Herbalism

 Use of herbs for medicinal purposes.

History of Herbs  The use of herbs spans back almost as long as the history of man and throughout the centuries has played an important role in our health. Today, herbalism is seeing a surge of popularity once again.

Use of Herbs  The Respiratory System  The Nervous system  The Digestive System  The Skin  The Female Reproductive System  The Cardiovascular System  The Musculoskeletal System  Allergic Conditions aspx?sm=0&catid=10&am=1&cid=29www.premiertrainingonline.com/coursedetails. aspx?sm=0&catid=10&am=1&cid=29

Herbs  Used in: Medieval Times  Herber - herb garden and/or pleasure garden Magical Purpose Modern uses

 The "Doctrine of Signatures" has been an idea of herbalists for centuries, but it did not become part of the medical thinking until the middle of the seventeenth century.  idea that God has marked everything He created with a sign (signature).  popularized in the early 1600s by the writings of Jakob Böhme

Examples of Doctrine of Signatures  Sanguinaria canadensis, appropriately named bloodroot  Mandrake

Herbalism And the “Doctrine of Signatures” By: Leslie Austin

“Doctrine of Signatures”  The idea that everything God creates is marked with a sign  Indication of a purpose that God has in his plan: uses the color of the flowers, and the shape of his leaves in his plan  Put in writing in the 1600s by Jakob Boehme  Example to the left: Hepatica (Hepatica acutiloba): It bears resemblance to the liver thus therefore early scientist used this plant to cure liver diseases  It is the ideas of getting pharmaceutal value from plants

More Examples of Early Remedies  liverwort = relieve liver trouble  snakeroot = antidote for snake venom  adder’s tongue = cure for wounds and inflammation from snakebite  lungwort = cure pulmonary diseases  bloodroot = cure blood disorders; induce vomiting; laxative  toothwort = relieve toothache  gravelwort = dissolve stones in the urinary tract  wormwood = expel intestinal parasites  pilewort = cure hemorrhoids  ginseng = "man essense," used as a general human panacea  mandrake = promote sexual passion in females  black-eye root = remove bruise discoloration  maidenhair fern = cure for baldness  Taken from

Color Association  Scientists associates a certain color with a certain body part:  yellow and sweet = spleen  red and bitter = heart  green and sour = liver  black and salty = lungs

Samples for viewing  Snakeroot (left) Liverwort (right)

Jakob Boehme and his influence on “Doctrine of Signatures” and ideas that stemmed from it  Shoemaker from Germany  Published ideas in Aurora and was exiled for it  Paracelsus looked at his writing for spiritual healing remedies  Later “Doctrine of Signatures” was used as an astrological influence  EX: The sun was said to rule the heart, circulation, and the vertebral column. All plants that appeared solar, such as Calendula and Sunflower fell under its influence, as did those plants that followed the sun in their growth such as Heliotrope. (according to Culpeper’s astrological views)

Early ideas are essential for understanding early ideas  Doctrine came before homeopathy  Derived from folk medicine  Modern doctors dismiss the doctrine and try to actually find the medical values of the plants, but some of the ideas are correct  Example: Hawaiians viewed the banana as a human fertility which the banana flower is actually used to help men to be more comfortable with their maleness  The doctrine actually is viewed by essence makers to see what the value of an essence is