Herbal Medicine Oriental
Oriental Herbal Medicine is seldom practiced as a single modality, but is often practiced under the umbrella term of Traditional Chinese medicine. The practitioner is often trained in a number of modalities including, acupuncture, massage, exercise and diet.
At the core of this modality is the idea that the body is made up of vital energy that circulates through channels or meridians and these branches are connected to bodily organs and functions. It is these pathways and organs that can be assisted by regimes of herbs which will act to realign and increase functionality.
Anatomical structures receive little attention in the practice of this modality, instead the identification of functional entities which regulate body functions like, digestion, breathing and even aging. Health is perceived as harmonious interaction of these entities with the outside world, disease is interpreted as a disharmony or interruptions in the flow of the vital energy force.
Herbal Medicine Western
Herbal medicines act on the human physiology The idea behind Western herbal medicine is to influence bodily activity and enhance or inhibit organ function. By doing this, imbalances can be corrected and patterns of dysfunction can be resolved.
Practitioners are trained in the understanding of how certain herbs can stimulate certain functions in the body for example; the production and release of digestive juices which would inturn improve digestive functions. Herbalists tend to use whole plant extracts and are turning more and more to essential oils because of their potency and new methods of distillation which now produce therapeutic grades of essential oils that can now be taken ingested.
Combining herbs is also a method of treatment favoured by the practitioner as these combinations often produce synergistic activity and diverse effects and these effects can be gauged. Once gauged by the practitioner results can be altered by changing combinations and enhanced efficacy can be achieved, which in turn reduces toxicity and allowing organs to function at the desired levels.
Plant Alchemy
Plant alchemy is a form of herbal medicine which combines components of astrology and alchemy. The idea that in the alchemical arts everything is composed of three parts which constitute the basis of all matter. They are Sulphur, Mercury and Salt. Or the soul, life force and the physical body.
Plant alchemy attempts to separate and recombine these three basic principles until they are in perfect proportion and harmony with each other in order to achieve a long and healthy life.
For many Plant alchemy is an intense and sacred form of healing with it’s roots in the practice of age old healing techniques.
Staninslas Klossowiski de Rola a famous alchemist notes that; “Alchemy is a rainbow bridging the chasm between the earthly and heavenly planes, between matter and spirit…alchemy, the royal sacerdotal art, also called the hermetic philosophy, conceals, in esoteric texts and enigmatic emblems, the means of penetrating the very secrets of Nature, Life, and Death, of Unity, Eternity and Infinity.
