Clematis, Wei Ling Xian 威灵仙Wei Ling Xian “Superpower God” (TCM) |
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Clematis hexapetalaE. Spach, Histoire naturelle des végétaux, Atlas (1834-1847)
Clematis Wei Ling Xian root(Adam, 2024)
Botanical name:
Three species of Clematis supply this medicine:
- C. chinensis
- C. manshurica
- C. hexapetala
Parts used:
Root
Temperature & Taste:
Warm, dry. Salty, Pungent
Classification:
D. Clear Wind and Damp
Uses:
1. Clears Wind-Damp, Unblocks Channels, Eases Pain:
-Wind-Damp painful obstruction; Arthritis, Rheumatic and Rheumatoid Arthritis
-lower back and leg pain from Wind-Damp or Injury
-Paralysis, especially of the lower extremities.
-Severe intermittent Headaches (Su Song)
-‘good for dispersing the invading pathogenic Wind of various types’ (Kai Bao Ben Cao)
-‘After having this drug for a period of time, the person will feel swift and mighty movement of the extremities’ (Su Song)
-‘Apoplexy with aphasia and paralysis of the extremities with deviation of the mouth and eye and slurred speech’ (Su Song)
-Mania due to Wind (Su Song)
2. Clears Damp Obstruction:
-for phlegm, damp and water obstructing Stomach with distention
-‘accumulation of phlegm and fluid retention in the epigastrium’ (Su Song)
-Jaundice and Black Jaundice (Su Song)
3. Opens Channels, Moves the Qi, Reduces Masses:
-abdominal masses, breast lumps and similar lumps
-gynecological pain with Qi and Blood obstruction
-Leprosy, Vitiligo (Su Song)
-‘dissolves cold accumulation in the abdomen, phlegm and fluid retention in the epigastrium and diaphragm, chronic stagnation and hard mass’. (Kai Bao Ben Cao)
-facilitates the function of the 12 Channels’.
4. Softens Fish Bones:
-used for small Fish bones stuck in the throat (with vinegar)
Dose:
1. Powder can be taken with wine, or the tincture can be used, for Wind-Damp joint pain
2. Taken with Vinegar to dissolve small fish bones stuck in the Throat.
Decoction: 6–9 grams. In older times, larger doses (up to 18 grams) were taken until loose stools are produced when the dosage would be reduced.
Powder: 1–3 grams.
Comment:
1. It penetrates and unblocks all the channels of the body
2. It has a wide range of thjerapetiuc effect according to traditional texts. During the Tang Dynasty (618-907) a Taoist Monk wrote a whole book on this herb entitled Biography of Clematis (Wei Ling Xian Zhuan). In it he described many uses of this herb above and beyond what is described above. This included Neonatal Tetanus, Wind attacking the Heart or Kidney, Heart pain, Qi stagnation in the Spleen or Lung, Febrile diseases from Cold, Night sweats and Yin deficient sweating, Menopause and profuse Menstruation.
Preparation:
1. Dry the drug in the shade. After 1 month beat into powder.
2. Wine-prepared Clematis:
‘Wash the drug and bake it. Grind it into powder. Blend the powder with wine of good quality and insert it into a bamboo tube while it is still warm. Seal the tube and steam it. Then, take it out and dry it in the sun. Repeat that 9 times. When the drug is too dry, add more wine into it. Finally, blend the powder with white honey and make pills the size of a parasol seed. Take 20 to 30 pills per dose with warm wine’. (Hai Shang Ji Yan Fang)
Main Combinations:
1. Wind-Damp painful obstruction:
i. of the Upper Body, Clematis Wei Ling Xian with Notopterygium Qiang Huo
ii. of the lower body, Clematis Wei Ling Xian with Achyranthes Niu Xi
iii. severe Wind-Damp joint pain Clematis Wei Ling Xian with Angelica pubescens Du Huo, Stephania Han Fang Ji
iv. from severe Cold-Damp, Clematis Wei Ling Xian with Dioscorea hypoglauca Bi Xie, Cinnamon twig Gui Zhi, Aconitum Fu Zi
v. Severe Painful obstruction, Clematis Wei Ling Xian with Tripterygiurn Lei Gong Teng, Angelica pubescens Du Huo, Gentiana macrophylla Qin Jiao
2. Damp and Water obstructing the Stomach, Clematis Wei Ling Xian with Amomum Sha Ren
3. Fish bones stuck in the throat, take with vinegar and brown sugar
Major Formulas:
Shang Zhong Xia Tong Yong Tong Feng Wan
Shu Jing Huo Xue Tang
Cautions:
1. Avoid overdose.
2. It is very warming, active and drying. Therefore, it can drain Qi and Blood and should not be used on a long-term basis or in weak patients.