Paracelsus’ Medicine – an Effective Holistic Approach to Contemporary Health and Ecological Issues

Abstract

Paracelsus (1493 – 1541) is mainly known as an alchemist and a “miracle doctor”, the first who challenged the dogma which prevailed in western medicine for around 1300 years. In his comprehensive treaties he included the science about studying the effects of the movement of celestial bodies on nature and humans, as well as astute observations of various life forms. The doctrine of signatures is an associative, artistic method reflecting similitude in aspect, habitat and organoleptic characteristics of the substance and the symptoms addressed. He was also the first to introduce the concept of dose in medical treatment. Paracelsus’ description of pathophysiological processes and their address through something similar to them, not antagonistic methods, was innovative and reflect approaches in other traditional medicine systems.