Articles
The Body in Autumn

Thymeless Thoughts:
The Theraputic Attributes of Herbs for Autumn
by Barbara Tanner Douglass

As creatures on this earth, our magnificent bodies also spend the autumn naturally cleansing and rebuilding many of the internal organs that cleanse the body. Lungs, kidneys, colon, spleen and bladder renew themselves, whether we consciously recognize the process or not.

Building and cleansing is a novel health care concept for many as most of us were raised on the disease/cure principle of allopathic medicine. Personified by many of those with the initials M.D. after their name, allopathic medicine divides the body into various systems, providing specialists in various body parts. And so we have cardiologists for the heart, ophthalmologists for the eyes and even those doctors who specialize in particular diseases, such as oncologists. Allopaths often refer to the “diabetic in room 314” or the “gall bladder in 207”, a convenient shorthand for discussing a patient that, good intentions aside, serves to label people with a particular pathology, focusing on symptoms and the manifestations of disease.

Those who worked with herbs throughout the millennia focused on maintaining health, a vastly different concept and approach. Whether it was the town wise-woman, a shaman or healer, those who treated with herbs considered the whole person. They took into account the emotions, mental state, lifestyle and last, the physical body, often taking days to decide how to best assist a client. They helped people to keep their health by nourishing their beings on all levels and used methods that encouraged building and cleansing the body, which in turn effects change in people’s emotions and mental clarity. Helping to assist lifestyle changes, they also worked with the body and assisted it through its natural changes and cycles. By helping the body build and cleanse various organs and systems regularly, many traumas and human dis-eases were often avoided or minimized.

There is a natural yearly cycle that each person and body follows in renewing itself. Many religious practices coincide with annual body cleanses, such as the fasting over Yom Kippur. Traditional Chinese doctors, among others, have documented the natural cycle of building and cleansing familiar in many ancient cultures. We discover, if not by our own experience, from those who came before us, the cycle of the body’s cleansing and restoration.

Many people today want to begin using herbs, yet they persist in following the allopathic mode of thought. Using disease and cure as a principle, they choose this herb to ‘cure’ this condition or disease, rather than nourishing the whole person and working with herbs to build and cleanse the body. Herbs do not cure, they assist the body to build, cleanse and heal itself.

It is interesting that many elimination organs cleanse during autumn, ridding accumulated toxins from the body so the immune system is not bogged down with toxins as the colder winter season approaches. When the internal organs are cleansed, the immune system is able to assist the body resist outside invaders throughout the season. Eliminating the accumulated toxic sludge from the body frees people so that all parts of them are more able to creatively express the songs of their souls with unlimited love, peace, joy and balance. Using herbs to nourish the internal cleansing organs also assists in aligning with the Fall Equinox, allowing an easier energy flow through a clean body, peaceful mind and balanced emotional state.

The first phases of Libra find herb enthusiasts assisting their spleens through the annual cleansing and restoring cycle. Many blood-cleansing herbs help the spleen with its job of processing the blood. These herbs include red clover blossoms, parsley leaves, burdock root, barley grass juice, uva ursi, watercress and elder flowers and berries, sometimes called by the botanical name, Sambucus nigra. Some people choose one herb to cleanse, some like a combination, and others simply increase blood-cleansing and nourishing foods in the diet, such as watercress and parsley.

During the fall season, the blood cleanser I most often use is Echinacea angustifolia or E. purpurea roots. Many people know echinacea as an herb (sometimes paired with astragalus) to rid them of toxins when feeling the onset of cold or flu symptoms. I love it in autumn as it cleanses my blood and lymphatic system and prepares, nourishes and enhances my immune system for the winter cycle. I use it for two weeks, then take a break for a week, finding it works best if used in short spurts rather than over a prolonged period of time.

I lately have learned from Johanna Paungger and Thomas Poppe in their book, Moon Time, that all things are better absorbed by the body during the two-week period when the Moon is moving from New to Full. The body absorbs less ably from Full to New Moon, so if I take a few days’ rest from herbs, it happens during that time. Regardless of what the bottle label indicates, I always begin with one capsule, or a minimum amount of any herb, increasing the amount as my body becomes used to the new food.

The moderate path allows for gentle cleansing. I find echinacea capsules work best for cleansing my spleen, blood and lymphatic system and prefer the extract for use at the onset of less- than-desirable body conditions, such as the aforementioned cold and flu symptoms.

As Libra progresses, old herbals speak of nourishing and cleansing the lungs. Many people use fenugreek to dissolve any mucus residing there and marshmallow to soothe lung tissues as they head into the cold season. Some people cough up a bit of mucus as the fenugreek dissolves and releases it from the lungs, so most of us keep tissues with us while cleansing, just in case. The use of echinacea or elderberry in Libra plus the Libra/Scorpio lung herbs greatly enhances the immune system. Many who work with herbs also condition their minds to ignore the myriad television commercials during the autumn advising that the flu and cold season has arrived. My body and self easily flow and align with the new season is an affirmation I often use.

Scorpio, the noble sewer-system sign of the zodiac, also finds the large intestine cleansing. Some people increase fiber at this time, to sweep out those old Hostess cupcakes still sitting around in the colon. Psyllium hulls, oat bran and apple fiber are traditional herbs that may assist colon cleansing. Today, many health food stores stock ground fiber mixes for this purpose. According to those who adopt this approach, it is important to maintain a high water intake during the time extra fiber is taken. With adequate water, fiber may eliminate many toxins and much sludge from the colon.

A friend of mine drinks a gallon of organic apple cider over a three day period during Scorpio, while maintaining her daily half gallon of water intake. This releases hidden mucus from the colon as the malic acid in the apples dissolves it. Since apples ripen in the fall, organic cider is easy to find during this season. A mindful woman, she drinks the cider during a long weekend at home, not the day she takes a long car trip. When we cleanse, things move out of the system.

The Sagittarius cycle encompasses the kidney and bladder cleanse, so Native Americans would add uva ursi to their regimens and perhaps some juniper berries which, amazingly, ripen just before the urinary cleansing season. This earth is so wondrous in its synchronicity. Native lore suggests juniper be taken in a combination of herbs, as juniper taken alone is hard on the kidneys. The acid in cranberries can also be helpful for the urinary system, so some people increase cranberry juice intake during the Sagittarius days. I prefer cranberry juice sweetened with pear juice, not sugar or corn syrup. A week or two using these herbs may be of great assistance to the system.

Since internal cleansing requires a great deal of energy, it makes good sense to use building herbs throughout the autumn. Cleansing herbs need to be balanced with building herbs lest needed vitamins and minerals be lost during the cleansing. With all of this great cleansing and nourishing, the holistic herbal approach includes observing the thoughts that pass through the mind. It is helpful to affirm something such as I am willing and ready to release thoughts, fears and memories I no longer need, as cleansing of the body precipitates cleansing on all levels of self. An affirmation or two eases the releasing process and alerts one to the odd thoughts and emotions surfacing, encouraging the awareness that the thoughts, fears and old memories that surface are a part of the cleansing process. In this way, thoughts and memories may be consciously released from the system one last time.

With all of these wonderful herbs nourishing and cleansing my body, I will approach the holiday season in a more balanced, peaceful state and be ready for the annual rebirth of the Christ within me. I have shared this information with you as it pertains to health and the wholeness of self. All of the herbs mentioned should be researched if you choose to prescribe for yourself, as is your Constitutional right.

Of the many resources available, people often choose Louise Tenney’s books including Today’s Herbal Health; Mark Pederson’s Nutritional Herbology; Michael Murray’s The Healing Power of Herbs; Prescription for Nutritional Healing by James and Phyllis Balch; Women’s Bodies, Women’s Wisdom by Christiane Northrup or titles by Andrew Weil.

A plethora of choices enable herbs to be ingested as teas, in capsules, as extracts or one can eat them fresh as whole foods. Externally, herbs may be used in essential oil form, often called aromatherapy.

I am so grateful for the many, many gifts of the Mother Earth. Although it does require effort to be informed about herbs (as with all things), that effort is amply rewarded with increased awareness, responsibility and control regarding one’s own body and health. I feel blessed that my enthusiasm, my herb reading, research and use of herbs keeps me in great health. Healthy blessings to you on your path.

© 2002 Barbara ET Douglass
All Rights Reserved

[Note: The information given here does not directly or indirectly constitute medical advice. Any disease problems should be directed to a qualified health care practitioner. Neither the author nor the publishers assume any liability for your personal choices or actions.]