Plant Spirit Shamanism – Signatures of Nature

Alchemy, organic foods, aromatherapy, homeopathy, plant spirit shamanism, nature, healing, shamanism, herbs, herbalism, Thomas bartram, james lovelock, gaia, flower remedies, flower essences

There is one concept that underlies all work on plant spirit shamanism, and that is that nature herself will tell you what they are used for and her well-stocked medicine cabinet is right in front of us every day.

Shamans recognize the spiritual powers and qualities of plants in many ways: the colors of their flowers, their perfumes, the shape and form of their leaves, where they grow and in what manner, the moods they evoke, and the context wider geographical and cultural , or mythological landscapes they occupy.

Although such considerations do not play a role in modern medicine (which does not believe in these spiritual powers at all), it was not long ago that we too understood that nature is alive and speaks to us in this way.

The 16th-century alchemist and philosopher Aureolus Phillippus Theophrastus Bombast, better known as Paracelsus, introduced this notion in his Doctrine of Signatures, which proposed that the Creator had placed his seal on plants to indicate their medicinal uses. This was not just idle speculation on the part of Paracelsus; nature itself taught him the truth of it.

“Seeking the truth,” he wrote, “I considered within myself that if there were no masters of medicine in this world, how could I go about learning the art? No other way than in the great book of nature, written with the finger of God…. The light of nature, and no apothecary’s lamp guided me on my way.”

In his ‘book of nature’, Paracelsus noted how the qualities of plants often reflect their appearance, that skullcap seeds, for example, resemble small skulls and are reportedly effective in curing neck pain. head. Similarly, the hollow stem of garlic resembles the trachea and is used for throat and bronchial problems. In the same way, willow grows in damp places and cures rheumatic conditions caused by fluid accumulation in the joints.

In fact, as Thomas Bartram comments in his Encyclopedia of Herbal Medicine, “Examples are numerous. It is a curiosity that many remedies for the liver have yellow flowers, those of the nerves (blue), those of the spleen (orange), those of the bones (white). Serpentaria (Rauwolfia) resembles a snake and is an ancient traditional remedy for snakebite. Herbalism confirms the Doctrine of Signatures.”

Paracelsus’ underlying treatise was the premise that nature was itself a living organism to be considered an expression of “the One Life”, and that man and the universe are the same in their essential nature; an idea echoed (some would say proven) by Dr. James Lovelock, 500 years after Paracelsus, in his Gaia hypothesis of the unity of life. Gaia shows, for example, that the Earth maintains relatively constant conditions in temperature and atmosphere, etc., which defy rational observations and predictive measurements of what ‘should’ happen. It is, rather, as if the Earth were a living organism, consciously taking care of itself.

Because of this “Single Life”, Paracelsus held that the internal nature of plants can be discovered by their external forms or “signatures”. He applied this principle to both food and medicine, noting that “it is not in the quantity of food but in its quality that the Spirit of Life resides,” a belief familiar to those who choose to eat organic food and share a common concern. . about Genetically Modified (GM) substitutes that lack ‘life force’, or spirit.

According to Paracelsus, then, the appearance of a plant is the gateway to its spirit or consciousness.

The doctrine of the signatures, per se, is not something known to many indigenous shamans, but they understand quite well the principles behind it: that nature is alive, is aware and communicates with us. These principles are not considered fanciful at all, but are practical and important enough to save lives.
I discovered how the doctrine of signatures operates in the Amazon, for example, during an experience with the jergón sacha plant recounted by a jungle traveler, who accidentally came across this plant, when he was walking through the jungle with the shaman Javier Arévalo, studying the properties of plants

“Javier asked why I was always carrying a machete. I jokingly replied ‘it’s against anacondas!’
“He paused for a moment and then beckoned me to follow him. A few minutes later we came across this tall stemmed plant. This was jergon sacha, he said. Javier cut off a stem and proceeded to whip me around the body, paying most attention to my legs and the soles of my feet. Then he said ‘no more trouble, you are protected from snakes’. I asked him why this plant was used in this way, and he pointed to the pattern on the stem which looks identical to the snakes in the forest.

“Later, on a hunch, we started researching this plant and found some amazing matches. Jergon sacha is widely used as an antidote to snake venom in the Amazon. Going back to the concept of ‘signatures’, this plant is a clear demonstration of the external form that indicates the internal qualities.Its use is directly related to its physical appearance, the tall stem closely resembles the venomous viper known as the Jararaca or Bushmaster, which is indigenous to the Amazon.The Bushmaster, unlike most the other snakes, it is aggressive and will defend its territory, it can attack in the blink of an eye from 15 feet and is rightly feared and respected.

“Surprisingly, the jergon sacha turns out to be a very effective antidote to the sting when the large root tuber is cut and immersed in cold water and then drunk, or placed on a banana leaf and used as a poultice wrapped around the wound.
“Of course, the pragmatic statement here is that it is not possible to store poison vaccines in the rain forest, where there is no refrigeration, so this plant is of exceptional life-saving importance. This importance is recognized because the plant itself tells the shaman of its use through the markings on its stems”.
Artiduro Aro Cárdenas, a shaman who works with plant perfumes, provides another illustration of the connection between a plant’s form and function.

“If the smell of a flower has the power to attract insects or birds, it can also bring luck to people,” he says.

Artiduro manufactures fragrances that attract customers to a store, for example (“Just rub the perfume on your face and it attracts people to your business”), as well as perfumes for love, and others to “bloom” – growth and success. . “I observe what the plant does and if it is attractive [i.e. has the power to attract], I use it to attract. Plants are the forces of nature,” he says. “All I do is give direction to these forces.”

The current system of homeopathy is also based on the principle of a sentient universe known through its signatures. Hippocrates spoke of a universal law of similia similibus curentur (‘like cures like’), and the modern pioneer of homeopathy, Samuel Hahnemann (1755-1843), demonstrated through his experiments that plants contain a healing ‘essence’ or spiritual quality. that has affinity with human beings and acts on them according to the nature of the disease they suffer from.

Nobody really knows how homeopathy works, but the fact that it does seems clear. In 1836, for example, when cholera destroyed many Austrian cities and orthodox medicine could not stop its spread, the government desperately turned to homeopathy and built a fast and crude hospital where patients could be treated.

The results speak for themselves: while Orthodox hospitals reported deaths in more than 70% of cases, the homeopathic hospital recorded a mortality rate of only 30%.

The shamans have a simple explanation for this: the homeopathic doctors appealed and engaged the spirit of the plants to intervene on behalf of their patients, and the spirits responded to their call.