How Alchemy & Hermeticism Revolutionized Medicine | Introduction to Paracelsus pt II

Through the 1520s Paracelsus led a revolution in Alchemy and Medicine. Rejecting the Galenic theory of the Humors in Medicine and the mechanistic sulfur-mercury theory in Alchemy, here we find his famed theory of the Tria Prima of Sulfur, Salt and Mercury, his Alchemical theory of the human body, and a medicine founded on the Hermetic principle that the microcosm is truly bound up with the cosmic macrocosm. His medical philosophy foresaw organic chemistry, pharmacology, toxicology and even psychiatry - the Paracelsian revolution in alchemical medicine. In this episode we explore his revolutionary textbook the Opus Paramirum (Beyond Wonders) as part II of our exploration of the foundations of the Paracelsian Revolution.
Episode I - The Paragranum - • The Revolutionary Brea...
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Recommended Readings:
Weeks (trans.) - Paracelsus (Theophrastus Bombastus Von Hohenheim, 1493-1541): Essential Theoretical Writings
Moran - Paracelsus: An Alchemical Life - amzn.to/3QhIGXh
Ball - The Devil's Doctor - amzn.to/4aPr25h
Paracelsus Opera - archive.org/details/aureoliph...

[@TheEsotericaChannel]

Consider Supporting Esoterica! Patreon - www.patreon.com/esotericachannel Paypal Donation - www.paypal.me/esotericachannel Merch - kzbin.info/door/oydhtfFSk1fZXNRnkGnneQstore New to Studying Esotericism? Check out my Reading Guide here - docs.google.com/document/d/1caKNlW7sogEF7lAeYNbOQF9pt5O5b70yAXa-icUJO3o/edit

[@randomchannel-px6ho]

"Sometimes breakdowns are breakthroughs" That one will stick with me

[@Valdagast]

I wonder... have you seen Crecganford's videos on healing magic? There's a lot of 'the microcosm imitates the macrocosm' in old Indo-European folk magic. I would love a collaboration between you two. Edit: I have on my wall a (simplified) chart of the various biochemical pathways in a cell, including how we transform food into human flesh. I wonder what Paracelsus would have thought of it, if he was brought up to speed with modern biochemistry.

[@TheEsotericaChannel]

I haven't. But something like the doctrine of signatures is pretty ubiquitous. P largely just standardized it in writing.

[@kemhug2623]

This channel and Cregenford are my pillars

[@jeremyt4292]

Cregenford is AMAZING

[@fraserbuilds]

This has to be the best explanation of paracelsus's thought Ive ever heard. His theories confused even some of the best alchemists of his own time, to have such a carefull and thoughtfull disection of them is really a gift to those of us who have been trying to wrap our heads around his ideas! thank you!

[@ForksandFreaks]

Watching your videos every Friday has, since I first found your channel around maybe your 3rd or 4th video, become an integral part of my daily Friday routine. It’s like my more academic version of Saturday morning cartoons as an adult. Thanks so much for all the work you do, the content you and your colleagues produce on this website is incredible in itself and incredibly needed more and more these days.

[@naomiseraphina9718]

Thank you, Dr. Sledge, as always, for sharing your learnedness with all of us out here amongst the masses! I would never have been able to construct my medieval doctoring parlor without all of your delightful suggestions of reading material. I'm kidding of course, but with healthcare as hard to come by as it is in this country nowadays, the thought of treating oneself with alchemical potions does have a certain appeal. All the best to you, sir! --N

[@J_Z913]

Gotta love Paracelcus! Fantastic work as always, Dr. Sledge. ❤

[@jeffladeur2226]

This episode was a particular masterpiece. Thank you so much Dr. Sledge

[@Nerdicaful]

I know just enough modern medicine to shout gleefully to my computer screen every time I hear Paracelsus do/discover something we still use/do today, "Look at Paracelsus go!"

[@SuperSquark]

Its oxidation and anti oxidants. Nothing more?

[@boringturtle]

23:42 : "Gardener of the Flesh" sounds like some kind of horrific cosmic horror character. Alternatively, it's also the black metal band name for the episode.

[@TheEsotericaChannel]

Clive Barker Vibes

[@stevenkammerer8002]

I came here for the metal band names and was going to list “Gardeners of the Flesh” first! And some album names: “Astral Effluvia” & “Mama Mumia”

[@MH-ln6pv]

@@stevenkammerer8002 "Saturnic Gloom"; the last album before the band broke up

[@anonymoushuman8344]

Or Motel Hell.

[@Tinkering4Time]

There is *literally* an episode of this in the final season of the horror podcast “The Magnus Archives”. And such a gardener is a recurring character.

[@MichaelYoder1961]

I'm not a scholar, but I read a little that Paracelsus believed in something like medical specialization and holistic medicine - you have to know the outside of a person before looking at the inside. Great episode, thanks! And Chag Pesach Sameach!

[@Cross-Carrier]

Excellent. Friday ESOTERICA. I'm in Scotland and it's 6:10 pm and I'm still working. Look forward to this later 👍🏽

[@h0rriphic]

Oh cool so your city in Scotland is about 5(?) hours ahead of where I am in the DMV (DC/Maryland/Virginia) area…what’s it like 5 hours in the future! Have we cured cancer yet?

[@Cross-Carrier]

@@h0rriphic Not yet. But in Scotland we have a famous brand of American style cookies called " Maryland "

[@christallaktorides6904]

Maryland in Australia is a brand for chicken

[@sproglodyte]

Great episode. The notion of the poison being in the dose has been resurfacing in the concept of hormesis recently, which is often invoked to explain how moderate stressors trigger positive adaptive responses. Also, the idea of elements as processes and the physician as a gardener of the body seems highly reminiscent of Chinese Five Phase medical paradigm.

[@RackTomRememberance]

Thanks!

[@williammartinactor]

Professor, you worked alchemy absolutely over me in the opening moments of this episode. I was listening to your words and the sound of your words became images in my mind and I just found myself in the middle of a story. Dazzling. As usual.

[@RhoArtMagic]

Dr. Justin Sledge, thank you!

[@beauwhitlock5034]

Well written episode man

[@d.austinvaughan773]

The beginning to the video is so compelling, it sucks you in.

[@bizzarojerry]

These deep dives on historical medical practice, shifts in alchemical thought, and practical, potable potioncrafting are every bit as entertaining as your lectures on the implementation of treasure magic. Keep them coming!

[@gianlucagarattoni6394]

Wonderful lecture!

[@iannmiller]

Perfect long intro!! ❤️

[@phillipbernhardt-house6907]

Excellent as always, Dr. Sledge! :) I don't have any relevant questions, nor poignant observations about what you've discussed here; but I hope you don't mind sharing a story you reminded me of from way back in second year of undergraduate study. If it amuses you, all the better; if it doesn't, then feel free never to speak of this again! I was taking a History course on Medieval and Renaissance England at Sarah Lawrence. Because our conference projects could be on things not directly discussed in the course itself, I did a project on comparative medieval Christian mysticism, and chose five mystics for this: Marguerite Porete (still my favorite!), Meister Eckhart, Johannes Tauler, Richard Rolle (to get some English in!), and St. John of the Cross. I had planned for there to be more originally, but as it grew and grew, it was limited to these five (and even that was recommended against by some!). This turned out to be the longest paper I ever wrote for any course...it might have even been longer than my M.A. thesis in the end! And the professor for whom it was written said it was the best paper he'd received from a student up until that point. (Rest in peace, Dr. David Bernstein!) But, because I wrote everything long-hand back then and typed it up afterwards (this was early 1996, and I didn't have my own computer...imagine that, GenZ and Millennials!), it took me longer than expected to finish writing it up. As a kind of incentive, as well as punishment, for being late with it, I decided I was not allowed to wear any outfit outside my dorm room except one particular shirt, pair of trousers, and parka that I began to call my "monk's habit." (Showering still took place...I wasn't that crazy!) I'm no fashionista by any stretch of the imagination, but I tend to prefer at least some variety when possible, so this was not easy for me...though, it being Sarah Lawrence, no one ever commented on it in any negative way, other than to say, "It's just a paper...no need for a hair-shirt!" ;) Boots and spurs were not included (it might have been fun if they had been, though!), and in fact I preferred to be shoeless as much as possible amidst all of this, but still...It's interesting to know Paracelsus also adopted this strategy! ;)

[@Tinkering4Time]

I am looking forward to more on Paracelsus’ processual thought. The idea of thing-as-process instead of thing-as-substance has captured my mind repeatedly in recent years. It brings to mind Nagarjuna’s interpretation of the concept of Sunyata (emptiness) in the Mādhyamaka buddhist tradition. To summarize, the concept claims all things as we see them are actually a bundle of interconnections with other things. Nothing is independent, nor made up of itself. Connection and interrelation give all things their nature. Filip Holm had a great video on it on his channel Let’s Talk Religion (I know Dr. Sledge is already well-acquainted with Holm). I really should make time to read Paracelsus. His philosophy and dynamism may yet yield valuable tools for looking at the world.

[@christallaktorides6904]

Thank You Dr Sledge for making this whole thing comprehensible and truly fascinating. In some ways some of what you described reminded me of antibodies. One is injected with a disease to form antibodies to fight the disease or itself

[@jeannette7243]

Love this episode! And All Hail Brill!

[@jred3806]

Man if I was just a little higher idk if I could've came back from this all the way lmao. This was awesome man, like a psychedelic Terence McKenna or Alan watts lecture or something. Please do more van hohenheim

[@masterprophet8378]

Ahhh, that mighty November Scorpio himself, Paracelsus! Respect!!!

[@comeandsee9643]

Mind blown!!

[@chrislaflamme1]

Thanks for being so super rad.

[@StoneHerne]

😃 Thank your for this new episoe on Paracelsus, Dr. Justin! 👋

[@dalus8073]

I love this channel. Learn so much!

[@brookechang4942]

It's kind of hilarious to me that even back in Paracelsus' day, kidney stones were recognised as being a uniquely hellish kind of pain.

[@EgoX369]

Been waiting on this

[@ryanhollist3950]

I want to make a D&D alchemist who talks about his work in these kinds of ways.

[@FaoladhTV]

Right now the one book of Paracelsus I am most interested in is _Ex Libro de Nymphis, Sylvanis, Pygmaeis, Salamandris et Gigantibus, etc_ as that, I am told, covers the essentials of his ideas on spirits, which I think is of particular interest to esotericism outside of just alchemy and medicine. I know that the late Jake Stratton-Kent advocated it as an alternative to the pejorative descriptions of spirits like Psellus, but also to the more modern, post-Theosophical, post-Spiritualist takes on the topic.

[@keyscook]

Wow...! Shows how far we have come, yet an infinite way to go. Thanks Dr. Sledge & Cheers from Seattle! 🧈🍻

[@InkyInkBoy]

This is fascinating! Do you happen to have any recommendations on where to find scholarly sources of imagery relating to these topics? Especially on the tartaric kidney stones? This might sound odd but I am a visual artists doing work that revolves around kidney stones and this video has struck an interesting chord with me!

[@klyanadkmorr]

Modern math terms in Fractal Math what is small gets replicated into the larger looking complexities

[@lmvath211]

I luvvvv your monologues

[@sanqingtemple6404]

Well done.

[@DaleFrewaldt]

This episode goes hard.

[@zachvinka6764]

With the notion of death does reason for fun bloom. Fun is the anticipation in rising energy knowing the plug had already been pulled.

[@tomg268]

You’ve really influenced me- I recently purchased an English translation of the Nag Hammadi scriptures. Definitely the longest book I’ve read this year!

[@welcometonebalia]

Thank you.

[@kurenai5000]

Great video.

[@MolePeople]

A great book on Paracelsus' life (IMO) as well is Magic into Science: The Story of Paracelsus by Henry M. Patcher. for most people in the U.S. I bet you could find this at the closest library.

Thank you Dr. Sledge. Great Video. Where did you find the drawings. I love them and would liek to take a closer look. Are they in the public domain?

[@persilis]

10 minutes ago is crazy

[@antonnurwald5700]

Yay!

[@DavidDStyle]

Incredibly interesting video, thank you! What really sparked my interest was the Paracelsian aetiology of madness consisting of the descent of food and drink in the body, as it reminds me of Aristotle's psycho-physiological dream theory as formulated in his De insomniis. The process responsible for producing oneiric visions would follow a similar pattern as it consisted of a descent of blood that follows after the consumption of food. I wonder if there would be a weird connection between these two similar processes through Galenic, Islamicate and subsequent Latin reception.

[@sheriframsay717]

Luv u Dr !

[@chables74]

Algormancy!

[@shysonofficial]

Alchemy but the Al stands for Algorithm

[@isacvlad]

🙏

[@andythedishwasher1117]

Paracelsus is what would happen if New Age practitioners got gud.

[@justkiddin84]

Paracelsian algorithmic comment.♥️

[@projectwindowpain]

My archaeus brings all the boys to the yard. - Paracelsus

[@boringturtle]

Hey Dr. Sledge, QQ from a layperson: I've heard you use the word 'register' in many of your videos. I kind of intuit this (by context) to mean something like 'layer or tier of reality,' but I was wondering if you could clarify this term? It's a difficult one to google since it's a word with meaning in many other contexts.

[@TheEsotericaChannel]

Yep, just like tier or layer but in a specific hierarchy

[@antonnurwald5700]

​@@TheEsotericaChannel is this a musical metaphor? Coming from the organ (the instrument)? I seem to remember it has registers too.

[@reverendnathonofficialarti7295]

Metal band name alert "Gardener of the Flesh" Dr Justin Sledge

[@Bildgesmythe]

Bombastic would still make a great name 😊

[@customercareskeleton]

Are you on nebula? That platform for video thesis and stuff? Don't know how creators can join, but your videos would be a wonderful addition.

[@gunkwretch3697]

some people think Paracelsus was narcissistic, where as I believe he was bombastic, because he had to deal with narcissists

[@SuperSquark]

From adversity comes greatness. A healthy cell is repleat in electrons. The disease process is oxidation. Am I wrong?

[@h0rriphic]

Does anyone have the link to the catalogue of all those dope antique esoteric-type books, manuscripts, etc he shared in a previous upload? If it helps, I’m almost positive he did a giveaway where he gifted a subscriber with one of their books?? I can’t remember what the website/catalogue is called, or even recall a few pertinent keywords to google around to find it.

[@yogachick1955]

What about 3 minutes in You mentioned some of the things the paraselsian revolution foretold with the azimov so below. One thing that springs to mind as fitting nicely in the list that you mentioned are fractals or fractal math

[@stephanieneshqiperistephan1317]

Did the name for movement in the intestines come from him? I’ve always wondered

[@jamiegallier2106]

❤❤❤

[@rocketpoolpki]

❤

[@Shtrepstra]

👏👏👏

[@catoelder4696]

WOW

[@eoinpalmer3684]

Would you ever want to make a video about the Death to the World Zine?

[@shysonofficial]

A newb in esoteric terminology here, but was there ever a beliefe in a chemical or physical expression of the human soul in material form on earth? "as above so below" and such

[@jameskeith9311]

Audio keeps cutting out?

[@jonyspinoza3310]

🌞

[@tor4472]

None of my payments for merch have been able to go through, I've tried multiple forms and I'm given no reason as to why.

[@msshaffer5]

How come you never mention your other channel? Mentioning it here would bring many new subs over there.

[@msshaffer5]

BTW, if anyone is wondering it’s called, We are being Transformed.

[@TheEsotericaChannel]

That isn't my channel, but Jason is fantastic!

[@K_F_fox]

Anyone know if the Secret Fire/Flame Imperishable of Paracelsus inspired Tolkien?

[@eldiabloramon]

Imagine going back in time and introducing “Jympsoms weed” A.K.A Datura as a homiopathic remedy back then. Lol i would hate to be the one taking that medicine lol. 😂

[@smillstill]

"Sometimes breakdowns are breakthroughs." Sounds like an explanation of the creation of Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon, as well as The Wall.

[@terraschaller1111]

Mercury (hg) (P) phosporus salt (S,) sulfur smokeless fire

[@GarGhuul]

“A place beyond imagination.” Did Hollywood Movie trailers crib from Paracelsus?

[@bordenfleetwood5773]

Okay, so first and foremost, I had to actually look up what "acquire by ILL" meant. Guess I'll need to turn in my millennial nerd card. But more to the point... After being medically discharged from the infantry and being "taken care of" by the VA in 2005 (read: malpractice), I became a clinical massage therapist in 2006. I suppose that makes me an esoteric practitioner, because there are several theories that were part of my core curriculum that were, after watching this video, distinctly Paracelsian in nature. Certainly, they were advanced and in keeping with our current understanding of physics, human anatomy and physiology, but drew from some of these foundational principles. I'm half tempted (more than half, if we're being honest) to break out my old massage therapy books and compiling a basic primer on how Paracelsian theory has been brought down into a logical, scientific modality for practitioners within the field of alternative medicine. Some of it is utter bull dookey, as I know, but some of it... Is medicine. Regardless of what the AMA would have us all believe.

[@Rodlaw99]

hey🎉

[@Daniel-zw6mu]

Where is the first one?

[@TheEsotericaChannel]

Link in the description

[@threewishes777]

What about fasting pushing body

[@lessismore4470]

18:20-18:30 - Blake?

[@MH-ln6pv]

Yes

[@Lila-nc4ck]

Tell your dog I said Hiiii

[@zachvinka6764]

If the human body is the truest temple does not then God practice through life?

[@CarrickCheevers]

29:38 To mention the origin of butter beer and not make a Harry Potter joke.. tsk tsk. The amount of research Rowling must have done in writing the series is continually impressive. Could be an interesting video topic.

[@TheEsotericaChannel]

I'd have to have read or watched the movies to make a joke.

[@carrie5980]

Far out…

[@rainbowkrampus]

Astral effluvia huh? Never gonna think about a meteor shower quite the same again. Space poo, plopping into the toilet called Earth.

[@stephenfegely]

⚗️ 🦉

[@TheMarkRich]

So how drunk was he? Very is my guess. 🤪

[@Nibiru3600X]

🧈 Butter Beer! 🍻

[@user-os7xc5ob5t]

Wow I never knew he was a crazy-intoxicated-genius….maybe it’s genius-intoxicated-crazy. And one joke for the road…ur -in(e) the right place for thirst quench,gross!

[@SpaceMarine113]

how old are you? i would say somewhere between 30 and 100, the beard makes it so hard to tell.

[@TheEsotericaChannel]

427

[@SpaceMarine113]

@@TheEsotericaChannel damn

[@tallcedar435]

Thanks!

[@hazembkanaan]

Thanks!