HOMEOPATHY MEDICINE

Homeopathy

You may have heard of Homeopathy as an alternative medicine, but did you know that, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), over five hundred million people use homeopathy around the world? Did you also know that Homeopathy is established in the national health care systems in England, France and the Netherlands? In fact, you may have come across homeopathic medicines in your regular pharmacies. Oscillococcinum (or Oscillo) is a common homeopathic medicine you often see over-the-counter for flu symptoms.

What makes Homeopathy so popular, especially in Europe, North America and Asia, is that it is effective, safe and affordable.

What is Homeopathy and how does it work?

Homeopathy is a gentle way of treating illnesses based on the principle of like cures like, and has been used clinically for more than 200 years.

Like cures like implies that what will cause symptoms in a healthy person will trigger the cure of a sick person with those symptoms. It is a sophisticated system of using highly diluted substances as “remedies” to trigger the body’s self healing power by stimulating a precise reaction in the body against the symptoms. For example, when you peel an onion, you feel burn and itch in the eyes, you may also have a runny nose. If you have similar symptoms during a cold, then a homeopathic micro-dose of the remedy called Allium cepa, made from red onion, can help to trigger your body to heal.

Homeopaths take into account the the patient’s unique symptom profile when prescribing a remedy and do not simply try to match an illness to a drug, as in the case of conventional medicine. Two patients with the same illness will not necessarily receive the same remedy. A cold sufferer with dry eyes will be given a different remedy than another cold sufferer with watery eyes.

Homeopathy has been shown effective clinically in treating a wide range of acute and chronic conditions from headaches, coughs, sore throats, allergies, asthma, eczema, arthritis, chronic fatigue, to anxiety, depression, insomnia and much more.

Does it take a long time for treatment to work?

Not necessarily! In acute cases where there is a high fever, the right remedy can bring down the temperature by a degree within 30 minutes. Homeopathy can also be use as first aid to provide quick help in acute problems such as food poisoning, injuries, burns, etc.

However, if a patient suffers from a chronic problem over a long period of time, it may take longer to regain good health.

Is it safe for infants and pregnant women?

Yes, remedies— when administered by qualified Homeopaths—are completely safe for everyone, including pregnant women and babies. In fact, difficulties during pregnancy and problems experienced by newborns can be treated effectively by Homeopathy without any side effects.

However, if you are taking medications or receiving conventional medical treatments, it is essential that you inform your Homeopath to avoid any potential conflicts.

What exactly is in the Homeopathic remedies?

Remedies usually come in little sugar balls, but what’s in those white balls?

Homeopathic medicine is made from extremely small quantities of nanoparticles of substances extracted from plants, animals or minerals. The remedies are so diluted that, based on chemistry, it is difficult to find any molecules of the original substance in the remedy. This led skeptics to question that there is nothing in Homeopathic remedy except water, implying that Homeopathy cannot work.

In an interview published in Science magazine of December 24, 2010, Nobel Prize-winning virologist Dr Luc Montagnier gave support to Homeopathic medicine.

"I can't say that homeopathy is right in everything. What I can say now is that the high dilutions (used in homeopathy) are right. High dilutions of something are not nothing. They are water structures which mimic the original molecules."

He was making reference to his experimental research that confirms that uses doses of substances that undergo sequential dilution with vigorous shaking in-between each dilution. Although many skeptics assume that none of the original molecules remain in solution, Dr Montagnier's research (and other of many of his colleagues) has verified that electromagnetic signals of the original medicine remains in the water and has dramatic biological effects.

Another Nobel Prize-winning scientist, emeritus professor of Cambridge University Dr Brian Josephson wrote this in response to an article about Homeopathy in New Scientist.

“Regarding your comments on claims made for homeopathy: criticisms centered around the vanishingly small number of solute molecules present in a solution after it has been repeatedly diluted are beside the point, since advocates of homeopathic remedies attribute their effects not to molecules present in the water, but to modifications of the water's structure.”

“Simple-minded analysis may suggest that water, being a fluid, cannot have a structure of the kind that such a picture would demand. But cases such as that of liquid crystals, which while flowing like an ordinary fluid can maintain an ordered structure over macroscopic distances, show the limitations of such ways of thinking. There have not, to the best of my knowledge, been any refutations of homeopathy that remain valid after this particular point is taken into account.”

Is there any scientific evidence for Homeopathic Medicine?

It is rather difficult to test Homeopathy properly in randomized controlled trials (RCTs) for two reasons. Firstly, as mentioned above Homeopathic remedy has to be individualised according to the patient’s profile. RCTs are based on giving the same treatment—in this case the very same Homeopathic remedy—to a large number of people and looking at the results, compared with those for a group (control group) which has been given a "placebo" treatment. The problem is that this large number of people who receive the same remedy may suffer from the same illness nominally but their individual symptoms are not the same. Because of this, it is difficult to reflect whether the remedy is effective.

Secondly, RCTs generally require that neither the patient nor the practitioner knows who is getting the "active" treatment and who the placebo (double blind). In homeopathy, however, the practitioner needs to assess the patient's reaction to the previous remedy in order to decide how to proceed with the case. A lack of reaction to the remedy is important information as it may indicate that the wrong remedy or the wrong potency has been prescribed. If the practitioner does not know whether the patient actually received the remedy, then it is impossible to make any accurate assessment of the case.

Given these challenges, many high quality studies have still been published in respected medical and scientific journals providing evidence that Homeopathy works:

In 1991, three professors of medicine from the Netherlands, none of them homeopaths, performed a meta-analysis of 25 years of clinical studies using homeopathic medicines and published their results in the British Medical Journal2. The paper stated that “overall, of the 105 trials with interpretable results, 81 trials (77%) indicated positive results.”

The professors concluded, "the amount of positive results came as a surprise to us." Specifically, they found that:

13 of 19 trials showed successful treatment of respiratory infections,

6 of 7 trials showed positive results in treating other infections,

5 of 7 trials showed improvement in diseases of the digestive system,

5 of 5 showed successful treatment of hay fever,

5 of 7 showed faster recovery after abdominal surgery,

4 of 6 promoted healing in treating rheumatological disease,

18 of 20 showed benefit in addressing pain or trauma,

8 of 10 showed positive results in relieving mental or psychological problems, and

13 of 15 showed benefit from miscellaneous diagnoses.

A body of clinical research in homeopathy that has been consistently recognized as some of the highest quality scientific research has been conducted by a group of researchers at the University of Glasgow and Glasgow Homeopathic Hospital. They conducted four studies on people suffering from various respiratory allergies (hay fever, asthma, and perennial allergic rhinitis)3. In total, they treated 253 patients and found a 28% improvement in visual analogue scores in those given a homeopathic medicine, as compared with a 3% improvement in patients given a placebo.

One of the most impressive studies ever conducted testing homeopathic medicines was in the treatment of people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).At the University of Vienna Hospital a prospective, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study with parallel assignment was performed to assess the influence of a sublingually administered remedy called Kali bichromicum on the amount of tenacious, stringy tracheal secretions in critically ill patients with a history of tobacco use and COPD4. The amount of tracheal secretions was reduced significantly in patients given the homeopathic medicine. Extubation (the removal of obstructive mucus from the lung with a tube) could be performed significantly earlier and the length of stay was significantly shorter in the group that received the remedy. This data suggest that the remedy may help to decrease the amount of stringy tracheal secretions in COPD patients.

Three studies of children with diarrhea were also conducted and published in peer-review scientific journals. A meta-analysis of the 242 children who were involved in these three studies showed that the children who were prescribed a homeopathic medicine experienced a highly significant reduction in the duration of diarrhea, as compared with the children who were given a placebo5.

One other study that is worth mentioning was on 53 patients with fibromyalgia6. Participants given individually chosen homeopathic treatment showed significantly greater improvements in tender point count and tender point pain, quality of life, global health and a trend toward less depression compared with those on placebo. What is also extremely interesting about this study was that the researchers found that people on homeopathic treatment also experienced changes in EEG readings, an indicator of the brain’s electrical activity and levels. Not only did subjects who were given a homeopathic medicine experience improved health, they were shown to experience different changes in the brain wave activity. This evidence of clinical benefits and objective physiological action from homeopathic medicines in people with chronic symptoms constitutes very strong evidence that Homeopathy can have observable effects.

Complex Homoeopathy

A Revolution in Natural Medicine

To clarify what complex homoeopathy is, it is necessary to start with a brief resume of the ideas behind classical homoeopathy. Homoeopathy is defined as a therapeutic method which clinically applies the law of similars and uses medically active substances at weak or infinitesimal (very diluted) doses.

The Law of Similars

The Law of Similars is the formulation of a physiological state which had already been observed by Hippocrates and his school five centuries before the birth of Christ. Even then, a similarity between the toxic power of a substance and its therapeutic action had been noted:

1 White Hellebore, which toxicologically causes cholera-like diarrhoea, was also successfully used to treat cholera.

2 Cantharide tincture, which toxicologically causes cystitis, was administered in small doses for the treatment of cystitis (at that time cystitis was known as 'strangury').

In the centuries that followed, other doctors made similar observations. They failed, however, to draw any practical and general conclusions. It was not until the end of the eighteenth century (around 1790) that a German doctor, chemist and toxicologist, Samuel Hahnemann, pursued the question further.

He noticed that cinchona (quinine), which was then used to treat fever resulting from malaria, toxicologically caused febrile attacks which were similar to those for which it was then used as a therapeutic remedy. Knowing as he did the works of the School of Hippocrates, he stated: It would appear that certain medicines are able to cure symptoms which are similar to those which they themselves can cause. This was only a hypothesis and it needed to be verified. Hahnemann, therefore, set to work.

He began by taking all medically active substances known at that time and testing them upon himself and those around him. These substances included cinchona, aconite, belladonna, ipecacuana, mercury, etc. His goal was to find out the action of these substances upon healthy subjects. With this newly-acquired knowledge, he then tried them out as therapeutic agents upon patients showing symptoms similar to those which had been caused scientifically. He observed that his hypotheses were confirmed, but only when very small or infinitesimal doses were used.

For example, when used in large quantities ipecacuana produces nausea and vomiting in the healthy individual. In small doses, it cures nausea in the dyspeptic patient. Bees' venom causes pinkish red oedema in healthy subjects. These appear suddenly and they itch and burn. They are relieved by applications of cold water. In infinitesimal doses, the same venom improves or cures itchy, burning eruptions of sudden onset and which are relieved by cold compresses.

Hahnemann thus noticed that the hypothesis he had originally formulated was regularly confirmed from one experiment to another. It was therefore no longer a hypothesis, but rather a law of nature, a general biological law, the law of similars, and could be divided into three postulates:

1 Any pharmacologically active substance can cause a set of symptoms to appear in a healthy subject. These symptoms are characteristic of each substance used. This was the result of his experiments upon healthy subjects.

2 Any one suffering from any particular disease shows a set of morbid symptoms which are characteristic of the disease. These morbid symptoms can be defined as being changes in the way the patient feels or behaves.

3 The cure, which is confirmed by the objective disappearance of all morbid symptoms, may be obtained by prescribing the substance whose experimental symptoms in healthy subjects are similar to the patient's own symptoms, provided this substance is prescribed in small or infinitesimal doses. In this way, homoeopathy was born at the beginning of the nineteenth century. It had taken Hahnemann more than ten years of observations and experimentations to come to these conclusions.

As we can see from this homoeopathy is not, as some would like to believe, a crazy idea thought up by some visionary. Nor is it a philosophy or a mystical doctrine. It is rather a therapeutic method based on a hypothesis instigated by clinical facts and perfected through many years of clinical and toxicological experimentation.

It consists of giving the patient, in weak or infinitesimal doses, the substance which, if administered to a healthy subject would cause symptoms similar to the patient's own symptoms. This technique might at first sight shock those used to the more direct methods related to traditional therapeutics. Indeed:

1 Classical therapeutics destroys or attempts to destroy a microbe, a virus or a parasite.

2 It chemically acts as an antidote to physiological or metabolic substances whose levels are abnormally high (uric acid, cholesterol, lipids, histamine, serotonin, etc). It may also inhibit unpleasant or painful physiological reactions.

3 It chemically replaces inadequate physiological substances (electrolytes, hormones etc).

Conventional therapeutics act through means involving destruction, suppression or substitution.

Homoeopathic therapeutics act in the same way as the organism's reactions. It stimulates these reactions in order to make them more effective and works in concert with them. That is the reason why only weak or even infinitesimal doses are needed: an overly strong dose could aggravate the patient's reactions in a most unpleasant way. Homoeopathic therapeutics are therefore stimulatory.

On careful consideration it is clear that conventional therapeutics often uses the law of similars:

Mercury and its salts toxicologically, cause diminished urine flow or none at all. Not so long ago, mercurial diuretics (substances which cause increased urine flow) were used to treat diminished or absent urine flow of non- mercurial origin.

Digitalis toxicologically causes rapid and irregular heart beats. Its best traditional indication is an irregular heart beat called auricular fibrillation wherein the heart contracts rapidly and irregularly.

Emetine toxicologically produces diarrhoea and ulcers similar to those of amoebic dysentry. Even today, it is still the best treatment when administered in doses which are far from levels which will kill the amoeba (such doses would be poisonous to man). Emetine acts by stimulating the organisms natural defences.

Small-pox vaccination also illustrates the law of similars. When the 'vaccine' is inoculated it produces skin sores similar to those of smallpox.

It is possible to quote many more examples, especially in allergy or inimmunology, where small doses of the same substances capable of producing pathological disorders are used as therapeutic agents. There is nothing surprising about this. The law of similars is a general biological law and it is normal for traditional therapeutics to use it. The only difference is that the homoeopathic therapist uses it systematically.

Pathogenesis

The set of symptoms which any given substance produces in a healthy individual is called pathogenesis. These symptoms come mainly from three sources:

Toxicology - this may be acute, chronic, voluntary, accidental or professional. It usually causes physical damage.

Actual pathogenetic experiments - these are carried out with diverse but non-poisonous agents upon subjects of various ages, of both sexes, and of different receptivity. They mainly cause functional or general signs, in other words 'changes in the way of feeling or behaving' (Hahnemann).

Clinical experiments - these include symptoms which are normally cured by the prescribed substance in its pathogenesis.

The Homoeopathic Materia Medica

The total sum of these pathogeneses constitute the homoeopathic Materia Medica. The Materia Medica is a collection of symptoms, 'changes in the way of feeling or behaving' in healthy individuals.

Methodology in Homoeopathy

Knowing, as he does, the homoeopathic Materia Medica, the homoeopathic doctor must take into account the symptoms of the patient within his disease; in other words, the way he reacts to it. The doctor will therefore prescribe the substance whose experimental reactional modalities correspond to those of the patient. The remedy is 'homoeopathic' because its basic substance is capable of creating a 'similar' (homeo equals similar) (pathos = suffering).

Let us examine one case in point: two patients suffering from shingles who both consult the doctor. The first patient has a rash; he suffers from itching, burning pains. These pains are relieved by cold compresses. This reaction is exactly the same as that of a healthy person who has been stung by a bee. The homoeopathic remedy will therefore be bee venom in an infinitesimal dilution.

The second patient also has a rash and complains of burning pains. Questioning, however, reveals that the patient's pains are worse at night and that they are relieved by hot compresses. This patient's reaction is therefore completely different from that of the first patient even though the disease is the same. This reaction corresponds to that of a healthy individual subjected to the toxicological action of arsenious anhydride in an infinitesimal dilution.

Homoeopathic methodology then, consists of making two symptomatic clinical pictures coincide in order to determine the remedy or remedies to be used. The first of these clinical pictures is that concerning the pathogenesis. This is the reactive picture of a healthy individual undergoing the action of a pharmacologically active substance. The second is the patient's symptomatic clinical picture. This includes both the characteristic sign of the disease and particular signs shown in the patient's behaviour. It is the picture of the patient's reaction to his illness.

Homoeopathic methodology thus leads to an individualization of therapy. It defines the remedy which works in the same direction as the patient's own reaction which it helps and stimulates. Homoeopathic therapeutics involve individual terrains. Homoeopathic remedies act as a specific stimulant to the organism as opposed to traditional remedies which act coercively.

The Infinitesimal Dose

In order to protect the patient from unpleasant reactions due to the worsening of his condition, this stimulation must not be too strong. It must act only as a support or an encouragement to the organism. It was only after years of experiment that Hahnemann came to the following conclusion: 'in order to bring about prompt, gentle, and lasting improvement, you most often need to use infinitesimal doses' Hahnemann himself codified the preparation of these doses.

Because these doses are infinitesimal, homoeopathic medicine is never poisonous. The only problem is to define how it works as, in itself, it has no chemical action. It acts exclusively through a specific physical state which is capable of making only the affected organism react because it is sensitized to the medicine through its own specific reactive mode (which is itself similar to the reactive potential of the basic substance). This will be discussed in more detail in a later section. To illustrate this process better, we might liken the organism to a radio receiver which is capable of receiving and amplifying only those waves into which it is tuned.

HOMOEOPATHIC MEDICATIONS

Origin

Homoeopathy is often wrongly identified as herbal therapy. Homoeopathic remedies are prepared from substances belonging to all three realms of nature:

The vegetable kingdom - this kingdom is the source of more than half the remedies. Plants are harvested in their natural surroundings by qualified specialists who obey strict quality standards. They are then quickly dispatched to the laboratory so they can be used fresh (having just been subjected to a thorough botanical check-up).

The mineral kingdom - this includes natural salts, chemical products, metals, etc. They are always selected in their purest state.

The animal kingdom - these substance includes venoms, venomous insects (bees, ants, spiders, etc), hormones, physiological secretions (musk, squid ink, etc.), and any substance capable of having a toxicological or pharmacodynamic action upon a healthy individual.

Preparation

Preparation is given very careful attention. Vegetable substances as well as some animal substances are used to prepare Mother Tinctures (M.T.). This is carried out by maceration in alcohol for at least three weeks. Maceration takes place either in specially treated glass vessels or in stainless-steel containers. A very pure alcohol is used. This alcohol is exactly titrated. Mother Tinctures are concentrated in such a way that their weight is equal to ten times that of the dried plant and twenty times that of animal products.

Mother Tinctures and soluble products are the basic substances which are then diluted to 1/10th or 1/100th part. At each stage of deconcentration the medicine undergoes energetic shaking by a machine called a 'potentizer. It is then labelled with the Latin name of the stock used, followed by a number representing the number of deconcentrations and shakings which it has undergone, and an acronym indicating whether the deconcentration was to the 1/10th or to the 1/100th:

6X or 6D means that the basic substance has been deconcentrated to the 1/10 part, 6 times and then shaken 6 times.The dilution therefore contains one part in a million. 5C means that the basic substance has been deconcentrated to the 1/100 part, 5 times and then shaken 5 times. The dilution contains one part in ten billion.

Deconcentrations which are potentized in this way are called Hahnemannian potencies.

Insoluble basic substances are divided three times to the 1/100th by trituration with lactose in a mortar. Research, for which a Doctor of Science Degree was awarded, showed that when an insoluble substance was triturated to the 3C and beyond, it could be deconcentrated by diluting it in the same way as a soluble product.

The most frequently used dilutions in homoeopathic remedies are:

M.T. - 3X, 6X, 4C, 5C, 7C, 9C, 12C, 15C, 30C.

Nowadays, the manufacture of Hahnemannian potencies (dilutions) necessitates special precautions. It is, of course, important to use very pure solvents: 70 percent strength alcohol and distilled water. It is also preferable to carry out the preparation of these potencies (dilutions) in the purest possible atmosphere. It is hardly necessary to state that the normal atmosphere is polluted. It contains a great number of particles (chemical or otherwise) which are in suspension and which can be detected and counted with special equipment.The presence of sulphur, calcium, sodium, potassium, sulphurous or arsenious anhydride, lead, mercury, and many other poisonous or allergenic products can be shown.

In Hahneman's day, atmospheric pollution was negligible when the first pathogeneses were established and the first homoeopathic medicines made, air pollution was not a problem. Nowadays, however, it is a real obstacle. These polluting substances could, under certain circumstances, overpower the active ingredients if insufficient precautions were taken during manufacture.

Complex Homoeopathy

Complex homoeopathy is a method of formulating medications which was initially developed by one of Hahnemann's pupils. It involves the use of mixtures of Mother Tinctures and low potency homoeopathic preparations (usually between 6C and 12C). These mixtures are formulated so as to minimize any aggravation that might be caused by the homoeopathic preparations and to maximize the effect of that preparation on a particular organ, or for a particular symptom. They combine the best features of homoeopathy and herbal medicine. Classical homoeopathy misses out on the age-old methods of drainage via the colon, urinary tract and skin. Complex homoeopathy combines these approaches together with the ideas of homoeopathy.

The importance of using a number of remedies rather than the classical similimum, is shown by all the BER techniques. Invariably the majority of patients need a number of remedies in order to normalize all abnormal readings. It is important that all remedies given together are compatible with each other. Compatibility testing both clinically and using BER testing is an important step at arriving at the formulations used in complex homoeopathy.

The resultant mixtures are found to act on particular organs or organ systems; some stimulate the pancreas or liver, others aid the circulation or facilitate lymphatic drainage. It is therefore a therapeutic system ideally suited to the organ-based diagnoses made in BER medicine. Some complex homoeopathic mixtures are targeted at conditions such as sinusitis or tonsillitis. They are easy to use, even for the layman and are used in this way by many people today in Germany where the majority of complex homoeopathic medications are made.

The clinical results from the use of complex homoeopathy in chronic disease are better than when using classical single remedy homoeopathy on the same cases. As far as acute illness is concerned there is little difference between the two systems, and both methods are fairly simple to apply in the acute situation (such as the use of Belladonna 6C, a classical single remedy in tonsillitis, or the use of Mercurius Cyanatus, a complex remedy for the same problem). Chronic illness is a much more complex problem and needs much greater skill and experience in classical homoeopathy for the treatment to be successful.

In practice very few homoeopaths have this sort of skill, but they do obtain a proportion of dramatic results. Clearly the complex approach has the edge as far as results are concerned, and when used in tandem with BER diagnosis, provides a system much more related to conventional medicine than is classical homoeopathy.

Unfortunately the argument between the 'singles' and the complex' schools rages, with relatively few open-minded practitioners recognizing that both have a part to play. Experience with measurement techniques used in BER medicine shows that the complex approach turns out to be the most favoured method; and that classical homoeopathy with its reliance on symptom pictures is by implication out-dated.

The use of complex or mixed homoeopathic preparations is common in many European countries, particularly Germany. As yet this approach has not been widely used in the United Kingdom or the USA. Complex homoeopathic preparations involve relatively low potency medications and are mixtures of several different medicaments. For instance Belladonna (made by Pascoe Pharmaceuticalsin West Germany) contains Belladonna, Bryonia and Mercurius Sublimatus. All of these are in low potency, and the addition of Bryonia and Mercurius Sublimatus, is to avoid and minimize the occurrence of side effects that may occur by prescribing Belladonna alone.

A complex preparation also has a wider range of action than a single remedy. This means that it is more likely to produce a clinically useful result. In other words a mixed complex remedy is a balanced herbal and homoeopathic combination preparation which aims to achieve its effect with minimum possible disruption to the patient.

As a rule each complex homoeopathic preparation has been given a trade name by the pharmacy producing it. Often this trade name is that of the classical single remedy such as, in this case, Belladonna. It is important to realize that this is not the same thing as the classical single remedy Belladonna.

Nosodes

Nosodes are homoeopathic dilutions of toxins. Their effect is to cause the body to expel the toxins relevant to the particular nosode from an intra-cellular position into the extra-cellular fluid. It is a remarkable fact that a homoeopathic dilution of a toxin will specifically stimulate the cells to discharge the relevant toxin into the extra-cellular fluid. This effect has been extensively researched and a number of representative studies will be described in the following section.

At best, nosodes should be given only after using a measurement technique on the patient such as the Vega test method or Bioresonance diagnosis so that the right preparation is chosen. Nosodes should never be given alone, and should always be given with the relevant accompanying remedies whose function is to make sure that the toxins, now in the extra-cellular fluid, are excreted from the body.

If this is not done, then the toxins will remain in the extra-cellular fluid for a while and then go back into the cells. This has been called 'toxic ping-pong' and underlines the need to give drainage remedies at the same time. This is another area where complex homoeopathy has a real edge over classical homoeopathy, as it makes extensive use of drainage remedies of various sorts.

Nosodes should not be used for self-treatment, and should always be given under the guidance of an appropriately trained practitioner. They should not be given to the very elderly or frail patients, as the sudden release of toxins into the extra-cellular fluid maybe more than the patient can cope with.

Bach Flower Remedies

These are a group of thirty-eight remedies made from common flowers such as Clematis, Vervain and Star of Bethlehem. They were'invented' by Dr Edward Bach, working in the 1930s. They all have an effect on the psychological aspects of a patients problem, and to that end they are invaluable. High potency single remedy prescribing also has dramatic effects on the psyche but requires far greater knowledge and clinical experience to be able to use high potency single remedy prescribing safely and effectively. Only skilled and experienced homoeopathic practitioners are competent at this approach.

The Bach remedies are, however, safe, and they can be used for self-treatment. They are an essential part of the therapeutic range required by BER medicine. Bach remedies have the effect of bringing problems to the surface, and therefore making them more amenable to resolution. If a patient has a more deep-seated psychological problem then no homoeopathic remedy will resolve it, and a psychologically based method of treatment is required.

Research Evidence for the Activity of Substances at Infinitesimal Doses

Even though homoeopathy was founded upon strict observation and experiment, it has always been the object of criticism. Homoeopaths have always tried to provide an answer to this criticism. It is only in the last forty years, however, that research techniques have improved to such a point that scientific proof can be shown as a reply to the various objections.

Rather than involving ourselves in a history of the research into homoeopathy including an exhaustive analysis of all the experiments carried out by chemists, pharmacologists, doctors, engineers, and physicists (many of whom are professors of medicine and pharmacy), let us instead say that research has tried to demonstrate:

1 That the pharmacological action of Hahnemannian. potencies could be shown by reproducible and statistically valid procedures.

2 That, because the activity of these potencies was connected to a specific physical structure, they consequently were not just empty solutions or'solutions with nothing in them as they have often been called.

3 That homoeopathic therapeutics do not act by auto-suggestion or placebo effect.

It should be stressed that research in the homoeopathic field is essentially fundamental research. It thus differs from the type of research usually carried out in clinical pharmacology where the goal is to show the therapeutic action of a new product.

Pharmacological Action of Hahnemannian Potencies

Faced with the impossible task of causing a direct pharmacological action in healthy subjects, researchers had the idea of experimenting with the pharmacological action of homoeopathic medicines upon 'sensitized' animals or plants. Thus:

1 If pigeons are poisoned with sodium arsenate, only 35 per cent of the poison administered will be found in their excreta in the days following the experiment. At the same time, there is an increase investibular chronaxia showing precisely this sub-intoxication (vestibular = the balance apparatus; chronaxia = time taken for nerve conductions).

If the pigeons are than given Hahnemannian potencies of sodium arsenate at 7C, 9C or 15C strength about forty-five days after the initial poisoning, arsenic reappears in the excreta and vestibular chronaxia returns to normal in a few days.

2 If Alloxan is given to mice, it produces experimental diabetes (increase in blood sugar), by destroying certain pancreatic cells. If the mice are given preventive injections of infinitesimal potencies of Alloxan, they do not develop diabetes. If infinitesimal potencies are injected for a few days following the injection of Alloxan, both the diabetes and pancreatic lesions produced are much less serious.

3 If grains of wheat are poisoned with copper sulphate, their 'vitality' is considerably modified, especially their germination potential: the weight of roots and coleoptiles, chlorophyl productionand enzyme activities are greatly reduced in comparison to normal grains. If, however, these poisoned grains are planted in soil to which a 15C potency of copper sulphate has been added, all of these parameters are significantly improved and come near to those of healthy grains.

4 A trial looking at the effect of homoeopathic lead as a method for lowering lead levels in experimental adult rats was reported at the 35th Congress of the International Homoeopathic Medical League at the Universityof Sussex, Brighton, in March 1982, the work having been carried out by Dr Peter Fisher.

The rats were divided into four groups. One group received homoeopathic treatment of Plumbum Metallicum 200C (homoeopathic lead), the second group received Penicillamine (a standard method for reducing toxic metals in the body), and the third group were an alcohol treated control group as the Plumbum Metallicum 200C was given in absolute alcohol diluted with distilled water. The fourth group was another control group treated with water alone.

The results showed that Plumbum Metallicum 200C was better at producing lead excretion than Penicillamine, although the difference was only slight. The difference between lead excretion between the Plumbum Metallicum 200C and the Penicillamine group compared to the water and alcohol control groups was shown to be highly significant, and in both control groups there was negligible excretion of lead.

5 If rats are injected with carbon or phosphorous tetrachloride, toxic liver damage is caused. If, after poisoning rats with carbon tetracholoride, they are given injections of 7C or 15C potencies of phosphorus, their hepatitis improves as well as their abnormal biochemical parameters (especially transaminases), which return to normal.

These experiments show the action of infinitesimal dilutions, even those in which it is not possible to find molecules of the basic substances (greater than Avogadros number) still present in these dilutions.

A study of the physical structure of Hahnemannian potencies

When a substance is diluted in a solvent, several complex phenomena are brought into play:

The dispersion of molecules: the physical difference between one gram of sodium chloride in a solid form, and one gram of the same substance dissolved in 1, 10 or 100 litres of water is clear. The relative arrangement of the molecules is not the same.

It is just as clear as the difference existing between the molecular arrangement of water molecules (H-OH) in a liquid state, a solid state (ice) or a gaseous state (steam).

Even though the chemical formula is unchanged in both these examples, the physical constants, as well as their possible areas of application are not the same.

When making dilutions, however, the dispersion of molecules of the substances to be diluted amongst those of the solvent is not the only factor involved. There is also:

A specific molecular arrangement between the two components. For example, in an aqueous dilution, each molecule or ion of the diluted substance is surrounded by water molecules.This makes a hydrated molecule or ion with completely new properties.

When another dilution is made, this molecular arrangement varies, not only for each molecule of the basic substance, but also in relation to the substance.

It follows, then, that each time a product is diluted in a solvent, a new physico-chemical entity is created. Its properties are not only proportional to the quantities of substance used. To illustrate this idea, let us say that, when one blue marble is mixed with 99 yellow marbles, the result is 100 green marbles with new and not always predictable properties.

It is thus reasonable to imagine that comparable phenomena take place in Hahnemannian potencies, and that they are helped along by the way of preparing these successive dilutions.

If the Hahnemannian dilution is submitted to ultrasound or to heat (20 minutes at 120°C), the dilution's pharmacological power is destroyed. Furthermore, when these potencies are subjected to a laser beam (monochromatic luminous beam) and the different diffusions produced are recorded on a Raman spectrograph, specific spectra are obtained. This very delicate research seems to show certain differences between the spectra of the solvent and those of the various dilutions studied.

There is, therefore, every reason to think that this specific physical state carries the reactional and therapeutical potential of a substance diluted in accordance with the Hahnemannian procedure.

The Placebo Effect

PLACEBO

It would be childish to try to deny the existence of the placebo effect for it can be found in all kinds of therapeutics. The moment the patient consults a doctor, a relationship is created between the two parties, and this can more or less calm the patient's fears. This is just as true for homoeopathy as for classical medicine. Care must be taken when interpreting therapeutic results. A treatment can be prescribed (whateverthat treatment may be) just as much for the feeling of security it gives the patient as for its actual pharmacological action.

Therapeutic results obtained by homoeopathy in functional disorders, dystonias, and anxiety, therefore, do not constitute scientific proof of the action of the homoeopathic remedy - many other factors could be responsible for the improvement. This same scepticism is no longer justified however, when the following are concerned:

· cure of infectious diseases;

· focal disorders;

· normalizing serum measurements;

· cures brought about in babies or in young children;

· cures in isolated animals or in herds (veterinary medicine

increasingly uses homoeopathy both for pets, farm animals, and race horses).

Even in the above cases, however, these cures are not scientific evidence of activity. A scientific phenomenon is recognized as such only when it has been proved to be statistically significant and reproducable.

After reading this highly simplified account the reader will realize that homoeopathy is a therapeutic method that deserves to be both better known and more widely used. It does not replace classical medicine, but it can often be a useful addition to it.

Conclusion

Complex homoeopathy has in many ways updated classical homoeopathy and certainly has made it an easier therapeutic system to apply in practice. Research in homoeopathy has also reached a level where we can begin to say that real effects are produced by these sorts of remedies.

Reference:

1. Martin E. Newsmaker Interview: Luc Montagnier, French Nobelist Escapes “Intellectual Terror” to Pursue Radical Ideas in China. Science, December 24, 2010; 330(6012):1732.

2. Jos K, Paul K, Gerben ter Riet. Clinical Trials of Homeopathy. BMJ, February 9, 1991; 302:316-323.

3. Taylor MA, Reilly D, Llewellyn-Jones RH, et al., Randomised Controlled Trial of Homoeopathy versus Placebo in Perennial Allergic Rhinitis with Overview of Four Trial Series. BMJ, August 19, 2000; 321:471-476.

4. Frass M, Dielacher C, Linkesch M, et al. Influence of potassium dichromate on tracheal secretions in critically ill patients. Chest, March, 2005.

5. Jacobs J, Jonas WB, Jimenez-Perez B, Crothers D. Homeopathy for Childhood Diarrhea: Combined Results and Metaanalysis from Three Randomized, Controlled Clinical Trials. Pediatr Infect Dis J, 2003;22:229-34.

6. Bell IR, Lewis II DA, Brooks AJ, et al. Improved clinical status in fibromyalgia patients treated with individualized homeopathic remedies versus placebo. Rheumatology, 2004:1111-5.

Aconite

Aconite is one of our oldest remedies, having been one of the substances proved by Samuel Hahnemann and described in the first volume of his landmark text, the Materia Medica Pura. The homeopathic remedy is prepared from the whole fresh plant as it comes into flower. Hahnemann saw it as being a short-acting remedy that was very valuable in acute inflammatory and sometimes life-threatening conditions. James Tyler Kent also took this view and said that it is “a short-acting remedy. Its symptoms do not last long… There are no chronic diseases following it.” Since then many homeopathic texts have boldly stated that it is only an acute remedy. Well, I believe that it is indeed a great acute remedy, but it may also have a place in chronic cases, when patients have sustained, and never recovered from a major shock. Essentially, I would describe it as a great acute remedy, but also as a “blocked shock” remedy.

A distinctly shady and poisonous plant

Aconitum napellus is a member of the buttercup family, Ranunculaceae. This very important family of plants also gives us the remedies Cimicifuga, Helleborus, Hydrastis, Paeonia, Pulsa­tilla, Ranunculus and Staphysagria.

The plant grows in damp and shady areas, to a height of about three or four feet. It has a spindle-shaped root that has a superficial resemblance to the root of the horseradish. The stem grows straight with glossy, dark green leaves which are deeply cleft in a palmate man­ner. The clusters of dark blue flowers with purple sepals give it some of its common names – monkshood, friar’s cap, mourning bride and auld wife’s huid. Impressive though the hood-like flowers are, there is something vaguely sinister about them, as if they mask or hood a deadly secret. That secret, quite simply, is that it is Britain’s most poisonous plant. Death hovers about it.

There are in the region of 100 species of aconitum, which grow in shady mountainous grassland or scrub in the northern hemisphere. Another species, Aconitum lycotonum also has an extreme­ly shady reputation. This is the plant known as wolfsbane, which was in days gone by used to kill wolves by baiting meat with it. It was also associated in folk legends with werewolves and lycan­thropy.

Aconite, or aconitine the poisonous alkaloid derived from it, has been known since antiquity. Indeed, Pliny the Elder recounts that it takes its name from Aconae, in the Black Sea, its supposed place of origin. Legend says that this was the place where Hercules dragged Cerebus, the three-headed dog that guarded Hades. As the dog drooled dur­ing the fight, poison fell on the plant that grew there, tainting it and making it poisonous forever. The specific part of its name, napellus, means little turnip, indicating the shape of its root.

Another legend tells of how the sorceress Hecate taught her daughters Circe and Medea how to prepare and use aconite as a poison, and that Medea, who married King Aegeus used it when she attempted to poison Theseus, the king’s son. But Aegeus discovered the plot and saved Theseus.

On the island of Ceos draughts of the poison were given to “senile persons of no value to the state”. In addition, it was used as an arrow poison in war­fare, and in conjunction with belladonna is believed to have been used as the fabled “flying ointment” in witchcraft practices, undoubtedly because of the hallucinogenic (and extremely danger­ous) effects it would have.

Sadly, the literature records acci­dental deaths after pieces of the root have been eaten in mistake for horse­radish.

The epitome of the homeopathic principle

Like many other poisons, for example arsenic, strychnine and prussic acid, aconite found a place in medical prac­tice. It was introduced as a medicinal herb in 1763 in Vienna. In 1788 it was added to the London Pharmacopoeia and to the first US Pharmacopoeia in 1820. However, because the therapeu­tic dose is so close to the toxic dose, it was later deleted from both pharma­copoeias.

The interesting thing to note here is that although these compounds were known to be poisonous, empirical obser­vation revealed that some aspects of their range of action could be beneficial. So before going further, let us just consider the known effects of aconite poisoning.

One of the first things that is expe­rienced in aconite poisoning is tingling and numbness of the tongue and mouth and a sensation of ants crawling over the body. The body temperature begins to drop and the individual starts to feel cold and clammy. The pulse rate drops at first, but then may become irregu­lar. With increasing toxicity, nausea and vomiting with epigastric pain begin, the breathing becomes laboured and the pupils dilate to cause blurring of vision. It also seems to have a predilection for the trigeminal nerve, the main motor nerve to the face, with resulting facial paralysis. Anxiety and great fear are liable to occur as a sense of suffocation and collapse supervene. Death can occur in a few hours.

In the past when fevers from all sorts of causes were common, it was inevit­able that any agent that reduced a fever would be explored. And so it was with aconite. In addition, because it was capa­ble of reducing the pulse rate it was also used to slow the heart rate down in various conditions. The old medical texts give instructions to give the remedy one drop at a time every quarter of an hour for one hour, then repeating the dose once an hour for a further six hours until the fever was reduced. Clearly, it was a very risky medication to use.

In the 1880s this strange phenomenon about the possible therapeutic benefits of small doses of poisons was investi­gated by Rudolf Arndt and Hugo Schultz, two professors at the University of Greifswald in Germany. Their research, formulated as the Arndt-Schultz Law showed that weak stimuli stimulate living systems; moderate stimuli inter­fere with living systems, and strong stimuli inhibit or destroy living systems. Nowadays this hypothesis is recognised in pharmacology and toxicology as “hormesis”, a dose-response phenome­non characterised by a low dose stim­ulation and high dose inhibition. A toxin or poison showing hormesis thus has the opposite effect in small doses than in large doses. Fascinatingly, homeopathy seems to reflect an extrapolation of this principle, in that whereas low doses are beneficial to a living system, infinitesi­mal, homeopathically prepared reme­dies are potentially curative of various states affecting the living system.

Give frequently in acute conditions

To get the benefit from Aconite in acute conditions it should be given frequently, as often as every five to fifteen minutes according to the emergency. If it is cor­rectly chosen its effects will be quickly apparent. I would always tend to use the higher potency of 30c in these circum­stances. In chronic “blocked shock”, which I shall discuss later, a single extremely high potency can have an amazing effect.

Sudden onset, post-exposure

In acute conditions the picture comes on suddenly with great intensity. An infection will develop rapidly after exposure to a wind, a fright or a shock. Classically it is indicated in the very early congested phase of an illness before localisation has taken place. The cond­ition can be extremely violent and even life-threatening.

Note this point about being post-exposure, because this is invariably the case. Conditions requiring Aconite seem to have a definite cause or to be a reaction from an event. That can be from sudden chilling, or after an accident or shock. The patient is liable to be aware that the problem started from that pre­cise point.

The text books suggest that it is more commonly indicated in robust, thick-set plethoric types. This may be the case, but it is the reaction that is the main guiding principle.

Tension and fear of death

Tension is one of the main features that indicates the need for Aconite. This takes the form of mental and physical tension. Mental tension manifests as anxiety and fear. Indeed so great may that fear be that the individual actually feels that death may be imminent, and they have a presentiment about precisely when they are actually going to die. And they will be terrified at the prospect.

Panic can be so intense that they feel they need medicine straight away, that something needs doing instantly and that medical aid must be obtained as an emergency. Their feeling is that if aid is not obtained, they will die. This is the shadow of death that seems to hover around this state and links up with the deadly poison that in homeopathic dosage will relieve it.

At the physical level the tension can take the form of severe muscle pains, extreme restlessness, shaking and even convulsions. Tension in the involuntary muscles may produce chest pains, or in the respiratory system to provoke an attack of asthma.

Hypersensitivity

When Aconite is needed there is hyper­sensitivity all round. Pain, touch, hear­ing and smell all tend to be affected. Pains are intolerable, to the point that the person screams with agony and demands that someone do something about it. They are often accompanied by numb feelings somewhere or by pins and needles. Touch seems to aggravate and they even feel discomfort from the weight of their bedclothes. The least noise, even their favourite music “runs through them”, or “makes them sad” and has to be switched off. And smells become unpleasant.

Burning fever and thirst

From the days of Hippocrates until rel­atively recent years, clinicians studied different fever patterns and were adept at making deductions about the type of illness that caused the fever. The type of fever which indicates that Aconite may be needed is worth noting. Constantin Hering, one of the most famous pioneers of homeopathy, described it thus: “Heat, with thirst; hard, full and frequent pulse, anxious impatience, inappeasable, beside himself, tossing about with agony.” To this you add the rider that it usually follows a chill, and that it is invariably accompanied by great thirst. All these paint the picture of Aconite.

Common cold, conjunctivitis or sud­den, unbearable earache that comes on suddenly after a chill is suggestive of the need for Aconite. So too is vertigo and dizziness that comes after a shock. And facial pain or trigeminal neuralgia that comes after great shock and which is provoked by the wind may well respond to Aconite. And here we also need to consider toothache starting after expo­sure to cold or to wind.

Stomach problems that begin with tingling in the lips and mouth, with bitter taste and great thirst are suggestive of the need for Aconite. Tummy pains tend to be cutting and burning. The sufferer will be restless, turning from side to side and unable to get comfort. And when diarrhoea begins, the typical “summer diarrhoea”, after exposure of some sort, possibly after a chill or even too much sun, then Aconite may cut it short.

Clarke described Aconite as “the best friend of the nursery”, since it is the main remedy for childhood croup. Kent said that it was the “remedy of the rosy, chubby, plethoric baby”. But one should always be mindful that young children can become ill very rapidly, so should not be deprived of a medical opinion.

Young women and mothers-to-be

If a young woman suddenly stops having periods after a shock or fright, especially if she becomes fearful about them and her health, then Aconite may start them again.

Labour is hard for all mothers, but if the patient fears that she will actually die, then homeopathic Aconite may give rapid ease. And after delivery, if there is urinary retention with cutting pain, great restlessness and fear, Aconite may produce a flow.

Blocked shock

I mentioned at the beginning that Aconite is usually considered to be an acute remedy, but sometimes chronic (even life-long) psychological problems which start after a severe shock, be that an accident, a major event like a tsunami, earthquake or personal threat, will respond to single very high potency Aconite. Insomnia, where the individ­ual may fear going to sleep lest they die in their sleep, is suggestive of Aconite. So too, panic disorders, agitated depres­sion and many of the phobias, especially where fears of death are prominent, may be markedly eased, if not cured, with this wonderful remedy, which seems to epit­omise the homeopathic principle so well.

Agaricus

The Fly Agaric fungus is the toad­stool of fairy tales, a symbol of good fortune and Christmas, as familiar as Santa Claus and his reindeer. It is described as “the quintessential mush­room”, a potent hallucinogen of deep shamanic and religious importance. It is a common sight in the woods of temperate regions of the northern hemi­sphere. It probably originated in Siberia before spreading throughout Europe, Asia, North and Central America. Un­fortunately in recent years it has been hailed as the new “legal high”. Its psycho­active constituents have led to its misuse and the dried mushroom is readily available on “magic mushroom” market stalls.

Botanical facts

Amanita muscaria, as the Agaricus has been renamed by botanists, is a large mushroom, up to eight inches in diam­eter, and it frequently grows in “fairy rings”, due to its method of spore dis­persal. In ancient times these rings of mushrooms were considered a sign of fertility and supernatural powers. The fungi grow on rotting leaves beneath beech and pine trees, in the damp of autumn. Unlike parasitic fungi which destroy plants, the Amanita benefits its host tree by enriching the soil.

The fungal mycelia grow deep in the earth and the fruiting bodies, the young fungi, emerge enclosed in a warty veil reminiscent of a foetal cowl. In bygone times babies born in the membrane that lined the womb were considered witches. The remnants of the veil are seen on the stem of the mature fungus. As the mush­room grows the characteristic red colour develops, punctuated by the white warts.

Fungi are devoid of chlorophyll, the green pigment of plants, which allows them to manufacture their food from air and sunlight. They belong to a separate kingdom from plants as they depend on organic material created by other organ­isms for their energy; they obtain their nutrients by secreting digestive enzymes into the food. Their cell wall is made of chitin, a tough polysaccharide which insects and crustaceans use in their exter­nal skeleton. In essence the fungi span the space between plants and animals.

The common name Fly Agaric denotes its ancient use as an insecticide (the dried mushroom was sprinkled into milk to stun flies) and also its hallu­cinogenic properties. In medieval times insanity was believed to be caused by flies entering the mind. The term “fly” probably also refers to the shamanic journey between the physical world and the other worlds.

Although regarded as poisonous, the Amanita is far less toxic than many other fungi such as the death cap (Aman­ita phalloides). It is rarely mistaken for another species except as an immature button, which can look like a puffball. Most fatalities occur in young children and those eating the fungus for its hallu­cinogenic properties. Approximately 1g of muscaria or 50 to 100mg of ibotenic acid would constitute a fatal dose, equiv­alent to ingesting 15 mushroom caps. The potency of the fungus varies greatly according to season, habitat and weather. Muscimol and ibotenic acid are the psycho­active chemicals found in Fly Agaric. They are close chemically to one another and the brain chemicals, which explains the ability of the mushroom to alter con­sciousness and cause “trips”.

Following ingestion of the Fly Agaric, usually within 30 to 90 minutes, there is often slight nausea and vomit­ing. Then the effects on the brain become apparent: an initial euphoria, giggling and inebriation which can resemble drunkenness. Indeed Fly Agaric was added to bootleg liquor to disguise the low alcohol content.

The second phase of Amanita inges­tion is narcotic when one is deeply moved by the wonder of the universe and visions may occur. The effects can last for several days. Perception is deeply altered, colours intensify and the senses merge together, a condition known as synesthesia. Colours have smells or sounds; one can taste words or musi­cal notes. Many artists have the gift of synesthesia: Van Gogh, Kandinsky, Mondrian and Baudelaire to mention but a few. Mozart reputedly described his music in colours or flavours.

Synesthesia occurs when the temp­oral lobe of the brain is stimulated, either in the context of temporal epilepsy, with hallucinogenic drugs or in deep religious or spiritual experiences.

Aldous Huxley describes the won­drous state of shifting consciousness in The Doors of Perception. Although Huxley was actually experimenting with Anhalonium Lewinii, the peyote mush­room sacred to Native Americans, his descriptions of that altered state of consciousness hold true for Amanita intoxication. “I was seeing what Adam saw on the morning of his creation – the miracle, moment by moment, of naked existence … The Beatific Vision, Sat Chit Ananda, Being – awareness – Bliss – for the first time I understood, not by in­choate hints or at a distance, but precisely and completely what those prodigious syllables referred to.” He was equally fascinated by the great mystics. He wanted to experience their world and believed that mescaline was his passport there. “Or, short of being born again as a visionary, a medium, or a musical genius, how can we ever visit the worlds which to Blake, to Swedenborg, to Johann Sebastian Bach, were home?”

Siberian shamans revered the Fly Agaric. The word shaman means “he or she who knows”. Shamans underwent spiritual journeys for the benefit of the tribe; to traverse the axis mundi in order to enter the spirit world and receive guid­ance. Drumming was often deployed to achieve the trance state. The shaman would eat of the Fly Agaric and his devo­tees would drink his urine. The hallu­cinogenic substances are reported to be active after seven passages through the kidneys. Reindeer eat Fly Agaric and sometimes the tribesmen would drink their urine to obtain the desired state. This is undoubtedly the origin of the fly­ing reindeer myths.

Amanita combined with cannabis is believed by many to be the Soma of the Vedas, the Ancient Greeks’ ambrosia and the manna of the Bible. Lewis Carroll described the effects of the com­bined hallucinogen. “In a minute or two the Caterpillar took the hookah out of its mouth and yawned once or twice, and shook itself. Then it got off the mushroom, and crawled away into the grass, merely remarking as it went, ‘One side will make you grow taller, and the other side will make you grow shorter’.”

Lewis Carroll suffered from both temporal lobe epilepsy and stammering – two conditions for which Agaricus is commonly prescribed and his works detail a typical Agaricus epileptic state.

Agaricus the remedy

Agaricus, which was proved by Hahne­mann, is a lesser-known homeopathic remedy, however it remains an impor­tant one. As the fungus is native to Siberia, it grows in conditions of extreme cold. The rubric “ailments from frost­bite” can be a vastly important key to finding this remedy.

Other rubrics include:

Ailments from frost, cold, frostbite, fright, alcoholism

Aggravation from motion, coitus, pressure touch

Headaches with sensation head swollen

Chorea – involuntary muscle spasms that cease in sleep

Tubercular types

Hydrogenoid diathesesis (Grauvogl)

Loquacity

Delirium, confusion

Fear of cancer

Chilblains, redness of nose and pinna with extreme itching

Inco-ordination, muscle spasms

Other conditions

Agaricus is helpful for many psychiatric conditions, again in conjunction with prescribed medication and only in the hands of experienced medically quali­fied homeopaths. It may help with alco­hol withdrawal and delirium tremens, as well as delusional and psychotic states.

Agaricus is also useful for Bell’s palsy, where a temporary paralysis of the facial muscles occurs after exposure to a cold wind. Aconite is the remedy of choice immediately after the exposure, but Agaricus may be prescribed by your doc­tor as a follow-on remedy particularly if there is a lot of muscle spasm. This condition does require a medical diag­nosis and treatment.

Chilblains

Agaricus is primarily a remedy for use by medical homeopaths because its sphere of influence is primarily on the nervous system. However, in self-prescribing, it is helpful for the treat­ment of chilblains. These are a common problem in the winter months and can cause intense itching and discomfort. Prevention is better than cure but, if chilblains do develop and are allieviated by warmth, Agaricus 6c taken three times a day may just do the trick.

The materia medica of the fungi is con­stantly being added to by homeopaths. They are a fascinating and very useful group of remedies.

Argentum metallicum

Silver symbolism

Just as gold is regarded as the metal of the sun, so silver is perceived as the metal of the moon. In this relationship it belongs to a symbolic sequence linking silver to the moon, to water and to the female principle. In consequence, silver became an attribute of moon-goddesses, partic­ularly of Greek Artemis (Roman Diana), and of queens. Gold, the active, male, solar, diurnal, fiery, hot principle, is the contrasexual counterpart of silver, the passive, female, nocturnal, watery, cold principle. The energy of gold is yang, whilst that of silver is yin. Gold radiates, silver reflects. The Latin word for silver – argentum – comes from a Sanskrit word meaning white and shining. The lustrous sheen and glistening brightness of silver may be likened to the sparkling of pure light through clear water, crys­tal, the flashing brilliance of a perfect diamond or the gleams and glints of dawn dancing on a dew drop. This imagery is consonant with unblemished purity, innocence and chastity in all its forms. Hence silver also symbolises a clear conscience, pure intent, sincerity, open-heartedness, honesty, lack of prej­udice and loyalty. It possesses the hall­mark of class, quality and nobility together with the dignity of queenship.

Wisdom and intellect

In Christian symbolism silver represents an aspect of divine wisdom, the wisdom of reason, and is primarily, but not exclu­sively, related to the intellect and the mind and is cerebral and logical, whilst gold represents the wisdom of feeling and is primarily related to the emotions and the heart and is intuitive and inspi­rational. In both archetypes problems may develop due to lack of coincidence between heart and head and between feelings and thoughts, leading to loss of wisdom, confusion and stress, produc­ing anxiety and phobia in silver and pes­simism and despair in gold. Its lunar nature makes silver a symbol of reflected knowledge, which is acquired coldly and logically by patient, intellectual appli­cation over time, requiring focus, con­centration and exercise of the memory – all of which fall under the positive influence of Argentum or Argentum nitricum (silver nitrate).

However, Taoism saw the moon as the eye of spiritual knowledge in the darkness of ignorance. The moon and silver are linked to occult knowledge, psychic powers, clairvoyance and prophetic dreams. Esoteric philosophy, mysticism and magic often fascinate the Argentum mind. However, naïve gulli­bility can cause them to be swayed by dubious doctrines. They need to keep their feet on the ground. The silver “etheric cord”, which during life con­nects the body and the soul, is visible to psychics. At the time of physical death this cord is severed, and the soul passes on to a subtler dimension. Argentum, like Phosphorus (the light-bearer), can ease the passage of the terminally ill; it can aid the birth of the soul from one dimension to another.

Shadow silver

Despite its gleaming exterior, silver has a dark side. In ancient times this pre­cious metal was already treasured for the intrinsic value inherent in its beauty, malleability, comparative scarcity and resistance to corrosion. Used in the coinage of many cultures, it came to symbolise the object of all desires, “filthy lucre” and the progressive decay of con­science that these cause. Its most nega­tive association is as the symbol of Christ’s betrayal by Judas for “thirty pieces of silver”. To “cross a person’s palm with silver” implies an act of bribery and corruption. Silver is thus emblematic of deception, guile, dishon­esty and especially fallen innocence! Negative silver will sacrifice principles for a price. This aspect of the archetype, which is a perversion of its qualities, is two-faced, deceitful, slippery and elu­sive, sheds crocodile tears and cries “wolf”. It can be cold, indifferent and ruthless. This vulnerability to loss of scruples is metaphorically revealed in the properties of the metal. Although sil­ver retains its white lustre for decades in pure, dry air, when exposed to air con­taining sulphur its surface blackens with a thin layer of silver sulphide. In the polluted atmosphere of great cities this tarnishing is inevitable. Here, sulphur embodies the ways of the world and their subversive influence upon the innocent and the unwary (silver); it also symbolises fire and brimstone – hell or Hades! The toxic action of silver reveals a similar, dark energy. Prolonged or repeated exposure to silver dust or fumes causes a blue-grey staining of the skin, mucous membranes, eyes and internal organs. This condition, known as “argyria”, develops slowly, over 20 years or more, but once present persists. It symbolises the tarnishing of the soul by materialism.

The purifier

By contrast, in its undivided state, the pure metal is not toxic to highly organ­ised life forms. Silver jewellery may be worn next to the skin with impunity. Silver wires, plates and pins can be in­serted into the body without fear of toxic reaction or rejection. Colloidal silver has healing properties. It is hostile to the low­est, most primitive, parasitic and path­ogenic organisms that flourish in the dark; it prevents their reproduction. The ancients would plunge white-hot silver into water to purify it. As an emblem of purity and unsullied virtue, the collec­tive unconscious vested silver with power against the forces of evil. It was believed that, apart from a stake through the heart, only weapons forged from pure silver could destroy creatures of the night, such as vampires and werewolves, which paradoxically were empowered at the full moon, the time when silver is most powerful. The noble metal reputedly pos­sessed such antipathy to these malevo­lent beings that a silver mirror would fail to reflect their image.

Art

The greatest amount of silver on the planet occurs in the waters of the ocean, although in highly diluted solution. This is curious when we consider that the ancients associated the metal with the moon, water and the tides. Silver is rarely found in pure native state, unmixed with other substances, and even pure silver ores are extremely rare. When virgin silver does occur, it prefers to manifest itself in plant-like rather than mineral-like crystalline forms: won­drously delicate and dainty shapes, resembling fern-fronds or moss; wire­like threads, or round lumps gathered together like bunches of grapes. Viewing these exquisite art forms of nature, we cannot doubt the powerful feminine energy residing within this lustrous moonbeam metal. Taking their cue from nature, artists through the ages have fashioned silver into some of the most beautiful and valuable objects in the world. The silver-being is aesthetically attuned, highly artistic and possesses a passionate urge to create or to perform and to be praised for their creations and their performances. They bring to their work an exacting perfectionism that aspires to excel and to be appreciated and admired as exceptional, unique and the very best. Their creative spirit can express itself through any of the art forms – through literature, poetry, paint­ing, sculpture, music, dance, oratory, fashion, photography, theatre and archi­tecture. Some are conservative and adhere to formal and classical forms of artistic expression; others are avant­garde, adventurous, innovative and dif­ferent, often at the cutting edge of new developments in style and mode.

Moon metal

Apart from its shining brilliance, silver possesses remarkable physical proper­ties which are reflected in the charac­teristics of its archetype. Silver is the most malleable and ductile of all metals other than gold. Due to this extraordi­nary pliancy and plasticity, a mere gram of the pure metal can be drawn into a wire well over a kilometre in length, and it can be beaten into silver-leaf more ten­uous than the finest tissue. Its acquies­cent suppleness invites the skill of the silversmith lovingly to shape it into works of art. Within its metallic hard­ness it harbours a hidden, fluid state, which renders it susceptible to lunar forces. Patterns of silver salts on filter paper are markedly changed during eclipses of the moon. Silver stimulates the generative capacity of higher plants, especially at the full moon.

Understandably, the light of the “silvery moon” exerts an irresistible pull and influence upon the Argentum in­dividual, particularly the female, and never more so than when shimmering upon the waters of lake or sea. It touches them spiritually, sentimentally and romantically and arouses feelings of reverence, nostalgia or longing. Cons­ciously or unconsciously, the moon is their celestial partner; hence it is rare for an Argentum to feel immune to its silent, persuasive eloquence – its call to trans­form, even as it does through its phases, and to transcend the limitations and rigidity of the mind and the ego. They, who feel this resonance, are uplifted, illuminated and yearn for the spiritual harmony and tranquillity it symbolises. Others, living in conflict, are at odds with its serenity, uneasy beneath the scrutiny of its penetrating gaze, and experience it as malevolent – “she robs the stars of their silver and hoards it for herself like a giant cretin hoarding treasure in her mouth. She sits there like a mindless ‘O’, a scream without sound … she sucks up the darkness too, so that even the night cannot rest.” These are the poetic, yet anguished, words of a young woman cellist whose emotional distress yielded to the heal­ing power of Argentum. Silver calms the nerves and restores equilibrium, its liquid energy diluting fear, grief, anger and humiliation and resolving stuck emotions and prejudices by bringing about a fluid state of the consciousness. Silver quells the emotions – it is the great tranquilliser!

Sensitivity

It has the highest thermal and electrical conductivity of all metals. Heat imparted to the end of a silver rod is immediately diffused throughout its length. By con­trast, one may comfortably grasp one end of a lead pipe whilst the other end melts away. This responsiveness and lack of resistance to heat and electrical stimulation reveal an extraordinary vulnerability and sensitivity to external impressions; and so it is with the Argen­tum being. They are conduits for the feel­ings, emotions, joys and sufferings of the world. They have no boundaries, no defences to repel the swell and surge of energies about them. They are oversen­sitive to all external impressions. They often possess psychic awareness, fathom other dimensions and anticipate forth­coming events. They are acutely aware of ambience and atmosphere and intuitively pick up the “vibes” of people and places. These cues from their sixth sense are seldom wrong, warning them of insincerity and guile but unfortunately due to their impressionability, innocence and gullibility (soft, malleable, ductile), they may ignore these internal prompt­ings and, like Pulsatilla, are suscepti­ble to seduction by wishful thinking, persuasion and pretence. Equally, they are often indecisive, timid and yielding, not knowing whether they are coming or going, waxing and waning like the moon and just as changeable. They are very romantic, easily infatuated and like a “star-struck” lover may “moon” over some idyllic being – real or imaginary – often a star of the “silver screen”. Negative silver loves to wallow in emotion.

Dreams, phobias and fantasy

Silver, like the moon, presides over dreams, imagination and the fantasy life which in Argentum are rich and creative or fraught with dangers that terrify. The pale moonlight of their consciousness only half-illumines their reality, causing shadows to loom large and menacing, drawing them to fearful, fanciful con­clusions. Their phobias are many: heights, narrow places, crowds, antici­patory fears, the anxiety of public per­formance, social fears and dread of disease (especially cardiac) – any of which may produce panic attacks, with anxiety felt in the pit of the stomach, palpitations, insomnia, and an intoler­able, constrictive feeling, as if their clothes were too tight, intensified while walking in the open air, causing them to walk ever faster. High, perilous places may exert a frightening, lunar-like pull, drawing them towards the brink and causing an awful impulse to jump. They even dream of heights and of falling, and also of being pursued by enemies and being at the mercy of evil beings: dev­ils and powerful, “raging fiends” (vam­pires and werewolves). So vivid are these dream events that, no matter how bizarre, they waken with the feeling that they actually happened and the impres­sion of reality persists.

The flute

Although so soft a metal, silver’s inward nobility is attested by its pure ring – purer than any other metal. Silver flutes, bells and triangles produce tones of particu­lar clarity, purity and resonance. This is unusual, for soft metals, such as lead, generally lack tone and sound dull and muffled when struck; they greedily absorb and impede sound. A silver instrument permits the sound to go forth freely and unchanged, keeping nothing for itself, imparting only its own perfec­tion. Likewise, the positive archetype is generous, sincere and innocently open. The silver flute embodies much of the nature of Argentum. A flautist explained to me how sensitive, “aware”, respon­sive and temperamental a flute is. It must be cherished and made love to. It requires tender foreplay to bring it to perform­ance pitch and even then the quality of response is empathetically attuned to the mood and soundness of its lover. To reach the heights of tonal expression – all must be well. In the embrace of the untalented, she becomes recalcitrant and for a time afterwards petulantly resistant to the coaxing of her beloved.

The voice

Often silver-beings have a passion for music, song, dance, drama and the use of words. The orator is “silver-tongued”. This describes the eloquence, persua­siveness, fluency and expressiveness of a gifted speaker. The voice is often the instrument vital to Argentum’s per­formance and artistry – as singer, ora­tor, actor, preacher, lawyer, teacher or politician. Many are highly talented and like the brilliant, gleaming metal, shine and entrance. But there is often self-doubt: can they live up to their own pre­vious high standards? Their strength becomes their weakness; they place themselves under ever-increasing pres­sure and eventually their emotions, intel­lectual ability and voice may give in. Argentum is a wonderful remedy for the exhausted, burnt-out performer, whose confidence fails, and for a voice injured through excessive use. Apart from using their voices professionally, Argentum individuals, like Lachesis, usually love talking and indulge this inclination at every opportunity. They are intelligent, interesting and astute, quick and clever with words and skilled in either argu­ment or debate. When discussing art or some other creative activity or interest, they tend to get carried away by their passion for the subject and are forgetful of their audience. The more excited they become the more rapidly they speak. When highly emotional and distraught, the mind becomes erratic, jumping rap­idly from one subject to another in a ran­dom and haphazard way. Argentum suits those who are ever in a hurry and driven by time. They are scrupulously punctual and often arrive unnecessarily early for an appointment.

Maiden of the silver bow

The goddesses of the moon are three­fold, personifying the three phases of the lunar cycle – the waxing, full and wan­ing moons. Their attributes are inter­linked and mystically associated with silver (Argentum). Artemis, the virgin maiden, is the youngest element, rep­resented by the crescent moon and the delicate fronds and threads of virgin sil­ver; Selene is the mature aspect, imaged in the full moon and the grape-like pat­terns of silver crystals; Hecate is the crone, symbolised in the moon’s wan­ing and dark phase and the darkness of silver. Artemis was the twin sister of Apollo. He was the Greek Sun God and as such related to gold (Aurum), the metal of the sun. They were the divine children of Zeus, the Sky God, and Leto, a titan goddess. Leto’s pregnancy was harrowing. She was relentlessly pursued by the savage, she-serpent Python, which Hera, the jealous consort of Zeus, had set upon her. Finally, brought prema­turely to labour through her distress, she gave birth to Artemis, who, as is the way with goddesses, rapidly grew to wom­anhood and was able to act as midwife to her mother through the prolonged and agonising birth of her brother.

Divine midwife

It is said that her mother’s agony made Artemis personally averse to sex, men, marriage, pregnancy and childbirth but filled her with a desire to help women in all forms of distress and travail. She became a birth-goddess and bringer of fertility to man and beast and a protec­tor of all young creatures. She, like Apollo, was an unerring archer and car­ried a silver bow, symbol of the crescent moon. Her silver arrows were thought to bestow health, ease birth pains and assist delivery, or bring a speedy and painless death. Her healing power, hence that of silver, is linked to the moon, which through its influence upon the watery realm exercises control over the the menstrual cycle, enhancing fertility and facilitating labour (Caulophyllum). Argentum is of particular value at times of transition – at puberty and menopause (onset and loss of fertility) and at birth and death (the coming and pass­ing of the soul).

Militant feminist

Artemis is depicted as a tall, lithe, young woman, with lovely, strong, almost manly features, clad in the short tunic of an athlete or hunter and accompanied by a band of nymphs and a pack of hounds. She is elusive and unapproach­able, ever disappearing into the wilder­ness of forest and mountain, which she loves to roam. Hers is the spirit of the wild horse: proud, free, defiant and untamed. Her virginity represents the active, achievement-conscious, talented and competitive female energy that exists wholly independent of and untouched by the need for a man’s support, approval or permission. As an archer she is decisive, poised, focused and intent on her goals. One day, Actaeon, a young hunter, came upon the goddess and her attendant nymphs bathing naked in a mountain stream. Thinking himself unobserved, he tarried to watch. Artemis divined his presence and instantly trans­formed him into a stag which, attempt­ing to flee, was dragged down and torn to pieces by his own hounds. The myth allegorically reveals how the goddess’s anger is aroused by and demands retri­bution for the transgressions of the male against the inviolability of nature and the sacred feminine.

Amazon woman

The spirit of Artemis, Goddess of the Wilderness and Lady of the Wild Things, permeates the heart of Argentum. She has an intense love of nature, the planet, infants, children and wild animals. A girl who is passionate about horses is often an Argentum. She and her band of like-minded women are active in organ­isations created to promote women’s rights, to protect animals and children, to support the victims of abuse and to bring the perpetrators to justice. It is she, Amazon-Maid of the Moon and God­dess of the Hunt, whose silver energy to this day fights against the skulking pred­ators of the night.

Arnica

The Compositae plant family is well known to horticulturists but probably less familiar to those who are not keen gardeners. It is the family to which the daisy and its many relations belong, including Arnica montana, more commonly known as the Alpine daisy. For many, Arnica is the first homeopathic medicine they encounter as it is widely used to treat bruising injuries caused by a fall, a broken bone or after having a tooth extracted.

Seeing the healing benefits of using Arnica for bruising injuries often leads people taking a much greater interest in homeopathy. Yet there is much more to Arnica and all the other homeopathic medicines derived from plants belonging to the Compositae family.

Since ancient times the plants from the Compositae family have been known as vulnerary plants – useful for the healing of wounds – but it is not only wounds to the physical body, as wounds to the “emotional heart” can also be healed by the gentle action of the daisies. Vulnerable means that which can be easily wounded or harmed. This sensation of being wounded is central to what homeopaths call a Compositae state. It is their heart, their wounded emotional heart which cries out to be healed and is the nucleus, the core of their illness. This can manifest itself physically in many different illnesses but always the central sensation is of being wounded.

An inner dilemma

The language used by each of us when we are ill or under much stress can give a clear insight into our inner state. Sensations are the most highly ranked symptoms in homeopathy as they reflect an inner state, an inner dilemma that cannot be solved. If a person is oversensitive to being wounded then life will wound them over and over again. Even innocent remarks amid the ordinary hurly burly of life will wound them and keep on wounding them. Eventually resilience is eroded and illness can ensue. Physical injury is hard and slow to recover from and can lead to patients using the “never well since” statement in relation to such injuries.

Words commonly used by patients in a Compositae state:

I feel as if I have been beaten, beaten black and blue.

I feel as if life has kicked me in the stomach, or the bum, or the guts.

I feel as if I have been hammered to a bleeding pulp.

I feel my heart has been torn in two or torn to shreds.

My husband doesn’t just explain things; he hammers me into the ground.

To compensate for the inner sensation of vulnerability many will adopt a strong external persona or try to develop their physical body to increase resilience, stamina and strength – by running, weight training, martial arts – yet the inner sensation and vulnerability remain. Others may compensate by becoming bodyguards or surgeons or lawyers or counsellors to protect others from harm or to help heal others.

Common physical sensations are:

Pains which feel bruised, sore, torn, cutting, tearing, ripped

The bed feels too hard or feels lumpy

Moving the sore part and lying on the sore part can make it worse

Arnica montana

Arnica montana is one of the best-known homeopathic remedies. It has been used for several trials to demonstrate the effect of homeopathic remedies on bruising and trauma. Indeed some plastic surgeons swear by it for reducing bruising after cosmetic surgery. Many people are “converted” to the homeopathic cause after seeing spec­tacular results with this humble herb. Arnica montana belongs to the Compo­sitae family, in other words it is a rela­tive of the common daisy. Several of this family of plants are used homeopathi­cally and herbally – Calendula, Chamo­milla, Echinacea, Millefolium (yarrow), Solidago (golden rod) and Taraxacum (dandelion). The star shaped flowers of this botanical family are familiar to us all as sunflowers and ornamental daisies. Other members of the Compositae family include food crops such as lettuce, chicory, globe artichoke and guayule – a source of hypoallergenic latex.

The plants are rich in inulin, a com­pound between sugar and starch that the plants store in their underground organs as a source of energy. It is used as a natural sweetener for diabetics. The Compositae contain selenium and arnica ash is rich in manganese. Both selenium and man­ganese are powerful anti-oxidants in the human body and in addition manganese is an essential element needed for healthy bones, wound-healing, and the meta­bolism of proteins, cholesterol and carbo­hydrates. It may well be that it is this rich source of manganese that facilitates healing, acting in combination with the other plant chemicals. Manganese levels affect the levels of iron, magnesium and calcium in the body. Manganese defic­iency is rarely seen (or recognised) except in individuals fed artificially through their veins. They develop abnormalities in the skeleton, impaired growth and skin rashes.

Arnica – the plant

Arnica montana is an alpine plant, grow­ing in nutrient-poor soil. It can poten­tially reach a height of up to 60cm, but this is unusual given the harsh conditions at high altitudes. It grows in meadows up to 3,000 metres above sea level, where it is exposed to strong sunlight. The higher the altitude, the more aro­matic the plant will become.

It is found throughout Europe, but nowadays it is more common to see hybrids of Arnica rather than the pure species growing wild. The natural habitat has been encroached upon by agricul­ture. Arnica cannot grow in areas where fertiliser has been used and aerial fertil­isation has had a huge, negative impact on the wild population in the Voges mountains of France. Arnica grows best in moist, peaty siliceous soils and chalk is harmful even in small quantities.

Arnica is in great demand herbally and homeopathically, which has led to over-harvesting. The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) with other conservation agen­cies has drawn attention to this issue, and thankfully many countries have responded by introducing legislation to protect the species. A license is required to collect the plant in many European countries, but unfortunately this is almost impossible to police so the temptation to make money has taken precedence over the long-term maintenance of natural stock. Only Spain lacks prohibitive laws regarding arnica collection, yet 1,000 to 3,000 kg of wild arnica was imported into Germany from Romania in the period 1989 to 1999 according to figures obtained by WWF.

Responsible companies have attempt­ed to farm arnica to cater for the demand, but it is a tricky plant to cultivate so their results have been mixed. It loves the harshness of its natural habitat and this is very challenging to reproduce com­mercially. Its inborn need to survive has led to cross-breeding in the wild.

Herbal use

For centuries arnica montana has been used herbally for bruising and sprains.

Generations of Swiss mountain guides chewed arnica leaves to prevent fatigue induced by climbing. The dried leaves were used as a substitute for tobacco, hence its common name of mountain tobacco. The dried flowers promote sneezing, so it was also known as snuff plant. Fall kraut, fall herb and wound herb, other eponyms, demon­strate the age-old use for the effects of trauma. The flowers are used as a com­press for sprains and bruises. The bright yellow flowers glisten in the sunshine and can resemble the eyes of a wolf from a distance, hence the name Wolfesgelega, wolf’s eye in German. Leopard’s bane is a reference to its wild beauty and elegance, and independent spirit.

The root contains essential oils which are powerful anti–inflammatory agents. The ski resorts are well-versed in the benefits of arnica – massages and body wraps using arnica are readily available in many, and I was highly amused to see a Hotel Arnica in Madonna di Cam­piglio in the Italian Dolomites!

Herbally the plant has been used for traumatic injuries involving bruising, and as a cardiac tonic for weak and weary hearts. It is also used homeo­pathically to support the heart, and for weakness and weariness in the elderly.

Arnica is also used to stimulate the kidneys, but can be quite toxic in herbal solutions. The ingestion of large quanti­ties can cause irritation to the gut; a temp­orary stimulation is followed by a depres­sion of the circulation, respiration and temperature. Violent headaches ensue, the pupils dilate and then muscular par­alysis sets in. The whole nervous system is paralysed and death results. Arnica should be used judiciously on the skin as it can cause nasty irritating rashes.

Homeopathic use

Samuel Hahnemann first potentised Arnica montana, recognising its power­ful actions and its potential toxicity. In homeopathy today it is used both herb-ally in the forms of creams and tinctures as well as in the potentised form.

The whole plant is used for the hom­eopathic remedy. The plant is often infested with small insects, betraying its role as a victim. Fungi grow as parasites on the leaves. The plants have to be washed carefully before the remedy can be prepared.

Arnica montana is used as a trauma remedy, a remedy for bruising injuries, but its actions are more widespread than that. As the US homeopathic physician, James Tyler Kent (1849-1916), stated, “It is a wonderful remedy, a misunder­stood remedy, a misused remedy, because it is almost limited to bruises.” Many of the homeopathic trials have relied on Arnica’s ability to heal bruising, ignoring the bigger remedy picture and emotional state. Homeopathic remedies aim to heal at a deeper level than the superficial expression of the body’s imbalance. They are directed at the disease felt on every level, not the mere disease – a label given to the physical disturbance. In some subtle way they allow the person to recognise their behaviour patterns, their “delusions”, and their prejudicial way of viewing the world and take action to change things.

Although Arnica is most commonly used as an acute emergency remedy, one may see the deeper constitutional picture emerge. Arnica is not just a remedy for the bruised body; it is a remedy of the bruised soul. As Massimo Mangialavori so eloquently phrased it, it is a remedy for “someone who doesn’t forget pains”. Indeed the Arnica constitution is one who attracts pain on every level, just as the Staphysagria woman attracts the wife-beater and the Natrum muriaticum girl constantly falls in love with unavail­able men. There is a perverse logic to it all. In repeating our personal histories, we are allowing life to act homeopath­ically to heal our souls. The “why does this always happen to me?” is the first step towards insight and life changes.

In the playground we are constantly told that “sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me”. Maybe it is this that causes the Arnica state! Words do have a profound, negative effect on the psyche and Arnica patients suffer with bruised feelings and injured pride, as well as the physical effects of trauma. Like the plant itself, they are victims of the bullies and will often say they’ve been “battered and beaten by life”.

In a desperate attempt to “toughen up” and avoid the bullies, children often mask their physical and emotional injuries – “I’m okay, it didn’t really hurt”. Like the down-trodden daisy they bounce back, stronger, or apparently stronger, than ever. They take the adage “what doesn’t kill you, strengthens you” to the ultimate conclusion. The façade of cop­ing relies heavily on masking the pain, convincing themselves and others that they’ve survived. That they are tough. That they can cope with the bullies. Hence the homeopathic rubric “fears approach”. Using the playground an­alogy, will the attentions of teacher help their situation, or will the bullies reek vengeance for “telling tales”? Despite the anti–bullying policies in place in schools, most victims fear complaining to adults, admitting they are victims, that they can’t cope with “the rough and tumble” of life. And all too often the victim is accused or even blamed. The only rational coping mechanism is to pretend they are strong. “Mind over matter” translates as “I don’t mind and you don’t matter”. Anything else would betray their weakness and make them feel a failure. Arnica’s compensation is fuelled by a need to overcome this sense of failure. They learn to do life alone, relying totally on themselves and hence can appear haughty and intolerant of others in later life.

However, this response often leads to the child ending up as the physical or emotional punch-bag of the aggressor. With no one to listen and protect, their justified anger at the situation becomes channelled into physical activity. Many Arnica patients use vigorous exercise to defuse anger and aggression, the physical pain has an almost cleansing effect on their mood. In fact many admit to being accident-prone. They have a tendency to “prove” themselves by going further, working harder, indulging in dangerous sports and going beyond the limits of endurance without complaint: they take pride in their strength.

Their anger is intense and Arnica is listed under ailments from anger, as well as irritability. The Arnica person can be very snappy indeed, refusing to be exam­ined, declaring themselves to be well when it is perfectly obvious they need medical attention. They are averse to consolation and attention as they fear they might be hurt yet again.

The pain is vividly recalled, as is the accident or incident. There may be terrify­ing nightmares, a post–traumatic stress syndrome may develop. Unlike the Aconite state, where the fear engulfs the person constantly, with Arnica the memories only occur when the conscious mind is unable to suppress the feelings, as in sleep.

It is often the response to pain caused by an accident that guides the practi­tioner to the constitutional Arnica pic­ture. In one case a woman with a minor head injury was prescribed Arnica on the basis of the “Don’t fuss, I’m fine” response to the injury. The patient reported back that the fibromyalgia that had plagued her for years had vanished. She said she used to wake up feeling as if she’d gone ten rounds with Mike Tyson before the Arnica! And more importantly, she became more aware of her tendency to “beat herself up” when­ever things didn’t work out. She had viewed her arthritis as a sign of personal failure, a weakness. Following the pre­scription, she found she was more able to state the limitations of her condition, and give herself the rest she so desper­ately needed. She no longer feared being regarded as weak and feeble, and her attitude to her disease changed dramatically. She was able to ask for much needed help.

A deeper understanding of Arnica is emerging, thanks to the pioneering work of George Vithoulkas, Massimo Mangialavori and Rajan Sankaran to mention but a few. Although it seemed like the perfect remedy to “prove” that homeopathy works to our critics, Arnica has not yet proved its effectiveness in clinical trials. It could be that poor trial design is to blame because the results go against everything that 200 years of homeopathic practice tell us. However opponents of homeopathy have used this as a stick to beat us. But Arnica is Arnica. It has shown its constitutional picture as the victim of the bullies. Its reputation has been bruised, battered by the sceptics. The “it can’t work, so it does not work” approach to homeo­pathy has led to a bruised, battered homeopathic community. But Arnica is a daisy – it will bounce back, as will homeopathy.

Arsenicum album

Arsenious oxide, white arsenic, has been a most prolific killer down the centuries. As an odourless, almost tasteless, and readily soluble white powder, it has provided an all too convenient weapon for the homicidal poisoner, the more so as the symptoms of poisoning can so easily be mistaken for those of so-called natural disease.

In the 15th and 16th centuries those arch-poisoners the Borgias made full use of arsenic in their cantarella, aquetta di Napoli, and other subtle concoctions of evil fame. So common was death by poisoning in the glamorous era of Louis XIV, that the period was known as “The Age of Arsenic”.

It was during this century that a notable woman poisoner, La Tofania, carried out her nefarious trade as a poison-vendor from girlhood till her execution at the age of 70. To Neapolitans the poison was known as Acqua Tofa’na and was peddled to distressed, adulterous, neglected or jealous wives over well-nigh all Europe. Her poison was apparently crystallised arsenic compounded with, for no serious reason, the herb cymbalaria.

When justice did finally catch up with La Tofania she confessed to having poisoned some 600 persons and gave the names, some of them great names, of those who had been her clients. After La Tofania’s death, fewer husbands died suddenly in Italy.

But arsenic poisoning was not limited to former eras. Far into the 20th century it was still by no means discarded despite the advances of forensic tests for the detection of minute quantities of the poison in the tissue of victims.

A 20th century epidemic of poisoning took place in a district in Hungary enclosed in a loop of the river Tisza, beginning before the First World War and continuing till 1929.

The evil genius of this epidemic was an old witch-like woman know as Auntie Fazekas who for 80 pengo (then worth about £3) would sell a fatal dose of what she called “The Water of Inheritance”, which she made by stewing a few pennyworth of arsenical fly-papers. She did a steady trade for about 20 years until in 1929 the authorities took very belated action.

How “the killer” cures

This terrible killer when potentised becomes a curative agent of great worth. This has been amply proved by experience as the appended case notes can demonstrate.

Alimentary system

A boy aged nine years had suffered from severe bilious attacks for five or six years. He was a nervous child, afraid of school, always on the fidget, always chilly. With the attack he was prostrated for two or three days, with much vomiting of green bile, thirst for frequent small drinks, and action of bowels accompanying vomiting.

He was given a dose of Arsenicum 200 and improved from then on. Not only did the bilious attacks cease to recur every five or six weeks as formerly but he became much less nervous and fearful.

A man, aged 39, a gold smelter, had complained of burning pain in the stomach for three months accompanied on three occasions by severe vomiting with retching and gagging. An attack would last about one day, aggravated by the least amount of food or drink, accompanied by loose stools, extreme prostration, a feeling of freezing cold, shivers, and a terribly dry mouth.

He felt restless, must be doing something, and admitted to being fussily tidy. Given: Arsenicum 1M to take four hourly as required. Two weeks later he reported having taken 12 doses in all and feeling very much better. He said, “It is now a pleasure to work. I feel a new person.”

A case reported by Dr Royal Hayes of the USA, was a man of 50 who had become poisoned by eating toadstools. He presented one of the most horrible pictures Dr Hayes had ever seen. Unbearable burning pain in the stomach, violent vomiting and retching, loud groaning, insatiable thirst, copious sweat, thrashing the bed with anxiety, countenance deep red and expressing intense suffering and horror. About 10 minutes after a dose of Arsenicum CM he was improving. Within half an hour he was quiet and convalescing. Arsenicum is, of course, the remedy par excellence in food poisoning.

A woman of 53, a variety artist, had suffered from stomach trouble for 30 years. She complained on attendance at hospital of severe pain deep to the right scapula like red-hot pokers. Other features were extreme prostration, great restlessness, and despair of recovery. She was given Arsenicum 10M two doses to be followed by Cheledonium 6.

Seen some six weeks later she reported that she was “very much better; was surprised when the pain went: did not need to take the second medicine”. After a further six weeks she recorded “No return of stomach pain”.

Chest conditions

A man of 41 was having very frequent attacks of asthma. These were so acute as to cause him to crawl around on all fours fighting for breath. He was apt to wake into an attack between 1 and 2am when he had to sit straight up in search of air. Any emotional upset aggravated the condition. He was restless, must be occupied, extremely tidy, well-groomed in appearance.

This man’s asthma responded at once to Arsenicum. He was usually worse in the summer months, but two years after starting treatment he reported “the best summer I’ve had for 15 years”.

A man of 60, a bronchitis with emphysema subject, complained of very severe cough in paroxysms with inability to raise the sputum for the last six days. He was worse after midnight, and had to sit up or actually get out of bed in search of relief. The attacks left him utterly exhausted. Two weeks after treatment with Arsenicum he reported the cough as very much better and when seen again in four weeks time reported himself as “feeling fine; not an ache or a pain in the world”.

A woman of 63 had complained of severe dyspnoea and palpitation on effort for about six weeks, and especially when walking uphill. She was active, restless, better when occupied and excessively tidy. She was given three doses of Arsenicum 1M and three weeks later reported that the palpitation was better and she was feeling quite normal. When she was seen four months later, the improvement was maintained.

A woman of 71 complained of severe pain behind the sternum on walking uphill, the pain radiating to the back and occasionally the left arm. The pain was burning in type and accompanied by a sensation of constriction. The heart was slightly enlarged; there was a rough mitral systolic bruit. She was given Arsenicum 30, a weekly dose. A month later, she reported herself very much better. At a visit after a further three months, she reported having been upset when caught in a thunderstorm but had had “no recurrence of that dreadful pain in my chest”.

Nervous system

A woman of 28 had suffered from right-sided trigeminal neuralgia for 12 months. An attack occurred every 14 to 21 days. The onset was sudden and aggravated by exposure to cold wind. The pain was described as of a knife stabbing in the right parietal region and downwards into both upper and lower jaws. It was so unbearable as to cause the sufferer to bang her head against the wall. An attack would last about two days and was accompanied by restlessness and prostration.

The patient was inclined to worry over trifles, was excessively tidy, very active, and sensitive to any stimulus. The attacks had started after a car accident when an x-ray revealed a slight fracture of the skull. On this history she was given Natrum sulphuricum 10M, two doses.

However, a further attack occurred. She was then given Arsenicum 200, two doses. From then on there were no further headaches. Seen a year later on account of a different complaint, she reported that “the neuralgia remains entirely absent”.

A woman of 37 presented a three-year history of brachial neuralgia. Terrible pain in the right arm would come on not long after retiring, described as stabbing, shooting, burning, and forcing her to get out of bed and walk around for about two hours. The overall picture suggested Lycopodium; but this remedy did not prevent a recurrence. She was then given Arsenicum 1M, three doses, when she related that a very severe attack had come on at 1.30am and driven her out of bed. This proved effective and an occasional dose of Arsenicum was called for to maintain relief during the next three years, namely five times in all.

Of course, instances such as those mentioned above could be multiplied ten thousandfold. Arsenicum album, that merciless homicidal agent, altered by potentisation and employed homeopathically becomes a curative medicine of immense value and amazingly wide application. Its use as a poison should decrease in view of the skill in detection now known to forensic science; its value as a remedy cannot be too highly praised.

Aurum metallicum

Gold, known to the ancients as the metal of the gods, is the symbol of love, fidelity and purity, the icon of all that is sacred, noble and superior. Gold has always been the preferred metal for sacred objects and to embody the divine right and dignity of sanctified kings. Gold, and that which is golden, implies the quality of superiority. To the Christians, it was a fitting gift, with frankincense and myrrh, to lay before the Divine Child. To the alchemists, gold was the metal of the sun, monarch of the realm of metals, unsurpassed in excellence, perfection and eminence. It was their “Great Work”– the goal of transform­ation and transmutation. They believed that the processes of the macrocosm are revealed in the processes of the micro­cosm, that even as the human soul grows and evolves through the alchemy of life experience to the perfection of the heavenly state, so the base, less perfect metals, such as lead, can develop in the womb of the earth to more perfect forms until the ultimate perfection of gold is achieved. In their laboratories they strove to hasten this natural transmutation. Though they failed, their efforts gave remarkable impetus to the development of science. Though their conclusions were in error, Aurum, when called for, is one of the greatest remedies in the materia medica for resolving ego-based obstacles to spiritual unfolding; it works the alchemy of excellence.

Duality

Ancient and alchemic wisdom intuited the divine essence of gold and perceived it as a symbol of spiritual attainment, artistically depicted as the golden aura or halo of the saints, yet, in harsh contrast, it is also the eternal object of humanity’s lust and covetousness – ever enticing, obsessing and corrupting. In the history of the world, the pursuit of gold has always proved a catalyst in the birth, growth and survival of civilisations, culture and commerce, but the desire for gold may extinguish respect and rever­ence for the life and land of others, resulting in appalling crimes, deprivation, persecution and suffering. Civilisations and nations have been destroyed for gold. Here we witness its extreme and dreadful duality. A noble, lustrous, warm and magnificent metal, the very symbol of nobility of spirit, purity of heart and lofty ideals, debased to become the object of rapacious greed and arrogant pride. Symbolically and dynamically, gold possesses a disturbing ambivalence.

Paradoxical properties

Forged in the cataclysmic explosion of a stellar supernova, gold’s cosmic nature remains unsullied by the normal earthly processes of weathering, oxidation, cor­rosion, rust and calcification; gold remains incorruptible. Like a resplendent, lumin­ous visitant from a higher dimension, it sheds glory and light upon the world, but remains distant and aloof. Gold, although on the earth, is not of the earth. In the light of the sun it is radiant, pos­sessing a beautiful, glowing lustre and serene splendour; in the dark of night it can only reveal its immense density, its massive weight, its metallic coldness and hardness. In this opposition lies the per­sonal tragedy of many a gold-being: a person of vast ability, promise and vital­ity dragged down by deepest despair, even to self-destruction. Gold possesses a peerless brilliance, but also a profound darkness.

Like humanity, whose spiritual-mortal state it parallels, gold carries its contradictions and contrasts within itself. Despite its ponderous mass, it is the most ductile and malleable of all substances on earth. It can be drawn into a fine wire of incredible length and microscopic proportions without break­ing; it can be beaten into the finest, trans­lucent, gold-leaf and rendered into the most tenuous gold-film, thousandths of a millimetre thick, without losing its cohesion. Gold reveals an inner plastic­ity and fluidity that belie its external nature and hint at unique and mysteri­ous forces within. At once, it matches the splendour of the sun, displays ethe­real properties and is immune to earth corruption, yet has a powerful affinity for the irresistible force of gravity, des­cending more deeply into the dark reaches of the earth than most other metals. As a remedy, it has the capacity to penetrate into the deepest recesses of the unconscious to release and resolve old emotions, oft repressed out of memory. Aurum can heal the wounded child within the adult.

Personality polarities

In terms of human duality, Aurum matches the extreme contrasts of spirit­uality and materialism, detachment and addiction, reverence and fanaticism, resolve and vulnerability, love and hate, dispassion and envy, altruism and self-absorption, aspiration and desire, integrity and corruption, bliss and despair, transcendence and suicide. It is for the idealist whose fantasies and romantic notions soar beyond the reasonable: it is for the pragmatic ration­alist whose thoughts remain anchored to the physical dimension. Its splendour speaks of the “old soul” who brings the message of wisdom and love to human­ity; its heaviness portrays a solemnity and seriousness of nature, or a tendency to be weighed down by negative emo­tions. While the radiance of gold is apparent, its darkness is hidden; the Aurum being’s inner nature is often con­cealed from others – masked, private and secretive.

The Sun God

The earliest civilisations all likened gold to the sun and perceived the glorious, radiant metal as the symbol of the Sun God, the supreme deity, therefore rep­resenting divine and royal, wisdom and power. By association with the sun, gold is a masculine, solar symbol, just as silver, the metal of the moon, is a femi­nine, lunar symbol. In many traditions, gold was identified as the very substance of divinity: the flesh of the all-seeing Ra in Egypt, and in keeping with the paradoxical nature of the metal, the faeces of the bloodthirsty, Sun God Huitzilopochtli in Aztec-Mexico. In Hindu doctrine, gold was visualised as “mineral light”, a luminous residue of the sun itself, left as threads in the earth. Romance took the allegory further, divining that through its god-like power, the sun, in the course of its myriad revo­lutions, spun a loving web of golden threads about the earth – and well may it be so – for sun, love and gold are one.

Apollo

To the Greeks, gold bore a mystical rela­tionship to the Olympian god Apollo. He was the Hellenic Sun God, also known as Phoebus Apollo – Phoebus meaning “bright, shining or pure”. The ancients saw him as splendid and radi­ant, the epitome of youthful, masculine beauty, representing all that is aesthetic, harmonious, moderate and balanced in life. He possessed the same serene aloof­ness as gold, the same warmth, depth and nobility of spirit, but remained always at a distance, removed and con­trolled. He was the enemy of barbarism and the champion of temperance. His characteristics and nature reflect important facets of the Aurum archetype and ego-personality. He was a favoured son of Zeus, the Sky God, a crown prince in a patriarchal hierarchy governed by logic and reason. The left-brain perspective dominates the Apollonian conscious­ness. This left-cerebral bias is expressed through right-somatic responses and when dysfunctional produces symptoms predominantly on the right side of the body. This is true of the Aurum sympt­omatic picture.

The Delphic Oracle

The most famous and hallowed shrine of ancient Hellas was the Delphic oracle of Apollo. As God of Prophecy, this was Apollo’s chief sanctuary. Here he was served by his high priestess, the prophet­ess known as the Pythia or Pythoness. The oracle exerted a pivotal influence on the life of all Hellas, and became its spiritual heart. Communities as well as individuals consulted it for guidance. It was believed that at Delphi the dark and disorderly aspects of the cosmos had been defeated by, and subordinated to, Apollo, the celestial seer, counsellor and law-giver, whose mediating power, expressed through the Pythia, could give mortals divine guidance for coping with the vicissitudes and dangers of life. The consultation took place in the innermost sanctuary (adyton), in which stood the sacrificial, navel stone (omphalos) which marked the centre of the world as deter­mined by Zeus, who released two eagles, one from the east and one from the west, which met at Delphi. Delphi was thus regarded as the centre, heart, navel or womb of the world (Delphi or Delphos signifies womb). The heart and the uterus, both hollow, muscular organs, are metaphorically and by reflex related and Aurum has a marked affinity for both.

Correspondences

From these considerations vital corre­spondences emerge. The sun is the celes­tial image of divinity; gold, “crystallised sunlight”, is the image of solar light and radiance, hence of divine consciousness, wisdom, perfection, truth and love and of the sublime in man. The image of the sun in the earth is gold; the image of the sun in the body is the heart, for just as the sun radiates life-giving energy to the solar system, so the heart circulates blood, oxygen, warmth, nutrients and life to the body. The symbol of gold in the body is therefore also the heart, but so too the uterus, which harbours, nurtures and brings forth life (this latter relationship reveals the less obvious fem­inine aspect of gold). The sun and gold of the conscious mind is the will, which radiates confidence, hope, courage, power, motivation, drive and ambition to the emotional being. The sun and gold of the soul is the conscience, the voice of the higher self, radiating virtue, silent knowledge and spiritual aspiration to the lower-self.

When man’s sun or gold energy dims, his sublime qualities are obscured. He experiences loss of will, loss of heart, loss of power and loss of conscience. The focus of life becomes materialistic and egocentric, and disease of the heart (or uterus) may result. When the sun, heart and will of Aurum set, hope, joy and optimism are gone and only desire for death remains.

Dionysos

The ambivalence of Aurum is revealed in the mythological dynamics of the Delphic oracle. In the inner precinct of Apollo’s temple was the grave of Dionysos, his half-brother. The risen god also had his sanctuary at Delphi. During the three mid-winter months of the year, Apollo always departed for the blessed and mysterious land of the Hyperboreans (the land beyond the north wind). In his absence Dionysos enjoyed sole rule and worship at Delphi. He was the antithesis of Apollo, being the God of Ecstasy and Rapture. He was exquisitely andro­genous.

Although a god, Dionysos was also priest of the Great Goddess, and, unlike Apollo, who stood for all things mas­culine, he was a votary of the female principle – the sacred feminine. He rep­resented spontaneity, passion, intensity and freedom, but also wildness, sensu­ality, excess, frenzy, madness and destruction. To this day, his is the realm of uninhibited emotions, of insatiable desires, of the fantastic and the irra­tional. The right brain perspective dom­inates his consciousness. As God of the Vine (Bacchus), his veneration invites gratification of the senses, intoxication and the use of recreational drugs, which release inhibitions, heighten the per­ceptions and induce altered states of con­sciousness, but instead of setting the psyche free, bring dependency, decline and downfall.

Dionysos was a god who was victim­ised, suffered and died and was resur­rected (that is he descended into the regions of the shadow, confronted his darkness and was redeemed). He is the feminine and shadow side of Apollo and he is the feminine and shadow side of Aurum, most often repressed, hidden and unrealised, because above all Dionysos is the masked god. Aurum in its deepest and most morbid depression, more than any other remedy, wears a mask of normalcy, belying the inner anguish. Aurum, like Dionysos, needs to bring his darkness, his shadow-self and his femininity into the light.

Archetypal conflict

This sharing of the most sacred shrine of the ancient world, by two gods, is critical to the understanding of the archetypes they symbolise and to an understanding of Aurum. An intense and extreme polarity exists between these two divinities: “The measured, balanced, aloof Apollo in contrast to the frenzied, drunken, mad Dionysos” (Twentyman).

Behind a serious, solemn and even sanctimonious façade, the lower Aurum may harbour insistent, hedonistic urges. Often the sacred and the profane are joined in moral contention. A similar primordial struggle is found in other remedy archetypes – Lachesis, Ana cardium, Thuja and Lilium tigrinum.

Insignia

Apollo’s insignia were the bow and the lyre, each representing a major attrib­ute of the god, for he was above all the Archer God and the God of Music. Even the symbols of this majestic deity reveal two poles of activity and cerebral dom­inance: the intellectual and the artistic. In the balanced and the advanced Apollo/Aurum, these two elements are equally represented in the make-up of the individual. However, our modern society encourages the archer aspect at the expense of the creative nature and this emphasis, imposed on a golden being, is responsible for much of the emotional and psychological difficulties of the archetype and the pain and heartache of those who love them.

The Archer

The archer views his goals objectively, impersonally and analytically at a dis­tance, gaining a broad overview before prioritising, aiming with care and pre­cision, and only loosing his arrow after careful forethought and deliberation. He symbolises a person who has clear vision, highly developed powers of observation, focus and concentration, and has defined goals and ambitions with the vigour, confidence and deter­mination to attain them. His target is the bull’s-eye: the mark of excellence, success and highest achievement.

This determination requires train­ing, proficiency, intensity, uncompro­mising application and preparation, discipline, meticulousness, perfection­ism and the willingness to sacrifice all other interests, desires and even rela­tionships in the pursuit of their invest­ment. With their immense abilities and drive they usually rise to the very peak of their profession or sphere of endeav­our. These are all prime Aurum characteristics. Unfortunately success, achieve­ment and status become their identity and their measure of self-worth. Thwart­ed ambition, dashed hopes, financial loss, failure, loss of honour or reputa­tion and any blow to their self-esteem can plunge them into depression and despair.

The Artist

Apollo is depicted carrying a golden lyre, denoting his role as God of the Fine Arts – music, poetry, literature, sculpture and eloquence, all of which demand passion, emotional turbulence and the inspira­tion of imagination and fantasy. This is all too often Apollo/Aurum’s repressed aspect, overruled by a powerful will and intellect. He lives too much in his head and too little in his heart; too much in his thoughts and too little in his feelings. However, music has special significance for Aurum. They have a deep love and need for it, especially classical and sacred music, which can even relieve their pain and suffering. The combined traits of relief from music, deep religiousness and exacting perfectionism are strongly indicative of Aurum.

Unrequited love

Despite his manly beauty, Apollo was singularly unsuccessful in love and often rebuffed. His greatest and most endur­ing love was cherished for the mountain nymph Daphne. It is said that to spite him for claiming to be the better archer, Eros, the God of Love, shot a golden love-kindling arrow into Apollo’s heart, at the very moment he first beheld Daphne, and then shot a leaden love-repelling arrow into the heart of Daphne. She therefore fled his advances in terror. As he was about to overpower her and claim her for his own, she cried out to her father, the river god, to spare her. She was instantly transformed into a laurel tree. Still loving her, Apollo made the laurel his sacred tree and wore a laurel wreath in his hair. Being associated with the god, the laurel, like gold, became the symbol of victory and triumph – a symbol which often graces the brow of a splendid Aurum.

Hatred and revenge

Aurum is an important remedy for unsuccessful love, rejection, betrayed friendship and loss of a loved one or beloved pet. It is a jealous and posses­sive archetype and when spurned a dark side may emerge, which maliciously desires to hurt the one who has caused the humiliation. Apollo courted Cassan­dra, princess of Troy, and bestowed the gift of prophecy upon her; when she refused his attentions he punished her by decreeing that no one would believe her prophesies. Likewise, he fell in love with the Sibyl of Cumae and granted her longevity; when she withheld her favours, he cruelly retaliated by denying her pro­longed youth. Over thousands of years, she was transformed into a hideous, wiz­ened creature that longed only to die. Aurum is capable of implacable resent­ment and vengeful hatred.

The Sublime One

When the finest, translucent leaf-gold is held up to the light a most magnificent, shimmering green colour is revealed. It is the colour of the fourth, the love chakra, a whirling vortex of dynamic energy situated in the heart region. The alchemy of life gradually and inexorably separates the spirit-gold from the ego-dross and the golden being transcends the personal flux of ambivalence and conflict. They transform their base qual­ities – the passions and the instinctual nature – into the imperishable nobility of universal compassion and love, and it becomes their mission to express the beauty of the spirit through their thoughts and words.

Aurum is the sage, the wise coun­sellor, who has experienced all things and attained to wisdom. The innocence of a child and the enlightenment of a seer are united in gold. Gold in its highest form no longer seeks, it has found; it no longer believes, it knows. Gold asks that we trust and dare, for only when we trust can we surrender, and only when we surrender can we fully receive – even that which lies beyond the north wind!

Bamboo

In 1997 Berndt Schuster conducted a proving of a species of bamboo, Bambusa arundinacea, which is em­erging as an important homeopathic remedy for a wide variety of clinical con­ditions. This is a large bamboo whose shoots grow rapidly to eight metres. It is a tender plant and needs heat to survive – it will die if the temperature falls to 50°C. It lives many years (often over a century), flowers only once but for many years and after flowering it dies. The remedy is made from a tincture of bam­boo shoots and contains phyto-oestra­gens and is high in silica. Bamboo has been used medicinally since ancient times in cancer, leprosy, tuberculosis, menstrual problems and disorders of the spine.

Bamboo has great significance in Chinese medicine and culture – sym­bol of laughter, old age, elasticity and endurance – the stems bend in the wind but never break, the leaves move in the wind but never fall – bend and yield but never be uprooted, emerge from the storm unbroken. These themes are brought to life in the symptoms of the proving.

The proving

A view of the complex heart of this fas­cinating remedy is seen in the proving, rich in “sensations as if”:

deserted, forsaken, alone in the world;

she is poor and helpless in the world;

everything is insecure, meaningless, wrong and everything will fail;

held captive by a life situation;

desires change and support.

The sensation as if deserted, forsaken and alone in the world is similar to the sensation at the heart of the Pulsatilla state. The sensation that body parts are weak and cannot support the body is reminiscent of the Silica state. The sen­sation of insecurity is similar to Arsen­icum album. Bamboo seems to be related to several well-known polycrest remedies.

The theme of support appears to be central to the Bamboo remedy state. The patient desires support from others. They feel responsible for everything and no one helps them. They desire change and freedom but feel helpless and stuck in their life situation and become irritable, jealous, restless and sad. After prolonged anxiety and suffering they eventually become overwhelmed by despair.

The mind symptoms of Bamboo give other insights into the remedy state and highlight similarities to other more well-known remedies. There are ailments from wounded honour and suppressed anger (like Staphisagria), and ailments from anticipation and foreboding. There is great irritability towards husband and children worse before menses and worse from reproaches (like Sepia). There is anxiety of conscience and anxiety about the future which is felt within the chest. The fears are of: her condition being observed by others (like Calcarea car­bonica), of poverty (again like Sepia), of impending disease, of cancer, of mis­fortune and a fear of losing self-control.

The key physical “sensation as if” is of stiffness and Bamboo is emerging as a major new remedy for rheumatic dis­orders where stiffness is the main com­plaint of the patient. The stiffness is painful, profound and prolonged – like wood or a heavy weight – felt in the bones, in the joints and in the muscles. This painful wooden stiffness is very much worse after a night in bed and eased by applied heat – a hot shower or bath, a heat pad. The stiffness is much worse from becoming cold, cold weather, before and during menstrual periods and during a headache. In Bamboo the stiffness mainly affects the spine and joints near the axis of the body – shoulders and hips. Bamboo is emerg­ing as a major remedy in ankylosing spondylitis (Case 1) – an auto-immune destructive inflammatory condition of the spine with excessive stiffening and calcification of the spine (the common name of the disease is bamboo spine!). With painful neck stiffness the patient often wants to support the neck by rest­ing the chin on their hands.

This kind of aggravation from rest and cold and helped by heat is similar to Rhus tox. The Rhus tox patient is usu­ally physically restless – they want to move and are better for it even though the first movements hurt – and they are much worse from cold, wet weather, while the patient in the Bamboo state is not restless and is worse from changes in weather.

This careful differentiation between similar patterns of symptoms is impor­tant to differentiate between similar medicines in the homeopathic treatment of significant rheumatic disorders.

Other physical “sensations as if” are: of looseness and weakness and cannot support the body (the opposite of stiff­ness) and of pulsation. The Bamboo patient is usually very chilly – a cold felt deep in the bones – and made less painful with heat. They desire open air and feel better in the open air but are worse from a draft of air on a sore stiff part. There is a desire for: chocolate, cheese, spices, sweets, sour, alcohol and warm drinks before menses.

Bamboo is also emerging as an impor­tant remedy for disorders of the menstrual periods including endometriosis. The menses can be: painful, heavy, bright red and gushing, late and clotted. There can be pain in the ovaries before the peri­ods and pain in the womb before.

Bamboo has similarities to several well-known remedies: Silica, Pulsatilla, Rhus tox, Sepia, Carcinosin, Calcarea carbonica, Belladonna, Phosphorus and Tuberculinum.

Belladonna

Atropa belladonna, the deadly nightshade, is a member of the solanaceae family, which includes other very poisonous plants, such as Datura stramonium, the thorn apple or devil’s trumpet, and Hyoscyamus niger, the black henbane, but also such friendly plants as the tomato, the potato, green and red peppers and the eggplant, as well as the protective mandrake and the seductive, but not so harmless, tobacco plant.

Nature is the great mother of symbols. She reveals much of her inner mysteries in the external characteristics of her creations. The appearance, growth pattern and habitat of a plant form a symbolic expression or signature of the hidden, therapeutic genius lying latent within. So it is with Belladonna.

The deadly nightshade is widely distributed over Central and Southern Europe and is almost confined to chalky or calcareous soils. Early homeopaths soon discovered that a close relationship exists between Belladonna and Calcarea carbonica, which is derived from the chalky, middle layer of the oyster shell. People of the Calc carb constitutional type often develop acute conditions that require treatment with Belladonna.

The nightshades have been described as the “gypsies of the roadside and abandoned places”. Many thrive best where there is human garbage and refuse, on rubbish dumps and compost heaps. Belladonna loves waste areas, old quarries and ruins – places forsaken by man.

The plant shows a curious responsiveness to light and shade. In shady places, on wooded hills and especially if on limestone, it grows vigorously and luxuriantly, even to the height of a tall man, but specimens exposed to the sun are, by comparison, weak and dwarfed. Paradoxically, however, the more sun and light a plant is exposed to the more poisonous it becomes, due to the increased concentration of the toxins (alkaloids) it contains. Belladonna is one of the most frequently indicated remedies for sunstroke.

The extreme vitality of the plant is witnessed each year in the rapid and vigorous growth that erupts from the thick, fleshy, whitish perennial root – older plants attaining a height of five to six feet in one season. Ailments that yield to Belladonna therapy come on suddenly, even explosively, and most often in vigorous, robust children and adults. Pains are intense and come on suddenly and disappear suddenly. The mental and physical symptoms it produces and cures are generally of a violent nature. Inflammatory states are characterised by extremely high fever and locally by severe throbbing pains, a bright redness, which quickly changes to bluish-red or purple, marked tenderness, swelling and heat. It is remarkable how swiftly a Belladonna condition can move to suppuration. Typical examples of this are tonsillitis and whitlow.

Despite being highly poisonous, the only sinister aspect the plant presents is the flower, which appears in June and July in the axils of the leaves and continues blooming until September. These are pendent, bell-shaped and are a dark, congested, purplish colour, tinged with green and possess five lobes. The calyx, which embraces the base of the inflorescence, has five clefts.

Even the number of petals of a flower has significance. In the ancient lore of numerology the number five possesses certain analogies – freedom, independence, changeability, rebelliousness, volatility, youth and adolescence, the five faculties and the sense pleasures. Five is also connected with fire and the colour red, which emotionally indicate passion and physically suggest inflammation. Fire is also symbolic of initiation, cleansing and regeneration.

Red is the colour of the first or root chakra, which reflects consciousness at a survival level – aggression and animal sexuality. The shadow aspect of the number five reveals insatiable desire for sense gratification, luxury, promiscuity, the abuse of recreational drugs and alcohol, and the destructive emotions – jealousy, hatred, pride, aggression, viciousness and malice. As a red, fire number, five has an affinity for anything hidden, occult, esoteric or mysterious. This may focus on meditation, rituals, witchcraft, Satanism, tantra, sexual and drug “magick”, and interests, which may prove either enlightening or detrimental to the individual. A study of the history, folklore, uses and remedy pictures of the poisonous solanaceae and comparison with the above, reveal powerful evidence of their correspondence to the number five – a correspondence which begins with Belladonna and becomes more pronounced in Stramonium and Hyoscyamus.

The berry that follows the blossom, far from being repulsive, is as big as a small cherry and acquires an intense, shining black colour, which enticingly catches the eye and beckons to the unwary. Like a rare jewel it attracts the fingers, whilst the mouth already anticipates the intensely sweet taste of the dark, inky juice it contains – an attraction that has often proved fatal to children. The berries’ lethal seductiveness, the frenzied, demoniacal mania they induce and their homicidal reputation gave them the name “Devil’s Cherries” or “Naughty Man’s Cherries”. As we might anticipate the symptoms of poisoning develop rapidly and violently and soon threaten life.

The species name belladonna “beautiful lady”, alludes to the custom, of fashionable Italian ladies of the Renaissance, of dilating their pupils by instilling a drop of the berry juice into their eyes, rendering them darker and more brilliant, to enhance their beauty and allure. The Latin scientific generic name of the plant, atropa, derives from Atropos “the inevitable”, one of the three Fates of Greek mythology – she who, at the bidding of Lachesis, cuts the thread of life woven by Clotho. The common name “nightshade” most likely refers to Nah-Skado, alluding to the Celto-Teutonic goddess Skadi – “the destroyer” – “Queen of the Shades” or “Mother Death” – active in the darkness of the night (nah) – (Prisma). As such Skadi is the equivalent of the Hindu, Kali, “the black goddess” – “she who creates that she may destroy and destroys that she may create”. She is akin to the black Madonna of Christianity.

Behind the sternness of these mother goddesses abides a nurturing, infinite love for mankind working with seeming ruthlessness towards the destruction of the false-ego and the transcendence of the human psyche from the shadows towards the light.

It would seem that nature intentionally fashioned the herb for a special role in the treatment of the human psyche, particularly when beguiled and entranced by the seductive ways of the world into a state of forgetfulness and detachment from its divine origin and spiritual nature. Its toxic alkaloids become more aggressive to animal life in direct proportion to brain development, being least active in lower animals, such as rabbits and goats, more intense in carnivorous animals and highly toxic and even lethal in homo sapiens.

In humans furthermore, this gradation of toxic intensity is evidenced in proportion to intellectual development – being most dangerous in those of high intelligence and those who show left cerebral dominance, characterised by a sharp intellect, a logical, analytical approach to life and a masculine energy (regardless of gender). Hufeland asserted that the mentally retarded are unusually resistant to the poison. Since the left cerebral hemisphere governs the functions of the right side of the body, the physical symptoms of Belladonna are more frequently right-sided.

The disproportionate development and dominance of the intellect and the masculine principle is often at the expense of both instinct and intuition. The stage upon which life is enacted is then too much in the head and too little in the heart, too much in the mind and too little in the feelings. The false-ego becomes inflated and worships at the altar of intellect and materialism. The sense of oneness with the creation and with Mother Nature is lost, the divine aspects of the true-self become disconnected and are lost in the Shadow-self, unrealised, unfulfilled and most often not even aspired to. Belladonna like its solanaceae cousins is most active in the treatment of those whose eternal qualities and awareness have been forgotten and whose true-self has been replaced by a false-self filled with fear and anger.

The Shadow, or personal abyss, grows apace with the development of the false-self and is filled with all the characteristics we are ashamed of and therefore repress, all our unresolved emotions, dating back to our conception, and our unrealised, divine aspects. This is particularly true of those who fail to feel and live out their emotions. In the Shadow lurks also the personal devil or “beast” structure, a proud, selfish, destructive, hateful, dark energy, which resides in varying degrees within us all, easily recognised in a Hitler but difficult to own and face in ourselves. The Devil has many symbols and some loom large in the collective, human unconscious, such as the wolf, the cockroach, with its long horns (antennae) and gleaming armour, the rat and the snake. The devil wolf is black, snarling, threatening, with glowing, baleful eyes and bared, slavering fangs, a malevolent and terrifying image – or it is the mad dog, the rabid, mutant wolf, black, fiendish, savage and unpredictable, a “Hound of the Baskervilles” – a carrier of death and destruction. These images are imprinted not only in the Shadow of humanity but also in Belladonna, Stramonium and Hyoscyamus, remedies of inestimable value in the treatment of rabies and hence for the treatment of the Shadow. Fear of water (hydrophobia) is a characteristic of rabies and also of these three remedies. In analytical psychology water is understood to symbolise the unconscious, hence fear of water symbolises fear of what lies in the unconscious – an innate fear of the Shadow.

Materia medica

In the materia medica of Belladonna appear the following significant symptoms derived from proving trials of the remedy and from cured cases:

She attempted to bite and strike her attendants, broke into fits of laughter and gnashed her teeth. The head was hot, the face red, the look wild and fierce. He was possessed by an inclination to bite those about him and to tear everything about him to pieces. Raging, violent fury; such fury that she had to be held constantly, lest she should attack someone; and when thus held, so that she could not move, she spat continually at those about her. Visions of wolves, dogs, giants and fire; cockroaches swarming about the room; rats; snakes; worms; unclean beasts, black creatures. Sees black dogs; snakes in and around her. Everything he looks at seems red; everywhere she sees fire and conflagration.

Such ghastly visions and violent anger indicate some awful abuse in the past, experiences so horrible that they have been consigned to the Shadow, out of memory. The Shadow is our own, hidden, waste area, our rubbish dump, our forsaken realm. Yet within its confines lie riches beyond measure. Like the deadly nightshade, it is in the realising of the Shadow that we can grow spiritually with vigour and luxuriance and advance beyond the toxic, spiritually dwarfing, light of the false ego and the intellect. Even in the acute Belladonna state, with its high fever and violent symptoms, a more subtle process is at work, the releasing of repressed energy from the Shadow realm, an evolution that is further developed and fulfilled in the states of Stramonium and Hyoscyamus.

The solanaceae, when indicated, expedite the individuation of the soul, the advancement towards spiritual maturity. They embody the intense, all embracing love of the “Black Goddess”, the “Queen of the Shades”, whose sustaining power overshadows us when we finally face our Shadow in the “Dark Night of the Soul”.

Calcarea carbonicum

The nature and temperament of Sulphur, the fire element reflecting the energies of the volcanic phase of evolution. Sulphur represents first man whose ability to experience human love, to have foresight, insight, self-consciousness and death-awareness, exposed him to the possibility of prolonged fear, grief and bereavement. These emotions created first dis-ease and later disease, as man, cast out of the Garden of Eden, stepped out of harmony with himself, nature and life.

This is the beginning of his quest. He is freed from the instinctive restraint and unconscious wisdom of nature and sent out into the world in search of his spiritual destiny. It is Sulphur who swaggers through the portals of Eden and, filled with the bliss of ignorance (not stupidity), discovers fire, his birthright, and becomes the hunter-gatherer and the pioneer.

Through evolutionary sequence the next archetype of the materia medica is Calc carb – the oyster – representing an awful sense of isolation, severance from mother nature, separation fear and naked exposure to a hostile environment. It is Calc carb who first becomes aware of being forsaken and alone under a menacing, over-hanging cosmos, pawn-like, solitary and insignificant, and so painfully conscious of duty and responsibility displays a mollusc-like need to produce a calcareous shell to protect herself against a sense of self-consciousness, inferiority and vulnerability to legions of dangers.

We can perceive that the nomadic wanderer, adventurer and explorer Sulphur gives place to an archetype which cherishes the security of hearth and home and is settled, domesticated and rural by nature. In ancient times the fire of Sulphur became the sacred fire that sanctified the home, the temple and the city. As the fire in the hearth it became the central focus of the home, providing warmth, illumination and sustenance, symbolising the protective, sheltering and nurturing qualities of Calc carb and its associated mythological archetype, Hestia, the Greek goddess, whose presence was necessary to make a house become a home.

The first organisms to evolve in the super-hot environment of primitive earth were sulphur dependent. In the pre-Cambrian period, 2000 million years ago, the ancient seas provided the birthplace for the next important organism in the chain of emerging life forms. This was the blue-green algae, cyanobacteria, an organism with the ability to utilise solar light energy to manufacture its own nutrients whilst releasing oxygen into the atmosphere. The cyanobacteria were also able to secrete calcium carbonate, which they did in prodigious amounts and in a most spectacular fashion, to create their communal homes. These limestone edifices, known as stromatolytes, endure to this very day, despite millions of years of erosion. The cyanobacteria were the forerunners of all the myriad species of shell creatures, the molluscs, which were to follow – including the oyster.

From the inception of life, Calc carb has had to do with home-building, community-building, security and protection. The stromatolytes stand as monuments to the immovable stubbornness, the persevering industriousness and constructive capacity of Calc carb. Likewise the great limestone formations of the world, built up over eons of years by the aggregation of myriads of shells of tiny sea creatures give testimony to the slow, progressive and enduring nature of the Calc carb life processes. The same ordered and purposeful energy pervades the activities and communities of the social insects – the termites, ants and bees – and the energy is matriarchal.

Within the oyster lies the pearl, cool to the touch yet holding a hidden iridescent fire, seen as a symbol of spiritual wisdom and esoteric knowledge. Hence Christ’s use of the metaphor – “neither cast ye thy pearls before swine”. The pearl was amongst jewels the quintessential symbol of light, femininity and the moon and was also an emblem of fertility, purity and perfection. The oyster has always been a symbol of female sexuality, fertility and the creative power of the feminine principle. In its closed form it is the image of innocence, chastity, discretion and secrecy. This intuitive wisdom of the past throws light on our understanding of the mystery of this great remedy, for all these qualities are inherent in Calc carb.

the calc carb adult…

Homeopathic Calc carb is derived from the middle layer of the oyster shell and must be regarded as an animal remedy and not just a mineral. Calc carb is the fundamental representative not only of the molluscs but also of all life forms derived from or influenced by the sea, including those mammals which returned to the sea and developed fish-like attributes. The obese human image is their constitutional counterpart.

The body of the oyster is soft, yielding, spineless and flabby to the touch. It is cold, clammy and wet; to the eye it is pallid and anaemic looking. Many a Calc carb subject possesses these characteristics. We can admire the grace and strength of a whale moving through its natural domain, but if this ancestral type should preside over a child or adult, they may resemble a beached whale, unfit for terrestrial life – overweight, flabby, lacking muscle tone, awkward and clumsy, with weak joints, bones unable to bear their weight, prone to spinal curvatures, dislocations, sprains, strains and cramps. They lack stamina, strength and breath and the least effort or emotion causes them to flush and break out in a cold, clammy sweat.

Compared with the shells of other molluscs, that of Calc carb is crude, irregular and rugged, its features may be coarse and unrefined, large and thickened, peasant-like with large nose and lips, especially the upper one which may appear swollen. From these beginnings two physical types emerge.

The first produces the classic picture of the Calc carb woman: often blonde and blue-eyed; a great fat woman without breath, strength or energy; without firmness, colour or health; fair, fat and flabby with a hand that feels like an oyster, cold, clammy and boneless; and damp, cold, clammy feet. These types, male or female, are generally indolent, inert and sedentary, lacking initiative; like the oyster ever waiting for life to come to them; content and complacent, lethargic and unambitious, not easily aroused or stirred and immovably stubborn. They are often awkward and clumsy. Extremely self-indulgent, their one enthusiasm is food. They adore sweets, especially pastries, and even more so if topped with cream; hot meals, substantial food which comforts and rewards, stodgy, starchy foods – bread, potatoes, pasta; eggs in any form and dairy products. Sweet, salt and sour are equally appealing to the palate. The price is obesity, cellulite, shortness of breath, especially when ascending stairs, heartburn, flatulence, diaphragmatic hernia, abdominal distension, inability to tolerate tight clothes, a sluggish liver, gallstones and chronic constipation.

The second type is sturdy, strong, vigorous and industrious. Earthy, honest, good-natured, generous and hearty. Blessed with immense patience, endurance and stubborn perseverance, they work and build assiduously, adhering faithfully to predetermined systems and structure. They are ordered, precise, meticulous, reliable and responsible. They are very capable, always painstaking and practical, whether it is in the home, out on the land, or in business. Their lifelong striving is to provide security, sustenance and education for their dependents and themselves rather than wealth.

Paradoxically some may present a mixture of these two types: either a soft, flabby exterior with a hard kernel of resolve and determination, or a tough, powerful exterior and a soft, timid, marshmallow-like interior.

Unfortunately like all the carbons, Calc carb may suffer burn-out. Their tendency to take on ever increasing responsibilities; their diligence and unremitting application to their work, driven by their need to provide and protect, and often a fear of poverty and want, leads to a downward spiral culminating in exhaustion, loss of motivation and the will to go on. They become timid, indecisive, mentally confused and finally fear for their sanity and that people will notice their mental deterioration. Sanity is their pearl. It is like the queen at the centre of the termite nest or the hive. Without her, structure and order are lost – all is confusion and collapse.

There is a slowness and ponderousness about Calc carb. The metabolism, the thyroid, the glandular development, the mental, emotional and physical growth and maturation, the venous and lymphatic circulations, the resistance to infection, the ability to repair and convalesce and the digestion, are slow and tardy. The intestinal functions are so slow that they feel healthier when constipated.

The woman who manifests Calc carb in her life is the hearth keeper, a homely presence, committed to her family and her domestic responsibilities, which she discharges with a warm and caring selflessness. Calc carb finds housekeeping a meaningful activity rather than a chore. She is a woman who finds a sense of inner peace, harmony and fulfilment as she accomplishes her everyday tasks. Nor does she work with any sense of sufferance, martyrdom or righteousness. Her (or his) hospitality and generosity are legendary. Her home is her oyster and she is the pearl at its centre. Whether as guest or family member the Calc carb home is a good place to be.

With time she becomes the wise old woman, the elder of the family, who has witnessed it all and has emerged undaunted and seasoned, able to give wise counsel and spiritual insight. The grit of life experience has produced within her the pearl of wisdom. She remains remarkably detached and stable, philosophically unperturbed by the vagaries of life. The spiritual path of Calc carb is often the path of work, known in yoga philosophy as the path of karma – by which one serves the creation through selfless, loving work. Calc carb builds and works and serves, and in its highest form sacrifices self through service, without expectation of recognition or reward.

the calc carb child…

The Calc carb infant is often a floppy baby – soft, fat and flabby, with a big head and a distended abdomen; fair-haired, fair-skinned and blue-eyed; bloated and dimpled rather than of solid, hard fat. They sweat copiously about the head at night, wetting the pillow. The perspiration and the entire child smell sour. Their hands and feet are cold and clammy. Their complexion may be peaches and cream, but often they are too pale; chalky-white and frequently anaemic. They suffer terribly when cutting teeth, which is often delayed, developing respiratory tract infections and a diarrhoea which is sour, pale, offensive, and acrid, burning the buttocks. They soon become prone to recurrent colds, ear, tonsil and chest infections. Their fevers are intense and may cause pyrexial convulsions. Belladonna is often the best remedy for the acute phase of Calc carb conditions, but it is Calc carb which can change the constitution and build resistance.

These little ones are often slow in reaching their milestones. Usually this is not due to any mental incapacity or deficiency. It may be aggravated by excess weight and lack of muscle tone, but generally it is a reluctance to emerge from their shell or a belief that all they need will come to them, like the ocean brings food to the immobile oyster. The fat Calc carb baby is content to sit where placed, twiddling its toes or amusing itself with some object, for hours on end. Their hesitancy is often due to an innate fear of a hostile world. In the extreme case autism may result, producing an undemanding low-care infant that remains withdrawn and unresponsive, disinterested in those about them and even averse to physical contact and caresses. However more frequently, baby is quietly assimilating, digesting and storing all the impressions it receives, and finally astounds everyone by suddenly standing, having never crawled, and uttering a string of words, having previously said only “mama”.

The slowness may continue through school. Much encouragement and support are essential from both parents and teachers. It is vital that they receive a good grounding on which to build their future knowledge systematically. With a structured foundation, time and patience Calc carb may surpass the achievements of a more precocious child. Often Calc carb is the fabled tortoise that outstrips the hare.

the calc carb fears…

We have seen that it was Calc carb who, in the process of evolution, first became aware of being separated and isolated, abandoned and forlorn, in what they perceive as a threatening environment, and sought to hide within a shell. The Calc carb child and adult have all manner of fears which are present from the cradle.

First amongst these is a deep and irrational fear that their parents will abandon them. The child fears almost everything it sees, especially anything new and unfamiliar. Their fears are increased after nightfall; they are afraid of the dark, of being alone, of ghosts and monsters. These are children who need to sleep with their parents. On closing their eyes before sleep they are terrified by horrible faces; when asleep they are prey to dreadful nightmares; when awake they are deeply disturbed by seeing anyone facially disfigured or maimed. They are frightened by anything grotesque. Scary movies haunt them for weeks and provoke nightmares.

They are terribly sensitive, self-conscious, shy and timid, easily take offence and fear being mocked or ridiculed. They dislike being watched and fear public performance. Calc carb is a remedy for school phobia and for children who have been abused, sexually or otherwise.

Other fears are: heights; claustrophobia; dogs; insects, especially spiders; disease – TB, cancer, infections, insanity – they are hypochondriacs and have symptoms which are worse for thinking of them and they despair of recovery; the future; misfortune; accidents; poverty; starvation; storms and natural disasters. They cannot bear hearing about tragedies and terrible things happening, tending to identify with the suffering of others. They are stubborn in their fears and not easily reassured. They also have a fear of authority figures. They pick up on people’s “vibes” and may develop an unreasoning antipathy towards certain people. Fearing life as they do, they may, even at an unusually young age, become preoccupied with religion and death, and whether there is life after death. This may progress to religious melancholia.

Calcarea phosphorica

Calcarea phosphorica (Calc phos) is a wonderful remedy. It is remark­able that a remedy prepared from a major constituent of the body (calcium phosphate) should have such an inter­esting physical and psychological pro­file homeopathically. The main themes in this remedy have to do with nutrition, deprivation, grief and intellectual study.

A clue about Calc phos is found from our everyday use of calcium phosphate: its main use is in fertilisers and animal feeds (promotion of growth) and in en­amelling, glass manufacture and dental products (reinforcing hard structures). In the human body calcium phosphate is found in bones. The mineralisation of the matrix of the dense outer shell of bones with minute crystals of calcium phosphate makes the bone hard. Calci­um phosphate is the chief constituent of enamel, the extremely hard material covering the crown of teeth.

Nutrition and development

Calc phos comes into usefulness at any time in life when nutrition and growth are especially important. It is therefore a major remedy for infants, children at times like dentition and at puberty when there is accelerated growth.

Infants and children needing this remedy tend to have a dark complexion with dark hair and eyes. They are deli­cate, lanky and scrawny. They have a sunken, flabby abdomen. They can be tall and thin, and have been described as looking “like a Chinese noodle”. Calc phos children can be very insecure. They may bite their nails or often put their fingers into the mouth. They want to be carried all the time.

In developing countries this remedy can be applicable for deprivation syn­dromes like marasmus (wasting of the body) and protein-calorie malnutrition. Calc phos infants can also be emaciated due to any physical illness like diarrhoea, amoebiasis, malabsorption or worms. They can suffer with malabsorption states like Coeliac disease. There is a ten­dency to develop brittle, soft, thin and weak bones and children can have grow­ing pains or rickets. There can be late closure of sutures and non-union of frac­tures, imperfect ossification, kyphosis (curvature of the spine), scoliosis (bend­ing of the spine), and late closure of the fontanelles (the sutures between the bones forming the scalp).

Dentition is a time of stress for Calc phos children and can be slow, delayed or simply debilitate the child. These children are unable to assimilate their nutrition properly and may have the peculiar symptom of an aversion to their mother’s milk. They suffer with severe colic with belching. They can have a ravenous appetite but weak digestion with every bite of food hurting the stomach. They are extremely chilly and Calc phos individuals of all ages are sensitive to the cold, draughts, easterly winds and, most characteristically, the air when snow is melting.

There often appears to be a strong emotional causation in the development of the Calc phos state. One authority says these children often have parents who are generally immature and irre­sponsible or who have suffered from severe economic stress or marital dishar­mony. As a result, the child has suffered from emotional deprivation or, in devel­oping countries, also from nutritional deprivation. These children are often, as a result, anxious and nervous with a desire to be carried all the time. They can be hyper-alert, conscious of every move made by the doctor when exam­ined. One characteristic symptom is involuntary sighing, which appears to be as a result of internalised grief. They often can feel guilty, especially when another child is shouted at or re­proached. They can even become violent when this happens. They are sensitive to criticism, timid and lack self-confidence, but can be snappy and abusive.

Teenagers

Calc phos is a very important medicine for teenagers. They are stressed nutri­tionally as it is a time of rapid growth. They are also under immense pressure to learn and study which is a major aggravating factor for these individuals. It is a major remedy for headache in schoolchildren and students. It is also a major remedy for loss of motivation caused by diminished energy following too rapid growth or disappointments in love – another sadly common occurrence in teenagers! This can lead to the not-uncommon teenage state of apathy, aggravation from mental and physical exertion, peevishness, obstinacy and in some cases the characteristic sighing.

Another major theme in these indi­viduals is a sense of dissatisfaction, bore­dom and a desire for change and travel. Calc phos is a central remedy of the tubercular miasm which has a core sen­sation of feeling restricted with a strong desire to move and break free. A unique symptom of the remedy is: “Home, desires to go and when there, desires to go out”. In other words, restlessness and cannot find a place where they are at peace.

It is fascinating to analyse why this state should be in the remedy. You can gain an understanding by looking at the constituent parts of the remedy: Calcium and Phosphorus. Calcarea people need to have others around them, they want to be protected because they feel insecure and they find their security within their house and home. On the other hand, Phosphorus people have the feeling of being unloved and uncared for and they compensate for this feeling by being affectionate, friendly and sympathetic. We can therefore see that the Calc phos individual wants to go out and relate to others, meet people, communicate and be affectionate and make friends but at the same time feels insecure and there­fore wants to go home again where they can once again feel safe.

It is also interesting to consider that bone (of which Calc phos is a chief com­ponent) not only provides security and stability, but also facilitates mobility. We move around through muscular action on our skeletal system. Calc phos indi­viduals tend to be very active physically as well as mentally. They are often found to be good sportspeople and love phys­ical exercise. It is interesting that sport often involves the themes of activity, mobility and friendliness – the themes of Calc phos. These people are often of an athletic build – tall and muscular. They tend to be lean.

Conditions

As well as the conditions of infants and children I have mentioned, these indi­viduals can suffer with rheumatism, arthritis, hip joint disease, exostoses (growths on bones and joints), traumatic arthritis, tubercular arthritis, osteo­porosis, easy fractures and slow healing of fractures.

A condition I have found this rem­edy very helpful for is Osgood-Schlatter Disease. This causes inflammation and pain in the shinbone at the insertion of the patella tendon of the knee. It is found in teenagers and can often cause them to have to give up sport for several years. I have found Calc phos invariably quickly curative in this condition.

I have also found this remedy very effective in joint diseases and especially in osteo-arthritis of the knees. The indi­cations for its use are the general con­stitutional state of Calc phos and also the modalities of worsening of the joint pain in cold, windy weather. If the left knee is first affected, followed by the right, that is also an indication for this remedy. One of my patients with osteo­arthritis of the knees also had the help­ful symptom of a very strong craving for pork. These individuals tend to like ham fat, pork, bacon, smoked food and salty food. On the other hand they can have weak digestion and they are especially aggravated by ice cream and other cold foods like ice, cold drinks and fruit.

Another strong theme from Calc phos “Aggravation from mental exer­tion and study” can also be understood by looking at its constituent elements. One well-known authority, Jan Scholten, has drawn attention to the Calcium themes of sensitivity to criticism and a feeling of shyness and insecurity while the Phosphorus element has themes of communication, curiosity, travel and learning and study. Putting these two together produces a number of themes, including the idea of being very sensitive to what others feel about their ability to learn and study. He quotes a very inter­esting case of a woman who had never been well since a trauma at the age of twelve. This trauma was that the head of her school told her parents in front of a number of other people that she was not very good at studying and should go to an easy secondary school. From this point she became anxious, lost her playfulness and started developing physical symp­toms, including severe rheumatic pains in her back. Calc phos produced a marked improvement – she felt better and calmer, her backache disappeared and she recovered her previous cheerfulness.

Because of the sensitivity about what others think of their learning capacities, the Calc phos youngster may start to study extremely hard, a subconscious compensation to try and make sure oth­ers do not think they cannot learn or communicate well. They are always busy developing their knowledge and con­tinuously want to see and experience new things. All this work can then lead to headaches and burn-out – with lassi­tude and apathy. Calc phos is one of the main remedies for difficulty waking and I am sure we all know teenagers who cannot get out of bed in the morning! If the child feels that they cannot live up to the expectations they can sometimes give up and withdraw, developing an aversion to school with headaches or stomach aches and then we have another well-known Calc phos rubric: “Desire to go home”.

Personality type

Calc phos people are friendly and make friends easily. They love to travel. The characteristic thing is that they tend to make a new home wherever they go – home-making comes from the Calcarea element. Any remedy with Phosphorus as an element will show a strong theme of sympathy and communication and will be found in people for whom friends, family and acquaintances are very important in their lives. Calc phos people can suffer with home-sickness, missing their loved ones when they go away from the home. They can suffer from grief and disappointment in love and their reaction can be one of jealousy and irritability. This is one of the rem­edy types which is very sensitive to injus­tice: children are likely to be heard saying “It’s not fair!” – especially when they feel others have been given more love and attention than they have. They can become intuitive. Perhaps as a means to bypass their limitations – knowing they want to learn and acquire knowl­edge but feeling they lack the energy and strength to acquire it in the usual way. This sensitivity may explain another keynote symptom of Calc phos which is fear of receiving bad news. In one of the original provings by T. F. Allen (a great 19th-century homeopath), one of the provers was described as: “Unpleasant news makes him beside himself. Very much out of humour, disinclined to speak, after disagreeable news.”

One of the most fascinating aspects of homeopathy is that of strange, rare and peculiar symptoms. These are symp­toms that are unique to one specific rem­edy and are completely unpredictable. In other words, by looking at the con­stituent elements of Calcium and Phosphorus we cannot predict the strange, rare or peculiar symptom. The same applies to any remedy and shows how important it is to have provings and clinical observations which are the only means by which we come to peculiar symptoms. Calc phos has some won­derful strange, rare and peculiar symp­toms. One is a strong liking for the colour pink and it is interesting that Calc phos girls often have a strong desire for pink clothing. On the other hand, when they are older they can become tomboys, preferring to climb trees and other out­door pursuits.

Calc phos is one of our most impor­tant remedies. It has provided relief for patients of all ages, physically, emo­tionally and mentally and will, of course, continue to do so.

Carbo vegetabilis

Carbo veg is also known as “vegetable charcoal”. It is prepared by igniting a pile of dry beech or birch wood which is then covered by a thick layer of soil. This slows the burning process down, and increases the intensity of the heat. The combustion process takes place with very little oxygen present, and the wood is converted into volatile compounds and the remaining charcoal, which consists mainly of carbon.

From this process, we can already see many of the themes of the remedy Carbo veg presented. In the “acute stage”, there is a lack of oxygen when the wood is burning, and people who need Carbo veg have inadequate oxygenation of their lungs, as occurs in severe pneumonia or asthma. At this stage, patients feel the need for fresh air, even asking to be fanned. Their vitality is very low, they feel “burnt out”. However, consider what the charcoal that is produced by this process represents: it stores a lot of potential energy and can produce heat for a long period when burned. This is more representative of the “chronic state” of Carbo veg, people who have a lot of vitality. They can keep going, working long hours, and enjoy socialising too. They appear to be strong and resilient, until they are struck by a virus or other infection that knocks them completely. They then quickly become very weak, cold, sluggish, everything slows down. They can alternate between these two states. If the remedy is administered, they can respond quickly and become less likely to suffer these debilitating slumps.

Carbo veg is often used as an acute remedy for indigestion, flatulence or venous congestion.

Conium (inc. Cicuta and Aethusa)

The Umbelliferae (Apiaceae) were the first botanical family to be classi­fied by Carl Linnaeus in the 16th century and there are over 3000 species throughout the world. They are more common in temperate climates. Many are familiar to us as food crops: carrot, parsley, celery and angelica. Others are used as spices: dill, coriander, caraway and anise, or as culinary herbs: chervil, fennel and parsley. The same family con­tains many deadly poisons, like hem­lock. The plants are either highly fragrant or emit a foetid smell. The theme of duality is rife in the remedies made from this botanical family. Homeopathic remedies are made from 33 plants from this family, but few other than Conium maculata and Cicuta virosa are commonly used.

The family name Umbelliferae is derived from the Latin umbellula, mean­ing little shade and alludes to the arrange­ment of flowers in parasol-like clusters. The Eryngium, commonly known as sea holly, is the only species that has a dif­ferent floral pattern. It is a beautiful ornamental garden plant, with glorious spiky blue purple flowers, which dry out due to their air-filled stems, and so can be used in flower arrangements. The other plants in the family look very sim­ilar indeed: non-descript and fading into the background. It is even difficult for botanists to identify the different species; they rely on location and size, but fre­quently have to check plant chemistry to be certain. They all have flowers in vary­ing shades of white.

People requiring one of these reme­dies as a constitutional will often lead very quiet lives, never attracting atten­tion to themselves. Indeed one of my patients complained that no one ever remembered if she’d been to a party or not – she described herself as the prover­bial wallflower. She dressed in a very con­servative way, often in shades of cream and white, just like the remedy she required. She longed to be noticed, and yet would never consider dressing with more flamboyance, like the Eryngium.

The typical flower is divided into five sepals, five petals and five stamens, and the seed cases are divided into two halves each with five external ridges. In numerology the number five is associ­ated with change. In a healthy state this leads to liberty, equality, fraternity, curiosity, adventure, emotional and sex­ual exchange. A negative five means the person holds on to situations and peo­ple, postpones things, has an aversion to challenges, avoids change and exchange, and lives in seclusion and withdrawal. The leaves are arranged in a centrifugal pattern on a hollow stem. Using the Doctrine of Signatures, this is said to betray a tendency to self cen­tredness, which is frequently seen in those that require treatment with these remedies.

The root of the plants is fleshy, as clearly seen in the edible members of the family, such as the carrot and parsnip. The seeds are dry and hard, reminiscent of the warts and stony hard tumours they are often used to treat. The seeds act on the digestive system to prevent accumulation of gases. Fennel tea is used to soothe the stomach and reduce gas and aniseed is made into Ouzo and Pernod liqueurs, which aid digestion. These herbs all stimulate the secretion of the body fluids: sweat, urine, flatus and wind, in varying degrees.

Constitutional types

People requiring constitutional treat­ment with the Umbelliferae have great problems with communication, both on a physical and emotional level. They find it hard and painful to talk. They lack trust, especially in doctors, which can make the consultation quite challeng­ing. They can come across as very angry, resentful and demanding, having a great need to be heard, and feeling neglected and over-looked however much time one spends with them. They resent being ill and dependent on others, so they want miracle cures, preferably yesterday!

They are highly-strung; their nerv­ous system reacts to every sound. Young children can even start to fit at the slight­est noise. As a protective measure to this highly reactive state they often “numb out” in later life. If subjected to any trauma, they tend to block out the pain by a total sensory withdrawal, and sup­press all feelings and emotions.

They fear old age, and dream of mummification. Many develop patho­logical fears of hitting 40, 50 or 60. They will go to extreme lengths to preserve their looks. Certain Hollywood actresses might well benefit from one of these remedies to stop their addiction to plas­tic surgery. One in particular has had her face so stretched that she does resem­ble a mummy!

They dislike the role of motherhood, maybe because they fear the pregnancy and subsequent feeding will adversely affect their bodies. In fact many admit they detest the sensation of pregnancy. They are prone to recurrent miscarriages or may seek therapeutic terminations. If they do have a child, breastfeeding is a real issue, and the lack of milk makes it impossible to nurture the child. They repeatedly take the sick child to the doc­tor, insisting on immediate cures.

The theme of duality and opposites also extends into the sexual realm. There is often increased desire but impotency or frigidity, episodes of sexual excess or total celibacy; often a subliminal “look, but don’t touch” message is sent out.

The behaviour may be childish and immature, in speech, behaviour and emotional development. Grown women dressing in clothes more appropriate for early teenagers – the mutton dressed up as lamb school of style! One lady who came for treatment for her vertigo and responded to Conium maculata beau­tifully, showed this characteristic to its full. She would swan into the room, with her partner who doted on her and would act like a mixture of a man­servant and protector. She dressed in 20s-style clothes, billowing chiffon scarves adorned her petite frame, the room was filled with the scent of expen­sive French perfume and on her head was perched an ornate period hat. She reminded me of Mia Farrow in the film, The Great Gatsby. Perfectly made up and manicured, she was in her late 80s and yet spoke a breathless child-like voice. Her partner was not allowed to touch; he doted on her from afar. Her long-standing fatigue responded well to the Conium. I could just picture her lying sedately on a chaise longue.

Many people requiring the Umbelli­ferae suffer with ritualistic or supersti­tious behaviour, which may extend into obsessive compulsive disorder. It is a means by which to bring order into a chaotic world, a psychological defence mechanism.

Aethusa cynapium

Aethusa cynapium can be easily con­fused with Silica terra. Both are useful in treating children with intolerance of milk, even mother’s milk. Both are help­ful in dry skin conditions with recurrent infections.

The herb is also known as fool’s pars­ley. It resembles garden parsley, but its leaves are darker and glossier and when crushed emits a garlic-like scent. It is poi­sonous due to the presence of coniine. The dried herb loses most of its toxicity. It is indigenous to Europe and Siberia.

If ingested it leads to a burning in the mouth, throat and whole gastro­intestinal tract. It leads to colic, diar­rhoea, then violent convulsions with tremor. Death occurs from paralysis of respiration muscles and the heart. If a sub-lethal dose is ingested, there is loss of the nails and hair. Most animals tend to give it a wide berth due to its smell, but rabbits, sheep and goats appear to be resistant to its toxicity.

Aethusa patients have a deep love of animals, preferring them to people.

Cicuta virosa

Cicuta, the water hemlock, is a highly toxic plant. Humans die within an hour after two or three bites of these “parsnips”. Death is by violent convul­sions. A sub-lethal dose leads to heart and skeletal muscle damage. Native American women used it as a means of suicide to avenge the bad treatment of their husbands, leaving them to reproach themselves for their death.

Cicuta is very useful in treating epilepsy, alongside conventional treat­ment.

Conium maculata

The poison hemlock was used to exe­cute Socrates in Ancient Greece. He died from an ascending paralysis of muscles and convulsions, as described by Plato. Conium has narcotic properties similar to Belladonna, which eases the pain of death.

In the first century hemlock was used medicinally for tumours and, as late as the 19th century, was used to ease the pain of cancer as it is today in homeopathy.

It is a commonly used remedy for hard (scirrhus) breast tumours that occur after a blow to the breast. These are more frequent in older women, especially spin­sters and nuns. Conium was used in the Middle Ages to suppress sexual feeling in the nunneries and monasteries.

China officinalis

China officinalis was the first rem­edy to be proved by Dr Samuel Hahnemann. It is therefore a very important remedy in the history of homeopathy, and consequently it is one of the first that aspiring homeopaths study.

“As long ago as the year

1790 I made the first pure

trial with cinchona bark

upon myself…

With this first trial broke

upon me the dawn that

has since brightened into

the most brilliant day of

the medical art…”

Samuel Hahnemann*

The remedy comes from the Peruvian bark cinchona, which was used in the treatment of malaria in Hahnemann’s time. It was named in 1742 by the Swedish botanist, physician and zoolo­gist Carolus Linnaeus after the Countess of Chinchon, the wife of a Spanish envoy who was reputed to have been cured of malaria in about 1640.

While translating a medical text by the Scottish physician William Cullen, Hahnemann found himself disagreeing with the author’s explanation as to how it worked. Cullen postulated that it worked because it produced a tonic effect on the stomach. Hahnemann thought this to be highly unlikely, because other astringents had no effect against malaria. Accordingly, he began dosing himself with the drug in his famous cinchona experiment. He found that he experienced symptoms not unlike those that occurred in cases of malaria. From this came the germ of an idea that was eventually to become homeopathy.

China is an extremely effective rem­edy.

Chocolate

Chocolate: one word can evoke such contrasting emotions. To some it’s the ultimate luxury, a sensual treat, yet to others it is a wicked indulgence, the bane of their strict diet that relies on denial and the avoidance of temptation. In these diverse reactions the remedy pic­ture of Chocolate is revealed.

The film Chocolat, based on the book by Joanne Harris, is as deliciously silky and smooth as a bar of the best chocolate. Rarely do film adaptations improve on the original text, but in this case the scriptwriter has managed to add even more homeopathic detail. This is the way to learn new remedies: curled up on the sofa, reading the book or watching the film whilst conducting a proving by indulging in the food of the gods!

The heroine of Chocolat is the enig­matic Vianne Rocher. Her arrival in Lans­quenet, a sleepy French village, shatters the age-old tradition of tranquillité. Lans­quenet adheres to the “see no evil, hear no evil and speak no evil” principle. Denial is the way of life: denial of human desires, human frailties and human emotions.

The character of the Comte de Rey­naud is the embodiment of the Kali bich personality. In his world duty and tradi­tion reign supreme. He is meticulous, precise in his every action. Each precious moment is strictly regulated and account­ed for. He controls the town with an iron grip, insisting on conformity and unity. Individuality is anathema to his way of life and so the arrival of the free-spirited Vianne shakes him to the core. She epitomises the healthy Chocolate per­sonality – vivacious, charismatic, sensual, alluring and potentially dangerous.

The unconventional

After renting out the old pâtisserie from the elderly Armande, Vianne works hard to transform it into the Chocolaterie Maya. Unintentionally she breaks every social convention that the Comte holds dear. Opening a chocolaterie during the Holy Lenten fast is the ultimate affront to his principle of self-control. And there’s far worse to come.

She is unmarried and freely admits it despite the fact she has a daughter, refus­ing to invent a dead husband to hide the child’s illegitimacy. Her honesty is seen by the Comte as flaunting her wanton behaviour. Vianne refuses to accept the Comte’s offer to join the town in Sunday worship. Her faith is more pagan, and that incenses the devout Comte. Vianne’s mother was a Native American and she follows their beliefs. Her red clothes con­trast with the drab colours of the towns­people, showing her flamboyance and her tribal roots.

Chocolate was used as a drink sacred to the gods in Aztec and Mayan tradition. Vianne uses the 2,000 year-old recipe to make her drinking chocolate and flavours it with chilli as her ancestors did. Chocolate was believed to have the power to “unblock hidden yearnings and show destiny”. Vianne is a great judge of char­acter, using an ancient spinning disc to work out a customer’s preferences in chocolate by getting an insight into their psyche. It looks like magic to the un­sophisticated townsfolk. The rigid sci­entific persona cannot begin to fathom such thought processing; it is incompre­hensible to their closed minds and there­fore must be crushed amidst accusations of heresy and witchcraft.

The Comte is determined to crush her as totally as his ancestor purged the town of Huguenots centuries before. He boasts that she “presents a far lesser challenge”. He sets about poisoning the town against her, using the inexperienced and impres­sionable priest, Pierre Henri, as his pawn. In the book, it is the Church which opposes Vianne’s “immorality”, as indeed the Church once attempted to ban chocolate. The film follows the secular path, echo­ing Charles II’s attempt to close down the English chocolate houses, which he con­sidered to be “hotbeds of sedition”.

Despite the Comte’s valiant attempts to isolate her, Vianne’s charm starts to win over the town. Vianne is open-hearted and cannot comprehend the hypocrisy of social niceties. In many ways she is as innocent as her daughter, Anouk, who copes with the nomadic lifestyle she is forced to endure by having an imaginary kangaroo. All Anouk wants is a normal life, a mother who wears conventional clothes and lives a settled existence. Unable to tell her mother directly of her unhappiness at their lifestyle, she says the kangaroo has a bad paw so it must rest and stay in one town.

The negative side of the remedy

Vianne initially attracts the social out­casts of the town: the abused klepto­maniac, Josephine and Armande, the mother of the Comte’s devoted secretary. Both characters show the shadow side of the remedy.

Josephine’s character portrays the darkness of homeopathic Chocolate. She is abused by her husband, Serge, a slave to his brutality, too oppressed to break free until Vianne befriends her. (The chocolate and sugar industries have an appalling history of slavery. Even today cocoa beans are harvested by children sold into slavery by their impoverished families.)

When Josephine escapes from the clutches of her brutish husband, the Comte is outraged that the sacred marriage vows have been betrayed, until he witnesses the evidence of the beatings. He then takes Serge under his wing, determined to trans­form him into a gentleman. Vianne’s mission to restore Josephine to her full potential is far more successful. She uses encouragement rather than the humili­ation the Comte favours.

Armande is a very complex charac­ter. She is estranged from her widowed daughter, Caroline and her grandson, Luc. Caroline is besotted by the Comte and follows his rigid ways to the letter. She is terrified of losing Luc and stifles him with love. Armande, being free-spirited, cannot tolerate this, accusing Caroline of treating Luc like “a trained poodle”. Both Armande and Vianne have dysfunctional relationships with their children. Chocolate can help women with this type of mothering issue. Many women needing chocolate are unable to form close bonds with their children or partners. Treatment with homeopathic Chocolate often leads to a softening of the woman. She stops feeling the need to be so independent and it allows her to reach out to others.

Luc is fascinated by blood and gore, a rebellion against his mother’s strictness. He sees teeth, blood and a skull in the spinning wheel, indicative of the Aztec practice of human sacrifice. Chocolate was sacred to Quetzalcoatl, the plumed serpent god. It was foretold that the god would return and Montezuma welcomed Cortes in the mistaken belief he was the reincarnated god. As such the Spaniard was offered xocoatl (chocolate) in a gold cup. Traditionally the gold cups were thrown into Lake Tezcoco after use. This lake was drained by the Spaniards to retrieve the gold. Greed features heavily in the remedy profile. Chocolate can be used to treat eating disorders: bulimia and anorexia.

Chocolate was also sacred to the god­dess of fertility and is reputed to have aphrodisiac properties. Indeed Casanova used it as a precursor to Viagra and the villagers soon discover this medicinal property.

Traditionally the Mayans used choc­olate to cure coughs and fevers, typical tubercular complaints. Vianne’s wander­lust alludes to this – she shows the rolling-stone mentality that is inherent to those with tubercular heritage. She moves with the sly north wind. She is so individual that she will always be on the fringes of society and, every time she is ostracised, her natural inclination is to move to fresher pastures. She is deeply attracted to the gypsy “river rat”, Roux, being an identical spirit. She champions the cause of the “river rats” just as Armande cham­pions her.

Transformation

Armande’s motivation is that she sees a younger version of herself in Vianne. A happier self, before convention crushed her spirit, leaving her depressed and as bitter as the darkest chocolate. She is in fact suicidal, indulging in the “forbidden fruits”, given her diabetes. Rather than be condemned to a nursing home as her daughter desires, she has Vianne cook an elaborate birthday meal using choc­olate in every dish. It is literally “death by chocolate”.

The destruction of the gypsies’ boat and Armande’s suicide break Vianne’s spirit. She reverts to her old ways and pre­pares to leave the village with the north wind. Vianne’s natural reaction to rejec­tion is to move to another town. It is Josephine who saves her from herself by making her realise she is accepted by the town.

Vianne had planned a chocolate fes­tival is coincide with Easter Sunday. The shop window is filled with “pagan sym­bols” and the Comte determines to destroy this mockery, not realising how much of Christian ritual is, in fact, derived from paganism. The resurrection of Jesus is iden­tical in concept to the Quetzalcoatl myths.

The Comte gets chocolate on his lips, which proves his undoing. All that pent up self-denial breaks through and he ends up in an orgy of indulgence. Vianne and the priest are the only witnesses to his weakness and both vow to keep the secret. That knowledge of the Comte’s vulnera­bility allows the priest to liberate himself. Pierre Henri does not deliver the sermon carefully scripted for him by the Comte, choosing instead to preach tolerance and humanity: “We cannot measure goodness by what we don’t do, by what we deny ourselves, and what we exclude.”

Chocolate brought about a miracu­lous transformation in the fictional town of Lansquenet. Spirits were lifted, preju­dices demolished, and a freedom from the hypocritical constraints imposed by soci­ety was established. Harmony replaced tranquillité. Everyone was touched by its effects and the wind changes to the south wind bringing Roux back to Vianne. Choc­olate in potency has an equally magical and profound effect on the psyche.

Chocolate the remedy

In health the Chocolate personality is vivacious, charismatic, sensual and allur­ing. Although Chocolate is a plant, the remedy is often missed because the per­son needing it has such a magnetic per­sonality that they are incorrectly assumed to require an animal remedy.

The Chocolate personality is very in­dependent, never needing a man. She has a great gift for insight into people’s char­acters and thus may be unjustly accused of practising witchcraft by the narrow-minded. When stressed, she may develop an eating disorder, either binge eating or developing anorexia. She will distance herself from her nearest and dearest and withdraw into a deep depression. Choc­olate mothers find it hard to bond with their children and tend to move fre­quently, often leaving their children behind with the ex-partner. Chocolate often helps to cure deep-rooted depres­sion especially when associated with acne and an addiction to chocolate.

Theobroma cacao

“The cocoa bean is a phenomenon which nature has never repeated.

Never have so many qualities been brought together

in so small a fruit.” Alexander von Humboldt (1769-1859)

With tiny star-shaped flowers and sur­prisingly large pods popping straight from its trunk and branches the cacao tree is the source of chocolate. The early history of cacao cultivation remains a mystery with many believing the Aztecs to be the first to develop chocolate. However, the word cacao is Mayan (from Central America) and analysis of residue from a ceramic “teapot” sug­gests that the Maya and their ancestors may have been gobbling chocolate as far back as the Olmec civilization some 3,000 years ago. Revered as a tree of divine origin by the Central Americans, the Swedish botanist Carl Linnaeus reflected this sentiment when he gave the tree its botanical name Theobroma cacao. Theobroma in Greek means “food of the Gods”.

The cacao tree

A fussy plant with exacting tempera­ture, moisture and soil requirements, the cacao tree thrives almost exclusively in the narrow tropical belt, 10 to 20 degrees north and south of the equator. In this specialised habitat each tree pro­duces thousands of flowers but only around 20 to 30 get pollinated and go on to produce the pod-like fruits. These pods vary in size, shape, colour and tex­ture and each pod contains around 20 to 60 almond-shaped seeds surrounded by a satin white, sticky sweet pulp. It is these beans that give us our luscious chocolate but only after they have gone through the elaborate process of fer­mentation, drying, roasting, grinding, extraction, mixing and conching. Over the years the extensive cultivation and interbreeding of the cacao trees have produced three major cultivar groups. They are the rarer, prima donna-like Criollo, the high yielding, hardy and dis­ease-resistant Forastero and the Criollo-Forastero hybrid, the Trinitario.

Chocolate

More than 90 per cent of the world’s mass-produced chocolates are made from the harsh and bitter Forastero beans and these are graded as “bulk” or “ordinary” except for the Nacional Arriba, a forastero variety grown solely in Ecuador which is considered a fine or flavour cacao. The almost bitter-free Criollo and Trinitario beans are the most sought after by chocolatiers and connoisseurs for their fine and delicate flavours and are used to make the “very fine” grade chocolates. Due to their high cocoa butter content, chocolates made from fine grade beans have a rich, vel­vety texture and melt just below body temperature with a “finish” flavour that is neither bitter nor astringent.

Health benefits

The beans contain several biologically active constituents and recent studies and reviews indicate that a regular intake of chocolate may have the poten­tial to reduce cardiovascular diseases. Although stearic acid in the cocoa but­ter is a saturated fat, it does not raise LDL cholesterol (bad cholesterol) as it is converted to a heart-healthy mono­unsaturated fat in the liver.

And finally for chocolate to leave an even better taste in our mouth we can buy chocolate that is “equitably-traded” to help end poverty through sustainable commercial trade.

Colocynthis

In recent years we have developed our homeopathic understanding of reme­dies in groups and families. We have found, for example, that remedies which come from the same family of plants all share a number of characteristics. This is very helpful in practice. The two cases I will relate in this article have been treated with different remedies from the Cucumber family but you will see that the two patients are very alike in their most important characteristics.

The Cucumber family is part of a larger family called the Violales. Through his brilliant and insightful work, the well-known Indian homeopath Rajan Sankaran has demonstrated that the remedies in this plant family share both common physical sensations and com­mon mental states. The pains tend to be cutting, stabbing, stitching or pinching in nature. At a mental level they feel vex­ation and chagrin and the main feeling is that they do not want to be disturbed. They want to be left alone, to rest and they would like to avoid people. Very char­acteristically, they become irritable when questioned. What they most want is quiet­ness, calm and stillness. In the extreme they can become malicious and violent.

There are other members of the Cucumber family which are well-known plants including Cucubita citrullus (water melon), Cucubita pepo (pump­kin) and Elaterium (squirting cucum­ber). These are less well-known remedies but again we can find symptoms which show the general Cucumber family theme. For example, in Cucubita cit­rullus you find “irritable on the slight­est provocation or controversy. Irritable, especially with children. Violent anger.” And in Elaterium we have: “cramping, tearing in the abdomen, with constipa­tion. Violent pains in bowels, with cramps in the abdomen, many places drawn up in knots”. These are very sim­ilar symptoms to that in Colocynthis.

It is fascinating to see the similarities with the symptom pictures of remedies of the same family. This is not only seen in plant families but also in animals from the same family and minerals from the same row or column in the periodic table. It is just one more way in which we can find help in selecting the right remedy for our patients and also one more aspect which increases our sense of fas­cination and wonder at homeopathy.

Cuprum metallicum

Goddess of love and beauty

To the ancients and the alchemists, cop­per was imbued with the nature and inner qualities of Aphrodite or Venus: the goddess of beauty and love, of cre­ativity and procreation and of sexual desire. Likewise, in astrology copper is associated with the planet Venus, which graces the night sky with a radiant beauty that outshines all other heavenly bodies. Copper delights the eye; it has lovely warmth, richness and depth of colour, which is friendly and inviting, and worn decoratively it clasps the arm with intimate, yielding softness. Trad­itionally worn as a talisman to protect the wearer against the risk of cholera and ease the stiffness and pains of arthri­tis, it is protective, nurturing and caring.

There are various versions of the birth of this most exquisite goddess, each revealing a different aspect of the col­lective unconscious. One of the most ancient and primal was that she arose naked from the foam of the sea, riding on a scallop shell, borne by gentle spir­its of the wind, and alighted on the island of Cyprus. As she stepped ashore, spring blossomed into fullness and her joy, laughter and desire swept over the land. Wherever her delicate feet touched the earth, grass and flowers sprang into being; everywhere she drew forth the hidden promise of life. Petals of red and pink roses were strewn in her path. Her five graces attended her: Flowering, Growth, Beauty, Joy and Radiance. In this myth she is visualised as an aspect of the great mother goddess herself, and symbolises the emergence of all life from the sea. Botticelli’s masterpiece, The Birth of Venus, incomparably captures the enchanting image of the goddess’ voyage towards Cyprus on her mollusc shell. Significantly, Cyprus was the main source of copper in classical times.

The emasculated father

In later times, a more primitive, con­voluted (psychopathological) explana­tion for her birth was added: a story sometimes metaphorically relevant to the emotional life of Cuprum. As Aeschylus tells us: “The great and amorous sky (Ouranos) curved over the earth (Gaia) and lay upon her as a true lover.” From this repeated union the Titans were born. Ouranos hated and feared his progeny and hid them within the folds of Gaia’s body. In revenge, Mother Earth persuaded the Titans to attack their father. Her youngest son, Kronos, lay in wait for him, and when Ouranos descended to couple with Gaia, he severed his father’s genitals with a sickle and caste the dismembered organs into the sea. Amidst the foaming of sea and semen arose the form of a most beautiful woman – the goddess Aphrodite. This myth establishes her pri­macy: she is more ancient and primor­dial than the Olympian gods.

The mother-metal

Copper is the mother-metal of civilisa­tion; the first metal to be discovered and fashioned into useful and decorative implements. The Copper Age gave birth to the Bronze Age through the alloying of tin to copper. Bronze became the favoured material for the sculptor and was employed in the creation of musi­cal instruments. The dominance of cop­per coincided with the pre-eminence of the worship of the feminine by many dif­ferent cultures in the East and West. The advent of iron and the Iron Age, which eclipsed copper, coincided with the rise of the patriarchal society, based upon the power of the warrior archetype (Ferrum). The mother was suppressed and minimised as these societies sought to force the power of the feminine into an obscure and subservient role, dis­crediting those of her symbols, such as the serpent, that could not easily be assimilated.

The Cuprum remedy picture arises from the ever-present domination of the feminine by the masculine principle, with all its attendant suppression, injustice, discrimination and exploitation. The same sequence, of copper yielding to iron, is seen in the evolving physiology of life forms. In the transition from marine invertebrate to vertebrate life, the role of copper is taken over by iron in the shift from haemocyanin, neces­sary for water breathing, to haemoglo­bin for the breathing of air.

Copper is the mother-metal of the sea and its creatures.

A wanton metal

Aphrodite was sensual, seductive, and promiscuous and the protectress of cour­tesans and prostitutes. Because of the ease with which the metal combined with all the acids and transformed, the alchemists named copper “the harlot of metals”. Homeopathy calls her “shame­less”. In mythology Aphrodite was mar­ried to Hephaistos, God of the Forge, the divine craftsman and inventive genius (Roman – Vulcan; homeopathic – Sulphur). He had a misshapen foot and walked with a limp. In his subterranean smithy, he used volcanic fires to fashion the most beautiful objects – exquisite artworks, utensils, weapons and armour for the gods and heroes.

How often is a beautiful young woman seen in the company of an unprepossessing, older man who, in return for her favours, keeps her, pam­pers her and showers her with jewellery and expensive gifts? She may well be a Cuprum and he a Sulphur. The arche­type loves to be doted upon and spoilt and delights in adornment and luxury. They have a particular preference for wearing gold. In the myth, Aphrodite and Ares (Ferrum) cuckold Hephaistos; together they form the eternal triangle of husband, wife and lover. This trian­gle, fraught with passion, love, jealousy, deceit, resentment, anger and hate, is reflected in the geology of the Earth. The most abundant and important copper ore is chalcopyrite, a copper-iron-sul­phide: literally a combination of Aphrodite, Ares and Hephaistos or Cuprum, Ferrum and Sulphur. Myth and fact walk hand in hand.

Copper and colour

Copper and gold are the only metals that are vividly coloured but it is the ores and salts of copper, not gold, that glorify nature’s palette with an exquisite spec­trum of colours. The pure metal varies from yellow-red through orange-red, rose-red, sunset-red to brownish-red. It possesses a rich, honey-like beauty. Honey belongs to the language of love – honeyed words, honeyed lips and the honey-colour of semen. When bur­nished, copper becomes fiery and shim­mers intensely like gold. It burns with a brilliant blue-green flame tinged at the tips with red. Ultra-thin leaf-copper appears bluish-green.

Copper combines in nature with all the acids and in doing so transforms into magnificent greens, blues and violet, as well as reds, oranges and yellows. Cuprum is therefore an important fun­damental remedy of the materia medica and influences all the chakras. When exposed to the atmosphere, the com­bined effect of moisture and carbon dioxide (carbonic acid) causes the metal to develop a thin coating of green rust known as patina, which protects it against further corrosion and adds a noble beauty to copper works of art. Once clad in its mantle of green, copper can resist the ravages of time.

Green is the colour of the fourth or love chakra; Cuprum is a remedy for the pangs of unrequited love and for obses­sive love. Green is also the colour of nature and plant life; Cuprum loves gar­dens and gardening.

Red – the first chakra

The presence of red is vibrantly visible in copper; it is a fiery passion glowing within the metal. It connects Cuprum to the first chakra and also to Ferrum, which, through haemoglobin, is respon­sible for the red colour of blood. This fundamental relationship between Cuprum (copper) and Ferrum (iron) reflects a deeper one connecting the Goddess of Love, mischievous, seduc­tive, fun-loving, golden Aphrodite, with the God of War, blood-thirsty, head­strong, dour, ever-amorous Ares – an eternal, tempestuous relationship forged in heaven, but far from heavenly. To­gether, they represent the basic instincts of survival, identified by Freud as sex and aggression.

Sex comprises all the instincts based on the reproduction of the species and aggression comprises all the instincts based upon survival, attack and defence of the self. The element connected with the first chakra is earth, symbolic of the matter into which we descend through incarnation, but also the “citadel” of our situation, which must be defended and preserved. Cuprum shares with Ferrum a war-like perception of life and the necessity for preparedness, profi­ciency and performance to avoid being disadvantaged or displaced. Much of their push for excellence and superior­ity may be subconsciously due to a deter­mination to avoid vulnerability.

The love and union between Aphrodite and Ares is symbolically cel­ebrated in the simple solenoid, one of the basic elements of electro-technology. The phallic rod of iron is enfolded and wrapped round by coils of copper wire through which flows an electric current that magnetises and activates the iron. Feminine dawn and dusk (Cuprum) her­ald with glorious russet rays the ascent and descent of the masculine sun: the return and departure of the hero (Ferrum). These are the special times of Cuprum, beneficial times of change and transition, of renewal and replenishment – and times for making love.

Orange – the second chakra

Orange is the colour most closely related to the nature and personality of Cuprum, seen in the common yellow-red shade – a golden, honey-like colour. This is the colour of the second or sacral (pelvic) chakra, which is associated with the element water and functionally with the genito-urinary tract and the lower, small intestine. Orange is feminine red and yin. In orange, the life frequency has moved upwards, outwards and away from the dense earthiness, groundedness and aggressive passion of red. The pas­sion remains, but no longer anchored to issues of survival and security; orange broadens life, looks for change, moves on, initiates and seeks to express itself uniquely and creatively. Like water, through expansion, orange and Cuprum can overcome barriers, even shatter rocks and dissolve obstacles: a metaphor for the breaking up and dissipation of deeply repressed emotions, destructive habituation and the dire effects of sup­pressed function. The energy of the sec­ond chakra is expressed through change, motion, duality, polarity, desire, free­dom and the interplay between yin and yang: a ceaseless flow that brings con­stant change – a quality inherent in water, copper and electricity.

The orange/copper personality

Both orange and Cuprum are extroverts and sociable; they love parties, dancing and singing, are full of fun, mirth and mischief and love to mimic and tease. They are flirtatious, witty and socially and sexually confident. To achieve its ends orange uses diplomacy, seduction and, if needed, deceit and is willing to bide its time. In their negative presen­tation, however, they cease to flow – they stagnate, contract, suppress and become closed, rigid and fixed in their emotions, holding onto grief and grudge. Often there is outrage at having been exposed to injustice, cruelty or severe abuse. Such an injured Cuprum loses her burnish and becomes dull copper – mat and muddy – unsociable, introverted and restrained – yet with seething, pent-up currents of repressed suffering always in dan­ger of venting violently, either by furi­ous, emotional outbursts or through cramps, spasms and even convulsions. When indicated, homeopathic Cuprum has the power to dissolve, resolve and establish a healing flow.

Flow and sensitivity

Like silver, copper possesses an inner, fluid state revealed in its plasticity: the ease with which it can be fashioned by hammering and pressing without crack­ing (malleability) and its ability to be drawn into extremely thin wires with­out breaking (ductility). This quality of liquidity and flow is paralleled by the metal’s excellent electrical and heat con­ductivity; second only to silver. Con­ductivity, in human terms, indicates sensitivity to both their inner and outer environment, manifest in the Cuprum individual as intense aesthetic and sen­sual awareness, which affords them immense pleasure. Their love of beauty in all its forms embraces both nature and culture. Cuprum espouses especially the ephemeral and elusive beauties, those that bud, blossom and eventually blanch: a magnificent sunset, the fresh­ness of dawn, the magic of spring, the beauty of a garden, the loveliness of a countenance, the fickleness of fashion and the act of love; ephemeral yet eter­nal, because always renewable. Though transient, Aphrodisiacal beauty makes everyday life more charming, more civilised and more passionate. However, Cuprum’s sense of the beautiful can sur­pass that which simply pleases the eye – the formal perfection of an image, the physical attraction of a lover – and can touch that which lies beyond, as, when in profound sexual union, pleasure transports to ecstasy and becomes sanc­tified.

Since antiquity, musical instruments have been fashioned out of copper and bronze, hence it is not surprising that the copper-being loves music, dancing and singing. They are hypersensitive to touch, especially an intimate caress, and to being observed, especially the caress­ing glance of an admirer. Their tolerance for pain is low. The charisma of a strong, magnetic personality can easily infatu­ate them. They pick up on human man­nerisms and frailty and can make both the butt of their gift of mimicry and their wicked wit. They have a telepathic awareness of other people’s thoughts and feelings. These may impinge uncom­fortably on their emotional state. They have well developed “gut instincts” about people and situations.

Cuprum and water

The spasmodic conditions of the Cuprum clinical picture – cough, colic, spasms, hiccough and vomiting are all relieved by drinking cold water. All the associations of copper point to its pro­found relationship to water; the same conclusion was common to many tra­ditions. Greek Aphrodite arose from the ocean-foam. The Aztecs regarded cop­per as the symbol for water and, by extension, equally the symbol for plant life; a symbolism highlighted by the green patina of old copper. Green and red were of equal potency, both express­ing the life force and both vigorously manifest in copper. With intuitive in­sight, their myth perceived that copper­coloured sunbeams are the celestial pathways for water, only visible when they shaft through dank mists and storm clouds, penetrating the earth to great depths where the water is transformed into copper. The myth of another cul­ture envisaged copper coming down from a red heaven of blood, fire, war and divine justice in the form of thun­derbolts that cleave the earth and deposit the red, fiery metal.

The homeopathic provings of Cuprum enable us to unravel the veiled wisdom implicit in these cultural myths, just as we can interpret the personal, dream myths of patients. In psychology, water represents the energy of the uncon­scious and also its mysterious depths and perils. These depths are known as the shadow: the personal abyss. On the spir­itual path of unfoldment, the energy of the unconscious needs to be expressed: the repressed, unrealised and undevel­oped aspects of the Self must be resur­rected, resolved and brought to fulfilment. These myths portray in lurid metaphor the reverse process, by which the traumas, storms and battles de­manded by destiny in the “red heaven” of life, are violently thrust into the inte­rior as a Cuprum psychopathological state instead of being lived-out and over­come. Implosion of such destructive energy must ultimately lead to explo­sion. Note well the phallic words I have used to convey the myth image: shaft, penetrating, thunderbolt, cleaving! The deadly inversion of copper energy is often the effect of masculine oppression and abuse, often sexual.

Suppression – Cuprum’s Nemesis

Cuprum must flow outwards emotion­ally, sexually and functionally. Her enormous, externalising energy may not be stifled. Throughout the clinical pic­ture of Cuprum we witness the phe­nomenon of suppression: things that should come out on to the surface, fail to do so, due to either non-development or suppression. On the emotional plane, powerful feelings and impulses – from injury (especially head injury), shock, fright, grief, bereavement, disappointed love, anger, jealousy, humiliation, assault, abuse and rape – are repressed. In order to repress intense emotions, the Cuprum subject has to control and rigidly close down all tender feelings, needs, instincts, self-expression and even their sexuality. In achieving this they become extremely closed, serious, cold, rigid and uncompromising. They adopt a bureaucratic-like fidelity to responsi­bility, ambition, rules and regulations, order and work. What is marked in Cuprum is the total nature of the close-down and the tendency for this almost absolute control to break down period­ically and unpredictably, with outbursts of most violent emotions. In extreme cases, in the throes of such an emotional convulsion their behaviour is maniacal: they turn on their adversary with all the savagery of a wild-eyed, harlot – spit­ting, scratching, biting, striking and pulling hair.

Repression of the feminine

In myth, the inherent Aphrodite energy within all women rose from the bosom of mother ocean as an independent, all-powerful, generative, primal force, rul­ing both heaven and earth, or was born out of the emasculation of Ouranos, which symbolises liberation from the misogynistic domination of the male principle. Repression of the feminine in any form is a transgression against this freedom, independence and power and will ultimately bring dysfunction or pathology, which may become a Cuprum state. A vital force that is not recognised and valued becomes nega­tive. The use of the contraceptive pill is an abuse of the feminine through sup­pression of the procreative aspect of the goddess and must exact its penalty. The often unconscious repression of the fem­inine may be a defensive response against male chauvinism, abuse, domination and neglect. The myth of the disembodied genitals has then another meaning: the soulless, faceless phallus in the night may represent the rapist, but also a barren relationship devoid of love, beauty and grace in which release and self-gratifi­cation are the motive for intimacy. Sexuality has lost its voluptuous magic; it is neither sin nor sacrament. Gone are its wondrous colours, neutralised to the grey of sexual platitude. To survive, Cup-rum turns off the honey of her love, turns off Aphrodite, and she, the most tactile and lovely of archetypes, becomes averse to touch and the eye of the be­holder. She withdraws her caring, nur­turing, vulnerable, sensual, feminine nature and asserts her critical, domi­neering, exacting, masculine aspect: a patina with which she masks her grief, her humiliation and her indignation.

The return of Aphrodite – the apotheosis of Cuprum

Aphrodite always returns to the sea, immersing herself in the pulsing rhythms of the tide and restoring her virginity. So it is between lovers whose souls touch; immersed in the enveloping, aquatic world of the goddess; all is flow, mois­ture, foam and wavelike movement; streams of energy which unite and mount to climactic liquefaction, bringing that ephemeral moment when the partner assumes an incandescent beauty and golden Aphrodite grants a glimpse of eter­nity. It is always unique; it is always the first time: a paean to Cuprum!

Fagopyrum esculentum

Buckwheat belongs to the polygo­naceae plant family. In the second half of the 20th century it became almost forgotten as a food in Britain although it had been one of our staple flours. In past centuries it was one of the standard British agricultural crops and was grown throughout Europe. Buckwheat is still popular in Eastern Europe where it is eaten as a “grain”, in blinis (buckwheat pancakes) and in bread and it remains a staple in Japan eaten as “Soba” noodles. In the past 20 years it is steadily gaining in popularity as a naturally gluten­free alternative to wheat and buckwheat flour is now widely available in supermarkets. The pyramidal reddish seeds contain all the essential amino acids and it is high in long­chain carbohydrates giving it a good G­I index.

As an agricultural crop it is extremely undemanding, will grow without fertil ­isers on the poorest of soils and, if the green parts of the plant are ploughed back in, it improves the soil and allows growth of other crops. The green matter can also be used as feed for horses. It has a short growing season of three months and despite its variable yields is gaining in popularity among organic farmers.

The remedy Fagopyrum esculentum, prepared from the whole mature plant, was proved by Hichcock in 1873 who found it curative when indicated in eczema, itching without an eruption and inflammatory arthritis. It has symptoms in common with Sulphur, Sepia, Lycopodium and Thuja which are often prescribed instead.

Ferrum metallicum

Warrior archetype

Though the world entered the new mil­lennium with bright hopes for a new and better future, possibly even an idyllic, peaceful Golden Age, strife and conflict are escalating. Never a day goes by without news of some act of savagery and destruction. The forces of disorder are proliferating, seeking to undermine stability and establish anarchy. Today violence has never been more indis­criminate. We are yet in the grip of the Iron Age, the gods of war remain insa­tiable, and the shadow-warrior moves in our midst.

An ambivalent metal

It has been the destiny of iron more than any other metal to serve the forces of war and destruction, yet, like all the met­als, it possesses a profound ambivalence. The intuitive response of ancient civili­sations to this powerful substance emphasises its symbolic ambiguity. The Aztecs prized meteoric iron as a celes­tial and sacred metal falling from heaven as a gift from the gods, whilst the Egyptians equated it with the bones of Set, a destructive, diabolical divinity, worshipped by some, execrated by others, but universally feared. He embodied primeval power perverted to wicked ends and was perceived as a negative force in the cosmic and moral conflict between good and evil.

Iron-copper polarity

Ancient Chinese tradition sees iron and copper as polar opposites, iron being base, yang, masculine, a fire element and related to the colour red, while copper is noble, yin, feminine, a water element and related to the colour black. Other cosmologies perceived the same con­tention: hard, crude, rigid, dark iron when contrasted with soft, subtle, warm, shining copper, appearing as the dark or shadow aspect – “lord of darkness and night” – the perfidious purveyor of car­nage and death, while copper repre­sented brightness, light and love. In modern myth, Tolkien portrays a cor­responding distinction between the loathsome, bestial, warlike orcs and the exquisite, gentle, spiritual elves, and like­wise between Gandalf, the noble war­rior wizard and Saruman, the black-hearted, fallen wizard. Darth Vader of Sky Wars, masked in steel, is the quintessential dark warrior, who, like Saruman, is a manifestation of mali­cious and misguided power. His laboured breathing is in keeping with the marked asthmatic tendency of Ferrum (invari­ably worse at midnight). The “Set-com­plex” of virtue corrupted, demonstrated by these two mythical beings, is sym­bolised in the inexorable corrosion and disintegration of iron over time to a rav­aged travesty of its pristine form.

A vital metal

As the molten globe of the newly cre­ated Earth began to cool, the closely related elements, iron and nickel, grav­itated to form the core of the planet. Here, their magnetic, ethereal energies radiate the masculine and feminine forces of Gaia. Iron is essential to the “life” of the planet. It is also vital to the life processes of all plants and animals. It is the core atom of haemoglobin, the respiratory pigment of mammals. In the human being it therefore holds centre-stage, built into the blood, which together with the heart, expresses the very pulse and passion of the ego. Hence, Ferrum must be regarded as one of the most fundamental archetypes in the human psyche and its relationship to haemoglobin, blood and the fire of the ego confirms the ancient knowledge of its kinship with the colour red.

Red and the body

Physically, red signifies fever and this is common to the acute Ferrum state, but even more so for Ferrum’s “tissue salt”, Ferrum phosphoricum, a remedy as important as Aconite and Belladonna in treating fever. Organically, red indicates the blood, heart, circulation and blood vessels, and organs that are particularly rich in blood – the thyroid, lungs, liver, spleen, reproductive organs and mus­cles. Organ relationships, when pro­nounced, often provide insight into nature and temperament. Ferrum is above all splenic, sanguine and choleric.

Red and the spleen

The spleen symbolises anger, indigna­tion, irascibility and especially rancour and bitter resentment. A Ferrum knows well how to nurse a grudge and “vent his spleen”. True to the warrior code, the cause of such grievance is invariably a betrayal of trust, breach of loyalty or a slight to reputation. The lower Ferrum is incensed by the least opposition or challenge to his authority. He is always right and cannot tolerate contradiction or criticism which he can never forgive; the offender will either be ostracised or become the victim of reprisal. Their anger is inordinate – it is wrath, rage and fury – when the “blood is up” they “see red”!

Red and the blood

In the sanguine disposition, the blood runs fast and furious, accompanied by sparkling eyes, a buoyant, jaunty air and flushed countenance. Their manner is assured, confident and optimistic and if put to the test they are found indomit­able and courageous. True to the medi­eval meaning of sanguine, if called upon, they are willing (sometimes eager) to shed blood, even their own. How could it be otherwise with iron, the element of blood and the implement of war? They are excitable, warm, romantic, ardent and animated, given to passions and enthusiasms. They believe, love and hate with passion. Without focus they decline into boredom.

Red and the lungs

Ferrum has a particular affinity for the lungs and has often been used success­fully in the treatment of asthma, par­ticularly when exercise-induced, and tuberculosis, especially the incipient stage in young people. This relationship to TB imparts to the archetype a rest­less, romantic, adventurous spirit that loves excitement, stimulation and chal­lenge; an idealistic, often altruistic, need to bring about change either by refor­mation or revolution; and a sense of the imminence of death.

Red and the root chakra

Red and Ferrum are principally related to the first or root chakra, a dense, swirling vortex of vital-force energy sit­uated at the base of the pelvis. Physically and energetically it is our very founda­tion, providing the stability and security upon which our vitality, health and sur­vival depend. The Ferrum martial arts exponent aligns his stance with this pyra­mid of power, giving him poise, balance and the potential for explosive, yet con­trolled, action or reaction. He taps into the male and female vitality of the earth core with which he resonates, and is thus imbued with the panther-like strength and grace of the warrior-dancer.

Security and survival

The consciousness of the root chakra is at the instinctual level, focused on sur­vival, encompassing the primal, animal instincts of sex and aggression. Threat to survival stimulates the primitive, rep­tilian brain and the amygdala (memory brain), which in turn trigger the con­scious brain (the cortex), enabling the body to react instantaneously with an adrenaline response: fight or flight. In the typical Ferrum archetype, these path­ways possess a primed, innate tension, like a tightly drawn bow; they are ever alert, watchful and wary. Here is a man who sleeps with one eye open and watches his back. In the presence of such a hyper-vigilant state, usually due to traumatic experiences in the past life of the individual, his family or his people, a perceived offence or insult can pre­cipitate an excessive and inappropri­ate reptilian amygdala response that swamps and overrides the rational brain, leading to an emotional crisis that can be violent and out of all proportion to the event. Road rage and wife-beating are of this order. In such a taut indi­vidual, abuse of alcohol may lead to tragedy.

Life is war

To Ferrum, life is a state of war, siege, attack and counter-attack. There is always an enemy; the world and human­ity are inherently hostile. This harks back to a time when our lives were under constant threat and the strength and vig­ilance of the first chakra were essential to survival. This paranoid outlook may result from a traumatic upbringing in which the young Ferrum is exposed to physical, verbal and emotional abuse. Attempts may have been made to break his spirit by severe beatings, harsh coer­cion, or being cruelly confined, but instead of breaking, his spirit is tempered and hardened like steel. He will become strong, courageous and steadfast, the antithesis of those who abused him, or he will move to the dark side and become the abused abuser, perpetuating a sordid sequence. Ferrum is often the remedy for such a history, but it is even more specific for the treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder, for those who have experienced the horrors of war and witnessed carnage and are suffering the consequences.

The pioneer

The root chakra is also concerned with tribe, tradition, territory, hierarchy, rit­ual, propagation, nourishment, rest, warmth and shelter, all of which urge humanity towards establishing founda­tions, villages, farms, cultures and even­tually civilisations. Fundamentally, Ferrum is a man of the earth; iron can be fashioned into a sword, but also into a ploughshare. All the ancient war-gods evolved culturally from divinities pre­viously linked to vegetation and agri­culture. Ferrum is a pioneer, an explorer and an adventurer. He has a burning desire to discover, to investigate, to research, to probe ever more deeply and to widen his horizons and territory.

Infused with the energy of the first chakra he has the zeal, drive, enterprise and energy to build great things from very little, just as the giant oak grows from the tiny acorn. He is a born ini­tiator and strategist and a fine leader of men. He is a pioneer-soldier, therefore also an invader and a conqueror. His acquisitive gaze may extend to territory that belongs to others, even to nature.

Iron and the intellect

Iron relates to the intellect rather than the heart, and its use has paralleled the evolution of human civilisation. The great iron ore deposits of the planet extend in a mighty belt across the tem­perate zones of the entire northern hemi­sphere. These areas have been likened to the chest and thorax of the planet, while the tropical and equatorial regions constitute the centre of metabolism. We see here the correspondence between iron, lungs, haemoglobin, oxygenation and intellectualisation. It was in this northern temperate zone that the mind of man reached that level of technolog­ical consciousness that iron would be essential for its expression. The iron deposits are present just where they were required, and more curious still, the earth’s great coal deposits are found in the same regions, following the iron belt through the northern continents. Iron and coal provided a combination essen­tial for the fabrication of steel and the industrial revolution. One without the other would not have sufficed.

Conqueror of nature

Ferrum’s logic is masculine and heavily left cerebral. He represents the mod­ern mind coloured by the bleak Newtonian vision of today’s science. Such a pragmatic intellect is closed to subtle concepts such as homeopathy and despises God as an unscientific delusion. He is militant and needs to attack and crush these fallacies with his scientific fundamentalism. The cosmos of the ancients, filled as it was with purpose and intelligence and driven by the love of God for the benefit of man, is lost to him, and replaced by a merciless, goal-less, clockwork machine. With the loss of God comes the loss of nature. He no longer experiences himself as a child nourished at her breast, sheltered and carried. He is an alien warrior in an alien environment, a stranger to the world with which he is at war.

With a godless heaven above and a hostile environment below, the scientist Ferrum sets about the conquering of mother earth, overwhelming her and binding her with shackles of iron, put­ting her to his own use, indifferent to the consequences. This is the paradox of iron: at the core it is the life force of Gaia, but wrested from the earth and forged into the artefacts and weapons of technology it defiles and destroys the planet. The war is witnessed in the des­ecration of our environment and the fortresses proliferate everywhere: ugly man-made iron and concrete structures spewing forth contamination. The grim, unrepentant warrior standing amidst the devastation is often a Ferrum. In Lord of the Rings, Saruman the corrupt magi­cian embodies the soulless scientist who, to his own ends, manipulates life through perverse technology and wages war against the forces of good.

Physical profile

The archetype can often be recognised by their outer appearance, carriage and mannerisms. The features are strong and well-defined, characterised by a square, forceful jaw, a wide brow and a firm, determined mouth. The jaw is often jut­ting and cleft. The glance is direct from steely eyes. The expression can be dig­nified, composed, assertive, resolute, hard, intimidating, arrogant, pugna­cious, or even cruel, depending on char­acter and circumstance. In youth, they are athletic and muscular, their condi­tion toned by disciplined activity and frequently developed by “pumping iron” in the gym. Their bearing is often erect and military. In middle age they tend to become stiff and corpulent. If balanced, they bear themselves with dignity, have an air of authority and a powerful pres ence; if overblown, they may swagger and strut, appearing arrogant, over­bearing or even pompous.

God of war – Ares

The god of war has two aspects, one negative – the Greek Ares, and the other positive – the Roman Mars. Ares was the least respected and honoured of the Olympians. The Greeks regarded him as the embodiment of the destructive forces of war: a crass, mindless, blood­thirsty warmonger, delighting in blood­shed, slaughter and strife, in contrast to the goddess Athene, who represented the sober tactics and strategy of war, especially when used to defend the com­munity. His sons Deimos (Fear) and Phobos (Panic) attended him. His name is synonymous with “the frenzy of fight­ing” and “the warrior’s ecstasy”. These appellations link him to Dionysos (Bacchus) and Wotan (Teutonic Lord of Ecstasy), hence to Thuja and Lac caninum respectively. He is the Olympian “actionman”. His modern equivalent is the sportsman for whom winning is everything. His approach is uncompro­mising; he will do anything to overcome the opposition (enemy); no holds barred. He excels at contact sports in which he can give free rein to his raw, and often bloody, aggression. They are frequently penalised for fouls, against which they offer fierce, incredulous protest, argu­ing with the referee, swearing, making vulgar gestures and getting into punch-ups with opponents and spectators. Unfortunately, the aggression that brings them success on the playing field can spill over into their private lives and dis­credit them. They are often found in the ranks of professional boxers and wrestlers, idolised by their fans for behaviour which in cricket, tennis or athletics would be frowned upon. They are not averse to taking banned sub­stances to boost their performance.

Ares the dancer

Ares was the son of Zeus and Hera, the father and mother figures of the Olympian pantheon. Hera entrusted his early education to the phallic god Priapus, who first instructed him in dancing and then in every manly sport and the skills of a warrior. This sequence is significant as dancing, especially ballet, provides an excellent foundation for any activity that demands great co-ordination, grace and athleticism. In martial arts the basic exercise movements are performed as if executing a solitary dance. The Ares archetype is in his body; his emotions and body are one; he has animal energy and reflexes. Many a Ferrum becomes a professional performer, dancer or acro­bat, and is admired for his passion, intensity, athleticism, stamina, inter­pretation and technique. Muhammad Ali embodied the combined qualities of warrior and dancer.

Ares the lover

Ares was the long-term lover of Aphro­dite, the goddess of love and beauty, sexuality and sensuality (Cuprum, the next archetype of this series). Their rela­tionship was open, tempestuous and pas­sionate, punctuated by ruptures and reunions, but remained irresistible and insatiable. True to his divine counter­part, Ferrum is capable of loving a woman and yet having sexual adven­tures on the side. He has a lusty, ardent nature and is essentially amoral. His sex­uality is earthy, strong and confident, undaunted by a woman’s beauty or experience. To be the chosen lover of the most desirable and sexually discerning goddess of all indicates that the arche­type comes highly recommended. In some the libido energy is transmuted into artistic creativity.

God of war – Mars

The Romans held Mars in high regard, second only to Jupiter in importance, and revered him as the founding god of Rome and its divine protector. To the youth of today, his equivalent would be Superman, Batman or Spiderman, guardians of the community, the epit­ome of manly strength, courage and fair play. In sport he could be a man like Lance Armstrong, who fights testicular cancer with secondary tumours in the lungs and brain, and then indomitably presses on to triumph seven times in the Tour de France and promotes fund rais­ing for cancer research. The archetype must always be doing and achieving. They are men who must have a chal­lenge. They always want to go further, climb higher, dive deeper, go faster and prove that they are stronger and fitter than the rest.

The saying: “when the going gets tough, the tough get going” suits this Ferrum perfectly. They are often res­cuers, placing their own lives in jeop­ardy to save others. They will not desert a companion in distress. These adven­turers, although attracted to challenges that are often potentially dangerous, are not reckless. Their watch- words are always – preparedness, proficiency and performance. They know there is no margin for error; there may be only one chance. When it comes to their equip­ment every nut and bolt will be meticu­lously checked. When they act they do so like the samurai: leaping into battle with the full potential of the ki, vital energy, at their disposal. For Ferrum there is only one way to face the battle of life – frontally, and only one direction to move – forward! The Mars-type Ferrum moves also upwards, achiev­ing pre-eminence in any field of endeav­our they undertake. Can one doubt that the Ferrum executive entering the board­room is a gladiator girding his or her loins for battle? His is the “iron fist in a velvet glove”; she is the “iron lady”. Though they may be feared, they have earned both respect and loyalty.

High warrior

The peace-loving Ruskin came to the dreadful conclusion that “ … war is the foundation of all the arts … the foun­dation of all the high virtues and fac­ulties of men … all the great nations were nourished in war and wasted in peace… born in war died in peace.” In Europe and Japan in medieval times, out of the savagery of war blossomed a noble morality. Chivalry became the child of feudalism. In Japan, Bushido became the code of moral principles, which the samurai were required to observe. The high warrior embodies these precepts and in his loftiest form will fight and lay down his life for jus­tice and the rights of others. He is the champion, liberator, rescuer and reformer. Being a warrior at this level is a total way of life driven by a code that is unuttered and unwritten, inscribed only on the tablets of the heart

Gelsemium

Gelsemium the flower

Gelsemium sempervirens is a yellow flowering plant native to North and Central America and found in coastal regions in moist woodlands from Vir­ginia to Mexico. It is a very attractive creeper that can climb up host trees to a great height, often hanging in tresses from one to the other. It is evergreen with a woody, twining stem which contains a milky juice and bears opposite, shin­ing and evergreen lancet shaped leaves and clusters of from one to five large funnel-shaped fragrant yellow flowers in early spring. The flowers are her­maphrodite (have both male and female organs) and are pollinated by insects. The fruit is composed of two separable, jointed pods containing numerous, flat winged seeds. The roots form runners, a stem or rhizome that can extend great distances underground before shooting up as another plant.

Gelsemium is also called yellow jasmine, false jasmine, Caroline jasmine and wild woodbine. Its name comes from the Italian word gelsomino, mean­ing jasmine and is not to be confused with the true yellow jasmine of Madeira which is also known as gelseminum but has only two stamens whereas gelse­mium has five.

All parts of the plant contain toxic alkaloids, the two main ones are gel­seminime and gelsemine. Gelseminime is a yellowish, bitter amorphous alkaloid that is readily soluble in alcohol to form amorphous salts. Gelsemine is a colour­less, odourless, intensely bitter alkaloid that is sparingly soluble in water, form­ing crystalline salts. The rhizome also contains gelsemic acid, a tasteless, crystalline substance which exhibits an intense bluish-green fluorescence in alka­line solution.

History

The root of this plant has been used since the days of the early settlers in America as a cure for fevers. During the American Civil War, it was largely used as a sub­stitute for opium as a narcotic. The plant was first described in 1640 by John Parkinson who grew it in his garden from seeds sent by Tradescant from Virginia.

The medical history of this plant is quite recent. It is believed to have gained attention through the mistake of a ser­vant of a Mississippi planter who was afflicted with fever. This servant gave his master a decoction of gelsemium root, instead of the garden plant intended. After partaking of an infusion, serious symptoms arose, but contrary to expectations, he recovered, free from fever which did not recur. It was clear that the attack of bilious fever from which he had been suffering had dis­appeared.

This accidental error led to the preparation from the plant of a propri­etary medicine called the “Electrical Febrifuge”. Later, in 1849, Dr Porcher brought Gelsemium to the notice of the American Medical Association, Dr Henry in 1852, and many others after him, made provings of it; the main one being that of Dr Hale, whose Mono­graph on Gelsemium was a great help in the knowledge of this drug.

Gelsemium poisoning

The prominent and universal symptom is paralysis of the motor nerves as it is a powerful spinal depressant, its most marked action being on the anterior columns of the grey matter in the spinal. Poisonous doses produce a sensation of languor, relaxation, muscular weakness and paralysis. The face becomes anx­ious, the temperature subnormal, the skin cold and clammy and the pulse rapid and feeble. Dropping of the upper eyelid and lower jaw, internal squint, double vision and dilatation of the pupil are prominent symptoms.

Later, the toxic effects cause the sphincters to relax, the anus and urethra stay open. Respiration becomes slow and feeble, shallow and irregular, and death occurs from respiratory failure, the heart stopping almost simultane­ously. The drug also acts through the vasomotor nerves to produce passive venous and arterial congestion. Also, the drug has an affinity for the mucous membranes, giving rise to catarrhal inflammation.

Homeopathic use

In its homeopathic form, Gelsemium is prepared from the fresh root, which is chopped, soaked in alcohol, drained and diluted/succussed to the required potency.

The keynote of Gelsemium semper­virens is weakness. There is mental and physical paralysis. There is slow and gradual complete prostration with drowsiness, low grade fever and a dull headache. The patient is lethargic and reclusive, preferring to be left alone.

Symptoms are better from bending forward, profuse sweating and urinat­ing, being in the open air, gentle and con­tinual motion and with stimulants.

Symptoms are worse from change of weather, change of season, anticipation of performing, mental exertion, physi­cal exertion, tobacco smoke, damp weather, bad news, before a thunder­storm and from emotions or excitement.

Homeopathy and fear of dentists

Dental anxiety is probably the most com­mon reason for non-attendance at the dental surgery. When assessing anxiety for homeopathic repertorisation, I find it useful to consider the type of anxiety, what triggers the anxiety, when it is felt, where it is felt, any concomittant symp­toms, where these are felt and any aggra­vating/ameliorating factors.

Glonoine

Glonoine is a valuable homeopathic remedy that I would always in­clude in my homeopathic travel­ling kit or medicine cabinet. It has multiple areas where it is of benefit, but interestingly, it is not as well known as one would expect it to be. I rather sus­pect it is because people are wary of it, since it is prepared from the explosive nitroglycerine.

Bias is an interesting phenomenon in homeopathy, both for self-prescribers and professional homeopaths alike. Although we may try to be objective in our remedy selection, it can be very dif­ficult not to make a favoured remedy fit the case. At the same time there is often a tendency to ignore or avoid particular remedies, perhaps because they are too obvious, or because they might reflect an aspect of someone’s character that may seem pejorative or unpleasant. Nitric acid is one of the remedies that is often neglected for this reason, as I have mentioned in an earlier article.

Glonoine is an under-used medecine which is often written off as merely a sunstroke remedy. In fact, like the nitro­glycerine from which it originates, it is a remedy of great power.

An explosive history

Nitrogylcerine was discovered in 1847 at the University of Turin by the pro­fessor of chemistry, Ascanio Sobrero. The problem was that as a liquid it was highly volatile, unstable and liable to explode. Indeed, in one of his early experiments Sobrero was badly scarred when a preparation exploded in his face. Apparently he agonised over his dis­covery and kept it secret for a year. When he did make it known he initially called it “pyroglycerine” and actually counselled against producing it, because he considered it to be far too dangerous to be of any practical use.

He was later quoted as saying, “When I think of all the victims killed during nitroglycerine explosions, and the terrible havoc that has been wreaked, which in all probability will continue to occur in the future, I am almost ashamed to admit to be its discoverer.”

In 1862 the Nobel family began experimenting with nitrogylcerine. A year later Alfred Nobel, who had work­ed in the same laboratory as Ascanio Sobrero, patented a process for “Nobel’s Blasting Oil”, which became available as an industrial explosive. Sadly, in 1864 Nobel’s younger brother Emil was killed in an accident during the preparation of some of the explosive.

Four years later Alfred Nobel man­aged to make the explosive mixture easier to handle by the addition of kieselguhr (a siliceous deposit, also known as diatomaceous earth). He called the mixture “dynamite”. From this he made a fabulous fortune, a vast amount of which he left to establish the Nobel Prize.

Nitroglycerine and allopathic medicine

Glyceryl trinitrate was one of the very first drugs that I was taught about at medical school. For generations it has been the mainstay in the management of angina pectoris. This is a condition of tight chest pain associated with under­lying myocardial ischaemia, first des­cribed by Dr William Heberden in 1768.

The use of nitrates was first advo­cated by Sir Lauder Brunton in 1867, when he prescribed amyl nitrate to angina sufferers, on the basis that this would dilate the coronary arteries. When glyceryl trinitrate could be made into tablet form in 1879, it revolutionised the treatment of this condition. Now­adays, virtually every family doctor will have either glyceryl trinitrate tablets or spray in their medical bag for emergency use. It is also an extremely useful prepa­ration to use topically in cases of anal fissure, which is an extremely painful condition.

This drug produces a dramatic effect in angina and relieves severe chest pain in seconds. It does so by virtue of the fact that the nitroglycerine is converted by the body into nitric oxide, through a mechanism that has yet to be fully elucidated. Nitric oxide is a significant natural vasodilator, which means that it widens blood vessels. Thus it eases angina by dilating the coronary arter­ies, speeding the heart and lowering blood pressure. Unfortunately, it can often produce as side-effects a throbbing headache, flushing and faintness. The side-effects also come about from this vasodilation.

Glonoine

Constantine Hering, one of the great early homeopathic physicians proved nitroglycerine in 1848 and gave it the name of Glonoine, from its chemical formula (Gl O NO5), thereby denoting its composition. From then its value became established in congestive head­aches, the menopause, angina and in many conditions that seem to start sud­denly and explosively, especially when the circulation is involved.

Dr Ernest Farrington, an associate of Constantine Hering said that the whole symptomatology of Glonoine could be expressed in one phrase: “a tendency to sudden and violent irreg­ularities of the circulation”.

A complex mixture

Glonoine has many features that over­lap other remedy profiles. This is worth considering a little further because I think this can give us some insight into the remedy.

Nitroglycerine is made by mixing sulphuric and nitric acids and glycerine. This has, of course, to be done with phenomenal care, since the reaction is unstable and potentially explosive. The actual chemical reaction results in the nitration of the glycerine, without the sulphuric acid being incorporated in the product. Sulphuric acid is regenerated in the process, so it is purely a catalyst.

In terms of the homeopathic remedy Glonoine, however, there are similarities between it and both Sulphuric and Nitric acid. All acid remedies have tiredness or some sort of fatigue within their profile, meaning that they are often indicated in fatigue states. Glonoine often seems to come into its own when people complain of great fatigue during and after they have had one of their flushes, headaches or episodes of angina. It is as if there is a time of settling down needed, like the aftermath of an explosion.

There is also often speed involved when these remedies are indicated. Sulphuric acid is often needed for peo­ple who are in a hurry and want every­one around them to hurry up. Nitric acid may help those who are really anxious about their health and who want some­thing doing straight away. Glonoine patients may have both features and when they develop symptoms they come in great surges, as if a fluid is flowing fast into a closed container and the pres­sure builds up swiftly.

Finally, the essence of the remedy Glonoine seems to be its potential power. By this I mean that there is a sense of the pre-explosion. The sudden build up of pressure, the surging force, the sense that something explosive could happen or that something bad is imminent. The actual explosion may not take place, but the fear is there and it dominates.

Graphites

It was Samuel Hahnemann who first proved this wonderful remedy. His instructions for preparing it were: “Pulverise one grain of the purest black lead taken from a fine English pencil, and prepare the triturations and dilutions in the usual fashion.”

Graphites, one of the carbon remedies, which also contains a small percentage of iron, is a major eczema remedy, and it is prescribed extensively for this condition, as well as other skin problems. However, it has a much wider picture. Classically, the following are features of the patient who needs Graphites.

Fatness

Their appearance is often described as obese, but at the same time poorly nourished, with a pale, puffy look reminiscent of Calc carb. The face is said to have a pale, waxy, sickly hue.

Coldness

It is an extremely chilly remedy, and patients can be sensitive to the least draft of cold air. But they are also averse to great heat and feel oppressed in a hot stuffy atmosphere. They can crave air like Pulsatilla and Carbo veg. Sweating on the least exertion and profuse night sweats which stain linen yellow are also features. Foot sweats are offensive.

Tiredness

Patients are often excessively tired and sleepy. There is utter lack of zest for any form of activity and a tendency to sudden onset of exhaustion, with a desire to lie down. Drowsiness by day is followed by sleeplessness at night so they feel unrefreshed in the morning.

Flushing

As with Ferrum, there can be a rush of blood to the head with a flushing face. At the same time there can be icy cold hands and feet. A peculiar aspect of Graphites patients is that they become flushed just before experiencing a physical symptom.

Aversion to sweets & salt

The aversion to sweets can be striking in children.

A great skin remedy

Eruptions

There is a liability to skin eruptions, particularly eczema. The dry skin cracks and flakes. Where the skin cracks, there is the thick honey-like fluid characteristic of Graphites that dries into yellow crusts. The influential US physician who advocated high potencies, James Tyler Kent (1894-1916), noticed that the eruptions of Graphites are apt to occur on flexor surfaces, that is in the bends of elbows, groins, behind the ears, in the corners of the mouth, and in the eyelids.

Fissures

Graphites patients can also have fissuring of the skin, especially at the muco­cutaneous borders (eg sides of nose, mouth and anus), as is found in the remedy Nitric acid.

Thickening

There is a tendency to thickenings in the skin eg the eczema areas can be thickened and there is a tendency to form thick scars (keloids) after a wound or surgical operation. Also, the nails can be thick and distorted.

Graphites skin cases

E.B. Nash (1838-1914), a US physician and exponent of keynotes, described several cases cured by Graphites. One of these was an old, obese woman, with eczema on her legs. He wrote: “Sulphur brought out a rash all over the body which exuded a glutinous, sticky fluid. A dose of Graphites cured the eczema and left the skin as smooth as that of a child.” His conclusions about Graphites were that “it cures complaints of many kinds, when you have present two things: firstly the peculiar tendency to obesity and secondly the characteristic glutinous eruptions.”

It was Samuel Hahnemann who first proved this wonderful remedy. His instructions for preparing it were: “Pulverise one grain of the purest black lead taken from a fine English pencil, and prepare the triturations and dilutions in the usual fashion.”

Graphites, one of the carbon remedies, which also contains a small percentage of iron, is a major eczema remedy, and it is prescribed extensively for this condition, as well as other skin problems. However, it has a much wider picture. Classically, the following are features of the patient who needs Graphites.

A gastro-intestinal medicine

Graphites is of great value in the treatment of gastric or duodenal ulcer and other stomach problems. There is stomach pain, often some hours after food, which is relieved by hot food or drink, especially warm milk. There can be acute attacks of heartburn often accompanied by a feeling of intense heat in the stomach and throat, causing a desire for cold drinks, but this aggravates.

Graphites can also be used in the treatment of constipation, especially where the stools are large, hard, knotty and covered in viscid mucus.

The menopause

Graphites can be a good remedy for menopausal symptoms such as hot flushes, night sweats, irregular or late periods, decreased libido and vaginal dryness.

The mental picture of Graphites

Blandness

The eminent Greek homeopath George Vithoulkas, who pioneered the psychological essence of the constitutional remedies, says the main idea that comes to mind in Graphites is blandness. They don’t seem to degenerate into deep mental pathology – it is the blandness that stays with them. He says: “Outside impressions do not seem to penetrate, resulting in a blandness of the entire system. The mind is dull and lethargic, slow to receive information. In the interview, the patient will answer questions only superficially. It seems difficult to make contact in any real way with the patient.”

Jan Scholten, a leading Dutch homeopath whose work has been pivotal in the understanding of the mineral remedies, expands on this: they adopt a fixed set of values, usually copied from their parents or tradition. They switch off the mind and just carry on. They do everything “because it should be done like that”.

The prominent Indian homeopath and prolific author Rajan Sankaran takes this further: “They have problems with understanding and comprehension, eg at a conference when the speaker says something that excites them and you ask them what was said, they try to repeat, word for word, but cannot be precise because precision involves understanding and comprehending. This comes very close to Baryta carb – both have incapacity to think and abstract.”

Poor memory

They have a poor memory, especially the short-term memory.

Indecisive

There is also irresolution and they cannot make even the simplest of decisions. They cannot plan and there is a strong feeling of inadequacy.

According to Sankaran: “The Graphites patient will say about themselves: to me, survival depends on not bothering about the big things in life, there are others to take care of them. I do not have to make decisions because someone else will make them for me.”

Trifles

One of the main things about the Graphites mental picture is that patients can be upset or irritable about trifles. They are also conscientious about trifles, which can make them fastidious. They weep on the least pretext or for no reason at all. The Graphites wife who bores her husband with trivia has also been described.

Weepy

Graphites can resemble Pulsatilla because of this weepiness. But it is sentimental weeping. They don’t weep from depression. They can be weepy, sad, despondent, full of self-pity and, at times, pre-occupied with thoughts of death. When they are in an unhappy mood, listening to music makes them feel even more miserable.

Fearful

Graphites is one of the main remedies in the rubric “ailments from anticipation”. They are anxious, restless, apprehensive, full of fearful forebodings which cannot be stilled. They are timid people who lack self-confidence. This self-doubt creates anxiety. They are always uneasy and fretful, with a feeling that misfortune is just around the corner.

Mood swings

A quick change of moods is characteristic. They are often quite cheerful in the morning, but show signs of agitation, impatience and irritability, especially in the late afternoon and evening. There is a desire for solitude because they are annoyed by everybody. They may get really angry and fly into a rage, but are easily consoled.

Sankaran’s picture of Graphites

Rajan Sankaran encourages us to keep an open mind about Graphites and not adhere strictly to a rigid image of the remedy as described above. While Vithoulkas paints the bland, dull picture of Graphites, Sankaran shows us another view with two very striking features: excitability and weeping.

Excitability: the Graphites patient is very, very excitable. They become excited by the smallest possible thing. This excitability can be expressed as sentimental, despairing, irritated, or sad. The slightest cause is sufficient to create turmoil within them. This makes them very restless, and anxious. They are the kind of people who get very worked up over the slightest thing. This also accounts for their fastidiousness. They talk in an excited manner, and their actions are hurried and very restless. They feel that something has to be done, but don’t know what.

One situation could be a wife/mother in a house where other members of the family do not bother about anything. The house is a mess, and nothing works. The husband and child are enjoying themselves, and do not care about the house. So the wife becomes disappointed and excitable. She becomes excited over small things. A Graphites lady may have a Calc carb or Sulphur husband.

Weeping is an expression and the Graphites patient is much better by expressing her emotions. Until she has expressed these emotions, she will be excited, anxious, apprehensive, sad, despairing and despondent. Her mind will be all shaky and vibrating and the moment she can express it, it becomes smooth and calm. This can happen when she comes for her consultation. She seems so excited when she describes her problem, and after she has finished, she is so relaxed. (Homeopathic Links, 1992)

To further understand the Graphites patient, it can be helpful to consider similar remedies:

Pulsatilla: weepy, changeable, irresolution;

Ferrum: tirednes, fatness, coldness, flushing;

Calc carb: chilly and obese, but Graphites has an aversion to mental work and Calc carb will persevere.

Hydrogen

Hydrogen is a gaseous element and has the atomic number 1. The lightest of all known substances, it is estimated Hydrogen makes up more than 90 per cent of all atoms and three-quarters of the mass of the universe. Prior to the big bang it is thought that nearly the entire universe was comprised of Hydrogen.

The English homeopath Jeremy Sherr and his Dynamis School first determined the therapeutic power of Hydrogen. He elicited a superb picture of the prescribing indications and symptoms of Hydrogen including:

Unification, with high consciousness.

Delusion, that he is in the presence of God.

Love, overflowing for humanity.

Delusions, things look beautiful.

Delusions, distances are enlarged.

Delusions, body enlarged.

Spaced out feeling.

Everything seems ludicrous.

Laughing over serious matters.

Interested in esoteric subjects and astrophysics.

No boundaries or painful experience of earthly restrictions.

Problems of having to live in the world on account of a sensation of universal consciousness and enlightenment.

Other symptoms reflect the opposite state:

Delusion, that he is separated from the world.

Delusion, detached.

Delusion, despised.

Delusion, there is a division between himself and others.

Estranged, from family.

Estranged, from friends.

Forsaken feeling.

Delusion, thinks he is repudiated by society.

Delusion, diminished.

The Hydrogen patient has a state on the one hand of unity, accompanied by wonderful feelings of love and expansion and on the other hand a feeling of being small, separate and alone. Very often medicines show this kind of polarity ­two sides of the same coin. Such opposites are actually the two extremes of one pathological state.

It has been suggested Hydrogen, as the first element, is to do with the most fundamental existential issues which face mankind. It addresses the challenge of incarnation: the spiritual nature of a human being feeling a connection with the divine. Yet when we incarnate there is a sense of separation, smallness and unworthiness. The patient who needs Hydrogen is the one who is suffering too intensely from this inner conflict between unity and separation.

ABC HOMEOPATHY