Language of Nature pt 4: Introduction to the Doctrine of Signatures; Organ & Disease Signatures

Certain signatures can lead us to the treatment of diseases simply because of what they are resembling in the human body

There is much left to discover!

 Introduction to the Doctrine of Signatures;

Organ & Disease Signatures

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Welcome to the final installment (for now) introduction to the Doctrine of Signatures.  Today we will be exploring organ & disease signatures.  If you didn’t catch the first 2 posts regarding the Doctrine of Signatures, worry not as the order doesn’t matter as much as the information itself.  

Part 1 went over the Alchemical Map of Creation to show you how we are all connected, you can see that HERE.

Part 2 went over color & leaf shape, you can see that HERE                     

Part 3 went over the environment & sensory experience, you can see the HERE

If you are wanting to dig in deeper, the book I’ve been recommending all along, which is one of my absolute favorites on this subject, is the Language of Plants, a guide to the Doctrine of Signatures by Julia Graves.  You can pick up a copy HERE.

I did go over some of the theory in those posts so I won’t reiterate a bunch of information but I can give you a simple explanation of this interesting theory & way of looking at the world around you. 

To summarize, Source stamped each plant with a sign for their purpose.  One thing I would like you to keep in mind before we begin is the sum of the parts is greater than the whole.  With that in mind let’s begin!

There are a few different ways to approach organ signatures & one approach is found in Ayurveda.  This is the theory that a plant tissue will heal its corresponding body part.  We need to remember that this is not a one size fits all approach but rather a way to choose to view the world around us.  

OK, so how does that play out in action?  Let’s look to the trees & have you ever noticed a bit of coagulated sap & resins on the bark?  That sap & resin is the way that the trees heal & close their wounds. 

The theory here is that those saps & resins will work in a similar fashion in the human body.  Remember we are just reflections of each other & the only thing separating us is the belief we are separate.  Just let that message sit in your heart if you can’t receive it in the mind.  

Let’s go over a few organ signatures & parts of the body with the intention to give you the pieces to put together in the way that you feel called to do so.  Keep in mind signatures are open to personal interpretation & may require an exercise in using your imagination.

Beginning at the head we can find a few signatures & the most common one is that hard shelled nuts or seeds that look like the skull are remedies for the head.  Walnut is the most well known answer.

Flowers that come to a head, making large round buds are head signatures.  Our example is the Peony which has been used for epilepsy treatments.

Wood betony has hairy roots & is praised as a treatment for headaches.

If a flower looks like a skull it will help the skull.  We can look to Skullcap as a nerve remedy for the head.

Moving now to the bones, we have a few signatures here that in my opinion are quite useful to know.  

White chalky roots or structures are signatures for bones.  Boneset is our ally here who has the ability, just like the name says to set a bone after it’s been broken.  We do need to remember to look to the names both scientific & cultural to get more clues to the signatures of a plant.

Stiff hollow tubes are signatures for the large bones of the body.  Plants that are wonderful spinal remedies will look like spines, elongated & rhythmically structured.  Our example here is Mullein

5-lobed leaves are signatures for the hand & the leaves of a Fig Tree are used in ailments of the joints of the hands.

Nerve signatures have to do with long, fine, threadlike structures of a plant such as those found in the leaves of Plantain.

A signature for nerve pain is found in thorns as the plant must be able to cure what it can inflict.  We can look to the Rose.

Flowers that look like eyes are remedies for eyes.  In fact Eyebright is the best remedy for conjunctivitis.  It’s important to look at plants not only in their full grown state but in all states.

Another eye signature that can be found in the yellow center of the Eyebright flower which is a signature for a jaundiced eye.

Gingko leaves resemble a set of lungs & ginkgo seeds have been used in Chinese medicine to moisten the lungs.

There are times we need to look at the plant in its entirety & other times we look to a portion of the plant. Fennel bulbs which when cut in half display a dome-shaped structures that looks like a diaphragm & has been used as a respiratory remedy. 

Thyme which is another of our respiratory remedies happens to grow in the form of an upside down thorax with the stems paralleling the appearance of ribs.  Don’t forget to tap into your imagination & allow that to reveal even more signatures to you.

Hollow tubes is a signature that the plant can bridge several organ systems together.  Plants with hollow stems clear those passage ways such as Elder

Yarrow whose leaves are reduced to mere veins is one of the best herbs to stop bleeding from fine blood vessels. 

Cleavers which has duct-like structures is a signature that  points to a lymphatic remedy

Ginger Root which resembles a stomach has been used as a remedy for upset stomach.  Think of when you have an upset stomach & you grab a glass of ginger ale to help you feel better.  Don’t forget to look at our old folk stories & wives tales of remedies, they have been passed down for a reason.

Herbs with yellow flowers are signatures for disorders of the liver & gallbladder such as Dandelion 

Funnel shaped leaves which fill with water point to a kidney remedy such as that found on the Pitcher Plant.

So there are just a few of the different organ signatures we have available to us & I do hope that I did a good job of sharing a variety of ways these signatures show up.

Next I’d like to go over a couple disease signatures with you.  This is not an exhaustive list as there is a remedy for every illness, disease & ailment which can be found in nature.  

A classic injury signature is when a plant “bleeds” & releases red sap such as St. John's Wort.  The red sap is a signature for hemorrhage or blood disorders

Prolapse remedies are found in plants that have heavy drooping flowers such as that found in Trillium 

The next signature I would like to share is a bit silly but also quite interesting in my opinion as it shows how straight forward the signatures can be. If part of the plant looks like the body part of a human it is said to help with that body part. Our example here is Himalayan Balsam seed pod.  These seed pods are a phallic shape, think of that shape in the body.  To me it reminds me of male anatomy. 

The signature here is found in the way the seeds act.  The seeds eject upon the slightest touch & that is  a signature for premature ejaculation. 

Lily of the Valley is an asthma signatures as it resembles an inflamed alveoli. 

Signatures for arthritis & rheumatism are found in plants that look like crippled hands such as Devil’s claw.

A signature for cancer may be found in parasitic plants such as mistletoe.  Parasitic plants are plants that obtain all or part of its nutrition from another plant without contributing to the benefit of the host.  That sure sounds like how cancer acts in the body.

I hope this post & the previous two have helped you build a foundation of a new sort of relationship with nature.  You are already in a symbiotic relationship where we are so reliant on each other that it may be time to deepen that relationship.  Perhaps you feel the stirring somewhere deep within your being.  Maybe you just feel a connection & interest in learning about this stuff.  Either way it’s time to heed the calling.

It’s one thing to learn how to read these signs in nature but it’s another thing entirely to begin to receive your own messages from the forces of Nature around you.  Next week I will be sharing with you some plant communication techniques anybody with an open, willing heart & an interest in learning how to interpret the messages you are probably already getting.

Watch the video presentation that accompanies this post HERE.

Until next time, may you find Peace wherever you are!