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The Thinking Press
@thethinkingpress.bsky.social
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An independent press for psychology, philosophy, and esoteric works. A Materia Medica of old remedies, poisons and amulets, each with its sources; symbols of the psyche; works translated into English for the first time. Thethinkingpress.org
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Published today: The Magical World of the Heroes, Cesare della Riviera's Il Mondo Magico de gli Heroi (Milan, 1605), translated by B. C. P. Statema. Alchemy read as an inner discipline. In hardcover from the press. thethinkingpress.org/project/magical-world-of-the-heroes #booksky #earlymodern
The Magical World of the Heroes in its dust jacket on a wooden desk: the title in capitals above the press's emblem, a sunburst within an oval, and below it Cesare della Riviera, translated by B. C. P. Statema.
thethinkingpress.bsky.social
A footnote in Dymock, Warden, and Hooper records that the seed “is said in a tradition to be a remedy for every disease except death.”

Black seed (Nigella sativa), in the Materia Medica: thethinkingpress.org/materia-medica/black-seed
#history #WyrdWednesday
The plate of Black seed (Nigella sativa). Nigella sativa (black seed). F. E. Köhler, Köhler's Medizinal-Pflanzen (1887–98).
October 28, 2026 at 7:07 PM
thethinkingpress.bsky.social
American popular use, as Grieve records: Known as Mad-dog Scullcap or Madweed, “having the reputation of being a certain cure for hydrophobia.”

Skullcap (Scutellaria lateriflora), in the Materia Medica: thethinkingpress.org/materia-medica/skullcap
🗃️ #history #WyrdWednesday
The plate of Skullcap (Scutellaria lateriflora). Scutellaria lateriflora (Virginian skullcap). C. F. Millspaugh, American Medicinal Plants, vol. 2 (1892), plate 120, drawn and painted by Millspaugh.
October 28, 2026 at 6:07 PM
thethinkingpress.bsky.social
I did not expect this when I wrote up camphor: The Qur’an promises that “a wine cup tempered at the camphor fountain the just shall quaff” (76:5, in Rodwell’s translation).

Camphor (Cinnamomum camphora), in the Materia Medica: thethinkingpress.org/materia-medica/camphor
#history #WyrdWednesday
The plate of Camphor (Cinnamomum camphora). Cinnamomum camphora F. Nees et Eberm. (camphor tree). F. E. Köhler, Köhler's Medizinal-Pflanzen (1887–98).
October 28, 2026 at 5:07 PM
thethinkingpress.bsky.social
Reading the old authorities on horsetail again. Nicholas Culpeper: “The herb belongs to Saturn, yet is very harmless,” the smoother kind better than the rough.

Horsetail (Equisetum arvense), in the Materia Medica: thethinkingpress.org/materia-medica/horsetail
🗃️ #history #WyrdWednesday
The plate of Horsetail (Equisetum arvense). Equisetum arvense (horsetail). C. A. M. Lindman, Bilder ur Nordens Flora (1917–26).
October 28, 2026 at 4:07 PM
thethinkingpress.bsky.social
Della Riviera (Milan, 1605): “The word Hero derives, as Martianus Capella affirms in the nuptials of Mercury, from Hera, which signifies the Earth.” His Hero is the one who knows matter inwardly. thethinkingpress.org/project/magical-world-of-the-heroes #earlymodern #histsci
The Magical World of the Heroes standing on a wooden shelf, seen from the front
October 28, 2026 at 3:37 PM
thethinkingpress.bsky.social
Writing up the Ascent taught me this: The ascent to heaven is the counterpart of the descent, and Jung held that each needs the other.

The Ascent, in Symbols of the Psyche: thethinkingpress.org/symbolarium/psyche/ascent
#Jung #folklore
The plate for The Ascent in Symbols of the Psyche. He “shall so come in like manner”: the Ascension, the disciples reaching after the rising figure. Engraving in Bible Readings for the Home Circle (Battle Creek, Mich.: Review and Herald Publishing Co., 1891), p. 72, photographed from the founder’s copy. The caption is from Acts 1:11: “this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven.”
October 28, 2026 at 3:07 PM
thethinkingpress.bsky.social
Avicenna: Tradition credits the Persian physician with perfecting the distillation of rose water. Dioscorides describes rose oil and the rose’s cooling, binding virtue.

Rose (Rosa gallica), in the Materia Medica: thethinkingpress.org/materia-medica/rose
🗃️ #history #WyrdWednesday
The plate of Rose (Rosa gallica) in the press's Materia Medica.
October 28, 2026 at 2:07 PM
thethinkingpress.bsky.social
Dioscorides: His silubon, which the modern translators suggest is the milk thistle, is a broad acantha with leaves like the white chamaeleon.

Milk thistle (Silybum marianum), in the Materia Medica: thethinkingpress.org/materia-medica/milk-thistle
#history #WyrdWednesday
The plate of Milk thistle (Silybum marianum). Silybum marianum (milk thistle). Elizabeth Blackwell, A Curious Herbal (1737–39). National Library of Scotland.
October 28, 2026 at 1:07 PM
thethinkingpress.bsky.social
Grieve: Cayenne pepper, Grieve writes, “was introduced into Britain from India in 1548, and Gerard mentioned it as being cultivated in his time.”

Capsicum, in the Materia Medica: thethinkingpress.org/materia-medica/capsicum
🗃️ #history #WyrdWednesday
The plate of Capsicum. Capsicum annuum (capsicum). F. E. Köhler, Köhler's Medizinal-Pflanzen (1887–98).
October 28, 2026 at 12:07 PM
thethinkingpress.bsky.social
Stuart: Its other names, shan-ch‘in and pai-ch‘in, mean ‘mountain’ or ‘white’ celery, and Siebold says it is eaten like celery in Japan.

Dong quai (Angelica sinensis), in the Materia Medica: thethinkingpress.org/materia-medica/dong-quai
#history #WyrdWednesday
The plate of Dong quai (Angelica sinensis). Angelica sinensis (dong quai), from the Illustriertes Kompendium der Materia medica, 1911, by Chu chong xiong.
October 28, 2026 at 11:07 AM
thethinkingpress.bsky.social
Grieve: It reached England before 1597, when Gerard grew it in his garden under the names of Anagyris, Laburnum, and Bean Trefoil.

Laburnum (Laburnum anagyroides), in the Materia Medica: thethinkingpress.org/materia-medica/laburnum
🗃️ #history #WyrdWednesday
The plate of Laburnum (Laburnum anagyroides). Laburnum anagyroides (laburnum). The Botanical Magazine, pl. 176 (1792).
October 28, 2026 at 10:07 AM
thethinkingpress.bsky.social
Mark 14:3: The woman at Bethany breaks an alabaster jar of costly spikenard over the head of Christ.

Spikenard (Nardostachys jatamansi), in the Materia Medica: thethinkingpress.org/materia-medica/spikenard
#history #WyrdWednesday
The plate of Spikenard (Nardostachys jatamansi) in the press's Materia Medica.
October 28, 2026 at 9:07 AM
thethinkingpress.bsky.social
Justinus Kerner, Kleksographs (1890): “First he made three bows, Looping rings with his tail, And told me wonders Of himself, to shine before me: That he had once been In the court chancery of Naples.”

thethinkingpress.org/translations/kleksographs/excerpts
💙📚 #c19th #esotericsky
The cover of Kleksographs, by Justinus Kerner, translated by B. C. P. Statema, from The Thinking Press.
October 28, 2026 at 7:07 AM
thethinkingpress.bsky.social
Dioscorides gives phlomos for coughs and the chest, and the leaves for burns and old sores.

Mullein (Verbascum thapsus), in the Materia Medica: thethinkingpress.org/materia-medica/mullein
🗃️ #history #WyrdWednesday
The plate of Mullein (Verbascum thapsus). Verbascum thapsus (mullein), drawn from nature by Charles F. Millspaugh. Plate 110 of Millspaugh, American Medicinal Plants, vol. 2 (1887), from the Internet Archive's scan.
October 28, 2026 at 6:07 AM
thethinkingpress.bsky.social
German folk names: Teufelsdreck, “devil’s dung,” as English also calls it; the Latin foetida names its stink.

Asafoetida (Ferula assa-foetida), in the Materia Medica: thethinkingpress.org/materia-medica/asafoetida
#history #WyrdWednesday
The plate of Asafoetida (Ferula assa-foetida) in the press's Materia Medica.
October 28, 2026 at 5:07 AM
thethinkingpress.bsky.social
Spent a while on saffron today. Dioscorides commends the Corycian saffron of Cilicia as the best, and warns of its adulteration.

Saffron (Crocus sativus), in the Materia Medica: thethinkingpress.org/materia-medica/saffron
🗃️ #history #histsci
The plate of Saffron (Crocus sativus) in the press's Materia Medica.
October 28, 2026 at 4:07 AM
thethinkingpress.bsky.social
New Herbal: Castore Durante's book of 1585, which I put into English for the press. Among its parts: St John’s Wort; Mandrake; Rosemary. Start with the free parts.

thethinkingpress.org/translations/durante-herbario
💙📚 💡📚 #earlymodern
The cover of New Herbal, by Castore Durante, translated by B. C. P. Statema, from The Thinking Press.
October 28, 2026 at 3:07 AM
thethinkingpress.bsky.social
The foxglove appears in van Gogh’s Portrait of Doctor Gachet (1890), and some have suggested that digitalis, given for his illness, lay behind the painter’s yellow vision.

Foxglove (Digitalis purpurea), in the Materia Medica: thethinkingpress.org/materia-medica/foxglove
🗃️ #history #histsci
The plate of Foxglove (Digitalis purpurea). Digitalis purpurea L. (foxglove), plate 62, drawn by W. Müller. F. E. Köhler, Köhler's Medizinal-Pflanzen (1887–98).
October 28, 2026 at 2:07 AM
thethinkingpress.bsky.social
Grieve: “Dried seasoned bark from one to two years old alone should be used, as the freshly stripped bark acts as an irritant poison on the gastro-intestinal canal.”

Alder buckthorn (Rhamnus frangula), in the Materia Medica: thethinkingpress.org/materia-medica/alder-buckthorn
#history #histsci
The plate of Alder buckthorn (Rhamnus frangula). Frangula alnus (alder buckthorn). F. E. Köhler, Köhler's Medizinal-Pflanzen (1887–98).
October 28, 2026 at 1:07 AM
thethinkingpress.bsky.social
From 1913 Jung wrote his visions in small black notebooks and copied them, with his paintings, into a folio bound in red leather, The Red Book, kept private until 2009.

The Book, in Symbols of the Psyche: thethinkingpress.org/symbolarium/psyche/book
🗃️ #Jung #folklore
The plate for The Book in Symbols of the Psyche. “The Forbidden Book”: an old man and a girl reading in secret by a shuttered window. Captioned “God’s holy word was prized when ’twas unsafe to read it.” Engraving in Bible Readings for the Home Circle (Battle Creek, Mich.: Review and Herald Publishing Co., 1891), photographed from the founder’s copy.
October 28, 2026 at 12:07 AM
thethinkingpress.bsky.social
Reading the old authorities on chocolate again. Henry Stubbe praised it in The Indian Nectar (1662).

Chocolate (Theobroma cacao), in the Materia Medica: thethinkingpress.org/materia-medica/chocolate
🗃️ #history #histsci
The plate of Chocolate (Theobroma cacao). Theobroma cacao L. (cacao), the pod and beans. F. E. Köhler, Köhler's Medizinal-Pflanzen (1887–98).
October 27, 2026 at 10:07 PM
thethinkingpress.bsky.social
G. H. Schubert, The Symbolism of Dreams (1814): “Does a higher calling lead you here, or idle curiosity; is it right, too, that you are walking here?” From 4. The Hidden Poet.

thethinkingpress.org/translations/symbolism-of-dreams/excerpts
💙📚 #c19th #bookhistory
The cover of The Symbolism of Dreams, by G. H. Schubert, translated by B. C. P. Statema, from The Thinking Press.
October 27, 2026 at 9:07 PM
thethinkingpress.bsky.social
Dymock, Warden, and Hooper: Chakradatta directs the fresh juice to be given with milk and liquorice.

Centella (Centella asiatica), in the Materia Medica: thethinkingpress.org/materia-medica/centella
🗃️ #history #histsci
The plate of Centella (Centella asiatica). Centella asiatica (centella). Photo Forest and Kim Starr. CC BY 3.0.
October 27, 2026 at 8:07 PM
thethinkingpress.bsky.social
The witch of the fairy tale is the Great Mother on her dark side: she who binds, poisons, enchants, and devours, who keeps the children in the cage and the prince under a spell.

The Witch, in Symbols of the Psyche: thethinkingpress.org/symbolarium/psyche/witch
#Jung #folklore
The plate for The Witch in Symbols of the Psyche. “Arresting a Witch,” engraving in William S. Bryan and John Clark Ridpath, The Wonderful, the Curious and the Beautiful in the World’s History (Philadelphia, 1893), p. 582; photographed from the founder’s copy.
October 27, 2026 at 7:07 PM
thethinkingpress.bsky.social
A related species with unarmed branches, Ruscus racemosus, Grieve took to be the original of the ‘poets’ laurel’ of classical prints.

Butcher’s broom (Ruscus aculeatus), in the Materia Medica: thethinkingpress.org/materia-medica/butcher-s-broom
🗃️ #history #histsci
The plate of Butcher’s broom (Ruscus aculeatus). Ruscus aculeatus (butcher's broom). Botanical illustration, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
October 27, 2026 at 6:07 PM