The Heart and Its Healing Plants

Preface

Introduction The Heart of the Matter

1 The Heart—Just a Pump?

Heart Remedies of Indigenous Peoples
Heart Ailments in Old European Traditions of Folk Medicine
A Heart Full of Straw ◆ A Worm in the Heart ◆ Nightmares (Demons of the Night) ◆ Nervous Heart ◆ Heart-Stroke, Elf-Stroke

Healing Incantations and Heart Plants
Heart Diseases in Monastic Medicine
Cardiac Remedies in Monastery Gardens

2 The Heart as the Abode of the Soul and an Organ of Perception

Most Definitely More Than Just a Pump
The Heart as the Abode of the Soul ◆ The Language of the Heart Heart

Transplants and Cyborg Hearts
The Heart Remembers ◆ Confused Souls ◆ Artificial Hearts and Xenotransplants ◆ Asuras

Diabolos
The Microcosmic Sun

3 The Heart as the Source of Love and Vitality

The Heart and Eternal love
The Book of Eternity ◆ Cupid’s Arrows ◆ The Love Darts of Kama ◆ St. Valentine’s Day ◆ The Classic Heart Shape ◆ Bewitchment

Spiritus Vitalis—The Heart as the Principle of Life
Vampirism ◆ Harmful Spells, or Black Magic ◆ How Dead Is “Brain-Dead”?

The Heart as the Abode of the Gods
Hanuman’s Heart ◆ The Dance of the Universe Takes Place in the Heart

4 What Makes the Heart Sick?

Answer 1: There Have Always Been Heart Diseases—They Were Just Not Recognized as Such

Answer 2: There Is an Increase in These Diseases Due to Longer Life Expectancy

Answer 3: Denatured Lifestyle
Low-Fat Diets ◆ Eliminating Tobacco, Coffee, and Alcohol ◆ Physical Activity ◆ Reduction of Electrosmog ◆ Can We Live by These Rules?

5 The Heart on the Grindstone

Cultural Factors: Time Perception
In Harmony with Cosmic Rhythms ◆ The Time Machine

Mills and Chronometers
Clockworks ◆ Millwheels ◆ Inquisition of Witches ◆ Can You Feel How Strong Your Heart Is?

6 Traditional Heart Plants

Alpine Lovage (Ligusticum mutellina) ◆ Bear Leek (Allium ursinum) ◆ Bearwort (Meum athamanticum) ◆ Blue Fragrant Violet (Viola odorata) ◆ Bog Star (Parnassia palustris) ◆ Borage (Borago officinalis) ◆ Chamomile (Matricaria chamomilla) ◆ Daisy (Bellis perennis) ◆ Hedge Woundwort (Stachys sylvatica) ◆ Key Flower (Primula veris, P. officinalis) ◆ Lemon Balm (Melissa officinalis) ◆ Linden Tree (Tilia cordata, T. platyphyllos) ◆ Milk Thistle (Silybum marianum, Carduus marianus) ◆ Mullein (Verbascum thapsus) ◆ Oregano (Origanum vulgare) ◆ Raspberry (Rubus idaeus) ◆ Rose (Rosa spp.) ◆ Rosemary (Salvia rosmarinus) ◆ Speedwell (Veronica officinalis) ◆ St. John’s Wort (Hypericum perforatum) ◆ Storksbill (Geranium robertianum) ◆ Strawberry, Wild (Fragaria vesca) ◆ Valerian (Valeriana officinalis) ◆ Vervain (Verbena officinalis) ◆ Woodruff (Asperula odorata, Galium odoratum)

7 Modern Heart Plants

Heart Plants with Cardiac Glycosides
Foxglove (Digitalis purpurea) ◆ Hellebore (Helleborus niger, H. viridis, H. foetidus) ◆ Lily of the Valley (Convallaria majalis) ◆ Oleander (Nerium oleander) ◆ Queen of the Night (Selenicereus grandiflorus) ◆ Spring Pheasant’s Eye (Adonis vernalis) ◆ Squill (Scilla maritima, Urginea maritima) ◆ Wallflower (Erysimum cheiri)

Heart Plants with Alkaloids and Other Active Components
Garlic (Allium sativum) ◆ Hawthorn (Crataegus spp.) ◆ Mistletoe (Viscum album) ◆ Motherwort (Leonurus cardiaca) ◆ Mountain Arnica (Arnica montana) ◆ Periwinkle (Vinca minor) ◆ Scotch Broom (Cytisus scoparius, formerly Sarothamnus scoparius)

Universal Cardiac Phytotherapeutics 263 Arjun Tree (Terminalia arjuna) ◆ Coffee (Coffea arabica) ◆ Ginkgo (Ginkgo biloba) ◆ Indian Snakeroot (Rauvolfia serpentina) ◆ Jiaogulan (Gynostemma pentaphyllum) ◆ Poison Rope (Strophanthus spp.) ◆ Yellow Oleander (Thevetia peruviana) References

Photo Credits

Index

About the Author

Wolf D. Storl, Ph.D., is a cultural anthropologist and ethnobotanist who has taught at Kent State University as well as in Vienna, Berne, and Benares. He is coauthor of Witchcraft Medicine and author of more than 30 books on indigenous culture and ethnobotany in German and several in English. He lives in Germany.

“Until recently Western science saw the heart as a very sophisticated pump. Over the past 30 years research has shown the heart is much more, with significant endocrine and nervous system function. Ancient cultures perceived that the heart was the source of life, emotions, bravery, the self, and spirit. Wolf D. Storl’s The Heart and Its Healing Plants is a unique book that bridges cultures, centuries, myth, and science to expand our knowledge of the heart and the plants that can be used to heal broken hearts literally, figuratively, and ceremonially as well.” David Winston, RH(AHG), author of Adaptogens: Herbs for Strength, Stamina, and Stress Relief

“What happens when we cross one of the most original, deep-thinking, spiritual minds of the era with one of the most complicated, least understood, important organs in the body? We get an amazing book by Wolf D. Storl on the heart, holism medicine, and herbalism. But amazing is too limiting a word. What we have here is a foundation for all future holistic work on these subjects. We want to know the deep, ancient, indigenous stories of the plants as well as the most modern pharmacology. We want to plumb the depths of the human heart in its every facet. That’s what we have here.” Matthew Wood, author of Holistic Medicine and the Extracellular Matrix

Besides being a materia medica of useful plants for heart conditions, this book also explores the underlying psychological and spiritual causes of heart ailments. Storl views the heart as an eternal organ, connected to the universe and the divine. He calls for a return to nature’s own biorhythm and to the pulses of life and joy that can be found by reconnecting to the natural world. By paying attention to dreams, the cycles of the seasons, and to the sun and moon, we can heal the heart of our being and find calm, love, and peace in the eye of life’s storm. This is a valuable book that will help us to navigate our stressed, fast-paced, and mechanized modern lifestyle.” Ellen Evert Hopman, author of Secret Medicines from Your Garden, A Druid’s Herbal for the Sacred Earth Year

“A masterful synthesis of spirituality and science that is relevant to everyone who has a heart. Storl traces herbalism from its deep roots in the European herbal tradition and the vision of Hildegard to the modern use of cardioactive plants and their chemistry in cardiology. Now we need the same quality and depth of scholarship applied to all our organs!” David Hoffmann, FNIMH, RH, author of Medical Herbalism and The Herbal Handbook

“The Heart and Its Healing Plants gets to the core of heart health by addressing the history, folklore, spirit, science, and emotional factors that affect the cardiovascular system. It weaves a fascinating look at the deepest aspects of healing the heart from many world cultures over a span of centuries.” Brigitte Mars, AHG, author of The Sexual Herbal, Addiction-Free Naturally, and Natural Remedies for Mental and Emotional Health

“Wolf D. Storl presents a holistic view of common heart illnesses. He does not only deal with their physical causes but also tackles the harmful psychic attitudes and misdirected life goals that enable diseases. This is a great book to understand, prevent, and cure heart disease.” Christopher Vasey, N.D., author of Natural Antibiotics and Antivirals and The Acid-Alkaline Diet for Optimum Health

HEALTH/HERBALISM

“Ancient cultures perceived that the heart was the source of life, emotions, bravery, the self, and spirit. The Heart and Its Healing Plants bridges cultures, centuries, myth, and science to expand our knowledge of the heart and the plants that can be used to heal broken hearts literally, figuratively, and ceremonially.”
–DAVID WINSTON, RH(AHG), author of Adaptogens: Herbs for Strength, Stamina, and Stress Relief

“The Heart and Its Healing Plants is a foundation for all future holistic work on these subjects. We want to know the deep, ancient, indigenous stories of the plants as well as the most modern pharmacology. We want to plumb the depths of the human heart in its every facet. That’s what we have here.”
–MATTHEW WOOD, author of Holistic Medicine and the Extracellular Matrix

In the traditional worldview, the heart was considered the home of the soul and the source of love and vitality. As such, heart sickness was not seen as a result of poor nutrition, too much stress, or lack of exercise, but reflected an imbalance of the heart’s emotional and spiritual energies. Plants and folk remedies used as traditional heart medicine worked on the mental and spiritual level to help make the heart happy again.

Renowned ethnobotanist Wolf D. Storl, Ph.D., examines traditional understandings of the heart from early European cultures and indigenous peoples as well as a wealth of plants used in both ancient and contemporary times to treat heart conditions and ailments. He examines what makes the heart sick, including different healing paradigms used to address the causes. He also looks at how time is perceived by the heart and how the modern epidemic of heart disease can be linked to our culture’s pervasive disconnection from nature’s rhythms.

Presenting a materia medica of heart-strengthening herbs and folk remedies for cardiovascular diseases, the author offers in-depth descriptions of plants used for millennia to treat heart-related conditions as well as plants in use by modern herbalists and cardiologists. Sharing a holistic view of the heart—and heart disease—based on traditional perspectives, ethnomedical research, and herbal wisdom, this book reveals new ways to heal the heart by recognizing its integrated role in our physical, emotional, and spiritual wellness.

WOLF D. STORL, Ph.D., is a cultural anthropologist and ethnobotanist who has taught at Kent State University as well as in Vienna, Berne, and Benares. He is coauthor of Witchcraft Medicine and author of more than 30 books on indigenous culture and ethnobotany in German and several in English. He lives in Germany.