Eastern Verses Western Herbalism

Eastern Verses Western Herbalism 9/18/2018
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People new to Herbalism often ask about the difference between Eastern and Western Herbalism. People new to Herbalism think of it as “Treating with Opposites” just like conventional medicine but milder with fewer side effects. This is the perspective of Western herbalism.

There are three main types of herbal medicine, Western Herbalism which is the foundation of the Type featured in our free course, Traditional Chinese Herbalism, and Ayurveda, the Herbalism of India. There are many other forms but most are derived from one of these three. They developed independently and so have distinctively different philosophies.

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Western Herbalism

Western herbalism is what we are mostly familiar with. This style of medicine developed during the middle ages and grew parallel with and under the influence of the Christian Church, which was then only Catholic.

The Crusades invaded the Holy Land to retake the Holy City Jerusalem from the infidels who were not Muslims as some say. Islam did not develop until after Christianity about 600 AD. European Christians discovered the Rich herbal Medicine of the Jews and the New Testament books and The Knights Templar (knights of The Holy Temple of Jerusalem, a Catholic Order) preserved the Herbal knowledge and took it to Western Europe. As years progressed “Western Herbalism" meant west of the Holy City Jerusalem. It was a rich Herbal Heritage and “Herbs of The Bible” is one of the archived books in my groups.

In the Middle Ages especially, anything esoteric was considered ‘witchcraft’ and anyone imparting any spiritual aspects to herbal healing ricked being tortured and burned as a witch.

Astrology was different then too, and since Christ urged people to observe “signs in the heavens’ it was considered acceptable as long as no divination was observed… using the stars to predict the future. So Christians observed ‘signs’ and astrology to help assign herbs to treat various diseases, believing that God had assigned a single herb to each single disease and had made them appear for what they were to treat. This became the “Doctrine of Signatures”, God’s signature on the herb for what it was to treat.

Christianity was also strongly influenced by the Greeks and Hippocrates who postulated that there were four elements, Earth, Air, Fire, and water and four humors. Christianity accepted this since the new Testament was largely written in Greek and Aramaic and one Christian Figure Saint Luke was a Greek Physician and contemporary of saint Paul.

So Western Herbalism was mostly conducted at Monasteries and Convents which also doubled as hospitals in that period. Herbs were also named after Christian Figures like “Saint John’s Wort”.

It was a practical herbal medicine,  treating illness by the opposite, and it evolved into the type of medicine still practiced today. If one suffered constipation they took a purgative (laxative) and if they had pain they took an analgesic Herb. As population grew gathering wild herbs to make medicine could not keep up with demand and so chemistry entered the scene and began to synthesize medicine and prompted by three great wars; The Civil War, Spanish American War and the First World War.

England appealed to Herbalists to provide herbal medicines to treat soldiers from the trenches and “A Modern Herbal” by Mrs Maud Grieve was published widely in 1931 and last published in 1935. It is featured as a Reverence in our group.

Note that before World War II, Herbs were distinctly separate from many Fruits, Vegetables and Spices and some we consider medicinal today do not appear in that herbal.

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Eastern Herbalism

On the other hand, Eastern Herbalism was rife with the spiritual and mystical and esoteric. Some was derived from paganism and some from a different view of science. And this in turn was reflected in the practice of medicine in two areas, the middle east and the far east.

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Traditional Chinese Medicine (and Herbalism)

Chinese philosophy began with a different view of the Elements. There were Five of them, Fire, Earth, Metal, Water and Wood. Considered Elements not because of composition, but by their interaction and reaction to one another to maintain balance of life.

To further complicate the basic model of five elements is the Chinese theory of Opposites Yin and Yang. According to this everything in the Cosmos both contains and is balanced by its own polar opposite. Yin is seen as Female, Dark and Cold, while Yang is characterized as male, Light and Hot..

In Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), Yin and Yang need to be in balance to maintain health, and many ills can be attributed to a deficiency or excess of either force. Qi or CHI is vital energy and is regarded as flowing through the body in a network of channels (similar to the lymphatic system). They are called meridians, and can be stimulated and balanced using acupuncture, in combination with taking herbal formulas.

Unlike Western Herbalisn which was called “simpling” a single herb for a single disease, Chinese herbal formulas are complex, usually a combination of five herbs, reflecting the elements and ‘tweaked’ to be compatible with acupuncture and the point to be treated along with the herbal remedy. At times the Chinese Zodiac becomes involved.

In Eastern Herbalism one treats the vital energy of the body rather than treating any disease, thus enabling the now balanced body to heal itself. Some of this philosophy as well as Vitalism has been adopted by some well known herbal practitioners in the west, like Rosemary Gladstar, but this is not a big part of Traditional Western Herbalism with strong Christian roots.. It is a significant part of Homeopathy.

A more detailed article about Traditional Chinese medicine can be found online HERE

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The term Ayurveda come from two Indian words, Ayur meaning Life and Veda meaning Knowledge. In English we might say it is “The Science of Life” or how to live healthy, emphasizing that good health is the responsibility of the individual.

At the heart of the Ayurveda System are three primal forces: Prana, the breath of Life: Agni, the spirit of Light or Fire: and Soma, a manifestation of Harmony, cohesiveness and Love. There are also Five Elements comprising all matter: Earth, Water, Fire, Air, and Ether, (a nebulous nothingness that fills all space and was also know to the Ancient Greeks)

The Five Universal Elements are converted by Agni, the digestive Fire into three Humors which influence individual health and temperament.

Like Chinese medicine, Ayurveda seeks to maintain a balance of forces in the body to maximize health. It is a complex system which we cannot cover completely in a few short paragraphs.

A more detailed article about Ayurveda can be found online HERE

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SUMMARY

Today Most Conservative Christians are more comfortable with Western Herbalism because of its roots in the Christian Church. They believe in Vitalism from the perspective that Man has a Spirit or Breath of Life given by the Creator. Most Christians retain the belief that man is a Triune being having a Body, a Soul and a Spirit  Many accept Homeopathic Remedies as being ‘natural’ but most do not have much understanding of Homeopathic principles or its wider concept of Vitalism.

Most Asians are more comfortable with Chinese Medicine and its derivatives and most Middle Eastern People are more comfortable with Ayurveda and Yoga.

A lot of eastern practices and philosophy have infiltrated most western Alternative medicine Modalities.

In my groups and the Free Courses, we have retained Western Herbalism and Homeopathy as the most compatible with ideals of Christians, Jews and Muslims, the main belief systems of the West.