I have a rough mental organization of gynecological herbs which arranges them in a spectrum running from blood tonic, through functional blood mover, to qi movers: Di Huang - Dang Gui - Bai Shao - Chuan Xiong - Chai Hu. (These are, of course, the herbs of Si Wu Tang, plus Chai Hu.) In this spectrum we move from the most materially nourishing to the most dry, and potentially harsh, movement. This spectrum also corresponds roughly to the periodicity of symptoms: Chai Hu as leading herb for symptoms which are maximal at ovulation, Chuan Xiong leading up to menstruation, Dang Gui at the cusp of menstruation, and Di Huang for depletion after menstruation. We would need to add extra dimensions to our graph to accommodate other gynecological herbs such as the material blood movers.
So, how to our western herbs fit into this chart? The order among the western herbs seems to be: Saw Palmetto - Black Haw - Black Cohosh - Agrimony. How does this spectrum interweave with the spectrum of Chinese Herbs? Quite tentatively I suggest a chart something like this: Di Huang - Saw Palmetto - Dang Gui - Black Haw - Bai Shao - Black Coshoh - Agrimony - Chai Hu. I would love to hear from people who have other ideas about how these should be arranged, or if there are reasons that we should not rely on this linear structure.
Extension: We can, at least conceptually, extend the spectum to the left by including the menopausal, Liver yin herbs: Er Zhi Wan from the Chinese pharmocopia and Blue Vervain, Vitex, and Borage from the Western.
