For my therapeutic purposes, in attempting to apply astro-therapeutic analysis, I found the available herbal humoral ("Western" 4 element) data (drawn mostly from 17th century sources) to be confused, contradictory and-for me- generally quite unsatisfactory in actual clinical practice. Over the past few years it became apparent to me that I would have to make a fresh evaluation of herbal humoral qualities, based upon those contemporary herbal authorities (listed below) who, in addition to outlining the clinical application of botanical remedies, also investigated the energetic qualities of herbal agents.

Using the herbal energetics of heating/cooling properties, tastes (sour, sweet, astringent, bitter, salty, pungent/spicy) and the elemental affinity of the meridians affected by each herb, I constructed a 4 element (humoral) classification of several botanical remedies commonly used in modern herbal practice (mostly Western herbs, but I have included a number of herbs used in Ayurvedic and Chinese medicine as well)

The elements/temperaments/humors (used in traditional Hellenic medicine and in Tropical astro-medicine) are as follow:
+AIR=warm+moist=SANGUINE="blood"
+FIRE=warm+dry=CHOLERIC="yellow bile"
+WATER=cool+moist=PHLEGMATIC="phlegm"
+EARTH=cool+dry=MELANCHOLIC="black bile"

In my analysis I discovered that herbal remedies may be of Pure Temperament (representing a single elemental quality) or of Compound Temperment (representing a krasis {mixture} of two or more elemental qualities) Part 1 of the Table lists herbs of Pure Temperament, Part 2 lists herbs of Compound Temperament.

Herbal Authorities Consulted:
+"Botanical Medicine": Kenner & Requena
+"Energetics of Western Herbs": Holmes
+"Handbook of Chinese Healing Herbs": Reid
+"Materia Medica of Ayurveda": Dash
+"Planetary Herbology": Tierra
+"Yoga of Herbs": Lad & (David) Frawley

It may be of interested to you that here in Colombia, the indians use a similar but different system: they divide their herbs into hot and cold, bitter and sweet.

bitter plants are usually poisoning. Marijuana for instance is a hot plant and is used to relieve arthritic pain. I believe the plant of coke is cold, but I am not sure.

Best regards

It's also quite similar to Unani-Tibb, which is the form of medicine Avicenna used, largely based on Galen. Some practitioners are astrologers, some aren't, but much of it is temperaments and humours.

Thank you very much for those extensive lists! I recognise some of the herbs in the same categories as the Unani ones. And I have to start doing some more work on me, too.

yuzuru wrote:. I believe the plant of coke is cold, but I am not sure.

In my opinion too. Alkaloids herbs should be very cold

margherita

Makes sense for coca to be cold and dry, since it has anaesthetic and vasoconstricive properties, and thus numbing like ice.

For those Skyscript members interested in jyostish as applied to the field of Ayurvedic medicine, I have made a number of postings relative to "Tridosha" (the Vedic concept of elements) on astro.com: if interested, go to that site and find the "Other Branches of Astrology" section, then view the following postings:
-Astro-tridosha Reference Table
-Astro-dhatu Affinity Table
-Tridosha Table of Fixed Stars
-Flower Essence Tridosha Table
-Herbal Tridosha for use with Astro-tridosha
...and I have just added (12/19/09)
-Tridosha of Gems & Stones

Hi, Dr Farr

One of the most frustrating things about having an illness is that no two people are alike; no two illnesses are alike, and rarely do we have one illness without having other health conditions simultaneously. But doctors tend to want us all to respond the same way to the same medication.

Astrological diagnosis by decumbiture shows this dilemma quite clearly.
There is nearly always more than one condition at the time of decumbiture: one condition may call for a remedy that the second condition would contraindicate. The art of physick is simply not simple: in fact, the use of herbs as medicine and the ways astrology has been applied to their use is quite complex.

When I see contradictory astrological information listed for herbs (Lehman, herself an herbalist, lists innumerable examples in her book on rulerships) I think about the intention of the healer in using that particular herb.

In the 17th century, herbalists used astrology heavily throughout the process of harvesting herbs, then in preparing remedies from these herbs, then in adminstering them to the patient. Some dried herbs were collected in advance and used when needed. But each new remedy would have been concocted "from scratch," as a cook would say, frequently to address the unique conditions found on a specific decumbiture chart.

The harvesting of herbs was most often conducted during the first planetary hour of daylight. Astrologers know this is a time when the influence of the planet ruling that day will be strongest. Herbalists also recommend collecting at sunrise, as it is a time when the properties of the herb are strong. The identical herb harvested from the same plant, on a Monday (Moon) and then later on a Thursday (Jupiter) would most likely have been used as a remedy for different conditions.

The astrologer/herbalist would then consult the decumbiture to see what remedies to apply. A time to compound a remedy from several herbs would be elected, strengthening the desired planetary effects of the medicine with astrology. The decumbiture would also be used to find the best time to administer the treatment. Astrologers would find a time when the patient would be receptive to the doctor, the medicine, and would benefit from the treatment given. A canny astrologer could even determine if the patient would be "good pay" or not looking at the decumbiture. Sneaky, but for those who don't like the expense of dealing with collections agencies. . . .

The many points of interaction between astrology and the use of herbs points to a very complex process. Perhaps we moderns prefer to envision something more similar to our current-day medical approach; something "simpler." I don't know. I suggest something may be lost in translating thousands of years of herbal (medical) tradition into the simplest possible categories.

spirlhelix wrote: When I see contradictory astrological information listed for herbs (Lehman, herself an herbalist, lists innumerable examples in her book on rulerships) I think about the intention of the healer in using that particular herb.

I believe that in the beginning qualities of herbs derived from what we call active principles like tannins, mucilages. Ancients call them the first dry and the second moist, but the idea was the same; the elemental quality was linked to the main action of the herb.

For example we know that mallow is softening because it contains mucilage so ancients called this "moist". Temperament was not directly linked with astrology.

In Renaissance was invented the idea of signature, and so herbs were identified according their shape, because God put a sign on them.

It's difficult to find just a mainstream in herbals history because there were scientific lists and magical lists, and often you could find magical properties even in "scientific" treatises.

margherita

Margherita

It's difficult to find just a mainstream in herbals history because there were scientific lists and magical lists, and often you could find magical properties even in "scientific" treatises.

In ancient times, there was also no distinction between astrology and what we now call astronomy. That distinction was only drawn after empericism was introduced. You're right; the use of astrology for medical reasons was a lot like magic, in practice. The only reason the church tolerated it for centuries was because there was nothing else to offer to treat the sick.

Ancient physick was based on a different way of thinking of things, but I think it still needs to be treated with respect, as does any traditional alternative form of medicine. And if we want to talk about why individuals who attempt it do not appear to acheive the desired results, it seems we need to be careful to make sure we are not comparing apples to tangerines.

For all the science, I'm not sure modern Western medicine has made such great strides in treating, for example chronic conditions and complex cases.

Best,

Pam

spirlhelix wrote:
Ancient physick was based on a different way of thinking of things, but I think it still needs to be treated with respect, as does any traditional alternative form of medicine.

Yes, the use of herbs is still the same. Ie, herbs are used now for the cure of the same diseases they were employed in the past.

Moreover, often where a doctor cannot cure some diseases, a good herbalist can.

I know some cases where an herb could solve what a chemical medicine could not cure.

Obviously they have different applications, because herbs are not immediate in action and they can solve some kind of diseases, not others, but they work, not just superstition .

margherita

My line of work (since 1982) is homeopathy and herbal therapeutics. The application of astro-therapeutic analysis is a great aid. The problem of remedy affinity to astrological influence was, for me, a significant one fo quite a while, which led me to make my own analysis of the Materia Medica (as I described in my Introduction posting on this thread)

+Botanical remedies (especially) usually represent a compound ("krasis") of macrocosmic affinities. Medieval through 17th Century Western astro-herbalists attributed herbal affinities only to one planet or to one temperament (element) for each herb, and I think this procedure led to conflicting (and too often incomplete or misleading) results. These too often conflicting astrological/elemental attributions still remain with us in astro-herbal therapy (as well as in spagyric work). Facing this difficulty in actual clinical practice led me to subject the matter to the analysis described in my Introduction posting.

+Over the past few years I have determined affinities for about 300 herbs, relative to temperament (humor/element), zodiacal sign and planet. In the great majority of herbs I have discovered compound affinities (ie, 1 herb may be affinitive with 2 or 3 planets; with 2 or more humors; with 2 or more zodiacal signs: the principle of krasis is the general rule) Applying these affinities to astro-therapeutic analysis has enabled me to obtain improved therapeutic results in actual practice.
(I have also subjected many Flower Essences, Gems/Stones-and about 150 homeopathic remedies-to similar analysis)

+Regarding the timing of harvesting herbs, processing them, and the compounding of herbal formulae, Spiralhelix is absolutely correct about the modifying astrological influences of the time the harvesting, processing or compounding is undertaken (these considerations play a major role in spagyric work) However, since I (now) consider most of the astrological herbal affinities described in the literature to be only partial (and for many, actually incorrect)-this based upon the results of my own herbal analyses-I believe that we must be more circumspect when choosing these times. For example: say an herb (by its krasis of qualities) is actually affinitive to Saturn/Venus, but in the literature we find it attributed only to the Moon: we thus would be led-let's say to process it-on a Monday during a Lunar planetary hour. But the actual affinity is to Saturn/Venus, meaning that the macrocosmic-enhancing time for processing this herb would be a Saturday (or a Friday) in Saturnian or Venusian planetary hours. The deeper macrocosmic (subtle energetic) enhancement of this example herb-mistakenly processed during Moon-activating times (based upon its supposed Lunar quality)-would not have taken place.
(Note: the impact-upon this herb's field-of the intent & will of the person doing the processing could-if properly directed-enhance the subtle energetic properties of the herb, regardless of the astrological influences)

+From long practical experience let me state that timing of the administration of remedies is of paramount importance (in fact I consider this application of timing even more significant than the timing of harvest or processing/compounding) I shall elaborate regarding this highly important issue in the near future.

+Relative to Spiralhelix (and Gjiada's) comments regarding herbal healing, and those regarding "modern" medicine, I am-of course!-in complete accord.