Signatures, doctrine

Each remedy has a unique essence that can be obtained from nature by extraction ( doctrine of signatures ). 

Lobaria pulmonaria (L.) Hoffm. var. meridonalis (Vain) Zahlbr. is a widespread lichen characterized by a lobed structure similar in appearance to alveolar tissue. As Gonzalez et al. (1994) pointed out in their introduction to a discussion of the chemistry of this lichen, its specific epithet reflects its use as a treatment for pulmonary tuberculosis following the Doctrine of Signatures. The varietal name was appended much later to specimens collected in the Philippines. 

Boedler, C. Richardson-. The doctrine of signatures a historical, philosophical... 

In China and Tibet, the plant is held in great esteem. It was believed that the color of the plant was caused by transformed human blood. The root is used to treat rheumatism, jaundice, hemorrhages, and all sorts of exhausting discharges. In Korea, the root is used to treat rheumatism, jaundice and menstrual disorders. In the Philippines, a decoction of roots is drunk as a remedy for urinary disorders. One might have observed the obvious relationship between the red color of the sap and the blood-related medicinal uses of the plant it illustrates the doctrine of signatures of Paracelsus. 

In this respect, the human use of plants with various incorrect rationales (e.g., the doctrine of signatures) is not much different than the chimpanzee use of AspHia an accurate knowledge of how the treatment works is not necessary for plant-use to be behaviorally reinforced and maintained. Human knowledge about the therapeutic uses of plants has accumulated through the millennia by trial and error. Our explanations have been secondary. 

All of this sounds very levelheaded. However, it would be a mistake to view Paracelsus as a medieval version of a modern doctor. On the contrary, he was quite capable of inventing fantastic theories, and indeed he did. According to his doctrine, plants and minerals had signatures that a wise man could learn to read. For example, orchids were shaped like testicles, indicating that their juice would restitute his lewdness to a man. Similarly, black hellbore, which bloomed in winter, had the power of rejuvenation, and liverwort and kidneywort had the shape of the parts of the body that they could be used to cure. 

The ancient Chinese wrote extensively on medical subjects. The Pen Tsao, for instance, was written about 2700 B.c. and contained classifications of individual medicinal plants as well as compilations of plant mixtures to be used for medical purposes. The Chinese doctrine of signatures (like used to treat like) enables us to understand why medicines of animal origin were of such great importance in the Chinese pharmacopoeia. 

The true scientific era of the salicylates began in England in 1763, when the Reverend Edward Stone presented a report to the Royal Society on the use of willow bark as a fever treatment. Stone was a believer in the rather curious Doctrine of Signatures, which maintained that one could find cures where the diseases themselves were spawned. Since fevers were often associated with swamps, probably because of mosquito-borne infectious agents, Stone searched swamplands for cures. He tasted a sprig of willow and was stunned by its bitterness. Aware that quinine, an equally bitter substance, was useful in the treatment of malarial fever. Stone decided to give willow... 

Oswald Crollius, or Croll, (1580-1609) was another influential advocate of Paracelsus, and a contributor to the chemical remedies. His Bascilica Chemica, Frankfurt, 1608, often republished, was his most popular work. It contained an exposition of the teachings of Paracelsus, a treatise on materia medica in which he emphasizes the chemical medicines, and a treatise on the doctrine of Signatures, a subject also treated in the Paracelsan literature, and which assumes that medicinal plants or other sources... 

Tropane alkaloids, principally hyoscyamine and hyoscine, are also found in two other medicinal plants, scopolia and mandrake, but these plants find little current use. Scopolia (Scopolia carniolica Solanaceae) resembles belladonna in appearance, though it is considerably smaller. Both root and leaf materials have been employed medicinally. The European mandrake (Mandragora officinarum Solanaceae) has a complex history as a hypnotic, a general panacea, and an aphrodisiac. Its collection has been surrounded by much folklore and superstition, in that pulling it from the ground was said to drive its collector mad due to the unearthly shrieks emitted. The roots are frequently forked and are loosely likened to a man or woman. Despite the Doctrine of Signatures, which teaches that the appearance of an object indicates its special properties, from a pharmacological point of view, this plant would be much more efficient as a pain-reliever than as an aphrodisiac. 

Another one of the common beliefs of his day was the doctrine of signatures which dictated the use of certain plants in medicine because their names resembled the part of the body afflicted or the disease itself. The feverwort, for instance, was used to reduce fever, and the liverwort to cure diseases of the liver. 

CORNU CERVI — is in chemistry the Beak of the Alembic. In Paracelsian medicine it is a healing herb for wounds, having leaves like the horns of a stag, with which it is connected by the doctrine of signatures. 

The name liverwort is centuries old and was given to these plants because their thalli are liver-shaped. In earlier times, people believed in the doctrine of signatures. This dictated that a plant part which resembles a bodily organ can be used to treat diseases of that organ. 

Scholars throughout the centuries have made valiant attempts to demystify herbs however, people continued to hold deep beliefs about the significance of plants. The Doctrine of Signatures, dating from the first century a.d., suggests that some aspect of the plant s appearance provided clues to its medicinal properties. This belief remained popular for 15 centuries and is noted in many Asian and Western cultures, including that of the Native Americans. 

Other common plants have been used variously for teas and liniments dandelion roots for poison ivy rash, the plantain leaf for insect bites and stings, aloe vera for almost everything, sunflowers for malaria, and the roots also for poison ivy rash, even snakebite. A partial mention is contained in Laura C. Martin s Wildflower Folklore. The doctrine of signatures enters into the folklore, whereby similarities in appearance between parts of a plant and parts of the human anatomy are supposed to suggest a connection, and hence a cure. 

It is instructive to note that homeopathy is, in the broader sense, the administration of minute or trace amounts of any substance that will presumably stimulate the immune system or serve as an enzyme inhibitor or promoter. In the more restricted (and discounted) sense, it is presumably the administration of an agent that, in some way or anothCT, bears a resemblance to the disease, the questionable doctrine of signatures. This restrictive definition is as distinguished from traditional Western medicine, the practice of allopathy, and the administration of drugs or medicines that are diffamt from the disease. 

Few minerals resemble copper in appearance one of the best known and most important of these was known to German miners and was used to colour glass green. Although repeatedly worked for copper, that metal could never be extracted from it the doctrine of signatures had broken down. Not that Nature herself was at fault it was the Devil who had deliberately tinted the mineral in order to mislead the poor miner. So the mineral was called Kupfer-nickel, that is false copper, pseudo copper, or, more literally, Old Nick s copper. 

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