Threefold Path to Understanding
The three systems of nerve-sense, metabolic, and rhythmic system are key in virtually all living organisms. We can appreciate this basic observation as way to humanize medicine as we can understand remedies more easily as well as understand disease processes. The plant has a root, leaf, and flower. The human has a nervous system (focused in the head), a rhythmic system (circulation between heart and lungs), and a metabolic system (digestion, movement, and reproduction). It helps to observe the qualities of both in an objective way.
Root and Nerve
The root of a typical plant is the most fixed and solid of its structures. It is immobile. In transplanting a seedling or a tree it is the root that is the most sensitive to the process. It is branched and if allowed to grow unobstructed will usually grow with a symmetry like an upside down Christmas tree. Roots are typically white and grey colored with the exception of roots of plants that have special nutritious qualities or medicinal properties. It is the exceptions to the rule that help us see the rule. The root is also typically buried or covered.
The brain is immobile and actually nearly weightless. It floats in cerebral spinal fluid which cushions any movement it might encounter. There is a grey and white color to nerves. They are branched in their fundamental shape. Nerves are also covered. The skull and spinal canal form a cover for the main nerves in our body. Only in the sense organs do the nerves approach the outer world. The eye is one special place we can see a nerve. It can interact with the world but at a cost- it is constantly broken down. If a nerve is uncovered such as by a cavity in our tooth we feel extreme pain.
Leaf and Circulation
Leaves are typically green. Chlorophyl is present in the leaf and the porphyin molecular ring is a light catcher. Inside the ring of chlorophyl is magnesium (a metal that readily shows us its relation to light in that it burns with a brilliant brightness). Oxygen is produced from the interaction of light and chlorophyl. The rhythmical movement of the sap of plants is dependent on the sun.
In humans we see a mighty reversal. The sun is internalized (as are the planets working on the earth in our other organs). Our blood is given rhythm to move through our body by our heart. Nearly the same porphyrin ring is used in our blood as hemoglobin. Iron is placed in the middle and oxygen is carried to the cells. Our blood is red- the complementary color to green.
Flower and Metabolism
Typical plant reproduction occurs through the flower and all sexual reproduction occurs this way. In the typical plant the flower opens and closes through the day. It may follow the sun. Flowers are the main point where plants interact with their environment. They also have a high metabolic activity1– some flowers like skunk cabbage push this to an extreme in their capacity to produce heat.
Humans interact with the world through their limb system. We are able to freely move around the world at large. This system is warmth generating and metabolicallly intense. We also have internalized reproduction- plants do not sprout their seeds inside of themselves.
The picture above is a brief outline of the conception of the human as an upside down plant. We can further understand this threefold nature by looking at sulphur, mercury, and salt. These alchemical principles relate to the metabolism, rhythmic system, and nervous system in the human. They relate to the flower, leaf and root in the plant kingdom.