Witnessed by: Western
Monkshood (Aconitum napellus), of the Ranunculaceae family. Tall perennial with palmate leaves and hooded deep-blue flowers; native range: mountain woods and damp meadows of central and western Europe. Globally recognized as aconite, wolfsbane, blue rocket, friar's cap in English. The part used is dried root and leaf (external use only). Root faintly sweetish then acrid, leaving a persistent tingling and numbness on the tongue that warns of its poison.
In this cross-tradition database, we analyze how this substance operates across world medicine systems — tracking its traditional tastes, temperatures, tissue affinities, post-digestive effects, and planetary correspondences across Ayurveda, Unani, and Western herbalism.
MONKSHOOD
IDENTITY
Name
- Common
- monkshood
- Scientific name
- Aconitum napellus L.
- Family
- Ranunculaceae
Form
- Part used
- dried root and leaf (external use only)
PROPERTIES
Nature
Taste
how the plant declares itself on the tongue
- Western
- acrid · bitter
Temperature
- Western
- cold
Affinity
where in the body it travels
Organs / channels
- Western
- nerves · heart · circulation
PRACTICE
Virtue
Actions
- Western
- anodyne, febrifuge, cardiac and respiratory depressant, diaphoretic; a lethal poison in all but the smallest measured dose
Cautions
Contraindications: internal use in unskilled hands; broken skin; pregnancy; any cardiac disease
Toxicity: aconitine is rapidly absorbed through skin and mucosa causing tingling, numbness, arrhythmia and death from cardiac and respiratory failure
Interactions
- Western
- cardiac glycosides: additive cardiotoxicity and lethal arrhythmia
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