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The Compositae
The Compositae WILHELM
5 THISTLES
AS MEDICINAL
PELIKAN
PLANTS
I n the thistles, the Compositae type assumes a particular structure and shape. T h e y are handsome plants, found above all in the poor soil and dry atmosphere of the steppes around the Mediterranean, towards the western Orient, southern Russia, and central Asia. Well armed, they might be called the "cacti of the East", and indeed it is possible to discern something of the form-giving forces belonging to the different parts of the world if one considers the cacti on the American continent, the euphorbias in Africa, and the thistles in Asia. The watery swelling growth of the Cactaceae type, with shoot and leaf swallowed up into the spherical stem and only their outermost ends emerging in prickles and spines, has its polar opposite in the thistle type which shows hardening at the periphery of the organ of light and air, the fully developed leaf. The cactus congests and hardens in the sphere of the life and chemical ether, the thistle in the sphere of the light ether.* Fluid and airy principles meet rhythmically in the leaf of a plant, interweaving the activities of the chemical and the light ether. Leaves generally grow from a leaf base, and have greater vitality at the base than at the tip. A subtle process of devitalization progresses from the base towards the margin and tip. The thistle leaf m a y be said to overdo this process; the tip and the periphery harden, and the leaves, which m a y be very large, are all the more spiny the more they are divided and organized. A hardening periphery imposes rigid limits on bhe outward swelling growth of the leaf, and as a result it tends to be wavy, swinging rhythmically up and down. The tip of every lobe, and even the veins, stand out in horny rigidity from the soft, plastic substance of the leaf which is pushed back from the periphery. The river of liquid life dries out at the ends of its ramifications, as it emerges into the arid light-filled air. I t is the leaf, therefore, which makes the thistle. B u t this plant strives upwards from the leaf region into the flowering region, producing a mighty stem. The leaf principle is taken along, fusing into the winged stem and producing spines on it as well. The flowers, large, beautifully formed, and m a n y in number, are the real goal of the stem as it rises strongly, branching m a n y times. The sepal-like bracts cupping the flower are also spine-tipped, and the capitulum resembles a small globular cactus. This closes in at the top, with long, slim
Translation from the German of the final part of the fourteenth chapter of the author's
Heilpflanzenkund~ (botany of medicinal plants), Vol. 1; publishod with the kind permission
of the author and of the publishers, Philosophiseh-Anthroposophischer Vorlag am Goetheanum/Dornach, Switzerland, whose pormission should be sought for reproduction. Translator. R. E. K. Meuss, yIL, Member of the Translators' Guild.
* Readers who are not familiar with the terminology used here may find it helpful to read the first three chapters of the book. Those were published in translation in The British Homozopathic Journal, 59, 164-173 and 224-234 (available as reprints in Part I of Healing .Plants, Rudolf Steinor Press, London).
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tubular florets emerging from the narrow neck. The element of the ligulate florets is suppressed. The eolour of these flowers tends to be a reddish purple, it is somehow pure, refined, free from passion, like the tourmaline, perhaps, amongst the precious stones. The scent is delicate, dry, sweet and true. An unsophisticated person highly sensitive to the aspects of plant nature once exclaimed: A penitent undergoing purification! when looking at a large flowering cotton thistle (Onopordon). This, too, m a y have its place in our considerations, even if anthropomorphism is not as a rule acceptable in the study of nature. Nature appeals to all our senses, even to those we fail to acknowledge or may not yet be aware of. The fruits have only short papusses and are large and heavy in relation to this; they therefore float only a short distance on the air. Thistles contain appreciable amounts of the Compositae carbohydrate inulin, and also aromatic bitters. Their medicinal actions should lie between the metabolic and the rhythmic organizations, where they could free and enliven rhythms which have slowed down and become hardened. Mars, Jupiter and the Sun are particularly active in them, and the medicinal actions will be on the organs related to these. Individual genera represent variations on the basic theme, with Cirsium growing more in moist habitats, Onopordon a native of deserts, Carduus of steppes, Carlina of mountain regions, and Cynara of fruit-growing soil. The individual species are described below.
Cynara scolymus, globe artichoke A native of the balmy Mediterranean, where it has been cultivated since ancient times as a vegetable and dietary aid, this large handsome thistle has quite recently gained recognition also as a liver remedy. The seed first grows into a strong root and rosette. Then the permanent root produces large, elongated leaves which are deeply and repeatedly divided, terminating in prickly spines, and bend down in an arc. When summer comes, the flowering stem rises from the centre. This is rather short in relation to the rest of the plant. I t bears the great thorny head of blue or reddish blue flowers. T h e slender tubular florets have a delicate, gently tonic, dry, sweet scent. T h e involueral leaves and receptacles are fleshy at the base. (The cardoon, a related variety, develops fleshy leaf-stalks which are eaten as a vegetable--one storey lower d o ~ , one might say.} The leaf and root contain a bitter principle (cynarin), faintly aromatic compounds, mucilage, taonins, a relatively high amount of pro-vitamin A, some vitamin B1, and an enzyme, cynarase, which acts like rennet and energetically curdles milk, even in a dilution of 1 : 150,000, and is used for cheese-making in southern countries. The plant also stimulates--bitters and carbohydrates are the vehicle for this--the ego and astral body to act more strongly on the digestive organs, particularly the liver, it promotes the production and flow of bile as well as anabolic processes in the liver, stimulates t h e detoxicating action of this organ, and acts as a hypoglyeaemic. Diuresis also is increased. Protein digestion is more firmly taken hold of, so that no foreign protein is permitted to reach the inner organization and cause albuminuria. The plant thus may also be helpful in the latter type of condition. In his "Tale of the Golden Serpent and the Beautiful Lily", Goethe lets the ferryman ask a fee of onion, cabbage and artichoke, "fruits of the earth" taking the form of congested, bud-like swollen leaf elements beneath, on and above the ground, in the sphere of the root, the stem, and the flower. Vital
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forces held in, and not expended in outward development, are the key feature. In the case of the artichoke they stimulate nutrition and the organs of nutrition.
Cnicus benedicSus (Carduus benedictus), holy thistle, blessed thistle The Mediterranean also is the original home of this thistle which like so many medicinal plants was brought north across the Alps during the Middle Ages. I t is an annual, growing about knee-high. The flowers are yellowy, barely visible in the prickly green heads enveloped by elongated leaves with marginal teeth ending in spines. They are drawn deep down into the leafy sphere. The inner leaves of the involucre produce a spider's web of prickles around the flower head. Powerfully contracting forces become visible to the eye, and the tongue may experience them in the extraordinarily bitter taste. Apart from a glycosidic bitter (cnicin), the plant contains tannin, some volatile off, resin, and much mucilage. The action of the flowering herb is again mainly on the digestive metabolism, on stomach, intestine, liver and gallbladder. Congestion in the hepatic region, jaundice, haemorrhoids and dropsy are among the indications for this thistle. Rudolf Steiner advised the use of it, prepared by a particular method in combination with peony root, for certain types of dropsy involving disorders of renal and hepatic function. The slightly atrophic flowering process pushed down into the proliferating leaf system points to actions in the region between metabolism and rhythm.
Silybum marianum, milk thistle, Marian thistle This handsome thistle is one of the most beautiful, with its large, very wavy leaves, which are broad, spiny in the margin, and have milk-white veins, presenting a very plastic image. In the first year, the leaf element grows curving upwards, rounded and swelling, above the head of the slender root, forming a flattened hemisphere. The following year, it grows somewhat higher, and allows the flowering shoots to ascend above it, rising high and wide until each is finally crowned with a large thorny capitulum filled with purple tubular florets. The milk thistle is a native of dry, sunny, stony slopes and steppes in the Mediterranean region and Asia Minor. There it often covers large areas and grows to the height of a man. In our parts it has become familiar through cultivation and as an ornamental plant, though it will grow in warm places only. The plant dies once it has produced seeds. The seeds if suitably preparedware a major remedy for congestion of the liver and stagnation of blood in the lower abdomen, stimulating portal circulation and the flow of bile in cases of ascites, jaundice and gall stones; they act on the venous system of the lower organization if there are varicose veins, haemorrhoids, or leg ulcers. The active principles are to be found in the protein-rich outer layer which contains bitters, some volatile oil, and amino acids (tyramine, histamine). Once again, plant principles deriving from a greatly emphasized flowering sphere act chiefly on the metabolism of the lower organization.
Arctiu~ lappa, greater burdock, thorny burr, beggar's buttons, cockle buttons, happy major With its large root, half a metre in length, the burdock penetrates deeply into the moist ground mixed with rubble where it may be found by fences, piles of stones, railway embankments and roadsides. There it also finds the abundance of light it desires. The lower leaves are large and heart-shaped
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and bear no spines. Higher up the freely branching shoot their place is taken by leaves gathered close to the stem; squarrose, with stalks pointing in all directions, and many-flowered is the appearance of the plant in summer. The thistle-aspect comes out only in the small globular flower heads with their many hooked spikes. The leaves are free of it. They are rich in mucilage, evidence of their struggle against spiny hardness. The burdock shows great vitality in overcoming poor soil conditions and at the same time the tendency to freeze into rigidity in the sphere of light. The thistle-aspect is permitted to prevail only in the flower. The roots and leaves used to be old-established remedies. They were later found to contain some volatile oil, tannin, bitters and mucilage. The root, Bardanae Radix, still is one of the constituents of wood-tea (Spec. Lignorum); a potentized essence of the root has been used to treat skin conditions (acne, furuncnlosis, eczema of the scalp) and to stimulate metabolism.
Onopordon acanthium, scotch thistle, woolly thistle, cotton thistle Onopordon is the most handsome thistle, a truly regal plant. Originally a native probably of the same regions as for the thistles discussed so far, it has now spread from England and Scotland to the whole of Central Europe, southern Russia and western Asia, though more scattered and less common in the more humid western parts. The sand dunes at Lake Nensiedel, the Hungarian planes, the Ukraine, all of them regions with a short period of spring rains followed by long, dry, fight-filled summers, provide ideal conditions where Onopordon is able to flourish, and whole "forests" of thistles may be found there. Onopordon comes closest to the thistle archetype. From the seed which has dropped to the ground in autumn, a well-developed rosette of leaves grows first of all; this feeds the thick tap-root as it enters deep into the soil. Depth and the horizontal are thus conquered first of all. The broad leaves extend widely, rhythmically divided in the margin to give wide triangular dentations. They are wavy, moving rhythmically up and down. The firm ribs extend beyond the margins, hardening into spines. Triangular forms given by the light ether thus sparkle all around the silvery green leaves. In the following spring, the rosette first grows even fuller, and then, in early summer, a tremendous current of growth draws the plant into strong upward development. What had been gathered in systole into depth and horizontal expansion is now exhaled in diastole; a vertical tendency prevails, stem growth, with strong side shoots developing. Mighty are the rays as the plant grows to more than the height of a man, each terminating in a large spherical flower head, spiny like a hedgehog. The leaf element, which we already know to be a major principle in this plant, is taken along in this process of radiation and effervescence; it is drawn more and more into the stem element, where it takes the form of broad wings swinging along two sides of the stem in wide arcs ending in sharp prickles. More and more of the leaf spread disappears, becoming transformed into wings, until finally at the top only the merest leaf tips stand away from the stem; yet the leaf element is visibly present all the way up each radiating branch, right to the capitulum. This then lets an abundance of slim, deepthroated, pale purple tubular florets emerge from the narrow neck. The scent of the flowers is subtle and delicate. Two principles are in powerful accord here, the rich foliage and a great abundance of flowers, the rhythm of the lower element swinging on and upwards into the upper element, the synthesis of etherie (leaf) and astral (flowering)
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rhythms, creating Onopordon from the thistle theme, and making it the most rhythmical of the thistles. Rudolf Steiner suggested the use of the flower (combined with primula flowers and henbane) as a major remedy for disorders of the heart, the archetype of a rhythmical organ. In form of the flower, Onopordon acts on metabolism, its bitters drawing the astral body and ego into the etheric processes of the metabolic sphere; as a flower thus strongly borne on leaf rhythms, it will point the direction, for the metabolic processes it has stimulated, into the rhythmic system, bringing form-giving principles into rhythm, for we have seen how the whole plant is given its character by the battle between fluid and plastic principles on the one hand, and principles of form and light on the other. The organization of the human body is far from finally determined. Not only does it undergo constant change as the individual passes from childhood t o old age, but it also changes through the centuries, with the evolution of mankind as a whole. I t is a tool increasingly adapted to the spirit of man as it achieves increasing awareness. The physical body is coming more and more to serve the development of conscious soul forces. In our present bodily constitution, the principal organ of thought---and hence of life at its most serf-conscious--is the brain, but other parts of the body will come to be like this in future. The faculty of thought is based on forces of growth and life which have been withdrawn from the brain, forces which out of the creative ocean of universal wisdom have brought the brain to highest perfection, and have then withdrawn, leaving the fully formed organ to itself. As a result, the brain no longer lives in the stream of universal thought, but merely reflects the thoughts of man--making them conscious to the ego. With the part of the etheric body which has been liberated from the brain in the process, man now thinks his own thoughts. A consequence is that certain physical, mineral processes now begin to play a major role in the brain. They make up the "mirror coating" of the "brain mirror". With this, we have taken into the brain certain hardening, ageing tendencies which from there penetrate the whole body. I f these tendencies go beyond the normal, they give rise to sclerotic disease processes. This train of events was uncovered by Rudolf Steiner. The process will continue, however, as Rudolf Steiner also pointed out. Another part of the etheric body begins to separate from the physical organization, this time in the rhythmic organization, from the heart, so as to offer the ego the possibility of a further degree of self-awareness and hence of freedom. This m a y mean that a price has to be paid, in the freezing of rhythm, the hardening of rhythm. For mankind it means that certain forces which until now were tied to the heart organ, forces of "cordiality", or warmth of heart, and of "heartiness", or courage of heart, will be at the free disposal of the ego. These liberated heart forces will make it possible for man to "feel freely and creatively" just as the liberated forces of the brain enable free, creative thinking. But just as today man is empty of thought unless he generates thought of his own free will, so he will soon be completely empty of feeling unless he becomes the creator--again of his own free will--of his feelings. Signs of this have been increasingly obvious over the years. Hygiene for the immediate future thus calls for, and indeed demands, the cultivation of feeling on the one hand, and the cultivation of rhythm on the other. The first is achieved through art and religion, the second through conscious shaping of one's way of life, and both m a y be found through eurhythmy, the new, rhythmical art of movement. New disorders of rhythm also call for new remedies. One such has been proposed
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b y Rudolf Steiner, and readers will no doubt understand why Onopordon is one of its major constituents.
6 HIGHLY
AROMATIC COMPOSITAE
Chrysanthemum vulgate (Tanacetum vulgare), tansy, buttons This plant may be found in the valleys of the great European rivers, where there is warmth and humidity, by waters and meadows, along dykes and in waste ground, in sandy and clayey soft. I t rises up to chest height from a browny-black creeping root, with a strong stem and pinnate leaves, almost fern-like in appearance were it not for the inflorescence at the top, of numerous golden yellow buttons radiating outward in clusters. The button-like appearance of the flower heads is due to the fact that they consist entirely of tubular florets. The leaves and flowers have a strong scent, harsh yet also fiery. The leaves contain about 1 per cent., the flowers about 189 per cent. of volatile oil, 70 per cent. of it thujone, the rest 1-camphor, borneol and terpene, so that one is reminded of Thuja. The plant is also definitely bitter. The properties of the plant are anthelmintie, emmenagogue and tonic, stimulating the whole metabolic region. Care is indicated in its use. Related species are Chrysanthemum parthe•ium, feverfew or bachelor's buttons, and Tanacetum balsamita, eostmary. Both contain bitters and aromatic volatile oils, both have a marked stimulant effect on the metabolic and sexual organs, where they may cause inflammation.
Anacydus officinarum, German pellitory This looks like a less delicate form of chamomile, with the floral disk pressed flat. The inflorescence is less branched, so that the flowers stand singly. The medicinal powers are more in the root with this plant, which contains inulin, volatile oil, a pungent resin, and pyrethein, a substance highly toxic to coldblooded animals and worms. The action of the root is on the upper organization where it increases salivation and acts as a sudorific. I t has been used to treat toothache, paralysis of the tongue, rheumatic and neuralgic symptoms in the head region, cramps in the limbs, symptoms of paralysis, and in sciatica. Chrysanthemum Marschalii (Pyrethrum roseum), persian pellitory, insect flowers, insect plants This is an alpine plant found on the dry rocky slopes of the Caucasus, with feathery divided leaves and single large flower heads with rose pink ligulate fiorets and black edges to the involucral leaves. I t is mentioned only because the flowers are strongly aromatic and contain oils, resins and pyrethrin highly toxic to insects and lower animals. The plant has been used against skin and intestinal parasites, to bring abscesses to a head, and also in erysipelas. These actions develop from the way in which the plant fills itself with warmth and air, drawing into itself cosmic processes of egoity and astrality. The lower animals, and particularly insects, are not able to fully incorporate the warmth and air organizations; those two spheres remain something external to them.
Matricaria chamomiUa, German chamomile, wild chamomile For a closer understanding of what is revealed in the chamomile, let us consider
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the cycle of its life. We are met in this endeavour by its rapid growth, moving on energetically from seed to leaf shoot and flower, and completing the cycle within a few months when new seeds are formed. The seed which has dropped to the ground in autumn first of all produces a rosette of delicate divided leaves which persists through winter and in the warmth of spring sends forth the shoot. For a short time this looks compressed in many nodes, but then soon spreads wide and breaks up into the bushy, curly, finely thread-like green-gold feathery divided leaves and numerous longstemmed flower heads. Airy, open in structure right down to the ground, the plant presents itself, loosened up and dissolving into the air in its upper parts, and radiating outwards. Yet each ray terminates in the gathered-up form of a white and golden flower, and the conical receptacle, or disk, encloses an airspace, every flower thus holding a "droplet of air". Taking a closer look at the leaf one may be surprised. Divided into threadlike forms for the whole of its length, it yet appears thick, bloated, with leaf margins rolled downwards if seen in cross-section. A succulent, stonecrop-llke note is struck, something of the type seen in many salt-loving plants (halophytes) such as the Chenopodiaceae. The chamomile, too, loves salty soils, flourishing particularly in the soda-containing Szik softs of Hungary, steppe-like regions in the plains of the Tisa river. The scentless chamomile (Matricaria inodora) actually is a true halophyte growing on the seashore. Halophytes tend to show congested growth, with thick, fleshy leaves, bloated with wa~er. Their flowers are stunted and insignificant, colourless and without scent. An example is the glasswort (Salicornia) which was described in the chapter on the Chenopodiaceae.1 In the cross-section of its leaf, the chamomile gives a hint of relationship to such salt processes, but in this plant they are overcome and transmuted into an opposite principle in the delicate, airy division and gentle, though strong, aroma of the leaf. Thus Sal and Sulphur meet in the Mercurial sphere. A flowering plant which develops from such a background will show muted, gentle, soothed inflammation. The essential oil distilled from chamomile flowers is dark blue, not the pale yellow usually seen with such oils, and shows great antiinflammatory activity. (The name given to the substances formed in life activity of this kind in these flowers is "aznienes".) The chamomile loves light; it seeks open fields, roadsides, poor clayey soil, and shuns shade and moisture. A subtle silicic acid process permeates the plant; Rudolf Steiner has drawn particular attention to this. But it also has a great affinity to chalk. Sometimes the shoot is closely covered with blackflies, right up to the flower heads; these insects reap the benefit of a sugar-forming process which also pervades the plant. The inclination for the airy principle (viz. the droplet of air held within the receptacle) which goes as far as the early stages of its incorporation and reveals a particular relation to the astral sphere, gives the chamomile its powerful medicinal action on abnormal astral processes in man: spasms and colic in the digestive organs, complaints relating to menstruation and pregnancy, also neuralgias and hypersensitivities. Added to this is the anti-inflammatory, healing property, the excellent effect of irrigating purulent wounds with chamomile solution, and the wound-healing action of the plant quite generally. I t also helps with inflammation of the skin and mucous membranes. The whole plant indeed is controlled inflammation, restrained dissolution, Sulphur held in check by Sal, and this, the very essence of its being, will be reflected in any substance produced by its life processes. The specific nature of the plant,
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condensed and made physical in its constituents, is released again in the dynamics of healing.
Achillea millefolium, yarrow, milfoil, soldier's woundwort, statmchwort, carpenter's weed, devil's nettle, bad man's plaything In the yarrow, even the lowermost leaves, normally left enbirely to the formgiving forces of the fluid element which produce plastic, rounded shapes, are finely divided and dissolve into the airy element. The plant thus shows form principles in this region which are generally left to the upper region, where transition to the flowering process occurs. As a result, these lower leaves, too, are permeated with volatile oils. The flowering principle thus announces itseff so early that one would expect an early flowering, as in the chamomile. But, expecting a dramatic entrance, we are disappointed by epic expansiveness. Leaf follows leaf, node upon node as the tan stem grows, flowering is delayed until finally the acme of the year is reached and a broad umbrella makes the vertical termination to the upward striving shoot. Now the plant moves into the descending haft of the year at its own pace, extending its flowering period to the beginning of winter, an image of persistence and endurance which may be preserved through winter in a dried bunch of flowers. Thus the flowering process, announced so early, comes at a gentle pace, in slow stages; there is nothing inflammatory or incandescent about its approach, and no poisons are produced in a process which differs greatly from that seen in the alkaloid-producing plants which draw the flowering process much too early into leaf and shoot. The dully aromatic scent of the leaves is enhanced to become gently aromatic. Its vehicle is a blue-green volatile oil. The whole plant has a note of aromatic bitterness. Yarrow loves a fight-filled habitat, dryness, and mountain heights, and these elements find expression in the appearance of the plant. In this type of environment it develops its tremendous vitality, resistant to heat, dryness and cold, and rapidly comes up again when eaten by grazing animals. Most of its relatives are mountain plants in which the airy and aromatic, gently warmed-through aspect of plant life reaches the highest peak possible to this type of plant. The ash of the yarrow contains a considerable amount of silica and an extraordinary amount of potassium, 48 per cent. This is clearly expressed in the firm, solid stem strncture. An intensive salt process is taken into life, moving upwards from below. At the same time the gentle aromatizing process is woven into it, starting right from the lowest part of stem and leaf. The two processes are most marvellously held in balance. The plant also has a characteristic sulphur process which is harmoniously and firmly incorporated in its protein; freshly pressed juices from this plant keep for a remarkably long time without decomposing. In the protein sphere, potassium salt and sulphur processes, flowering and root tendencies, meet harmoniously, and Rudolf Steinex haa called Achillea a true marvel in the plant world. The medicinal action of the yarrow begins with stimulation of metabolism, strengthening to the stomach, and improving the appetite; it also promotes hepatic activity and haemopoiesis. In conjunction with this it also stops haemorrhages, and finally helps to direct anabolic and growth processes towards the achievement of healthy form and promotes wound healing, where the silica, too, plays a role (see also under Arnica). The bitter extracts strengthen the digestive process. Finally the plant, used in compresses, relieves the pain of
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cramp and colics, an action partly due to its volatile oils and camphor-l~e constituents.
7 MEDICINAL PLANTS LIGULIFLORAE
FROM
THE
SUB-GROUP
OF
LATEX-B~ARING
]_,actuca virosa, great lettuce, wild lettuce, acrid lettuce, lettuce opium The form-giving forces active within the fluid sphere (the "chemical ether") arc very much involved in this plant which is rich in milky juice (latex). In the first year, Lactuea virosa develops a strong tap root and dandelion-like leaf rosette, relating itself to the elements of earth and water. Yet the obovate, oblong leaves show an inclination towards division, assuming a thistle-like form with curly tips, or beginning to break up into broad segments with prickly spines on the midrib beneath. This congested growth close to the ground is released the following year into a hollow flowering shoot growing to the height of a man. This carries upwards with it occasional leaves which clasp the stem and stand away horizontally, and terminates in a spike, rather airy after all, of many small flowers. Pale yellow circles of ligulate florets with a matt watery sheen radiate from the small capitula in early summer. Finally the seeds sail away with their feathery parachutes borne on a stemlet. The great lettuce grows scattered in rocky, stony, but somewhat moist sites in Europe, western Asia, and North Africa. There is a peculiar poppy-like narcotic scent around this plant, and its milky juice, gathered when it has dried in the air after running from cuts made in the heads, has been known since ancient times as Lactucarium, or "cold opium". I t contains about three per cent. of crystallizable nitrogen-free bitters (laetucin or laetupierin), traces of an alkaloid, caoutchouc, mannitol, asparagine, oxalic/malie/citrie acid, some volatile off, and camphor. A poppy-type process develops in Compositae style in Laetuca virosa. The form-giving forces of the chemical ether have been subject to considerable influence from the astral region, and poison has developed as a result. Lactuearium has an atropine-like action, sedative, spasmolytie and antitussive, but does not act as an expectorant or give pain relief; it also relieves spasms in the region of the intestines and bladder. The stagnant fluid organization is encouraged towards elimination (enlarged fiver, dropsy) and altogether the intervention of the astral body in the fluid organization is regulated. With Laetucarium it is possible to save on opiates; it is non-addictive, a poison but not a narcotic. I t suppresses states of excitement. Because of these actions it has been called "opium frigidum,. At one time it was used as a narcotic in surgery, together with the juice of hemlock and henbane.
Taraxacum o~cinale, dandehon, priest's crown, swine's snout We ~ll think we know the dandelion. Come spring we find it in commons and pastures, in hedgerows and gardens, this ubiquitous flower of May, and intuition makes us look at it not so much on its own but rather as part of the whole life of nature. It appears to represent a significant function within this context---but which? What is the significance of the dandelion organ within the organism of the life of earth? The thick, long tap root penetrates deep down into the soil, and with almost indestructible vitality leaf after leaf grows from the "crowns" of this root. Yet the leaves remain close to the ground in a rosette, with the upward-tending
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spiral compressed into a circle. Although one would expect to know a dandelion leaf when one saw one, not one of them really resembles the other; every site of growth, climate, season, landscape, altitude and soil type interacts with the basic shape, so t h a t innumerable variations are produced. Two form principles strive against each other in this basic shape; in dampness and shade, the leaf is undivided, lanceolate to ovoid, widening outwards, whilst in dryness and light the lamina is divided up into the familiar, deeply incised form, with triangles or sickle-shapes made up of backward-curving lines placed in rhythmic sequence. At higher altitudes these m a y be contracted into narrow wisps and the incisions reach the midrib. Looking at a dandelion leaf it is possible to tell to what extent the light ether is taking effect in a particular area and holding its own against the chemical ether. The hollow flower stem rises straight up from the leaf rosette, bearing not a single leaf. I t wears the sun-radiant capitulum like a crown, though the radiance is there only in clear sunshine; in bad weather it becomes obscured b y the bracts closing up around it, just as the sun is obscured above. The flowers are rich in nectar for the bees, but do not require pollination as the seed is formed b y parthogenesis. Whilst the flower resembles the sun, the m a n y pappus making a clock, an airy, shimmering sphere, depict the starry heavens on a fine d a y - - u n t i l the next gust of wind blows it all away. With its strong root stock, rosette of leaves, and the large bright flower with its subtle scent borne freely aloft, the dandelion is the image of an alpine plant. Yet it grows in valleys and lowlands. I t obviously has considerable power to draw down to itself from cosmic heights certain powers which come to other plants only at high altitudes. I t s great sensitivity to light, the instant response of its form to changing light and shade, indicate t h a t the dandelion m u s t possess an organ for the cosmic world. T h a t organ is its specific relation to silicic acid processes. These processes have already been mentioned on a number of occasions in this book. They particularly mediate in plant life the cosmic forces of fight and warmth, and also the actions of the "superior" planets Saturn, Jupiter and Mars. Thanks to the silicic acid process, the dandelion is highly sensitive to those forces and m a y indeed be said to have a special sense for them. I t also mediates these actions, which are so important for plant life, to the whole of its immediate and more distant environment, especially if suitable preparations of it are used in the making of compost and manure. Rudolf Steiner described this in a series of lectures which have come to form the basis of the biodynamic method of gardening and agriculture. Yellow pigments (xanthophylls) related to vitamin A in the leaves and flowers of the dandelion provide further evidence of such silieic acid and light processes. According to Rudolf Steiner, the silica actions are most harmoniously linked with potassium processes in the dandelion, and the ash contains 7 per cent. of silicic acid and 40 per cent. of oxide of potassium, as well as a considerable amount (8 per cent.) of magnesium oxide---another metal relating to fight---and traces of copper and zinc. The aspect of fight and silicic acid only represents half the dandelion however, for there is also the aspect of intensive latex formation. I n the past, the latex was eollected for medicinal purposes; it was known as Leontopodium. I n spring, most of it is found in the leaves, in summer, in the root. The increasing power of the sun thus forces back the latex processes. Analysis has shown t h a t the latex contains sugar alcohols (inositol, D-mannitol), fats, gum, bitters, inulin and waxes.
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Readers may recall what has already been said on the development of latex in plants in the chapter on the Papaveraceae.2 The action of light and warmth enters deeply into the plant, takes hold of its form principles, of its chemism, and becomes impressed upon the latex process. I f the dandelion, and particularly its latex, is used medicinally, the principal action is on the fluid organization. Diuresis is stimulated, and aqueous congestion of hepatic origin is overcome. The liver, that great organ of warmth and water, reacts strongly. There is increased flow of bile, and portal congestion is relieved. Taraxacum is indicated for any type of liver condition, such as hepatic enlarge= ment, icterus and cholecystopathies. Through its bitters, the action of the plant starts in the gastrointestinal tract where it is useful against catarrhal conditions and gastritis. Via the liver, it also helps to restore normal haemopoiesis, and it is for this reason that it is used in popular medicine as a component of spring cures.
Cichorium intybus, chicory, suceory, wild succory With its long, thick, "cosmic" tap root, the chicory penetrates deeply into the soil. A rosette of large leaves opens close to the ground, very much like the dandelion, except that the leaves are coarser and more drawn into themselves. Then the inflorescence rises, tough, sparse, with stiff, angular stalks branching off, with small sessile leaves, very much in contrast to the dandelion. The lower leaves with their rhythmic "flow" reveal the form principles of the earthy, moist sphere; the thistle-taut stem antlers belong to a sphere of dryness and air. As the sun rises in the morning, the pale blue flowers, shallow and held close to the stem, open out facing to the east. B y afternoon they have withered and faded. New flowers greet the new day, with a truly inexhaustible flowering power maintained throughout the summer, in tune with the "anabolic" first haft of the day. I f someone tells you they had walked a long way with the gentle blue of the chicory keeping them company as they went, you may instantly respond with "You were met, not accompanied; you had the sun behind you and it was in the morning, so you were walking from east to west." The ethos to be felt surrounding this plant is a mood of patient, continually renewed hope, a positive being-at-one with destiny, whatever bitterness it may bring, and a legend has sprung up about it: The flower of the chicory is said to be an enchanted maiden waiting for the man she loves; he has gone to the Holy Land but one day, with the morning sun, he will return from the East. The capitulum consists of ligulate florets only and sits on a very short stem. The seeds are crowned with short pappus hairs which do not divide, and they do not travel far on the wind. The whole plant is filled with milky juice, particularly the root. Paths and the edges of fields are a favourite habitat. The plant seeks dry, light places throughout Europe and the temperate region of Asia. I t flowers from July to September. The milky juice contains bitters (lactueopierin), fats, D-mannitol, gum and lactucocirol, the root considerable amounts of inulin, the flower a glycoside (cichoriin) and a gluco-dioxycoumarin. The plant ash contains 20 to 30 per cent. of oxide of potassium, about 7 per cent. of silicic acid, 6 to 12 per cent. of magnesium oxide, and also 8 to 16 per cent. of oxide of sodium and 1 or 2 per cent. of iron oxide. According to Rudoff Steiner, particular importance attaches to the way in which silicic acid acts together with the alkaline salts in this plant, then to the bitter extractives, and to the peculiar manner in which Cichorium deals with the carbon process. The milky juice or latex aspect should
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not be forgotten, and this has been considered a number of times already, in connexion with nutrient processes, with the human fluid organization, and the liver and gallbladder. Cichorium thus has comprehensive medicinal actions which follow the process of nutrition through its metamorphoses. The function of the stomach and intestines is to perceive the food which is a foreign world entering into the organism, to taste it, take hold of it, divest it of its individual life and break it down almost to mineral state; here the bitters of Cichorium come into effect, drawing in the astral body and the ego of m a n so t h a t the food is broken down properly and the resulting elements handed over to the etheric body, to be filled with new life. The plant combats the lack of appetite, poor gastric function, and mucous congestion of the digestive organs which arise when those members of m a n ' s being are not sufficiently active. For Cichorium pours this bitter process, together with t h a t of latex formation, into its tremendously active flowering process which moves so rapidly from anabolism to katabolism, and is constantly renewing itself. Once again it is possible to perceive the relations between flowering processes and h u m a n metabolic processes. The next phase of metabolism, t h a t of anabolism and haemopoiesis, in which the liver is very much involved, also responds to Cichorium. Here the alkalies come into play which the plant contains in fully vitalized form and which find expression in its tough stalkiness. Chicory is a powerful liver remedy, helpful in cases of hepatic congestion and in gallbladder disease (biliary activity working too much in the inward direction and too little in the outward direction; icterns, but also biliary stasis and stone formation). The intensive silicic acid process, finally, visible to the eye in the way t h e flower responds to light, turning towards it, and also in the shape of the leaves, in the way they are formed, ensures t h a t the final stage of metabolism and metamorphosis, the formation of bone, muscle and nerve substance, proceeds in the proper manner right to the very periphery. The blood vessels of mucous membranes, of the retina and the periosteum are toned up and nutrition is improved in these organs. Cichorium has also proved valuable (together with antimonite) in the treatment of abdominal inflammations, in appendicitis and peritonitis. REFERENCES 1 Pelikan, W. (1958) G~usefussgew~chse (Chenopodiaeoae), in Heilpflanzenkunde, Vol. 1, p. 199 iT. Dornach: Philosophisch-Anthroposophischer Verlag am Goethoanum. Engl. tr. The Chenopodiaceae--Plants of inordinate salt processes. The British Homoeopathic Journal, 65, 184 (July 1976). I Pelikan, W. (1958) Mohngew~chse (Papaveraceae), in Heilpflanzenkunde, Vol. 1, p. 106 ft. Engl. tr. The Papaveracoae. The British Homveopathic Journal, 62, 59 and 117 (Jan. and April 1973); reprinted in Healing P/ants, part 2. London: Rudoff Steinor Press. O
R . E . K . Meuss, 1978.
5 THISTLES
AS MEDICINAL
PELIKAN
PLANTS
I n the thistles, the Compositae type assumes a particular structure and shape. T h e y are handsome plants, found above all in the poor soil and dry atmosphere of the steppes around the Mediterranean, towards the western Orient, southern Russia, and central Asia. Well armed, they might be called the "cacti of the East", and indeed it is possible to discern something of the form-giving forces belonging to the different parts of the world if one considers the cacti on the American continent, the euphorbias in Africa, and the thistles in Asia. The watery swelling growth of the Cactaceae type, with shoot and leaf swallowed up into the spherical stem and only their outermost ends emerging in prickles and spines, has its polar opposite in the thistle type which shows hardening at the periphery of the organ of light and air, the fully developed leaf. The cactus congests and hardens in the sphere of the life and chemical ether, the thistle in the sphere of the light ether.* Fluid and airy principles meet rhythmically in the leaf of a plant, interweaving the activities of the chemical and the light ether. Leaves generally grow from a leaf base, and have greater vitality at the base than at the tip. A subtle process of devitalization progresses from the base towards the margin and tip. The thistle leaf m a y be said to overdo this process; the tip and the periphery harden, and the leaves, which m a y be very large, are all the more spiny the more they are divided and organized. A hardening periphery imposes rigid limits on bhe outward swelling growth of the leaf, and as a result it tends to be wavy, swinging rhythmically up and down. The tip of every lobe, and even the veins, stand out in horny rigidity from the soft, plastic substance of the leaf which is pushed back from the periphery. The river of liquid life dries out at the ends of its ramifications, as it emerges into the arid light-filled air. I t is the leaf, therefore, which makes the thistle. B u t this plant strives upwards from the leaf region into the flowering region, producing a mighty stem. The leaf principle is taken along, fusing into the winged stem and producing spines on it as well. The flowers, large, beautifully formed, and m a n y in number, are the real goal of the stem as it rises strongly, branching m a n y times. The sepal-like bracts cupping the flower are also spine-tipped, and the capitulum resembles a small globular cactus. This closes in at the top, with long, slim
Translation from the German of the final part of the fourteenth chapter of the author's
Heilpflanzenkund~ (botany of medicinal plants), Vol. 1; publishod with the kind permission
of the author and of the publishers, Philosophiseh-Anthroposophischer Vorlag am Goetheanum/Dornach, Switzerland, whose pormission should be sought for reproduction. Translator. R. E. K. Meuss, yIL, Member of the Translators' Guild.
* Readers who are not familiar with the terminology used here may find it helpful to read the first three chapters of the book. Those were published in translation in The British Homozopathic Journal, 59, 164-173 and 224-234 (available as reprints in Part I of Healing .Plants, Rudolf Steinor Press, London).
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tubular florets emerging from the narrow neck. The element of the ligulate florets is suppressed. The eolour of these flowers tends to be a reddish purple, it is somehow pure, refined, free from passion, like the tourmaline, perhaps, amongst the precious stones. The scent is delicate, dry, sweet and true. An unsophisticated person highly sensitive to the aspects of plant nature once exclaimed: A penitent undergoing purification! when looking at a large flowering cotton thistle (Onopordon). This, too, m a y have its place in our considerations, even if anthropomorphism is not as a rule acceptable in the study of nature. Nature appeals to all our senses, even to those we fail to acknowledge or may not yet be aware of. The fruits have only short papusses and are large and heavy in relation to this; they therefore float only a short distance on the air. Thistles contain appreciable amounts of the Compositae carbohydrate inulin, and also aromatic bitters. Their medicinal actions should lie between the metabolic and the rhythmic organizations, where they could free and enliven rhythms which have slowed down and become hardened. Mars, Jupiter and the Sun are particularly active in them, and the medicinal actions will be on the organs related to these. Individual genera represent variations on the basic theme, with Cirsium growing more in moist habitats, Onopordon a native of deserts, Carduus of steppes, Carlina of mountain regions, and Cynara of fruit-growing soil. The individual species are described below.
Cynara scolymus, globe artichoke A native of the balmy Mediterranean, where it has been cultivated since ancient times as a vegetable and dietary aid, this large handsome thistle has quite recently gained recognition also as a liver remedy. The seed first grows into a strong root and rosette. Then the permanent root produces large, elongated leaves which are deeply and repeatedly divided, terminating in prickly spines, and bend down in an arc. When summer comes, the flowering stem rises from the centre. This is rather short in relation to the rest of the plant. I t bears the great thorny head of blue or reddish blue flowers. T h e slender tubular florets have a delicate, gently tonic, dry, sweet scent. T h e involueral leaves and receptacles are fleshy at the base. (The cardoon, a related variety, develops fleshy leaf-stalks which are eaten as a vegetable--one storey lower d o ~ , one might say.} The leaf and root contain a bitter principle (cynarin), faintly aromatic compounds, mucilage, taonins, a relatively high amount of pro-vitamin A, some vitamin B1, and an enzyme, cynarase, which acts like rennet and energetically curdles milk, even in a dilution of 1 : 150,000, and is used for cheese-making in southern countries. The plant also stimulates--bitters and carbohydrates are the vehicle for this--the ego and astral body to act more strongly on the digestive organs, particularly the liver, it promotes the production and flow of bile as well as anabolic processes in the liver, stimulates t h e detoxicating action of this organ, and acts as a hypoglyeaemic. Diuresis also is increased. Protein digestion is more firmly taken hold of, so that no foreign protein is permitted to reach the inner organization and cause albuminuria. The plant thus may also be helpful in the latter type of condition. In his "Tale of the Golden Serpent and the Beautiful Lily", Goethe lets the ferryman ask a fee of onion, cabbage and artichoke, "fruits of the earth" taking the form of congested, bud-like swollen leaf elements beneath, on and above the ground, in the sphere of the root, the stem, and the flower. Vital
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forces held in, and not expended in outward development, are the key feature. In the case of the artichoke they stimulate nutrition and the organs of nutrition.
Cnicus benedicSus (Carduus benedictus), holy thistle, blessed thistle The Mediterranean also is the original home of this thistle which like so many medicinal plants was brought north across the Alps during the Middle Ages. I t is an annual, growing about knee-high. The flowers are yellowy, barely visible in the prickly green heads enveloped by elongated leaves with marginal teeth ending in spines. They are drawn deep down into the leafy sphere. The inner leaves of the involucre produce a spider's web of prickles around the flower head. Powerfully contracting forces become visible to the eye, and the tongue may experience them in the extraordinarily bitter taste. Apart from a glycosidic bitter (cnicin), the plant contains tannin, some volatile off, resin, and much mucilage. The action of the flowering herb is again mainly on the digestive metabolism, on stomach, intestine, liver and gallbladder. Congestion in the hepatic region, jaundice, haemorrhoids and dropsy are among the indications for this thistle. Rudolf Steiner advised the use of it, prepared by a particular method in combination with peony root, for certain types of dropsy involving disorders of renal and hepatic function. The slightly atrophic flowering process pushed down into the proliferating leaf system points to actions in the region between metabolism and rhythm.
Silybum marianum, milk thistle, Marian thistle This handsome thistle is one of the most beautiful, with its large, very wavy leaves, which are broad, spiny in the margin, and have milk-white veins, presenting a very plastic image. In the first year, the leaf element grows curving upwards, rounded and swelling, above the head of the slender root, forming a flattened hemisphere. The following year, it grows somewhat higher, and allows the flowering shoots to ascend above it, rising high and wide until each is finally crowned with a large thorny capitulum filled with purple tubular florets. The milk thistle is a native of dry, sunny, stony slopes and steppes in the Mediterranean region and Asia Minor. There it often covers large areas and grows to the height of a man. In our parts it has become familiar through cultivation and as an ornamental plant, though it will grow in warm places only. The plant dies once it has produced seeds. The seeds if suitably preparedware a major remedy for congestion of the liver and stagnation of blood in the lower abdomen, stimulating portal circulation and the flow of bile in cases of ascites, jaundice and gall stones; they act on the venous system of the lower organization if there are varicose veins, haemorrhoids, or leg ulcers. The active principles are to be found in the protein-rich outer layer which contains bitters, some volatile oil, and amino acids (tyramine, histamine). Once again, plant principles deriving from a greatly emphasized flowering sphere act chiefly on the metabolism of the lower organization.
Arctiu~ lappa, greater burdock, thorny burr, beggar's buttons, cockle buttons, happy major With its large root, half a metre in length, the burdock penetrates deeply into the moist ground mixed with rubble where it may be found by fences, piles of stones, railway embankments and roadsides. There it also finds the abundance of light it desires. The lower leaves are large and heart-shaped
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and bear no spines. Higher up the freely branching shoot their place is taken by leaves gathered close to the stem; squarrose, with stalks pointing in all directions, and many-flowered is the appearance of the plant in summer. The thistle-aspect comes out only in the small globular flower heads with their many hooked spikes. The leaves are free of it. They are rich in mucilage, evidence of their struggle against spiny hardness. The burdock shows great vitality in overcoming poor soil conditions and at the same time the tendency to freeze into rigidity in the sphere of light. The thistle-aspect is permitted to prevail only in the flower. The roots and leaves used to be old-established remedies. They were later found to contain some volatile oil, tannin, bitters and mucilage. The root, Bardanae Radix, still is one of the constituents of wood-tea (Spec. Lignorum); a potentized essence of the root has been used to treat skin conditions (acne, furuncnlosis, eczema of the scalp) and to stimulate metabolism.
Onopordon acanthium, scotch thistle, woolly thistle, cotton thistle Onopordon is the most handsome thistle, a truly regal plant. Originally a native probably of the same regions as for the thistles discussed so far, it has now spread from England and Scotland to the whole of Central Europe, southern Russia and western Asia, though more scattered and less common in the more humid western parts. The sand dunes at Lake Nensiedel, the Hungarian planes, the Ukraine, all of them regions with a short period of spring rains followed by long, dry, fight-filled summers, provide ideal conditions where Onopordon is able to flourish, and whole "forests" of thistles may be found there. Onopordon comes closest to the thistle archetype. From the seed which has dropped to the ground in autumn, a well-developed rosette of leaves grows first of all; this feeds the thick tap-root as it enters deep into the soil. Depth and the horizontal are thus conquered first of all. The broad leaves extend widely, rhythmically divided in the margin to give wide triangular dentations. They are wavy, moving rhythmically up and down. The firm ribs extend beyond the margins, hardening into spines. Triangular forms given by the light ether thus sparkle all around the silvery green leaves. In the following spring, the rosette first grows even fuller, and then, in early summer, a tremendous current of growth draws the plant into strong upward development. What had been gathered in systole into depth and horizontal expansion is now exhaled in diastole; a vertical tendency prevails, stem growth, with strong side shoots developing. Mighty are the rays as the plant grows to more than the height of a man, each terminating in a large spherical flower head, spiny like a hedgehog. The leaf element, which we already know to be a major principle in this plant, is taken along in this process of radiation and effervescence; it is drawn more and more into the stem element, where it takes the form of broad wings swinging along two sides of the stem in wide arcs ending in sharp prickles. More and more of the leaf spread disappears, becoming transformed into wings, until finally at the top only the merest leaf tips stand away from the stem; yet the leaf element is visibly present all the way up each radiating branch, right to the capitulum. This then lets an abundance of slim, deepthroated, pale purple tubular florets emerge from the narrow neck. The scent of the flowers is subtle and delicate. Two principles are in powerful accord here, the rich foliage and a great abundance of flowers, the rhythm of the lower element swinging on and upwards into the upper element, the synthesis of etherie (leaf) and astral (flowering)
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rhythms, creating Onopordon from the thistle theme, and making it the most rhythmical of the thistles. Rudolf Steiner suggested the use of the flower (combined with primula flowers and henbane) as a major remedy for disorders of the heart, the archetype of a rhythmical organ. In form of the flower, Onopordon acts on metabolism, its bitters drawing the astral body and ego into the etheric processes of the metabolic sphere; as a flower thus strongly borne on leaf rhythms, it will point the direction, for the metabolic processes it has stimulated, into the rhythmic system, bringing form-giving principles into rhythm, for we have seen how the whole plant is given its character by the battle between fluid and plastic principles on the one hand, and principles of form and light on the other. The organization of the human body is far from finally determined. Not only does it undergo constant change as the individual passes from childhood t o old age, but it also changes through the centuries, with the evolution of mankind as a whole. I t is a tool increasingly adapted to the spirit of man as it achieves increasing awareness. The physical body is coming more and more to serve the development of conscious soul forces. In our present bodily constitution, the principal organ of thought---and hence of life at its most serf-conscious--is the brain, but other parts of the body will come to be like this in future. The faculty of thought is based on forces of growth and life which have been withdrawn from the brain, forces which out of the creative ocean of universal wisdom have brought the brain to highest perfection, and have then withdrawn, leaving the fully formed organ to itself. As a result, the brain no longer lives in the stream of universal thought, but merely reflects the thoughts of man--making them conscious to the ego. With the part of the etheric body which has been liberated from the brain in the process, man now thinks his own thoughts. A consequence is that certain physical, mineral processes now begin to play a major role in the brain. They make up the "mirror coating" of the "brain mirror". With this, we have taken into the brain certain hardening, ageing tendencies which from there penetrate the whole body. I f these tendencies go beyond the normal, they give rise to sclerotic disease processes. This train of events was uncovered by Rudolf Steiner. The process will continue, however, as Rudolf Steiner also pointed out. Another part of the etheric body begins to separate from the physical organization, this time in the rhythmic organization, from the heart, so as to offer the ego the possibility of a further degree of self-awareness and hence of freedom. This m a y mean that a price has to be paid, in the freezing of rhythm, the hardening of rhythm. For mankind it means that certain forces which until now were tied to the heart organ, forces of "cordiality", or warmth of heart, and of "heartiness", or courage of heart, will be at the free disposal of the ego. These liberated heart forces will make it possible for man to "feel freely and creatively" just as the liberated forces of the brain enable free, creative thinking. But just as today man is empty of thought unless he generates thought of his own free will, so he will soon be completely empty of feeling unless he becomes the creator--again of his own free will--of his feelings. Signs of this have been increasingly obvious over the years. Hygiene for the immediate future thus calls for, and indeed demands, the cultivation of feeling on the one hand, and the cultivation of rhythm on the other. The first is achieved through art and religion, the second through conscious shaping of one's way of life, and both m a y be found through eurhythmy, the new, rhythmical art of movement. New disorders of rhythm also call for new remedies. One such has been proposed
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b y Rudolf Steiner, and readers will no doubt understand why Onopordon is one of its major constituents.
6 HIGHLY
AROMATIC COMPOSITAE
Chrysanthemum vulgate (Tanacetum vulgare), tansy, buttons This plant may be found in the valleys of the great European rivers, where there is warmth and humidity, by waters and meadows, along dykes and in waste ground, in sandy and clayey soft. I t rises up to chest height from a browny-black creeping root, with a strong stem and pinnate leaves, almost fern-like in appearance were it not for the inflorescence at the top, of numerous golden yellow buttons radiating outward in clusters. The button-like appearance of the flower heads is due to the fact that they consist entirely of tubular florets. The leaves and flowers have a strong scent, harsh yet also fiery. The leaves contain about 1 per cent., the flowers about 189 per cent. of volatile oil, 70 per cent. of it thujone, the rest 1-camphor, borneol and terpene, so that one is reminded of Thuja. The plant is also definitely bitter. The properties of the plant are anthelmintie, emmenagogue and tonic, stimulating the whole metabolic region. Care is indicated in its use. Related species are Chrysanthemum parthe•ium, feverfew or bachelor's buttons, and Tanacetum balsamita, eostmary. Both contain bitters and aromatic volatile oils, both have a marked stimulant effect on the metabolic and sexual organs, where they may cause inflammation.
Anacydus officinarum, German pellitory This looks like a less delicate form of chamomile, with the floral disk pressed flat. The inflorescence is less branched, so that the flowers stand singly. The medicinal powers are more in the root with this plant, which contains inulin, volatile oil, a pungent resin, and pyrethein, a substance highly toxic to coldblooded animals and worms. The action of the root is on the upper organization where it increases salivation and acts as a sudorific. I t has been used to treat toothache, paralysis of the tongue, rheumatic and neuralgic symptoms in the head region, cramps in the limbs, symptoms of paralysis, and in sciatica. Chrysanthemum Marschalii (Pyrethrum roseum), persian pellitory, insect flowers, insect plants This is an alpine plant found on the dry rocky slopes of the Caucasus, with feathery divided leaves and single large flower heads with rose pink ligulate fiorets and black edges to the involucral leaves. I t is mentioned only because the flowers are strongly aromatic and contain oils, resins and pyrethrin highly toxic to insects and lower animals. The plant has been used against skin and intestinal parasites, to bring abscesses to a head, and also in erysipelas. These actions develop from the way in which the plant fills itself with warmth and air, drawing into itself cosmic processes of egoity and astrality. The lower animals, and particularly insects, are not able to fully incorporate the warmth and air organizations; those two spheres remain something external to them.
Matricaria chamomiUa, German chamomile, wild chamomile For a closer understanding of what is revealed in the chamomile, let us consider
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the cycle of its life. We are met in this endeavour by its rapid growth, moving on energetically from seed to leaf shoot and flower, and completing the cycle within a few months when new seeds are formed. The seed which has dropped to the ground in autumn first of all produces a rosette of delicate divided leaves which persists through winter and in the warmth of spring sends forth the shoot. For a short time this looks compressed in many nodes, but then soon spreads wide and breaks up into the bushy, curly, finely thread-like green-gold feathery divided leaves and numerous longstemmed flower heads. Airy, open in structure right down to the ground, the plant presents itself, loosened up and dissolving into the air in its upper parts, and radiating outwards. Yet each ray terminates in the gathered-up form of a white and golden flower, and the conical receptacle, or disk, encloses an airspace, every flower thus holding a "droplet of air". Taking a closer look at the leaf one may be surprised. Divided into threadlike forms for the whole of its length, it yet appears thick, bloated, with leaf margins rolled downwards if seen in cross-section. A succulent, stonecrop-llke note is struck, something of the type seen in many salt-loving plants (halophytes) such as the Chenopodiaceae. The chamomile, too, loves salty soils, flourishing particularly in the soda-containing Szik softs of Hungary, steppe-like regions in the plains of the Tisa river. The scentless chamomile (Matricaria inodora) actually is a true halophyte growing on the seashore. Halophytes tend to show congested growth, with thick, fleshy leaves, bloated with wa~er. Their flowers are stunted and insignificant, colourless and without scent. An example is the glasswort (Salicornia) which was described in the chapter on the Chenopodiaceae.1 In the cross-section of its leaf, the chamomile gives a hint of relationship to such salt processes, but in this plant they are overcome and transmuted into an opposite principle in the delicate, airy division and gentle, though strong, aroma of the leaf. Thus Sal and Sulphur meet in the Mercurial sphere. A flowering plant which develops from such a background will show muted, gentle, soothed inflammation. The essential oil distilled from chamomile flowers is dark blue, not the pale yellow usually seen with such oils, and shows great antiinflammatory activity. (The name given to the substances formed in life activity of this kind in these flowers is "aznienes".) The chamomile loves light; it seeks open fields, roadsides, poor clayey soil, and shuns shade and moisture. A subtle silicic acid process permeates the plant; Rudolf Steiner has drawn particular attention to this. But it also has a great affinity to chalk. Sometimes the shoot is closely covered with blackflies, right up to the flower heads; these insects reap the benefit of a sugar-forming process which also pervades the plant. The inclination for the airy principle (viz. the droplet of air held within the receptacle) which goes as far as the early stages of its incorporation and reveals a particular relation to the astral sphere, gives the chamomile its powerful medicinal action on abnormal astral processes in man: spasms and colic in the digestive organs, complaints relating to menstruation and pregnancy, also neuralgias and hypersensitivities. Added to this is the anti-inflammatory, healing property, the excellent effect of irrigating purulent wounds with chamomile solution, and the wound-healing action of the plant quite generally. I t also helps with inflammation of the skin and mucous membranes. The whole plant indeed is controlled inflammation, restrained dissolution, Sulphur held in check by Sal, and this, the very essence of its being, will be reflected in any substance produced by its life processes. The specific nature of the plant,
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condensed and made physical in its constituents, is released again in the dynamics of healing.
Achillea millefolium, yarrow, milfoil, soldier's woundwort, statmchwort, carpenter's weed, devil's nettle, bad man's plaything In the yarrow, even the lowermost leaves, normally left enbirely to the formgiving forces of the fluid element which produce plastic, rounded shapes, are finely divided and dissolve into the airy element. The plant thus shows form principles in this region which are generally left to the upper region, where transition to the flowering process occurs. As a result, these lower leaves, too, are permeated with volatile oils. The flowering principle thus announces itseff so early that one would expect an early flowering, as in the chamomile. But, expecting a dramatic entrance, we are disappointed by epic expansiveness. Leaf follows leaf, node upon node as the tan stem grows, flowering is delayed until finally the acme of the year is reached and a broad umbrella makes the vertical termination to the upward striving shoot. Now the plant moves into the descending haft of the year at its own pace, extending its flowering period to the beginning of winter, an image of persistence and endurance which may be preserved through winter in a dried bunch of flowers. Thus the flowering process, announced so early, comes at a gentle pace, in slow stages; there is nothing inflammatory or incandescent about its approach, and no poisons are produced in a process which differs greatly from that seen in the alkaloid-producing plants which draw the flowering process much too early into leaf and shoot. The dully aromatic scent of the leaves is enhanced to become gently aromatic. Its vehicle is a blue-green volatile oil. The whole plant has a note of aromatic bitterness. Yarrow loves a fight-filled habitat, dryness, and mountain heights, and these elements find expression in the appearance of the plant. In this type of environment it develops its tremendous vitality, resistant to heat, dryness and cold, and rapidly comes up again when eaten by grazing animals. Most of its relatives are mountain plants in which the airy and aromatic, gently warmed-through aspect of plant life reaches the highest peak possible to this type of plant. The ash of the yarrow contains a considerable amount of silica and an extraordinary amount of potassium, 48 per cent. This is clearly expressed in the firm, solid stem strncture. An intensive salt process is taken into life, moving upwards from below. At the same time the gentle aromatizing process is woven into it, starting right from the lowest part of stem and leaf. The two processes are most marvellously held in balance. The plant also has a characteristic sulphur process which is harmoniously and firmly incorporated in its protein; freshly pressed juices from this plant keep for a remarkably long time without decomposing. In the protein sphere, potassium salt and sulphur processes, flowering and root tendencies, meet harmoniously, and Rudolf Steinex haa called Achillea a true marvel in the plant world. The medicinal action of the yarrow begins with stimulation of metabolism, strengthening to the stomach, and improving the appetite; it also promotes hepatic activity and haemopoiesis. In conjunction with this it also stops haemorrhages, and finally helps to direct anabolic and growth processes towards the achievement of healthy form and promotes wound healing, where the silica, too, plays a role (see also under Arnica). The bitter extracts strengthen the digestive process. Finally the plant, used in compresses, relieves the pain of
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cramp and colics, an action partly due to its volatile oils and camphor-l~e constituents.
7 MEDICINAL PLANTS LIGULIFLORAE
FROM
THE
SUB-GROUP
OF
LATEX-B~ARING
]_,actuca virosa, great lettuce, wild lettuce, acrid lettuce, lettuce opium The form-giving forces active within the fluid sphere (the "chemical ether") arc very much involved in this plant which is rich in milky juice (latex). In the first year, Lactuea virosa develops a strong tap root and dandelion-like leaf rosette, relating itself to the elements of earth and water. Yet the obovate, oblong leaves show an inclination towards division, assuming a thistle-like form with curly tips, or beginning to break up into broad segments with prickly spines on the midrib beneath. This congested growth close to the ground is released the following year into a hollow flowering shoot growing to the height of a man. This carries upwards with it occasional leaves which clasp the stem and stand away horizontally, and terminates in a spike, rather airy after all, of many small flowers. Pale yellow circles of ligulate florets with a matt watery sheen radiate from the small capitula in early summer. Finally the seeds sail away with their feathery parachutes borne on a stemlet. The great lettuce grows scattered in rocky, stony, but somewhat moist sites in Europe, western Asia, and North Africa. There is a peculiar poppy-like narcotic scent around this plant, and its milky juice, gathered when it has dried in the air after running from cuts made in the heads, has been known since ancient times as Lactucarium, or "cold opium". I t contains about three per cent. of crystallizable nitrogen-free bitters (laetucin or laetupierin), traces of an alkaloid, caoutchouc, mannitol, asparagine, oxalic/malie/citrie acid, some volatile off, and camphor. A poppy-type process develops in Compositae style in Laetuca virosa. The form-giving forces of the chemical ether have been subject to considerable influence from the astral region, and poison has developed as a result. Lactuearium has an atropine-like action, sedative, spasmolytie and antitussive, but does not act as an expectorant or give pain relief; it also relieves spasms in the region of the intestines and bladder. The stagnant fluid organization is encouraged towards elimination (enlarged fiver, dropsy) and altogether the intervention of the astral body in the fluid organization is regulated. With Laetucarium it is possible to save on opiates; it is non-addictive, a poison but not a narcotic. I t suppresses states of excitement. Because of these actions it has been called "opium frigidum,. At one time it was used as a narcotic in surgery, together with the juice of hemlock and henbane.
Taraxacum o~cinale, dandehon, priest's crown, swine's snout We ~ll think we know the dandelion. Come spring we find it in commons and pastures, in hedgerows and gardens, this ubiquitous flower of May, and intuition makes us look at it not so much on its own but rather as part of the whole life of nature. It appears to represent a significant function within this context---but which? What is the significance of the dandelion organ within the organism of the life of earth? The thick, long tap root penetrates deep down into the soil, and with almost indestructible vitality leaf after leaf grows from the "crowns" of this root. Yet the leaves remain close to the ground in a rosette, with the upward-tending
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spiral compressed into a circle. Although one would expect to know a dandelion leaf when one saw one, not one of them really resembles the other; every site of growth, climate, season, landscape, altitude and soil type interacts with the basic shape, so t h a t innumerable variations are produced. Two form principles strive against each other in this basic shape; in dampness and shade, the leaf is undivided, lanceolate to ovoid, widening outwards, whilst in dryness and light the lamina is divided up into the familiar, deeply incised form, with triangles or sickle-shapes made up of backward-curving lines placed in rhythmic sequence. At higher altitudes these m a y be contracted into narrow wisps and the incisions reach the midrib. Looking at a dandelion leaf it is possible to tell to what extent the light ether is taking effect in a particular area and holding its own against the chemical ether. The hollow flower stem rises straight up from the leaf rosette, bearing not a single leaf. I t wears the sun-radiant capitulum like a crown, though the radiance is there only in clear sunshine; in bad weather it becomes obscured b y the bracts closing up around it, just as the sun is obscured above. The flowers are rich in nectar for the bees, but do not require pollination as the seed is formed b y parthogenesis. Whilst the flower resembles the sun, the m a n y pappus making a clock, an airy, shimmering sphere, depict the starry heavens on a fine d a y - - u n t i l the next gust of wind blows it all away. With its strong root stock, rosette of leaves, and the large bright flower with its subtle scent borne freely aloft, the dandelion is the image of an alpine plant. Yet it grows in valleys and lowlands. I t obviously has considerable power to draw down to itself from cosmic heights certain powers which come to other plants only at high altitudes. I t s great sensitivity to light, the instant response of its form to changing light and shade, indicate t h a t the dandelion m u s t possess an organ for the cosmic world. T h a t organ is its specific relation to silicic acid processes. These processes have already been mentioned on a number of occasions in this book. They particularly mediate in plant life the cosmic forces of fight and warmth, and also the actions of the "superior" planets Saturn, Jupiter and Mars. Thanks to the silicic acid process, the dandelion is highly sensitive to those forces and m a y indeed be said to have a special sense for them. I t also mediates these actions, which are so important for plant life, to the whole of its immediate and more distant environment, especially if suitable preparations of it are used in the making of compost and manure. Rudolf Steiner described this in a series of lectures which have come to form the basis of the biodynamic method of gardening and agriculture. Yellow pigments (xanthophylls) related to vitamin A in the leaves and flowers of the dandelion provide further evidence of such silieic acid and light processes. According to Rudolf Steiner, the silica actions are most harmoniously linked with potassium processes in the dandelion, and the ash contains 7 per cent. of silicic acid and 40 per cent. of oxide of potassium, as well as a considerable amount (8 per cent.) of magnesium oxide---another metal relating to fight---and traces of copper and zinc. The aspect of fight and silicic acid only represents half the dandelion however, for there is also the aspect of intensive latex formation. I n the past, the latex was eollected for medicinal purposes; it was known as Leontopodium. I n spring, most of it is found in the leaves, in summer, in the root. The increasing power of the sun thus forces back the latex processes. Analysis has shown t h a t the latex contains sugar alcohols (inositol, D-mannitol), fats, gum, bitters, inulin and waxes.
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Readers may recall what has already been said on the development of latex in plants in the chapter on the Papaveraceae.2 The action of light and warmth enters deeply into the plant, takes hold of its form principles, of its chemism, and becomes impressed upon the latex process. I f the dandelion, and particularly its latex, is used medicinally, the principal action is on the fluid organization. Diuresis is stimulated, and aqueous congestion of hepatic origin is overcome. The liver, that great organ of warmth and water, reacts strongly. There is increased flow of bile, and portal congestion is relieved. Taraxacum is indicated for any type of liver condition, such as hepatic enlarge= ment, icterus and cholecystopathies. Through its bitters, the action of the plant starts in the gastrointestinal tract where it is useful against catarrhal conditions and gastritis. Via the liver, it also helps to restore normal haemopoiesis, and it is for this reason that it is used in popular medicine as a component of spring cures.
Cichorium intybus, chicory, suceory, wild succory With its long, thick, "cosmic" tap root, the chicory penetrates deeply into the soil. A rosette of large leaves opens close to the ground, very much like the dandelion, except that the leaves are coarser and more drawn into themselves. Then the inflorescence rises, tough, sparse, with stiff, angular stalks branching off, with small sessile leaves, very much in contrast to the dandelion. The lower leaves with their rhythmic "flow" reveal the form principles of the earthy, moist sphere; the thistle-taut stem antlers belong to a sphere of dryness and air. As the sun rises in the morning, the pale blue flowers, shallow and held close to the stem, open out facing to the east. B y afternoon they have withered and faded. New flowers greet the new day, with a truly inexhaustible flowering power maintained throughout the summer, in tune with the "anabolic" first haft of the day. I f someone tells you they had walked a long way with the gentle blue of the chicory keeping them company as they went, you may instantly respond with "You were met, not accompanied; you had the sun behind you and it was in the morning, so you were walking from east to west." The ethos to be felt surrounding this plant is a mood of patient, continually renewed hope, a positive being-at-one with destiny, whatever bitterness it may bring, and a legend has sprung up about it: The flower of the chicory is said to be an enchanted maiden waiting for the man she loves; he has gone to the Holy Land but one day, with the morning sun, he will return from the East. The capitulum consists of ligulate florets only and sits on a very short stem. The seeds are crowned with short pappus hairs which do not divide, and they do not travel far on the wind. The whole plant is filled with milky juice, particularly the root. Paths and the edges of fields are a favourite habitat. The plant seeks dry, light places throughout Europe and the temperate region of Asia. I t flowers from July to September. The milky juice contains bitters (lactueopierin), fats, D-mannitol, gum and lactucocirol, the root considerable amounts of inulin, the flower a glycoside (cichoriin) and a gluco-dioxycoumarin. The plant ash contains 20 to 30 per cent. of oxide of potassium, about 7 per cent. of silicic acid, 6 to 12 per cent. of magnesium oxide, and also 8 to 16 per cent. of oxide of sodium and 1 or 2 per cent. of iron oxide. According to Rudoff Steiner, particular importance attaches to the way in which silicic acid acts together with the alkaline salts in this plant, then to the bitter extractives, and to the peculiar manner in which Cichorium deals with the carbon process. The milky juice or latex aspect should
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not be forgotten, and this has been considered a number of times already, in connexion with nutrient processes, with the human fluid organization, and the liver and gallbladder. Cichorium thus has comprehensive medicinal actions which follow the process of nutrition through its metamorphoses. The function of the stomach and intestines is to perceive the food which is a foreign world entering into the organism, to taste it, take hold of it, divest it of its individual life and break it down almost to mineral state; here the bitters of Cichorium come into effect, drawing in the astral body and the ego of m a n so t h a t the food is broken down properly and the resulting elements handed over to the etheric body, to be filled with new life. The plant combats the lack of appetite, poor gastric function, and mucous congestion of the digestive organs which arise when those members of m a n ' s being are not sufficiently active. For Cichorium pours this bitter process, together with t h a t of latex formation, into its tremendously active flowering process which moves so rapidly from anabolism to katabolism, and is constantly renewing itself. Once again it is possible to perceive the relations between flowering processes and h u m a n metabolic processes. The next phase of metabolism, t h a t of anabolism and haemopoiesis, in which the liver is very much involved, also responds to Cichorium. Here the alkalies come into play which the plant contains in fully vitalized form and which find expression in its tough stalkiness. Chicory is a powerful liver remedy, helpful in cases of hepatic congestion and in gallbladder disease (biliary activity working too much in the inward direction and too little in the outward direction; icterns, but also biliary stasis and stone formation). The intensive silicic acid process, finally, visible to the eye in the way t h e flower responds to light, turning towards it, and also in the shape of the leaves, in the way they are formed, ensures t h a t the final stage of metabolism and metamorphosis, the formation of bone, muscle and nerve substance, proceeds in the proper manner right to the very periphery. The blood vessels of mucous membranes, of the retina and the periosteum are toned up and nutrition is improved in these organs. Cichorium has also proved valuable (together with antimonite) in the treatment of abdominal inflammations, in appendicitis and peritonitis. REFERENCES 1 Pelikan, W. (1958) G~usefussgew~chse (Chenopodiaeoae), in Heilpflanzenkunde, Vol. 1, p. 199 iT. Dornach: Philosophisch-Anthroposophischer Verlag am Goethoanum. Engl. tr. The Chenopodiaceae--Plants of inordinate salt processes. The British Homoeopathic Journal, 65, 184 (July 1976). I Pelikan, W. (1958) Mohngew~chse (Papaveraceae), in Heilpflanzenkunde, Vol. 1, p. 106 ft. Engl. tr. The Papaveracoae. The British Homveopathic Journal, 62, 59 and 117 (Jan. and April 1973); reprinted in Healing P/ants, part 2. London: Rudoff Steinor Press. O
R . E . K . Meuss, 1978.