Have you heard the term “herbal healing” or “herbalism”? Well, this term is actually existed since time immemorial. As it is commonly noted, herbal healing or herbalism is definitely one of the oldest tactics of healing that is greatly known in the whole world. Now what is the story behind the emergence of this technique? Just read on.
Herbal healing as it is known worldwide is considered by many researchers and people to have provided the greatest natural healing knowledge. The modern herbal healing techniques just came from the practices of the ancient Sumerians, Assyrians, Egyptians, Babylonians, Greeks, and Romans. In fact, the herbal sorcery was then acclaimed specially in the ancient Greece. Notably, one of the greatest writers during that time who have compiled the herbal lore in Natural History is Pliny. His work was then supported by the following works of Hildegard of Bingen and Nicholas Culpeper, all involved in the compilation of the greatest information regarding herbal healing at that time.
From the introduction of the herbal healing, some plants and herbs, throughout the centuries, have shared both a pagan and Christian association. One of the supports for this fact is the herb known as Hypericum perforatum, which blooms during the summer solstice and it is considered that its flowers were burnt in worship of the sun god. Due to the Christian Church’s June 21 which was elected to St. John’s Day, the particular plant became renowned by the name St. John’s wort.
In the ancient times, herbal healing especially the healing by sorcery was then greatly considered as deceitful. It fact, such kind of herbal healing was considered a civil crime under the Roman law. There were many cases of fraud that surface during that time, however, the herbal healing laws were never really strictly enforced due to the fact that the people never gave up their local herbal healing practice, so as their herbal healers. Nevertheless, the early church saw this as a great chance to dishonor the popular healers, so it remains as such over into the Renaissance and Reformation periods when herbal healing was considered as “white witchcraft”.
But then many current neo-pagans still consider their herbal healing practice as coming from the Divine. So, many of their herbal healing tactics have been passed down through generations. The herbal healing of the neo-pagans then greatly encouraged the combination of the Eastern and Western herbal healing tactics, and it’s no wonder that the Chinese have been adept herbal healer for many centuries. The herbal healing practice greatly remains popular up to these days that some of the people worldwide even grow and harvest their own herbal plants for some medicinal purposes.
