A practical guide to using the sacred herbs of Samhain for healing, divination, purification, protection, magic, and as tools for contacting the Spirits The ancient Celts separated the year into two halves, the light half and the dark half, summer and winter. The festival of Samhain, from which the modern holiday of Halloween originates, marks the transition from summer to winter, the end of the Celtic year, a time when the barriers between the physical and spiritual world are at their most transparent. The herbs most characteristic of this time have specific magical and healing properties that echo the darker aspect of the year and offer potent opportunities for divination, contact with ancestors and Land Spirits, and journeys in the Otherworld. Presenting a practical guide to the sacred herbs and trees of Samhain, Ellen Evert Hopman details the identification, harvest, and use of more than 70 plants and trees in healing, divination, purification, magic, and as tools for contacting the Spirits wandering the landscape at this liminal time of year. She explores the most effective plants for protection from the mischief of the "Good Neighbors," the Sidhe or Fairies, as well as herbs for releasing the Dead when they are trapped on this plane. Detailing the history, rites, and traditions of Samhain, Hopman explains how to make an offering to the Land Spirits and provides instructions for the traditional Samhain ritual of the Dumb Supper, complete with recipes for the sacred foods of Samhain, such as Soul Cakes, Colcannon, Boxty bread, and dandelion wine.

This seventeenth volume of the Evidence-based Clinical Chinese Medicine series aims to provide a multi-faceted 'whole evidence' analysis of the management of Colorectal Cancer in integrative Chinese medicine.Beginning with overviews of how colorectal cancer is conceptualised and managed in both conventional medicine and contemporary Chinese medicine, the authors then provide detailed analyses of how colorectal cancer and related disorders were treated with herbal medicine and acupuncture in past eras.In the subsequent chapters, the authors comprehensively review the current state of the clinical trial evidence for Chinese herbal medicines (Chapter 5), acupuncture (Chapter 7), other Chinese medicine therapies (Chapter 8) and combination Chinese medicine therapies (Chapter 9) in the management of colorectal cancer, as well as analyse and evaluate the results of these studies from an evidence-based medicine perspective. Chapter 6 provides a review and a summary of the experimental evidence for the bioactivity of commonly used Chinese herbs. The outcomes of these analyses are summarised and discussed in Chapter 10 which identifies implications for the clinical practice of Chinese medicine and for future research.This book can inform clinicians and students in the fields of integrative medicine and Chinese medicine regarding contemporary practice and the current evidence-base for a range of Chinese medicine therapies used in the management of colorectal cancer, including herbal formulas and acupuncture treatments, in order to assist clinicians in making evidence-based decisions in patient care.The following features mark the importance of this book in the field:

The fifteenth volume of the Evidence-based Clinical Chinese Medicine series examines the management of chronic heart failure with Chinese medicine using a 'whole evidence' approach. Readers are provided with an overview of the current management of chronic heart failure with both conventional medicine and contemporary Chinese medicine. This is followed by a detailed analysis of how chronic heart failure was viewed and managed in past eras.Evidence from clinical studies is systematically reviewed and analysed to evaluate the potential benefits of Chinese herbal medicines and other Chinese medicine treatments for people with chronic heart failure. A review of experimental studies highlights some of the mechanisms of actions of a selection of the most frequently used Chinese herbs. The outcomes of analyses are presented and discussed in the final chapter and we identify implications for contemporary practice and promising areas for future research.This book provides clinicians and students in the fields of Chinese and integrative medicine with a comprehensive synthesis of traditional and contemporary knowledge that can inform clinical decision-making.

The thirteen volume in the Evidence-based Clinical Chinese Medicine series is a must read for Chinese medicine practitioners interested in neurology or rehabilitation. Using a 'whole evidence' approach, this book aims to provide an analysis of the management of post-stroke spasticity with Chinese and integrative medicine.This book describes the understanding and management of post-stroke spasticity with conventional medicine and Chinese medicine. Chinese medicine treatments used in past eras are analysed through data mining of classical Chinese medicine books. Several treatments are identified that are still used in contemporary clinical practice.Attention is then turned to evaluating the current state of evidence from clinical studies using an evidence-based medicine approach. Scientific techniques are employed to evaluate the results from studies of Chinese herbal medicine, acupuncture and other Chinese medicine therapies. The findings from these reviews are discussed in terms of the implications for clinical practice and research.Chinese medicine practitioners and students can use this book as a desktop reference to support clinical decision making. Having ready access to the current state of evidence for herbal formulas and acupuncture treatments allows practitioners to be confident in providing evidence-based health care.This book provides:With this information provided in an easy to use reference, practitioners can focus on giving high quality care supported by the best available evidence.

In this book, close to one hundred men and women from all over southwest Alaska share knowledge of their homeland and the plants that grow there. They speak eloquently about time spent gathering and storing plants and plant material during snow-free months, including gathering greens during spring, picking berries each summer, harvesting tubers from the caches of tundra voles, and gathering a variety of medicinal plants. The book is intended as a guide to the identification and use of edible and medicinal plants in southwest Alaska, but also as an enduring record of what Yup'ik men and women know and value about plants and the roles plants continue to play in Yup'ik lives.