The Cherokee Herbal: Native Plant Medicine from the Four Directions

By J.T. Garrett

Book Overview

A practical guide to the medicinal uses of over 450 plants and herbs as applied in the traditional practices of the Cherokee.

- Details the uses of over 450 plants for the treatment of over 120 ailments.

- Written by the coauthor of Medicine of the Cherokee (40,000 copies sold).

- Explains the healing elements of the Four Directions and the plants associated with them.

- Includes traditional teaching tales as told to the author by Cherokee Elders.

In this rare collection of the acquired herbal knowledge of Cherokee Elders, author J. T. Garrett presents the healing properties and medicinal applications of over 450 North American plants. Readers will learn how Native American healers utilize the gifts of nature for ceremonial purposes and to treat over 120 ailments, from the common cold to a bruised heart. The book presents the medicine of the Four Directions and the plants with which each direction is associated. From the East comes the knowledge of "heart medicine"--blood-building tonics and plants for vitality and detoxification. The medicine of the South focuses on the innocence of life and the energy of youthfulness. West medicine treats the internal aspects of the physical body to encourage strength and endurance, while North medicine offers a sense of freedom and connection to the stars and the greater Universal Circle. This resource also includes traditional teaching tales to offer insights from Cherokee cosmology into the origin of illness, how the animals found their medicine, and the naming of the plants.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1879181967
• ISBN13: 9781879181960
• Release Date: February 2003
• Publisher: Bear & Company
• Length: 288 Pages
• Weight: 0.77 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.4" x 8.3"

Customer Reviews

Listen to the voices of the ancient ones...

I like this book. Info is given in an effort to keep the ways of the Medicine Man alive. Too much of the Native American spirituality and ways is being muddled and lost. I don't believe this book gives me all the info I want and need to cure what ails us but it's a solid and very intersting start. This book is a well loved member of my library and I recommend it to anyone interested in where we come from and how and why we are to respect Mother Earth. Kudos to the author for making such a lofty goal a reality.

Would not part with this one!

If you, or someone you know has interest in herbal knowledge, don't pass this book up. It's very reflective of what eastern herbs were, and still used by many eastern tribes. Not all the herbs mentioned are given the Tsalagi/Cherokee term, but the ones given not only tell you the name, but the reason why that plant was named so. This book has been the product of helping to stop the loses of so much knowledge. I treasure this one, I feel that you will also. There are no photos, nor sketches of what these plants look like so you'll need to have access to a field guide as well when using this book. But, a field guide doesn't have the description of knowledge this book has, so they go hand in hand, you won't want without the other.

Fantastic!

The material is covered in a readable manner and with useable details. This is a very useable resource on herbal remedies for the southeast US area and provides insight into Cherokee methodology. Both aspects are well covered.

Excellent Cultural Perspective..

This book is not a field guide and doesn't really have any pictures. What is does have is a lot of information on the traditional Cherokee uses of herbs (over 450!), their directional and spiritual associations, and myths and stories about Cherokee herbal medicine. I recommend it to people who want a book on herbalism from a cultural perspective, and I think it blows away "Indian Herbalogy of North America", which couldn't seem to focus on the *Native American* cultural interpretations.

Move over Mooney !

The definitive book on Cherokee Herbal Medicine is availble to the World. I can give away all my other plant medicine books because this has all I will ever need, it is a masterpiece. Generations of people in the future will be so grateful that this knowlege has been set to paper especially the Cherokee People. This book is the culmination of more than 30 years of learning and research, gifting the World with crucial knowlege that could easily have been lost forever. Wah Doh