The Cunning Farmer - by Todd Elliott (Hardcover)

Book Synopsis

A guide to restoring the ancient relationship between farming and magic

- Explores how to reconnect with nature and use practical, nature-based magic for gardening and farming, fertility, and abundance

- Examines Moon work, plant magic, forest deities, Earth energies, weather magic, the cosmology of ritual, and how to work with land spirits

- Discusses folk magic traditions of North America and Western Europe, including the grimoire tradition, Western esotericism, alchemy, Kabbalah, and shamanism as well as Taoist principles and Reiki

Magic and farming, in the minds of ancient people, were not separate realms of life, but both were woven inextricably into the way people lived. Through libations, prayers, hymns, dances, sacrifices, and rituals, ancient farmers connected to the sacred forces, the gods, nature spirits, and ancestors to make the crops grow, keep the herds healthy, the weather favorable, and release energies of fertility. These rural farmer priests and priestesses of the ancient past are the spiritual ancestors of today's cunning farmers.

This book explores folk magic traditions of North America and Western Europe, including the grimoire tradition and the practices of witches and cunning folk for increased fertility. Todd draws on Western esotericism, Taoist principles, alchemy, Kabbalah, Reiki, and shamanism to show how to use practical, nature-based magic, just like our ancestors, for more abundant gardening and farming. He shows how to work with land spirits, including meeting the place spirit of your land--the genius loci. He also explores working with Earth and Moon energies, plant magic and forest deities, and ritual. Learn how to deepen your connection to elemental and celestial forces and explore the idea of rewilding the imagination to enhance your relationship with nature and the spirits that call it home.

This book is not just a guide to farming, but to forging a relationship with the living land. It shows that we are surrounded by spiritual powers and, with their help, we can re-enchant and reconnect with the land that gives us life.

Review Quotes

"The Cunning Farmer provides fertile ground to enrich the animistic, land-centered practices that are the legacy of ancestral traditions from around the world. Whether you are tending a small garden, overseeing acres of farmland, or incorporating plants into your spiritual practice in other ways, Todd Elliott brings together elements of ancient philosophy, traditional beliefs, folklore, and spiritual ecology, providing tools to reinforce one's connection to the land and its unseen inhabitants on a microcosmic and macrocosmic level."-- "Coby Michael, author of The Poison Path Herbal, The Poison Path Grimoire, and The Poison Path Oracle"

"A lovely exposition of nature spirituality and faery lore that teaches us to see the divine life within plants, trees, weather, and the very soil upon which we stand. A useful guide for all who seek to know and work in partnership with nature and the sacred land."-- "Ellen Evert Hopman, author of The Sacred Herbs of Yule and Christmas, The Sacred Herbs of Spring, an"

"Like minerals and animals, plants constitute links in various ontological chains that reach back up to the divine potencies of which they are tokens, recapitulating the gods themselves within the world of matter. To cultivate a plant is therefore akin to harnessing something of the essence of a given deity--and the farmer is a veritable magus, capable of conjuring and containing the vegetative energies of that god. Todd Elliott has ploughed this fertile soil and, true to form, laboriously passes the rich bounty of his discoveries on to us, his ravenous readers."-- "P. D. Newman, author of Theurgy--Theory and Practice: The Mysteries of the Ascent to the Divine"

"One often hears practitioners speak of 'working with the land' and 'following the Wheel of the Year, ' yet modern life often places countless layers of separation between the practitioner and the natural world. Todd Elliott is an exception. As a farmer, he works the land in the most literal sense, and his magical practice is deeply rooted in an intimate relationship with the fecund forces of nature. The Cunning Farmer is an outstanding work, distilling more than twenty years of blending esoteric practice with the rhythms of farming. Drawing on a rich tapestry of influences, Todd shares knowledge tried, tested, and refined in the fields themselves. It is a rare and remarkable book--earthy, wise, and utterly authentic."-- "Darragh Mason, author of Song of the Dark Man and host of The Spirit Box podcast"

"Prayers, rituals, and supplications have long accompanied agriculture, and I've never seen a more thorough treatise on the subject than The Cunning Farmer. In this well-researched volume, Todd Elliott takes us on an esoteric journey from ancient history through various ages and cultures, examining the ways farmers appease their gods, spirits, and deities. The illustrations alone deserve a detailed browse, but most fascinating to me is how Todd has integrated decades of folklore research into his own practices on an organic farm in Northern Kentucky."-- "Jeff Poppen, biodynamic farmer and author of Barefoot Farmer, Barefoot Farmer II, and Barefoot Biody"

"This is a seminal work for partnering with the world. The world is a temple; the cunning farmer is its priest. This book guides you through the story of how to partner with the earth in a magical way, how to attend to the beauty and power of the natural world daily. It's a deep dive. Savor it. Remember, you are a servant to the holy."-- "Normandi Ellis, author of Awakening Osiris, Imagining the World into Existence, and The Ancient Trad"

About the Author

Todd Elliott is a farmer, earth worker, Reiki master, Druid, and was certified as an Astrological Magician by Renaissance Astrology. A lifelong student of mythology, religion, spirituality, folklore, and esoterica, he lives, works, writes, and studies on a small ridgetop farm in north central Kentucky, where he and his family ethically raise vegetables, fruits, and livestock.