Take a moment to look around your yard and outdoor surroundings. If you live in a rural, mountain, or agricultural environment, take a little walk around and see what plants you can identify. The herbs that grow will be herbs that are ideal for your particular area, climate, and soil type. This can teach you something about what you might need since you also live in the same environment. For instance, how many of you have dandelions growing in your pretty green lawn? Plenty I’m sure! But did you know that the dandelion can be used to cleanse the liver, support the urinary system, and work as a mild laxative?
Your liver is a major filter of the body. On a daily basis the liver has the job of filtering environmental toxins, pesticides in your food, chemicals in the water, air pollutants saturated fats in the diet, and excess hormones in the blood. Do you think Mother Nature could be trying to tell you something when she offers dandelions at every turn? Is this her way of subtly offering her help for your liver? Could be, after all, Mother knows what’s best for us.
Of course, before we had advanced technology synthetics and a greater understanding of the body we had nature to look to for answers. Today we have research and science to back up and validate that herbs do in fact work through chemistry. In early days, we relied more on our observations, trial, and error. Technology is finally catching up to what many herbalists have believed and practiced for years and years. Let’s take a look back and see how they came up with some of these uses.
The Doctrine of Signatures philosophy dates back as early as the 1600s and was popularized in the medical field by Paracelsus. This philosophy, now considered nonsense by the medical community, put forth the theory that an herb or plant had a certain characteristic or set of characteristics that would reveal its value to the thoughtful observer. The signature was recognized as several different characteristics of the plant, including its color, texture, shape, and/or the environment where the plant grew.
It would be nice if this theory was completely valid—it would make learning herbology much simpler to the thoughtful observer. However, don’t throw the entire theory away just yet. Coincidences or not, some things can validate this thinking and also help you remember the medicinal value of an herb or plant. For instance, hawthorn berries are bright red berries that are shaped like a heart, and hawthorn berries have been used by many to strengthen and build the heart and circulatory system. We can take many factors into consideration when contemplating an herb and how we might find its value by looking at nature. Some native tribes believe that plants that are poisonous to man will crop up in areas where the soil needs to be replenished.
These plants serve to protect the earth by repelling man. These herbs keep both man
and woman away!
On the other hand, herbs that are extremely resistant to poisons and toxins—including the herb milk thistle, a tall, very prickly plant—grow plentifully in heavily polluted areas, such as near nuclear testing sites. Ironically, milk thistle is used medicinally to help rebuild the liver, which has the job of filtering out poisons and toxins from
our body. Some herbal teachers are very philosophical in nature, and others tend to make herbology more clinical. You can choose to see herbs in whatever way suits you. The important thing to remember is that foods can be your medicine, and herbs are foods.
Your liver is a major filter of the body. On a daily basis the liver has the job of filtering environmental toxins, pesticides in your food, chemicals in the water, air pollutants saturated fats in the diet, and excess hormones in the blood. Do you think Mother Nature could be trying to tell you something when she offers dandelions at every turn? Is this her way of subtly offering her help for your liver? Could be, after all, Mother knows what’s best for us.
Of course, before we had advanced technology synthetics and a greater understanding of the body we had nature to look to for answers. Today we have research and science to back up and validate that herbs do in fact work through chemistry. In early days, we relied more on our observations, trial, and error. Technology is finally catching up to what many herbalists have believed and practiced for years and years. Let’s take a look back and see how they came up with some of these uses.
The Doctrine of Signatures philosophy dates back as early as the 1600s and was popularized in the medical field by Paracelsus. This philosophy, now considered nonsense by the medical community, put forth the theory that an herb or plant had a certain characteristic or set of characteristics that would reveal its value to the thoughtful observer. The signature was recognized as several different characteristics of the plant, including its color, texture, shape, and/or the environment where the plant grew.
It would be nice if this theory was completely valid—it would make learning herbology much simpler to the thoughtful observer. However, don’t throw the entire theory away just yet. Coincidences or not, some things can validate this thinking and also help you remember the medicinal value of an herb or plant. For instance, hawthorn berries are bright red berries that are shaped like a heart, and hawthorn berries have been used by many to strengthen and build the heart and circulatory system. We can take many factors into consideration when contemplating an herb and how we might find its value by looking at nature. Some native tribes believe that plants that are poisonous to man will crop up in areas where the soil needs to be replenished.
These plants serve to protect the earth by repelling man. These herbs keep both man
and woman away!
On the other hand, herbs that are extremely resistant to poisons and toxins—including the herb milk thistle, a tall, very prickly plant—grow plentifully in heavily polluted areas, such as near nuclear testing sites. Ironically, milk thistle is used medicinally to help rebuild the liver, which has the job of filtering out poisons and toxins from
our body. Some herbal teachers are very philosophical in nature, and others tend to make herbology more clinical. You can choose to see herbs in whatever way suits you. The important thing to remember is that foods can be your medicine, and herbs are foods.
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