William LeSassier

William LeSassier was an influential herbalist and acupuncturist who lived from 1948 to 2003. He developed William’s Triune System of Formulation which continues to be taught by herbalists such as David Winston who has significantly expanded LeSassier's materia medica. [http://www.herbalgram.org/herbalgram/articleview.asp?a=2566 American Botanical Council: Homepage of the American Botanical Council ] ] LeSassier taught and inspired many of the major herbalists currently practicing in the United States including [http://www.matthewwoodherbs.com/Mattwood.html Matthew Wood] , David Winston, Margie Flynt, Kerry Adams and Dina Falconi and his influence is significant. [ [http://www.williamlesassierarchive.org/NEHA-Journal.htm William LeSassier Archive ] ] His classes were taped and continue to influence herbal medicine in the United States.

Biography

William LeSassier was born in 1948 in Texas. He grew up in Midland, then moved to Southern California where he learned theosophy, palmistry, color therapy, and herbalism and where he audited medical school at UCLA. By the age of 20 he was an active healer. In the late 1960s, LeSassier opened The Christos School of Herbal Medicine in Taos, New Mexico, where he ran a herb store, married, and had a daughter, named Ona Marie LeSassier. In the 1960's he wandered around the US, Mexico and the Amazon, doing healing work, teaching and collecting herbs as he went. He wrote some of the very first herb articles in Well-Being Magazine, one of the first publications on Alternative Medicine. Around 1970 he found a teacher of Chinese medicine and persuaded the man to allow him to apprentice with him, learning about the energetics of medicinal herbs and developing an individualized diagnosis system. By the 1970's, he was one of the most well-known herbalists in the country. In 1983, he settled in New York City where he opened Chiron’s Magic Minerals, where he practiced and taught herbs, bodywork, and energy work. He married again and had a son, Alex LeSassier, in 1986. In the late 90's he entered Acupuncture School, where he graduated in 1998. In 1987 he had met his partner Daniela Noe` with whom he lived in New York for the rest of his life. He spent time in a vacation home/school/nature preserve in the Blue Ridge Mountains and visited Italy several times. He died in 2003 from complications of cirrhosis of the liver. http://www.williamlesassierarchive.org/WILLIAML.PDF]

Triune Formulas

One hallmark of most serious herbalism is the use of herbs in a formula. LeSassier had been exposed to Chinese medicine where "One disease many formulas" and individualizing formulas to the strengths and weaknesses of the patient was a hallmark. Herbs in the Chinese system are recognized by their effects on specific organs and meridians or organ systems. Chinese formulation generally has a "king" herb that addresses the major problem, supported by "ministers" that support it or address weak organ systems and "servant" herbs that harmonize and carry herbs to specific parts of the body. However a system that bridged the various herbal traditions was lacking.

The Triune System of Formulation was inspired by a vision LeSassier had during a period of personal difficulty, a vision that changed the direction of his herbal practice. He saw a triangle and Pythagoras giving him a book. The formulation was based on visually drawing one triangle inverted within a larger triangle, with the client’s constitution/core condition in the center and supporting organ systems in the flanking sides. According to the system, 9 herbs would be used, three in larger amounts to support the core problem with lower amounts for the supporting systems. Herbs were classified by their ability to build or tonify (+), react amphoterically which means to stabilize or harmonize (0) and to eliminate. (-). Herbs on the apex of each triangle represented the "king," the ruler/significant herb/neutral signified by a circle, a "minister" the herb that communicates to other plants and takes the message to the king, signified by a plus sign, and a "servant" the reciprocal part of the formula that acts upon/eliminates through the "doorways of the body." Measurement of herb was formulated by energetic strength, not weight.

References

ee also

* Chinese Medicine
* Herbalism
* Pharmacognosy
* Botany
* Ethnobotany

External links

* [http://www.herbalgram.org/herbalgram/articleview.asp?a=2566' Article by Margie Flint]
* [http://williamlesassierarchive.org William LeSassier Archives]
* [http://www.williamlesassierarchive.org/WILLIAML.PDF Matthew Wood eulogy]