Table of Contents

Acknowledgments

Foreword by Brooke Medicine Eagle

Preface to the New Edition

Preface to the First Edition

1 The Sacred and the Earth

2 To Be Healed by the Earth

3 Visions of Sacred Plant Medicine

4 The Sacred Song of a Plant

5 Making Sacred Relationship with Plants

6 Healing in a Sacred Manner

7 Digging for Medicine: The Wildcrafting of Medicinal Plants

8 Making Plants into Medicine: The Technology of Herbalism

9 Ceremony: Making Deeper Relationship with Plants

10 Four Sacred Plants of the Rocky Mountain Region:
Their Sacred Qualities and Uses as Medicine

11 A Short Compendium of Plants and Their Sacred Uses

12 The Birth of Gaia

Appendix: Wildcrafting Ethics and Guidelines
by the Rocky Mountain Herbalists’ Coalition

Notes

Suggested Readings and Herbal Apprenticeship Programs

Index

About the Author

Stephen Harrod Buhner (1952–2022) was an Earth Poet and senior researcher for the Foundation for Gaian Studies. He lectured throughout the United States on herbal medicine, the sacredness of plants, and the intelligence of nature. He is the author of nine works of nonfiction and one book of poetry, including The Secret Teachings of Plants and the award-winning The Lost Language of Plants.

Reviews

“The first in-depth analysis of the processes used by Native Americans to communicate with the plant world for the purposes of healing human illness. It is a work long overdue by an author who himself ‘talks’ with plants as Native Americans have always done.”
*William S. Lyon, author of The Encyclopedia of Native American Healing and Black Elk: The Sacred Way*

“Buhner articulates the sacred underpinnings of the herbal world and deep ecology as only a real ‘green man’ can.”
*David Hoffman, author of Medical Herbalism*

"This is an excellent reference book, as well as a wonderful book for beginners who want a true understanding of how to begin working with plants."
*Bonnie Cehovet, Angelfire.com, April 2006*

". . . offers not just another herbal, but the first in-depth analysis of how the Native Americans communicated with the plant world to heal human ailments."
*Diane Donovan, California Bookwatch, June 2006*

". . . guides the reader through the practical technology of herbalism--which parts of the plant to use, and how to prepare tinctures, salves, and infusions, never letting us forget the underlying precious and holy exchange that is happening."
*Four Corners, July 2006*

"Sacred Plant Medicine will guide you into the territory where plants are an expression of the spirit. Through prayer and sacred medicinal songs, Buhner shows how plants reveal their medicinal properties."
*Lotus Guide, July-Aug 2006*

"A delightful read in all ways and highly recommended."
*The Cauldron Brasil, October 2006*

". . . the first in-depth study that examines the world of Native American medicinal herbalism."
*Lotus Guide, Feb 2007*

"Buhner's examination and research brings forth how indigenous peoples are able to communicate with Mother Earth and her properties through spiritual connections. Through this research Buhner is able to present to us healing plants, medicinal uses of the plant, how to prepare the plants for use, and the associated ceremonial fundamentals. . . . This is a book that connects the body to the plants, an energy that is important if healing ourselves and our plant."
*Irene Watson, Reader Views, August 2010*