The Untold History of Healing: Plant Lore and Medicinal Magic from the Stone Age to Present

342 Pages·2017·10.1 MB·English

by  Wolf D. Storl

The Untold History of Healing
Also by Wolf D. Storl
Healing Lyme Disease Naturally: History, Analysis, and Treatments
The Herbal Lore of Wise Women and Wortcunners: The Healing Power of
Medicinal Plants Culture and Horticulture: The Classic Guide to Biodynamic
and Organic Gardening A Curious History of Vegetables: Aphrodisiacal and
Healing Properties, Folk Tales, Garden Tips, and Recipes
The Untold History of Healing
Plant Lore and Medicinal Magic from the Stone Age to Present
WOLF D. STORL
North Atlantic Books
Berkeley, California
Copyright © 2017 by Wolf D. Storl. All rights reserved. No portion of this book, except for brief review,
may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—electronic,
mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise—without the written permission of the publisher. For
information contact North Atlantic Books.
Published by
North Atlantic Books
Berkeley, California
Originally published as Ur-Medizin by AT Verlag. Translated from the original German by Annabel
Moynihan.
Cover images © iStockphoto.com/duncan1890, iStockphoto.com/mashuk
Cover design by Bill Zindel
The Untold History of Healing: Plant Lore and Medicinal Magic from the Stone Age to Present is
sponsored and published by the Society for the Study of Native Arts and Sciences (dba North Atlantic
Books), an educational nonprofit based in Berkeley, California, that collaborates with partners to develop
cross-cultural perspectives, nurture holistic views of art, science, the humanities, and healing, and seed
personal and global transformation by publishing work on the relationship of body, spirit, and nature.
North Atlantic Books’ publications are available through most bookstores. For further information, visit our
website at www.northatlanticbooks.com or call 800-733-3000.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Storl, Wolf-Dieter, author. Title: The untold history of healing : plant lore and medicinal magic
from the stone age to present / Wolf D. Storl. Other titles: Uz-Medizin. English
Description: Berkeley, California : North Atlantic Books, [2017] | Includes bibliographical references and
index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2016048623| ISBN 9781623170936 (paperback) | ISBN 9781623170943 (ebook)
Subjects: | MESH: Medicine, Traditional—history | Herbal Medicine—history | History of Medicine
Classification: LCC R733 | NLM WZ 309 | DDC 610—dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/
2016048623
TABLE OF CONTENTS
CHAPTER 1
Traditional European Medicine (TEM)
The Assumed Origin of Medicine
A Modern Myth
The Ecological Embedding of Classical Healing Systems
European Woodland Culture
Great Tradition, Little Tradition
Cultural Convergences
CHAPTER 2
One Cup of Tea, Three Times a Day
The Herbal Tea of the Forest People
Chinese Tea Culture
Herbal Practices in Other Cultures
Fire and Water
Rain and Sun
From the Beer Mug to the Holy Grail
The Daily Cycle
The Cross as a Primal Symbol
CHAPTER 3
Stone Age Roots, Ice Age Medicine
The World of the Paleolithic Big Game Hunters
Healing Plants and Diseases of the Old Stone Age
The Main Circumpolar Healing Herbs
Sweat Lodge and Baking Oven
Emetics and Purgatives
Shamanism
CHAPTER 4
The Healing Lore of Neolithic Farmers
The First Farmers
Witches, Stags, and Forest People
Sedentary Lifestyle and New Diseases
Arable Weeds (Segetal Flora)
Apophytes
Tough Wayside Dwellers
CHAPTER 5
Indo-European Roots
The Appearance of the Nomads of the Steppes
Illness Is a Bad Spell
Agents and Causes of Disease
Healing Gods
Healing Arts
Destroying “Worms”
The Essence of Healing Herbs
Signatures and Signs
Roots and Wortcunners
CHAPTER 6
The Transitional Period and the Christian Middle Ages