HYPERICUM


Dr. Clarke, however, gives another explanation of the derivation. He claims it comes from hypo-below or sub-and erica- meaning heather- therefore sub-heather, indicating its relation to Ledum-the marsh heath-which is also of great use in certain types of wounds. I am not an authority on derivations of words, or a philologist; so I prefer the more romantic explanation of the fear this St. Johns Wort was said to cast over evil spirits.


MANY large cities all over the globe are being evacuated for fear of the wrath which falls from the skies from the hosts of iron-clad locusts whose sting is in their tails. In this general disruption and compulsory abandonment of unnecessary luxuries, one wishes that people would give up and learn to do without their dopes, the many artefacts of chemicals, the concentrated products, obtained from the distillation of coal tar, the vaccines, serums and animal gland extracts; all these 1,000 and one evil brews and injections which the modern doctor and his deluded victims so firmly believe in, as being necessary to their welfare; the action of which in the human bodies are uncertain, unknown and so often start a trail of unsuspected prolonged human illness.

Yes, I repeat it, I wish they would give up these expensive and dangerous chemicals as being unnecessary luxuries of our over-refined civilization and go back again to the simple products of good old mother earth. We are told to grow more food; we should also be told and it should be impressed upon us to make more use of the herbs growing in our hedgerows, in our woods and fields and meadows. Some will object and say we should not go back, we should go forward, “New things are best.” But are they?

Each new generation as it comes along, refuses to learn from the mistakes of the preceding one and prefers to make its own mistakes, to be in due course jostled aside and considered old fashioned by its pregnancy, of impatient and intolerant youth. No, it would truly be a step in the right direction, it would mean real progress, if we went back to nature and learnt from her the hidden secrets of nature and science. Yes,.

“Excellent herbs had our fathers of old,

Excellent herbs to ease their pain,

Alexanders and marigold.

Eyebright, orris and elecampane,

Basil, rocket, valerian, rue

(Almost singing themselves they run),

Vervain, dittery, Call me to you,

Cowslip, melilot, rose-of-the-sun;

Anything green that grew out of the mould,

Was an excellent herb to our fathers of old.”.

Thus sang our epic empire-builder, Rudyard Kipling, who first drew the attention of our parish-pump politicians to the great advantages and the hidden riches of our vast dominions and colonies, and opened their eyes to what had been so sadly neglected for many years. He has still a great deal to teach us. We have still to learn to make more use of the hidden store of health-giving herbs and plants.

Have you ever wondered what brave soul it was who first ventured on using any of the herbs? The use of herbs goes back to hoary antiquity; and the fate of the first victims has long been forgotten. But the medicine men and the wise women of the past depended on certain marks and signs which they knew of, from which to choose the particular herb for a particular ailment.

They called these marks “the doctrine of signatures”, and they believed that a benevolent Godhead had placed certain marks on plants to point the way and show the initiated priest the priest being usually also the doctor of the tribe for what organ it was most suitable. Kidney-shaped leaves meant the plant was to be used in kidney troubles; yellow sap and juice in a plant told him that it was most suitable for bilious troubles and liver affections; heart-shaped leaves pointed to relief in heart diseases.

However much we may laugh at these ideas nowadays, they are not any more illogical than our modern beliefs that a certain drug or dope will be a cure-all because Sir Somebody or other says so or because Mr. John Moneybags from Moneybags Chemical Factory has printed glowing accounts of it in his catalogue and sent a traveller with a persuasive tongue to tell us so.

And after all, this doctrine of signatures did work in a good many cases for centuries, our modern wonder-working drugs frequently last only a few months, or at the best a few years. The doctrine of signatures only pointed the way; the proof of the pudding was in the eating. For instance, the greater celandine or Chelidonium was recommended as a remedy in jaundice hundreds of years ago by Galen and Dioscorides because of the signature of its yellow bile-like juice.

And it does work well in certain cases of jaundice and liver as well as in spleen and kidney affections. And there are many other cases of this, of the truth indwelling in this doctrine of signatures. But to say that Homoeopathy is entirely based and only based on the “signature” is absurd; and the well-known consulting physician who made this statement publicly in a lecture merely exposed his colossal ignorance when he said this.

He had met his homoeopathic colleagues in consultation, he patted himself on the back for being so broad-minded, but he had no time and no inclination apparently to verify his facts or even glance at the most elementary of the homoeopathic textbooks to learn what constituted a homoeopathic medicine and why it was homoeopathic. For instance, St. Johns Wort, or Hypericum perforatum, was declared to be a herb for wounds, because of its pellucid or transparent dots which are really oil glands on its leaves; you can see them, if you hold the leaves up to the light.

Because of these transparent spots or perforations and because the leaves were lance-shaped, the herb was called wound wort. Many superstitions are attached to this plant from ancient times. Hypericum is of Greek derivation and means” over an apparition”; for the populace believed that evil spirits hated this plant so much that even a mere whiff would send them flying.

Dr. Clarke, however, gives another explanation of the derivation. He claims it comes from hypo-below or sub-and erica- meaning heather- therefore sub-heather, indicating its relation to Ledum-the marsh heath-which is also of great use in certain types of wounds. I am not an authority on derivations of words, or a philologist; so I prefer the more romantic explanation of the fear this St. Johns Wort was said to cast over evil spirits.

Nicholas Culpepper, the well-known herbalist and author of herbals, lived 300 years ago in or near London, and was in great demand for his knowledge on matters of physic. He was called an “old rogue”; but he was neither old, as he died when he was thirty-nine years of age, nor was he a rogue. For he prescribed gratis to the poor and needy in a generous fashion. And he also said that physicians had for their assistance the liberality of nature in providing them with medicines which may be found anywhere and could be prepared for use with a little art.

Probably that was the reason why he was called a rogue by his learned colleagues, who preferred more noxious and dangerous draughts to his simples, Culpepper also mentions Hypericum in his herbal, and explains the name “St. Johns Wort” in the following quaint manner: “It may be if you meet with a Papist that is also an astrologer, he will tell you that St. John made it over to him by a letter of attorney, especially if withal he be a lawyer.

Also St. Johns Wort is a singular wound herb as any other whatsoever, either for inward wounds, hurts or bruises, to be boiled in wine and drunk, or prepared into an ointment, bath or lotion outwardly”.

In spite of the authority of Galen and Dioscorides and of the more recent Culpepper, the homoeopaths did not take anything for granted; they tested out this herb, well known from antiquity, on healthy provers and found that the recommendations of the ancients were correct; it was truly a wonderful wound herb.

Now for a few specific examples of the way it works.

A horsekeeper working in large stables came to the hospital many years ago with a poisoned thumb, due to the bite of one of his horses. The thumb was very swollen and painful, the swelling had gone up the wrist and nearly up to the elbow; the pains were shooting up the arm with great violence. Not at all a pretty case, in fact, under orthodox treatment, it would have meant several operations and probably loss of the arm.

He was given some Hypericum 30 internally four hourly, his thumb was put into a warm Hypericum bath for half an hour, which relieved it greatly, and he was sent home with a Hypericum compress on thumb and on arm, with the instructions to keep the dressings moist by pouring on Hypericum lotion, a few drops at a time, every two hours or whenever it felt dry. He returned 24 hours later, the swelling up the arm had receded, the shooting pains had disappeared.

His thumb required Hypericum dressings for over a week; but it healed up nicely, no stiffness remained afterwards; the movements of the thumb were perfectly normal. In fact he had a 100 percent, useful hand and thumb. An excellent result! and of great importance to one who depended on a freely mobile thumb and fingers for earning his daily bread, and to me who was still only a young house surgeon somewhat of a miracle.

I had seen other cases at Edinburgh Royal Infirmary who had not come off so lightly. A bite right down to the bone of the thumb followed by a septic infection of the tendons and a spreading cellulitis and infection of the lymph channels is not a joke and is frequently followed by stiff joints and fingers. Therefore give praise, where praise is due, to this ancient herb, the St. Johns Wort.

Dorothy Shepherd
Dorothy Shepherd 1885 – 1952 - British orthodox physician who converted to homeopathy. Graduated from Hering College in Chicago. She was a pupil of J.T.Kent. Author of Magic of the Minimum Dose, More Magic of the Minimum Dose, A Physician's Posy, Homeopathy in Epidemic Diseases.