Signature theory
The doctrine of signatures (Latin signatura rerum ; from signare = to denote, to mark) is the doctrine of signs in nature which, as characteristics, indicate similarities, relationships and internal connections. Accordingly, there are analogies between shape, color, character, smell, taste, location, time of origin, humoral-pathological and astrological classifications and many other aspects. The doctrine of signatures is based on cosmic thinking in correspondences ( universal sympathy or microcosm-macrocosm doctrine) - a bean has a healing effect on kidney diseases ; the shape of the walnut made them ideal for brain treatments; the yellow juice of the celandine is effective for jaundice - and can be found all over the world as a typical way of thinking in non-scientific models of explanation of the world. As a principle, it prevails in the majority of traditional healing teachings, which presuppose such cosmologies as a framework.
history
The doctrine of signatures was already widely used in antiquity and was already widespread in a prototypical form as a way of thinking in the late Middle Ages, but its concrete written formulation in Europe goes back to Paracelsus and the Neapolitan doctor and alchemist Giambattista della Porta (1538-1615), who in his book Phytognomonica (a " Physiognomics of Plants") uses signatures to show a system of relationships between plants, animals and stars.
Basic assumptions
The doctrine of signatures is based on the basic assumption that all appearances and beings are related to one another. They form kinship systems with similar properties across the division into genera and species . Slightly modified, but with the same consequences, the doctrine of signatures existed under the auspices of Christianity: the world was perfect by God and created for man. The signatures were thus also the work of this creator. It was up to man to recognize these signs and to interpret them correctly.
Signatures include: smell, taste, color, shape, structure, texture, location, growth phase and lifespan. These are assigned to different categories such as elements , planets or properties. According to this, a bitter-tasting plant has a relationship with the element fire, which is related to the sun and - among other things - causes the conversion and stimulation of metabolic processes.
The signature theory is not only known in Europe. In Chinese and Ayurvedic medicine, there are elaborate systems of assignments according to signatures. In Chinese medicine , for example, taste, smell, color, times of day and seasons, elements, organs, sensory organs and body parts are combined to form a diagnostic concept. In the case of clear illnesses, this enables the selection of suitable remedies, which are recorded in a likewise complex allocation scheme.
Successes and failures of the theory of signatures
Defense attorneys point to a number of cases in which modern scientific research has confirmed the areas of application of the doctrine of signatures. The walnut - a traditional remedy for diseases of the head because of its resemblance to a human brain - actually contains fatty acids that are valuable for the brain . The autumn crocus - because of the resemblance of the onion to a gouty toe according to the doctrine of signatures a remedy for gout - actually provides effective healing substances against this disease. However, critics point to the randomness of these finds and argue that for every success there are several examples of ineffective assignments. In the lady's mantle, none of the effects attributed to this plant in women's diseases could be proven. The lungwort , which was used for lung diseases because of its spotted leaves, has so far proven to be largely ineffective according to scientific research. The remedies of the doctrine of signatures also include remedies that seem very strange today. In 1697, for example, in a sensational pharmacopoeia , Nicolas Lémery recommended the dried and pulverized skull of a person who had been violently killed as a cure for brain diseases.
literature
- Friedrich Ohly : On the doctrine of signatures in the early modern period. Remarks on medieval prehistory and on the peculiarity of an epoch-making way of thinking in science, literature and art. From the estate, ed. by Uwe Ruberg . Hirzel, Stuttgart a. a. 1999, ISBN 3-7776-0952-8
- Henri Leclerc: La médicine des signatures magiques. In: Janus. Volume 23, 1918, pp. 5-28.
- Wolf-Dieter Müller-Jahncke : Signatures theory. In: Werner E. Gerabek , Bernhard D. Haage, Gundolf Keil , Wolfgang Wegner (eds.): Enzyklopädie Medizingeschichte. De Gruyter, Berlin / New York 2005, ISBN 3-11-015714-4 , pp. 1330-1332.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Hans Biedermann - Medicina Magica. Metaphysical healing methods in late antique and medieval manuscripts Graz: Akademische Druck- und Verlagsanstalt 1972, 2nd edition 1978 ISBN 3-201-01077-4 p. 33.
- ↑ As Friedrich Ohly and Michel Foucault have shown, s. given literature.
- ↑ Kurt Quecke: The doctrine of signatures in the literature of Paracelsus. In: Contributions to the history of pharmacy and its subsidiary areas. Volume 1, 1955, pp. 41-55 (= Pharmazie. Supplement 2, edited by Otto Beßler, Hans Seel and Rudolph Zaunick).
- ↑ The secrets of medicinal plants p. 51 f.
Web links
- Plants of the doctrine of signatures
- Theory of signatures - the primal path of knowledge about medicinal plants by Margret Madejsky (depiction from the perspective of naturopaths)
- Klaus Krämer: Plant Signatures. In: KGS Berlin. July 2011, accessed December 17, 2016 .