Visionary Plant Consciousness: The Shamanic Teachings of the Plant World

Throughout history, people have had a complex and confusing relationship with mushrooms. Are fungi food or medicine, beneficial decomposers or deadly “toadstools” ready to kill anyone foolhardy enough to eat them? In fact, there is truth in all these statements. In Chanterelle Dreams, Amanita Nightmares, author Greg Marley reveals some of the wonders and mysteries of mushrooms, and our conflicting human reactions to them.

With tales from around the world, Marley, a seasoned mushroom expert, explains that some cultures are mycophilic (mushroom-loving), like those of Russia and Eastern Europe, while others are intensely mycophobic (mushroom-fearing), including, the US. He shares stories from China, Japan, and Korea—where mushrooms are interwoven into the fabric of daily life as food, medicine, fable, and folklore—and from Slavic countries where whole families leave villages and cities during rainy periods of the late summer and fall and traipse into the forests for mushroom-collecting excursions.

From the famous Amanita phalloides (aka “the Death Cap”), reputed killer of Emperor Claudius in the first century AD, to the beloved chanterelle (cantharellus cibarius) known by at least eighty-nine different common names in almost twenty-five languages, Chanterelle Dreams, Amanita Nightmares explores the ways that mushrooms have shaped societies all over the globe.

This fascinating and fresh look at mushrooms—their natural history, their uses and abuses, their pleasures and dangers—is a splendid introduction to both fungi themselves and to our human fascination with them. From useful descriptions of the most foolproof edible species to revealing stories about hallucinogenic or poisonous, yet often beautiful, fungi, Marley’s long and passionate experience will inform and inspire readers with the stories of these dark and mysterious denizens of our forest floor.

Insect myths are numerous and widespread in mythology, but have received little attention. This is the first book dedicated specifically to showing the important roles insects have played in mythology. This is a comprehensive and readable survey of insect myths from around the world. The book ranges from older, better-known insect myths such as sacred scarabs to new unpublished subjects such as insects as examples of parallel mythology.

Numerous black and white figures are found in the book including new figures not previously seen in entomological literature. How insects are related to larger themes of mythology such as symbols and parallel mythology is discussed. Insects in Old World mythology (Egypt, China, etc.) and New World mythology (Native American, Mayan, etc.) are featured.

Herbs have been used in cooking for hundreds of years. They can, and should, be an integral part of your life in the kitchen, adding extra layers of delicious flavour and interest to your cooking. This short-e guide looks at the most popular and easily obtainable culinary herbs, plus a few that are slightly more unusual but are nevertheless worth seeking out.

The availability of a wide range of fresh herbs at supermarkets makes it easy to include them in your cooking. You can buy packs of cut herbs, or potted herbs which you can keep on the windowsill so they are never more than a scissor-snip away. And you can easily grow your own.

In this book you will discover:

• the traditional combinations of herbs, such as a bouquet garni, fines herbes and herbes de Provence and how to use them;
• What herb will go with which ingredient;
• Recipes for using herbs with beef, lamb, pork, chicken, turkey, duck and goose, fish and shellfish, milk, cheese and eggs, vegetables - and even desserts.