inherent healing properties of the substance itself – St John’s wort is recognized for its sedative and analgesic properties, and valued for combating hysterical conditions and menopausal neurosis’3 for example, while garlic is now well known for its bactericidal and anti-infectious qualities. Many aromatic plants were ascribed special powers in this way based on direct experimentation, observation about the manner in which they grew, their healing potential and the effect of their fragrance. In Scandinavia, for instance, it was common until very recently to carry a lump of crude camphor as a protective measure during times of infectious illness, based on knowledge of its prophylactic powers.
However, the overall effectiveness of this type of ritual practice depends largely on the power of suggestion and the positive psychological attitude of the participants. One of the main premises underlying the magic art is the ‘law of sympathy’, i.e. the relationship between intention and manifestation, mind and matter. In this type of healing system, actions performed on a symbolic level in a ritual context are then brought about in actuality through a sympathetic response. Success is thus largely due to what in modern terminology is called the ‘placebo effect’.
In so far as these magic arts produce physiological and remedial effects, which they undoubtedly do, they might be classified under the head of psychic or mind medicine, the mental state aroused by a firm belief in their efficacy causing modifications of physiological function and even tissue change.4
The idea of healing through ‘magic’ or due to a ‘placebo effect’ tends to carry a negative connotation today – as if some kind of ‘sham’ or ‘quackery’ has taken place. Yet the power of belief has always been, and still is to a very large extent, a key factor in all healing systems (including modern allopathic medicine), and above all signifies the supremacy of mind over matter. Seen in this light, the cultivation of a positive mental attitude can be recognized as possibly the paramount factor in any healing process and consequently something to be emphasized rather then downgraded.
Ancient cultures considered that the psychological and spiritual disposition of a person was of vital importance to their well-being, not only as an individual but also with regard to their role within society. Restoration, achieved through the integration of individual and group, and the acknowledgement of a common causality for man and nature, was the foundation for all folk healing systems. Ill-health could not be treated simply through physical means – the specific mental and spiritual disposition of the individual also had to be taken into account. So herbs and aromatics were highly valued in these cultures not only as physical remedies but also for their positive psychic effects and rich symbolism.
AROMATIC REMEDIES IN ANCIENT CIVILIZATIONS
His nose he anoints and thinks it plain
’tis good for health with scents to feed the brain.5
The sacred dimension of the healing arts remained strong for thousands of years, as long as the interrelatedness of the body, mind and spirit was understood. Not only was this attitude dominant through the ancient civilizations of Mesopotamia, Egypt, Babylon and Greece, it was also prevalent in the Far East and in the West until the Middle Ages.
One of the earliest civilizations to develop a high degree of refinement was Mesopotamia, in the Near East around 3500 BC, whose most prominent city-state was Sumer. The Sumerian legacy to the healing arts has been especially profound and enduring. The oldest medical text in existence is recorded on two clay tablets from the Sumerian period.
Early Sumerian society was based on matriarchal principles, and the Mesopotamian goddess Ninlil was revered as protector of plants, crops, fertility, birth and death. Initially women had an important role in the healing arts and were included in all aspects of medical practice. There were two categories of practitioners: the Ashipu and the Asu. The former worked in the invisible or magical realm as a shamanic type of healer; the latter were versed in the botanical prescriptions used primarily to influence physical health. Aromatics featured largely in their culture and a clay pot that was possibly used for the distillation of plant essences has been found in a grave site dating back to 5500 BC. Gradually the Sumerians’ knowledge and theories of medicine were carried via trade routes to the Phoenicians, Egyptians and Greeks. In this way, their civilization sent forth fingers of myth and culture into the surrounding regions which dominated the heritage of the Western world.
Egyptian medicine also dates back to prehistoric times and was supposed to have originated with the mythological deities of the country, notably Thoth, Osiris, Isis, Horus and Imhotep. It was practised largely by the priests and priestesses of these divinities, and consequently the preparation of remedies was generally accompanied by incantations and evocations. The ancient Egyptians were especially skilled in pharmacy, which is said to have been transmitted originally by the goddess Isis to her son Horus, who then communicated it to the priesthood. The ‘Hermetic’ medical books, having been given out by the god Thoth, came to be regarded as sacred, and any deviation from their rules as sacrilege. In the process of time, specialist healers developed who were knowledgeable about specific types of disease and their manner of treatment.
One of the earliest medical works on materia medica, pharmacy and therapeutics is the Egyptian Papyrus Ebers manuscript, discovered near Thebes in 1872. Written about 1,552 BC in the time of Moses and before the exodus of the Israelites from Egypt, it contains numerous formulae for compounding various remedies and their methods of use. Saffron was employed as a condiment and perfume material; galbanum was used as an incense material; eagle wood was also used as an incense and for embalming the dead; cannabis or Indian hemp was used as a sedative and for its narcotic effect; mastic was much used for fumigation purposes, as were frankincense and myrtle.
Fumigation with fragrant herbs was one of the principal remedial and preventative measures in the treatment of disease used by the ancient Egyptians, Babylonians and Hebrews. Other aromatics which were common to all these cultures were myrrh, cumin, coriander, cyperus and balm of gilead.
Medicine was, however, still bound up with magical practices and most cures required a combination of physical remedies, spells and prayers. An ancient Babylonian tablet contains the following incantation for fever:
The sick man … thou shalt place
… thou shalt cover his face
Burn cypress and herbs …
That the great Gods may remove the evil
That the evil spirit may stand aside
… may a kindly spirit, a kindly genius be present.6
Spices and herbs were thus seen not only as physical remedies but also as ‘charms’ or ‘magical drugs’ which could influence the mental disposition of the patient and provide a mediating element through which a psychic healing could take place.
This was especially true of the ancient Greek cult of Asclepius. Like the Egyptian legacy, the primitive period of Greek medicine was part mythical, part historical. It begins with Melampus (c.1400 BC) and ends with Hippocrates (c.460 BC), but the most prominent figure during this period was Asclepius, reputed son of Apollo and Coronis. As the god of medicine he was worshipped by the Greeks and Romans alike, yet it is likely that his character was founded on that of an actual healer. The cult of Asclepius, which was centred around Epidaurus, combined magical or primitive therapeutic methods, such as the use of incantations, offerings and exorcisms, with an
