iv: Anthroposophical Views
Tipsy tempers and creepy crawlies Dora Wagner O how large the liver is, humankind's sorrow dwelleth within, and how small the seat of love, only a handful of heart compared therewith. Justinus von Kerner
“What's that louse that’s crawled up your liver?” is what you are asked in Germany if you are in a bad mood. As a small child, I often wondered how a louse might get on your liver, and why the liver had any connection with your mood… In ancient times, four bodily fluids were thought to determine both health and emotions: blood, phlegm, black bile, and yellow bile. A melancholic person would be considered to have too much black bile. If one’s urine was lemon-yellow with a hint of fire, then there was certainly too much yellow bile in the body. Hot and dry qualities were attributed to this ‘humour’ and it became associated with summer, fire, and a patient prone to upset, anger, irrational behaviour, short-temperedness, and daring. Galen (129216 CE) also associated four qualities of taste to these fluids: sweet blood, salty phlegm, sour black bile, and bitter yellow bile. Bile is, of course, associated with the liver (Seiz, 2012). The liver is the largest and functionally most versatile gland of our body. At about 1.5 kg, the liver is a huge, heavy organ; a massive lump that occupies a relatively spacious area in the right side of the upper abdomen. Life without a liver is not possible. It is the central metabolic organ of the human body and fulfils a multitude of vital tasks. Together with the gall bladder, the liver converts substances supplied from outside into nutrients. It is involved in regulating our fat and sugar metabolism as well as our mineral and vitamin balance. Many vital substances such as proteins— important for blood clotting, amongst other things —are formed in this organ. As a detoxification centre, it filters harmful substances from the blood and helps
us excrete substances that are no longer useful. To do all this, the liver produces bile and passes it through the biliary ducts to our intestine, where it is involved in the digestion of fats, while at the same time supplying the digestive system with compounds that enable the transformation and absorption of food. There are no pain mechanisms in the liver, so we may not feel or sense when our liver is sick. Liver diseases can manifest themselves in disorders of the whole organism. These include skin problems, but also sleep disturbances— particularly waking around 3am, usually a time when fundamental changes in liver metabolism are taking place. Even depressive disorders and lack of energy can, in individual cases, be associated with liver dysfunction. Fatigue or difficulty concentrating are often non-specific, whilst more typical symptoms of liver disturbance— such as a yellowing of the skin and the whites of the eyes —only occur in comparatively few people. So, it is very important to take good care of your liver. In anthroposophy, the herb most readily associated with liver health is Yarrow (Achillea millefolium). The common English name may be derived from the Saxon ‘gearva’, meaning ‘completed, perfect, gorgeous’, from the Greek ‘hiera’, meaning ‘holy herb’, or the Anglo-Saxon word for ‘healer’. Found in meadows and pastures, and on roadsides, Yarrow is immediately recognisable by its distinctive leaves. Unlike a standard leaf, Yarrow leaves are incised, and the resulting feathering is continually reshaped— there is often even a third generation of pinnae —so, finally a rhythmically structured, lanceolate, 15
