Taught by Thorns: Mythic Herbalism & The Medicine of Shadow

In Taught by Thorns, herbalist and mythologist Kiva Rosethorn leads readers into the green heart of the Otherworld, where healing and enchantment are one. Through essays that weave memoir, mythology, and plant medicine, she reveals the ancient kinship between people and the living forest. From the numinous groves of Hawthorn and Juniper to the wild path of the Hedgewise healer, Kiva explores the forest as both teacher and mirror. Her writing moves through shadow and revelation, reminding us that wonder is not an escape from the world, but a way of belonging to it.

Blending practical herbal wisdom with luminous mythic insight, Taught by Thorns reawakens the sacred art of relationship, with plants, place, and the hidden self. Included within are intimate portraits of Juniper, Rowan, Hawthorn, Pulsatilla, Damiana, Wood Betony, Passionflower, among others, alongside recipes, clinical insights, personal anecdotes, and mythic explorations. This is a book of green myth and medicine, a thorned doorway to enchantment and the healing power of wonder.