With June’s travels mostly digested (a couple more Sardinia pieces are forthcoming), my head is back in the clinical game. I’ve been making new batches of tinctures and have just set re-activated online booking; herbal and astrological work alike can now be scheduled here. For those who haven’t worked with me, KalaMandala.com is a good place to learn more.
Astrology and medicine are sister arts/sciences that still go hand in hand in India, Tibet, to some extent in China and, from what I understand, in much of the Muslim world. This was equally true in the West until a couple of hundred years ago. It’s really a strange, Humpty-Dumpty situation we’ve got going on here in the US and Western Europe with the fracturing of traditional arts in the name of science, and there’s a lot to be said for putting Humpty’s pieces back together again. Unfortunately fragmentation and dysfunction is a better business model in terms of capital accumulation. But I won’t clamber up on the soapbox today.
Instead, we’re taking a look at remedies for Aries people, by which I mean (a) those for whom Aries was rising at birth, or (b) people with major activation of Aries through multiple planetary placements. The rising sign is really our starting point, for other signs seldom outweigh the influence of the ascendant. (I’m using sidereal calculations, as is common in India; your tropical or Western rising sign may be up to one sign ahead, depending on the degree of your ascendant.)
Aries and Scorpio are both ruled by Mars, traditionally, so it’s no surprise that a major theme in remediation for both these signs will be dealing with Mars’ heat and tendency toward pitta disorders: Ayurvedic speak for fiery conditions. This fire expresses very differently in Mars’ two signs, however: in Aries it’s mostly outward, upward flare, while Scorpio’s fire is often hidden, smoldering, and contending with the deep waters that are also part of the Scorpionic ecology. More on the that next time; today we’re getting into Aries.
Being a dynamic/moveable fire sign, Aries is a straightforward expression of Mars: headstrong, hot-natured, impetuous and dynamic as the ram symbolism would suggest. This is really not a difficult energy to understand, partly because Aries wears its heart on its sleeve. It doesn’t even occur to Aries to hide its feelings or desires the way Scorpio will. Aries does have some idiosyncrasies, though. He can be restless, contrary, and undisciplined, much like fire itself: plenty of energy and pizzazz, not much structure or consistency.
Aries is among the most pitta of all signs. Pitta is sharp, hot, oily and penetrating in nature, and Pitta diseases are inflammatory or otherwise hot. Expressions of pitta conditions range from skin eruptions to diarrhea to migraines to hyperactivity. Even though these diseases share a common etiological factor—pitta, or simply heat—they cannot all be treated alike. Indeed, entire textbooks have been written on treating heat disorders (see for example the Treatise on Warm Diseases from the TCM herbal canon). I won’t even pretend to be exhaustive here and will by necessity paint with a broad brush here.
I don’t mean to imply that the herbs listed in each category are anything like equivalent; this list is just a starting point.
Cooling foods: cucumber, watermelon, mint, mung beans/sprouts, barley
Mild cooling remedies: Melissa, Sandalwood, Shatāvari, Rose, Mint
Moderate cooling remedies: Peach leaf, Wild cherry bark, Baical Skullcap, Lonicera
Strong cooling remedies: Coptis, Rhubarb root, Gypsum, Andrographis, Indigo
The second and especially the third category (strong herbs) are best reserved for professional use, as these herbs can be dangerous when misapplied: the same bucket of ice water that can put out a fire can also cause hypothermia. So here’s my obligatory disclaimer: clinical reality is complex. Not everything that appears hot needs to be aggressively cooled. Sometimes heat is more a by-product of dryness (“empty heat” or “yin deficiency heat” in Chinese medicine terms). Sometimes flaring heat symptoms are actually a product of lack of vital warmth at the core—think of how a candle flares up when it’s about to burn out. All that said, with Aries, chances are you’re dealing with true excess heat, not a red herring. I’ll proceed with that assumption in mind.
For true heat that’s not overly severe and doesn’t, say, involve serious infections or high fever—for restlessness, impatience, hyperactivity, literal overheating—then I’ll often reach for Peach leaf (Prunus persica), sometimes mixed with Melissa or Scutellaria. Peach is an old folk remedy I learned years ago from Minnesota herbalist Matthew Wood, and it’s a gem. It works instantly, in my experience, turning down the internal thermostat and bringing a wave of cool and calm. If heat is having its way with the body, Peach can often change things on the spot. I’ve seen a few drops of Peach tincture stop irritated-type vomiting on a dime, for example, and help a fussy, hyperactive kid (like a certain young Aries in the family) get to sleep.
Although I’ve listed Peach leaf as moderately strong, it should be treated with respect as it does contain cyanogenic compounds: stuff that turns to hydrogen cyanide. That sounds scary, but in practice it just means that you (a) need to process the herbal material properly (cyanide conversion occurs strongly during leaf wilting; I use the tincture of fresh leaves), and (b) need to dose it appropriately.
Re: dose, I rarely go over 15 drops of fresh Peach leaf tincture made by the “folk method”(i.e. by packing a glass jar with the leaves and filling with enough alcohol solution to cover before macerating for several weeks). I don’t find I need to use more than this dose, though I’ve gone up to 30 drops and suspect several times that much would still be in a safe range, if rather sedating.
To the above safety considerations, we should also add (c) get to know your source, as some trees are more potent than others. I always test a new batch of tincture using organoleptic methods, i.e. I’m my own guinea pig.
Most people, even most practitioners, will read the above paragraphs and think: “I’m not messing with that stuff anytime soon!” Caution isn’t a bad thing, but in reality a well-made peach leaf tincture isn’t any more hazardous to have around than a bottle of Tylenol or aspirin. With a little care you can have yourself an abundant, effective home remedy for so. many. common. conditions. Truly, if given only five tinctures to take in an herbal first aid kit to take to the ends of the earth, I’d include Peach leaf as one.
Moving on.
When Aries’ heat manifests as respiratory infection, a lovely cold/clearing herb to keep in mind is Japanese Honeysuckle, Lonicera japonica or jin yin hua. This invasive species is found all over the Eastern and Central US: it’s perfect for sore throat-type colds (more like “hots”) that Aries folks are prone to. Unlike most of the other herbs on this list, honeysuckle has a light, outward-venting quality that’s especially appropriate for heat in the upper part of the body. The most well-known honeysuckle formula is Yin Qiao San, the basis for patent remedies like Airborne for URI’s. Just avoid this stuff in case of a truly ‘cold’ cold, where cinnamon and ginger are much more appropriate. That’s something that Aries rarely has to worry about, however.
Peach and Honeysuckle are great for a hundred and one examples of everyday overheating. But when Aries people get deeper into the red, they can need stronger, more targeted approaches. These include gypsum decoctions such as the classical Chinese formula bai hu tang, White Tiger Decoction. No tiger parts are involved, the tiger being a symbol of the Western direction and its ability to “set” the sun and bring down heat. Bai hu tang treats high fevers with lots of sweating, thirst and a big/rapid pulse.
Another dangerous heat pattern is the one addressed by formulas involving da huang, rhubarb root, known as “the general” for its potent (if unsubtle) effects. This is a major purgative herb that clears the large intestine and drains heat through the bowels. It’s indicated in cases where constipation is combined with fever, abdominal pain, a hard abdomen, and/or manic symptoms. Essentially, heat is backing up and starting to fry the brain. In my clinical career, I’ve only had occasion to give full-strength da huang formulas on a handful of occasions, but when they’re indicated they can be life-savers.
Coptis, andrographis and gentian are other heavy-duty bitter/cold herbs that can be just what the doc ordered for Aries when fire is blazing. True Indigo (usually in powder form) is another important one for severe respiratory and skin infections. These herbs, together with rhubarb, are what I would consider the heavy hitters.
Ratcheting back down now in intensity, let’s not forget one of vaidya Vasant Lad’s favorite remedies for pitta disorders: śatāvari (the root of Asparagus racemosus). Though more well known as a feminine tonic, śatāvari slippery-sweet roots have a soothing, cooling quality that shouldn’t be underestimated. This remedy is especially appropriate for constitutional (rather than acute) support, the herb’s characteristic softness helping calm Arian aggression.
Ending back on a gentle note, let’s not forget the aromatics flowers and woods that can pacify Aries’ characteristic pitta. Sandalwood comes to mind here, typically as an essential oil or incense, as do flowers like rose, jasmine, gardenia and orange blossom / neroli. A cup of light jasmine tea, a rose-infused lassi, a swipe of neroli oil, these are beautiful things for the red hot fireball in your life, especially in summer. Don’t underestimate the power of lovely scents to soothe the savage beast and soothe pitta before it flares our of control.
As for Mars’ other sign, the mysterious and secretive Scorpio, we’ll get into that next time.
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