Witnessed by: TCM
Scorpion (Mesobuthus martensii), of the Buthidae (Arachnida) family. A nocturnal arachnid with pincer pedipalps and a segmented tail bearing the sting; native range: dry stony hillsides and old walls across northern and central China — Shandong, Henan, Hebei, Liaoning. Globally recognized as quan xie (全蠍), qing zhu (青竹) in Chinese, and scorpion, Manchurian scorpion in English. The part used is the whole dried animal. Flattish yellowish-brown bodies with a green-black back and the tail curled under, light, brittle and dry; salty and slightly fishy, the surface often crusted with the salt it was boiled in.
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.
SCORPION
IDENTITY
Name
- Common
- scorpion
- Scientific name
- Mesobuthus martensii (Karsch, 1879)
- Family
- Buthidae (Arachnida)
Form
- Part used
- the whole dried animal
PROPERTIES
Nature
Taste
how the plant declares itself on the tongue
- TCM
- pungent (辛)
Temperature
- TCM
- neutral (平)
Affinity
where in the body it travels
Organs / channels
- TCM
- Liver
PRACTICE
Virtue
Actions
- TCM
- extinguishes wind and stops spasm, unblocks the collaterals and stops pain, and attacks toxin and dissipates nodules
Cautions
- Contraindications
- pregnancy; wind arising from blood deficiency rather than from excess
- Toxicity
- toxic — the neurotoxin persists in the dried animal; overdose brings headache, vomiting, falling blood pressure and paralysis of breathing. Dosed strictly, and never casually raised
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