Plant Magick: The Library of Esoterica by Jessica Hundley (Hardback)

Celebrating the magick of the natural realm, this is Volume IV of TASCHEN’s acclaimed Library of Esoterica — a visual journey into the symbolism, ceremony and ritual relationships that bind us to the botanical world. From ancient Greek sculpture and Renaissance painting to visionary art inspired by psychoactive plants, cacti and mushrooms, Plant Magick celebrates the botanical as creative muse, and traces our interdependent evolution with nature.

Our myths, beliefs and shared stories are continually reflected in nature: purity in the white lily, spiritual awakening in the bloom of the lotus. Our joys and laments are mirrored in the turning of the seasons — in the seed birthing a sprout, in the dead leaf falling from a winter branch. Plants, trees and flowers have long served as markers of transition, woven deeply into rites of passage across global cultures. Rose petals strewn along a wedding aisle. A wreath of lilies standing sentinel over an open grave. A lover’s bouquet on the doorstep. The maypole circled by girls in crowns of daisies, welcoming the spring. Birth, union and burial — every cycle of celebration and grief is marked symbolically with herb, flower or branch.

Since time immemorial, plants have also stood as potent symbols within the world’s religions — the Buddha attaining enlightenment beneath the Bodhi Tree, Eve plucking the Apple of Knowledge in Eden. From root to vibrant blossom, Plant Magick explores the fertile, interconnected history between plants and people: the many ways we embrace them in ceremony, as healing medicine, as creative muse, and as gateways into deeper explorations of consciousness.

Perfect for readers who love botanical art and folklore, plant symbolism and spirituality, mysticism and visual history — and anyone after a beautiful, museum-grade volume to treasure.