Transcript Herbalism - Bellarmine University

Herbalism
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
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Herbs
 Used in:
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Medieval Times
 Herber - herb
garden and/or
pleasure garden
Magical Purpose
Modern uses
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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”
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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
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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
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Taken from http://www.botgard.ucla.edu/html/botanytextbooks/economicbotany/Doctrine/
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
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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
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Doctrine came before homeopathy
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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
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