Types of Disease
There are many types of diseases and infirmities, with many types of causes. They can also involve many
different systems or aspects of the organism. Greek Medicine utilizes many different parameters for analyzing
Buildup: The struggle of the host organism against the disease intensifies as the signs and symptoms of the
disease intensify. An all-out struggle ensues.
Climax: This is the acme or acute crisis stage of the disease. It's the final showdown or moment of truth in
which the host organism either overcomes the disease or is overcome by it. If the catharsis of the climax is
successful and complete, the climax is followed by a period of recovery and resolution. If the climax is
unsuccessful, and the resistive powers of the host organism are finally broken down completely, demise and
death ensue. If the catharsis is only partially successful, a residue of the disease or pathogenic factor remains in
the organism, and goes on to create chronic or recurring pathologies.
Resolution: After the catharsis of the climax, the body's inherent healing and regenerative processes take
over to restore health and balance. This resolution or recovery period may either be shorter or longer,
depending on the severity and extent of the damage done by the disease. Quick resolutions, usually from acute
diseases, are called recovery; longer resolutions, usually from more serious or debilitating diseases, are called
convalescence.
It's also possible for some diseases, according to their nature, to have multiple climaxes and resolutions.
Such diseases are called intermittent or periodic; the intermittent fever of malaria is a good example.
Apollo was the Greek god of health and healing. He was also the god of physical culture and conditioning,
which are symbolized by his lyre and bow.
The muscles, organs and tissues of the body all need a certain basic tone, or state of dynamic tension, to be
healthy, responsive and adaptable. The healthy body should be like a well tuned lyre, with all its parts, or
strings, in tune at just the right degree of dynamic tension. Tune the string too high and it will break; keep it too
loose and its tone will be muddled. The bow should be strung tight enough to shoot an arrow with power and
precision, but not so tight that it breaks.
Hypotonia is a condition of insufficient tone and excessive laxness in the organs and tissues. Atony refers
to a complete lack of tone. The organ, tissue or system affected is unable to respond with sufficient strength and
vigor, and hypofunction prevails.
Conversely, hypertonia is a state of excessive tension or constriction. This is also undesirable, because this
excessive tension and constriction chokes off the proper circulation and flow of the humors and vital principles.
Dystonia is a state in which a whole bodily system is out of whack, out of kilter. The various opposing yet
complementary forces are out of their proper adjustment and alignment, and need to be adjusted and brought to
bear in their proper places.
Today, much is made of the deleterious effects of stress, but all stress is not necessarily a bad thing.
Moderate stress, of the right kind, at the right time, and in the right amount, can serve to condition the body and
keep it in shape; then, it is called eu-stress. Proper observance of the lifestyle related hygienic factors, like
Exercise and Rest, and Sleep and Wakefulness, helps us regulate our lives and manage our stress levels.
When physical activity or wakefulness become immoderate or excessive, they create dys-stress and fatigue.
Dys-stress and fatigue can also set in when the body suddenly undergoes a stress to which it has not become
conditioned or accustomed; this implies a lack of the proper tone and physical conditioning. Knowing our
constitutional limitations and level of physical conditioning means knowing the first signs of stress and fatigue
which, if persisted in, can lead to the breakdown of disease.
The aging process is one thing that generally robs our bodies of the proper tone they need for optimum
functioning. Parts that should be loose and supple become too tense, stiff and rigid, and parts that need to be
firm and well-toned become too lax and flabby.
body's defenses and homeostatic mechanisms, and gains entry into the organism as a whole, or localizes itself in
a certain part of the body.
A dystemper, in its most basic form, is simply succumbing to an exogenous environmental influence, or
getting "under the weather". One may get a cold from catching a chill, or experience a bout of rheumatism from
cold, damp weather.
Dystempers are rather simple, straightforward affairs; the stronger the offending environmental influence
gets, the stronger become the signs and symptoms of the dystemper. Conversely, when the offending influences
subside or abate, the dystemper is also alleviated, and one experiences relief.
Dystempers may affect any organ, tissue, or part of the organism, and that includes any one, or more, of the
Four Humors. But even if they affect a humor, a dystemper of a humor isn't the same as a genuine humoral
disorder; the humor's substance or essence hasn't become affected, and the metabolism and generation of the
humors remains balanced and intact. Also, humoral disorders progress and work themselves out through
complex, dynamic metabolic processes of transformation and ripening, or maturation, which are absent in
simple dystempers.
Heat
Heat, or a Hot dystemper, is when the body as a whole, or any part thereof, attains a state of heat which is
beyond that which is natural or inherent to it. Moderate or natural Innate Heat is generated by all living
organisms.
In the broadest, most basic sense, excess heat is excess energy or activity - physical/kinetic, or metabolic.
Quite often, the body, or certain parts thereof, will feel hot or feverish to the touch. Redness, soreness, irritation
and inflammation are all signs of heat, as are a rapid pulse and an elevated body temperature.
The most obvious cause of heat is hot weather or hot environments. A hot, sunny summer day, a sun-baked
desert, or sweltering tropical heat. Everyone knows that extreme heat like this can lead to secondary fluid loss
and dehydration, so one must keep hydrated and drink plenty of fluids.
Other forms of heat exposure can also create Hot dystempers. Examples are overexposure to a hot fire, a hot
oven, or excessive immersion in a hot bath.
Physical activity and exercise are also heating, and moderate but persistent overindulgence in physical
exercise and activity can aggravate excessive or unnatural heat in the body. Physical activity to the point of
utter exhaustion, however, will dissipate heat and lead to cold.
Psychic movement, or e-motion, is also a potent generator of heat. Anger and passion are heating in nature,
as is worry, or even joy or euphoria. Eating, or ingesting nourishment, in moderation, also exerts a heating
influence, as it stimulates the activity of digestion and metabolism. The organism also acquires the caloric heat
generating potential of the foods consumed. Overeating to the point of gluttony, however, depresses circulation
Cold
Greek Medicine considers cold to be more dangerous and harmful to the organism than heat, because cold is
basically inimical to life. Cold cramps and constricts, and depresses vital life functions like circulation,
metabolism and digestion.
Most people vastly underestimate the insidious nature of cold, how much damage it can do, and how long it
can linger in the organism. By the time most people finally succumb to a chill and come down with a cold, they
have usually forgotten or discounted their initial exposure(s) to cold, which have greatly weakened their
resistance. Perhaps the most frequent offender is ice cold drinks, followed by ice cream. These things
particularly need to be watched in cold weather, or when the seasons are changing. In cold weather, hot drinks
should be taken, not cold ones.
In addition to prior exposure, one's constitutional nature and temperament determines how vulnerable one is
to the ill effects of cold. In general, those of a hot, Choleric temperament are least vulnerable to cold, followed
by those of a warm Sanguine temperament. Those of a Melancholic or Phlegmatic temperament are most
vulnerable to the ill effects of cold.
Moderate coldness and dryness, as often prevails in the fall, most easily aggravates melancholy. Severe or
extreme coldness, or coldness and dampness, as often prevails in the winter, tends to aggravate phlegm.
In the head and cranium, cold can cause headaches, earaches; stuffy, runny or congested nose; and tearing
eyes. In the throat, cold can cause sore throat and hoarseness. In the chest, cold can cause coughing and lung
congestion. In the stomach and GI tract, cold can impair digestion, cause gurgling in the stomach and/or
intestines, as well as stomachache, indigestion, abdominal cramping and diarrhea. In the kidneys and urinary
tract, cold can cause urinary debility and frequent or urgent urination, as well as renal or urinary colic. In the
female reproductive organs, cold can cause menstrual cramps. In the musculoskeletal system, cold can cause or
aggravate arthritic and rheumatic conditions.
Even those of a hot Choleric temperament aren't immune to the ill effects of cold. In such individuals,
exposure to cold may trigger reactions of what could be called rebound heat as the organism over-reacts. Colds
initially caught due to a chill can later manifest a fever as well as the organism struggles to throw off the chill;
paradoxically, the victim feels simultaneous chills and fever.
Cold is, above all, a phenomenon of extremes, and extremes of many kinds will eventually lead to cold.
Extreme sedentariness and inactivity will lead to cold, as will somnolence, but also will extreme physical
activity and exertion carried to the point of utter exhaustion.
Similarly, eating and nourishment are basically heating, in that they stimulate digestive and metabolic
activity. But overeating far beyond one's digestive capacity, as well as eating too many cooling, heavy or
phlegm-forming foods, stifles the digestive and metabolic fires of the organism, leading to a cold condition.
The same goes for immersion in a hot or warm bath. Moderate immersion kindles and cherishes the Innate
Heat of the organism and warms up the body. But overimmersion for extended periods of time over-relaxes the
pores and disperses the Innate Heat through too much sweating, leaving the body cold.
If the humors get too thick, aggregated or congealed, circulation will be impeded and the Innate Heat will be
suffocated, resulting in cold. Cold is also a leading cause of thickening and congellation of the humors. And
so, the effect can become the cause, and vice-versa.
The cardinal signs and symptoms of coldness are: fatigue and low energy; a pale complexion; feelings of
chill, coldness, or being cold to the touch; an aversion to cold weather; closed pores, goose flesh, and a
cessation of perspiration, both sensible and insensible; a slow and/or deep pulse; and cold hands and/or feet.
In diagnosing a cold condition, a further distinction should be made as to whether it is of excess or
deficiency. Excess cold conditions tend to be more acute, caused by the invasion of exogenous, superfluous
cold pathogenic factors into an otherwise healthy organism. With deficiency cold, which tends to be more
chronic and atonic, the core problem is an inherent weakness or deficiency of the Innate Heat of metabolism,
which allows cold to dominate by default.
Moisture, or Dampness
The human body is about 70 percent, or over two-thirds water. Water is essential for life, but when the water
level in the body gets even one or two percentage points over normal, moisture or dampness sets in and begins
to get problematic, causing signs and symptoms.
Above all, dampness or moisture is heavy, slow and sluggish; it lingers, and is hard to disperse. It tends to
sink to the lowest point, and seep downwards. Dampness also makes things soft and soggy, and makes the tone
of the muscles and tissues too lax. Its sluggishness tends to obstruct proper circulation, digestion and
metabolism.
If moisure and the stagnation it brings become chronic, toxicity and turbidity start to set in. Cloudiness,
murkiness, stickiness and a foul or foetid odor start to appear. In Greek Medicine, stagnant moisture or
dampness is the most common cause of putrefaction, which modern medicine calls sepsis, or infection.
Moisture or dampness is of many different kinds, and has many different causes. Wetness, being a secondary
or passive quality, is often seen as being a consequence of extreme cold in the Phlegmatic disposition. Yet
dampness can also combine with heat, or be fairly neutral or temperate in terms of hot or cold.
Eating and nourishment are basically moistening in nature. Through digestion and metabolism, the
nourishing moisture of food and drink is transformed and assimilated into living tissue. Eating too many
moistening foods, or overeating beyond one's digestive capacity, are common causes of the accumulation of
excess dampness, as is taking a warm or hot bath immediately after eating.
Deficient or obstructed circulation is another common cause of dampness, which will build up precisely
where proper circulation and drainage are lacking. In this, dampness is often seen in conjunction with cold,
which also obstructs or slows down proper circulation.
The retention of secretions or waste matter which should be evacuated is also a common cause of excess
dampness. Closing of the pores, which blocks perspiration, also leads to the accumulation of dampness.
Excessive sleep and rest are also unduly moistening. Living in damp, marshy, musty or mildewy environments
can also cause the accumulation of excess dampness.
The signs and symptoms of excess dampness are many; the most common and important ones are:
Lassitude, listlessness, and undue heaviness of the head and limbs.
Dryness
Dryness, as one might expect, has qualities which are contrary to those of moisture, or dampness. Dryness is
light, hard and rough, whereas dampness is heavy, soft and smooth. Dryness also withers and emaciates.
Since life needs moisture and fluids to grow and flourish, dryness is basically inimical to life. Although it
could be argued that, due to this fact, dryness is the greater of the two evils, the threats posed to the organism by
excess moisture or dampness are almost as bad; the scales of life must be finely balanced.
Perhaps the most common cause of dryness, and one that is easily remedied or preventable, is insufficient
hydration. Many people simply don't drink enough water and fluids.
In terms of environmental causes, a dry weather or climate are the chief concerns; dryness also tends to
prevail in the fall. Extremely hot weather will also disperse or evaporate moisture and cause profuse sweating,
thereby leading to dryness. Paradoxically, exogenous cold can be a cause of dryness if it congeals or prevents
the proper circulation and dispersal of moistening humors like blood, phlegm or lymph.
When it comes to dietary causes, insufficient food and nourishment is the most basic, primal cause of
dryness, since food and nourishment are basically moistening in nature. After this, the excessive consumption
of drying foods and medicines, as well as the abuse of harsh laxatives or purgatives, are the chief culprits.
Excessive or violent evacuations, such as diarrhea, is a common and dangerous cause of dryness and
dehydration.
In terms of lifestyle, exercise, activity and wakefulness are drying in nature, whereas their contraries,
inactivity and sleep, are moistening. Excessive exercise, physical activity and wakefulness will lead to dryness.
Melancholic emotions like grief or loneliness are also drying.
When someone is suffering from dryness, the skin and lips will often be chapped and dry; other possible
signs and symptoms include: hollow cheeks and sunken eyes and temples; dry, irritated nasal passages, and
possible nosebleeds; extreme thirst and dehydration; dizziness and lightheadedness; a dry, sore throat and a
hoarse, scratchy or raspy voice; thick, sticky phlegm that's difficult to expectorate; wasting and emaciation;
constipation and dry stools; stiff, popping or cracking joints. Other bodily secretions and evacuations, like
urine, digestive juices or the menstrual discharge in women will often be scanty or deficient; extreme dryness
can dry up these secretions altogether.
Aging is basically a drying out process. The Radical Moisture starts to dwindle, as do hormonal secretions;
the skin starts to thicken, wrinkle and wither like a dried-up prune. In general, old people have a reduced
capacity to assimilate and metabolize vital fluids, and the moist, flourishing Sanguine and Phlegmatic humors
are compromised, in both quantity and quality, and lack their original fulness and robustness.
Wind
Wind can have many manifestations, and assume many forms in the body. Being light, dry, subtle, rough
and mobile in nature, it is most closely associated with the Melancholic/Nervous humor and temperament, and
aggravations and disturbances thereof.
The main characteristic of wind is unnatural or abnormal disturbances or blockages of movement. These can
assume many different forms and manifestations in different parts of the body. Wind is rarely seen alone, but
usually combines with other pathogenic factors.
Wind often enters the body as an exogenous pathogenic factor. It can provide the motive force that drives
other dystempers like heat, cold, dryness or moisture into the body. When you catch a chill and come down
with a cold, you usually catch a chilly draft. The organism will become extremely sensitized and averse to the
secondary pathogenic factor. If the Thymos and immunity are strong and robust, wind will close or block the
pores, stopping all perspiration, both sensible and insensible; if Thymos and immunity are weak, the pores will
be lax and loose, with sweating abnormal or profuse. Muscular flu-like aches and pains in which wind is
prominent will often be subtle, mobile, ephemeral shooting pains.
Wind is a major culprit in rheumatic complaints, which most typically involve accompanying cold and/or
dampness, although heat can also be involved. Declining Thymos and immunity in the elderly and infirm
allows exogenous wind, along with various other pathogenic factors, to penetrate into the bones and joints.
In the head and cranium, wind can cause dizziness, vertigo, apoplexy, deviations of the eyes and tongue,
stoppage of the senses, and even seizures and convulsions. In the muscles, wind can create twitches, tremors,
tics, spasms and palsy. Internally generated wind can arise from chronic nervous stress and tension, as well as
from high fevers, which aggravate the Choleric humor, producing giddiness, nausea and dry heaves as well as
the above cardinal signs and symptoms.
In the internal organs, wind is also called flatus; hence the term flatulence. Today, it's most commonly
called gas. Flatus is most commonly seen in the hollow visceral organs of the body; these are principally the
stomach and bowels, but other hollow viscera, like the bladder or uterus, can be involved as well.
Wind, or flatulence, in the digestive tract is most commonly associated with nervous, colicky digestive
disorders of a Melancholic nature and temperament. The cardinal symptoms are colic, gas, distension and
bloating, which are relieved once the wind is passed. Eating too quickly, or while stressed, tired or nervous, is a
common cause of gas or flatulence; also, some foods, like cabbage or beans, tend to produce lots of gas, as does
poor food combining.
A pressure or distension is felt with wind in other organs, like the bladder, as well as blockages or
disturbances of normal organ function. Once the wind is passed, the symptoms subside, and normal organ
function is restored.
HUMORAL PATHOLOGY
In Greek Medicine, once disorders and pathologies start to affect the Four Humors, they pass from the realm
of the exogenous and superficial into that of the endogenous and self-generated. All humoral disorders involve
the digestive process of pepsis, and hence the nutrition and metabolism of the organism, which is the domain of
the Natural Faculty.
The Four Humors are more gross and material than the qualities or temperaments, which exist on a subtle
energetic level. Being more solid and substantial, the humors hold the temperaments in place, and affect the
organism on a deeper level.
Being generated by and subject to the process of pepsis, which is basically digestion and metabolism, change
and transformation, humoral disorders typically go through a process of change or metamorphosis as the
offending morbid humors are ripened, or concocted. This is in stark contrast to the typical pattern for
dystempers, which is generally more static and linear, worsening or alleviating in direct proportion to the
resurgence or subsiding of the offending exogenous qualities or influences.
usually, an innate weakness of host metabolism and immunity is also involved. Nowadays, putrefaction would
be called sepsis or infection; a common symptom or side effect of putrefaction is pyrexia, or fever, with
different types of fevers resulting, depending on the particular humor involved.
embolisms; tremors, tics, neuralgias, neuraesthenia; nervous, spasmodic and neuromuscular disorders; seizures
and convulsions; arthritic and rheumatic disorders; abnormal growths and hard tumors; splenic disorders;
intestinal obstruction.
In three of the Four Humors, certain patterns in the genesis or origin of humoral disorders and their
subsequent spread can be seen:
Phlegm tends to initially accumulate and get aggravated in the upper digestive tract, starting with the
stomach, then spreading to the lungs, chest and respiratory tract; throat, esophagus and pharynx; and finally,
the head, nose and sinuses.
Yellow Bile tends to initially accumulate and get aggravated in the middle digestive tract, starting with the
liver, gall bladder and hepatobiliary system, and then the stomach, duodenum and small intestine.
Black Bile tends to initially accumulate and get aggravated in the bowels and lower digestive tract,
producing constipation, gas, colic, bloating and irritable bowel. The stomach and hepatic portal system are
subsidiary focus areas. All these intial accumulation sites are adjacent to the spleen, which is the storage vessel
or receptacle for black bile.
The three humors that are most likely to cause imbalances in the digestion, metabolism and nutrition of the
organism all start their pathological proliferation from different parts of the digestive tract. This fact
emphasizes the primary importance of maintaining sound, balanced pepsis and digestion in the prevention of
humoral diseases.
The fourth humor, blood, is more generalized and systemic in its accumulation patterns, lacking any
particular localization in the digestive tract. This is because blood is the essence of life and health, and the
bottom line in the overall nutrition of the organism.
weak spots are sites of an old illness, injury or deformity. This stage of pathogenesis is called deposition, or
entrenchment. It must be remembered that morbid humors, like any other pathogenic factor, are basically
opportunistic in nature, and will strike at the weakest point.
After deposition comes the stage of manifestation, in which the classical signs and symptoms of a serious or
chronic disease make their initial appearance. This stage, in which pathology is already quite advanced, usually
follows quite quickly after deposition or entrenchment.
A serious disease or disorder, after it has persisted for a while, often generates spinoffs or complications.
And so, complication is the final stage in this six step progression of pathogenesis. The original serious or
chronic disease could be likened to a tree, with the complications being like the fruit that the tree bears.
The second model or perspective on pathogenesis is simpler, and consists of only four stages. Actually,
these aren't so much stages as they are the various forms or manifestations that a disease can take.
First, there is acute disease, which roughly corresponds to the second acute crisis stage of the previous six
stage model. The signs and symptoms of an acute disease are strong and vehement, as the organism struggles
vigorously and decisively to throw off the offending pathogenic humor or factor. Of course, acute disease
presupposes that there has already been an initial latent accumulation stage that has precipitated the acute crisis.
Then, there is subacute disease, in which the organism's struggle to throw off the offending pathogenic
humor isn't quite so vigorous and vehement as it was in the acute stage. Actually, the word "acute" means
sharp; in the subacute stage, the organism's symptom-generating responses have become more dulled and
subdued. Usually, subacute disease manifestations were preceded by one or more initial acute episodes; now,
the organism's defensive responses have become weakened. The "sub" in subacute can also indicate a
submergence or spreading of the offending humor or pathogenic factor to affect the organism on a broader,
more systemic level. Subacute disease roughly corresponds to the spreading or metastasis stage of the six
stage model.
If subacute disease is not resolved, it becomes chronic disease. In chronic disease, the organism has
resigned itself to living with the offending humor or disorder, and various physiological, metabolic or
immunological mechanisms and functions have become compromised to accommodate the pathology. In the
initial stages of chronic disease, these changes or compromises are mostly functional, but as chronic disease
progresses, they become increasingly structural and organic. Chronic disease roughly corresponds to
the manifestation stage of the six stage model.
Finally, pathology enters the degenerative disease stage. Degenerative disease is characterized by
degenerative organic or structural changes in the organs and tissues which are often irreversible. The existence
of degenerative disease illustrates an important principle of humoral physiology and pathology: Since all the
body's organs and tissues are formed and generated from the Four Humors, the continued presence of corrupt or
morbid humors, if not corrected and resolved in a timely manner in the earlier stages of pathology, will
eventually lead inevitably to degenerative changes in the organs and tissues. Morbid humors generate morbid
changes in the organs and tissues. In the final complication stage of the six stage model, degenerative changes
are usually present. When these degenerative changes preclude any hope for survival, the degenerative disease
becomes terminal.
And that includes the final elimination or removal of morbid or superfluous humors from the body. They
can't be forcibly extracted or removed; they must first be concocted or ripened through pepsis. This is like the
refiner's or smelter's fire, which separates the dross and impurities from the valuable ore.
Of all humoral pathologies, blood disorders are the quickest and easiest to ripen and resolve. That's because
blood is the first humor to arise in the Second Digestion, and is quickly generated and re-generated. Blood
takes only a day or so to ripen, two at the most.
The other three humors all take longer to ripen and resolve. Yellow bile, being the hottest in temperament,
and therefore the most active and volatile, takes only three days to ripen. Phlegm is next, requiring nine days to
ripen and resolve. Black bile is the slowest and most recalcitrant, requiring a full fifteen days to ripen.
The general rule is that a humoral disorder must be treated for at least as many days as it takes that humor to
ripen. The role of the physician in Greek Medicine is to aid and facilitate the organism in the ripening and
elimination of morbid or superfluous humors, and in the cleansing and catharsis it wants to accomplish.
Humoral ripening wil tend to be faster in hot weather and slower in cold weather.
When morbid or superfluous humors are being ripened and passed off, signs and symptoms of an acute crisis
will often occur. These can include: dizziness, vertigo or headaches; fevers, sweats or hot flashes; coughing or
expectoration of phlegm; giddiness, nausea or vomiting; muscular aches, pains or fatigue; boils, blisters,
pustules, abscesses and other skin discharges or secretions; diarrhea, soft stools or irritable bowel; and increased
urination, often with changes in volume, color, odor, texture, etc... These signs and symptoms, in the proper
circumstances and context, are recognized as the healing crisis in Greek Medicine, which is not something to
be suppressed, but rather managed and facilitated in a proper manner.
produced from humors that are undercooked. If pepsis is hyperactive and the digestive/metabolic fire is too
high, sharp, caustic, irritating toxins will be produced as the humors are charred into a kind of toxic ash.
Irregular, erratic pepsis and digestion will produce a mixture of both kinds of toxins as the digestive fire
fluctuates between too high and too low.
Although faulty or defective pepsis is the main generator of toxins, there are other sources. Environmental
pollution and noxious, toxic substances in our air, food and drink are an obvious source of toxins, as is impure
"junk food" loaded with chemicals and additives. Infections and putrefactions are another, as pathogenic
microbes generate their own toxins as waste products of their own metabolisms.
But by far, the leading generator of toxins is ourselves, a process which Hippocrates called
autointoxication. We bring the lion's share of toxicity on ourselves by overeating, poor or immoderate eating
habits, poor food combining, and the like, which overload and derange the process of pepsis or digestion.
Toxipathic Syndrome
The presence of toxins is what turns simple excess or aggravation into true morbidity and disease. Toxins
are sticky, like glue. Once a humor has been corrupted by toxins, it bonds or amalgamates with other humors,
or even with the organs and tissues themselves, creating pathological changes therein.
The generalized presence of toxins in the body is recognized by certain cardinal signs and symptoms.
Together, these constitute the basic Toxipathic Syndrome:
Low Energy: Heaviness, lassitude, lethargy and malaise. Fatigue, exhaustion or sexual debility with
extreme toxicity.
Indigestion: Gas, bloating, colic, distension. Burping, belching, acid reflux, sour eructations. Food
cravings, perverted appetite.
Blockage: Stagnation and obstruction. Blocked, congested or clogged vessels, channels, organ systems.
Lymphatic congestion, swelling and obstruction. Varicose viens. Gastrointestinal obstruction. Reflux
symptoms.
Waste Retention: Urine retention, urinary blockage. Constipation. Alimentary toxemia, fermentation,
putrefaction. Yeasts, molds, fungi, parasites, chronic infections. Intestinal obstruction.
Thick, Sticky, Turbid: Thick, sticky phlegm. Thick, greasy tongue coat. Turbid, cloudy urine. Turbid,
cloudy or thick, sticky secretions and discharges.
Foul Tastes and Odors: Bad taste in the mouth. Salty, acrid, sour or bitter saliva. Bad breath. Foul body
odors. Lack of or perverted sense of taste. Flatulence, often foul smelling.
From the above cardinal signs and symptoms of Toxipathic Syndrome, we can conclude that, in general,
toxins possess the following key qualities and attributes: Thick, sticky, turbid, slow, heavy, irritating, and foul
smelling or tasting.
Toxic Blood
Toxic blood will produce low energy and fatigue, since toxicity weakens blood's ability to carry the Vital
Force. Since the circulation of Vital Force guides the circulation of blood, the blood can also stagnate. Since
the blood also carries the Innate Heat and Thymos, the immune response can become weakened or deranged,
producing immunodeficiency or autoimmune disorders.
Blood should be the River of Life, but toxic blood is like a polluted river, corrupting and irritating all it
touches, because its nourishment is tainted. Toxic blood can often get too thick, impairing circulation, or too
thin, reckless and excitable if corrupted by heat and choler, causing easy bleeding, bruising or swelling. Hot
toxins in the blood can also cause skin rashes, hives and other inflammatory skin conditions; pustules, acne and
abscesses; and sores, swellings or ulcerations of the tongue or mouth.
Toxic Phlegm
Toxic phlegm will be altered in taste, odor, color or consistency, depending on which toxins it contains.
Normal phlegm is bland to slightly sweet, but toxic phlegm will taste either sour, salty or bitter. As toxic
phlegm stagnates, it also gets thick and sticky.
Toxic plasma and lymph will produce swelling and edema, swollen or tender lymph nodes,
lymphadenopathy, or lymphatic obstruction. Weeping eczema, wet, oozing skin conditions, leucorrhea, and
other white or clear discharges are also common.
The urine will often be thick, cloudy or smelly. Most toxic phlegm conditions will produce a thick, greasy
tongue coat, which is usually white or off-white. Although excess normal phlegm will produce sluggishness
and lethargy, the slowness, somnolence and torpor are increased with toxic phlegm, which is thicker, stickier
and heavier.
a heavy toxic load and trying hard to eliminate morbid humors. Each of the four waste products has its own
distinctive signs and symptoms of toxicity.
When toxic exhaled air builds up in the lungs, chest and head, there will be much yawning and sighing.
Burping, belching and foul or bad breath are also common.
Toxic sweat burns and irritates the skin, and can produce itching, redness and rashes. The perspiration may
also take on a strange or foul odor as morbid toxins are eliminated.
Toxic urine will often be cloudy and turbid, showing the presence of raw, unripened morbid humors.
Normal urine has a characteristic odor, but if toxic, this odor is often strange, altered or foul. Urination may
also be burning, painful or irritating.
Toxic feces will be heavy, sinking, pasty or sticky, and stick to the toilet bowl. Normal feces have a
characteristic musty odor, but toxic feces have a foul, putrid odor. The feces may also burn or irritate the anus
as they're passed.
Although each of the four waste products has its own particular affinity with a certain element and humor,
morbid superfluities of any humor can be eliminated through any of the waste products, depending on their
location in the body. The organism will always choose the most efficient, convenient route of elimination open
to it, according to its physiological capabilities and the location of the offending toxic matter. If one channel of
elimination is blocked, the organism will choose another.
If toxic wastes are passed during a purification regime or in the midst of a healing crisis, it's generally a good
sign that morbid toxins are being eliminated. But if the waste products are chronically or regularly foul,
irritating and toxic, it's a cause for concern.
PATHOLOGIES OF BLOOD
Blood is the very essence of life and health, the most vital and desirable of all the humors. Galen said that
blood, or the Sanguine humor, was formed from perfect nourishment, perfectly digested.
Yet even blood is vulnerable to various imbalances, disorders and pathologies, which can either be
quantitative and/or qualitative in nature.
Quantitatively, blood disorders can be differentiated into those of excess, or plethora, also called congestion
or engorgement; and various forms of blood deficiency, or anemia.
Qualitatively, blood can be corrupted in six basic ways:
1) Its vital capacity and function may be reduced or compromised;
2) It can be unduly thickened, stagnant, congested or congealed;
3) It can be unduly thinned, softened or attenuated;
4) It can be subjected to various dystempers;
5) It can suffer from various dyscrasias or amalgamations;
6) It can suffer from sepsis, or putrefaction.
of blood.
Constitutionally, those of a Sanguine temperament are most predisposed to plethoras of blood. Excesses of
heat and moisture also favor plethoras of blood.
Accumulation Sites: The heart, and also the arteries, blood vessels and small capillaries, many of them
visible just under the skin, are the primary accumulation sites for blood. The secondary accumulation sites tend
to be organs and tissues that are inherently Sanguine in temperament: the liver and hepatic portal system; the
spleen and pancreas; the veins, uterus and female organs; the kidneys; the skin; and the digestive, respiratory
and genitourinary mucosa.
Signs and Symptoms: Bleeding disorders, like nosebleeds, gingivitis, rectal or anal bleeding,
hemorrhoids; Skin disorders - blushing, flushed complexion; prominent capillaries, spider nevi, angiomas,
hematomas; Pruritis - itching nose; prickling, itching and tingling in the flanks and temples, or on the skin.
Fullness, heaviness - heaviness of body, especially behind eyes; drowsy, sleepy; weak, heavy limbs. Digestive
- sluggish, congested liver, pancreas or spleen. Genitourinary - constant erection, priapism; excessive
menstrual bleeding in women; bright yellow, thick urine. Pulse - full and robust. Dreams - of red things, blood
flowing, etc...
Extreme or excessive cold can congeal the blood and impede its circulation. Paradoxically, excess heat
and/or dryness can thicken the blood and have the same result, or effect, of stagnating it.
An excess or plethora of blood, either systemic or localized, can engorge and congest the blood vessels and
cause blood stasis. Conversely, severe blood loss due to dehydration or injury can also cause blood stasis,
because there's not enough blood volume and pressure for the heart to pump and circulate properly.
Hardened arteries with plaque, constriction and stenosis and varicose veins can also impede circulation
and stagnate the blood. Besides dietary excesses and sedentary habits, stress, constipation and smoking are also
big contributing factors.
Extravasated blood is stagnant blood that has leaked out of the blood vessels that were ruptured at the site
of a bruise or injury. It will usually produce the "black and blue" discoloration of bruising.
The basic signs and symptoms of blood stagnation are: a purplish tongue, often with dark purple spots or
patches; a choppy or short pulse; and a sharp, cutting, stabbing or tearing pain at the location of the stasis.
Blood stagnation can also produce the itching or prickling sensations of "pins and needles", or mortification.
Blood stagnation may manifest as many different disorders, depending on where it's localized in the body:
Migraines usually involve inflamed or constricted blood vessels impeding blood circulation in the head.
There's also giddiness, nausea, photophobia, floaters, and heat and inflammation in the head.
Angina will cause sharp, stabbing pains in the chest or heart, a purple face and tongue, lassitude, palpitations
and dyspnea. These symptoms get worse with exertion.
With stagnant blood in the liver, the tongue will be purple with dark spots, usually in the liver area. There
can also be purplish spider nevi on the skin in the right upper quadrant of the abdomen, A sharp, stabbing pain
may be felt in the liver area.
Stagnant blood in the veins of the hepatic portal system is called portal hypertension. The digestion and
assimilation will be slow and sluggish, and backed up blood in the portal system can cause hemorrhoids.
Stagnant blood in the uterus will produce dysmenorrhea with severe cramping and stabbing pains; once the
clots are passed, the pain is relieved. Stagnant blood is the bane of women.
Blood stagnation in the legs usually involves poor veinous return. Varicose veins, as well as swelling and
edema, are common. The dorsalis pedis pulse will often be weak.
Since blood stagnation is a serious condition, it can easily produce complications, many of which can be life
threatening. Severely stagnant blood will clot, or form embolisms; if a clot or embolism lodges in the heart,
brain, lungs or other vital sites, it may prove fatal.
Ischemia or infarction is an acute or total deprivation of blood supply, caused by severe or acute blood
stasis. Deprived of fresh pneuma and Vital Force, the cells quickly die. Ischemia of the heart muscle is called a
heart attack; ischemia of the brain is called a stroke. Clots or embolisms may also be involved. Blood
stagnation in sore, tense muscles is muscular ischemia, but it isn't critical or life-threatening.
Uremia is most commonly seen in those of a Sanguine temperament, although not all Sanguines are
vulnerable. Uric acid diathesis is a term used in Greek Medicine to describe a specific constitutional
predisposition towards uremia and its complications.
Uremia may progress rather asymptomatically for a long time. There may be some urinary catarrh, irritation
or inflammation, as well as urinary debility. The joints may be vaguely stiff and sore, particularly in the knees,
hips and lower back.
When uric acid crystallizes in the joints, often in the big toe, there's acute swelling, pain and inflammation,
which is gout. Since the skin will often try to eliminate the excess uric acid that isn't being passed off via the
kidneys, chronic skin conditions involving irritation, inflammation, itching, or damp, foul discharges are
commonly seen.
include chronic inflammatory skin conditions - rashes, urticaria, eczema or psoriasis. In extreme cases, there
may also be bleeding, such as vomiting or coughing up blood. Associated diseases include tuberculosis,
consumption, consumptive fevers, prostration, marasmus, and certain forms of insomnia and neuraesthenia.
Choleric Blood results when morbid yellow bile corrupts or amalgamates with the blood. Chronic
inflammatory conditions, bleeding disorders, gingivitis, excessive menstruation, easy bruising or swelling,
rashes and urticaria are possible clinical manifestations. The tongue may be a bright red, or be reddish around
the edges; the pulse is often rapid, forceful and bounding, especially in acute flareups.
Phlegmatic Blood is the thinning and softening of blood by morbid amalgamation with the Phlegmatic
humor. It often results from a cold, atonic digestion and pepsis that has incompletely concocted the blood. The
blood will be more watery and dilute, and lighter than normal in color.
Since this syndrome is basically a thinning of the blood, it could be considered as a type of anemia, except
that the dry signs and symptoms will be absent. Instead, there may be signs of edema and water retention, and
congestion of phlegm and lymph.
Of all the blood dyscrasias, Atrabilious Blood, or the amalgamation of blood with morbid black bile, is the
most pathological. That's because black bile is contrary to blood in all its qualities.
Morbid black bile is extremely toxic. Blood that's been corrupted by it will be a deep, dark red, thick and
sluggish, stagnate or clot easily, and stick to blood vessel walls.
Atrabilious blood is a major cause of stagnant blood, and is also associated with clots and embolisms. In the
arteries, there will be plaque formation, and in the capillaries, dark colored spider nevi. Besides being thicker
and more stagnant, the vital and nutritive properties of the blood will also be seriously compromised.
Atrabilious blood can also stagnate in the hepatic portal system, impairing digestion and assimilation.
Autoimmune disorders like rheumatoid arthritis are also common. When chronic, atrabilious blood can also
create hard swellings and growths, or tumors.
women of a cold, pallid, deficient constitution. The blood will be thin and watery, and the menstruation will be
slow and prolonged.
Excessive dryness can cause delicateness and fragility to thin, sensitive mucosal membranes, making them
vulnerable to rupture and bleeding. This is commonly seen in nosebleeds, and in cracked, bleeding, chapped
lips or dry skin.
A deficiency of normal Melancholic residues in the blood will make proper clotting and wound
granulation difficult or impossible. This is often associated with constitutional predispositions towards
abnormal bleeding, as well as a weakness of the spleen. Excessive menstrual bleeding of a light or bright red
color is usually due to this cause.
And finally, the most direct and obvious cause of bleeding is physical injury, wounding or trauma.
External wounds will cause visible, external bleeding, whereas internal lesions or trauma, if severe enough, will
cause internal bleeding or hemorrhage. The former is quite apparent, whereas the latter can be insidious,
stealthy and concealed. The "black and blue" discoloration of bruising is produced by extravasated blood,
which has leaked out of internally ruptured blood vessels beneath the skin.
When internal bleeding does produce external, visible signs and symptoms, the blood will usually be:
coughed up from the lungs, which is hemoptysis; vomited up from the upper GI tract, which is hematemesis;
or present in the stool.
Coughing up blood, or hemoptysis, is most commonly seen in chronic, serious respiratory conditions like
tuberculosis.
Vomiting up blood, or hematemesis, is a common sign of a bleeding ulcer in the stomach or upper digestive
tract.
Blood in the stool will bleed out a blood red color if it is coming from the lower colon and rectum, and will
have a black, tarry appearance if it is coming from higher up in the intestinal tract. Blood in the stool may often
be hidden or not readily apparent, in which case it is called occult blood in the stool.
will aggravate or increase both the mucous and serous portions of the Phlegmatic humor.
Excessive or morbid phlegm is generally produced by cold, wet, sluggish or atonic conditions of the
digestion and metabolism. Subsequent aggravations of phlegm will depress digestion and metabolism even
further, initiating a vicious cycle of hypo-pepsis and phlegm generation. Of all the Four Humors, excesses and
morbidities of phlegm are responsible for the most stagnation, congestion, obstruction and hypofunction.
Pathologies of phlegm can either be quantitative or qualitative in nature - or both. The quantitative disorders
are basically those of excess versus deficiency. Qualitative disorders consist of various types of dystempers,
dyscrasias and putrefaction of the Phlegmatic humor itself.
obstruction. Cellulite.
Genitourinary: Urine retention, oliguria. Swollen, distended bladder. Pale, thick urine. Swollen testicles,
flaccid penis. Slow, watery menses in women; possible leucorrhea.
Pulse: Soft, slow, deep.
Dreams: Of water, ocean, floods, waves, snow, etc...
Few, if any will experience all these signs and symptoms simultaneously. The signs and symptoms will vary,
depending where the excess phlegm has accumulated. The more of these signs and symptoms you experience,
and the more severe they are, the more severe the plethora.
popping joints.
Generally speaking, aside from certain infectious diseases like tuberculosis, we get, or gradually build up, a
deficiency of the Phlegmatic humor, or a serous deficiency, by chronic overindulgence in things or activities
that are too drying on the one hand, and an undersupply of things and activities that are moistening and
nourishing on the other. The list of causes includes: insufficient hydration and fluid consumption; failure to eat
an adequately varied, generous, moistening, nourishing diet; chronic stress, overwork and burnout; excessive
exercise or exertion; and insufficient rest and sleep.
Mucilaginous phlegm is thick and slimy, and may either be clear, milky and translucent, or white and
opaque. It originates in the stomach and digestive tract due to a cold, weak, sluggish digestion and metabolism.
Many phlegm-forming foods also generate mucilaginous phlegm.
From the digestive tract, mucilaginous phlegm most commonly spreads to the respiratory tract and the throat,
head, nose and sinuses. Mucilaginous phlegm obstructing the head can cause a heavy head, dizziness,
vertigo, nasal congestion and allergies, sinusitis and post nasal drip. Mucilaginous phlegm may even invade the
urinary tract and bladder, producing mucous cystitis.
Mucilaginous phlegm can stagnate and accumulate, depressing the digestion and metabolism even further,
and creating even more phlegm in a vicious downward spiral. Mucilaginous phlegm then becomes the basic
raw material for many other types of morbid phlegm, which can subsequently be altered by extremes of heat,
cold, or dryness.
Extreme heat can cook or bake the phlegm, thickening, drying and hardening it. As the phlegm is distilled
or concocted, the thinner, waterier portions are separated out, leaving behind a thick residue. Extreme cold can
separate out distillations of insipid phlegm, leaving behind a thick, concentrated residue; cold can also congeal
phlegm. Dryness will directly evaporate and thicken phlegm.
Heat and choler will transform mucilaginous phlegm into hot phlegm, which is not only thick and opaque,
but yellowish, greenish or brownish in color. If hot phlegm is mixed with pus, it will also have a foul odor;
such phlegm is commonly seen in pulmonary abscesses.
Hot phlegm in the lungs is usually expectorated profusely with a barking cough. Wheezing, asthma,
shortness of breath, and a feeling of burning or constriction in the chest are also common. Generally, the tongue
is red with a thick yellow coat, and the pulse is rapid, full and slippery.
Hot phlegm in the stomach will produce stuffiness and fullness of the epigastrium, sore throat, mucoid
stools, mental agitation and confusion, indigestion and insomnia. The tongue and pulse will be similar.
Hot phlegm in the heart agitates and disturbs the vital spirits, producing mental and emotional
disturbances, usually of a manic or delusional character. There may be startled hyper-reactivity, impulsive or
rash behavior, incoherent speech and muttering to oneself, agitated violent behavior, mental confusion,
palpitations, stuffiness in the chest, restlessness, disturbed sleep and insomnia.
Dry phlegm is mucilaginous
phlegm that's been dried to a thick, tenacious consistency. Inhabiting the lungs, chest, throat and respiratory
tract, the chief feature of dry phlegm is it's extremely sticky, tenacious and difficult to expectorate. Dry phlegm
can also cause a dry, hacking cough; in smokers, it's called a smoker's cough.
Wind can combine with phlegm to produce wind phlegm, which has a bubbly, frothy appearance on the
tongue. Wind phlegm, in its subtle distillations, can obscure or block the sensory orifices, producing delusions,
hallucinations, or partial or total blockage of the senses. In extreme cases, wind phlegm is seen in epilepsy and
other convulsive disorders, with gurgling and frothing of phlegm in the mouth and raspy, wheezing breathing.
If we dive deeper into the organism, we find morbid types of phlegm that typically inhabit the innermost
recesses of the body. These are vitreous phlegm, which is so-called because it's glassy and gelatinous, and
calcareous phlegm, which is white and chalky. Calcareous phlegm is usually found in the joints of elderly
people suffering from arthritic and rheumatic disorders in deposits called tophi.
Putrefaction of Phlegm
Phlegm itself can ferment and putrefy, becoming putrefied phlegm. Its taste is slightly acrid or sour, much
like grape juice that has started to ferment into wine. The microbes involved could be bacteria, or they could be
yeasts, like candida albicans. With yeasts, there may be froth in the phlegm, which can fizzle in the digestive
tract if the fermentation is severe enough. Chronic candidiasis, when entrenched and systemic, can wreak
havoc on immunity.
Putrefied phlegm in the digestive tract can produce dizziness, wooziness, a sour stomach, chronic
indigestion, gas, bloating and distension. The stools will be loose, chunky and foul smelling.
When too much phlegm accumulates in the respiratory tract, it can putrefy and produce a respiratory tract
infection. Colds and respiratory infections can be seen as healing crises that allow the organism to cleanse itself
of accumulated phlegm.
To burn off a lot of phlegm very quickly, the organism may manifest or utilize a fever. This is usually a
quotidian fever, which is basically a "24 hour bug", lasting only a day. If the phlegm is in the GI tract, it will
be a 24 hour stomach flu. Because phlegm is the coldest in temperament of all the humors, Phlegmatic fevers
are usually not very high. A Phlegmatic fever typically peaks in the mid-afternoon, which is the hottest time of
day, and starts to subside by nightfall.
the lymph is one of the major causative factors associated with hard swellings, tumors and cancer in Greek
Medicine.
The synovial fluid surrounding and lubricating the joints and articular structures can be similarly corrupted
by residues of various morbid humors. These can lead to degenerative rheumatic or arthritic changes in the
joints and articular structures, according to the nature and temperament of the offending toxins and morbid
humors.
Those of a Choleric temperament, who crave these taste sensations, are most strongly attracted to these
choler aggravating foods. They can't be content with a bland, monotonous diet, even if it is more healthy and
wholesome.
The fast pace and high stress level of our modern lifestyle are also big aggravators of Choleric excess. These
include stress, sleep deprivation, and eating on the run. Again, those of a Choleric temperament are most
naturally drawn to this type of behavior.
Signs and Symptoms: In studying the clinical manifestations of Choleric aggravation, we must distinguish
between those pertaining to yellow bile in its gross, humoral form versus Choleric vapors and residues that can
be transported through the vital fluids to affect any part of the organism, including even the brain, mind and
emotions. The signs and symptoms caused by the former will center on the middle GI tract and hepatobiliary
system, whereas those caused by the latter will tend to be systemic, or can occur anywhere.
The clinical signs and symptoms of Choleric excess, or plethora, are as follows:
Mind: Anger, impatience, irritability. Forceful, agitated manner. Hypertension, stress. Insomnia, restless
sleep.
Head: Frequent headaches, migraines. Sore, red, bloodshot eyes. Yellow, jaundiced eyes. Dry, irritated
nostrils, nosebleeds.
Oral: Red, rough, dry tongue, red around edges; ulcerations, yellow coat.
Red, inflamed, bleeding gums, gingivitis. Bitter taste in mouth. Cold sores. Bad breath. Excessive thirst.
Hepatobiliary: Jaundice, biliousness, fatty liver. Hepatitis, hepatomegaly (liver enlargement). Gallstones,
cholecystitis, biliary dyskinesia and congestion. Constipation with light or pale colored stools. Distension and
fullness below the ribs.
Digestive: Intolerance for greasy, fried foods. Stomach hyperacidity, acid reflux, acid indigestion; gastric
and/or duodenal ulcers. Giddiness, nausea; vomiting of yellow or green bile. Abdominal fullness, pain on
pressure. Soft, smelly or burning stools.
Skin: Red, sensitive skin. Hives, rashes, urticaria. Sallow complexion; jaundice with a bright yellow
complexion.
Blood: Bleeding disorders, inflammatory conditions. Hemorrhoids.
Urinary: Dark, scanty urine; burning urination.
Pulse: Full, rapid, bounding pulse.
Dreams: Of fire, lightning, fighting, yellow things.
Few, if any, will experience all of these signs and symptoms simultaneously. The more of them you
experience, and the more intense they are, the more severe the plethora.
Choleric excess accumulates first in the liver, gall bladder and hepatobiliary tract. From there, it affects the
stomach and duodenum, causing ulcers, hyperacidity, acid reflux, and reflux esophagitis. Alternatively,
aggravated bile can spread from the hepatobiliary tract downwards, into the small intestine and colon, to cause
irritable bowel or soft, smelly or burning stools. From the hepatobiliary system, Choleric vapors can spread
systemically to affect any part of the body.
Our modern diet and lifestyle give us many things to provoke or aggravate bile, but few things to subdue or
pacify it. Neither does modern medicine have much to offer in this regard. The best ways to pacify and subdue
aggravations of yellow bile and truly heal and balance the bilious humor lie in diet, nutrition and herbal
medicine.
Choleric Deficiency
Since yellow bile is a necessary and vital substance, essential to the proper nutrition and metabolism of the
organism, it is possible to suffer from a deficiency of it. But true deficiencies of bile are comparatively rare; in
many cases where a deficiency is suspected, it isn't a true deficiency, but rather a blockage in its flow and
metabolism.
Since Greek Medicine also includes other digestive secretions of the middle digestive tract as being under
the influence of the Choleric humor, a Choleric deficiency also includes a lack or insufficiency of these other
digestive secretions, which are much more commonly seen. Many suffer from low stomach acid or pancreatic
enzymes. Since the Digestive Force is the Administrative Virtue of the Choleric humor, a weak or flagging
digestion would be one of its cardinal symptoms.
A true deficiency of bile would result in the poor assimilation and metabolism of fats and lipids. Surgical
removal of the gall bladder, which is quite common, is a form of secondary or functional bile deficiency, since it
leads to the wastage of much bile, which is excreted slowly and continuously by the liver directly into the
intestines, even when no fatty foods for it to digest are present. The net effect of gall bladder removal in most
persons seems to be a gaining of weight and fat, since the bile that assimilates, metabolizes and excretes fats
from the body can no longer be utilized efficiently.
A Choleric deficiency could also manifest as a deficiency of the functions of Choleric residues in the blood:
poor exuberant or fine capillary circulation, sluggishness and torpor of the blood, and a weak or deficient
inflammatory response.
Phlegmatic corruptions of yellow bile will be associated with signs of both heat and dampness: a sluggish
digestion; a sallow, jaundiced complexion; stools that are soft and sticky, yellow and smelly; putrid flatulence is
also common.
Phlegm and bile amalgamate to the mutual detriment of both humors. The Digestive Force of bile is dulled
or weakened, while the moist, nourishing properties of phlegm and serum are compromised, and tainted with
the caustic irritation of gall.
Like any other humor, yellow bile can putrefy. The basic causes and mechanisms of its putrefaction are quite
similar to those of blood. Excessive moisture can corrupt yellow bile and weaken its innate heat and immunity,
and also its digestive force; this then allows a foreign microbe or metabolic agent to come in and consume it.
Chronic stagnation of bile can also create conditions favoring its putrefaction.
When yellow bile putrefies, it generates a certain type of fever called a bilious fever. Also called a tertian
fever or a tertian ague, this intermittent fever is so called because it appears on every third day, since it takes
yellow bile about three days to ripen, and its toxins passed off.
The more serious and greater the rate of putrefaction, and the more virulent the microbe involved, the higher
and more vehement the fever. Whatever form the bilious fever takes, signs and symptoms of Choleric
aggravation will be prominent.
Cholera, as its name suggests, is considered by Greek Medicine in its various forms to be due to a
putrefaction of choler, or yellow bile. Different forms of the disease will have varying degrees of severity,
depending on the virulence of the microbe involved; Asiatic cholera can even be fatal. The cardinal signs
include vomitings, often of bilious matter, and rampant diarrhea, as the offending caustic choler irritates,
inflames and causes drastic evacuations of the bowels. This is usually followed by the stage of collapse, which
may be fatal, as the innate heat and energy of the bilious Fire element has been drained from the body.
PATHOLOGIES OF BLACK BILE
The Melancholic humor, or black bile, is the humor most prone to aggravation and pathology. In fact, the
very word "melancholy" is almost synonymous with morbidity.
Even normal black bile, due to its inherent nature and temperament, is the humor least conducive to the
optimal health and nutrition of the organism, even though it does have necessary physiological and metabolic
functions to perform. And morbid forms of black bile are even more deleterious in their effects than the morbid
forms of other humors. Since black bile is the most effete of all the humors, its pathologies almost always
involve excess, with deficiency only a minor consideration.
In its pathologies, a distinction must be drawn between black bile in its subtle, vaporous aspect, also known
as the Nervous humor, and black bile in its gross humoral aspect, also known as melancholy, or the Melancholic
humor:
The Nervous humor, in addition to being Cold and Dry, is also light, subtle and mobile; its pathologies are
mainly psychic, nervous, spasmodic, convulsive and neuromuscular.
The Melancholic humor, in addition to being Cold and Dry, is also heavy, dense, gross and binding, being
the metabolic agent of the Earth element. It is mainly concerned with pathologies affecting the digestion,
metabolism and nutrition of the organism, particularly the bones, joints and connective tissue.
Blood: Poor circulation, cold hands and feet. Dark, thick blood, tendency to form clots and embolisms.
Skin: Dull yellow or dark, swarthy complexion. Cold, dry, rough skin.
Musculoskeletal: Arthritis and rheumatism; neuromuscular complaints. Stiff, aching, arthritic joints;
lumbago and sciatica. Tingling and numbness in the extremities. Tremors, tics, cramps, spasms.
Male: Nervous sexual dysfunction, performance anxiety. Sexual exhaustion and prostration.
Female: Irregular menses, dysmenorrhea with painful spasmodic cramping. Premenstrual mood swings,
food cravings. Scanty, dark thick menstrual flow with clotting. Insufficient lactation.
Urinary: A nervous, agitated or sensitive allergic bladder. Thin, clear urine; can be dark or turbid.
Pulse: A weak, thready pulse.
Dreams: Dreams of gloomy, dark places; fearful nightmares.
It is highly unlikely that anyone will experience all these signs and symptoms simultaneously. But the more
of them you experience, and the more intense they are, the more severe the plethora of black bile. Also, the
organs and parts of the body affected will give you an idea of where the excess black bile and melancholy have
accumulated.
ones are:
There can be excessive heat in the liver, causing burning, charring or excessive oxidation of the humors.
The excessive metabolic heat generated by certain types of chronic or extreme fevers, usually involving the
liver, can also burn and char the humors.
The spleen, black bile's receptacle, may be weak and feeble, and unable to adequately contain, ripen or
metabolize the humor in both its normal and abnormal forms, allowing excessive amounts of it to spill out into
the organism.
Excessive cold in the body congeals and solidifies the humors and secretions of the body. Prolonged
stagnation, often caused by cold, will also aggravate morbid black bile, and strengthen the deleterious effects of
the normal variety as well.
Stagnation leads to putrefaction. In many putrefactive processes, the denser residue left behind is usually
some form of morbid black bile.
The various types of morbid black bile are each named after the humor from which they were derived. Their
properties and characteristics are as follows:
Sanguineous Atrabile is derived from blood, either by oxidation or putrefaction. When the Sanguine humor
putrefies, it generally produces two byproducts: morbid choler, which is dispersed as the lighter, more rarefied
portion; and Sanguineous Atrabile, which is left behind as the denser residue. The charring or oxidation of
normal blood will also produce Sanguineous Atrabile as an ash-like residue. Sanguineous Atrabile tastes salty
and faintly sweet; it is only slightly to moderately toxic.
Phlegmatic Atrabile is derived from the oxidation of either mucous or serous fluids of varying compositions
and consistencies. It will taste salty if it's derived from watery, attenuated fluids; if derived from thicker fluids,
it will taste either acrid or bitter - astringent. Like Sanguineous Atrabile, the Phlegmatic variety is only slightly
to moderately toxic, and generally acts at a slow rate. It may be found either within the digestive or respiratory
tracts, or carried by the circulatory and lymphatic systems to anywhere in the body.
Choleric Atrabile, or the ash-like residue from the oxidation of the bilious humor, is very corrosive, caustic
and toxic. Oxidized yellow bile has the ash-like residue still mixed in with it, but when this residue is separated
out, it becomes Choleric Atrabile.
Choleric Atrabile has several different varieties. It can be generated by separating out, or distilling, the ashlike residue from any of the oxidized forms of the bilious humor. Generally, the more toxic and injurious the
morbid choler variety of its derivation, the more caustic and toxic will be the atrabilious residue produced.
Generally, the residues of Leekgreen Bile, Verdigris Bile and Adust Choler are the most caustic and toxic,
especially the latter.
Choleric Atrabile tastes bitter; all its varieties are extremely injurious and toxic. According to its effects on
the organism, and its prognosis and treatment characteristics, Choleric Atrabile is generally divided into three
types:
The first type is more injurious, and decomposes very readily. However, it is more amenable to treatment
than the other forms.
Of the two remaining varieties, one is more acrid and injurious; the sooner it is treated, the better. The other
variety of Choleric Atrabile penetrates the tissues less easily, and is more slowly destructive; it's very difficult to
disperse, mature or treat with remedial measures.
Melancholic Atrabile is derived from the oxidation of black bile itself. If derived from a more watery,
attenuated form of black bile, its taste is acrid, like vinegar; if derived from a thicker, denser form, its taste is
less acrid, astringent and slightly bitter. Generally, Melancholic Atrabile is considered to be a slow acting
poison except if it is charred pitch black, in which case it is even more toxic.
And so, as a natural protective cleansing response of the organism, many fevers tend to be self-limiting, and
of limited duration. After the offending toxins and superfluous morbid humors have been consumed, the fever
has served its purpose and run its course, homeostasis is reestablished, and the body returns to normal.
Fever Management
Hippocrates once boasted that, if he were only allowed to create or provoke a fever, he could heal any
disease. Although it could be argued that, in making this statement, Hippocrates indulged in hyperbole and
overstated his case, it indicates the level of respect that Greek Medicine has for fevers, which are an effective
cleansing and healing response that the organism uses to burn off excess toxins and superfluous morbid humors.
Nevertheless, any realistic assessment of fevers must admit that many of them can be fatal if allowed to run
their course without any intervention. The Fire of fever, if moderate and kept within tolerable limits, can purify
the organism and burn off the dross of accumulated toxins and metabolic wastes. But if the Fire of fever is
allowed to run wild and exceed these tolerable limits, it can easily turn destructive, and consume the vital
substance and fluids of the organism, causing its demise.
And so, Greek Medicine takes a natural holistic approach to treating fevers that calls for intelligent
management and timely and appropriate intervention when and where necessary. The physician is the Servant
of Nature, who assists the organism in the cleansing and catharsis it is trying to accomplish. With appropriate
assistance from the physician in this manner, the fever can usually be kept within tolerable limits; once the
catharsis is accomplished, the fever will run its course, and the body will return to normal.
this is only half the job; Greek Medicine sees the primary objective as eliminating the offending morbid or
superfluous humors and restoring metabolic balance to the organism. If this is not done, true immunological
health and soundness are not restored, and the biological terrain, or ground, remains vulnerable to future
infections.
An intermittent or periodic fever is one whose temperature is not constant, but rises and falls in peaks and
valleys, or on/off cycles. Intermittent fevers are of many kinds, and each will have its own characteristic cycles
and patterns.
The period during which the intermittent fever is actively manifesting is called the paroxysm, whereas the
passive, latent stage in between active phases is called the rigor. The final crisis or climax of a fever is called
its acme.
If the fever is treated or managed successfully, the acme will be followed by a restoration of health. If the
fever overwhelms its host, the acme may be followed by demise and death.
The nature and duration of an intermittent fever's paroxysm is determined, or can be altered, by certain
factors, which are as follows:
The constitutional vigor and vitality of the host - The stronger the host, the shorter, more acute and
vehement the paroxysm, as the strong host tends to wage a more vigorous and decisive battle against the
disease. Conversely, the weaker the host, the longer and more drawn out, and less vehement, the paroxysm.
The constitutional nature and temperament of the host - The hotter the host's temperament and
metabolism, the shorter the paroxysm, as morbid superfluous humors are burned off more quickly. Conversely,
the colder the host's temperament, the longer the paroxysm.
The nature and temperament of the morbid humors and pathogens being eliminated - Generally, the
colder and thicker they are, the slower the elimination and the accompanying paroxysm; the hotter and thinner
they are, the faster the elimination and the shorter the accompanying paroxysm.
Weather and climactic factors - Morbid humors mature and ripen more quickly in hot weather, which
favors quicker elimination and shorter paroxysms; with cold weather, the contrary. Excessive moisture and
humidity tend to encourage and prolong putrefactions.
If the regularity of the classic textbook patterns of rigor and paroxysm is disturbed or unclear, it may be due
to two things: dramatic changes or fluctuations in any of the above four factors; or the interweaving or interplay
of multiple febrile processes simultaneously.
Ephemeral Fevers
Ephemeral fevers are those that affect the mind, spirit, emotions and Vital Force; they involve the Vital
Faculty and its vital principles. Ephemeral means that the fevers are primarily energetic in nature, and not
substantial in origin.
Ephemeral fevers are quotidian, typically lasting for only a day, or 24 hours. Their temperature is constant,
not rising.
Because ephemeral fevers affect the Vital Force and Vital Faculty, they also involve our Innate Heat, Thymos
and immunity. These vital principles operate on two levels: an outer immune level, or shield; and an inner core
level, involving the Vital Faculty as a whole.
Grippes, or acute ephemeral fevers, primarily affect the body's outer immune shield. Their cause is
primarily hot or cold drafts or dystempers, usually exogenous in origin, by environmental exposure or
ingestion. They also frequently involve wind, which provides the motive force that enables the exogenous heat
or cold to penetrate the body's immune shield.
A cold grippe is caused by catching a chill, or by exposure to a chilly draft. Depending on the strength of
the host's constitution, and the consequent vigor of his/her immune response, the signs and symptoms can vary
considerably:
If the immune response is strong, there will be fever and chills, with fever predominating. The skin pores
will close tightly, stopping all perspiration, both subtle and sensible; this blocked moisture release will back up
into the respiratory tract, causing coughing, wheezing and lung congestion. There may also be shooting
muscular aches and pains, nasal congestion, a stiff neck and headache. The tongue will have a thin white coat,
and the pulse will be superficial, tense and rapid.
If host vitality and immunity are weak, there will be fever and chills, with chills predominating. The pores
will be lax and open, and there will be a furtive perspiration. The complexion will be pale and the body cold,
with poor circulation, rheumatic aches and pains, and an aversion to cold. There will also be fatigue, malaise
and lethargy. The tongue will be pale with a thin white coat and the pulse will be superficial, soft and slow.
Hot grippes will vary little according to the host's vitality and immunity levels. There will be fever, profuse
sweating and irritability. There may also be sore throat, headache, thirst, earaches, swollen glands, red sore
eyes, and heat rashes. There may also be an aversion to wind and/or heat, since these are the main dystempers.
The tongue body may be red, and there will usually be a thin yellow coat; the pulse will be superficial and
rapid.
The best time to stop a cold is in the initial stages, before it becomes too entrenched. This is usually done
with stimulants and diaphoretics, to break the fever by inducing sweating. The choice of medicines and
treatments depends both on the nature of the dystemper as well as the constitutional nature and temperament of
the host and the strength and vigor of his/her immune response.
When an exogenous hot or cold dystemper penetrates below the surface immune level to engage the host's
Vital Force in its totality, agues, or acute fevers, can get very forceful and vehement, becoming an ardent
fever. The cardinal signs and symptoms of an ardent fever are a high fever, extreme thirst; a full, rapid,
bounding pulse; and profuse sweating. Because sustaining such a high, ardent fever is very exhausting to the
organism, it should be brought down quickly and decisively with strong febrifuges.
A high, ardent fever may be complicated or aggravated by toxicity and waste retention in the colon and
bowels. In these cases, there may be constipation, an irritable bowel, nausea and vomiting, GI reflux
symptoms, or a severe sore throat. Purging the bowels with an enema often brings relief.
Many ephemeral fevers have a strong mental/emotional component. Strong emotions like anger, hate, rage,
sexual passion, or grief can disturb and agitate the Vital Force and vital spirits, generating an ephemeral fever.
Excessive physical agitation, shock or overwork can also disturb the Vital Force and generate an ephemeral
fever. Because emotions are always one's own reactions, or responses, to external events and circumstances,
these emotionally generated ephemeral fevers are endogenous in origin.
Putrid Fevers
Putrid fevers are caused by a putrefaction of the humors. They're named and classified according to the
humor affected: Sanguine, Phlegmatic, Bilious or Atrabilious.
Putrid fevers generally have five causes, any one of which can lead to humoral putrefaction, and then to
fever:
The humor can be overabundant;
The humor can be too thick and viscous;
The humor can be too tenacious and sticky;
The humor can be blocked or obstructed;
The humor can stagnate for too long and lack ventillation.
Putrid fevers are generally intermittent, with the exception of blood. Each humor, according to its inherent
nature and temperament, will be collected, ripened and expelled at different rates, with varying degrees of
difficulty. And so, all the intermittent putrid fevers will have their own characteristic cycles and patterns of
rigor and paroxysm.
The paroxysm always corresponds to the period of active catharsis of a morbid humor. During the rigor, the
organism is resting and gathering its forces for the next catharsis. The basic patterns, cycles and characteristics
of putrid fevers are:
Sanguine fevers, or putrid fevers of the blood, are continuous, and have no on/off cycle or limit to their
duration; therefore, they are the most dangerous. They begin at a certain temperature, which either remains
constant, declines steadily, or rises steadily; of these three types, the last is the most dangerous.
Blood fevers usually involve some infectious microbe. Depending on its virulence, the seriousness and
temperature level of the Sanguine fever will vary. In addition to being acute or severe, blood fevers can also be
chronic and low grade, lingering on for a long time to become a consumptive or strumous fever of the blood.
A Sanguine fever that's incompletely or unsuccessfully resolved in the acute stage can also linger on to
become chronic or consumptive, slowly eating away at the organism; they can also flare up again at any time if
conditions are right. The Sanguine fever is thus analogous to a campfire, which leaves some smouldering
embers behind unless it is put out completely.
Since the blood carries the Vital Force, blood fevers often disturb the mind and vital spirits. Mental
cloudiness and confusion, restlessness, agitation, malaise, insomnia or manic behavior are common signs and
symptoms.
Phlegmatic fevers, caused by putrefactions of phlegm, generally follow a 12 hours on / 12 hours off pattern,
or quotidian cycle, with no set time limit to the fever as a whole, although they soon exhaust themselves once
the superfluous morbid phlegm is consumed. The paroxysm phase usually happens during the warmer daytime
hours, and the rigors at night.
Most Phlegmatic fevers generally manifest as some form of the common cold. When phlegm builds up to
critical levels, manifesting a cold with a fever gives the organism the opportunity to burn it off. If the phlegm
accumulates in the respiratory tract, you will have a cold or upper respiratory infection; if the phlegm
accumulates in the digestive tract, you will have a stomach flu. Due to the cold, wet temperament of phlegm,
most Phlegmatic fevers aren't very high.
Bilious fevers, caused by putrefactions of yellow bile, typically follow a day on / day off pattern, with both
the initial paroxysm and the subsequent rigor lasting about 24 hours each. The liver and gall bladder are usually
involved, and there may be headaches, irritability, red sore eyes, a bitter taste in the mouth, a sallow
complexion, generalized malaise, nausea and vomiting, poor appetite, fullness and distension beneath the ribs,
diarrhea and irritable bowel.
Atrabilious fevers are putrid fevers of black bile. Because black bile is thicker and colder in temperament
than yellow bile, it is ripened and eliminated more slowly. Therefore, Atrabilious fevers have an on/off cycle
that's longer and more drawn out. Typically, Atrabilious fevers follow a one day on / two days off pattern, with
the paroxysm lasting 24 hours, and the rigor 48 hours.
The spleen, bowels and nerves will usually be involved in Atrabilious fevers, and there may be dizziness,
vertigo, insomnia, neuraesthenia, poor appetite, indigestion, an acrid or bittersweet taste in the mouth, and
sluggish or obstructed bowels. The complexion will be dark or dull yellow, and there may be dark circles under
the eyes.
Complexion, in addition to fever pattern and cycle, is also a reliable indicator of the offending humor. The
complexion in Sanguine fevers is red and flushed; in Phlegmatic fevers pallid; in Bilious fevers sallow; and in
Atrabilious fevers dark, ashen or swarthy.
The above cyclic patterns in putrid fevers are for the pure types. If a putrid fever doesn't fit neatly into any
one of the four patterns presented here, it's usually because multiple putrefying humors are involved. If this is
the case, other signs and symptoms must be relied upon.
The general line of treatment in putrid fevers is to assist the body with medicines and treatments that ripen
and purge the offending humor(s). Food should be kept to a bare minimum, preferably a liquid diet, during
paroxysms, so the organism can concentrate on elimination and detoxification. Throughout the course of a
fever, heating and drying foods such as mustard, garlic, chilies and onions should be strictly avoided, as these
tend to aggravate fever in general.
Hectic Fevers
Hectic fevers are the most chronic and deep-seated of all fevers. They generally originate in the noble and
principal organs, and are usually intermittent.
Tertian fevers repeat their cycle every third day. They have a 12 hour paroxysm followed by a 36 hour
rigor, for a total of 48 hours before the cycle repeats. The entire span of the fever, from the first paroxysm to the
last, is typically seven days.
Tertian fevers are usually caused by yellow bile that's gotten too cold and moist. Being a fever of yellow
bile, the liver and gall bladder are involved. The overall signs and symptoms will be similar to those for bilious
fevers, but the paroxysms won't be as ardent or vehement, since the tertian fever is colder in temperament; in
addition, there may also be alternating fever and chills.
If constipation is present, the offending cold, moist bilious humor is in the veins, and not in any of the noble
or principal organs. If there is abundant phlegm in the mouth, the fever has a colder temperament, and cooling
foods and herbs should be avoided. If there's a salty or bitter taste in the mouth, the tertian fever is hotter in
temperament, and cooling foods and medicines may be given.
Tertian fevers are best treated with mild purgatives that concoct and ripen bile and stimulate and cleanse a
torpid liver and gall bladder. These herbs are generally pungent and bitter, and mildly warming in
temperament.
Quatrain fevers repeat their cycle every fourth day, and usually involve black bile. They typically have an
18 hour paroxysm followed by a 54 hour rigor for a total cycle of 72 hours. Quatrain fevers are caused by a
corruption in one of the noble or principal organs. The signs and symptoms will vary, depending on which
organ is affected.
With both the tertian and quatrain fevers, food intake should be light and limited, preferably a liquid diet,
during the paroxysms, which allows the organism to concentrate on concocting and purging itself of the
pathogenic matter. A slightly fuller diet can be given during the rigors, but still, it must be kept light, pure and
easy to digest.
Consumptive fevers are chronic, lingering fevers that have consumed the blood and/or serous fluids, and
finally the Radical Moisture of the organism. They are like a raging bonfire that has dwindled down into
smouldering embers.
Consumptive fevers are continuous and low grade, but tend to get worse in the evenings, and at night.
Marasmus, or a state of severe fatigue and prostration, often with a thin, furtive sweat, is also commonly seen.
The tongue will usually be thin, emaciated and dark red, and the pulse will be thin, thready and rapid.
Consumptive fevers can either involve the serous fluids or the blood; they can also be centered in one of the
noble or principal organs. In addition to the common signs and symptoms listed above, each type of
consumptive fever will present with additional signs and symptoms peculiar to itself:
If the consumptive fever is in the serous fluids, there will be signs of wasting and dehydration; extreme
thirst, often with no desire to drink; mental restlessness, malaise and insomnia; and spots and maculae on the
skin. Consumptive fevers affecting the serous fluids are often the result of Phlegmatic fevers that have gone
chronic; they may also go on to affect the blood as well.
Consumptive fevers affecting the blood are more ardent, vehement and serious, since blood is hotter in
temperament than the serous fluids. There will be fever, rashes and skin eruptions; agitated or manic behavior;
and various types of abnormal bleeding: epistaxis (nosebleed), hematemesis (vomiting blood) or hemoptysis
(coughing up blood).
Consumptive fevers affecting the liver will present with: headache, irritability, red sore eyes, dizziness,
vertigo, tinnitus, indigestion, poor appetite, and fullness and distension underneath the ribs.
Consumptive fevers affecting the heart will present with restlessness, delirium, insomnia and night sweats.
Such a fever will disturb and agitate the vital spirits.
Consumptive fevers affecting the lungs will present with: dyspnea, or shallow breathing; a weak, chronic
cough; wasting and consumption; chronic thirst and sore throat; a fine, furtive perspiration; and in severe cases,
coughing up blood, or hemoptysis. These are the classic signs and symptoms of pulmonary tuberculosis.
Convulsive fevers are generated by high, ardent fevers that enter the liver, stirring up internal wind. The
distinguishing signs and symptoms will be: giddiness, nausea, dry heaves, projectile vomiting, mania, insomnia
and disturbed sleep, apoplexy, convulsions, rolling eyes, tremors, spasms and deviation of the tongue.
Fevers: Greek Medicine versus Modern Medicine
There is a world of difference between Greek Medicine and modern medicine in how they treat fevers and
the infections that are often associated with them.
Modern medicine sees fever as something negative and undesirable, that must be quelled and suppressed
unconditionally, at all costs. Strong antibiotics are used to kill off the invading infectious microbes.
Greek Medicine sees fever as a natural immune response of the organism, as a process of cleansing and
catharsis that must be managed and worked with by the physician as the Servant of Nature. Infectious microbes
are seen as secondary to morbidities and imbalances in the biological and metabolic terrain that allowed the
proliferation of pathogenic microbes in the first place.
Although resorting to modern medical methods to treat fevers and infections is quick and convenient, in the
long run, overindulgence in such methods can do the organism a disservice. Like any organ, muscle or
physiological function of the body, the natural cathartic response of fever can weaken with continued disuse and
suppression, and not be around when it's needed.
Antibiotics may kill off pathogenic microbes, but their mortal remains still linger around to clog the
circulatory and lymphatic systems. These microbial corpses still have to be digested, concocted and eliminated
by the spleen and lymphatic systems, then eliminated via the excretory organs; this is all part of the clean up
work done by the natural healing methods of Greek Medicine.
An ecological disaster in the microbial world looms on the horizon, which has been created by our own
indiscriminate use, misuse and abuse of antibiotics. Originally designed to be used only in life-threatening
infections, their overuse and consequent microbial overexposure has led to the rise of new "superbugs" resistant
to multiple antibiotics. Truly, the waning twilight of the antibiotic age may be at hand.
There was nothing inherently wrong with the weapon of antibiotics; the only error was in how they were
overused, misused and abused, like selling them en masse to factory farms to prevent infections and accelerate
growth in livestock. Developing new technologies like antibiotics is relatively easy. New technologies are a
dime a dozen; much rarer and more precious is the moral and ethical maturity and enlightened sense of values
necessary to use them properly.
And so, perhaps in a spirit of dire necessity, modern medicine may once again have to revert back to the
natural, holistic methods of Greek Medicine in fighting fevers and infections.
DIFFERENTIATION OF PAIN
The concept of discontinuity is central to Greek Medicine's understanding of pain. Greek Medicine sees
pain, in all its myriad forms, as resulting from some kind of discontinuity.
In our dualistic world of opposing forces and qualities, conflict and disharmony are often inevitable. When
this conflict or clash of opposing forces or qualities occurs somewhere within the human body, the host will
experience pain. And the point where the pain is most keenly felt is often, but not always, the focal point of the
conflict or discontinuity of qualities and/or forces.
The most obvious kind of discontinuity as a source and cause of pain is the actual physical or structural
discontinuity of the body and its tissues resulting from injury or trauma. Severed or ruptured nerve endings
naturally and obviously feel pain, which sends the dire message: Fix me!
But beyond this gross, obvious structural discontinuity, Greek Medicine sees the subtler, less visible forms of
pain as being due mainly to a discontinuity of humor and/or temperament that is stressing or irritating some
organ, tissue or part of the body.
Greek Medicine, through the concept of discontinuity, sees pain primarily as an acute phenomenon. By
acute, I mean sharp, and not in the chronological sense, as many types of chronic pain can also be quite acute,
or sharp and severe. The sharper the battle lines of conflict between opposing forces and/or qualities are drawn,
the more acute and severe will be the pain.
It's a common clinical observance that pain that's felt quite sharply and acutely at the initial onset will often
become dulled or obscured with the passage of time. The conventional neurological explanation of modern
medicine is that the brain and central nervous system gradually desensitize themselves to the repeated influx of
pain stimuli.
But Greek Medicine, while not denying the existence of these neurological factors, maintains that the
conflict or discontinuity between an invading dystemper or humoral disharmony and the righteous physiology
and homeostatic forces of the organism will be more acutely felt in the initial stages. With the passage of time,
the organism will gradually acclimatize itself to the imbalance or disorder, and therefore will feel the initial
conflict or discontinuity less acutely.
Sometimes, the conflict or discontinuity will be between the natural impetus of a fluid, humor or vital
principle to flow in a certain direction and factors, either energetic or humoral, that are obstructing or stagnating
its flow. And so, Chinese medicine has a maxim: "Where there is stagnation, there will be pain; remove the
stagnation, and you remove the pain."
A parallel could be drawn here between pain and fever: Obstructions that are more subtle and energetic in
nature, involving the vital principles, could be called ephemeral; these ephemeral types of pain would include
mainly nervous, colicky or spasmodic types of pain. Obstructions that are more humoral or substantial in nature
will produce pain that also feels more solid and substantial.
Regarding this ephemeral aspect of pain, it's undeniable that there's a strong correlation between one's
spiritual, mental and emotional state and how one feels pain. Joyful, positive, outgoing psychic states tend to
reduce or mitigate the perception of pain, whereas negative, stressful, anxious or apprehensive states will
heighten it. Pain can often be ignored by singleminded concentration on some other focal point or activity.
This is true especially for the more ephemeral types of pain, but it can also apply to other types of pain as well.
Each one of the Four Basic Qualities can produce certain types or qualities of pain. The astute physician
can, by analyzing the quality of pain felt by the patient, determine which of the Four Basic Qualities is causing
the discontinuity, which gives rise to the pain.
Heat can generate pain directly by roasting or burning the tissues, as in sunburn. But by far, most heatrelated pain involves the process of inflammation.
Galen identified the four main signs of inflammation as being Rubor (redness), Calor (heat), Turgor
(swelling) and Dolor (pain). The redness is indicative of the heat, which causes the tissues to swell, which then
causes the pain. Inflammation can be a natural immune response to sepsis and infection, or it may be generated
by chronic or repetitive stress and irritation to the tissues, which can be either humoral or physical/mechanical
in origin, as in overwork or trauma.
The most distinctive feature of inflammatory pain is its throbbing, pulsating quality. According to Avicenna,
this is because the inflammatory swelling of the tissues presses against a nearby artery, making its pulsations
felt.
Humoral irritation is generally caused by humors or secretions that are too sharp, acidic, ulcerative or
caustic. Gastritis or stomach pain caused by a Choleric excess of caustic stomach acid would be a good
example.
Cold is a terrible culprit when it comes to generating pain, and one that is greatly underappreciated by
modern man. Extremes and discontinuities of cold cause pain because cold is basically inimical to life.
Cold cramps and constricts, impeding proper circulation and metabolism. Cold congeals and thickens the
humors, causing pain by obstructing the flow of the humors, fluids and vital principles. Mild or moderate cold,
often in conjunction with dampness, produces a dull ache, sometimes with a heavy, bearing down sensation.
Rheumatic aches and pains are a good example. Extreme cold can cause a numbing pain, as well as cramping,
colic and spasm. Other types of pain commonly caused by cold include headache, stomachache, rheumatism,
menstrual pains and toothache.
By far, the most active qualities in the generation of pain are the two primary or active qualities of Hot and
Cold.
Dryness is often seen in conjunction with, or as the result of, excess heat. It can generate pain through a
tightening, shrinking or fissuring of the tissues.
Wetness is often seen in conjunction with Cold. Its distinctive feature is a feeling of bloating, distension or
heaviness, as moisture descends.
In addition, wind can also play an active role in generating pain, usually in combination with one or more of
the other Four Basic Qualities. Wind generated pain will often be light, mobile or spasmodic, as in ephemeral
shooting pains, or cramps and spasms.
the periosteum.
8) Loose Pain - Some matter extending and relaxing the flesh of a muscle, but not its tendons.
9) Boring Pain - Some thick matter or gas trapped within the folds of a hard organ like the colon, and
boring into it.
10) Piercing Pain - Like Boring Pain, but matter pierces all the way through.
11) Dull Pain - An excess of cold temperament blocking passages of sensation, or sensitive pneuma;
repletion or blockage of vessels by cold, thick humors.
12) Throbbing Pain - Due to a hot swelling or inflammation.
13) Heavy Pain - The swelling of an insensitive organ like the lung, kidney or spleen - surrounding tissues
feel heaviness, pressure.
14) Fatigue Pain - Physical exertion; wear and tear (labor fatigue)
Humor causing distension (tension fatigue)
Gases (flatulent fatigue)
An irritating humor (ulcerative fatigue)
15) Irritative Pain - A humor with a sharp, caustic quality.
Get what you will from these fifteen different types of pain and their causes. Some of these types of pain
and their causative mechanisms I have discussed already, some I haven't. Some you will find more
understandable and relevant, some less so.
Avicenna, to sum things up, goes on to explain how three different things are behind most kinds of pain:
Excessive movement causes pain through distension, contusion or laceration. In other words, this is
excessive wear and tear, as in the first type of Fatigue Pain.
Abnormal humors cause pain in two ways. First, their excessive quantity can distend, stretch, compress or
pierce an organ or tissue. Secondly, their sharp, caustic quality can irritate, corrode or inflame tissues with
which they come into contact.
Gases cause pain mainly through distension. Everyone is familiar with the pain of gas and bloating in the GI
tract. But, according to Avicenna, gas doesn't just accumulate and get trapped in the gastrointestinal cavities; it
can penetrate into many places - between the fibers of internal organs, muscles, bones, periosteum, flesh or even
skin. In short, gas can go virtually anywhere to cause distension and pain.
Pain and the Four Humors
Wherever the Four Humors get critically congested, stagnant or obstructed, they can generate pain. The
nature or character of the pain will vary, according to which humor is involved.
Stagnant or congealed blood will generate a sharp, stabbing pain. Menstruating women often get such
sharp, stabbing pains, which are usually relieved once the clot is passed. Angina, or blood stagnation in the
heart and chest, also produces sharp pains. Milder states of blood congestion and stagnation can generate
itching or prickly pain; the tingling of "pins and needles" from impaired blood circulation to an extremity is a
good example.
Morbid excesses and congestions of the Phlegmatic humor often produce dull, heavy aches and pains,
especially in conjunction with excess cold. The aches and pains of rheumatism are a good example; they tend
to have their onset or get worse in cold, damp weather. Signs of pallor, puffiness, swelling or edema may also
be present.
Choleric in nature and temperament are pains caused by humoral accumulations of a sharp, acidic, pungent,
caustic or irritating quality. In terms of Avicenna's fifteen types, this would be: Itching Pain, Rough Pain,
Corrosive Pain, Irritative Pain and Ulcerative Fatigue Pain. Choleric aggravations also aggravate
inflammation, which generates Throbbing Pain.
Melancholic pains tend to be colicky, spasmodic or neuralgic in nature. They are often associated with
frayed nerves and neuraesthenia, which is a severe exhaustion or fatigue of the nervous system, as well as with
neuromuscular disorders. In the GI tract, accumulations of morbid black bile will produce flatulent colic,
stomach pains, or even the severe pain of chronic constipation or intestinal obstruction. The areas affected by
Melancholic pain may also have a withered, atrophied appearance.
In his Canon of Medicine, Avicenna recommends the topical application of a paste made from Dill seeds and
Flax seeds mashed together with water for pain. The Dill seed is a warming anodyne, and the Flax seeds are a
soothing demulcent.
Antiinflammatories are the natural course of treatment for throbbing, inflammatory pain. In modern
medicine, the main treatment options are NSAIDs (Non-Steroid Anti-Inflammatory Drugs) or steroids, but the
herbal kingdom offers a very rich diversity of antiinflammatories. They address all levels and types of
inflammation, in every organ, tissue or part of the body, and have no negative side effects.
If the pain is caused by a localized buildup or accumulation of morbid matter in a certain spot, then Greek
Medicine will often use hygienic purification treatments to eliminate the congestion or draw it out. And so,
enemas are used to relieve the pain of intestinal obstruction. Vesicant plasters are applied topically to draw
morbid toxins out of a painful arthritic joint.
If colic and spasm is the cause of the pain, then powerful antispasmodics are used to relieve it. Perhaps the
most commonly used pain relieving antispasmodics in traditional Greek Medicine were Rue and Henbane,
which were used, in the appropriate dosages, both internally as well as topically. Since these herbs, especially
the latter, are extremely potent, they are to be used under professional supervision only.
And so, the most effective way to treat pain is to treat its cause. Wherever the painful conflict or
discontinuity exists, it must be resolved and harmonized.
DISEASE PROGRESSION AND CRITICAL DAYS
The Power of Prognosis
The ancient Greeks, and also the Romans, were great believers in the unseen power of destiny and fate.
They frequently consulted oracles like the one at Delphi to seek guidance from the gods and augur the
probabilities for success or failure in an important endeavor. They were always trying to read signs and omens
in their everyday lives.
This general attitude carried over into the practice of medicine. Particularly esteemed was the physician who
could read the signs and omens in the patient's condition to tell what his prospects were for survival and
recovery.
It has often been said of Hippocrates and the physicians of his Coan school that they placed a special
emphasis on prognosis; many attribute this to Egyptian influence. But, writing in his Canon of Medicine almost
1500 years later, Avicenna asserts that nothing lends more credibility and esteem to a physician than his powers
of prognosis, and his ability to tell the past, present and future course of an illness.
Greek Medicine is a system of natural healing that believes in the healing power of Nature; and so, many
diseases are seen as self-limiting. However, many diseases are not, and can have grave, serious or even fatal
consequences if allowed to run their course.
The ultimate yardstick for measuring the value of any medical treatment or intervention is how much it will
improve the outcome of the disease or disorder over the negative option of doing nothing, and allowing the
disease to naturally run its course. The physician's knowledge and powers of prognosis must be such that he is
able to intelligently discuss with his patient the merits, pros and cons, and probable outcomes of the various
treatment options under consideration.
Every disease, as a phenomenon of Nature, has its own particular progression, life cycle and developmental
rhythms. Knowing the natural cycles and rhythms of disease progression will enable the astute physician to
intervene in the most timely and effective manner.
Greek Medicine, as a holistic healing system, recognizes that the life, health and wellbeing of the patient is
intimately connected with the larger, universal life cycles of Nature and the cosmos. Celestial, climactic and
environmental factors all exert their influence on the course and outcome of the patient's illness or disease.
The following aphorism also relates clearly to the Doctrine of Critical Days:
The fourth day is indicative of the seventh; the eighth is the commencement of the second week; and hence,
the eleventh, being the fourth of the second week, is also indicative; and again, the seventeenth is indicative, as
being the fourth from the fourteenth, and the seventh from the eleventh.
- Hippocrates, Aphorisms II: 24
In fact, unless one understood something of the Doctrine of Critical Days, this aphorism of Hippocrates
would seem to be nothing more than numerical nonsense, or mathematical jibberish.
Instead of the more complex schema of critical days I presented earlier, Hippocrates presents here a more
simplified version. He dispenses with the judicial days altogether, and puts the intercedental days, which are
indicative or presaging of the following critical days, at roughly mid-week.
Those bodies which have been slowly emaciated should be slowly recruited; and those which have been
quickly emaciated should be quickly recruited.
- Hippocrates, Aphorisms II : 7
The word, "recruited" here means , "rebuilt" or "restored". This is one of Nature's laws; one can't take any
shortcuts in restoring the health and nutritional status of someone who has slowly atrophied and lost it. In such
cases, only restoration done gradually, bit by bit, will be of any quality, lasting and permanent.
Conversely, nutritive losses incurred quickly by the body will be felt more urgently and acutely. Therefore,
they need to be restored as quickly and urgently as possible to return the organism to homeostasis.
What remains in diseases after the crisis is apt to produce relapses.
- Hippocrates, Aphorisms II : 12
Ideally, the acute crisis of a disease should be a complete catharsis that eliminates all pathogenic matter from
the organism. Any pathogenic matter that remains will go on to create further illness and disturbances of a
similar nature.
When a person who is recovering from a disease has a good appetite, but his body does not improve in
condition, it is a bad sign.
- Hippocrates, Aphorisms II : 31
This shows that there is something drastically and fundamentally wrong with the person's pepsis, or
digestion, assimilation and metabolism.
In diseases, there is less danger when the disease is one to which the patient's constitution, habit, age, and
the season are allied, then when it is one to which they are not allied.
- Hippocrates, Aphorisms II : 34
The normal homeostatic mechanisms of the body are more accustomed to handling pathogenic factors and
processes that are allied in nature and temperament to the individual's constitutional makeup, habits, age and life
stage, as well as climactic and environmental factors that are similarly allied. Conversely, these same
homeostatic mechanisms are more likely to be severely upset or deranged by pathogenic factors that run
contrary in nature to that to which they are accustomed to handling.
Persons who are naturally very fat are apt to die earlier than those who are slender.
- Hippocrates, Aphorisms II : 44
If this isn't an all-out endorsement for weight loss and proper weight management, I don't know what is.
Modern medicine has confirmed that obesity poses great risks to the life and health of the individual.
According to Hippocrates, here are the diseases that prevail in the four seasons of the year:
Spring: maniacal, melancholic and epileptic disorders; bloody flux, quinsy, coryza, hoarseness, cough,
ulcerations, tuberculosis, arthritic disorders.
Summer: ardent and tertian fevers, vomiting, diarrhea, opthalmies, pains of the ears, ulcerations of the
mouth, infections and mortifications of the private parts.
Autumn: quatrain and intermittent fevers, enlarged spleen, dropsy (edema), phthisis, strangury, lientery,
dysentery, sciatica, quinsy, asthma, epilepsy, maniacal and melancholic disorders.
Winter: pleurisy, pneumonia, coryza, hoarseness, cough, chest pains, pains of the ribs and loins, headache,
vertigo, apoplexy.
The most dangerous times, when the onset of disease is most likely, is, of course, when the seasons change,
especially from hot to cold, and vice-versa. Of all the seasons, Hippocrates affirms that spring is the most
conducive to health, and autumn the most problematic for disease.
Hippocrates also goes on to discuss which diseases are prevalent in the various stages of life. Here is his
analysis:
Infants: apthae (cold sores), vomiting, coughs, sleeplessness, frights, inflammation of the navel, watery
discharges from the ears.
Dentition (Teething): pruritis of the gums, fevers, convulsions, diarrhea - especially in those who are
cutting their canine teeth; constipated bowels - especially in those who are chubby or fat.
Childhood: tonsil problems, cervical spine disorders, asthma, calculus, round worms, various parasites,
tubercles and phymata.
Adolescence: most of the foregoing disorders, plus more chronic fevers and epistaxis (nosebleed).
Hippocrates goes on to explain that youths and adolescents generally suffer a definite crisis in their
complaints, which can happen to some in forty days, and to others in seven months, seven years, or at the onset
of puberty, or menstruation in women. Those complaints and disorders that do not pass away at around the time
of puberty or menarche usually go on to become chronic.
Young Adults: hemoptysis, phthisis, acute fevers, epilepsy, etc...
Middle Age: asthma, pleurisy, pneumonia, lethargy, phrenitis (inflammation of the brain), ardent fevers,
chronic diarrhea, cholera, dysentery, lientery, hemorrhoids.
Old Age: dyspnea, catarrhs with cough, dysuria, joint pains, nephritis, vertigo, apoplexy, cachexia (a sickly
complexion), pruritis of the whole body, insomnia; fluxes of the bowels, eyes and nose; dimness of vision,
cataracts, glaucoma, and hardness of hearing.
Of course, the world has changed a lot since Hippocrates' day, and with it our system of healthcare and the
diseases people suffer from. Certain diseases like cholera and leprosy have largely been eliminated, although
some on the above list are still common and familiar. Although there has been a dramatic decline in infectious
diseases, degenerative diseases like cancer have reached near epidemic proportions. Times change, and so do
diseases.
THE SEVEN NATURAL FACTORS
Standards of Health
Before we can begin to understand and treat disease, which is a deviation from the normal, healthy state of
the body, we must first have a clear and definite picture of exactly what constitutes its healthy, normal state.
And so, Greek Medicine begins with a study of the Seven Natural Factors, which constitute the standards of
health and normalcy for the human organism.
These are:
The Four Elements - what the body is made of.
The Four Humors - the metabolic agents of the Four Elements, the proper balance and confluence of which
constitutes health, and the imbalance of which constitutes disease.
The Four Temperaments - the qualitative yardsticks by which health and homeostasis, or deviation
therefrom, are measured; the basis of constitutional medicine.
The Four Faculties - the basic functions of the organism, and the essential functions of Life.
The Vital Principles - the energies and essences that give life to the organism.
The Organs and Parts - the basic units or components of the body, and how they function.
The Forces, or Administering Virtues - the four principal vectors of all bodily functions.
When all the Seven Natural Factors are working together in a balanced, harmonious manner, there is health
and homeostasis. When they aren't working together properly, there is dysfunction and disease. When any one
of these Seven Natural Factors or their essential components ceases to function, there is death.
THE GREEK MEDICINE WHEEL
Many traditional healing systems have some kind of medicine wheel teaching, which relates the life and
health of the individual to the universal life forces and cycles of the natural world. Greek Medicine also has a
medicine wheel, through which its most basic and fundamental correspondences may be known.
primary qualities.
Both Hot and Dry are qualities that the Chinese would call Yang. They are closely associated with each
other because heat evaporates moisture, producing dryness.
Both Cold and Wet are qualities that the Chinese would call Yin. They are closely associated with each
other because cold condenses moisture, producing wetness.
Conditions of both Hot and Cold can't exist simultaneously, since these two qualities are polar opposites.
For the same reason, neither can conditions of Dry and Wet coexist.
Each of the four compound temperaments has associations with a certain element, humor and temperament,
or constitutional type.
proportions. The basic distribution and arrangement of the elements in the human body, or microcosm reflects
that of the macrocosm of Nature.
Earth: All the dense, solid, deeper, more permanent parts of the body. Bones, joints and structural
connective tissue. Nerves, bone marrow and nervous tissue. Teeth and gums. The hair and nails.
tint.
Black Bile, or the Melancholic humor, is present as a brownish grey sediment with platelets and clotting
factors.
The Phlegmatic humor is Cold and Wet. It includes not just phlegm, but all the other clear fluids of the
body: mucus, saliva, plasma, lymph, and serous and interstitial fluids. Together, these fluids cool, moisten,
nourish, lubricate, protect, and purify the organism. The Plegmatic humor has an Expulsive virtue, or force,
which flushes out impurities, transports vital nutrients, and helps eliminate wastes. The home of the Phlegmatic
humor is in the veins and lymphatics. The Phlegmatic humor nourishes the body on a deep and fundamental
level.
Health is a harmonious balance and interworking of the humors. Although the Four Humors work together
to ensure the optimum nutrition, growth and metabolism of the organism, healthy humors still maintain their
own identity and functional integrity.
When the humors are harmonious, balanced and working well together, that is a condition called eucrasia, or
"good mixture". When the humors are unbalanced, aggravated, or out of sorts, that is a condition called
dyscrasia, or "bad mixture".
THE FOUR TEMPERAMENTS
generous. Romantically inclined; loves beauty, aesthetics, the arts. Sensual, indulgent nature. Sociable,
gregarious, lighthearted, cheerful.
Choleric Temperament
Humor: Yellow Bile Basic Qualities: Hot and Dry
The Choleric temperament is the hottest, most active and catabolic of all. Its traits are:
Face: Broad jaw. Sharp nose, high cheekbones. Sharp, angular facial features. Reddish face common.
Sharp, fiery, brilliant, penetrating eyes.
Physique: Compact, lean, wiry. Good muscle tone, definition. Prominent veins and tendons. Broad chest
common. An active, sportive type. Weight gain usually in chest, arms, belly, upper body.
Hair: Often curly. Can also be thin, fine. Balding common in men. Blonde or reddish hair common.
Skin: Ruddy or reddish color if heat predominates; sallow or bright yellow if bile predominates. Rough and
dry, quite warm.
Appetite: Sharp and quick. Soon overcome by ravenous hunger. Fond of meat, fried foods, salty or spicy
foods, alcohol, intense or stimulating taste sensations.
Digestion: Sharp and quick. Tendency towards gastritis, hyperacidity, acid reflux. When balanced and
healthy, can have a "cast iron stomach", able to digest anything.
Metabolism: Strong, fast, active; catabolic dominant. Strong Innate Heat of metabolism. Liver and bile
metabolism can be problematic. Digestive secretions strong, bowel transit time short. Adrenals, sympathetic
nervous system dominant. Strong inflammatory reactions.
Predispositions: Fevers, infections, inflammation. Hives, rashes, urticaria. Fatty liver, bilious conditions.
Hyperacidity, acid reflux, inflammatory and ulcerative conditions of middle GI tract. Headaches, migraines,
irritability. Eyestrain, red sore eyes. Purulent conditions. High cholesterol, cardiovascular disorders.
Gingivitis. Bleeding disorders from excess heat, choler in the blood. Hypertension, stress disorders.
Urine: Tends to be scanty, dark, thin. Can be hot or burning.
Stool: Tends towards diarrhea, loose stools. Can have a yellowish color, foul odor.
Sweat: Profuse, especially in summer, or with vigorous physical activity. Strong body odor. Sensitive to
hot weather, suffers greatly in summer.
Sleep: Often fitful, restless, disturbed, especially with stress, indigestion. Often tends to wake up early, or
in the middle of the night.
Dreams: Often of a military or violent nature. Dreams of fire, red things common. Fight or flight,
confrontation.
Mind: Bold, daring, original, imaginative, visionary. Ideation faculty well-developed. Brilliant intellect,
sharp penetrating insight. The idea man who prefers to leave the details to others.
Personality: Prone to anger, impatience, irritability; short temper. Bold, courageous, audacious;
confrontive, contentious. Dramatic, bombastic manner; high powered personality. The rugged individualist and
pioneer; thrives on challenge. The fearless leader. Seeks exhilaration, intense experiences. Driven, "Type A"
personality. Prone to extremism, fanaticism.
Melancholic Temperament
Humor: Black Bile Basic Qualities: Cold and Dry
The Melancholic temperament tends to be the most problematic, since it's contrary to the Sanguine.
However, with proper management, Melancholics can also be healthy.
Face: Squarish or rectangular head and face. Prominent cheekbones, sunken hollow cheeks common.
Small, beady eyes. Teeth can be prominent, crooked or loose. Thin lips.
Physique: Tends to be thin, lean. Knobby, prominent bones and joints common. Prominent veins, sinews,
tendons. Muscle tone good, but tends to be stiff, tight. Rib cage long and narrow, with ribs often prominent.
Can gain weight in later years, mainly around midriff.
Hair: Color dark, brunette. Thick and straight. Facial and body hair in men tends to be sparse.
Skin: A dull yellow or darkish, swarthy complexion. Feels coarse, dry, leathery, cool. Callouses common.
Appetite: Variable to poor. Varies, fluctuates according to mental/nervous/emotional state.
Digestion: Variable to poor; irregular. Digestion also varies according to mental/nervous/emotional state.
Colic, gas, distension, bloating common.
Metabolism: Often slow. Can also be variable, erratic. Prone to dehydration. Nervous system consumes
many nutrients, minerals. GI function variable, erratic; digestive secretions tend to be deficient. Blood tends to
be thick. Nutritional deficiencies can cause a craving for sweets, starches. Thyroid tends to be challenged,
stressed.
Predispositions: Anorexia, poor appetite. Nervous, colicky digestive disorders. Constipation. Spleen
disorders. Nutritional and mineral deficiencies, anemia. Blood sugar problems, hypoglycemia. Wasting,
emaciation, dehydration. Poor circulation and immunity. Arthritis, rheumatism, neuromuscular disorders.
Nervous and spasmodic afflictions. Dizziness, vertigo, ringing in ears. Nervousness, depression, anxiety, mood
swings. Neurovegetative dystonia.
Urine: Tends to be clear and thin.
Stool: Can either be hard, dry, compact; or irregular, porous, club shaped. Constipation, irritable bowel
common.
Sweat: Generally scanty. Can be subtle, thin, furtive, indicating poor immunity. Nervous stress can
increase sweating.
Sleep: Difficulty falling asleep, insomnia. Stress, overwork, staying up late aggravates insomnia. Generally
a light sleeper.
Dreams: Generally dark, moody, somber, disturbing. Themes of grief, loss common.
Mind: An analytical intellect; detail oriented. Efficient, realistic, pragmatic. Reflective, studious,
philosophical. Retentive faculty of memory well-developed. Thinking can be too rigid, dogmatic. A prudent,
cautious, pessimistic mental outlook.
Personality: Practical, pragmatic, realistic. Efficient, reliable, dependable. A reflective, stoic, philosophical
bent. Can be nervous, high strung. Frugal, austere; can be too attached to material possessions. Serious, averse
to gambling, risk taking. Can be moody, depressed, withdrawn. Can easily get stuck in a rut. Excessive
attachment to status quo.
Phlegmatic Temperament
Humor: Phlegm Basic Qualities: Cold and Wet
The Phlegmatic temperament is the coldest, most passive, energy conserving and anabolic. Its traits are:
Face: Round face; full cheeks, often dimpled. Soft, rounded features. Double chin, pug nose common.
Large, moist eyes. Thick eyelids and eyelashes.
Physique: Heavy frame, stout, with flesh ample and well-developed. Often pudgy, plump or overweight;
obesity common. Joints dimpled, not prominent. Veins not prominent, but can be bluish and visible. Lax
muscle tone common. Feet and ankles often puffy, swollen. Women tend to have large breasts. Weight gain
especially in lower body.
Hair: Light colored, blondish hair common. Light facial and body hair in men.
Skin: Pale, pallid complexion; very fair. Soft, delicate, cool moist skin. Cool, clammy perspiration
common, especially in hands and feet.
Appetite: Slow but steady. Craves sweets, dairy products, starchy glutinous foods.
Digestion: Slow but steady to sluggish. Gastric or digestive atony common. Sleepiness, drowsiness after
meals common.
Metabolism: Cold, wet and slow. Conserves energy, favors anabolic metabolism. Congestion, poor
circulation, especially in veins and lymphatics. Kidneys slow, hypofunctioning, inefficient. Adrenals and
thyroid tend towards hypofunction; basal metabolic rate low. Metabolic Water drowning out metabolic Fire.
Predispositions: Phlegm congestion. Water retention, edema. Lymphatic congestion, obstruction. Poor
veinous circulation. Gastric atony, slow digestion. Hypothyroid, myxedema. Adrenal hypofunction. Weight
gain, obesity. Frequent colds and flu. Chronic respiratory conditions, congestion. Swollen legs, ankles, feet.
Cellulite. Poor tone of skin, muscles, fascia.
Urine: Tends to be clear/pale and thick. Tends to be scanty in volume, with excess fluid accumulation in the
body.
Stool: Well-formed, but tends to be slightly loose, soft. Bowels tend to be sluggish.
Sweat: Cool, clammy sweat common, especially on hands and feet. Sweating can be easy and profuse,
especially with kidney hypofunction. Sensitive to cold weather; suffers greatly in winter.
Sleep: Very deep and sound. Tends towards excessive sleep, somnolence. Snoring common; can be loud or
excessive.
Dreams: Generally very languid, placid. Water and aquatic themes common.
Mind: Tends to be dull, foggy, slow. Slow to learn, but once learned, excellent and long retention. Patient,
devoted, faithful. Faculty of Empathy well-developed. Sentimental, subjective thinking. A calm, goodnatured, benevolent mental outlook.
Personality: Good natured, benevolent, kind. Nurturing, compassionate, sympathetic, charitable. Great
faith, patience, devotion; tends to be religious, spiritual. Sensitive, sentimental, emotional, empathetic.
Passive, slow, sluggish; averse to exertion or exercise. Calm, relaxed, takes life easy. Excessive sluggishness,
torpor can lead to depression.
INHERENT TEMPERAMENT
firmness versus softness, squishiness or laxness. Organs and parts that distill, extract, digest or refine need a
certain dryness to be able to function. Organs and parts that mix, unite, dissolve, secrete, or generate things
need a certain wetness to be able to function.
Of all the body parts, Greek Medicine considers the skin to be the most inherently neutral and balanced in
temperament. All the other organs, tissues and body parts are either Hotter or Colder, Wetter or Dryer than the
skin.
Now, let's look at the various body parts exhibiting extremes of temperament. They are as follows:
Hot - the exhalation or outbreath is the hottest, being obviously hot to the touch. The heart is considered
to be the hottest internal organ, since it constantly beats, or pulsates. In heat, the heart is closely followed by the
blood, which carries the Innate Heat. Close behind is the liver, a real hotbed of metabolic activity.
Cold - The Phlegmatic humor, being the body's main coolant, is considered to be the coldest substance in
the body. The hair comes next, since it consists of dead protein filaments, devoid of all metabolic activity.
Next come the bones, with a very low level of metabolic activity, followed by the cartilage, which is softer,
warmer, and more mechanically and metabolically active.
Dry - Our Cold friends, the hair and bones, are also the dryest parts of the organism, being very hard and
dense as well. The phrase "bone dry" is a common expression. The bones are followed by the cartilage, which
is slightly smoother and softer, and therefore more moist. Next come the tendons and ligaments, which, as
connective tissues, need a certain hardness, stiffness and durability to perform their functions.
Wet - The coldest substance in the body, the Phlegmatic humor, is also the wettest, since it's the body's
main lubricant. Slightly dryer, and therefore thicker and less dilute, but still quite wet, is blood, or the
Sanguine humor. The liver is the wettest internal organ, because it has to generate the blood and the other
humors.
Also, the basic vulnerabilities of an organ or body part tell a lot about its inherent temperament. For
example, the throat, which is constantly being bathed in the outbreath, is one of the warmest parts of the
organism; therefore, it's very vulnerable to cold drafts and chills. The brain, besides being one of the wettest
internal organs, is also one of the coldest; therefore, fevers and excessive heat, as well as dehydration, can
seriously impair its functioning. Generally, a body part is most vulnerable to qualities that run counter to those
it needs for optimal functioning.
click to zoom
What follows is a comprehensive chart of the various organs, tissues and body parts and their degrees of
inherent temperament. The best way to present this is spatially, with the four cardinal directions corresponding
to the Four Basic Qualities. Each quadrant of the chart represents one of the four compound temperaments:
Choleric, Sanguine, etc...
In the center is the skin. At the bottom is Hot, at the top Cold. At the left is Wet, at the right is Dry.
The idea for such a chart is not my own. It comes from Graeme Tobyn's excellent book, Culpeper's
Medicine. I have merely adapted it, adding a few extra organs, tissues and body parts.
perform these four basic functions. Each of these faculties has a principal organ, which is its central control or
processing unit, which in turn is served by subsidiary organs and vessels of the faculty.
The Four Faculties of the organism, and their principal functions and organs,
are as follows:
Vital Faculty - Vitalizes the organism, enabling it to function; coordinates whole body responses. Governs
respiration, circulation, cellular metabolism and the immune response.
Principal Organ - Heart
Natural Faculty - Feeds the organism, enabling it to grow and regenerate its physical structure. Governs
digestion, metabolism, nutrition and growth.
Principal Organ - Liver
Psychic Faculty - Intelligence, awareness, perception. Stimulus and response. Enables the organism to
respond to its environment in the interests of self preservation.
Principal Organ - Brain
Generative Faculty - Reproduction, procreation. Propagates the species in service of the continuance of
Life.
Principal Organ - Gonads
The first three faculties are primary, because they're needed on a daily basis. The fourth faculty, the
Generative Faculty, serves the purpose of procreation, which is not needed on a daily basis.
To demonstrate the importance of the three primary faculties, let's consider a limb of the body, like a leg, for
example:
The Vital Faculty vitalizes that leg, giving it life. Without the Vital Faculty and its lifegiving blood supply,
that leg would necrose and die within minutes.
The Natural Faculty feeds that leg, nourishing it and regenerating its structure. Without the humors and
nutrients it supplies, that leg would gradually atrophy and wither away over a period of days, weeks or months.
The Psychic Faculty enables that leg to perform specialized movements like kicking and walking, and take
us where we want to go. Through the Psychic Faculty, that leg becomes a useful instrument for the indwelling
soul, or psyche.
Principal Organ
Afferent Vessels
Efferent Vessels
Principal Organ
Afferent Vessels
Efferent Vessels
Vital Faculty
Heart
Lungs and respiratory tract; diaphragm
Veins and pulmonary vessels; lymphatics
Arteries and capillaries
Natural Faculty
Liver
Stomach and digestive tract
Veins of hepatic portal system
Inferior vena cava, gall bladder, spleen
Psychic Faculty
Principal Organ
Afferent Vessels
Efferent Vessels
Principal Organ
Afferent Vessels
Efferent Vessels
Brain
Sense organs, sensory nerves
Motor nerves, effector organs and muscles
Generative Faculty
Gonads - testes (male) ovaries (female)
male - epididymus, vas deferens, seminal vesicles, prostate, urethra, penis
female - fallopian tubes, uterus, cervix, vagina, vulvae
Arteries and capillaries
Vital Faculty
Lungs - served by the ribs, diaphragm and upper respiratory tract.
Thymus Gland - served by the lymphatic system and lymphocytes.
Natural Faculty
Spleen - served by the stomach, colon, lymphatic and circulatory systems.
Pancreas - served by the circulatory system, digestive tract.
Kidneys - served by bladder, lower urinary tract; also interfaces with Vital Faculty.
Psychic Faculty
Sense Organs - eyes, ears, nose, tongue, skin - served by their sensory nerves.
Generative Faculty
Uterus - served by all the other organs and vessels of the female reproductive system; grows the foetus into the
newborn.
Breasts - The female breasts produce milk.
The endocrine glands, which produce important hormones that regulate and govern important whole body
responses, are also noble organs; most of them interface between multiple faculties and systems. Every organ,
vessel or gland in the human body serves at least one of the Four Faculties.
PNEUMA AND IGNIS
The Energies of Life
The human body and all its faculties, organs and systems function on energy, which is distilled, generated
and supplied by the organism itself. Without energy to animate it, there is no life.
There are two basic types of energy in the human organism: kinetic and thermal. Kinetic energy is
responsible for all function and movement, whereas thermal energy is responsible for all digestion, metabolism
and transformation. Life requires both kinetic and thermal energy.
Greek Medicine calls kinetic energy Pneuma, or the Breath of Life. Pneuma is similar to what Chinese
Medicine calls Qi and yoga and Ayurveda call Prana.
Greek Medicine calls thermal energy Ignis, which is Latin for Fire. Ignis is similar to what Chinese
Medicine calls Yang or Huo and to what yoga and Ayurveda call Agni.
As they are generated, and subsequently flow and are distributed throughout the various faculties and
systems of the organism, both Pneuma and Ignis assume various forms. The essence of these vital energies
remains the same, but the functions they are adapted to perform change.
All the major bodily functions have both a kinetic and a thermal aspect. Take digestion, for example: Its
kinetic aspect is the churning and peristalsis of the stomach and intestines, whereas its thermal aspect is the
distillation, generation and metabolism of the humors.
The Vital Principles: The Vital Force, Innate Heat and Thymos
The Vital Faculty generates three vital principles, which bestow life, health and immunity upon the
organism. These are:
The Vital Force: The basic, primal form of kinetic energy in the organism, which powers all bodily
movement and function. The Vital Force is then converted and specialized into other forms of pneuma or
kinetic energy by the principal organs of the Natural and Psychic faculties.
The Innate Heat: The basic, primal form of thermal energy in the organism, which powers all pepsis digestion, metabolism and transformation. The Innate Heat is then converted and specialized into other forms
of ignis or thermal energy by the principal organs of the Natural and Psychic faculties.
Together, the Vital Force and Innate Heat power all cellular metabolism in the body. The Vital Force and
Innate Heat then fuse together to create the thymos, which is the distilled essence of the Vital Faculty.
Thymos, which means, "fierce, proud, bold" in Greek, is the immune force of the organism, and powers the
immune response. The thermal aspect of thymos asserts the metabolic presence of the host organism, and so
keeps parasites and microbes, with their foreign metabolisms, at bay. The kinetic aspect of thymos mobilizes
the immune response and activates its biological intelligence. Like the Vital Force and Innate Heat, the thymos
is also carried by the blood to every cell, organ and tissue of the body.
feedback loop between the Psychic and Vital faculties, or head and heart.
The essence of what the heart feels is embodied in the Vital Spirits that surround the heart. Expansive,
joyful, noble feelings and emotions expand and strengthen the Vital Spirits, whereas base, ignoble, constrictive
feelings and emotions contract and weaken the Vital Spirits. If the strength and quality of the Vital Spirits are
good, plenty of good quality Vital Force, Innate Heat and Thymos will be generated in the heart, which will in
turn have a beneficial vitalizing effect on the whole organism.
The thoughts we habitually think and our prevailing mental outlook have a profound effect on the Vital
Spirits, and on the quality of Thymos and other vital principles generated in the heart. Since the Thymos is
responsible for the immune response, our habitual thoughts and attitudes can affect our immunity. And so,
Greek Medicine was into psychoneuroimmunology long before it became the latest buzzword in holistic
medicine.
It's an accepted fact that our mental and emotional states affect our breathing patterns, and vice versa. If our
mind is plagued by fear and anxiety, our breathing becomes rapid and shallow; a few long, deep breaths will
calm the mind.
The brain also needs a lot of fresh oxygen, or pneuma, supplied by the lungs, heart and Vital Faculty. If
we're not breathing right, our brains cannot think and function at full capacity.
THE NATURAL FACULTY
Feeding the Body
The Natural Faculty feeds and regenerates the physical structure of the body. It is responsible for all
digestion and metabolism, nutrition and growth.
The Natural Faculty is most developed in plants or vegetable life, which can make their own food. And so,
the functions of the Natural Faculty are sometimes called the vegetative functions.
The Liver
The principal organ of the Natural Faculty is the liver, which is the master metabolic chemist of the
bloodstream. The liver generates the Four Humors from chyle through the combined action of the Metabolic
Heat and the Natural Force, which are the basic thermal and kinetic energies of the Natural Faculty.
All the other organs and vessels of the Natural Faculty are ultimately the servants and attendants of the liver.
The entire digestive tract exists to digest food and drink into chyle, which is then sent to the liver from the
small intestine via the veins of the hepatic portal system. From the liver, the inferior vena cava takes the
fresh humors to the heart, to be infused with the vital principles and pumped out all over the body.
And so, a close relationship exists between the liver and the veins. In Greek Medicine, the veins serve the
liver and the Natural Faculty, whereas the arteries serve the heart and the Vital Faculty.
are transformed into living tissue, is actually called metabolism. Actually, metabolism is nothing more than
micro-digestion, which is occurring all throughout the organism, all the way down to the cellular level.
The essential action of heat in digestion works something like a refiner's or smelter's fire. The food, or raw
ore, is consumed or digested and the humors, or pure metal, is distilled or extracted; then the dross, or waste
products, are cast off. This is the basic process for all stages of digestion and metabolism. Something is
consumed or digested, something is produced, distilled, or extracted, and some byproduct is cast off as unusable
waste.
The secret to proper digestion or pepsis lies in getting the heat level just right, and cooking the chyle and
humors to perfection. Either overcooking or undercooking will result in the production of toxic humors that can
poison or clog the organism.
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In the upper digestive tract, from the mouth to the stomach, the Phlegmatic humor and its Expulsive
Virtue predominates. In the mouth, the teeth thoroughly chew or masticate the food with ample saliva to form
a semiliquid bolus, which can easily be propelled down the esophagus to the stomach.
In the middle digestive tract, or the stomach and duodenum, the Choleric humor and its Digestive Virtue
predominates. The stomach receives the food and initiates the major part of digestion with its caustic, Choleric
acids and enzymes, which would digest the stomach itself if it weren't for its protective mucous coat, of the
opposite yet complementary Phlegmatic humor. Residues of black bile in the stomach enable it to hold on to
its contents long enough to process them properly. When the time is ripe, the pyloric valve opens under the
action of the Phlegmatic humor and its Expulsive Virtue.
In the duodenum, yellow bile is secreted into it from the liver and gall bladder. Yellow bile facilitates the
digestion and absorption of fats, and also eliminates excess fats and cholesterol from the body. Bile also acts as
a natural laxative, stimulating intestinal peristalsis.
Then, the pancreas secretes its digestive enzymes and bicarbonates, which neutralize and tone down the
caustic, acidic heat of the middle GI tract, giving the food and digestive juices a more balanced, Sanguine
nature, which facilitates absorption. The digestion of food into chyle is completed in the small intestine.
After the digestion of chyle is completed, the villi of the small intestine absorb its nutrients via the
Attractive Virtue of the blood that runs through them. These nutrients are then sent to the liver for processing
into the Four Humors.
In the colon, black bile and its Retentive Virtue predominate as the remaining fluids and electrolytes are
reabsorbed and the stool condensed and solidified. The Retentive Virtue of black bile enables the stool to be
held until the time is right for defecation. The drying, hardening action of black bile is tempered and
counterbalanced by the moistening, lubricating action of the Phlegmatic humor, which makes the stools soft
enough to expel through its Expulsive Virtue. The presence of yellow bile, a natural laxative, tips the balance
in favor of excretion.
The Brain
The brain is the principal organ or central processing and control unit of the Psychic Faculty. It is served by
the nerves, or the neural network of the organism.
The central nexus or switchboard of this neural network is the spinal column, from whence nerves branch
out to all parts of the body. The spinal column and its energy centers are symbolized by the Caduceus, or the
magic wand of Hermes.
The nerves that serve the brain are basically of two types: afferent or sensory, which take sensory
impressions and stimuli to the brain; and efferent, or motor, which carry the responses and commands of the
brain out to the various muscles and effector organs.
The Psychic Faculty as a whole has a Cold, Dry Melancholic nature and temperament. Its coldness makes
it governed more by reason than by passion. Its dryness makes it capable of discernment, objectivity and self
awareness. The nerves and nervous tissues are also Cold, Dry and Melancholic.
The brain, however, has a wetter temperament than the nerves, which makes it, although cold and
rational, Phlegmatic in temperament. The wetness of the brain gives it a certain receptivity and identification
with its thoughts, perceptions and ideas. Physically, the wetness of the brain comes from the fact that it's bathed
in a sea of cerebrospinal fluid. Greek Medicine also considers the head and brain to be one of the main
accumulation sites for excess phlegm and dampness.
The essence of the Psychic Faculty is communication, and the brain is its central switchboard. Through the
brain and its neural network, the soul or psyche communicates with the body and with its environment, or the
outer world.
part of the brain. It is asleep in dreams, which exhibit no discretion, and don't have to make sense.
The Memory, or Retentive faculty is responsible for all memory and retention of experiences, facts,
information and details. It is Cold, Dry and Melancholic, and is most highly developed in those of that
temperament. It is located in the back of the brain, and is garbled and only partially active in dreams.
The faculty of Empathy enables one to sympathize and connect with the thoughts, emotions and feelings of
others. It is Cold, Wet and Phlegmatic, and is most highly developed in Phlegmatic types. Empathy is located
in the core of the brain, or limbic system. It is the basis of all charity and compassion, love and devotion.
The Radical Moisture has several important and distinctive properties and functions:
The Radical Moisture nourishes the organism on a deep and fundamental level. It gives nutritive power
to the humors, especially the moist, flourishing Phlegmatic and Sanguine humors, which predominate in bulk
and nutritive importance to the organism.
The Radical Moisture guides the growth, development and maturation of the organism over the long
term. These include sexual development and reproductive flowering or maturation. The other vital principles
and the Four Humors handle the day-to-day functioning and nutrition of the organism, but the Radical Moisture
guides it over the long term.
The Radical Moisture gives nutritive finish, polish, completion and integrity to the organs and tissues.
It also endows them with basic, nonspecific immune resistance. Immunologically, the Radical Moisture
underlies humoral immunity, whereas Thymos empowers vital immunity, or the immune response.
The Radical Moisture is the hormonal essence of the organism. It is centrally and deeply involved in all
the anabolic growth processes of the organism, which are the function of the endocrine glands and their
hormones. You could also call the Radical Moisture the vital marrow or sap of the organism.
The Radical Moisture and its quality are responsible for our basic mental and spiritual traits. Besides
growth and developmental disorders, defects in the Radical Moisture can create imbecility, mental retardation,
and defects of character and intelligence. The Radical Moisture is the essence of the life lived, and what gives it
purpose and direction.
The Radical Moisture is the anchor that gives the functions of the other vital principles stability, focus,
grounding and persistence. As the Yin anchor and complement to the other vital principles, the Radical
Moisture is necessary to enable the organism to attain a quiescent state of sleep or rest. It also supports, and is
regenerated by, the vegetative functions of the organism.
The Radical Moisture forms the genetic code or procreative seed that is passed on from parent to
offspring. At conception, each parent contributes a portion of their Radical Moisture to form a new life. In this
sense, the Radical Moisture is the essence of the Water element, which is the original source of life.
in middle age and beyond. For women, optimal nutrition during pregnancy and nursing, as well as family
planning, help conserve the Radical Moisture.
Toxins, or Crudities
The secret to proper pepsis lies in getting the heat level just right, and in cooking or concocting the humors
to perfection. If the Ignis or heat is too high, the food will get charred or burned, leaving a toxic residue that is
something like ash. If the Ignis is too low, excessive cold, wet, raw humors and phlegm will accumulate,
forming a kind of toxic sludge that obstructs or impedes normal body functioning.
Either way, the resulting toxins, called crudities, are poorly digested or undigested metabolic residues that
can't be properly assimilated and integrated into the organism, and so impede its functioning. Toxins are sticky,
turbid, foul, noxious, heavy, inert and irritating.
Periodically, it's good to fast and cleanse the body of toxins. But there are two great secrets to keeping them
from being created in the first place: First, always eat in accordance with your Ignis, and never eat more food
than your Digestive Fire can efficiently handle. Secondly, eat a balanced diet to keep your Ignis balanced,
healthy and well regulated.
When Phlegmatic Ignis is functioning well, stools are solid, bulky, well-formed, may be slightly soft.
Intestinal transit time tends to be slow. When malfunctioning, stools can be excessively soft or loose; in
extreme cases, pieces of undigested food may be present.
Prone to weight gain, obesity due to low metabolic rate. Cellulite, lipomas, soft nodules may appear as
organism tries to peripheralize unmetabolized Phlegmatic residues.
improvement in Greek Medicine. With improved Ignis and pepsis comes increased health, vitality, immunity
and longevity.
What distinguishes a woman from a man is that she has a womb: she's a "womb-man". The female
reproductive system is distinctively different from that of the male in that it contains a secondary principal
organ, or noble organ: the uterus, or womb.
The uterus' product is the embryo, which grows into the foetus, and finally into the newborn. It is the organ
of conception, gestation and childbirth, which are the dominion and responsibility of the female.
Archetypally, the womb is the essence of the female principle: the Sacred Space, vessel, or chalice; human
life's first home, a protective cocoon in which the foetus grows until it's ready to be released out into the world
at birth. It's also the special psychic function of the woman to draw souls into embodiment during gestation,
and to remain very nurturing and receptive to the child's needs, particularly during infancy and early childhood.
Because sexual union basically happens inside the female, women are generally much more receptive,
subjective and inwardly directed than men in their basic approach to sexuality and sexual relations. Men, on the
other hand, are more outwardly directed in a quest to find the right partner, the missing other half.
In many different ways, sexuality and reproduction have an overwhelmingly Sanguine character. Let me
explain:
First of all, there are obvious associations of season and life stage, as depicted in the Greek Medicine Wheel.
In springtime, the Sanguine season, a young man's (and woman's) thoughts turn to love and romance. Enjoying
sexual relations requires a certain youthful exuberance and vitality of spirit, even if you're not that young.
The Sanguine principle of abundance endows us with the capacity to enjoy sexual relations, and provides us
with a surplus that we can then pass on to our offspring. This is the guiding principle at work behind the
reproductive phase of the life cycle.
In sexual relations, Nature's strategy for assuring procreation and the survival of the species is by designing
overabundance into the process. Millions more sperm are ejaculated during the sexual act than the one that
finally fertilizes the egg. Many female eggs are washed away in the monthly menstrual cycle without being
fertilized over the course of a woman's lifetime.
The Sanguine principle of growth is also very prominent in procreation and gestation. The gestational phase
of the human life cycle is the most Sanguine, since the growth rate is higher than it will ever beduring the rest of
the individual's life.
The female reproductive system is also very Sanguine, since the woman sheds blood every month during
menstration. The health of the female reproductive system is only as good as the health of the blood.
The Sanguine Attractive Virtue is amply embodied in sexuality and reproduction, which is Life's attraction to
Itself. The essence of sexuality and reproduction is attraction and union.
Sex and romance are associated with the Sanguine good life. A man and woman go out on a date, go to a
restaurant and eat a big, sumptuous meal. Then, when fresh blood from that meal has fully sated their veins,
they discharge the superfluity by engaging in sexual relations.
One of the well-known and salient features of yogic philosophy is its doctrine of the seven chakras, or
spinal energy centers. The chakras are also the focus of many forms of holistic healing practiced today.
But did the ancient Greeks have any notions of the chakras or any chakra system? The answer is yes.
Classical Greek ideas about the chakras are contained in the writings of Plato, and alluded to in the teachings of
Pythagoras and in the Hermetic traditions of Western esotericism.
Classical Greek and Roman ideas about the chakras can be summed up as follows:
appetites and desires, and says, "Feed me!" It is the seat of the Fire element, which consumes and digests food
in the process of pepsis. It's also the seat of personal power, ambition and drive, which seeks to conquer all and
assimilate it into oneself. The Sanskrit name for this chakra, Manipura, means, "Jewel City", since it sparkles
with the fire of a million jewels.