Lesson 1: Questions & Suggested Projects

1. Seek out and name anyone close to where you live with whom you might study herbalism, plant identification, or who might otherwise assist you in your study of herbal medicine.

2. Make the following:
a) Garlic Oil
b) Coriander seed tea
c) the basic curry mixture of powdered cumin and coriander seed and turmeric root powders
d) mix cumin seed powder with a little wheat flour and water and apply topically to relieve pain
e) take a tablespoon of food-grade castor oil one evening
f) drink a cup of fennel seed tea after taking the castor oil or after a meal
g) make a cup of juniper berry tea and take after a meal as an anti-inflammatory.

3. Match the humour with the person:
"Sanguine" = B. a hyperactive individual, active, athletic, with a cheery disposition and ruddy complexion
"Melancholic" = A. a hypersensitive, dreamy individual, tending toward a thinner constitution
"Phlegmatic" = D. a water-retentive individual who avoids activity, acting and speaking slowly, with a rather dull disposition
"Choleric" = C. an overbearing individual with aggressive temperament, tending toward high blood pressure

4. What is the origin of the word "dormitory"? Sleeping chambers in Asclepian healing temples, in which people would be cured or find the cure to their ailments in prophetic dreams.

5. What was Theriacum? Theriacum was a Roman formula of 70 toxins that, if taken over time, served as an antidote to poisoning.

6. Who was the author of De Materia Medica? *Dioscorides* wrote De Materia Medica, which includes a compilation of many works by Hippocrates, Theophrastus, Andreas, Niger, Crateuas and others. It was written in the first century and remained the seminal source of herbal information for 1500 years.

7. Look up the properties of the following herbs in four different books and compare their indications.
a) Valerian:

• From "Herbal Medicine; from the Heart of the Earth" (HMHE) by Sharol Tilgner: Sedative, Relaxing Nervine, Antispasmodic, Anticonvulsant, Hypotensive
• From "Planetary Herbology" (PH) by Michael Tierra: Nervine, Antispasmodic, Carminative, Stimulant, Anodyne
• From "Healing with the Herbs of Life" (HWHL) by Lesley Tierra: Analgesic, Anodyne, Nervine, Sedative
• From "the Complete Medicinal Herbal" (CMH) by Penelope Ody: tranquilizer, antispasmodic, expectorant, diuretic, lowers blood pressure, carminitive, mild anodyne
  

b) Scullcap/Skullcap/Scute:

• (HMHE) Sedative, Stomachic, Antispasmodic, Trophorestorative, Cerebral vasodialator, Hypotensive
• (PH) Nervine, Sedative, Antispasmodic
• (HWHL) Antiinflammatory, cholagogue, antihypertensive, expectorant, antipyretic, antibacterial, antispasmodic
• (CMH) They cite two versions: (s. lateriflora) relaxing nervine, antispasmodic, and (s. baicalensis) antibacterial, cooling, diuretic, antispasmodic, promotes bile flow
  

c) Red Clover

• (HMHE) mild antispasmodic, sedative, expectorant, blood thinner, mild alterative with a special affinity for the lungs, throat, and salivary glands
• (PH) --
• (HWHL) alterative, antitumor; non-healing sores, dry and scaly skin, eczema, psoriasis, fevers, arthritis, gout, cancer, tumors, hot flashes
• (CMH) alterative, antispasmodic, diuretic, anti-inflammatory, possible estrogenic activity

d) Calendula

• (HMHE) antiseptic, anti-inflammatory, lymphogogue, choleretic, demulcent, vulnerary
• (PH)
• (HWHL) vulnerary, emmenagogue, astringent, diaphoretic, antispasmodic, stimulant, antifungal, antirviral, antiseptic, demulcent, anti-inflammatory, cholagogue
• (CMH) astringent, antiseptic, anti-fungal, anti-inflammatory, heals wounds, menstrual regulator, stimulates bile production

8. Who were the two most important herbal doctors of the late Roman period? Dioscorides and Galen

9. Who wrote "De Simplicibus"? Galen

10. What is the origin of the word "officinalis"? Christian monasteries often kept herb gardens and dried herbs. The herbs were often kept in a type of pharmacy or apothecary called an "officina".

11. The position of the early Christian church was that healing should take place through faith and prayer. While it discouraged the use of medicines, it did restore a sense of compassion that was lacking in late Roman healing arts.

12. Name the two most devastating diseases of the Middle Ages. Leprosy and Bubonic Plague

13. Who wrote the "Canon of Medicine"? The Arab physician Avicenna wrote the Canon of Medicine (800s and early 900s)

14. Why is Culpeper so highly regarded by the English and in the history of herbalism? Culpeper was well-regarded, especially by common English folk because he translated much of the herbal knowledge of the day from latin into English vernacular, thus empowering people to heal themselves. He was despised by many in his field in part because he was taking away power from the medical (Church & state) establishment and also in part because they believed that people trying to heal themselves without training was a dangerous.

15. What is the Doctrine of Signatures? The Doctrine of Signatures states that a visible characteristic of an herb mirrors one of its main properties or the part of the body that it most affects.

16. Assemble the ingredients for Composition Powder and make a batch.

17. Who was the founder of Eclectic Medicine? Wooster Beach founded what was to become Eclectic Medicine in the 1830s, however, it was John Milton Scudder that resurrected Eclectic Medicine after the end of the American Civil War.

18. What is the Pen T'sao'? The first Pen T'sao was the Shen Nong Pen T'sao Jing, which was an herbal written by Emperor Shen Nong circa 200BCE.

19. Who was the author of the Pen T'sao Kan Mu? Li Shi-zhen completed the Pen T'sao Kan Mu in 1578.

20. What is the earliest known and most important document of classical Chinese medicine? The earliest and most important work was the Huang-ti Nei-ching (the Yellow Emperor's Classic of Internal Medicine).

21. What is the name of the great classic of Ayurveda? The Caraka Samhita is the pivotal Ayurvedic text.

So, this is the space, where I'm posting notes and homework to mark my development, I pray, in the East West Professional Herbalist Course.

Should take me a year or two to finish the correspondence portion of the course. Pending successful completion of that, I'll go for three consecutive annual seminars, and then apprentice with someone if my path works out that way.

I have two other alternating successful careers, so at this point, I'm not looking to do this full time, but I like the option.

I also live in a good location because there's an herbalists shop literally at the end of my block.