Panacea from Doctrine of Signatures

Dr Abe V Rotor

Living with Nature School on Blog

"I swear, calling upon Apollo the physician and Asclepius, Hygeia and Panaceia and all the gods and goddesses as witnesses, that I will fulfill this oath and this contract according to my ability and judgment."

                                                             --   .Opening of the Hippocratic Oath*

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Panacea (Greek Πανάκεια, Panakeia) in Greek mythology was a goddess of universal remedy who brought about the concept of the panacea in medicine, a substance meant to cure all diseases. Figuratively, the term is also used  in solving a huge problem. 

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 Panacea (center) administering medicine to a baby .

Examples of Panacea medicine  laid down the foundation of the Doctrine of Signature which became popular in Medieval Times or the Dark Ages. This is used in folk medicine even today. Snakes will make you aggressive, its poison will shield your body from disease, harm and extreme weather conditions. Cobra is a popular brand of products claimed to restore health. Rhino horn is elixir, it hardens your muscles and extremities. Liverwort (a bryophyte, relative of the moss) cures liver ailment. Ginseng root resembling a nude is aphrodisiac.

I can imagine how lizards and spiders transfer their power to man. I wonder if we get the agility of sharks and eels by eating a lot of them.

Then there is the belief of maternal impressions - pinaglihi-an. We can't explain the origin of looks and abnormalities through maternal impressions as we cannot scientifically attribute well-being to parallelism.

Both Belief in Maternal Impressions and Doctrine of Signatures have long been discarded by modern medicine and science. If however, there are testimonies to the contrary - there are other factors responsible, among them is faith. Faith is the fountain of hope, respect, self-esteem, and reverence to a Higher Principle. ~
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Beware of promo products claiming wide range of healing almost to miracle heights. DOH does not endorse such products - from milk formula to multi-vitamins - as claimed. In fact, many of these are prohibited, but are clandestinely sold under various names. Cases of permanent disabilities and even death are not uncommon, such as the toxic effect of mahogany seeds, and the growth retarding effect of mimosin in ipil-ipil seeds adulterated in coffee. 
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* Hippocratic Oath is an oath historically taken by physicians. It is one of the most widely known of Greek medical texts. In its original form, it requires a new physician to swear, by a number of healing gods, to uphold specific ethical standards. a new physician to swear, by a number of healing gods, to uphold specific ethical standards.