A practical guide to the creation of natural wands for magical work. From Moses to Merlin to the power of the royal scepter, the wand has been a key magical device found in nearly every civilization and esoteric tradition throughout history. The fundamental purpose of a wand is to act as a spiritual conduit, harnessing the power of the adept’s intention and channeling it into manifestation. Exploring the history, lore, and creation of living wands—those crafted from local natural materials—fifth-generation Druid Jon G. Hughes presents a practical guide to the harvesting, crafting, and potentializing of living wands, as well as rods and staffs. He offers detailed harvesting advice, explaining the magical actions and meditations specific to each tree that should accompany crafting work as well as important influences such as the phases of the moon and the seasons. He looks in depth at woodlore, explaining the variety of woods and other botanicals that may be used to craft wands, their magical and hermetic attributes and virtues, and how these influence the adept’s intention and magical workings. Trees and botanicals examined include oak, hawthorn, hazel, birch, apple, ash, mistletoe, holly, and ivy. The author explores various types of wands, such as rood, entwined, thorn, and compound, detailing how each differs in its use and intended outcome. He offers step-by-step instructions on how to use wands for magical workings and explains other aspects of wand practice, including cleansing, intention, potentializing, and how to properly return a wand to nature after its purpose has been fulfilled. Presenting a complete guide to crafting and using living wands as well as the history and lore behind this traditional form of Druidic natural magic, this book allows you to harness the magical essence of the living natural resources that surround you, helping you elevate your manifestations from the mundane to the higher spiritual planes.

Flowers are found in magic traditions around the world, from ancient Egypt, China, and India to the Norse and Native Americans. Yet many of today’s well-established flower traditions--like bridal bouquets--originated in the Druidic magical lore of Wales, Ireland, and Scotland. As fifth-generation Druid Jon G. Hughes explains, flowers hold a preeminent position in Druidic folk magic with their own special branch of magical workings. In this practical guide, Hughes details how to use flowers in magical practice, focusing on flowering plants with a long history of magical use going back to Druidic times yet many of which are commonly found throughout the world such as buttercup, blackberry, and dog rose. He discusses what type of flower and form of flower magic is best for specific enchantments and rituals in the areas of love and sex magic, healing and focusing, and protection. He looks at the magical use of fresh flowers and provides detailed instruction on every stage of the harvesting, crafting, and practical use of flower magic potions, including a comprehensive herbarium of all the flowers that may be used. Examining the complex relationship between flowers and bees, the author looks at the physical and spiritual gifts of bees, such as honey, propolis, and bee’s wax, and the importance of bee culture in Druidic flower magic, including the tradition of the honeymoon, the significance of the hexagram, and medieval beekeeper lore. Inviting you into the gentle yet powerful realm of Druidic flower magic, the author also details how to plan, plant, and take care of your own magical flower garden with all the botanicals you will need to pursue the path of flower magic.

A detailed exploration of the remedies and methods used by the healers who journeyed along with the Crusading knights * Presents a traditional "cure-all" or leechbook of the ailments the Crusaders would have encountered and the remedies their mediciners would have employed, including recipes for many cures and instructions * Includes a comprehensive herbal, listing all the medicinal plants and materials needed to make the remedies, potions, elixirs, and unctions of the cure-all * Details the author's travels in the steps of the Crusader physicians where he met with healers still employing the mediciners' practices During the Crusades, chivalric knightly orders, such as the Knights Templar and the Knights Hospitaller, brought along monastic mediciners to treat the sick and wounded. These mediciners not only employed the leading cures of medieval Europe but also learned new methods from the local folk-healers and Arabic healing traditions they encountered on their journeys. Presenting a traditional "cure-all" or leechbook of the Crusader physicians, Jon Hughes shares a comprehensive encyclopedia of the ailments the Crusaders would have encountered and the remedies their mediciners would have employed. He details recipes for many cures and a range of magico-medical applications such as charms, spells, enchantments, and amulets used to address the new illnesses of strange and foreign lands. He includes a detailed and comprehensive herbal, listing all the plants and materials needed to make and administer the remedies of the cure-all. He also details his travels in the steps of the Crusader physicians throughout Poland, the Czech Republic, Malta, Morocco, and the island of Rhodes where he met with healers still following this healing path who shared their practices with him. Revealing how the healers of the Crusades helped elevate Western medical knowledge through the integration of wisdom from their Middle Eastern counterparts, Hughes shows how their legacy continues through the many effective remedies and healing modalities still in use today.

A complete guide to the techniques of the pre-Celtic Druids for understanding the past, present, and future In this practical guide, Jon G. Hughes shares ancient secret Druidic techniques of divination passed down to him across five generations in an unbroken lineage of influential Welsh Druids. Hughes explains the three forms of divination used by his tradition: interpretive divination, used by readers of the Sevens (small staves with engraved sigils); inductive divination, which includes instructions for reading the wind, reading smoke, and divination using water; and intuitive divination, whose tools includes cup-stones and slate mirrors for scrying. Providing step-by-step instructions for practices in each of the three forms, he offers a wealth of divinatory techniques and explains how to access the altered states of consciousness necessary to read time backward and forward. He also explores the crafting and use of all tools and mixtures the reader will need to perform each type of divination, including botanical compounds, scrying wands, and a slate speculum vitae, the "mirror of life." He reveals how the prime function of divination in this school of Druidic lore is to gain insight into past, present, and future events through a process of internalizing them, akin to empathy, and then interpreting them. By providing an understanding of pre-Celtic beliefs and clear instructions for Druidic practices, Hughes offers each of us the opportunity to begin our own practical experimentation and journey of discovery into the ancient art of Druidic divination.

A practical guide to creating plant extracts, essences, and complexes for use in Druidic sex magic rituals
- Explores the identification, harvesting, and magical properties of more than 70 flowers and trees
- Details the careful and meticulous spagyric preparation of plant extracts and complexes
- Demonstrates how plant compounds are used in Druidic sex magic rituals by both couples and groups
In this practical guide to Druidic plant magic, Jon G. Hughes reveals the gentle alchemy of converting plant essences into potent compounds for working sex magic rituals. Examining the identification, harvesting, and magical properties of more than 70 flowers and trees, he details the careful and meticulous spagyric preparation of plant extracts and complexes as well as the process of obtaining or creating suitable alcoholic spirits for the base of these preparations. He includes instructions to make all necessary tools and explores how to prepare yourself to work with plant essences and properly use the magical compounds you create.
Hughes explains how to release the energies, healing attributes, and magical capacities of flowers and trees through the respectful seduction of a plant's virtue and the 3-step spagyric process of separation, purification, and reunification. He shows how the spagyric process maximizes the power of the acquired essence in preparation for its use in magical ritual. Detailing Druidic sex rituals for both a couple and a group, Hughes demonstrates how plant compounds are used in specific magical rituals and practices as well as the role of the plant complex in sexual potency. Exploring the underlying accord between alchemy and Druidic practices, Hughes provides a valuable manual for anyone wishing to harness the magical potential of plant energy.