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Book Review: The Illustrated Herbiary by Maia Toll

I was given an advance copy of this book in return for an honest review.

The first thing that struck me when I opened this book was how stunningly beautiful it is; I probably would have bought it for the illustrations alone (done by Kate O’Hara), but the real magic is in the text.  Author and trained herbalist Maia Toll profiles 36 different plants – mainly herbs and flowers, but trees, fruits, and even a grain make appearances as well– in this gorgeous volume. 

I mean, just look at the cover! It’s stunning!

Toll honors each plant with a brief description of its use, though the emphasis is put not on its medicinal use (although, as an herbalist myself, I know these plants have their place in any healer’s tool kit) but on its spiritual gifts. The description of each is followed by a ritual – anything from an oatmeal bath scrub to remind you to “just be,” to free writing to communicate with your ancestors– and then a reflection on how you might invite the characteristics of the plant into your life or your spiritual practice. Aspen (”We are one”), for example, reminds us that we live in community even as we strive to be unique individuals. “Call on Aspen,” Toll writes, “She knows how to be cradled by the collective while stretching her very individual limbs up to the stars.” 

With the book, you will receive a deck of cards with the illustrations for each plant. You can use these cards however you wish, of course, but there is ample room for their use as oracle cards. In fact, there are a handful of suggested spreads at the end of the book, including a “Root, Shoot, Flower, Fruit” 4-card spread that uses the life cycle of a plant to help you work through a situation, with the root helping you see where the situation started and the fruit helping you find that which will nourish you. If you are not interested in their use as oracle cards, however, the delightful artwork lends itself well to their decorative or aesthetic use. 

As always, there are a few critiques, and as may be unsurprising, these center on the use of terms or items in ways that feel if not appropriative than at least walking a line of cultural (in)sensitivity. The ubiquitous use of smudging as a term for smoke cleansing is the major example (with a mention of Celtic and Middle Eastern cultures, but no mention of Native American/ First Nations cultures who, to my understanding, have the cultural if not legal rights to the term), and the suggestion of using Tulsi beads sort of got my hackles up since the only Tulsi beads I have seen are mala beads which, of course, come from a specific religious and cultural context. However, she does not suggest using the Tulsi beads as a tool for prayer, rather as a reminder to “carry the sacred out into the world and gift it to yourself upon your return,” so perhaps that’s more my concern over appropriation than actual inappropriate use of a cultural artefact – I suspect I, as a white person, am not the one to make that final call, but did want to at least acknowledge the potential for discomfort there. I think the thing that I found most curious about the inclusion of Tulsi is the emphasis the author put on her education in the United States and Ireland, making this South Asian plant feel a bit out of place in the company of things like oats, apples, and yarrow. 

These questions of cultural appropriate-ness notwithstanding, I did love the book and will read it again. In fact, despite the advance copy I was given in exchange for this review, I have already placed a pre-order for a hard copy of the book (and the attendant cards!). The book will be officially released a week from today, next Tuesday, August 7, 2018, and I do highly recommend it if you are at all interested in the lessons we can learn from plants and the natural world. 

Bottom line: 5/5 stars, highly recommend! 

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