The Doctrine of Signatures/The Concept of Connectedness

The Doctrine of Signatures was to the Ancients, unmitigated metaphysical and physical reality. Women involved in healing understood that, “as above, so below”. They had a deep understanding of the connectedness of All That Is. If you’re interested in exploring the details of this doctrine, please research on your own as it is much too complicated for this simple blog entry. I would, however, like to briefly address the basic idea of connectedness embedded in the doctrine.

I had an acute understanding of the connectedness of the physical and metaphysical when I was very young. I think most of us who have rediscovered this concept realize we experienced it while lying in the moonlit grass as a child. We not only saw, but felt the movement of the heavenly bodies and the Earth under us. It was a feeling of “rightness”. It was a simple “being” in the moment with All That Is.

I began to lose that connectedness under the stresses of school, with its competitions and comparisons. When I became a teenager I was pulled more and more into the reflection in the mirror as I worried about my value based on physicality. Really, I began to be an imitation of my true Self, as I didn’t believe the real thing was acceptable. It wasn’t until after menopause that I began to cycle back to the reality of who and what I really am.

I do not exist apart from the Whole. Just as I am aware of the maple tree or the lily or the robin or the limestone rocks in my garden, they are aware of me. The wasp and I communicate, not necessarily in words. Words are superfluous. It’s the language of Love.

The language of Love is more direct and accurate than any words could ever be. In fact, spoken language can cause misunderstandings. The language of Love cannot ever be misinterpreted. This is why I cannot poison annoying bugs or weeds. I have to find a way that will not injure the Whole, because when I injure the Whole, I injure my Self. It is un-loving to be un-natural.

Don’t get me wrong, I kill the fly that enters my abode. I scald invasive anthills with hot water. I trap and kill wasps and Japanese beetles. I will remove, one way or another, anything that threatens my food source. But I don’t kill indiscriminately or cause permanent damage to my environment. This Mother Earth sustains me, both physically and spiritually and I’m not suicidal.

I might not be suicidal, but someone out there sure is, otherwise Roundup would never have been created. It’s up to us to make choices of which our ancestors never dreamed. Will we wake up in time to make the choice for life? Or will we choose to be separate from the Whole?