Mutton Soup with Prepared Epimedium，From *Proven Tea, Decoction, and Soup Recipes for Common Ailments*,Dispels wind and cold; transforms dampness and unblocks the meridians. Suitable for rheumatoid arthritis of the wind-cold-damp type.
as the formula is predominantly warm, avoid prolonged use in those with yin deficiency, dry mouth, or restlessness with heat in the palms and soles; those who are robust with internal accumulated heat are not suited to this formula; the warming-tonic nature is inadvisable during damp-heat, yin deficiency with fire, or episodes of exterior-heat; containing mildly toxic herbs, the dosage must be carefully controlled; it is not for long-term use, and pregnant women and the debilitated should avoid it
Commentary
The sovereign is processed aconite, nature hot, flavor pungent, channeled into the Heart, Kidney, Spleen; it rescues devastated yang, dispels cold, and warms the middle (small toxicity), anchoring the central strategy of the formula. The ministerial layer, lamb (of warm nature and sweet flavor, entering the Spleen, Kidney, Stomach, warms the middle, tonifies qi, and invigorates kidney yang), and ginger (warm in nature and pungent in flavor, with Lung, Spleen, Stomach tropism, disperses cold, relieves cough and harmonizes the stomach), lends support that reinforces the sovereign’s main effect. Completing the formula, rice wine, acting as the envoy to harmonize the various ingredients, so that potency is moderated and stomach qi protected. Together the herbs converge on this action, in accord with the wind-cold pattern.