Compendium van rituele planten in Europa. 2024. 247 b/w plates (line drawings). 1440 p. gr8vo. Hardcover.- In Dutch.

Why do we give a red rose to our beloved? Why do we hold wood when we want to protect ourselves from misfortune? Who remembers the meaning and origin of objects and customs like the Christmas stump, the palm branch and the maypole? Many things that seem banal today once had a much deeper meaning. Our customs often find their origins in ancient rituals of great symbolic value.

This magisterial book covers ritual plants that are indigenous or native to Europe (e.g. the lime tree and the rose), or that are non-native but are nevertheless used ritually in Europe in one way or another (e.g. myrrh, frankincense and rice). A common thread in the book is man's innate fear of losing his grip on his own environment and the resulting flight to all kinds of spirits or strange forces. It is a fear that is perhaps of all times, but also clearly palpable today.