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REVIEWS @ THE NATURAL WAY TO HEAL: bioenergies and use these for self-healing. 65 Ways to Create Superior Health The role of emotions and thoughts in dis- by Walter Last ease and health are important, and Last helps Hampton Roads, USA, 2004 us understand the connections and harness ISBN 1-571 74-31 8-9 (481 pp tpb) the power of love and the subconscious Availability: Australia—Brumby Books, tel mind in our quest for healing. He caps it all (03) 9761 5535; NZ—Peaceful Living tel off with a section on making the spiritual (09) 921 6222: USA—Ham ton Roads dimension of life second nature. This is a Publishing htto:/Awww. hrpub com comprehensive, practical self-help manual. etired biochemist and nutritionist Walter ast reflects his holistic approach to WITCHCRAFT MEDICINE: Healing health in his new book, The Natural Way to Arts, Shamanic Practices, and Heal. The 65 steps to superior health he Forbidden Plants outlines are covered under 10 headings, by Claudia Miller-Ebeling, Christian ranging from rebuilding biological health Ratsch, and Wolf-Dieter Storl through to emotional and mental health and _—_Inner Traditions, USA, 2003; first pub. in into the spiritual. To follow the spiritual 1998 in German as Hexenmedizin) path—our real purpose—means we need to ISBN 0-89281-971-5 (240pp tpb) work on all these other levels, too. Availability: Inner Traditions website, So that means cleansing the body of toxic http://www. innertraditions.com build-up and metabolic wastes, minimising t's ironic that the UN Codex Commission harmful factors in our lives, having good and national regulators are increasingly nutrition, getting exercise and building up exerting more control over, if not outlawing, our life-force energies. Better emotional, natural herbal remedies and their deriva- as Ta tives. Their actions today are not dissimilar THE NATURAL WAY TO) to those inflicted by the Inquisition, which affected centuries of natural healers and - healing in both Europe and the New World. This natural healing tradition goes way back, and in Europe the culture of the witch was born from the transposition of wild medicine practice to agrarian societies. These healers, who tended to be women, understood nature's healing powers from the study of plants and seasons and by the trans- fer of knowledge over generations. Their shamanic skills and rituals, their fertility and birthing powers, their clairvoyance, their medical and pharmacological knowledge all added up to a formula that set them apart for a good or ill. The witchcraft medicine tradi- mental and spiritual health tend to be the tion has been essential to life and health for result of attending to these physical necessi- aeons, and it wasn't going to be wiped out ues, and the steps that Last outlines are by the Catholic Church, the later rationalist accessible and practical. They're designed scientific revolution, or even the AMA's to encourage you, not make you feel daunt- Morris Fishbein in the 20th century. ed, in your quest for better health. They're German co-authors Storl, Ratsch and also based on his broad experience spanning Miiller-Ebeling, all anthropologists and/or 30 years as a clinical practitioner. (See his ethnobotanists, focus primarily on the article on cancer in this issue.) . European witchcraft medicine legacy. (This There's good advice on correcting acid- first English translation lists "plants associ- alkali balance, drinking living water, choos- ated with witches and devils" alphabetically ing amongst natural healing methods includ- yer German names in the appendix.) ing reflexology, acupuncture and urine ther- Their contributions provide grounded infor- apy, and finding the correct nutritional SUP- mation on characteristics and uses of a mul- plements whether vitamins and digestive titude of plants and herbs as well as on the enzymes or herbs and homoeopathic reme- mythology of female goddess archetypes dies. Last points out general dietary rules as and the history and nature of witches. There well as special healing foods and the prob- are plenty of illustrations including colour lem foods to avoid. He gives self-care tips plates, making this book an inspiration to on dealing with specific health problems, flick throu h or study in depth including cancer and cardiovascular disease, It'sa powerful vote for the primacy of and avoiding harmful electromagnetic radia- ture in the face of those who would deny tion. He also describes how to sense subtle it, even in hallowed halls today. bioenergies and use these for self-healing. The role of emotions and thoughts in dis- ease and health are important, and Last helps us understand the connections and harness the power of love and the subconscious mind in our quest for healing. He caps it all off with a section on making the spiritual dimension of life second nature. This is a comprehensive, practical self-help manual. WITCHCRAFT MEDICINE: Healing Arts, Shamanic Practices, and Forbidden Plants by Claudia Miller-Ebeling, Christian Ratsch, and Wolf-Dieter Stor! Inner Traditions, USA, 2003; first pub. in 1998 in German as Hexenmedizin) ISBN 0-89281-971-5 (240pp tpb} Availability: Inner Traditions website, http://www. innertraditions.com t's ironic that the UN Codex Commission and national regulators are increasingly exerting more control over, if not outlawing, natural herbal remedies and their deriva- tives. Their actions today are not dissimilar to those inflicted by the Inquisition, which affected centuries of natural healers and healing in both Europe and the New World. This natural healing tradition goes way back, and in Europe the culture of the witch was born from the transposition of wild medicine practice to agrarian societies. These healers, who tended to be women, understood nature's healing powers from the study of plants and seasons and by the trans- fer of knowledge over generations. Their shamanic skills and rituals, their fertility and birthing powers, their clairvoyance, their medical and pharmacological knowledge all added up to a formula that set them apart for good or ill. The witchcraft medicine tradi- tion has been essential to life and health for aeons, and it wasn't going to be wiped out by the Catholic Church, the later rationalist scientific revolution, or even the AMA's Morris Fishbein in the 20th century. German co-authors Storl, Ritsch and Miiller-Ebeling, all anthropologists and/or ethnobotanists, focus primarily on the European witchcraft medicine legacy. (This first English translation lists "plants associ- ated with witches and devils" alphabetically under German names in the appendix.) Their contributions provide grounded infor- mation on characteristics and uses of a mul- titude of plants and herbs as well as on the mythology of female goddess archetypes and the history and nature of witches. There are plenty of illustrations including colour plates, making this book an inspiration to flick through or study in depth. It's a powerful vote for the primacy of nature in the face of those who would deny it, even in hallowed halls today. THE NATLUMAL WAY 1 HEAL WALTER LAST 70 = NEXUS JUNE — JULY 2004 www.nexusmagazine.com