In the realm of spiritual enlightenment and self-discovery, Eliot Cowan’s Plant Spirit Medicine wanders off into a dense forest of far-fetched rituals and mystical mumbo-jumbo, with the promise of revealing profound truths through, of all things, conversations with plants. Cowan guides his readers through a perplexing journey that starts with the rather dubious invitation to “begin your apprenticeship with plant spirits.” The entire premise relies on the shaky foundation that ingesting or simply being near certain flora can unlock a hidden door to wisdom and healing — provided, of course, you’re as noble an apprentice as a Huichol shaman.
The text teems with instructions that might have come from a satirical manual on how to become a wizard. For instance, readers are earnestly advised to wander aimlessly in the wild until a particularly “attractive” plant calls out to them, an encounter that apparently requires a full-fledged introduction — as if plants are old friends at a cocktail party. “Speaking aloud, introduce yourself by name,” Cowan instructs, ensuring even the most gullible reader might pause and wonder if they’ve strayed a bit too far from common sense.
But it doesn’t end there. Should you find such a plant, and thankfully identify it as non-poisonous with the help of a field guide (because, surprise, the plants won’t actually tell you), you are to taste parts of it after a polite request for forgiveness from the plant for doing so. The subsequent steps involve lying down to the beats of a drum (real or recorded, because the plants aren’t picky), journeying through an imaginary hole into a dream world, and meeting a potentially anthropomorphic version of the plant. This plant or its representative might then impart wisdom to you, in what could either be a hallucinogenic trip or a very vivid daydream.
Cowan earnestly assures his readers that these methods have worked for him and his students, yet one can’t help but draw parallels to the old adage: play stupid games, win stupid prizes. Indeed, the entire book feels like a convoluted effort to win a prize that never truly materializes. You are left with nothing but a notebook filled with bizarre experiences, a possibly lighter wallet, and perhaps a lingering question about what, if anything, was real.
In summary, “Plant Spirit Medicine” uses a cocktail of pseudo-scientific ramblings and spiritual platitudes to promise a transformation that it can never truly deliver. The idea that psychedelics or plant spirits can indiscriminately unlock a hidden potential in everyone is as grounded as claiming one can learn to fly by simply jumping off a cliff and flapping one’s arms hard enough. For those in search of true enlightenment or healing, one might recommend a more grounded approach — perhaps starting with a good, old-fashioned book on botany or psychology, rather than relying on the whispers of plants.
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