air of credibility in her footnotes unless you look fully at the sources. Multiple essays reference "Hekate's garden," a concept which was entirely new to me and which I can't find on JSTOR nor on Theoi.com (a good first source for aggregate ancient information). References to Circe, Hecate, and Persephone as "death aspects of the Goddess" unfortunately cast a Wiccan lens on Boyer's otherwise enjoyable essay on funerary trees, which I generally enjoyed, but wasn't expecting a Wiccan slant.
I enjoyed the practical tips and recipe aspects of the chapter on Elder, as well as the inventive uses and folklore surrounding graveyard plants and trees, but there's elements of this book that are tough to swallow if one looks beyond metaphysical books for sources.
As both a magic-worker and amateur historian, I was especially frustrated by Boyer's sourcing: she often cites folklore collections or magical books alongside academic sources (books from university presses, etc.), which lends them the same air of credibility in her footnotes unless you look fully at the sources. Multiple essays reference "Hekate's garden," a concept which was entirely new to me and which I can't find on JSTOR nor on Theoi.com (a good first source for aggregate ancient information). References to Circe, Hecate, and Persephone as "death aspects of the Goddess" unfortunately cast a Wiccan lens on Boyer's otherwise enjoyable essay on funerary trees, which I generally enjoyed, but wasn't expecting a Wiccan slant.
I enjoyed the practical tips and recipe aspects of the chapter on Elder, as well as the inventive uses and folklore surrounding graveyard plants and trees, but there's elements of this book that are tough to swallow if one looks beyond metaphysical books for sources.