THE LIBRARY OF ESOTERICA Plant Magick

A new release in this comprehensive series from Taschen. From root to vibrant blossom, Plant Magick uses artwork past and present to explore the fertile, interconnected history between plants and people, the multitude of ways in which we embrace plants in spiritual ceremony, as healing medicine, as creative muse and as gateways into deeper explorations of consciousness including marijuana and hallucinogenic posters and art. From ancient Greek sculptures to Renaissance paintings and Pre-Raphaelite artists, to visionary art inspired by psychoactive plants, cacti, and mushrooms... Includes classic 1960s psychedelic artwork by Rick Griffin, Mouse/Kelly and others. Lots of hip classic portrayals of plants from that wild era. Some nudity. Includes work by the Pre-Raphaelites such as John William Waterhouse, Eleanor Fortescue Brickdale and Dante Gabriel Rossetti. Celebrating the magick of the natural realm, we delve into the symbolism, ceremony, and ritual relationships with the botanical world. A visual journey through our interdependent evolution with nature, botanicals as creative muse. Our myths, beliefs, and shared stories are continually reflected in nature; purity represented by the white lily or spiritual awakening by the bloom of the lotus. Joys and laments are mirrored in the cycle of the seasons, in the seed birthing sprout, or in the dead leaf falling softly from winter branches. Plants, trees, and flowers as signifiers of transition are also deeply embedded within rites of passage — rituals across global cultures. Rose petals strewn along the wedding aisle mark the evolution into womanhood and marriage. A wreath of lilies stands sentinel over an open grave. A lover’s bouquet awaits on the doorstep. The wooden May Day pole is circled by girls wearing crowns of woven daisies, celebrating the coming of spring. Birth, unions, and burials -- cycles of joyful celebration and deep grieving, all are marked symbolically with herbs, flowers or branches of a tree -- the integration of nature into ceremony our method of signifying catharsis. Since time immemorial, plants have also served as potent symbols within the religions of the world; Buddha attaining enlightenment under the Bodhi Tree, Eve plucking the Apple of Knowledge in the Garden of Eden. About the series The Library of Esoterica explores how centuries of artists have given form to mysticism, translating the arcane and the obscure into enduring, visionary works of art. Each subject is showcased through both modern and archival imagery culled from private collectors, libraries, and museums around the globe. The result forms an inclusive visual history, a study of our primal pull to dream and nightmare, and the creative ways we strive to connect to the divine.