VC Special Session 1 - Snake Oils and Magic Herbs: The Art of Ancient Quackery

From snake oils to sacred rituals, ancient civilizations had no shortage of creative ways to treat illness, some surprisingly familiar, others totally out there. This session explores how different cultures approached health and healing long before modern medicine. We’ll look at everything from herbal remedies and spiritual healers to magical spells and early versions of holistic care. These practices weren’t just about curing disease, they reflected how people understood the body, the spirit, and the world around them.

We’ll also dig into the cultural context: who got to be a healer, what people believed about illness, and how medicine often blurred into religion, performance, and even politics. When science meets superstition, figuring out what “works” is more complicated than it seems. And some of these practices still echo in wellness trends today. Is it real healing, or just a really good show? Let’s dive into the weird, wild world of…