Paracelsus: Man is His Own Medicine

Paracelsus – a philosopher, physician, alchemist and field researcher of traditional European folk medicine – travelled around and learned the art of healing from gypsies, executioners, wise women, blacksmiths, shearers and barber surgeons. He was a combat physician in Danish battles, worked in mining and metallurgy and was an advisor and personal physician to kings, bishops and abbots. Paracelsus rejected theoretical learning; for him only his experience and the observations he had made on his travels throughout Europe counted. His aim was to understand the true nature of man and his relationship to the cosmos, and he sought ways to produce genuinely curative medicines with whose help he hoped to be able to create in man a harmony of body, mind and spirit. Even in his day Paracelsus had discovered man's ability to heal himself. What remains of Paracelsus' holistic view of the world in today's system of medicine? We found people who look to Paracelsus and apply his knowledge of holistic healing in a practical way.