While ceremonial magic used ritual to conjure powers, there was a whole tradition of magic that thought that the universe already expressed potent forces that, with the correct knowledge, you could use. Natural magic has existed for as long as humans have utilised nature for their good. To the natural magician, a herb that can calm a fever or sap that soothes the skin are performing wondrous acts.

In the ancient world, natural magic was the dominant form of magic. Writers like Pliny the Elder recorded vast numbers of ways in which nature could cure a person. While Cato the Elder prescribed cabbage for virtually any malady, Pliny was more specific. An ulcerated sore