Southern Folk Medicine

by Phyllis D. Light

  As commonly drawn for the last fifty years, the Man of Signs stands naked with outstretched arms and legs. In some drawings, his bowels are exposed, but in others they are not. Lines are drawn from twelve different body parts to symbols around the body. The origin of this concept began in ancient Babylonia and was further developed by the Greeks. Christian mystics adopted the concept of “signs in the heavens,” and it gained much traction with medieval astrologers and became a popular concept. Nicholas Culpeper (1616–1654) wrote a most complete application of the concept in Astrological Judgement of Diseases from the Decumbiture of the Sick (1655), which is also a treasure drove of herbal information. According to Culpeper, “There is a sympathy between Celestiall and Terestriall bodyes which will easily appear if we consider that the whole creation is one entire and united body, composed by the power of an Allwise God of a composition of discords. Also there is friendship and hatred between one sign of the zodiac and another, for fiery signs are contrary to watry and nocturnall to diurnall, etc.”

  Almanac Man or the Man of Signs divides the body into regions, beginning at the head and working down to the feet. Each region is governed or influenced by an astrological sign. Here’s the basic breakdown found in the almanac; a more in-depth version is often used by herbalists and health astrologers.

  Head—Aries, which rules fevers, inflammation, sinus problems, metabolism, and muscular strength and speed.

  Neck—Taurus rules the thyroid, sugar metabolism, beauty of hair, skin, and eyes, and lymph nodes.

  Arms—Gemini rules the lungs, trachea, bronchial tubes, arms, hands, shoulders, fingers, and the sympathetic nervous system.

  Breasts—Cancer rules the chest, breasts, stomach, esophagus, diaphragm, and the left side of the body.

  Heart—Leo rules the heart, upper back, spine, spinal cord, and the thymus gland.

  Abdomen—Virgo rules the intestines, solar plexus, and abdomen, as well as the parasympathetic nervous system.

  Reins—Libra rules the kidneys, adrenal glands, skin, and the lower back.

  Secrets—Scorpio rules the bladder, urethra, reproductive system, colon, and sweat glands.

  Thighs—Sagittarius rules the hips and thighs, the sciatic nerve, and the liver.

  Knees—Capricorn rules the bones, joints, and connective tissue, as well as the knees, hair, nails, and teeth.

  Legs—Aquarius rules the blood circulation and the internal oxidation process, the calves and ankles, and the valves of the heart.

  Feet—Pisces rules diseases that are difficult to diagnose or cure, the feet and toes, as well as the spleen and the lymphatic system.

  Catfish Grey, an Appalachian herb doctor from West Virginia, used folk astrology to understand certain kinds of illnesses. Catfish believed that, based on astrology, people are susceptible to “two-way viruses” (colds, flu, measles, mumps, chickenpox) in cycles. Every twenty-eight days a person's astrological sign “comes due,” and that person will be particularly susceptible to an infection for a period of about two days (the time the moon stays in a sign).

  Different parts of the body can also be more vulnerable to injury depending on a person’s sign. For example, a Sagittarius might be more prone to hip or thigh injury when the moon is in the sign of the thighs (Sagittarius). To continue the analogy, when the moon is in the corresponding sign, an Aries might be more susceptible to head colds, headaches, and sinus infections; a Libra to kidney infections or cystitis; a Pisces to swelling in the feet; an Aquarius to tight calf muscles and nerve pain; and a Leo to heart palpitations.

  The signs are also used for the planting and harvesting of crops. In general, fire and air signs are barren—Gemini, Leo, and Virgo are the most barren, followed by Aries, Sagittarius, and Aquarius. Earth and water are considered the most fertile signs—Cancer, Scorpio, and Pisces are considered the most fruitful, followed by Libra, Taurus, and Capricorn. This is generalized and there are exceptions. For instance, the earth sign Virgo is considered barren, while the air sign Libra is considered fruitful.

  Some general advice for the planter: Never plant on the first day of the new moon or when the moon is changing quarters. Plant above-ground crops in the first quarter, plant crops that vine or grow close to the ground in the second quarter, and plant root crops in the third quarter. Plant above-ground crops in the waxing or growing moon and below-ground crops in the waning or decreasing moon.

  Folk astrology is alive and well, and there seems to be a renewed interest in planting by the signs. The Old Farmer’s Almanac, which has been in continuous publication since 1818, sells about four million copies each year and is often quoted in my area, especially the weather predictions. I’ll close this chapter with a quote from a song by Randy Travis, “The Family Bible and the Farmer’s Almanac,” writing about his grandfather and the two books he believed in most: “Words to live and die by front to back, the family Bible and the farmer's almanac.”

  Chapter Six

  Tenets of Southern Folk Medicine

  For in the true nature of things, if we rightly consider, every green tree is far more glorious than if it were made of gold and silver.

  —Martin Luther

  It was the giant white oak that drew her to that particular acre of land. It was a family tree with branches spreading wide across the yard, a huge trunk reaching toward the sky. Huge roots pushed above the ground and then plunged deep within the Earth. It was the tree that first attracted her to the piece of land but there was also a well.

  There had once been a house next to the well, but the youngest child of the previous owners had fallen in and drowned, and then the house caught on fire and burned to the ground. They just didn’t have the heart to rebuild and so had moved on, leaving the land to return to pasture and weeds, except, of course, for the massive oak. There was another tree on the property, a hickory, but it was half rotten and slightly leaning. But it was the oak tree that drew her, and that’s how Mama found the land. She knew about the child dying in the well, but that didn’t stop her from wanting the acre as she didn’t consider herself the superstitious sort. The well water was clean, there was plenty of room to build a house, and there was a huge garden spot with rich soil for planting. And then, there was the tree.

  So, she worked hard in the cotton fields saving her money. She hoed, chopped, weeded, and thinned the cotton. And later in the fall, when the boles were wide-open and white as snow, she picked and pulled until her gloves were shredded and her hands were too. She managed to save every penny from her hard, sweaty work. She saved $500 cash, enough to buy the piece of land. A whole acre—she was now a landowner.

  With an acre homestead outright owned, Mama then had the collateral to purchase a Jim Walter home, a shell house. The Jim Walter company completed the outside of the home watertight but left it up to the customer to finish the inside themselves. No corners were straight and the ceilings were low, no plumbing, no electricity, and no inside walls except for studs, but it provided a dry place to live in the meantime. This was the state of the construction when we moved in. She wouldn’t fully complete the house until many years later when all the children were grown and gone from home. There wouldn’t be enough money until then.

  The oak tree is massive, a giant among trees, a Family Tree. At the smallest part of the lower trunk, the tree measures nineteen feet around. The branches reach across 116 feet of the front yard, providing shade to the house and across the road on the other side. We didn’t have the luxury of air conditioning, but under its canopy we shelled peas, shucked corn, ate meals, cooled off, held family reunions, hosted visitors, and watched the traffic go by. It was an extension of the house, and the yard under the tree was kept as neat as any other room with extensive mowing and raking.

  The lower branches are so wide that you can walk across them, but a ladder is required to even reach the first branch. Much of my childhood was spent under that tree playing games, reading, riding my bike, working, and sometimes just being. I wrapped my arms across the trunk
and cried when my father died, pouring my grief and sadness into its stout form. I sat on its exposed roots, leaned back against the trunk and told the tale of my divorce to a nonjudgmental and willing ear. I’ve felt the depth of its roots and the beating of its core, its heartwood, and I couldn’t tell the difference in our heartbeats. I’ve slept at its base and entered the doorway of another world. And the tree took it all.

  It is the center of the world, a perfectly shaped Tree of Life, beautifully illustrating the connection between the Underworld and Heaven. It is clearly a symbol of earth and air. It is the tree that stood in the garden, its leaves for the healing of the nations. It is a symbol of resurrection, losing its leaves in the fall as the sap moves to the core and sprouting them anew in the spring as the sap rises and moves outward. In Southern Folk Medicine, our bodies are like the tree. In the winter, our blood thickens and moves inward to our core, keeping the vital organs warm and protected. And in the spring, our blood thins and moves outward, bringing life back to our extremities, just as the sap rises to the branches.

  A host of indigenous peoples have legends of the Tree of Life. In Ireland, every clan had a mother tree, an oak, under which chieftains were appointed and gatherings were held. The Celts believed that the soul of every person was tied to the soul of a tree. The Romans, and later the Catholic Church, destroyed many oak groves on the British Isles because they were sacred to the Druids. African legends hold that the first man and woman were carved from a tree. The Cherokee built the sacred fire from oak, and burning twigs were offered to each direction. And who can forget that Tolkien’s Ents, man-like tree herders, symbolize the talking trees found in many cultures around the world.

  In Appalachia, a tree was often planted at the birth of a child; this was known as the birth tree. The tree and the child were linked, and as long as the tree was healthy, the person stayed healthy. The clothes of a sickly child could be hung on a stout tree to make the child better, and, in this way, some of the tree’s strength was imparted to the sick one. Sometimes rags were tied to these trees and they were considered spiritual places where magic could still be found. And there were also bottle trees, so named because bottles were tied upside-down to tree branches to catch evil spirits.

  My family tree has many, many branches. Hundreds at least. My sister Brenda is the historian who has followed these branches from one country to the next. Some branches are as strong as the trunk of a tree and some are much smaller, reflecting continued growth in a new direction. I like to think of those branches as bits and pieces of our lives as a family. From my Daddy and his branches, I learned about the herbs and plants in the woods, how to read animal tracks, how to watch for snakes, how to throw a knife, how to read the Signs, how to let wild things be wild, and how to wander. And I am ever grateful for the traditional healing knowledge that he and my grandparents carried across the generations.

  From my Mama, I learned about hard work, how to keep a clean house, how to raise a garden and preserve food, how to take care of kids, how to read dreams, how to tame wild things, how to pray, and the importance of roots. She loved that piece of land with all her heart and didn’t leave it until the day she died.

  We are the seeds that carry forth. We embody the gifts, thoughts, and history of those who came before us, and we will pass the information to the branches that come after. Within us is the sap of generations of people who lived and loved and passed on their knowledge and traditions in ways that we may not comprehend at the moment, but which become clearer with time. So let your branches grow stronger, lift your leaves to the heavens, and stand rooted in your beliefs.

  The Tenets of Southern Folk Medicine

  According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, a tenet is a principle, belief, or doctrine generally held to be true; especially: one held in common by members of an organization, movement, or profession. Basically, as pertaining to Southern Folk Medicine, the tenets are the principles upon which the practices are based. Please keep in mind that this is a metaphorical language, but that does not in any way detract from its truth.

  1. Fluids move around the body like the sap in a tree.

  In Southern and Appalachian Folk Medicine, the body is likened to a tree, and fluids move around the body like the sap in a tree. In the cold of the winter when the days get shorter, the sap falls and moves from the peripheral limbs to the branches and down into the trunk. Likewise, in the human body, the blood vessels constrict and blood flow to the surface of the skin is restricted. The constriction shifts circulatory patterns from the capillaries to the arterioles. This increases the work of the heart and will raise the resting pulse. As the weather gets increasingly colder, blood flow is restricted to the peripheral limbs and pulls inward to protect the core of the body and to warm the vital organs. The reduction in blood volume may also increase blood pressure, causing high blood until the body adjusts. The body tries to compensate by increasing fluid loss with increased urination, which is why you want to pee when you get really cold. As the weather gets even colder, the body will alternately constrict and expand the capillaries to the skin’s surface to keep it healthy while maintaining a core temperature until the season change.

  As the days get longer and the weather gets warmer, the sap rises, moving up the trunk to the limbs, then to the branches and young twigs. Likewise, in the human body, the blood moves outward from the arterioles into the capillaries, reinvigorating and awakening the body. At the same time, the vessels dilate and increase blood flow to the surface of the skin in order to disperse heat. Initially, the dilation will cause low blood, but as the heart works harder to manage the increased circulation required to disperse heat, high blood may result in a rise in pressure. You may have experienced this feeling by getting so hot that you feel the pulse throbbing in your temples. The blood is high, the body is working hard to disperse the heat, and the throbbing in your head is warning for you to slow down and cool off. Sometimes a person will experience low blood during the day and high blood at night as the temperature changes from hot to less hot. In the spring, the pulse moves toward the surface and has a more wiry feel. It is important to stay hydrated to reduce strain on the heart.

  In the winter, the goal is to keep the vital internal organs protected and warm and the brain active. In the summer, it’s the opposite. The goal is to keep the vital organs and the brain cool and functioning at peak efficiency. If the temperature is too cold, it’s hard to think. If the temperature is too hot, it’s hard to think. In hot weather, the blood must disperse the heat from the internal organs and keep the vital organs cool. The head increases sweating and heat loss to keep the brain cool. In the heat of the summer, the pulse is on the surface and very strong. In hot weather, dehydration can also increase heat and increase pulse, and cause heat stroke, sun sickness, and stroke.

  Impurities or pathogens the body has been harboring over the winter can rise with the coming of the spring. Summer or fall illnesses can be contained over the winter when the blood is thick and then “come up” or manifest in the spring when the blood begins to move again. Spring cleansing of the body is an important aspect of Southern Folk Medicine, helping thin the blood and get it ready for summer and helping remove any pathogens or impurities that have over-wintered.

  Blood-purifying spring tonics include sassafras tea, red clover, prickly ash, yellow dock, plantain, burdock, chickweed, yellow root, Oregon grape root, sarsaparilla, echinacea, garlic, young poke greens, and various herbal laxatives.

  Like leaves on the trees, which change their angle to the sun and sweat to keep cool, we humans must do the same. As long as you are sweating, body heat is dispersing. The dangerous situation occurs when the sweating mechanism shuts off.

  2. Observation of the fluids of the body and their movement provide a measurement of the state of the health of body.

  The important fluids of the body are blood, lymph, mucus, bile, sweat, tears, and feces. These are the fluids excreted from the body that are the most observable. You cut yours
elf and you bleed. You eliminate urine and feces. You scrape your skin and it weeps lymph. You vomit and vomit until there is nothing but bile. You get a cold and blow out mucus. The observation of these fluids in Southern Folk Medicine is obviously due to the influence of the Greek humoral system so prevalent in Europe, the Middle East, and North Africa at the time of the settlement of the New World.

  These fluids and their movement around the body are critical for health. While the state of the blood is considered the most obvious and important indicator of health in Southern Folk Medicine, as it is in modern medicine, the other fluids are also important. Let’s take a quick look at each of them.

  Blood is the river of life. It supplies essential substances and nutrients, such as glucose, oxygen, infection fighters, and hormones to our cells. It then carries waste such as carbon dioxide, urea, and lactic acid away from those cells. Eventually, this waste is released from the body through the organs of elimination as urine, feces, sweat, and carbon dioxide. It’s a pretty simple but effective method. Blood also helps regulate our body temperature. During strenuous exercise, very warm weather, physically demanding work, or fever, there is increased blood flow to the surface of the skin. The skin feels warm, may turn red, and there is faster heat loss. When the climate turns cold, the blood flow shifts in order to protect the important organs deep inside the body.

  Herbs that move the blood include American ginseng, black cohosh, cayenne, red root, hawthorn, safflower, peach leaf, blueberry or huckleberry leaves, willow bark, red clover, fenugreek, prickly ash, and garlic.