House of Hackney has come together with The Library of Esoterica to bring you a season of Plant Magick through spellbinding essays, events, art and interiors, with the plant as muse.
From root to vibrant blossom, Taschen’s Plant Magick explores the fertile, interconnected history between plants and people. This creative partnership is rooted in a shared reverence for the enchanted, the unseen, and the profound beauty that surrounds us.
By Pam Montgomery
A MIRACLE OF SYMBIOSIS
Artwork: Ariana Papademetropoulos - The Best Whistler in the World
Our breath consists of an inhalation of oxygen and an exhalation of carbon dioxide. All the oxygen on the planet comes from trees and plants both of the land and sea. All the oxygen we breathe is directly from the green world of trees and plants. What a miracle of symbiosis exists between plants and people through this exchange of breath!
Symbiotically speaking, we’re more related to plants than we are to other animals. Plants and trees make up 99% of all living organisms on the planet.
We’re a part of nature,
but we’ve forgotten this.
We’ve fallen into a deep amnesia. Our separation from nature began perhaps most dramatically during the Industrial Revolution of the late 1800s. Our relationship with nature, with plants, has since become perverted. Now nature is a commodity. And we’ve forgotten what it means to be a good steward.
Yet we remain in this co-existent, symbiotic relationship with the green world. We breathe, so therefore, we are in relationship with plants. We need them. And we can learn from them. Plants know how to adapt and evolve. And this moment in time is about adapting. Right now, we must look to plants for guidance, as we are forced to adapt ourselves. We must learn how to adapt to a changing climate, a changing culture. Everything’s changing right now.
ARTWORK: Daniel Herwitt - Untitled
Plants have been here adapting, changing, for millions of years – in order to continue to thrive.
They have wisdom and they can teach us – if we’re willing to listen.
The work that I do as a writer and teacher is focused on nurturing our partnership with plants, bringing into conscious awareness that we are in relationship with the plants, and then from there – helping to build a co-creative partnership. We’re in it together. One of the things we must shift is the belief that we can’t really make a change. We have help. Our role is to work alongside nature, to take our rightful place as good stewards of the plants, of the land and sea. That is our birthright.
I believe we can achieve a dynamic where the plants and mushrooms and trees and people – all work together to create a partnership where all life, including human life – thrives on this beautiful planet.
– Pam Montgomery Scholar, Ecologist & Author, Danby, Vermont, 2022
THE LIBRARY OF ESOTERICA
PLANT MAGICK
PLANT MAGICK
Throughout the ages, metaphysical traditions have been translated into sacred and visionary art. The Library of Esoterica explores the symbolic language of our most potent universal stories.
The fourth volume in The Library of Esoterica explores the historic roots of plants in myth and magickal practices. Through essays, interviews, and more than 400 images—from ancient Egyptian stonework to Victorian botanical art, to contemporary works celebrating nature —
Plant Magick chronicles the symbiotic relationship between plants and people.
Add a little magick to your life.
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