Witnessed by: TCM
Spider, of the Araneae (Arachnida) family. An eight-legged web-spinning arachnid of the house and garden; native range: the ordinary web-spinning spiders of Chinese houses, eaves and gardens. Globally recognized as zhi zhu (蜘蛛) in Chinese, and spider in English. The part used is the whole spider, roasted until charred (ao jiao). Small dark shrivelled bodies, brittle and light once roasted, the legs breaking away at a touch, with a burnt animal smell.
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.
SPIDER
IDENTITY
Name
- Common
- spider
- Family
- Araneae (Arachnida)
Form
- Part used
- the whole spider, roasted until charred (ao jiao)
PROPERTIES
Nature
Taste
how the plant declares itself on the tongue
- TCM
- bitter (苦)
Temperature
- TCM
- cold (寒)
Affinity
where in the body it travels
Organs / channels
- TCM
- Liver
PRACTICE
Virtue
Actions
- TCM
- relieves toxicity and disperses swelling, and reduces the protrusion and swelling of hernia
Cautions
- Contraindications
- pregnancy
- Toxicity
- slightly toxic; kept to the small internal dose
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