Note: All orders from this secure website will include a signed copy of the book/dvd and a personal note from Ellen, the author! Using this online store also helps to directly support the author by cutting out "middle men" distributors.

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The Druid Isle (order here)

April 2010 - Llewellyn Publications

The Druid Isle takes you into the world of Ethne, a Druid healer, and her warrior partner, Ruad. When their beautiful daughter Aífe undertakes training on a Druid island, she falls in love with Lucius, a handsome young man who has traded his priestly studies at a Christian monastery for the Druid life. But their love and their beliefs are threatened in the face of a lustful king and relentless Roman monks.

Set on a third-century island off the coast of Scotland, this instructional Celtic tale delves deeper into the spiritual mystery of the Druids and offers a fascinating look at the Romans, Gauls, and Britons.

Scottish Herbs and Fairy Lore (order here)

July 2011 - Pendraig Publishing

Many of the herbal and magical practices of the Scots are echoed in traditional Norwegian folk medicine and magic. This is a valuable resource book not only for the serious folklorist, but also for a wider audience interested in a deeper look at rural Scottish practices. Ms. Hopman has done an amazing amount of research, and her Scottish herbalism section is far more detailed than I’ve seen elsewhere. A "must have" for the northern European folklorist’s library.

Jane T. Sibley, Ph.D., author of "The Hammer of the Smith" and "The Divine Thunderbolt: Missile of the Gods".

Druids Herbal Sacred Tree Medicine (order here)

Druids Herbal Sacred Tree Medicine released May 26, 2008
The Druids used the ancient Ogham Tree Alphabet to work magic and honor the dead, surrounding each letter with medicinal and spiritual lore. Poets and bards created a secret sign language to describe the letters, each of which is named for a tree or a plant. For centuries this language was transmitted only orally in order to protect its secrets.

Combining her extensive herbal knowledge and keen poetic insight, Ellen Evert Hopman delves deeply into the historic allusions and associations of each of the 20 letters of the Ogham Tree Alphabet. She also examines Native American healing methods for possible clues to the way ancient Europeans may have used these trees as healing agents. Druidic spiritual practices, herbal healing remedies, and plant lore are included for each tree in the alphabet as well as how each is used in traditional rituals such as the Celtic Fire Festivals and other celebrations. Hopman also includes a pronunciation guide for the oghams and information on the divinatory meanings associated with each tree.

http://druidry.org/obod/intro/touchstone.html

Review section: Touchstone no. 165 June 2010 A Druid's herbal of Sacred Tree Medicine Ellen Evert Hopman Destiny Books ISBN 9781594772306 Ellen is a Druid Priestess, founding member of the Order of the White Oak and a master herbalist, and she has put her tree-knowledge between covers to produce a very satisfying book. The cover is a swirling melange of Native American symbols on a figure who looks Irish, but far from Druidic. Don't be fooled; this is grass roots Druidry including a wealth of practical suggestions for strengthening your connection to the natural world.

Being wary of 'fusion' spiritual approaches, I read with trepidation that, alongside the Druidic content would be referenced practice from the Native American tradition. I need not have worried. Those references relate to the uses of specific trees for specific purposes; and, referenced to the individual tribes, they are fascinating. And, knowing a bit more about the Mohegans from last month's article by Ken and Kath, it was a joy to read about them here

Part one covers each tree in the traditional Tree Ogham - folk lore, herbal applications and spiritual lore; a thorough and useful guide to be recommended as additional study. Part two deals with the Druidic Arts - magic, tools, celebrating fire festivals and divinatory meanings. It's all good stuff, but the reader might find the most useful section 'The art of the forest Druids', with practical advice for spiritual engagement with trees, and suggestions for making relationship with aspects of the landscape, based on the author's own years of practice. Using the gifts of the tree people goes far beyond a quick 'please' and 'thank you' when we harvest their bounty: there is a profound relationship of gift-giving and reciprocity between the Druid and the natural world, and, along with its practical wisdom, this book will really help the serious student to develop that relationship. Recommended.  PB

Priestess of the Forest: A Druid's Journey (order here)

Llewellyn Publications

In the tradition of Marion Zimmer Bradley's Mists of Avalon, Ellen Evert Hopman weaves Druid history and spirituality into an engaging love story. This Bardic teaching tale is set in a fictional third-century Ireland when Christianity is sweeping across the Celtic Isles. During this time of crisis, love blooms between Ethne, a Druid healer, and her patient, a Fennid warrior. Their passionate affair suffers a tragic blow when Ethne is called upon to become the high queen.

Told from the Druid perspective, Hopman recreates the daily life, magical practices, politics, and spiritual lives of the ancient Celts during this historic turning point. Druid holy days, rites, rituals, herbal lore, and more are brought to life in this Celtic fantasyilluminating Druidic teachings and cultural wisdom.

Walking The World in Wonder:
A Children's Herbal (order here)

Healing Arts Press, Rochester, Vermont
"Walking the World in Wonder is simply magnificent."
Click here to read Sharon McGinty's review.
Click here to read the review on beliefnet.com

Introduce children to the magic of using herbs for healing, cooking, and nature crafts and inspire a lifelong interest in the natural world. Designed especially for children of ALL ages! A hands-on book for children, filled with fun, easy-to-follow activities. Includes 72 color photographs of herbs by award-winning photographer and herbalist Steven Foster. Created especially for children ages five to ten years old, Walking the World in Wonder covers the medicinal and magical uses of 72 common herbs.

Each herb playfully introduces itself and talks about its habitat and many uses. With fun, easy-to-follow activities, herbalist Ellen Evert Hopman teaches children basic herbal skills and invites them to draw with pokeberry ink, sew a lavender sachet, and dig for Jerusalem artichoke roots. The book also includes simple recipes that children can use, with adult supervision, to treat minor ailments--peppermint tea to soothe a troubled tummy or horse chestnut salve to heal a scraped knee.

Children gain a sense of self-sufficiency and awe for the earth's treasures by sprinkling a sandwich with nasturtium flowers, making strawberry honey, and learning to season food with dill they've gathered themselves. Seventy-two full-color photographs by herbalist Steven Foster enable children, parents, and teachers to identify these herbs during walks and field trips. Walking the World in Wonder gives children a direct and joyous experience of their connection to the natural world and inspires a lifelong interest in their own health and that of the planet.

Being a Pagan : Druids, Wiccans, and Witches Today (order here)

(Edited, with Lawrence Bond)
Inner Traditions / Destiny Books, Rochester, VT, 1996
402 pages, ISBN: 0-89281-904-9

Who are the new Pagans, and what do they stand for? Are their ancient rituals and beliefs relevant in the 1990's? And why have their traditions become a spiritual path embraced by so many?

In this new book the authors explore the origins and activities of modern Paganism, and provide a forum for a variety of Pagan leaders to share their beliefs and practices.

For the first time we have a comprehensive resource covering many branches of the modern Pagan movement. The editors present overviews of various faiths and current issues through interviews with well-known Pagan writers, artists, teachers, and other visionaries of our times. Traditions covered include The New Druids, Wicca, the Faery Faith, and Goddess-centered Paganism. Issues include the law, politics and persecution, the military, and student activity. Look for your favorite names such as Isaac Bonewits, Oberon G'Zell, Selena Fox, Starhawk, and many more. The resource directory lists books and articles, tapes, magazines, organizations, merchants and services, even electronic contacts. An essential basic Pagan reference book.

[This review originally appeared in Cauldrons and Broomsticks and is Copyright 1996 by Elizabeth Barrette.]

Tree Medicine, Tree Magic

Druids Herbal Sacred Tree Medicine released May 26, 2008
Inner Traditions / Destiny Books, Rochester, VT

*I suggest buying this book through Amazon since it is currently out of print.

Phoenix publishers, Custer, WA

"A remarkable and fascinating blend of botanical medicine, folklore, and natural magic." - FireHeart Magazine

Opens the eyes and attunes the mind to the magickal lore in trees. A book of considerable caring and expertise that affirms our deeper values more openly and in daily life, while also a book of practical herbal remedies and recipes for a healthy body, mind, and spirit. An in-depth study of the herbal and magical properties of our most common trees. It's a book of considerable caring and expertise - a book to affirm our deeper values more openly and in daily life, with practical herbal remedies and recipes for healthy body, mind and spirit. Tree Medicine, Tree Magic presents both an homage to the deepest mysteries, and a down-to-earth how-to-do-it herbal.

A Druids Herbal For the Sacred Earth Year (order here)

Inner Traditions / Destiny Books, Rochester, VT, 1995
trade paperback, 213 pages, ISBN: 0-89281-501-9

Rich in tradition and folklore, this complete guide to the plant lore of the Druids describes the eight major festivals of the Pagan year and the appropriate herbs and rituals to celebrate these sacred days, serving as an important resource during the round of the sacred year.

"A good working knowledge of Western Herbology is a must for any aspiring Druid today"- from A Druids Herbal

Ellen Evert Hopman presents here a guide to the herbs and plants used in the Druidic tradition -- their characteristics, uses, magical correspondences, and much more -- all richly supported with additional material and carefully organized for maximum accessibility.

Overview: The author begins by introducing the Druids themselves, including the Ban-drui or woman-druids, as well as the Bards and Ovates. She also covers some beliefs and customs of ancient Celtic cultures. Chapter 2 covers herbal basics, from herbal preparations and homeopathic remedies to suggested magical uses of herbs and the festivals of the sacred year. The next chapters feature herbs for Winter Solstice, Imbolc, Spring Equinox, Beltaine, Summer Solstice, Lugnasad, and Fall Equinox. Chapter 11 presents scientific evidence concerning the herbs of the Druids. Chapter 12 gives astrologic associations for herbs. The last chapters present herbs for specific purposes: consecration and purification, funerals, handfasting, house blessing, and baby blessing.Then comes the lavish end matter: a pronunciation guide, a resource guide, a generous bibliography broken down by subject, and not one but TWO index entries, one each for plants and subjects. You will have no trouble finding what you need in this book!

Features: Full renditions of two calendar systems appear: the months of the Coligny Calendar and the Celtic Tree Calendar (also given as the Ogham Alphabet). For the herbs associated with specific festivals, each entry lists the common and scientific names followed by the parts used, herbal uses, homeopathic uses, and magical uses. The same information appears for Herbs of the Druids, along with a list of plants whose pollen turned up in core samples from bogs, showing their presence in mesolithic and neolithic periods. A nice rendition of the "Song of Amergin" opens the section on Sacred Groves and Circles, and finally the listing of herbs for specific purposes continues to provide the same pattern of information as seen previously.

Recommendations: An absolute must for Druids and Ban-drui (which includes the modern Avalonian path), _A Druid's Herbal_ also holds significant appeal for herbalists and anyone interested in plant magic. Accessible to beginners but with plenty of detail for experts, this book is ideal for all levels of experience. Highly recommended.

[This review originally appeared in Moonlight & Magick. and is Copyright 1998 by Elizabeth Barrette.]

Pagans: The Wheel of the Sacred Year (order here)
Paganism in its many varieties is one of the fastest growing religious and cultural movements of modern America. Who are the Pagans? What are they like? What does it mean to be a Pagan? What do Pagans believe, and how do they actually practice their faith? This program provides a fascinating, highly personal look at several groups of Pagans living in New England at the close of the 20th century. A number of different Pagan traditions are represented in the program, including elements of Druidic, Wiccan, Scandinavian, Shamanic and Native American ritual. Expertly guided by Ellen Evert Hopman, a Druid Priestess, herbalist, and author of Being a Pagan, this program records the major eremonies of the Pagan sacred year: Winter Solstice (Yule), Imbolc, Vernal Equinox, May Day (Beltaine), Summer Solstice, Autumnal Equinox, Lughnassad (Lammas), and Halloween (Samhain).

Pagans contains images beautifully captured by videographer James MacAllister,and a haunting original musical score written, performed, and arranged by Paddy Keenan (one of the founders of the Bothy Band).

Gifts from the Healing Earth, Volume 1 (order here)
Ellen Hopman leads us on a magical walk through a New England forest in spring, gathering ingredients. We are then treated to a delightful demonstration of herbal preparation techniques in Ms. Hopman's kitchen. The program ends with a fascinating interview in which she retraces her extraordinary journey to herbalism.

Recipes discussed include: Herbal Salve, Birch Beer, Heart Wine, Lavendar Wine, Dandelion Salad, Arabic Gum Powder, Vegetable Tonic, Comfrey Poultice, and Cedar Smudgestick.

Length: 70 minutes, ISBN = 1-930477-06-6 (English version), ISBN = 1-930477-07-4 (Spanish version)

Gifts from the Healing Earth, Volume 2 (order here)
A Field Guide to Herbalism and energy work for nurses with Ellen Evert Hopman, Master Herbalist

Shot and edited by Jim MacAllister
Ellen Hopman leads a group of holistic nurses on an herbal walk and a discussion of the medicinal uses of various species they find growing along a New England path that winds through field and forest: elderberry, jewel weed, plantain, staghorn sumac, sweet fern, choke cherry, pine, oak, milkweed, yarrow, wild carrot, black berry, raspberry and red clover.

She also teaches the nurses how to identify poison ivy and poison hemlock and prepares a poison ivy remedy.
The walk includes information on the ancient Doctrine of Signatures , Chinese Five Element Theory and many recipes for traditional herbal remedies, including salves, poultices, tinctures and tonics. Interwoven with the herbal walk is a discussion group in which Ellen and the nurses explore "energy work", such as guided imagery, Therapeutic Touch, and Reiki, and how these alternate or complementary techniques along with herbalism are making inroads into the practice of health care around the world.

Healing Touch and Reiki are demonstrated with several patients. Whenever possible, information is given to viewers on where they can find out more about the subjects introduced. The nurses feel that these offer the patient complementary forms of caring the augment allopathic care and provide healing as something separate and distinct from curing.

With nurses: Joanne Caloon, RN, Denise Conboy, RN, Jody Fishkind, RN, HNC; Donna Fleming, RN,. Deborah Gingras, MS, RN,CNS, Music by Christopher LaFond on the Celtic harp.

On Beltaine Eve I collected flowering trees; birch, willow, apple, hawthorn, oak, and others that were just beginning to leaf; ash, rowan, alder, poplar, to make tree elixirs for magical use. You may order them for $9.00 for a 1 ounce bottle. They can be used to annoint people, tools, spaces, sickles, wands, staffs, bell branches, altars, etc etc. Each bottle is Druidically blessed. (order here)

Making Kitchen Medicines:
A Practical Guide

April 2010 Dreamz-Work Productions

The wise healer should never be at a loss when it comes to helping themselves, their friends and family, or even a pet. Sometimes the simplest remedy will do wonders - for example, taking a hot bath will often ease the symptoms of a cold, especially if a little salt (about a cup) is added to the water.

In the past all people were taught basic herbal remedies so they could doctor themselves and their friends. By using natural remedies you will be helping to preserve an ancient art.

Filled with color pictures and illustrations, in this book you will find an assortment of natural remedies using easily available ingredients from the kitchen shelf. After you have mastered the use of these home remedies you may wish to progress to further study using medicinal plants from nature or from a local health food store (suggestions for further reading are given at the end of the book).