Student Excerpts: Herbs & Signatures

Kimberly did some outside research and had some lovely additions to her assignment last week. Here are some of my favorite excerpts from her assignment. Remember - the more you share with the group the more we can learn from each other:


Signatures can include an herb that resembles a specific organ, for instance, Scrophularia roots look like swollen glands, so it is traditionally used for swollen glands and hemorrhoids. (Matthew Wood, The Book of Herbal Wisdom: Using Plants as Medicines).

Signatures can be suggested through the environment. For instance, Angelica grows in a damp, shady soil, and can help remove cold and damp from the patient.

Signatures can be suggested by the animals that the plant resembles. Wood suggests that Native Americans used this “spirit signature”; an example is Angelica which has a brown, furry resinous root and is called Bear Medicine.

Signatures can be suggested by plants that correspond to the symptoms. For instance, for respiratory and digestive remedies, plants that have hairy leaves that resemble the villa of the mucosa can be used. These include, Comfrey and Mullein.

Signatures can be suggested by their rhythms. For instance, Blood Root, which has flowers that unfold from morning to noon and then close again is used for migraines worse from morning to noon.

***************************

The relationships of the constellations and planets has been seen to influence seeding experiments, as well as, the formation of certain plant organs. In Planetary Influences Upon Plants, by Ernst Michael Kranich, it says that “as early as the 1940’s J. Schultz discovered a correlation between the seed and fruit formation of trees and Jupiter’s twelve-year cycle. For red beech, the years of high seed yields coincided with specific constellations of Jupiter against the zodiac.

******************************

Additionally, signatures can suggest which element has the most influence over a specific plant. In Healing Plants: Insights Through Spiritual Science, by Wilhelm Pelikan, he suggests that the influence of the Air Element in the Umbellifers is suggested by the airy quality of their leaves. Pelikan says, “…the way the carrot family relates to the air. These plants not only reach out into the atmosphere in leaf and flower development but also begin to incorporate air into themselves. They enclose air in their blown-up, bellying leaf sheaths, in hollow stems, stalks, fruits, and air chambers in the rhizomes. In doing so, they go beyond plant and towards animal nature.” Pelikan goes on to suggest that this reaching towards the animal nature makes them good candidates for treating patients with an ‘astral body’ condition.

Thank you Kimberly for a job well done and for making your assignment so enjoyable to read!

Blessings & Health,
Kristie