The effort to understand changes in the eyes and to correlate such changes to alterations in the human body is said to date back to the time of the early Chaldeans (c. 800-539 BC)-even longer ago for domesticated animals. Human iridology research started in 1670 when Dr. Philippus Meyens published Chiromatica medica, describing the eyes of his patients when they became sick or injured. He also noticed changes in the eye that came with healing and was able to link points on the iris to specific parts of the body. By observing the eye, he was eventually able to identify areas in the body in need of support which would show up in the eye long before physical symptoms would manifest.
“The upper part represents the head, Since the stomach has a close relationship to it, then all diseases originating in the stomach are found in the eyes. The right side of the eyes show as the liver, the right thorax and the blood vessels. The left side of the eyes can show all organs which lie on the left side, therefore the heart, left thorax, spleen and small blood vessels. Conditions of health and disease arising from the heart are found here, especially weakness of the heart or fainting. “The lowest part of the eyes represents the genitalia and also the kidneys and bowels, from which colic, jaundice, stone, diseases of the gall and venereal diseases are to be found. These signs consist of vessels, weals and flecks.” (Quoted from Herget aus Rossdorf.)
Not long after, in 1695, the works of Johann Eltzholtz appeared, and nearly a century later, in 1786, Christian Haertels published a dissertation in Gottingen titled De Oculo et Signo. But the true originator of modern iridology was Dr. Ignatz von Peezely, a Hungarian physician. He first published his ideas in 1893. The story goes that, as a boy, he found an owl with a broken leg. At the time he noticed a prominent black stripe in the iris of one eye of the owl. He nursed the bird back to health and then noticed
that the black line was gone, replaced by ragged white lines. From this single observation Peezely developed the notion of iridology. Peezely’s idea was that the iris maps the rest of the body in some way, and therefore the flecks of color in the iris reflect the state of health of the various body parts. This basic approach is called the homunculus approach. Reflexology, auricular acupuncture, and even chiropractic therapies all follow this same approach.
The modern popularity of iridology, especially in the US, can be traced back to Dr. Bernard Jensen, a chiropractor. He published more than 50 books and received global awards of distinction and recognition for his field of work and service to the global community in iridology and nutrition. Dr. Bernard Jensen stated, “Iridology is the art and science of analyzing the delicate structure of the colored portion of the eye, the iris. The iris reveals the basic constitutional health level of an individual with detailed information pertaining to their physical strengths and weaknesses. The iris can communicate information on all the specific organs of the body and the effects of crises or chronic health challenges to each organ, tissue inflammation levels, and tissue integrity throughout the body. Iridology is a sister-science to nutrition. Each cell, tissue or organ in the body has specific identifiable nutritional needs. When the cell does not receive adequate nutritional values (due to faulty diet, poor absorption and digestion, environmental pollution, high stress levels, etc.) the iris reflects these conditions. Usually these depletions are noticeable in the iris long before they would be discernible through blood work or laboratory analysis, thus making iridology nutritional support strong useful tools for preventive self-care.”
Mitákuye Oyás’iŋ
– For more information, contact Naturopathic Doctor Randy Lee, owner of The Health Patch at 1024 S. Douglas Blvd, Midwest City, at 405-736-1030 or e-mail pawpaw@TheHealthPatch.com or visit TheHeathPatch.com.
*These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This information is intended for educational purposes only. It is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.
