Herbal Rituals is about connecting with Nature and the plant world in order to keep us near to the ground of our own souls. The book records, month by month, a yearlong journey in to the earth's natural cycle. Month by month readers are given a poetic description of a facet of the earth's temperament, offering us an opportunity to immerse ourselves in Nature's unique expression of birth, growth, fruition, decay, death and regeneration, the primary cycle that weaves a thread of continuance through our lives. Each monthly chapter discusses one or two herbs in detail - what it's like, how it grows, what it does - as well as presenting recipes for teas, lotions and foods, along with rituals appropriate to the season that can bring your life into harmony with the moods of nature. Even in an urban environment, the constant presence of the elemental natural world and the use of herbs can be a touchstone to bring both body and soul back to a natural cadence. For thousands of years, humans have used herbs and trees for just this kind of medicine, in addition to calling on the plants as a source of nutrition, remedy, heating, shelter and magic. These are the old ways.