doctrine of signatures

[Tanya Marquette]

Here's some thought to aggravate some of you. I did a short study several years ago with an herbalist who spoke at length on the subject of DOS. Her premise was that it was through DOS that early healers learned the value of natural substances. But unlike the heady and intellectual approach to learning that is stressed today and that so many people hold to so dearly and exclusively, this woman spoke to using all our faculties to perceive the plant. This included meditative connection. I was totally amazed at how accurate people were in interpreting the medicinal value of a variety of plants which they knew nothing about prior to the exercise that we participated in.

Eileen Nauman, who does a lot of essence provings, also stresses observation in a full and total way. I have observed, through an internet discussion group, a number of essence provings where she will collect a number of observations from people about a plant. At some point she will conduct a blind proving of a tincture of a plant and collect the symptoms. There is good matching. I believe she is planning a book on her essence provings. She has also lectured on this subject.

I dont think anyone is saying that DOS is the way to chosing a remedy, but I dont think the process is a 'wrong' one as part of learning about a remedy. And I do believe that DOS has been utilized in chosing material to investigate in homeopathic provings.

tanya