Book Review Graphic The Energetics of Western Herbs
An Herbal Reference Integrating western and Oriental Herbal Medicine Traditions
Volumes 1 and 2
by Peter Holmes
Snow Lotus Press, 1994,
ISBN 0-9623477-3-6 (Vol 1)
ISBN 0-9623477-4-4 (Vol 2)

reviewed by Mary Kay Ryan


Practitioners of Chinese medicine in the west stand in multifarious relationships to Western herbal medicine. Some of us were trained in western herbology before entering TCM training. For this group a dilemma may be integrating two systems with very different diagnostic paradigms. Some TCM practitioners, however, know virtually nothing about western herbalism. This can be a common but uncomfortable position for those who would like a closer relationship to the medicinal plants they use since the use of Chinese herbs virtually precludes growing and processing one's own medicinal substances. Many practitioners are at a loss as to how to integrate indigenous plants into their practice thereby "re-rooting" medicine into the locale of the patients.

The Energetics of Western Herbs by Peter Holmes is a godsend for any of these dilemmas or merely for those who practice Chinese medicine but would like to be more conversant with their colleagues who practice western herbalism. To be sure, this is not the first attempt to discuss western herbal medicine with reference to an energetic paradigm. (1) It is, however, a magnum opus and has been lauded for its creativity, depth of scholarship and innovative approach to the subject. The two volume work is divided into two parts. Part I is essentially a lengthy essay explaining the purposes, approach, and methodology of the book. Holmes compares and contrasts the various paradigms of herbal medicine which are to be used to classify the substances. The discussion is wide-ranging and stimulating, touching on the similarities and difference between traditional Greek (Galenic) and Chinese herbal medical approaches; the practical uses of the analytical (modern) approach and the traditional (energetic) one as well as addressing the ways in which a variety of other traditions have understood herbal medicine and the relevance to understanding it today.

Part II is the materia medica which covers some 224 botanical remedies. This is divided into 24 therapeutic categories which, without slavishly reproducing the categories of a traditional Asian materia medica will certainly seem familiar to practitioners of Chinese medicine. There are, for instance, herbs for elimination which include those which promote sweating and dispel wind heat or cold; those which promote urination and drain fluid; those which promote expectoration and treat cough; and so on. "Herbs for restoring" use terminology even more familiar and are divided into those that tonify qi, blood, yin, and yang, as well as astringent herbs. "Herbs for draining" include those that circulate qi, clear heat, and those that vitalize the blood.

The body of the work, then, is divided in ways that make it readily discernible and accessible to a practitioner of Chinese medicine. But what of the content? How does Holmes determine the "energetics of western herbs" and in doing so does he arrive at reasonable conclusions? The real answer to this lies in the methodology and scholarship of the book, but one can also rest assured that Holmes is no newcomer to Chinese medicine, having studied and practiced Asian medicine for the last 20 years. But to this and years of clinical study he also brings a familiarity with the in-depth study needed for an undertaking such as this.

His expertise before coming to the field of medicine was in ancient languages including French, Cerman, Greek, and Latin, which knowledge he used extensively in examining original sources to ascertain the qualities of the substance covered in this book. Names are followed by the "nature" of each entry. This simple and concise presentation provides a wealth of information about the substance. Herbs are listed according to their "category," which here means relative strength (mild, medium, strong); their biochemical constituents; and their effective qualities (taste, temperature, and effects). The "tropism" of the substance gives three ways to understand what body system or part is affected by the herb (the organs, tissues, body parts in a western sense, and the chakras, channels and organs of Asian medicine). Also included are the Ayurvedic tri dosa and the Greek four oganisms, alternate ways to understand what precise "elements" of the body are affected. Less familiar, more esoteric but also intriguing to both TCM and western herbalists will be the listing according to "ground." This attempts to combine a variety of complex sources (Greek krases, Chinese and Western constitutional types, and "constitution" according to western vitalistic medicine) to arrive at the constitutional types represented by and most affected by the substance. "Functions and Indications" return TCM practitioners to familiar ground listing the actual uses of the substance in a form much like the Bensky Gamble materia medica.

For Western herbal practitioners this may be an unfamiliar but perhaps welcome way to list functions rather than more standard western material medicas which seem (to TCM practitioners in any case) to include interminable lists of indications with very little way to distinguish them into intelligible clinical categories. This is followed by notes as to preparation, dosage, and cautions.

A short essay called "notes" ends each entry and serves to give depth, color, and texture to the substance by fleshing out the categorical information with historical anecdotes, general commentary, clinical applications and, most important for practitioners of Chinese medicine, more detailed information as to how the herb relates to Chinese medical therapeutics categories. All of the components of these entries are thoroughly explained in the introduction. Holmes manages to compact this wealth of information into an average entry of about two pages for each substance. I found myself having a different kind of experience reading this work than I have ever had perusing a materia medica. Usually I relate to such books as indispensable reference material rather than as inspiring or recreational reading. Although Holmes' work is certainly extremely useful in the practical sense, it is also interesting, imaginative and opened up a path through a garden of living plants which made me want to wander through, stopping here and there to examine, sample, and enjoy.

Note
1. The two most notable and impressive examples to date are probably Simon Mills, Out of the Earth, Viking Arkana, 1991; Michael Tierra, Planetary Medicine, Lotus Press, 1988; and The Way of Herbs, Pocket Books, 1990.

Book Cover

Mary Kay Ryan Dipl.Ac., is one of the founders of the Northside HIV Clinic in Chicago. She currently maintains a private practice in Chicago.

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