In this practical guide to the magic of the Poison Path, occult herbalist Coby Michael celebrates the deadly, unwanted, and wild plants of dark herbalism and explores how to embrace their power in ritual, magical practice, and spiritual healing.
Examining the art and science of working with noxious and malefic plants and fungi, the author discusses the occult properties of poison and how poison plants can be used in spell work and other magical operations. He looks at the plants of Fate and the divination practices they support, love magic with poison plants, shadow work, the devil’s garden, and the use of nightshades as power plants for medicine and magic. Presenting a detailed formulary, he shares rituals, magical correspondences, and recipes for working with specific poison plant allies and other baneful herbs of occult herbalism.
Exploring the path of dark herbalism, the author explains how it encompasses not only Veneficium—poisonous plants and fungi—but all plants that humanity has tried to forget, from “invasive” plants and those we can’t domesticate to those that have been regulated arbitrarily or simply feared as “toxic” or “poison.” He shows how the dark herbalist seeks out plants that are adversarial or taboo because they understand that the qualities we consider “dark” are really the plant’s spiritual medicine and can offer powerful wisdom and healing. Examining poison history, lore, and occult toxicology, he explains how the aim of using these plants is not to cause physical death, but rather death of the ego. He shows how “poison” in this sense is an alchemical force that allows the practitioner to become a vessel for the forbidden fruit of knowledge and how the transmutation of our personal poisons can lead to powerful self-transformation.
Providing a practical framework for orienting yourself on the Poison Path, this grimoire reveals how dark herbalism can serve as a path of inner illumination.