HERBAL QUACKERY?
In this age of the Periodic Table of Elements, how can we practice a primitive medical system that only recognizes four
elements? Hildegard de Bingin follows this 12th century tradition that informs us that all created things are composed of four elements:
hot or cold, and wet or dry. By the Middle Ages the planets had been allotted to the Elements, but the first references to Fiery, Earthy, Watery, Airy signs appear in the work of Nostradamus. Hildegard then goes on to tell the medicinal uses for over 200 plants. From aloe to oats to valerian, even an opinion on St. John's wort, it is interesting that the same plants continue to be a part of natural healing lore over 900 years after this book was written. |
