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Global Herbal Traditions

Today's herbalists draw on a variety of healing traditions, from shamanic ritual to remedies proven by scientific trials. Many of the world's traditional systems of healing share a common thesis: that everything in the universe, including plants and human beings, is composed of energy and matter and manifested as five elements, and that keeping them in balance is the key to ensuring health and wellbeing. This is the basis of the humoral system of the ancient Greek physicians, as well as Indian Ayurveda, traditional Chinese medicine, Tibetan medicine and Islamic Unani Tibb. Herbs play a central role in all these systems, preventing and treating a wide range of health problems in mind and body.

The use of herbs as medicines on physical, as well as subtler, levels is common to all cultures, and has been for as far back as we know. We can trace the link between human life and healing herbs to the Neanderthal era. In 1963, archeologists opened the grave of a man in a cave in Iraq, who had been placed there 60,000 years ago. He had been buried with many herbs, including horsetail, hollyhock, St Barnaby's thistle, yarrow, grape hyacinth and ephedra. The herbs appeared to have been chosen for their symbolic and healing virtues, for amongst them were diuretics, emetics, astringents, stimulants, and pain relievers.