VERMEULEN F.

, Prisma (vml5)

VERMEULEN Frans

parallels and similars

Things in nature are words and colour in form;

a language which expresses itself to those who can read.

[Constantin Hering]
Introduction
PRISMA MATERIA MEDICA wants to point out parallels and similars between
homoeopathic drug pictures and the substances from which they are derived. In
addition, it wants to clarify and illuminate lesser known aspects of smaller
polycrests. Much has changed since the time that Hahnemann and Hering
undertook their provings, not only regarding the criteria of provings but also in
terms of the information on substances. We have much more information at our
disposal today and it seems foolish not to use all available resources to build a
better materia medica. Since it is our sole duty to heal the sick, to paraphrase
Grimmer, "we cannot afford to ignore intelligent help from any source so long as
this aid available is based on law and common sense." The hot debate raging
currently over the question whether homoeopathy is scientific or not, appears to
make the doctrine of signatures its main scapegoat. In faithful imitation of
Hahnemann, who considered it the "folly of the ancients", the doctrine of
signatures meets with fierce opposition, being depicted as the folly of present-
day homoeopathy and a major danger to scientific homoeopathy. The word
'signatures' has indeed a medieval ring to it and may partly explain the sharply
contrasting opinions about it. However, the question remains whether signature
is alien to homoeopathy. Hering observes that this very ancient doctrine "has
much to recommend it on the grounds of similia" and Clarke states, in the
introduction to Magnesia carbonica, that "it is often found that the physical
characteristics of substances correspond with their dynamic influences."
Consequently, in the introduction to Magnesia phosphorica, he remarks that
"there are other means besides provings of finding the keynote symptoms of
remedies." Clarke touches here upon a delicate issue, for the common
assumption that drug pictures derive from provings shows to be erroneous if we
closely study the materia medica. Approximately fifty percent of it comes from
clinical cases. We seem to be so devoted to quantification and to explanation in
terms of cause and result that we tend to overlook the significance of meaning,
connection, and analogy, writes Twentyman in the British Homoeopathic Journal
of Oct.

1974. By believing that homoeopathy depends on the symptoms produced in

provings and on the symptoms in which disease manifests itself, we may cut
ourselves off from natural science. Based on law and common sense, natural
science constitutes the modern version of the ancient doctrine of signatures and
here much information can be found about the peculiar features of substances.
New information, updated information, additional information, and information
to confirm or correct existing drug pictures. It goes without saying that a drug
picture should relate to the substance from which it is derived, at least partly, if
not entirely. On the other hand, the subjective personal factor can not be
excluded in the production of symptoms. Hahnemann designed his provings in
such a manner that they, he thought, would reveal the pure effects of substances.
His sole aim was to find the "proper action of the medicines on the vital force",
which he termed primary action. This could best be achieved with moderate
doses of a substance because such experiments "almost never lead to a reaction
of the vital force of the organism -

secondary action." In Hahnemann's view, substances can only cure

homoeopathically the morbid states produced in their primary characteristic
action. Hence, Hahnemann does not accept secondary actions as being part of
drug pictures. Thus, the "observant physician" should, for instance, "refrain from
its employment [of Stramonium] in cases where the patient is already suffering
from ailments resembling those of the secondary action." Scientific
homoeopathy claims this rule to be its basic principle. The appropriateness of
'what can cause can cure' as the basic definition of homoeopathy is, however,
highly debatable. Is a division into primary and secondary possible at all, and if
we wish to make such a division, how are clinical symptoms then to be
regarded?

Moreover, it will necessitate an explanation for the appearance of opposite

symptoms in provings. For example, Hahnemann's proving of Bryonia yielded
constipation as a local keynote, whereas in Mezger's Bryonia proving mainly
diarrhoea was observed.

Hahnemann's statement that "Opium is almost the only medicine that in its
primary action does not produce a single pain" is inconsistent with the results of
other provings, for example those conducted by Jörg in the 1820s, where
frequently pains occur within minutes of the intake of Opium, even in its crude
form. And so on. In addition, provers participating in several provings will tend
to produce an almost identical set of symptoms. Such symptoms belong to their
personality rather than to the proving substance. Should we consider them as
primary or as secondary? The most notorious example is Langhammer - a
member of Hahnemann's provers union - who, irrespective of the proving
substance, invariably comes up with symptoms such as "silent, reserved
disposition", "want of trust in people" and varieties on these themes. No prover
involved in a number of provings will be free from what may be called 'the
personal factor'. Even Hahnemann himself did not escape from it, since he, for
instance, produced five times the

'delusion of being unfortunate' in as many provings. There is much to say for

Clarke's opinion that "whether an action is 'primary' or 'secondary' depends on
the prover or the patient." Since primary and secondary represent the opposite
poles of a polarity, it would make sense to study which polarities are active in a
substance or activated in prover or patient. Opposite poles have in common that
they are part of the same polarity [issue].

Can it be so that the substance contains the issues and that the prover or patient,
unconsciously or consciously, decides at which pole of those issues he is going
to be?

Thesis or antithesis, hypo or hyper, uncompensated state or compensated state,

psora or sycosis, flight or fight, fear or fascination, no matter how we label this
mechanism, it all comes down to the same idea of polarity. Investigating the
inherent issues

[characteristics] of substances consequently provides other means of finding the

polarities of remedies. Such an investigation requires a serious approach. That
we, according to Clarke, cannot fail "to notice the curiously toad-like aspect
assumed by the subject"

during a characteristic epileptic seizure may help to understand the importance

of Bufo in the treatment of epilepsy, but, on the other hand, represents only one
aspect of the doctrine of signatures, and a rather superficial one for that matter.
To discover the characteristics of a substance, we should do a proper
consultation with it, as we do with patients. 'Interviewing' a substance means
gathering all possible information, from every available source, about that
substance. Bringing the information back to its essential features is the next step,
corresponding with analysing the material provided by a patient.

Remarkable correspondences / parallels may reveal themselves. For example,

members of the Nightshade family [Solanaceae] that contain tropane alkaloids,
such as Atropa

belladonna, Datura stramonium, Hyoscyamus, and Mandragora, are known in

botany as long-day plants: they flower only if the light periods are longer than a
critical length. In addition, they require a certain amount of sunlight for the
optimal development of their typical constituents [tropane alkaloids]. The right
ratio of light - darkness is one of their essential issues. In relation to the fact that
Veratrum album is an inhabitant of mountainous regions, it is intriguing to note
that the levels of the plant's toxic alkaloids depend on the height on which it
grows: above a certain height the poisonous levels decrease. Apart from
providing numerous instances of such correspondences, PRISMA MATERIA
MEDICA contains the results of many non-homoeopathic experiments which
may extend or improve existing drug pictures. The 'provings' of Bufo are simply
ridiculous, to put it bluntly. However, modern research and experiments with
toad poison open up new perspectives. Ditto with other substances of animal,
mineral, or vegetable origin.

Another advantage is that prejudices can be counterbalanced by more accurate

observations. This is of special interest when such prejudices are implied in the
materia medica. As with the toad, the bushmaster [Lachesis muta] appears to
lend itself readily for such purposes. In his Studies of Homoeopathic Remedies,
Gibson points out that there are correspondences between the character and
behaviour of the "dreaded surucuccu snake of South America" and the
characteristics of the Lachesis 'subject'. Following older descriptions in
homoeopathic literature, the snake is depicted as "an aggressive brute, attacking
even human beings without provocation". The authoritative work Snakes: The
Evolution of Mystery in Nature, by biologist Harry W. Greene, however, shows
that the bushmaster hardly ever bites, partly because it is unusually timid and
partly because it is strictly nocturnal and doesn't come around human
habitations. Of some 8,300 snakebites recorded in South America for the years
1902-1965, only 16 were by the bushmaster!

According to Roger Caras, in Venomous Animals of the World, the bushmaster

is slow to take offence and of a truly placid disposition. He illustrates this with a
story about some people who "were dragging a large bushmaster along a dusty
road on a leash they had fashioned from a shoelace. ... Periodically they would
stop and push the reluctant snake along, for it was not very good about being
walked like a dog."

Completion and addition are more good reasons for including data from natural
sciences into the homoeopathic materia medica. A few examples. The recently
discovered connection between boron and osteoporosis puts the Borax symptom
'fear of falling' into a new perspective. The mind-picture of Manganum reveals
hardly any specific symptoms. A phenomenon known as 'manganese madness' -
which even has been connected with BSE [mad cow disease] - is not included.
The bite by the black widow spider [Latrodectus mactans] may cause a
syndrome named 'latrodectism', much of which is missing in the materia medica.
Although belonging to entirely different plant families, Plantago [plantain] and
Euphrasia [eyebright] have the presence of the rare biological substance aucubin
in common. Aucubin is the main active ingredient of 'anti-smoking compounds'.
Plantago is in homoeopathic literature mentioned for that purpose -

remedies to increase disgust for tobacco - but Euphrasia is not, despite the fact
that two provers developed an aversion to smoking. Demographic studies have
demonstrated the severe mental and physical effects of ergot poisoning [Secale
cornutum]. Much of the mental symptomatology is not included in the materia
medica. The psycho-active properties are thought to be related to the alkaloid
lysergic acid, which naturally occurs in

the fungus and from which LSD is derived. Placed against the background of
medieval beliefs, the alleged bewitchment by the devil would seem intensely
'bad trips' or, more accurately, acute schizophrenic attacks [which LSD is known
to produce].

Structure of the book

Every remedy is introduced with a quip or a quote, ranging from deadly serious
to light-hearted.

Taken from every available source, the SIGNS section contains [summarized]

information about the substance from which the drug is derived. Sources are
documented.

Collecting the information for the SIGNS section was like making a journey
through the colourful world of books, articles, internet texts, and websites. And
yet there is still so much to discover.

The section MAIN SYMPTOMS is a revised and enlarged version of the

'Leading Symptoms' in Synoptic Materia Medica 1. Quotes are indicated by a • ;
quotes include the exact phrasings of proving symptoms, as well as clinical
symptoms, fragments of cases, contemporary concepts, and correlations.
The symptoms comprising the RUBRICS section are taken from Synthesis,
Edition 7.1.

By going through the proving reports in Hughes and Dake's Cyclopaedia of Drug
Pathogenesy, I came across symptoms which have been overlooked or, in my
opinion, misinterpreted. These are added or corrected, respectively. References
are given for all additions; additions without a reference are mine.
Acknowledgements
Many thanks to all who have contributed to the realization of this book. Many
special thanks to my wife Maud, for gathering so much information; to Jenni
Tree, for diligently proof-reading the manuscript and for her valuable additions;
to Hansjörg Hée, for putting his extensive homoeopathic library at our disposal;
to Karl-Josef Müller, for exchanging ideas by e-mail; to Bert Breuker, for being
Dutch and living in Sweden and for the hours of brainstorming; and to Arne
Milan Vermeulen for installing powerful engines to search the net.

Frans Vermeulen, Molkom, Sweden, 28 February 2002.

Materia medica

Aconitum napellus

Acon.

A timid person is frightened before a danger, a coward during the time, and a
courageous person afterwards.

[J.P.F. Richter]

Signs

Aconitum napellus. Monkshood. Wolf's Bane. Granny's Nightcap. Iron Hat.

Captain over the Garden. N.O. Ranunculaceae.

CLASSIFICATION Aconitum is included in the Ranunculaceae . Comprising

over 1800

species in about 50 genera, the family is centred in temperate and cold regions of
the Northern and Southern hemispheres. It contains a number of very poisonous
plants, such as Helleborus and Aconitum, and a number of well-known garden
ornamentals. The plants are mostly herbs, rarely woody climbers, such as
Clematis. "The family shows a wide variation in flower structures, and also a
wide variation in pollination methods. The family is insect-pollinated in the
main, although some species of Thalictrum are wind-pollinated. Many of the
annual species are self-pollinated. The remaining insect-

pollinated types are visited for either their pollen or their nectar and they can be
divided into these two types. The genera Anemone, Pulsatilla and Clematis do
not produce nectar and are visited only for their pollen. Nectar flowers with
well-developed nectaries are found in Ranunculus, Aquilegia, Delphinium and
Helleborus. In Anemone and Clematis insects are attracted by brightly coloured
sepals, in Ranunculus by showy petals [with prominent nectar pouches, known
as honey-leaves]; in Aconitum by showy sepals and petals."1

DISTRIBUTION Aconitum is indigenous to areas at altitudes between 1,000

and 3,000

metres on mountain slopes. There are about 100 species, mainly herbaceous
perennials that need cool rich soil and will grow in full sun or partial shade.
When in the plain it is already summer, the high-altitude habitat retains its
cooler, spring-like air. Drought is detrimental to the roots, so the roots must be
kept moist. It likes to follow the course of brooks and water-filled ditches. The
plants should be left alone when well established as they take time to resettle
after being disturbed. The seeds need frost to germinate the next spring.

NAME It is called Monkshood, because of the shape of the flowers, which turn
over and give the appearance of a hood, thrown over the head, but also because
it was associated with political intrigue among the ranks of the Roman Catholic
clergy. The name Wolf's Bane refers to its one time use as poison bait for
wolves. The name Aconitum is said to have been derived from Gr. akon, a dart,
in reference to arrows at one time being poisoned with the juices of the plant, or
from akone, cliffy or rocky, because the species grows in rocky glens. Another
possibility is that the name comes from the Gr. akonitos,

'without struggle' or 'without dust'. Napellus means "turnip-rooted." Its Sanskrit

names

'Ativisha' and 'Visha' both mean poison.

FEATURES "The flowers, shaped like a monk's cowl, are no longer radially
symmetrical like those of the spring Ranunculaceae - anemones, aquilegia,
peony - but are isobilateral. They have given up the radiate flower form and
attained a higher form of symmetry suggestive of the animal kingdom. The
higher invertebrates as well as all vertebrates possess bilateral symmetry as their
fundamental morphological concept. ... It is of interest that Aconitum napellus is
in polar contrast to Helleborus niger, the Christmas rose, which is the most
ancient member of the Ranunculaceae. Aconitum is a more recent representative
of this very primitive family of plants. It shows much more advanced structures,
in the specialised upper sepal which forms a protective covering for the other
parts of the flower, in the deep blue colour of the flowers, and in the arrangement
of the blossoms, not on single stems but in an inflorescence. Seasonally also the
plant is at the opposite pole to the Christmas rose. Instead of pushing its way up
through the snows of winter it springs vigorously upwards to burst into bloom at
the peak of summer. Thus instead of torpor, the characteristic of Helleborus,
there is here a suggestion of terror. Instead of the sluggishness of winter growth
this upstanding summer-flowering plant betokens swift, sudden, strenuous
activity."2

ROOTS The plant Aconitum is perennial; yet each distinct root lasts only one
year, the plant being continued by daughter roots. "At the same time as growth
and development take place above, there is a stir of movement below ground.
The root tuber begins to release the life, which until now it has wilfully held on
to, into an adventitious root that in turn swells to form a tuber. The old root later
dies and the daughter root will in the following year send forth the flowering
plant. The root process thus stands out from the

life pattern of the Monkshood, as something special. It permits only part of the
life of the plant to rise and unfold above ground, forcing another, important, part
to remain forever in the root sphere. The Monkshood overemphasizes the root
life. ... In the midst of a season when the earth element is effervescing, burning
itself up, merging into the cosmic sphere, and the cosmic is entering with might
and main into the earthly sphere, the Monkshood in its tautly gathered,
definitively shaped form, with the helmet and visor of its dark violet or blue
flower, is like a stronghold guarding and containing selfhood, a bulwark of firm
resolve, resisting any inclination towards volatility."3

CONSTITUENTS Aconitine; aconine; napelline; aconitic acid; itaconic acid;

succinic acid; malonic acid; levulose; dopamine and noradrenaline. Aconitic acid
- used as plasticizer for buna rubber and plastics - is found in the leaves and
tubers of Aconitum napellus, as well as in Achillea millefolium, Equisetum, beet
root, and sugar cane. The strong irritant malonic acid is employed in the
manufacture of barbiturates. All parts of the plant contain the alkaloid aconitine.
TOXICOLOGY The toxicity of Aconitum varies with the climatic conditions
under which it grows. The root is the most dangerous part but the leaves are
greatest in toxicity just before flowering. Symptoms of poisoning include
muscular weakness, irregular and laboured breathing, weak pulse, bloating,
belching, constant attempts at swallowing, contracted or dilated pupils. All parts
are poisonous, even the honey! In the winter the roots are the richest in aconitine
[the main alkaloid]. Even handling the plant is dangerous to highly sensitive
people. Touching the plant's juices to an open wound can cause pain, fainting
sensations and suffocation. Used as an arrow poison by early stone-age cultures,
aconitine [from A. napellus or, in particular, Aconitum ferox] is very fast acting,
a feature that once made it a favourite poison, dubbed as 'queen mother of
poisons'. In ancient times a decoction was given to criminals as fatal punishment
and, on the Greek island of Ceos, infirm old men, no longer useful to the state,
were compelled to take a deadly drink of aconite. The sudden death of the
Roman emperor Claudius, in AD 54, is accredited to poisoning with aconitine.
Monkshood is also credited by historians as being the 'murder weapon' in the
death of Pope Adrian VI and in an unsuccessful attempt on the prophet
Mohammed's life. In the Middle Ages monkshood was believed to protect
against werewolves since the plant was also poisonous for wolves. 18th- and
19th-century physicians used monkshood as a cardiac sedative. Until the 1930s,
the plant was used as a painkiller, diuretic and diaphoretic. In the form of an
ointment it was used externally to treat rheumatism, neuralgia and lumbago. The
tincture was used to lower pulse rate and fever and treat cardiac failure.

EFFECTS "In all its parts, but particularly in the root, the aconite harbours one
of the most formidable poisons known. For the old Greeks it constituted the
poison. In their mythology they attributed its origin to the foam spilling from the
mouth of Cerberus, the watchdog of hell. Aconitine, the main representative of a
group of similar alkaloids contained in the plant, is the most poisonous and
swiftest acting alkaloid. Three milligrams are sufficient to kill a horse. More
powerful than hydrocyanic acid, it acts with similar tremendous rapidity. Such
overwhelming power, if released within the human economy, can evoke only one
kind of mental reaction - fear. The expression of fear in its highest degree, the
fear of death, the fear that the end is approaching, will be found only among the
most powerful poisons which attack life at its very source. The condition, which
is most likely to produce this deep-rooted biological fear, is interference

with the process of respiration. This expression of fear is to be found particularly

in patients who suffer from despondency, be it of pulmonary or cardiac, or toxic
or mechanical origin. The process of respiration, i.e. of oxidation, is at the very
source of life and any obstruction of this process resulting in local or general
anoxaemia will result in fear. ... The wanderer in the mountains, where the
oxygen content of the air diminishes with increasing altitude, leading to a state
of anoxaemia known as 'mountain sickness', will find in these altitudes the
typical habitat of Aconitum, Digitalis and Veratrum album.

These plants are obviously able to resist the relative anoxia of the high mountain
regions."4 "If monkshood is eaten, symptoms start rapidly with a burning or
tingling sensation of the lips, tongue, mouth and throat. Delayed-onset
symptoms include excessive salivation, nausea, vomiting, tightness and
numbness in the throat, impaired swallowing and possibly speech impairment.
Intermittent visual disturbances can include blurred vision or colour patches in
the visual field and pronounced and prolonged pupil dilation. Dizziness,
prickling skin sensation, muscle weakness and uncoordinated movements can
also occur. In critical cases there are heart rate and rhythm disturbances followed
by convulsions and death. Death may occur as early as a few minutes after
ingestion or as late as four days. Heart rate and rhythm disturbances can be
serious.

Those who survive report odd hallucinations during the poisoning episode and
sensory disturbances for a long time afterward. If the victim does not die,
recovery occurs within 24 hours."5

MYTHOLOGY According to legend, Aconitum came from the hill of Aconitus

where the monstrous three-headed dog Cerberus was killed by Hercules, which
was his twelfth and last labour. The saliva of the monster became the deadly
poison of the plant. The Greek goddess Hecate - goddess of the dark hours, thus
connected with the moon, ghosts, witches and magic - used the plant to poison
her father, the Titan Perses, who ruled over the strategies of war. In addition,
monkshood formed the cup that Medea prepared for Theseus. Another legend
tells that Aconite originated from Prometheus' blood dripping on the rocks when
the eagle devoured his liver. Prometheus' name means forethought. As a
descendant of the Titans, he symbolizes a revolt of the spirit, the spirit which, if
it cannot make itself the equal of the divine intellect, at least tries to steal a few
sparks of its light. This is not a quest of the spirit for its own sake, along the path
of gradual self-spiritualization, but the use of the spirit for purposes of self-
gratification. The rebellious intellect chooses the material in preference to the
spiritual. By unleashing material cravings, liberation becomes imprisonment in
matter. 6 The price that the divine helper pays for his gift to mankind - fire - is
grief, destruction and being forever chained. Yet, he personifies the
unconquerable will opposing greater power, confident of the ultimate triumph of
his cause. As the Promethean complex it exemplifies all those tendencies which
impel us to know as much as our fathers, more than our fathers, as much as our
teachers, more than our teachers. In perfecting our objective knowledge, the
Prometheus complex is the Oedipus complex of the life of the intellect. 7 "The
serpent, like Prometheus, initiates development at the price of suffering, for
consciousness brings with it knowledge of the tragic fate of every human life -
the inevitability of death. Pain, suffering, and death exist in the absence of
consciousness, it is true, but if there is no consciousness to experience them, then
they do not exist psychologically. Without consciousness, life is a state of
anaesthesia. Accordingly, Prometheus suffers the eagle's visit to gnaw at his liver
during the daytime [consciousness], and the wound heals up at

night [unconsciousness]. During the night we all return to that original

unconscious wholeness out of which we [and the ego] were born. In this way, the
ills and traumas of the day are healed by the sleep that 'knits up the ravell'd
sleeve of care'."8

WITCHES Aconite often featured as an ingredient in witches' ointments.

"Although aconite doesn't seem to have genuine psychoactive properties, it can
have marked physiological effects [such as reducing the rate of the heartbeat]
and may thus have contributed to the overall effects of such ointments. It is also
reported to cause the unusual feeling of having fur or feathers, which may well
have been a highly desirable effect to witches seeking magical transformations
into mammals and birds."9 During the Middle Ages, the plant was widely feared
because it was thought witches used it to summon the devil. Monkshood seeds
wrapped in a lizard skin and carried with you, will give you the ability to
become invisible at will.

RITUALS The Austrian esoteric novelist Gustav Meyrink [1868-1932], who

lived and worked in Prague, was originally a banker. He turned to writing when
he went bankrupt and published short stories full of gruesome events, occult
happenings, and corporeal, psychical and spiritual abnormalities. Especially
prominent are the motifs of the amputated limb or organ, and the mummified
corpse and the mask. His best known novels are 'Der Golem' - published in the
middle of World War I and an instant success -
and 'Der Engel vom westlichen Fenster' [1927]. An adept in occultism and
alchemy, Meyrink incorporated specific knowledge about [or from personal
experience?] such hallucinogens as Cannabis, Lophophora, Amanita, Aconitum
and Veratrum in his works.

In the short story 'Der Kardinal Napellus' he describes a secret order called
Blauen Brüder, whose followers let themselves be buried alive when they felt
their end was nearing. After his death, the founder of the order, Cardinal
Napellus, had transformed himself into the first Aconite. To join the order,
novices had to set Aconites in the ground, baptize them with their own blood,
and nurture them with the blood obtained from the wounds of flagellantism. The
symbolic meaning of the blood baptism was to implant the soul magically in the
Garden of Eden and to nurture its growth with the blood of one's desires. The
members of the order used the plant in a psychoactive fashion. After the flowers
had withered in the autumn, the poisonous seeds were gathered and ingested.

Resembling miniature human hearts, the seeds represented, after the secret
tradition of the order, the 'mustard seed' of faith. In the same way that the
dangerous poison affected the heart and brought one in the state between life and
death, so the germ of faith was thought to alter the blood, turning into the
miraculous power that occurs during the hours between the agony of death and
ecstatic elation. 10

FOLKLORE "Monkshood is under the astrological influence of Saturn and is the

birthday flower for 9 September. It signifies deadliness, illicit love, remorse,
vendetta and misanthropy. In the language of the flowers it means, 'Your disdain
will kill me'."11

TRIBES The Buttercup family is divided into two subfamilies and five tribes.

Homoeopathy employs some 28 members of the Ranunculaceae. They fall under

the following tribes.

• Subfamily Hel eboroideae.

Helleboreae: Actaea, Aquilegia, Caltha, Eranthis, Helleborus, Nigella,

Xanthorrhiza.

Delphinieae: Aconitum, Delphinium.

• Subfamily Ranunculoideae.

Ranunculeae: Adonis, Ranunculus.

Anemoneae: Anemone, Hepatica, Pulsatilla.

Clematideae: Clematis.

• The place of Hydrastis canadensis is open to controversy. Sometimes stil

placed in the Ranunculaceae, it now often is put in its own family, the
Hydrastidaceae.

PROVINGS •• [1] Hahnemann - 8 provers; method: unknown.

•• [2] Austrian proving [Gerstel and Arneth] - 15 provers [13 males, 2 females],
1843; method: increasing doses of tincture, every 1-4 days, for periods ranging
from 3 to 6

weeks.

[1] Heywood, Flowering Plants of the World. [2] Gibson, Studies of

Homoeopathic Remedies. [3] Pelikan, BHJ, October 1976. [4] Gutman, BHJ,
Oct. 1959. [5] Turkington, Guide to Poisons and Antidotes. [6-7] Chevalier and
Gheerbrant, Dictionary of Symbols.

[8] Stevens, Ariadne's Clue. [9] Rudgley, The Encyclopaedia of Psychoactive

Substances. [10] Rätsch, Enzyklopädie der psychoaktiven Pflanzen. [11]
Addison, The Illustrated Plant Lore.

Affinity

MIND. NERVES [sensory]. HEART [arterial; circulation]. Brain. Viscera [chest;

abdomen]. Joints. * Right side. Left side.

Modalities

Worse: NIGHT. Violent emotions [FRIGHT; SHOCK; vexation]. Chill [by

COLD, dry winds; while sweating]. Noise; music; light. Dentition. Lying on
affected side. Tobacco smoke. Rising in bed.
Better: Open air. Rest. Warm perspiration.

Main symptoms

M Forethought - knowledge.

• "An insufferable know-it-all. ... death has been at their door. It could come
again.

These subjects will then try to organize themselves to be able to face it: they
must plan everything in advance, know everything there is to know. Anxiety and
fear of death -

possible at any moment - will drive our Aconitum to study, pursuit of

knowledge, even clairvoyance. This will all be done in a great hurry, because it
is an emergency. This individual might become, for example, a doctor or a fire-
fighter, prepared for any contingency. The most difficult periods for Aconitum
will be those which remind them of their inexorable march toward old age and
death: birthdays and anniversaries, which mark the passage of time."
[Grandgeorge]

M EXCITABLE.

• "Acon. is very excitable. Can flare up al of a sudden. Can get frightened very
easily.

Pain can make him beside himself. This excitement will be manifested suddenly
and violently - violent anger, violent fear etc. with great restlessness; will go up
and down, pace back and forth and show an acute panic reaction. The Aconite
person who is calm can suddenly flare up and start shouting, can get frightened
and start moaning and groaning and can get so panicky that he can start throwing
his arms widely about. Not only his health, but also the health of people around
him causes him great concern; a problem with anyone and he doesn't react in a
cool manner, but always in a panicky, jerky fashion and will raise a big hue and
cry, get worked up - pace back and forth -

summon all the doctors and may even land himself in the hospital after that - so
great is his excitement." [Sankaran]

M Extreme RESTLESSNESS.
And Anguish, FEAR of DEATH.

And TOSSING ABOUT.

Hurry.

• "On coming from lecture at 11 a.m. he experienced very disagreeable

restlessness. He felt extreme hurry; anything that prevented him walking quickly
was highly obnoxious, so that he rudely pushed against those who did not get
quickly enough out of his way, and ran breathlessly upstairs. Even when he got
home this great hurry in all movements continued until 1 p.m. , when his usual
calm returned." [Hughes]

M VIOLENT, SUDDEN ATTACKS of panic/terror.

Unreasonable and unaccountable fear.

And Palpitation and tingling sensations throughout the body, but mainly the
extremities.

Often started after a frightful experience, e.g. car accident in a tunnel, or a strong
fright, or being stuck in an elevator, although sometimes without a known
causation [too far back in the past].

M Sensation of PRESENTIMENT OF DEATH; predicts the time.

[In most cases during the first or second experience of a frightening situation,
e.g.

hyperventilation; after the first occurrence, and noticing that he didn't die, the
patient is more used to the situation and consequently less panic-stricken.]

• "Rhus is easily distinguished from Aconite. The Rhus patient wil tel you it is
no use to prescribe for him - he is going to die any way; while the Aconite
patient is distressed, and predicts the day or hour." [Kent]

* Fear of death during pregnancy, esp. during labour,

or fear that the child will die or will be deformed. [Cimic.]

• "During labour it is of service when there is great restlessness and fear of
death. The patient is sure she will die. The labour is slow. The vagina is hot and
dry, and the os uteri is tender and undilatable." [Blackwood]

• "Tendency to have intuitions, presentiments, the second sight when awake or

when asleep. Thus very vivid dream in the morning, in which he finds a solution
of a problem, from which he was unable to free himself while awake."
[Gallavardin]

M Fear in a CROWD, in narrow places [esp. after a frightful experience].

M OVERSENSITIVE to:

Light, particularly sunlight.

Noise, particularly music.

Odours, particularly unpleasant odours.

Pain. ["Even when the pains are slight and bearable, due to his extreme
susceptibility he exaggerates them to such an extent that his own imagination of
the enormity of his complaints overpower him." - Kent]

Tastes. ["Bitter taste of everything, except water."]

Touch. [Aversion to being touched; abdomen sensitive to touch.]

Trifles. ["He gets vexed at trifles and takes things seriously even when meant in
a joke."

- Kent]

M Anxious expression during complaints.

M Sequela [constitutional effects] of fear or fright [e.g. after witnessing an

accident].

Complaints SINCE a certain moment or situation, esp. fright or SUDDEN

CONFRONTATION WITH DEATH.

• "There is something in their past that had to do with fright. They usually have
learned

to tone down their degree of panic. They still have a deep active feeling that
something terrible is about to happen. Beyond fear, towards panic. It was a
sudden onset as causation. Near miss in an auto accident, or a bad landing in an
airplane, earthquake, witness violence or a murder, etc. Severe and sudden
unexpected fright [Stramonium often with extreme rage and anger]." [Gray]

M Active, open-minded persons, rarely or for a very short time self-centred.

[Gallavardin]

G Plethoric and strong persons; desire for company.

• "Esp. applicable to plethoric persons, or those leading sedentary lives; dark hair
and eyes; persons with rigid fibre." [Cowperthwaite]

• "The weakly, careworn individual is never taken suddenly." [Kent]

G Complaints SUDDEN and ACUTE; very violent and frightening.

Pseudo-croup or croup, AWAKENS from FIRST SLEEP.

• "It is particularly useful in sudden, violent and acute cases, which are worse in
the evening. The patients are tortured by fears; afraid of darkness, ghosts."
[Dewey]

G Inflammations [anywhere], FIRST STAGE.

ACUTE PAINS.

And Great restlessness and intense fear.

• "Aconite produces no formation of pus; this is a negative feature. You may give
Aconite where there is redness of the mucous membrane, but when pus forms it
is not indicated." [Kent]

G Complaints coming on suddenly from very cold winter weather, or from

intensely hot summer weather.
G Exposure to DRY, COLD WIND:

Coryza; conjunctivitis; pseudo-croup; cough; pneumonia; pharyngitis; laryngitis.

G High fever and DRY, burning heat.

Generally > when perspiration starts

• "The type of the Aconite fever is sthenic and continuous, and not intermittent
or remittent. It has no symptom in its pathogenesis, which points to
intermittence.

Beginning with the initial chill or chills, the dry heat follows and continues until
sweat brings relief. Then the fever is over so far as Aconite is concerned. It has
no typical return of these febrile attacks. Hence, you cannot give Aconite in
intermittent fever. Then, again, it must be borne in mind that sometimes the fever
is not the disease itself, but a symptom which is necessary for the proper
development of the disease." [Farrington]

c The Aconite fever begins in the head and goes down; the cold begins in the
feet and comes up.

G BURNING THIRST for cold water.

G < NIGHT, esp. around midnight.

G PAINS BURNING [internally], sticking, EXCRUCIATING [driving to

despair].

INTOLERABLE PAINS; driving him crazy; shrieking with pain; expects to die.

G Parts feel NUMB; enlarged; burn; TINGLE, prickle or crawl.

G VERTIGO.

And Sensation of swaying to and fro in brain [< stooping, motion].

And Staggering, esp. to the right.

And Bursting headache [as if the brain were agitated and boiling, and as if it
would protrude through the forehead].
And Nausea and vanishing of sight.

P Conjunctivitis.

• "Aconite is to be preferred in the beginning of a conjunctivitis, or in fact any

acute inflammation of the eye, when of traumatic origin, as from a foreign body,
the eyes feel full of sand, there is photophobia and painful inflammation of the
eyes from exposure to cold, or from the action of acrid substances in the eyes, as
from wounds or burns. It is also the first remedy in other forms of conjunctivitis.
Important to use after operations on the eyes." [Dewey]

NO PURULENT FORMATION or EXUDATION.

P Face red, hot, flushed, swollen.

On rising the face becomes deathly pale.

Or: one cheek red, the other pale.

P Retention of urine caused by shock.

In newborn children immediately after birth - main remedy.

Child wakes up at night and screams, and puts the hands to the genitals.

Rubrics

Mind

Mental activity alternating with dulness [1/1]. Anxiety > cold drinks [1].
Aversion, has no affection for anybody during pregnancy [1]. Cheerful before
menses [1]. Clairvoyance

[2] [= predicts time of death]. Thoughts of death [3]. Delusion some part of body
is deformed [1; Sabad.]; he was about to die [3]; sees faces grow larger [1; Aur.];
of jostling against everyone she meets [1/1]; mental acts were performed in
stomach [1/1]. Fear of busy street [3] of death during labour [3]; of death during
menses [1; Plat.; Verat.]; of death during pregnancy [3/1]; of narrow places [3];
of suffocation [3]; of tunnels [2].
Hurry, while walking, rudely pushes everyone out of his way [1*]. Indifference
after anxiety [1]. Desire for light [2]. Desire for mental exertion in morning
[1/1]. Restlessness before sleep [2; Phos.; Thuj.]. Slowness while eating [1/1].

Head

Sensation as if hair were standing on end [1*]. Pain, painful spots on hairy scalp,
< cold air [1*], < touch [1*], < strong wind [1*].

Eye

Photophobia during rage [2; Bell.; Stram.]. Eyelids sensitive to cold air [3/1].

Vision

Colours, blue spots before the eyes [1; Kali-c.].

Face

Heat > blowing nose [1/1]. Sensation of swelling, left side of face and forehead,
gradually spreading over entire body [1*]; of lips [1*].

Mouth

Sensation as if root of tongue were spasmodically drawn down at both sides

[1*]. Fishy taste [1; Astac.; Graph.; Lach.].

Stomach

Sensation as if stomach were alternately distended and fallen in [1*]. Nausea, >
after breakfast [1*], after meat [1*]. Thirst during pains [1; Cham.; Nat-c.].

Rectum

Sensation of a warm fluid flowing out of anus [1*].

Chest

Oppression > wine [1/1]. Pain, can only lie on back [2; Bry.; Phos.]. Sensation as
if boiling water was poured into chest [3/1].
Back

Numbness, loss of sensation in lumbar region, extending to lower limbs [2/1].

Stiffness cervical region during cold weather [1/1].

Limbs

Sensation as if feet were adherent to the ground [1*]. Coldness of feet, in warm
room

[1*], when walking [1*]. Heaviness, lower limbs, on ascending stairs [1*].
Automatic motion of hands, he strikes his face [1/1]. Numbness, of lower limbs,
when sitting [1*], while standing [1*; Sep.]. Tingling in feet extending upward
[3/1]. Weakness, lower limbs, on ascending stairs [1*].

Perspiration

Profuse sweat and copious urination during diarrhoea [2/1].

Generals

Catalepsy after fright [2/1]. Faintness after fright [3]. Sensation as if he stood on
the vibrating stool of an electric machine and sparks were drawn from him [1*].

* Repertory additions [Hughes].

Food

Aversion: [3]: Wine. [1]: Artichokes; bread, wheat [*]; coffee; cold drink; fat; ice
cream; milk; oysters; tobacco.

Desire: [3]: Beer; cold drinks. [2]: Bitter drinks [during fever]; bitter food
[during fever]; wine. [1]: Alcohol; beans and peas; brandy; cabbage; fish;
pungent [during fever]; sour; whisky.

Worse: [2]: Fat; wine. [1]: Alcohol; beer; bitter drinks; butter; coffee; cold food;
fruit; hot food; meat = nausea*]; milk; pork; pungent food; soup; sour; sweets;
vinegar; warm food.

Better: [3]: Wine. [1]: Coffee; cold drinks; cold food; milk; soup.
* Repertory additions [Hughes].

Aesculus hippocastanum

Aesc.

There is nothing new except what has been forgotten.

[Marie Antoinette]

Calm in the morn without a sound,

Calm as to suit a calmer grief,

And only thro' the faded leaf

The chestnut pottering to the ground.

[Tennyson]

Signs

Aesculus hippocastanum. Horse chestnut. Buckeye. N.O. Hippocastanaceae.

CLASSIFICATION The Hippocastanaceae family consists of two genera only:

Aesculus and Billia. The genus Aesculus comprises 13 deciduous species and is
native to north temperate regions. The two evergreen species of the genus Billia
are restricted to southern Mexico and tropical South America.

NAME Aesculus is the ancient Latin name of an oak or mast-bearing tree. The
name

[from esca, food] was applied originally to a species of oak, which was highly
prized for its acorns. The specific name hippocastanum is derived from Gr.
hippos, a horse, and L.

castanea, the Chestnut tree or Virgil. Some writers think that the prefix 'horse' is
a corruption of the Welsh gwres, meaning hot, fierce, or pungent, e.g. 'Horse-
chestnut' =

the bitter chestnut, in opposition to the sweet one, Castanea vesca [= C. sativa],
although this is an entirely different tree to which it is not even distantly related.
Castanea is one of the eight genera constituting the Fagaceae family; other well-
known members are Fagus

[beech] and Quercus [oak]. Another explanation for the name Horse chestnut is
the resemblance of the large seeds to chestnuts, and because the Turks often
grind them into a coarse flour, which is mixed with other food and given to
horses that are broken-winded

[having short breath or disordered respiration]. The name Buckeye comes from
the resemblance of the seeds to the eye of the buck.

FEATURES All thirteen Aesculus species have large and usually sticky winter
buds, wrapped about with fourteen resinous scales. No frost or damp can thus
harm the leaf and flower. The terminal buds develop with amazing rapidity with
the approach of spring.

The sun melts the resin that binds them together. These splendid trees with
spreading branches, in particular A. hippocastanum, are widely planted in
Europe as ornamental shade trees. A. hippocastanum is indigenous to Eastern
Europe and northern and central parts of Asia. It thrives best in a good, sandy
loam and very rapidly may reach 30 meters in height and as much across, with
five- or seven- five- or seven-lobed leaves and spikes of variegated white and
red flowers, "tapering upwards amidst the foliage like so many wax lights." The
large leaves spread like fingers from the palm of the hand. "All over the small
branches may be found the curious marks in the shape of minute horse-shoes,
from which, perhaps, the tree gets its name. They are really the leaf scars.
Wherever a bygone leaf has been, can be traced on the bark a perfect facsimile
of a horseshoe, even to the seven nail markings, which are perfectly distinct.
And among the twigs may be found some with an odd resemblance to a horse's
foot and fetlock."1

SEED The fruit, a brown nut, has a remarkable shining, polished skin. A large
green husk with short spines envelops it, which splits into three valves when
falling to the ground. The ripe seeds, known in England as 'conkers', are a source
of starch, and fed to stock. Cattle are said to eat them with relish, though pigs
will not touch them. "The method of utilizing them is to first soak them in lime-
water, which deprives them of the well-known bitter flavour inherent in the nuts,
and then to grind them to a meal and mix them with the ordinary provender."2
USES From the wood charcoal is obtained which is used for manufacturing
gunpowder.

The soft and spongy timber is too light to be of much value. The nuts,
unpalatable for humans, are particularly rich in potash [60% of the ashes] and
phosphorus [22%], and have been used as a substitute for soap. To prevent them
from becoming mouldy and rot, the nuts are preserved in sand during the winter.
They reputedly contain narcotic properties. Aescine, present in the nuts, is used
as a sunburn protective. The bark is odourless, but has a bitter astringent taste. It
has tonic, narcotic and febrifuge properties and has been used in intermittent
fevers.

EFFECTS The leaves are poisonous in early spring. Intoxications from eating
the nuts are rare. Symptoms of poisoning may include inflammation of mucous
membranes, vomiting, diarrhoea, violent thirst, facial redness, and anxiety. In
more serious cases nervous disorders, sleepiness, stupor, loss of power to
coordinate action of limbs, and even paralysis of respiration can occur. Aesculus
has properties similar to those of vitamin P [permeability vitamin]: it reduces the
permeability and fragility of capillaries,

and has antiphlogistic and diuretic properties. Owing to its vasoconstrictive

effect, argyraesceine is employed in the treatment of varicose veins and
haemorrhoids.

QUERCETIN Aesculus contains substantial amounts of quercetin, a

bioflavonoid that serves as a backbone for other flavonoids and is considered to
be the most active of them all. Quercetin is widely distributed in the plant
kingdom, particularly in rinds and barks, but also in clover blossoms and
ragweed pollen. Plants rich in it include Pseudotsuga menziesi, Viola tricolor,
Adonis vernalis, Matricaria recutita, Crataegus spp., Humulus lupulus, Malus
spp. [Apple], Artemisia absinthium, and many members of the Ericaceae

[Ledum, Vaccinium, Rhododendron, Arctostaphylos]. It is also abundant in fruits

and vegetables such as citrus rind, garlic, onions and blue-green algae. Research
has demonstrated quercetin to be a capillary protective. Quercetin is an effective
inhibitor of ragweed antigen-induced histamine release from the basophils of
subjects with hay fever; it also decreases the contraction tonus and amplitude of
intestinal and uterine segments induced by histamine, acetylcholine, and barium
chloride. "Quercetin has been found to be a powerful antioxidant, neutralizes
free radicals, which are the underlying causes of the degenerative diseases of
ageing such as heart disease, cancer and arthritis; it has also been reported to
possess strong and prolonged anti-inflammatory and wound-healing properties.
In addition, it is reported to be effective against viruses, esp. oral herpes."3

FOLKLORE In the language of flowers Aesculus symbolizes luxury. As an herb

of Jupiter and the fire element, the primary use of the chestnut in magic used to
be for love spells. Horse chestnuts, threaded on strings, were used in England in
the game of conkers, in which each player seeks to break their opponent's by
hitting it with their own. The one remaining unbroken is the 'conqueror'.
Carrying a nut in ones pocket is believed to prevent piles. Carrying three nuts
guards against giddiness. To attract money, one has to wrap a dollar bill around a
nut, place it into a sachet and carry it. It can also be carried for success in all
things.

FLOWER REMEDY Dr Edward Bach chose the remedy Chestnut Bud [the
green buds of the horse chestnut] for people who repeatedly make the same
mistake but seem unable to learn from it. He says that the cause might be
indifference, inattention or failure to anticipate the outcome of their actions.
These people try to forget the past and in the process, lose a grip on the present
and the future. [Compare the rubric: "Dulness or confusion on waking, morning
or night."]

PROVINGS •• [1] Buchmann - 7 persons [3 males, 4 females], 1857; method:

'chewing and swallowing fresh kernel' or taking 5-30 drops of tincture.

•• [2] Hale - 6 [male] provers, 1864-1865; method: repeated doses, at irregular

intervals, of 'pulverised nut', 1x trit., 2x dil., 3x dil., and tincture.

[1-2] Grieve, A Modern Herbal. [3] Sharon, Nutrients A to Z.

Affinity

Veins [liver; nasopharynx; ABDOMEN - right side; RECTUM]. Mucous

membranes.

Occiput. Lumbar region. Sacroiliac region. * Right side.

Modalities
Worse: Morning, on waking. After stool. Urinating. WALKING. During and
after sleep.

Rest and lying. Closed and warm room. Stooping.

Better: COOL, open air; cold water. Bleeding [piles]. Kneeling. Continued
exertion.

Warmth [superficial stinging pains]. Summer.

Comparisons

c VEINS

"The Puls. veins contract in cold weather, and the shrivelling up makes the
patient feel better, but the veins fill and become engorged in the warm air and
after a hot bath. A tepid bath sometimes makes a Puls. patient feel better, but a
Turkish bath is generally distressing. Many of the complaints of Aesc. are of this
sort; Aesc. often feels better in cold air." [Kent]

Main symptoms

M Dulness or confusion on waking; morning or night.

• "On waking [from sleep while sitting] cannot recognize what she sees; knows
not where she is; nor whence came the objects about her." [Allen]

• "It is especial y useful in children that rouse up in sleep frightened and in

confusion, like Lyc." [Kent]

c Bach Flower Key Symptoms [Scheffer]

Chestnut Bud: Repeating the same faults over and over again, because
experiences are not really digested and not enough is learned from them. Seems
very slow to learn from life. Events are not reconsidered at sufficient depth.
Attempts to forget unpleasant experiences as quickly as possible. Prefers to rush
into new ventures rather than letting past ones have any real effect. Mental
blocks, retarded development.

White Chestnut [flowers of horse chestnut]: Unwanted thoughts keep going

round and round in one's head, cannot get rid of them, mental arguments and
dialogues. Very much head-orientated; prisoner of one's thoughts. Keep going
over the same problems time and time again in one's mind. Mental hyperactivity
therefore lacks concentration in everyday life. Tired and depressed during the
day, head feels full.

Compulsive and obsessive thoughts.

OR:

M Clearness,

"with light feeling in anterior lobes, but heaviness and dulness in occiput."
[Allen]

M Extreme irritability.

Loses temper easily and gains control over it again but slowly. [Allen]

Dominance.

Dreams of fighting in a battle.

G Aesculus picture in herbal medicine.

• "Physical y active people in health, there is good muscular co-ordination in the

lower part of the body, which is always the heaviest and strongest. These people
love walking, climbing, mountaineering, and tend to be adrenally cheerful first
thing in the morning -

sometimes too much so for the rest of the household! Early mornings tend to be
their best time of day for strenuous activity, but the strongest of them are still
leaping up on the tables at midnight, singing loudly and waving their arms about.
'Horse chestnut' is a frightfully jolly person! ... All this energetic leaping about in
early life can lead to adrenal over-charging and a constant strain on other
endocrine glands because of it. In the male, especially, there often seems to be
great development in the physical and athletic use of adrenal glands, sometimes
at the expense of the sensual and sexual uses for the prostate gland. Such males
can be gladiators in the sporting world, but find great difficulty with the softer
and gentler hormones used in emotions, in sexual activity, and in physical
comfort. They can, and do, become martyrs to physical competency, training
hard and vigorously to achieve 'perfect' condition. They run up sandhills and
three flights of stairs

at the office, thoroughly enjoying their 'excellent' health. They can even regard
sexual activity in a 'performance' sense, notching up the quantity, and not
necessarily aware of the quality - esp. for their partner! If ever a herb reflected
macho-maleness, it's Horse Chestnut! The female 'Horse chestnut' can be
fearsome! Large arms pummel you on the massage-table, and you can bet she'll
run round the block at the end of the day, just to use up all that excess hip and
thigh energy."1

G WEARINESS.

Fatigued feeling, as from a long walk. Totters when walking.

G Slowness.

• "Everything is slowed down in this remedy: Digestion is slow. The heart is

labouring.

The veins are congested. The bowels are constipated." [Howland]

G Chilliness.

And Sensation of heat [veins, skin] and burning rawness [mucous membranes].

G < MOTION [of affected parts].

G > Continued motion [general].

• "The symptoms pass away after considerable exertion; moving about, doing
something, keeping busy relieves." [Kent]

G < Rubbing.

Congestion of face after rubbing.

Painfulness [and sometimes bleeding] of haemorrhoids after rubbing / wiping.

G HOT, DRY, STIFF, ROUGH or FULL feeling internally; throat; anus.

FULNESS of veins [rectum; hands; feet].

• "Not the fulness that pits upon pressure, that we cal oedema, but a tenseness."
[Kent]

Fulness and pulsating in veins, as if one has too much blood.

• "Can feel the pulsations al over the body." [Kent]

VENOUS CONGESTIONS, esp. portal and haemorrhoidal.

G Sensation of HEAVINESS [externally].

G DARK RED, purplish DISCOLOURATION.

[throat; varicose veins; haemorrhoids]

G Secretions usually diminished, occasionally increased.

• "Dryness of the mucous membranes. Dryness of posterior nares and throat.

Dryness and constriction of the fauces. Dryness and stiffness of the glottis. Dry,
hacking cough.

Dry or fluent coryza. Lachrymation. Dryness, heat and constriction of the

rectum, as if obstructed. Stools dry, hard, knotty, difficult; dark or whitish, from
excess or lack of bile." [Fornias]

• "In al the digestive as wel as respiratory troubles in which Aesculus is

indicated disturbed metabolism translates itself by a constant dryness,
constriction and burning of the affected parts." [Fornias]

P Coryza.

Scanty, thin, watery discharge; rawness and burning.

Similar to Ars., but with sore feeling on inhaling cold air.

P Talking.

• "Unable to articulate long words distinctly; cannot control the tongue so as to

form the words aright." [proving symptom; Allen]
The same prover [T.C. Duncan, taking 1x and 2x] experienced a dry feeling in
palate and posterior nares, and a feeling as if the tongue was swollen.

P Throat affections [swelling, dryness, burning, soreness, < swallowing]

alternating with affections of rectum [haemorrhoids].

• "Aesculus is also a remedy for follicular pharyngitis when the chief symptom is
a dry rough or raw feeling in the fauces, and a sensation of constriction, and esp.
when occurring in haemorrhoidal subjects." [Cowperthwaite]

P Congestion of liver [from portal stasis].

Aching, pinching pains in right hypochondrium, < walking.

Pains extend up between the shoulders.

And Haemorrhoids.

P Constipation.

And Backache in lumbar region,

< WALKING and STOOPING.

P HAEMORRHOIDS [blind, bluish, large].

• "There is little tendency to haemorrhage, but much severe fulness and bearing
down, with constipation." [Kent]

< Walking.

And Pain in rectum after stool.

And Constipation.

And Fulness, burning and itching in rectum/anus.

[Anus intensely painful for hours after stool.]

• "Dry uncomfortable feeling in the rectum which feels as if it had been fil ed
with sticks."

• "Dreadful pain in the anus, could not sit, stand or lie down. The pain was like a
knife, sawing backward and forwards, almost a martyrdom for agony." [Hughes]

P PAIN ACROSS SACROILIAC JOINTS.

More or less constant, and feeling as if the back would give way at that point.

This causes a sense of great fatigue when walking, so that walking is almost
impossible.

Must sit down, is still better by lying.

When this symptom occurs in uterine displacements, or during pregnancy, it may

be regarded as a keynote.

Lameness as if strained, extending to hips or legs, or aching and weakness.

< Walking, stooping, or any movement.

Pains and stiffness often > after continued motion.

P Rheumatic pains.

Flying, shooting, wandering, shooting along nerves.

• "They seem at times to be scarcely more than skin deep." [Kent]

> Warmth.

[1] Hall, Herbal Medicine.

Rubrics

Mind

Confusion on waking [2]; knows not where she is [2]. Feeling as if death were
impending during the darting pain in trachea, followed by exalted condition of
brain and nervous system [1/1*]. Dulness in morning on waking [2].
Head

Feeling of contraction in skin of forehead, during frontal headache [1/1*].

Vision

Colours, black spots before the eyes > fixing eyes on an object [1/1].

Nose

Sensation of heat in tip of nose [1*].

Face

Congestion after rubbing [1/1]. Red discolouration after washing [2]. Swelling of
face after washing [2/1].

Mouth

Speech difficult, inability to speak long words distinctly [1/1*]. Taste like
liquorice

[1*].

Teeth

Sensation as if teeth were covered with oil [1/1].

Throat

Dryness of throat after eating [1; Nat-m.]. Disposition to swallow, from saliva
[1*].

Stomach

Sense of constriction before convulsions [2/1]. Nausea after tea [2/1].

Abdomen

Sense of fulness in hypogastrium [2]; before and during menses [1*].

Rectum

Haemorrhoids > warm weather [2/1]. Pain > kneeling [2/1]. Prolapsus at night
[2/1].

Urging on each eructation [1/1].

Cough

Short, on breathing deep [2/1]; from swallowing [2/1].

Chest

Sensation as if right lung moves up and down, with respiration [1*].

Back

Sense of paralysis of muscles of back [3/1]. Stiffness on beginning to move [2].

Limbs

Heat of left arm and hand [1*]; feeling of heaviness and swelling in them [1*].
Pain, broken sensation in hip, as if pelvis were falling apart [1; Tril.]. Sensation
of paralysis of legs [3]. Swelling of hands after washing [1/1]; of feet after
washing [1/1].

* Repertory additions [Hughes].

Food

Worse: [2]: Tea.

Aethusa cynapium

Aeth.

A child, like your stomach, doesn't need all you can afford to give it.

[McKenzie]

Signs
Aethusa cynapium. Lesser hemlock. Fool's parsley. Dog parsley. Devil's Wand.

N.O. Umbelliferae.

CLASSIFICATION Aethusa belongs to the Umbelliferae. This plant family, also

called Apiaceae or Carrot family, is one of the best-known families of flowering
plants, because of its characteristic inflorescences and fruits and the distinctive
chemistry reflected in the odour, flavour and even toxicity of many of its
members. "Several umbellifers were known to the ancient Chinese and Mexican
Indian civilizations, as well as to the Mycenaeans, Greeks and Romans of the
Mediterranean basin. The family was recognized

under the name of Narthekodes by Theophrastus and the Greek word Narthex
was replaced by Ferula in Latin, the name applied to the dried stalks of
umbellifers such as fennel [Foeniculum] or Ferula. In Greek art Dionysus is
often shown bearing a Ferula or ferule in his hand. Herbs or condiments such as
anise, cumin, coriander, dill and fennel were known to Theophrastus and
characterized by their naked seeds and herbaceous stems. The Umbelliferae
seems to be the first flowering plant family to be recognized as such by botanists
about the end of the 16th century, although only the temperate Old World species
were then known. The Umbelliferae contains about 300 genera and 2,500

to 3,000 species. It is found in most parts of the world, although commonest in

temperate upland areas and relatively rare in tropical latitudes."1

FEATURES The inflorescence is usually unmistakable; its is composed of

umbels of many small flowers which have petioles of varying lengths so that the
blooms are brought to the same flat, plate-like level. Eryngium forms a variation
on this basic structure in having an elongated, dome-shaped head. Many
members of Umbelliferae are so alike in structure that it is difficult to distinguish
between them without reference to special, and often inconspicuous, botanical
details. The comparatively few ornamentals that the family comprises stand out
among a host of rather indifferent species. Most Umbelliferae have hollow stems
and hollow internodes, with alternate, sheathing, frequently much-divided
foliage. They are 'promiscuous' plants in that they are pollinated by a wide array
of insects, mostly flies, mosquitoes or gnats, or some of the unspecialized bees,
butterflies and moths. Self-fertility is the normal situation and self-sterile plants
are very rare. Hybridization hardly occurs in this family, which leads to serious
problems in breeding programs. The flowers are almost uniformly characterized
by the number five: there are five petals, five [very small] sepals, and five free
stamens. The umbels of flowers develop according to a centrifugal pattern,
which is opposite to the centripetal tendency of the Compositae. A number of
important economic plants occur in the family, including root crops such as
carrot, parsnip, celery, and fennel, as well as spices or herbs used for flavouring
such as chervil, parsley, dill, coriander, cumin, caraway, and anise.

NAME The name Aethusa is derived from Gr. aitho, burning, shining, in
reference to the shiny leaves, or from Gr. aithusso, to set on fire, alluding to the
acrid taste of the juice.

The specific name cynapium is composed of Gr. kynos, dog, and L. apium,
parsley.

AETHUSA The leaves of this annual plant are very similar to those of Parsley,
but of a darker, glossy green and when bruised they emit a disagreeable, garlicky
odour. It has white flowers, while those of Parsley are yellow or yellowish green.
Aethusa is the fourth poisonous umbellifer; after Conium, Cicuta virosa,
Oenanthe - in that order. It is in many aspects similar to Conium. The difference
between them consists on the intense garlic smell, instead of the nasty mouse-
urine smell of Conium. Though less poisonous than Conium, Aethusa contains
the same active principle as this plant [coniïne, formerly called cynapine]. Eating
the fresh leaves or roots by mistake for parsley or radishes may in humans result
in death. The dried herb loses most of its toxicity. Allen certainly got it very
wrong when stating, "This plant, formerly supposed to be poisonous, is now
proved to be harmless; large quantities can be taken with impunity."2

EFFECTS "The Fool's Parsley is indigenous to Europe and Siberia, from whence
it has been introduced into this country where it now grows, still sparingly, along
roadsides and waste places about cultivated grounds, in New England, and from
there to Pennsylvania, flowering in July and August. ... By the early writers it is
so often confounded with

Conium, that it is very difficult to trace its history. The first author to
characterize it was Hermoulaus Barbarus, who called it Cicuta terrestris minore;
it is also mentioned by Matthiolus, Jonston, Jungius, Müller and others, all
speaking of its peculiar effects when eaten. Its action has been generally
considered like that of Conium, but milder, and its principal, if not its only use,
was in some forms of obstinate cutaneous disorders."3
TOXICOLOGY The toxic symptomatology is characterized by burning pain in
mouth, throat and gastrointestinal tract, followed by colics, diarrhoea, convulsive
paroxysms with tremor, progressive ascending muscular paralysis [a general
feature of all poisonous umbellifers], evolving to respiratory failure and cardiac
arrest. In non-fatal cases of intoxication loss of hair and nails was observed.
Animals avoid the plant for its repulsive odour, although rabbits, sheep and goats
seem to be immune to its poison.

TRIBES The Carrot family is usually divided into three subfamilies and twelve
tribes. 4

Homoeopathy employs some forty members of the Umbelliferae. They fall

under the following tribes.

• Subfamily Hydrocotyloideae [mainly Southern Hemisphere].

Hydrocotyleae: Hydrocotyle.

Mulineae: Azorella.

• Subfamily Saniculoideae.

Saniculeae: Astrantia, Eryngium, Sanicula [not to be confused with Sanicula

aqua].

Lagoecieae:Lagoecia, Petagnia.

• Subfamily Apioideae.

Echinophoreae: Echinophora.

Scandiceae: Anthriscus, Chaerophyllum, Myrrhis, Scandix.

Coriandreae: Coriandrum.

Smyrnieae: Cicuta, Conium, Smyrnium.

Apieae: Ammi, Apium, Bupleurum, Oenanthe, Pimpinella.

Peucedaneae: Angelica, Ferula, Heracleum, Pastinaca.

Laserpiteae: Laserpitium, Thapsia.

Dauceae: Daucus.

PROVINGS •• [1] Hartlaub, Trinks, Nenning, 1828; method: unknown.

•• [2] Al en - 6 provers [5 males, 1 female], 1876; method: 1-2 drop doses of

tincture every hour for one day, or tincture in doses ranging from 5 to 24 drops,
with observation periods of 1 to 2 days [!].

Allen concluded from these experiments that "it seems established beyond any
possibility of doubt, that the plant is harmless. Our own experiments prove this
conclusively; in New York we had the co-operation of thirty or forty individuals,
who took varying doses of the expressed juice of the plant without the slightest
effect. The editor himself drank it by the wineglassful. A few experienced some
disturbance. It was not attempted to make a proving, as in that case the potencies
would have been tried; we only desired to verify Dr. Harley's observations as to
the poisonous nature of the herb."5

[1] Heywood, Flowering Plants of the World. [2] Allen, Handbook of Materia
Medica.

[3] Millspaugh, American Medicinal Plants. [4] Heywood, ibid. [5] Allen,
Encyclopedia, Vol. 10.

Affinity

BRAIN. Nerves. Digestion. Neck/occiput. Glands. Liver.

Modalities

Worse: MILK. Hot weather. Dentition. Frequent eating. After vomiting. After
stool.

Better: Walking in open air. Rest. Covering. Tightly bandaging the head.

Main symptoms

M Feels different from other people; lives in his own sentimental world.
LOVES ANIMALS, talks to animals, looks after them with unnatural passion.

Reserved; feels unconnected to other people.

Emotions strong but kept in, without a clear cause or a traumatic experience.

Tendency to withdrawal from society and to isolation.

Overcompensation of hidden emotions in strong feelings of love for animals.

Love for animals stronger than for humans, because of the idea that interpersonal
communication is apt to fail.

In advanced stage, fear of falling asleep [afraid he will never wake up again] and
fear of narcosis.

Gradual "dying" of sexual feelings, emotions and mental functions.

[Vithoulkas]

M EXAMINATION FUNK.

Cannot take any more in [comp. with the inability to digest nourishment - milk].

< Hot weather [= lack of concentration and brain fag].

• "Schoolgirls who prefer to play with their cat, because they can't study, they
can't concentrate on their study work."1

• "The remedy is also useful for students who are stuffed with al sorts of
knowledge and who abruptly reject anything to do with their studies."
[Grandgeorge]

M Mother-Infant Misunderstanding

• "This remedy is helpful for babies who never stop crying and are nursed
constantly by the mother. At the breast once every hour or two, the infant is
stuffed, and is subject to digestive troubles: colic, regurgitation of curdled milk.
The key to the remedy is found in the difficulty of establishing communication
between mother and child. The baby cries, the mother doesn't know what she
needs, becomes anxious, and decides to feed her, whether it is at the breast or
with a bottle." [Grandgeorge]

• "The bowels become relaxed, and everything put into the stomach either comes
up or goes right through. This occurs especially in those infants that have been
fed as the ordinary everyday mother feeds her baby, and how is that? Every time
it cries she puts it to the breast or feeds it." [Kent]

• "Something seems to have gone wrong with Aethusa patients in early

childhood, during the breast feeding period, or before that, with negative effect
on the breast feeding.

Some deep disturbance between mother and child, resulting in closing off the
emotions and hatred. The love that has gone sour is now directed to animals,
creatures incapable of hurting and betraying become their closest friends."2

G Ailments and SLEEPINESS and PROSTRATION.

G INTOLERANCE of MILK; children who are fed too often.

• "Mrs. P took 5 drops of tincture, just before dinner. At once complained of

heated, flushed feeling, with some nausea. In 5 m. drank some milk, and had to
go into open air to keep from vomiting. In 5 m. more repeated dose, and drank
some milk; after 2 m. took 5 drops more. Violent retching ensued, with vomiting
of phlegm only. After 10 m. took 5

drops more, which made her deathly sick, but she could bring nothing up but
phlegm."

[Hughes]

Milk is FORCIBLY vomited in LARGE [yellowish or greenish] CURDS.

* Desire for milk, which <.

• [Female, aged 22, epilepsy; 8 to 10 grand mal, and 2 to 3 petit mal per week.]
"The main point about the case was that the patient gorged herself on milk
before she had the seizures. She just had an irresistible urge to drink gallons of
milk and then it would bring on the convulsions. This fact mainly led me to
Aethusa, but also she rolled the eyes down and this is very characteristic in
Aethusa. Other considerations: clenched thumbs, jaws locked, pupils dilated,
immovable and staring, fear before examinations. ... Immediately after taking the
remedy [Aeth. 200c] she felt much clearer in her head. She had suffered much
congestion. The 'gunge' in her head started to move and clear out through the
nose.

Thick clear mucous came down the nose and she had to constantly blow it to
clear it.

Feeling a lot better and more sociable with people. ... "3

G Chilliness.

Yet redness of face.

Cold and clammy sweat and great coldness in abdomen and of extremities.

G Nibbling appetite; digestion ceases from brain exhaustion.

• "It has cured dyspepsia from constant feeding, in those nibblers, those hungry
fel ows who are always eating, always nibbling, always taking crackers in their
pockets until there comes a time when the stomach ceases to act. It also suits
cases of indigestion from head troubles, with hot head, vomiting, exhaustion,
sweat and long sleep." [Kent]

Frequent waking from hunger.

G Thirstlessness.

G Suddenness and violence.

[vomiting; pains; diarrhoea; delirium; convulsions; colic]

G DROWSINESS after VOMITING, or after DIARRHOEA.

G Deathly aspect; BLUE pallor about lips; white linea nasalis.

Too weak to hold up head.

G Convulsions.

And Eyes turned DOWNWARD; red face; fixed dilated pupils; foam at mouth;
trismus; clenched thumbs; perspiration [particularly at night, with desire to be
covered].

And Sensation of coldness in abdomen and whole body.

Also: Great disposition to perspire on the slightest physical effort.

Followed by deep sleep.

G Convulsions during dentition.

G < 3-4 a.m.

G < Summer heat.

[digestion; concentration and brainwork]

G Vertigo and sleepiness, palpitation or weakness. [Phatak]

P Squeezing headache in occiput.

< Lying.

> Passing flatus or stool.

• "Another kind of pain begins in the occiput or nape of the neck and goes down
the spine. The only relief is from bending stiffly backward. As soon as she
passes flatus or passes a stool, the headache ceases." [Olds]

P Hands, head and face seem swollen after walking in open air, > indoors.
[Allen]

P Herpetic or eczematous eruption on TIP of NOSE.

P Suffering renders the patient speechless. [Phatak]

P Diarrhoea during dentition, and SLEEPINESS.

Diarrhoea after drinking milk.

[1] Gaublomme, Aethusa case, Small Remedies Seminar 1990. [2] Corrie Hiwat,
Two cases of Aethusa, HL 1/95. [3] Francis Bowe, Learning Curve: Treating
Cancer and other serious conditions in a new way; The Homoeopathic Times,
Spring 2001.

Rubrics

Mind

Anticipation before examination [2]. Anxiety in the dark [1]; during headache
[1].

Awkward, drops things [1]. Conversation > [1; Eup-per.; Lac-d.]. Darkness < [2;
=

sensation of suffocation at night, goes to window to have fresh air]. Delirium >

perspiration [1/1]. Delusion persons are animals [2]; sees cats [2], dogs [2], rats
[2]; delusion senses are separated from objects, as if there were a barrier between
them [1/1]

[= stupefaction]. Fear of death if he goes to sleep [after a nightmare], fear he will

die [1]; fear to go to sleep, lest he should never wake again [1/1]. Irritability after
eating [1].

Vertigo

Sudden, while sitting, > rising [1/1*].

Head

Heat in head after vertigo [1/1]. Sensation as if something were turning around
in forehead [1/1*].

Vision

Objects seem large [1; Con.; Hyos.; Nux-m.].

Ear

Noises > boring into ear [1; Lach.; Meny.; Nicc.].

Nose

Sudden obstruction in morning after waking [1/1*].

Face

Swelling of face during menses [1; Sulph.].

Stomach

Eructations > lying [1; Rhus-t.]. Thirst during headache [1]. Thirstless during
heat [2].

Vomiting during diarrhoea [2]; during headache [2].

Abdomen

Bubbling sensation in umbilical region [1].

Kidneys

Pain when breathing deeply [1; Benz-ac.]; < sneezing [2].

Female

Menses suppressed from warm bathing [2/1].

Respiration

Difficult, in the dark [1/1]; when lying on the back [1].

Chest

Palpitation during headache [1]; during vertigo [1].

Sleep

Dozing after vomiting [2/1]. Frequent waking from hunger [2].

Perspiration
On beginning to sleep [1; Con.].

Generals

Sensation of boiling heat in blood vessels [1*]. Pain, stitching, burning, like
needles

[1*].

* Repertory additions [Hughes].

Food

Aversion: [2]: Milk. [1]: Fat; fruit.

Desire: [2]: Salt + farinaceous; wine. [1]: Cheese; delicacies.

Worse: [3]: Milk. [2]: Coffee. [1]: Alcohol; cold drinks; rich food; wine.

Agaricus muscarius

Agar.

Fear makes fools of two kinds of men: the one who is afraid of nothing, and the
other who is afraid of everything.

[McKenzie]

Signs

Amanita muscaria. Fly Agaric. N.O. Agaricaceae [Fungi].

KINGDOM FUNGI Fungi have been traditionally grouped with plants, but they
are as distinct from vascular plants as they are from animals. Fungi have no
motile cells at any stage of their life cycles and no direct evolutionary
connection with the plants. Unlike green plants and algae, which contain
chlorophyll, fungi are unable to synthesize their energy requirements from
sunlight. They are all heterotrophs, like animals, meaning that they depend for
their nourishment on organic matter already produced by other organisms.
Therefore fungi are now placed in a distinct kingdom. The cell wall of fungi is
composed of chitin, a polysaccharide that is never found in plants, but that is the
principal component of the exoskeleton of insects and crustaceans. The
durability of chitin allows certain fungi to break through asphalt and to uproot
paving stones. Most fungi reproduce both sexually and asexually. Occasionally
asexual reproduction occurs by fragmentation of the hyphae [thread-like cells],
but most reproduction is through the spreading of asexual spores by wind or
water. Hyphae grow by elongation at the tips and also by branching. The
resulting profusion of hyphae is called the mycelium. Abundant development of
mycelium may result in the formation of large fruiting structures such as
mushrooms and puffballs. Other types of massive hyphal structures enable some
fungi to exist under difficult conditions or to spread to suitable nutritional
sources. Fungi typically obtain nutrients by secreting digestive enzymes termed
exoenzymes into the food source and absorbing the smaller organic molecules
that are released. Although mainly terrestrial, fungi also live in water or other
media that contain organic substances. 1

CLASSIFICATION Fungi can be divided into three categories based on their

relationship to their immediate environment. Parasitic fungi feed on living
organisms; saprophytic fungi subsist on dead or decaying matter; mycorrhizal
fungi form a symbiotic or mutually beneficial relationship with the rootlets of
plants [mostly trees]. Most mycorrhizal fungi are host-specific, they grow only
with one kind of tree. About four-fifths of all vascular plants form associations
between their roots and fungi; these associations play a critical role in plant
nutrition and distribution. A. muscaria belongs to the third category. Parasitic
fungi attack living organisms. They are the most important single cause of plant
diseases; well over 5000 species of fungi attack economically valuable crop and
garden plants, as well as many wild plants. Certain fungi attack living trees,
causing enormous losses to the world's timber crop. Other fungi are the cause of
serious diseases in humans and domestic animals.

FUNGI "Fungi are those plants which are colourless; they have no green
chlorophyll within them, and it is this green substance which enables the higher
plants to build up, under the influence of sunlight, the starches and sugars which
ultimately form our food.

Having no chlorophyll, fungi cannot use the energy of the sun and must
therefore adapt another method of life. They either live as parasites on other
living plants or animals, or they live on decaying matter ... Fungi differ from
flowering plants in their chemical influence upon the air. They absorb oxygen
and exhale carbonic acid, performing the same office in this respect as animals,
which they most resemble in chemical composition. The odours they emit in
decay are more like putrescent animal than vegetable matter ... Their office in
the organized world is to check exuberance of growth, to facilitate
decomposition, to regulate the balance of the component elements of the
atmosphere, to promote fertility and to nourish myriads of the smaller members
of the animal kingdom ... Certain of the species represent a danger to our
existing food supply; the parasites on wheat, rye [Secale], corn [Ustilago] and on
potato plants [Solanum tuberosum aegrotans] have of recent years been of study
by scientific agriculturists ... Yet many of them perform useful and even
beneficent functions, such as yeasts ... In ancient times the eating of fungi was a
common practice. The Romans especially favoured the Boleti."2

FUNGUS PHYSIOLOGY Fungi require free oxygen and large amounts of water
and of carbohydrates or other carbon sources for growth. Sugars such as glucose
and levulose are usable by most fungi, but the use of other carbon sources
depends on the ability of the fungus to produce suitable enzymes. Some of the
mycorrhizal fungi may use nitrogen from the atmosphere, but all of the others
depend on nitrates, ammonium salts, or other inorganic or organic nitrogen
compounds. Other elements necessary for fungus growth include potassium,
phosphorus, magnesium, and sulphur. Traces of iron, manganese, copper,
molybdenum, zinc, and gallium and small amounts of growth substances also are
necessary. Some fungi are at least partially deficient in one or more of these
growth substances. The enzymes of fungi enable them to act upon a variety of
substances. A group of enzymes, called the zymase complex, permits yeasts to
carry on alcoholic fermentation. Glycogen, a substance related to starch and
dextrin, is the most common reserve carbohydrate of fungi.

DECOMPOSITION Fungi are nature's recyclers, the soil's replenishers. In recent

years many fungi have been discovered in polluted rivers and streams. These
fungi participate in the natural decomposition of sewage. In feeding on dead or
decaying matter, fungi reduce complex organic compounds to simpler building
blocks. Thereby, plants can re-use them. Thus, fungi are life-destroyers as well
as givers. "Their activities are as necessary to the continued existence of the
world as are those of the food producers.

Decomposition releases carbon dioxide into the atmosphere and returns

nitrogenous compounds and other materials to the soil where they can be used
again by plants and eventually by animals. It is estimated that, on the average,
the top 20 centimetres of fertile soil may contain nearly 5 metric tons of fungi
and bacteria per hectare. As decomposers, fungi often come into direct conflict
with human interests. Equipped with a powerful arsenal of enzymes that break
down organic products, fungi are often nuisances and are sometimes highly
destructive. This is especially true in the tropics, because warmth and dampness
promote fungal growth; it is estimated that during World War II less than 50 per
cent of the military supplies sent to tropical areas arrived in usable

condition. Fungi attack cloth, paint, cartons, leather, waxes, jet fuel, insulation
on cables and wires, photographic film, and even the coating of the lenses of
optical equipment - in fact, almost any conceivable substance. The importance of
fungi as commercial pests is enhanced by their ability to grow under a wide
range of conditions. The qualities of fungi that make them such important pests
also make them commercially valuable. Many fungi, especially the yeasts, are
useful because of their ability to produce substances such as ethanol and carbon
dioxide, which plays a central role in baking."3

POISON "Evil-smelling fungi are always to be regarded with distrust. It is a

suspicious sign of dangerous qualities, if a fungus on being cut or bruised
quickly turns deep blue or greenish, also if it is noticed that a small piece broken
from a freshly-gathered fungus when tasted leaves, instead of an agreeable, nutty
flavour, a sharp tingling on the tongue, or is in any way bitter ... The poisonous
Amanitas should not be very liable to be mistaken for the mushroom, since the
top of the cap is usually coloured, from yellow through shades of orange to red
or occasionally olive brown."4

AGARICACEAE The Agaricaceae order of gill-bearing Fungi comprises about

4,600

species. Some members are poisonous, as the Amanitas [Fly and Deadly
Agarics], whereas others, as Agaricus, Cantharellus, etc., are among the best
edible species.

DISTRIBUTION Amanita muscaria is a typical species of the northern latitudes.

At lesser latitudes it is present particularly in the mountain areas. It has a
preference for acidic soil and is common in birch and pine woods, where it
grows from the roots of these host trees.

NAME The name Agaricus probably comes from Agari, a district in Sarmatia. It
was applied by Dioscorides to a peculiar drug supplied by the Polyporus of the
Larch, which was of considerable repute. The specific name is derived from
musca, a fly. It has names that link it with flies in many European languages, e.g.
vliegenzwam in Dutch, flugsvamp in Swedish, tue-mouche in French,
Fliegenpilz in German, moscario in Italian, and mukhomor in Russian. The name
derives from its former use in Germany as an insecticide. The first to record this
was the Dominican Bishop of Regensburg, Albertus Magnus, who died in 1280.
The generic name Amanita derives from the Gr. amanitai, meaning 'fungi
without any details'.

FLY AGARIC The cap of A. muscaria is of a brilliant scarlet, studded with

scattered white scales, fragments of the universal veil [volva] in which it was
wrapped when young. During rainy weather the cap is sticky. Poison extracted
from it was once used for the destruction of flies and other insects; hence its
name. In the Autumn, it may be found in damp parts of birch and pine woods,
either solitary or scattered to densely gregarious or in large rings.

SYMBOLISM The fly agaric has been a symbol of luck and happiness since
ancient times. It is given as a good-luck charm, esp. at Christmas and New
Year's. Ott, author of Pharmacotheon, has suggested that some of the imagery of
Santa Claus is related to the Siberian shamanic rituals surrounding fly agaric.
Santa Claus's ascent of the chimney echoes Siberian festivals in which the
shaman would climb the central post that held up the roof of the winter dwelling
and exit via the smokehole; his clothing of red and white reflects the colours of
the fungus; his flight through the sky is shamanic; modern mythology places
Santa's homeland as Lapland, the region in northern Scandinavia that is also the
homeland of the reindeer. The 'take off' for the shamanic journey to the
Otherworlds was in several traditions around the world symbolically represented
by the

shaman climbing a birch pole, at the top of which he might flap his arms like a
bird's wings. An interesting point here is that the birch tree has a symbiotic
relationship with the fly agaric. According to the famous ethnomycologist R.
Gordon Wasson, chimney-sweeps in central Europe regard the fly agaric as their
own emblem. German names as Glückspilz [lucky mushroom] and
Narrenschwamm [jester's mushroom] testify to folk knowledge of the
intoxicating potential of the cosmopolitan fly agaric. An ancient Indian
manuscript calls Soma "the son of the thunder". The association of Amanita with
thunder and lightning was not uncommon, e.g. with the Mayas.
FOLKLORE The popularity of the mushroom-loving garden gnome is as
persistent as widespread. Garden gnomes seem to fulfil the same purpose as the
Germanic Alrauns; they are placed as symbols of good luck and guardianship,
and, frequently perched on mushrooms, pose like protectors of the lawn or fish
pond. The fly agaric is linked with spirits in Siberia and parts of Europe, and
also in Japan, where it represents flying spirits of the forest that sometimes
appeared as long-nosed humans and alternatively took the form of birds. "In
Germany, fairy rings were supposed to be caused by witches dancing on
Walpurgis Nacht [May Day Eve]. In general, they were the work of fairies. In
Wales, if a fairy ring were found in a field, the landowner left it well alone. The
rings were linked with fertility and doom. Cattle could not eat grass from the
rings, but Welsh mountain sheep were said to thrive on grass growing in these
circles. It was believed that crops grown on the site of plowed fairy rings would
be rich and abundant, but the farmer would from then on be under the threat of
great personal and spiritual danger from the wrath of the fairies. A large body of
Welsh folktales describes the fate of the mortals who entered the ring. The usual
pattern of these tales is that the trespasser finds within the ring a group of spirits
dancing and is forced to dance with them. The land of the spirits operates on a
different time scale to the world of earth, a concept reflected in Europe and also
Japan. A moment of fairy time represents an aeon of mortal time. In the Welsh
tales, the mortals are finally released and allowed to return home. Upon reaching
their houses, they find strange people living there. The disoriented travellers are
offered bread. Upon eating this food, the passage of time that they have been
away manifests itself in their bodies, and they crumble to dust. 5

MAGIC MUSHROOMS From ancient times hallucinogenic mushrooms were,

and continue to be used both for healing and for divination. Among the Central-
American Indians 'magic mushrooms' are eaten by special sages, who may also
prescribe them as a cure for certain illnesses. The general effect of the
consumption of these magic mushrooms, such as Psilocybe, Stropharia and
Amanita, is a period of slight muscular uncoordination or inebriation, followed
by a feeling of well-being and enjoyment, explosions of laughter, and ending in
deep sleep.

CONSTITUENTS The main active principle of A. muscaria is ibotenic acid,

which is converted by the human body into muscimol, a more powerful form
that passes out in the urine. [The Inuit Eskimos are known to collect urine and
drink it for its secondary hallucinogenic effect.] The ash is rich in potassium and
phosphorus. A. muscaria is notable for its ability to extract vanadium and
selenium from the soil. Dried fly agarics increase in potency, as drying causes
decarboxylation of ibotenic acid to the much more potent muscimol.

HALLUCINOGEN Amanita muscaria played a major role as a hallucinogen in

the New World, although its use in the Old World, particularly among the
northern people, was

known far longer. "Some 3,500 years ago, Aryan peoples swept down from the
north into the Indus Valley of India, bringing with them the cult of soma, a god-
narcotic of vegetal origin. ... The cult eventually died out, and for some obscure
reason, the original holy plant was forgotten. For more than 2,000 years the
source of soma has been a mystery.

During the past century, more than 100 suggested identifications of the identity
of the original soma have been offered. Amongst the most widely mentioned
'identifications'

have been Sarcostemma viminale and Periploca aphylla [Asclepiadaceae],

Rheum spp.

[Polygonaceae], Peganum harmala [Zygophyllaceae], and Ephedra spp.

Cannabis sativa has also been suggested. None of the solutions fit the
descriptions offered in the vedas. ...

On the basis of meticulous and scholarly study of the vedas and extensive
interdisciplinary research, Wasson has recently identified the original soma as A.

muscaria, an identification that apparently satisfies all of the many intricately

interlocking pieces of direct and indirect evidence - including even a reference in
the Rigveda to ceremonial urine drinking." [Evans Schultes] In spite of Wasson's
massive evidence, McKenna puts forward another fungal candidate for soma:
Stropharia cubensis [one of the psilocybin mushrooms]. McKenna argues that fly
agaric doesn't provide "reliable ecstatic experiences" and that the "rapturous
visionary ecstasy that inspired the Vedas and was the central mystery of the
Indo-European people as they moved across the Iranian plateau could not
possibly have been caused by A. muscaria."6

EFFECTS "The plant is not so much a lethal poison as an intoxicant and

narcotic, though it has in rare cases caused death. The Vikings used it in order to
'go berserk'. In the prohibition era in the USA its use was said to be as effective
as bootleg liquor, and less expensive. The usual method of taking the fungus is to
roll it into a bolus and swallow it without chewing. The desired effect ensues in
one or two hours and is evidenced by giddiness, a flushed visage, cheerfulness of
spirit, uncontrolled speech and behaviour, passing on occasion into complete loss
of consciousness. Sometimes violent muscle spasms occur, or the effects are
quite ludicrous; if a subject under the influence steps over a piece of straw or a
small stick he takes a stride or a jump, as if clearing the trunk of a tree; a
talkative type talks at random and may disclose secret matters; one fond of
music constantly bursts into song."7 It has been observed that persons under the
influence of fly agaric are able to answer questions from people around them,
but only about things that are connected to their delusions. "The most absurd
things occur at such fly agaric feasts.

Musical talents sing constantly, some people chatter, laugh, and tell their secrets
to everybody, whereas others behave as if they are under the influence of
hashish. Their concept of space disappears and they make big leaps to step over
a blade of grass or other small objects. Often muscular strength is particularly
increased."8

FRENZY In ancient Greece the dionysia - orgiastic festivals - were staged in the
honour of the God Dionysus [Bacchus]. Inebriating, aphrodisiac beverages were
passed around and the participants sang and danced until their bodies quivered in
ecstasy. It finally ended when everybody fell to the floor completely exhausted.
If the wine was of a good

"bouquet" it contained additives such as: oleander sprouts, juniper branches,

wormwood, mandrake fruit or roots, and possibly belladonna, hellebore, aconite,
opium, and hashish.

But if the wine was of a particular good bouquet, Greek sources are silent about
the one plant that was singularly predestined for the wine of Dionysus: the fly
agaric. It could really elicit the frenzy required for his mysteries. "It has been
suggested that the ancient berserker of Scandinavia, who went on periodic orgies
of killing, intoxicated themselves

into a mad frenzy possibly by ingesting fly agaric, but there is not a shred of
evidence for and much against this theory."9

INTOXICATION Many words of the Finno-Urgic language group referring to

intoxication, ecstasy and drunkenness are traceable to words meaning fungus or
fly agaric. Among Siberian tribes, the Creator Himself was connected to the fly
agaric. He asked Existence for help to lift a heavy load. This deity told him to eat
fly agaric; he did so and was able to lift the load with ease. Following the myth,
the Siberians also recommended the mushroom for heavy physical labour. The
natives of Eastern Siberia like the small specimens best: "Big fungi are not so
obedient as small ones, they may deceive; small fungi are stronger than big ones
but more submissive." The mushroom can be taken in many different ways: dry
under the tongue, in warm or cold milk / water, together with other herbs, or
chewed by the woman, then made into a sausage for the man to swallow. Even
smoking of the fungus has been reported. The mushrooms can also be soaked in
fruit juice, and then preferably the juice of the bog bilberry [Vaccinium
uliginosum]. This juice is said to increase the psychoactive effects of A.
muscaria.

Epilobium angustifolium, or fireweed, was also used as an additive. The

psychoactivity of Amanita is seasonally determinant. The most powerful ones
are picked in the middle of August when the season is beginning. In mushrooms
picked in September the narcotic and physical effects seem to be predominant
whereas in August the 'visionary' and psychedelic effects are more highlighted.
"Drowsiness is also a common phenomenon. In fact, those who ingest A.
muscaria frequently fall asleep ['swoon'], to awaken hours later with little or no
memory of their experiences. There is no 'hangover' effect as with alcohol. Since
muscimol passes out through the urine, Siberian users 'recycled' their A.

muscaria by drinking their own urine. ... Treatment of muscimol poisoning is

largely supportive - reassuring the victim that the effects are temporary. In the
mistaken belief that muscarine was the principal toxin, older texts prescribe
atropine as an antidote.

Atropine, however, is likely to exacerbate the effects of ibotenic

acid/muscimol."10

EXPERIMENTS In a study of the fly agaric, the Italian mycologist Antonio

Bianchi reported on personal experiences with the Amanita muscaria taken from
European samples. "We have had a very small number of experiments [six
times] with a small group [five people]. ... Group interaction has been found to
be meaningless because the effect of the drug is very individual and each person
wants to be alone with himself. ...
Another very important aspect of this mushroom is diet [fasting before taking it]:
light food two or three days before and a day of fasting help to reduce the nausea
in the first stage and to permit a 'relaxed' course. ... The experience with Amanita
muscaria can be split into three stages: a first stage when the physical symptoms
of nausea and vomiting predominate [vomiting is very rare while a strong sense
of nausea is always present]; a second stage when the narcotic effect
predominates, and a third when there could be visions and hallucinations. ... One
person in the first session reported in the passage between stage 1 and stage 2 a
'profound sense of spiritual insight with a dreamlike feeling of a religious
identity with my deep self.' This is the only religious feeling which has been
reported. More common were changes in body perspective with a feeling of
being split in two, with a part of himself remaining on the left side of his body.
Dizziness and a sense of being disoriented, with some difficulty in motor
coordination, were very common in the third stage. In all cases this experience
occurred in a dreamlike state, which is the most important aspect of stage 3: a
state in which a person is experiencing

reality as an inner world with a strong feeling of introspection. ... The sense of
ego was maintained throughout the experience. ... People experienced a
particular kind of imagination where thoughts were immediately transformed
into images. This has happened to six people. During the Amanita experience
people complained of a lack of attention with a high involvement in inner
images and sensations and great difficulty in directing concentration. No effects
were reported on memory, which was unimpaired in all throughout the
experience. Nobody has reported feelings of irritation, anger, shame, guilt or
other negative feelings. Sexual feelings and also sensations of love, joy and bliss
were absent. Some people remember a marked sense of detachment and no
emotional involvement. Control of the experience, thought and image was very
reduced because of the absence of volition: the person accepted this situation
with detachment and absence of any criticism. I think that the most powerful
quality of Amanita muscaria is this sense of silent talking to oneself; the kind of
internal dialogue where a person has the feeling of important revelations about
his life, a feeling which is maintained for a long time after the experience. More
research into this is needed, particularly with selected groups of people: I think
this mushroom could have a lot to teach us about ourselves." 11

PROVINGS •• [1] Hahnemann - 11 provers; method: unknown.

•• [2] Lembke - self-experimentation; method: mother tincture in doses

increasing from 10 drops to 2 drams over a period of 12 days.

•• [3] Adler - 20 provers [18 males, 2 females], 1863-64; method: 13 trials with
[mother]

tincture in [increasing] doses ranging from 4 to 400 drops, every 1 to 5 days,

over 11 to 150 days; 3 trials with 1x dil.; 4 trials with 2x dil.; 1 trial with 6x dil.;
1 trial with 10x dil.

Some provers experimented with various potencies.

[1] Northington and Schneider, The Botanical World. [2] Grieve, A Modern
Herbal. [3]

Raven et al, Biology of Plants. [4] Grieve, ibid. [5] Morgan, Toads and
Toadstools. [6]

McKenna, Food of the Gods. [7] Gibson, Studies of Homeopathic Remedies. [8]
Ernst von Bibra, Plant Intoxicants. [9] Schultes, The Botany and Chemistry of
Hallucinogens.

[10] Arora, Mushrooms Demystified. [11] Festi and Bianchi, Amanita muscaria :
Mycopharmacological Outline and Personal Experiences, PM and E Vol. 5.

Affinity

SPINAL AXIS [OCCIPUT; NERVES; lumbar region]. Peristalsis. Heart.

Circulation.

Respiration. Chest. * Right side. Left side.

Modalities

Worse: Air [COLD; FREEZING; OPEN; stormy weather]. Exhaustion [mental;

coition; debauchery]. Alcohol. PRESSURE. TOUCH. Morning. Daytime.
During menses. After motion. After eating. Before thunderstorm.

Better: Gentle motion. Evening.

Main symptoms
M DISTURBED SENSE OF PERSPECTIVE.

[every little problem is exaggerated; small holes appear like frightful chasms;
self-esteem, reciting his exploits; delusions of grandeur; exalted strength].

Compare: Defective accommodation [of the eye].

• "In a minute or two the Caterpil ar took the hookah out of its mouth and
yawned once or twice, and shook itself. Then it got down 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.' 'One side of
what? The other side of what?' thought Alice to

herself. 'Of the mushroom,' said the Caterpillar, just as if she had asked it aloud;
and in another moment it was out of sight."

[Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland]

Unrestrained. Uninhibited.

Fearless; thoughtless; reckless.

c Talks without listening.

c Speaks without thinking, revealing secrets.

[The Dutch have the same word for fungus ["zwam"] as for raving or twaddling

["zwammen"].]

c Nosy, inquisitive, curious.

• "I go from one extreme to the other - I am either very excited or very low. ... I
can't keep friends because I get too intimate with them. I start delving into all
their problems. I get too friendly. I want to see them all the time and then after
about four or six weeks I lose interest in them completely."1

c Fights without fear; with increased strength.

• "Fearless, menacing, mischievous frenzy; also, frenzy which causes the patient
to assail and injure himself, with great exertion of power." [Allen]
• "He is intoxicated with fearless frenzy; forming bold and revengeful projects."
[Al en]

• "My dreams have a continuous theme over and over. I'm always fighting with
someone. I'm always the good guy. I'm always defending and helping people.
Hand-to-hand combat. Sometimes I feel very confident; sometimes fearful
because there's more than one combatant. In real life it's not a problem because
I'm a martial artist. I'm dangerous, so two or three opponents are no problem."2

c Disturbed awareness of body.

• "She felt so light, that it seemed as though she could run as never before."

• "It seems as if the whole body were gradually diminishing." [Allen]

c As if distant.

• "Noise like a distant tea-kettle beginning to boil, and heat in head."

• "As of a clock striking at a great distance."

• "Sound as if a nail were being driven into a board at a distance." [Al en]

c Exalted strength.

• "This man has an absolutely superhuman quality about him. It was

inconceivable to me that any one person could have done so many things in one
lifetime. Activities that would exhaust the average person gave him still more
energy. He seemed to have a ceaseless yearning for the experiences of life."3

• "The key to this remedy is in its clumsiness. It is as if some kind of mismatch

has occurred between the body and the vital force that give it life: either the vital
force is in good order and the body is disabled, not allowing the full expression
of the energy within, or the body is in good order but the internal energy is too
intense. ... These individuals throw themselves wholeheartedly into action, but
the body can't keep up with what they want to do. This is, for example, a remedy
for tennis elbow [hitting too hard], or for pulled muscles occurring in sports. ...
He has realized that up to now, in all his activities, he has always set his goals so
high he could not attain them." [Grandgeorge]
M FEAR of CANCER; preoccupied with death, dying, graveyards, etc.

• "Their biggest fear is about their health and there is always a bizarre
connection with death. An Agaricus person will go to all the funerals in the
neighbourhood." [Vithoulkas]

M Great interest in weird subjects.

• "Also when I was a teenager I used to sit up through the night talking with my
father about things like reincarnation, UFO's, ghosts and things like that.
Recently I have felt that I wanted to die - to see what it is like. I want to leave
my job and become a prison warder because I want to find out why they are in
prison. But after about two months I would probably be bored with that job."4

• "I am absolutely fascinated by dying. I love ghost stories and I am fascinated

by the supernatural and reading about it. I am really interested in near-death
experiences. When I was a child I loved ghost stories and was very interested in
my grandmother's experiences with dying people as a nurse - I would always ask
her about it."5

• "The only kind of book I like to read is a book about horror. The book must be
real y gory to be enjoyable. Even when I was a child that was the sort of book I
liked. They don't frighten me at all. I like looking at operations on TV - it's out
of curiosity - I like to see how things work."6

M INDOLENCE in the MORNING.

Dulness - do not want to depart from their daily routine.

• "Some patients when going on with their own usual vocation are pretty smart,
but if you put some new idea before them, something not in the routine of their
work, they are perfectly idiotic. This is especially noticeable in the morning. He
can't take in anything new in the morning, but he is able to take in new ideas and
is bright in the evening, like the effect produced by alcoholic beverages." [Kent]

• "Very much out of humour al day, and disinclined to answer when asked
questions; great indifference to everything; great selfishness; great
forgetfulness." [Hoyne]

Brightening up in the EVENING.

Great loquacity, jumps from one subject to another [but does not answer].

[Intoxication with Fly Agaric is characterized by cheerfulness and loss of self-

control, which is followed by lassitude and depression; compare the effect of
stimulants such as tea, coffee and alcohol.]

M Great disinclination to speak.

• "Without being il -humoured. He compels himself to speak, but answers in few

words, though otherwise cheerful. It seems as if he could not find the words to
express himself.

Self-absorbed mood." [Hahnemann]

Compare: "Group interaction has been found to be meaningless because the

effect of the drug is very individual and each person wants to be alone with
himself." [experiment Bianchi; see above]

• "Even though he shows loquacity, jumping from one subject to another, he is

usually very quiet while visiting the doctor. In general, in many cases where
Agaricus is suggested, the patient speaks about himself with great difficulty to
the doctor. ... He is unwilling to talk to the doctor about his inner world. A
person who doesn't want to confess his sins, even in front of the gates of hell,
will speak of himself with great difficulty."7

M Hyperactive, clumsy children.

• "Fingers fly open spasmodically while holding things."

NO fear [climb the highest tree, etc.].

And Growing pains.

Or: • "Nervous girls prior to puberty who have convulsions from being scolded,
from

excitement and shock, late in mental development." [Kent]

Nervous children who constantly lick their lips, giving rise to vesicles filled with
yellow serum.
Growing pains in children [hyperactive, fearless and awkward].

G Suitable for persons with light hair, lax skin and musculature, and pallor of
face.

Speech is apt to be jerky and indistinct [from trembling of the tongue].

• "The patient is frequently light complexioned, aged, with a sluggish

circulation, or a drunkard with gastric disturbances and headaches."
[Blackwood]

G NERVOUS PERSONS WITH SCANTY URINE.

G TUBERCULAR miasm [wide variety of symptoms].

G COLD.

Very sensitive to cold air.

Cold air strikes through the whole body

Sensation as if frozen.

Coldness in small spots. Sensation as if a chunk of ice was resting on the head.

Hugs the fire.

Cold drinks <.

c Frostbite and chilblains and burning/itching, redness, swelling, and < heat.

G Sun [sunlight and/or sun heat] <.

[vertigo; headache; dimness of vision]

G Profuse, cold and oily perspiration.

G Great sexual desire.

• "There is a lascivious desire to kil ."

G < [after] COITION.

[spasms; lumbosacral backache]

• "Useful for the symptoms which come on after coition in young, nervous
married women, hysterical fainting after coition." [Kent]

G Irregular, uncertain, INVOLUNTARY and exaggerated movements; reaches

too far, staggers, steps too high, drops things, etc.

• "Grimacing around the mouth as they are getting ready to say something"
[Morrison].

• "As the patient looks at you there is a pendulum-like action of the eyes, they go
back and forth all the time; they oscillate, though he tries his best to fix his look
on you."

[Kent]

G Trembling, TWITCHING, jerking, spasms; here and there.

[< EYELIDS, face or tongue]

G Chorea before thunderstorms; > DURING SLEEP.

G Epilepsy from suppressed eruptions.

G SPASMS [local].

< Cold; mental exertion.

> Sleep.

And Spine sensitive to touch [esp. cervical region and dorsal region between
scapulae].

G Pains BURNING/ITCHING [esp. skin]; as if frozen.

• "Burning, itching and redness of areas of skin. Scratching of pruritic areas

gives some relief, but parts scratched become icy cold and itching spreads to
other areas." [Gibson]
Sensation of icy-cold needles.

G Pains stitching; splinter- like [in particular in facial neuralgia].

G Pains and coldness, tingling or insensibility.

G SMALL AREAS.

[pains, esp. headache; itching, burning; coldness; muscular twitching]

• "The Agar. patient has spel s in which a little muscle of the face or a few fibres
of a muscle with quiver for a few minutes and stop, and then in another part of
the face the same thing, an eyelid will quiver, and then another set of fibres,
sometimes so bad as to nearly drive him crazy." [Kent]

P Shooting frontal headache.

Extending to root of nose.

< Mental exertion.

And Heaviness in occiput.

And Tendency to fall backwards.

P Hay fever: itching in nasopharynx and ears, < menses.

Compare: • "In the nose we have irritation, spasmodic sneezing and discharge of
pure water from the nostrils, but without inflammatory symptoms. In other
words, all the appearances of a fresh and severe cold in the head that soon passes
off only to return again two or three times during the day or for several days."
[Pierce]

Sudden attacks of coryza.

P Epistaxis.

• "Epistaxis in old people, esp. when of a passive character, requires Agaricus. In

blowing the nose, blood comes out of it, early in the morning, immediately after
rising; this is followed by violent bleeding of the nose." [Hoyne]
P Sciatica or lumbago.

< Sitting; touch; stooping [= feeling as if back would break].

> Lying on back.

P Paralytic weakness in the lower limbs soon after becoming pregnant.

[1] Hardy, Morbidly inquisitive : Three cases of Agaricus, HL 1/98. [2-3]

Reichenberg-Ullman, The Case of the Dream Warrior; IFH 1995 [Two cases of
fearlessness and exalted strength.] [4-6] Hardy, ibid. [7] Loukas and Tsamaslidis,
Agaricus muscarius, HL

1/94.

Rubrics

Mind

Anxiety > breathing deeply [1]; > perspiration [1; Calc.]. Audacity [1].
Confusion >

eating [1]. Curious [1]. Desires death [1*]. Delirium with exaltation of strength
[2].

Delusion arms don't belong to her [1]; he is a great person [2]; obliged to confess
his sins at gate of hell [1/1]; legs don't belong to her [2; Bapt.]; that she could run
as never before

[1/1]; of being smaller [1]; of being under superhuman control [1]. Dulness >
evening [1].

Egotism, reciting their exploits [1/1]. Exaggerating [1]. Fear of suffocation at

night [1].

Frenzy causing him to injure himself [1; Lyss.]. Loquacity but answers no
questions

[2/1]; changes quickly from one subject to another [1]. Memory active in
evening [1].
Mischievous [2]. Mistakes in speaking < after exertion [1/1]. Mutilating his body
[1].

Makes many bold plans [1/1]; revengeful plans [1/1]. Reveals secrets [1; Hyos.].
Runs about in most dangerous places [1/1]. Talks of war [1; Bell.; Hyos.].
Threatening [1; Choc.; Tarent.]. Throws things at persons [1; Bell.; Tub.].

Vertigo

From heat of sun [2]. On looking at moving objects [2; Con.].

Head

Sensation as if something were alive in head, as if brain were an anthill [1/1].

Pain, when holding the breath [1/1]; > moving head, must move head to and fro
[2]; > urination [1].

Eye

Twitching of lids before thunderstorm [2/1].

Vision

Objects seem brighter [1]. Dim < sunlight [1]. Loss of vision, decreasing
gradually when walking in open air [1/1*]. Objects become pale after looking
long [2; Rhus-t.].

Ear

Noises, of a locomotive, when lying down [1*], > rising [1*].

Nose

Obstruction on stooping [1/1]. Smell, acute, sensitive to odour of vinegar [1/1].

Sneezing during sleep [1*], in sunshine [1].

Mouth

Salivation during nausea [1*]. Sweetish taste when smoking [1].

Stomach
Appetite wanting after coition [2/1]. Eructations while smoking [1]; tasting like
apples

[1/1]. Heartburn after meat [1; Ferr-p.]. Trembling sensation on lying down [1;
Cocc.]; from noise [1]. Vomiting from smoking [1].

Abdomen

Feeling of flatulent distension while smoking [1*].

Rectum

Diarrhoea from heat of sun [1; Camph.; Carb-v.].

Urine

Copious during diarrhoea [1]. Scanty in nervous women [2/1].

Male

Sexual desire increased after sleep [2/1].

Female

Itching intolerable [2]; in vagina after coition [1; Androc.; Nit-ac.]. Bearing-
down pain in uterus > lying [2]; at end of or after menses [2/1].

Larynx

Sensation of constriction in larynx < singing [2/1]; on falling asleep [2].

Chest

Palpitation when lying on back [1]; from tobacco [1]. Shocks through region of
heart while lying [2/1]; from noise [2].

Limbs

Jerking of single fingers [1*]. Separated sensation, lower limbs, head of femur
[1*]; pelvic bones from sacrum [1*].
Sleep

Sleeplessness from restlessness in legs [1]; before thunderstorm [1; Sil.].

Perspiration

Oily at night [2]. Profuse after coition [2/1].

Skin

Itching after coition [2/1]; > after exertion [1/1]; after mental exertion [2/1].

Generals

Convulsions from suppression of milk of mother [2; Mill.]; during thunderstorm

[1;

Gels.]; > vomiting [1/1]. Faintness from odours, of perfume or vinegar [1/1].
Frosty weather < [2].

* Repertory additions [Hughes].

Food

Aversion: [1]: Bread; drinking; eggs; meat; roasted meat; wine.

Desire: [3]: Alcohol. [2]: Whiskey. [1]: Beer; bread and butter; cold drinks; eggs;
garlic; salt food.

Worse: [2]: Alcohol; cold drinks. [1]: Beer; bread and butter; coffee; cold food;
dry food; meat; plums, prunes; stimulants; tobacco; vinegar, smell of; wine,
smell of.

Better: [1]: Alcohol; coffee; cold drinks; hot food; wine.

Allium cepa

All-c.

An onion is a vegetable that builds you up physically and tears you down
socially.
[McKenzie]

Signs

Allium cepa. Red onion. N.O. Alliaceae [Liliaceae].

CLASSIFICATION The genus Allium is usually classified with the Liliaceae,

but in accordance to the latest botanical classifications it belongs to the separate
family Alliaceae, a plant family comprising 30 other genera more. Allium is the
largest genus with some 800 species distributed throughout the Northern
Hemisphere, and including important economic plants such as Onion, Leek,
Chives, Garlic, and Shallot. The genus also contains many fine ornamentals.
Most have bulbous rootstocks, the leaves being smooth and hollow in some
species, emitting a characteristic garlicky odour when bruised. They thrive best
in well-drained cool soil, but dislike humus [acidic soils]. Some are shade-lovers
but the majority prefers an open sunny position. Although a biennial, the onion
may manage to complete his full life cycle in one season, provided there are
enough long, warm days.

NAME The name Allium derives possibly from the Celtic all, meaning hot. The
specific name cepa probably comes from Celtic cep, a head, in allusion to the
spherical shape of the flowerheads.

CONSTITUENTS In addition to being rich in potassium, phosphorus, and iron,

A. cepa contains gonadotropic phytohormones and sulphur-containing
compounds. The latter are responsible for the flow of tears when peeling onions,
and furnish, through fermentation, a substance with bacteriolytic and vulnerary
properties. The ash contains calcium, and traces of of silicic acid, nickel, cobalt,
and fluorine.

HISTORY The first record where the onion is included comes from the Assyro-
Babylonians. The Egyptian Ebers Papyrus, dating back to around 1550 BC also
mentions the onion. It includes more than 700 prescriptions using natural
products such as caraway, coriander, linseed, peppermint, anise, fennel, poppy
seed, and of course garlic/onion. In ancient Egypt the pyramid-builders got paid
in onions. Onions also found a widespread use in mummification and as a form
of snake repellent. The Egyptians saw the onion bulb as a symbol of the universe
and sacred to the mother-goddess Isis. Muslim tradition has it that garlic sprang
from the Devil's left foot, and onion from his right when he was banished from
Eden.

EFFECTS People susceptible to the juice of onions may suffer from local
inflammatory

skin reactions [contactdermatitis]. Consumption of great amounts of onions

results in vomiting, diarrhoea and nephritis. Dogs whose food was mixed daily
with big portions of onions, suffered from drowsiness and produced considerable
amounts of coffee-coloured urine and greenish black faeces. Another frequently
occurring symptom was severe anaemia.

USES For thousands of years garlic and onion have been used to treat cancers.

Hippocrates wrote about steam fumigation of garlic to treat uterine cancer. The
same and similar stories are also recorded from ancient Egypt, Greece, Rome,
India, Russia, and China. Interestingly, people in Georgia, where Vitalia onions
are grown, have a far lower mortality rate of stomach cancer than in the USA in
general. The rate is as low as one third of the average US level among whites. As
with garlic, this effect can be due to the high concentration of selenium in
onions. "Both garlic and onion oils inhibit the enzymes lipoxygenase and
cyclooxygenase. Each of these enzymes is known to act as one of two parallel
biochemical pathways [within the arachidonic acid cascade] and only by
inhibiting these enzymes can this pathway be arrested. When arrested, the
production of prostaglandin is slowed. Since many cancers are prostaglandin
dependent, this may explain why the allium oils have anti-tumour properties."1
Russian scientists once screened 150 plants for antibacterial properties and found
onions and garlic to be the most potent. Chewing a raw onion for three to eight
minutes proved to render the lining of the mouth completely sterile. "Because of
their strong, pungent properties, onions induce the stomach to initiate actions
that release a 'flood of tears' in the throat and lungs'

airways, breaking up mucous congestion," remarked a specialist on pulmonary

diseases.

Eating raw onions creates a drop in blood cholesterol; the more onions the
steeper the drop; hence the standard prescription of an American heart specialist
for his patients: Eat Raw Onions.

FOLKLORE "Like the ancient Babylonians, Austrian farmers use onions to 'fix
the fates'
on New Year's Eve. They fill twelve onion sheaths with salt, and the ensuing
months of the year will be dry or wet, according to whether the salt in the
corresponding peel remains dry or forms a fluid."2 The Chinese, Egyptians,
Arabs, and other cultures used onions and garlic for their "power to trap any type
of evil influence which had been directed towards the home. The onion was also
credited with the power of protecting the home from contagion during epidemics
and plagues. As recently as the 19th century many physicians still advocated
placing sliced onions in the home as a preventive measure in such cases.
Children wore onions in bags around their necks to ward off colds and other
winter diseases."3 A cut onion was believed to absorb germs as well as all other
bad vibrations or energies in houses. It was therefore inconceivable to keep a
piece of onion peeled and cut in the cupboard or likewise. In medieval Europe
bunches of onions were hung on the doors to ward off the plague. An onion
placed beneath the pillow is said to produce prophetic dreams. Persons finding it
difficult to make a decision, may scratch their options on onions [one to each
onion], and place them in the dark. The first one that sprouts provides the
answer. If one throws an onion after a bride one will throw away her tears.
Onions were used to forecast the weather, as an English gardener's rhyme
explains:

'onion's skin very thin, mild winter coming in; onion's skin thick and tough,
coming winter cold and rough.' English schoolboys recommended that if an
onion was rubbed on a hand before it was caned the pain would be alleviated.
Onions were commonly used for relief of pain: the inside of an onion skin placed
on cuts and scratches acted as a type of

elastoplast; an onion placed or rubbed on a wasp or a bee sting will take the pain
away; carrying a small onion in the pocket may ward off rheumatism. 4

SYMBOLISM The traditional symbolism of the onion is directly related to its

morphology: revelation as peeling off the layers to reach the centre. In allusion
to its layers as well is the idea of unity, of the many in the one. Onions were
thought to turn aside evil, in particular baleful lunar powers. "Ramakrishna
compares the laminated structure and lack of a central core with the structure of
the ego. Spiritual experiences strip it away layer by layer until there is voidness
and then there is no barrier to the Universal Spirit and union with Brahma. On a
magical level, the Ancient Egyptians protected themselves against certain
diseases with onion stalks, while Plutarch says that the Romans forbade the plant
because it waxed while the Moon waned and its smell weakened the life force.
Aphrodisiac properties have also been attributed to it, as much because of what it
suggests to the imagination as because of its chemical composition."5

RADIATION Recently, a Russian electro-biologist found that garlic and onions

emit a strange type of ultraviolet radiation which he called M-rays. These
mysterious rays may account for the persistent legendary claims that the humble
onion protects the home from contagion.

PROVINGS •• [1] Hering - self-experimentation, 1847; method: tincture.

•• [2] Al eborn - 4 [male] provers; method: 1-50 drops of tincture, several days
in succession.

•• [3] Eckel - self-experimentation; method: 2-4 drops of tincture.

•• [4] Geist - self-experimentation; method: 1-3 drops of tincture.

•• [5] Neidhard - 3 female provers; method: 5-20 drops of tincture, observation

period of 1 day.

•• [6] Wesselhoeft - self-experimentation; method: 2 drops of tincture, 4 or 5

days in succession.

•• [7] Dubs and Prollius - eating onions.

"Dioscorides, the Greek physician, and physicians following him, among the
Arabians, had a glimpse of the truth of similia, for they used the onion to cure
the symptoms they knew it was capable of producing; but with Galen all
reasonable investigation ceased."6

[1] Lucas, Nature's Medicines. [2] Weiner, Weiner's Herbal. [3] Lipp, Herbalism.
[4]

Vickery, Dictionary of Plant-lore. [5] Chevalier and Gheerbrant, Dictionary of

Symbols.

[6] Hering, Guiding Symptoms.

Affinity
MUCOUS MEMBRANES [NOSE; EYES; larynx; bowels]. Nerves. * Left side.
Left to right.

Modalities

Worse: WARM ROOM. Wet feet. Singing. Dampness. N.E. winds. Spring.
Evening.

Better: Cool, open air. Bathing. Motion.

Main symptoms

M Great DULNESS OF MIND, < evening; and [commencing] coryza.

M Dreams.

• "Constant dreams of battles, fights, precipices, storms at sea, and difficulty in

reaching the coast, of deep wells, and efforts to get out of them."

• "Dreams of being near water two night in succession." [Allen]

G < WARM ROOM.

> OPEN AIR.

• "The patient and al the phases of his 'cold', his coryza, his laryngitis, his cough,
al his complaints, are aggravated by warmth, are worse in a warm room,
excepting the tickling in the larynx, which is sometimes aggravated by drawing
in cold air." [Kent]

G < Morning.

[apathy; sleepiness; flatulence; dry throat and cough; pain in ankle]

< Evening.

[all catarrhal symptoms and pains; heat of face; eructations; flushes of heat;
thirst]

G Appetite increased, even ravenous.

Thirst.

G Ailments from eating cucumbers, salads [= wind colic].

G Allergic to peaches [odour, contact with skin].

G Coffee <.

[fulness in head; stomach pain; heat and pain in abdomen]

G Ailments after forceps delivery.

G Heat and rumbling in abdomen, coryza and thirst.

G MUCOUS secretions increased.

P BLAND LACHRYMATION.

P ACRID, biting, WATERY DISCHARGE from NOSE.

Sensation of RAWNESS in nose.

P Coryza and catarrhal symptoms; > OPEN AIR and < heat.

And DULNESS of head.

And Frontal headache extending to nose.

And Swelling of lids and around eyes.

And Hunger.

And Copious urination.

P Hay fever with acrid discharge from nose and bland lachrymation [reverse of
Euphr.].

< Evening; warm room.

> Open air.

P Common colds GOING DOWNWARD:

violent laryngitis; scratching/rawness in throat when coughing; grasps the throat

when coughing.

Cough from tickling in larynx.

< Lying down at night in a warm room.

P Pain in eyes.

• "Pains in the eyes as if they would be torn out, as if the eye hung loose
posteriorly, on a string, and could be bored into with the fingers and torn out."
[Hering]

P Yellow discolouration of teeth.

• "The teeth are a smutty yel ow in the morning, they remain so the whole day, in
one who has very white and sound teeth; continues three to five days." [Allen]

P Colic [stomach/abdomen] after getting feet wet; after eating cucumbers.

< Sitting.

> Motion.

And Sleepiness BETWEEN the attacks [in infantile flatulent colic].

P Injuries of HEELS [from friction of shoes]; blisters.

P Stump neuralgia [THREAD-LIKE pain].

Rubrics

Mind

Absentminded in afternoon, after coffee or wine [2/1]. Confusion after coffee [1;
Arg-n.; Calc-p.; Mill.]. Dulness after wine [1].

Head
Fulness occiput on coughing [1/1]. Pain, > during menses [1; Verat.; Zinc.]; >
open air.

[2], on closing eyes [3]. Vertex as if swollen [1/1].

Vision

Near objects seem distant during sleepiness [1/1*]; on yawning [1/1].

Hearing

Sounds seem distant [1; Lac-c.].

Nose

Coryza, from flowers [3]; with hunger [1; Hep.; Sul-ac.]; from odour of peaches
[3/1]; from odour of roses [1]. Sneezing, < rising from bed [1; Stach.]; in warm
room [2; Puls.].

Teeth

Back teeth as if too long, at night in bed [1/1*]. Pain > perspiration [1].

Throat

Sensation as if food lodged in oesophagus [1*].

Stomach

Appetite wanting [disappearing] as soon as he begins to eat [1*]. Long-

continued eructations immediately after eating onions [1*]. Cramping pain while
sitting [2], >

walking [2].

Abdomen

Flatulence and weak sensation in limbs [1/1*]. Pain < coffee [1*]; cramping pain
from getting feet wet [2/1].

Rectum
Diarrhoea after onions [1*]. Stitching pain extending down lower part of rectum
[1*].

Bladder

Pain after coition [2/1]. Retention of urine after getting feet wet [2].

Prostate

Pain after coition [2].

Male

Can't finish coition on account of weakness in hips [1/1*].

Urine

Copious during coryza [2].

Limbs

Excessive tired feeling in region of hips, on rising from sitting, on walking, esp.
on ascending stairs [1/1*]. Weakness in hips at night [1/1*].

Sleep

Yawning before headache [2].

Generals

Deathly faintness after profuse urination [1].

* Repertory additions [Hughes].

Food

Desire: [2]: Raw onions. [1]: Garlic; raw food; vegetables.

Worse: [2]: farinaceous. [1]: Beer [headache]; coffee; cucumbers [nausea];

onions
[toothache; eructations; diarrhoea]; salads; warm food; wine.

Better: [1]: Cold drinks [while in warm room]; onions.

Aloe socotrina

Aloe

Better a little fire to warm us than a great one to burn us.

[Thomas Fuller]

Signs

Aloe socotrina. Aloe perryi. Common Aloes. N.O. Aloaceae [Liliaceae].

CLASSIFICATION Aloe is one of the five genera belonging to the family

Aloaceae.

Aloes are leaf succulents; they store water mainly in the leaves. They have deep
or broad root systems and are native to either deserts or semi-arid brushlands.
The strong and fibrous perennial roots push up a rosette of narrow, tapering,
thick and fleshy leaves, with spiny teeth at the edges. Succulents 'breathe'
through small mouthlike structures on the surface of the leaves and stems. These
'stomata' are closed during the day - thereby minimizing the loss of water during
the hot, dry daytime hours - and open at night. The uptake of carbon dioxide
occurs in the dark. Fixed into malic acid, the carbon dioxide is stored in cellular
vacuoles until the energy from sunlight is available for photosynthesis.

GENUS The genus Aloe comprises some 300 species of shrubby or arborescent
xerophytes mostly from tropical and South Africa, Madagascar and Arabia.
Aloes have been introduced into the West Indies, where they are extensively
cultivated, and into tropical countries. They will even flourish in countries
bordering the Mediterranean. In temperate climates they are cultivated as
houseplants. The nomenclature has been somewhat confused, as the plant has
been known by a variety of names, most notably A.

barbadensis and A. vulgaris.

VARIETIES Aloes require two or three years' standing before they yield their
juice. In Africa the drug is collected from the wild plants. In the West Indies the
drug is collected from plants cultivated on plantations. The chief varieties of
Aloes are Curacao or Barbados [A. barbadensis], Socotrine and Zanzibar [A.
perryi], and Cape [A. ferox Miller, A. Africana]. The German homoeopathic
pharmacopoeia is strict in its directions for the preparation of Aloe: the remedy
should be made from the dried and concentrated juice of various species of Aloe,
in particular Aloe ferox Miller, known in commerce as Cape Aloes. Pharmacists
are advised against the use of Barbados Aloes [A. barbadensis Miller].
Interestingly, this 'forbidden' variety currently is immensely popular under the
name Aloe vera. Its industry is flourishing and Aloe gel is being used in many
products.

It has a reputation as a folk remedy for burns and wounds.

NAME The name Aloe comes possibly from Arabic alloch or from Hebrew
allal, both meaning bitter. In Sanskrit its name is Kumari, meaning 'young girl or
virgin', because the plant supposedly imparted the energy of youth and brought
about the renewal of female energy. In flower symbolism Aloe represents acute
sorrow and bitterness. The variety Hering was looking for was cultivated on the
African and also on the Arabian mainland, and on the island of Socotra [hence
the name A. socotrina]. An island in the Indian Ocean, at the mouth of the Gulf
of Aden, Socotra was known since biblical time for its myrrh, frankincense and
aloes. By some the spelling of the name is considered to be obsolete. It arose
from the erroneous supposition that the plant was indigenous to the island of
Socotra, but was really derived from succus, juice, and citrina, lemon-yellow, in
allusion to the yellowish colour of the crystals from the sap.

CONSTITUENTS Aloe contains aloins, polysaccharides, anthraquinones,

glycoproteins, sterols, vitamins C and E, zinc, manganese, magnesium, copper,
chromium, silica, phosphate of lime, a trace of iron, and organic acids.

FEATURES "The manner in which the evaporation is conducted has a marked

effect on the appearance of the Aloes, slow and moderate concentration tending
to induce crystallization of the Aloin, thus causing the drug to appear opaque.
Such Aloes is termed

'livery' or hepatic, and splinters of it exhibit minute crystals of Aloin when

examined under the microscope. If, on the other hand, the evaporation is carried
as far as possible, the Aloin doesn't crystallize and small fragments of the drug
appear transparent; it is then termed 'glassy', 'vitreous', or 'lucid' Aloes and
exhibits no crystals of Aloin under the microscope. ... Socotrine Aloes should be
of a dark, reddish-brown colour, and almost entirely soluble in alcohol."1
Obviously, it was the latter variety that Hering sought to obtain.

HISTORY Aloe's earliest documented medicinal history goes back to 2200 BC,
when the Sumerians describe on a clay tablet its virtues as a laxative. Some 700
years later, the Egyptian Ebers Papyrus gave the first detailed discussion of
Aloe's medicinal value. The document presents twelve formulas for mixing Aloe
with other agents to treat both internal and external disorders. 400 BC the Arabs
started an extensive export trade of Aloe plants and processed products
throughout western Asia. In India the use of Aloes

[the common musabbar] became widely known for external application to

inflamed painful parts of the body and as an internal cleaning agent. Dioscorides
[41 AD - 68 AD]

gave the first detailed description of the plant [A. vera], telling that the more
bitter the Aloe is the more effective it is as a medicine. Among its multiple
merits were the stopping of hair loss and the cure of tonsillitis. In Rome
appeared a mixture called 'Hiera Picra', which literally meant Sacred Bitters. It
had the reputation of being a cure-all medicine and was composed of socotrine
aloe, cinnamon, spikenard, mastic, saffron, honey and Asarum xylobalsamum.
The prescription lasted for centuries, occasionally undergoing some revision,
except in the case of Aloe which remained constant. In the 14th century dried
Aloe sap, imported from Africa mainly from the islands of Socotra, was
introduced to English medicine as a purgative and as a treatment for external
wounds and diseases. Two centuries later Spanish conquistadors and
missionaries brought the plant to the new world, where it was planted around
Catholic missions. Its use as a universal healing agent spread quickly throughout
the Caribbean Islands, and Central and South America. In 1820 the United States
pharmacopoeia listed Aloe officially as a purgative and a skin protectant. Well
over hundred years later Collins and son report on the use of Aloe on fifty
patients with radiation injuries, burns, ulcers, and dermatitis, stating that all fifty
patients were successfully healed. Collins' study is one of a flood of papers and
references published by physicians and laymen world-wide, resulting in FDA
approval of development aimed at the eventual use of Aloe vera in the treatment
of cancer and AIDS. 2
USES In 1992, the FDA proposed a ban on aloes in oral menstrual drug products
because it has not been shown to be safe and effective for its stated claims. The
activity that Aloe has demonstrated against many common bacteria and fungi in
many studies is truly amazing, says Murray. The antimicrobial effects of aloe
extracts compare quite favourably to those of silver sulphadiazine, a potent
antiseptic used in the treatment of extensive

burns. Seventy-percent concentrations of aloe were bactericidal for

Staphylococcus aureus, 80 percent for Escherichia coli, and 90 percent for

Streptococcus faecalis and Candida albicans. 3

RECUPERATIVE POWER Aloes have remarkable recuperative powers, being

reflected in its great wound-healing power. "If the leaf of an Aloe is separated
from the parent plant, it may be laid in the sun for several weeks without
becoming entirely shrivelled; and even when considerably dried by long
exposure to heat, it will, if plunged into water, become in a few hours plump and
fresh."4

SYMBOLISM "The Mahometans, especially those in Egypt, regard the Aloe as

a religious symbol, and the Mussulman who has made a pilgrimage to the shrine
of the Prophet is entitled to hang the Aloe over his doorway. The Mahometans
also believe that this holy symbol protects a householder from any malign
influence."5 The evergreen Aloe was traditionally planted at the foot of the
grave to lend patience to the dead while they waited for resurrection.

HERING "One of the oldest and most famous drugs, largely cultivated, and in
use as a horse-medicine, hence rarely to be obtained pure from the shops," says
Hering in his introduction to the materia medica of Aloe. Hering went to great
pains to obtain pure Aloes, as is illustrated by a note on April 23, 1869, from the
diary of Calvin Knerr, Hering's son-in-law. "I went to a druggist in Philadelphia
by the name of Morris to buy some Aloes. He showed me two kinds. I told him
that both of them were adulterations.

He sent his boy out to all the drugstores in town for more samples. An immense
heap of Aloes was collected, all of them bogus. The druggist was chagrined. He
sent to New York for more samples. I came to examine this large assortment but
did not find a single genuine specimen among them. At last I noticed that the
druggist held back a small package, carefully wrapped in paper, which he did not
seem willing to show me. I asked to see it. He handed it over, smiled as I said:
'This is genuine aloes. Where did you get it?'

He confessed that he had stolen it from a collection in the Academy of

Pharmacy, of which he was a trustee. The sample had been brought into the
country by an expedition that had sailed around the world and had received the
specimen from the Sultan of Muscat, who grew the plant from which the
substance is derived. When you break a piece of Aloes the fracture must show a
purplish golden tint, almost transparent. The adulterated specimens were boiled
in certain oils to such a degree that they made the paper, in which they came,
greasy."6

PROVINGS •• [1] Buchner - 2 provers, 1821; method: 1-3 grains of Aloe.

•• [2] Helbig - self-experimentation, 1833; method: tincture.

•• [3] Hencke - self-experimentation; method: 10 drops of tincture for 5 days; 30

drops of tincture; 2 grains.

•• [4] Hering - self-experimentation; method: 'took one dose of gr. 1/2 of the 1x
trit., and subsequently the 3rd.'

•• [5] Koch - self-experimentation; method: 3x trit., one day.

•• [6] Neidhard - self-experimentation; method: 1x trit., one day; 2x trit. every

evening for two weeks.

•• [7] Watzke - self-experimentation, 1853; method: 'proved Aloe from 20th to

26th of April, 1853, commencing with 3 drops of tincture, and increasing the
dose by 1 drop each day; from thence to May 2nd he took medicine only every
second day, increasing as before by 1 drop daily; the proving was continued in
the same manner till May 20th, and from 25th to 31st 20 drops were taken daily
in morning fasting.'

[1] Grieve, A Modern Herbal. [2] Historical data derived from Aloe Myth-
Magic-Medicine, Universal Graphics, 1989. [3] Murray, Healing Power of
Herbs. [4-5] Grieve, ibid. [6] Knerr, Life of Hering.

Affinity
ABDOMINAL VEINS [RECTUM; liver; colon; pelvis]. Lumbar region. Head.
Female organs. * Left side.

Modalities

Worse: HEAT. Damp heat. Summer heat. Early morning [in bed]. After
dysentery.

Stepping hard. Evening. Sedentary life. Hot dry weather. After EATING or
drinking.

Standing or walking.

Better: Cool open air. Application of cold water. Cold weather. Passing flatus or
stool.

Main symptoms

M Mental activity alternating with lassitude [Aur.].

M Contentment - discontentment.

• "Merry, self-contented; fraternised with the whole world [5th day]."

• "Contented with his station in life; it involuntarily occurs to him, that he is

really much better off than many other people [7th day]."

• "Much inclined to joke, continually mocking the remarks of others."

• "Irritable, he cannot endure the visit of many people, they are repugnant to him
[24th day]."

Anthropophobia.

• "Immediately, strong exhibition of wil ; he quarrels with every one who

contradicts him; it seems as if he would permit himself to be torn in pieces,
sooner than give up his will."

• "Il -humour; peevish about himself, so that he insults and blasphemes; worse
afternoons, [3rd day]."
• "Very discontented and unhappy mood, since the forenoon, with confused head
and lack of inclination to labour; better in the evening [24th day]."

• "Peevish towards himself without reason [second day]." [all quotes from Allen]

• "Mental dissatisfaction and bad humor about himself, more esp. during
constipation or when he suffers from pain." [Lippe]

M Self-absorbed.

• "Immediately after a meal, he sat down by himself, without speaking, without

any desire for mental or physical exertion; meditating, wrapped up in himself, as
after a sickness or a fit of anger, which still gnaws internally, which one cannot
express." [Allen]

Insecurity.

• "Discouraged, apprehensive about his success." [Allen]

• "Very peculiar vertigo each day, after taking the third trituration; during
motion, he feels as if he ought to lie down; while standing and walking, an inner
sensation which makes everything seem insecure, and which makes him very
anxious; then nasal catarrh, first on the left side, then on the right, with copious
secretion of mucus, which soon becomes thick; afterwards, no more vertigo."
[Allen]

• "Feeling as if one doesn't oneself know what is the matter, whether one has
appetite or not." [Allen]

Insecure feeling in rectum.

G Weakness from mental exertion.

G HEAT and BURNING

[internal, hot flatus; burning in anus, rectum, piles, etc.].

• "In a general way this is a hot remedy, many sensations are those of heat; the
skin feels hot, hot flatus is passed, and the piles have a sense of heat in them.
Nearly all the symptoms are like those of its relative, Sulphur, better from cold."
[Boger]

G < WARMTH.

> Open air; cold applications.

• "Weariness, weakness, and creeping coldness, when he comes from bed into a
hot room." [Allen]

G Increased appetite. [in 5 provers]

Urgent need to eat, or no satisfaction after eating.

G Thirst; for refreshing, juicy drinks.

While and after eating.

Awakening at night.

G Disturbed sleep, on account of:

Urging to urinate; urging to stool; hunger; thirst; confused dreams; erections,

sexual desire.

G Increased sexual desire [in males].

• "Rather an inner sensuality than irritation of the parts compels him to satisfy
himself [at evening, on going to bed, 5th day]."

• "He awakes at 4 o'clock with great sexual desire [13th day]."

• "Desire more active after eating." [al quotes from Al en]

• "Probably one of the best remedies to repress a too lively desire, esp. in
children which only a few remedies do." [Hering]

G Relaxation and VENOUS CONGESTION, < abdomen.

Parts seem FULL.

HEAVY DRAGGING, as of a load. Heaviness internally.

G Sensation of a PLUG - internally.

P HEADACHE [frontal] > COLD APPLICATIONS.

Pressing [congestive] pain above eyes.

Feeling as if eyes are pressed out.

Compelling to make the eyes small.

< HEAT; > COLD.

And Incapacity for mental labour.

And Cold extremities and irritation of stomach and bowels, with frequent,
painful stool.

P Gurgling and rumbling in bowels. SENSE OF INSECURITY IN ANUS.

[< Motion; standing; > lying on abdomen.]

Involuntary stool, with or without flatus, sometimes solid stool or small

gelatinous lumps.

P Colitis mucosa. Solid stool and masses of mucus.

Gelatinous secretions.

P DIARRHOEA IN EARLY MORNING.

Has to run for stool immediately after eating or drinking.

After drinking beer.

And Copious flatus.

Flatulence with sensation as if stool would pass.

P Uterus.

• "Cases of menorrhagia are benefited by it, the menses appear too early and
there is a sense of weight and heaviness in the pelvis and pressing downward
towards the rectum giving the sensation of a plug between the tubes and
coccyx." [Blackwood]

• "It is of service in uterine haemorrhages at the climacteric period. They are

prostrating, exhausting and are attended with labour - like pains in the back and
groins that may extend to the legs. The patient is of the relaxed lymphatic type."
[Blackwood]

Rubrics

Mind

Activity alternating with exhaustion [2/1]. Anger from contradiction [1]; with
himself [1; Sulph.]. Anxiety < motion [1]. Contemptuous [2]. Intolerant of
contradiction, has to restrain himself to keep from violence [1; Sil.]. Fear of
failure [1]; of men [1]; from noise

[1]. Fraternised with the whole world [1/1]. Abundant ideas, clearness of mind at
night

[1]. Indolence on waking [2]. Irritability in cloudy or rainy weather [1; Am-c.].
Active memory alternating with lassitude [2/1]. Repulsive mood, repels
everyone [1/1].

Vertigo

Idea that things were turning around with her [1].

Head

Numbness moving over the scalp [1/1*]. Pain, < darkness [1; Carb-v.; Sil.].
Sensation as if head were separated from body [1; Psor.].

Vision

Colours, moving yellow circle around light [2/1].

Mouth
Taste like ink [1; Calc.; Sep.*].

Stomach

Appetite increased in morning, after breakfast [1; Tax.]. Emptiness after stool
[2].

Sensation of fulness after drinking [1; Manc.]. Indigestion after sour food [1;
Ant-c.; Nux-v.]. Vomiting of mucus after drinking [1/1].

Abdomen

Sensation of perforation in umbilical region [1/1]. Pulsation at night while lying

[1/1].

Sensation of a stone when lying on abdomen [1/1].

Rectum

Diarrhoea after acids [2], after beer [2], during headache [1; Cham.; Podo.;
Verat.]; >

lying on abdomen [1]; after being overheated [1; Ant-c.; Puls.].

Male

Sexual desire increased after eating [1]; wanting after waking [2].

Female

Pain, ovaries, extending to rectum [2]; uterus, extending to rectum [2].

Limbs

Sensation as if a hair were lying on dorsum of hand, and also on back of fingers
[1/1*].

Numbness while lying, after eating [1/1].

Sleep
Waking in morning, toward 5 a.m. , with urging to stool [2].

Dreams

Of being crazy and that everybody is watching him [1/1*]. Soiling himself with
excrements [1].

Generals

Congestion of blood, internally [2]. Lassitude alternating with activity [2; Aur.].
Warm and wet weather > [2].

* Repertory additions [Hughes].

Food

Aversion: [1]: Drinks; fruit; juicy things; meat.

Desire: [2]: Apples; salty things. [1]: Alcohol; beer; bitter drinks; bread; fruit;
honey; juicy things; meat; refreshing; tonics.

Worse: [2]: Acids; beer; fruit; oysters. [1]: Bitter drinks; vinegar.

Better: [1]: Beer; cold drinks [during heat]; tea.

Alumina

Alum.

One of the great disadvantages of hurry is that it takes such a long time.

[Chesterton]

Signs

Aluminium oxide. Pure clay [AlO3].

CLASSIFICATION Aluminium is the third most abundant element [8%] in the

Earth's crust, exceeded by oxygen [47%] and silicon [28%]. It is a silvery white
metal in group 13 of the periodic table, the other members being borium,
gallium, indium, and thallium.
A related family is group 14: carbon, silicium, germanium, tin and lead. No other
group of elements is so diverse as these two: black, brown, white, soft, hard,
metallic or non-metallic. This might be explained by the fact that both groups are
situated about halfway in the periodic table, between the super metals [alkali
metals] and the halogens. Out of this no man's land, man and the living world
emerge!

OCCURRENCE Because of its chemical activity, aluminium never occurs in the

metallic form in nature, but its compounds are present to a greater or lesser
extent in almost all rocks, vegetation, and animals. Bauxite, a mixture of
hydrated aluminium oxides, is the principal aluminium ore. "In nature,
aluminium occurs primarily as clay, aluminium oxide, combined in manifold
ways with other substances. Thus it has an important share in the formation of
rock and of fertile soil. Without aluminium there would be no fertile earth. ...
Clay conveys to the soil the properties of plasticity and water absorption. ...
Aluminium unites the life-bearing water with the earthy element that is to be
plastically formed. It is with good reason that clay, uniting so readily with the
life-bearing water, is the moulding stuff of the ceramic worker, the potter, and
the plastic artist. The noblest vessels for holding liquids have from time
immemorial been made of clay - majolica, faience, terracotta, porcelain. The
sculptor works out his inspirations in clay before he hews them out of stone."1

CLAY Alumina is pure clay. Natural clay is mainly aluminium oxide with
impurities of various sorts, but chiefly silica. "Nature seems to expect aluminium
to remain clay. The metallic condition is unnatural for it; the metal is not only
difficult to extract, but the extraction would immediately be undone if a peculiar
circumstance did not protect it from attack. Like an impenetrable armour,
aluminium oxide immediately covers the metal with a fine protective layer of
patina, a 'noble rust.' We may well call it this, for aluminium oxide as a mineral
can achieve the noblest form of which the metal is capable; it can appear as
corundum, sapphire, or ruby, those unusually hard and costly jewels. In contrast
to the precious metals, the most precious condition of aluminium is not its purity,

but its rust."2 The key process for fertile soil is the formation of clay. Both the
physical and the chemical properties of soil depend on the amount and kind of
clay particles they contain. The supply of minerals to plants depends on the
presence of clay particles, which have a net negative charge, in the soil. Many of
the minerals that are important for plant nutrition, such as potassium,
magnesium, and calcium, exist in soil as positive ions chemically attached to
clay particles. To become available to plants, the positive ions must be detached
from the clay particles, which is accomplished by reactions with protons
[hydrogen ions]. The protons trade places with ions such as potassium and
calcium on the clay particles, thus putting the nutrients back into the soil solution
and thereby determining the fertility of the soil. Clay particles, however, do not
hold and exchange negatively charged ions, which results in the leaching from
the soil of important negative ions such as phosphate, nitrate, and sulphate. To
replace them elements as nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium are commonly
added to agricultural soils. 3

PROPERTIES Aluminium is ductile, nonmagnetic, and an excellent conductor

of electricity and heat. In its thermal and electrical conductivity it is inferior only
to silver, gold, and copper. Its ductility makes it possible to flatten it into foil a
mere 3 microns thick, or to draw it into a wire not thicker than a spider's web
[1,000 meters of it weighs 27 grams and can be folded into a match box]. Only
its strength characteristics could be better, which has prompted scientist to seek
ways of improving it without impairing its good properties [alloys]. Its best-
known quality is its light weight, being about one-third as dense as iron, copper,
or zinc. Nonetheless, it can be easily made strong enough to replace heavier and
more costly metals in thousands of applications.

USES Aluminium oxide is used as an abrasive, as a refractory [to break in

pieces], and in chromatography [method of separating substances]. Also as filler
for paints and varnishes; in the manufacture of alloys, ceramic materials,
electrical insulators and resistors, dental cements, glass, steel, artificial gems; as
a catalyst for organic reactions.

Aluminium as pure metal or alloys [magnalium, aluminium bronze, etc.] is used

for structural material in construction, automotive, electrical and aircraft
industries.

Furthermore, in cooking utensils, highway signs, fencing, containers and

packaging, foil, machinery, corrosion resistant chemical equipment, dental
alloys. The coarse powder is used in aluminothermics [thermite process], while
the fine powder is employed as flashlight in photography, in explosives,
fireworks, and paints, for absorbing occluded gases in manufacture of steel.
Used in testing for gold, arsenic, and mercury; as a reducer for determining
nitrates and nitrites; instead of zinc for generating hydrogen in testing for
arsenic. 4
PROTECTION Aluminium is capable of taking brilliant polish which is retained
in dry air. In moist air, an oxide film forms. The protective layer seals off
oxygen, thus preventing further oxidation. Few chemicals can dissolve this
colourless, tough, and nonflaking film, although it is only 0,0001 millimetre
'thick'. Without this protective film aluminium would flare up even in the air and
burn with a blinding flame.

HEAT Being an excellent conductor of heat Aluminium is widely used in

automobile radiators, cooling coils and fins, heat exchangers in industries, and
heater fins. Its property of reflecting all forms of radiated energy - Aluminium
reflects about 90% of radiated heat - is utilized in building isolation and to keep
heat out or in. Raincoats made from fabrics with a super-thin aluminium coating
will protect both from heat and cold:

worn with the metal lining on the outside it will shelter against heat, and when
reversed, it will keep one warm. Curtains made from it will let in light but keep
out the heat if hung with the metal facing the outside on a hot summer day. In
winter the metal surface of the curtains should face the room and it will keep the
warmth in.

SPACE Aluminium's high qualities made it an indispensable metal in space

conquest as well as in the study of the ocean depths. In 1919 the first airplanes
were made of duralumin [an aluminium alloy containing copper]. Since then
aluminium has firmly been associated with the destiny of aviation, earning itself
the reputation of a "winged metal."

WATER The relation with water is shown by the fact that hygrophytic plants
contain more aluminium than plants preferring dry habitats. Aluminium
promotes the absorption of water. Its main functions are holding and retaining
water.

PHYSIOLOGY "The role aluminium plays in human physiology is not known.

Although the metal is ingested through food and water, most of it is believed to
be excreted.

Aluminium has been detected in the brain cells of patients with Alzheimer's
disease, but it is not known whether the metal's presence is a cause or an effect
of the disease."5

Likewise, Down's syndrome babies have higher levels of aluminium in their

brains.

Probably associated with high aluminium concentrations in the brain as well, is

the neurologic syndrome dialysis dementia. The exact source of the aluminium is
controversial, but high concentrations in tap water have been found in epidemic
areas.

Another source may be aluminium-containing antacids prescribed to control

phosphor balance. The syndrome is characterized by progressive dementia,
dyspraxia, facial grimaces, myoclonic seizures, and characteristic EEG. 6
Storage of aluminium in the human body is in the lungs, liver, thyroid, bones,
and brain. Bone and lung have the highest concentrations of aluminium,
suggesting that bone may be a 'sink' for aluminium.

TOXICITY Aluminium has moderate acute toxicity [but high chronic toxicity]
to aquatic life and high acute toxicity to birds. Acid rain has virtually eliminated
the fish populations in acidified lakes in some parts of the world. It has been
suggested that much of the toxicity to fish is actually due to increased aluminium
concentrations, rather than being directly attributable to acidic water. Aluminium
is almost completely insoluble in neutral or alkaline water, but, due to a
decreasing pH as a result of acid rain, concentrations of dissolved aluminium in
some lakes have increased to levels toxic to fish and other aquatic organisms.

TOXICOLOGY "Aluminium has marked differences in its effects on animals at

different points in their lifespan and in different species. The normal
concentration of aluminium in the mammalian brain is approximately 1 to 2
ng/g. In certain aluminium-sensitive species, such as cats and rabbits, increasing
aluminium by intrathecal infusion, so that brain concentration is greater than 4
ng/g, induces a characteristic clinical and pathological response. Initially,
animals show subtle behavioural changes, including learning and memory
deficits and poor motor function. These changes progress to tremor,
incoordination, weakness, and ataxia. This is followed by focal seizures and
death within 3 or 4 weeks of initial exposure. With lesser doses, there is longer
survival but no recovery. ... Aluminium competes with or alters calcium
metabolism in several organ systems including the brain. Brain tissue calcium
rises following aluminium exposure. ...

The Chamorro people of the Mariana Islands in the western Pacific Ocean,
particularly Guam and Rota, have an unusually high incidence of
neurodegenerative diseases associated with nerve cell loss and neurofibrillary
degeneration of the Alzheimer's type.

Garruto et al [1984] noted that the volcanic soils of the regions of Guam with a
high incidence of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and parkinsonism-dementia
syndromes contained high concentrations of aluminium and manganese and
were low in calcium and magnesium."7

EFFECTS Everyday sources of aluminium are processed cheeses, baking soda,

table salt, pickled vegetables, pancake mixes, toothpaste and antiperspirants.
Aluminium disturbs the calcium-phosphorus balance and causes the loss of
vitamin B 1. It also inhibits fluoride absorption and may decrease the absorption
of iron compounds. Long-term use of large amounts of antacids containing
aluminium [hydroxide] can cause phosphate depletion as a result of binding of
phosphate by aluminium in the GI tract.

Symptoms include anorexia, weakness, and malaise. Aluminium hydroxide may

cause constipation. "Although aluminium is a common mineral and is present in
many foods, it is very poorly absorbed from the gastrointestinal tract. Most of
the aluminium in our diet passes straight through unchanged, and any that is
absorbed is rapidly removed by the kidneys. In infants, however, both the
gastrointestinal tract and the kidneys are still in the stages of development, and it
has been suggested that [i] infants may absorb the mineral more readily than
adults do and [ii] their capacity to eliminate through the kidneys is less efficient
than in adults. There is a dearth of data on these two aspects of aluminium
bioavailability in infants. One survey has been carried out by the Ministry of
Agriculture, Fisheries and Food. Milk-based infant formulae and soy-base
formulae were purchased at retail outlets during 1987 and 1988 and the
aluminium contents of the formulae [made up to the manufacturer's instructions]
were measured. The levels in milk-based formulae were 0.03 to 0.20 mg per litre
with a mean of 0.11 mg per litre; those in the Soya-based formulae were higher
at levels between 0.64 and 1.34 mg per litre with a mean of 0.98

mg per litre. Plant-based foods like soy milk are usually higher in aluminium
than those from animal sources. It was calculated from these figures that
between the ages of 0 and 4 months, an infant fed cow's milk formulae will
receive between 0.2 and 0.55 mg aluminium per week, and one fed soy milk
formulae will eat between 2.5 and 4.9 mg of the mineral per week. Both intakes
are well below the joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives
recommendations that the Provisional Tolerable Weekly Intake on aluminium is
7 mg per kg body weight."8

SYMBOLISM Symbolically, clay [or mud] signifies the union of the purely
receptive principle [earth] with the power of transition and transformation
[water]. Clay is regarded as the typical medium for the emergence of matter of
all kinds. Plasticity is one of its essential characteristics. By analogy, clay is
related with biological processes and nascent states.

THEMES The properties of separating, fragmenting, and shattering show one

side of Alumina's picture, uniting and moulding being the other.

PROVINGS •• [1] Hahnemann - 6 provers; method: unknown.

[1-2] Pelikan, The Secrets of Metals. [3] Purves et al, Life: The Science of
Biology. [4]

Merck Index. [5] Grolier Multimedia Encyclopedia. [6] Merck Manual. [7]
Klaassen, Casarett and Doull's Toxicology. [8] Melvyn, Vitamins and Minerals.

Affinity

SPINAL CORD; lumbar region. RECTUM. Lower limbs. Mucous membranes.

Skin. *

Right side.

Modalities

Worse: WARMTH; WARM ROOM; bed. Food [artificial; potatoes; salt, wine,
vinegar, pepper, spirituous drinks, soup]. Speaking. Dry [cold] weather. Awaking
early. Sitting.

After menses. Winter. Alternate days. New and full moon. During micturition.

Better: Evening. Open air. Moderate exercise; moderate temperature; mild

summer weather. Wet weather. Warm drinks, while eating.

Comparisons
c PHOSPHORUS

Phosphorus is not mentioned in the relationship-rubrics [compare, antidote,

inimical, etc.] of Alumina. Both elements, however, have much in common.
Physiologically, Aluminium appears to be rather selective in disturbing the
phosphorus balance in the body, resulting eventually in phosphate depletion.
Therapeutically, aluminium salts are used to reduce phosphate absorption in
patients with chronic kidney failure. Elementary phosphorus [the colourless or
'yellow' modification] glows in the dark and combusts spontaneously upon
exposure to air. To prevent spontaneous ignition phosphorus is stored under
water [in dark bottles] [compare: < or > darkness; > cold drinks]. Without its
protective film of oxide, aluminium would also flare up in the air and burn with
a blinding flame [compare: > open air]. The oxide layer is like an armour, neither
allowing penetration from the outside nor escape from the inside [the Alumina
patient has difficulties in both expressing himself and reacting to external
impulses]. The similarity even includes their names. Phosphorus means light-
bearer, while Alumina proves to be a-luminant, without giving light. This
implies that in both the issue of light, or clearness, plays a major role. They are
both on the same curve, but just on opposite ends, at least as far as the drug
picture is concerned.

Homoeopathically, Alum. and Phos. share many rubrics, such as: Anxiety on
waking at night. - Vertigo after eating. - Pressing frontal headache > open air.
Electric-like shocks through head. - Changing colour of face. - Long, narrow
stool. -

Excessive sexual desire. - Tickling sensation in air passages on talking. -

Palpitation of heart on waking. - Incoordination of lower limbs. - Itching on
becoming warm in bed. -

Weakness [and trembling] from hunger. - Weakness after menses. - Twilight >. -
Salt food <.

Main symptoms

M CONFUSION OF MIND, AS TO HIS IDENTITY.

• "A numb feeling in the head as if his consciousness was outside of his body;
when he says anything, he feels as if another person had said it; and when he
sees anything, as if another person had seen it, or as if he could transfer himself
into another and only then could see." [Hahnemann]

• "Groans at night, and says it is not him, and wants them to stop." [Guernsey]

• "The disturbance and confusion of the sphere of comprehension, the ability to

form ideas and decisions is characterized through the restraint of imagination.
On this basis arises the impulse for murder, for example, at the sight of the knife,
of blood, etc."

[Leeser]

• "The situation of Alumina arises from conflict between parent and child where
the child is not being given identity. Whatever the child does they say no, not
this. His identity and individuality has been broken down, whatever the child
says is not right -

you are no one, you know nothing and then comes despair. I don't know what to
do, I don't know what I am, I don't know who I am. I don't know what I want, I
don't know

what I want to be and I am so small, I am so timid, completely dependent on

parent."

[Sankaran]

M Yielding disposition - obstinacy.

• "His real identity is being suppressed, is being pushed in, so he has to mould
himself according to what people want." [Sankaran]

• "Aluminium oxide is the hard substance that forms on Aluminium that gives
the hardness to the metal since Aluminium is the soft, easily malleable metal.
The feeling of Alum. inside is too soft and easily mouldable so that there is no
identity. So he needs to be hard and rigid to keep up his identity. In the coped up
state the Alum. patient can be quite hard and rigid." [Sankaran]

M CLARITY.

c Lack of clarity:
IDEAS are very VAGUE and HAZY, like undefined shadows, And Difficulty in
expressing what is happening.

• "Various objects occupy his mind, but none is distinctly impressed upon his
recollection." [Allen]

Or the opposite:

c Lots of clarity:

• "I have never heard a homoeopath talk very enthusiastical y about the inherent
possibilities our Aluminium 'personality] has. I have never heard any
homoeopath talk about the sense of humour, the quiet wittiness that I have
witnessed in several Alumina cases. I have never heard about the tenacity they
can display in sticking to a course of action, even while very confused. Nor have
I heard about the opposite of mental confusion as an inherent quality: mental
clarity. It may be noted that Aluminium metallicum is used to build aeroplanes.
Aluminium may be of help in getting an overview. Aluminium may be of help in
giving direction, in giving perspective. From the confusion, open-minded self-
determination may emerge. An aspect of Alumina's qualities is the ability to cut
crap surgically [with a knife]? To divide and separate crap from essence?"1

M INTERNAL HASTINESS, but slowness of execution, hence mistakes in

speaking, writing, etc.

TIME PASSES TOO SLOWLY.

• "Intolerable ennui, an hour seems to him half a day." [Hahnemann]

M Restlessness.

• "Uneasiness when sitting or lying; she had to shift the position of her hands and
feet."

• "Uneasiness; she constantly had to move her feet and to go about."

• "Uneasiness, in the evening, as though some evil were impending."

[Hahnemann]

M Patient CANNOT BE HURRIED; > at own pace, < time limits.

Panic sets in and they take longer to do what is needed.

M Fear of pointed things, of knives, at the sight of blood.

M Frequently changing mood [during the day]; sometimes self-confidence,

sometimes timidity; increased animation alternating with absence of mind.

M Somnambulism.

• "Rising from bed without being aware of it and going anxiously from one room
to another, rubbing his firmly-closed eyes." [Allen]

M Violence.

• "Alumina should come to mind whenever the homeopath comes across a case
which combines mental confusion with violent thoughts and impulses. Alumina
feels violent at times towards herself, and at other times towards those around
her. She may be subject to sudden bouts of rage, although often she will not take
out her rage on others, but rather slam doors and smashes things, or curses out
loud. Alumina is usually a quiet, gentle person who hates her violent side. ...
These violent thoughts nearly always involve cutting, be they suicidal or
homicidal. ... There is often a marked increase in moodiness before the menses.
Both despair and aggression may increase at this time, along with the fear that
the patient will hurt herself." [Bailey]

G DRYNESS of BODY and MIND. Nothing flows.

• "Everything is slowed down. The conductivity of the nerves is impaired so that

a prick of a pin upon the extremities is not felt until a second or so afterwards.
All of his senses are impaired in this way until it really means a benumbing of
the consciousness and appears to be a kind of stupefaction of his intellect, a
mental sluggishness. Impressions reach his mind with a marked degree of
slowness." [Kent]

• "The disturbance of the mucous membranes are for the most part to be
compared with those of the skin. The mucous membranes are dry and covered
with tenacious deposits or crusts, thus in the nose where the crusts are offensive,
the picture of a chronic atrophic catarrh occurs. It is the same in the posterior
nasal or pharyngeal space where dryness, burning, tenacious mucus and crusts,
stitches as from splinters on swallowing, stitches towards the ears on
swallowing, suggest the chronic retronasal and pharyngeal catarrh."

[Leeser]

• "The basic function of Alumina is holding and retaining, as it does through the
layers of clay which hold and retain the water. ... The main points of attack of
Alumina are the organs where the general function of reception has its particular
seat: the pharynx and stomach receive the food, the larynx is the first receptacle
of air, and the bladder and rectum are the receptacles for the body waste before
its elimination. ... Turning to the characteristic mental symptoms we find:
inability to concentrate, wandering thoughts, very poor memory, fear of one's
own impulses, fear of losing one's reason. Again the faculty to hold, to hold and
retain one's thoughts, to take a hold of and control one's impulses, to retain one's
reason, is impaired. When one prover experiences a sensation 'as if the mind
were outside his body, as if what he speaks is spoken by someone else, and what
he sees is seen by someone else', we encounter finally a phenomenon of
exteriorisation, a loss of the ego function as an expression of inability to hold
and retain the very 'I', the ego itself. ... In the sphere of the unconscious,
expressed in a symbolic language through dreams, we find dreams of thieves.
Also in this sphere the inability to hold and retain what belongs to one is
symbolically expressed. ... Aggravation from dry weather, better from wet
weather, is natural in the 'dry' Alumina case. Warmth aggravates due to its
drying-up effect. Alumina is one of the remedies which has a definite
aggravation from moon phases, new and full moon, which influence the tides
and the flow of water. Aggravation after menses which constitute a loss of fluids.
... When man for the first time wanted to hold the precious liquid he stretched
out his hand - for clay to form the first vessel to hold water. And in the myth of
creation man himself is formed from clay as a vessel to hold and contain the
spirit of life." [Gutman]

DRYNESS.

Diminished secretions.

• "Excessive dryness of the scalp; it goes to sleep; feels light, and the hair fal s
out."

Dry skin, even in hot weather.

• "Seems unable to perspire."

• "Eyes burning and dry, without much discharge and without destruction of
tissue; esp.

useful in catarrhal inflammation of the conjunctiva, with dryness and smarting,

and great loss of power of the eyelids, 'esp. the left', so that it is difficult to open
the lids." [Hering]

G Aged persons of spare habits, girls looking wrinkled and dried-up at puberty.

Delicate or scrofulous children, weak or wrinkled, esp. if artificially fed.

• "Mental y unstable patients with a tendency towards hysteria. Such patients

often have a history of unstable childhood circumstances, including a family
history of mental illness and alcoholism, a reflection of the syphilitic miasm in
the family." [Bailey]

G Ailments from prolonged treatment with allopathic medicines; artificial food;

prolonged use of aluminium kitchen utensils; disappointment; violent anger;
apoplexy; and prolonged mental exertion.

G Weariness during menses; prostration and weakness after menses.

Weakness from talking, walking.

• "Excessively faint and tired; he is obliged to sit down."

• "Unconquerable disposition to lie down [after three hours]." [Hahnemann]

G < Heat and cold.

< Summer; < cold air [tendency to take cold].

G < When HUNGRY [= trembling and weakness].

G CANNOT DIGEST FARINACEOUS FOOD, esp. POTATOES.

[= eructations, heaviness, indigestion, nausea, pain in stomach]

• "A peculiar Alumina symptom, always repeated and obviously confirmed, but
up to now never explained, should be specifically mentioned: stomach
complaints are worse from eating potatoes. Potatoes contain normally 3-20 mg
percent, sometimes up to 43 mg percent solanin. Even when cooked and
according to the type of potato and its preparation, traces of solanine may
remain. Solanine produces, like the related alkaloids of Belladonna, dryness of
the mucous membranes and inhibits the stomach secretion. A sensitive prover,
subject to the 'drying' toxic effect Alumina has also on the mucous membranes
of the stomach, would be naturally aggravated by any trace of an additional

'drying' agent as contained in potatoes, and so will the Alumina patient who
reacts like a sensitive prover." [Gutman]

G < MORNING ON WAKING.

• "In morning when awaking, as if depressed by sorrow, without clear

consciousness."

• "Anxiety, early in the morning, as though he were threatened with an epileptic

fit."

[Hahnemann]

• "In the morning, the urine is slower to pass than after he has moved about and
warmed up a little. His limbs are stiffer in the morning and in the morning he has
to whip up his mental state. He wakes up confused and wonders where he is.
You will see that in children especially - they wake up in the morning in a
bewildered state, such as you will find in Alum., Aesc., Lyc. He has to put his
mind on things to ascertain whether they be so or not, as to how things should
look and wonders whether he is at home or in some other place." [Kent]

> Forenoon; > evening.

> Twilight.

G Lack of coordination; ataxia and paralysis.

• "There are many paraesthesias: feeling of crawling on the skin of the face or
other places, feeling of tension, a peculiar sensation on the face or on other
uncovered areas as from dried egg or spider web [as Borax!]. These sensations
are so disturbing that the pain seeks to rub the part constantly. The extremities go
to sleep on sitting or from light pressure, a numbness of the heels develops on
standing, pain in the soles of the feet on stepping as if they were too soft and
swollen, a band sensation on the body or about a part, the prover cannot hold
objects [observed with Alumen], sticking and burning in the back and a pain as
though a hot iron had been pressed through the lowest vertebra, drawing and
beating pains in the back like electric shocks through the body, contractions of
the extremities, lancinating pains. All these symptoms are more or less common
in the course of posterior columns degeneration in tabes." [Leeser]

G < Lying on right side.

G > Walking in open air.

G RETENTION.

[severe constipation, amenorrhoea, scanty perspiration, delayed urination]

G Frequent electric sensation on touching objects.

G Vertigo when closing eyes or in the dark.

Vertigo and fear of falling forward.

And Drawing and stiff sensation in nape of neck.

And Nausea.

P Intolerable itching of skin in bed; WITHOUT eruption.

P Skin symptoms > warm weather; < winter.

[1] Frans Maan, Homoeopathy in Reflexive Perspective.

Rubrics

Mind

Anguish in morning [2]. Anxiety from thinking about it [1]. Aversion to the
colour red

[2/1]. Awkward from haste [1]. Cannot look at blood or a knife [3/1]. Confusion,
knows not where he is on waking [1]; after smoking [1]; when spoken to [1].
Excitement on walking in open air [1]. Fear of his own impulses [3/1]. Sudden
impulse to kill [3].

Lamenting involuntary [2/1]. Contemptuous laughing [1/1]. Prostration of mind

after menses [3/1]. Everything seems unreal [2].

Vertigo

In morning, > breakfast [2]. Can't walk with closed eyes [2; Stram.]. Wiping
eyes >

[2/1].

Head

Empty sensation in forehead [1; Caust.]. Pain, > on going to bed [2]; from
looking downward [1]; in forehead on blowing nose [1/1].

Eye

Strabismus during dentition [1/1].

Vision

Colours, white sparkling stars on blowing nose [1/1]; yellow halo around the
light [3; Sarr.]. Images too long retained [1; Lac-c.; Nat-m.].

Mouth

Dryness during coryza [1/1]. Bitter taste after eating apples [1/1].

Throat

Food is felt until it enters the stomach [1]. Swallowing difficult at night [2], on
waking

[2].

Stomach

Bitter eructations after potatoes [2; Puls.*].

Rectum

Diarrhoea in dry weather [1; Asar.]; > wet weather [1; Asar.].

Prostate

Pressing pain during coition [2/1]; at beginning of erection [2/1].

Larynx

Voice, hoarseness > walking in open air [1/1].

Chest

Oppression < bending head forward [3/1]; while lying on back [1]. Palpitation
before menses [1; Spong.]; on turning in bed on right side [1/1].

Limbs

Soles of feet as if soft and swollen when walking [1].

Chill

Chilliness after headache [1]. Drinking warm drinks < [2].

Generals

Faintness at sight of blood [3; Crat.*; Nux-m.; Verat.]. Lassitude after talking
[2/1], >

walking in open air [2]. Pain, sensation of splinters [2].

* Repertory additions.

Food

Aversion: [2]: Beer; meat. [1] Potatoes; smoking; wine.

Desire: [2]: Beans and peas; charcoal; cloves; coal; coffee; cold drinks; dry food;
dry rice; farinaceous; fruit; indigestible things; lime; soft food; starch; strange
things [during pregnancy]; tea grounds; vegetables. [1]: Cabbage; chalk; coffee
beans; coffee, burnt; fried potatoes; pickles; potatoes; pungent; raw, uncooked
food; sour, acids; tea; whisky.

Worse: [2]: Cold drinks; potatoes; milk; salt; vegetables. [1]: Alcohol; apples;
artificial food; beer; farinaceous; soup; cold food; onions; pepper; vinegar; warm
food; wine [1].

Better: Warm drinks; cold food [1].

Ambra grisea

Ambr

Praise is like ambergris; a little whiff of it, by snatches, is very agreeable; but
when a man holds a whole lump of it to his nose, it is a stink and strikes you
down.

[Pope, Swift's Works]

A whale is harpooned only when it spouts.

[Henry Hillman]

Signs

Ambergris.

AMBERGRIS Ambergris, a waxy substance that is lighter than water and floats,
is formed in the lower intestine of the sperm whale [Physeter macrocephalus]. It
consists of 80% ambrein, a cholesterol derivative which may be either an
indigestible component of the squid or a secretion of the whale's gut in response
to the constant irritation caused by the sharp beaks of the squid. It is used chiefly
as a spice in the East, and in the West it was used to fix the scent of fine
perfumes [now replaced by synthetic fixatives]. It is thought to form as a
collection of faeces around squid beaks and indigestible parts of

other prey of the sperm whale. Whether it is physiologic or pathologic has not
been determined. Fresh ambergris is soft and black and has a disagreeable odour.
When exposed to sun, air, and sea water, it hardens, fades, and develops a
pleasant odour.
Compared to musk, civet and castoreum [three other animal extracts used in
perfumery], ambergris has the longest duration of evaporation, the fragrance
lasting for months. It was often used to perfume gloves, because it had the
advantage of retaining its scent after repeated washings. Despite its unlikely
origins, it was employed, heavily diluted, to give sexiness to a perfume. The
smell of crude [fresh] ambergris was trenchantly described by the German
chemist Wilhelm Homberg: "... a vessel in which I had made a long digestion of
human faeces had acquired a very strong and perfect smell of ambergris,
inasmuch that anyone would have thought that a great quantity of essence of
ambergris had been made in it ... the perfume was so strong that the vessel was
obliged to be moved out of the laboratory."1

HISTORY "Before 1,000 AD the Chinese referred to ambergris as lung sien

hiang,

'dragon's spittle perfume', because it was thought that it originated from the
drooling of dragons sleeping on rocks at the edge of the sea. In the Orient it is
still known by this name and is used as an aphrodisiac and as a spice for food
and wine. The Japanese have also known ambergris from ancient times and
called it kunsurano fuu, 'whale droppings'.

It was used to fix floral fragrances in perfumes. Ambergris was known to the
Arabs as

'anbar' and was originally called amber in the West. It was used by the Arabs as a
medicine for the heart and brain. The Arabs believed that raw ambergris
emanated from springs near the sea. In the Thousand and One Nights, Sinbad is
shipwrecked on a desert island and discovers a spring of stinking crude
ambergris which flows like wax into the sea where it is swallowed by giant
fishes and vomited up again as fragrant lumps to be cast up on the shore. The
Greeks also believed that ambergris came from springs in or near the sea. They
believed that it enhances the effects of alcohol when smelled before drinking
wine or when it is added to wine. Many a bacchanal profited from a pinch of
ambergris, no doubt. To the earliest Western chroniclers, ambergris was
variously thought to come from the same bituminous sea founts as amber, from
the sperm of fishes or whales, from the droppings of strange sea birds [probably
because of confusion over the included beaks of squids] or from the large hives
of bees living near the sea. Marco Polo was the first Western chronicler who
correctly attributed ambergris to sperm whales which he saw hunted on the
island of Socotra in the Indian Ocean but which he also thought vomited it up
after having eaten it in the depths of the sea."2

FAECES The relation to faeces is intriguing: ambergris stems from faeces, it

smells like faeces [when fresh] and it makes scents last longer. "It should be
worthwhile asking patients who use strong perfumes exactly why they do so.
Some of them may have delusions about their body odours and need Ambra
grisea."3 "As for the potential actions of the aromatic substances of ambergris, as
well as of musk, castoreum, and mephitis, on man, these extend mainly to the
instinctive, impulsive, and emotional functions which are so closely bound up
with the sense of smell."4 Less known about perfumes is that they often contain
a very slight odour of excrements, to create subconsciously the feeling of safety
of infancy. This reminds of the properties of indole. Obtained from coal tar or
faeces, crude indole emits an intense faecal odour. In highly diluted solutions,
however, the odour is pleasant, hence indole has been used in perfumery.

FEATURES Hahnemann gives a clear description of the substance: "It consists

of small,

rough, opaque masses, of spongy consistence, and can easily be broken up into
rough, uneven pieces, externally of a brownish-grey colour, internally permeated
by yellowish, reddish, and blackish fibres intermingled with whitish, very
odorous points, somewhat greasy to the touch, and of faint but very refreshing
fragrance. ... By the warmth of the fingers it becomes soft as wax, by the heat of
boiling water it melts into oil, at the same time exhales a strong, very agreeable
fragrance, and on heated metal burns quite away.

On applying a light to it it quickly takes fire, and burns with a bright flame.
Alcohol dissolves it very sparingly, but sulphuric ether dissolves it almost
completely, and on adding alcohol a white wax-like substance is thrown down.
Its feeble odour is much increased by this solution, as also by triturating it with
other substances."5

SPERM WHALE The great sperm whale, also called cachalot, is a blunt-snouted
whale of the family Physeteridae, belonging to the cetacean suborder
Odontoceti, which includes the dolphin, sperm whale, narwhal, beluga, porpoise,
and killer whale. Its Latin name Physeter macrocephalus derives from physeter,
'blower', makros, 'long' or 'great', and kephale, 'head'. Males attain a maximum
length of about 19 m, weighing 45-70
tonnes. Females are much smaller [11-12 m] and weigh 15-20 tonnes. Newborns
weigh a tonne at birth. The sperm whale has a robust body. Its dark grey or
brownish grey corrugated skin gives it a shrivelled prune-like appearance. The
distinctive huge squarish head occupies at least one-third of its body and projects
up to 1.5 m beyond the lower jaw. The teeth, which are very few, often erupt
only at sexual maturity and then, in males, only in the lower jaw. However, the
teeth are not used for chewing, since the sperm whale eats its food whole.

SPERMACETI The head contains a cavity called the spermaceti organ [hence
the name sperm whale] which is a mass of web-like tubes filled with two to four
tonnes of a pale yellow liquid. This liquid was the main reason sperm whales
were hunted as the liquid, when cooled, could be made into candles. Formerly
the crude oil was employed for lighting, lubrication, and the manufacture of
varnish, leather, linoleum, rough cloth [esp.

jute], and bottled gas for railway and similar uses. Upon being treated with
sulphur, it provides lubricants that are resistant to extreme pressures. Refined
sperm oil, after removal of spermaceti, is used for lubricating high-speed
machinery and precision instruments and for textile lubrication. It is believed
that the fluid-filled spermaceti organ in the head of the whale acts either as a
cushion to protect the whale's vital organs from the water pressures of the ocean
depths, or as part of the animal's sonar. 6

SPECIAL SENSES Like all members of the suborder Odontoceti, sperm whales
have no sense of smell. Hearing, on the other hand, is exceptionally well
developed. A variety of sounds are used to communicate socially, while high-
pitched clicks are produced for echolocation. Staccato bursts of clicks bounce off
objects and echo back to the whale where they are received through nerve
receptors in the jaw.

DIGESTION Since sperm whales don't chew their food, they are equipped with
a specialized multichambered stomach [for prolonged digestion] and extremely
long intestines [leaving nothing behind]. They feed mainly at night. [Ambra
grisea patients have digestive symptoms worse at night.] Their usual food is
squids and cuttlefish less than three feet in length and the amount a whale
consumes can be enormous. Thirty thousand beaks have been found in a sperm
whale stomach indicating they had eaten 15,000 squid as squid have upper and
lower mandibles. Sperm whales are notorious sufferers from colic and when they
are basking on the surface quietly it is easy to hear
great rumblings in their guts punctuated by monumental belches which can be
heard at great distances over the sea.

DIVING Being mammals, they must come to the water's surface to breathe
through blowholes. Their single blowhole is located left and forward on the
head. The breathing sequence involves from 10-11 minutes on the surface with
60-70 breaths during that time.

This respiratory rate is much faster than that of baleen whales. On this amount of
air sperm whales can remain in a dive for 60 minutes and reach depths of 1,100
m or more.

The longer and deeper the dive, the higher the spout from the blowhole, coming
out diagonally forwards at 45o with an explosive force. It is believed that large
males make these extreme dives to battle and consume giant squid, which can
reach lengths of 18 m.

Proof of such battles are the scars found on sperm whales bodies. The sperm
whale rarely shows much of its body above the water, although it reportedly can
jump clear of the water. Recent research shows that sperm whales spend hours
and hours underwater spiralling about one another, never losing tactile contact.

LIFESTYLE Sperm whales are cosmopolitan in deep waters of all seas except
close to ice edges. They seasonally migrate from breeding grounds near the
Equator towards the higher latitudes. Males and females travel separately in their
own distinct pods for most of the year. Females undergo less extensive migration
than males, usually staying in the temperate zones. Males travel far beyond and
may be seen in polar regions. "Sperm whales generally live in social groups or
schools although old solitary males are not uncommon. The harem or nursery
school consists of 20-30 mature females and nursing and older calves with a
master bull who dominates the herd and drives away rival males.

Bachelor herds are smaller."7 They frequently assist congeners that are in
trouble. They will stand by or support wounded or sick animals. Females assist
each other in giving birth, and mothers shield their young. "Sperm whale photo-
identification data, spanning 12 years of study around the Galapagos Islands,
were examined to investigate the size, variability and stability of social units.
Adult females and immature whales of both sexes have two types of associates:
'constant companions' which are members of an individual's
'stable' social unit and 'casual acquaintances', which are temporarily associating
members of different units. We analyzed long-term association patterns, and
calculated that individuals have a mean of 11.3 constant companions. Estimated
social unit size ranged from 3 to 24 individuals. Evidence of splitting and
merging of units, and of transfers of individuals between units is presented. The
estimated overall frequency of these unit membership changes is 6.3% per
individual per year. These forms of unit dynamics are rare in species with male
dispersal and matrilineally related social groups, and cannot easily be explained
in this species. There is considerable variation in unit size [perhaps caused by
demographic processes], suggesting that the benefits of remaining in a social
unit usually outweigh ecological benefits for optimal unit size. However, the
occurrence of merging and transfers suggests that the ecological or social
cost/benefit of leaving one's matrilineal unit may sometimes outweigh the
cost/benefit of staying."8

SYMBOLISM As in the Old Testament symbol of Jonah, the belly of the whale
is both a place of death and rebirth. In Christianity the whale depicts the Devil;
being swallowed by the whale is entry through the gates of hell [its jaw] into the
darkness of death [its belly]; emerging from the whale, after the traditional
period of the three days of the dark of the moon, is the emerging from the
obscurity of initiation into new life, resurrection. In Islamic tradition, the whale
is seen as a bearer of the cosmos, a symbol of the Earth's

foundations. Other creatures, such as the elephant, tortoise and crocodile, may
also play this role. "Islamic tradition relates that once the Earth had been created,
it floated on the waters. God sent down an angel who took the Earth on his
shoulders. God then created a green rock to give him a firm footing and rested
the latter upon the horns and back of a bull with forty thousand heads and
hooves which stood upon a huge whale. As Tha'labi said: 'God created Nun, the
great whale.' Given that the Earth rests on the angel, the angel on the rock, the
rock on the bull, the bull on the whale, the whale on the waters, the waters on air
and air on darkness, and that the whole structure depends upon the whale's
movements, the Devil, Iblis, is supposed to have tempted the whale to rid itself
of its burden and earthquakes are caused by the whale's wriggling. The whale
was, however, brought under control. 'God promptly sent a little creature down
to the whale. It went into one of its nostrils and reached its brain. The great
whale groaned and besought God who let the little creature out. However, it
remained facing the whale and threatening to go in once again every time the
whale was tempted to move about."9 Magical attributes of the whale include
"the sea, music, long life, family, friends, trust. Developing psychic and
telepathic abilities. Using sound and music to balance and heal."10

PROVINGS •• [1] Hahnemann - 2 provers, 1827; method: unknown.

•• [2] Austrian [re]proving [Krassning] - 20 provers, 1985; method: 30x, one

dose daily for 4 weeks; the proving showed essentially the same symptom
picture.

[1] Trueman, The Romantic Story of Scent. [2] Ralph, Ambergris: A Pathfinder
and Annotated Bibliography; website. [3] Thompson, Ambra grisea. [4] Leeser,
BHJ, Oct.

1960. [5] Hahnemann, MM Pura. [6] Encyclopaedia Britannica. [7] Thompson,

ibid. [8]

Christal, Canadian Jrnl of Zoology 76: 1431-1440. [9] Chevalier and

Gheerbrant, Dictionary of Symbols. [10] Conway, Animal Magick.

Affinity

NERVES [pneumogastric; solar plexus; spinal]. Mind. Female organs. One side.

* Left side. Right side.

Modalities

Worse: Slight causes [presence of others; music; embarrassment; agitation;

worry; thinking of it]. Old age. Warmth. Milk. In the morning. After eating;
warm drinks; warm room; warm milk. After walking. Exertion. Conversation.
Lying down. Reading or talking aloud.

Better: Cold drinks. Cold food. Rising from bed. Lying on painful part. Slow
motion in open air.

Main symptoms

M EASILY EMBARRASSED.

• "It is the situation where you are sitting on the toilet, someone opens the door
and there is a crowd of people there laughing at you. Imagine how embarrassed
you would feel. ...

People who need Ambra mention privacy and embarrassment when talking
about their bowels." [Thompson]

• "Many people are embarrassed about talking on the phone and wil only answer
it if there is no one else at home; do ask about this habit, they may need Ambra
grisea."

[Thompson]

Embarrassment about 'private' things: stool, urination, vomiting, body odours,

blowing nose, sex, etc.

Business embarrassment.

And Vertigo, congestion to head, brain-fag and sleeplessness.

• "Anxious dreams, as if he were abused and too weak to defend himself."

[Allen]

M TIMIDITY; blushing easily and very shy; < presence of strangers.

M Aversion to SMILING FACES [suspicion, delusion being laughed at].

• "They have a disgust at the laughter of others; esp. if people are tel ing jokes
about sex or other bodily functions which would embarrass them!" [Thompson]

Aversion to being looked at.

M AVERSION TO and AGGRAVATED by PRESENCE OF STRANGERS; esp.

DURING STOOL or URINATION; wants to go exclusively to own toilet.

• "You may also use Ambra during the lying-in period, especially when
constipation is severe. It is suited to those nervous women who are thin and
scrawny-looking, who have ineffectual urging to stool accompanied by great
anxiety and restlessness, and inability to pass stool while the nurse or any one
else is in the room." [Farrington]
• "They are particularly afraid of people when they need to have a bowel motion.
This can also apply to urination. It is not in the rubric 'Constipation when away
from home' or

'Constipation from travelling' but is certainly one of the remedies to think of.
This is because being away from home nearly everyone is a stranger, esp. if in
another country."

[Thompson]

M < CONVERSATION.

Talking < all complaints.

Anxiety when speaking.

Vanishing of thoughts.

• "Conversation causes fatigue, heaviness in the head, sleeplessness, oppression

of the chest, sweat, anxiety, tremor and quivering; general nervousness and
irritability." [Hayes]

• "Talking irritates her; she is attacked with trembling through the whole body,
especially in the lower extremities, and has to be alone for some time in order to
rest herself."

[Hahnemann]

M Family.

• "Ambra grisea has a special relationship with the family. They are very
attached to their family to the exclusion of outsiders. Their attention is focused
inside their clan, not on the world at large. This is the reason that the death of a
family member is such a devastating event for Ambra grisea. They do not like
strangers, which means anyone not in their immediate family. Now we can
understand why they are so timid, shy and reserved. They do not want
interaction outside their family circle."1

[Compare; "the benefits of remaining in a social unit usually outweighs

ecological benefits for optimal unit size." See above.]
M Anxiety and worries about almost everything; but do not want to talk about it
and want to be left alone.

• "He himself may have thought these symptoms unimportant, or - and this is
characteristic of the Ambra patient - have withheld them from his own and from
outside attention because of their secret affective meaning. ... The aversion to
showing his emotional over-excitability is downright characteristic of the Ambra
patient." [Leeser]

Hastiness and nervous excitement when talking.

• "Asks many questions, never waits for an answer. Especial y is it indicated in

those persons who manifest a momentary, fleeting inquisitiveness, jumping from
one subject to another." [Kent]

• "Unless there are some nervous symptoms present in the case, you can hardly
expect it to do good service. ... This remedy is particularly indicated in thin,
spare men, who have a decidedly nervous temperament, in whom nervousness
predominates at the expense of nutrition. ... It is a very quick-acting remedy. We
may, therefore, give it in nervous diseases when there is defective reaction."
[Farrington]

M Fear of becoming crazy.

From pressure in forehead and vertex.

Or: "As soon as he goes into company there is flushing, trembling, nervous
excitement and the thoughts vanish. With these symptoms the patient imagines
that he is going out of his mind, and finally he settles down into a state of
melancholy, sadness and despair, and does not want to live." [Kent]

M < Music.

[sadness; congestion to head; headache; earache; redness of face; asthma; cough;

palpitation of heart; backache; trembling].

• "Congestion to head from music; very painful tearing on top of the head and as
if in the whole upper half of the brain, and pale face and coldness of the hands."
[Still]
G Persons who are prematurely old; suffering from mental weakness.

G Nervous exhaustion, yet overimpressionable.

Slight things < breathing, heart, start the menses, etc.

G Symptoms suddenly CHANGE position; as if asleep, NUMB feeling [in

spots], twitching, itching, trembling, ebullitions, etc.

Anxiety drives one from place to place.

G ONE-SIDED complaints; complaints and numbness.

G Great weakness and lassitude.

G Easily heated.

Easy perspiration, esp. on abdomen.

G Sleeplessness after business embarrassment.

• "He feels sleepy but as soon as his head touches the pil ow he wakes up."

• "At night the mind dwel s on unpleasant things and sleep comes not or if it
does is disturbed by anxious dreams."

c Sleep prevented by coldness or twitching.

• "On waking in the morning the patient finds the tongue, mouth and lips not
functioning. The arms 'go to sleep' easily, particularly when resting on them.
When carrying anything, danger of dropping it because of the tingling and
numbness." [Clifton]

G Seashore.

• "I have had Ambra patients from families who lived by the sea and have even
been involved in the fishing industry. ... An important point is in an animal
remedy proving like Ambra grisea provers did not develop a connection with
whales, the sea and water.

This is because the provings only reveal uncompensated symptoms which have
to match with the uncompensated state in a patient. Other expressions such as
animal rights supporters involved in Save the Whale campaigns are usually
compensated symptoms in the patient. However if we find one or two symptoms
of Ambra in a case and they have a fear of water, a passion for swimming, an
interest in diving, a desire to live by or on the sea then Ambra can be prescribed
with success." [Thompson]

G < MORNING.

WEAKNESS IN MORNING IN BED.

G < Warm room; warm drinks.

> Cold air; cold food; cold drinks.

G < Room FULL of PEOPLE.

TREMBLING < company; from conversation.

G < Evening; lying in bed.

< Waking.

G > Slow motion in open air [= distraction and invigorating the circulation].

G GREY discharges.

[grey mucus in throat in morning; grey expectoration; ulcers with grey

discharge]

G Vertigo of old people.

< Morning; after sleep; after eating.

< Walking in open air.

And Feeling of weight on vertex; feeling of weight or weakness in stomach.

And Sensation of weakness or coldness in head.

[1] Johnston, I can't take any more [two Ambra grisea cases], HL 3/96 and 4/96.
Rubrics

Mind

Absentminded when spoken to [1]. Repeats the question first before answering
[1].

Anxiety in a crowd [3]. Aversion to company, to the presence of strangers during

stool

[3/1]; aversion to smiling faces [2/1]. Confusion on attempting to concentrate the

mind

[1]. Lack of reaction to danger [1]. Delusions, diabolical faces crowding upon
him [2]; of too much light in room on falling asleep [1/1]. Fear of others
approaching him [2].

Indifference to everything [1]. Irritability from conversation [2]. Loquacity, asks

one question after another without waiting for an answer [1/1]; during sleep [1].
Quarrelsome without waiting for responses [2]. Restlessness from conversation
[2/1]. Sensitive to music [2]. Inclination to sit and weep [2].

Vertigo

Must lie down [2]; and weakness in stomach [1/1].

Head

Congestion from music [2/1]. Sensation of heaviness from talking [2].

Numbness in morning, extending to body [1/1]. Pressing pain in vertex after
sleep [1/1]. Cold perspiration on forehead in warm room [1/1].

Eye

Sensation as if eyes were too deep in sockets, in morning on waking [1/1].

Face

Numbness of lips in morning on waking [1/1].

Mouth
Sour taste after milk [1; Phos.; Sulph.].

Throat

Sensation of a lump after eating [1/1].

Stomach

Sensation of emptiness after eructations [1]. Eructations during and after

coughing [3]; and asthma [1/1].

Rectum

Constipation from sedentary habits [2]. Urging absent in company [3/1].

Female

Copious menses < exertion [3]. Metrorrhagia < lying on back [1; Cham.]; after
slight exertion [3]. Burning pain in uterus while urinating [2].

Respiration

Asthmatic, > eating [1; Graph.]; after emotions [1]; < music [1/1].

Cough

Exciting eructations [2]. Milk < [1]. Music < [3]. On talking loud [2].

Back

Oppression between scapulae during asthma [1/1].

Limbs

Blue swelling [from varices] of left leg during menses [1/1]. Trembling from
conversation [2/1]. Weakness of fingers [from numbness] at night [1/1].

Sleep

Position, sleeps on back with hands flat under occiput [1; Nux-v.]; sleeps with
elbows and knees bent [1]. Sleepiness when retiring, but wide awake as soon as
head touches pillow [3/1].

Dreams

Of being abused, and too weak to defend himself [1/1].

Perspiration

From conversation [2/1].

Generals

Orgasm of blood from nervousness [1]. Trembling, externally, > when alone
[1/1].

Food

Aversion: [1]: Fat food.

Desire: [2]: Salt [2]. [1]: Fish [*]; seafood [*].

Worse: [2]: Hot food; milk; warm drinks; warm food; warm milk. [1]: Alcohol;
coffee; wine.

Better: [2]: Cold drinks during heat. [1]: Cold drinks; cold food.

* Repertory additions [Thompson].

Ammonium carbonicum

Am-c.

Hatred does a great deal more damage to the vessel in which it is stored than the
object on which it is poured.

[McKenzie]

Signs

Ammonium carbonate. Carbonic acid. Crystal ammonia.

CHEMISTRY Ammonium carbonate - a white powder - is stable under ordinary
conditions of use and storage. It is very soluble in cold water. It becomes
unstable upon exposure to air and converts into ammonium bicarbonate. This
process liberates ammonia and carbon dioxide. Contact with water may also
liberate ammonia. Ammonia is a colourless, poisonous gas with a characteristic
pungent odour. This compound of nitrogen and hydrogen was first obtained from
sal ammoniac. It is easily liquefied by compression or by cooling to about -33o
C. In returning to the gaseous state, it absorbs substantial amounts of heat from
its surroundings and thus is widely used as a coolant in refrigerating and air-
conditioning equipment. It has a low density, high stability, low corrosiveness,
and high heat of vaporisation. Ammonia gas may burn, but does not

readily ignite.

ENVIRONMENT Ammonia enters the environment through natural organic

matter decomposition, run-off from agricultural fields, municipal waste
treatment plant discharges, oil refinery, chemical manufacturing effluents, or
atmospheric fallout. Its toxicity is greater in more alkaline waters at higher
temperatures. It is also more toxic under conditions of decreased oxygen
concentrations.

ATMOSPHERE It makes up a significant fraction of the atmospheres of some of

the giant gas planets and of some comets, but there is little free ammonia on the
earth. It is widely believed that ammonia was a constituent of the atmosphere of
the primordial earth, but that as life evolved and released oxygen into the
atmosphere, any ammonia in the atmosphere was efficiently oxidized by the
oxygen. To compensate for the loss of ammonia, life evolved a number of
enzymatic pathways to create ammonia. Ammonia is part of the nitrogen cycle.
"This cycle begins when atmospheric nitrogen and hydrogen combine to form
ammonia; the electrical energy of lightning drives the reaction.

Ammonia combines with rain and becomes available to green plants as dilute
nitric acid.

Ammonia is also derived from the breakdown of proteins that constitute plants
and animal cells. This chemical, combined with the products of photosynthesis,
is used to form amino acids, which are the basic components of plant proteins.
Animals eat the plant proteins, break them down into amino acids during the
process of digestion, and recombine them to form their own particular forms of
protein in order to build tissues and organs of their body. Certain soil bacteria
convert nitrogen-containing compounds into ammonia and atmospheric nitrogen,
a process known as denitrification. These bacteria obtain energy by breaking
down not only nitrogen compounds urea and uric acid that are excreted by living
animals, but also the nitrogen compounds produced by decaying organic
matter."1

USES Ammonia is an essential ingredient in the manufacture of fertilizers,

plastics, and explosives. In the textile industry it is used in the manufacture of
synthetic fibres such as nylon and rayon. The alkali metals [lithium, natrium,
potassium, rubidium, cesium, francium] as well as the heavier alkaline earth
metals [beryllium, magnesium, calcium, strontium, barium, radium] dissolve in
liquid ammonia, producing blue solutions.

Ammonium carbonate is used as a neutralizer and buffer in permanent-wave

solutions and creams, as well as in baking powders, for defatting woollens, in
fire extinguishers, and as an expectorant. It can cause skin rashes on the scalp,
forehead, or hands.

Ammonium carbonate [and sodium carbonate] is added to some brands of

[snuff] tobacco to fasten the absorption of nicotine into the bloodstream. Violent
reactions occur if ammonia comes in contact with chlorine, bromine, iodine,
acids, gold, silver, calcium, and hypochlorite bleaches.

REFRIGERANT The use of ammonia for cooling applications dates back to the
mid 1800's. The early 1900's largely perfected its use as a refrigerant in a closed
cycle of evaporation, compression and condensation. At present, freon
[chemicals containing fluorine] competes with ammonia as the main refrigerant.

SMELLING SALT Smelling salts - a preparation of ammonium carbonate with

lavender or other perfumes - are used to relieve faintness and headaches. It
revives the spirits. The fumes stimulate medullary reflexes in the brain by
irritation of the nerve endings in the mucous membranes of the upper respiratory
system. Prolonged inhalation of ammonium carbonate causes irritation to the
respiratory tract. Symptoms may include coughing,

shortness of breath. In severe cases, chemical bronchitis [swelling of air

passages] may result.

EFFECTS Ammonia fumes can irritate the eyes and upper respiratory tract,
causing vomiting, conjunctivitis and inflammation of the lips, mouth and throat.
Toxic inhalations cause airway obstruction, pulmonary irritation with swelling,
cyanosis, bronchitis and pneumonia. Ammonia has been shown to produce skin
cancer in humans in doses of 1,000 mg/kg of body weight. It can damage cells
directly, and skin contact can lead to dermatitis; ingestion can burn the
oesophagus. Intoxication by ingestion is treated by drinking water or milk in
order to dilute or neutralize the ammonia; vomiting is to be avoided, as the
substance can burn the mouth or throat. 2 Contact with the compressed ammonia
gas can cause frostbite.

HAEMOLYSIS "Traces of ammonia are found as split-products in the

erythrocytes. The lipoid solubility of ammonia explains their great haemolytic
property, which is characteristically potentiated in combination with saponin.
From direct contact with ammonia, the blood at first becomes dark red, then
through destruction of the red blood corpuscles, there is laking and finally a
ruby-red. Such blood effects can appear only in very acute flooding with
ammonia. But typical symptoms of intoxication find accord in the homoeopathic
drug picture of ammonium preparations with septic and scorbutic states with a
tendency to bleeding. ... The slight stability of ammonium, its great volatility,
and its role in the body physiologically limited to the destructive phase, give it
an accent in contradistinction to sodium and potassium, that the action is more
transient, toxic and less constitutional."3

MYTHOLOGY The name ammon is derived from Am[m]on, the ancient

Egyptian ram-headed god, in the region of whose temple sal ammoniac is said to
have been first made from camel-dung. Amon created himself: there was no
other god to create him, and he had neither father nor mother. He was invisible,
born in secret. Being called first 'The Hidden One' [his image was painted blue
to denote invisibility], Amon was later considered as a creative god. He was
represented as a goose and called the Great Cackler, who laid the cosmic egg.
This identification, however, was not pursued and, with the exception of the
pinion feathers which remained an attribute of Amon, the goose image was
dropped. More important became the association with another fertile animal, the
ram. Still later he also became identified as a war-god. During the Assyrian
occupation of Egypt, resistance was strongest in Thebes, and Amon's cult spread
to the oases, especially Siwa in Egypt's western desert, where Amon was linked
with Jupiter. As the power of the Theban princes grew, so Amon gradually
became solarised and was henceforth known as Amon-Ra. He wore all the
symbols of supreme power of the sun god. "Despite his universal grandeur, his
cosmic and dynastic associations, Amon-Ra was also a popular god, whose
worship among humble people was universal and personal. He was called the
vizier of the poor, incorruptible and anxious to see that the just attained their
rightful deserts and that the weak were protected against the strong ... This sort
of personal worship of the state god broke with earlier Egyptian traditions.
Though theologically Amon-Ra was identified with earlier forms of the sun-god
as the dynastic deity, in fact his unprecedented wealth and power led to a novel
form of theocracy. Where the strength of the god would before have bolstered
the royal house, in the case of Amon-Ra it eventually undermined the monarchy.
The ultimate result was that when Thebes was conquered by the Assyrians in
663 BC Amon-Ra fell with the kingdom."4 Amon was

identified by the Greeks with Zeus, and by the Romans with Jupiter. Like the
Sun, the planet Jupiter is primarily composed of hydrogen and helium. "Jupiter's
atmosphere contains trace amounts of water, ammonia, methane, and other
organic [carbon]

compounds. Astronomers theorize that three layers of clouds exist, separated by

about 30

km in altitude. The lowest are made of water ice or droplets, the next are crystals
of a compound of ammonia and hydrogen sulphide, and the highest are ammonia
ice."5

PROVINGS •• [1] Hahnemann - 7 provers; method: unknown.

•• [2] Martin - 12 provers; method: ammonium carbonate in doses of 1-10

grains, for several days in succession or at 2 hour intervals.

•• [3] Rendel - self-experimentation, 1881; method: 'I took one dose of Am-c.
1M

[Fincke], and on the 27th day took a dose of 10M [Fincke]. On the 72nd day,
being completely exhausted by the severity of the symptoms, I having become
very thin and weak, I took a dose of Lachesis CM [Fincke]. All the symptoms
were greatly ameliorated by next day, and most of them soon ceased.'

[1] Grolier Multimedia Encyclopedia. [2] Turkington, Guide to Poisons and

Antidotes.
[3] Leeser, Hom. Mat. Med., Inorganic Medicinal Substances. [4] Ions, Egyptian
Mythology. [5] Grolier.

Affinity

HEART [circulation; blood]. RESPIRATION. Lungs. Bronchi. * Right side. Left

side.

Modalities

Worse: COLD [CLOUDY DAYS; DAMP; raw, open air]. Falling asleep; 3-4
a.m.

DURING MENSES. Motion. Exertion. Ascending steps. WASHING. Warm

room

[asthma]. After eating. WHILE EATING.

Better: PRESSURE. Lying on abdomen. Lying on painful side. Dry weather.

Open air

[asthma]. Eating. Lying on right side.

Comparisons

c INTOLERANCE of INJUSTICE

"We can see that Am-c. is similar to Caust. in many ways, neither of them can
tolerate the injustices and abuse of values in society. But in Caust. the feeling of
injustice is predominant, while Am-c. has more resentment. As they get older the
provocative behaviour changes into a more cynical and reserved kind of attitude.
They are very disappointed in their old ideals, they think that society is rotten
and corrupt."

c SUPPRESSED ANGER

"The anger is kept inside. The reservedness of the Ammoniums is also present in
the Natrums, but in the Natrums the grudge is absent, they don't really have this
type of anger. The difference between the two is very clear when we compare
Nat-c. with Am-c.
Nat-c. is usually refined and dignified, while Am-c. can be very blunt and
resentful."

[both quotes from Scholten]

Main symptoms

* Appears to stand midway between the Acidums in general [contain hydrogen

ions] and Nitricum acidum [contains nitrogen].

M • "Persons of a hateful and vindictive nature." [Hoyne]

Lack of docility; easily takes offence. [Gibson]

Disobedience; obstinacy. [Hahnemann]

Unfit for military life. [Gallavardin]

M Disappointed resentment.

Increasing grudge against society and the meaning of life.

• "They think that society is rotten and corrupt. They feel that al ideals have been
sacrificed to pragmatism and greed. They become the angry and rebellious
young men."

[Scholten]

Disappointment and bitterness.

Abusive; censorious; cursing; hatred; malicious; anger from contradiction.

• "Express their anger inside by being rude, by cursing, swearing or criticising.

But often the anger is held inside and is only expressed by surliness, obstinate
silence, contrary behaviour or biting sarcasm." [Scholten]

• "Think of everything which others have done to displease me; lie awake al
night to lay plans to talk to them about it, but forget it in the morning."1

• "Ful of care and gloomy anxiety; thoughts about unpleasant occurrences of

former times crowd upon the mind and torment me."1
M Lack of self-confidence; self-contempt.

• "Sad, despondent, homesick; tears run down my cheeks in evening and at

night; have lost all self-respect, for I cannot do anything right; feel I ought not to
prescribe for a patient, am sure I do not know enough, despise myself because I
do not know more; brain feels thick, cannot get a thought through it, it will not
act; when I see a patient come in the office I feel so badly because I know I
cannot do well for them, so that I am all in a tremble and can hardly speak, the
perspiration runs down my back; I tremble so, I lose the powder out of the paper
when trying to do it up; I try to conceal these symptoms, I am so ashamed of
them; cannot see anything good in myself, feel so out with myself, with utter
contempt of self, but see good in every one else, even my worst enemy; will
stand up for them, an stand up for them, and point out some good in them, and
make excuses for them; constantly admiring the good qualities I see in others,
but think I am all bad, and that others think so: these symptoms lasted till end of
proving."1

M Mistakes.

• "Loss of train of thoughts when tel ing a story, and hitting upon wrong thoughts
and expressions." • "Incorrect speech, using one word for another."

• "Uses wrong letters and figures in writing and ciphering." [Al en]

M Preoccupied with his or her health. [Gibson]

G AVERSION TO WASHING.

Uncleanness of bodily habits.

Washing = epistaxis when washing face or hands in morning; blueness of hands;

swollen veins; skin covered with red, mottled spots.

G Ailments and great prostration, great dyspnoea, coldness and puffiness of face.

G MALIGNANT scarlatina.

And Somnolence, starting from sleep.

Faint development of rash due to defective vitality.

G OBESITY.

G CHILLY.

Very susceptible and sensitive to cold; readily catch cold in the winter.

AVERSION to OPEN air.

GENERALLY < COLD but [asthmatic or cardiac] dyspnoea < warm room.

< Cold or wet humid weather.

> Dry, warm weather.

G LIVID, WEAK and DROWSY.

G LOW VITALITITY.

Lack of reaction to indicated homeopathic remedies in infectious diseases.

Lack of reaction in acute diseases.

• "Broken-down feeling of the whole body, lack of tone and weeping mood early
in the morning on rising." [Hahnemann]

WEAK HEART.

Faintness in a crowded room.

Speaking much or listening to others fatigues greatly.

• "Hearing others talk, and talking myself, makes me very weary and nervous;
cannot bear it; must get away from it and people."1

G CHILLINESS, worse in EVENING.

Orgasm of blood at night. "Seems as if the heart and veins would burst."

Perspiration towards morning.

G Sleep.
• "The earlier she goes to sleep, the better is her sleep; the later she goes to bed
the less she can sleep." [Hahnemann]

Sleepiness during the day; > occupation.

G Craving for sugar, sweets and chocolate.

• "An unconquerable desire."1

[Compare with: "When feeling ill liable to frequent recourse to the bottle of
'smelling salts'."]

G < 3 A.M.

G < DURING MENSES.

[sadness; headache; coryza; toothache; paleness of face; copious diarrhoea;

pressure on uterus; chilliness; tiredness, esp. in the thighs; fatigue]

G Biting, burning pains.

G ACRID, yellow, and watery discharges.

May even cause ulceration.

P Obstruction of nose at night [esp. when bedroom is warm]; nose feels blocked
in spite of watery discharge.

Frequent sneezing in morning in bed.

P Breathing stops as soon he falls asleep, must get up and walk.

Emphysema and asthma and cardiac weakness.

Cardiac cough without expectoration.

< Ascending; warm room.

1 Rendell, Proving of Ammonium Carbonicum, The Homeopathic Physician,

July 1881, reported a few symptoms being cured by Am-c.:
"Before taking Am-c., I would not eat white bread, or if I did, I would not digest
it, but would vomit it; during the proving I could eat it, and can do so now, after
the proving, without any bad effect."

"Swelling and pain in breasts before menses, were removed by the proving."

"Used to suffer very much during menses; this has ceased since the proving, but
I have congestive headache instead."

"Since an illness six years ago, the muscles and tissues have seemed to be bound
together, not moving freely on each other as they used to; could not lie on back,
there

seemed to be such a tightness of the flesh from the chest to abdomen; can now
lie on back with ease, and the muscles of body seem to act freely and natural;
can walk with much greater ease since taking the Am-c."

Rubrics

Mind

Absentminded when spoken to [1]. Abusive, insulting in evening [1/1]. Anger

and red spots in face [1/1]. Aversion to water [3]. Dirtiness [3]. Attempts to
escape from her family and children [1]. Irritability, excessively ill-humoured
from cloudy weather [1].

Morose from thunderstorm [1/1]. Neglecting everything [1]. Quarrelsome during

menses

[1]. Revealing secrets in sleep [1]. Sadness > after eating [1]. Indisposed to talk,
desire to be silent, taciturn, during menses [2].

Vertigo

When moving head at night [1].

Head

Sensation as if brain falls to side to which he moves his head [1/1]. Heaviness
while lying in bed [1/1]. Pain, > smoking tobacco [1].
Eye

Feeling as if upper eyelids were too short transversely [1/1*].

Vision

Colours, white stars when sneezing [1/1]. Diplopia when looking intensely [1].
Sparks, on waking at night [2].

Ear

Noises, as if a bird or a large insect were fluttering its wings close to left ear
[1/1*]; reports as of distant shots [1; Dig.]; whispering [1]; sound of wind [1].

Nose

Coryza during menses [2]. Discharge excoriating during menses [1/1]; watery
during menses [1/1]. Red discolouration of tip when stooping [2/1].

Face

Discolouration, pale before menses [1]; red spots after washing [2]. Dryness of
lips, as if they would crack open when moved [1*]. Feeling of tension in skin in
morning on waking [1/1].

Mouth

Speech difficult after eating [1/1].

Teeth

Biting teeth together sends a shock through head, ear and nose [1/1]. Feeling as
if teeth were not her own, but made of china [porcelain] [1/1*].

Stomach

Contraction, on stretching [1/1]. Thirst during menses [1].

Abdomen

Rumbling > lying on abdomen [1/1]; after swallowing [1/1].

Male

Pollutions when talking with women [1; Clem.]. Sexual desire increased when
talking with women [1; Clem.].

Female

Menses copious at night [2], < cold air [1; Ip.]; while sitting [2/1]; < standing [2;
Cocc.;

Mag-c.]; copious and of short duration [1].

Chest

Pain in mammae before menses [1*]. Palpitation and lachrymation [1/1].

Swelling of mammae before menses [1*].

Sleep

Sleeplessness when going to bed late [1/1]. Waking from hunger [1].

Dreams

Death, that he is dying [1]. Of having nosebleed [1/1*].

Generals

Faintness in a crowded room [2]. Lassitude > walking in open air [2; Alum.].
Trembling from [loud] noise [1*].

* Repertory additions [Rendell].

Food

Aversion: [1]: Meat; milk; cooked food; ooked food during menses.

Desire: [2]: Sweets. [1]: Alcohol; beer; bread; bread during menses; chocolate;
coffee; cold drinks; cold food; cold food during menses; pungent; sour; sugar.

Worse: [2]: Hot food. [1]: Potatoes; sweets [= toothache]; warm food.
Better: [1]: Sweets; warm food.

Ammonium muriaticum

Am-m.

Night brings our troubles to the light, rather than banishes them.

[Seneca]

Signs

Ammonium chloride. Sal Ammoniac. Salmiac.

CHEMISTRY Ammonium chloride appears either as crystals or as a gas. There

is no liquid phase. The white, crystalline substance is saline, cooling and slightly
bitter in taste.

Being readily hydroscopic, it should be kept away from moisture. It vaporizes

without melting at 340o C to form equal volumes of ammonia and hydrogen
chloride.

HISTORY "Known as sal ammoniac in the West, nao sha in China, nao sadar in
India, and nushadir in Persia and Arabic lands, the chloride of ammonia first
became known to the West in the Chou-i ts'an t'ung ch'i, a Chinese treatise of the
2nd century AD. It was to be crucial to alchemy, for on sublimation it dissociates
into antagonistic corrosive materials, ammonia and hydrochloric acid, which
readily attack metals."1 Mercury ammonium chloride was the sal alembroth of
alchemy, also called salt of wisdom. The eagle, queen of birds, signifies sal
ammoniac, because of its lightness in sublimations. [In many places Paracelsus,
however, uses it for precipitated mercury.]

USES Ammonium chloride is chiefly used as an electrolyte in dry cells. It is also

employed in dyeing printing textiles, in tanning leather, in freezing mixtures, in
safety explosives, and as a constituent of galvanizing, tinning, and soldering
fluxes to remove oxide coatings from metals and thereby improving the adhesion
of the solders. In medicine it is used as a stimulant expectorant [coughs and
colds], as a cholagogue, as a urinary acidifier and diuretic [to relieve alkalosis],
as a cooling and stimulating skin wash, as an acidifier in eye lotions, and to
promote lead excretion. The food industry uses sal ammoniac as a dough
conditioner and a yeast food in bread, rolls, and buns, as well as in the beer
stages of the fermentation of the wort in brewing. Salmiac is the main ingredient
of salt liquorice, a confectionery having a laxative effect.

DISSOLVENT Adding sal ammoniac [ammonium chloride] to nitric acid gives

aqua regia, so named for its ability to dissolve the royal metal, gold.

EFFECTS "Salmiac dissociates as the salt of a strong acid and in contrast to the
carbonate is stronger electrically and less hydrolytic. The lack of odour of this
salt suggests that no ammonia is set free. Therefore in the organism the
liberation of ammonia is less stormy so that the elaboration to urea and the
excretion through the urine and sweat in general is more extensive. With larger
doses an increased secretion of a urinous smelling sweat is observed. One may
expect from ammonium muriaticum a more prolonged ammonium action and
moreover in the liberation from hydrochloric acid and its neutralization [through
sodium] an approximation of Muriaticum acidum and Natrum mur. Likewise
Magnesia muriatica is recalled particularly by the gastrointestinal symptoms. In
being less hydrolytic, it lacks the hydrogenoid trend and the aggravation from
damp and cold of Am-c."2

EXTREMES Ammonium chloride includes both extremes of coldness and heat:

it keeps snow from melting on ski slopes, and it occurs in nature in volcanic
regions [notably, Mt.

Vesuvius, Italy, and Paricutin Volcano, Michoacan, Mexico]. It forms on

volcanic rocks near fume releasing vents. The crystallization occurs as the gases
are escaping. The crystals tend to be short-lived; they will be removed during the
first rain of their existence

[sal ammoniac is very soluble in water].

DARK - LIGHT Sal ammoniac clarifies and sal ammoniac blurs. As a coating
on dark objects that are about to be photographed it adds detail to the subject and
thus improves the picture. Employed in heater coils it produces smoke, a popular
effect used in theatrical productions.

PROVINGS •• [1] Hahnemann - 3 provers; method: unknown.

•• [2] Gumpert - 7 patients; method: 'Dr. Gumpert commenced by administering

1/2 or 1
dram in 24 hours, increasing doses by 1 dram every 3 or 4 days, until 4-6 drams
were taken daily.'

[1] Encyclopaedia Britannica. [2] Leeser, Hom. Materia Medica, Inorganic

Medicinal Substances.

Affinity

MUCOUS MEMBRANES [CHEST; gall ducts]. Liver. Blood. Female organs.

Tips of fingers and toes. * Right side. Left side.

Modalities

Worse: Morning [head, chest]. Afternoon [abdomen]. Evening [skin, fever,

limbs].

Sprains [chronic]. Periodically. During menses. After stool. After urination.

Walking erect. Night. In bed. Sitting. Open air.

Better: Open air. Rapid motion; continued motion. Rubbing the part. Warm bath.

Walking stooped. Eating.

Comparisons

c COMMON SYMPTOMS OF MURIATICUMS [AM-M., MAG-M., NAT-M.]

Anxiety / Restlessness at night. - Delusions / visions of fire. - Irritability during

headache. Misanthropy. - Heaviness of head in morning on rising. - Headache
during menses. - Headache < warm room. - Burning pain in eyes in morning. -
Exertion of vision <. - Coryza and laryngitis and hoarseness. - Epistaxis from
blowing the nose. -

Cracked lips. - Sour taste in mouth after eating. - Extreme thirst. - Frequent
urination at night. - Copious menses at night; dark, black, clotted. - Letting limbs
hang down >. -

Dreams: anxious; journeys; water.

Aversion to meat. - After perspiration >. - Pressure >.

Main symptoms

* Similar to Nat-m. and Mag-m. [reserved, withdrawn, suppressed grief], due to

the muriaticum-element, as well as to Nitrogen [criticism, hatred, resentment].

M Sadness but CANNOT WEEP.

More reserved and closed than Am-c.

• "Less stormy."

• "But deep inside they feel an enormous resentment." [Scholten]

Ailments from grief; disappointment.

M Anxious dreams.

• "Anxious dreams, with feeling of embarrassment; anxious dreams of fire, of

water, of going over deep water, of bad bridges, of danger of being drowned."
[Hoyne]

M Irritability and bad humour, esp. in the morning.

And Aversion to talk.

But: "Excitement when talking on an important subject." [Allen]

M Resentment from disappointment.

• "They miss a feeling of security."

• "Very critical, not even the smal est matter escapes their criticism."

• "Aversion to company, conversation and consolation."

• "They feel that there is very little gentleness and love left in this world. If they
do happen to come across some expression of this love, they are very quick to
kill it with their criticism. Not many people can stand this cynicism for very long
and people soon give up trying to be kind to them. This keeps the vicious circle
going, the Ammonium muriaticums become hard and they feel that they have to
be in order to protect themselves against the hardness of other people."
[Scholten]

G TENSION and SHORTENING of MUSCLES.

TIGHTNESS, as if too short: tendons, hamstrings, lumbar region, etc.

> Continued motion.

G Irregular circulation; ebullitions, burning or localized pulsations.

BOILING SENSATION in blood vessels ALL OVER BODY.

G Sensitivity to COLD.

Tendency to acrid coryza [watery, corroding upper lip].

Leading to obstruction of nose and loss of smell, but without the paroxysmal
respiratory dyspnoea as with Am-c.

Sneezing in sleep.

• "One nostril is usual y stopped-up at a time; there is an excoriating, watery

discharge from the nose, which makes the inside of the nostrils and upper lip
sore. The throat is swollen, so that the patient cannot open his mouth. The mouth
and throat are filled with a viscid phlegm, which the patient expels with great
difficulty." [Farrington]

G Perspiration most profuse after midnight and in the morning, in bed.

G Great thirst, esp. in evening.

[Frequent urination, esp. towards morning.]

G < 3-4 A.M.

G < MORNING.

G > LYING.

> LYING on the BACK. [Cough worse when lying on the back.]
G > Bathing the affected part.

G Catarrhal [nasal or chest] affections and feeling of coldness between the

scapulae.

G Increased [watery and acrid] discharges.

G CHRONIC SPRAINS.

CONTRACTION OF HAMSTRINGS, which seem tight when walking [walks

stooped].

< Morning.

> Continued motion.

P Paleness of face.

But: "The face reddens during a short, animated conversation, esp. so in a warm
room."

P Sciatica < sitting, > lying; contracted, tensive sensation.

And Numbness of feet.

Left-sided.

P Urticaria and swelling of axillary glands. [Hoyne]

Rubrics

Mind

Abusive; children insulting parents [1]. Anger with taciturnity [1]. Anxiety as if
paralyzed [1; Cob-n.]. Aversion to certain persons [2]. Blasphemy and cursing
[1].

Delusion enemy is under the bed [1/1]; head is surrounded by fire [1/1]; a grief
weighed upon him [1; Con.]; sword hanging over head [1/1]. Envy and hate [1].
Irritability > after eating [1]. Desire for light [2]. Sadness, in darkness [1]; > after
eating [1]; but cannot weep [2].
Eye

Burning pain in eyes in morning > washing [1; Alum.; Nicc.], > bright light
[1/1], >

candlelight [1/1]. Photophobia in morning [1; Nux-v.].

Vision

Foggy, in bright light [1/1], in sunlight [1], > washing [1; Alum.; Caust.].

Nose

Constant inclination to blow the nose from sensation of a large body in nose [1;
Teucr.].

Coryza during menses [1]. Epistaxis preceded by itching [2]. Sneezing wakes
him from sleep [3/1].

Teeth

Pain, during coryza [1/1].

Stomach

Eructations > after eating [1]. Sensation of fulness during hunger [1].

Rectum

Haemorrhage from anus during menses [2].

Urine

Copious urine night before menses [1; Cann-s.; Hyos.].

Female

Menses, copious at night [2]; > motion [1]. Prolapsus, uterus, walks bent [2].

Respiration
Difficult, on motion of arms [2], on stooping [2].

Chest

Oppression > eructations [2].

Back

Coldness, dorsal region, between scapulae, with cough [2/1].

Limbs

Heat palms of hands in evening after lying down [1; Nux-v.], heat soles of feet in
evening after lying down [1; Nux-v.; Sulph.].

Sleep

Sleepiness, evening, twilight [3/1]. Sleeplessness, easily frightened [1].

Dreams

Horse biting him in arm [1/1]. Difficulties [3]. Falling into water [2]. Difficulties
on journeys [1]. Being lost in a forest [1].

Food

Aversion: [1]: Meat.

Desire: [2]: Lemonade. [1]: Brandy; chocolate; coffee; pickles; sour; sugar;
sweets.

Worse: [1]: Potatoes; wine.

Anacardium orientale

Anac.

The man who sees both sides of a question is a man who sees absolutely nothing.

[Oscar Wilde]
Signs

Semecarpus anacardium. Anacardium orientale. Marking-nut Tree. N.O.

Anacardiaceae.

CLASSIFICATION The Anacardiaceae is a widespread, mostly tropical plant

family with 76 genera of trees, shrubs and lianas. It includes species as
Comocladia, Cotinus, Mangifera, and Rhus. Most members of the family are
laticiferous; they have resinous tissues, although the leaves are not gland-dotted.
One-third of the 76 genera contains poisonous species.

NAME The name Anacardium derives from Gr. ana, up or without, and kardia,
heart, referring to the fact that the pulp of the fruit, instead of having the seed
enclosed, has the nut growing out at the end of it. The specific name orientale
refers to its eastern, Asiatic habitat.

FEATURES Anacardium orientale is a broad-leaved tree that is found growing

on the sub-Himalayan and tropical parts of India as far east as Assam, and is
used locally as a source of timber. It has greenish-white flowers and black,
drupaceous fruits. The pedicel, which swells under the nut to form a false fruit,
is edible when ripe. Parts used include the fruit [seeds], gum and oil [a black
tarry oil, known as bhilawan oil, obtained from the pericarp of the nut].
Bhilawan oil, also known as bhilawa nutshell liquid, is analogous in many
aspects with cashew nut shell liquid from Anacardium occidentale. The oil is
inflammable, and at first of a pale milky colour, but turning black on exposure to
air. It has been used in beauty culture to remove the skin of the face in order to
grow a new one.

CONSTITUENTS The family is best known for its phenols and phenolic acids
causing serious skin irritation - anacardol, anacardic acid and relatives. The
irritant substances may be distributed throughout the plant body or concentrated
in particular organs, e.g. in the fruit wall of the cashew or marking-nut.
Anacardic acid reportedly has anthelmintic activity.

OIL Trade in the marking nut is very ancient. It was the "golden acorn" of Galen
and Avicenna. The kernel of the nut contains a small quantity of sweet oil. The
oil is a powerful antiseptic and cholagogue. Ingestion of leaves and drupes [esp.
unripe ones] can cause gastroenteritis, haemorrhoids, headaches, and even death.
Externally the nut enters
into the composition of caustic applications for warts and piles. The fixed oil is
used in India as an application to floors of houses, serving as a repellent to
termites. The shell liquid [oil] is used to mark laundry; hence its name.
American servicemen stationed in India experienced dermatitis around their
necks and waistlines, those places where a laundrymark had been placed in their
uniforms. Since boiling does not destroy the resin, the mark may continue to
provoke dermatitis for the life of the garment. Indian natives employ the oil for
producing fictitious marks of bruises. These can be distinguished from actual
bruises caused by blows, by their deep bluish-black colour and from their
presenting small vesicles or minute blisters on their surface. Bruised nuts applied
to the os uteri can procure abortion.

USES Economic uses of the Anacardium family include commercially important

fruits -

cashew nut [Anacardium occidentale, and the fleshy peduncle, 'cashew-apple'],

mango

[Mangifera], Jamaica plum, hog-plum, imbu [Spondias], pistachio.

Toxicodendron provides resins, oils and lacquers. Species of Cotinus, Pistacia,
Schinopsis and Toxicodendron are major sources of tannins for the leather
industry. [All Rhus species were formerly considered to belong to the genus
Rhus, but most taxonomists now group only non-poisonous species in this
genus, whereas the poisonous species, such as Rhus toxicodendron, are now in
the genus Toxicodendron.]

EFFECTS "Oleoresins of the Anacardiaceae are generally mixtures of phenolic

compounds which vary with respect to length, branching, degree of saturation,
and side chain identity. Oleoresins are often called urushiols in scientific
literature. The human response to oleoresins is a cell-mediated, delayed,
hypersensitivity reaction. Dermatitis is induced when oleoresins act as haptens
that bind to skin proteins covalently. The resulting protein-oleoresin complex is
viewed by the body as foreign material and is thus attacked by the body's
Thymus-dependent cells. The skin erupts in blisters because its cells are being
destroyed by the immune system."1 Anacardic acids have been found to exhibit
tyrosinase inhibitory activity [tyrosinase is an enzyme that assists in converting
tyrosine to melanin]. Extracts of the nuts display a strong cytotoxic effect; a
fraction of the aqueous methanolic extract of the nuts has been proven active
against nasopharynx carcinoma
cell

cultures.

"Ayurvedic

Indian

medicine

including

compounds

of

Semecarpus anacardium, Anacardium rohitaka, and Gluta glabra was tested by

Prasad

[1985] in a study of 250 cancer cases having different types and sites of
malignancy. The cases were divided into four different treatment groups. [1]
Ayurvedic drug and chemotherapy [2] Ayurvedic drug and radiation [3] radiation
[4] chemotherapy. The maximum response and longevity with minimum
mortality was observed in those patients who were treated with the combined
treatment of chemotherapy and Ayurvedic drug. Notably, this combined therapy
was most effective in leukaemia and particularly those cases with splenomegaly
and breast cancer."2

LIVER CANCER Various animal studies indicate that the nut milk extract of
Semecarpus anacardium counteracts hepatocellular carcinoma induced by
aflatoxin B [1]

in rats. The observed anticancer property of Semecarpus anacardium is

explained by its strong antioxidant capacity and capability to induce the in vivo
antioxidant system. 3

There is evidence from east African studies that aflatoxins cause liver cancer in
humans.

The data from the studies were strong enough to prompt the Food and Drug
Administration to develop strict regulations to control levels in food and animal
food sold in the USA. Aflatoxin can also cause acute poisoning, particularly
acute liver damage, in

people eating highly contaminated food. Children exhibit symptoms similar to

Reye's syndrome [acute fever, recurrent vomiting, coma, intercranial
hypertension]. Aflatoxins are poisonous alkaloids produced by the fungus
Aspergillus flavus. The fungus invades poor-quality cereals, legumes and nuts,
e.g. corn, wheat, rice, barley, Brazil nuts, pistachios, peanuts, and soybeans. The
primary route of human exposure is by eating contaminated food. Animal
products as milk [esp. powdered non-fat milk], eggs, meat

[esp. pig liver and kidneys] are additional sources of human exposure because
the animals have been fed low-grade animal feed contaminated by the fungus. 4

PROVINGS •• [1] Hahnemann - 8 provers; method: unknown.

•• [2] Herring - self-experimentation, 1885; method: 1x trit., 22 doses over a

period of 11

days.

•• [3] Stübler - 19 provers [14 males, 5 females], 1966-68; method: daily doses
of 4x, 6x, or 12x for several weeks. 5

[1-2] Hartley, Secondary Compounds within the Anacardiaceae, Colorado State

University 1998.

[3] B. Premalatha et al, Semecarpus anacardium L. nut extract administration

induces the in vivo antioxidant defence system in aflatoxin B1 mediated
hepatocellular carcinoma; Journal of Ethnopharmacology, Aug. 1999.

[4] Turkington, Guide to Poisons and Antidotes. [5] Schmeer, Anacardium

orientale, Allg. Hom. Zeitung 1972 Heft 1, and AHZ 1972 Heft 2.

Affinity

MIND. Nervous system. Stomach. Skin. Palms. Muscles. Joints. * Left side.
Right side.
Modalities

Worse: MENTAL EXERTION. Emotions [anger; fright; worry; etc.]. Stepping

hard.

Motion. Drafts. Open air. Cold. Long after eating. Fasting. RUBBING.

Better: EATING; during digestion. Motion. Hot water.

Main symptoms

M Laughing at serious matters and serious over laughable things.

Manners awkward, silly.

M LACK OF SELF-CONFIDENCE. [Feeling of helplessness]

• "He is at odds with the whole world, and has so little confidence in himself that
he despairs of being able to accomplish what is demanded of him."
[Hahnemann]

Sees everybody's face in a mirror, except his own.

TRIES TO PROVE HIMSELF.

• "Tendency to overcompensate for their fearfulness or their real or imagined

lack of capability. When they become aware of their own feelings of insecurity,
they overcompensate by acting powerful, assertive, and controlling. The weaker
they feel, the more they compensate by acting aggressive." [Zaren]

Every possible means employed.

Inclined to bluster, but easily cowed.

M Fastidious.

Cannot rest when things are not in proper place. [Ars.]

M Anger from contradiction - could have stabbed anyone.

Very easily offended, takes everything in bad part.

• "Outbursts of extreme anger, with cursing, from slight causes; noise [crying of
children] evokes an indescribable rage, with an impulse to kill. Goes wild; feels
like a

wild animal, roaring like a lion." [Schmeer]

M HATRED; UNFEELING, hard-hearted; want of moral feeling; godless, want

of religious feeling. ['Without a heart.']

[Compare: Anacardium milky white oil turns black on exposure.]

c "Countered by a conscious compunction to do right." [Gibson]

M TWO WILLS: one bad, one good; angel and devil.

[Compare: Sensation as if the mind were separated from the body.]

• "His external voluntary is continuously excited by external influences, but his

real will, in which is his conscience, restrains that and keeps him from carrying
the impulses into effect. This can only be observed when its action is on a really
good man. He has a controversy when his external will is aroused, but in an evil
man there is no restraint and he will not have this symptom." [Kent]

• "In my experience this division is between a normal, sensitive personality, and

a sharply contrasting perverse or 'demonic' subpersonality, which attempts to
possess the individual and prompt him to commit obscene acts. The Anacardium
patients that I have seen, were sufficiently in control of themselves to resist the
promptings of their demonic side, although at times this involved a great
struggle between the two wills [the resemblance to classic descriptions of demon
possession was striking]." [Bailey]

[The kernel of the Anacardium fruit is sweet.]

WEAKNESS OF WILL.

FEEBLE-MINDED persons.

• "Anacardium individuals gain security by adhering to the dictates of an

authority figure, but they are not completely compliant. One key to
understanding Anacardium individuals is that they are ambivalent. They have
two distinct sides to their personalities: They oscillate between aggressive and
dependent behaviour. They feel, at the same time, both strong and weak,
dependent and independent, passive and aggressive." [Zaren]

• "This particular type of character development can often be observed in people

who are attracted to authoritarian occupations - notably police officers,
correctional officers, and members of the military. The gaps in their ego
development are filled by the strict rules and regulations of their regimented
profession. Their great need for the bonds of family are filled by the acceptance
and interdependence of their comrades. They must obey the authority above
them but can regain a sense of power by dictating to those below them.

They are secure in their niche within the rank and file. These individuals will do
anything required of them in order to remain securely in the pack, even if this
involves committing acts that go against their own personal sense of right and
wrong, but a conflict will arise within them that cannot be resolved. Thus they
become split or 'doubled'." [Zaren]

M Antagonism.

• "One striking feature of Anacardium individuals is the abundance of

contradictory tendencies. These people tend to be emotionally dependent on
others, yet they themselves remain closed, refusing to reveal much of
themselves. They want to feel close to other people, but they are naturally
suspicious, testing people before placing trust in them.

They worship authority, yet they fear it. They believe in traditional values but
can live in opposition to these values. They are obedient in some ways and, in
other circumstances, they are disobedient. They are fearful of aggression, yet
they can be highly aggressive themselves. They can be either likeable and
endearing or mean and spiteful. They want to avoid punishment, yet their
behaviour may bring it upon themselves. These people are

full of these contradictions because their anxiety propels them from one
psychological state to the extreme of the opposite state." [Zaren]

• "Life is a series of choices. Children, for example, must decide whether to stay
little or grow up. Anacardium cannot make decisions and thus is slow, constantly
hesitating.
This person has a difficult character. Is it better to be an angel or a devil?
Anacardium patients, victims of their indecision, constantly change doctors,
babysitters; even their address changes frequently. They are always on the
lookout for something better, but are never satisfied, always sorry they didn't
take the other option. ... It is a remedy for fits of nerves in students who don't
know what subject to choose, nor what answers to give [the worst of all:
multiple choice tests]. ... Anacardium is a very useful remedy when twins run in
the family." [Grandgeorge]

M FEELING OF SEPARATION.

From the world; from society; from social laws; from mankind; from their
family; from reality; from time; from himself; from their emotions; from
morality; from religion.

• "Separation of the function of the nerves resulting in the fact that the patient
hears colours and sees music. This event occurs in the use of LSD which is one
of the main causes which produces Anacardium cases in our days." [Ghegas]

NO REALITY in anything; all appears as in a dream.

• "Individuals who are fighting the establishment, not driven by the idea of
justice, but because they live in another world which they believe is better."
[Ghegas]

M Very forgetful; weakness of memory; SUDDEN LOSS OF MEMORY;

examination funk.

< Morning; > afternoon.

• "Recollections only come after the time he is in need of them." [Tyler]

M Anxious when walking, as if someone were pursuing him.

M Hypochondriasis and haemorrhoids and constipation.

G Diminution of senses.

[smell; sight; hearing]

Or: Perversion of senses.

• "Constant smel before the nose as of pigeon's dung or burning tinder."

• "They smel filth wherever they go and esp. when smelling their own clothes or
body."

[Pierce]

Objects seem too far off.

Hears voices; imagines whispers of blasphemy in his ears.

G Symptoms go from right to left.

G Chilly.

Feels the cold excessively.

Very sensitive to draft of air.

G Constant thirst.

If cold drinks are taken to relieve thirst the pain is aggravated.

G > Eating.

[headache; vomiting of pregnancy > constant eating; hallucinations]

Symptoms DISAPPEAR WHILE EATING, and come back some hours after
eating.

Eats hurriedly.

Warm food is preferred for relief.

Cheerful while eating.

• "That's why you wil often see that they are obese, or that they just can't follow
a diet.
They sometimes say they are not themselves any more when they are eating, or
when they buy food in a shop." [Ghegas]

G PRESSING PAINS.

G Sensation of a HOOP or BAND around parts. Internal constriction.

G Sensation of a PLUG in inner parts.

G NUMBNESS EXTERNALLY; in single parts; in suffering parts.

• "Any part which he leaves unmoved, immediately goes to sleep." [Kent]

G Injuries of tendons.

• "It should be noted that this is a remedy with an affinity for the tendons [a word
whose root in Latin, tendere, also gives us 'tend' and 'tendency', implying
movement in a particular direction, while our Anacardium, indecisive, remains
torn among several possibilities." [Grandgeorge]

P Gastrointestinal tract.

• "Al alimentary symptoms are aggravated by emotional tension or upset."

[Gibson]

P Rectum.

• "Great desire for stool, but with the effort the desire passes away without any
evacuation. The rectum seems powerless, as if paralyzed with a sensation as if it
were plugged." [Blackwood]

P Legs become fidgety when sitting still for long.

P Eczema with excessive itching.

> External application of water as hot as can be borne.

Rubrics

Mind
Abusive, husband is insulting wife before children or vice versa [2]. Answers,
reflects long [2]; slowly [2]. Antagonism with herself [2]. Anxiety, as if pursued
when walking

[2/1]. Childish behaviour [2]. Clairvoyance [2]. Disposition to contradict [3].

Delusion, he is a devil [3]; of being double [2]; surrounded by enemies [2]; he is
separated from the world [2/1]. Destructiveness from suppressed emotions [1].
Dulness from mental exertion

[2]. Forgetful in morning [3]; > afternoon [2/1]. Makes gestures with great
perseverance

[1/1]. Lack of reverence for those around him [1]. Feels as though she must
shriek [2].

Unfeeling [3/1]. Weeping > symptoms [2]. Feels as if he had two wills [3].

Vertigo

When looking at moving objects [1]. Objects seem too far off [1; Puls.].

Head

Empty sensation in morning [1]. Boring pain above right eye > coffee [1*];
pressing pain in forehead > breakfast [1*];

Vision

Dim, alternating with clear vision [1; Euphr.]; > winking [1]. Objects seem
distant [2], on waking [1/1].

Face

Twitching of lips during sleep [1/1].

Mouth

Involuntarily bites lower lip [1*] and left cheek [1*].

Teeth
Sensation of elongation at night in bed [1; Mag-c.].

Throat

Dryness > eating [1; Cist.; Phos.]. Pain, rawness, after eating [2/1].

Stomach

Contraction < raising arm [1/1], > stooping [1/1], < turning body [1/1]. Nausea
on mental exertion [1; Arg-n.].

Abdomen

Sensation of shortening of intestines [1/1].

Rectum

Itching after coition [1/1]. Urging, great desire passes away with effort [3/1].

Chest

Oppression during expiration [1]. Feeling of restlessness about heart [1].

Sensation of weakness in heart region > breakfast [1*].

Limbs

Sensation as if knee were bandaged [2]; while sitting [2].

Sleep

Must rise on waking [1].

Dreams

Excelling in mental work [1]. Graves [1]. High places [1]. Threats [1].

Skin

Numbness after scratching [2].

Generals
Faintness, > continuing walking [2/1]. Injuries, tendons [2/1]. Weakness >
resting head on something and closing eyes [1/1].

* Repertory additions; Schmeer, Anacardium orientale, AHZ 1972 Heft 1, and

AHZ

1972 Heft 2.

Food

Aversion: [1]: Beans and peas; cooked food.

Desire: [1]: Brandy; milk; salt; sweets.

Worse: [2]: Warm food. [1]: Alcohol; coffee; cold drinks; soup.

Better: [3]: Eating. [1]: Cold drinks during heat; cold water.

Anhalonium lewinii

Anh.

With Peyote MAN is alone, desperately scraping out the music of his own
skeleton, without father, mother, family, love, god, or society. And no living
being to accompany him. And the skeleton is not of bone but of skin, like a skin
that walks. And one walks from the equinox to the solstice, buckling on one's
own humanity.

[Antonin Artaud]

We are bored by the whole question of drugs and paradise. It would be better if
drugs could give us a little knowledge. We do not spend a century in paradise.

[Henri Michaux]

Signs

Lophophora williamsii. Mescal Button. Peyote. N.O. Cactaceae.

CLASSIFICATION "In the second half of the nineteenth century the

characteristics and scope of the large genus Echinocactus were disputed by
several European and American botanists; gradually its limits were narrowed
and new genera were proposed to contain species that had once been included in
it. In 1886, Theodore Rumpler proposed that

peyote be removed from Echinocactus and placed in the new segregate genus
Anhalonium, thus making the binomial A. williamsii, a name which soon
became widely used throughout Europe and the U.S. Much earlier [1839]
Lemaire had proposed the name Anhalonium for another group of spineless
cacti, now correctly classified as Ariocarpus. Anhalonium must be considered as
a later homonym for Ariocarpus, so, according to the International Rules of
Botanical Nomenclature, it cannot be validly used as a generic name for any
plant. Ariocarpus superficially resembles peyote, but clearly is a different genus.
... Finally, in the same year [1894] Coulter proposed a new genus for peyote
alone: Lophophora. This helped clarify the nomenclatural situation because
peyote had been included in at least five different genera of cacti by the end of
the nineteenth century. The group of plants commonly called and used as peyote
is unique within the cactus family and deserves separation as the distinct genus
Lophophora."1

NAME The genus consists of two species: Lophophora williamsii and L. diffusa.
Its name derives from Gr. lophos, a crest, and phoreo, I bear. The name
Anhalonium refers to the fact that this cactus doesn't have spines: an = without,
helos = needle, spine. Spines are present only in very young seedlings. Adult
plants produce spine primordia but they rarely develop into spines. It has the size
of a small apple. The characteristic wool-filled centre of the plant gave it its
native name peiotl, meaning caterpillar. When the top of a peyote dries, the soft
fleshy tissue is reduced greatly in volume, whereas the proportion of wool to
what formerly was the fleshy part is greatly increased. Other theories to explain
the etymology of the word peiotl refer to the Aztec words pepeyoni or pepeyon,
meaning

"to excite", or to peyonanic, meaning "to stimulate or activate."

DISTRIBUTION The plant is indigenous to the Chihuahuan Desert in Mexico

and the Rio Grande region of Texas. "The soils of the Chihuahuan Desert are
limestone in origin and have a basic pH, from 7.9 to 8.3. These soils can also be
characterized as having more than 150 ppm [parts per million] calcium, at least 6
ppm magnesium, strong carbonates, and no more than trace amounts of
ammonia. The soils test negatively for iron, chlorine, sulphates, manganese, and
aluminium. Phosphorus and potassium vary somewhat throughout the range, but
in most localities occur in trace amounts or are not present at all. ... Peyote is
found to tolerate a very wide range of climatic conditions: precipitation ranges
from 175.5 mm up to 556.9 mm per year, maximum temperatures vary from 29.1
degrees centigrade to 40.2 degrees, and minimum temperatures range from 1.9 to
10.2 degrees centigrade."2

ADAPTATION Living in arid deserts, Lophophora has developed an adaptation

strategy that is quite unique among plants. In the winter season - a long period of
bleak drought -

it hibernates by means of a surprisingly simple technique. At the beginning of

the dry period the long and powerful roots shrivel to such an extent that the plant
loses half of its normal volume. The shrinking roots pull the plant underground.
In spring the reverse takes place. Absorbing rainwater, the plant swells up again
and emerges above ground.

FEATURES The area on the stem that usually produces flowers and spines is
well pronounced in peyote and is identified by a tuft of hairs or trichomes.
Ranging in colour from deep reddish-pink to nearly pure white, flowers arise
from within the centre of the plant. There are no visible leaves in either juvenile
or mature plants. Leaves are greatly reduced and only microscopic in size; even
the seed leaves [cotyledons] are almost invisible in young seedlings because they
are rounded, united, and quite small. Fruits develop for about a year and then
elongate rapidly at maturity. Usually, only the upper

half of the fruit contains seeds. Peyote plants may occur as single-headed
individuals or may form dense clumps up to two meters across with scores of
heads. The latter occurs through the activation of adventive buds that appear on
the tuberous part of the root-stem axis below the crown. Such growth often is the
result of injury and almost always occurs if the top of the plant is cut off. They
rarely rot if injured or cut, so excised pieces will readily form adventitious roots
and can become independent plants. Peyote is one of the slowest-growing plants
in existence. The period from germination until blooming for the first time is
approximately thirteen years. Mature specimens may attain a diameter of 12

cm, rising some 3-6 cm above the surface of the ground. Yet, the long, tapering
root may reach a length of 30 cm or more at maturity. A greater concentration of
mescaline appears as the plant gets older. The Indians revere the oldest plants
and keep them as personal amulets or place them on the crescent altar to
represent 'Father Peyote.'

CONSTITUENTS Lophophora contains the alkaloids hordenine and tyramine,

both of which have antiseptic properties. With regard to hordenine, Lophophora
is among the plant species with the highest amounts of it, others being Hordeum
vulgare [Barley], Citrus

sinensis

[Orange],

Selenicereus

grandiflorus

[Cactus

grandiflorus

in

homoeopathy], Tamarindus indica [Tamarind] and Zea mays [Corn]. Hordenine

has been shown to have the following properties: antiasthmatic, antidiarrhoeic,
bronchorelaxant, cardiotonic, hepatoprotective, and vasoconstrictive.

HALLUCINOGEN Besides the alkaloids mentioned above, Lophophora

contains more than fifty psychoactive ingredients, the most powerful of which is
mescaline [3,4,5

trimethoxyphenethylamine]. Named after the Mescalero Apaches, mescaline was

first isolated from the peyote cactus by the German chemist Heffter in 1896 and
independently synthesized in 1918. As one of the first hallucinogens to be
reproduced in the lab, mescaline became the centre of scientific interest in the
early 1900s and was used in the experimental treatment of alcoholism, mental
illness, and other disorders. The novelist Aldous Huxley describes his
experiences with mescaline [sulphate] in The Doors of Perception. This
controversial essay arose from Huxley's need for "a new pleasure"

and the desire "to take occasional holidays from reality."

MESCALINE Mescaline is related to the amphetamines, and has very similar
properties as adrenaline. In doses of 200-500 mg [about 10-20 buttons],
mescaline triggers increased heart rate, body temperature, and blood pressure
and dilation of the pupils. Normal coordination and reflexes are reduced, and the
skin may feel dry and itchy. Peak effects hit 2-3 hours after ingestion, and run
their course in about 12 hours. Mescaline belongs to a family of compounds
known as phenethylamines, whereas the other major psychedelics, such as LSD,
psilocybin, harmaline and DMT, belong to the indole family.

Many synthetic drugs, such as ecstasy [MDMA] and 2C-B, are phenethylamines,
and are related to the chemistry of mescaline. Mescaline occurs naturally in
several cactus species, most notably Lophophora and many members of the
genus Trichocereus.

DIFFERENCES WITH LSD Debate still rages about noteworthy differences in

the response to LSD and mescaline. People more experienced with both
psychedelics

"generally indicate that peyote and mescaline are 'warmer' and 'more earthy' than
LSD, which is usually seen as being more 'cerebral.' The mescaline present in
the cactus appears to increase considerably a feeling of fellowship that is only
sometimes prompted by LSD. Shulgin remarks that under mescaline 'There is a
benign empathy shown to both inanimate and living things, especially to small
things.' Allen Ginsberg and others have

suggested that mescaline - more than other psychedelics - produces a state of

mind very receptive to the complex of benevolent attitudes expressed in
Wordsworth's nature poems."3

LSD "Virtually all American users of entheogenic drugs claim to have tried
mescaline at some point in their careers. Clearly, the great majority have simply
tried LSD or PCP

under an assumed name. There can be no doubt about this conclusion -

mescaline has always been in short supply, and numerous studies on street drug
samples support this view. Moreover, a 400-600 mg dose of pure mescaline
sulphate will fill two or three large 'oo' capsules, and most users report having
ingested only one capsule or tablet. Yet

'sophisticated' users, when confronted with these facts, will usually claim that
they have certainly tried the real thing, that they know the difference between
LSD and mescaline, being connoisseurs; that LSD has this or that attribute,
whereas mescaline may be distinguished by various superior qualities. To put it
bluntly, this is hogwash. Not only have the great majority of entheogen users
never tried authentic mescaline but, I submit, under proper experimental
conditions, many would be unable to discern much difference between mescaline
and LSD. In fact, peak effects of these compounds are remarkably similar, and
these drugs [as well as psilocybine and psilocine] show cross-tolerance,
suggesting they produce their effects by similar neural mechanisms."4

INTOXICATION Peyote contains many alkaloids and peyote intoxication

therefore differs markedly from that induced by mescaline, peyote's main
alkaloid. The peyote intoxication usually has two phases: "a period of
contentment and hypersensitivity, and one of nervous calm and muscular
sluggishness, often accompanied by hypercerebrality and the typical coloured
visions. Before the appearance of the visual hallucinations, the subject sees
flashes of colour across the field of vision; the depth, richness, and saturation of
the colours defy description. There seems to be a kind of sequence followed by
the visions: geometric figures, to familiar scenes and faces, to unfamiliar scenes
and objects, to secondary objects that vary with individual differences or which
may be absent."5

HISTORY Fray Bernardino de Sahagun first described the plant in 1560. He

estimated from Indian chronology that it had been used by the Chichimeca and
Toltec at least 1900

years before the arrival of the Europeans. He reported as follows: "There is

another herb-like [opuntia]. It is called peiotl. It is found in the north country.
Those who eat or drink it see visions, either frightful or laughable. This
intoxication lasts two or three days and then ceases. It is a common food of the
Chichimeca, for it sustains them and gives them courage to fight and not to feel
hunger or thirst. And they say it protects them from all danger." In Huichol ritual
life the peyote and the deer were, and still are, seen as synonymous. This is
clearly shown by prehistoric images in rock shelters in the Texas and Mexico
border region. The Spaniards repressed the use of peyote because it was
connected with heathen rituals and superstitions to contact evil spirits.

USES For millennia the Huichol have rubbed the juice of the crushed peyote
into wounds to prevent infection and promote healing. It has been shown that
hordenine shows an inhibitory action against at least 18 strains of penicillin
resistant Staphylococcus bacteria. In many Indian languages the word for
medicine is the same as for peyote. Women of the Menomini tribe use peyote for
childbirth, earaches, or to be inspired to weave intricate spiral patterns.

RITUALS Peyote has many ancient ritual uses. The Huichol, for example, make
a yearly pilgrimage, the peyote hunt over 600 km of rugged desert country. The
journey involves

many ritual steps and many days of journey involving hardship. The participants
often paradoxically speak the opposite of what is intended. The quest comes to
an end when the spiritual leader rushes ahead and fires arrows to enclose the first
peyote on all quarters.

He then cuts the plants leaving some root to re-grow new crowns. The return to
Wirikuta

- the geographical and mythical homeland of the Huichol - is seen as a return to

paradise.

"The Huichol Indians of Mexico treat as a demi-god a species of cactus which

throws the eater into a state of ecstasy. The plant doesn't grow in their country,
and has to be fetched every year by men who make a journey of forty-three days
for the purpose. Meanwhile the wives at home contribute to the safety of their
absent husbands by never walking fast, much less running, while the men are on
the road. They also do their best to ensure the benefits which, in the shape of
rain, good crops, and so forth, are expected to flow from the sacred mission.
With this intention they subject themselves to severe restrictions like those
imposed upon their husbands. During the whole of the time which elapses till the
festival of the cactus is held, neither party washes except on certain occasions,
and then only with water brought from the distant country where the holy plant
grows. They also fast much, eat no salt, and are bound to strict continence.
Anyone who breaks this law is punished with illness, and, moreover, jeopardizes
the result which all are striving for.

Health, luck, and life are to be gained by gathering the cactus, the gourd of the
God of Fire; but inasmuch as the pure fire cannot benefit the impure, men and
women must not only remain chaste for the time being, but must also purge
themselves from the taint of past sin."6 During the past two centuries the
religious use of peyote has spread northward into the United States and Canada
among many of the Plains Indian Tribes such as the Navajo, Comanche, Sioux,
and Kiowa. In 1918 the use of peyote was incorporated as a sacrament into the
Native American Church. This was an adaptation of the Mexican ritual adopted
by Indian tribes in the north. It is commented that Jesus came to the white man
as flesh and blood, but to the Native American as peyote.

NATIVE CHURCH "Some of the crucial factors are a positive expectation held
by the Peyotists, an emphasis on the real interpersonal world rather than the
world within the individual, emphasis on communion rather than withdrawal
during the drug experience, emphasis on adherence to the standards of society
rather than on the freeing of impulses, and certain practices during the meetings.
... The whole spirit of the [peyote] religion seems best characterized as
communion - with God and with other men. Meetings are experienced as a time
of being close and growing closer to one another. It is acceptable and expected
that if someone in a meeting expresses a strong feeling, the others present feel it
with him and tell him so. If there is a tendency to lose old features of one's
identity, there is an equally strong tendency to acquire stronger identity as a
member of the group.

As a member of the church, each person is assured of his own significance and
of group support for his own needs to be self-assertive in the outside world. ...
Meetings are conducted in a strict and organized way. Distortions in time sense
are counteracted by the various events of the service that take place at precisely
defined times of the night.

Almost everything is done in a ritualized way that requires attention to the detail
of one's movements and speech. The drum, ceremonial tobacco, and other
important objects are passed only in a certain way. In moving about the hogan or
tepee, one walks only in a certain direction. All these details are invested with
considerable emotion, and some Peyotists say that this keeps them "thinking in
the right way." The ceremony is experienced as beautiful, but much of the beauty
is the beauty of orderliness. ... Roadmen

are trained to look after people who become excessively withdrawn. If a

participant begins to stare fixedly into the fire and seems unaware of the others,
the roadman will speak to him and, if necessary, go to him and pray with him. In
the process of praying with him, the road man may fan him with an eagle feather
fan, splash drops of water on him, and fan cedar incense over him. All of these
processes are regarded as sacred and helpful, and they seem to provide
stimulation in several sense modalities to draw one back into the interpersonal
world. Another safeguard is the custom that no one is to leave the meeting early.
Considerable effort is made to prevent someone who has been eating peyote
from going off alone into the night. This factor is probably important too, in the
customary activities of the morning after the meeting. Everyone stays together
and socializes until well after the drug effect is over."7

BALANCE "In a sense, participation in a peyote journey makes of each man a

kind of shaman or priest. For a long time following a pilgrimage its members
acknowledge a ritual bond with one another. They recognize and greet each
other in special ways. They have special names. They wear special insignia: the
tobacco gourd of Tatewari, squirrel tails on the hats. The peyote journey also has
the characteristics of initiation; one who has never gone is said to be 'new', like a
baby; he is matewame and must undergo special restrictions, because his
tenderness makes him extraordinarily vulnerable to the malevolent magic of
sorcerers. ... A man who would assume the enormous burden, ritual and
psychological, of a mara'akáme [shaman-priest], who would make himself
responsible for the welfare of his community, must first complete at least five
peyote pilgrimages. But he must do this not as a follower, intent only on private
thought and private vision. He must demonstrate on each such journey his
capacity to be an effective soul guide, or 'psychopomp', who escorts his spirit
companions safely across the barriers of space and time, through the gateway of
the clashing clouds, and to the sacred mountains at the end of the world in the
east, where the ancestor spirits await them. He must prove his capacity to endure
not only lack of food and water but lack of sleep as well. Even at night, when his
companions rest around the sacred fire, he must remain awake, alert, ever ready
to defend their spiritual integrity against supernatural enemies.

They are all spirits, of course, for the duration of the journey. But he more than
any other man must transcend the limitations of his bodily self and achieve that
unique breakthrough that sets the shaman apart from ordinary men. If he lacks
these qualities he will never 'complete himself.' ... It is my impression that this
special condition of the shaman cannot be faked - that not only he himself but
his companions really do know whether or not a man who lays claim to being a
mara'akáme has what the Huichol call

'balance' - that special, ineffable capacity to venture without fear onto the
'narrow bridge'
across the great chasm separating the ordinary world from the world beyond. In
the summer of 1966 Ramón gave us a memorable demonstration of the meaning
of 'balance.'

He took us to a spectacular waterfall, with a sheer drop of hundreds of feet to the

valley below. This, he said, was 'special for shamans.' While the other Huichols
grouped themselves in a semicircle in a safe place some distance from the edge,
Ramón removed his sandals and, after making a series of ritual gestures to the
world directions, proceeded to leap - 'fly' might be more appropriate - from one
rock to another with arms stretched wide, often landing but a few inches from
the slippery edge. Occasionally he would disappear behind a great boulder, only
to emerge from an unexpected direction. Or he would stand motionless at the
extreme limit of a massive rock, wheel about suddenly and

make a great leap to the other side of the rushing water, never showing the
slightest concern about the obvious danger that he might lose his balance and fall
into space. We were frankly terrified, even annoyed, at such 'foolhardiness', but
neither his wife nor the other Huichol watching showed any real apprehension.
The demonstration ended as abruptly as it had begun, without any explanation of
Ramón's strange behaviour. The following day he asked if we thought he had
been showing off. He said, "Perhaps you thought, 'Ah, Ramón is drunk with too
much beer.' But no. I took you there to show what it means 'to have balance.' So
you could see and understand. Because when one crosses over as a shaman one
looks below, and then one perceives this great abyss filled with all those animals
waiting to kill one. Those who do not have balance are afraid. They fall and are
killed."8

PILGRIMAGE "So intense is the drama of the actual hunt for the Deer-Peyote in
Wirikúta that certain prior events of crucial importance for the success of the
quest tend to be overshadowed. The first of these is the ritual of confession and
purification through which the participants are initiated into the sacred enterprise
of the pilgrimage. This is an extraordinary ceremony. Everyone - peyoteros as
well as those who remain at home - is required to acknowledge publicly all his
or her sexual adventures, from the beginning of adulthood to the present.
Further, each sexual partner must be identified by name, regardless of the
presence of spouses or lovers, although old people are allowed to telescope their
love affairs and be less precise about names. No display of jealousy, hurt,
resentment, or anger is permitted; more than that, no one is even allowed to
entertain such feelings 'in one's heart.' Any show of hostility and any deliberate
omission of sexual intimacy or a lover's name would jeopardize not only the
offender but also his companions and the entire sacred enterprise. The quest for
life could prove fruitless. At the very least, even if the peyote country were
reached, those who had failed to purge themselves or who carried 'bad thoughts
in their hearts' would probably fall victim to sorcerers, suffer terrible
hallucinations, and perhaps even die. An extraordinary spectacle indeed - doubly
so if one has been taught to regard jealousy and its expression as a

'natural' human emotion, common to all people everywhere, rather than as an

artefact of culture. ... At first glance one might be tempted to explain the whole
phenomenon in terms of Catholic influence. Why else would the Huichol, who
sanction polygamy and who in any event are not noted for their sexual fidelity,
equate sex with sin, or at least with transgression? Nevertheless, I see no reason
to regard the Huichol rite as anything but purely aboriginal and pre-European. In
the first place, confession was practised in Mesoamerica long before the arrival
of the Spaniards [an Aztec goddess to whom confessions were addressed was
appropriately known as 'The Eater of Filth']. Secondly, there are fundamental
differences between the Catholic and Huichol rites that are obscured by the very
term 'confession.' In Catholic practice the confessor admits to having sinned and,
if the priest accepts his act of contrition and repentance as genuine, is absolved
from the sins he has acknowledged. The Huichol does not repent but merely
acknowledges a certain act as fact. In this sense 'profession' might be more
accurate than

'confession', except that of course in the context of the peyote quest sexual
intercourse per se is disapproved and hence a 'transgression.' ... Metamorphosis
is implicit in the confession ritual. The peyotero has been made over, 'become
new.' He has shed one state of being, maturity, and assumed - or reassumed -
another, that of childhood innocence. At the same time, transformation has
occurred on another level, for the peyotero has

'become' the likeness of one of the supernaturals of the original peyote quest.
More than merely child, he has had to become spirit, for the gates of the
Otherworlds will open only for one who is spirit."9

EXPERIMENTS Heffter did some experiments with the new drug [mescaline]
he had discovered. The following is an excerpt from his laboratory notebook.
"Experiment performed on 23rd July, 1897. 12:09 p.m. One gram of the sulphate
salts of the alkaloids corresponding to 16.67 g of the drug was dissolved in water
and taken orally. Pulse rate 76 per minute. 12:33 p.m. Occipital headache. Limbs
feel heavy. 12:45 p.m. Pulse rate 66 per minute. 1:00 p.m. Nausea. Pulse rate 60
per minute. 1:15 p.m. Pulse rate 68 per minute. While reading, green and violet
spots appear on the paper. The same occurs when I look up at the bright sky.
After shutting the eyes visual images occur which are initially pale but gradually
become more clearly defined and brighter. In this particular experiment
landscapes are less frequent and I have predominantly images of kaleidoscopic
figures, patterned carpets and cloth, luxurious articles of clothing and
architectural scenes. The predominant colours are orange, red and green, with a
little blue and occasionally yellow. On this occasion images occur in a
completely darkened room, i.e. in a photographic darkroom, while my eyes are
open, but they are not as vivid and clear as when I keep my eyes shut. The
capacity for visual images lasts in this experiment for an extraordinarily long
time. Even on the following morning coloured [green and violet] spots still
appear when I shut my eyes. Other symptoms were as follows: dilatation of the
pupils, dizziness, very distressing nausea which lasted on this occasion until 8
p.m. , loss of appreciation of time, impaired hearing and a feeling of tiredness in
the limbs. All these symptoms, which were identical to those observed in the
experiment performed on the 6th July, disappeared gradually during the evening.
On the following morning only the pupils were still slightly dilated. In this
experiment my consciousness again remained clear, but I found it hard to
concentrate on calculations and while talking.

My speech was somewhat slow and labourious."10

PERCEPTION "Under the influence of mescaline, the sensory qualities separate

from objects of perception and begin to lead a life of their own. The 'soberness'
of everyday moods, of everyday consciousness, seems swept away. Everything
suddenly appears morning-fresh, in magnificent colours, crystal clear and
incredibly plastic and mobile.

When the eyes are closed, colours, freed from the fetters holding them to objects,
continue to live a life of their own ... The experience of time and space is largely
laid aside, whilst the faculties of thinking and memory are retained. Every single
experience

'means' something, for example a picture not hanging straight that the world will
perish in three days' time. The life of the will is completely paralysed, and a
person under the influence of mescaline sees no reason why he should do or
bend his will to anything in particular."11

COLOURS Of the sensory phenomena that peyote produces, the altered

perception of colours is most remarkable. Auditory hallucinations and
sharpening of the olfactory sense also occur. "Most usually there was a
combination of rich, sober colour, with jewel-like points of brilliant hue. Every
colour and tone conceivable to me appeared at some time or another. Sometimes
all the different varieties of one colour, as of red, with scarlets, crimsons, pinks,
would spring up together, or in quick succession. But in spite of this immense
profusion, there was always a certain parsimony and æsthetic value in the
colours presented. They were usually associated with form, and never appeared
in large

masses, or if so, the tone was very delicate. I was further impressed, not only by
the brilliance, delicacy, and variety of the colours, but even more by their lovely
and various textures - fibrous, woven, polished, glowing, dull, veined, semi-
transparent - the glowing effects, as of jewels, and the fibrous, as of insects'
wings, being perhaps the most prevalent. ... I awoke at the usual hour and
experienced neither sense of fatigue nor other unpleasant reminiscence of the
experience I had undergone. Only my eyes seemed unusually sensitive to colour,
esp. to blue and violet; I can, indeed, say that ever since this experience I have
been more æsthetically sensitive than I was before to the more delicate
phenomena of light and shade and colour."12

LIGHT "It is worth considering the fact that the little Mexican cactus, peyotl, in
its natural habitat in Central and Northern Mexico, is subjected to inordinately
intense light, and that experiences of light are characteristic of peyotl-mescaline
intoxication. Similar connections between their toxic action and the conditions
under which they grow are visible in the case of henbane, thorn apple and deadly
nightshade. ... My own experience of peyotl intoxication illustrates the essential
difference between one type of intoxication and another. [Earlier], I described
my experiment with black henbane and portrayed the plant as a gloomy, sinister
growth. In the peyotl intoxication everything was bright and clear, luminous, of
unearthly beauty, encompassed by a multitude of sweet sounds. ... The most
active element of the peyotl cactus, the alkaloid mescaline, is mainly
accumulated in its centre. One can take either the interior of the plant, or
synthetic mescaline. I have tried both. The difference was considerable. Under
the influence of the isolated alkaloid mescaline the course of intoxication was
briefer and more violent, more of a shock, than after taking the whole plant
substance. My sensations after eating the plant were gentler and more natural;
they took longer to pass - intoxication often lasted for several days -

and my recollections of the experiment was clearer. ... The fragment of peyotl
which came into my possession was fibrous, brown and desiccated. It was bitter
and unpalatable, but I forced myself to swallow it. ... I went through all the
terrors and torments of thorough-going poisoning. My legs gave way, a yawn
grew into a spasm, my chest ached and a boundless, crushing melancholy took
possession of my soul. The horrible city was bare, bleak and cold, while the
shivers and the terrible numbness of my brain caused me unspeakable anguish.
The morning after a night's heavy drinking can be pretty grim, but it is generally
relieved by a touch of philosophical humor. This remnant of consolation was
denied me. Trembling muscles and leaden exhaustion made it hard for me to
walk. I felt that the waves of light were coming to meet me like a solid and
impenetrable wall. But there is one thing I must not forget to add: I was
trembling not only with the freezing cold I felt in spite of the almost African heat
- I was also trembling with a strange tension, a wonderful sense of anticipation,
as though I were about to be visited with a new life. My cold shivers were at the
same time shivers of rapture, although none of my agonies abated. ... Things
were revealed in a flash and then sank quickly back into the void. Excitations
and sensations arose in irregular jerks, like gentle explosions, leaving behind
them a depressing nausea, a profound pessimism that saw no beauty, no hope
and not a trace of joy. Once in my room, I closed the wooden shutters in front of
the windows, undressed and lay down. At the time I imagined I was unable to
stretch out. I seemed to be sitting upright on the bed, and yet I was lying flat in
the ordinary way. Then I found it possible to lie down and sit up simultaneously,
and this filled me with profound satisfaction. Nausea, constriction of the chest,
muscular tremors,

numbness of the brain and the terrible grey pessimism vanished as though blown
away.

As soon as I shut my eyes, a mighty but inaudible stream flowed past me, a river
of colour and radiance. ... This wakefulness was scintillating, crystal-clear. I was
bathed in invigorating, animating, purifying air. ...

This wakefulness acquired a new character: I felt something we normally

experience only rarely and incompletely. The part of me that was consciously
looking on, analyzing, thinking in terms of time and space and critically
distinguishing between cause and effect, this part of myself was sitting beside
me or above me, wherever I wanted it to be, or it was able to re-enter my body.
... There were flowing bands, slow or rushing rivers of colour. Colours -
impregnating a material that must have been, from the beginning, the material of
the world, on which all things imprinted themselves and out of which all things
emerged - showed themselves to me and then disappeared. ... The sounds that
came up from the street reached me in the form of colours; they shot into the
room in cascades, in lightning flashes and radiant fires, and I took part in them.
The walls curled.

They drew together gracefully and with indescribable grandeur. I myself was the
walls.

This went on for perhaps a year or maybe two. In reality everything was
timeless, without past and without future. ... The greatest gain and the greatest
loss consisted in this: While the colours were revealing themselves to me as
rivers, ribbons, sounds and tangible substances, I believed that I could read in
them the meaning of life and all things. The one great ultimate truth was about to
become clear to me at the next heartbeat. But every time this blissful, perfect
moment approached I let it slip. I saw myself lying there smiling happily. I saw
myself exactly as though a stranger were lying there. I watched the ultimate
revelation fritter away."13

OTHER EFFECTS "About half an hour after ingesting the buttons the first
effects are felt. There is a feeling of strange intoxication and shifting
consciousness with minor perceptual changes. There may also be strong physical
effects, including respiratory pressure, muscle tension [esp. face and neck
muscles], and queasiness or possible nausea.

Any unpleasant sensations should disappear within an hour. After this the state
of altered consciousness begins to manifest itself. The experience may vary with
the individual, but among the possible occurrences are feelings of inner
tranquillity, oneness with life, heightened awareness, and rapid thought flow.
During the next several hours these effects will deepen and become more visual.
Colours may become more intense. Halos and auras may appear about things.
Objects may seem larger, smaller , closer or more distant than they actually are.
Often persons will notice little or no changes in visual perception while
beholding the world about them, but upon closing their eyes they will see on
their mind-screen wildly colourful and constant changing patterns. After several
more hours the intensity of the experience gradually relaxes. Thought becomes
less rapid and diffuse and more ordered. In the Navajo peyote ritual this change
of thought flow is used wisely.

During the first part of the ceremony the participants submit to the feeling and
let the peyote teach them. During the latter part of the ritual the mind turns to
thoughtful contemplation and understanding with the conscious intellect what
the peyote has taught the subconscious mind. The entire experience may last
from 6 to 12 hours depending upon the individual and the amount of the plant
consumed. After all the peyote effects have passed there is no comedown. One is
likely to feel pleasantly relaxed and much a peace with the world. Although
there is usually no desire for food during the experience one would probably
have a wholesome appetite afterwards."14

INFINITY "I was living in a timeless pulsation that bridged the gap between all
barriers.

I reached many eternities, and felt akin with infinity. At long last I knew the
relation all things had for one another! All objects seemed to be complete in
themselves; as I searched the depth of an object I would see many worlds buried
in it. And as I examined each world, I saw that each had objects of its own which
were seen as worlds and objects endlessly. Everything had a new interest for me,
for everything was continuously in flux, and each new thing became newer than
it was the instant before. All my senses merged and acted as one as they caressed
and encompassed everything they perceived. A thousand sense feelings closed in
upon me, stirring up within waves of climaxes that kept sending my mind to
even greater, undreamed-of heights. The beginning was forgotten and no end
was in sight. I had arrived back to the place of my origin. As each mystery
exposed its true nature to me, each revelation was accompanied by vast
explosions of vibratory colour, flowing liquid blending perfectly together to
form a sea of radiant beauty. A consummation of me, my purpose and creator
unfolded and seethed to further heights undreamed of; a tremendous upsurge of
blissful emotion poured its intention into a tiny shell that expanded larger and
larger. It reached its unbearable breaking point, and then release as the shell burst
and a huge burning white flower grew bigger and bigger at a slow unceasing
rate; the petals reached out to their fullest extreme, and then closed at the same
unceasing rate, to rest... I continued to float in this heaven of satisfaction and
contentment for an immeasurable time. Then far off in the distance I heard a
thunderous sound which vibrated my world of infinite colour; the sound became
louder, and I was wisked backwards through the velvet curtain of confusion once
again."15

CASTANEDA Castaneda describes at length his experiences with the cactus. "I
felt a strong, pungent bitterness; in a moment my whole mouth was numb. The
bitterness increased as I kept on chewing, forcing an incredible flow of saliva.
My gums and the inside of my mouth felt as if I had eaten salty, dry meat or fish,
which seems to force one to chew more. ... But when I tried to speak I realized I
couldn't; the words shifted aimlessly about in my mind. ... I experienced a very
confusing moment, and became aware of the fact that although there was a clear
thought in my mind, I could not speak. I wanted to comment on the strange
quality of the water, but what followed next was not speech; it was the feeling of
my unvoiced thoughts coming out of my mouth in a sort of liquid form. It was
an effortless sensation of vomiting without the contractions of the diaphragm. It
was a pleasant flow of liquid words. ... The passage from my normal state had
taken place almost without my realizing it: I was aware; my thoughts and
feelings were a corollary of that awareness; and the passing was smooth and
clear. But this second change, the awakening to serious, sober consciousness,
was genuinely shocking. I had forgotten I was a man! The sadness of such an
irreconcilable situation was so intense that I wept."16 For American
psychologist DeMille and peyotl expert Weston LaBarre, Castaneda's
experiences are very much open to doubt. DeMille maintains that Castaneda
invented Don Juan, and LaBarre stresses the fictitious nature of Castaneda's
books, calling them "intellectual kitsch."

MEDICINE In 1888 the pharmaceutical company Parke Davis introduced the

drug Anhalonium to medical practice, recommending the tincture during the
next few years as a cardiac stimulant and tonic and for use in the treatment of
angina pectoris. The drug was considered to have little less than marvellous
effects and was also recommended for colour-blindness, as an antispasmodic, for
general nervousness and insomnia, for asthma

and for 'softening of the brain'. In current times, peyote is prescribed as an

emetic, as a cardiac stimulant, and as a painkiller. Peyote has been shown to help
near-sightedness and astigmatism.

EXPANSION OF FACULTIES "In 1933, a Swiss pharmacy began to advertise

Peyotyl
[sic] as a sort of adaptogen, to 'restore the individual's balance and calm and
promote full expansion of his faculties,' leading the Swiss Federal Public Health
Service to recommend this Peyotyl be made available only with a prescription.
On the heels of the European and Americans, Erich Guttmann gave mescaline to
more than sixty subjects at London's Maudsley Hospital. This research produced
some of the best descriptions of mescaline inebriation. During World War II,
German physicians at the infamous Dachau concentration camp studied the
effects of mescaline as an interrogation aid on thirty prisoners."17

ARTS Aleister Crowley, nicknamed "The Great Beast" and a member of the
Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, believed himself to be the first to introduce
mescal into European artistic circles, stating that he made many experiments on
people with mescal from 1910 onwards. Among them was Katherine Mansfield,
but, according to reports, it only made her feel sick and rather annoyed at the
sight of a picture hanging askew on the wall. Soon after the end of the First
World War, the German scientist Kurt Beringer, an associate of C.G. Jung and
Herman Hesse, conducted about sixty mescaline sessions, using as subjects male
and female physicians and medical students. One of his subjects became
fascinated with trying to put the "furious succession" of mescaline images on
film; later, Walt Disney hired him as the chief visualist for Fantasia. More recent
publications on self-experimentations with mescaline by novelists like Aldous
Huxley

[The Doors of Perception, 1954], Henri Michaux [Miserable Miracle; Mescaline,

1963]

and William Burroughs [Junkie: Confessions of an Unredeemed Drug Addict,

1953] were an important stimulus to the use of hallucinogens in the sixties.

DRUG PICTURE The homoeopathic drug picture of Anhalonium, as described

by Clarke, is based on the experiments of two men with peyote. The first was the
American novelist and physician Silas Weir Mitchell [1829-1914], who
described peyote intoxication in 1896. Weir Mitchell forwarded peyote buttons
to the English essayist, physician and pioneer sexologist Havelock Ellis [1859-
1939], who undertook 'provings'

on himself as well as on three artist friends [among them the poet Yeats]. Weir
Mitchell sent some buttons to the psychologist William James as well, but James
got a severe stomachache after eating only one and declared that he would "take
the visions on trust."

An artist friend of Havelock Ellis [probably Yeats] took four mescal buttons and
experienced the following 'proving' symptoms. "Now also began another series
of extraordinary sensations. They set in with bewildering suddenness and
followed one another in rapid succession."18

• Blue light around objects.

• Sensation of numbness in the heart region.

• Delusion he is dissolving rapidly.

• Visions "of a furious succession of coloured arabesques, arising and

descending or sliding at every possible angle into the field of view."

• "My right leg became suddenly heavy and solid; it seemed, indeed, as if the
entire weight of my body had shifted into one part, about the thigh and knee, and
that the rest of my body had lost all substantiality."

• "With the suddenness of a neuralgic pang, the back of my head seemed to open
and emit streams of bright colour; this was immediately followed by the feeling
as of a draft blowing like a gale through the hair in the same region."

• "At one moment the colour, green, acquired a taste in my mouth; it was
sweetish and somewhat metallic; blue again would have a taste that seemed to
recall phosphorus; these are the only colours that seemed to be connected with
taste."

• Sensation of burning heat in the palm of the left hand.

• Sensation of heat about both eyes.

• "My reason appeared to be the sole survivor of my being. At times I felt that
this, too, would go, but the sound of my own voice would establish again the
communication with the outer world of reality."

• "Tremors were more or less constant in my lower limbs."

HEART Clarke states that Anhalonium doesn't produce any of the "terrible heart
symptoms of the other Cacti." The experiments of Havelock Ellis provide
evidence to the contrary:

• "There were paroxysmal attacks of pain at the heart and a sense of imminent
death, which naturally alarmed the subject."

• "But a sudden difficulty in breathing and a sensation of numbness at the heart

brought me back to the arm-chair from which I had risen. From this moment I
had a series of attacks or paroxysms, which I can only describe by saying that I
felt as though I were dying. It was impossible to move, and it seemed almost
impossible to breathe. My speedy dissolution, I half imagined, was about to take
place, and the power of making any resistance to the violent sensations that were
arising within was going, I felt, with every second."

• "Persistent, also, was the feeling of nausea. This, when attended by a feeling of
suffocation and a pain at the heart, was relieved by taking brandy, coffee, or
biscuit."

PROVINGS •• [1] Unger - 6 provers [1 male, 5 females], 1958; method: 30x,

twice a day 5 drops for 4-5 weeks; 12x, twice a day 5 drops for 3-8 weeks; 6x,
thrice a day 5

drops for 3-4 weeks; 3x, thrice a day 5 drops for 4 weeks; in-between the various
potencies medicine-free intervals of 1-2 months. For months after the proving,
both Unger and other provers experienced a continuation of their visual
hallucinations, predominated by the colours blue and green [the peyote cactus is
bluish green!]. To one female prover the white keys of her typewriter appeared
to be bluish green during a period of two years after the proving. According to
Unger the element boron and its compounds, which naturally occur in
Lophophora, account for the effects of peyote.

•• [2] Herrick - 10 provers, 1994; method: 30c, taken from one to three times
over a three week period.

[1-2] Anderson, Peyote: The Divine Cactus, The University of Arizona Press
1980. [3]

Stafford, Psychedelics Encyclopedia. [4] Ott, Pharmacotheon. [5] Schultes and

Hofmann, The Botany and Chemistry of Hallucinogens. [6] Frazer, The Golden
Bough. [7]
Bergman, Navajo peyote use: Its apparent safety; cited in Baggott, A Note on the
Safety of Peyote when Used Religiously [website Council on Spiritual
Practices]. [8-9] Furst

[ed.], Flesh of the Gods. [10] Holmstedt and Liljestrand, Readings in

Pharmacology, New York 1963. [11] Pelikan, Healing Plants. [12] Havelock
Ellis, Mescal: A New Artificial Paradise. [13] Schenk, The Book of Poisons.
[14] Gottlieb, Peyote and other Psychoactive Cacti. [15] Roseman, The Peyote
Story. [16] Castaneda, The Teachings of

Don Juan. [17] Ott, ibid. [18] Havelock Ellis, ibid.

Affinity

MIND. Nerves. Digestion. Heart and blood vessels. Respiration.

Modalities

Worse: Light. Motion. Closing eyes. Sunlight [esp. at noon].

Better: Rest. Darkness.

Main symptoms

M Egocentric introversion [Julian]; non-egoic consciousness [Stephenson].

• "A sense of egotistical concentration, together with a delightful feeling of

irresponsibility towards one's surroundings." [Zaren]

Self-contained.

M - Objects seem enlarged - diminished.

• "I was about twenty-one years old when some men told me, 'There's a new,
powerful medicine. It's going to whirl you around. It will make you see God.' ... I
wanted to experience this and I went to their first meeting in a lonely shack. Six
men were sitting on the floor of an empty room. They had a half-gallon can full
of cut-up peyote. ... I felt strange taking this new medicine and took only a few
tablespoons at first. The peyote was powerful. The drum got into me. The gourd
got into me. There were voices coming to me out of that rattle. ... By midnight I
was having visions. First I saw a square turning into a circle, into a half moon,
into a beaded belt - green and blue - which was spinning around me. I could see
myself as if looking down a high mountain, sitting with the other six men, seeing
myself crouching in the corner of that log house. Suddenly I was back within
myself. My eyes were on the logs, which seemed very close by, like looking
through a magnifying glass. I saw something crawling out between the chinks. It
was a big ant, maybe ten feet high, the biggest ant there ever was, all horns,
spiny like a lobster. As the ant grew bigger, the room expanded with it. I saw
insects starting to eat me. I got scared and tried to get away but couldn't move.
The leader, the roadman, could tell that I was seeing something. He knew how I
felt. He whirled his gourd around, shook his fan of feathers at me. I came back to
life, back from someplace outside the log house, it seemed to me. I was
confused. ... I tried to think about animals, but was unable to concentrate.

The men had told me, 'Eat this and you will see God.' I did not see God. I
couldn't think in complete words, only in syllables, one syllable at a time."1

M Noises or touch perceived by a coloured vision.

Hypersensitivity to noises. Sounds seen as colours.

Sensation of being carried by music.

M Loss of sense of time.

• "Sense of continuum. With places and people that you meet. A feeling of
having been here before. Of coming back again. God is one. Everything is one.
Lifetime is short but there is something that will continue on. Or: Everything is
diffused." [Shah]

Delusion of having a non-material body.

Disorientation.

• "The child that is brought in for ADD may most likely be confused for
Cannabis indica, Baryta carbonica, or Helleborus. The child has two sides to
herself. She is ritualistic, liking to wear the same clothes, eat the same foods or
mimic certain people.

She also has a contrasting side; she appears to be very free, easily transitioning
from one event to another going along with any suggestion and, 'being so
mellow that she is not

with the program.' When you ask the parents what they mean, they explain, 'She
misses a lot of her day. It's like she is dreaming. It's like she has some idea and is
so into it that she misses what's going on around her.'" [Herscu]

M Audio-visual hallucinations; "coloured visions of most overpowering

brilliance, associated with moving shapes of fantastic design, the motion being
regulated somewhat in time by music." [Clarke]

Multiple colours; or blue and green increased, with red and yellow decreased.

Or: Everything only one colour.

Visual hallucinations which overpower all mental functions.

• "The visual aberrations are among the richest in our materia medica.
Outstanding are noise and touch seen as colour, perspectives completely
distorted. The visual impression may be so powerful as to drown out all mental
functions. Blue and green perception is increased; red and yellow decreased. In
this, the objective red and yellow of consciousness has been displaced by the
more subjective blues and greens, closer to the ultraviolet in the visual spectrum.
A unique symptom was green experienced as a metallic taste; also, two
dimensional objects appear multi-dimensional." [Stephenson]

c Disturbances of vision in welders; after operation for hypophyseal tumours;

from overexertion of eyes due to prolonged watching television; from
astigmatism.

M Objects seem transparent; sees his internal organs.

M Loss of sense of identity; depersonalization.

Boundless response to any illusion.

An ecstatic feeling of immortality.*

Delusion of standing beside oneself and observing oneself.*

Clairvoyance. ['Always knows what people around her are feeling.']

• "Others love them, love their perceptions and ability to be empathic. They have
the enviable meditative, ecstasy side, the side that sees, hears, and feels beauty,
the side that suspends time and feels like they are one with God. However, over
time, the ability to maintain themselves, to maintain their own desires, their own
ego sense, disappears. Now others affect them too much. Now everyone needs to
be careful of how they act around this person. Now the Anhalonium is too
perceptive. The process of self-degradation continues. Whereas before, the
patient felt love and joy looking at scenery, at life and nature, music, and loving
different aromas, they are now accosted by these very same stimuli. Now all
these external stimuli are too much to bear. They stop feeling the borders."
[Zaren]

• "The keynote of this remedy is schizophrenia between the conscious and

unconscious life of the patient. There is a retreat from objective reality into an
inner life so rich and so varied that the other world has lost its meaning. ...
Possibly as the result of this separation between the conscious and the
unconscious, physiologically there is an all pervading lethargy and a depression
of the usual instincts of sex, hunger and a desire for companionship. [In this the
action is similar to that following Opium smoking.] Yet, in spite of the lethargy,
insomnia is marked, particularly at night from overactivity of the mind. The
cerebral dissociation is accompanied by many peripheral, neurological
symptoms such as numbness, formication and anaesthesia, particularly of the
tongue and the limbs. ... In the mental sphere there is such a wide range of
symptoms as to make analysis extremely difficult. As we have said, outstanding
is the increased involvement in the inner life to the exclusion of the outer.
Complete absence of will so that volition has

become autocratic, divorced from any mental control. Most of the classic
symptoms of religious experience can be found here - the euphoria, the bliss, the
loss of mundane time sense, the loss of self-consciousness and the feeling of
union with the greater self, and the eternal renunciation of the world. Among
delusions there is the classic schizophrenic one that 'faces appear mask-like'."
[Stephenson]

M Weakness of will.

Obstruction of the will. Lack of initiative. Unable to make up one's own mind.
Flight and withdrawal when faced with decisions.

M Split personality.

G Hysteria, insomnia, schizophrenia; hebephrenia.

[Hebephrenia is a form of schizophrenia characterised by thought disorder and

emotional incognity. Delusions and hallucinations are common.]

G Ailments from:

Times of severe isolation; exposure to frightening visions - such as violence or

violent movies; illnesses with attendant blood loss and illness that leaves the
patient extremely weak.

• "They also tend to produce and be aggravated by losing fluid through some
form of discharge such as repeated or severe diarrhoea or blood loss. This could
be due to injury, or due to bleeding per vagina or rectum. They may also perspire
a great deal or have tremendous mucus production, with sinusitis, repeated colds
or mucous diarrhoea."

[Herscu]

G FATIGUE.

• "Feels like doing things in slow motion, like mind and body moving through
thick molasses." [Herrick]

G Chilliness. Internal coldness of body.

• "As if any ability to maintain proper body temperature has been lost or as if
they had

'spent' their energy." [Herscu]

• "An experience of a cosmic coldness, penetrating the body as if out of the

cosmos."*

> Heat [becoming warm; warm applications].

c Sensation of coldness [and heaviness].

[lips; tongue; genitals]

G OR: Intolerance of heat. [Hyperthyroidism]

And Congestive frontal headache [esp. behind the eyes or above left eye].

And Perspiration of hands.

And Emaciation in spite of ravenous appetite.

< Heat of sun.

> Cold air; cold applications.*

G Acute sensitiveness to meteorological changes.

G Dislike of all foods, in spite of strong salivation and sensation of hunger.

Or: Sensation of hunger despite adequate food intake.

G Gradual changes until a complete reversal of sleep-waking rhythm.

Flight from reality into the nightly dream world.

• "Increasing shadowing of day consciousness and brightening of night

unconsciousness in all stages of transition. That is, during the day, tiredness and
a feeling of being beaten-up, sleepiness, drowsiness and dimness of
consciousness. At night, pronounced, long-lasting inability to fall asleep from
active mental images. Restlessness and fulness of the

thoughts. Dreams of a visionary character."*

G Sexual desire decreased.

• "Erogenous areas are icy cold."*

G Motion.

• "Disinclined to make the slightest movement."

G General reduction of peripheral pain sensation.*

G Muscular rigidity, particularly facial.

• "Other peoples faces appear mask-like and scheming."*

P Migraine.

< Closing eyes; motion of eyes.

> Lying down.

And Disturbed vision [brilliant coloured objects are seen].

And Loss of conception of time.

P Trigeminal neuralgia, left-sided.

And Vasomotor troubles, increased perspiration and hypersensitivity to touch.

P Heart and circulation.*

Irregular or accelerated heartbeat.

Oppression of chest, esp. on left side.

Stitches in the heart and sensation of fear in the heart.

Feeling of constriction or squeezing, as if the heart were at a standstill.

* Unger, Das Arzneibild Peyotl, Allg. Hom. Zeitung, 1958 Heft 11 + Heft 12.
Summary of proving in Journal of American Institute of Homeopathy January
1961.

1 John [Fire] Lame Deer and Richard Erdoes, Lame Deer, Seeker of Visions;
New York 1994.

Rubrics

Mind

Loss of adaptability [2/1]. Heightened awareness of body [2; Marb.].

Clairvoyance [2].
Confusion, as to his identity [2]; depersonalization, loss of self-knowledge and
self-control, dissociation from or self-identification with environment, personal
disruption

[2/1]. Decomposition of shape [1/1]; of space [1/1]. Delusion, body is immaterial

[1/1]; she is dissolving [1*; Neon]; objects are enlarged [2]; enlarged and
diminished [2/1]; floating in air [1]; immortality [1/1]; on closing eyes [1]; hears
music [1]; he is separated from the world [2; Anac.; Androc.; Hydrog.]; snakes
in and around her [1]; everything is transparent [2]. Escape in a world of dreams
[1/1]. Execution lost as the result of overpowering visual sensations [1/1]. Open-
hearted loquacity [1; Bov.]. Memory active for past events [1; Hyos.]. Music >
[1]; sensation of being carried by music [1/1]; drums produce euphoria [1/1].
Flight from reality [1/1]. Monotony of thoughts [1; Chlol.]. Loss of will, with
increased insight, self-awareness [1/1]; feels as if he had two wills [1].

Head

Sensation as if occiput opens and emits streams of bright colour [1/1*].

Vision

Colours, blue light around objects [1*]. Dim during headache [1; Cycl.; Iris;
Sulph.].

Zigzags during headache [1/1].

Stomach

Nausea > brandy [1*; Ars.]; > coffee [1*; Alet.]; > lying down [1; Alum.; Nux-
v.]; during pain in heart [1*; Spig.].

Chest

Sensation of numbness in heart region [1*; Cact.]. Paroxysmal pain in heart with
sensation of imminent death [1*; Cact.].

Limbs

Sensation of heat in palm of left hand [1/1*].

Generals

Cold feeling in inner parts [1; Calc.; Hura; Laur.].

* Repertory additions [Unger].

Food

Desire: [1]: Garlic [*]; spaghetti [*]; spicy [*].

Better: [1]: Brandy [*]; coffee[*].

* Repertory additions.

Appendix anhalonium

HAVELOCK ELLIS - MESCAL: A NEW ARTIFICIAL PARADISE

[The Contemporary Review, January 1898]

It has been known for some years that the Kiowa Indians of New Mexico are
accustomed to eat, in their religious ceremonies, a certain cactus called
Anhalonium Lewinii, or mescal button. Mescal - which must not be confounded
with the intoxicating drink of the same name made from an agave - is found in
the Mexican Valley of the Rio Grande, the ancestral home of the Kiowa Indians,
as well as in Texas, and is a brown and brittle substance, nauseous and bitter to
the taste, composed mainly of the blunt dried leaves of the plant. Yet, as we shall
see, it has every claim to rank with hashish and the other famous drugs which
have procured for men the joys of an artificial paradise. Upon the Kiowa
Indians, who first discovered its rare and potent virtues, it has had so strong a
fascination that the missionaries among these Indians, finding here a rival to
Christianity not yielding to moral suasion, have appealed to the secular arm, and
the buying and selling of the drug has been prohibited by Government under
severe penalties. Yet the use of mescal prevails among the Kiowas to this day.

It has indeed spread, and the mescal rite may be said to be to day the chief
religion of all the tribes of the southern plains of the United States. The rite
usually takes place on Saturday night; the men then sit in a circle within the tent
round a large camp fire, which is kept burning brightly all the time. After prayer
the leader hands each man four buttons, which are slowly chewed and
swallowed, and altogether about ten or twelve buttons are consumed by each
man between sun-down and daybreak. Throughout the night the men sit quietly
round the fire in a state of reverie - amid continual singing and the beating of
drums by attendants - absorbed in the colour visions and other manifestations of
mescal intoxication, and about noon on the following day, when the effects have
passed off, they get up and go about their business, without any depression or
other unpleasant after-effect.

There are five or six allied species of cacti which the Indians also use and treat
with great reverence. Thus Mr. Carl Lumholtz has found that the Tarahumari, a
tribe of Mexican Indians, worship various cacti as gods, only to be approached
with uncovered heads.

When they wish to obtain these cacti, the Tarahumari cleanse themselves with
copal incense, and with profound respect dig up the god, careful lest they should
hurt him, while women and children are warned from the spot. Even Christian
Indians regard Hikori, the cactus god, as coequal with their own divinity, and
make the sign of the cross

in its presence. At all great festivals Hikori is made into a drink and consumed
by the medicine man, or certain selected Indians, who sing as they partake of it,
invoking Hikori to grant a "beautiful intoxication"; at the same time a rasping
noise is made with sticks, and men and women dance a fantastic and picturesque
dance - the women by themselves in white petticoats and tunics - before those
who are under the influence of the god.

In 1891 Mr. James Mooney, of the United States Bureau of Ethnology, having
frequently observed the mescal rites of the Kiowa Indians and assisted at them,
called the attention of the Anthropological Society at Washington to the subject,
and three years later he brought to Washington a supply of mescal, which was
handed over for examination to Drs. Prentiss and Morgan. These investigators
experimented on several young men, and demonstrated, for the first time, the
precise character of mescal intoxication and the remarkable visions to which it
gives rise. A little later Dr. Weir Mitchell, who, in addition to his eminence as a
physician, is a man of marked aesthetic temperament, experimented on himself,
and published a very interesting record of the brilliant visions by which he was
visited under the influence of the plant. In the spring of the past year I was able
to obtain a small sample of mescal in London, and as my first experiment with
mescal was also, apparently, the first attempt to investigate its vision-producing
properties outside America, I will describe it in some detail, in preference to
drawing on the previously published descriptions of the American observers.

On Good Friday I found myself entirely alone in the quiet rooms in the Temple
which I occupy when in London, and judged the occasion a fitting one for a
personal experiment.

I made a decoction [a different method from that adopted in America] of three

buttons, the full physiological dose, and drank this at intervals between 2.30 and
4.30 p.m. The first symptom observed during the afternoon was a certain
consciousness of energy and intellectual power. This passed off, and about an
hour after the final dose I felt faint and unsteady; the pulse was low, and I found
it pleasanter to lie down. I was still able to read, and I noticed that a pale violet
shadow floated over the page around the point at which my eyes were fixed. I
had already noticed that objects not in the direct line of vision, such as my hands
holding the book, shows a tendency to look obtrusive, heightened in colour,
almost monstrous, while, on closing my eyes, afterimages were vivid and
prolonged.

The appearance of vision with closed eyes was very gradual. At first there was
merely a vague play of light and shade which suggested pictures, but never made
them. Then the pictures became more definite, but too confused and crowded to
be described, beyond saying that they were of the same character as the images
of the kaleidoscope, symmetrical groupings of spiked objects. Then, in the
course of the evening, they became distinct, but still indescribable-mostly a vast
field of golden jewels, studded with red and green stones, ever changing. This
moment was, perhaps, the most delightful of the experience, for at the same time
the air around me seemed to be flushed with vague perfume - producing with the
visions a delicious effect - and all discomfort had vanished, except a slight
faintness and tremor of the hands, which, later on, made it almost impossible to
guide a pen as I made notes of the experiment; it was, however, with an effort,
always possible to write with a pencil. The visions never resembled familiar
objects; they were extremely definite, but yet always novel; they were constantly
approaching, and yet constantly eluding, the semblance of known things. I would
see thick, glorious fields of jewels, solitary or clustered, sometimes brilliant and
sparkling, sometimes with a dull rich glow. Then they would spring up into
flower-like shapes

beneath my gaze, and then seem to turn into gorgeous butterfly forms or endless
folds of glistening, iridescent, fibrous wings of wonderful insects; while
sometimes I seemed to be gazing into a vast hollow revolving vessel, or whose
polished concave mother-of-pearl surface the hues were swiftly changing. I was
surprised, not only by the enormous profusion of the imagery presented to my
gaze, but still more by its variety.

Perpetually some totally new kind of effect would appear in the field of vision;
sometimes there was swift movement, sometimes dull, sombre richness of
colour, sometimes glitter and sparkle, once a startling rain of gold, which seemed
to approach me. Most usually there was a combination of rich, sober colour, with
jewel-like points of brilliant hue. Every colour and tone conceivable to me
appeared at some time or another.

Sometimes all the different varieties of one colour, as of red, with scarlets,
crimsons, pinks, would spring up together, or in quick succession. But in spite of
this immense profusion, there was always a certain parsimony and æsthetic value
in the colours presented. They were usually associated with form, and never
appeared in large masses, or if so, the tone was very delicate. I was further
impressed, not only by the brilliance, delicacy, and variety of the colours, but
even more by their lovely and various textures -

fibrous, woven, polished, glowing, dull, veined, semi-transparent - the glowing

effects, as of jewels, and the fibrous, as of insects' wings, being perhaps the most
prevalent.

Although the effects were novel, it frequently happened, as I have already

mentioned, that they vaguely recalled known objects.

Thus, once the objects presented to me seemed to be made of exquisite

porcelain, again they were like elaborate sweetmeats, again of a somewhat
Maori style of architecture; and the background of the pictures frequently
recalled, both in form and tone, the delicate architectural effects as of lace carved
in wood, which we associated with the mouchrabieh work of Cairo. But always
the visions grew and changed without any reference to the characteristics of
those real objects of which they vaguely reminded me, and when I tried to
influence their course it was with very little success. On the whole, I should say
that the images were most usually what might be called living arabesques.

There was often a certain incomplete tendency to symmetry, as though the

underlying mechanism was associated with a large number of polished facets.
The same image was in this way frequently repeated over a large part of the
field; but this refers more to form than to colour, in respect to which there would
still be all sorts of delightful varieties, so that if, with a certain uniformity, jewel-
like flowers were springing up and expanding all over the field of vision, they
would still show every variety of delicate tone and tint.

Weir Mitchell found that he could only see the visions with closed eyes and in a
perfectly dark room. I could see them in the dark with almost equal facility,
though they were not of equal brilliancy, when my eyes were wide open. I saw
them best, however, when my eyes were closed, in a room lighted only by
flickering firelight. This evidently accords with the experience of the Indians,
who keep a fire burning brightly throughout their mescal rites.

The visions continued with undiminished brilliance for many hours, and as I felt
somewhat faint and muscularly weak, I went to bed, as I undressed being greatly
impressed by the red, scaly, bronzed, and pigmented appearance of my limbs
whenever I was not directly gazing at them. I had not the faintest desire for
sleep; there was a general hyperaesthesia of all the senses as well as muscular
irritability, and every slightest sound seemed magnified to startling dimensions. I
may also have been kept awake by a vague

alarm at the novelty of my condition, and the possibility of further

developments.

After watching the visions in the dark for some hours I became a little tired of
them and turned on the gas. Then I found that I was able to study a new series of
visual phenomena, to which previous observers had made no reference. The gas
jet [an ordinary flickering burner] seemed to burn with great brilliance, sending
out waves of light, which expanded and contracted in an enormously
exaggerated manner. I was even more impressed by the shadows, which were in
all directions heightened by flushes of red, green, and especially violet. The
whole room, with its whitewashed but not very white ceiling, thus became vivid
and beautiful. The difference between the room as I saw it then and the
appearance it usually presents to me was the difference one may often observe
between the picture of a room and the actual room. The shadows I saw were the
shadows which the artist puts in, but which are not visible in the actual scene
under normal conditions of casual inspection. I was reminded of the paintings of
Claude Monet, and as I gazed at the scene it occurred to me that mescal perhaps
produces exactly the same conditions of visual hyperaesthesia, or rather
exhaustion, as may be produced on the artist by the influence of prolonged visual
attention. I wished to ascertain how the subdued and steady electric light would
influence vision, and passed into the next room; but here the shadows were little
marked, although walls and floor seemed tremulous and insubstantial, and the
texture of everything was heightened and enriched.

About 3.30 a. m. I felt that the phenomena were distinctly diminishing - though
the visions, now chiefly of human figures, fantastic and Chinese in character,
still continued -

and I was able to settle myself to sleep, which proved peaceful and dreamless. I
awoke at the usual hour and experienced no sense of fatigue nor other unpleasant
reminiscence of the experience I had undergone. Only my eyes seemed
unusually sensitive to colour, especially to blue and violet; I can, indeed, say that
ever since this experience I have been more æsthetically sensitive than I was
before to the more delicate phenomena of light and shade and colour.

It occurred to me that it would be interesting to have the experiences of an artist

under the influence of mescal, and I induced an artist friend to make a similar
experiment.

Unfortunately no effects whatever were produced at the first attempt, owing, as I

have since discovered, to the fact that the buttons had only been simply infused
and their virtues not extracted. To make sure of success the experiment was
repeated with four buttons, which proved to be an excessive and unpleasant
dose. There were paroxysmal attacks of pain at the heart and a sense of
imminent death, which naturally alarmed the subject, while so great was the
dread of light and dilatation of the pupils that the eyelids had to be kept more or
less closed, though it was evident that a certain amount of vision was still
possible.

The symptoms came on very suddenly, and when I arrived they were already at
their height. As the experiences of this subject were in many respects very unlike
mine, I will give them in his own words: "I noticed first that as I happened to
turn my eyes away from a blue enamel kettle at which I had been unconsciously
looking, and which was standing in the fender of the fireplace, with no fire in it,
it seemed to me that I saw a spot of the same blue in the black coals of the grate,
and that this spot appeared again, farther off, a little brighter in hue. But I was in
doubt whether I had not imagined these blue spots.

When, however, I lifted my eyes to the mantelpiece, on which were scattered all
sorts of odds and ends, all doubt was over. I saw an intensely vivid blue light
begin to play

around every object. A square cigarette box, violet in colour, shone like an
amethyst. I turned my eyes away and beheld this time, on the back of a polished
chair, a bar of colour glowing like a ruby. Although I was expecting some such
manifestation as one of the first symptoms of the intoxication, I was nevertheless
somewhat alarmed when this phenomenon took place. Such a silent and sudden
illumination of all things around, where a moment before I had seen nothing
uncommon, seemed like a kind of madness beginning from outside me, and its
strangeness affected me more than its beauty. A desire to escape from it led me
to the door, and the act of moving had, I noticed, the effect of dispelling the
colours. But a sudden difficulty in breathing and a sensation of numbness at the
heart brought me back to the armchair from which I had risen. From this
moment I had a series of attacks or paroxysms, which I can only describe by
saying that I felt as though I were dying. It was impossible to move, and it
seemed almost impossible to breathe. My speedy dissolution, I half imagined,
was about to take place, and the power of making any resistance to the violent
sensations that were arising within was going, I felt, with every second.

"The first paroxysms were the most violent. They would come on with tingling
in the lower limbs, and with the sensation of a nauseous and suffocating gas
mounting up into my head. Two or three times this was accompanied by a colour
vision of the gas bursting into flame as it passed up my throat. But I seldom had
visions during the paroxysms; these would appear in the intervals. They began
with a spurting up of colours; once, of a flood of brightly illuminated green
water covering the field of vision, and effervescing in parts, just as when fresh
water with all the air bubbles is pumped into a swimming bath.

At another time my eye seemed to be turning into a vast drop of dirty water in
which millions of minute creatures resembling tadpoles were in motion. But the
early visions consisted mostly of a furious succession of coloured arabesques,
arising and descending or sliding at every possible angle into the field of view. It
would be as difficult as to give a description of the whirl of water at the bottom
of a waterfall as to describe the chaos of colour and design which marked this
period.
"Now also began another series of extraordinary sensations. They set in with
bewildering suddenness and followed one another in rapid succession. These I
now record as they occur to my mind at haphazard: [1] My right leg became
suddenly heavy and solid; it seemed, indeed, as if the entire weight of my body
had shifted into one part, about the thigh and knee, and that the rest of my body
had lost all substantiality. [2]With the suddenness of a neuralgic pang, the back
of my head seemed to open and emit streams of bright colour; this was
immediately followed by the feeling as of a draft blowing like a gale through the
hair in the same region. [3] At one moment the colour, green, acquired a taste in
my mouth; it was sweetish and somewhat metallic; blue again would have a taste
that seemed to recall phosphorus; these are the only colours that seemed to be
connected with taste. [4] A feeling of delightful relief and preternatural lightness
about my forehead, succeeded by a growing sensation of contraction. [5] Singing
in one of my ears. [6] A sensation of burning heat in the palm of my left hand.
[7] Heat about both eyes. The last continued throughout the whole period, except
for a moment when I had a sensation of cold upon the eyelids, accompanied with
a colour vision of the wrinkled lid, of the skin disappearing from the brow, of
dead flesh, and finally of a skull.

"Throughout these sensations and visions my mind remained not only perfectly
clear, but enjoyed, I believe, an unusual lucidity. Certainly I was conscious of an
odd contrast in

hearing myself talk rationally with H. E., who had entered the room a short time
before, and experiencing at the same moment the wild and extraordinary pranks
that were taking place in my body. My reason appeared to be the sole survivor of
my being. At times I felt that this, too, would go, but the sound of my own voice
would establish again the communication with the outer world of reality.

"Tremors were more or less constant in my lower limbs. Persistent, also, was the
feeling of nausea. This, when attended by a feeling of suffocation and a pain at
the heart, was relieved by taking brandy, coffee, or biscuit. For muscular
exertion I felt neither the wish nor the power. My hands, however, retained their
full strength.

"It was painful for me to keep my eyes open above a few seconds; the light of
day seemed to fill the room with a blinding glare. Yet every object, in the brief
glimpse I caught, appeared normal in colour and shape. With my eyes closed,
most of the visions, after the first chaotic display, represented parts of the whole
of my body undergoing a variety of marvellous changes, of metamorphoses or
illumination. They were more often than not comic and grotesque in character,
though often beautiful in colour. At one time I saw my right leg filling up with
delicate heliotrope; at another, the sleeve of my coat changed into a dark green
material, in which was worked a pattern in red braid, and the whole bordered at
the cuff with sable. Scarcely had my new sleeve taken shape than I found myself
attired in a complete costume of the same fashion, mediaeval in character, but I
could not say to what precise period it belonged. I noted that a chance movement
-

of my hand, for instance - would immediately call up a colour vision of the part
exerted, and that this again would pass, by a seemingly natural transition, into
another wholly dissimilar. Thus, pressing my fingers accidentally against my
temples, the fingertips became elongated, and then grew into the ribs of a
vaulting or of a dome-shaped roof. But most of the visions were of a more
personal nature. I happened once to lift a spoonful of coffee to my lips, and as I
was in the act of raising my arm for that purpose a vision dashed before my
closed [or nearly closed] eyes, in all the hues of the rainbow, of my arm
separated from my body, and serving me with coffee from out of dark and
indefinite space. On another occasion, as I was seeking to relieve slight nausea
by taking a piece of biscuit passed to me by H. E., it suddenly streamed out into
blue flame. For an instant I held the biscuit close to my leg. Immediately my
trousers caught alight, and then the whole of the right side of my body, from the
foot to the shoulder, was enveloped in waving blue dame. It was a sight of
wonderful beauty. But this was not all. As I placed the biscuit in my mouth it
burst out again into the same coloured fire and illuminated the interior of my
mouth, casting a blue resection on the roof. The light in the Blue Grotto at Capri,
I am able to affirm, is not nearly as blue as seemed for a short space of time the
interior of my mouth. There were many visions of which I could not trace the
origin.

"There were spirals and arabesques and flowers, and sometimes objects more
trivial and prosaic in character. In one vision I saw a row of small white flowers,
one against the other like pearls of a necklace, begin to revolve in the form of a
spiral. Every flower, I observed, had the texture of porcelain. It was at a moment
when I had the sensation of my cheeks growing hot and feverish that I
experienced the strangest of all the colour visions.

It began with feeling that the skin of my face was becoming quite thin and of no
stouter consistency than tissue paper, and the feeling was suddenly enhanced by
a vision of my face, paper-like and semitransparent and somewhat reddish in
colour. To my amazement I saw myself as though I were inside a Chinese
lantern, looking out through my cheek

into the room. Not long after this I became conscious of a change in the visions.
Their tempo was more moderate; they were less frequent, and they were losing
somewhat in distinctness. At the same time the feeling of nausea and of
numbness was departing. A short period followed in which I had no visions at
all, and experienced merely a sensation of heaviness and torpor. I found that I
was able to open my eyes again and keep them fixed on any object in the room
without observing the faintest blue halo or prism, or bar of glowing colour, and
that, moreover, no visions appeared on closing them. It was now twilight, but
beyond the fact of not seeing light or colour, either without or within, I had a
distinct feeling that the action of the drug was at an end and that my body had
become sober suddenly. I had no more visions, though I was not wholly free
from abnormal sensations, and I retired to rest. I lay awake till the morning, and
with the exception of the following night I scarcely slept for the next three days,
but I can not say that I felt any signs of fatigue, unless, perhaps, on one of the
days when my eyes, I noticed, became very susceptible to any indications of
blue in an object. Of colour visions, or of any approach to colour visions, there
was no further trace; but all sorts of odd and grotesque images passed in
succession through my mind during part of the first night. They might have been
the dreams of a Baudelaire or of an Aubrey Beardsley. I would see figures with
prodigious limbs, or strangely dwarfed and curtailed, or impossible
combinations such as five or six fish, the colour of canaries, floating about in air
in a gold wire cage.

But these were purely mental images, like the visions seen in a dream by a
distempered brain.

"Of the many sensations of which my body had been the theatre during three
hours, not the least strange was the feeling I experienced on coming back into a
normal condition.

The recovery did not proceed gradually, but the whole outer and inner world of
reality came back, as it were, with a bound. And for a moment it seemed strange.
It was the sensation - only much intensified - which everyone has known on
coming out into the light of day from an afternoon performance at a theatre,
where one has sat in an artificial light of gas and lamps, the spectator of a
fictitious world of action. As one pours out with the crowd into the street, the
ordinary world, by force of contrast with the sensational scenes just witnessed,
breaks in upon one with almost a sense of unreality. The house, the aspects of the
street, even the light of day appear a little foreign for a few moments.

During these moments everything strikes the mind as odd and unfamiliar, or at
least with a greater degree of objectivity. Such was my feeling with regard to my
old and habitual self. During the period of intoxication the connection between
the normal condition of my body and my intelligence had broken - my body had
become in a manner a stranger to my reason - so that now on reasserting itself it
seemed, with reference to my reason, which had remained perfectly sane and
alert, for a moment sufficiently unfamiliar for me to become conscious of its
individual and peculiar character. It was as if I had unexpectedly attained an
objective knowledge of my own personality. I saw, as it were, my normal state of
being with the eyes of a person who sees the street on coming out of the theatre
in broad day.

"This sensation also brought out the independence of the mind during the period
of intoxication. It alone appeared to have escaped the ravages of the drug; it
alone remained sane during a general delirium, vindicating, so it seemed, the
majesty of its own impersonal nature. It had reigned for a while, I now felt, as an
autocrat, without ministers and their officiousness. Henceforth I should be more
or less conscious of the

interdependence of body and brain; a slight headache, a touch of indigestion, or

what not, would be able to effect what a general intoxication of my senses and
nerves could not touch."

I next made experiments on two poets, whose names are both well known. One
is interested in mystical matters, an excellent subject for visions, and very
familiar with various vision-producing drugs and processes. His heart, however,
is not very strong.

While he obtained the visions, he found the effects of mescal on his breathing
somewhat unpleasant; he much prefers hashish, though recognising that its
effects are much more difficult to obtain. The other enjoys admirable health, and
under the influence of mescal he experienced scarcely the slightest unpleasant
reaction, but, on the contrary, a very marked state of well being and beatitude.
He took somewhat less than three buttons, so that the results were rather less
marked than in my case, but they were perfectly definite.

He writes: "I have never seen a succession of absolutely pictorial visions with
such precision and such unaccountability. It seemed as if a series of dissolving
views were carried swiftly before me, all going from right to left, none
corresponding with any seen reality. For instance, I saw the most delightful
dragons, puffing out their breath straight in front of them like rigid lines of
steam, and balancing white balls at the end of their breath! When I tried to fix
my mind on real things, I could generally call them up, but always with some
inexplicable change. Thus, I called up a particular monument in Westminster
Abbey, but in front of it, to the left, knelt a figure in Florentine costume, like
someone out of a picture of Botticelli; and I could not see the tomb without also
seeing this figure. Late in the evening I went out on the Embankment and was
absolutely fascinated by an advertisement of 'Bovril', which went and came in
letters of light on the other side of the river. I can not tell you the intense
pleasure this moving light gave me and how dazzling it seemed to me. Two girls
and a man passed me, laughing loudly, and lolling about as they walked. I
realized, intellectually, their coarseness, but visually I saw them, as they came
under a tree, fall into the lines of a delicate picture; it might have been an Albert
Moore. After coming in I played the piano with closed eyes and got waves and
lines of pure colour, almost always without form, though I saw one or two
appearances which might have been shields or breastplates - pure gold, studded
with small jewels in intricate patterns. All the time I had no unpleasant feelings
whatever, except a very slight headache, which came and went. I slept soundly
and without dreams."

The results of music in the case just quoted - together with the habit of the
Indians to combine the drum with mescal rites, and my own observation that
very slight jarring or stimulation of the scalp would affect the visions - suggested
to me to test the influence of music on myself. I therefore once more put myself
under the influence of mescal [taking a somewhat smaller dose than on the first
occasion], and lay for some hours on a couch with my head more or less in
contact with the piano, and with closed eyes directed toward a subdued light,
while a friend played, making various tests, of his own devising, which were not
explained to me until afterwards. I was to watch the visions in a purely passive
manner, without seeking to direct them, nor was I to think about the music,
which, so far as possible, was unknown to me. The music stimulated the visions
and added greatly to my enjoyment of them. It seemed to harmonize with them,
and, as it were, support and bear them up. A certain persistence and monotony of
character in the music was required in order to affect the visions, which then
seemed to fall into harmony with it, and any sudden change in the character of
the music would blur the visions, as

though clouds passed between them and me. The chief object of the tests was to
ascertain how far a desire on the composer's part to suggest definite imagery
would affect my visions. In about half the cases there was no resemblance, in the
other half there was a distinct resemblance, which was sometimes very
remarkable. This was especially the case with Schumann's music, for example,
with his Waldscenen and Kinderscenen; thus

"The Prophet Bird" called up vividly a sense of atmosphere and of brilliant

feathery bird-like forms passing to and fro, "A Flower Piece" provoked constant
and persistent images of vegetation, while "Scheherazade" produced an effect of
floating white raiment, covered by glittering spangles and jewels. In every case
my description was, of course, given before I knew the name of the piece. I do
not pretend that this single series of experiments proves much, but it would
certainly be worth while to follow up this indication and to ascertain if any light
is hereby thrown on the power of a composer to suggest definite imagery, or the
power of a listener to perceive it.

It would be out of place here to discuss the obscure question as to the underlying
mechanism by which mescal exerts its magic powers. It is clear from the
foregoing descriptions that mescal intoxication may be described as chiefly a
saturnalia of the specific senses, and, above all, an orgy of vision. It reveals an
optical fairyland, where all the senses now and again join the play, but the mind
itself remains a self-possessed spectator. Mescal intoxication thus differs from
the other artificial paradises which drugs procure. Under the influence of
alcohol, for instance, as in normal dreaming, the intellect is impaired, although
there may be a consciousness of unusual brilliance; hashish, again, produces an
uncontrollable tendency to movement and bathes its victim in a sea of emotion.
The mescal drinker remains calm and collected amid the sensory turmoil around
him; his judgement is as clear as in the normal state; he falls into no oriental
condition of vague and voluptuous reverie. The reason why mescal is of all this
class of drugs the most purely intellectual in its appeal is evidently because it
affects mainly the most intellectual of the senses. On this ground it is not
probable that its use will easily develop into a habit. Moreover, unlike most other
intoxicants, it seems to have no special affinity for a disordered and unbalanced
nervous system; on the contrary, it demands organic soundness and good health
for the complete manifestation of its virtues. Further, unlike the other chief
substances to which it may be compared, mescal does not wholly carry us away
from the actual world, or plunge us into oblivion; a large part of its charm lies in
the halo of beauty which it casts around the simplest and commonest things. It is
the most democratic of the plants which lead men to an artificial paradise. If it
should ever chance that the consumption of mescal becomes a habit, the
favourite poet of the mescal drinker will certainly be Wordsworth. Not only the
general attitude of Wordsworth, but many of his most memorable poems and
phrases can not - one is almost tempted to say - be appreciated in their full
significance by one who has never been under the influence of mescal. On all
these grounds it may be claimed that the artificial paradise of mescal, though less
seductive, is safe and dignified beyond its peers.

At the same time it must be remembered that at present we are able to speak on a
basis of but very small experience, so far as civilized men are concerned. The
few observations recorded in America and my own experiments in England do
not enable us to say anything regarding the habitual consumption of mescal in
large amounts. That such consumption would be gravely injurious I can not
doubt its safeguard seems to lie in the fact that a certain degree of robust health
is required to obtain any real enjoyment from its

visionary gifts. It may at least be claimed that for a healthy person to be once or
twice admitted to the rites of mescal is not only an unforgettable delight, but also
an educational influence of no mean value.

Antimonium crudum

Ant-c.

Vision is definitely affected by glasses, esp. after they have been filled and
emptied several times.

[McKenzie]

Signs

Stibnite. Antimony trisulphide. Black Sulphide of Antimony.

CLASSIFICATION Antimony is a brittle, silvery, bluish-white metalloid in

group 15

[formerly 5A] of the periodic table. It has a flaky texture. It doesn't often form in
its elemental state and is far more common in sulphides and sulphosalts such as
stibnite, tetrahedrite, and jamesonite. The chief ore stibnite occurs in massive
forms in gneiss and granite. It is also found in limestone, presumably deposited
by hot springs. This steel-greyish mineral has a brilliant metallic lustre.

DISTRIBUTION In units of ppb [parts per billion] in terms of weight antimony

is found in crustal rocks [200 ppb], in carbonaceous meteorites [120 ppb], in
water streams [2

ppb] and in the sun [1 ppb]. It occurs in large amounts in the Black Forest and
Harz Mountains of Germany. It is rare in North America. The biggest producing
countries are China, Bolivia, Peru, Mexico, Italy, and France.

OCCURRENCE Group 15 consists of nitrogen, phosphorus, arsenic, antimony,

and bismuth. The range in chemical properties is wide within this group:
nitrogen and phosphorus are nonmetals, arsenic and antimony are metalloids
[displaying both metallic and non-metallic characteristics], and bismuth is a
metal. Though sulphur is its main associate, antimony is also found in
compounds containing small amounts of arsenic, iron, lead, copper, and silver. In
terms of form, it is mostly found mammilary, stalactitic, massive, radiating, and
as crusts. Stibnite consists of 71.38 antimony and 28.62%

sulphur. Stibnite may have fine crystal clusters and long curved crystals. The
slender curved metallic blades resemble Arabian swords. The curving of the long
bladed crystals is due to twinning where one twin plane bends the crystal one
direction and another twin plane bends it in the other direction. These crystals
possess the remarkable property of bending without breaking.

FEATURES Because it is a poor conductor of heat and electricity, antimony

tarnishes only slightly in dry air, but it is gradually converted to an oxide if the
air is moist. When it is heated in air, it burns with a brilliant blue flame and gives
off white fumes of the trioxide Sb2O3. Antimony dissolves poorly in water. It
melts at 630.5o C. The melting point is considerably lowered by the presence of
even small amounts of other substances.

Under ordinary conditions antimony is stable and not affected by air or moisture,
but when it is heated it can be oxidized easily by oxygen, sulphur, and the
halogens.

PROPERTIES "Antimony is inclined toward sulphur not only because it occurs

mainly as a sulphide, but by its very nature. It is only half a metal, the other half
being sulphurous. ... It is seldom found as a pure metal. ... To be sure, the metal
is fairly dense, but it is easy to melt, easy to vapourize, even easy to burn. ... A
drop of the melted metal falling on parchment scatters quicksilver-like into
droplets, which, while still burning, scorch all sorts of curves into the surface.
The white oxide smoke of its combustion

precipitates upon cool surfaces like hoar frost or ice flowers on a window. ...
Like quicksilver, it alloys readily with almost any metal, lending hardness and
brittleness to the mixture. Unlike iron, antimony is aloof to magnetism; placed
between the two poles of a horseshoe magnet, it does not lie in a straight line
between the two poles, but diagonally. It is diamagnetic, in contrast to such
paramagnetic metals as iron, nickel, and cobalt. But it is not only passive toward
magnetism; it also rejects electrical forces in a curious way. When
electrolytically refined from a solution of chloride of antimony, it precipitates on
the cathode as a metal in the form of a blackish powder. When scratched,
rubbed, or heated, this powder changes with 'thunder and lightning', i.e. , with
radiations of heat and light and small explosive noises, back into the normal
antimony form. This explosive antimony is less formed and also lighter than the
normal metal. It has retained certain forces of heat, light, and levity by which it
defends itself against the gravity of the world of matter as well as against the
sub-material world of electricity."1

USES "In its pure state antimony has no important uses, but, when combined
physically or chemically with other substances, it is an extremely useful metal.
Because some antimony alloys expand on solidifying [a rare characteristic that
they share with water], they are particularly valuable as castings and type metal;
the expansion of the alloy forces the metal to fill the small crevices of casting
moulds. Moreover, the presence of antimony in type metal, which also includes
lead and small amounts of tin, increases the hardness of the type and gives it a
sharp definition. Even when added in minor quantities, antimony imparts
strength and hardness to other metals, particularly lead, with which it forms
alloys used in plates of automobile storage batteries, in bullets, and in coverings
for cables. Combined with tin and lead, antimony forms antifriction alloys called
babbitt metals that are used as components of machine bearings. Antimony
compounds [esp. the trioxide] are widely used as flame retardants in paints,
plastics, rubber, and textiles."2

Antimony is also used in the manufacture of enamels; in the manufacture of

matches, fireworks, and percussion caps; and as a dye to colour glass, pottery
and ceramics. A major use of antimony is for the safety match. The head of this
match consists of a mixture of antimony trisulphide and an oxidizing agent such
as potassium chlorate. The tip of the match, above the head, contains red
phosphorus.

EYES In its sulphide compound antimony had been known since ancient times.
Middle Eastern women used it to darken their eyes and eyebrows, in order to
increase their seductiveness. There are several references to this practice in the
Bible, the best known involving the notorious Jezebel, who 'painted her eyes and
adorned her hair, and stood looking down from a window'. 3

PHYSIOLOGY Although antimony has no known function in living organisms,

it is present in all human tissues with the highest levels in the lymph glands
[0.34-0.43 mg per g], the hair [0.34 mcg per g], and the lungs [0.29 mcg per g].
Blood plasma levels vary from 0.52 to 5.2 ng per ml. Levels in human dental
enamel also show variation from 0.005 to 0.67 mcg per g. Tissue antimony
levels can be effected by illness; levels are elevated in the heart muscle of
uraemic patients and in injured heart tissue from patients with coronary
thrombosis. 4

INTOXICATION Antimony poisoning resembles arsenic poisoning. It has

resulted from drinking acidic fruit juices containing antimony oxide dissolved
from the glaze of cheap enamelware containers. Antimony has similar properties
as arsenic, the main difference being that antimony has less affinity with oxygen
than arsenic. Exposure to antimony can

cause metallic taste, nausea, sore throat and irritation of the air passages. Skin
contact causes an itchy rash. Repeated exposure may cause headaches, poor
appetite, dry throat, loss of sleep, as well as damage to the liver and the heart
muscle. Use of antimony near acid or acid mist can cause release of a deadly
gas, stibine. "In poisoning by antimony vapours stupefaction and frontal
headache appears, then chest symptoms, severe painful cough, partly dry, partly
with tenacious sputum difficult to evacuate, and piping and rales in the chest.
Then the gastrointestinal symptoms, pustules on the genitals were observed,
finally great prostration, decrease of sexual potency and swelling of the testes. ...
Soon after an intravenous injection, there are muscle pains, particularly drawing
pains between the shoulders, in the upper arms, in the back muscles, with a
feeling of stiffness in the entire musculature, even in the muscles of the jaw. This
sensation may persist 1-2 days and impair movement."5

MEDICINE The alchemists felt antimony to be strongly present in the

sulphurous, less so in the mercurial, and having lost its power in the realm of
salt. The famous English alchemist and Franciscan monk Roger Bacon [c. 1220-
1292] considered Antimony to be

"a heavenly medicine to prevent and to cure all kinds of disease and ailments of
the human body." He recommended it in the treatment of gout, leprosy,
apoplexy, dropsy, epilepsy, catalepsy and analepsy, hectic, pest, and fever. His
description of its effects in leprosy reminds of Hahnemann's concept of psora.
"To begin with the patient is given six drops on an empty stomach. And arrange
it so that the unclean person is alone without the company of any healthy people,
in a separate and convenient place. For his whole body will soon begin to smoke
and steam with a stinking mist or vapour. And on the second day his skin will
start to flake and much uncleanness will detach itself from his body. He should
then have three more drops of the medicine ready, which he should take and use
in solitude on the fourth day. Then on the eight or ninth day, by means of this
medicine and through the bestowal of Divine mercy and blessing, he will be
completely cleansed and his health restored."6

ALCHEMY Possibly because of its low melting temperature [it fuses easily even
in the flame of a match], antimony was a favourite material of the alchemists. It
had its own symbol: a circle topped by a cross, representing the intellectual soul
alive with all its virtues and faculties.* The medieval alchemists occupied
themselves extensively with its mysteries. They regarded salt, mercury, and
sulphur as the three forms of earthly substantiality.

The

salt

condition represented the contractive force in nature

[crystallisation, condensation], while the sulphuric principle stood for the

expansive force in nature [dissolution, evaporation] and mercury exhibited the
integrative force, interweaving and balancing that of the salt and sulphur
[circulation, dynamic equilibrium]. To the alchemists, antimony was not the
metal itself but stibnite. Metallic antimony was extracted from its ore [stibnite]
by heating it with charcoal or some other mild reducing agent. The metallic
antimony sinks to the bottom and this is what the alchemists called the regulus of
antimony. Properly purified in this way, antimony forms long and slender
crystals. During cooling the crystals in turn form triangular branches around a
central point, taking on the aspect of a silver star. "For the purification of gold

[king] the impurities were alloyed with antimony, which was added to the melt.
As antimony attracted and swallowed impurities, it was called the 'philosophers'
magnet', the

'wolf of metals', the 'fiery dragon' or the 'bath of the king'."7

NAME Its name is derived from Gr. anti, against, and monos, alone, in reference
to it

being an element rarely found alone. Another possibility is that the name comes
from Gr.

anthemion, the diminutive of anthos, a flower, after the form of the crystals. The
explanation that it derives from anti-monakhos, anti-monk, involves a nice story
about the 15th-century abbot and alchemist Basil Valentinus. "One day after
work Valentinus is said to have emptied some crucibles containing antimony out
of his cell window. This was eaten by pigs, which then became sick. When the
pigs recovered they ate vast quantities to make up for their lost weight. But
because they were pigs, and lived up to their name, they ate far too much,
rapidly putting on excess weight. Valentinus seized upon this as an excellent way
of fattening up the monastery pigs for Christmas. Then he decided to go one step
further. As abbot, he felt the monks in his charge were also in need of a little
fattening up for Christmas, so he covertly introduced some antimony into their
diet. Unfortunately, many of the ascetic monks had bodies so weakened by
fasting that they died before they could fatten themselves up. The substance they
had eaten became known as 'anti-monakhos' [anti-monk, thence antimony]. A
likely story. Sadly, spoilsport modern commentators have pointed out that the
name antimony was mentioned a few centuries prior to the legendary Valentinus,
by Constantine of Africa in his translation of Avicenna's pharmacopoeia."8

ANTHROPOSOPHY "When we have to deal with a patient of an hysterical

type, we seek to strengthen the ego and the astral body in their upper currents,
and this we can do with Stibium. Antimony, which crystallizes in fine radiating
needles, has a form-giving capacity particularly with regard to proteins. It can
also act in the organism like the ego, so that it can for a while act as a substitute
for the ego, thus allowing the ego itself time to recover its strength."9

PROVINGS •• [1] Hahnemann - 4 provers; method: unknown.

* A cross inscribed within a circle, was the sign for "green" and denoted the
vegetative soul or the physiological world. A cross placed below a circle was the
sign for Venus and corresponded to instinctive behaviour or the base urges.

[1] Pelikan, The Secrets of Metals. [2] Encyclopaedia Britannica. [3] Strathern,
Mendeleyev's Dream.

[4] Melvyn, Vitamins and Minerals. [5] Leeser, Hom. MM, Inorganic Medicinal
Substances. [6] Bacon, Tract on the Tincture and Oil of Antimony. [7] Roob,
Alchemy and Mysticism. [8] Strathern, ibid. [9] Bott, Anthroposophical
Medicine.

Affinity

STOMACH. DIGESTIVE TRACT. MIND. SKIN. Soles. Changing sides. * Left

side.

Modalities

Worse: COLD [BATHING; dampness; WATER - on head]. OVEREATING.

Acids.

Sweets. HEAT [SUMMER; of sun; overheating; radiated]. After eating.

Extremes of cold and heat. Ascending stairs. Sour wine.

Better: Open air. Rest. Warm bath. Prolonged vomiting.

Comparisons

c GROUP 15 [NIT-AC.; PHOS.; ARS.; ANT-C.; BISM.] - COMMON

SYMPTOMS
Headache < motion. - Epistaxis. - Sour taste in mouth. - Empty or foul
eructations.

Sensation of fulness [stomach] after eating. - Heaviness stomach. - Pain stomach

after eating. - Extreme thirst. - Vomiting after drinking. - Vomiting of bile or
food. - Sleep position on back. - Starting from sleep. - Sleepiness after eating. -
Left side.

Main symptoms

M Idealism [romantic love and artistic beauty; sensitivity].

[The regulus of antimony: a silvery radiating star.]

versus

Rejection of contact/connection, insensitivity, and hardening [comp. skin] -

arranging oneself across the lines of force, defending oneself against the gravity
of the world of matter.

Or: Refusal to share one's own capacities with others.

M < Being LOOKED AT, touched or washed.

[Aversion to being looked at; = crying].

• "Sulky children who do not wish to speak or be spoken to; angry at every little
attention." [Mathur]

And Hot and red face; chapped cheeks.

And Indigestion. [Vomiting occurs as soon as the child eats or drinks.]

And Chronic blepharitis; red inflamed lids, itching in the canthi causing rubbing
of the eyes.

M SENTIMENTAL and ECSTATIC.

• "Continuous state of enthusiastic love and ecstatic longing for an ideal woman,
which quite filled his fantasy; more while walking in the pure, open air than in
the room; disappeared after several days with a seeming diminution of the sexual
impulse."

[Hahnemann]

• "In some cases, there is a slightly erotic condition of mind, connected with
sexual erethism. The patient becomes ecstatic and fancies that some beautiful
female is the object of his sentimental love." [Farrington]

• "It is suited to the mental condition of some young person passing through the
critical pubescent period, whose growing interest in the opposite sex tends to
centre unhealthily in some bright Prince Charming, or in some idealized, and
perhaps self-created maiden.

Has amorous longings, not for any living creature, but for some unseen seraph."
[Talcott]

• "Hysterical girls who suffer from unrequited affections; dreamers." [Mathur]

• "Nervous, excitable hysterical girls that are overcome by mellow lights, and as
a result there is an outburst of affection, as is observed in the sick, and those who
are suffering from the effects of disappointed affection." [Blackwood]

• "We see the Antimonium feeling of being let down and disappointed by others,
and therefore the need to narrow one's circle, to isolate oneself. Also present are
the Sulphur symptoms of theorizing and fantasizing. These combine to make
Ant-c. a person who has narrowed himself down, and who starts fantasizing. The
patient finds the world around him so disappointing that he simply shuts it out,
and conjures up an illusionary world that he starts living in." [Sankaran]

Sentimental and romantic.

Emotions make her sick to her stomach.

Anorexia / bulimia from disappointed love.

Suicidal disposition from disappointed love by drowning or shooting. 1

M Anxious dreams.

• "As if he would be wounded; he jumps up from sleep and struggles with hands
and feet."

• "Horrible dreams of mutilations of men."

• "Dreams of his own family at home, with whom he quarrelled; disturbs his
night's

rest."

• "Vexatious dreams, ful of quarrels with relatives, rouse him at night from
sleep."

[Hahnemann]

M • "Ant-c. children are very interesting. They are always fat, rather over-
weight, usually pale and they have a very marked tendency to redness round the
eyes, and moist eruptions behind the ears. Mentally they are interesting because
they are such an apparent contradiction. They are irritable children, peevish, and
they get more and more peevish the more attention they get; the kind of child
that will cry if anyone looks at it and the more you attempt to soothe it the worse
it gets. The Ant-c. child has night terrors, and is cross and irritable; and the more
the mother attempts to nurse it the worse it becomes.

Walking it up and down drives it nearly distracted. Then, in contrast to that, they
are very impressionable children, sensitive, easily upset emotionally, very liable
to burst into tears from any emotional stress if their feelings are touched at all;
and under stress they become pale and liable to faint." [Borland]

G Hydrogenoid constitution; young people that grow fat, and can't bear cold
water.

G Changeable symptoms: gouty symptoms on extremities suddenly stop,

followed by gastric symptoms; symptoms go from one side to the other; they
change locality.

Gouty affections alternating with DIGESTIVE DISTURBANCES.

G Ailments from sunburn; overheating; warm weather.

EXHAUSTION during WARM WEATHER.

And Tendency to gastrointestinal troubles.

Aphonia from overheating.

< Heat and cold.

CANNOT TOLERATE RADIANT HEAT.

c Aggravation from radiant heat is analogous to aggravation from being looked

at or spoken to; both are direct. The amelioration from moonlight has its
analogue in the fact that moonlight is indirect [reflected light.]

G GROSS FEEDERS [desire to eat LARGE quantities of food].

And Gastric, mental and skin symptoms. [Boger]

• "When an individual presents certain animal characteristics, Antimonium

crudum is not infrequently the gross, scrofulous [scrofa, a sow] rough and thick-
skinned swine. This is broad generalization, but sometimes useful in a
prescription." [Shedd]

Or: Chronic loss of appetite.

And Constant sensation as if the stomach were overloaded.

G Strong DESIRE FOR ACIDS, cucumbers and pickles.

Yet acids <.

G < Sour or sulphuretted wine.

[headache; gastrointestinal disturbances]

< Sweets [= disordered stomach, in children].

G Violent thirst. [Also at night or only at night.]

But water, even in small amounts, will be vomited.

Vomiting doesn't relieve but only exhausts the patient.

G Perspiration from slightest exertion.

G Lumpy stools, leucorrhoea, skin, nails, etc.

G < Room full of people.

P Headache from taking cold, or from alcoholic drinks.

And Deranged digestion.

Headache from suppressed eruptions.

> Discharges [vomiting, diarrhoea, coryza].

P Nose.

Stoppage of the nose especially in the evening; with dryness when walking in
the open air, scarcely permitting him to talk.

Coryza, with sore, cracked crusty nostrils; dry or fluent, especially in the
morning.

The nose stuffs up at night, particularly in an overheated room, can hardly

breathe.

P THICKLY COATED, WHITE TONGUE; like whitewash or milk.

Ailments and milky WHITE coating on tongue.

P Gastric and intestinal disturbances from bread, pastry, acids, vinegar, cold
bathing; overheating; hot weather.

P Extreme sensitiveness of soles of feet [due to callosities].

Walking difficult and painful.

P Horny or SPLIT NAILS.

1 Illustrative case in Homoeopathic Links 1/95: The Case of Princess Daisy.

"The theme of the novel [Princess Daisy, by Judith Krantz] is about an

unfortunate child who was not loved by her parents. She is a handicapped and
princess Daisy has to look after her. Princess Daisy is very blond and beautiful
and takes a lot of care for her sister.

Daisy falls in love, gets disappointed and her life is shattered. She wanted to
shoot herself as she can't fulfil her fantasies. The boyfriend leaves her, she goes
to America and finds a job in a cosmetic firm, where she has to draw and paint
landscapes, which she is very good at. She also writes romantic poems and love-
letters to her boyfriend whom she still loves very much. She comes back to
England very rich and gets married to the same guy.

She looks after her sister in the best possible way she can." [Sudhir Baldota]

Rubrics

Mind

Anger when touched [2]. Answers snappishly [2; Cham.; Staph.]. Delusion
someone calls [1; Plb.]. Ecstasy when walking in moonlight [3/1]. Grief causing
stomach trouble

[3]. Love, lovesick [2]. Sentimental during diarrhoea [2/1]; before menses [2/1];
in moonlight [3/1]. Suicidal thoughts, drive him out of bed [2/1]. Aversion to
being touched

[3]. Makes verses [2].

Vertigo

On ascending stairs [1; Calc.], and pain in forehead [2], and pain in vertex [1].

Head

Pain, after candy [1/1]; from becoming heated [3]; from exposure to sun [3].
Shaking sensation during menses [1].

Eye

Lachrymation when looking at the fire [1]. Photophobia from snow [1; Ars.].
Face

Eruptions, acne, with stomach complaints [2; Carb-v.; Nux-v.]; itching pimples
when warm [2]. Twitching of corners of mouth [1; Bry.; Chel.; Ign.; Op.].

Teeth

Grinding of teeth in morning as soon as awake [1]. Pain, before menses [2], >
walking in open air [3]. Sensitive, cannot bear dental operation [3].

Stomach

Ravenous appetite in morning [1]. Disordered after acids [2]. Nausea from
amorous caresses [1; Sabad.], after being overheated [2/1].

Male

Attacks of increased sexual desire in the moonlight [2/1].

Female

Menses absent, molimen only [2]; copious from cold baths [1/1].

Larynx

Voice, hoarseness after a cold bath [2/1], from being overheated [2]; lost, from
being heated [2], in a warm room [2]; > using voice [1].

Back

Tension dorsal region, between scapulae, on stooping [1/1].

Limbs

Bubbling sensation in nates [1], while standing [1/1]. Nails do not grow [2/1];
split nails

[3].

Sleep
Sleepiness during hot weather [3]. Waking from hunger [1; Lyc.].

Dreams

Native country [1]. Feasting [1]. Solemnities [1/1]. Being wounded [1].

Skin

Eruptions, urticaria after meat [3/1]. Warts, horny [3]; smooth [3].

Generals

Faintness from summer heat [2]. Exertion in sun < [3/1]. Weakness during
headache [3];

< warm weather [3].

Food

Aversion: [2]: Drinks; vinegar. [1]: Bread; fat; mother's milk; pork; smell of
food; wine.

Desire: [2]: Cucumbers; drinks; pickles; sour; vinegar. [1]: Beer; bread; fat;
indigestible; pickled meat; pork; raw food; spicy; vegetables.

Worse: [3]: Bitter; sour; vinegar. [2]: Bread; cold drinks; cold food; fruit; fruit,
sour; milk; pork; pungent; sweets; water. [1]: Alcohol; butter; cider; drinks; fat;
food, sight of; food, thought of; juicy fruit; pancakes; pastry; rich food;
stimulants; strawberries; wine.

Better: [2]: Vinegar. [1]: Hot food; milk.

Antimonium tartaricum

Ant-t.

Apples taste sweetest when they are going.

[Seneca]

Signs
Antimony potassium tartrate. Tartar Emetic.

CHEMISTRY Antimony potassium tartrate is an odourless and colourless crystal

[sugar or sand-like] material or white powder. The crystals effloresce on
exposure to air.

PROPERTIES Antimony potassium tartrate itself is inflammable, but in fire or

near acid a poisonous gas is produced. Though only slightly reactive, its effects
on contact are severe and corrosive. Soluble in water and highly persistent in
water [with a half-life of longer than 200 days], it has high acute and chronic
toxicity to aquatic life. It is incompatible with mineral acids, tannic acid, gallic
acids, alkali hydroxides and carbonates, lead and silver salts, mercury bichloride,
lime water, albumin, soap.

USES It is used in medicine [as an expectorant and in the treatment of

schistomiasis

japonicum], in dyeing [as a mordant], as an insecticide, and in hair dyes.

Formerly it was used as an emetic in bronchial ailments, pneumonia's, psychosis,
and particularly as

"poudre de tranquillité" [tranquillizer] in alcoholism.

EXCRETION Tartar emetic promotes body waste and the rapid excretion of
waste products. In small doses, it stimulates the secretions of the stomach and
intestinal canal, the salivary glands, liver and pancreas. In larger doses, it
produces vomiting and purging, with evacuations much like the 'rice water
discharges' of cholera. In toxic doses it paralyzes the heart muscles, combines
with red blood cells, depressing their oxidizing power, lowering the blood
pressure, and reducing the temperature. Being eliminated by all the excretory
organs, including the skin, it excites follicular inflammation therein, resulting in
a papular eruption on the skin, which becomes vesicular and pustular, the
pustules being umbilicated, like those of variola. This may also be produced by
rubbing tartar emetic into the skin. 1

INTOXICATION It is an extremely toxic compound and, medically, must be

administered very slowly intravenously. When breathed in, by ingestion or by
passing through the skin, it can cause poor appetite, rash, nausea, headaches,
sore throat, irritation of air passages, and cough. Higher levels can cause
abdominal pain, fluid build-up in the lungs, phlebitis, tachycardia, and
hypotension. Sudden death can occur from circulatory collapse. It is excreted
with the urine, faeces, milk and gall. Deposits may build up in the liver and
kidneys. Contrary to arsenic, there is no habituation. In the 17th century its abuse
claimed numerous deaths. Tartar emetic, apomorphine, ipecacuanha, senega, and
squill are called central emetics due to the fact that they act upon the medulla.

POISONING "The substance has been used for homicidal purposes, though
much less frequently than arsenic. It produces symptoms very similar to those
resulting from arsenic poisoning, but the symptoms are more rapid in onset and
graver in effect ... The symptoms of acute poisoning are instructive. On
swallowing a dose there is an immediate onset of symptoms - a metallic taste in
the mouth, burning in throat and stomach, violent and incessant vomiting, severe
purging and tenesmus. Profound depression follows with vertigo, extreme thirst,
subnormal temperature, thready pulse, cyanosis, cramps, coma, collapse, and
death in twelve to twenty-four hours. The skin is cold and covered in clammy
sweat. Chronic poisoning is characterized by anorexia, nausea, vomiting,
diarrhoea, emaciation and great depression, associated with headache, giddiness,
mental confusion, dimness of vision and drowsiness. Finally extreme exhaustion
ends in death."2

FRUIT ACID Tartaric acid is one of the most widely distributed of fruit acids. It
is found in grapes and other fruits, either free or combined with potassium,
calcium or magnesium. Deposited in wine, its crystals are called "the precious
stones of noble wines." Tartaric acid is chiefly manufactured as a by-product of
the wine industry. It is widely used as an acidulant in fizzy drinks, effervescent
tablets, gelatine desserts, and fruit jellies. As effervescent acid it is used in bath
salts, denture powders, nail bleaches, hair-grooming aids, hair rinses,
depilatories, and hair colouring. As additive E334, it occurs in products as
confectionery, jams, marmalades, tinned tomatoes, tinned asparagus, processed
tomato concentrates, tinned fruits, cocoa powders, and frozen dairy products.
"Antioxidant; capable of increasing the antioxidant effect of other substances

[synergist]; to adjust acidity in frozen dairy products, jellies, bakery products,

beverages, confectionery, dried egg whites, sweets, preserves and wines;
sequestrant; diluent for food colours; constituent of grape and other artificial
flavours; acid in some baking

powders."3
PROVINGS The homoeopathic drug picture is mainly based on experiments
with the crude substance and on intoxications. A good example of the dedication
of experimenters is Noebeling, source nr. 11 in Allen's Encyclopedia. Noebeling
took daily small doses, gradually increasing them to 0.013 gr., for seventeen
consecutive days. Though he after the 8th day was prevented from continuing
the experiment, due to extreme weakness and prostration, his heroic proving
begins to look like self-punishment when he starts on the 11th day to inject
himself with strong solutions. "I had scarcely emptied the syringe when I
experienced a raging headache, saw sparks of fire, had burning heat in the face,
and distressing pressure in the brain; at the same time there was violent
precordial anxiety. I suffered from dyspnoea, it became black before the eyes, I
reeled, so that I was obliged to sit down; I vomited green masses with great
effort. At the same time there was very free haemorrhage from the place of the
injection, which was stopped only by persistent compression. Through the day I
felt very weak, as after a terrible illness. Unfortunately it had been impossible to
count the pulse, on account of the violence of the symptoms." On the 17th day
he injects himself again, "in spite of the unpleasant remembrance of the former
injection." The result is the same: a frightful headache, heat of the face, vision of
sparks, and very anxious sensation in the stomach. He then takes the appearance
of albumen in the urine as an indication to discontinue further self-
experimentations. By then, he has lost seven pounds in weight, and he frequently
suffers from digestive troubles for more than two months afterwards.

[1] Potter, A Compend of Materia Medica. [2] Gibson, Studies of Hom.

Remedies. [3]

Hanssen, E for Additives.

Affinity

MUCOUS MEMBRANES. Pneumogastric nerve [= nervus vagus] [bronchi;

lungs; heart; CIRCULATION; respiration]. Stomach. Bowels. Sleep. Lumbar
region.

Skin. * Left side. Right side.

Modalities

Worse: WARM [room; wraps; weather]. Anger. Lying. Morning. Overeating.

Cold.
Dampness. Change of weather. Spring. Motion. Touch. Being looked at. Night.
Lying on affected side. 4 p.m. [cough].

Better: Expectoration. Sitting up. Motion. Cold open air. Lying on right side.

Main symptoms

M Apathetic, drowsy, dull or easily annoyed.

c Wants to be left alone when irritated. Doesn't want to be looked at or touched.

Bad mood, noise is intolerable.

• "Everything displeases her of which she thinks [after two hours]." [Al en]

Great irritability on waking.

c Does not want to be alone when nervous.

• "Dreaded to be left alone even for a few moments, lest he 'should be dreadfully
nervous and not know what to do with himself.'" [Allen]

Defective

reaction. INCREASINGLY WEAK, DROWSY, SWEATY and

RELAXED.

• "This remedy is indicated in those who are of a slow phlegmatic constitution,

who are melancholy, bad humoured, and despair of their recovery." [Blackwood]

G Old people and children.

G Ailments from bad effects of vaccination when Thuj. fails and Sil. is not
indicated.

[This refers to smallpox vaccination!]

G Apparent death.
• "Apparent death from drowning, from mucus in bronchi, from impending
paralysis of lungs, from foreign bodies in larynx or trachea, with drowsiness or
coma." [Mathur]

G Pregnancy.

During pregnancy, vomiting of mucus; belching; disgust for food; salivation;

nausea with faintness, and amblyopia. [Hering]

No remedy excels Ant-t. to dilate a rigid os in labour. [Burt]

G Desire for ACIDS, sour drinks and apples, which <.

G Irresistible thirst for cold water; vomits the smallest quantity taken.

After every drink, nausea and pressure in the pit of the stomach.

G Great sleepiness or irresistible inclination to sleep with nearly all complaints.

G < Milk.

• "Infants and children al ergic to milk, vomit immediately." [Mathur]

G < AUTUMN and SPRING.

G < WARM ROOM; HEAT.

G YAWNING with many complaints. [Agar.]

P NAUSEA; in waves; and weakness and cold sweat, loathing or anxiety.

P Vomiting > lying on right side.

And Tremor of hands.

And Great sensitiveness of pit of stomach to touch or pressure.

And Eructations like rotten eggs.

P MUCH SECRETION OF MUCUS; coarse rattling but scanty expectoration.

P SUFFOCATIVE shortness of breath; alternating with cough; LOOSE,
COARSE, RATTLING COUGH: chest seems FULL, yet LESS AND LESS is
RAISED, followed by vomiting or sleep.

Cough tends to be worse at 4 a.m. [Kali fraction of the compound]

c LOUD, COARSE RALES IN THE AIR PASSAGES.

• "The chest seems to refil constantly with foamy mucus. At the beginning the
patient can evacuate some tenacious light, white mucus by retching, but finally
he is unable to do so, an asphyxial state impends and signs of collapse with cold,
clammy sweat, white ala nasae and hippocratic facies is noted. The increasing
weakness expresses itself in the type of cough: attacks of coughing decrease
slowly in duration and severity with increasing weakness; the cough alternates
with yawning." [Leeser]

MUCH SECRETION OF MUCUS; coarse rattling but scanty expectoration.

P Intensely painful lumbago.

Slightest motion = retching and cold, clammy sweat.

• "No remedy in the material medica can equal this drug in this painful malady;
if given so that it will produce slight nausea, it will cure about every case."
[Burt]

Rubrics

Mind

Anger alternating with cheerfulness [1]. Desire to be carried upright, in children

with respiratory troubles [1]. Delusions, visions of fire [1]; he wades in water
[1/1]. Wants to set things on fire [1]. Irritability in children, shriek when touched
[2].

Head

Sensation as if head were separated from body [1].

Eye
One eye open only [1/1]. Shooting like electric shocks in inner canthi [1/1*].

Face

Upper lip drawn up, exposing teeth [1]. Twitching when coughing [3/1].

Mouth

Mouth remains wide open after yawning [2/1].

Stomach

Ravenous appetite while walking [1]. Nausea after fruit [2]. Thirst after
perspiration [2], for small quantities often [1].

Abdomen

Abdomen seems full of stones when sitting or on stooping [1/1].

Rectum

Diarrhoea after vaccination [1].

Respiration

Difficult after midnight, 3 a.m. [3], > expectoration [3]. Gasping inspiration,
expiration long and slow [2; Op.].

Cough

Eructations > [1]. Heat of sun < [2].

Chest

Sensation of heat in region of heart [2]. Sensation as if the heart were revolving
[1/1].

Back

Sensation of heaviness in coccyx, as if a heavy weight were tugging at it [2/1].

Pain in lumbosacral region from least motion, and retching [2/1].
Limbs

Perspiration hands on coughing [1/1].

Perspiration

Cold, from dyspnoea [2]. Profuse, on affected parts [3/1].

Skin

Sensitiveness of skin to every change of the weather [1/1*].

* Repertory additions.

Food

Aversion: [2]: Milk. [1]: Alcohol; apples; bread, during pregnancy; cold drinks;
cold food; fruit; mother's milk; sour; tobacco.

Desire: [2]: Fruit; cold food; juicy things; sour. [1] Alcohol; apples; beer;
buttermilk; cold drinks; fruit, sour; milk, sour; refreshing.

Worse: [2]: Hot food. [1]: Alcohol; apples; beer; butter; eating; fat; food, sight
of; food, thought of; fruit; fruit, sour; milk; pork; sour; vinegar; warm food.

Better: [3]: Cold water. [2]: Cold drinks. [1]: Cold food.

Apis mellifica

Apis

A bee is never as busy as it seems; it's just that it can't buzz any slower.

[Kin Hubbard]

Signs

Apis mellifera. Honeybee.

CLASSIFICATION Apis belongs to the Hymenoptera, an order of insects with

four
transparent wings, comprising bees, wasps, ants, sawflies, chalcids, horntails,
etc. The order includes the best known of the social insects - ants and some
species of bees and wasps. Bees and ants are derived evolutionarily from two
different lineages of wasps.

Bees have given up the carnivorous lifestyle of their wasp ancestors and gather
protein from flowers as pollen. The Hymenoptera are the principal insect
pollinators of flowering plants, to the extent that many plants cannot reproduce
without the helpful intervention of an insect species belonging to this order.
They are abundant in most habitats, in particular in tropical and subtropical
regions. In the United States bees pollinate more than one hundred different
agricultural crops worth about ten billion dollars. Another phenomenon of
perhaps even greater ecological significance in the order Hymenoptera, is that of
parasitism. Hymenoptera, the most prevalent and successful of insect parasites,
exert a profound control over populations of other insects and certain other
arthropods-groups that might otherwise overpopulate.

HONEYBEES Any insect of the tribe Apini [family Apidae], which includes all
bees that make honey, in a broad sense is a honeybee. In a stricter sense,
honeybee applies to any of the four members of the genus Apis. Usually the term
is applied to one species, Apis mellifera [formerly called A. mellifica], the
domestic honeybee; mellifera means honey-carrier. The other Apis species are
confined to Asia. There are also a number of races, or subspecies, and strains of
Apis species. 1 Three of the most common European races of bees include Apis
mellifera mellifera [Dark Bee], Apis mellifera ligustica [Italian Bee], and Apis
mellifera carnica [Carniolan Bee].

COLONIES Honeybees live in colonies of thousands of individual bees working

co-operatively to maintain the integrity of the hive and to ensure the survival of
the next generation of bees. A strong colony will amount to between 40,000 and
70,000 adults, of which one alone will be the queen, or mother, of the whole
colony; several hundred will be drones, and all the rest will be worker bees. All
honeybees are social insects. There are three castes, or classes: the worker bees,
which are undeveloped females; queens, which are larger than the worker bees;
and males, or drones, which are larger than the workers and are present only in
early summer. Contrary to the workers and queens, drones are stingless. Both
queens and workers lay eggs, but only those of the queens are fertilized with the
drones' sperm and develop into females. Eggs of the worker bees develop into
males. Queens become queens because they are fed royal jelly, a substance
produced by the salivary glands of the workers; thus, queen bees are made rather
than born. All larvae are fed royal jelly as well, but only for a short period. Only
the future queens are continued on the diet. When fully grown, the larvae
transform into pupae. A queen emerge in 16 days, workers in three weeks, and
drones several days after the workers.

After emerging, the queens fight among themselves until only one remains in the
hive.

She then attacks the old queen, who leaves the nest with a swarm to form a new
colony. 2

QUEEN Queen bees have smaller brains than workers, but their ovaries are
enormous.

Worker bees have undeveloped ovaries, or rather the development of their

ovaries is inhibited by queen substance, a substance secreted in the mandibular
glands of a queen bee. The quantity of this substance greatly increases at the
time of her mating and gets distributed over the whole surface of her body
during grooming. Workers crave queen substance and eagerly seek absorption of
it by physical contact with the newly mated queen. But, if the inhibition ceases,
for example when the queen dies, the workers panic and rush about madly.
Setting up a strange sound known as "queenless roaring", the

disturbance within the hive is heightened and the workers inform each other
about the loss by means of scent dispersion. They immediately set about rearing
a new queen from any larva she may have left in a worker cell. Some of the
workers may start laying eggs themselves, but they will be capable only of
laying unfertilized eggs, hatching only drones. If no new queen is reared, the
colony will probably die.

WORKERS Worker bees carefully look after the inmates of royal cells. Yet little
respect is paid to the queen once she has emerged. Only when she is ready for
her life of egg laying - that is after the mating flight - her royalty is fully
acknowledged by all.

Honeybees collect nectar and convert it into honey. They also collect pollen,
which provides the essential proteins necessary for the rearing of young bees,
and propolis, a resinous material from buds of trees. Propolis, also called bee
glue, is used for sealing cracks in the hive or for covering foreign objects in the
hive that can't be removed. Water is also used to dilute the honey when they
consume it.

TEMPERATURE Honeybees take great care to cool the air when it becomes too
hot.

Tiny droplets of water are brought to the top of the hive, where a group of
worker bees are fanning ceaselessly with their wings to evaporate the water.
"The bees maintain a uniform temperature of about 34o C in the broodnest
regardless of outside temperature.

The colony can survive daily maximum temperatures of 49o C if water is

available with which they can air-condition the cluster. When the temperature
falls below 14o C the bees cease flying, form a tight cluster to conserve heat, and
await the return of warm weather. They can survive for several weeks in
temperatures of -46o C."3 During winter, worker bees combine their individual
heat-producing abilities to regulate the temperature of the brood. They cluster in
the area of the hive where the brood is located and adjust their joint metabolic
heat production and density of clustering so that the brood temperature remains
remarkably constant, at about 34o C, even as outside air temperature drops
below freezing.

TASKS Honeybees have developed elaborate social structures to divide the

many tasks among the worker bees. These tasks are divided in an age-based
fashion; tasks are performed in a specific sequence. The youngest worker bees
clean out brood-cells for about three days for reception of the queen's eggs. Then
they are nurses to the brood for several days. The worker bees feed the larvae a
highly proteinacous substance from glands at the front of their heads. From days
10 to 20, the bees engage in building activities and pollen storage and reception.
Around day 20, the bees stand guard at the hive entrance, and after a few days
they become foragers. They remain foragers until they die. Research has shown
that there is a correspondence between the age-related tasks and the levels of
juvenile hormone [JH]. JH lowers the behavioural threshold to many task-related
stimuli. Young bees raised in the absence of older foragers will begin to forage
precociously. Young bees raised in isolation show increased levels of JH and the
tendency to engage in foraging activity. This suggests that JH plays a role in
controlling the onset of age-related task performance. The presence of older bees
in a hive may inhibit the production of JH in young bees, thus preventing them
from engaging in activities normally performed by older bees. As the older bees
die, younger bees receive less inhibition and thus have increased levels of JH,
promoting behavioural patterns appropriate for older bees. 4

SCHEDULE Bees work according to a tight schedule. Their body clock

accurately times their arrival at flowers, allowing them to visit different plants at
pre-set times of the day.

In turn, the blooms are ready, using their own internal clocks to trigger the
release of nectar or open petals in welcome. By dividing the day up between
them, flowers avoid competing for the bees' attention.

SMELL The world of bees is mainly governed by smell. Unwelcome visitors at

the entrance of the hive are stopped by guard bees, which waft out a fruity
aroma. This aroma drives the hive into a frenzy and the bees pour out in a
drunken fury, destroying the intruders. Experiments demonstrate that bees react
to odours. "Sugar water is placed in small boxes, and, after bees have found
them and are making trips to and from the hive, the box is replaced by one just
like it, also containing sugar water, but sprinkled inside with flower extract.
After the bees have made sufficient trips to get used to the scent, several new
unscented boxes are placed beside a new scented one. When the bees return for
more sugar, they buzz about the openings of the boxes but finally go inside the
scented one. Further, when they are trained to go to one odour - say rose - they
will not go to another, such as lavender. That the sense organs are on the
antennas is shown by removing parts or all of the antennas from bees trained to
certain scented boxes. When the last eight segments are removed from each
antenna, the bees cannot distinguish odours. That this result is not due to the
shock of the operation is proved by a control experiment in which some bees are
first trained to visit blue boxes for sugar water. Then their antennas are removed,
and it is found that they still return to the correct boxes."5

DANCING Bees communicate with each other by means of scent dispersion and
through the medium of dance. Foragers or scouts return to the hive with
information about the sources of food [flowers]. A "round" dance is performed if
the source of food is relatively close to the hive. If the distance is greater, a
"waggle" dance is performed, consisting of a figure of 8 with a straight run
between the loops. The provided information includes the type of the source of
food, particularly its quality [the higher the quality, the more intense the dance is
performed], and their distance and direction from the hive. New food discoveries
are only reported when the colony needs additional food sources, when the new
source's distance from the hive is not too great, and when it concerns good
quality and adequate quantities. "The most far-reaching research, and research
that promises to join mathematics and biology, has been conducted by a
mathematician at the University of Rochester, Barbara Shipman. She has
described all the different forms of the honeybee dance using a single coherent
mathematical or geometric structure [flag manifold]. And interestingly, this
structure is also the one that is used in the geometry of quarks, those tiny
building blocks of protons and neutrons. From this and technical evidence too
complex to present for our purposes, Shipman speculates that the bees are
sensitive to or interacting with quantum fields of quarks. Researchers have
already established that bees are sensitive to the planet's magnetic field, but they
have always attributed it to the presence of a mineral in the bee's abdomen.
Shipman's research indicates that the bees perceive these fields through some
kind of quantum mechanical interaction between the quantum fields and the
atoms in the membranes in certain cells. Shipman says simply,

'The mathematics implies that bees are doing something with quarks.' If
Shipman is correct and bees can 'touch' the quantum world of quarks [without
'breaking' it as we do when we try to detect a quark], scientists say it would
revolutionize biology, and physicists would have to reinterpret quantum
mechanics as well."6

COLOUR PERCEPTION "Bees have three colour receptors to give them full-
colour vision, but they see the world differently. One of their receptors is
sensitive to ultraviolet

[UV] light - a wavelength that we simply cannot see - and, in turn, bees cannot
see red; to them it would appear black. In effect the whole of their vision is
shifted away from the red end of the spectrum towards ultraviolet, giving them a
totally different perception of colour. If we were to perceive the world as bees
do, as well as seeing the eerie glow of ultraviolet light, we would find that
familiar colours such as purple were replaced by the baffling mix of ultraviolet
and yellow known as 'bee's purple'. Overlaying many of these colours would be
patterns that had previously been invisible. Flowers would reveal strange
markings and the sky would display concentric patterns. We humans cannot see
the ultraviolet waves that make these signals visible, but many creatures do peer
into this hidden world. ... Because many insects see ultraviolet, flowers use
secret markings in this colour to attract insect pollinators. Floral decorations,
invisible to human eyes, guide insects such as butterflies and bees to the nectar
and pollen at the centre of the flower."7

Colour vision can be demonstrated in bees. Experiments have been done in

which a table is put near a beehive, with cards of different colours placed on the
table. On each card is set a glass vessel filled with water, and sugar is added to
the water in one vessel, for example on the blue card. In its excursions a bee will
find the sugar water and, while busily feeding, is marked with paint for the
purpose of identification. After the bee has made several trips between the table
and the hive, the sugar water is switched to the yellow card. The bee then returns
to the blue card as before, even is the card is removed to another position on the
table, showing that the bee is reacting to colour and not to position or odour.
Similarly, a bee can be trained to respond to yellow or to ultra-violet.

Bees trained to red or black cannot discriminate between these two colours, or
between them and dark grey. 8

ELECTRICITY Bees are highly sensitive to electrical charges. A bee's whole

body is negatively charged. This fact has been exploited by flowers, whose
positively charged pollen is able to leap on to any visiting bee thanks to the
forces of opposites attracting. If beehives are placed under powerlines, the
inhabitants soon swarm and leave; those that stay produce fewer brood cells and
in the winter more bees die. In fact, bees seem to hate all electromagnetic fields
and will vent their anger on any electrical equipment. But such loathing is far
from universal ..."13 Homoeopathically, this might provide an interesting clue in
the treatment of patients who are oversensitive [allergic] to electromagnetic
fields, if accompanied by the reactions typical of Apis, such as angioneurotic
oedemas, restlessness, irritability, tired feeling in the brain, etc. This
oversensitiveness sometimes even results in the exclusion from family life!

EMOTIONS "In The Queen Must Die, contemporary beekeeper William

Longgood's knowledge of bees comes from his feelings and intuition and what a
long intimacy with these insects has taught him. He tells of bees grieving over
the loss of a queen, making war cries, or humming with contentment. He
described them as angry, fierce, calm, playful, and aggressive and distinguishes
their happy sounds from their distressed ones.

We can relate to what he says. We know about grief and distress calls. We hum
too when we are content and emit all manner of sounds to express how we feel
as we go about our day. ... Those who do spend time with bees report that they
are calming to be around and invoke peacefulness. The bees' contentment is
apparently contagious. ... Before the industrialized age, people all over the world
linked bees to peace, harmony, propriety, renewal, fertility, industry, and
eloquence. Bees' historical association with peace, harmony, and propriety, for
instance, is so strong that people believed that in times of war

bees would sicken and die, and that a hive would not do well if it were stolen. It
was also believed that bees would react to the immorality of their beekeepers
with a stinging fury, and this notion of honeybees as guardians of morals is still
common in France."9

STING Bees can kill each other with their stings, but if they attack human
beings they cannot withdraw the sting from human flesh, and so die. Queen bees
usually only sting other queens, while workers will only sting other workers and
then usually only to defend themselves. For the worker bee the sting seems to
represent her power to defend her home, while the queen uses it to defend her
status.

EFFECTS OF STING "The bee, like the wasp, has two kinds of glands, one
secreting an acid poison into a reservoir-bag; the other [Dufour's gland]
producing an alkaline oily liquid, secreted directly into a pear-shaped receptacle
at the top of the chitinous sting.

Through regulating valves the bee can discharge either the acid or the alkaline
fluid into the sheath of the sting. Only the acid secretion stored in the poison sac
is supposed to be toxic, while the alkaline secretion serves to clean and lubricate
the sting, and perhaps for other purposes within the hive. ... Systemic effects of
bee stings do occur, although they are relatively rare, considering the frequency
of the incidents. The symptoms, whether one explains them as 'allergic' or not,
are there: confusion of thoughts, confused and incoherent speech for a short
while, a heavy, dull head, unconsciousness or fainting, alternating heat and chill,
great anxiety and dyspnoea, prostration with chilliness and a slight rigidity of the
neck, spasmodic contractions of the extensors of the legs, twitchings of many
muscles; palpitations with strained heart beat, while the peripheral pulse was
feeble or imperceptible."10 The typical dermatological expression for honey bee
venom is a raised white weal with central red spot of about 10 mm which
appears a few minutes after the sting, and lasts for about 20 min. There may be
oedema and pruritus; the initial intense pain will last only minutes and symptoms
should resolve in a few days.
PROTECTION "Certain types of clothing can be good protection against a bee
sting; white or light-coloured clothing with a smooth finish is less likely to
excite bees to attack.

Leather is particularly irritating to bees, but they will also become disturbed with
brightly coloured, dark, rough or woolly material. Bees also seem to become
irritated over perspiration odours, perfumes, suntan lotions and hair sprays."11

VENOM It takes ten thousand bees to produce one gram of pure venom. Bee
venom is a highly complex chemical substance which contains haemolysing
agents similar to those found in snake venoms, further histamine, small amounts
of formic acid, and some protein-like substances. When locally applied the latter
produce coagulation of fibrinogen and an increased permeability of the
capillaries of the skin. Due to the lowered surface tension the osmotic pressure is
reduced, thus making diffusion easier, so that fluid can enter a given space more
readily. Any application of cold reduces oedema by impeding the diffusion of
fluid and decreasing the permeability of the capillaries. According to the chief
neurologist of the MS Center at Georgetown University Hospital, USA, apamin
might help MS patients to improve the conductivity of nerve sheaths. "The
active components of honey bee venom include enzymes, other smaller proteins
and peptides, and amines. The principal small proteins and peptides are melittin,
apamin, and peptide 401. Melittin constitutes about 50% of the venom dry
weight; it hydrolyzes cell membranes causing changes in permeability and is
most responsible for the pain associated with the sting. Peptide 401 is also
known as 'mast cell degranulating peptide'

and causes mast cells to release histamine as they degranulate, setting up an

inflammatory

reaction. Enzymes include phospholipase A2 [11% of dry weight], which is non-

toxic when pure but in concert with melittin is a major haemolytic factor.
Phospholipase A2 is a major venom allergen and is responsible for inducing IgE-
mediated anaphylaxis.

Hyaluronidase, which is also common in the venom of other animals [e.g.,

wasps, spiders, snakes], causes changes in cell membranes and is considered the
major

'spreading factor'. It is also the second most common allergen in honeybee

venom. Honey bee venom also includes some physiologically active amines
[histamine, dopamine, norepinephrine]. 12

FATALITIES Most fatalities from bee [and wasp] stings occur in hypersensitive
individuals; death is most often induced by a single sting, and occurs most often
within 1

hour after the sting. The victim is typically over 40 years of age and stung on the
head or neck. Most deaths are caused by respiratory dysfunction with the second
most common cause being anaphylaxis; arteriosclerosis may be a compounding
factor. Large numbers of bee stings can also cause death in non-hypersensitive
individuals. The LD50 of bee venom for a human has been estimated to be 500-
1500 stings. Mejia et al cites five people receiving >1000 stings, who manifested
acute renal problems, yet four of the five survived. 13

ALLERGY "The Insect Allergy Committee of the American Academy of

Allergy studied over 3,000 completed questionnaires from persons experiencing
allergic reactions to the stings of bees and wasps, of which 2,606 were recorded
and analyzed [IAC, 1965].

Of these, 13.3% reported only 'local' reactions; 16.1% reported 'slight general'
reactions, in which there might be such symptoms as a few hives or itching
beyond that which local swelling and pain might be expected to produce; 43.6%
reported 'moderate general'

reactions; 24.2% reported life-threatening 'severe general' reactions; and 2.8%

reported

'delayed' reactions, in which the time of onset of reactions was an hour or more
after the sting. Symptoms indicating 'severe general' reactions were dyspnoea,
swelling in the throat, shock, and unconsciousness, the latter affecting 62.2% of
the persons in the

'severe general' reaction group. A sharp rise in the proportion of serious reactions
in both sexes after age 30 suggested increasing sensitivity as the total number of
stings received would mount over the years. A particularly disquieting finding
was that responses to stings might be completely normal before the occurrence
of a particular sting that produced a life-threatening allergic response."14

SPEECH As the "birds of the Muses" bees were bestowers of eloquence [by
association with 'honeyed' words] and song. Greek poets and orators such as
Homer, Pindar, Sappho and Sophocles were believed to have their lips touched
with honey in infancy. "The Greeks, charmed by the magic of the spoken word
and the sound of the human voice, compared their greatest orators and singers to
the bees who by the work of their mouths produce delicious and strengthening
honey; and also another honey, spoken of by Xenophon, Horace, and Pliny,
which after a moment begins to trouble the hearer's thought and to keep it in
confusion. Pertaining to the first of these two kinds of honey, that is, to wise and
virtuous eloquence, are the fables telling how the bees of Thrace died all at once
at the moment when the heart of the inspired singer Orpheus ceased to beat; also
how the bees of Hymettus put drops of honey on the lips of the child Plato as he
slept, and fed with their finest nectar the baby who was the future poet Pindar.
This legend was later transposed in The Golden Legend to apply to one of the
most eloquent of the Christian pontiffs, St. Ambrose, the illustrious bishop of
Milan: as a sleeping baby,

it was said, the bees came to him and one by one entered his mouth and from
there shot skyward like arrows. Seeing this, his father cried, 'Blessed be the
Lord! My son shall be holy before him and great in the company of men.'
Among the Hebrews, the bee was related to the idea of language because of its
name, dbure, and the Hebraic root dbr, which means word or speech. In the
Orient, the Hindus dedicated the bee to the cult of the divine Word, Bhagavat,
represented as within a white tent, robed in yellow and girdled with a rope of
sweet-smelling flowers which the bees are busily plundering."15

MYTHOLOGY Since prehistoric times bees and honey have assumed a sacred
role in the mythology of cultures worldwide. Beelike creatures were found on
cave paintings dating fifty thousand years ago. Chinese legends speak of a giant
race of bees living in the K'unolun Mountains. Ancient cultures believed bees to
be endowed with divine gifts and mysterious powers. Wherever the Earth
Mother or Great Mother was worshiped - the goddess of fertility, wildlife, and
agriculture - bees also had a sacred status. Analogous to the Earth Mother's
annual renewal of fertility, bees disappeared in the winter and reappeared in the
spring. Mohammed taught that the bee is the only creature ever spoken to
directly by God. In Islamic tradition bees represented intelligence, wisdom,
harmlessness, and faithfulness. Bees were thought to "practise useful things,
work in the daytime, and obey their ruler." They were attributed numerous
virtues: they don't eat food gathered by others, dislike dirt and bad smells, "they
dislike the darkness of indiscretion, the clouds of doubt, the storm of revolt, the
smoke of the prohibited, the water of superfluity, the fire of lust." [Ibn al-Athir].
In this traditional mode, honeybees and their hive symbolize the social virtues
that make nations great: respect for authority, submission to law, honest hard
work, economy, and justice. The ancient Greeks called Zeus the Bee Man
because as an infant he was hidden in a cave and guarded by bees that nourished
him with honey. To the Greeks, bees symbolized fresh incarnations; "Bee" or

"Melissa" was the name given to a soul about to be born. Souls were believed to
come down from the Moon goddess Artemis in the form of bees. Only those
souls who had lived a righteous life were called Melissae, returning afterwards
to heaven, as the bee returned to her hive. 16

CHRISTIANITY Peter of Padua called Christ "Apis Aetherea", for, "as the bee
flies up into the air, she is a symbol of the soul who enters the kingdom of
heaven." Following the Egyptian myth that bees were born from the tears of the
sun god Ra, Christian legend has it that bees were created from the tears Christ
shed on the cross. The sweetness of honey and the sting of collecting it became a
metaphor for the nature of Jesus himself and the agony of his passion. To obtain
higher knowledge one has to suffer. Regarded as never sleeping, the bee
represented Christian vigilance and zeal. In addition, the beehive became a
Christian metaphor for the ordered, chaste and charitable life of monastic
communities. The misconception that bees reproduce as chastely as the flowers
they pollinate made them emblems of the Virgin Mary. The biblical land of
Canaan flowing with milk and honey was an image of spiritual as well as
physical plenty. 17 The concept of the hive as a community life that is wisely
ruled, peaceful, and fruitful, and under the governance of one single head, made
some big monasteries in medieval France take a name derived from the life of
the bees [French abeilles], such as the Cistercian abbey of Melleray.

CHASTITY The virtue exemplified most particularly by the bee is that of

chastity.

Virgil has sung of the pure life of the bees "who do not abandon themselves to
love nor

weaken themselves with pleasures, and know not either the union of the sexes
nor the labour of giving birth." Plutarch goes further and assures us that bees
become angry if a man approaches them directly from a woman's bed, and will
aim their stings at libertines.
18

RESURRECTION "Being one of the few preservatives the ancients knew, along
with salt, honey was widely regarded as a substance of resurrection-magic. In
Asia Minor from 3500 to 1750 BC the dead were embalmed in honey and placed
in foetal position in burial vases or pithoi, ready for rebirth. 'To fall into a jar of
honey' became a common metaphor for 'to die.' The pithos represented the womb
of the Goddess under her name of Pandora. 'All-giver', and honey became her
sacred essence. Myths present many symbolic assurances that the Goddess
would restore life to the dead through her magic 'bee-balm.'

Worshippers of Demeter called her 'the pure mother bee', and at her
Thesmophoria festivals displayed honey-cakes shaped like female genitals. The
symbol of Aphrodite at Eryx was a golden honeycomb. ... Bees are still called
hymenoptera, 'veil-winged', after the hymen or veil that covered the inner
sanctum of the Goddess's temples, the veil having its physical counterpart in
women's bodies. Defloration was a ritual penetration of the veil under the
'hymeneal' rules of the Goddess, herself entitled Hymen in the character of
patroness of the wedding night and 'honey-moon.' The honeymoon spanned a
lunar month, usually in May, the month of pairings, named after the Goddess as
the Virgin Maya. In an archaic period, sacred kings seem to have been destroyed
after a 28-day honeymoon with the Goddess, spanning a lunar cycle, as the
queen destroys her drone-bridegroom - by tearing out his genitals. As applied to
ordinary weddings rather than sacrificial dramas, the honeymoon of a lunar
month would include a menstrual period, the real source of what was
euphemistically called moon-honey. A bridegroom contracted the source of life
by copulating with his bride during menstruation, according to the oldest
Oriental belief. ... A combination of honey and menstrual blood was once
considered the universal elixir of life, the 'nectar' manufactured by Aphrodite
and her sacred bees, which kept the very gods alive. Similarly, the great secret of
Norse mythology was that the gods' nectar of wisdom, inspiration, literacy,
magic, and eternal life was a combination of honey and 'wise blood' from the
great Cauldron in the belly of Mother Earth - though a late patriarchal revision
claimed this hydromel or 'honey-liquid'

was a mixture of honey with the blood of a male sacrificial victim known as
Wisest of Men."19

FOLKLORE Two girl's names are connected to bees: Melissa, meaning

honeybee, and Deborah, queen bee. Having a bee in one's bonnet refers to
having fixed ideas or being crazy. "Telling the bees" of a death, or important
event, is to send a message to the next world or to the spirits. It was thought that
if the bees weren't told, they would take offence and leave. According to another
popular belief, virgins were supposed to be able to pass through a swarm of bees
without getting stung. According to German and Scottish folklore, the soul may
come out of the body of a sleeping person in the form of a bee.

PARALLELS "It is known that cold weakens the virulence of bee venom,
whereas heat intensifies its effect. It is also known that bee stings are more
dangerous on hot days and in the tropics than in cool weather and colder
climates ... The very characteristic thirstlessness in the symptom picture of Apis,
even during fever, can be traced to what appears as the key condition of Apis -
oedema - as the patient is so to speak internally drowned in his own fluids and
his reflex stimulus of thirst inhibited, to protect the

organism against the additional intake of fluid ... The common field of action of
Apis is represented by the cavities of the body, the brain ventricles, the pleural
cavity, the pericardial sac, the abdominal cavity, the synovial cavities of the
joints, the cavity surrounding the testicles, the amnion sac in the case of
threatened abortion, cysts, which are pathological cavities filled with serum, like
the ovarian and other cysts, and finally the whole system of intercellular spaces,
countless microscopic cavities, spread throughout the entire body, and filled with
fluid when oedema occurs, as in nephritis. ...

This enormous network of cavities, called the interstitial or intercellular spaces,

is spread throughout the body like a huge assembly of combs. A slide of
oedematous tissue, viewed through the microscope, reveals a network of cellules
filled with liquid, like the honeycomb cells of the bee. ... The bee is a restless
being, it flits from place to place, never staying too long with one flower. It
becomes displeased and angry when disturbed in its work. At other times, when
not working, it is seemingly apathetic, and when hibernating, lapses into a kind
of comatose state ... The dreams of the provers are full of flying activities, of
travelling from place to place, of taking great leaps, of trying out a flying
apparatus, and besides, dreams of business, of care and toil."20

PROVINGS •• [1] Hering - self-experimentation; method: ingestion of 'poison of

one bee.'
•• [2] Humphries - self-experimentations, 1852; method: 1 drop of a tincture
'made by irritating bees in a bottle and then pouring alcohol on them'; 2 drops of
1st dil.; 2 drops of 2nd dil.; 6 drops of 6th dil.

•• [3] Welmuth, Bigelow, Bishop, Hays, and Kel ogg - self-experimentations;

method: tincture, manner not stated.

[1-3] Encyclopaedia Britannica. [4] Llano, Division of Labor in the Honeybee;

Model Systems in Neuroethology. [5] Buchsbaum, Animals without Backbones.
[6] Lauck, The Voice of the Infinite in the Small.

[7] Downer, Supernatural : The Unseen Powers of Animals. [8] Buchsbaum,

ibid. [9]

Lauck, ibid.

[10] Leeser, Actions and Medicinal Use of Insects, BHJ, April 1959. [11]
Turkington, Guide to Poisons and Antidotes. [12-13] Vetter and Visscher, Bites
and Stings of medically important venomous arthropods; website. [14] Ebeling,
Urban Entomology, chapter 9, Pests Attacking Man and His Pets; website. [15]
Charbonneau-Lassay, The Bestiary of Christ. [16-17] Dale-Green, Apis Mellifica
: A Study in the Symbolism of the Honeybee, BHJ, July 1959. [18]
Charbonneau-Lassay, ibid. [19] Walker, The Women's Encyclopedia of Myths
and Secrets. [20] Gutman, Apis Mellifica - A Remedy Study, BHJ, April 1960.

Affinity

CELLULAR TISSUE [EYES; FACE; FAUCES; OVARIES]. SEROUS

CAVITIES.

SKIN. KIDNEYS. BLADDER. Nerves. Respiration. Heart. Blood. * RIGHT

SIDE. Left side. Right to left.

Modalities

Worse: HEAT [ROOM; weather; drinks; fire; bed]. TOUCH. After sleep. Late
afternoon

[3-4 p.m.]. PRESSURE. Suppressed eruptions. Closed room. Lying down.

Better: COLD [AIR; bathing; uncovering; applications]. Slight expectoration.
Motion.

Changing position. Sitting erect.

Main symptoms

M Possible scenario of the Apis situation.

Brought up in a family where one of the parents [most likely the mother] was
paramount, the Apis patient encountered from an early age a life full of rules,
duties and tasks. With one of the parents absent [most probably the father],
whether physically or psychologically, there was no escape from the penetrating,
dictatorial and restraining influence of the mother, who ruled the family like a
godmother. This situation inhibited the Apis patient, usually female, in her
natural development towards freely engaging in activities normally performed
by people of her own age. Apis patients seem to end up easily in similar
behavourial patterns as their mother [or father], thus sacrificing their need for
personal development. Housewives, for example, would have liked to continue
with their studies [the absorption of fertilizing, stimulating elements from
outside the hive], but instead, felt forced to submit themselves to the traditional
role patterns of family orientation. Instead of "swarming" - to leave behind their
background or conditioning, and, as an act of faith, to take a leap in the dark -
they remain in the hive.

Dreaming of freedom [flying away], her life is a life of service to the hive, and
its consequential strict bee-hive-iour. The jealousy of the Apis patient is directed
towards women who were able to break this pattern of submission. In fact, Apis
patients may well be compared with honeybees that didn't take time to savour
the honey of their endeavours. They never grew their own blossoms. Activities
would be more productive and sweeter if they would take the time to enjoy
them.

The opposite polarity can be recognised in Apis children or youngsters who

break free from parental control by precociously engaging in activities opposed
to the strict family traditions [disposition to contradict].

M Irritable, nervous, FIDGETY persons hard to please.

Busy, fruitlessly busy, insane loquacity, undertakes many things, perseveres in

nothing.

Desires company but not affection.

When disturbed becomes full of obdurate rage. [Gibson]

Especially during menses.

M Focus on external events and domestic issues.

• "The main preoccupation of Apis patients seems to be on outward events - the

domestic situation, work, and practical matters. With this focus on external
events, we see an inability to focus on deep inner issues. If the patient is focused
at all on inner growth, it will be in rather simple ways, such as positive
visualization. These people are intensely loyal to their network of family and
friends. It is very important to keep strong relationships intact. Anything that
threatens the security and harmony of the home is viewed with hostility. The
jealousy of Apis is similar. Flirtation is seen as a threat to the home, almost as
much as a personal threat. ... They have a forceful nature, so they are usually
able to accomplish a lot. Many of these patients are described by relatives as

'workaholics.' ... Very strong focus on business and work. They want to achieve;
they are very ambitious. But it is not an egotistical type of ambition. Generally,
these are not egotistical people. Rather, they are industrious for its own sake.
They just like to be doing things. "1

M Neglect.

• "I have wondered since reading about bees, whether it could be useful for
women who feel neglected by their husbands. They are like the worker bees;
their life is joyless, their lives full of care and toil in a possibly sexless existence.
When women revolt against this

they may well feel towards their husbands as the workers feel towards the drones
who eventually, when they get older, are denied food and are evicted from the
colony. Some of the mental symptoms extracted from the provings of Apis speak
for themselves in this regard, for example:

• Lets everything fal out of her hand, or breaks things and laughs over it.
• Cannot bring her thoughts to bear upon anything definite or any subject
continuously.

• Great tearfulness, cannot help crying.

• Cannot bear to be left alone.

• Languid and listless.

• When asked if sick says nothing is the matter.

• Irritable, contradictory humour, nothing pleases her.

• All her ideas turn round jealousy.

• Loquacity.

• Agitated, impatient, apprehensive.

• Ailments from fright, rage, vocation, jealousy, or hearing bad news.

Here we see even more clearly the relationship between Apis and Natrum mur.;
and probably Sep. also." [Thompson]

M A state of cheerful levity.

• "Thus it seems that the primary action of this remedy, the peculiarity of its
effect in the proving, is to produce a state of cheerful levity, from a mild mirthful
restlessness up to a fruitless, frenzied, uncontrolled activity. The greater the
intensity of the Apis state, then the more exaggerated will be this state. The
stupor, the debility, and even loss of consciousness as Hering describes, are all to
be expected after such intense frenzied delirium - these are an expected
[secondary] response of a normal organism to such a primary reaction. Now, if
the Apis disease is less intense, then the reaction will be more of simple mirth
and frivolity, rather than of the extreme busy, delirious frenzy. ... The patient
suffering Apis disease, may 'tell' us they are well not only verbally, but even
physically, through their gestures, motions, behaviour, etc."2

M JEALOUS persons, women, esp. widows.

• "Among the bees the Queen is paramount, the drones and workers serve her.
Apis is a jealous widow, deprived though not depraved, amorous, vain and hard
to please. She is bossy and wants to run the world, a breaker of rules;
absentminded, apathetic, awkward, drops things and breaks things [whereas Nat-
m. stumbles]. There is a sting in her gossip; direct malice, not devious. She is
impatient, dictatorial, whiny, fidgety, averse to constriction, upset by trifles,
irked by small talk, procrastinating, worse after sleep and violently aggravated
by anything hot." [Wright Hubbard]

The jealousy may be directed against any female who questions their efficiency
and organisation skills, in household or at work; e.g. mother-in-law, sister-in-law,
daughter having her own family, new colleague at work, etc.

M CAUSELESS WEEPING.

M Clumsiness, physical and mental.

Drops things; laughing at misfortune; laughing over serious matters; silly

laughing.

• "Children, girls and women who, though general y careful, become

AWKWARD and let things fall while handling them." [Farrington]

More healthy state:

Mentally sharp and observing. Quick-tempered; unexpected and intense

outbursts.

Want quick, practical solutions for problems.

Forceful and direct. Not concerned about being polite.

But: emotional instability and unpredictability.

[Compare: Fear that something will burst, which physically is expressed by fear
of having a stroke, and fear something will burst in abdomen when coughing or
straining.]

M Children.
• "The Apis child is always restless, always wants to keep himself busy. These
children have a kind of fickle inconsistency and slow march of ideas. Remember
Apis when this kind of dulness is present along with restlessness and [busy]
activity - the child constantly changes his occupation. ... I have found Apis
indicated very often in high society pampered children."3

• "They are individualists, and find it difficult to integrate into community life."

[Grandgeorge]

G Warm-blooded persons; WORSE in WARM and STUFFY ROOM.

At night pushes off the bedcovers in search of coolness.

May be chilly [mainly felt in the extremities], but even then there is a desire for
cool air.

G RIGHT-sided affections [paralysis, erysipelas, ovaritis, ovarian cyst].

G Perspiration [chiefly or only of the head].

Sweat may have a musk-like odour.

G THIRSTLESSNESS in nearly all complaints.

Or: Drinks often, but little at a time.

G < Lying down.

> Motion.

G BURNING, DARTING, STINGING PAINS.

> COLD, WASHING or MOISTENING the part with cold water.

Burning and stinging pain in swollen parts, as if the parts were pricked with pins
and needles, < touch.

Skin very sensitive to touch. Swelling rosy, waxy.

SHARP and SUDDEN PAROXYSMS of PAIN.

And Nervous restlessness or great prostration.

G Suddenly migrating pains, from one part to another.

G Extreme sensitiveness to touch.

G OEDEMATOUS SWELLING, SEROUS EFFUSIONS and URTICARIA,

sudden appearance.

DROPSY internally and externally.

Angioneurotic oedema.

Oedema glottidis.

G Vertigo.

< Lying down and closing eyes.

> Walking about.

P Brain feels tired or numb.

P BAG-LIKE, PUFFY SWELLING under the eyes.

P Thyroid dysfunction and ovarian troubles [mostly on the right side]. [Gibson]

And Irregular menses.

P Urticaria in asthmatic troubles; from change of weather; during fever; during

perspiration.

Urticaria after violent exercise.

Urticaria from shellfish.

[1] Morrison, A series of Apis cases: Revealing new essence information, IFH
1991. [2]

Dimitriadis, Developing an image of Apis mellifica, HL 2/93. [3] Shah, The Bee
or not the Bee, HL 2/96.
Rubrics

Mind

Plays antics [1]. Desire to break things [2]. Busy [2]. Childish behaviour [2],
after delivery [1/1]. Confusion of mind > eating [1]. Thoughts of death without
fear [1].

Delirium, declares she is well [2], indistinct loquacity [1]. Delusion, he himself
was dead

[1], she is pregnant [1], he cannot walk, must run or hop [1]. Fear of birds [1], of
organic heart disease [2], of pins [2]. Frivolous [1]. Insanity, busy [3]; erotic [3].
Irritability when questioned [1]. Jealousy [2]. Mirth, simulating hilarity when
feeling wretched [1/1].

Shrieking, feels as if she must shriek [1]. Stupefaction during heat [2]. Weeping,
cannot weep though sad [1].

Vertigo

From sneezing [1; Seneg.]. Spells of vertigo in spring [1/1].

Head

Pain, > bending head backward [1], > exertion [1], on moving the face [1], from
becoming heated by a fire or stove [2].

Eye

Lachrymation at night [2], on looking steadily [2; Seneg.]. Looking steadily, <
white objects [1/1]. Winking when looking at bright objects [1].

Vision

Dim, better at night than by day [1/1].

Teeth

Sudden involuntary biting together of teeth [1/1].

Throat

Choking < clothing [2], on lying down [1; Kali-bi.; Ol-j.].

Rectum

Diarrhoea after acids [1], during climaxis [1; Lach.]. Electric-like shock in
rectum before stool [1/1].

Urine

Scanty, with amenorrhoea [1], with brain affection [2], during fever [2], before
menses

[2].

Female

Pain, ovaries, after coition [2], from continence [2], before menses [2].

Chest

Palpitation with scanty urine [1/1].

Limbs

Numbness, upper limbs, holding anything in hands [2], > motion [2]. Sensation
of swelling, soles of feet [1*], when walking [1*].

Dreams

Being a crazy man [1/1]. Physical exertion [1]. Flying [2]. Being a girl [1/1].

Generals

Lassitude in spring [1]. Suppression of sexual desire < [3]. Seeing or hearing of
running

water < [1].

* Repertory additions [Hughes].

Food

Aversion: [2]: Warm drinks; water.

Desire: [2]: Cold drinks; cold food; cold milk; sour. [1]: Green vegetables; meat
fat; oysters; vinegar.

Worse: [1]: Cold drinks; hot food; pickles; pungent; shellfish.

Better: [2]: Milk. [1]: Cold drinks [during heat]; wine.

Aranea diadema

Aran.

I do not believe in a fate that falls on men however they act; but I do believe in a
fate that falls on them unless they act.

[G.K. Chesterton]

Signs

Araneus diadematus. Cross spider. Garden spider.

CLASSIFICATION The cross spider belongs to the family Araneidae or Orb

Weavers.

At present the name Araneidae is preferred, whereas in the older literature the
family was called Argiopidae. It is a large family with more than 2500 species
worldwide. [In general, there are 35,300 described species of spiders!] In Europe
17 genera with 50

species are known.

EVOLUTION "Of the millions of animal lifeforms that have made an

appearance on Earth, nearly 99 per cent of these have faltered and vanished:
amongst the successful stayers are the spiders. Around 360 million years ago,
they crawled out of the ocean and they have been diversifying in form and habit
ever since. Their ability to fill a plethora of niches and to keep apace of the
development of insects, their major food source, has assured them a place in the
animal kingdom today. Their story is the universal story of survival and the
universal mechanism of adaptation. ... Their ability to adapt to changing
environments throughout the ages has resulted in their penetration into many
different types of habitat. They are found in the scorching heat of deserts, the
steamiest of tropical jungles, amongst the ocean rocks and coral reefs, as well as
on the snow-capped summits.

The majority of spiders are exclusively terrestrial."1

ADAPTABILITY Because spiders are able to postpone their emergence until

conditions are favourable, they are often one of the first forms of life to reappear
in areas after devastation. Spiders usually avoid competition by occupying
different niches in a single habitat.

DISTRIBUTION Despite their great adaptability, their distribution over the

Earth's surface is not even. As to the number of individual spiders and the
number of different species, spiders are far more abundant in tropical regions.
Also, their diversity and abundance diminishes with increasing altitude. In
general, spiders require high humidity, shelter, and insects.

FEATURES Spiders differ fundamentally from insects. Insects have three body
sections, spiders have two: the cephalothorax, comprising the fused head and
thorax [in most species clearly arranged in two regions], and the abdomen.
Insects have three pairs of legs, spiders have four pairs, all joined to the
cephalothorax. Insects have mandibles or true jaws, spiders have none and feed
only on liquids. Insects have both compound and simple eyes, antennae and,
usually, wings; spiders lack compound eyes, antennae and

wings. The legs of most spiders are dorsally covered with fine sensory hairs,
which are extremely sensitive to vibrations, including air currents. The legs are
extended by means of a hydraulic system of fluid. "The blood of spiders has
some unusual features. It has been found to be poisonous when injected into the
blood system of mice, using controlled experiments. It is also transparent, since
it contains pale blood cells. And unlike vertebrates, the blood is not circulated
within closed tubes, so a spider can quickly bleed to death if the cuticle of its
abdomen is punctured."2

SOLITARY Of the 35,000 or so described species of spiders, only about 40

species in 16
families are known to exhibit some kind of social behaviour or group living. Yet
none of these 40 species is truly social in the manner exhibited by ants, termites,
wasps or bees.

They never exhibit a reproductive division of labour, nor the evolution of

different castes suited for special tasks within the nest. Spider species living
together on a permanent basis are extremely rare. Most of the approximately 40
species are only periodically social. Some species form web colonies, although
each member retains its individual snare, while in other species the temporary
social bond is linked with brood care. Web spiders are solitary. "The
evolutionary origins of sociality in spiders must probably be sought among the
solitary web spiders, since their threads certainly play a central role in
communication between individual spiders. It even seems that their webs needed
to be irregular, because only several individuals can use those simultaneously.
Among the freely roaming wandering spiders we find very few social species,
probably because the

'connecting wires' are lacking."3

COURTING Courting is not without peril. The male must convince the female
of his good intentions by sending the correct set of vibrations through her web; if
not, he can well end up as her meal. "The male uses the female's sensitivity to
web vibration to his advantage. He remains on the perimeter of her snare, well
away from the sticky threads, and plucks at the spokes in a lively manner to
entice her from the centre of the wheel.

Should she accept his advances, the two meet and both display great excitement,
waving their limbs and touching one another."4

MATING By olfactory organs on their palps, males pick up scents [pheromones]

exuded by females during the mating season. Unlike insects, male spiders have
no penises.

"Their reproductive organs, located ventrally on the abdomen, consist of testes

connected by a tube to a small opening. The male spins a small 'mat' of silk onto
which he discharges his sperm. The sperm on the silk mat is then siphoned up
into the bulbous tarsi reservoirs of his palps. These tarsal appendages have tubes
within the palpal bulbs, known as emboli and during a successful mating they
will be inserted and discharged one at a time into the female's egg or genital tube
[depending on her physiology] for fertilisation of her eggs. ... The sperm is then
stored [for as long as 10 months on occasions]. With this more evolved structure,
the female can control the fertilisation of eggs. In her own time she lays her
eggs, like a string of pearls, and as they pass down the egg tube, they are
fertilised by stored sperm from the sperm pocket."5 Cross breeding in spiders is
impossible because the shapes of male and female genital structures are species
specific.

METAMORPHOSIS Cross spiders appear in abundance from late summer to

early autumn due to the mating period. "The males die shortly thereafter. Some
weeks later the females produce eggs spun into sacs. During the winter the eggs
hatch and blind, much incomplete prelarvae are born inside the egg sac. After
moulting for the first time they

become larvae and dwell inside the sac until their next moulting. The larvae are
similar to adult specimens but without poison. After a third moulting period the
larvae become nymphs [spiderlings] that prey upon their weaker siblings.
Following spring the nymphs hatch from the sac and leave it as soon as they are
able to feed themselves. Spiders this size need at least two, sometimes three,
overwinterings to mature. This is depending on the climate. Cold winters make
them grow slower. Females can live for five to six years when kept indoors."6
Araneus females leave their egg sac unattended. The newly hatched spiderlings
are afforded no protection by their mother. Packed up in a ball-like structure,
they remain together for several days and then disperse.

MOULTING Due to their external skeleton of chitin, spiders have to moult to be

able to grow. A few days before the actual moulting process starts the cross
spider hangs from a silk thread, during which period it is totally uninterested in
eating. When the time for the moulting has come the carapace opens at the sides.
The opening continues backwards until only the legs, palps and the sternum are
attached to the old skin. After releasing the sternum the most difficult part
remains, and that is freeing the legs and the palps. If a leg is caught the spider
can tear it off by the joints, but if that is not possible the spider will be caught in
its old skin and die. A torn off leg can be replaced during the following moult,
this leg, however, is never as moveable as the original leg. The spider can also
lose much of its vital fluids if a leg is torn off at the wrong place. Directly after
extracting legs and palps the spider hangs still for some time, usually for an hour
or two, while stretching and bending its legs while the new exoskeleton
hardens."7
SILK Spiders produce up to seven types of silk. A commonly produced silk is
called dragline and is used as a safety line. Dragline silk is known for its
exceptional properties of tensile strength and toughness. The way spiders
process their silk has a striking resemblance to the way some man-made fibres
are spun. The silk starts as a liquid, secreted by a gland. It is then squeezed
through a tapering, tubular duct and exits via a spigot. In the cells lining the
narrow end of the tubule water is extracted, thereby converting the liquid into a
solid thread.

WEB All cross spiders make round webs that are big in relation to the spider. In
the centre the web is denser. Due to its size - males measure 8-10 mm, females
10-15 mm -

Araneus is one of the most spotted spiders. It has a black to pale beige colour,
with the typical cross marking on its back. It weaves a circular web with a sticky
fluid on the threads in woods, heaths and gardens - often near water. The web,
which often has a diameter of 30 or more centimetres, is [re]constructed nearly
every day just before sunrise. If it is damaged by weather conditions [wind and
rain] or by a large prey, the spider to conserve protein eats it. The cross spider
sits in the middle of the web and waits for prey. The slightest tremor of the web
induces the spider to drop on to the victim caught in the web, paralyzing it with a
poisonous bite while wrapping it in silk. Bright warning colours of bees and
wasps don't deter the spider because of its poor eyesight.

WEB STRUCTURE In weaving its web, Araneus diadematus first lays down a
set of radiating spokes and some framework threads. Working from the inside
out, it then lays down a temporary or 'auxiliary' spiral linking the spokes. A
permanent sticky 'capture'

spiral laid from the outside in supersedes this. A few final tweaks at the hub, and
the spider has finished its job. Research has shown that light has no effect on the
web structure of the cross spider, whereas in response to wind a significant
reduction in the surface area of the web was demonstrated. The latter probably is
to avoid web damage. 8

FOOD Catching prey in sticky snares is not merely a matter of luck and awaiting
one's opportunity. There are web weavers who "incorporate sheets of ultraviolet
silk in their webs that, to the fly, look like glistening escape routes. The flies are
trapped as they make their getaway. Some spiders have refined this basic design
by constructing an inconspicuous web beneath the ultraviolet lure to catch any
escapees. There are even spiders that entice insects directly with an abdomen
glowing with reflected ultraviolet light. Some spiders attempt a different
approach, weaving into their webs ultraviolet designs that mimic the honey
guides of flowers."9 Catching many harmful insects, spiders play a very
important role in our ecosystem. "In a study, the Panamese wheel spider was
observed for a year. It consumed an average of 1.63 insects [= 0.089 g] a day.

A study in Great Britain estimated an average of 130.8 spiders living in a

meadow per square meter. If we extrapolate this to Holland with 15 million
habitants on 36150 square kilometres [4.4 human beings per hectare], we can
make the next calculation: spiders living on one hectare consume 116.4 kg of
animal material every day. At that rate, the spiders will finish off all humans
living in Holland in three days!"10 Spiderlings of A.

diadematus sometimes eat their webs. The reason is that the web is covered in
pollen grains, which serve as a source of food for the young spiders in the
absence of insect prey. This provides a temporary solution, for the spiderlings
are only able to moult when they have consumed animal prey.

DIGESTION The pre-digested, liquefied tissues of the prey are sucked up by

means of a muscular sucking stomach, aided by the squeezing action of the
pedipalps and the sucking action of the pharynx. Beyond the sucking stomach
the digestive tract gives off several pairs of pouches, which increase the
digestive and absorptive surface, in a large digestive gland, which branches
extensively and occupies most of the spider's abdomen.

This gland is the main organ of digestion and is capable of taking up very large
quantities of food at one time, storing it, and then gradually absorbing it. This
enables spiders to go for long periods without taking food, though they must
have water quite often. 11

COLDNESS Spiders have developed several adaptations to survive such adverse

conditions as cold, dampness, flooding, and lack of food. About 85% of the
spider fauna overwinter in the soil, mainly in leaf litter. During this time most
spiders assume a rigid posture, with the legs drawn close to the body so that the
exposed body surface is kept to a minimum. Most Araneus species can withstand
temperatures of -20 degrees Celsius, even in unprotected locations. "It is not
quite clear how these spiders achieve their remarkable resistance to cold. It is
known that the spider's haemolymph contains glycerol, which acts as an
antifreezing agent, and that the glycerol content is markedly higher in winter
than in summer. Nevertheless, it seems unlikely that the glycerol alone can
account for such resistance to cold, since it has been found that this chemical
lowers the freezing point of the spider's haemolymph by only 1 degree C. The
freezing point [or melting point, to be more precise], however, is not equivalent
to the much lower undercooling point [i.e., just before ice crystals are formed]
that is measured in live spiders. This is apparently due to certain proteins of the
haemolymph, which can lower the freezing point by 20 degrees C."12

POPULARITY When in 1965, 80,000 American school children were surveyed

as to which animals they disliked most, spiders finished second to snakes. In
British surveys in 1950 and 1988, spiders were also the second most unpopular
animal - below the snake in the first survey and the rat in the second. This most
probably is a conditioned response

since humans usually express a duality in their reactions to spiders. Spiders are
feared as well as respected. In medieval Europe, for example, the cross spider
was considered sacred on account of the cross marking on its back.

SYMBOLISM The spider is associated with the moon. Lunar goddesses are seen
as

'weaving' the cosmic veil, enmeshing the human destiny in its threads. Since it
holds sway over the whole phenomenal world [for all phenomena are subject to
growth and death], the moon weaves the thread of each man's destiny.
Accordingly, the moon is depicted as a gigantic spider in many myths. The
spider's life of weaving and killing, creating and destroying, is an allegory of the
ceaseless alternation of forces on which the stability of the cosmos depends. This
continuous sacrifice symbolizes the means of man's continual transmutation
throughout the course of his life. Even death itself merely winds up the thread of
an old life in order to spin a new one. The spider sitting in its web is a symbol of
the centre of the world, and is hence regarded in India as Maya, the eternal
weaver of the web of illusion. 13 For the Greek the spider was an attribute of
Athena as a weaver of the world and of Persephone, Harmonia and of the Fates,
the Moirai, as spinners of destiny. Clotho, the first Fate, presided over birth and
drew from her distaff the thread of life; Lachesis, the second Fate, spun life's
thread and determined its length; Atropos, the eldest of the three Fates, severed
the thread of life. The two section spider body, in conjunction with its eight legs,
gives it a figure eight kind of appearance, representing the wheel of life, the
eternally spiralling movement of life. Interestingly, most spiders possess eight
eyes!

CHRISTIANITY In Christianity, the spider represents the Devil ensnaring

sinners. Satan is the treacherous pursuer of souls, which are represented by the
small flying creatures that stray into his toils, hopelessly lost the moment they
are caught. The spider may carry a cross on its back, but this cross is considered
to be 'upside down' and consequently 'the devil's cross'. "In ancient iconography,
the spider most often represents the demon of lust and more especially its
customary agent, the seductive and provocative prostitute; it is she who is
represented in those jewels in whose design the spider is at the centre of the web.
Sometimes a naked woman replaces the insect, recalling the fabled Amazons
described by Pomponius Mela, whose chief weapons are nets in which they
entangle their adversaries and then drag them to death behind their chariots. In
Christian spirituality, the spider web itself represents in the first place 'vain
works', such as have no value in God's eyes. 'Pray for us personally', St. Paulinus
of Nola wrote in the year 405, 'that we may not be misled into weaving spider
webs, accomplishing works without merit.' The delicate tissue of the spider web
was also the image of human frailty; as a puff of wind, a flying cockchafer, a
failing flower can tear the web, so a trifle can destroy the life or health of a
human being, and nothing is more fragile than the integrity of his conscience or
the duration of his happiness."14

BETRAYAL "Referring to the treacherous cruelty of the spider, which embraces

other insects in order to inject its fatal poison, the European heraldists saw the
insect as a symbol of traitors like Judas. In the West, the medieval heraldic
science took the spider and its web as images of the dishonest judge who makes
exceptions for different persons.

A later echo of this idea comes from Vulson de la Colombière: 'It is the symbol
of the corrupt judge and the inequality of the laws, as the wise Solon said, who
compared the laws with spider webs because they hold small flies but are not
strong enough to retain the big ones which pass through them; as in the same
way it is the little people who are

enslaved by the harshness of the law, of which the great ones of the world take
no account'."15
FATE "The belief that fate could enter and influence a person's life was generally
accepted in ancient cultures. It is one of the reasons the intelligent and cunning
spider had a dual role in many mythologies - both helpful and deadly. The web
of protection, for instance, under certain circumstances could be viewed as a
spinning illusion, a web of entrapment, or a poisonous plot. Twists and turns on
one's path, especially those which are wholly unexpected, were also accepted as
the work of the gods, and in many cultures it was believed to be a result of a
spider god twisting the threads of fate. ... The Trickster, in its spider or other
manifestations, personifies the energetic power of the total psyche to overthrow
the personality's best ideas about how to proceed, tricking it into taking
unexpected action. ... Although feared as an upsetting, unpredictable influence,
the Trickster was also considered a cultural hero and sacred creator of the world
who brings to people the inspirations and energies of creativity. ... Both bad luck
and good reside in the Trickster's domain. As a spoiler of plans, the Trickster
often brings loss and what we perceive as bad luck, entering a situation to punish
pride, arrogance, and insolence. The Trickster also chastises those who seek
closure prematurely and, in doing so, cut off the creative possibilities of a
situation. When the Trickster presence is felt in our life, it helps to know that this
energy is aligned with an authentic push in our psyche toward expansiveness.
Although the Trickster's lack of concern for our fears, the culture's taboos, or
social appropriateness is unnerving and can feel punitive, its demands for a
change of direction or stillness is a call for a necessary alteration of some kind.
Far from being unreasonable, its energies try to align us with deeper patterns of
fulfilment, presenting opportunities for growth disguised as frustration, pain, and
misfortune. ... Although Western culture doesn't acknowledge this archetype
known as the Trickster, except to call it bad luck, it still operates within us and
our society. We tend to think we left behind this energetic pattern and its chaotic
influence with the advent of our control-oriented technologies, but we didn't. We
left behind only the context through which we might understand its
emergence."16

THEMES Unexpected behaviour and lack of concern for culture's taboos and
social appropriateness may well prove to be keynotes of the spider remedies.
That spiders go with the winds of change, or even throw to the winds, is shown
by a phenomenon called ballooning. When dispersing from their nest site and
wishing to travel, young spiders raise their abdomen high and release an
abundance of liquid silk, which dries immediately the air touches it. "This is
caught by the breeze and the air currents lift it up into the sky. Ballooning
spiders have been found 4,300 metres up in the sky, having attached themselves
to aircraft. ... The majority of Araneomorphs disperse by ballooning to different
locations. Often during mass migrations, the ground, grass and foliage of an area
can be seen to be covered with masses of flocculent silk as a large population of
spiderlings attempts to become airborne. This method of dispersal is unique to
spiders and is the reason why spiders are often early colonisers."17 How far they
will travel depends mainly on the wind. Only a few of the aeronauts will survive;
many fall victim to birds, or they land in some wholly unsuitable environment.

PROVINGS •• [1] Proved in 1832 by a young doctor and an army surgeon by

taking repeated doses of the tincture for several days.

•• [2] The main source is the clinical experience of von Grauvogl [1811-1887].
Aranea

was one of v. Grauvogl's "hydrogenoid" remedies.

•• [3] Eccius - 4 provers [3 females, 1 male], 1965; method: three times daily 7
drops of 6x for 3 weeks.

[1-2] Simon-Brunet, The Silken Web. [3] Foelix, Biology of Spiders. [4-5]
Simon-Brunet, ibid. [6-7] Widman, Cross spiders in Sweden. [8] Hieber,
Orientation and modification of the web to wind and light by the spiders
Araneus diadematus and Araneus gemmoides [Araneae: Araneidae]. Zeitschrift
für Tierpsychologie, 65: 250-260; 1984. [9] Downer, Supernatural. [10]
Nieuwenhuys, Spiders of North-West Europe. [11]

Buchsbaum, Animals without Backbone. [12] Foelix, ibid. [13] Cirlot,

Dictionary of Symbols.[14-15] Charbonneau-Lassay, The Bestiary of Christ.
[16] Lauck, The Voice of the Infinite in the Small. [17] Simon-Brunet, Ibid.

Affinity

Nerves. Blood. Bones. * Right side.

Modalities

Worse: EXACT PERIODICITY. DAMPNESS [Cold; during rains; bathing].

Better: Smoking. Open air. Pressure.

Main symptoms

* Characteristic features of spider remedies [according to Mangialavori]: Chilly.

Sensitive to music, noise, vibration. Like strong rhythmical music.

Strong.

Sense of time deviated. Problems with appointments.

High sex drive.

Periodicity.

Fear narrow places.

Solitary persons; problems with maintaining relations.

Sensitive persons [to touch, noise, light]. Don't like to be touched or direct
contact.

Dyskinesia [most pronounced in ground-dwelling spiders]

Restless, active, aggressive.

> Tobacco.

M Confusion > SMOKING.

Confusion of head after eating.

M Fear in crowds and in narrow places.

[Spiders are solitary animals.]

M Deep despondency and longing for death, like Aur. [Grimmer]

M Restlessness / Busy.

• "I'm very nervous and treat everybody badly. I can't bear having pain; it is
something that sets a limit to me and I am a very active woman. I like working
and moving. I never stand still and the pain constrains me to do things I want to
do and the way I want to do them."1

• "It's a very lively child, but above al very active. He's not lively and disturbing
but he always got something in his hands to bustle about. He never keeps still,
not even during the night. He continuously tosses in his bed and uncovers
himself and then he wakes up because he's cold."2

G Cold to very bones [Calc.]; CAN'T GET WARM.

G Sensation as if bones are made of ICE.

G Marked sensitivity to cold and dampness.

Every damp day chills.

• "Cannot tolerate damp or wet weather, or damp habitations, even being on the
water."

[Hering]

G Spider remedies crave coffee and tobacco. [Karl-Josef Müller]

G < Night, [immediately] after lying down.

[toothache; cough; asthma]

G > Walking in open air.

[Compare: Fear of narrow places.]

G > SMOKING.

[headache; bitter taste in mouth; toothache; asthma].

[Compare strong desire for smoking in both Aranea ixobola and Theridion.]

G Sensation of ENORMOUS ENLARGEMENT, or numbness of parts; on

waking [at night].

Sensation as if hands and forearms were greatly swollen, on waking at night

from restless sleep.

Sensation of heaviness in thighs, impeding walking.

G Nerve pains with EXACT PERIODICITY.

G Weakness after fever.

G Cramps, colics and twitching.

P Flickering [vision] or vertigo before headache.

Burning in eyes and heat in face during headache.

And Coldness of hands and feet.

[Headache caused by 'intellectual overwork']

P Sudden violent pains in teeth of whole upper and lower jaw, at night,
immediately after lying down.

[1] Mangialavori, "I let myself go in the wind," a case of Aranea diadema, HL
2/96. [2]

Mangialavori, "He's mad about ropes," a case of Aranea diadema, HL 2/96.

Rubrics

Mind

Delusion, his own voice seems distant [1]; he is falling [1]; everything seems
unreal [1].

Head

Icy coldness of left temple, with stitching pain in it; sensation of coldness
extends to left ear [1/1*]. Pain, < talking of others [1].

Eye

Burning pain during headache [1].

Vision

Colours, white objects appear bright yellow, in evening or at night [1/1*].

Face

Sensation of swelling [2]; sensation of swelling of cheeks [1].

Mouth

Bitter taste > smoking [1/1]; unpleasant taste after drinking milk [1/1].

Stomach

Thirst with the pains [1].

Female

Menses copious [1]; too frequent [1]; offensive, like ammonia [1; Lac-c.].

Chest

Sensation of heaviness, as if heart were made of lead, at night on awaking

[1/1*].

Cutting pain through heart, as from a knife [1*]. Violent palpitation, awakening
her [1*].

Back

Pain as from an iron band around shoulders and nape of neck [1/1*]. Sensation
as if back were made stiff by an icy cold, sticky fluid [1/1*], extending to upper
and lower limbs

[1/1*].

Limbs

Pain in right thigh extending to left thigh [1*]. Tingling of soles of feet at night
on awaking [1/1*].
Sleep

Sleeplessness from coldness of feet [1]. Waking from hunger [2].

Generals

Cold feeling in bones [2].

* Repertory additions; proving symptoms of Eccius [Zeitschrift für Klass. Hom.,

Juli-Aug. 1965].

Food

Aversion: [1]: Ice cream.

Desire: [1]: Coffee [*]; fruit; milk; sweets; tobacco [*].

Worse: [1]: Soup.

Better: [1]: Milk; smoking.

* Repertory additions Karl-Josef Müller.

Argentum metallicum

Arg-met.

Words are like money; there is nothing so useless, unless when in actual use.

[Samuel Butler]

Signs

Argentum. Silver.

CLASSIFICATION Silver belongs to group 11 [formerly 1B] of the periodic

table, together with gold and copper. Silver is stable in pure air and water, but
blackens when exposed to ozone, hydrogen sulphide, or air containing sulphur.
Only in very pure, dry air, silver will retain its lustre for decades. Though inert to
most acids, it readily reacts with diluted nitric acid. Silver powder is a
combustible solid. Violent reactions occur when silver comes in contact with
acetylene, ammonia, or hydrogen peroxide.

OCCURRENCE Silver occurs in the earth's crust in 0.08 ppm [parts per
million], gold in 0.005 ppm, and copper in 70 ppm. Gold is approximately
hundred times more expensive than silver. Through history, man has won
roughly one million tons of silver, against merely 120,000 tons of gold. Oceans
are relatively rich in silver [which might explain the mythic connection between
the moon and the tides]. Silver is sometimes found in relatively pure native form
but more often in silver sulphide ores. In its mineral form silver is distributed in
limited amounts in the upper areas of more extensive ore deposits.

Larger amounts of silver minerals may be deposited from hydrothermal activity.

Principle sources are lead, lead-zinc, copper, gold, and copper-nickel ores. It is
also recovered during electrolytic refining of copper.

DISTRIBUTION Silver lacks the ability to form any sizeable deposits of its
own.

Mexico, Canada, Peru, and the U.S. are the principal silver producers [up to 75%
of the world production]. 1 "In the distribution of silver over the globe, we find
Mexico to be the richest silver country, then the United States, South America
[Peru and Chile], and Canada. Although most of the silver found on solid land is
concentrated in the west, in the new world, once it has been won by the hand of
man it has always followed a curious course towards the east. The silver mined
in Spain during antiquity wandered toward the Orient; the Phoenicians grew rich
trading in it. To this day, the peoples most attracted to this metal are those of
India and China. Their money is based on a silver standard. In contrast, the bulk
of the world's yield of gold streams toward the west. America hoards most of the
gold, though the deposits are largely in Africa. In the social sphere, gold follows
the course of the sun, which sets in the west. Silver flows to the east, opposite to
the course of gold."2

NAME The South American republic Argentina, 'silvery', is said to owe its name
to the Spanish conquistadors who where impressed by the silver ornaments of
the Indians. The Latin name Argentum comes from the Sanskrit 'argenta'
meaning 'light-coloured' or

'white and shining', an apt description for this heavy metallic element with its
brilliant white lustre. The metal has been used as currency since ancient times.
HISTORY Silver has been known since ancient times. It is mentioned in
Genesis. Slag dumps in Asia Minor and on islands in the Aegean Sea indicate
that man learned to separate silver from lead as early as 3000 BC Silver
ornaments and silver vessels, found in ancient Egyptian and Hittite graves, are
an estimated 6000 years old. In pre-Islamic Arabia, as in other Semitic cultures,
the cult of the moon prevailed over sun-worship. For that reason Mohammed
forbade the use of any metal in amulets except silver.

PROPERTIES Pure silver has the highest electrical and thermal conductivity of
all metals, and possesses the lowest contact resistance. Heat imparted to any
portion of a silver mass is immediately spread through the rest of it. These
properties make it valuable in critical electrical contacts, switches, printed
circuits, solders, long-lasting batteries, and many forms of electrical and
electronic equipment. "Silver wire is used in the most sensitive physical
instruments; it is from silver that vital terminals in various relays are made. The
numerous automatic devices, rockets and submarines, computers and nuclear
installations, means of communication and signalling systems - none of these
can do without contacts. During its life every one of them is brought into
operation millions of times. In order to be able to withstand such colossal strain,
the contact must be wear-resistant, reliable in exploitation and must meet a
number of specifications. The contacts are usually made of silver. Specialists are
well satisfied with this metal - it does its difficult job perfectly. But silver
displays even more valuable properties once rare-earth elements are added to it.
The life of contacts made from such silver increases several times over."3 It is
also used for dental alloys. Next to gold and perhaps palladium, it is the most
malleable and ductile metal known. Its softness, however, limits its use, unless it
is alloyed with copper.

OXYGEN Melted silver greedily sucks in the oxygen from the air - up to 22
times its own volume. But as soon as silver solidifies, it suddenly loses this
retentive ability, and expels the oxygen with explosive violence. This belching of
air is termed 'spattering of silver'. It creates craters on the smooth surface of the
solidifying silver, which show a remarkable resemblance with moon-craters.

TONE "The structure of silver has an inward nobility that manifests in its pure
ring.

Silver flutes and silver bells sound especially pure and clear. Coins with a high
silver content have a good ring. This is unusual, since soft metals generally have
a poor tone, like lead. They have to be rapidly cooled if they are to have a good
tone. Silver does not keep the sound to itself, but permits it to go forth freely as
tone, changing it as little as possible by its own nature."4 Nothing surpasses a
silver tuning fork for attuning.

CURRENCY Sterling silver - an alloy with copper or some other metal -

contains 92.5%

silver and is used for jewellery, silverware, etc. where appearance is paramount.
Silver coins remained the universal currency from classical antiquity well into
the 19th century, when most countries changed to a gold standard. In its meaning
of both silver and money, the French word "argent" still reflects this ancient
correlation. The use as coinage [old silver dollars are 90% silver and 10%
copper], silver plate and sterling ware, is now of minor importance compared to
its application in photography. Because of marked light-sensitive properties of
silver, about 30% of the U.S. industrial consumption of silver goes into usage in
photography. As the value of silver is now greater than their exchange value,
silver coins have largely been replaced with coins made of other metals [mainly
copper, nickel and zinc].

REFLECTION Photochromic sunglasses, which darken in sunlight, depend upon

the decomposition of silver salts by light. Exposure to light turns fine silver dust
black, resulting in the negative of photo or film. The pictures caught in silver
[compounds] are then fixed and developed into positive ones in a dark room.
Stars of the 'Silver Screen'

was a term used to described movie actors. Reflecting and reproducing

pictures/images comprises the main qualities of silver, as is shown as well in its
use in mirror production.

"Nothing of its own nature is mixed with this light; neither colour, as with gold
or copper, nor turbidity, as with, antimony, etc. Look into a silver mirror and you
see nothing but mirror-pictures; the silver itself withdraws completely."5 When
freshly deposited, it is the best of all natural reflectors of visible light. It returns
the instreaming light undimmed and almost unchanged. However, it is rapidly
tarnished and then loses much of its reflectance.

It is a poor reflector of ultraviolet. Silver is of a passive character; it only reflects

and passes on. The reflection in the mirror is man's knowledge of himself.
BACTERICIDE Silver has bactericidal properties that may result from its
oxygen-absorbing ability. Silver dissolved in water kills many harmful bacteria.
Colloidal silver is used as an antiseptic, germicide, astringent and caustic, and
for water sterilization. This purifying action of silver is, perhaps, its oldest
'occupation'. By using silver cups the Roman army commanders were much less
exposed to disease than Roman soldiers using tin cups. Indian religious books
describe how immersing white-hot silver in it purified water. In many countries
silver coins were traditionally thrown into wells during consecration ceremonies.
6

GROWTH Silver is connected with fertility. Although it kills many lower

organisms effectively, it, on the other hand, stimulates the germinative capacity
of higher plants, especially during full moon. For the alchemical transmutation
of metals the heavenly bodies had to be in a favourable configuration. This led to
ascribing metals to heavenly bodies, e.g. gold to the Sun and silver to the Moon.
To investigate this supposed connection between the Moon and the metal silver,
young, fast-growing plants were placed in pure water containing a silver
compound and exposed to the light of the full moon. The plants were then
burned. The chemically analysed ashes proved to contain silver. Plants that were
placed in pure water only, as well as plants placed in water

containing silver and exposed to sunlight, didn't contain any silver in their ashes.

Moreover, the amount of absorbed silver turned out to depend on the lunar
phase! During full moon the silver absorption was highest. In addition, the
anthroposophical researcher Kolisko was able to show by capillary-dynamolytic
techniques that the patterns of silver salts on filter paper were drastically
changed during lunar eclipses.

WEATHER Owing to its ability to condense atmospheric moisture into

raindrops, silver iodide is used in weather modification [cloud seeding,
suppression of hail, fog suppression, hurricane modification]. This again shows
the correlation between silver and the moon, for the moon has a regulating
function in the distribution of the waters and the rains.

SOURCES Plants comparatively rich in silver include Lycopersicon esculentum

[Tomato; 1.4 ppm], Quercus rubra [Northern Red Oak], Carya glabra [Pignut
Hickory], Lactuca sativa [Lettuce], and Prunus domestica [Plum]. Foods contain
very little silver.

Fruits and vegetables contain a few nanograms, with up to 10 ng per gram of

bananas.

Cow's milk is a rich source with levels of 27 to 54 mcg per litre.

PHYSIOLOGY "Low intakes are reflected in low tissue levels which vary
between 0.001 mcg silver per g tissue [lymph nodes] to 0.0025 mcg per g heart
muscle and 0.006

mcg per g in liver. Hair is richer with levels between 0.13 and 0.60 mcg per g.
Chronic and acute renal failure are conditions where liver silver is markedly
elevated. When given intramuscularly or by intravenous injection, administered
silver is readily excreted, mainly [93 per cent] via the faeces. Oral silver is 99
per cent excreted in the faeces. ...

Within the body, silver interacts metabolically with copper and selenium. Silver
accentuates signs of copper deficiency and the latter mineral can reverse the
silver toxicity symptoms of depressed growth, low haemoglobin and lowered
elasticity of the aorta."7

TOXICOLOGYThe toxicity of silver to aquatic life is dependent on water

hardness - the harder the water, the higher the concentration of silver needed to
be toxic. Silver is highly persistent in water, with a half-life greater than 200
days. Silver is toxic to plants and microorganisms that live in the dark. It
prevents reproduction. To kill demonical creatures such as werewolves and
vampires, which are active in darkness only, one has to use weapons made of
pure silver, according to folklore. Silver can be absorbed from the lungs and
gastrointestinal tract. Intravenous injection produces accumulation in the spleen,
liver, bone marrow, lungs, muscle, and skin. The major route of excretion is via
the gastrointestinal tract. Urinary excretion has not been reported to occur even
after intravenous injection.

EFFECTS Repeated exposure to fine silver dust or fumes can cause blue-grey
staining of the eyes, mouth, throat, internal organs and skin. This condition
called argyria occurs slowly and may take up to 20 years to develop. Once
present, it doesn't go away.

Repeated exposure also can cause clouding in the cornea of the eye, resulting in
problems with vision, esp. at night. High exposure to silver may cause kidney
damage. Chronic toxic effects may include shortened lifespan, reproductive
problems, lower fertility, and changes in appearance or behaviour.

SYMBOLISM "Purity, chastity and eloquence. In the symbolism of metals,

silver was lunar, feminine and cold, and is the attribute of moon-goddesses, in
particular the Greek Artemis [in Roman myth, Diana], and of queens. Through
its link with the moon it was equated also with the light of hope and with
wisdom - orators are silver-tongued. Hence

the Oriental proverb: 'Speech is silver, silence golden.' The Silver Age was
emblematic of lost innocence, perhaps because, as the malleable metal of much
ancient coinage, silver had some negative associations - famously so as a symbol
of Christ's betrayal for 'thirty pieces of silver'."8

WISDOM The heart represents the central wisdom of feeling; it is the symbolic
source of spiritual illumination, intuition and truth; it is the seat of the Self. As
seat of the wisdom of reason, the head should reflect [mirror] the heart's wisdom
[Self-reflection].

Let the heart rule the head, being expressed through speech. The symptom
picture of Argentum metallicum shows the opposition of heart and head, instead
of the conjunction.

This is clearly expressed in Argentum metallicum's symptom fear of apoplexy

during palpitation.

PROVINGS •• [1] Hahnemann - 9 provers; method: unknown.

•• [2] Huber - self-experimentations, 1845; 6th dil., increasing the dose each day
with 10

drops, for 7 days; 5th dil., idem for 6 days; 4th dil., idem for 7 days; 3rd trit.,
increasing from 3 to 16 grains in 8 days; 2nd trit., from 5 to 15 grains in 5 days;
1st trit., from 5 to 15 grains in 3 days.

"Many [of the above] symptoms continued for some days after the cessation of
the proving [on June 10th], and some new symptoms occurred up to 24th June,
which were evidently owing to the silver. These were: drawing tearing in right
zygomatic process. A pain brought on by a draught of air in cricoid cartilage of
larynx, lasting half a day; it felt like a cork in the throat; when pressed caused
bruised pain. Before midnight, in bed, desire to sleep, but inability to go to sleep
on account of heat and pricking on skin, and when he fell asleep attack of
giddiness in head so that he felt as though his head would tumble out of bed,
followed by a violent convulsive shock like epilepsy, when the vertigo and
sleepiness went off. Feeling in anus as if long air-bubbles were passing away. On
sneezing a cutting dislocation pain on the cartilages of the left false ribs in
horizontal direction on the left side of the scrobiculus cordis."9

[1] Trueb, Die chemischen Elementen. [2] Pelikan, The Secrets of Metals. [3]
Venetsky, Tales about Metals. [4] Pelikan, ibid. [5] Venetsky, ibid. [6] Pelikan,
ibid. [7] Mervyn, Vitamins and Minerals. [8] Tresidder, Dictionary of Symbols.
[9] Hughes, Cyclopaedia.

Affinity

NERVES. Cartilage [bones; condyles; joints]. Mucous membranes [LARYNX;

genitals; urinary organs]. * RIGHT SIDE. Left side.

Modalities

Worse: USING VOICE [talking, singing, reading aloud]. Mental strain. Noon.
Cold damp. 3 to 5 a.m. TOUCH. Pressure. Lying on back. Entering warm room.
Sun.

Better: Motion. Coffee. Wrapping up. Open air.

Main symptoms

M Loss of control.

over intellect: can't think properly [as from intoxication, as if smoke were in the
brain].

over temper: violent anger.

over emotions: weeping about trifles.

over pace: compelled to walk quickly.

over appetite: hunger cannot be appeased by food.

over voice: hoarseness, cracking of voice, loss of voice.

over hand: writer's cramp.

over limbs: limbs feel powerless.

• "When pleased, excessively merry, but cries a long time about a trifle."
[Clarke]

M Inability to think.

• "In the mental sphere it affects the intellect more than the affections." [Clarke]

• "He cannot think properly; also when sitting and reflecting." [Due to attacks of
vertigo]

• "Feeling of gloominess in the head, as if smoke were in the brain."

• "As if stupid and hollow in the head." [Hahnemann]

c compare: Delusion as if head were falling out of bed.

• "It comes on in persons who are in the habit of labouring with the intel ectual
faculties.

Businessmen, students, readers, and thinkers. Reasoners come to the point when
they can no longer reason, and the slightest mental effort brings on vertigo. ...
For a moment appearing to be very intense and active in mind, and forgets all
that he was talking about.

... 'In society indisposition to talk.' Because he is incompetent. He is tired

mentally and he forgets what he is talking about. Loses the thread of his
discourse; and he dreads to talk because he gets complaints while talking. If
compelled to answer, he becomes dizzy, and feels strange all over, and has
nervous shakes and shocks." [Kent]

• "Argentum metal icum make good public speakers, clergymen, preachers -

persons who lecture using logic and intellect, rather than what they really felt or
experienced. ...

The Argentum metallicum situation is one where the person has to perform
intellectually and express himself through speech, singing, writing, etc., and also
has to defend himself by intellect, speech and words." [Sankaran]

M Hurry in walking [from restlessness].

M ANXIOUS about HEALTH and NERVOUS, but RESERVED in expression

and attitude.

• "Trying to compensate for their lack of self-confidence with refined manners."

• "Seem soft and yielding, but there is a dictatorial side underneath [wanting to
show their abilities] which is only expressed at home." [Scholten]

M Similar to Arg-n.: fear of high places, fear of narrow places, fear of crowds,
anticipation, desire sweets. BUT: more reserved, far less impulsive, a kind of
restrained haughtiness, and chilliness. [Scholten]

G Nervous and broken down; suffer from loss of muscular power and trembling.

G Ailments from mental agitation, nursing the sick, mental exertion.

[= headache and dyspepsia]

G Constitutional effects of onanism.

G Painlessness.

• "The more deeply seated the troubles are the more likely are they to be
painless."

[Clarke]

G CARTILAGES [inflammation; swelling; sensitiveness; sore pain].

• "Closer study brings out no evidence of any action on the cartilages as such;
rather it seems that there is pain without swelling around the joints."1

G Weakness from pain.

Exhaustion from frequent sneezing [with violent, fluent coryza].

G TREMBLING in morning on waking.

Limbs powerless on waking.

G CHILLY persons, yet < exposure to SUN.

G Hungry.

Hungry after eating a full meal.

Hungry in morning [= nausea].

• During his proving, Huber experienced [three times] a feeling of hunger [with
an attack of nausea] after lying down to sleep in afternoon or evening.

Or: Loss of appetite [easy satiety or aversion to even the thought of food].

G Little thirst.

G "ELECTRIC" SHOCKS on FALLING ASLEEP; during sleep.

• "On going to sleep was prevented doing so first by an electric shock in right
lower extremity, and then by two similar shocks of upper part of body, which
had their exploding spot close to occipital foramen." [Hughes]

G < NOON [the greatest height, the culminating point of the sun].

G < Descending.

G Pains and polyuria.

Pains increase slowly and cease suddenly.

G Tensive, tight, stiff sensation.

TENDERNESS.

• "Parts feel bruised when pressed on."

G THICK secretions; THICKENING of CARTILAGE, tarsi [blepharitis], etc.

G GREY [gelatinous, starchy] or tenacious MUCUS.

< Laughing [= coughing, = expectoration].

G Vertigo. Sudden vertigo.

• "An important symptom for silver in general is vertigo and lack of recollection,
'a kind of intoxication', according to Hahnemann; in one case 'semi-sleep with
vertigo with a kind of convulsive shaking of the body as in epilepsy' occurred.
This type of vertigo has become the homoeopathic indication for the use of
silver in epilepsy, for the so-called epileptic vertigo or for epilepsy with much
vertigo, particularly at night." [Leeser]

P Right-sided headaches, > tight bandaging.

Intense unilateral headaches.

• "There is an old tale from Hel as about the birth of Pal as Athena. Zeus became
aware that his wife Hera had become pregnant without help from God, Hero or
mortal. He became so anxious about the implications of this event that he
developed a bad headache.

This became so bad that he sent for the Eileithyiai who were the Olympian
midwives and asked them to examine him. They confirmed his suspicions that
he was pregnant.

Meanwhile Hera had given birth to Hephaestos, the Olympian smith, and in the
manner of the immortals he had rapidly grown up. Zeus sent for him and
commanded him to take his axe and cleave his skull and deliver him. This
Hephaestos did, rapidly departing as Pallas Athena leapt fully armed from her
father's head. Thus was Zeus' migraine cured. A year or two ago I noticed in a
medical journal a comment characterizing migraine as cephalic dysmenorrhoea
and dysmenorrhoea as uterine migraine. Argentum metallicum and nitricum are
characterized by intense unilateral headaches, surely migraines, and by
headaches with a sensation of great swelling, as if the head was becoming larger
and larger, surely an excellent description of cephalic pregnancy."2

P Polyuria and swelling of the ankles.

Urine profuse, turbid and of sweet odour.

And Extreme dryness of mouth, tongue sticks to palate.

P Pain in RIGHT testicle [crushed, sore].

Affinity for RIGHT testicle.

P Prolapsus uteri and pain in LEFT ovary; ovarian cysts and tumours.

Affinity for LEFT ovary.

P HOARSENESS of professional SINGERS, public SPEAKERS.

< Talking, singing, reading aloud.

Total loss of voice; alternation in timbre of voice.

Strange noises in larynx.

• Shortly before fal ing asleep observed when inspiring quietly two tones [a
higher and a lower one] as from the mouth-piece of an oboe, coming from low
down in throat."

• "Thereafter in inferior of throat [the larynx] a kind of curious throbbing,

cracking, or creaking, something like a metallic reverberation such as the frozen
brooks sometimes give forth in spring on breaking up of the ice." [Hughes]

1-2 Twentyman, Argentum: A study in correspondences, BHJ, July 1982.

Rubrics

Mind

Anxiety, as if clothes were too tight when walking in open air [1/1]; about health
[2]; on waking [1]. Delusion head were falling out of bed [1/1]; she would break
down [1]; he is drunk all the time [1/1]; floating in air [2]. Excitement during
pain [1]. Fear of apoplexy

[2]; to speak [1; Lil-t.*]. Loquacity during daytime [1/1]. Mania alternating with
depression [1]. Sense of heavenly peace [1/1]. Sadness during menopause [2].
Starting, as if electric, on falling asleep and during sleep [2]. Desire to talk to
someone [2]; indisposed to talk in company [1].

Vertigo

From mental exertion [1]. While half asleep [1].

Nose

Itching before epistaxis [1; Am-m.].

Face

Heat during palpitation [2]; while reading [1/1].

Mouth

Speech difficult from viscid saliva [1/1].

Stomach

Sensation of emptiness not > eating [2]. Sensation of fulness during hunger [1].
Nausea from dreams [1; Arg-n.], from thought of food eaten [1; Sars.].
ABDOMEN: Bubbling sensation in sides [1].

Rectum

Formication, as if a threadworm were hanging out of anus [1*]. Itching on

stooping

[1/1].

Urine

Copious during pain [1]. Offensive odour during fever [2], sweetish [2].

Female

Pain in ovaries extending up the back [1/1].

Larynx
Mucus in larynx on laughing [2]; mucus comes up when stooping [2/1]. Voice
changeable [2; Arum-t.].

Respiration

Difficult when singing [1/1].

Chest

Sensation as if heart ceases to beat during pregnancy [1/1]. Palpitation while

lying on the back [2], > motion [2], during pregnancy [2], > sighing or deep
inspiration [2/1]. Oily perspiration on chest [2/1].

Limbs

Clenching of fingers when seizing something [1; Dros.]. Cramps lower limbs on
descending stairs [1/1]; cramps in calves > motion [1]. Sensation of paralysis in
upper limbs during motion [1/1].

Dreams

Of being followed by a large, powerful enemy, followed by early waking and

weakness, esp. in hip joints [1/1*].

Generals

Weakness from pain [2].

* Repertory additions [Hughes].

Food

Aversion: [2]: Fat; meat. [1]: Smoking.

Desire: [3]: Sweets. [1]: Chocolate; coffee; frozen food; fruit; meat [*]; raw meat
[*]; refreshing; sour; wine.

Worse: [1]: Cabbage; cucumber; milk; paprika; alcohol; apples [ = cough];

brussels sprouts.

Better: Coffee; sour.

* Herrick, Argentum nitricum and Argentum metallicum: Analysis and
Comparison, IFH

1992.

Argentum nitricum

Arg-n.

Consistency is the last refuge of the unimaginative.

[Oscar Wilde]

When in doubt, make a fool of yourself. There is a microscopically thin line

between being brilliantly creative and acting like the most gigantic idiot on
earth.

So what the hell, leap.

[Cynthia Heimel]

Signs

Silver nitrate.

SUBSTANCE Silver nitrate is a colourless, odourless, crystalline, poisonous

solid. It is exceedingly sensitive to organic matter and light, and decomposes
readily.

USES It is used in photography, silver plating, mirror manufacturing,

sympathetic and indelible inks, dyeing hair, colouring porcelain, etching ivory,
as an extensively used reagens in analytical chemistry, and as an antiseptic. It is
not photosensitive when pure

[silver 63.50%, nitrogen 8.25%, oxygen 28.25%]; presence of trace amounts of

organic material promotes photoreduction.

REACTIVITY As an extremely reactive compound, it is incompatible with

numerous substances: alkalis, antimony salts, arsenites, bromides, carbonates,
chlorides, iodides, thiocyanates, ferrous salts, hypophosphites, morphine salts,
oils, creosote, phosphates, tannic acid, tartrates, vegetable decoctions, and
extracts. 1 Mixed with ammonia compounds, silver nitrate can form azides
which are powerful explosives.

EFFECTS Eye contact can cause severe burns, with permanent blindness. Skin
contact can cause severe irritation and burns. Repeated exposure to silver nitrate
dust or fumes can very gradually cause the eyes, nails, inner nose, throat, body
organs and skin to turn a blue-grey colour. This condition called argyria occurs
slowly and may take up to 20 years to develop. Once present, it doesn't go away.
Ingestion of silver nitrate causes violent abdominal pains, vomiting and
diarrhoea.

PHYSIOLOGICAL ACTION "Silver Nitrate combines with the albumen of the

tissues and is a limited escharotic. It excites superficial inflammation, and stains
the part black under the influence of light. In small doses it increases secretion,
stimulates the heart, promotes nutrition, and acts as a nerve tonic. Its continued
administration produces gastrointestinal catarrh, waste of tissue, uraemia,
albuminuria, fatty degeneration of the heart, liver and kidneys, haemorrhages,
fluidity of the blood, a slate-coloured line along the gums, and a similar
discolouration of the skin and mucous membranes, with centric impairment of
the nervous system, causing paralysis on a large scale, loss of coordination,
convulsions, and finally death by paralysis of respiration. These symptoms are
collectively termed Argyria. Large doses produce violent gastro-enteritis, and
ulcer of the stomach, from thrombosis of its veins."2

EYES The eye symptoms of Arg-n. are too numerous to mention, says Kent.
"'Ulceration of cornea in newborn infants; profuse purulent discharge from the
lids,' and this is what the 'Regulars' in former days and almost up to date have
been using for the eyes, treating them with Argentum nitricum."3 Most probably,
Kent is referring to gonorrhoeal ophthalmia. This condition appears 2 to 5 days
after birth and produces an acute purulent conjunctivitis, and severe eyelid
oedema, followed by chemosis and corneal ulcerations.

Without preventive measures, gonorrhoeal ophthalmia will develop in

approximately 28% of infants born to women with gonorrhoea. Preventive
measures include prophylaxis with silver nitrate, first used by Crédé in 1880 and
a "triumph of preventive medicine."

The US Centers for Disease Control as well as the Canadian Paediatric Society
recommend routine use of 1% silver nitrate, erythromycin, or tetracycline
ophthalmic ointments or drops instilled into each eye after delivery. This in spite
of the fact that the incidence of gonorrhoeal ophthalmia in the USA is 2 to 3 on
10,000 live births. And:

"Silver nitrate is not a perfect agent. It does not prevent all cases of gonococcal
ophthalmia, and in most infants it causes transient chemical conjunctivitis, which
has been thought by some to interfere with mother-infant bonding."4 The
possibility of intervening with mother-infant bonding, by interfering with eye
contact, was one of the mains reasons for widespread abandonment of silver
nitrate prophylaxis in the 1980s in favour of antibiotic ointments.

REFLECTION "Another characteristic is revealed in the Liesegang rings which

form in concentric rhythmic circles when silver nitrate solution is dropped on
chromate-impregnated gelatine. These rings form rather like the waves on a pool
of water when a stone is dropped into it. A rhythmically repeated series of
coloured rings is formed and when, to take an instance from yet another realm,
we stand between two mirrors we can see an endlessly repeated series of
reflections of ourselves."5

LUNAR CAUSTIC Toughened silver nitrate, or lunar caustic, consists of about

97-98%

silver nitrate, with 2-3% silver chloride to toughen it. It darkens on exposure to
light. The white or greyish, hard rods or thin small cones are employed as a
caustic for removing warts and granulation tissue and for cauterizing wounds
and ulcerations.

PROVING •• [1] Mül er - 7 provers, 1845; method: 1x trit., 3-6 doses in 3-6
days; 2x dil., 3 doses, effects observed for 8 days; 6x dil., 3 doses in 5 days.

[1] Merckx Index. [2] Potter, A Compend of Materia Medica. [3] Kent, Lectures
on Hom. MM. [4] Canadian Paediatric Society, Recommendations for the
prevention of neonatal ophthalmia. [5] Twentyman, Argentum: A study in
correspondences, BHJ July 1982.

Affinity

MIND.
NERVES

[cerebro-spinal;

ABDOMINAL].

MUCOUS

MEMBRANES

[STOMACH; bowels; eyes; throat; urethra]. Periosteum. Skin. * LEFT SIDE.

Modalities

Worse: EMOTIONS [ANXIETY; suspense]. Warm room. Sugar. Lying on right

side.

Drinking. Crowds. Cold food. Ice cream. After eating and drinking.

Better: COLD [AIR; open air; washing with cold water]. Hard pressure [tight
bandage around head]. Motion. Wind blowing on face. Eructations. Sitting.

Main symptoms

M IMPULSIVENESS.

HIDDEN IRRATIONAL MOTIVES FOR ACTIONS. [Boericke]

Irrational, does strange things and comes to strange conclusions: does foolish
things.

• "Ful of il usions and imaginations, which he makes a great effort to reason

down; but these fancies are fixed, and the struggle is useless. He always has
most singular reasons for what he does. He had a hidden motive for everything
that he does, and he is ashamed of it." [Kent]

• "He wil give peculiar, altogether foolish explanations of what he was trying to
do."

[Vithoulkas]
• "The emotions predominate and the governing power of the mind is for the
time being held in abeyance so that all sorts of ill-considered ideas fill the brain,
the patient doing the queerest things upon the impulse of the moment; he seems
to be governed by his impulses." [Boger]

Superstitious. Ritualistic behaviour.

Fear of losing self-control.

c He needs an explanation for his peculiar behaviour, and thus: Simulates being
ill. Laments about his sickness. Deceitful. Sly.

• "The imagination is so fertile that any symptom can occur. They can take in
anything they hear and make it their own. It is an expression of their gullibility."
[Herrick]

• "There is a strangeness or eccentricity about the Argentum individual that is

usual y apparent almost immediately, esp. in the case of Argentum men.
Argentum people are very open and forthcoming in most cases [rather like
Phosphorus] and do not try to hide their eccentricity during the interview. As
with all eccentrics, it is the mental or intellectual aspect of the personality that is
'off-centre', rather than the emotions. The healthy Argentum mind is extremely
sharp, and given to lateral thinking, rather than the more common linear, logical
type. It makes connections easily between perceptions that would remain
unconnected by the average intellect, such as the price of coffee and the state of
the environment. ... They tend to become interested in the unconventional, and in
matters that are at the cutting edge of intellectual discovery, and owe their
acceptance and application to the future; matters such as the colonisation of
space, biorhythms and

underwater birthing. Argentum is fascinated by such subjects, and is liable to

share his opinions and discoveries enthusiastically." [Bailey]

• "The condition of the mind in sleep seemed but an extension of its state in
working hours, for the prover stated that all through the day he was disinclined
to talk, but took a morbid delight in building air-castles. ... He did not fall asleep,
but lay enchanted by a vivid imagination. This Elysian state lasted till nearly 10
o'clock, and then slowly faded away." [Hughes]

M ANXIETY from EXALTATION of FANCIES.

Fear to walk past certain corners; when walking thinks he will have a fit or die.

Fear of crossing a bridge.

Fear of high places.

Fear of an open window.

Anxiety about health.

• "Will not consult a physician for fear he may be told he has a serious ailment."
[Bryant]

• "He fears that he may be seized with an impulse he cannot control." [Kent]

• "In my clinic I have experienced this apprehension in various forms: Fear he

wil miss the train. Fear doctor will not arrive on time. Fear of result of
pathological investigation.

Fear of examination. Fear what physician will reveal. Fear for his health when
he is travelling. [Argentum patients always carry an emergency kit when they
travel.]

Argentum patients usually bring a thick file of investigations, which may contain
10-15

cardiograms with different prescriptions from various doctors. Because of their

friendly nature they become friends with their doctor easily. Argentum patients
usually do not want to go and visit patients in hospitals." [Farokh Master]

M Ailments from anticipation [diarrhoea, strange notions, impulsive and

hurried].

and:

Many PHOBIAS

[fear in a crowd; fear in the street; fear when alone; anticipation, stage fright;
fear of being too late; claustrophobia; fear of high places; fear of fainting].

M Lack of self-confidence.
Fear of undertaking anything. Delusion everything will fail.

Delusion he does nothing right. Dread of work.

• "He is ful of deception and cowardice, and he knows it, and makes a great
effort to keep others from finding out." [Kent]

Yet: "when he forgets himself he performs things all right." [Kent]

M HURRY.

Everybody must hurry.

Sensation time goes too slowly.

Loquacity, changing quickly from subject to subject.

• "The Argentum nitricum subject is perpetual y agitated. Always in a hurry,

always busy, living with the worry that he will not be able to get things done in
time or complete his projects. If he begins a piece of work he wants it finished at
once; if he gives an order he wants it carried out immediately. Often, indeed,
having given an order, he will carry it out himself to hasten its execution.
Considering the increased intellectual activity of a Mercurian, an activity that
operates at different levels, it is not surprising that his perpetual motion creates a
state of disorder. If he does not keep himself under strict control he will also
soon exhaust his companions." [Vannier]

• "The Argentum subject lives in a state of perpetual agitation, always feeling

driven, never having enough time for what he wants to do or feels he ought to
get done, wanting to get a job finished as soon as it is begun, darting off with
unnecessary precipitation to carry out an assignment, and generating an
atmosphere of turbulence, tiring and exasperating to his entourages, whether at
home or at work. ... I have repeatedly verified the symptom that Argentums
cannot bear inefficiency in others." [Farokh Master]

M Forsaken feeling on waking. DELUSION HE IS FORSAKEN.

Delusion he is lost to the world beyond hope.

Delusion of being despised. Delusion of being neglected.

• "His paranoia was actual y a somewhat realistic sense that if people were aware
of the chaos in his mind, they would think him weird and reject him." [Bailey]

M Disturbed sense of time and space.

Inaccurate judge of distances. Cannot look down or up. Delusion that the walls
will crush him. Distances seem enlarged. Objects seem enlarged.

M Impressionable.

Apprehension = diarrhoea; fear, anxiety = epilepsy;

eating sugar = diarrhoea; sexual excess = impotency;

nervous excitement = loss of voice; dancing = headache; eye strain = defective

accommodation; high notes = cough.

G WARM-BLOODED; strong craving for fresh air.

• "Persons who are warm-blooded; want cold, open air, cold drinks, cold food;
suffocate in warm clothing, ill-ventilated or closed rooms; feel suffocated if
other people are in the room." [Kent]

G > OPEN AIR.

> Walking in open air.

• "He craves the cold wind blowing in his face and lungs." [Kent]

G Craving for SALT + SWEETS; SUGAR.

G > Walking fast.

G Sensation of SPLINTERS: violent pains, like deeply sticking splinters.

[throat; rectum; urethra]

G Sensation of ENLARGEMENT.

> Pressure; tight bandaging.

G PRESSING pains.

G Convulsions preceded by great restlessness.

Aura: sensation of expansion of body.

Convulsions: nocturnal, from fright, during menses, from nervousness.

Dilated pupils for days or hours before the attack.

G Vertigo and weakness of limbs, trembling and nausea.

Vertigo and tinnitus aurium.

< Darkness; closing eyes.

And Cerebral congestion.

P Congestive headache with fullness and heaviness; ending in bilious vomiting.

< Mental exertion.

> Pressure or tight bandaging.

But "must open the collar" [from choking].

P Most gastric complaints accompanied by excessive flatulence and loud [yet

difficult]

eructations. [comp. spattering of silver]

Pain radiating in every direction, but esp. to the chest [= difficult respiration].

> Pressure [bending double or firm pressure with the hand].

And Spells of violent palpitation.

And Scanty urine.

Gastric complaints from emotions, loss of sleep and/or during menses.

P Diarrhoea after sweets.

• "Irresistible desire for sugar in evening; after eating it he experiences, about

midnight, a fermenting flatulent colic, waking him from sleep, and followed by
small discharges of watery faeces, accompanied by emission of a quantity of
noisy flatulence. A good deal of urging with the diarrhoea." [Hughes]

• "With the gastrointestinal troubles, the urine is general y very scanty; with the
nervous symptoms it may be profuse; in paralytic troubles there may be
incontinence." [Allen]

P Palpitation of heart.

< Lying on right side; at night; from nervous excitement.

> Motion; pressure with the hand.

And Throbbing through whole body, esp. head and abdomen.

And Heat [> open air; fanning].

Violent palpitation from incarcerated flatus.

Rubrics

Mind

Anxiety in morning after rising [1], when anticipating an engagement [3], with
heat of face [1], if a time is set [2], when walking in open air [2]. Confusion,
after coffee [1], >

cold bath [1]. Delusion he is a bottle of soda [2/1], a heavy black cloud
enveloped her [1], he has an incurable disease [2], that everything will fail [2],
that he has neglected his duty

[2]. Fear, of being late [3], of open spaces [2]. Forsaken feeling on waking [2].
Hurry while walking [3]. Anxious restlessness, compelling rapid walking [2].
Loss of self-control [1]. Desire to talk to some one, even wakes them at night
[2/1].
Vertigo

On entering a dark room [2]. On looking upwards at high buildings [2/1].

Suddenly appearing and disappearing [1*]. Wine > [1].

Head

Enlarged sensation > bandaging [2/1], during menses [1; Glon.], during
pregnancy [3/1].

Pain, from strong and agreeable odours [1/1], > wine [1]; in right side and
dimness of left eye [1/1].

Eye

Photophobia after straining the eyes [3/1], during headache [2*]. Dilated pupils
before epilepsy [3; Bufo].

Vision

Colours before the eyes, grey serpent-like bodies [3/1].

Nose

Smell acute, sensitive to odour of coffee [1].

Mouth

Speech, difficult, from dryness of palate and throat [1*]. Sour taste in mouth at
height of attack of left sided prosopalgia or migraine [1/1].

Throat

Catarrh of smokers [1; Caps.*], with sensation of hair causing cough, > again by
smoking [1/1*]. Choking with cardiac pain [1; Cact.].

Stomach

Sensation as if stomach would burst when yawning [1/1*]. Desire for sweets in
evening
[2/1]. Eructations difficult, causing faintness [1/1*]. Nausea causes palpitation
[2/1], from smell of coffee [1], from sweets [2].

Rectum

Diarrhoea > after acids [1/1], from exalted imagination [2/1], < lying on left side
[2], after weaning [1].

Larynx

Catarrh alternating with uterine affections [2/1].

Respiration

Difficult when holding a handkerchief near nose or mouth [2], in a crowded

room [2; Lil-t.], from flatulence [1].

Chest

Sensation as if heart ceases to beat while sitting [2*; Gels.]. Pain in heart when
lying on right side [1]. Palpitation from incarcerated flatus [2].

Limbs

Coldness during menses [1], of hands during menses [2], of lower limbs during
nausea

[1/1]. Sensation as if legs were made of wood [2].

Sleep

Sleeplessness from vertigo [1].

Dreams

Of long dim passages, with a succession of strangely dressed figures, who

retreated when approached but followed when he went on [1/1*]. Of hunger [2].

* Repertory additions [Hughes].

Food
Aversion: [3]: Sweets [L]. [2]: Cheese; pork.

Desire: [3]: Salt + sweets; salty food; sugar. [2]: Cold drinks; fat + sweets. [1]
Brandy; cheese; cheese, strong; chocolate; coffee; fat; fat + salt; ice; ice cream;
plums, pungent; sauce; sausages; spicy; sour.

Worse: [3]: Sweets. [2]: Alcohol; cold food; mother's milk; sour. [1]: Apples;
bread; cheese; coffee [= < mental symptoms]; cold drinks; fat; frozen food; ice
cream; meat; pastry; rich food; salted, pickled fish [= distension of stomach];
sour; tea [= palpitation of heart]; tobacco, smell of [H]; water.

Better: [2]: Sweets. [1]: Coffee [H; > headache]; cold drinks; cold food; pungent
[>

nausea]; sour; stimulants; warm drinks; wine.

* Repertory additions: [H] Hughes; [L] Lodispoto.

Aristolochia clematitis

Arist-cl.

Only mothers can think of the future

Because they give birth to it in their children.

[Maxim Gorky]

Signs

Aristolochia clematitis. Birthwort. N.O. Aristolochiaceae.

CLASSIFICATION The family Aristolochia contains eight genera [and 400

species] of

mostly warm-temperate to tropical herbs, shrubs and lianas. Homoeopathy uses

various species of the genus Aristolochia: Aristolochia milhomens [Brazilian
snakeroot], Aristolochia serpentaria [Virginia snakeroot], and Aristolochia
clematitis [Birthwort]. Of the genus Asarum, Asarum europaeum [European
wild ginger or European snakeroot] is employed. Most species have bad-
smelling flowers, which are pollinated by the capture and release of flies.

DISTRIBUTION Native to central and southern Europe, A. clematitis is an

unpleasant-smelling perennial with heart-shaped leaves and tubular yellow
flowers with flattened lips. The joints of the stem make an angular deviation, so
that the stems are zigzag. The plant climbs by twining its stem, as opposed to
members of the gourd family [Bryonia, Colocynthis, among others] which climb
by means of long tendrils springing from the leaf stalks. The flowers are
peculiar, growing from the joints near the root and drooping until they are nearly
buried in the earth or in their dried leaves. Esteemed for its medicinal properties
in its native countries [Mediterranean and Asia Minor], birthwort was brought to
regions north of the Alps by monks, who planted it in monastery gardens.

It escaped from such gardens and managed to hold its own in cooler climates to
this very day. At one expense, however: it seldom produces ripe fruits in cooler
climates, despite all its 'sexual' activities, but reproduces by vegetative
propagation. .

NAME The name derives from the Greek aristos, best, and lochia, childbirth, in
allusion to the curved form of the flower with base and top together recalling the
human foetus in the correct position for birth. 1 The specific name clematitis
means 'clematis-like' and refers to its climbing habit.

INSECTS There are insect-eating plants and plants using insects.

Homoeopathically employed plants belonging to the first group include Drosera,
Nepenthes, and Sarracenia.

The Araceae, such as Arum, Caladium, Ictodes, and the Aristolochiaceae

represent the second group. Both families apply three basic mechanisms to
achieve their purpose of pollination: smell, clearly defined direction marks, and
temporary confinement. The smell of decay [Aristolochia emits an odour of
rotten fish] serves for attracting flies and other bugs. The entrance to the flower
is of an inviting colour, often with contrasting spots, to designate the landing
platform. Entering the flower is made easy for the insect, and may even be
accelerated by a steep and slippery descent. Escaping, however, is out of the
question, being prevented temporarily by stiff, downward-pointing hairs on the
inside of the flower. Aristolochia, as one author pointed out, "seems almost to
delight in listening to the insect beating its wings against the wall of its prison as
it tries to escape."
By this tossing about it will perform its task and pollinate the stamens with
pollen.

Satisfied with the visitor's performance, the stiff hairs will wither, allowing the
insect to escape.

CONSTITUENTS Aristolochia clematitis contains magnoflorine, a substance

also found in Magnolia grandiflora, Cocculus trilobus, and Thalictrum
thunbergii. The main constituent is aristolochic acid [see below]. Its high content
of allantoin explains its stimulating effect on suppurating wounds and resistant
ulcers. Allantoin is present in foetal urine and in allantoic fluid [hence its name];
it is also an oxidation product of uric acid and the end product of purine
metabolism in animals other than man and the other primates.

TOXICOLOGY Toxic effects in animals include anorexia, constipation,

nephritis, coma, weak pulse, and accelerated heart's action. Particularly horses
are very sensitive to the

plant. Intoxication generally has no adverse effects, but recovery is slow.

MEDICINE Many Aristolochia species have medicinal properties, and have

been used in the past to facilitate childbirth and as an antidote to the bites of
snakes and mad dogs. A.

clematitis has a long history of use in childbirth, being recorded in ancient

Egyptian times.

"Medicinal action and uses: stimulant, tonic and diaphoretic, properties

resembling those of valerian and cascarilla. Too large doses occasion nausea,
griping pains in the bowels, sometimes vomiting and dysenteric tenesmus. In
small doses, it promotes the appetite, toning up the digestive organs. It has been
recommended in intermittent fevers, when it may be useful as an adjunct to
quinine. In full doses it produces increased arterial action, diaphoresis, and
frequently diuresis. In eruptive fevers where the eruption is tardy, or in the
typhoid stage where strong stimulants cannot be borne, it may be very valuable.
An infusion is an effective gargle in putrid sore throat. It benefits sufferers from
dyspepsia and amenorrhoea. ... It is stated that Egyptian jugglers use some of
these plants to stupefy snakes before they handle them, while it is related that the
juice of the root of A.
anguicida, if introduced into the mouth of a serpent, will stupefy it, and if it be
compelled to swallow a few drops it will die in convulsions."2

CARCINOGEN Aristolochia stimulates phagocytosis; hence its benefit for

patients who have been treated with drugs that inhibit phagocytosis, such as
chloramfenicol and immunosuppressants. The main constituent, aristolochic
acid, stimulates white blood cell activity, but is also believed to be carcinogenic
and damaging to the kidneys. In 1992-1994 an outbreak of progressive renal
failure occurred in Belgium in women who had followed a weight-loss regimen
that included the use of Chinese herbs. Chemical analysis of the powdered
herbal extracts demonstrated the presence of Aristolochia fangchi, a potentially
nephrotoxic plant due to the high amount of aristolochic acid. Aristolochic acid
is one of a small group of naturally occurring nitro compounds that have been
shown to possess tumour-inhibiting, and tumour-provoking, properties under
laboratory conditions. It has antibacterial, antileukemic, contraceptive [or
abortifacient], cytotoxic, immunostimulant, and mutagenic properties. Chinese
research into aristolochic acid has shown it to be an effective wound healer. In
Germany its medicinal use has been banned due to its carcinogenic potential.

SERPENTARIA Being indigenous to North America, Aristolochia serpentaria

[named Serpentaria in homoeopathic literature] was used by natives and
herbalists in the US.

Aristolochia clematitis, however, was also known. Knowing the plant very well
from German vineyards, German settlers introduced it in Pennsylvania.

PROVINGS •• [1] Mezger - 18 provers [13 females, 5 males], 1939; method:

daily doses of tincture, 2x, 5x, or 12x, for 12 weeks.

•• [2] Robbins, Reijonen and Evans - 21 provers in Australia, Finland and New
Zealand; 1998; method: single dose of 30c, also contains data from three dream
provings.

[1] Hyam and Pankhurst, Plants and their Names. [2] Grieve, A Modern Herbal.

Affinity

FEMALE ORGANS. URINARY ORGANS; kidneys. Venous system. Skin. *

Right side.
Modalities

Worse: Before and especially after menses. Bending forward. Cold food. Light.
Reading.

Suppressed

secretions;

suppressed

menses;

delayed

menarche.

Menopause.

Hysterectomy. Pregnancy. Cold wind.* Motion.*

Better: Cool air; open air. Motion. Menstrual flow. Humid compresses, cold.

Stretching.* Before a storm.*

* Observed during proving Robbins.

Main symptoms

M Psychosomatic condition < before and after menses, > DURING menses.

Or amelioration from return of suppressed menstruation. [Mezger]

• "Much irritability before, during and after menses; in morning and evening;
before getting a cold. I was irritated as soon as I woke up in the morning. As if
my hands were bound and that I am not capable to work out my day as I wanted.
Programmed by other people also for the rest of the whole week. I am still
irritated and angry, dissatisfied, aggressive. Usually I can cry out this kind of
dissatisfaction - now not!" [Robbins]

M < Consolation.
• "They are not easily comforted like Pulsatil a but rather inconsolable and cross
when in the depression, yet not actively aggravated by consolation like Sepia."
[Whitmont]

Or:

• "Sensation as if someone is kissing my lips, in bed on going to sleep. Same

sensation on waking; as if being kissed. As if someone holding my hand; first
left, then both. Felt reassuring." [Robbins]

M Mentally depressed condition; despair; feeling of loneliness, or fear of the

future; refuses society.

> Open air; menstruation.

M Extremes of moods.

• "Either a marked depression or a rather forced or unreasonable exhilaration and

cheerfulness, even in alternation ... also, extreme states of extrosion or
introversion in the same person." [Whitmont]

Emotional instability of the manic depressive kind.

M Connections.

• "One of the central themes was about losing connections. ... Some traumatic
experience leads to a state of indifference and exhaustion which goes to a
disconnection, an unbalanced and confused state with blocked feeling, or flu like
state. ... Disconnection, forgetting and losing of a painful or traumatic
experience." [Robbins]

M Self disgust.

• "Self disgust, sexuality increased and anger coming up. Desire to feel and to
have salt-baths in order to clean oneself, depressed. Eating is disgusting as well
as drinking. Ugly state - feeling that I am ugly. Everything I touched seemed to
be dirty. Desire to wash hands frequently. Dreams of putting out the garbage
with difficulty. Sensation of being small enough to crawl under the carpet. The
Aristolochia plant pollinates by attracting flies with the smell of garbage."
[Robbins]
M Indifference and exhaustion. 'What's the point.'

Aversion to monitoring own thoughts and feelings. [Robbins]

M Confinement / restraint / restriction / forcible control.

Confinement might prove to be a theme of Aristolochia. The plant Aristolochia

clematitis keeps flies in temporary confinement for the purpose of pollination.
Mezger conducted his proving in 1939, shortly before the outbreak of the
Second World War. He builded up his experience with the remedy during the war
and in the years after. He

frequently mentions confinement and dwelling in camps as causative factors for

complaints cured by Aristolochia. Its name means 'the best possible delivery',
referring to its ancient use in assisting childbirth. As it happens, the time during
which a woman is confined to bed during labour and immediately after giving
birth, is called confinement.

The following symptom, from the proving by Robbins, seems to support the
theme of confinement / restraint: "As if my hands were bound and that I am not
capable to work out my day as I wanted. Programmed by other people also for
the rest of the whole week."

M Ailments from trauma, shock, bad news.

Shocked out of a pleasant situation. Feels abused.

Losing and forgetting things after trauma.

Fear of forgetting; fear of losing one's feelings.

Need to write things down so they are not lost.

Loss of conception of time. Makes mistakes in time, day, dates, etc. [Robbins]

G Tendency to obesity or "a sensation of an increase in weight." [Mezger]

G Great tiredness and exhaustion.

Or/and: alternating with unusual activity and ability to perform.

G Great chilliness, not relieved by outer warmth.

G Desire for and amelioration by cool air [in spite of chilliness].

[general; headache; coryza]

• "Other symptoms are better from local heat and worse from cold, particularly
the facial neuralgia, toothache and cough." [Mezger]

G Insatiable hunger.

G Sleeplessness or restless sleep.

Esp. before menses or with urinary problems.

G < Night 2-4 a.m.

• "Several provers awoke at 2-3 a.m. and could not fall asleep before 4-5 a.m. "

[Mezger]

G > Motion.

[general; joints]

G > ONSET OF ANY DISCHARGE. [Lach.]

G Sensation as if getting the influenza.

Sore and aching all over; chilliness and fever.

Influenza after silent grief. [Robbins]

G Metallic feeling.

As if blood vessels were metallic. As if nerve paths were like thin metal wires.

Wirelike feeling in shoulders. As if wire from back of head to forehead.

Ligaments as if made out of wires. [Robbins]

G NEVER WELL SINCE HORMONAL TREATMENT / PILL.

• "One may very often replace the hormonal treatment of women with
Aristolochia, or where there is disability from hormone treatment where women
in the height of sexual activity after labour or similar situations lose their
menses, Aristolochia is particularly indicated." [Mezger]

G MENSES absent, short lasting, late. Black blood with clots.

G AMENORRHOEA on account of late menarche; [after] childbirth; [early]

menopause;

[after] exhausting diseases; disturbed ovulation.

Amenorrhoea due to confinement in prison, camps, flight or travel.

• "In routine office work first consideration is to be given to Aristolochia before

any other remedy [unless definitely indicated] in any case of suppressed or
deficient menses

[such as is usually associated with Pulsatilla] as well as in the average case of

cystitis."

[Whitmont]

G P.M. S.

c Acne.

c Pain and sensation of hardness in breasts [or in left breast only].

c Abdominal cramps.

c Distension of abdomen.

c Heaviness in legs.

c Swelling of fingers and legs.

c Swollen and distended varices.

c Swelling of feet and ankles.

c Joint pains.

c Sleeplessness and restlessness.

G FEMALE ORGANS: Brown discharge, watery.

Eczema of vulva. Voluptuous itching [> leucorrhoea].

G Infertility and suppressed or weakened menses.

G Menopause.

c Excessive flushes of heat with perspiration.

c Arthritis, esp. of knee joints.

c Chronic eczema [pimples and vesicles with violent itching].

G One-sided symptoms esp. right.

• "This remedy is a right side remedy. Somehow I have a need, a want to drag
the right foot. Wandering pains of short duration mainly on the right side of the
body. Tingling cold chill down right leg and right side of body on falling asleep.
Sciatic nerve pain, right side. Right sole numb, soles burning and spongy
feeling." [Robbins]

P Headache, diffused, morning on rising;

> Open air; cold compresses; onset of coryza.

< Bending forward.

P Emotional, anticipatory enteritis and colitis.

• "Aristolochia has a marked affinity for the colon. Characteristic is a 'never-get-

done-feeling', a feeling as if more will come, which frequently is the case."
[Mezger]

P Urinary tract [irritation, inflammation, cystitis, pyelitis, polyuria].

Renal and vesical pains with frequent micturition.

• "Excel ent remedy for irritability of the bladder following cystitis from cold.
The main indication is frequent nocturnal urging, awakening the patient every 15
to 30 minutes.

Also useful in cases of enuresis nocturna." [Mezger]

• "A very marked homoeopathic aggravation is apparent, particularly with

irritated bladders and cystitis from residual urine among soldiers as result of
freezing in the Russian campaign. This is most annoying because of the
continuous urinary urging which interrupts the sleep. Here Aristolochia appears
to be particularly specific. Soldiers who had to urinate every 1/4 to 1/2 hr. during
the night were soon freed of their trouble."

[Mezger]

P Poorly healing skin, wounds. Infected wounds.

All sorts of suppurations.

Blisters from rubbing shoes, rowing, garden work, horseback riding, etc.

• "For external applications it seems to be superior to Calendula." [Whitmont]

• "Excellent remedy for girls with acne and delayed menarche." [Mezger]

Chronic and acute eczemas, dermatitis.

• "In the skin we have blisters, pimples, a violently itching and burning eczema,
particularly on the neck, the scalp, the forearm and the vulva with the formation
of crusts.

This is particularly the case during the menopause from ovarian insufficiency.
Eczemas and dermatitis, particularly baker's eczema or from wetting." [Mezger]

- Original proving in: Mezger, Gesichtete Homöopatische Arzneimittellehre, pp.

96-107.

- Summaries of the proving in: [1] Journal of the American Institute of

Homeopathy, Sept.-Oct. 1959; [2] Stephenson, A Materia Medica and Repertory;
[3] Whitmont, Psyche and Substance; [4] Julian, Dictionary of Homoeopathic
Materia Medica.

- Cases and aspects in: Michael Thompson, A little-known and underprescribed

polychrest, IFH 1996.

Rubrics

Mind

Anger before menses [1R], with trembling [1R], with weeping [1R]. Anxiety in
morning on waking [1R], anticipating an engagement [1R], with cloudiness,
confusion [1R], about future [1], about health [1R]. Aversion to husband [1R].
Confusion, loses his way in well known streets [1R]. Dancing [1R]. Delusions,
being abused [1R]. blood vessels as if metallic [1/1R], body is diminished [1R],
he is dirty [1R], everything is dirty [1R], being fat, swollen [1M], hands being
bound to body [1R], that someone were holding one's hand [1/1R], being kissed
on the lips on falling asleep [1/1R], that he is separated from the world [1R].
Fear of being alone [2], of failure [1R], of forgetting [1R], of losing one's
feelings [1R], panic attacks during menses [1R], of people [2], being ugly [1R].
Forsaken feeling, sensation of isolation [1]. Undemonstrative grief [1R].
Indifference in morning on waking [1R], to one's children [1R], to death of loved
one [1R], to everything [1R], to one's family [1R]. Industrious [1]. Irritability
alternating with loquacity during menses

[1R]. Loquacity during menses [1R]. Restlessness in bed [1], before menses [1].
Sadness

> open air [1], during menopause [1], before menses [1R], during menses [1R],
> menses

[1]. Suicidal disposition; detached and unreachable [1R]. Time passes too
quickly [1R].

Always washing her hands [1R]. Weeping [1].

Vertigo

In bed [1R]. With nausea [1]. From sunlight and heat [1R].
Head

Constriction, as of a band, occiput [1R]. Empty, hollow sensation [1R]. Pain, in

morning on rising [1], > open air [1], < bending forward [1], > cold damp
compresses [1], with icy coldness of body [1R], < motion [1R], < noise [1R], >
onset of coryza [1], after menses

[1]. Sensitiveness of scalp or brain to change in temperature [1R].

Eye

Sensation of eye falling out when falling asleep [1/1R]. Lachrymation < bright
light [1],

< reading [1]. Burning pain < bright light [1], < reading [1].

Vision

Colours, iridescent blue on closing eyes [1/1R]. Sensation of looking through a

hole

[1/1R]. Loss of vision, darkness before eyes on rising [1]. Zigzags before
headache [1R].

Nose

Coryza > morning on rising [1], > open air [1]; profuse [1]. Smell acute for
odour of coffee [1R].

Mouth

Oily taste [1R].

Stomach

Appetite decreased [1], ravenous during nausea with vertigo [1/1], ravenous and
chilliness [1/1].

Rectum

Discharge of mucus, without stool [1]. Constant urging after eating [1], after
stool [2].

Bladder

Irritation of bladder [= constant urging] after exposure to cold [2M]. Frequent

urination at night [1M].

Prostate

Pain, chronic inflammation, < cold [2M].

Female

Itching voluptuous [1], > leucorrhoea [1]. Menses black, with clots [1], copious
[1], too frequent [2], painful [1], scanty [2], suppressed from cold [1].

Larynx

Voice, hoarseness during tonsillitis [1].

Back

Pain, cervical region extending to occiput [1R], sore, bruised, lumbar region,
over kidneys [1R].

Limbs

Awkwardness, hands, drops things [1R]. Sensation of heaviness in legs > menses
[1].

Tearing pain in joints during pregnancy [1R]. Swelling of feet before menses [1].
Tension and swelling of varicose veins during menses [1].

Sleep

Interrupted, 2-4 a.m. or 3-5 a.m.[2] .

Dreams

Babies [1R]. Breastfeeding [1R]. Childbirth [2R]. Danger [1R]. Disgusting [1R].
Losing things [1R]. Rape [1R]. Shock [1R]. Threats [1R]. Stories of trauma
[1R].

Chill

At night during menses [1].

Perspiration

During slight exertion [1R]. At night during menses [1]. Offensive odour [1R].

Generals

Varicose veins during pregnancy [2R].

* Repertory additions [M] = Mezger; [R] =Robbins.

Food

Aversion: [1]: Coffee [R]; salt [R]; spicy [R]; sweets [R]; tea [R]; wine [R].

Desire: [1]: Bacon [R]; bitter [R]; black tea [R]; chocolate [R]; coffee [R];
orange juice

[R]; salty fatty meat [metwurst] [R]; salty and spicy [R]; sweets [R]; tasteless
food [R; on account of very acute taste]; tea [R].

Worse: [1]: Cold food; fats and rich food [R]; milk [diarrhoea]; sauerkraut [=
vomiting].

Better: [1]: Milk [vomiting].

[R] Repertory additions based on Robbins' proving.

Arnica montana

Arn.

Work is the greatest thing in the world,

so we should always save some of it for tomorrow.

[Don Herold]

Signs

Arnica montana. Mountain Tobacco. Leopard's Bane. Wolf's Bane. Fallherb.

N.O. Compositae.

CLASSIFICATION Belonging to the Compositae, or Daisy family, the genus

Arnica comprises approximately 50 species of perennial rhizomatous herbs with
simple leaves and daisy-like heads of flowers that bear distinct rays. The genus
occurs in north temperate regions and the Arctic.

HABITAT Arnica is very much an alpine plant. It prefers open landscapes and a
massive flow of incoming sunlight at high altitudes; the higher it grows the more
aromatic it becomes. Growing naturally on places where climbing accidents and
falls can occur, Arnica

has

proved

effective

for

circulatory

problems

and

exhaustion

from

mountaineering, especially in extreme altitudes. Arnica grows best in moist,

peaty, siliceous soils. Chalk is its enemy, and harmful to it even in small
quantities; artificial fertilizers will kill it.

CONSTITUENTS Volatile oil [0,5-1%]; arnicin; arnisterol [arnidiol];

anthoxanthine; tannin; resin; inulin; manganese [in ashes].

PHYSIOLOGICAL ACTION "Arnica is irritant, stimulant, depressant,

antipyretic, diuretic, and a vulnerary. It irritates the gastrointestinal tract, and in
alcoholic solution excites erysipelatous inflammation of the skin in some
persons. In small doses it increases the action of the heart, raises the arterial
tension, and stimulates the action of the skin and kidneys. Large doses produce a
transient excitement, followed by depressed circulation, respiration and
temperature; violent headache, dilated pupils, and muscular paresis. A toxic dose
paralyzes the nervous system of animal and organic life, causing collapse and
death."1

NAME The name is derived from the Greek anakis, lambskin, in allusion to the
texture of the leaves; the specific name montana refers to its natural habitat in
Central Europe, being relatively high mountain meadows around the 1,000 metre
mark.

WOLF "Arnica carries the wild nature of the wolf after whom she is named. Her
flowers are like yellow wolf's eyes in which the captured mountain sun glistens.
'Wolf's Eye',

'Wolf's Yellow', Wolfesgelega - these old German names tell us about the wild,
self-willed, even dangerous power of Arnica. ... And in the leopard names that
she attracts in the English-speaking world lie her elegance and wild beauty. ... A
plant with such strong radiance has always attracted people and inspired
different names. Most of them refer to Arnica's healing properties: Fallherb in
English and, in German, 'Wellbestow',

'Prickherb', 'Woundherb', 'Snuffplant', the latter addressing the sneeze-provoking

effect of the pulverized dried flowers. Used as a tobacco substitute, Arnica has
been called Mountain Tobacco, 'Smokeherb' in German, and tabaco de
montana."2

TORN "On mountain slopes, at an altitude of about 3000 feet grows Arnica
montana.

Where trees have been felled, in clearings of the woods, the plant thrives on a
specific soil: It seeks an environment of peat-moors where the debris of plants
and soil meet to
form a layer of decay. There the plant sends its root deep down until it reaches a
humus layer below. From this zone of debris, where 'torn' parts of earth and plant
life mix, it raises its beautiful orange coloured head on a hairy stem of a length
of eight to twenty inches. The petals, always very regularly arranged in the
relatives of the family of composites, show with Arnica a strange unique
irregularity, which gives the appearance as if the leaves of the crown were torn
apart. Also in a rather unique way the crown attracts many insects which not
only live in it, but also of the plant. One of them a fly, Tripeta arnicivora and its
larvae, like larvae of another fly, Tetritis arnicae, live and find their nourishment
in the bottom of the crown. In addition, a number of fungi grow as parasites on
the surface of the plant. In an environment of the remainders of cut-down trees,
with its root anchored in a zone of decay, Arnica montana seems to thrive on
debris. Where the soil is 'torn apart', where insect life tears and wears the life
substance, Arnica apparently develops substances through which it withstands
the dangers of injury from below and above."3

GOETHE The German poet Goethe used Arnica to strengthen his heart. From
his deathbed, he wrote: "When life and death began their struggle within me, I
sensed how the hosts of life, this flower on their standard, forced the issue, and
the stagnating forces of the enemy, the deathly oppressive powers, meet their
Austerlitz. Rejuvenated in my recovery I praise this herb most highly, yet in truth
it is nature who praises herself, she who is truly inexhaustible, who creates this
flower with its healing powers, and in doing so once more proclaims herself to
be eternally procreative."4

COMPOSITAE Structurally, the family of the Compositae is considered the

crown of the vegetable kingdom, as it has attained its maximum degree of
specialization in its rayed and tubular florets. "Compositae in which the basic
theme of the family has been fully developed, have tubular disk-florets
surrounded by a circlet of ligulate ray-florets.

These look like petals because the corolla tube is slit open and spreads out
horizontally, like a tongue or strap. The disk-florets [tubular] tend to be
hermaphrodite and have stamens and pistils, whilst the ray-florets are female,
with pistils only. If the whole capitulum consists of ligulate florets, these are
hermaphrodite. In some species, all the florets are tubular. Thus the thistles
produce only tubular florets, chicory and dandelion only ligulate florets. The
sunflower, ox-eye daisy, garden marigold and arnica appear to have achieved
perfection in this respect, for they produce a distinct periphery and centre, outer
circlet and disc, and the whole is in equilibrium. ... In all, the Compositae type
may be said to be very plastic and variable, with little tendency to harden. It is
intimately bound up with the cosmic spheres, the world of light, and shuns
darkness and proliferative moisture."5

CONSTITUENTS COMPOSITAE Compositae do not accumulate aluminium,

but many do accumulate selenium. Arnica contains sesquiterpene lactones
[helenaline], flavonoids, volatile oil [thymol], polysaccharides [inulin] and
mucilage. Inulin occurs in many plants of the family Compositae. Stored in their
underground organs in autumn and winter, it partially or completely replaces
starch as a reserve food. It is a "strange compound somewhere between the sugar
and the starch processes which reminds somehow of 'liver starch' [glycogen]."6
Inulin passes unabsorbed through the digestive system, remaining neutral to
cellular activity, and thus is used to sweeten foods consumed by diabetic
patients. Plant species with the highest amounts in inulin are, in order of
importance: Chicory

[Cichorium], Burdock [Arctium lappa], Elecampane [Inula], Dandelion

[Taraxacum], Coneflower [Echinacea], Costus [Saussurea], and Arnica. These

are all composites. Inulin has antidiabetic, gastrostimulant, hypoglycaemic,
immunostimulant, lipolytic, and probiotic actions. The ash of Arnica montana
contains manganese.

PROVING •• [1] Hahnemann - 10 provers; method: unknown.

•• [2] Jörg - 11 provers [10 males, 1 female], 1823; method: repeated doses of
1/2 to 8

ounces of infusion of flowers, or of 6 to 65 drops of tincture, for periods ranging

from 2

to 16 days.

•• [3] Von Szontagh - self-experimentation; daily doses of 3 drops of 3x for 5

days; daily doses of mother tincture in amounts increasing from 1 drop on first
day to 100 drops on 18th day.

[1] Potter, A Compend of Materia Medica. [2] Fischer-Rizzi, Medicine of the

Earth. [3]
Gutman, Homoeopathy. [4-6] Pelikan, Healing Plants.

Affinity

BLOOD. BLOOD VESSELS. Nerves. Muscles. Digestive organs.

Modalities

Worse: INJURIES [BRUISES; shock; jarring; labour; over-exertion; sprains].

TOUCH.

After sleep. Motion. Old age. Alcohol. Rest, lying long on one side. Damp, cold.
Blowing nose. Sugar.

Better: Lying [with head low; outstretched]. Open air, cold bathing. Uncovering.

Changing position. Sitting erect. Wind in face.

Main symptoms

M Obstinate and headstrong resistance to other people's opinions.

Would like to quarrel with everybody. Up against the whole world.

Wants to know better than everybody; no one can take him up.

Disdainful and imperious. Opinionated.

Thinks he has an important task to perform.

• "Inclination to perform greater literary work than can be accomplished without

injury to health."

• "Uneasiness of body and mind, feeling as if prevented from doing something

necessary." [Allen]

• "The need to be able to face an ordeal with the fear of failure behind it. In order
to overcome the obstacles placed before them they must be strong and not lose
control, acting as if they know better than the other person does. They will even
push themselves way past what would be normally required of them. Even when
they are unwell they will keep on pushing themselves to finish the task at hand
because of this fear of failing. ...

Consider the situation in which the plant is found, on the mountain side, a place
common for trauma and away from any further assistance, the injured would
need to be able to rally themselves in those instances to push on for more
assistance. Here it would draw on one's reserves to keep going, even when more
than likely you felt it would be best to stop.

To stop would be perilous as your survival depends on getting to your destiny

and you would have to put on a 'brave face' in front of others to show that you
are capable. This would also be seen in situations of battle where trauma and
injury were common place and again it was important to keep going and be
strong."1

• "Whatever the injury an 'It won't real y hurt me' attitude. A reaction of the
'hero.' If there is lung cancer, still continuing to smoke, getting on with their
normal life. It is a demonstration that they can overcome everything. No
surrender. Dictatorial behaviour,

with the same weakness of all dictatorial people. Black and white thinking, very
rigid.

You don't find them so much in a place of power, it is more apparent in the way
they behave and think. This is the way things are and that's it! They can not
deviate from their own way of thinking. The thought that another person might
enter this tower, feels like an injury. In our culture we occasionally find this kind
of very superficial attitude, for example in single-minded sportsmen. ... The
main idea is to be conservative and to retain one's structure. They need to be
conservative in order to do so."2

M The School of Hard Knocks.

• "Arnica corresponds to people who 'push themselves too hard' and work
themselves to death. They want to be indispensable, and throw themselves into
great, heroic activity, where they are certain to receive the maximum number of
blows, the greatest amount of distress. If the first marathoner had taken Arnica,
perhaps he would not have died at the end of his run. Why did he want to run so
fast without stopping? Why did he not pass the baton to another? Arnica must
learn that no one is alone on this earth, that we must delegate to others, not
sustain them by our effort alone." [Grandgeorge]
• "This is what I often find in the case histories, a tendency to injure or hurt
themselves

- Arnica people place themselves in Arnica situations. ... Important to Arnica is

to be strong in all situations, even when ill. ... Doing something wrong and being
caught is something they want to avoid, hence they are critical of others doing
something they wouldn't do."3

M Whole body OVERSENSITIVE; wants to be left alone; says there is nothing

the matter with him, sends the doctor away.

Fear of TOUCH.

• "I have seen oversensitiveness of the body alternating with oversensitiveness of

the disposition, and even occurring at the same time." [Hahnemann]

M STARTING FROM SLEEP, caused by frightful dreams, after an accident or

injury; awakes in terror; horror of instant death.

• "Patients who are fearful but fear remains at night after an accident [Fear
persists day and night: Op.]." [Mathur]

Nightmares after an accident.

M Patients who worry and exaggerate trivial symptoms.

M Ailments from injuries, physical [esp. soft parts] or mental [trauma or grief;
remorse; sudden financial loss; fright, anger].

Due to mental or physical SHOCK.

G Mental symptoms alternate with uterine symptoms. [Mathur]

G Bad effects of mechanical injury, even of remote origin.

G < NIGHT.

G < Becoming heated; > cold bathing.

G SORE, BRUISED SENSATION all over body, or of affected part.

Sensation as if bed is too hard. Has to change position frequently.

Pain as if beaten.

G OFFENSIVE discharges.

[breath, taste, eructations, vomit, flatus, stool, sweat, smell of spoiled eggs]

G HAEMORRHAGIC TENDENCY; bruises easily.

• "Persons who remain long impressed by even slightest mechanical injuries."

[Mathur]

• "Prevents post-partum haemorrhage and puerperal complications if given just

after

delivery." [Mathur]

G Left-sided paralysis.

And Full, strong pulse, sighing, muttering and stertorous breathing.

And Unconsciousness.

P Congestion to head, and heat; nose and body cold.

P Meningitis/epilepsy from traumatic injuries.

P Ménière's disease.

And Vertigo [inclined to fall to the left], salivation, deafness, vomiting, coldness
in occiput.

P Hoarseness or cough from overexertion of larynx [singers, clergymen, military

men].

P Gout or rheumatism and great fear of being touched.

P Very painful acne and small boils.

[1] Avedissian, "I am o.k. , are you o. k?", Arnica montana and its use in
constitutional cases, HL 1/97. [2] Mangialavori, "Someone who doesn't forget
pains", Arnica montana, HL 1/97 [3] Avedissian, ibid.

Rubrics

Mind

Anger alternating with lamenting [1/1], when obliged to answer [2]. Answers,
stupor returns quickly after answering [2]. Delirium declares she is well [2].
Delusion is going to have a heart disease and die [1]. Dictatorial, talking with air
of command [1]. Fear of others approaching him [3], lest he be touched [3/1], of
death at night [2], of death when alone [2; Crot-c.*], of sudden death [2], of
touch [2]. Obstinate, declares there is nothing the matter with him [3]. Desire to
be useful [1; Aur.*; Cere-b.].

Vertigo

When reading too long [1; Arg-met.*].

Head

Pain on being roused from sleep [2]; as from a nail during menses [1]; as if hair
were pulled out of occiput [1].

Vision

Diplopia on looking downward [2].

Ear

Noises caused by rush of blood to head [1/1].

Hearing

His own voice seems distant [1]. Impaired after concussion [3].

Nose

Heat in nose, cold to touch [1/1].

Mouth
Putrid odour[breath] after anger [1/1]. Taste like rotten eggs [3].

Teeth

Pain, > stooping [1/1].

Stomach

Sensation of a ball rolling in stomach [1/1]. Feeling as if stomach were pressing

against spine [1/1]. Vomiting from movements of foetus [1/1].

Rectum

Constipation after injury [1/1]. Diarrhoea after injury [2/1].

Kidneys

Suppression of urine from concussion of spinal column [2], with perspiration

[1].

Female

Abnormal position of foetus, as if lying crosswise [2/1]. Menses copious from

shocks

[1], foamy [1].

Chest

Sensation of coldness in region of heart [1].

Back

Pain on retaining urine [1].

Sleep

Disturbed, from movement of foetus [1].

Dreams
Being buried alive [2]. Dogs [2]; black dogs [2/1]. Graves [2]. Lightning [2], and
thunderstorms [2]. Repeating [2].

Generals

Eruptions, small boils [3].

* Repertory additions.

Food

Aversion: [2]: Food; meat; milk; smoking; soup. [1]: Brandy; cold drinks;
tobacco.

Desire: [2]: Brandy; sour; whisky. [1]: Alcohol; beer; cold drinks; pickles;
vinegar.

Worse: [2]: Wine. [1]: Coffee.

Better: [1]: Coffee.

Arsenicum album

Ars.

A perfectionist is a man who takes infinite pains and gives them to others.

[Alan Benner]

Dust thou art, to dust returnest, was not spoken of the soul.

[H.W. Longfellow]

Signs

Arsenic Trioxide. Arsenous acid. Arsenous oxide. White arsenic.

CLASSIFICATION Metallic arsenic belongs to the nitrogen family [group 15 of

the periodic table] and is classified as a metalloid. Arsenic has three allotropes -
yellow, black, and grey. The grey metallic form is the stable and most common
ore. Arsenic compounds were described and used in antiquity, especially as
poisons. Albertus Magnus is credited with isolation of arsenic from the mineral
orpiment in 1250 AD The first precise directions for the preparation of arsenic
can be found in Paracelsus' writings.

OCCURRENCE Arsenic probably occurs throughout the universe; meteorites

are reported to contain from 0.0005 to 0.1% arsenic. Its occurrence in the earth's
crust is 1.8

parts per million, placing arsenic as the 52nd out of 103 elements. Native arsenic
is rare; native antimony is nearly indistinguishable from it. Arsenic in its
elemental state is found in silver ore veins. Over 150 minerals contain arsenic
but the main sources are sulphides and sulphosalts such as arsenopyrite [iron
arsenide sulphide], orpiment [arsenic sulphide], realgar [arsenic sulphide],
lollingite [iron arsenide], stibarsen [antimony arsenic], and tennantite [copper
arsenic sulphide]. Its main natural occurrences include Europe

[Vosges, France; Kongsberg, Norway; Saxony and Harz Mountains, Germany;

England; Italy] and the USA [Santa Cruz Co., Arizona, New Jersey].

PROPERTIES When heated to burn in air, it will burn with a bluish flame and
give off

an odour of garlic and dense white fumes of arsenic trioxide. It is stable in dry
air, but tarnishes on exposure to humid air, forming a black modification.

USES Metallic arsenic is used in metallurgy for hardening copper [improving its
corrosion resistance and thermal properties], lead [improving the roundness of
lead shot], non-ferrous alloys; in automotive body solder; in semiconductor
materials; in the manufacture of low-melting glass [serving as a decolourizer]; as
growth stimulant for plants and animals [livestock and poultry]; as wood
preservative, herbicide, and pesticide.

NAME The name is derived from Gr arsenikon [from Arab az-zernikh,

orpiment], yellow orpiment. The alchemists associated it with Gr arsèn, male,
assuming that arsenic was of a sulphuric nature and thus male, sulphur being
considered the king of metals.

TRIOXIDE Arsenic trioxide, consisting of 75.74% arsenic and 24.26% oxygen

as white or transparent, glassy, amorphous lumps or crystalline powder, sublimes
unchanged when slowly heated. When rapidly heated the crystals sublime
without fusion, while the amorphous form first fuses and then sublimes. It
sparingly and extremely slowly dissolves in cold water, but dissolves readily in
boiling water as well as in diluted hydrochloric acid, in alkali hydroxide or
carbonate solutions. The substance is incompatible with tannic acid, iron in
solution, and infusion cinchona and other vegetable astringent infusions and
decoctions.

HISTORY "A hundred years ago the total world production of arsenic trioxide
was about 10,000 tons. At that time, arsenic compounds were used in the
manufacture of lead shot and glass, as well as in medicine. Copper hydrogen
arsenite, generally known as Scheele's green, was widely used as a pigment in
wallpaper and textile printing and even in confectionery. By the early part of the
20th century, arsenic compounds were being used in wood preservatives, sheep
dips, fly papers and a variety of agricultural pesticides.

Today the total consumption of arsenic is about 50,000 tons; a further quantity of
at least 10,000 tons is added to the environment each year through the burning of
coal."2

USES Arsenic trioxide is the primary material for all arsenic compounds. Used
in the manufacture of glass, Paris green [insecticide containing arsenic and
copper], enamels, weed killers, metallic arsenic; for preserving hides; killing
rodents and insects; in sheep dips; textile mordant. Formerly used as parasiticide,
also for parasitic skin and blood diseases; in rheumatism, asthma and heaves,
and as an alterative. Arsenic compounds are also used in certain paints,
wallpaper, and ceramics.

DUST Arsenic is shapeless and exists merely as a kind of dust, being found in
traces in ores of other elements. Expressing a state of utmost dryness, it seems
not to be able to build crystalline structures of its own. It is in a permanent state
of disintegration and dust-like dissolution. 3 To conceal their declining beauty, to
renew their faded charms, or to obtain "a fresh complexion, a round form,
smooth skin, and shining hairs, many ladies, including actresses and courtesans"
made use of arsenic intentionally and consciously. 4

PHYSIOLOGY "From arsenic-containing soils arsenic passes into plants and for
this reason it is not surprising that the animal body, likewise the human, contains
light traces.

Gautier in particular has found it regularly in the thyroid, moreover in the

thymus, the brain and in traces in the skin and hair and he ascribed a physiologic
role to it. It is said to leave in men through the hair and in women with the
menstrual blood and milk. It remains longest in the hair. ... The hair of men who
live in the English manufacturing cities regularly contains arsenic in traces while
the hair of people in regions where peat is

burned is always free from arsenic. ... Even if arsenic is not a physiologically
necessary constituent of the body, still frequently traces are found in the normal
and it is remarkable that the thyroid seems to be the depot while the skin and
accessory structures are excretory sites with definite affinity. ... The sensitization
for arsenic through hyperthyroidism, which we also found in phosphorus, has
been experimentally confirmed."5 According to recent research, however, most
dietary arsenic ends up in the liver and muscle. Arsenic has a predilection for the
skin and is excreted by desquamation of skin and in sweat, particularly during
periods of profuse sweating. It also concentrates in nails and hair.

EFFECTS High or repeated exposure to arsenic or arsenic compounds can result

in nerve damage, with 'pins and needles sensation', numbness and weakness of
arms and legs, oedema of the face and eyelids, generalized itching, as well as
poor appetite, nausea, stomach cramps, nose ulcers, hoarseness, damage to the
liver, blood vessels or red blood cells. "Peripheral vascular disease has been
observed in persons with chronic exposure to arsenic in drinking water in
Taiwan and Chile; it is manifested by acrocyanosis and Raynaud's phenomenon
and may progress to endarteritis obliterans and gangrene of the lower extremities
[blackfoot disease]. This specific effect seems to be related to the cumulative
dose of arsenic, but the prevalence is uncertain because of difficulties in
separating arsenic-induced peripheral vascular disease from other causes of
gangrene.

Recently, Engel and Smith [1994] found an increase in mortality from vascular
disease for U.S. counties where arsenic in drinking water exceeded 20mg/dl but
the authors recognize that the relationship may be spurious."6 Overexposure has
been associated with an increased risk of skin, liver, bladder, kidney and lung
cancer. Skin contact can cause burning, itching, thickening, rashes, and
darkening or loss of pigment in patchy areas. Some persons develop white lines
on the nails. Organic forms [arsenic combined with carbon and hydrogen] are
less harmful than inorganic forms. The most reliable test for low level arsenic
exposure is measuring arsenic in the urine, which must be done soon after
exposure since arsenic stays in the body only a short time. The test for high
levels of arsenic exposure [over longer periods], is measuring arsenic in hair or
fingernails.

Arsenic in nails produces transverse white bands across fingernail [Mee's lines],
which appear about 6 weeks after the onset of symptoms of toxicity.

SYMPTOMS Acute arsenic poisoning is characterised by the following

symptoms, which occur in about fifteen minutes to an hour: "[1] Burning pain in
oesophagus and stomach. [2] Profuse nausea and vomiting of bile stained serum
containing small flakes of mucous membrane. [3] Severe abdominal cramps. [4]
Profuse diarrhoea, with watery, bloody stools containing small flakes of mucous
membrane [rice water stools]. [5]

Excessive thirst [due to loss of fluids]. [6] Scanty, bloody urine. [7] Collapse:
cold, moist skin, slow and shallow breathing, rapid, thready pulse, etc. [8] Coma
and convulsions may occur before death, which results in from six hours to two
days. In some cases there may not be much nausea, vomiting or diarrhoea. The
patient suddenly goes into collapse, has a few convulsions and dies. If the patient
recovers from the acute symptoms, paralysis of the muscles of the extremities
may result, causing 'drop feet' or 'drop hands', from which he usually recovers,
however. ... Since arsenic is excreted much slower than it is absorbed,
cumulative symptoms, or chronic arsenic poisoning is very common. It usually
occurs from the continued medicinal use of arsenic preparations. It may also
result from inhaling fumes of arsenic, in rooms papered with wall paper
containing

arsenic dyes, from wearing clothes dyed with arsenic, or by eating food coloured
with arsenic dyes. The following symptoms, in the order of their onset, are
noticed after prolonged administration. Often the later symptoms appear before
the earlier ones. [1]

Itching of the eyelids. [2] Redness of the conjunctiva of the eyes. [3] Puffiness
about the eyes, esp. in the morning. [4] Sneezing, 'running nose' [coryza]. [5]
Tightness in the throat. [6] Hoarseness. [7] Loss of appetite, heaviness in the
stomach, nausea and vomiting. [8] Skin eruptions; red spots, areas of brownish
discolouration [very often they look like freckles] on the face or the abdomen.
Dark discolouration on the skin of the abdomen, which look like pencil marks.
In severe cases, the hair and nails may fall off.

[9] Cramplike abdominal pains. [10] Diarrhoea, with 'rice water' stools; the rice
water appearance of the stools is due to small flakes of the lining membrane of
the intestine which they contain. The following symptoms appear later and only
in severe cases: [11]

Persistent headache. [12] Pains around the knee, ankle, foot and hands. [13]
Redness and swelling of the hands and feet. [14] Areas of skin, esp. on the
extremities, which are very sensitive to touch, to pain, to heat and cold. [15] In
severe cases there are paralyses of the extensor muscles of the hands and feet,
resulting in 'drop feet' and 'drop hands'."7

TOXICOLOGY Arsenic enters the environment from its use as a pesticide and
as a wood preservative, and from emissions from smelting industries. It has a
high chronic toxicity to aquatic life, and moderate chronic toxicity to birds and
land animals. Drinking water usually contains a few micrograms of arsenic per
litre or less. Although most major U.S. drinking water supplies contain levels
lowers than 5 mcg per litre, it has been estimated that 350,000 Americans might
drink water containing more than 10 times that amount. Some mineral springs or
well waters, e.g. in Japan, Argentina, Italy, Taiwan, and Chile, contain even
higher concentrations. "There is a cloud of gloom overpowering the otherwise
sleepy town of Samta in Jessore, a northern district of Bangladesh. Almost every
home you visit there has a child or adult suffering from a mysterious disease.
Many have died and the villagers have lost count of the casualties, most of them
small children.

The symptoms are frightening: watery eyes, chronic indigestion, colds and
stomach cramps in the early stages and swollen limbs with bleeding gangrene-
like wounds in severe cases. This silent killer is arsenic which has contaminated
the drinking water of many villages in northern Bangladesh. ... According to the
World Health Organization,

[WHO], the maximum allowable arsenic content in water is .01 mg in every

1000CC of water. In the arsenic hit areas this is as high as 2.7 mg for every
1000CC of water."8 The first cases of arsenic poisoning on the Indian
subcontinent caused by contaminated groundwater occurred in the neighbouring
state of West Bengal in India, which borders Bangladesh. By the mid-1990s,
Indian doctors had detected 220,000 cases of chronic arsenic poisoniarsenic
poisoning and had dubbed it the 'biggest arsenic calamity in the world' [BMJ
1996; 313:9]. Typical symptoms of arsenic poisoning include keratosis,
melanosis, depigmentation, oedema and nephropathy. In Bangladesh, there have
been cases of squamous cell carcinoma that seem to have been attributable to
arsenic ingestion and that have occurred within 10 years of exposure.

POISONERS During the Middle Ages, professional poisoners sold their services
to royalty and the common populace. During the French and Italian Renaissance,
political assassination by poisoning was raised to an art by Pope Alexander VI
and Cesare Borgia.

"In the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries those 'Olympic' poisoners, the Borgia
family, made full use of arsenic in their cantarella, aqua di Napoli and other
subtle poisons that

could kill quickly or by slow degrees, as seemed most expedient. There was no
Marsh Test to detect the presence of arsenic, and the victims appeared, as far as
symptoms went, to have died of natural causes. Such was at any rate claimed to
be the case. A famous vendor of poisons in the seventeenth century was La
Tofania, who distributed her 'Aqua Tofa'na' to 'distressed, adulterous, neglected
or jealous wives over wellnigh all Europe.

Apparently her poison was merely crystallized arsenic compounded, for no

apparent reason, with the herb cymbalaria.' She was executed at the age of 70.
'After La Tofania's death fewer husbands died suddenly in Italy.' So common
was death by poisoning in the glamorous era of Louis XIV, Le Roi Soleil, that
the period was known as the Age of Arsenic."9 Dubbed 'inheritance drug' or
'succession powder' Arsenic was also the preferred poison of legacy-hunters.

DECAY The ancients had the idea that the bodies of those who have been
poisoned decay rapidly. "Even so lately as 1776 we find Gmelin stating in his
History of Mineral Poisons, that the bodies of those who have died of arsenic
pass rapidly into putrefaction, that the nails and hair often fall off the day after
death, and that almost the whole body quickly liquefies into a pulp. ... Loebel
also asserts he found by experiments on animals, that after death from arsenic
putrefaction took place rapidly, even in very cold weather. ...

But it has been proved in recent times that in general arsenic has rather the
contrary tendency, - that, besides the antiseptic virtues which it has been long
known to exert when directly applied in moderate quantity to animal substances,
it also possesses the singular property of enabling the bodies of men and animals
poisoned with it both to resist decay unusually long, and to decay in an unusual
manner. ... In every instance putrefaction made more or less progress at first; but
in a few days a peculiar garlicky odour arose, from which time the progress of
decay seemed to be arrested; and the bodies underwent a process of hardening
and desiccation which completely preserved them. ...

Arsenic is a good preservative of animal textures when it is directly applied to

them in sufficient quantity. This is well known to stuffers of birds and beasts. It
is now likewise known to be an excellent substances for preserving bodies, when
injected in the form of solution into the blood vessels. Hence, in a case of
poisoning the arsenic be not discharged by vomiting, and the patient die soon, it
will act as an antiseptic on the stomach at least, perhaps on the intestines also;
while the rest of the body may decay in the usual manner. ... The reasons
assigned will not account for all the apparent cases of the preservative powers of
arsenic. And especially they will not explain how the whole body has sometimes
resisted decay altogether, and become as it were mummified. It is impossible to
ascribe this preservation to the antiseptic power of the arsenic diffused
throughout the body in the blood; the quantity there being extremely small.
Consequently if the preservation of the bodies is not occasioned by some
accidental collateral cause, this property of arsenic must depend on its causing,
by some operation on the living body, a different disposition and affinity among
the ultimate elements of organized matter, and so alternating the operation of
physical laws on it. ... An important consequence of the preservative tendency of
arsenic is, that in many instances the body of this kind of poisoning may be
found long after death in so perfect a state as to admit of an accurate medico-
legal inspection and a successful chemical analysis."10

ENDURANCE "The term poison is a relative one. The degree of toxicity will
depend on several factors - the size of the dose, the form in which it is
administered, the portal of entry into the body, and of special significance, the
susceptibility or otherwise of the

dosee. In his book on poisons, Schenk attests - 'I have seen and spoken to many
arsenic eaters in Styria, Lower Austria and Carinthia. Woodcutters, hunters and
mountain guides in these districts believe that arsenic makes the breathing easier
and the step more certain.
I myself saw a porter in Deutsch-Landsberg at the foot of the Kor Alp consume a
lump of arsenic the size of a pea. I estimated it at almost half a gram - four times
the fatal dose."11 As a tonic, arsenic, in small doses, was popular with Victorian
businessmen.

Charles Dickens also resorted to it. The habit of eating arsenic was not restricted
to Europe. It seems to have been quite common in 19th-century Canada and
America, where

"it is largely consumed by the young ladies. ... One of the benefits said to accrue
from its use is that it gives a plumpness to the figure, softness to the skin,
freshness to the complexion, and brilliancy to the eye. For this purpose, young
men and maidens resort to it, to increase their charms, and render themselves
acceptable and fascinating to each other."12 The Far East knew the habit as well:
Mongolian hunters consumed arsenic to enable them to endure cold when
patiently lying on the snow to entrap martins. In China, divers took it before
plunging in cold water to catch fish.

SOURCES Fish and shellfish build up organic arsenic in their tissues; hence
these, particularly shellfish, are the richest food source of arsenic. Some meats,
esp. poultry and pigs, contain organic arsenic because they have been given
traces of arsenic in their feeds to improve growth and to control disease.
"Arsenic compounds were originally used to treat coccidiosis, a wasting disease
in chickens; the growth-promoting effects was discovered accidentally. A bottle
of wine may contain as much as 50 mcg of arsenic, from pesticides used in
vineyards. Seaweed [or kelp] tablets, sold in health food shops, contain
significant amounts of arsenic. A person who eats fish every day may take in as
much as 250 mcg of arsenic per day - but even this amount is unlikely to be
dangerous."13 Plants with the highest amounts include Isatis tinctoria [dyer's
woad], Fucus vesiculosus [kelp], Rhodymenia palmata [dulse], Chondrus crispus
[Irish moss], Citrus paradisi [grapefruit], Citrus medica [citron], Cetraria
islandica [Iceland moss], and Vicia faba [broadbean].

MEDICINE The first successful antisyphilitic agent was an arsenic compound,

'Salvarsan'. Produced in 1909 by the German chemist Ehrlich, the drug was part
of Ehrlich's search for the 'magic bullet', a drug that would destroy bacteria
circulating in the blood without killing or seriously damaging the patient. Ehrlich
believed that organic compounds of arsenic would provide such a drug and
invented them by the hundred.

Number 606 was not successful against the infection for which it was intended,
but turned out to be very effective in the treatment of syphilis. Number 606,
afterwards named salvarsan, was much used for many years to combat syphilis,
until superseded by penicillin. Salvarsan was the first man-made chemical to be
effective against a major disease; its appearance marked the beginning of
modern chemotherapy. 14 At the end of the 1990s the uses of arsenic as a
medicine again came into fashion. "Two years ago, Chinese researchers reported
that low doses of arsenic trioxide induced remission in patients with acute
promyelocytic leukaemia [APL], prompting physicians in the West to undertake
their own pilot study. ... In the pilot study, 12 patients who had relapsed from
conventional therapy were treated with low doses of arsenic trioxide. Eleven of
the 12

patients achieved remission anywhere from 12 to 39 days after treatment started,

experiencing only mild side effects. The single patient who failed to reach
remission died from a complication related to the disease five days after arsenic
treatment began and

could not be evaluated in the study. Once remission was achieved, each patient
received a brief treatment break, which was followed with repeated courses of
arsenic trioxide therapy every three to six weeks thereafter. After two cycles of
therapy, the investigators conducted additional tests to determine whether any
molecular evidence of leukaemia remained. Three patients tested positive for
molecular evidence of the disease and later relapsed with APL, while eight
patients tested negative for molecular evidence of APL

and remained in remissions that lasted as long as 10 months. To date, several

patients have received up to six courses of arsenic treatment without
experiencing cumulative side effects."15

PROVINGS •• [1] Hahnemann - 8 provers; method: unknown.

•• [2] Imbert-Gourbeyre - 11 provers [10 males, 1 female], 1863; method: 4th

trit., 1-3

times daily for 5-15 days; 8th trit., 3 daily doses for 4 days; 13th trit., 3 daily
doses for 9
days.

[1] Merck Index. [2] Lenihan, The Crumbs of Creation. [3] Hauschka,
Substanzlehre. [4]

Lewin, Phantastica. [5] Leeser, Textbook of Hom. MM, Inorganic Medicinal

Substances.

[6] Klaassen, Casarett and Doull's Toxicology. [7] Blumgarten, Materia Medica
for Nurses. [8] People and the Planet Vol. 6/3, 1997. [9] Gibson, Studies of
Homoeopathic Remedies. [10] Christison, A Treatise on Poisons. [11] Gibson,
ibid. [12] Cooke, The Seven Sisters of Sleep. [13-14] Lenihan, ibid. [15] Arsenic
Shown To Induce Remission Of Promyelocytic Leukaemia, New England
Journal of Medicine Nov. 1998.

Affinity

MUCOUS MEMBRANES. MIND. RESPIRATION. Lungs; right, apex. Blood.

Heart.

Nerves. SPLEEN. Lymphatics. Muscles. SKIN. Serous cavities. Organs.

* RIGHT SIDE. Left side.

Modalities

Worse: COLD [ICE CREAM; COLD DRINKS; COLD FOOD; cold air].
EXERTION.

PERIODICALLY [after MIDNIGHT; AFTER 2 a.m.; 14 days; yearly].

DRINKING.

VEGETABLES. Infections. Bad meat. Eruptions [undeveloped; suppressed].

Quinine.

Lying on part. Tobacco.

Better: WARMTH [WARM, dry APPLICATIONS; WARM FOOD; warm

drinks; warm wraps]. Motion. Walking about. ELEVATING HEAD. Sitting
erect. Company. Cold applications and cold air [only > headache].
Main symptoms

Two THEMES:

PRESERVATION

• Forever young [use of arsenic by women]; forever strong [arsenic eaters].

• Preservative for hides; fixative for textile dyestuff; wood preservative.

• Improves corrosion resistance of copper.

• Bodies of persons poisoned with arsenic mummify.

• Arsenicum subjects want things to last - health, property and possessions,

strength, relationships, etc.

• "Arsenicum enjoys making a practical contribution to the community, and is

often active in opposing new developments which threaten the harmony and
environmental integrity of the neighbourhood." [Bailey]

DISINTEGRATION, DECLINE, DECAY, DEATH

• Dust [arsenic is a dust-like substance; dust to dust, ashes to ashes; allergy to

dust;

feeling of dust in air passages; cleaning mania].

• Weed kil er; parasiticide; insecticide; rodent kil er.

• Arsenicum subjects are preoccupied with death.

• Destructive, malignant processes.

• Discharges smel of decay.

• Sensitiveness to food that isn't entirely fresh [mouldy cheese; spoiled food; bad
meat; rancid fat; spoiled fish].

M Insecurity. Afraid to be alone, constant desire for company.

M Many FEARS: disease, cancer, robbers, poverty, death, being alone.

PREOCCUPIED with DEATH.

• "In general, these individuals dress in black and their symptoms are worse at
midnight

[the midpoint of the night, the darkest of the dark] or at midday, the midpoint of
the day, when the sun's light begins to decrease. ... The colour black symbolizes
the lack of hope in the face of death [it is not a colour, but the absence of colour,
neither reflecting nor transmitting light], and the ill person improves greatly once
he understands that the death of the body means only that 'the soul must go on!'"
[Grandgeorge]

Or: "Heavenly into white as a colour."1

• "Apt to be ful of apprehension and dread, gets al worked up if anything goes

wrong or simply over fear that something will go wrong; esp. liable to panic at
night." [Gibson]

Looks on the dark side of things. Believes that everything is tending to the worst.

• "Not only fear for themselves but for everyone connected with them. If
relations late, sure they're run over - certain everything going wrong - if anyone
coming to stay, dinner will never turn out properly. ... Distressing thoughts which
distress him - fearful, depressing. At first can put off these thoughts by talking to
someone, so always desires company, but later fear and depression may be
constant."2

M FASTIDIOUS; censorious. Fussy.

IMMACULATE OUTER APPEARANCE.

OBSESSED with ORDER AND TIDINESS.

• "Arsenicum is most liable to become irritated by untidiness, inefficiency and

waste. All of these refer to the material plane of existence, which is usually
Arsenicum's principal focus." [Bailey]

Attention to detail.
Gets security from order.

• "Irritated beyond measure by slackness or idleness on the part of others."

[Gibson]

• "The nickname for Arsenicum is the 'gold-headed cane' patient. Though so

weak that he is almost dying, he will remember to want his flowered dressing
gown, and will really suffer if the pictures are crooked on the wall." [Wright
Hubbard]

M MISERLY [avarice, can be generous, but expects something in return].

CAREFUL [afraid to take any risks].

Collects all kinds of material objects [valuable and old, antiques], likes comfort
and money [security].

Possessive. Economical. SELFISH.

• "General y they wil favour practical security over emotional satisfaction when
an opportunity for the latter may endanger the former." [Bailey]

M TREMENDOUS RESTLESSNESS.

• "There is a general air of tension, unease and restlessness - the restlessness of

the hard-

pressed executive rather than the fidgetiness of the dilettante, suggesting

Phosphorus. The Arsenicum patient makes quick movements, walks across the
floor rapidly and takes a quick look round the room; on sitting down seems
fidgety, does not wait calmly to be questioned but starts straight in to relate his
tale of symptoms." [Gibson]

M ANGUISH [fear of death], < alone.

• "Doesn't wish to be spoken to, but neither that one should leave the room."
[Charette]

• "When alone thinks about disease and similar things, from which it is difficult
to free his mind." [Allen]
M Anxiety when something is expected of him.

ANXIETY ABOUT HEALTH [clinging to a doctor, claiming reassurance [Nit-

ac.], exaggerating symptoms to assure attention]. Fixation on illnesses.

• "Comes in definitely on spot - Tells story punctuated with extreme worry and
anxiety.

Thinks they have got something definite and serious or they may be hopeless
and rather despairing. Thinks it's rather hopeless telling you about it. Impossible
for you to do them any good."3

DEPENDENCE ON OTHER PEOPLE.

Needs lots of reassurance.

• "The security-consciousness of Arsenicum women often results in a reluctance

to move far away from the parental home. Like Natrum women, they find the
proximity of their parents reassuring, and also are liable to feel guilty if they
cannot be there for them in times of need. Arsenicum men also tend to be very
diligent in caring for elderly parents, and they are liable to expect their own
offspring to do likewise." [Bailey]

G Ailments and [sudden] prostration, fear and restlessness.

G SUDDEN weakness. Weakness from slight exertion.

Prostration out of proportion to the problem.

G External coldness and internal burning.

G Poor appetite and if depressed gastric upset.

• "Definite desire for sour things, coffee and very often for milk. Also
particularly sensitive to anything that isn't quite fresh. Something that most
people can take will upset Ars. May be upset by watery or juicy fruit - melons,
pears. Causes diarrhoea - not good on vegetarian diet. Digestive upset from
vegetables and iced food in hot weather. Any alcohol <."4

G Burning, UNQUENCHABLE THIRST.

Desire for cold water, but stomach < cold water.

Drinks often and little at a time [small sips to moisten lips and mouth].

G < PHYSICAL exertion.

< Walking fast.

G < NIGHT [after midnight; 1 - 3 a.m.].

G > HEAT, except headache [> cold air].

G BURNING PAINS [like fire, sparks, hot needles or wires].

> WARMTH or warm applications.

G ACRID, thin discharges [small quantities].

G PUTRID cadaveric odours [of discharges].

G Destructive, malignant processes.

Gangrenous diseases [or tendency to ulceration], burning like fire, but > warmth.

P Acute gastroenteritis, and simultaneous vomiting and diarrhoea.

And Burning thirst, burning pains and prostration.

Vomiting and diarrhoea, and fear and restlessness, after eating ice cream.

P Asthma.

< After midnight; odours.

And Frothy expectoration, like whipped white of egg.

And Fear and restlessness.

And Burning pain in lungs.

Associated with suppressed eruptions.

P Urticaria after eating [shell]fish.

[1] Wallace, Remedy Notes. [2-5] Blackie, BHJ, April 1961.

Rubrics

Mind

Anguish, as if everything became constricted [2/1], driving from place to place

[3], with palpitation [3]. Anxiety after midnight, 3 a.m. [3], driving out of bed
[3], as if he had not done his duty [1], when anything is expected of him [2/1].
Desires to be carried fast [3].

Confusion on waking at night from an anxious dream [1*]. Delusions, body will
putrefy

[2; Bell.], contaminates everything she touches [1/1], everyone is looking at her
[3], has offended people [3], his family will starve [1], she is being watched [3].
Desires more than she needs [2]. Fear of being alone lest he die [3], of death
when alone [3], of being disabled [3]. Irresolution about trifles [1]. Joy at the
misfortune of others [1/1]. Laughing, never [3]. Cannot rest when things are not
in proper place [2]. Restlessness, wants to go from one bed to another [3].
Revealing secrets in sleep [2].

Vertigo

When walking across an open place [1/1].

Head

Itching of scalp when becoming cold [1; Sulph.].

Eye

Unable to open eyes at night [1]. Photophobia from snow [3].

Vision

Colours, blue sparks [1/1], white points [1]. Objects seem to be moving up and
down [1].
Sparks, during headache [1], during vertigo [1].

Ear

Noises, fluttering sounds when swallowing [1/1].

Nose

Epistaxis from anger [2/1], from wine [1/1].

Face

Coldness of face during headache [1]. Perspiration during palpitation [1/1].

MOUTH: Dryness, cannot moisten food [1; Merl.].

Stomach

Anxiety rising high up at night [3/1]. Coldness after cold drinks [2], after fruit
[2].

Flushes of heat extending over body [1]. Sensation of a lump after cold drinks
[2].

Rectum

Diarrhoea after anxiety [2], after ice cream [3], at seashore [2].

Kidneys

Pain < sneezing [1]; stitching on deep inspiration [2].

Female

Pain in ovaries > moving feet [2/1].

Larynx

Sensation of smoke in larynx before sleep [2/1].

Respiration
Asthmatic, after midnight, 2 a.m. [3]. Difficult, from dust [3].

Chest

Angina pectoris < drinking water [1/1], > standing [1/1].

Sleep

Sleepiness from mental exertion [3].

Dreams

Darkness [1]. Physical exertion [3]. Storms [2]. Threats [1].

Skin

Sensation as if skin would burst when moving about [1/1]. Coldness during pain
[1/1].

* Repertory addition.

Food

Aversion: [2]: Cold drinks; fats and rich foods; food, smell of; meat; sausages;
sweets.

[1]: Alcohol; beans and peas; butter; cereals; cooked food; farinaceous; flour;
fruit; gruel; meat, boiled; meat, smell of; milk; olive oil; pastry; pudding; soup;
watery fruit.

Desire: [3]: Cold drinks; olives, olive oil; warm drinks, during chill; warm food.
[2]

Brandy; bread; bread, rye; coffee; meat; milk; refreshing; sour fruit; sweets;
whiskey; wine. [1]: Bacon; beer; fat food; fat + sweet; fruit; hot food; ice; lard;
lemons; mustard; pickles; pungent; sausages; sour; vegetables; vinegar.

Worse: [3]: Cold food; fruit; meat, bad; sausages, spoiled; wine. [2]: Brandy;
butter; cheese, old; cold drinks; fat; food, smell of; frozen food; ice cream; milk;
sour; vinegar; watery fruit. [1]: Beans and peas; beer; cabbage; cheese, mouldy;
coffee; fish; fish, spoiled; flatulent food; high game; honey; hot food; meat,
fresh; meat, odour of cooking; pastry; pepper; pickles; pork; pungent; rancid fat;
raw food; salads; salt; sauerkraut; sweets; tea; veal; vegetables; water.

Better: [3]: Hot food; warm drinks. [2]: Coffee; brandy; cold drinks, during heat;
milk; vinegar. [1]: Water; wine.

Arsenicum iodatum

Ars-i.

It is difficult to keep quiet if you have nothing to do.

[Arthur Schopenhauer]

Signs

Arsenic triiodide.

CHEMISTRY Prepared from the elements or from arsenic trichloride and

potassium iodide. Orange-red, trigonal rhombohedra from acetone. Reacts
slowly with oxygen from air, liberating iodine. Some tendency to sublime below
100o. Forms a yellow solution when dissolved in water. Does not hydrolize
rapidly and may be recovered from the water solution unchanged within 5 hours.
Aqueous solutions are strongly acid. 1

Formerly used in coryza and skin diseases in doses of 0.002 g.

THYROID Both iodine and arsenic affect the thyroid. The symptoms of Ars-i.
resemble those

of

hyperthyroidism:

nervousness,

increased

activity,

increased
sweating,

palpitations, fatigue, increased appetite, and frequent bowel movement. The

thyroid gland, or the "keystone of endocrine arch", is larger and heavier in the
female than in the

male, and decreases in size with advancing years. "It is believed that in the lower
forms of life the thyroid was a sex gland and was a link between the sex glands
and the brain -

the lower quaternary and the higher triad respectively in the human body. The
thyroid is the gland that produces land animals and is very important in the
evolution of forms, and also progression. The feeding of a thyroid to a Newt
transforms it into a salamander - a land-breathing animal. The thyroid is
occasionally referred to as the vanity gland, because functional disorders in it
have a tendency to produce disproportion in the parts of the body and destroy the
pleasing aspects of the personality. This gland has a tendency to

'regulate the speed of living', and as it loses tone, the appearances of age
manifest themselves in all parts of the body. Located, as it is, in what Plato calls
the isthmus between the body and the head, the thyroid is the mediator between
the emotions and the thoughts, and the common denominator of the animal and
intellectual life."2

PROVINGS •• [1] Blakely - self-experimentation, 1866; method: six doses of 2x

in 3

days.

[1] Merckx Index. [2] Hall, Man, The Grand Symbol of the Mysteries.

Affinity

MUCOUS MEMBRANES [NOSE; digestive tract; lungs]. Heart. Glands. Skin.

Nerves.

* LEFT SIDE.

Modalities
Worse: Dry, cold weather. Windy weather. Exertion, physical. In room. Apples.
Cold bath. Lying on painful side. Warmth, warm room, warm wraps. Walking
fast, ascending; during menses. Wet weather. When hungry.

Better: Open air. Eating. Rest. Uncovering.

Main symptoms

M • "Mostly used in HYPERACTIVE CHILDREN - never still; tear up things."

[Morrison]

M • "Ars-i. subjects like to wear bright colours, the opposite of Arsenicum

album who enjoys wearing black." [Grandgeorge]

G Typical Arsenic picture but HOT and VERY RESTLESS [may be cold].

G Tubercular diathesis.

G < HEAT AND COLD.

G BURNING.

G Prostration.

• "Prostration of mind and body, literally too weak to talk, therefore the patient
seems reticent or indifferent, and totally disinclined to conversation. If
questioned too closely, will answer in monosyllables." [Kirchbaum]

G Profuse, acrid discharges [coryza, leucorrhoea, diarrhoea, otorrhoea]; thin in

acute and thick in chronic affections.

P Hot, green, acrid discharge from nose alternating with or preceded by thin,
watery, excoriating discharge; reddens upper lip.

Hay fever.

P Coryza and dyspnoea.

Influenza and catarrhal symptoms of eyes, ears, nose and throat.

• "I have found it useful in certain types of colds that begin with a great deal of
burning in the post-nasal space, which is suggestive of the arsenic element, but
unlike arsenic these people are always better in cool air. Also in patients
following what we used to call

grippe, and which now is spoken of as virus, where there is a good deal of
weakness following the acute stage with an inability to sleep and intense
intestinal disturbance, essentially flatulence." [Sutherland]

P • "Deafness due to hypertrophied condition of Eustachian tubes." [Mathur]

P Heart diseases [due to chronic lung diseases].

And Chronic cough, dyspnoea, degenerative changes and loss of strength.

[Clarke]

P Psoriasis - large scales leaving exudative surface.

Rubrics

Mind

Anxiety from heat of bed [2/1]. Colours, aversion to dark colours [1], aversion to
red [1], desire for lemon yellow [1; Ign.; Sep.]. Delusions, sees dead persons [1].
Fastidious about his possessions [1/1]. Hurry [2]. Impatience [2]. Indifference to
happiness [1/1], to loved ones [1]. Sudden impulse to kill [2]. Restlessness <
warm bed [2]. Sensitive to sensual impressions [1]. Inclination to sit [2].
Aversion to being spoken to [2].

Head

Itching of scalp without eruptions [1/1]. Pain, from fasting [1].

Eye

Lachrymation in cold air [1], during coryza [1].

Nose

Coryza, annual, with asthmatic breathing [2], on becoming cold [1]; with
discharge >

open air [1]. Discharge, yellow, like honey [3/1]. Obstruction at night [1], in
warm room

[2].

Face

Bluish discolouration of lips [1]; bluish circles around eyes [1].

Mouth

Dryness at night on waking [1]; sensation of dryness of tongue [1].

Stomach

Appetite, ravenous with marasmus [1]. Nausea on brushing teeth [1].

Unquenchable thirst [1]. Vomiting after drinking [1], after milk [1].

Rectum

Diarrhoea in morning after rising and moving about [1]. Urging on motion [1].

Respiration

Asthmatic at night, 11 p.m. to 2 a.m. [2/1]. Difficult > open air [1], during
palpitation

[1].

Chest

Oppression in warm room [1]. Pain in heart extending to back [2].

Dreams

Of the dead [1].

Skin
Eruptions, itching when undressing [2]; scaly, ichthyosis [2]. Rough [2].

Generals

Clothes as if cold [1/1], as if on fire [1/1]. Desire for motion [2]. Weakness from
perspiration [1]. Warm south wind < [2].

Food

Aversion: [1]: Fish.

Desire: [2]: Alcohol. [1]: Milk; stimulants.

Worse: [1]: Apples; milk.

Arum triphyllum

Arum-t.

Fair is the canopy over him seen

Pencilled by nature's hand, black, brown and green

Green is his surplice, green are his bands,

In his queer little pulpit the little priest stands.

[Anon.]

Signs

Arisaema triphyllum. Arisaema atrorubens. Arum triphyllum. American Wake

Robin.

Jack-in-the-Pulpit. Indian turnip. N.O. Araceae.

CLASSIFICATION The Araceae or Aroid family consists of 115 genera [and

2000

species] of widespread, esp. tropical, rhizomatous herbs [mainly] and climbers

[some].
Many plants previously named Arum are now placed in other genera; many
plants in other genera of the Araceae are popularly known as arums, e.g. the
arum lily

[Zantedeschia] and the water arum [Calla pallustris].

DISTRIBUTION Many Araceae come from the depths of damp tropical forests;
the northern species are frequently marsh or water plants.

FEATURES Many Aroids contain latex, which is often very poisonous. The
rhizomes of others contain starch and are used as food. The cuckoo pint [Arum
maculatum] is a common woodland plant in Britain and Europe. Among the
more popular of the tropical species grown as house plants and decorative
objects in hotel lobbies are species of Anthurium,

Philodendron,

Monstera,

Dieffenbachia,

Caladium, and Zantedeschia.

Contact sensitivity to some of the species grown as house plants has been
recorded.

Generally, many members of the Aroid family cause irritant dermatitis, in

particular Alocasia,

Arisaema,

Arum,

Caladium,

Colocasia,

Dieffenbachia,

Monstera,
Philodendron, and Xanthosoma. A few Aroids are grown for food, e.g. Colocasia
for taro, Monstera for its fruits [Mexican breadfruit].

GENUS The genus Arisaema contains 150 species. Arisaema triphyllum is very
common in eastern North America. It can almost always be found near
waterfalls or where water is running or splashing. The plant grows 1 to 3 feet
high. The leaves are trifoliate; hence its specific name triphyllum. The flowers
appear through the spring and into the summer. Later in the summer, a black
seed cluster that turns red in autumn replaces the flower. "The green spathe,
broadly striped with brown purple, arches over and encloses the spadix. ...
Spadix club-shaped, shorter than spathe, rounded at end, contracted at base,
surrounded by stamens or ovaries; the upper portions of the spadix withers
together with the spathe whilst the ovaries grow into a large compact bunch of
shining scarlet berries. ... The corm is smaller than the English species [Arum
maculatum], 1/2 to 2 inches broad and about half as high. It is very acrid when
fresh, but loses this property when cooked, or particularly when dried."1 "The
common folk name is perfect. The long spathe looks like an old-fashioned
pulpit, complete with overhead baffle to amplify and project sermons throughout
the church in the days before public address systems. For the plant, however, the
hood is simply an umbrella, preventing the vertical, tubelike spathe from filling
with rainwater that could drown the flowers or wash away their pollen. 'Jack' is
the spadix, the clublike, flower-bearing stick that stands erect in the pulpit with
just the tip protruding to survey his 'congregation.' Jack was a common

colloquialism for 'fellow' or 'guy', especially in England."2

NAME The name Arisaema combines the genus name Arum, coming from the
Arabic word for 'fire', and the Greek aima, blood-red, in allusion to the red
blotches on the leaves of some species.

SOLAR RADIATION A typical characteristic of Araceae, something it shares

with tropical waterlilies, is that the inflorescence uses solar radiation in spring to
raise the temperature of the spadix to well above the air temperature of the
environment. This temperature difference can rise suddenly and offers a fine
shelter, in the cool spring, to many mosquitoes and flies. This is in the plant's
advantage, because due to an ingenious mechanism that prevents escape, the
visitors only gain their freedom when they have taken care of pollinating the
plant.
CONSTITUENTS Similar to the flowers of the Aristolochiaceae, those of the
Araceae have an offensive smell of decay to attract insects as pollinating agents.
Chemical analysis by means of gaschromatography has shown that the
unpleasant smell of Araceae consists of roughly 56 components, of which 2-
heptanone, indole and p-cresol are the main ones. The upper end of the spadix
develops the odour of decay most strongly.

CALCIUM OXALATE Calcium oxalate occurs in plant cells as needle-like

crystals called raphides. It has emetic, inflammatory, laxative and lithogenic
properties. Raphides occur in many plants, most notably in Chinese Rhubarb
[Rheum officinale], Pomegranate

[Punica granatum], Sweet Potato [Ipomoea batatas], Cancer Herb [Acalypha

indica], Tree of Heaven [Ailanthus], Onion [Allium cepa], Garlic [Allium
sativum], Aloe [Aloe vera], Maidenhair Tree [Ginkgo biloba]. Apart from
calcium oxalate, the chemistry of the family is not well known. "Alkaloids have
been reported, including coniine, 5-hydroxytryptamine and liriodenine
derivatives, as well as berberine type alkaloidal extracts with antifungal activity.
Saponins, polyphenols and cyanogenic compounds are also known."3

TOXICOLOGY In common with other members of the Aroid family, arisaemas

contain crystals of calcium oxalate, which cause severe irritation to the mouth
and throat if the plants are eaten raw, and to the eyes on accidental contact. "This
action upon the mouths of schoolboys, who often play the trick of inviting bites
of the corm upon each other, gave rise to the common name, 'memory-root', as
they never forget its effects."4 Because of their pungent taste Araceae are usually
avoided by animals. Intoxications among humans do occur, in particular from
eating the berries. The symptoms include burning pain in mouth and throat,
swelling and inflammation of lips, salivation, hoarseness, gastrointestinal
inflammation, diarrhoea, and abdominal cramps. This may be followed by
paralysis of the central nervous system, irregular heart's action, slow pulse,
tingling sensation in skin, and, in severe cases, mydriasis, violent cramps, coma,
and, possibly, death. Birds, particularly thrushes and pheasants, can eat the
berries with impunity, while 0,6 grams of the juice is deadly for dogs.

USES North American Indians, in particular the Pawnee and Hopi, used dried,
powdered roots, taken in water, as a contraceptive, inducing permanent sterility
by increasing the dose and water temperature. 5 In addition, the Pawnee
pulverised and dried the roots and dusted the resulting powder on the head and
temples to relieve aches. The young men of certain American Indian tribes had
to eat one of the fiery roots before they could officially enter manhood. In his
Manual of medical botany of the United States [1828], Rafinesque states "that
the Indians can handle rattlesnakes with impunity, after wetting

their hands with the milky juice of Convolvulus panduatus or of Arum

triphyllum."6

FOLKLORE "This [Indian turnip] is one of the diagnostic medicines. The

central part of the seed, divested of pulp, is dropped into a cup of water. If it goes
around four times clockwise, before dropping to the bottom, the patient will
recover. But if it goes down the fourth time, or fails to float at all, the patient will
die. Charles Keosatok told us that the Meskwaki used to chop this root fine and
put it in the meat they fed to their Sioux enemies and others. A few hours after
eating, this would cause them much pain and they would die. The root is not
used now by the Meskwaki, since they gave up their medicine lodge, but it was
formerly used by them to reduce the swelling from a rattlesnake bite."7

HOMOEOPATHY Homoeopathy employs Arum dracontium, Arum

dracunculus, Arum italicum, Arum maculatum, Arum triphyllum, Caladium,
Acorus calamus, Ictodes foetida.

PROVINGS •• [1] Jeanes - self-experimentation, 1844; method: unknown.

•• [2] Gramm - 3 provers [2 males, 1 female], 1865; method: repeated doses of

3-5 drops of 3rd dil.; Gramm did also self-experimentations with 'single doses of
higher dilutions

[10-30].'

Introduced by Hering in 1856, after reports on its application in desperate cases

of scarlatina.

"It had been proved by Dr. Jeanes, in 1844, long before it came into use, and in
1867 one of the best theses was handed to the Homoeopathic College of
Pennsylvania, by G.E.

Gramm, which was partly printed in the Hahnemann Monthly. For two years Dr.
Gramm had made provings on himself and a woman; besides confirming the
formerly known effects of the drug, he very much widened its range of
usefulness."8

[1] Grieve, A Modern Herbal. [2] Sanders, Hedgemaids and Fairy Candles. [3]
Schultes, The Healing Forest. [4] Millspaugh, American Medicinal Plants. [5]
Bown, Encyclopedia of Herbs and their Uses. [6-7] Erichsen-Brown, Medicinal
and Other Uses of North American Plants. [8] Hering, Guiding Symptoms Vol.
1.

Affinity

Mucous membranes [mouth; THROAT; larynx]. Kidneys. Brain. Blood. Skin.

* LEFT SIDE.

Modalities

Worse: Overuse of voice [TALKING; singing]. Cold, wet winds. Heat.

Main symptoms

M Excessively cross and stubborn.

Contrary.

M Irritation.

• "Everything about this patient was tel ing me about her nature. Her movements,
actions, gestures and language. What are the themes of the case? This is seen in
the simple language. Straight; upright; stand up; honesty and lies; trust; to the
point; irritating; pressing and picking. ... The most characteristic symptom of the
whole case was her habit of boring into her nose; just as she bored straight past
me when I opened the door."1

• "In the light of this cured case, the remedy Arum-t. should be added to the
following rubrics: Concern over social position, Dictatorial and Fastidious. In
Chinese medicine the nose relates to social position and middle age."2

c To follow one's nose - to go straight forward.

To get up someone's nose - to irritate someone.

To keep one's nose clean - to keep out of trouble, i.e. not to behave badly or
dishonestly.

G BURNING - internally and externally.

PAINFULLY SORE, RAW and BURNING PARTS,

esp. nose, upper lip, corners of mouth;

And CONSTANT PICKING or boring until it BLEEDS.

• "Typhoid fever and other ailments and constant picking of lips and nose until it
bleeds." [Hering]

Child refuses food and drinks on account of soreness of mouth and throat; is
sleepless.

G ACRID discharges; < LEFT side.

Redness around mouth, lower face.

G < After midnight and towards morning; in morning on waking.

G < Hot coffee [pressing headache].

> Hot coffee [scratching in throat].

G Vertigo.

And Fulness of head and absence of mind.

P Scalp.

• "Eczema of scalp in children suffering from catarrhal affections of eyes, nose

and throat." [Mathur]

P Nose.

• "Nose feels blocked up in spite of the watery discharge." [Kent]

Sneezing < night.

• "Can hardly talk from mucus in nares." [Kent]

• "Mostly for acute colds and hay fevers." [Morrison]

P HEAT of FACE and HEAD during CORYZA [< LEFT].

P Complete loss of voice after exposure to cold wind,

or VOICE CHANGEABLE [low, high, failing, hoarse, squeaky, breaking, all in

alternation].

P Clergyman's sore throat [= laryngitis].

< Talking or continuous speaking.

Voice hoarse, uncontrollable, changing.

Of speakers, actors, singers.

• "Chronic cases of hoarseness." [Kent]

P Itching fingers and toes; bites nails until fingers bleed.

[1-2] Mundy, Characteristic Symptoms, case 2, The Homoeopath, Spring 1998.

Rubrics

Mind

Bites fingers [2], himself [1], nails [2]. Delirium, with picking at nose or lips
[2/1].

Delusion as if suffocating on going to sleep [1/1]. Gestures, picks at bedclothes

[1].

Obstinate, children [1].

Head

Sensation of coldness in vertex, as if cranium were open [1/1*]. Pain, < hot
drinks [2], from exposure to sun [2], < warm food [2].
Eye

Heaviness of eyelids during frontal headache [1*].

Nose

Discharge, copious, with stuffing of head [2]. Obstruction, left [2], sensation of,
with watery discharge [1]. Sneezing at night [2].

Face

Red discolouration after eating [1]; red lips [1]. Excoriation of lips from acrid
saliva [1].

Heat during coryza [3]. Stiffness lower jaw when swallowing [2/1].

Mouth

Pain, burning in palate in morning [3], in root of tongue [3; Crot-c.].

Stomach

Thirst for small quantities, often [1].

Abdomen

Emptiness after breakfast [1; Arum-m.; Phos.; Sars.].

Larynx

Inflammation of larynx in speakers [3]. Voice, changeable [3], deep [2],

hoarseness, from overuse of the voice [3], from singing [3], from talking [3];
lost, after exposure to Northwest wind [2/1].

Chest

Burning pain in lungs when coughing [1*].

Limbs

Pain, foot joints as if dislocated [1].

Sleep

Falling asleep after eating [1], while sitting [1].

* Repertory additions [Allen].

Food

Aversion: [1]: Milk.

Desire: [1]: Cold drinks; cold food; cold water; meat.

Worse: [1]: Coffee [headache]; hot food; warm drinks.

Better: [1]: Buttermilk.

Asa foetida

Asaf.

It's no fun to suffer in silence unless you first make enough noise to attract
attention and sympathizers!

[McKenzie]

Signs

Ferula

assafoetida.

Ferula

foetida.

Devil's

Dung.

Asafoetida. Narthex. N.O.

Umbelliferae.

CLASSIFICATION Ferula is one of the 428 genera of the Umbelliferae, the

carrot and hemlock family. The family is widespread and consists almost
exclusively of herbs. The genus Ferula comprises 172 species of perennial herbs
with a substantial rootstock, much-divided leaves, and a compound umbel of
yellow flowers. The genus is also known as Giant Fennel genus, a name given to
it by Pliny, the Roman naturalist.

DISTRIBUTION The plant, growing up to 2m high, is native to Iran,

Afghanistan and Turkestan where it is eaten with relish by native people and
sheep alike. It grows on high plains - from 700 to 1300m above sea level - which
are arid in winter but are thickly covered in summer with a luxuriant growth of
giant fennels.

NAME Ferula derives from ferire, to strike - the stems were formerly used for
punishment; asa derives from the Persian aza, mastic, a pale yellow gum;
foetida, foetid,

refers to its overwhelming odour which has given rise to its popular name,
Devil's Dung.

RESIN Incision of the green matured roots [just before flowering] yields a milky
sap that hardens into gum resin. This takes five to six weeks, during which time
the root is shaded from the sun. Several species of Ferula yield Asafoetida. The
oldest plants are most productive, yielding up to 2 lbs. of gum resin. Plants less
than four years are considered virtually worthless. The major biochemical agents
responsible for its characteristic odour are three sulphur-containing compounds,
two of which have pesticidal properties. These compounds are very similar to
the essential oil of garlic, for which it is commonly substituted in food
preparations.

USES Asafoetida occurs in commerce in three forms: soft mass, paste and tears.
"The tears can retain the original colour for years and gradually darken to a
reddish brown colour. The tears are commercially sold in Chinese pharmacies
and characteristically may have fragments of root and earth. The paste may also
contain extraneous matter. As a condiment for cooking beans and an ingredient
in curry, flavouring for sauces and pickles and a substitute for garlic it is
commonly powdered and adulterated [to increase the weight] with various
substances such as gum arabic, other gum resins, gypsum, red clay, chalk, barley
or wheat flour, slices of powdered dried potatoes, etc."1 It is an ingredient of
Worcestershire sauce. A 2% suspension is used as a repellent against dogs, cats,
rabbits, and deer. In veterinary practice it has been used as a carminative, and
externally to prevent bandage chewing by dogs. 50-100 mg resin reportedly
caused convulsions in nervous people.

FLAVOUR "This is a highly interesting flavour when used in minute quantities.

It flavours many of the Eastern dishes most attractive to visitors and is part of
the delicious distinction of many Hindu vegetable dishes. The ancient Romans
knew it and used such quantities that their source, the silphium plant from
Cyrenaica, was already extinct by Pliny's time and known to us only by an image
on a coin, which suggests it is another member of the giant fennel family."2
Silphium is here mistaken for silphion. Though the names are similar, Silphium,
also called Compass-plant, belongs to the Compositae, while Silphion is an
umbellifer. The correct botanical name of Silphion is Thapsia garganica. "The
plant was well known to the Ancients who gave it its peculiar name, believing it
to be obtained originally from the Isle of Thapsus. ... The root is a strong
purgative. Thapsia silphion is thought to be identical with Thapsia garganica. It
is found on the mountains near the site of Ancient Cyrene, and is said to have
yielded the gum resin to the Ancients as Laser cyrenaicum or Asa dulces, the
Greek name being Silphion."3 Its original site explains the specific name
cyrenaicum.

PHYSIOLOGICAL ACTION "It stimulates the circulation by raising the arterial

tension, increasing the power of the cardiac motor ganglia, and relaxing the
inhibition. It also stimulates the brain, even to a very pleasant intoxication, and
produces a subjective sensation of warmth without any rise of the body
temperature. It stimulates the secretions and excretions, the general nervous
system, the menstrual flow and the sexual appetite."4

EFFECTS The volatile oil is rapidly excreted and can be detected in the urine,
milk and sweat, imparting a garlic-like odour. Intoxication symptoms may
include swollen lips, gastric burning, garlicky eructations, flatulence, diarrhoea,
burning during urination, headaches, dizziness, and even convulsions. Since it is
reputed to affect the menstrual cycle and to be an abortifacient, its use in
pregnancy and lactation is to be avoided.

[However, it is also drunk as a herbal tea to increase milk production in lactating

women.]

MEDICINE In traditional Chinese medicine it is employed for food stagnation,

weak digestion, intestinal parasites and flatulence as well as asthma and chronic
bronchitis.

"According to Indian Materia Medica by Nadkarani in Ayurvedic medicine, it is

regarded as a valuable condiment and spice and "a valuable remedy for hysteria,
nervous disorders of women and children, flatulence, flatulent colic and
spasmodic affections of the bowels especially when connected with hysteria, in
fainting and emotional states, nervous palpitations, hypochondriasis and other
affections due to hysteria, in the spasmodic, and the obstinate coughs of
childhood remaining after attacks of inflammation and also in the advanced
stages of whooping cough, pneumonia and bronchitis of children, in the chronic
bronchitis and asthma of adults."5 Because of "its unpleasant taste, which causes
a psychological effect it is occasionally given to quiet hysterical patients," claims
Blumgarten in his Materia Medica for Nurses.

HOMOEOPATHY Asafoetida belongs to the Umbelliferae, a plant family widely

used in homoeopathy with some 40 remedies. The family can be roughly divided
into four categories, [1] poisonous, [2] medicinal, [3] aromatic or foodstuff, and
[4] resiniferous.

The first category - the [deadly] poisonous umbellifers - comprises Aethusa,

Cicuta, Conium, Oenanthe, Phellandrium, Sium, and Thaspium [Zizia]. The
medicinal group comprises

Aegopodium

[Goutweed],

Ammi

visnaga,

Angelica,

Athamantha

[Peucedanum], Eryngium, Heracleum, Hydrocotyle, Pimpinella saxifraga, and

Sanicula europaea. Of the umbellifers of group 3 mainly the [oily] seeds are used
as condiments; of some species the roots or leaves are eaten. The group includes
Anethum [Dill], Apium

[Celery], Carum [Caraway], Coriandrum [Coriander], Daucus [Carrot],

Foeniculum

[Fennel],

Levisticum

[Lovage],

Myrrhis

[Sweet

Cicely],

Pastinaca

[Parsnip],

Petrosilinum [Parsley], and Pimpinella anisum [Anise]. The resiniferous

umbellifers include Ammoniacum [Dorema], Asafoetida [Ferula], Ferula glauca,
Sumbul [Ferula], and Silphion [Thapsia garganica].

PROVINGS •• [1] Franz, Stapf, Gross, Gutmann, Hahnemann; method:

unknown.

•• [2] Jörg - 10 provers [9 males, 1 female], 1824; method: crude drug in

repeated doses of 1-15 grains, effects observed for a couple of days.

•• [3] Lembke - self-experimentation, 1868; method: crude drug in doses

increasing from 5 grains to 1/2 dram, 2-3 times daily for 14 days.

[1] Tierra, Asafoetida: for digestive weakness, food allergies and candida. [2]
Walter, Hints and Pinches. [3] Grieve, A Modern Herbal. [4] Potter, A Compend
of Materia Medica. [5] Grieve, ibid.

Affinity
NERVES. Mind. Gullet. Digestive tract. Periosteum [ears; nose; tibia]. * LEFT
SIDE.

Modalities

Worse: Night. In room. Rest. After eating. Suppression. Mercury. Noise. Sitting.
Warm wraps. TOUCH. Cough.

Better: Motion in open air. Pressure.

Main symptoms

M EXTREME NERVOUSNESS and OVERSENSITIVITY.

• "Like most substances of strong taste and penetrating odour, the pathogenesis
is dominated by mental and nervous phenomena. ... First of all, we note
hypersensitiveness to external impressions. Noise, touch, mental excitement are
sources of aggravation."1

M CRAVES SYMPATHY.

• "Magnifies her symptoms." [Boger]

• "The hysterical nature of the patient is revealed in the telling of symptoms.

Things of little consequence are magnified; he fears paralysis or softening of the
brain, is restless, unable to concentrate on any one thing; low spirited, irritable,
and if a woman, there is alternate laughing and crying."2

M Irritable, yet indifferent to everything.

G HYSTERICAL PATIENTS; faint easily in a closed room from excitement;

globus hystericus.

Faintness in a crowded street.

• "Hysterical women: disposed to miscarriages, haemorrhages; breasts filled up

with milk when not pregnant; deficiency of milk a few days after delivery."
[Mathur]

G PUFFED, venous, fat, flabby patients with a PURPLE face; purple when out
in the cold, purple when excited.

• "They get no sympathy when sick because they look so well." [Kent]

• "The remedy has done excel ent work in thin, pale, sickly individuals also.
External appearance must take second place as compared with subjective
symptoms."3

G Children with digestive troubles [loud rumbling and explosive belching,

difficult stool] that are constantly CHEWING, as if ruminating.

G Faintness in a closed room - on excitement.

G BONES + PERIOSTEUM [pains, caries, swelling].

G PRESSING pains - from within outward.

G TOUCH < or >.

• "It is a sensitiveness comparable only with that of Lachesis - and, like the latter
there is the apparent contradiction in painful ailments where the surface remains
unbroken, namely, relief from pressure. Instances of this are found in neuralgic
pain in the head, eyes, legs, colic, etc. Pains in the eyes, head and elsewhere,
cease when the part is touched and appear somewhere else. Even convulsive
symptoms may be allayed by the touch of another person."4

G Eating <.

Eating is followed by heat of face, anguish, mental depression, pulsations and

diarrhoea.

G Internal sensation of TENSION.

G Stitching pains, from within outward.

G Pain and numbness.

G Wandering [drawing] pain, quickly jumping from one place to another.

G Offensiveness.
P REVERSED PERISTALSIS.

• "Flatus does not pass downward but always upward."

• "Everything presses toward throat." [Boger]

• "Enormous accumulation of flatulence al pressing upwards." [Mathur]

• "Flatulence is nearly always a prominent feature of the case, and tends to press
upwards, sometimes with such vehemence as to cause gasping for breath, and
reflexly, occipital headache, vertigo, fainting, twitching of muscles, trembling,
etc."5

P Extremely offensive diarrhoea and meteorism and regurgitation of food.

[1-5] Harvey Farrington, Asafoetida, International Hahnemannian Association

No. 20.

Rubrics

Mind

Anxiety alternating with gouty pain in joints [1/1]. Confusion while sitting [1].

Consolation > [1]. Intolerant of contradiction [1]. Exaggerating her symptoms

[1].

Excitement after suppressed leucorrhoea [1/1]. Fear arising from abdomen [1/1].
Hysteria after suppression of discharges [3; Lach.]. Irresolution > open air [1/1].
Joy with excessive laughing [1; Verb.].

Vertigo

With sensation of ascending [2]. As if turning in a circle [1].

Head

Bubbling sensation in head [1]. Empty, hollow sensation [1]. Pain, > motion [1],
> touch

[1]; as from a plug, peg or wedge in sides [2]; in occiput while pressing at stool
[1], >

stool [1/1]. Waving sensation in head as from water [1].

Eye

Numbness around eyes [3/1]. Pulsation in eyes at night [3].

Vision

Dim during vertigo [1]. Exertion of vision < [1]. Lost during vertigo [1].

Face

Chewing motion of jaw in chorea [1/1]. Eruption on tip of nose [1].

Throat

Reversed peristaltic action of oesophagus [2/1]. Constant disposition to swallow

in evening [2/1], from lump in throat [2]. Sensation of vapour, fume rising in
throat [1].

Stomach

Ravenous appetite with diarrhoea [2]. Distension on waking at night [1].

Eructations, foul after fat or rich food [3], like garlic [3]. Sensation of fulness
during hunger [1].

Pulsation visible in pit of stomach [1/1].

Abdomen

Coldness after drinking [1]. Heaviness, as from a load after drinking [2/1]. Pain
in region of umbilicus after sour food [1/1].

Rectum

Diarrhoea after the slightest indiscretion in eating [2].

Female
Menses scanty [2], too short [2].

Respiration

Asthmatic after every satisfying meal [1/1].

Chest

Milk, non-pregnant women [2]. Pain in heart at night, when lying on back [1/1];
sensation of bursting in heart, when lying on back at night, > sitting up [1/1].
Palpitation during deep inspiration [1], while sitting [3]. Sensation of swelling of
heart [2].

Back

Pain cervical region > stool [1/1].

Limbs

Burning pain in roots of toe nails [2/1].

Dreams

Merry, of company and feasting [1*].

Skin

Cicatrices black [1], blue [1], break open [1], become painful [1].

Generals

Convulsions from suppressed discharges [2].

* Repertory addition [Hughes].

Food

Aversion: [1]: Beer.

Desire: [1]: Cold drinks; wine.

Worse: [2]: Fat. [1]: Beer; butter; pork; sour.

Asarum Europaeum

Asar.

It's when a man gets tight as a drum that he makes the most noise.

[McKenzie]

Signs

Asarum europaeum. Asarabacca. European Snakeroot. European Wild Ginger.

Hazelwort. N.O. Aristolochiaceae.

CLASSIFICATION The genus Asarum comprises 75 species of perennial herbs,

distributed throughout northern temperate areas of the world. Along with 7 other
genera, it belongs to the Aristolochiaceae, a family of mostly warm-temperate to
tropical herbs, shrubs and lianas.

FEATURES Most of them are shade-loving plants, forming dense ground cover
in summer, particularly in leafy soil underneath tall trees and shrubs. Dried or
cooked with sugar, the aromatic rootstock makes a spicy substitute for Ginger.
The shining dark-green

[evergreen] leaves of A. europaeum are kidney-shaped; the bell-shaped drooping

flowers, hidden beneath the leaves, are purplish brown and bear stumpy
appendages; the rhizomes are spreading and frequently bunched up above the
soil. Its "odd unlovely flower seeks protection beneath its long-stemmed fuzzy
leaves, and hides its head upon the ground as if unwilling to challenge
comparison with its more brilliant brethren."1 The plant's posture is for mundane
reasons rather than eschewing competition, for the ground is the source of
insects that visit and pollinate it.

CONSTITUENTS Asarum contains aristolochic acid, geraniol, limonene,

methyl-eugenol, and asarone [also known as asarum camphor or asarabacca
camphor]. The ash is rich in potassium. Chemically and pharmacologically,
asarone is similar to reserpine
[found in Rauwolfia and used as an antihypertensive and tranquilizer] and
chlorpromazine [used as an antiemetic, antipsychotic and tranquilizer]. In
experiments on rats, cats and rabbits in a wide range of tests, a Russian study
was conducted of the biological properties of alpha-asarone, isolated from the
roots of Asarum europaeum. The preparation turned out to have quite diverse
biological activity: tranquilizing, sedative, antiulcer, spasmolytic and
antisclerosing. According to Evans Schultes, asarone shows a structural
resemblance to mescaline. Their pharmacological properties, however, are
somewhat opposite, and hallucinogenic properties have never been associated
with asarone. According to other pharmacological studies, asarone is similar to
papaverin.

Roth states that high doses of asarone induce visual hallucinations and
psychedelic effects similar to those of LSD.

USES The plant has been used as a purgative and as an ingredient for snuff.
"The dried and powdered leaves of Asarabacca are used in the preparation of
cephalic snuffs, exciting sneezing and giving relief to headache and weak
eyes."2 "It has been used as a substitute for Ipecac for producing vomiting; the
French use it for this purpose after

drinking too much wine. ... Although the leaves are used as an emetic, human
experiments have shown that the effect is not as pronounced as that of other,
more effective drugs. On the other hand, the expectorant properties of infusions
and decoctions of both the roots and leaves of A. europaeum are quite good,
based on experiments on humans."3 North American Indians a decoction of the
boiled root and rhizome of Asarum canadense as a oral contraceptive to induce
temporary sterility.

MEDICINE Asarum canadense has virtually the same pharmacological

properties as A.

europaeum; morphologically it differs from it in having heart-shaped leaves

instead of the reniform ones of its European brother. The powdered root was
widely used in North America as a flavouring substitute for real ginger in the
late 1700s and early 1800s.

Among the Meskwaki Indians the root was chewed and "the fisherman uses the
spittle on the bait, it enables him to catch catfish. ... A good many mud catfish
are caught in the Iowa River which flows through their reservation and the use of
wild ginger in cooking them destroys the mud taste and renders them palatable.
It is also used to cook some animal that has died, such as a hog or a cow, and has
been given them by some farmer.

When used in this way, they claim there is no danger of ptomaine poisoning."4
In its topical use by the Meskwakis for external ear infections, wild ginger owes
its activity to aristolochic acid, which is known to have antimicrobial properties.
The leaves of various Asarum species reportedly cause dermatitis.

PROVINGS •• [1] Hahnemann - 5 provers; method: unknown.

•• [2] Mezger - 18 provers [16 males, 2 females], 1950; method: 1x, 2x, or 6x,
three times daily 5 drops for periods ranging from 13 to 46 days.

[1] Sanders, Hedgemaids and Fairy Candles. [2] Grieve, A Modern Herbal. [3]
Weiner's Herbal. [4] Erichsen-Brown, Medicinal and Other Uses of North
American Plants.

Affinity

NERVES. Mucous membranes. Female organs. * LEFT SIDE.

Modalities

Worse: PENETRATING SOUNDS. Dry, cold weather; icy cold or clear fine
weather.

Emotions.

Better: Cold bathing; of face; eyes. Damp, wet weather. Open air.

Main symptoms

M EXCESSIVE NERVOUSNESS.

Lightness, as if floating. Sense of levitation.

NERVOUS SENSIBILITY; scratching on silk, rattle of paper, etc. is unbearable.

OVEREXCITABILITY of SENSES [hearing, smell, eyes].

Sensibility increased, even from mere imagination.

Starting from sudden noises.

Tremendous erethism; NERVES ON EDGE.

Overworked women.

Mental breakdown from stress [= dulness].

And Nervous deafness and asthenopia.

And Feeling as if parts were pressed together.

And Tension and contractive sensations.

• "Very competitive, 'pressure-cooker' education for gifted children. Brilliant yet

brittle, like a crystal glass that eventually shatters." [Vithoulkas]

• "Several years ago I attempted to prove the effect of the A. canadense on some
women

students, but the daily records were not properly written up, and the following
fragmentary observations are all I have. ... During the proving [which was
continued over a period of about two months] most of the experimenters were
excessively nervous, with dull stupid feeling during day, and restless sleep at
night. After a few days they suffered much from chilliness, as if insufficiently
clothed, but did not seem to have any fever or any unusual thirst. There was
muscular twitching in various parts of the body, as if cramps were setting in; but
this did not occasion much inconvenience." [Winterburn, cited in Hughes]

M Wrings hands. Involuntary motions of the hands.

Very sensitive to violence.

Cold shivers from any emotion, noise.

M Mental DULNESS and sluggishness.

• "Mental condition as if just fal ing asleep; a gradual vanishing of the thought."
• "Thoughts so overstrained that they vanish completely." [Hahnemann]

And Pressing frontal headache.

M Aversion to COITION [as strong as in Sep.], kissing and embracing.

• "In some cases total revulsion to sex, even in thoughts and speech. Wil leave
the room when a sex joke is being told. Aversion to a kiss from grandparents,
child will go and wash his mouth." [Vithoulkas]

G Of use in abuse of alcohol and psychotropic drugs where a hysterical reaction

sets in.

G Ailments and great faintness and constant yawning.

G Weakness; exhaustion.

< Warm room; > open air.

G CHILLY persons who are worse in cold, dry weather and feel better in damp
wet weather [Caust.]; ALWAYS FEEL COLD.

Chilliness and cold feeling after eating or drinking.

G Unconquerable LONGING for ALCOHOL.

G Desire for refreshing things [sour; salads; fruits].

Aversion to meat and cooked food.

In particular during gastritis.

G Pain: PRESSING TOGETHER.

P Darting pain in eyes after operations.

Eye troubles > bathing eyes in COLD water.

• "When reading, sensation in eyes as if they would be pressed asunder or

outward, >
bathing them in cold water." [Mathur]

Sunshine, light and wind are intolerable.

P PAINFULLY SENSITIVE HEARING.

Pain in teeth or vertigo from noise.

P The scars of life do not show on the Asarum face. They may have a harrowing
emotional history but present a smooth, young complexion. [Springer]

P Asthmatic breathing < odours or cold.

Rubrics

Mind

Aversion to everything [2]. Cheerful, alternating with sadness [1]; with

taciturnity [1/1].

Confusion in morning after rising [1]. Delusions, as if she didn't touch the bed
when lying

[1]; one would die from weakness [1]; floating in air while walking [1/1].
Deficiency of

ideas > vomiting [1/1]. Desire for light [1]. Sensitive to slightest noise [3].
Starting from sudden noise in the street [1*]. Vanishing of thoughts on mental
exertion [2].

Vertigo

During anxiety [1]. From noise [1].

Head

Sensation of being headless [1]. Pain, in dry, cold weather, [2]; pressing in
temples when shaking head [2; Chin.].

Eye
Lachrymation during headache [1]. Pain, from strong light [2].

Vision

Dim, > cold bathing [1], during headache [1], < sunlight [1].

Face

Desire to wash face in cold water [2].

Stomach

Eructations, like spoiled eggs, after eating [1*]. Nausea from mental exertion
[1], from pressure on abdomen [1].

Abdomen

Sensation of fulness during hunger [1/1].

Rectum

Diarrhoea, > damp weather [1], during dry weather [1].

Larynx

Constriction larynx > during cough [1/1].

Chest

Constriction lungs as with a wire [1/1]. Sour smelling perspiration in axillae [1].

Back

Pain as if dislocated, cervical region, extending over head and shoulders [1/1];
pressing, as from a tight collar, cervical region [1/1]. Sensation as if cool wind
were blowing on back [1].

Limbs

Coldness of hands, knees, feet, in hottest weather [2/1]. Pain lower limbs,
sciatica, < cold
[1], > wet weather [1/1]; needle-like stitches in fingertips [1*]. Weakness upper
limbs, >

hanging down [1/1].

Sleep

Sleeplessness from slight noise [2].

Dreams

Of humiliation [2].

Generals

Bathing affected part > [3], cold bathing > [2], bathing face > [2].

* Repertory additions [Mezger].

Food

Aversion: [1]: Cooked food; fat; fish; garlic; meat; onions; smoking.

Desire: [3]: Alcohol. [1]: Beer; fruit; milk; nuts; salads [*]; sour [*]; tobacco;
vinegar.

Worse: [3]: Alcohol. [2]: Hot food.

Better: [2]: Cold drinks [during heat]; cold water; vinegar. [1]: Warm food.

* Repertory additions [Mezger].

Aurum metallicum

Aur.

Gold goes in at any gate except heaven's.

[English proverb]

Signs
Aurum metallicum. Gold.

CLASSIFICATION This dense, 'butter' yellow precious metal was probably the
first pure metal known to man. Gold and silver are two of the least chemically
reactive of the transition elements. Both are found in nature in the free state.
Silver and copper have the same crystal structure as gold - a face-centred cubic
structure. Moreover, the size of the atoms of gold and silver is nearly identical.
"Thus, during the process of crystallization, some silver atoms can take the place
of gold atoms without disrupting the structure. In fact, silver and gold atoms can
substitute for each other in any proportion, so that it is possible to find natural
alloys of silver and gold in which the amounts of the two metals are
approximately equal. The reason for the small amount of copper generally found
in natural gold is the smaller size of the copper atom, which makes it a poor 'fit'
for gold, although the crystal structure of the two metals is the same."1 All three
fall in group 11 of the periodic table. Lead [plumbum] lies in group 14, but
crystallizes with the same structure as the elements of group 11. Mercury is also
included in this so-called Gold Group. The symmetry of this group is the highest
symmetry allowed in a three dimensional system.

OCCURRENCE Minerals of gold, silver and copper are all found in relatively
large concentrations in the earth's crust. The occurrence of gold in the earth's
crust is 0.005

parts per million. Gold is usually found in nature in a comparatively pure form.
There are very few true gold ores because gold doesn't readily react to or
combine with other elements, which is shown also by the fact that gold is the
least reactive metal at interfaces with gas or liquid. It forms a major part of only
a few rare minerals, such as nagyagite, calaverite, sylvanite and krennerite. In a
few other minerals it is found as little more than a trace, or it is alloyed to a
small extent with other metals such as silver, copper or lead. It occurs in minute
quantities in all igneous rocks and in seawater. One of the only elements that
gold can easily bond with is tellurium. Gold obviously has an affinity for
tellurium.

DISTRIBUTION Of the world's known mineral reserves of gold ore, 50 per cent
is found in South Africa, and most of the rest is divided among Russia, Canada,
Australia, Brazil, and the United States. "Paradoxically, although gold is rare and
precious, it is widely prevalent. ... Rich gold deposits are to be found on all
continents. A close look at the deposits shows that they frequently lie in
uninhabited places, even in deserts. Africa, the continent with the largest deserts
on earth, the lion continent, is at the same time the richest in gold. But Africa is
also the continent that, in its climatic structure, most clearly shows the effects of
the sun. ... It may be stated further that those areas that became solid land early
in geologic history show rich gold deposits. In addition to South Africa, this
means Australia, India, Canada, and Scandinavia. ... Among the deeds and
sufferings, blessings and curses of the precious metal, it once formed the
implements and images of the gods; later, it was a noble material for the artist;
now it is an anonymous factor in the abstract world of economic thinking. But
are these two realms not also connected with the sun? The one, forever life-
engendering, making the plant forms into images of constantly renewed life; and
the other, in which all life ceases, having its image in the desert? The creative
and the demonic - both pertain to the sun as well as to gold."2

DEPOSITS "Two types of deposits containing significant amounts of gold are

known: hydrothermal veins, where it is associated with quartz and pyrite [fool's
gold]; and placer deposits, both consolidated and unconsolidated, that are
derived from the weathering of gold-bearing rocks. The origin of enriched veins
is not fully known, but is believed that the gold was carried up from great depths
with other minerals, at least in partial solid solution, and later precipitated. The
gold in rocks usually occurs as invisible disseminated grains, more rarely as
flakes large enough to be seen, and even more rarely as masses or veinlets. ...
Alluvial deposits of gold found in or along streams were the principal source of
the metal for ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia."3 It is technically possible to
extract one milligram of gold from one tonne of ore! Economically, however,
one gram of gold per tonne of ore is needed to make gold mining profitable.

PROPERTIES Gold has unique qualities. While the rocks enclosing the quartz
veins are slowly altered by chemical processes and the veins themselves are
fragmented by mechanical weathering, gold remains unchanged. It is virtually
indestructible, and yet the most malleable, ductile and sectile of metals; it can be
pounded into other shapes, stretched into a wire, cut into slices [without
breaking], carved, buffed to a glowing polish, heated repeatedly without
discolouring, joined to itself and other metals by hard soldering without the use
of fluxes, and hammered into the thinnest sheet of any metal

[gold leaf]. "Gold reveals the strongest forces of cohesion and the highest
capacity of extension. More than any other substance gold can change from a
three-dimensional body to a flat, two-dimensional condition without
crumbling."4 Moreover, it is a good conductor of heat and electricity. Because of
its high electrical conductivity and inertness, the largest industrial use of gold is
in the electric and electronics industry for plating contacts, terminals, printed
circuits, and semiconductor systems.

PHYSIOLOGY It is not known if gold plays any role in biochemical processes

in man, animal or plant. Gold is not known to be a major constituent of any
plant, although it occurs in traces in one particular element of plant-life: nuts
[such as filbert, pistachio, pecan, hickory, butternut, walnut, almond and acorn].
"Food contains gold at levels of only a few nanograms per g. A daily intake from
the diet is probably less than 7 mcg.

Despite these very low intakes, gold is present in all human tissue and blood.
Typical values are [in ng per g fresh weight]: heart 0.0338; lung 0.72-1.6; brain
grey matter 0.024; brain white matter 0.04; cerebrospinal fluid 0.0062; white
blood 0.055; blood serum 0.08. Normal hair values range from 0.036 to 0.15
mcg per g. Cancer patients were found to have elevated hair gold levels of 1.5
mcg per g. Pregnancy apparently increases gold in blood with levels of 13 ng per
ml compared to 3.4 ng per ml in non-pregnant women. When gold is given by
injection, most of it appears in the urine but some is excreted in the faeces."5

PHYSIOLOGICAL ACTION "The effects of Gold resemble those of Mercury

closely.

In small doses, the Salts of Gold promote appetite and digestion, stimulate the
cerebral functions, and produce a marked mental exhilaration, a sense of well-
being. Continued, they induce aphrodisiac effects in both sexes, and in women
an increase of the menstrual discharge. Full doses cause nausea and vomiting,
glandular irritation, salivation without loosened teeth or sore gums, increased
urine, sweats, and fever [the auric fever]; nutrition is impaired, and rapid waste
set up. Toxic doses produce effects similar to those from Corrosive Sublimate,
violent gastro-enteritis, mental disturbance, convulsions, priapism, trembling,
paralysis."6

MEDICINE Radioactive colloidal gold is used in cancer treatment. Sodium

aurichloride is used in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis. Toxic reactions to
gold include pruritus, dermatitis,

stomatitis,
albuminuria

with

or

without

nephrotic

syndrome,

agranulocytosis, thrombocytopenic purpura, and aplastic anaemia. Less common

side effects include diarrhoea, hepatitis, pneumonitis, and neuropathy. The
compounds gradually become concentrated in the tissues, not only in synovial
cells in joints but also in macrophages throughout the body, and in liver cells,
kidney tubules and the adrenal cortex.

GOLD STANDARD Gold has always been considered one of the spoils of war
or plunder, and much of the precious metals in existence during early time
passed from one conqueror to another. "The gold standard was first put into
operation in Great Britain in 1821. Prior to this time silver had been the principal
world monetary metal; gold had long been used intermittently for coinage in one
or another country, but never as the single reference metal, or standard, to which
all other forms of money were coordinated or adjusted. For the next 50 years a
bimetallic regime of gold and silver was used outside Great Britain, but in the
1870s a monometallic gold standard was adopted by Germany, France, and the
United States, with many other countries following suit. This shift occurred
because recent gold discoveries in western North America had made gold more
plentiful. ... The reign of the full gold standard was short, lasting only from the
1870s to the outbreak of World War I. That war saw recourse to inconvertible
paper money or to restrictions on gold export in nearly every country. By 1928,
however, the gold standard had been virtually re-established, although, because
of the relative scarcity of gold, most nations adopted a gold-exchange standard,
in which they supplemented their central-bank gold reserves with currencies
[U.S. dollars and British pounds] that were convertible into gold at a stable rate
of exchange. The gold-exchange standard collapsed again during the Great
Depression of the 1930s, however, and by 1937 not a single country remained on
the full gold standard. ... From 1971 the international monetary system is based
on the dollar and other paper currencies. Gold's official role in world exchange
was at an end."7

COLOURS Gold is full of colours. Yellow in its metallic state, gold turns into a
deep violet or purple powder when prepared by volatilization or precipitation
methods.

Colloidal gold in a dilution of 1 to 100 million still makes water visibly purple.
Red stained glass in cathedral windows owes its colour to the addition of a trace
of gold when the glass was poured. Gold nuggets of the size of a match head can
be beaten into a transparent bluish- green leaf of 50 square metres.

TALES The legendary Phrygian king Midas was the first who fell victim to the
lure of gold. Midas requested of the gods that everything he touched might be
turned to gold.

The wish was fulfilled, but when his food also became gold the moment he
touched it, he realized what a terrible gift he had asked for. Horrified by the
prospect of death and starvation, he prayed to the gods to take their favour back.
He was then ordered to bathe in the river Pactolus, where pure water washed
away the awful gift. Ever since the river rolled over golden sands. Though
credited with the Golden Touch, king Midas was inept to pass judgement. He
was appointed to judge a musical contest between Apollo, the god of music and
poetry, and the satyr Pan. His judgement in favour of Pan enraged Apollo to the
extent that he gave the king a pair of donkey's ears. Midas succumbed to the
attractions of sensual pleasure [the sound of Pan's pipes] rather than seeking the
harmony of the spirit and the empire of the soul [Apollo's music of the temple of
Delphi]. The

donkey is linked with gold and with music. Or, as the saying goes, 'There is no
earthly gate, but an ass laden with gold can enter.' Ass-ears were once a sign of
divine power, as is shown in the cult of Set, the ass-headed Egyptian deity who
was the ruler of the pantheon. The brothers Grimm relate in The Donkey the
story of a King and a Queen who were rich and had everything they wanted, but
no children. The Queen lamented over this day and night, so that God at last
granted her wish. A child was born, but it was a little donkey instead of a human
child. Growing bigger, the donkey took especial pleasure in music and
developed into a skilled lute-player. Although distressed by his donkey's form,
he insisted on his nobleness and behaved in accordance with it. He married the
beautiful daughter of an old King and threw off his ass's skin during the wedding
night, revealing himself as a handsome royal youth. He lived happily ever after

"in all magnificence." "In The Transformations of Lucius, otherwise known as

The Golden Ass, written by Lucius Apuleius in the 2nd century AD, the central
character seduces a slave girl in order to steal her mistress's magic so that he can
transform himself into a bird - the symbol of the Goddess. The attempt goes
wrong and Lucius ends up as an ass, leading a life full of toil and misfortune. At
the culmination of the tale, Lucius encounters Isis, initiates himself into her
mysteries, is transformed in the goddess and becomes her priest."8 The Jungian
analyst Marie Louise von Franz interprets The Golden Ass as the modern
description of a man's anima or feminine, unconscious personality, giving form
to a deep process of evolution: the coming back of the feminine principle into
the patriarchal Western world.

SYMBOLISM "Gold is to be found beneath eleven layers of earth and other

different minerals. If it is well used, that is to say in the search for knowledge, it
brings happiness; otherwise it causes its owner disaster. It is an ambivalent
metal, possessing once again that primeval dualism. It is the key to many doors,
but also the weight or burden that can crush limbs or break necks. It is as hard to
use it properly as it is to obtain it."9 Gold is the 'mineral light' in Hindu doctrine.
The Latin word for gold - aurum - is the same as the Hebrew for light - aor.
"Gold is the image of solar light and hence of the divine intelligence. If the heart
is the image of the sun in man, in the earth it is gold.

Consequently, gold is symbolic of all that is superior, the glorified or 'fourth

state' after the first three stages of black [standing for sin and penitence], white
[remission and innocence] and red [sublimation and passion]. Everything golden
or made of gold tends to pass on this quality of superiority to its utilitarian
function."10 The associated emblematic qualities of gold range from purity,
refinement, spiritual enlightenment, truth, harmony and wisdom to earthly power
and glory, majesty, nobility, incorruptibility, and wealth. In alchemy, gold was
seen as the product of the interplay between sulphur and mercury, the masculine
and feminine principles. It was the Great Work, the goal, perfection, wholeness;
through gold one attained the centre. Chinese as well as European alchemists
thought that minerals grew in the womb of the Earth like foetuses and that, given
time, common metals would change into gold, the ultimate symbol of perfection.
"From Celtic myth the pot of gold at the rainbow's end represents a kind of Holy
Grail -

the lost vessel of spiritual renewal and fulfilment. Carl Jung referred to gold as
the symbolic end product of inner alchemical transformation. Passage through
the chakras is a process of increasing refinement, which unites light and shadow,
male and female, spirit and matter, all in the crucible of the body and psyche.
The pot of gold is indeed the elusive philosopher's stone which lures us into the
heroic journey of transformation."11

PROVINGS •• [1] Hahnemann - 11 provers; method: unknown.

•• [2] Molin - self-experimentation; 4th dil., beginning with 1-drop doses and
duplicating daily [1, 2, 4, 8, 16, etc.] until positive effects were obtained; then
allowing these to subside, and proceeding in like manner again and again. Molin
summarizes the effects on himself of metallic gold as follows: "Desire for
solitude; restlessness; loss of memory; religious exaltation; ennui; causeless
grief, and frequent weeping; impatience and anger; disgust for life and tendency
to suicide. Sleeplessness or continual sleepiness; nocturnal agitation; unpleasant
and fatiguing dreams."12

•• [3] Compton Burnett - self-experimentation, 1879; method: 'took 4 grains of

A.

foliatum, 1x trit., dry on the tongue,' repeated dose on days 4 and 8 of proving.

[1] Hurlbut, Minerals and Man. [2] Pelikan, The Secrets of Metals. [3]
Encyclopaedia Britannica. [4] Pelikan, ibid. [5] Mervyn, Vitamins and Minerals.
[6] Potter, A Compend of Materia Medica. [7] Encyclopaedia Britannica. [8]
Husain, The Goddess. [9] Chevalier and Gheerbrant, Dictionary of Symbols.
[10] Cirlot, A Dictionary of Symbols. [11]

Judith, Eastern Body, Western Mind. [12] Hughes, Cyclopaedia..

Affinity

MIND. VASCULAR SYSTEM. Nerves. Heart [r.]. Bones [NASAL; skull;

patellae; joints]. Glands. Liver. Kidneys. * RIGHT SIDE. Left side.

Modalities
Worse: Emotions [depressing; disordered affections]. Mental exertion. Cold.
Night

[sunset to sunrise]. Ascending stairs. Menstrual period. Right side.

Better: Cool, open air. Cold bathing. Becoming warm. Walking. Warmth [during
pains].

Rest.

Main symptoms

M DEPRESSIVE, MELANCHOLIC MOOD [everything is black inside; life has

no value].

• "Discontent with al conditions; he thinks that he everywhere finds an

impediment, caused now by an opposing fate, then again by himself, which latter
mortifies him and renders him dejected." [Hahnemann]

Brooding melancholy, alternating with irritability.

SUICIDAL DISPOSITION.

[better when thinking of suicide - feeling of freedom - cheerful when thinking of

death; planning his suicide in silence].

• "Melancholy; he imagines he is not fitted for the world, he therefore longs for
death, of which he thinks with the most intense delight." [Hahnemann]

SUICIDAL from PAINS [out of despair] - throwing himself from a height, from
a window.

May look, consciously or subconsciously, for risks and dangers.

Praying during profound depression.

[Moves to spirituality, religion; searches for higher purposes.]

• "The Aurum subject in health is alert, glittering, erect in stance; in sickness is

bowed and furtive with grief and gloom." [Gibson]
M OVERSENSITIVE TO CONTRADICTION;

resulting in explosive fits of anger and violence.

• "Excessively disposed to take offence; even the least thing seeming offensive
to him, affecting him deeply and caused resentment."

• "Peevish and irascible; the least contradiction excites him to the greatest
anger."

[Hahnemann]

Anger and violence.

c In a study of cardiac catheterization, it was found "that those with the most
blockage of their coronary arteries were the people who showed the most
potential for hostility and also kept their anger in. People whose hostility was
easily and frequently aroused, but who then withheld expression of anger or
irritation against others, even when such expression would be appropriate or
deserved, were the most likely to have advanced coronary artery disease. ...
Hostility tears the social fabric; a move towards isolation of the person so
thinking. Excessive self-involvement may underlie hostility. If a person is very
self-involved and thinks of himself or herself as better than others in many ways,
this person is vulnerable to anyone who confronts such claims or who looks
better than he. To the self-involved, many events are the cause for a threat: the
success of a friend, the turn of the stock market, the prospects for one's company,
the insurance crisis, the pension crisis, the art crisis, the crisis crisis. ... Self-
involved individuals had the strongest emotional and physical reactions to
challenge, they expressed anger more intensely, and had much higher blood
pressure, again at levels that would qualify for hypertension." In a study of "self-
involvement in 156 male patients who were hospitalized to undergo a coronary
angiogram ... the more self-involved patients were more likely to have had a
heart attack and were also more depressed and anxious. ... So the social view
highlights two reactions that can damage the heart: separating oneself from
others by acting in a hostile way or by becoming self-centred."1

M General oversensitivity [odours, taste, noise, touch, music].

Fears the least noise.

M Ailments from fright, anger, contradiction, vexation, WOUNDED HONOUR,
LOSS OF PROPERTY, UNUSUAL RESPONSIBILITIES.

M DUTIFUL. PERFORMANCE ORIENTED.

ANXIETY OF CONSCIENCE, GUILTY FEELING AND REMORSE.

[Delusion he has neglected his duty].

• "He always thinks he is neglecting something for which he will be reproached;

he seems to carry with him this internal restlessness, and it took from him all
perseverance and energy." [Hahnemann]

M WORKAHOLIC; INDUSTRIOUS; always busy and working, never finished.

• "Restlessness and hurried impulse to bodily and mental activity; he cannot

work fast enough; he could not act so as to satisfy himself."

• "He is driven to constant activity, and is sorry for his inaction, although he
cannot do anything." [Hahnemann]

Strong sense of honour; wants to be the best; AMBITION.

Sense of [higher] purpose.

• "In a study of 229 men from three countries [Finland, Sweden, and the United
States]

who had recently survived a myocardial infarction, it was found that common
background factors included heavy work responsibility, time urgency coupled
with hostility when slowed by others, and dissatisfaction with the achievement
of life goals."2

M DESPAIR [from pain]; VIOLENCE [from pain, contradiction or frustration].

• "Some years ago a gentleman came to me in deep distress. Said he, 'My brain is
softening; I am losing my mind, going crazy, becoming hopelessly imbecile, or

something of that sort, I hardly know what.' He was the picture of despair; and I
really thought from his appearance that something serious was the matter. 'I
never thought a man could be so utterly desolate and melancholy,' he continued,
'I feel like putting an end to the whole business by jumping into the river, or
blowing out my brains, that is, if I have any left.' And then my visitor went on to
tell me in still stronger language how imbecile he seemed to have become.
Everything irritated him; he seemed to have as little control over himself as a
child. Ambition and energy were utterly gone, trifling annoyances affected him
even to tears. Memory was impaired, and he was unfitted for business. A little
inquiry brought out the fact that he was suffering from secondary symptoms of
syphilis, for which he had repaired to a popular health resort, and was even now
taking medicine which his physician there had described. He feared that the
disease had not been eradicated, and fancied that it had attacked the throat and
bones of the nose, as he had a terribly offensive watery discharge from nostrils
and posterior nares, and gnawing pains in bridge of nose, all of which he said
came on during the preceding three weeks. I asked to see the medicine he was
taking. He pulled out a box of pills, and remarked upon their expensive
character, a chief ingredient being gold. I examined one, and with the naked eye
small particles of shining gold-leaf could be readily seen. A crude trituration of
Aurum metallicum had been made up into pill form, and the patient had already
taken about two dozen of them in the course of three weeks. ... He was directed
to stop the pills; and in a fortnight the whole train of distressing symptoms,
melancholy, terrible forebodings, thoughts of suicide, headache, catarrh, nervous
prostration, loss of appetite, etc., had disappeared." [Morse, cited in Hughes]

M Thinks he cannot succeed; pessimistic, delusion of failure.

Self-reproach, self-depreciation and low self-esteem.

Oversensitive to the opinion of others.

FORSAKEN FEELING.

• "He believes that he has lost the love of others, and this mortifies him even to
tears."

[Hahnemann]

• "They eventually feel as if they have completely failed in life, that they are
taking others into believing they are capable, worthwhile individuals. They feel
that they do not deserve their status, wealth and responsibilities. They begin to
feel that they have no right to live, and that they are literally incapable of
maintaining their occupations or relationships. They put the blame for
everything on themselves." [Vithoulkas]

c "If individuals are ambitious, competitive, or time urgent for purely selfish
reasons, they may be at greater risk than if they are ambitious or competitive to
serve others or higher ideals. ... The latter are those who are interested in
maintaining a stable connection with the larger 'organism' of humanity as a
whole. This perspective would also explain why those people who can look
outward at others, at a pet, at a plant, or at acts of selflessness, as in the study of
the immune system changes of people looking at Mother Theresa, might be
responding to a deeper need within our brains than we and they know about. If
the cardiovascular system is a mirror of the mind, people who are excessively
self-centred are doing themselves harm. The 'me decade' of the 1970s may have
backfired. Self-centred, hostile people set themselves apart from the world rather
than seeing themselves as a part of it. They are cut off from the normal give-and-
take of social intercourse, and the result may well break their hearts."3

M Closed and serious; laughing and having fun is difficult.

Reserved and alone; no friends, or just a few superficial acquaintances.

Lonely at the top.

• "If he is left undisturbed, he sits by himself in a corner, quiet, reserved, as if

melancholy; the least contradiction excites him to the most violent anger, which
he manifests at first with quarrelling and much talking, but afterwards with a few
abrupt words." [Hahnemann]

• "Aurum learns early to be independent, to rely on nobody but himself, and to

show no signs of weakness. In relationships he is inaccessible, never giving
totally of himself, since that would open up the old wounds that never heal. This
is one of the loneliest of constitutional types, combining great sensitivity with
fear of rejection. ... Aurum will usually grow up with a tendency to strive very
hard to prove himself, and he may not be able to stop himself from pushing his
children in the same way as he pushes himself."

[Bailey]

Compare: "The Apollo archetype favours thinking over feeling, distance over
closeness, objective assessment over subjective intuition. ... He knows where he
wants to go, what he wants to accomplish, that he wants to win. He is not a
dreamer. His targets are realistic ones that will require effort. They are usually
goals that are visible to others.

... Apollo qualities favour achieving recognition. ... It is not unusual for an
Apollo boy to be a winner, and be used to receiving love and approval for what
he does. ... When the Apollo man gets as far as he [and the archetype] can take
him, and it is not what he aimed at, work no longer serves as the source of
gratification it always was before, and instead becomes a problem. When the
Apollo man gets above his level of competence, and is no longer the bright star,
trouble occurs. He is unprepared to fail or falter. He has put his energy into his
work, sacrificed development of other interests, and has expected his family to
also defer their needs to his career. There may be no ready-made alternatives for
him to fall back on to give him meaning. ... The woman in his life may decide
that theirs is a brother-sister relationship and may reject him as a lover, either
directly or by becoming attracted to someone else. They look up and value
relationships with older men in authority, and often have mentors who help
advance their careers. ... The Apollo man prefers to withdraw and think
abstractly about ideas, and about the form of things from a distance, rather than
concern himself with the realm of feeling, which is least innately present and
most in need of developing. Innate characteristics and culture, as well as his
family of origin, shape his personality. The intellectual and unemotional Apollo
man lives in a patriarchal culture that doesn't expect men to be nurturing,
disapproves of men expressing vulnerable feelings, encouraging competition,
and rewards acquiring power.

... When he follows his heart, the Apollo man becomes human; he knows he is
fallible and vulnerable, but can step beyond the boundaries of his 'known'
[rational] world. He can take risks. He gives up the emotional distance that both
protected him and kept him isolated."4

G Heaviness.

Heavy build, a heavy gait, heaviness of the heart, a heavy mind.

Darkness is the main colour of this picture.

A dark complexion, darkening of vision, dreams of darkness, a dark mind.

Destructiveness is its meaning.

Slow destruction of the body, of the big glands, of the bones, finally destruction
of the self through suicide. 5

G HYPERAEMIA and congestion of various organs.

EBULLITIONS with intense palpitation.

SURGING of blood to the head with clearly visible carotids and temporal
arteries; flushes easily.

Sensation of HEAT in BLOOD VESSELS.

• "Particularly arterial hypertension, the sclerosis of the coronary and cerebral

vessels are important indications. But also there is a marked influence on the
secretion of urine - at first increased, but later even suppressed, which forms an
indication for nephrosclerosis.

In this respect Aurum is, in general, more suitable for the larger arteries and
those of the upper part of the body while Plumbum involves the arterioles
especially of the kidneys

[nephrosclerosis]. In the cerebral sclerosis the still to be mentioned mental and

intellectual symptoms complete the picture. If the sclerosis whether of the aorta,
the coronary or the cerebral vessels, is of syphilitic origin, then there is even
more basis for the selection of a gold preparation [perhaps Aur-i.]. Alcohol and
nicotine are also important etiologic moment for Aurum."6

• "As a therapeutic agent in potency gold is closely associated with affections

and disorders of the heart in both the physical and the emotional spheres."
[Gibson]

G Orgasm of blood after emotions.

G Desire for OPEN AIR and open air >,

yet COLD air and becoming cold < [WINTER <].

G Sterility, and lowered vitality of the parts.

Esp. called for when want of children results in depression of spirits. [Allen]
G < NIGHT.

> EVENING.

G Pains > warmth.

G > MOTION; > WALKING; > WALKING SLOWLY.

G TREMBLING from anger, fright, vexation.

G PAIN IN BONES, esp. AT NIGHT.

Pain as if bones were broken.

P Nose red and swollen; red nodular nose.

• "This symptom has been observed many times since Hahnemann; among
others it occasioned the unbelieving student Hering to take gold trituration. A
few days later he was compelled to avoid the room because he had a frightfully
swollen red nose."7

P LIVER affections and HEART symptoms.

P Paroxysmal pain behind sternum at night [like angina pectoris] [characteristic

for Aur., according to Charette].

Dyspnoea < laughing.

Oppression of heart; as if to stop, then gives one hard thump.

P Endocarditis after rheumatism.

[1] Ornstein and Sobel, The Healing Brain. [2] Coleman, Abnormal Psychology
and Modern Life. [3] Ornstein and Sobel, ibid. [4] Bolen, Gods In Everyman. [5]
Gutman, BHJ 1962, Vol. 51. [6-7] Leeser, Textbook of Hom. MM, Inorganic
Medicinal Substances.

Rubrics

Mind
Anger at absent persons while thinking of them [2]; sudden anger alternating
with

cheerfulness [2]. Anxiety > eating [1], from pressure on chest [1], about
salvation [3].

Aversion to being approached by persons [1]. Brutality [2]. Censorious of

oneself [1].

Colours, desire for red [1]. Contemptuous of self [2]. Desire to lie down in
darkness and not be talked to [1]. Delusions, has lost affection of friends [2], his
friends have lost all confidence in him [1], everything will fail [2], he grew
larger and longer [1], whole body is hollow [1], he has neglected his duty and
deserves reproach [2/1], he is unfit for the world [2]. Dictatorial [1]. Egotism [1].
Hurry in movements, cannot do things fast enough

[1], in occupation, desire to do several things at once [1]. Loquacity at night [2],
asks one question after another [1]. Sadness alternating with physical energy [2],
< white colours

[1]. Weeping when meeting people [2/1].

Head

Congestion during anxiety [1]. Pulsating when bending head backward [1].

Eye

Discolouration, redness of lids before menses [1/1]. Eye symptoms > moonlight
[2/1].

Vision

Colours before the eyes, blue [2]; yellow crescent-shaped bodies floating
obliquely upward [2/1]. Dim, > looking steadily [2]. Physical exertion > vision
[2]. Hemiopia, horizontal [2], lower half lost [2], upper half lost [3], vertical [1].
Objects seem small [2].

Nose
Smell acute, everything smells too strong [1/1]. Sneezing in sunshine [1].

Teeth

Caries, rapid [1*].

Throat

Choking after eating [1*].

Bladder

Ineffectual urging to urinate during menses [2/1].

Female

Heat vagina during menses [1/1]. Sexual desire increased, rousing her at night
[1; Med.].

Chest

Anxiety in region of heart > moving about [2]. Sensation as if heart were loose
[1].

Crushing pain behind sternum on ascending [3]. Palpitation when lying on back
[1].

Swelling of axillary glands before menses [1]. Sensation as if heart were turning
around

[1].

Limbs

Sensation as if bandaged, knees [3], while sitting [1], while walking [2].
Involuntary motion when thinking of movements [1/1].

Sleep

Sleepiness during palpitation [1]. Sleeplessness from sadness [2].

Dreams

Falling from a height [1]. Robbers [2]. Violence []1.

Heat

Internal heat, burning in blood vessels [2].

Generals

Mountain sickness [1]. Weather, dry and warm > [1*].

* Repertory additions [Hughes].

Food

Aversion: [2]: Meat.

Desire: [2]: Alcohol; bread; coffee; delicacies; indigestible things; milk; rich
food. [1]: Bread, dry; cold drinks; meat; spicy; stimulants.

Worse: [1]: Alcohol; sweets; wine.

Bambusa arundinacea

Bamb-a.

Knowing trees, I understand the meaning of patience.

Knowing grass, I can appreciate persistence.

[Hal Borland]

Signs

Bambusa arundinacea. Bambusa vulgaris. Bambusa bambos. Spiny Bamboo.

N.O. Graminae.

CLASSIFICATION Bambusa arundinacea belongs to the genus Bambusa of the

widespread monocotyledonous family Gramineae [or Poaceae] containing about
9000

species of grasses in 657 genera. Grasses generally have long narrow parallel-
veined leaves, a round hollow stem, and inconspicuous flowers in a terminal
panicle, spike, or raceme. Grasses are the dominant vegetation in savannahs,
prairies, and steppes.

Economically they are the most important family of plants as they contain all the
cereals, which are man's staple diet. They are also widely planted for pasture and
fodder.

BAMBOOS Unlike most other grasses, bamboos grow very tall - up to 40

metres. There are over 70 genera and 1200 species of bamboo worldwide. In
general, they are fast growing, and have woody stems. Bamboo can produce ten
times more cellulose material per hectare per year than even fast growing trees
like Pinus radiata. Like many grasses, they self-propagate by spreading
underground. There are basically two modes of growth: clumping or running.
Running bamboos have long adventitious rhizomes. They are temperate climate
plants that tolerate many degrees of frost and even annual snow cover.

Because of the light conditions they only have branches on the upper portions. A
single bamboo plant can give rise to a stand - even a forest - of plants
constituting a single, physically connected entity. The stems in a grove are all
connected by a network of rhizomes, and the grove acts more like a single plant
than many separate ones. A healthy, uncontained grove may double its root area
every year. The rhizomes of non-invasive,

'clumping' bamboos, on the other hand, grow only several inches a year.
Clumping bamboos are commonly tropical or subtropical. They usually have
many branches at each node with one or two prominent. Native to tropical and
subtropical to mild temperate regions, bamboos have their heaviest concentration
and largest number of species in East and Southeast Asia.

HABITAT Bamboos need full sun to partial shade. They like lots of water, but
not wet feet; hence they prefer fast-draining soils.

FEATURES "The woody, hollow aerial stems [culms] of bamboo grow in

branching clusters from a thick underground stem [rhizome]. The culms often
form a dense undergrowth that excludes other plants. Bamboo culms can attain
heights ranging from 10 to 15 cm in the smallest species to more than 40 m in
the largest. Mature bamboos sprout horizontal branches that bear sword-shaped
leaves on stalked blades; the leaves on young culms arise directly from the stem.
Though the culms of some species grow quickly [as much as one foot per day],
most bamboos flower and produce seeds only after 12-120 years' growth, and
then only once in their lifetime."1 The mass flowering of a

bamboo species - all around the world at the same time! - can be catastrophic,
disrupting ecologies with bird and rodent population explosions.

PROPERTIES "The properties of bamboo shoots are especially interesting for

this study because the homoeopathic remedy is prepared from the shoots. Quite
unusually in comparison with other plants, the young bamboo shoot will not
grow any more in thickness. As a shoot it already has the same circumference as
the eventual bamboo cane will have. The number of segments between the joints
[internodes] is already fixed within the shoot; no later growth in height or girth is
possible. Therefore, if the later stem is 30

cm thick, the shoot, when it pushes through the soil, is also 30 cm thick. These
shoots develop underground in autumn and emerge in spring."2 Just like wheat
germ and nuts, the growing shoots of bamboo are high in protein, whereas the
adult cells are rich in sugars and minerals. The growth of the shoots is so
vigorous at its early stage that it may produce a distinct noise when piercing its
way through the culm-covering sheet. The ancient Chinese used the incredibly
fast growth of the culm for the punishment of criminals. Tied to the culm, the
victim's body was pulled apart by the unstoppable 'lifting-power' of the bamboo.

FLOWERING "When a bamboo flowers, it is in danger of dying. Flowering

bamboos do not always die; although many do - especially in the case of
gregarious flowering. The phenomenon of gregarious flowering may involve
many plants, but not necessarily all plants of that species or clone. Sometimes
bamboo of a species growing over a large area may flower at the same time. ...
The reason bamboos die after flowering is most likely so that the seedlings will
receive the water, nutrients, room and sunshine that would otherwise be used by
the mother. The debris of the dying parent mulches the seedlings.

The mechanism for the timing of flowering and dying is a phenomenon not yet
understood."3

USES "Bamboos are used for a great variety of purposes, esp. in East and
Southeast Asia. The seeds are eaten as grain, and the cooked young shoots of
some bamboos are eaten as vegetables, esp. in Chinese cuisines. The raw leaves
are a useful fodder for livestock. The pulped fibres of several bamboo species,
esp. Dendrocalamus strictus and Bambusa arundinacea, are used to make fine-
quality paper. The jointed stems of bamboo have perhaps the most numerous
uses; the largest stems supply planks for houses and rafts, while both large and
small stems are lashed together to form the scaffoldings used on building-
construction sites. The stems are also split up to make buckets and pipes or are
used to make furniture, walking sticks, fishing poles, garden stakes, and other
utensils. Some species of bamboo are used as ornamentals in landscape gardens.
The fine-grained silica produced in the joints of bamboo stems has been used as
a medicine in the Orient for centuries under the name tabasheer."4 Tabasheer, or
bamboo sugar, is a product of Melocanna baccifera, Muli Bamboo. It is
extremely rich in silica [up to 99%], and contains, in addition, traces of iron,
calcium, and aluminium. Muli Bamboo has edible shoots and fruits the size and
shape of pears; the fruits are eaten by people and domestic and wild animals.

BAMBUSA Bambusa arundinacea originates from India through to southern

China. It is cultivated throughout Southeast Asia, and often grown as a hedge /
windbreak and to stabilise banks on waterways. The thorny branches are used in
fencing.

NAME The name Bambusa is the latinized version of the Malayan vernacular
name. The specific name arundinacea derives from the Latin arundo, a reed, in
allusion to its reed-

like appearance.

SILICON The grass family in general, and Rice, Corn and Bamboo in particular,
is remarkably rich in silicon dioxide. Silicon may comprise 1 to 2 per cent of the
dry matter of grasses, yet experiments have generally failed to demonstrate that
silicon is essential for most other plants. It seems to be particularly beneficial to
grasses, where it accumulates in the cell walls, esp. of epidermal cells, and
possibly plays a role in fending off fungal infections or preventing lodging [the
condition in which stems are bent over by heavy winds or rain]. 5

POLLINOSIS Exposure to plants of the grass family can result in irritant and
allergic contact dermatitis, contact urticaria, hay fever, and hay asthma. Millets,
rice and bamboo have spicules which can produce urticarial papules in workers
handling crops or litter straw. The wind-blown pollen of a number of species
may be responsible for pollinosis

[hay fever]; among them: Agropyron, Agrostis, Anthoxanthum, Bromus,

Cynodon, Festuca, Lolium, Phleum, Poa, Triticum, and Zea. The minute brown
bristles from the shoots of certain bamboo species are irritant to the
gastrointestinal tract and have been used for criminal poisoning.

MEDICINE The root of Bambusa arundinacea is in Indian and Ayurvedic

medicine used to treat joint pain and general debility. The leaves are used to
stimulate menstruation, as well as to help relieve menstrual pain, to expel
worms, and to tone and strengthen stomach function. They have the reputation of
being aphrodisiac. Bamboo shoots are a popular food item in eastern Asia. They
are often canned. After removing the leaf sheaths, the stems are boiled for about
half an hour to remove any bitterness [cyanogenic glycosides]. The shoots
contain about 3 per cent protein, little fat, and about 5 per cent carbohydrate, but
they are very low in vitamin C. They can be eaten to relieve nausea, indigestion
and flatulence. A poultice of the sprouts is applied to infected wounds.

Aqueous extracts of Bambusa arundinacea possess oral hypoglycaemic activity,

significantly lowering the fasting blood glucose level and improving glucose
tolerance [in rats]. Maximum hypoglycaemic activity was observed up to three
hours after ingestion.

The effect was better than that of the hypoglycaemic agent tolbutamide. 6

ETHNOBOTANY "Bamboo is mostly vitality and paradox wrapped into what

appears to be a plant of many personalities and still more personae. It is
possibility and potential.

It is warp and woof of a carefully interwoven nature. For the ancient Chinese for
whom Tao, Buddha and Confucius formed the boundaries of actuality, a
measured, meaningful life was defined and created by the relationship with
bamboo. The Chinese said, believed and knew that it began with bamboo and
ended with bamboo. The study of anything meaningful in life began with
familiarity and ended with mastery. ... The fury of atomic energy unleashed at
Hiroshima and Nagasaki only set the bamboo back a little. It was among the first
of plants to reappear. ... In North America, back when the people that were here
were the only people here, great expanses of bamboo spread across the south
eastern regions, becoming the famous 'Breaks' of many legends passed down
through Seminole, Cherokee and myriad other names which the people called
themselves before those others came from across the seas and cut down the
Breaks."7

SYMBOLISM Bamboo symbolizes gracefulness, constancy, yielding but

enduring strength [it bends but does not break], lasting friendship, longevity and
hardy old age [it is evergreen]. In Japan, the bamboo, along with the pine and the
plum, is one of the three trees of good omen. For the Chinese these three plants
are the Three Friends of Winter.

Severing the umbilical cord of a newborn baby with a bamboo knife is thought
to bring luck for the rest of one's life. For some [Chinese] Masters, the rustle of
bamboos was the signal of enlightenment. Painting bamboo was a spiritual
exercise rather than mere art.

"Bamboo was used to drive off evil influences, less from any symbolic cause
than from the fact that the wood goes off with a sharp crack when placed on the
fire. The bamboo clump, the classic barrier, was often depicted as 'the jungle of
sinners' through which the tiger, symbol of the spiritual force of Buddhism,
alone can thread is way. ... The Bamum and Bamileke have a chip of bamboo
which they call a guis [laugh] which is their symbol of happiness, the unadorned
happiness of life free from illness and care."8 'Bamboo mentality' reflects a
mentality, highly appreciated in Japan, in which one gives in but ultimately
emerges from all troubles unbroken. As a variant of the iron curtain, the

'bamboo curtain' refers to the impenetrable political barrier of Asiatic, esp.

Chinese communism. To a lesser degree, it may also reflect the inscrutability of
southeastern Asian people.

HOMOEOPATHY Homoeopathy uses 22 species of the grass family: Agropyron

repens

[Couch grass], Agrostis capillaris [Bent], Anatherum [Cuscus grass],

Anthoxanthum odoratum [Sweet Vernal grass], Arundo mauritanica [Reed],
Avena sativa [Oats], Bambusa, Bromus [Brome grass; two species],
Cymbopogon [Lemon grass; two species], Cynodon dactylon [Bermuda grass],
Hordeum [Barley], Lolium temulentum [Bearded Darnel], Oryza [Rice], Phleum
pratense [Timothy], Saccharum officinale [Sugar cane], Secale cereale [Rye],
Triticum [Wheat; two species], Zea [Corn; two species].

PROVINGS •• [1] Schuster - 20 provers [12 females, 8 males], 1994-95;

method: double blind, placebo controlled with 6c, 30c, and Q3 [LM 3].

[1] Encyclopaedia Britannica. [2] Chevalier and Gheerbrant, Dictionary of

Symbols. [3]

Jaquith and Haubrich, When Bamboo Flowers; American Bamboo Society

Newsletter 1996 no. 2. [4] Encyclopaedia Britannica. [5] Hopkins, Introduction
to Plant Physiology.

[6] Fernando, Hypoglycaemic activity of some medicinal plants in Sri-Lanka,

Gen.

Pharmacol. 1990, 21 [5]. [7] Milo G. Clark, How to be with Bamboo; American
Bamboo Society. [8] Schuster, Bamboo: Homoeopathic proving of Bambusa
arundinacea.

Affinity

Spine; CERVICAL REGION. Female organs. Nose. * Right side. Left side.

Modalities

Worse: COLD; draft of air. After parturition. Menses [before; at beginning of;
during].

Warm room. Change of weather; stormy or rainy weather. Excitement.

Better: External heat.

Main symptoms

M NEED FOR SUPPORT.

• "It was noticeable that al the people who required bamboo as a remedy
constantly supported themselves somewhere with their bodies, for instance
resting their head on their hands, arms on the table, the back firmly against the
back of the chair."1
Ailments caused by a combination of stress at work, emotional stress, loss of
[financial or other] support or help, move to a new place due to divorce or
career.

M Feeling of being stressed, particularly by one's child/children.

Ailments after parturition.

• "Pregnancy without any desire for children, virtual y in order to produce an

heir, seems to give a Bamboo symptomatology."2

• "At present 'everything gets on her nerves', she is irritable and 'stressed';
sometimes 'she would gladly abandon her child' [laughs inappropriately]. But
she was irritable during pregnancy, too. The young woman feels 'the whole
situation is too demanding for her.'

The child cries too much. She thinks a lot about all sorts of things ['worries about
everything']. The burden is too much for her."3

• "'While nursing I have a terrible feeling. My mood is the same as when my

mother died. I must always weep while nursing. I cannot and will not breastfeed
any longer. I feel empty, miserable, depressed, drained of all energy. I am not the
sort of person who can breastfeed her baby for a long time.' She feels completely
stressed and almost persecuted by her crying baby. She lies in bed all day long
and cannot take care of the household. Her husband had to stay home from work,
then the mother-in-law had to move in to support her."4

Feels like a caged tiger.

Feeling of being imprisoned by duties.

Desire to be free to do one's own things; to go back to the time before having
children and all the work involved in having a family.

Feeling of being overworked, overloaded, exhausted ['want to get rid of excess

baggage'].

Feeling as if everything is getting on top of me, unable to sort things out.

M Silliness and inappropriate laughter.

Alternating with sleepiness and laziness.

G COLDNESS <.

Chilliness. [Clinically verified]

Great sensitivity to cold. Shivering.

Cannot get warm in bed.

G Sensation of heat; hot flushes.

Cannot bear warm room; must have fresh air.

Heat at beginning of menses.

Cannot bear hot baths.

G Perspiration.

Profuse during sleep at night.

Sweaty when eating.

Profuse sweat in face.

Sweaty from excitement.

Perspiration smells like freshly made coffee.

G Great hunger, even at night.

Thirst at night.

G SLEEPLESSNESS or disturbed sleep. [Observed by 12 provers!]

On account of flow of thoughts, worries, dwelling.

Feeling of panic at night.

G PAINS STITCHING; appearing and disappearing suddenly.

Pains mainly in the extremities, particularly in the hands and the feet.

G Wave-like sensation.

• Waves of burning heat along the spine.

• Wave-like pain in head.

• Wave-like earache.

• Waves of nausea.

• Vertigo as if floor were bouncing up and down like a wave.

• Wave-like alteration between states of tension and relaxation.

G Feeling of swelling / distension.

As if cranium were swelling from eyebrows upwards ['hot-air balloon'].

As if eyes were bulging out of head.

Nose as if swollen. Cheeks as if swollen.

Throat as if swollen.

Cannot bear anything around throat.

Feeling of distension, as if there were a large bubble in abdomen.

Cannot bear a belt.

G Increased discharges.

[nose; saliva; mucus in throat; diarrhoea; flatus; urine; menses; perspiration]

P Nose.

Sneezing attacks; sneezing at the slightest cold.

Obstruction of nose, < lying down and at night.

Obstruction, alternating sides.

P Painful STIFFNESS of NAPE of NECK. [Observed by 8 provers!]

[Turning head is difficult, painful, or results in cracking in cervical spine.]

< Change of weather [to storm and rain].

< Cold; > heat.

Pain extends to head and/or shoulder.

• "With almost clinical certainty, Bamboo relieves a stiff neck even in 6c and12c
potencies. It should be tried for acute disk problems." [Schuster]

P Painful tension of breasts; before menses. [Clinically verified]

[1-2] Schuster, Bamboo: Homoeopathic proving of Bambusa arundinacea. [3-4]

Schuster, Bamboo: An important remedy for 'ailments after parturition', HL 2/97.

Rubrics

Mind

Audacity [1]. Aversion to everything; everything is too much [1]. Desires to

remain in bed [1]. Desire for change [1]. Aversion to company, fond of solitude
[1]; with quarrelsomeness [1]. Cursing [1]. Delusions, alone in the world [1],
body parts as if loose

[1], everything will fail [1], has ruined his health [1], left and right side are not
the same

[1/1], of skin being very thin [1/1], everything is wrong [1]. Despair, everything
is controlled by destiny [1/1]; wants support [1/1]. Aversion to being disturbed
[1]. Fear of brain tumour [1], in a crowd [1], of her condition being observed [1],
lest he should say something wrong [1], of losing self-control [1]. Forsaken
feeling at night, with weeping

[1]. Feeling of helplessness [2]. Impatience with children [1]. Irritability toward
children
[1], before menses [1], from reproaches [1], when spoken to [1]. Laughing;
never laughs

[1]; tendency to silly laughter [1]. Cannot bear to be looked at [1]. Pities herself
from pain [1]. Sensitive to noise of birds [1/1]. Slowness in morning on waking
[1]. Fritters away his time [1]; time passes too quickly [1]. Weeping from
exhaustion [1], during pains [1]. Yielding disposition [1].

Vertigo

As if stepping into a hole [1/1]. Objects seem to move [1]. As if floor is moving
in waves

[1/1]; waves of dizziness from left to right [1/1], from heels to occiput [1/1].

Head

Pain, compelling to close eyes [1], > cold applications [1], with diarrhoea [1],
with pain in cervical region [1], > rubbing [1].

Vision

Diplopia at night [1].

Nose

Obstruction, wakes him at night [1], blowing nose doesn't > [1], during headache
[1], while lying on abdomen [1/1], sitting > [1/1]. Sneezing in cold air [1], when
walking in open air [1].

Face

Sensation as if skin were thin [1/1].

Stomach

Heartburn after excitement [1/1], thinking of sweets < [1/1]. Nausea from odours
[1]; in waves [1/1]. Thirst for large quantities [1].

Urine
Odour like spoiled eggs [1]. Profuse, increased, with thirstlessness [1].

Female

Menses, in gushes [1]; profuse, daytime [1], profuse, at night [1]. Sexual desire
increased

[1], in morning in bed [1], from touch [1]; violent, driving her to masturbation
[1].

Chest

Conscious of heart's action [1]. Swelling of mammae before menses [3].

Back

Pain, > external heat [3]; cervical region, < motion of head [1]; lumbar region, at
night in bed [1], at night when lying on left side [1], < lying on back [1], before
menses [1], at beginning of menses [1]; coccyx, after a fall [2]. Stiffness in
morning on waking [1], when cold [1], > motion [1], like a stick [1]; cervical
region, from cold [1], during headache [1], before and during menses [1], from
change of weather [1], from stormy, wet weather [1].

Limbs

Awkwardness, hands, drops things [1], lower limbs, knocks against things [1].
Sensation of heat in feet, but cold to the touch [1].

Sleep

Waking from slight noise [1], from perspiration [1].

Dreams

Amorous, with orgasm [1/1]. Body parts falling out [1]. Children; child is lost in
crowd

[1/1], is neglecting her child [1/1]. Giants [1]. Journey to China [1/1]. Money
[1]. Huge monuments [1/1]. Murder [1]. Robbers [1]. Things are bigger and
overpowering [1/1].
Wedding has to be repeated since only one half of the body has been married
[1/1].

Perspiration

After excitement [1]. Odour, like fresh coffee [1/1], sweetish [1]. Profuse, at
beginning of menses [1], during menses < [1].

Food

Aversion: [1]: Beer; cigarette smoke; coffee; fat; hot food; meat; mushrooms.

Desire: [1]: Alcohol; cake; cheese; chocolate; coffee; cold water; fruit juice;
quark; refreshing; salt; sour; spicy; sweets; tobacco; wine.

Worse: [1]: Alcohol [= heartburn]; beer [= heartburn, stomach pain]; cold drinks
[=

stomach pain]; meat [= eructations]; nuts [ = vomiting]; pork [= diarrhoea];

sweets [=

heartburn, flatulence].

Better: [1]: Cold drinks.

Baryta carbonica

Bar-c.

I must have a prodigious quantity of mind; it takes me as much as a week,

sometimes, to make it up.

[Mark Twain]

Signs

Barium Carbonate. Witherite.

CLASSIFICATION Barium, from Gr. barys, heavy, was distinguished from lime
by the Swedish chemist Karl Scheele in 1774. Lavoisier included "baryte or
barote" in 1789 in his list of "simple substances" as "Terre pesante" [heavy
earth]. The English scientist Sir Humphrey Davy first isolated the element in
1808. It is found only in combination with other elements, mainly with sulphate
[barite] and carbonate [witherite]. It belongs to group 2 [formerly group IIA] of
the periodic table, called the alkaline earth group, and resembles calcium
chemically. It is a soft metal with a silvery white lustre [like lead]

when pure. Because it very easily oxidizes [turning black or greyish] it should be
kept under petroleum or other oxygen-free liquids to exclude air. Water or
alcohol decomposes barium. Barium minerals are dense, but barium itself is
comparatively light.

USES Alloys of barium with aluminium [or magnesium] are used as getters in
electron tubes [e.g. in television sets, computer monitors, X-ray tubes], where
they perfect the vacuum by combining with the last traces of various gases, and
thus prolong the life of the device. The screen of audio-visual equipment
[television, computer, etc.] contains 4

to 10% barium carbonate to absorb roentgen rays arising in the electron tube. To
achieve the same effect in colour televisions and colour [computer] monitors, the
barium is combined with the even more active strontium. Barium protects by
immobilizing and shielding. An alloy of barium with nickel is used in spark
plugs and engine rod bearings.

The carbonate is used in ceramics, paints, enamels, marble substitutes, rubber;

for the manufacture of paper, barium salts, electrodes, optical glasses; as an
analytical reagent; and as a rat poison and insecticide. Barite [barium sulphate] is
used as an X-ray contrast medium [barium meal]; as a weighing agent in oilwell
drilling fluids; for the manufacture of photographic papers, artificial ivory,
cellophane; as a filler for rubber, linoleum, oil cloth, polymeric fibres and resins,
lithographic inks; as a water-colour pigment for coloured paper, in wallpaper; as
a size for modifying the colours of other pigments; in heavy concrete for
radiation shield. 1 Barium powder is highly inflammable and may ignite
spontaneously in air [at room temperature]. Various barium salts are employed in
pyrotechnics [imparting a bright yellowish green colour to fireworks], signal
flares

[green], explosives, rocket propellant, matches, or as fireproofing agents.

EFFECTS Barium carbonate is almost insoluble in water. The compound is

poisonous and may cause, in case of overexposure: salivation, vomiting, severe
abdominal pain, violent diarrhoea; increased blood pressure; tinnitus, giddiness;
muscle twitching, convulsions, paralysis; dilated pupils; confusion, somnolence;
cardiac arrest; death due to respiratory failure. Acute poisoning is characterized
by muscle weakness, followed by paralysis of the limbs and lungs, with
additional heart problems. Victims usually remain conscious. Long term
inhalation of barium dust may lead to deposition in the lungs,

producing a form of pneumoconiosis called baritosis. Pneumoconiosis, or

anthracotic tuberculosis, is characterized by pain in the chest, cough with little or
no expectoration, despond, reduced thoracic excursion, sometimes cyanosis, and
fatigue after slight exertion. 2 Fibrogenic forms of pneumoconiosis include
silicosis [caused by silica dust], asbestosis, anthracosis [caused by coal dust],
and berylliosis [caused by beryllium dust or fumes]. Nonfibrogenic forms are
considered to be benign and include siderosis [caused by iron dust], stannosis
[caused by tin dust], and baritosis. "Dr Wilson of London has lately described a
distinct case of poisoning with the carbonate. The quantity taken was half a
teacupful; but emetics were given, and operated before any symptoms showed
themselves. In two hours the patient complained of dimness of sight, double
vision, headache, tinnitus, and a sense of distension in the stomach, and
subsequently of pains in the knees and cramps of the legs, with occasional
vomiting and purging next day; for some days afterwards the head symptoms
continued, though more mildly, and she was much subject to severe palpitations.
Mr Parkes mentions that, according to information communicated to him by the
proprietor of an estate in Lancashire, where carbonate of baryta abounds, many
domestic animals on his estate died in consequence of licking the dust of the
carbonate, and that it once proved to two persons, a woman and her child, who
took each about a dram. Dr Johnstone says he once swallowed ten grains of this
compound, without experiencing any bad effect."3

GROWTH Experimentally, retarded growth can be evoked in rats and guinea

pigs by placing them on a barium-free diet. The same effect occurs with a
strontium-free diet.

Blood pressure increases significantly in rats exposed to 10 to 100 ppm barium

in their drinking water. In humans there appears to be increased risk of
cardiovascular disease if the drinking water contains barium levels of 1.1 to 10
mg per litre. Both barium and strontium belong to the alkaline earth group,
which comprises furthermore beryllium, magnesium, calcium, and radium.
Magnesium and calcium are important physiologic elements; strontium and
barium are closely related to calcium, but are not known to have any physiologic
function and thus are foreign to the body. "As a foreign substance barium
produces poisonous and untoward effects much easier than the physiologic
calcium. In experiments many similarities are shown to the action of excessive
doses of calcium. The anti-swelling, solidifying and therefore slowing effect on
exchange and function of calcium action is much greater in barium and leads
sooner to persistent states of pathology."4 Soluble salts of barium are highly
toxic and are used to control wide animals such as wolf, bear, etc.

ENVIRONMENT Barium gets into the air during the mining, refining and
production of barium compounds, and from the burning of coal and oil. Barium
compounds that dissolve easily are found in lakes, rivers, and streams. Fish and
aquatic organisms accumulate barium. Most soils contain low levels of barium.
Barium entering the body through the lungs seems to enter the bloodstream very
easily, while it doesn't seem to enter the bloodstream as well from the stomach or
intestines.

PHYSIOLOGY Seaweed, fish, and Brazil nuts contain the highest amounts of
barium in foodstuff. Barium performs no known essential function in man, yet
the average individual contains 22 mg of the mineral, most of which is in the
bones. "In heart disease there is a decrease in barium levels in blood and serum
with an increase in the injured heart muscle. Other disorders that decrease blood
barium levels are duodenal ulcer, chronic cholecystitis, cancer of the liver and
liver cirrhosis. Barium is poorly absorbed

from conventional diets and little is retained in the body. A study of English diets
found a daily intake between 400 and 900 mcg per day; in the USA intakes are
similar at 750 mcg per day. Various other studies put the mean intake in general
at 510 mcg per day. Barium levels in foodstuffs are associated usually with those
of calcium and strontium.

Vegetables and fruit can provide between 3 and 80 mcg per g dry weight but the
richest sources by far are nuts. Brazil nuts contain between 700 and 3200 mcg
per g but this was not accompanied by unusual levels of strontium."5

WITHERITE Witherite is an uncommon carbonate mineral. It belongs to the

aragonite group of minerals, all of which can form twins. Twins are the result of
an error during the growth of the crystal. The aragonite group has four members:
aragonite [calcium carbonate], cerussite [lead carbonate], strontianite [strontium
carbonate], and witherite.

The latter always forms twins. Witherite effervesces in dilute HCl solutions. It
also fluoresces light blue under both long and short-wave UV light and is
phosphorescent under short-wave UV light. Notable occurrences include Cave-
in-rock, Rosiclare, Illinois, USA; Alston Moor, Cumberland and Durham,
England; Thunder Bay area, Ontario, Canada, and Germany. 6 It is used in
casehardening steel and in refining sugar.

EXPERIMENTS "In the early part of the last century a series of very interesting
experiments designed to demonstrate the effects produced upon a sensitive
subject by the touch of precious stones and minerals, were made in the case of
the 'Seeress of Prevorst', Frederike Hauffe [b. 1801], a woman believed to
possess remarkable clairvoyant powers.

When pieces of granite, porphyry, or flint were placed in her hand, she was not
affected in any way. The finest qualities of fluorspar, on the other hand, had a
marked action, relaxing the muscles, causing diarrhoea, and producing a sour
taste in the mouth; occasionally a somnambulistic state was induced. This latter
condition was also produced by Iceland spar and by the sapphire. While the
substances so far noted depressed the vital energy, sulphate of barium stimulated
the muscles, produced an agreeable warmth of the body, and made the subject
feel as though she could fly through the air. If the application of this material
was long continued, the pleasurable sensation found expression in laughter. In
the case of witherite, a carbonate of barium, this effect was produced to an even
greater degree, for if water in which this mineral had been dipped were
swallowed, spasms of laughter resulted."7

GEMSTONE Barium minerals of gemstone quality are extremely rare. The only
one known is benitoite. Benitoite - barium titanium silicate - was discovered at
the beginning of the 20th century at San Benito, California. It has a unique
crystal structure, unlike any other known mineral. It is called "stone of heaven"
because of its sapphire blue colour. It is employed as a flirtation stone and as a
stone to increase love between women.

PROVINGS •• [1] Hahnemann - 9 provers; method: unknown.

[1] Merckx Index. [2] Stedman's Medical Dictionary. [3] Christison, A Treatise
on Poisons. [4] Leeser, Textbook of Hom. MM, Inorganic Medicinal Substances.
[5]

Mervyn, Vitamins and Minerals. [6] Amethyst Galleries, Inc. [website] [7]
Kunz, The Curious Lore of Precious Stones.

Affinity

NUTRITION. MIND. GLANDS [TONSILS; prostate]. HEART. Nerves. Blood

vessels.

Lungs.

Modalities

Worse: Company. Thinking of symptoms. Cold [damp; to feet; to head;

changes]. Lying

on [painful part; left side]. Odours. After meals. Cold washing. Warm food. Sun

[headache]. Near warm stove [headache]. Emotions. PRESSURE.

Better: Eructations. Warm wraps. When unmindful of his disease. Walking in

open air.

Being alone. Cold food.

Comparisons

c CALCAREA CARBONICA

"Calcarea carb. individuals are very protective of their independence from

others, while Baryta carb. people tend to be dependent on others. Calcarea carb.
people are not stymied by crippling irresolution, and they are powerful workers
who are greatly ameliorated by their occupation. Baryta carb. people lack self-
confidence and are rarely completely comfortable on the job."1

c SILICEA

"Silica individuals exhibit a corporeal and emotional fragility that is not seen in
Baryta carb. Baryta carb. people tend to form dependent relationships, while Sil.
individuals often find themselves in the role of the caretaker. Sil. individuals
may not express themselves openly and can appear timid in a group situation,
but on the inside they know exactly how they feel. Baryta carb. people are truly
confused about their own feelings and rarely form fully realized opinions."2

c PULSATILLA

"Pulsatilla people can be flexible, spontaneous, and lively. They can be charming
and emotionally expressive. Baryta people, on the other hand, have not
developed agility in social settings. They can appear stiff and uncomfortable and
are greatly stifled by their fear of people, men, and crowds. Pulsatilla people can
act childlike in a delightful and engaging way; Baryta people more closely
resemble a child who is a painfully shy and awkward wallflower."3

c BUFO

"Bufo individuals can display a form a feeble-mindedness or imbecility that

suggests mental deficit. Baryta people can have mental confusion, but they do
not typically exhibit the mental dulness that is characteristic of Bufo. Baryta
individuals are frozen in a state of childlike emotional arrest. They are timid and
not outgoing. In contrast, Bufo people can be gregarious and confrontational.
They are not afraid of crowds or people and often enjoy performing in front of
others. Their sexual drive is typically high. They can be violent or destructive."4

c COMMON SYMPTOMS OF GROUP 2 [Mag-c.; Calc.; Bar-c.; Stront-c.]*

Fear of evil. - Easily frightened. - Laziness / indolence. - Inclination to sit. -

Starting on going to sleep and during sleep. - Vertigo during headache and/or
with nausea. - Occipital headache, as if occiput is pressed inward. - Shaking
sensation in head. - Uncovering head

<. - Black spots before the eyes. - Exertion of vision <. - Epistaxis from blowing
nose. -

Thirst; extreme. - Delayed menarche. - Pain in lumbar region while sitting. -

Cold feet in evening. - Disturbed sleep from anxiety. - Dreams of fire. -
Chilliness in bed. - Aversion to [cold] bathing. - After breakfast >. - Winter <. -
Dry weather >.

1-4 1 Karen Cohen, Paradoxical Facets of an Underprescribed Polychrest, IFH

1995.

* Beryllium and Radium are excluded because both are [chemically] atypical for
group 2. Beryllium is closer related to Aluminium than to the alkaline-earth
metals; Radium should be considered in connection with other radioactive
elements such as Uranium and Plutonium.

Main symptoms

M Children and old age: beginning and end of life.

c Children: retarded or defective mental or physical development ["dwarfish in

body and mind"; LATE IN LEARNING TO WALK, TALK AND READ],
enlarged glands, scrofulous ophthalmia, chronic tonsillitis and adenoids.

Suitable for children because of Baryta's relationship to the lymphatic system.

Children do not want to play; hide behind mother or furniture in presence of

visitors.

c Old people - often resulting from CVA - lose their memory, start to act
thoughtlessly and foolishly.

Suitable for old people because of Baryta's correspondence to arteriosclerosis.

M Physical and mental functions diminished.

SLOW, INEPT and BACKWARD.

SLOW comprehension, slow in acting, slow movements.

Simple-mindedness.

M BASHFUL TIMIDITY; aversion to and aggravation by presence of

STRANGERS.

M Idea of being laughed at, talked about, watched or mocked.

• "She suspected, that when walking in the street, men found fault with her, and
judged her amiss, which made her anxious, so that she dared not look up, she
looked at nobody, and perspired all over." [Hahnemann]
M Feeling of security in the house.

[Older Bar-c. children always take their mother or someone else they trust with
them.

They feel UNPROTECTED and want to stay in the home.]

HOMESICKNESS.

M Enormous LACK OF SELF-CONFIDENCE and strong IRRESOLUTION

[about trifles, in acts].

• "The greatest irresolution; he proposes to himself a brief journey, and as soon

as he is to make his preparation, he is sorry for it, and prefers to stay at home."

• "During the day she determines to attend to some particular matter; but
scarcely has the time come, when she is sorry for it, and she knows not for
irresolution what to do or to leave undone."

• "Long wavering between opposing resolutions." [Hahnemann]

c May be compensated by forming a rigid set of routines and habits, to prevent

having to make little decisions all day long. 1

M Strong feeling of incompetence or being ugly.

• "Instead of just wanting to look desirable, as is seen in the first stage of

pathology, the insecurity about their body image may become an obsession over
their weight and appearance, leading to anorexia. Or they may spend inordinate
amounts of time and money to become as beautiful and perfect as possible. ...
I've had quite a number of Baryta carbonica patients whose main problem was
anorexia. They just refuse to eat because they have such a poor image of their
bodies. They will do almost anything if they think it will make the body look
better. They won't eat. They will spend incredible amounts of money on clothing
or on all kinds of facial surgery. It can become an absolute obsession to look
good."2

• "Jealousy, related to feelings of inefficiency, which become somatized by

frequent colds, enuresis, regression in toilet training, or especially nervous biting
of the finger nails." [Morrison]
M Early responsibility.

• "In Baryta people the problem seems to lie in learning their jobs and taking on
responsibility and becoming useful. At this point they somehow seem blocked
and feel a tremendous sense of incapacity, a feeling of being handicapped, as if
he is unable to stand on his own feet [delusion legs are cut off]. It seems as if
there is a tremendous need to become much older than they are, to take up
responsibility in life very early. In a failed state they become imbecile, irresolute,
totally dependent, and childish. One can see the bashfulness of Baryta with its
infantile dependence; naivety; much anxiety, esp. brought on by loss of someone
who was supporting him. This is the failed side of the Baryta person. Most
Baryta I see, however, present quite the opposite picture. These are people who
take on responsibilities in life quite early and fulfil them, who support others in a
big way. They are conscientious and anxious for others [rubric: anxiety about
domestic affairs]. They are homemakers and develop signs of premature senility
- hypertension, early baldness. The responsibility along with their conscientious
nature can remind one of Aurum, which lies in the same period as Barium."
[Sankaran]

M Fearful.

• "Apart from shyness and fear of ridicule, other childish fears are commonly
seen, including fear of ghosts [in adults], fear of travelling far from home, and
fear of loud noises." [Bailey]

Can't handle complexities. Need structure, rules and routine.

May do well in practical occupations.

M Mental retardation after acute illnesses, like measles, typhoid, mumps, scarlet
fever, etc.

G Tardiness of development of organs; a single organ fails to mature [e.g. genital

organs too small].

G WEAKNESS after EATING.

• "With the enlarged abdominal glands is linked the fact that the child stands
badly, there is often marked lordosis and a very prominent abdomen. With the
abdominal condition is the symptom that the Bar-c. child is usually worse after
eating - more inattentive, more irritable, more touchy, and very often more tired
after eating." [Borland]

G Low energy; easily tired.

• "A short walk fatigues him very much; he is obliged to sleep soon afterwards."

[Hahnemann]

But also: • "Walking in the open air is difficult for him; but the farther he walks
the easier it becomes." [Hahnemann]

This is connected with the "trembling through the whole body, in morning on
rising."

[Hahnemann]

Constantly weak and weary, wishes to lean on something, to sit or lie down and
still feels weak and weary.

G Great SENSITIVITY TO COLD air and susceptibility to catching cold.

Chilly persons. < FEET becoming COLD.

Catching cold = soreness of throat, stiffness of nape of neck, diarrhoea.

G Sensation of HEAT on WAKING [at night].

G ORGASM of BLOOD when lying on LEFT side.

G Aversion to fruit.

G Disturbed sleep.

Awakens at night with heat and bruised sensation in the soles of the feet, >
rising.

G Many symptoms arise when sitting, are better when standing, and disappear
on motion.

When sitting = confusion of head, pinching around navel, sticking in lumbar

region, burning in bend of thigh, tension in legs, crawling in left calf, restless
feeling in feet, weakness in spine. [Allen]

G ENLARGED GLANDS, esp. of external throat.

G Numbness upper half of body.

P Rush of blood to head.

And Feeling as if the blood stagnated there.

P Chronic enlarged tonsils with frequent inflammation [from the least cold] and
tendency to suppuration, together with swollen maxillary glands which get
inflamed easily.

Chronic tonsillitis and hardness of hearing.

Feeling of plug in throat. Can only swallow fluids. Empty swallowing <.

And Suppurative otitis media.

P Offensive FOOT SWEAT [skin of toes excoriated; destruction of shoes].

Throat affections after checked foot sweat.

[1] Cohen, Paradoxical Facets of an Underprescribed Polychrest, IFH 1995. [2]

Olsen, The Breakdown State of Baryta Carbonica, IFH 1993.

Rubrics

Mind

Absentminded when spoken to [1]. Ailments from embarrassment [2]. Loss of

ambition

[1]. Aversion to amusement [2]. Antagonism with herself [1]. Anxiety evening in
bed, must uncover [2], while lying on left side [2]. Awkward from bashfulness
[2].

Carefulness [2]. Childish behaviour [3]. Delusions, body looks ugly [1], that she
is critized [2], being laughed at and mocked at [2], is going to be robbed [1],
body is smaller

[2], he cannot succeed, he does everything wrong [2], being watched [2]. Fear of
men [2], from noise at night [1], of people, in children [3], of railroad travel [3],
of strangers [2].

Desire to hide, child thinks all visitors laugh at it and hides behind furniture
[2/1].

Irresolution in acts [3], in projects [3], about trifles [3]. Aversion to laughing [1].

Loquacity during menses [2], during pregnancy [2/1]. Neglecting everything [1].
Desire to nibble [1; Mag-m.; Nat-c.]. Indisposition to play, in children [2].
Sensitive to noise, male voices [1]. Spoiled children [1]. Time passes too slowly
[1].

Vertigo

At night in bed [1]. From sneezing [1]. When walking along a narrow path [1/1],
when walking over a narrow bridge [1; Ferr.; Sulph.].

Head

Coldness, begins in head [2]. Pain, pressing, vertex, while standing in sun [2/1].
Shaking sensation while sneezing [1/1], on stamping [1/1].

Vision

Foggy, morning [2], after eating [2]. Sparks, in dark [2].

Ear

Noises, > while lying [2], on sneezing [1], while walking fast [1/1].

Hearing

Acute, for male voices [1; Nit-ac.]. Impaired, and hypertrophy of tonsils [1].

Face

Bloated before menses [1].

Teeth

Pain, before menses [1], during menses [1], when thinking about it [1].

Throat

Sensation as if food lodged in oesophagus [2]; as if food turns like a corkscrew

on swallowing and passes over raw places in oesophagus [1/1].

Stomach

Sensation as if a ball is moving up and down during eructations [1/1]. Sensation

of fulness after eating ever so little [1]. Pain, burning, > motion [1*].

Abdomen

As if intestines were falling from side to side on turning in bed [2].

Bladder

Urging to urinate after eating [1], > sitting [1; Canth.].

Chest

Palpitation > eructations [1; Carb-v.], sudden [2], from thinking of it [2].

Limbs

Heaviness of hands before menses [1], of feet before menses [1].

Sleep

Sleeplessness, from thoughts, always the same thought [1]..

Perspiration

After excitement [1]. In the presence of strangers [3].

Generals

Part of body becoming cold < [2]. Sensation of heat on waking [3]. Numbness of
part lain on [2].

* Repertory addition [Allen].

Food

Aversion: [1]: Bananas; fruit; plums; sweets.

Desire: [1]: Alcohol; sweets.

Worse: [3]: Alcohol. [2] Bread; hot drinks; warm food.[1]: Cold food; milk.

Better: [2]: Cold food.

Belladonna

Bell.

The world is all the richer for having the devil in it, so long as we keep our foot
upon his neck.

[William James]

Signs

Atropa belladonna. Deadly Nightshade. Devil's Cherries. Naughty Man's

Cherries.

N.O. Solanaceae.

CLASSIFICATION Atropa belladonna, as well as Stramonium and

Hyoscyamus, belong to the Solanaceae or Nightshade family, a widespread plant
family comprising about 96

genera of herbs, shrubs and, occasionally, trees. Although occurring around the
world

[except in the arctic areas], the principle centre of the Nightshade family lies in
Andean South America. The plants in this family commonly produce poisonous
alkaloids. Due to high contents of tropane alkaloids, genera such as Atropa,
Datura, Hyoscyamus, Duboisia, Brugmansia, and Mandragora, have narcotic and
hallucinogenic properties.

The family is of huge economic importance as a source of foodstuff [tomato,

eggplant, green peppers, red pepper, potato, pepino, Cape gooseberry],
medicines and narcotics

[belladonna, mandrake, datura, etc.], a fumatory [tobacco], and poisons

[belladonna, henbane, etc.].

HABITAT Atropa belladonna is native to Central and Southern Europe, where it

is almost confined to calcareous soils. "It is interesting to mention that, in Asia
and Europe, nightshades have spread out from Asia with the gypsies following
their roads. These plants are really the gypsies of roadsides and abandoned
places. They like rubbish."1 As an escape from gardens [cultivation], the plant
settles mostly in waste places, quarries and near old ruins. "Under the shade of
trees, on wooded hills, on chalk or limestone, it will grow most luxuriantly,
forming bushy plants several feet high, but specimens growing in places exposed
to the sun are apt to be dwarfed, consequently it rarely attains such a large size
when cultivated in the open, and is more subject to attacks of insects than when
growing wild under natural conditions."2

CONSTITUENTS The main constituents of Atropa belladonna are the alkaloids

hyoscyamine, scopolamine [also named hyoscine], atropine [d,l-hyoscyamine],
and traces of nicotine. The seeds are richest in alkaloids, followed by the roots
and the leaves, respectively. Because atropine's pharmacology is opposite to that
of muscarine, atropine is widely used as an antidote to mushroom poisoning
cases involving muscarine. In the case of poisoning by mushrooms of the genera
Inocybe or Clitocybe - which contain toxic amounts of muscarine - this
treatment is indicated and effective. It is contraindicated, however, in the case of
Amanita muscaria [Agaricus in homoeopathy].

Amanita muscaria contains negligible amounts of muscarine, but high amounts

of ibotenic acid and muscimol, compounds which have a similar effect as
atropine and were formerly called Pilzatropin ['mushroom atropine'].

LIGHT and HEAT Atropa plants grown in sunny and dry seasons yield the
highest percentage of alkaloids. Research has demonstrated that alkaloid
accumulation in Atropa plants growing in shade decreases six- to eightfold!
Studies of the effect of light on Atropa plants by a comparison of latitudes
differing in light conditions, for example, shows that the plant has an alkaloid
content of 1.3 per cent in the Crimean Peninsula and 0.4 to 0.6 per cent in
Leningrad. That warm weather favours the formation of alkaloids in Atropa, and
in Solanaceae in general, is also noticeable in the relationship between
temperature and alkaloid synthesis during germination. The higher the
temperature, the higher the alkaloid content in the plant. 3

NAME The plant in Chaucer's days was known as Dwale, which is derived from
the Scandinavian dvala, meaning doze or trance. Another possibility is that the
root of the word comes from the French word deuil, bereavement or grief,
referring to the plant's fatal properties. The Deadly Nightshade derives its Latin
generic name from Atropos, 'the inevitable', one of the Fates in Greek mythology
who cut the thread of life. Its specific name belladonna, 'beautiful lady', alludes
to mediaeval Italian ladies who dropped Atropa sap into their eyes to produce a
glassy stare and dilated pupils, which was believed to enhance their beauty. The
family name is possibly derived from L solanum, a solace. The origin of the
common name nightshade is not certain. The word may come from the Old
English word nihtscada - niht, night, and scada, shade - but more 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]. A
variation of her

name, Skuld, was given to the third of the three Norns - the Scandinavian variant
of the Greek Fates - who cut the thread of life. She became the patroness of
witches, whose activities came to be called 'skulduggery' by the Christians. Her
name still subsists in words as schuld [Dutch and German] and skuld [Swedish],
meaning guilt, blame, debt.

There is no escape from Atropos or Skuld, just like there is no getting away from
the severe effects of the Deadly Nightshade. Atropos used the berries of the plant
to fulfil her duties. Or, as an old text put it: "Whoever receives this plant into his
body must die; the whole pharmacopoeia cannot help him."

USES "The use of belladonna can be traced back as far as written records go. In
ancient Mesopotamia the Sumerians reportedly used it in the treatment of a
number of illnesses thought to be caused by demons. Belladonna, along with
related plants such as henbane and mandrake, is mentioned in R. Campbell
Thompson's Assyrian Herbal as having many medicinal properties. It was used
to treat asthma, chronic coughing and spasms of the bladder. Although there are
sporadic reports of belladonna being used elsewhere in Asia and in North Africa
[e.g. as a sedative in traditional Nepalese medicine and as an aphrodisiac in
contemporary Morocco], it was in Europe that the plant became important in
magic and medicine. Belladonna juice is said to be one of the psychoactive
additives to the wine drunk at the Bacchanalian orgies. Its intoxicating powers
were seemingly a factor in inducing a state of frenzy in which the maenads
[priestesses of Bacchus] tore apart animals, men and children. ... The berries
may, perhaps, have contributed to the legendary battle frenzy of the Norse
warriors or berserkers. ... Belladonna had a number of uses in the folk life of
Europeans. In Eastern Europe its root was used in love magic.

When it was removed from the ground, offerings to the spirit of the plant would
be made.

Elsewhere the root was used as an amulet [as was the root of its cousin the
mandrake] for bringing good fortune in gaming and affairs of the heart. Central
European hunters would eat several of its berries to increase their alertness on
long hunting trips. ... Despite its considerable role in medicine, belladonna still
retains an aura reeking of murder, baneful sorcery, frenzied imagination and
dangerous but enchanting female sexuality."4

POISONINGS About 25,000 cases of poisoning with toxic plants occurred in

Switzerland over a period of 29 years, of which 152 cases were severe. Detailed
analysis was possible in 135 cases [23 children, 112 adults] including 5 lethal
cases [all adults].

"The 24 plants involved produced the following severe symptoms: Atropa

belladonna [42

cases]: anticholinergic syndrome [42], acute psychosis [33], convulsions [2],

coma [2].

Heracleum mantegazzianum [18]: severe photodermatitis [18]. Datura

stramonium [17]: anticholinergic syndrome [17], psychosis [12], coma [2].
Dieffenbachia [11]: severe stomatitis [8], corneal lesions [3]. Colchicum
autumnale [10]: diarrhoea [10], liver necrosis [9], fatal multiorgan failure [2].
Veratrum album [8]: bradycardia [< or =

40/min] [6], shock [5]. Aconitum napellus [4]: tachyarrhythmia [2], AV-block
II/III [2].
Aesculus hippocastanum [3]: allergy [3], anaphylactic shock [2]. Hyoscyamus
niger [3]: anticholinergic syndrome [3]. Ricinus communis [3]: diarrhoea [3],
toxic megacolon [1].

Oenanthe crocata [2]: convulsions [1], lethal coma [1]. Taxus baccata [2]:
tachyarrhythmia [1], fatal asystole [1]. Further single cases of severe poisonings
were observed

with

Arum

maculatum,

Asarum

europaeum, Chrysanthemum vulgare,

Cyclamen persicum, Datura suaveolens, Glycyrrhiza glabra, Laburnum

anagyroides, Lycopodium, Narcissus pseudonarcissus [lethal aspiration], Nerium
oleander, Senecio vulgaris and Vicia faba."5

Atropa belladonna distinctly proved to be the main cause of plant intoxications.

With its botanically close allies Stramonium and Hyoscyamus it produced
invariably the same symptoms: anticholinergic syndrome and/or acute psychosis.
The former is characterised by blurred vision, dilated pupils, suppressed
salivation, vasodilatation, hyperpyrexia, flushing, tachycardia, dry mucous
membranes, dry skin, restlessness, agitation, delirium, coma, convulsions, and,
possibly, respiratory failure.

PHYSIOLOGICAL ACTION "Belladonna is an irritant narcotic, a mydriatic, an

antispasmodic, an anodyne; in small doses a cardiac, respiratory and spinal
stimulant, in large doses a paralyzer of the secretory and motor nerve endings,
and a stimulator of the entire sympathetic system. It produces dryness of the
mucous membranes of the throat, mouth, nose and larynx; and at first lessens the
gastric and intestinal secretions, but soon reproduces them in large quantity. The
Heart rate is at first slowed, but soon becomes very rapid and vigorous, the pulse
being doubled in rapidity; the arterial tension being at the same time raised, the
circulation is greatly increased. This the drug accomplishes by stimulating the
cardiac sympathetic, and paralyzing the intra-cardiac inhibitory ganglia, thus
stimulating the

accelerator apparatus while lessening inhibition. [Digitalis increases both.] The

vasomotor ganglia all over the body are stimulated, but afterwards paralyzed by
over-stimulation, the heart weakens, the vessels relax, and the blood pressure is
greatly lowered. Complete motor paralysis follows, then delirium, stupor, and
finally death, usually by asphyxia. The Brain is congested by Belladonna, a busy
delirium being produced, and hallucinations with mental disorder, due to a
selective action on the cells of the grey matter. The Spinal Cord is stimulated
from the 2d cervical vertebra to the 10th dorsal, resulting in paralysis of the
motor nerves, central and peripheral; power being lost in the lower extremities
first. Sensation is slightly impaired, but the muscular irritability is not.
Respiration is increased, and the temperature raised. A Diffused Eruption of a
scarlet colour, greatly resembling that of scarlet fever, is often produced by
Belladonna on the skin and fauces, with dysphagia and sore throat, and is
sometimes followed by desquamation. It is due to capillary congestion caused by
the greatly increased circulation. Diffused rapidly, Belladonna is also quickly
eliminated, particularly by the kidneys. The urine of an animal under the action
of Atropine will dilate the pupil of another animal. Herbivorous animals and
birds are scarcely susceptible to the action of Belladonna, and pigeons are not
affected by it at all."6

LEGENDS "According to old legends, the plant belongs to the devil who goes
about trimming and tending it in his leisure, and can only be diverted from its
care on one night in the year, that is on Walpurgis, when he is preparing for the
witches' sabbath. The apples of Sodom are held to be related to this plant, and
the name Belladonna is said to record an old superstition that at certain times it
takes the form of an enchantress of exceeding loveliness, whom it is dangerous
to look upon. ... Another derivation is founded on the old tradition that the
priests used to drink an infusion before they worshipped and invoked the aid of
Bellona, the Goddess of War."7

FRENZY The alkaloids atropine, scopolamine, and closely related chemical

substances call forth disorders of the functions of the brain, in the form of
excitation followed by a state of depression. They have played an important role
in the history of mankind. "We find these plants associated with
incomprehensible acts on the part of the fanatics, raging with the flames of
frenzy and fury and persecuting not only witches and sorcerers but
also mankind as a whole. Garbed in the cowl, the judge's robe, and the
physician's gown, superstitious folly instituted diabolical proceedings in a trial of
the devil and hurled victims into the flames or drowned them in blood. ... The
peculiar hallucinations evoked by these drugs had been so powerfully
transmitted from the subconscious mind to consciousness that mentally
uncultivated persons, nourished in their absurd superstitions by the Church,
believed them to be reality. ... Many other repugnant things have been
accomplished with these substances. They have served to intoxicate girls and
seduce them to immoral acts. This may be done without the victim becoming
unconscious; she tolerates the criminal with open eyes but blinded soul, and
even, as a result of augmented of sexual excitation, complies with his wishes."8
Experimenters describe the effects of Belladonna as a 'Hieronymus-Bosch-Trip'
and are disinclined to repeat the experience.

WITCHES The hallucinogenic Nightshade species from the Old World are
called the hexing herbs because they were used in the ointments or flying
potions of witches. Flying potions contained many substances, but typically
Atropa belladonna, Datura stramonium, Hyoscyamus niger, and Mandragora
officinarum. The plants were mixed with fat -

allegedly the fat of a dead child - to make an ointment, which was applied to
various parts of the body, in particular the genital region and the anus. Because
the genitals and anus have a rich supply of blood vessels, the hallucinogenic
compounds were readily absorbed, inducing a deep, dream-filled sleep with
dreams and visions of flying, dancing, and having sexual orgies with the devil.
Recent scientific experiments have confirmed that hallucinogenic tropanes do
indeed produce these types of dreams as well as dreams involving lycanthropy,
the transformation of humans into wolves or other predatory animals. 9

AUTOMATISMS "One of the marvellous effects of continued doses [of

belladonna] is the production of a singular psychological phenomenon. A
delirium supervenes, unaccompanied by any fantasia, or imaginary illusion,
whose marked characteristic is somnambulism. An individual who has taken it in
several doses seems to be perfectly alive to surrounding objects, his senses
conveying faithfully to the brain the impressions that they receive; he goes
through his usual avocations without exhibiting any unwonted feeling, yet he is
quite unconscious of his existence, and performs mechanically all that he is
accustomed to do, answers questions correctly, without knowing from whom or
from whence they proceed, looks at objects vacantly, moves his lips as if
conversing yet utters not a sound, there is no unusual state of the respiratory
organs, no alteration of the pulse, nothing that can bespeak excitement. When
this state of somnambulism passes away, the individual has not the slightest
recollection of what has occurred to him; he reverts to that which immediately
preceded the attack, nor can any allusion to his apparent reverie induce him to
believe that he has excited any attention. The case of the tailor who remained on
his shopboard for fifteen hours, performing all his usual avocations, sewing with
great apparent earnestness, using all the gestures which his business requires,
moving his lips as if speaking, yet the whole time perfectly insensible, has been
frequently quoted. It was produced by belladonna."10

PROVINGS •• [1] Hahnemann - 15 provers; method: unknown. [Hahnemann

has included in his scheme the symptoms of 23 epileptic patients treated with
Belladonna by Greding.]

•• [2] American 'Homoeopathic Ophthalmological, Otological and

Laryngological Society' - 53 provers, 1904-05; method: daily doses of tincture,
1x or 2x.

•• [3] Most of the symptoms come from 'old-school authorities' and concern
intoxications.

[1] Pfeiffer, Weeds and What They Tell. [2] Grieve, A Modern Herbal. [3]
Craker and Simon, Herbs, Spices, and Medicinal Plants. [4] Rudgley, The
Encyclopaedia of Psychoactive Substances. [5] Jaspersen-Schib et al., Serious
plant poisonings in Switzerland 1966-1994; Schweiz Med. Wochenschrift 1996,
126 [25]. [6] Potter, A Compend of Materia Medica. [7] Rudgley, ibid. [8]
Lewin, Phantastica. [9] Richardson, Flowering Plants: Magic in Bloom. [10]
Winslow, cited in Cooke, The Seven Sisters of Sleep.

Affinity

Nerve centres. Blood vessels. Capillaries. Mucous membranes [eyes; mouth;

THROAT].

Skin. Organs. * Right side. Left side.

Modalities

Worse: Heat; of sun; when heated. Afternoon [3 p.m.]. DRAFTS: on head; hair
cut.

After taking cold. CHECKED SWEAT. LIGHT. NOISE. JARRING. Touch.

Motion.

Hanging down. Company. Cold wind. Uncovering the head. Summer. Lying on
painful side. Looking at bright shining objects. After midnight. Bending head
forward, stooping.

Better: Light covering. Bending backward. Rest in bed. Dark room. Standing or
sitting erect. Warm room.

Main symptoms

M IMPRESSIONABILITY.

Sympathetic, connected, open, extroverted, investigating.

M Persons who react intensely to occurrences and situations.

Who are lively and entertaining when well, but violent and delirious when sick.

• "In health: Highly intel igent, good, gentle, affectionate, docile, timid, but:
desire for independence until almost unapproachable. When ill: Insufferable,
irritable, rude, not amenable to discipline, accusing, complaining, wild yelling."1

SOMETIMES AN ANGEL, SOMETIMES A DEVIL.

• "Unrestrainedly and exuberantly merry, inclined to scold without cause, and to

insult in a laughing humour." [Hahnemann]

• "Great irritability and acuteness of the senses; everything tastes and smells
stronger; the sense of touch, the sight, and the hearing are more acute, and the
humour is more mobile and the thought more active." [Hahnemann]

• "The sanguine temperament, the bold, daring, vigorous, will readily respond to
Bell."

[Wells]

• "The slight delirium that followed the action of the narcotic was of a strange
yet not unpleasant kind. I wished to be in constant motion, and it certainly
afforded me an infinite degree of satisfaction to be able to walk up and down.
The intellectual operations at times were very vivid. Thoughts came and went,
and ludicrous and fantastic spectacles were always uppermost in my mind. I was
conscious that my language and gesticulations were extravagant, yet I had
neither power nor will to do otherwise than I did; and notwithstanding my bodily
malaise, my mind was in a state of delightful exhilaration."

[Hughes]

• "The Bel adonna type looks usual y vigorous, but has a lymphatic hue like his
chronic counterpart Calcarea, and on a soil enriched with it the plant grows best.
He has a fine complexion, a delicate skin, easily flushed by the blood running to
the head, producing a

somewhat ruddy appearance. The expression is very lively, the eyes snap and
move quickly and are often of a brilliant darkness. The movements are quick and
decided, the gestures vivacious. Belladonna is very pleasant, gay, laughing,
talkative when well and has an abundance of ideas which come and go so
quickly that he cannot follow with the language, making the speech rapid and
hasty. The memory is very much alive. The sensitivity is very great; he is very
temperamental and loses easily his control. As a personality in the state of health
he is a typical Hypo-maniac. All this reaches an abnormal stage in disease. The
face becomes very red, the eyes suffused, brilliant, even protruding, the arteries
of the neck pulsate, the pupils are wide and dilate. Mirth turns into senseless fits
of laughter, the fluent language into garrulity, singing into shouting, the
friendliness into rage and fury with attempts to bite those around, to spit at them,
to tear everything to pieces." [Gutman]

M VIOLENT mental symptoms; patient becomes extremely strong and

frightening.

M HALLUCINATIONS, go into delirium and hallucinations very easily, i.e. in

fevers.

M Desire to STRIKE, BITE, KICK, pull hair.

From frightening hallucinations, tries to run away or hide.

Or sudden, without clear cause.

M Dogs / wolves.

Fear; visions; dreams.

Growls, barks, bites [like a dog].

• "Where Stramonium patients may act as if pursued by a frightening beast, Bel

adonna individuals become enraged like a beast and can have behaviours that are
animal-like.

Their episodes of rage can include symptoms of grunting, grimacing, increased

strength, and barking and growling like a dog. Their anger is largely directed
outward toward others."2

Delusion being turned into an animal [?].

The rubric "delusion persons are animals" mentions three remedies: Bell., Hyos.,
Stram.; the delusion could very well be the reading of one's own feelings into a
particular situation.

• "A characteristic feature of solanaceae psychosis is furthermore that the

intoxicated person imagines himself to have been changed into some animal, and
the hallucinosis is completed by the sensation of the growing of feathers and
hair, due probably to main paraesthesia', Erich Hesse claimed in 1946. In 1658,
Giovanni Battista Prota wrote that a potion made from henbane, mandrake, thorn
apple, and belladonna would make a person

'believe he was changed into a Bird or Beast.' He might 'believe himself turned
into a Goose, and would eat Grass, and beat the Ground with his Teeth, like a
Goose: now and then sing, and endeavour to clap his wings.' Animal
transformation is a primary aspect of the hallucinogenic experience, whether it is
a shaman in the Amazon turning into a jaguar, or a Western subject in a
psychological experiment."3

M Insects.

• One grain and a half of what I believe to be a very good extract of Belladonna
was taken ongoing to bed [11 p.m.]. At about 4 a.m. I woke in a state of slight
but decided delirium. My judgement, I think, was sound, when I chose to exert
it, but nothing could rid my eyes of a legion of most disgusting spectra. I am not
very partial to any part of the insect creation, but cockroaches are my special
horror, and spectral cockroaches were swarming all over the room. Every object
in the room, both real and spectral, had a

double, or, at least, a dim outline, owing to the extreme dilatation of the pupils.
My hands also shook a little. This state lasted for about two hours, and then
passed off, leaving me nothing to complain of but a dry sort of feeling in the
throat." [Hughes]

M Metaphysics.

• "One typical Belladonna trait which straddles the worlds of the sane and insane
is an interest in metaphysics. I have seen this in every one of my Belladonna
patients. In both sane and insane patients it appears as an obsession with matters
spiritual and psychic. All of my Belladonna patients have professed to have
psychic abilities, and this has been accompanied in each case by an obsession
with understanding non-physical realms of reality. ... Belladonna individuals
often sense that they have power of a magical or psychic kind even when they
have not direct evidence of it." [Bailey]

M Ailments from excitement, fright and fear, grief, disappointed love, anger and
fright.

G Ailments and RUSH OF BLOOD TO HEAD and FACE.

G Contra-indicated in typhoid, suppuration, slowly developing conditions.

G Complaints go down from the head, i.e. after chilling or wetting the head
[haircut].

G Oversensitivity and overexcitability of special senses.

Hence < noise, light, jarring, talking, touch, etc.

Desire for rest, silence and darkness.

G HEAT, REDNESS and BURNING.

DILATED SHINING PUPILS.

Orgasm of blood after emotions and from nervousness.

G Affected parts BURNING HOT TO TOUCH.

G ACUTENESS and VIOLENCE; symptoms appear and disappear

SUDDENLY.

G Desire for LEMONS, LEMONADE.

G < DRAFTS of air.

< HEAD becoming COLD.

G < Becoming COLD, < becoming heated.

G > LYING on ABDOMEN.

G > HAND on part.

G DRYNESS of mucous membranes and violent burning, bright redness and

swelling.

G Clutching sensations.

[throat; abdomen; uterus]

G Right side - left side.

Hering mentions 28 symptoms for the right side, and 15 for the left side. This,
perhaps, caused Kent to include Belladonna as an exclusively right-sided remedy
in his Repertory.

However, predominance of right-sided symptoms in Belladonna mainly, if not

only, concerns the head. In 1904-05 the American 'Homoeopathic
Ophthalmological, Otological and Laryngological Society' undertook a
reproving of Belladonna on 53

persons. The side on which symptoms occurred was exactly recorded, resulting
in the following outline: symptoms of nervous system - right side [395], left side
[381]; eyes -
right [40], left [37]; ears - right [34], left [46]; nose, throat - right [15], left [16];
chest, lungs - right [27], left [23]; abdomen - right [23], left [21]; genitals,
urinary organs - right

[16], left [7]; upper limbs - right [70], left [65]; lower limbs - right [70], left
[103]. Only when it came to the head there was a distinct prevalence of right-
sided symptoms: right

[91], left [17]. Of the 53 provers, 31 observed frontal headache; 18 provers

registered right-sided frontal headache [72 times in total], while 6 provers
recorded left-sided

frontal headache [13 times in total]. 4

P THROBBING right-sided [frontal] headaches.

< Noise, light, jar.

> Lying in dark room [with head high], pressure, bandaging, cold applications.

And PULSATING CAROTIDS.

And Redness and heat of face.

[1] Berndt, The drug picture of Stramonium, BHJ, April 1964. [2] Zaren, HL
3/93. [3]

Devereux, The Long Trip. [4] Donner, Über eine Nachprüfung von Belladonna,
Allg.

Hom. Zeitung 1962 Heft 10.

Rubrics

Mind

Biting those around him [1]. Desire to climb [1]. Credulous [2]. Wild dancing
[2].

Desires death during intervals of rage [1/1]. Delirium, talks about dogs [1], >
eating [1], before menses [1], rocking to and fro [1], > after sleep [1]. Delusions,
with activity [2], sees black animals on walls and furniture [1], of bats [1/1], sees
black objects and people

[2], sees birds [1], of butterflies [1], he will taken by the devil [1], divided or cut
in two parts [1], eyes are enlarged [1], house is on fire [1], as if he must fly [1],
sees giants [1], sees shining insects [1/1], is a magician [1/1], talking with dead
people [1], talking with spirits [1], he is transparent [1], of travelling [2], of
wolves [1]. Destructiveness from suppressed emotions [1]. Fear alternating with
mania [2]; jumps out of bed from fear [3]; jumps up on being touched [1].
Insanity, dancing and stripping himself [2/1]. Desire to kill during drunkenness
[1]. Loquacity alternating with taciturnity [1]. Mental symptoms from moonlight
[1]. Rage, doesn't know his relatives [2; Stram.*], with spitting [1], with staring
[1/1], renewed by touch [2]. Striking, himself in face [1/1]. Talking about battles

[1], of war [1].

Vertigo

Followed by diplopia [1]. In sunlight [1].

Head

Pain, from acids [1], > coffee [1*], on descending [3], > during menses [1]; in
forehead >

bending head backward [1]. Waving sensation in forehead [3].

Eye

Staring during headache [3], on waking [1].

Vision

Colours before the eyes, blue when reading [1/1]; objects seem dark [1]; letters
seem golden [1/1]; all the colours of rainbow [2]; white clouds wandering from
left to right

[1/1]; yellow border around all objects [1/1]; red things look yellow [1/1].
Objects appear crooked [2]. Dim, in bright light [1], > coffee [1*], > darkness
[1*], > twilight [1*].
Sparks on motion of lids [1/1].

Nose

Sneezing, in sunshine [1*]. Swelling of tip during warm weather [1/1].

Face

Discolouration, red on stooping [2]. Heat and red face during palpitation [1].

Throat

Narrow sensation when swallowing [3; Calc.].

Stomach

Appetite wanting from smoking [1/1]. Sensation of a burning ball [2/1]. Nausea
>

passing flatus [1/1]. Pain from pressure on spine [2]. Stomach seems to be
turning on motion [1/1].

Rectum

Diarrhoea from bright light [2], from sudden noise [1].

Urine

Copious at beginning of menses [1/1].

Female

Pain, bearing down in uterus when sitting bent [2/1], > sitting erect [2/1], >
standing

[2/1]; pressing in vagina before menses [1].

Back

Pain, cramping in coccyx during menses [2/1].

Limbs

Hasty motion of hands [2/1].

Sleep

Sleeplessness from sensation of falling [2/1], after narcotics [2].

Dreams

Danger of fire [1]. Being pursued by giants [1/1]. Visionary, frightful [1/1].

Generals

Interrupted coition < [1; Bell-p.].

* Repertory additions [Hughes].

Food

Aversion: [2]: Coffee; drinks; fruit; sour; warm food; water. [1]: Alcohol; beer;
broth; cold water; eggs; fats and rich food; food, cooked; food, smell of; liquids;
meat; milk; milk, smell of; soup; sweets; vegetables.

Desire: [3]: Lemonade; lemons. [2]: Beer; cold drinks; snuff. [1]: Bread; bread
and butter; champagne; coffee; indigestible things; liquid food; sour; tobacco;
warm drinks.

Worse: [3]: Sausages, spoiled. [2]: Alcohol; cold drinks; hot food; sour; vinegar;
warm food. [1]: Apples; beer; butter; brandy; coffee; farinaceous; fat; liquor;
meat; oysters; pork; salt; shellfish; sugar; sweets; wine.

Better: [2]: Cold food; lemonade. [1]: Coffee [> headache, vision]; cider; hot
food; lemons; sweets; wine.

Bellis perennis

Bell-p.

"Your pleasures spring like daisies in the grass,

Cut down, and up again as blithe as ever."

[Walter Savage Landor, 'Ianthe']

Signs

Bellis perennis. Common Daisy. Bruisewort. Bairnwort. N.O. Compositae.

CLASSIFICATION Bellis, a genus of 7 species, is widely distributed throughout

Europe and the Mediterranean. It comprises annual or perennial herbs with
simple leaves, often borne in a basal rosette, and numerous small flowers in
dense heads.

FEATURES The outer flowers [white] are the ray florets or rays; the inner ones
[yellow]

the disk florets. It flowers from the earliest days of spring till late in the autumn;
it may even blossom under a thin layer of snow. It prefers nutritious, calcareous
soils, with sufficient moisture during the winter and spring. It grows slowly, but
will, in due time, cover large areas. In meadows and lawns it is very persistent
and sometimes considered

being a pest. In spite of being repeatedly trodden upon, it "always comes up

smiling afterwards." Mowing the lawn regularly, stimulates Bellis to produce
more flowers [and seed]. In hay-fields blossoming is prevented by the high
grasses which take away the sunlight. But very soon after the hay is harvested,
Bellis perennis starts its second flowering season. Bellis perennis is a typical
representative of the group of vulneraries belonging to the Aster family or
Compositae. Other members of this group are Arnica, Millefolium, Calendula,
and Echinacea. Bellis should not be confused with the American White or Ox-
eye Daisy, which is Chrysanthemum leucanthemum.

NAME Bellis derives from L. bellus, pretty; perennis means perennial, living
more than two years. Its common name is a contraction of 'Day's eye', because it
closes its pinky lashes and goes to sleep when the sun sets, but in the morning
expands its petals to the light. Another version is that bellis comes from L.
bellum, war, because it grew in fields of battle and is useful in curing wounds. Its
Dutch name, madeliefje, probably comes from 'made, maagd' [virgin, maiden]
and 'lief' [sweet, pretty], referring to the virgin Mary and representing her
innocence and purity. In Nordic countries the plant was dedicated to the love and
fertility goddess Freya. Her alternate name, Frigg, became a colloquialism for
sexual intercourse as well as masturbation. In some Germanic countries it is still
believed that Freya's sacred day, Friday, is the luckiest day for weddings. The
Friday was thought to favour fertility.

SYMBOLISM As an emblem of deceit, Greene called the daisy the 'dissembling

daisie'.

'Light of love wenches' are warned by it 'not to trust every fair promise that such
amorous bachelors make them.' Ophelia in Shakespeare's Hamlet gives the
queen a daisy to signify, 'that her light and fickle love ought not to expect
constancy in her husband.' It is said that whoever picks the first daisy of the
season, will be possessed of a spirit of coquetry beyond any control.

FOLKLORE Fresh as a daisy, bright and vigorous, finds its opposite in pushing
up the daisies, dead and buried, or in someone on his way there while drinking
himself under the daisies. Also: you must put your foot on the first daisy you see
in spring unless you want daisies to grow on your grave or that of someone dear
to you before the year is out.

According to an old Celtic legend, the spirits of children who died at birth
scattered new and lovely flowers on earth to cheer their sorrowing parents. "The
cheerful little daisy is a symbol of innocence, because of its association with
children, and of survival. Daisies adapt to almost any landscape and soil type,
and will survive being trodden underfoot and all the indignities of the hoe and
the lawnmower."1

LOVE DIVINATION The daisy was often used in love divination. "In Wales the
daisy is generally selected by the doubting maiden who is wishful to test the
fidelity of her lover. Gathering a daisy, she commences plucking the petals off,
saying with each one,

'Does he love me? - much - a little - devotedly - not at all', and the last petal
decides the question." On Empire Day - 24 May - daisy chains were worn and
daisies were picked from the lawns. "Gather daisies. The daisy is a symbol of
our greatness. The golden centre was us - Great Britain; the petals were the
colonies, absolutely inseparable and dependent on us."2

SOCIAL ORDER The daisy has also been used to express criticism of the social
structure of Great Britain: "'They are nice flowers', he said, her emotional tones
putting a constraint on him. 'You know that a daisy is a company of florets, a
concourse, become individual. Don't the botanists put it highest in the line of
development? I believe they

do.' 'The compositae, yes, I think so', said Ursula ... 'Explain it so, then', he said.
'The daisy is a perfect little democracy, so it's the highest of flowers, hence its
charm.' 'No', she cried, 'no - never. It isn't democratic.' 'No', he admitted. 'It's the
golden mob of the proletariat surrounded by a showy white fence of the idle
rich.' 'How hateful - your hateful social orders!' she cried. 'Quite! It's a daisy -
we'll leave it alone.'3

MEDICINE In early British medicine, doctors used the daisy to tell whether a
patient would live or die. "Take the flower of the daisy and pound it well with
wine, giving it to the patient to drink; if he vomits it he will die of the disease, if
not he will live and this has been proven."4 The daisy has a long history of
medicinal use. In his Herball [1597], Gerard states that "daisies do mitigate all
kinde of paines, but especially in the joints, and gout, if they be stamped with
new butter unsalted, and applied upon the pained place."

Various local names refer to its reputation in healing broken bones: Bonewort
["it helps bones to knyt agayne", says William Turner], Beinwell and
Knochenheil [German folk names, meaning 'bone healer'], Consaude [old French
name, derived from L. consolida, to unite]. Other medicinal applications include
its internal use for coughs and catarrh, and externally for ruptures, varicose
veins, minor wounds, and sore eyes. The first three daisies that one ate in spring
were said to prevent one from having toothache, fever or eye complaints for the
rest of the year! Its use in the treatment of apoplexy led to its name Herba
Paralysios. Due to its alleged abortifacient properties, Bellis perennis was in
17th century Germany banned as an herb and attempts were made to destroy all
species.

Recent research has shown that triterpenoid glycosides obtained from Bellis
perennis inhibit the growth of human-pathogenic yeasts [Candida and
Cryptococcus species]. 5

LIGHT "The crimson petal tips contain anthocyanin which is able to convert
light rays into heat rays. When the daisy is closed these central tips are
concentrated and form a dome over the central disc, thereby concentrating the
sun's rays directly and producing heat. When the sun is high the petals open,
since the heat concentration is no longer necessary."6

PROVINGS Introduced into homoeopathic medicine by Compton Burnett.

•• [1] Compton Burnett - 1 prover, 1880; method: 1-3 times daily 10-15 drops of
tincture for 24 days.

•• [2] Hinsdale - 6 provers [2 females, 4 males], 1915; method: daily doses of

tincture for 23 days.

•• [3] Mezger and Haehl - 21 provers, 1937; method: daily doses of tincture, 2x,
or 6x, for periods ranging from 6 to 10 weeks.

•• [4] Deacon and Ribot-Smith - 13 provers [9 females, 4 males], 1995; method:

30c and 200c, 'not to be taken for more than 3 doses a day for two days [six
tablets maximum].'

[1] McIntyre, Flower Power. [2] Vickery, Oxford Dictionary of Plant-Lore. [3]
D.H.

Lawrence, Women in Love. [4] Buckner Hollingsworth, Flower Chronicles. [5]

Bader et al., The antifungal action of polygalacic acid glycosides, Pharmazie
July 1990. [6]

Stephenson, A Materia Medica and Repertory.

Affinity

Blood vessels; capillaries. Nerves. Spleen. Female organs. Joints. * Left side.

Modalities

Worse: INJURY. Sprains. TOUCH. Cold baths or drinks. Wet. Becoming chilled
when hot. Warm bed.

Better: [Continued] motion. Open air. After eating.

Main symptoms

M Great irritability. [5 provers]*

Irritated persons that think slowly; often dream of anger and revenge.
[Mangialavori]

M Detached and disconnected whilst feeling alert, vital, at peace or all right.

Delusion daughter was dead, with unconcerned feeling.

Presentiment of own death with lack of concern about this.

• "In my experience of this trauma was an out of body withdrawn state which felt
al right though disconnected. This is one of the mind symptoms which emerged
most strongly in this proving; the feeling of being all right with a lack of real
connection. ...

These two states of Bellis perennis may be paralleled to the way the daisy
responds to light. In sunlight the flower heads open and bask in the sunshine
whilst in darkness the flower is closed. These are the two states of Bellis
perennis, one is feeling open and expansive, vital and at peace with the world
combined with the alternative feeling of being depressed, exhausted and
disconnected often simultaneously present. ... The central mental theme of this
proving has been the state of detachment and disconnection with a contradictory
simultaneous feeling of being at peace, all right, calmness or tranquillity.

This seems to reflect an out of body state. The provers would report they were
all right and peaceful and calm yet actually what had been happening or being
experienced was far from this ideal state. It was a state that was difficult for both
provers and supervisors to grasp exactly what was happening and it was
sometimes a subtle state that the prover was unaware of. On the one hand the
feeling of being all right combined with cerebral stasis which resulted in the
person being disinclined to talk or go to work. On further questioning it seemed
that difficulties in relationships and life's ups and downs were just passing them
by or going over their heads. In this sense it was a state of positive indifference
[though positive only to the prover and not those around] and a state in which
the person felt more objective and less caught up in emotional reactions with the
resulting effect of being better able to function without this. However to the
provers'

families and loved ones the state of indifference led to extreme marital strain.
The polarity of this was also expressed in the sphere of family and close friends,
in the need to contact the family, feeling the marriage was over, the relationship
not working, and dreams of reconciliation. There was a lack of awareness by the
prover of their own indifference since they felt just fine, in fact more tranquil
and at peace with themselves than usual."1

• "I lost my cheerfulness, there is no feeling accompanying my experience. It

makes me restless: things happen as things, except when it is a strong stimulus. I
strive for the extremes, because that makes me feel at least something, otherwise
I am not present in the here and now. ... I feel like a child that is beaten
repeatedly and waits for the next blow. I have no energy to play with my
children or chat with my friends, but on the other hand have lots of energy to
clean the house. I don't even hear my children, they put me out and bring me out
of balance."2

c Friends with everybody.

Compton Burnett's prover - a male adult in sound health - compares the effects
of Bellis with those of alcohol. He suffers from all sorts of physical complaints,
e.g. his splenic region is 'tight as a drum', but his spirits remain continually good.

• "Brain getting muddled, in excel ent spirits, but is repeatedly told that he is
under the influence of 'something stronger than tea.' ... In letter written to Dr.
Burnett he described

his mind as getting confused, his memory weak, thoughts jumbled, talk
incoherent; and states that the splenic region has become large, the false ribs as it
were forced out, with stitches there. ... Is laughed at for asking one question ever
so often. ... He described himself while under influence of Bellis as 'happy as a
king, feeling he was doing strange things, but could not help it; friends with
everybody." [Hughes]

c Clinical experience of Karl-Josef Müller with Bellis perennis confirms the idea
of friendliness. Bellis wants to appear nice, smile, and make a nice thing of
every problem.

In addition, they want to be surrounded by nice people; a nice, friendly,

superficial kind of company. They love me, they love me not, etc.

G INJURIES / VULNERARY.

Recent and remote effects of blows, falls, accidents, straining.

• "Bel is is pre-eminently indicated in sprains. Arnica takes better care of
contusions.

But the sprains of Bellis are bruised and both the soft and ligamentous tissues are
involved. Bellis achieves results when the sprain comes from a heavy impact.
Rhus-t. is indicated in simple sprains. ... I never overlook Bellis in fractures
which are near joints; such injuries nearly always result from falls. Once more,
Bellis is nearly a specific for falls on the coccyx. Have we not all heard a patient
say that they have never felt well since a certain fall years before? I believe that
many of the 'cures' of crooked, painful spines reported by the Osteopaths might
be checkmated by a dose or two of Bellis."3

c Deep trauma or septic wounds; esp. abdominal, pelvic, etc.

c Injury when swelling remains after treatment with Arn.

c Railway spine.

c Persons who have done hard physical work, travelled much.

• "Another indication for Bellis is: neuralgia after running out into the cold when
overheated, and after effects of cold or iced drinks when heated. Labourers or
gardeners, drinking large draughts of cold cider or cold water, while perspiring
profusely, may develop dyspepsia or rheumatism. Have you noticed how often
you see old men hobbling along county lanes? They have been stooping over
garden beds or in the fields, hoeing and weeding, sowing and planting, all
through their lives. As a result of their labours, the prolonged bruising of their
muscles, overuse of their spinal muscles, along with imbibing cold drinks when
hot, they are bent almost double. Give Bellis perennis in the early stages to these
gardeners and farm labourers, and you would save many a poor old chap from
such crippling rheumatism and stiffness of back, spondylitis, slipped disc and the
rest."4

c Fall on coccyx.

c Bearing down with labour-like pain after parturition.

c [Cancerous] induration of mammae after contusion.

c Lymphoedema after mamma amputation.

G Exhaustion and tiredness.

And Inner nervousness, making one move around, which >.

G < Cold; > heat.

But headache < heat, > cold.

G Increased appetite; must even eat at night.

• "Seldom is there loss of appetite. There is a desire for appetite-stimulating

foods such as vinegar, onions, wurst, and a great thirst."*

Appetite increased after eating # loss of appetite.

Desire for vinegar and raw onions. [considered characteristic by Mangialavori]

G Thirst increased or constantly thirsty during both day and night.

Desire for cold water. [Observed in provings of Mezger and of Deacon.]

G Sleeplessness after 3 a.m.

• "I made a slight proving of Bel is perennis. I had seven persons take Bel is
perennis 30. I obtained symptoms from one prover only unless a state of well-
being in the other six could be called a symptom. This one prover after sleeping
very well would awake at 3

a.m. and not be able to go asleep again. There was marked desire for company
and unusual energy of feeling. There was loquacity and cheerfulness, abdominal
and rectal flatus. There was lameness of the knees for six days and then it passed
off."5

• "When given at night Bel is is apt to cause the patient to wake up very early in
the morning, hence I order it by preference to be taken not too late in the day. I
have often cured with it the symptom, 'Wakes up too early in the morning and
cannot get off again', and here the higher dilutions act much more decidedly and
lastingly."6

This symptom also occurs, in one prover, in the proving by Deacon and Ribot-
Smith.

• "I was extremely restless during the night, esp. after 3 a.m. I woke up
repeatedly and had lots to drink. ... Looking back, I see that for several nights I
have woken about 3 a.m.

like clockwork, and never got properly back to sleep after."

G Desire for motion [esp. in open air] which >.

Motion > flatulence in stomach and abdomen, and cardiac arrhythmia.

Continued motion > rheumatoid pains [also > massage].

• "Rheumatic pains al over the body, < morning, > motion. Soreness in the
muscles."

[Hinsdale]

G Bruised soreness; sometimes > motion, > rubbing.

P Dysmenorrhoea.

Pain in uterus as if squeezed.

Pain extending down the anterior surface of the thighs.

And Dizziness; < rising, > lying down.

Strong bearing down pains [labour-like] and backache.

P Inability to walk during pregnancy [from straining abdominal muscles, or

internal bruising of uterus by kicking or violent motions of foetus, or mechanical
pressure on groins due to heaviness of foetus].

P SKIN.

c Three of Hinsdale's provers developed skin symptoms.

Itching on the back and along the flexor surfaces of the thighs.
< Heat [bed; bath]; > cold.

c During an experiment on himself - 20 drop doses of the pure tincture for 14

days - Dr.

Thomas developed boils.

• "In two weeks after leaving it off, for the first time in my life I had a large boil
on the back of my neck [r. side]. ... Three days after this boil got well another
made its appearance, but yielded speedily. ... As at no other time in my life have
I suffered from boils, I am inclined to think that these were due to the use of the
daisy." [Hughes]

c Compton Burnett's prover reported that "several pimples are coming out on
face and neck, which is unprecedented with him."

c Dr. Lloyd Tuckey arrived at the following conclusion:

• "I have myself twice made short provings of Bel is, but have lost my notes. It
acted

laxatively with me, and produced many little boils with mattery heads."
[Hughes]

c Of Mezger's provers, 14 reported skin effects.

• "The changes demonstrated al signs of dermatitis with itching and burning,

from erythema, wheals, urticaria, vesicles, herpes labialis and nasalis, weeping
eczema, to the formation of furuncles and carbuncles. One prover reported a dry
skin, chapped and cracked fingertips with rhagades. Three provers reported a
real furuncle, and the fourth a carbuncle."*

* Mezger, Gesichtete Homöopathische Arzneimittellehre. [English translation by

Whitmont and Stephenson in: Journal of American Institute of Hom., 1965 vol.
58 no. 1-2.]

This translation is far from accurate! It contains inexplicable mistakes, some of

which ended up in the repertories. For example: five of Mezger's provers
reportmarked irritability, to the extent that the surroundings of the five provers
notice it. The translation, however, is: "Extraordinary excitability so that he
becomes confused about his surroundings [five provers]." The symptom ends up
in the repertory as Confusion of mind, of surroundings [1/1]. A similar odd
translation regards the skin symptoms.

Whereas Mezger states that many skin symptoms were recorded, ranging from
erythema to weeping eczema and, even, boils, the translators turn this into: "The
changes demonstrated all phases of erythema, ... and weeping eczema leading to
boils." One of the provers experiences arrhythmia with a feeling of weakness
about the heart. This irregularity of the heart disappears entirely during a walk.
In the translation the

"irregularity migrates around until it completely disappears." In addition, the

translators state that "Two other provers reported palpitation during heart pain."
It should have been:

"In two other provers there occurred palpitation of the heart and pain in the
heart, respectively." "Marked feeling of hunger, so that one even has to eat at
night", in the translation becomes: "Insatiable hunger, so that one must eat again
immediately."

According to the translators there is a "strong pulling upward in the uterus

associated with a backache", - a symptom eligible for a high grade of peculiarity
- whereas actually it reads "strong bearing down feeling". The word translated as
"upward" apparently was chosen in imitation of the sound of the German word,
"abwärts", although it means the opposite, "downward". The "strong clotted
menorrhagia" of one prover was not caused by the fact that "during this time she
was moving her house", as the translators state, but came after physical exertion.
Under "Bleeding" the reaction of one particularly sensitive patient to Bellis
perennis 6x is misinterpreted as strong headaches "followed by strong
nosebleeds which lasted several hours and relieved the headache." Fortunately,
not the nosebleeds lasted for several hours, but the headache improved for
several hours after a bleeding from the nose.

[1] Deacon and Ribot-Smith, Bellis perennis: A Proving. [2] Jansen, When
feelings are neglected by those responsible; HL 1/99. [3] Krichbaum, Bellis
perennis; Intern. Hahn.

Ass. 1911-12. [4] Shepherd, A Physician's Posy. [5] Hutchinson, cited in

Krichbaum's article. [6] Compton Burnett, Change of Life in Women.
Rubrics

Mind

Cheerful when it thunders and lightens [1]. Confusion regarding other people's
identity

[1D]; mistakes strangers for familiar people [1D]. Delusion of being friendless
[1]; of hearing noises, of telephone ringing [1D]. Detached, distant from partner
without being

aware of it [1D]; as if head under water [1D]; as if mind buffered [1D].

Fastidious [1].

Desire to go home and see the family [1D]. Loquacity [1]. Sadness, aversion to
company, desire for solitude [1D], with heaviness of body [1D], with weeping
[1D]. Taciturn, indisposed to talk [1D].

Vertigo

During painful menses [1H], > lying down [1H], < rising [1H]. From motion
[1D]. With nausea [1D]. On seeing an expanse of white floor [1D].

Head

As if head were a solid lump [1D].

Eye

Desire to close eyes, with heaviness of lids [1D]. Pain, aching and burning, <
moving the head [1D].

Vision

Colours, pulsating white light [1D]; kaleidoscope of bright colours [1D].

Sensation as if looking through ripples of water [1D].

Hearing

Noises and voices seem distant [1D].

Nose

Feeling of coldness of nose [1D]. Coryza with acrid, excoriating discharge [2M],
watery

[2M]. Obstruction, wakes him at night [1]. Sneezing [1D]; sensation as if going
to sneeze

[1D].

Face

Eruptions, acne, with irregular menses [1]. Sensation of swelling of lips [1D].

Mouth

Sensation of swelling of tongue [1D].

Teeth

Sensation of elongation [1M]. Pain, > warmth [1M].

Stomach

Appetite increased at night [1M]. Fulness and pressure in epigastrium after fat
pastry

[1M]. Pain, > bending double [1M], > eating [1M], while lying [1], > pressure
[1M].

Abdomen

Feeling of a knotted ball in central upper abdomen [1D]. Inflammation of

appendix

[1M]. Rumbling, and flatulence, > motion [1M].

Stool

Odour, offensive diarrhoea, stool sour smelling [1D].

Male

Disposition to masturbation [2], in children [1].

Female

Ailments from coitus interruptus [1]. Disposition to masturbation [1]. Menses,

clotted

[1], copious < exertion [1], scanty with acne on face [1]. Pain, uterus, extending
down anterior surface of thighs [1M]; bearing down, and backache in lumbar
region [1H]; uterus, as if squeezed [1H].

Chest

Cancer, mammae, from contusion [2; Con.]. Induration, mammae, after

contusion [2; Con.]. Sensitive nodules in mammae, in [2]. Palpitation after
exertion [1D], > walking in open air [1M]. Feeling of weakness about the heart
[1M].

Back

Injuries of spine, coccyx [1]. Pain, while lying on abdomen [1].

Limbs

Heat in legs and desire to put legs out of bed [1D]. Pain, rheumatic, < beginning
motion

[1M], > continued motion [1M], > rubbing [1M]; in right shoulder [deltoid
muscle], awakening him at night [1M], > rubbing and movement [1M].
Weakness after gout [1/1].

Sleep

Position, sleeps on abdomen [2]. Sleepiness during the day with extreme
tiredness [1D].

Waking at 3 a.m. , unable to sleep again [2], at 3 a.m. from thirst [1D].

Dreams
Danger [2D]. Hoses, pipes, tubes [symbols of the umbilical cord] [1D]. Difficult
journeys [2D].

Skin

Eruptions, boils slow to form and slow to heal [1D]. Itching > cold [1H], < heat
[1H].

Repertory additions. D = Deacon and Ribot-Smith; H = Hinsdale; M = Mezger

and Haehl.

Food

Desire: [1]: Chocolate [D]; meat; onions; pickled food; vinegar.

Worse: [1]: Apples [= vomiting]; cold food or drinks when overheated; fat pastry
[=

pressure and fulness in epigastrium].

Berberis vulgaris

Berb.

Next her Orcimelis and achras stood,

Whose offspring is a sharp and rigid brood;

A fruit no season e'en could work upon,

Not to be mellow'd by th' all ripening sun.

[Abraham Cowley]

Signs

Berberis vulgaris. Common Barberry. Jaundice Berry. N.O. Berberidaceae.

CLASSIFICATION Berberis belongs to the family Berberidaceae, a widespread

family comprising 18 genera of trees, shrubs [mostly], and herbs, widespread in
north temperate regions, South America, and mountainous regions in the tropics.
The family is in homoeopathy represented by four members: Berberis vulgaris,
Berberis aquifolium [=

Mahonia aquifolia], Caulophyllum, and Podophyllum.

DISTRIBUTION The genus Berberis comprises about 500 species of deciduous

and evergreen shrubs with yellow wood, spiny branches and simple leaves. The
genus may be divided into two groups: the yellow-flowered Asiatic species and
the orange-flowered South American species. Yellow, red or blue berries follow
the flowers. Many species are cultivated as ornamentals, esp. as hedging plants.
Because the common barberry is an intermediate host of the black rust fungus
[Puccinia] of cereals, it has been systematically eradicated in agricultural areas.
Berberis vulgaris is found among rocks and in hard, gravely soils.

FEATURES Mostly shrubs with long-shoot leaves and short-shoot leaves, the
tissues of Berberidaceae commonly are coloured yellow with berberine. They
are commonly heterophyllous [having different kinds of foliage leaves]. The
long-shoot leaves are often spiny. In Berberis spines replace them. The spines
are sometimes divided into several

parts. They are not prickles like those of the rose, for they are regularly arranged
over the stem, and will not break off by a slight pressure sideways; nor spines
like those of the hawthorn [Crataegus], for in the hawthorn the spines originate
in the bosom of the leaves, but in the barberry the leaves originate in the bosom
of the spines. These parts are a curious state of the leaf. They are the first kind of
leaf that the barberry produces when it shoots forth from the bud; but
immediately after, or perhaps at the same moment with, their production, other
perfectly formed leaves break out from their axils, and thus at nearly the same
instant, the branches are covered with spines for their defense, and with leaves
for their adornment. Having both male and female reproductive parts in the same
flower [hermaphrodite], Berberidaceae are adapted to pollination by insects.
Although the hermaphrodite arrangement lends itself to self pollination, this
family has developed an intricately specialized pollination mechanism in which
the stamens spring violently upwards when their irritable bases are touched, thus
showering pollen all over the intruders.

NAME It derives its name from berberys, the Arabic name for the fruit.
Etymologically, the common name barberry is not connected with berry. It is
adopted from the Arabian barbaris, from Barbary, the country of the Berbers, in
North Africa. In Italy the plant bears the name of Holy Thorn, because it is
thought to have formed part of the crown of thorns made for our Saviour. The
French name, Epine vinette, means 'acid thorn'. In both Jewish and Christian
traditions, thorns conjure empty uncultivated soil; hence it was denoted as 'a land
of thorns and thistles'. Since thorns stood for unploughed virgin soil, the crown
of thorns symbolized a woman's virginity as it did the virginity of the soil.

CONSTITUENTS Berberine, the chief alkaloid of Berberis, is found in several

other plants, e.g. Hydrastis, Coptis [Goldthread], Phellodendron amurense
[Amur Cork Tree], Argemone mexicana [Prickly Poppy], Chelidonium majus,
and Mahonia aquifolia

[Oregon grape]. It is toxic and has antibacterial, antimalarial, and antipyretic

properties.

Berberine is used extensively in Japan and Southeast Asia to control tropical

diarrhoea and certain eye diseases. Many of the alkaloids of Berberis are thought
to inhibit cancer.

A decoction of the bark or berries has been found useful as a wash in aphthous
sore mouth and in chromic ophthalmia.

USES One to two meters in height, Berberis vulgaris provides wood - very hard
but fine grained, therefore suitable for such objects as toothpicks, mosaic pieces
and turnery -, dyestuff [for wool, cotton, flax, and leather] and edible berries.
Once cultivated for their supposedly antiseptic properties, the rather acid fruits
were made into jellies and preserves. The leaves were also eaten in a sour sauce.
The shrub is distributed throughout Europe, Turkey, the eastern United States,
and naturalized in the British Isles.

EFFECTS An infusion of the root promotes the secretion of bile and is thus
beneficial in liver disorders. It also helps to dilate blood vessels and so can help
to lower blood pressure. The bark of the root has a laxative effect.

BERBERINE "Perhaps the most celebrated of berberine's effects has been its
antibiotic activity. Berberine exhibits a broad spectrum of antibiotic activity.
Berberine has shown antibiotic activity against bacteria, protozoa, and fungi,
including Staphylococcus species,

Streptomyces
species,

Chlamydia

species,

Corynebacterium

diphtheria,

Escherichia

coli,

Salmonella

typhi,

Vibrio

cholerae,

Diplococcus

pneumoniae,

Pseudomonas

species,

Shigella

dysenteriae,

Entamoeba

histolytica,

Trichomonas

vaginalis, Neisseria gonorrhoeae and N. meningitidis, Treponema pallidum,

Giardia

lamblia, Leishmania donovani, and Candida albicans. Its action against some of
these pathogens is actually stronger than that of antibiotics commonly used in
the treatment of diseases these pathogens cause. ... Berberine has also shown to
increase the blood supply to the spleen. The combined effect of improving blood
supply to the spleen and increasing macrophage activity translates into improved
filtration of the blood and is consistent with the historical use of berberine-
containing plants as 'blood purifiers'. ...

Berberine has produced an antipyretic effect three times as potent as that of

aspirin in rats. However, while aspirin suppresses fever through its action on
prostaglandins, berberine appears to lower fever by enhancing the immune
system's ability to handle fever-producing compounds produced by micro-
organisms. ... Berberine exhibits potent anticancer activity directly by killing
tumour cells and indirectly via stimulating white blood cells. ... Berberine has
shown significant success in the treatment of acute diarrhoea in several clinical
studies. It has been found effective against diarrhoeas caused by Escherichia coli
[traveller's diarrhoea], Shigella dysenteriae [shigellosis], Salmonella paratyphi
[food poisoning], Klebsiella, Giardia lamblia [giardiasis], and Vibrio cholerae

[cholera]. It appears that berberine is effective in treating the majority of

common gastrointestinal infections. ... Another alkaloid found in berberine-
containing plants, berbamine, has been used in China since 1972 in the treatment
of depressed white blood cell counts due to chemotherapy and/or radiation."1

FOLKLORE Barberry is the birthday flower for 10 April, and signifies ill
temper and sourness. Astrologically it is assigned to Mars.

PROVINGS •• [1] Hesse - 10 provers [7 females, 3 males], 1834; method: three

doses of infusion and powdered bark of the root; also 'repeated doses of the 6th
potency'; one prover took a drop of the 5th potency and another prover took one
dose of the 30th.

•• [2] Bayr - 45 provers, 1982; method: double-blind, placebo-controlled; 3 daily

doses of 5 drops of 3x or 30x for 3 weeks.

•• [3] König and Santos - 14 persons [10 females, 4 males], 1993; double-blind,
placebo-controlled, daily doses of 30c - to be stopped when reaction occurred
and to be resumed when reaction ceased; observation period of 6-8 weeks, with
special attention to dreams.

[1] Murray, The Healing Power of Herbs.

Affinity

Urinary and digestive tract [KIDNEYS; liver; bladder; ureters]. Lumbar region
[hips].

Joints. Uterus. Spermatic cords. * Left side. Right to left.

Modalities

Worse: Motion [jarring; stepping hard; rising from sitting]. Fatigue. Urinating.

Better: Rest. Motion [pains].

Comparisons

c LYCOPODIUM

The tendency of the pains going from right to left, observed in Bayr's proving,
plus the affinity for gastrointestinal tract, liver, kidneys, and lumbar region,
make Lycopodium obviously one of the first remedies to compare with Berberis.
"An occasional dose of Lycopodium helped the action of Berberis", Clarke
observed. Both remedies have many symptoms in common; among them some
peculiar ones: Confusion of mind on waking.

Irritability on waking. Heat of head after eating. Bubbling noises in ears. Nasal
catarrh extending to frontal sinuses. Eructations alternating with yawning.
Bubbling sensation in inguinal region. Bubbling sensation in renal region.
Dryness of vagina after menses. In

addition, during the proving by Bayr an afternoon aggravation was observed, in

particular in regard to the throat symptoms, which got worse or started around 3
p.m. The main difference seems to lie in the sensation of enlargement / swelling.
In Berberis this is felt on the physical level in the head, the throat, and the
breasts. But, whilst Lycopodium puts on a front of greatness [inflation of ego],
Berberis experiences his surroundings as enlarged. Lycopodium enlarges,
magnifies himself; Berberis enlarges, blows up his surroundings.
Main symptoms

M Thinking difficult.

• "During mental work, external occurrences easily cause disturbance, usual y

unnoticed; he easily loses the connection, becomes fretful, and must cease
work." [Allen]

M Taciturn.

• "Remarkable melancholy and disinclination to speak, which she can in no way

overcome, with quiet, not thoughtful, sensual longing." [Allen]

M Objects seem enlarged [in the twilight].

• "In the twilight some children and dogs appeared twice as large as natural."
[Allen]

c A similar symptom occurred in one of Bayr's provers.

• "Before fal ing asleep, saw faces with distorted mouths; also had the feeling
that the bedroom was much bigger."*

[Compare: feeling as if head were becoming larger.]

During daytime, the same prover didn't recognize several friends, believing them
to be strangers.

M Hidden wounds.

• "The thorns of the barberry plant were considered to be the thorns that Jesus
wore on his head. To me this is symbolic of situations where Berberis is needed,
where there are hidden wounds we are unwilling to look at. ... We all contain
separate personalities within us. But in the case where there has been severe
physical or sexual abuse [as there is in all multiple personality disorder patients]
the split becomes too great and normal conscious activities can coalesce under
the direction of unconscious aspects of the subpersonalities. Case Number 1 led
me to examine the cases where I had prescribed Berberis, particularly in cases of
chronic vaginitis and urinary tract infections. As I discovered that many of these
cases had histories of sexual abuse, I came to the conclusion that these physical
symptoms may be acting as a defense mechanism for the emotional wounds of
the patient. The essence of the wound in Berberis is a secret that remains hidden
to the patients. The medicine is sycotic, combining the elements of urogenital
inflammation, suppression of emotions, and secretiveness. It lies somewhere
between the symptomatologies of Thuja and Staphisagria. While in Staphisagria
the anger lies close to the surface, in Berberis the origins are often no longer
accessible to the conscious mind. They lie quiescent, coalesced in a conflict that
creates fatigue, withdrawal, and psychosomatic expressions of pain. The pain
itself is not clear. It wanders, radiating in different directions from the kidneys,
liver, joints, and sexual organs. ... Interestingly, Dr. Margery Blackie mentions it
as being useful in

'contradictory, changeable personalities'."1

c The apparent element of the way of the Cross can be taken one step further.
The pains of Berberis in the metacarpal and metatarsal bones are as if there were
a nail thrust into them.

M Mother - woman.

• "Berberis fits women who are in conflict between being mother and woman. To
be a woman and at the same time a sexual being seems incompatible. A mother
who lives her sexuality is dirty? In this situation being a woman must be denied.
Perhaps as a compensation the social position is rated extremely high. ... Which
patients could benefit of Berberis? We think of women who feel not being
desired by their partners during or after a pregnancy. Or, women who do not feel
sensually or sexually after a pregnancy or since becoming mother. It might well
be that a Berberis patient complains of being disregarded or feeling neglected as
a woman and sexual being. Even sexual abuse must be considered. It seems
worthwhile to investigate the Berberis theme in the case of patient with myoma,
patients [male and female?] with recurrent infections of the bladder, tendency to
stones, sciatica, lumbago, chronic skin eruptions [acne, psoriasis]. ... We propose
to enter Berberis in the repertory - in the form of preliminary rubrics until
clinical verification - as follows: Ailments from sexual abuse; Delusion she or
her mother has been abused; Delusion of being vulnerable as a woman; Disgust
of being a woman; Delusion mother is a whore; Ambition, social position.
Associated feelings include disgust, depreciation, estrangement, humiliation."2

G Many rapidly changing or alternating symptoms; shooting outward, as in

urethra, toes, etc.

• "Symptoms are apt to alternate rapidly, e.g. a thirsty feverish condition can
change quickly into a thirstless prostration, a voracious appetite can suddenly
give way to complete anorexia, acute polyuria can alternate with oliguria."
[Gibson]

G Great chilliness.

Suffering parts chilly.

Chill as if in bones.

Chills as from cold water [over back].

• "Chil iness or disagreeable sensitiveness to cold occurred in 10 provers. Five

provers experienced increased warmth without perspiration; four others had
increased warmth with perspiration."*

G Thirst.

• "Severe thirst wakes her several times at night."

• "Increased thirst with dry mouth, esp. in the afternoon, in several persons."
[Allen]

• "Four provers had increased thirst; two of them wanted cold drinks."*

G Sleep unrefreshing.

• "In the morning when waking he often doesn't feel refreshed, but weary in
body and mind." [Allen]

Light sleep.

• "At night a condition between sleeping and waking; in which she is tormented
with a system of education, which at times assumes the form of a tree, at another
some other wonderful form; she tries in vain to get rid of the image, arouses
from slumber and opens the eyes and becomes very fretful about it." [Allen]

Difficult waking.
• "Difficult waking in the morning, when she cannot rightly recollect, cannot
collect her thoughts, and must exert all her power to get awake." [Allen]

Waking about 2 to 4 a.m.

• "He wakes frequently and very easily about 2 to 4 o'clock, cannot sleep again
in spite

of the fact that he is still very tired, or he falls asleep again, but also wakes
again; with tension in the head, rush of blood to it and excitement." [Allen]

• "Five provers woke up at 2, 3 or 4 a.m. "*

G Sexuality.

• "Diminished sexual desire in both sexes; the ejaculation of semen during

coition is usually too soon, and the desire is weak and passes soon away; in
women orgasm is delayed, sometimes associated with cutting or sticking pain."
[Allen]

• "Complete want of pleasurable sensation during coition." [Hering]

Coition is painful. After coition, weakness of parts.

c Four of Bayr's provers noticed an increased sexual desire. In one female prover
there was an aversion to sex.

G RADIATING PAINS; from one point; lower spine, etc.

G Pains last a moment and pass away [twinges of pain].

Sudden stitches; as if from a nail or like a sting of an insect.

G NUMBNESS externally.

Insensitive to extreme heat or cold.

G GURGLING / BUBBLING sensation.

As if water were coming up through the skin.

G Sensation of coldness on isolated spots.

As if from cold metal, cold substances, or as if cold drops were sprinkled.

• "A feeling in the eyes as if there were two drops of cold water between the
margins of the lids, or between the lids and the eyeballs."

• "A feeling as if cold drops of rain spattered in the face on going from the house
into the open air."

• "Sensation as if cold drops of rain fell on back of hand when she went from
house into open air."

• "A sensation as if cold water were spattered on the skin at a smal spot below
the left calf." [Allen]

G DRY mucous membranes; mouth, vagina, etc.

Yet perspires easily.

• "Everything excites sweating." [Boger]

• "Nearly every Berberis patient perspires after midnight." [Blackie]

G DIRTY-GREY face, gums, faeces, etc.

Grey or brown mucus instead of menses.

Dirty-grey circles around eyes. [Eyes seem to lie deep.]

• "Inner side of the upper lip shows a bluish grey discolouration, together with
bluish or red spots in the corners of the mouth." [Charette]

G Pains go from right to left side.*

[This occurred five times during Bayr's proving. Pain in throat, 2 provers; pain in
nipples before menses, first in right nipple, then in left, 1 prover; lumbar
backache, 1 prover; pain in knees, 1 prover]

P Feeling as if head were becoming larger.

[This symptom occurred in the proving of both Hesse and Bayr. In the latter it
was accompanied by vertigo.]

P Violent urging to urinate and burning pain [during last drops].

And WIDELY EXTENDING PAIN to back, hips and legs.

P Various painful sensations in region of KIDNEYS and LOINS: "bubbling",

boiling water, burning and painful sensitiveness.

Pain < least motion, stepping hard, jumping, jarring, etc.

And Numbness, stiffness, weakness and sensitiveness to pressure of kidneys and

loins.

P Lumbago with PAIN EXTENDING DOWN LEGS and red sediment in urine.

Rising from a seat almost impossible, has to support back with hands.

P Pain in lumbar region extending over hips to thighs [posterior parts].

And Stiffness and lameness.

Problems with rising from sitting.

P Pain in the balls of the feet on stepping and standing.

No pain when putting most of the weight on the heels.

P - Brown skin pigmentations.

• "Berberis comes in useful once in a while in the field of dermatology. A

characteristic symptom found in Berberis eruptions is that the eruptions leave a
sort of brownish spots of pigmentation after their disappearance. A case was
reported where acne of the face was characterised by this typical pigmentation
after the disappearance. It has papulo-pustular type of eruptions. The eruptions
are surrounded by a red areola. On drying up these eruptions leave a brownish
stain. The favourite locations for the Berberis eruptions are near about anus,
wrists, hands and the lower extremities. The itching is worse by scratching,
warmth, rubbing and walking. The eruptions are better by cold applications. It is
usually overlooked in the treatment of skin eruptions."3

* Bayr, Eine Prüfung von Berberis vulgaris D3 und D30; Allgemeine Hom.
Zeitung, 1983 Heft 5.

[1] Lange, Two cases of sexual abuse - one with multiple personalities; IFH
1992. [2]

Santos and König, Dream Proving of Berberis, HL 2/94. [3] Kishore, A side-
light on Berberis vulgaris; Zeitschrift für Klassische Homöopathie, 1985 Heft 5.

Rubrics

Mind

Ailments from quarrelling [1]. Difficult concentration if interrupted [1; Mez.].

Courageous, experiences a certain ill will, a spirit of intrepidity [1A]. Desires

death during menses [1/1]. Dulness after sound sleep [1]. Ennui during menses
[1/1].

Excitement on waking at night [1]. Hurry while eating [1]. Irritability before
menses [1], during menses [1], after menses [1].

Vertigo

When lying, > moving arms [1K]. From vertex [1].

Head

Enlarged sensation [2], during vertigo [1B]. Pain, from exertion of body [1], at
beginning of menses [1], < motion of arms [1], sudden [1], wandering [1].
Sensation of a skullcap

[2].

Eye

Feeling of heat in lids [1K].

Vision
Colours, objects seem dark [1]. Objects seem large [1], in twilight [2/1].

Nose

Catarrh, extending to antrum [1], to frontal sinuses [1]. Discharge, offensive,

burnt [1/1], pungent [1/1]. Obstruction, alternating sides [1K].

Face

Sensation of swelling around both eyes [1B].

Mouth

Saliva like cotton [2], soapy [1], viscid > eating [1/1]. Taste, burnt, in morning
[1/1], sour after drinking [1].

Throat

Pain, in afternoon, 3 p.m. [1B], > drinking [1B], on speaking [1]. Scratching
sensation >

drinking [1B].

Stomach

Nausea alternating with hunger [1], > eating [1B], from exertion of vision [1K],
>

looking steadily [1K]. Pain after cold drinks [1B].

Abdomen

Fulness, flatulence, after eating, > red wine [1B].

Rectum

Pain, burning during menses [1].

Bladder

Pain during urinating, after a few drops pass [1]. Frequent urging < slightest
motion [1].

Kidneys

Pain, at beginning of menses [2], during menses [1], < motion [1], < pressure
[1], radiating [2], > standing [1/1]. Feeling of weariness in renal region [1].

Urethra

Pain, burning after coition [1], during ejaculation [2], > urination [1].

Male

Coition, enjoyment absent [1], enjoyment diminished [1].

Female

Coition, aversion after menses [1], enjoyment absent [2], painful [2]. Dryness
vagina [2], after menses [1]. Insensibility of vagina during coition [2]. Itching >
lying [1/1], < sitting

[1/1], < walking [1]. Menses, clotted, offensive [1].

Chest

Pain in nipples before menses [1B], first in right nipple, then in left [1B].

Back

Eruptions, boils in groups [1/1]. Numbness cervical region [1], sacrum [1],
coccyx [1].

Pain, > flatus [1], on rising from sitting [3].

Limbs

Cramps in sole of foot on hanging foot down [1/1]. Discolouration, upper limbs,
marbled spots [1/1], back of hands, petechiae [1/1]. Numbness upper limbs when
hanging down

[1/1].
Sleep

Waking from perspiration [1], from thirst [1].

Perspiration

Odour of urine [1].

* Repertory additions. A = Allen; B = Bayr; K = König and Santos.

[König and Santos, Berberis, Rhododendron, Convallaria: Traumgeschehen und

Psychodynamik Dreier Arzneiprüfungen (1992-94); Göttingen 1997.]

Food

Aversion: [1]: Milk [K].

Desire: [1]: Salt [K].

Worse: [2]: Farinaceous. [1]: Alcohol.

Borax veneta

Borx.

If a person falls freely he will not feel his own weight.

[Einstein]

Signs

Sodium tetraborate decahydrate. Sodium borate. Sodium pyroborate.

OCCURRENCE Found on alkaline lake shores, in playa lakes and other

evaporite deposits, borax is a soft and light, transparent crystalline substance of
sweetish taste.

Extensive borax deposits are found in California [Death Valley], Turkey, Tibet,
and the Andes Mountains.

PROPERTIES The decahydrate - named borax or Jaikin - consists of hard

odourless crystals, granules or crystalline powder. Due to giving up of the water
of crystallisation to the atmosphere, it becomes coated with white powder in dry
air. When heated it swells up, while at the same time losing water, and changes
into a glassy mass, formerly called borax pearls. At 100o half of its water
content is gone and at 320o it is free from water

[anhydrous]. The anhydrous form, also called fused sodium borate or borax
glass, consists of glass-like plates. It becomes opaque on exposure to air. The
pentahydrate is used in very large quantities in the manufacture of insulation
fiberglass and sodium perborate bleach. Dissolves many metallic oxides when
fused with them.

USES Borax has many uses: soldering metals; manufacture of glazes and
enamels; tanning; in cleaning compounds; artificially ageing wood; as
preservative, either alone or with other antiseptics against wood fungus;
fireproofing fabrics and wood; curing and preserving skins; in cockroach
control. 1 The glass-industry is by far the largest market for borates [salts of
boric acid], followed by the industries of detergents and of pesticides

[algae in swimming pools; fleas; cockroaches; etc.]. As a mild antiseptic used in

lotions, gargles, mouthwashes, and as a detergent. As a cosmetic ingredient used
in cold creams, foundation creams, hair colour rinses, permanent-wave solutions,
hair-setting lotions, freckle lotions, nail whiteners, eye lotions, and shaving
creams.

TOXICOLOGY Since borates are rapidly absorbed from mucous membranes

and abraded skin, toxic symptoms may develop from prolonged use. These
include anorexia, weight loss, vomiting, diarrhoea [typically of a blue-green
colour], skin rash [weeping eczema], falling of hair, convulsions and anaemia.
Ingestion of 5 to 10 g of borax can cause severe vomiting, diarrhoea, shock, and
death in young children. It has a drying effect on the skin and may cause
irritation. Continued use of shampoos containing sodium borate causes the hair
to become dry and brittle. Also used to prevent irritation of the skin by the
antiperspirant aluminium chloride.

BORON Along with aluminium, gallium, indium, and thallium, boron

constitutes group 13 [formerly group 3A] of the periodic table. None of the
elements of this group occurs free [uncombined] in nature. Boron is more or less
the black sheep of the family: it is the lightest member and the only one being
considered a metalloid [having properties of both metals and nonmetals].
Boron's place in the periodic table is in between beryllium and carbon, above
aluminium and diagonally to silicon. Physically and chemically, silicon is its
closest ally.

OCCURRENCE The earth's crust contains about 0.001% of boron. It occurs

usually as

orthoboric acid in volcanic spring waters and as borates in borax, tincal, rasorite
and colemanite.

PROPERTIES Boron has the optical characteristic that it transmits portions of

the infrared. It is a poor conductor of electricity at room temperature, but a good
conductor at high temperature. Like aluminium, its reaction with oxygen is self-
limiting due to the formation of a boric oxide film. In pyrotechnic flares,
amorphous boron provides a distinctive green colour. Boron crystals are almost
as hard as diamond. Zinc borate makes plastics flame-resistant.

OPTICS In the boron mineral ulexite, nature provides its own version of fibre
optics: closely packed fibrous crystals. If polished flat on both sides
perpendicular to the fibres, ulexite will show an unusual optical phenomenon by
transmitting images from one side of the specimen to the other; ulexite, resting
on a newspaper will have the writing appear to be on top of the specimen
without any distortion of the lettering. The newspaper can be read upon the
surface of the ulexite! The manmade version - bundles of extremely thin flexible
glass fibres - is used in optical instruments to transmit maximum light by total
internal reflection, giving images of maximum clarity, and designed, because of
their flexibility, for seeing into otherwise inaccessible places.

GLASS Boron occupies a special place in the glass-industry. Boron oxide is

mixed with silica to make heat-resistant glass [borosilicate glass or Pyrex glass]
for use in cooking ware and certain types of laboratory equipment. Borosilicate
glass is less apt to break when subjected to rapid temperature changes. In
addition, it is resistant to many chemicals and is an electrical insulator. Fibres
and fabrics made of it possess excellent heat insulation and fire-resistant
qualities. It is also an excellent encapsulation material for radioactive waste that
had been aged for a decade.

ENERGY Boron is an excellent energy source. Boranes - compounds of boron

and hydrogenium - furnish high-energy fuels [double the energy of kerosene]
used in rockets in the 1950s. Due to the toxicity of the exhaust fumes as well as
the high costs, this application was soon abandoned.

USES "Limited quantities of elemental boron are widely used to increase

hardness in making steel. Added as the iron alloy ferroboron, it is present in
many steels, usually in the range of 0.001 to 0.005 per cent. Boron is also
utilized in the nonferrous-metals industry, generally as a deoxidizer, in copper-
base alloys and high-conductance copper as a degasifier, and in aluminium
castings to refine the grain. In the semiconductor industry, small, carefully
controlled amounts of boron are added as a doping agent to silicon and
germanium to modify electrical conductivity. Boron combines with various
metals to form a class of compounds called borides. The borides are usually
harder, chemically less reactive, and electrically less resistive and have a higher
melting point than the corresponding pure metallic elements. Some of the
borides are among the hardest and most heat-resistant of all known substances.
Aluminium boride, for example, is used in many cases as a substitute for
diamond dust for grinding and polishing. ... Two geological settings are
conducive for the formation of borate minerals. The first is commercially more
valuable and consists of an environment where an impermeable basin received
borate-bearing solutions that resulted from volcanic activity. Subsequent
evaporation caused precipitation of hydrated alkali and alkaline-earth borate
minerals. With increased depth of burial resulting from additional sedimentation,
beds of compositionally stratified borates crystallized as a consequence of
temperature and pressure gradients. Because

evaporation must occur for precipitation of the borates, such basin deposits
usually occur in desert regions. The second geologic setting for borate minerals
is a metamorphic carbonate-rich environment, where they are formed as a result
of alteration of the surrounding rocks by heat and pressure. Some compounds
were produced by the reaction of boron-bearing vapour derived from hot
intruding granites during metamorphism; others are the recrystallization products
of evaporite borates. Numerous borosilicates [e.g.

tourmaline] were formed under these conditions."2

PROTECTION The naturally occurring isotope -10 is used in nuclear chemistry

as neutron absorber, as a control for nuclear reactors [by preventing chain
reactions in uranium atoms from running wild and producing an explosion] and
as a shield for nuclear radiation. The shielding property of boron-10 is quite
remarkable: 1 cm of boron-10

provides as much protection as 20 cm of lead or 5 metres of concrete. In

addition, it is used in delayed action fuses, as igniter in radio tubes and in air
bags in motorcars, and as coating material in solar batteries. Boron compounds
are extensively used in the manufacture of borosilicate glasses. Boron nitride can
make material as hard as diamond, but also has lubricating properties similar to
graphite.

INDICATOR Borax as well as phosphor salts can be formed into a pearl-like

shape when heated in a flame. If the still hot pearl is brought into contact with
the pulverised oxide of a metal, the pearl will change into the colour that is
specific for the metal concerned.

GROWTH Boron is required for the growth of vascular plants and embryonic
development in fish. Deficiency signs were first discovered in plants, showing it
to be an essential element for plants as early as 1910. Boron is immobile in
plants; hence deficiency symptoms show up first in younger tissues. The
symptoms resemble calcium deficiency: leaves turn yellow and curl upward; tips
of leaves fail to expand. Too much boron results in the same effects; excess of
boron as well as lack of boron interferes with calcium intake of plants. Boron-
deficient plant tissues are brittle or fragile, while plants grown on high boron
levels may have unusually flexible or resilient tissues. In addition, boron is
poorly absorbed from soils with low potassium content, e.g. saline soils.

Gigantism of several species of plants growing in soil naturally abundant in

boron has been reported. Boron plays a role in the formation of pectin in the
plant cell wall.

PHYSIOLOGY Boron as a trace mineral was recently found to be of prime

importance in humans for the proper absorption and utilization of calcium and
magnesium. A study involving postmenopausal women who supplemented their
diet with 3 mg of boron daily resulted in reduced calcium excretion by 44 per
cent and dramatically increased the levels of estradiol. It also interacts with
potassium, vitamin D and the essential amino acid methionine. There is
sufficient evidence that it raises in women the level of estradiol, the most potent
naturally occurring estrogen. Boron can therefore be beneficial in menopause. It
has also been found to be effective in alleviating symptoms of arthritis, esp.
juvenile arthritis. Deficiency symptoms of boron include bone demineralization,
brittle bones, arthritis, low estrogen levels in menopause, and reduced growth.
Body builders use boron supplements because these supposedly double
testosterone in a short time, thus contributing to muscle growth.

BIOCHEMISTRY "Boron is distributed throughout the tissues and organs of

humans with the highest concentration in the bones and dental enamel. These
range from 5 to 15

mcg per g ash and from 0.5 to 190 mcg per g dry enamel respectively. Blood
plasma

boron is high at birth but decreases rapidly within 5 days of birth. After ingestion
of boron, the greatest increases occur in spleen, kidney and brain although
thyroid levels remain at the same high figures as before."3 The total body burden
is 20 mg boron.

FOOD The best natural sources are legumes, fruits and vegetables. Highly
fertilized crops provide much less quantities of boron. Foods of animal origin are
a poor source of boron. Legumes are particularly rich in boron. Of the
vegetables, cabbage, asparagus, celery, lettuce, broccoli, cauliflower, and beet
are richest in boron. Fruits with a high content of boron include plum, quince,
strawberry, peach, apple, fig, tomato, pear, sour cherry, red currant, and apricot.
Boron appears to be important for plant nutrient content.

It increases carotene level of carrots, and ascorbic acid [vitamin C] in cabbage,

lettuce and snap beans. Beverages like wine, cider and beer contain significant
amounts of the mineral.

MEDICINE The neutron absorbing properties of boron-10 are utilized in an

experimental approach to cancer treatment called Boron Neutron Capture
Therapy. "First, a boron-containing compound is administered to the test animal
or patient. This boron-containing compound must be able to accumulate to
higher concentrations in the tumour than in the surrounding normal tissues.
Next, a beam of low-energy neutrons is directed at the boron-containing tumour.
The interaction of the B-10 with a thermal neutron

[neutron capture] causes the B-10 nucleus to split, releasing an alpha particle and
a lithium nucleus. These products of the boron neutron capture reaction are very
damaging to cells but have a combined path length in tissue of approximately 14
micrometers, or roughly the diameter of one or two cells. These charged
particles release sufficient energy locally to kill any tumour cells containing high
concentrations of boron without appreciably harming normal cells that contain
low concentrations of boron [selective cell surgery by radiation targeting]. The
selective delivery of radiation dose to the tumour during BNCT is due primarily
to the biodistribution of the boron compound, not to the incident beams of
neutrons. This provides a potential advantage of BNCT over other forms of
radiation therapy. High tumour/normal tissue boron concentration ratios have
been demonstrated in experimental animal tumours and in surgical samples from
glioblastoma patients. If individual tumour cells or small clusters of tumour cells
infiltrating the normal brain, preferentially accumulate the boron delivery agent
to the same degree as has been shown for surgical tumour samples, they will
receive significantly higher dose than the immediately adjacent normal brain.
The concept of BNCT is not new. Patients with malignant gliomas were
irradiated with thermalized reactor neutrons for BNCT at Brookhaven National
Laboratory [BNL] [1951-1961] and, starting later [1959-1961], at the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology [MIT]. The disappointing results of these
trials were attributed to two primary factors: 1) inadequate tumour-specificity of
the boron compounds employed, and 2) insufficient penetration of thermal
neutrons. Efforts to deliver therapeutic neutron fluences to deep tumours resulted
in excessive damage to the skin. The high boron concentrations in blood and
brain tissue during irradiation damaged the blood vessels in normal brain. Since
the 1950s, there has been considerable improvement in boron compounds and
neutron beams. More is known now about the radiation biology of BNCT, which
has re-emerged as a potentially useful method for preferential irradiation of
tumours. Clinical trials have been initiated at BNL

and MIT, with an improved boron compound and higher energy [more deeply
penetrating] neutrons."4

OSTEOPOROSIS There is a strong connection between the boron content of

soil and the incidence of osteoporosis. High levels of boron are most likely to
occur in soil derived from marine sediments and arid soils. The average soil
concentration of boron is 10

mg/kg, while it has a concentration of 4.6 mg/l in ocean water. Israel has a soil
comparatively rich in boron and also one of the lowest osteoporosis rates.
Conversely, Jamaica's soil is extremely poor in boron and its population includes
more people than average who suffer from osteoporosis. "Epidemiological
studies indicate a relationship between boron intake in the diet and the
prevalence of arthritis in various populations.

Where boron intake is lowest, there is a high incidence of arthritis [50-70 per
cent in Mauritius and Jamaica]. Where the diet provides more available boron
[0.5-1.5 ppm] the incidence of arthritis is 20 per cent [UK, USA, South Africa,
Australia, New Zealand].

Daily intakes of more than 1.5 ppm in boron give rise to the lowest incidence of
arthritis

[Israel and limited areas in other countries]. Trials indicate that human beings
and animals respond well to supplements of 6-9 mg boron daily, and in a few
weeks reduction of symptoms in 80-90 per cent of cases has been claimed. This
therapeutic dose of 6-9

mg boron daily can be reduced to 3 mg once symptoms are relieved. When

added to the 2

mg in the diet, these studies suggest that 3 mg supplementation [giving 5 mg

daily in total] should relieve arthritic symptoms. Extra boron has been found to
give harder bones than the normal arthritic femur. In one examination, arthritic
femurs had only half the content of boron [29 ppm] compared to healthy bone
[60 ppm]."5

COGNITION In 1994, the effects of dietary boron on cognitive performance

were investigated in three studies with healthy older men and women. "When the
low boron intake was compared with the high intake, there was a significant
increase in the proportion of low-frequency brain activity, and a decrease in the
proportion of higher-frequency activity, an effect often observed in response to
general malnutrition and heavy metal toxicity. Performance [e.g., response time]
on various cognitive and psychomotor tasks also showed an effect of dietary
boron. When contrasted with the high boron intake, low dietary boron resulted in
significantly poorer performance on tasks emphasizing manual dexterity; eye-
hand coordination; attention; perception; encoding and short-term memory; and
long-term memory. The data from these three studies indicate that boron may
play a role in human brain function and cognitive performance."6

THEMES The main themes of boron seem to be hardness, protection and

growth. It is the second hardest element [after carbon, diamond], it hardens
metals and bones, and it makes glass more shatterproof.

PROVINGS •• [1] Hahnemann - 2 [male] provers; method: unknown.

•• [2] Fischer - provings with tincture of Borax, 1857.

[1] Merckx Index. [2] Encyclopaedia Britannica. [3] Mervyn, Vitamins and
Minerals. [4]

Brookhaven National Laboratory Medical Research Center. [5] Mervyn, ibid. [6]

Penland, Dietary boron, brain function, and cognitive performance; Environ.

Health Perspective, Nov. 1994.

Affinity

Occiput. NUTRITION [NERVES; MUCOUS MEMBRANES]. MOUTH. Skin.

Kidneys. Bladder. * RIGHT SIDE.

Modalities

Worse: DOWNWARD MOTION. MORNING. Wine. Sudden noises. Cold; wet.

Fruit.

Smoking [diarrhoea]. Before urinating. Salty or sour food. Touch.

Better: Pressure. Walking in open air. Smoking [toothache].

Main symptoms

M Hypersensitivity to unexpected noise.

STARTING from SLIGHT NOISES ["unusual sharp sounds, a cough, sneeze, a

cry, lighting a match, etc." - Mathur].

Starting from sleep, crying, terrified, clinging, without cause, or SHRIEKING

IN

SLEEP. Clinging as if frightened.

• "The child weeps periodical y very violently, after some minutes it stops, and is
then very friendly and laughs." [Hahnemann]

M Lack of shielding / lack of borders.

Confusion of own identity with that of others.

• "I am only worth something if I have something to give. As a therapist I feel

the diseases of the patient. If someone has a toothache I feel it right away. In a
past life I had a twin sister and I lost the place where I end and she begins. As a
child I was told that there was no difference between me and my mother, that
everything is just one. ... I don't have the ability to be an individual, independent
and on my own. A feeling that I was dependant on her and she on me, and that
we cannot be separated."1

• Borax patients are highly excitable individuals with a great intensity of both
their emotions and thoughts. Their thoughts and feelings can be so confused that
they cannot be separated one from the other. They are people who do not
understand what it is to be cool and phlegmatic. There is a resemblance to
Phosphorus in the vulnerability to external impressions and stimulus. However,
Borax patients are not as receptive and sympathetic as Phosphorus." [Vithoulkas]

M Aggravation from mental effort.

Thinking is difficult and may bring on nausea.

M FEAR of and AGGRAVATION from DOWNWARD MOTION [aeroplane,

escalator, stairs].

Causes anxiety, vertigo, confusion, headache.

• "Very timid, in driving down a mountain; quite at variance with his customary
bearing; he felt as if it would take his breath away [the first 5 weeks]."
[Hahnemann]

• "The child is timid while being dandled; when it is rocked up and down in the
arms it makes a very frightened face during the downward motion [the first 3
weeks]."

[Hahnemann]
• "A new understanding of Borax that can be suggested is that they feel that they
don't have ground under their feet and that is why they are afraid of going down.
Ground means something solid, basic, routine, structured. That is when their
pathology starts, at the age when we are supposed to build our ground, our basic
identity. The process of separation from our guide goes wrong. That is why the
Borax child clings to his mother; he doesn't have his own identity and is afraid to
let go."2

M Nervous, anxious, fidgety.

Dislikes strangers.

M Anger; takes offence easily.

Scolding and cursing about trifles.

• "Before the stool, which ensued easily in the afternoon, he was peevish, cross,
lazy, discontented; after it cheerful, contented with himself and with the world,
and looking brightly into the future." [Hahnemann]

G Infants with pale face refuse to eat or have little appetite and little gain in
weight; after birth-trauma.

G Young women with shining red nose.

G Chilliness [general] but heat in / of single parts.

Heat in mouth, vagina, palms of hands.

Hot head of nervous, crying infants.

G Desire for open air, but cold air <.

G Appetite decreased or wanting.

G Thirst increased or extreme.

[Thirst after sweating; after sleep; before chill; during chill.]

G Easy conception, during the use of borax, observed by Schreter in five

women.
G < Fruit. [Fruit is rich in boron.]

• "After eating stewed apples with mutton, fulness of the stomach, with
peevishness and ill humour, and fulness in the head, as if the blood were
violently pressing in."

• "After eating pears, esp. in the morning or forenoon, pressure in the scrobiculus
cordis, with discomfort." [Hahnemann]

Stomach pain after fruit.

Diarrhoea after fruit [pears].

G < AFTER menses.

G < During SLEEP.

G < RIDING on the cars.

G > Seashore.

G APHTHOUS, catarrhal tendency. Mucous stools.

G Clear, thick, hot, biting discharges.

P Hair tangles easily; cannot be combed smooth.

P Aphthous stomatitis: white patches with red areola [prevents child from
nursing].

During dentition [and excessive salivation].

Hot mouth; hot urine making the child cry when urinating.

Sore mouth from plate of teeth; < after eating salty or sour food.

P Pain in the OPPOSITE BREAST during nursing.

P Slightest injury suppurates; DRY SKIN, festers easily, won't heal.

Tendency of old wounds and ulcers to suppurate.

[1-2] Rosenthal and Azriel, 'I lost the place where I end and she begins', A case
of Borax; HL 1/00.

Rubrics

Mind

Fruitlessly busy [1]. Clinging, child awakens terrified, knows no one, clings to
those near

[3]. Cursing about trifles [1*]. Delusion he is possessed by a devil [1]. Dulness >
walking in open air [1]. Fear of contagious disease [1]; from sudden noise [2]; of
thunderstorm

[2]. Idiocy with shrill shrieking [2]. Mistakes in space and time [1]. Changeable
mood, >

epistaxis [1/1]. Thoughts sexual [1*]. Fritters away his time [1].

Vertigo

On descending [3]. After animated talking [1].

Head

Sensation of current of air or wind, above the eyes [1/1]. Hair sticks together at
ends

[2/1].

Eye

Sensation as if he could not move his eyes, during fulness in head and pressure
about eyes [1/1*].

Vision

Waves of light [1/1].

Nose
Obstruction, alternating sides [1], with lachrymation [1/1].

Teeth

Pain, > tobacco smoking [1], during wet weather [2].

Stomach

Nausea from thought of food [1], from mental exertion [2], while talking [1].
Pain, after fruit [1].

Abdomen

Sensation as if full of hard pieces which were jumbled together [1/1*].

Bladder

Sudden urging to urinate during menses [1]. Frequent urination at night, seldom
during the day [2.].

Urine

Odour, like cat's urine [1].

Female

Itching of vagina during pregnancy [1]. Menses, in morning [2], only at night
[1], copious and of short duration [1], during lactation [1].

Chest

Pain, > lying on back [1], > pressure [2], when sneezing [2], while talking [3], >
walking slowly [1], when yawning [2]. Sensation as if the heart were on the right
side [2/1], and was being squeezed off [1].

Limbs

Chilblains > open air [1/1]. Sensation of cobweb on hands [1/1]. Coldness and
blueness of hands alternating with heat of hands [1*]. Eruptions, eczema of
fingers with loss of nails [1/1]. Trembling of hands from mental exertion [1/1].
Sleep

Disturbed by coldness [1]. Late falling asleep, early waking [1].

Perspiration

Sensation as if about to perspire, but no moisture appears [1].

* Repertory additions [Hughes].

Food

Aversion: [1]: Meat; milk; mother's milk.

Desire: [2]: Sour. [1]: Brandy; cold drinks; milk, milk in the morning.

Worse: [2]: Fruit; sour; pears; wine. [1]: Apples; chocolate drinks; cold drinks;
hot food; mutton.

Better: [1]: Cold drinks; cold food.

Bovista lycoperdon

Bov.

Truthfulness with me is hardly a virtue. I cannot discriminate between truths that

need and those that need not to be told.

[Margot Asquith]

It has always been desirable to tell the truth, but seldom if ever necessary.

[Arthur J. Balfour]

Signs

Calvatia gigantea. Lycoperdon bovista [?]. Giant Puffball. Molly-puff. N.O.

Fungi.

CONFUSION Confusion of mind and head was one of the symptoms arising
from the proving of Bovista. The confusion appears to have affected the
nomenclature, too, since Bovista is found under numerous names in
homoeopathic literature: Calvatia gigantea, Langermannia gigantea, Lycoperdon
giganteum, Bovista gigantea, Globaria bovista, Lycoperdon bovista, Lycoperdon
globosum, Bovista nigrescens. In his Companion to the British and American
Homoeopathic Pharmacopoeias, Ashwell describes the mushroom as follows:
"Stemless; a regular globe, with only two coats; smooth, soft and yellowish-
white when young, becoming yellow, and then brown; filled with a white
cottony substance, which becomes brown, and contains when ripe, an immense
quantity of extremely fine brown-black spores. Habitat, on dry meadows and
downs in most parts of Europe."

CLASSIFICATION The puffballs [Lycoperdales] comprise three groups: [1]

Calvatia

[Giant Puffballs], [2] Lycoperdon [Common Puffballs], and [3] Bovista

[Tumbling Puffballs]. [1] Calvatia species are medium-sized to very large [size
of a basketball]; stalk or sterile base are usually absent; they grow on meadows,
fields and open hillsides; the spores are deep olive-brown to brown; the spore
mass is firm and white when immature, then slowly darkening to olive brown,
dark brown, or purple and becoming powdery and cottony. [2] Lycoperdons are
not stemless, but have a sterile base; they are small to medium-sized and prefer
rotten wood or forest floors as their habitat; the outer layer of the fruiting body is
warty or spiny. [3] Bovista species are small and found mostly in grassy or open
areas; the fruiting body is more or less round and ruptures to form a large mouth
at the top; the inner layer is usually thin and papery when mature, resulting in
them breaking loose from the soil and tumbling about freely in the wind; the
outer layer lacks distinct spines or warts; being white and firm at first, the spore
mass finally becomes powdery [not cottony]. 1 In conclusion, the Bovista used
in homoeopathy is actually a Calvatia species, in particular Calvatia gigantea,
since this species is very common in meadows in Europe.

FEATURES Puffballs are mushrooms with a fruiting body that consists of a

roundish to oval spore case. Some species are stemless, others are stalked or
have a sterile base beneath the spore case. "The skin of the spore case is usually
composed of an inner an outer layer. ... The interior of the spore case is usually
white and firm when young, but turns yellow, greenish, brown, or purplish as the
spores mature, first becoming mushy as moisture is released, then powdery or
cottony as the moisture evaporates. The spore colour corresponds to that of the
mature spore mass, and is usually some shade of brown or purple. Once the
spores have matured, the spore case either splits open or rupture irregularly or
disintegrates - thereby exposing the spore mass to the elements - or a mouth or
slit [apical pore] forms at the top, so that the spore case looks and acts like a
miniature volcano. ... Puffballs can be found almost anywhere at any time, but
are especially prominent in prairies, deserts, and high mountains, where other
fungi are not so plentiful."2

HABITAT The Giant Puffball is among the most prolific of living organisms. An
average-sized specimen may contain 7 trillion spores. Instead of splitting open at
the top,

Calvatias crack up into flat scales which eventually flake off. Though often not
larger than a moderately sized turnip, the Giant Puffball may reach a size of 90
cm or more in diameter. It is usually found solitary, scattered, or in groups or
large circles in fields, pastures, cemeteries, on exposed hillsides, along roads,
and in drainage ditches. "Because of its preference for open hillsides, it can often
be spotted from the road. Large specimens, in fact, have been mistaken by
passers-by for herds of grazing sheep!

[Mushroom hunters, on the other hand, are more likely to mistake grazing sheep
for giant puffballs.] Dried specimens found under houses have been mistaken for
bleached skulls, while a sinister-looking individual found in England during the
war was labelled 'Hitler's Secret Weapon' and used for propaganda purposes at
an exhibition to raise war funds!"3

NAME The puffball derives its name from the 'puff' or clouds of spore dust that
emerges when a mature specimen is touched by a gust of wind, or poked,
squeezed, or kicked by man or animal. The Blackfoot Indians of North America
called puffballs 'fallen stars' or

'dusty stars'. The name Calvatia derives either from L. calvus, bald, or from L.
calvaria, the roof of the skull, both in allusion to its smooth and globular shape.
Puffballs have scatological associations. Lycoperdon means 'wolf's fart' in Latin,
which is in keeping with common names as 'pixie-puff' and 'puckfist', denoting
an imp's silent fart. To the Basque people the puffball is the 'ass's fart'. Among
the Maori of New Zealand puffballs are known as 'faeces of ghosts or stars'.
Using the puffball for obstetrical purposes, the Dakota Indians called it 'baby's
navel'.
USES Dried Giant Puffballs have been used as sponges, toys, dyes, and tinder.
"In divers parts of England where people dwell farre from neighbours, they carry
them kindled with fire, which lastest long: whereupon they were called
Lucernarum Fungi. The dust or powder hereof is very dangerous for the eyes, for
it hath been often seen, that divers have been pore-blinde ever after, when some
small quantities thereof hath been blowne into their eyes. The country people do
use to kill or smother Bees with these Puffe-balls, being set on fire, for the which
purpose it fitly serveth."4 The belief that the spores were harmful to the eyes
lead to the English name 'blind man's ball'. The spores, however, are more likely
to cause a persistent pneumonitis called lycoperdonosis.

EFFECTS Young puffballs are used as food in nearly all European countries as
well as in North America. They can be sliced and fried like pancakes, or dropped
as cubes in soups, or eaten raw in salads. They may have laxative effects. "But it
is only in the immature condition, whilst the interior remains fleshy and
perfectly white, that they are edible, and on no account should any puffball be
cooked after the flesh has commenced discolouration, as poisonous properties
are apt to be developed when old, even before decomposition sets in, so that it is
essential they should be eaten only before the development of the spores."5 It
seems unlikely that puffballs commencing to become yellow will be appetizing,
since the spore mass emits an odour like old urine when ripening.

TOXICOLOGY Puffballs have a reputation as a haemostatic, for which purpose

either the spores or the internal cottony mass are employed. This use was
developed independently by various groups in different parts of the world,
including native North Americans. Puffballs were commonly used to stop the
bleeding of men wounded in battle. If inhaled in large amounts, the smoke from
the burning fungus is said to cause anaesthesia, and death by respiratory failure.
In Allen's Encyclopedia of Pure Materia Medica symptoms are included which
were observed from inhaling the fumes of the

burning fungus. In a botanical work of the mid-nineteenth century, the Reverend

Hugh Macmillan describes the anaesthetic and sleep-inducing properties of
puffballs. "The common puffball deprives the patient of speech, motion, and
sensibility to pain, while he is still conscious of everything that happens around
him. ... When the fumes of the burning fungus are slowly inhaled, they gradually
produce all the symptoms of intoxication, followed first by drowsiness, and then
by perfect insensibility to pain, terminating, if the inhalation be continued, in
vomiting, convulsions, and ultimately in death." Attributing it to the presence of
carbon dioxide, the stupefying effect of the smoke has been disputed. There is,
on the other hand, enough evidence that puffballs possess narcotic properties.
The North American Flathead Indians, for example, rub spores of certain
puffball species [probably Lycoperdon] on the eyelids and cheeks of children to
induce sleep. Even hallucinogenic effects have been reported. By ingestion of
one or two specimens of Lycoperdon species, the Mixtec Indians of Mexico
brought about a state of half-sleep, during which voices and echoes were heard.
The course of future events was then deduced from the echo answers.

CANCER "Of all the biological activities lying untapped within the fleshy
macrofungi, the possible role of mushrooms in treating patients with cancer has
created the most excitement. The antineoplastic properties of fungi were initially
reported in the 1950s when the giant puffball, Calvatia gigantea, was shown to
contain a compound - labelled calvacin - that was thought to be active against
tumours. This report followed earlier work with other mushrooms and was
published during the period when many products were being screened for
antimicrobial activities. Because various forms of cancer are common, many
folklore remedies have been developed to treat them. It was from old stories
about the use of mushrooms for this purpose that the idea to test the puffball first
originated."6

ALUMINIUM The ash of Calvatia gigantea contains high contents of

aluminium.

HEAVY METALS "Many species of the higher fungi - from a large number of
different genera, including many of the best-known edible varieties - have been
shown to concentrate or accumulate trace elements, including some of the toxic
metals. ... Many different trace elements have been detected in mushrooms,
although concentrations depended on where the specimens were collected. It is
clear that many of the fungi have the ability to preferentially accumulate and
concentrate certain elements in their fruiting bodies, even when the soil contains
only trace elements. The reasons for the ability of mushrooms to concentrate
these minerals are entirely unknown. Mushrooms may play the role of 'sink',
removing many of these elements from the environment and reducing their
availability to the plant community. Cultivated mushrooms also concentrate
heavy metals, which have been found in the oyster mushroom and others. This
finding is important because many of the commercial mushrooms are cultivated
on waste material, which could potentially be contaminated with heavy metals.
Mercury and cadmium are the elements most often encountered in appreciable
levels in species of Agaricus. They are not limited to this genus, however. Nor
are these elements the only ones accumulated by mushrooms. Vanadium,
selenium, arsenic, lead, manganese, bromine, nickel, silver, and gold have been
detected. Lead is one of the elements not specifically concentrated by
mushrooms. For this reason, it is only a problem in areas of high environmental
contamination, for example, around lead smelters [and their downwind
extension] and along busy roadways. Measuring of the concentration of mercury
[mg/kg of dried

mushroom] in edible mushrooms harvested in Switzerland in 1976 demonstrated

in Lycoperdon perlatum a concentration of 2.87-3.75 in agricultural areas, of
3.32 in industrial areas, and of 11.0 in urban areas."7

VANITY Curtis Gates Lloyd [1859-1926], one of the leading experts in the
identification of puffballs, objected strongly to the practice of adding the name
of the discoverer of a fungus after its Latin name. As part of his satirical attack
on this

'advertising' and 'name-juggling', Lloyd created Professor N.J. McGinty, through

whom he named several fungi, including the fictitious Lycoperdon
anthropomorphus. As satirical was the epitaph prepared for his own tombstone:
Curtis Gates Lloyd - Monument erected in 1922 by himself, for himself during
his life to gratify his own vanity - What fools these mortals be. 8

PROVINGS •• [1] Hartlaub, Nenning, Schreter - method: unknown; according to

Hughes, it 'is one of the vicious symptom-lists of the sub-Hahnemannic epoch,
without any information as to subjects, doses, or relations between symptoms."

•• [2] Petroz - method: 'symptoms observed from inhaling the fumes of the
burning fungus' and 'symptoms observed by a young woman from olfaction of
the tincture.'

[1-3] Arora, Mushrooms Demystified. []4 Gerard, The Herbal. [5] Grieve, A
Modern Herbal. [6-7] Benjamin, Mushrooms: Poisons and Panaceas. [8] Hudler,
Magical Mushrooms, Mischievous Moulds.

Affinity

CIRCULATION [HEART; uterus; kidneys]. SKIN. Nervous system. * Right

side. Left side.
Modalities

Worse: Menses. Full moon. Getting warm. Early morning. On waking. Cold
food. Hot weather. Coffee. Wine.

Better: Doubling up. Eating. Hot food.

Comparisons

c COMMON SYMPTOMS OF BOVISTA AND AGARICUS

Audacity. - Courageous. - Awkwardness; drops things. - Delusion distances are

enlarged.

- Irritability after coition. - Speech by jerks. - Stammering speech. - Stammering

from excitement. - Sudden vertigo. - Lachrymation during headache. - Feeling as
if eyes were drawn backward, during headache. - Epistaxis from blowing nose in
morning. -

Obstructed nose at night. - Itching of sacrum and coccyx. - Sensation of strength.

-

Main symptoms

M Unreserved conversation.

• "Very open-hearted; she spoke of her own failings, contrary to her custom."
[Allen]

This proving symptom is included in the repertories [mind section] as Tells the
plain truth. Addition to the rubric Revealing secrets may be considered.

• "To tel the truth is obviously such a rare feature that only four remedies are
given under this heading in the SR. When I met a lady with heavy fibroid
bleedings for the first time, she told me everything about her sexual relationships
and her attitude of changing partners. It was no problem for her to talk about
these very personal matters. As if it was something everybody should know
about. There was no proudness, nor timidity, no 'I-do-not-know-if-I-should-tell-
it'. It was as it was and it was told as it was. She says what she thinks - the truth.
Not in an offending way as perhaps in Hyoscyamus or Tarentula. It differs also
from the 'truth' we find in Veratrum album. In Veratrum it is the truth about

the whole world, what all the deep secrets of mankind really hide. This is totally
different from Bovista, which just means the truth about oneself. It is just open-
heartedness regarding very personal matters. These are spontaneous, lively,
quick acting, active people."1

M Alternating moods.

Crying # laughing.

Great exhilaration in morning - "life seems very pleasant to her" - peevishness

and irritability in evening.

Lively when in company; sad, depressed, and not interested in anything, when
alone.

Despair # hope.

• "At one time life seemed very exciting to him, at another very hateful." [Allen]

c Compare: Great changes of colour in face, which is at one time red, at another
pale.

M Courage and strength.

• "Very courageous and vigorous; he would like to fight with everybody."

[Allen]

[compare the fearlessness and increased strength of Agaricus.]

M Sensation as if enveloped in a black vapour. [Anguish]

M Mistakes in space.

• "She feared that a person sitting near her would stick the scissors into her eyes,
although she sat two steps away and was cutting paper; all her visual perceptions
were distorted; it seemed as if the scissors were close before her eyes."

• "Sensation as if objects turned bottom upwards." [During sudden attack of

faintness.]
[Allen]

c Compare: Defective accommodation [Agar.].

M Confusion.

Easily intoxicated from wine.

Great confusion and absentmindedness, resulting in mistakes in writing and

dulness of head. Can't concentrate on what one is doing or saying.

Staring, lost in thoughts.

M AWKWARDNESS: in speech and movements; drops things, stutters, etc.

For the Dutch homoeopathic physician Vrijlandt, Bovista is a specific for

stammering bachelors who are easily angered and then stammer even more. 2

G Chilly persons, sensitive to cold; chilly during pains.

G Much thirst [common to fungus remedies].

• Unquenchable thirst, in one who had previously never needed to drink [after 3
hours]."

[Hughes]

G < DURING and AFTER MENSES.

G < After coition.

G Feeling of distension.

Head as if enlarged. Heart as if enlarged.

Cheeks and lips as if swollen.

Cheeks as if about to burst from heat.

Actual distension / swelling

Flatulent distension.

Abdomen puffed up at single spots.

Puffy condition of skin. Pitting oedema.

Intolerance of clothing around waist.

• "Swel ing of cervical glands; pain in upper front teeth, which are tender on
touch and on chewing, somewhat on upper lip beginning to swell; this it
continues to do till it hangs over lower one, and is in line with nose; after
swelling of lip has subsided a little left cheek began to swell; all swollen parts
are tender to touch [14th day]." [Hughes]

G PRESSING pains, deep inward.

G Tough, stringy and tenacious discharges from nose and all mucous
membranes. [Kali-bi.]

G Haemorrhagic tendency.

Epistaxis; in the morning; [slight] on sneezing.

Bleeding of gums, on sucking them.

Profuse bleeding after tooth extraction.

Excessive haemorrhages during climaxis.

Bleeding between periods.

Menses only or chiefly at night, or most profusely in morning, and scanty during
the day and night.

Dreams that she had a bleeding wound.

P Eyes.

Hartlaub records an interesting observation related to light.

• "Confusion and heaviness in occiput, with inclination of eyelids to close, and

feeling as if eyes would be drawn backwards [esp. in clear evening light], with
anxiety and restlessness of body." [Hughes]

P Obstruction of nose, troubling one in speaking.

< At night.

And Pressing pain in temples.

P ACNE DUE TO COSMETICS.

P Great DRYNESS / numbness of mouth and throat in morning on waking;

tongue seems almost like wood.

P Feeling of icy coldness in stomach.

Mössinger considers this symptom specific for Bovista in chronic gastritis, esp.
if accompanied by an objective coldness of the skin over the stomach region. 3

P DIARRHOEA BEFORE and during MENSES.

P Perspiration in axillae smells like GARLIC [or onions].

P Intolerable itching at tip of coccyx; must scratch until raw and sore.

P Urticaria and diarrhoea, palpitation, rheumatic lameness or menorrhagia.

< Bathing, excitement. Chronic.

Red scabby eruption on thighs and bends of knees, appearing with hot weather
and with full moon.

[1] Swoboda, "Telling the truth"; HL 2/93. [2] Vrijlandt, Homeopathische

prescriptie in de praktijk. [3] Mössinger, Allg. Hom. Zeitung, 1955 Heft 2.

Rubrics

Mind

Anxiety during headache [1]. Chaotic [2]. Cheerful in company [1/1]. Confusion
> after breakfast [1], after coition [1], knows not where he is at night [1], while
standing [1], when stooping [1]. Delusions, a heavy black cloud enveloped her
[1*]; objects are turned upside down [1*]. Discontented after eating [1]. Fear of
pins [pointed things] [1].

Irritability, taking everything in bad part [1]. Openhearted loquacity [1].

Secretive [1].

Vertigo

After coition [1]. Before menses [1]; during menses [1]. From wine [1].

Head

Feeling of constriction on entering a room [1/1]. Pain, > perspiration [1]; in

forehead, above eyes, extending to nose [1; Agar.*].

Vision

Defective accommodation [1*]. Vertical hemiopia [1].

Nose

Epistaxis in morning in bed [1], in bleeders [1], during sleep [1].

Face

Twitching of facial muscles before attack of asthma [1/1].

Mouth

Dryness, as from sand in it [1/1]. Numbness of posterior part of tongue [3/1].

Stammering speech [2], from anger [excitement] [1*].

Stomach

Appetite, constant [1], ravenous soon after eating [1], wanting in morning [1].
Sensation of icy coldness, during pain [2], with objective coldness of skin over
gastric region

[1/1*]. Nausea during palpitation [1].

Abdomen

Pain > eating [2], > motion [1].

Urine

Copious during headache [1]. Purple sediment [1].

Female

Menses, copious in morning [2], copious < exertion [2], scanty during daytime
[2].

Chest

Sensation of emptiness [1]. Oppression < clothing [1]. Sensation of swelling of

heart [2].

Sensation as if heart were swimming in water [1].

Back

Sensation of heaviness in lumbar region before menses [1/1]. Pain, dorsal,

between scapulae > straightening up the back [1/1]. Stiffness after stooping
[1/1].

Limbs

Sensation as if leg were too short, from cramp in calf [1*].

Sleep

Sleeplessness after coition [1], from coldness [1], from itching [2].

Dreams

Of being in a cellar and that the walls were falling in [1/1], that she was obliged
to remain and could not get out [1/1]. Danger of drowning [1]. Of snakes biting
[1; Cench.; Irid.]. Of having a bleeding wound [1/1*].

Perspiration
Odour of urine [1]. On single parts, front of body [2].

Skin

Eruptions, urticaria at night [2], after bathing [1], with diarrhoea [1], after
excitement

[1], during menses [1], from warmth and exercise [2]. Indented easily from
pressure [3; Ars.; Verat.].

* Repertory additions [Hughes].

Food

Aversion: [1]: Cooked food; milk; tobacco; warm food.

Desire: [2]: Cold drinks. [1]: Alcohol; bread; bread, only; brandy; milk; wine.

Worse: [2]: Cold food. [1]: Coffee; dry food; wine.

Better: [1]: Hot food.

Bromium

Brom.

If the world, in the near future, administers to its diplomats, to its highest
officials, to its legislators, to its people the proper endocrines, especially anterior
pituitary, and inhibit the adrenal cortex a little bit, there may be no more wars.

[Samuel Wyllis Bandler]

Signs

Bromine.

CLASSIFICATION Bromine is a member of the halogen group of elements

[group 17 of the periodic table, formerly group VIIa], along with fluorine,
chlorine, iodine, and astatine. It is obtained from natural brines from wells in
Michigan and Arkansas. Little bromine is extracted today from seawater, which
contains only about 85 ppm. The element was discovered in 1826 by Antoine
Balard.

PROPERTIES Bromine is the only liquid non-metallic element. It is a heavy,

mobile, reddish-brown liquid, volatilising readily at room temperature to a red
vapour with a disagreeable suffocating odour [its name comes from Gr. bromos,
stench]. It has a very irritating effect on the eyes and throat. Bromine is less
active than chlorine but more so than iodine. It unites readily with many
elements and has a bleaching action. Produces painful sores when spilled on the
skin.

USES Bromine is used in making fumigants, flameproofing agents, water

purification compounds, dyes, medicinals, sanitizers, and inorganic bromides for
photography. 1

Large quantities are used to make 1,2-dibromoethane [ethylene dibromide] as a

gasoline additive. This compound removes lead additives after the combustion
of gasoline, preventing the lead in these additives from forming deposits in the
engine. Instead, the lead combines with the bromine to form lead bromide, a
volatile gas, which leaves the engine through the exhaust system. Among the
halogens bromine is the only element which is a fluid under ordinary
circumstances; chlorine is a yellow-green gas, iodine a bluish-black solid,
fluorine a pale yellow gas, and astatine an artificially obtained, radioactive solid.
Bromine corrodes all metals, with the exception of platina, nickel and lead.

EFFECTS Overexposure to bromine vapours may lead to dizziness, headache,

lachrymation, epistaxis, coughing, oppression of chest, pneumonia, pulmonary
oedema, abdominal pain, diarrhoea, and measle-like eruptions.

SOURCES Considerable amounts of bromine occur in such plants as Fucus

vesiculosus

[kelp], Capsicum annuum [paprika], Urtica dioica [stinging nettle], Bertholletia

excelsa

[Brazil nut], Taraxacum officinale [dandelion], Artemisia vulgaris [mugwort],

Brassica

[cabbage], and Allium cepa [onion]. Sea animals contain bromine in their
tissues.
Gasteropod molluscs of the genus Murex, or rather the purple dye they contain
[used by the Romans for the robes of dignitaries], are particularly rich in it.

PHYSIOLOGY "Although bromine is one of the most abundant and widespread

of the recognized trace elements it has not been conclusively shown to perform
any essential function in plants, micro-organisms or animals. However, it can
replace chloride to

support growth of some algae and in chicks it can partially replace chloride.
Bromine at trace mineral levels can cause a small significant growth response in
chicks and mice fed excessive iodine to produce growth retardation. However,
diets deficient in bromine did not cause any reduction of growth in animals and
adding bromine later to such diets did not give rise to increased growth rates.
Low blood serum concentrations of bromide in patients receiving haemodialysis
have been reported and these levels have been associated with insomnia in these
patients. In a double blind trial on haemodialysis patients, quality of sleep
improved markedly in those given bromide but not in those receiving chloride.
All animal tissues contain between 50 and 100 times more bromine than iodine
except in the thyroid where the reverse is true. The bromine levels of soft tissues
are affected by illness: e.g. they are elevated in heart disease induced by damage
or by uraemia."2

MEDICINE Medicinal bromine compounds fall in a wide variety of therapeutic

categories: analgesic; anti-inflammatory; expectorant [e.g. Bisolvon];
anticoagulant; sedative, hypnotic; antiparkinsonian; antihistaminic; anthelmintic;
antitussive; antiemetic; antipsychotic [Bromperidol, the bromine analogue of
haloperidol]; vasodilator. Other compounds are in use as herbicides, fungicides,
rodenticides, and insecticides. Two bromine compounds are developed to serve
as chemical war gas.

BROMIDES Bromides, mainly potassium bromide and sodium bromide, has

been prescribed for decennia as sedatives, soporifics, and anticonvulsants. The
use as anticonvulsants originates from Sir Charles Locock, the physician to
Queen Victoria, who, in 1857, argued that most cases of epilepsy were due to
masturbation, and since high doses of bromide were believed to reduce sexual
activity, Locock used it successfully to treat several patients. Bromides have now
been largely replaced by drugs with less side-effects. Large doses of the
bromides can cause central nervous system depression and mental deterioration.
Chronic bromide intoxication - called bromism - is characterized
by violent delirium [occasionally], psychotic behaviour, confusion, drowsiness,
headache, acneform eruption, seborrhoea, slurred speech, cardiac depression,
foul breath, anorexia, nausea and vomiting, gastric pains, and muscular
weakness [ataxia; paralysis]. The treatment of chronic bromism is reported to be
easy: "table salt [sodium chloride] is administered in large quantities, and the salt
helps the urinary excretion of bromide, which is replaced in the body by chloride
as a normal consequence of kidney function."3 According to Leeser, bromine
represents the high point in the narcotic effect of the halogen series. Blumgarten
describes the action of bromides thus: "About 15 to 20

minutes after an average dose of one of the bromides is taken, the patient
complains of dull headache, he feels tired and weak, and does not care to exert
himself, either mentally or physically. When he moves about, the movements are
slow and languid. He perceives objects about him, though not as clearly as usual,
but he manifests no interest in them. He speaks slowly and hesitatingly, in a
monotonous tone of voice. He does not express his thoughts clearly; these are
slow and confused, and his reasoning and memory are poor.

Very often the patient becomes drowsy. The pulse is somewhat slower and
weaker, and the breathing is somewhat slower. If the patient is nervous and
excitable, he becomes calm and quiet. If he has tremors or convulsions, these are
lessened or prevented from recurring. ... The bromides lessen the activity of the
spinal cord. The reflex action of the body is therefore lessened. The patient does
not then respond readily to external stimuli applied to the skin or mucous
membranes. For example, when the conjunctiva of the eye

is touched, winking results very slowly. When the pharynx is touched, vomiting
is not produced so easily. The bromides also lessen the sexual reflexes. 4

BROMISM The symptoms of bromism may appear gradually or suddenly. The

following symptoms are characteristic:"[1] Skin eruptions [due to the excretion
of the drug through the skin]. These consist principally of groups of pimples on
the face [acne]; frequently small abscesses form in the skin. At other times, there
are reddish spots scattered over the skin, and the skin may be very pale. [2] Loss
of appetite, salty taste in the mouth, bad breath and disturbed digestion. [3]
Constipation. [4] Drowsiness. [5]

Stupid, dull expression on the face. [6] Depressed spirits, even melancholia. [7]
The eyes look heavy and dull. [8] The patient manifests no interest in his
surroundings. [9] Slow, uncertain gait. [10] Slow, stammering speech, often
words are forgotten and mispronounced. [11] Very poor memory, even recent
events are forgotten. [12] Slow pulse. [13] Lessened reflexes [touching the
conjunctiva of the eye does not cause winking, etc.]."5

EXPERIMENTS "That the depression of the brain centres is not the sole phase
of bromide action is perhaps most clearly shown by the self-investigation of
Schabelitz using sodium bromide in large doses. The trial continued over a two-
month period. Very soon, after five grams, appeared an irritable frame of mind, a
type of intoxication, with some confusion and uncertain gait. With continuous
introduction of bromine great desire for undertaking work and a cheerful frame
of mind alternating with lassitude and ill-humour. On the seventh day of taking
bromides the variation in disposition ceased and an euphoric frame of mind
remained. To inattentiveness and forgetfulness there were added joking, the urge
to speak, pugnacity, unrestrained and non-critical attitude, a submanic state with
many light and colour manifestations, auditory delusions, disturbances of speech
and language, cramp from writing, disturbance of convergence, ear noises,
disturbances of equilibrium, mislaying of objects, inattention to clothing.
Recollections from youth are very animated, while recent impressions are
unrecalled. 'As epileptics tend to do, I could not simply name a picture but had to
form a judgement about it. The disposition was rosy, I made the most beautiful
plans for the future and was irritated if anyone contradicted me.' On the
twentieth day of bromides there appeared a striking motor unrest. With the
cessation of bromides and the addition of salt the disposition changed like a
flash. Two days after the discontinuance of the bromides, there suddenly
appeared marked delusions in the sense of reality on the basis of a marked
feeling of inferiority.""6

BROMATES Bromates [salts of bromic acid] are used in permanent wave

neutralizers.

Potassium bromate is used as a maturing agent and conditioner in bread. It

effects the nitrogenous parts [gluten] in the wheat flour by helping the proteins to
retain the carbon dioxide gas generated by the yeast during fermentation. The
result is a softer, lighter loaf.

It is added to the wort in beer making to reduce excess losses of carbohydrate

from the germinated barley rootlets and to reduce the levels of nitrogen. In
strong concentrations potassium bromate can cause nausea, vomiting, severe
abdominal pain, diarrhoea, and even convulsions.

BLOOD LEVEL The bromine content of the blood is essentially higher than the
iodine content. It is thought that the bromine content of the blood has
significance in the human organism for psychic functions. In manic-depressive
disorder the bromine blood level lies 40-60% under the normal, although only in
the endogenous and not in the reactive forms.

The bromine blood level is also much lower during the menopause and in many
patients with schizophrenia. Supported by a good deal of indirect evidence, the
theory has been proposed that schizophrenia is associated with the
neurotransmitter dopamine. "The best evidence comes from pharmacological
observations in man and experimental animals.

Amphetamine releases dopamine in the brain, and can produce in man a

behavioural syndrome indistinguishable from an acute schizophrenic episode -
very familiar to doctors who treat drug-users. In animals dopamine release
causes a specific pattern of stereotyped behaviour, which resembles the
repetitive behaviours often seen in schizophrenic patients. Potent dopamine[2]-
receptors agonists [e.g. apomorphine and bromocriptine] produce similar effects
in animals, and these drugs, like amphetamine, exacerbate the symptoms of
schizophrenic patients."7 [Many antipsychotic drugs block dopamine[2]-
receptors.] [See below for bromocriptine.]

CHLORINE Storage and excretion of bromine are particularly dependent upon

the chlorine intake, particularly in the form of sodium chloride. The less chlorine
taken in, the more bromine stored; the greater the ingestion of chlorine, the
greater the excretion of bromine. Bromine substitutes chlorine because with the
introduction of bromine a loss of salt occurs. The chlorine in the gastric juice is
also substituted by bromine. Continuous therapeutic use of bromine displaces
about one-third of the chlorine in the blood. In addition, bromine seems to
collect where chlorine is found in greatest amounts, the lungs and the blood.
Bromine excretion can be increased by excessive intake of salt; hence salt will
antidote the manifestation of bromine poisoning. Since the anterior lobe of the
hypophysis contains comparatively large amounts of bromine, the hypophysis is
the absorption and regulation organ for bromine, in a similar way as the thyroid
is for iodine.

8 During sleep the bromine level of the hypophysis drops significantly, while
that of the cerebellum markedly rises. Subnormal secretion of the hypophysis
[pituitary gland]

results in general sluggishness, apathy, discouragement, and quick loss of self-

control.

The general effect of supernormal secretion is excessive nervous and mental

activity, as well as aggressiveness tending toward domination and imperiousness.

HYPOPHYSIS "According to Gray, the anterior lobe [of the hypophysis] 'is
developed from the ectoderm of the buccal cavity, and resembles to a
considerable extent, in microscopic structure, the thyroid body.' ... Among the
blessings bestowed by a healthy pituitary are good blood pressure, healthy sex
tone, initiative, zest for study, work, sustained interest in occupation, and
endurance of youth. ... The pituitary, which has been called the gland of
persistent effort, was apparently known to the initiated priests of antiquity, who
associated it with the feminine aspect in symbolism. It stood as the yoni in its
relationship to the pineal gland, which was the primitive phallus. ... The pituitary
body is the 'barometer' of the whole ductless gland chain, the first to reveal
disorder in the endocrine system. In the Egyptian Mysteries, the pituitary body
was the initiator, for it

'raised the candidate' - the pineal gland. In certain East Indian metaphysical
systems the pituitary body is called manas-antaskarana, 'the bridge of mind.'
When stimulated by the disciplines of occult philosophy, the pituitary body
begins to glow with a faint roseate hue. ... At last tingeing the form of the gland
itself with a golden red light, it gently coaxes the pineal gland into animation."9

BROMOCRIPTINE The connection between bromine and the hypophysis seems

to be confirmed by the use of the drug bromocriptine in orthodox medicine.
Bromocriptine is a compound of bromine and ergot that acts on the
adenohypophysis, particularly on its

secretion of the hormones prolactin and somatotropin [growth hormone]. Its

clinical use includes the suppression of excessive production of growth
hormone, leading to gigantism in children and to acromegaly in adults, and the
prevention of lactation

["without causing pain or engorgement of the breasts"] as well as the

suppression of established lactation. It suppresses prolactin release by inhibiting
dopamine. "The main function of prolactin in females is the control of milk
production; one can only speculate as to what its function is in males. At
parturition, when the blood level of oestrogen falls, the prolactin concentration
rises and lactation is initiated. Maintenance of lactation depends on suckling,
which stimulates a reflex secretion of prolactin by neural pathways, causing a
10- to 100-fold increase within 30 minutes. Prolactin, along with other
hormones, is responsible for the proliferation and differentiation of mammary
tissue during pregnancy. It inhibits gonadotrophin release and/or the response of
the ovaries to these trophic hormones. ... According to one rather appealing
hypothesis, the high post-delivery concentration of prolactin reflects its
biological function of 'parental' hormone.

Certainly broodiness and nest-building activity can be induced in birds by

prolactin injections, and equivalent 'parental' behaviour can be induced in mice
and rabbits. ...

Prolactin itself is not used clinically; in the context of prolactin physiology, the
main clinical need is to decrease its secretion, and the agent used for this purpose
is bromocriptine."10 Unwanted reactions to bromocriptine include nausea and
vomiting, dizziness, constipation, and postural hypotension. Another side-effect,
but perhaps not unwanted, is increased receptiveness for sexual stimulation and,
reportedly, better controlled and more powerful orgasms. The latter may be
accompanied by a histamine reaction which is more clearly felt, in the form of a
stuffed nose. The drug produces these effects by lowering prolactin levels,
which, when high, are associated with a decreased sex drive. Interestingly, the
repertory lists Brom. under Female genitalia, Coition, enjoyment absent, as well
as under Orgasm, delayed, and Orgasm, wanting. Under Male genitalia, Brom. is
mentioned for Ejaculation too quick. [See Secale.]

PROVINGS •• [1] Lembke - 7 provings on himself; method: single doses of 4-

15 drops of bromium 1, with observation periods ranging from 1 to 7 days; also
single doses of 10-15 drops of bromium 3.

•• [2] Hering - experiments on himself, his wife, and others [Husemann and
Lippe], c.

1844; method: vapour, 1st dil., 3rd dil., 5th dil., and 6th dil., manner not stated.

[1] CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics. [2] Mervyn, Vitamins and
Minerals. [3]

Julien, A Primer of Drug Action. [4-5] Blumgarten, Materia Medica for Nurses.
[6]

Leeser, Textbook of Hom. MM; Inorganic Medicinal Substances. [7] Rang et al,
Pharmacology. [8] Leeser, ibid. [9] Hall, Man, the Grand Symbol of the
Mysteries. [10]

Rang et al, ibid.

Affinity

LARYNX. RESPIRATORY TRACT. Heart. Circulation. Glands [parotid;

thyroid; ovaries; mammae]. * Left side. Left to right. Right side.

Modalities

Worse: WARM [DAMPNESS; overheating; room; heat of sun]. Chilled while

hot. Sea bathing. Dust. Drafts. Evening till midnight. After eating, after acids.
Tobacco smoke.

Cold air. Entering a warm room [= cough].

Better: Nosebleed [> vertigo, head, chest]. Seashore. Violent motion. Riding on
horseback.

Main symptoms

M Delusions: someone is behind him, of another person in the room, of strangers

looking over his shoulder.

• "In the evening when alone it seems as though he was obliged to look about
him, and would somewhere see an apparition." [Allen]

M Changeable.

• "At times there is cheerfulness with a desire for mental activity, or the subject
is depressed, fatigued and unable to tackle a job. The general weakness induces a
state of indifference, sadness, boredom and lack of any interest in household
affairs." [Gibson]

• "Fear when alone at home in the evening, stays up until his parents come back,
even if it's until 5 o'clock in the morning. Holds his feet on the chair because he
has the idea something under the chair might grasp him. During these evenings
he watches horror-movies which frighten him intensely, but he is obsessed by
them and cannot stop watching them. He needs the sensation of it. Sometimes he
has the feeling that someone is behind him and is tapping him on the shoulder.
Fear of the unknown, i.e. 'the absolute nothing, the black hole'. He fears losing
loved ones. When this occurs in his life, he becomes depressive: sits still alone
upstairs for days, without eating and drinking, inconsolable, staring. When he
recovers from this after some days, he relapses from hearing a sentimental song.
At other times he has intense remorse and guilt feelings about having wounded
the feelings of others. When be becomes angry and his first warning is
neglected, he becomes violent and strikes the other."1

G Blondes with light blue eyes, fair fine hair, red cheeks and pink delicate skin;
young persons.

• "The physical appearance in Bromium subjects varies. In general the type is

lean, pale with delicate skin, very light hair and eyebrows, and blue eyes. But the
appearance may be plethoric with red face, easy flushing and a tendency to
become easily overheated."

[Gibson]

G Persons allergic to DUST.

Dust = irritation of nose and larynx, sneezing, nasal catarrh, hoarseness.

G WARM-BLOODED persons; complaints after being overheated.

G Weak and easily OVERHEATED, then sweaty and sensitive to drafts. Summer
colds.

• "The reactions to heat and cold are curious. Icy cold limbs are present with a
hot head.

If chilled when overheated, the least draught seems to 'freeze him to the bone'.
At the same time any overheating, esp. indoors, induces great discomfort."
[Gibson]

c Catching cold after overheating [and sweating] may lead to:

[Excoriating] coryza; headache; diarrhoea; laryngitis / hoarseness; abdominal

colic; joint pains.

G SEASHORE > or <.

G Pains pressing or stitching.

G Alternating / changing sides.

Pain in forehead [frontal bone]; left then right.

Pressing earache; left then right.

Itching inside nose; left then right.

Obstruction of nose; right then left.

Heat of face; right then left.

Stitches in hypochondria; right then left.

Pains in chest; left then right.

Paralytic sensation in shoulders; left then right.

Watery discharge # obstinate dryness of nose.

G Stony HARDNESS of GLANDS; induration.

G COLDS start in larynx [bronchi or trachea], GO UPWARD [Merc., Sep.] and

downward.

G LEFT-SIDED affections of throat, larynx, glands, testicles and ovaries.

G Vertigo when crossing running water.

• "Vertigo as soon as he steps the foot over water; the foot is drawn involuntarily
in the direction of the stream." [In a strong young man who was not otherwise
nervous.] [Allen]

Vertigo < damp weather.

Vertigo and nausea.

Vertigo with tendency to fall backward.

Vertigo and nosebleed, followed by headache.

P Inhaled air seems smoky, dusty, cold or raw.

P Gastric ulcer.

• "The type of case in which you get indications for Brom. is that where you
have suspicious ulceration in the stomach. You usually get a history of pain
coming on immediately after food, and very often of definite coffee-ground
vomit. As a rule, these gastric pains are worse during the latter part of the day,
and worse at night. There are various gastric, or appetite, symptoms which are
helpful in the selection of Brom. for these patients. For instance, they often have
an acute desire for acids, and yet they have a very marked aggravation of their
pain, or discomfort, from taking acid foods; and the taking of acids will not
infrequently produce a sudden violent diarrhoea, or an acute gastric irritation
which sets up a very irritating cough. ... Another point that sometimes helps you
to your Bromium diagnosis is that these patients have an undue susceptibility to
tobacco. They often say that smoking will produce gastric pain almost
immediately; even sitting in a room where people are smoking is often enough to
upset them. ... They also get a marked aggravation from hot foods or hot drinks.
These increase their discomfort or pain, make them feel sick, and may actually
make them vomit; and yet they have a strong dislike for cold things. Bromium
patients get a sensation of hunger - an empty feeling in their stomachs - which is
relieved by taking food, although their actual pain is aggravated. So you very
often get an apparent contradiction."2

P Spasmodic, dry, croupy cough, < evening till midnight.

Suffocative, sudden, without expectoration [reverse of Ip.].

< Deep inspiration ["as breathing through a sponge"].

< Entering warm room.

After being overheated during the day.

[1] Jansen, Two Bromium Cases, HL 3/94. [2] Borland, Digestive Drugs;
Homoeopathy, May 1961.

Rubrics

Mind

Desires activity [2]. Desire to be carried in croup [1], fast [1]. Confusion at night
when waking from a dream, > putting feet on cold floor [1/1*]. Delusions, as if
all kinds of things jumped up on the ground before her [1]. Fear of dark [1], of
ghosts [1]. Hysteria from suppression of sexual excitement [1]. Somnambulism
[1*]. Thoughtless staring [1].

Vertigo

During menses [1]. From smoking [1]. In sunlight and heat [1].

Head

Heaviness > darkness [1/1]; in forehead and occiput from heat of sun [2/1], >
when in shade [1/1*]. Pain, pressing in forehead in a small spot above the eyes,
alternating sides

[1/1*]. Must keep the forehead wrinkled [1/1*], from heaviness or pain in
forehead [1/1].

Eye

Sensation as if eyes would fall out when stooping [1].

Vision

Lost, vanishing of sight when sitting and reading in the evening, as if a wind
before the eyes took away the power of sight [1/1*].

Ear
Noises, during headache [1*].

Nose

Coldness [objectively and subjectively] of nose on waking at night [1/1*].

Obstinate dryness alternating with watery discharge [1*].

Throat

Choking and lachrymation [1/1*]. Pain, on bending forwards [1], when touched
[1], when turning the head [1].

Stomach

Appetite wanting during menses [1]. Nausea after palpitation [1]. Pain > coffee
[1], >

after eating [2], after oysters [1].

Abdomen

Pain in umbilical region < drawing in abdomen [1/1*].

Rectum

Diarrhoea after acids [2], > coffee [1], > eating [2], after oysters [2], < smoking
[1].

Male

Sexual desire wanting, and coldness of scrotum [1].

Female

Coition, enjoyment absent [2]. Insensibility of vagina during coition [1]. Swollen
ovaries before menses [1/1].

Larynx

Voice, hoarseness < dust [1/1], from being overheated [2], painful [2].
Respiration

Difficult before menses [1], during palpitation [1], > walking rapidly [1*; Sep.],
with yawning [1/1*].

Chest

Constriction, > epistaxis [1*]. Pain, < bending forward [1], < turning thorax
[1*]; pectoral muscles, right side, < lifting anything with right hand [1*]; heart,
extending to axilla [1].

Sensation as if there were smoke in chest [1].

Limbs

Sensation of constriction, as if in a vise, in forearms [1/1]. Feeling of heaviness

in thighs before menses [1]. Restlessness upper limbs [1].

Sleep

Unrefreshing, rising in morning almost impossible [2*]. Yawning, provoked by

inspiration [1*].

Dreams

Ascending []1. Climbing [1]. Coffins [1]. Physical exertion [1]. Journeys [1].

* Repertory additions [Allen / Hughes].

Food

Aversion: [1]: Onions; sweets; water.

Desire: [2]: Acids. [1]: Chocolate; oysters.

Worse: [2]: Milk; oysters. [1]: Acids; chocolate; cold food; onions; smoking [=
severe pinching pains in abdomen]; warm food.

Better: [1]: Coffee; cold food; wine.

Bryonia alba
Bry.

Work is not a curse, it is the prerogative of intelligence, the only means to

manhood, And the measure of civilization. Savages do not work.

[Calvin Coolidge]

Signs

Bryonia alba. White Bryony. N.O. Cucurbitaceae.

CLASSIFICATION Bryonia belongs to the gourd family or Cucurbitaceae, a

family of some 700 species in 120 genera. Highly specialized in habit, floral
structure and biochemistry, the Cucurbitaceae generally are classified in a single-
family order. Their botanical relationships are completely obscure and they are
unrelated to the bulk of families amongst which they were once placed, in or
near the Campanulales. ... Bitter substances, known as cucurbitacins, are
widespread in the family. Many of the edible species occur in both bitter
[inedible] and non-bitter [edible] variants. 1 A group of tetracyclic triterpenes,
the bitter principles of cucurbits have antineoplastic and anti-gibberellin
activities. [Gibberellins are plant-growth regulators.]

DISTRIBUTION Found in abundance in the tropics - particularly in rain forest

areas of South America and wood-, grass- and bushland areas of Africa -, the
family consists chiefly of trailing or climbing herbs with very rapid growth and
an abundance of [milky]

sap in their stems and other tissues. The family is poorly represented in
Australasia and all temperate regions. Most members of the family do not
tolerate frost or cold soil. Due to their great sensitiveness to temperatures near
freezing, their geographic distribution and area of cultivation is limited. The
family includes such economically important food plants as pumpkin, cucumber,
gherkin, watermelon, muskmelon, summer squash, winter squash, chayote,
gourd, courgette, and cassabanana. The fruit in most species is a fleshy, many-
seeded berry with a tough rind, often attaining considerable size. The fruits of
some wild species are important sources of food and water in the desert areas of
southern Africa.

CLIMBERS Cucurbitaceae are tendril climbers, the tendrils representing

modified shoots, usually one per node. The tendril tip curls round any suitable
nearby object, such as a plant stem; the rest of the tendril then coils in a spring-
like manner, drawing the stem in close to its support so that other shoots can the
more easily attach themselves to it. If the support contracted by a tendril is
unlikely to provide the kind of roughness needed for a secure grip, the tendril
will unwind and resume its blind search.

GENUS The genus Bryonia comprises herbs or long-tendriled vines, included in

about 12 species, that are native to Eurasia. Bryonia is common among hedges
and in borders of woods, especially in calcareous soils. The annual plants are
extremely fast growers, in

one season quickly covering entire areas of hedges and undershrubs with their
rough stems and leaves and even climbing to a height of several feet above them.
The fleshy roots yield a milky juice when cut. The name Bryonia comes from
Gr. bryo, to sprout, in allusion to the fast annual growth from the tuber.

HOME Bryonia alba has been described as English mandrake, no doubt

erroneously since this species is not native to Britain. The English species in
question is Bryonia dioica, or B. cretica, which has red berries instead of the
black ones of Bryonia alba.

Because both resemble a human figure, the roots of Bryonia have been offered in
Britain by frauds as mandrake, Mandragora officinalis, which was thought to
have magical powers. Apart from the colour of the berries, Bryonia alba differs
from Bryonia dioica in being monoecious. The word monoecious derives from
Gr. monos, one, and oecos, house, and refers to plants having male and female
flowers on the same individual, or, so to speak, in one home. Although present
on the same plant, the male and female reproductive organs are separated in
different floral structures. This reduces the chances of self-fertilization and
establishes the need for insect pollination. However, it decreases also the genetic
variability in the population and enables isolated individuals to reproduce.
Consequently, change [variability] is less vital for the monoecious Bryonia alba
than for Bryonia dioica, which, as its specific name explains, has female and
male sex organs separated on different individuals. Moreover, monoecious plants
have a higher seed-setting efficiency than dioecious ones. In a family typically
consisting of dioecious plants, monoecism is the exception and hence to be
considered a peculiar of Bryonia alba.

This botanical peculiarity is reflected in the mental symptoms of Bryonia alba

connected with home and change. Bryonia alba therefore, homoeopathically, can
not be substituted by Bryonia dioica.

EFFECTS When applied to the skin, the fresh Bryonia plant produces vesication
and pustular eruption. It has been applied externally as a rubefacient for myalgia.
Many species of the gourd family have been reported to produce mild to severe
skin irritation following contact with their milky sap. The fruits of other species,
e.g. Citrullus colocynthis and Ecballium elaterium, have drastic purgative
properties that have been utilized medicinally. "The fresh root of bryonia is
extremely irritating, occasioning blisters when bruised and kept in contact with
the skin, and causing serious gastrointestinal inflammation when taken
internally. A profuse and uncontrollable diarrhoea, vomiting, vertigo, reduction
of temperature, dilatation of the pupils, cold perspiration, extremely small pulse,
colic, collapse, and death have resulted from its use.

Its influence on the nervous system is marked. A similar result follows the
administration of large doses of the dried root. An infusion of galls is said to
antidote it. This root appears to have been well known to the ancients, and was
used in various maladies. It has likewise been employed in more recent times in
convulsions due to the presence of worms in the intestines, as a cathartic in
dropsy, and in cases of chronic inflammations, attended with glandular
enlargements, or serous effusions."2

SYMBOLISM In Roman symbolism the pumpkin is stupidity, empty-

headedness and madness. Correspondingly, in Shakespeare's Merry Wives a
member of the gourd family is presented as a metaphor for empty-headedness:
'We'll use this unwholesome humidity, this gross watery pumpion; we'll teach
him to know turtles from jays.' This 'emptiness'

has its parallel in the low nutritional value of the gourd family. In Bryonia, the
fleshy fruit is reduced to a medium-sized berry. "Although their different
varieties, pumpkins

for example, are emblems of stupidity to Western eyes, some African initiates
eat their seeds as symbols of intelligence. It is however true that the gourd
remains after its seeds have been removed. ... Gourds grow in the isles of the
Immortals, but they also help in the journey there, and to Heaven as well."3 In
Jonah 4: 6-7, the gourd expresses apparently contradictory decisions of God.
"And the Lord God prepared a gourd, and made it to come up over Jonah, that it
might be a shadow over his head, to deliver him from his grief. So Jonah was
exceeding glad of the gourd. But God prepared a worm when the morning rose
the next day, and it smote the gourd that it withered." If God's reactions cannot
be foreseen, nothing can be foreseen, making mankind suffer from this insecurity
and this lack of logic, "or rather from a logic of which it cannot decipher the
secrets. The sudden growth and death of the gourd are symbols of this. Human
logic cannot grasp the incoherence of things and the absurdity of events; but they
are amenable to a different logic. What happened to the gourd suggests to
mankind that it should not trust to its dialectic alone, since there is another
superior to it."4

PARALLELS "The most eye-catching qualities of this family are the gigantic,
watery swellings, the creeping-crawling-support seeking properties and their
need for a warm surrounding. Where in the human body do we find an
equivalent of these qualities?

According to anthroposophical medicine, the healing properties of this family

correlate to the area of metabolism, the alimentary tract, and the intestines. One
can imagine why.

The part of the human body in which the liquids are pre-eminent, in which water
and nutrients are assimilated, is the metres-long intestine which twists its way to
its destination. [To make the picture complete, support is given by the abdominal
muscles.]

The better known remedies of this family have the bulk of their symptoms in the
abdominal area. The few symptoms we have of the lesser known remedies all
relate to the abdomen."5

HOMOEOPATHY Homoeopathy employs species of the following genera:

Bryonia, Citrullus, Cucumis, Cucurbita, Ecballium, Luffa, Momordica, and
Trichosanthes. Of these, Bryonia, Citrullus, and Ecballium are closest related to
each other since they belong to the same tribe.

PROVINGS •• [1] Hahnemann - 7 provers; method: unknown.

•• [2] Austrian proving - 19 provers [17 males, 2 females], 1844 [in this proving
also results with Bryonia dioica are included!]; method: increasing doses of
tincture of the root; increasing doses of 1x dil.; also with 'the dilutions beginning
with the 8x and descending to the 1x.'
•• [3] Mezger and Pirtkien - 47 provers, 1957-58; method: 1x, 3x, 4x, or 6x,
three times daily 5 drops during first week, three times daily 10 drops during
second week, and three times daily 15 drops during third [and last] week.

[1] Heywood, Flowering Plants of the World. [2] King's American Dispensatory.
[3-4]

Chevalier and Gheerbrant, Dictionary of Symbols. [5] Ruarus, The

Cucurbitacea: A brief essay; HL 5/99.

Affinity

CIRCULATION. Liver. SEROUS MEMBRANES [HEAD - meninges; CHEST -

pleura, pericardium; JOINTS; ABDOMEN]. Motor apparatus [nerves; muscles].
Blood.

Lymphatics. Cellular tissue. Synovia. * RIGHT SIDE. Left side.

Modalities

Worse: MOTION [RISING - from lying; STOOPING; EXERTION;

COUGHING;

DEEP BREATHING; jar; sneezing; swallowing; motion of eyes]. HOT

[BECOMING; ROOM; weather; summer]. Drinking, while hot. EATING.
Vegetables. Acids.

VEXATION. Touch. Suppressions [eruptions]. Taking cold. Lying on painless

side.

Ascending. Morning. During sleep. Closing eyes. COLD [becoming; cold dry
weather].

Better: PRESSURE [LYING ON PAINFUL PART; bandage, etc.]. COLD AIR.

When QUIET. Cloudy, damp days. Drawing knees up. Heat to inflamed part.
Dark room. Cold water. Cold food. Eructations.

Main symptoms

M People firmly rooted in the material world, objective and business-like, not
much by emotions, sentimental feelings or imaginative power, but nonetheless
with a strong desire for security and support, which they try to find in money and
property. When lacking this sure ground, they become irritable, anxious and sad.

• "The typical Bryonia personality is not the artist or scientist or philosopher, the
explorer of beauty or the unknown, who disregards the material basis of his
existence to reach out into lofty heights. It is the businessman, the insurance
man, the stockbroker, the man without much imagination but with much
calculation; a dry fellow, sober, reliable, methodical, tenacious, weighing his
steps, concerned in everything he does with safety, stability, security. Lacking a
safe basis for his economic existence he becomes irritable, angry, anxious,
depressed, always on the lookout for something which promises a hold to
provide stability and security. ...Worried about his security, he holds on to his
back, he holds on to his belly, he holds on to his pocket-book."1

• "Rich and competent though he is, he fears poverty, he may be slow on the
uptake but how persistent; he can follow through with large projects, his
obstinacy is an aid, his choleric disposition an added strength. The Bryonia types
are not negative; they are a bursting people which their pains symbolise. They
are better under pressure, in mind as in body. They are a mighty folk and can
produce real end results in the world."2

• "His depression started after he stopped working. He cannot accept the fact that
he is unable to work anymore. His work was his hobby and now he feels he is a
misfit. 'I sit behind the window, and other people see me walking around and I
have less income than them.' Regarding his income he says he had always tried
to improve his turnover. He had changed his job several times in order to make
more money."3

M FEAR OF POVERTY.

TALKS CONTINUOUSLY ABOUT HIS BUSINESS.

Constant worrying about money.

• "Dreams al night very vividly of anxious and careful attention to his business."

• "In his dreams he is occupied with household affairs." [Hahnemann]

M Irritability when disturbed; wants to be let alone.

• "Cross; imagined she could not finish her work." "Too busy; she wishes to
undertake and to work at too many things." [Hahnemann]

• "Bryonia patients are withdrawn into themselves, purposely isolated from

social contact. Always in the background is a deep feeling of insecurity, a sense
of vulnerability and weakness. It is this that leads them to seek isolation. They
do not want to be intruded upon, and they are quite content to live alone. ... It
seems to me that the insecurity arises out of the lack of social contact in Bryonia
patients. They do not allow themselves the sense of security that can be derived
from family, friends, community, etc. Bryonia patients are responsible people;
they usually take the greatest share of responsibility for

their families, for instance, but then they wonder who will take care of them in
case of financial disaster. They feel unsupported and insecure." [Vithoulkas]

M < Thunderstorm.

• "A thunderstorm represents the idea of an increased tension, to the point that all
the stored up energy is discharged. Both Colocynthis and Bryonia fear
thunderstorms, and it is interesting that this symptom is also present in the
Cucurbita melo case."4

c Augustus Caesar reportedly wore a wreath of Bryony during thunderstorms to

protect himself from lightning.

G WARM-BLOODED.

General < warmth, summer; > cool open air, cold drinks.

G Ailments from chilling when overheated;

when warm weather sets in after cold days;

after cold drinks or ice in hot weather.

G Appropriate to persons "who overeat or eat excessively of meat, and have

strong constitutions." [Clarke]

Digestive troubles from beans, peas, cabbage, bread, flatulent food, fruit.
< Fruit. [cold fruit; melons; pears; stewed fruit; strawberries]

G THIRST for LARGE QUANTITIES of COLD WATER.

G < MOTION.

< MOTION of AFFECTED part.

> Rest and when quiet.

• "'Aggravation by motion' has long been a phrase applied to Bryonia cases, and
so we find in these cases a lethargy induced more by a desire to remain quiet
than one of dulness, as is noticeable when Belladonna is required. The patient is
languid, torpid, tired, and has little inclination to go about. A general deficiency
of nervous balance is observable, and every effort tends to induce perspiration.
With this may or may not be associated the Bryonia headache, pain from the
frontal region to the occipital base; thinking is an effort, and the patient is
irritable if disturbed."5

• "Prevention of movement, of the free flow of secretions and discharges

underlies likewise the etiological factors which are known to provoke the
mentioned pathological conditions: checking of perspiration, of the menstrual
flow, of milk-secretion, of exanthemata. Anger and its suppression are known as
etiological factors of syndromes calling for Bryonia. Suppressed resentment and
hostility are now considered as of etiological importance in rheumatoid arthritis
which often exhibits the typical Bryonia symptoms. Bryonia has produced in
animals bile stasis with subsequent degeneration of liver cells. Also, in the
emotional sphere, a process of inhibition of the free flow, of the moving of
emotions is indicative of the action of Bryonia."6

G > PRESSURE; lying on PAINFUL side.

> Keeping still.

Has to hold head or chest when coughing.

G < HEAT, except headache and pain in stomach.

G < MORNING ON RISING [= first movements] [vertigo, headache, etc.].

c Early morning aggravation of sleep, general state, and digestive troubles were
confirmed in Mezger's proving.

G > PERSPIRATION.

G > WET weather.

G EXCESSIVE DRYNESS of MUCOUS MEMBRANES.

[dry, parched, cracked lips; stool hard, large and dry as if burnt; sensation of
stone in stomach]

G STITCHING PAINS, < motion, > rest.

G Slow onset of acute complaints.

[1] Gutman, Bryonia alba; BHJ April 1961. [2] Wright Hubbard, The Intellectual
Remedies; Homoeopathy, May 1968.

[3] Verkerk, Redundant; What is my future? HL 5/99. [4] Van der Zee, Themes
of the Cucurbitaceae; HL 5/99.

[5] King's American Dispensatory. [6] Gutman, ibid.

Rubrics

Mind

Ailments from hurry [2]; from violence [2]. Anxiety, compelled to do something
[2/1]; driving from place to place [1]; about money matters [2]; from thinking
about it [1].

Desire for change [2]. Confusion > eructations [1], when lying [1], > yawning
[1/1].

Delusions of being away from home and having to get there [3]; that she cannot
accomplish her work [1]. Desires more than she needs [1]. Dulness when spoken
to [1].

Fear of starving [2]. Irritability, wishes to be alone [1]. Loquacity about business
[2].
Vertigo

During constipation [1]. As if sinking down in bed [2].

Head

Pain, morning on waking, on first opening eyes [2], increasing gradually [1],
motion of eyelids [2], before thunderstorms [1]. Swollen feeling, occiput [1].

Eye

Lachrymation from light of sun [1]. Sensation of protrusion [1]. Sensation as if

eyes were smaller [1].

Vision

Colours, blue haze [2/1]. Dim, > twilight [1].

Nose

Imaginary odour of manure [1].

Face

Chewing motion of jaw during sleep [1]. Twitching around mouth [1].

Throat

Dryness, speaking very difficult [1]. Food is felt through oesophagus until it
enters the stomach [1]. Pain, on turning the head [1].

Stomach

Appetite ravenous after nausea [1/1]. Fulness after sweets [1*]. Heartburn after
sweets

[1*], after wine [1]. Nausea after beer [1], after coffee [1], > drinking [3].
Vomiting of food, not of drinks [2].

Rectum
Constipation, unable to pass stool in presence of nurse [1], at seaside [1], from
sedentary habits [2]. Diarrhoea from draft of air [1], > all symptoms [1], after
cabbage [1], after chagrin [1], after stewed fruit [1], after ice cream [1], > lying
on back [2], after sauerkraut

[2], while at seaside [1], in spring [2]. Urging on tightening clothing [1/1].

Female

Menses suppressed, in emigrants [1], after being heated [2].

Cough

Bending head backward < [2].

Limbs

Pain > perspiration [2], rheumatic, during first days of warm weather [1/1].

Sleep

Aversion to rise after waking [1]. Waking with numbness [1].

Dreams

Household [2]. Hunger [1]. Soldiers [1].

Skin

Eruptions, urticaria from strawberries [1/1]. Itching on excitement [1].

* Repertory additions [Mezger].

Food

Aversion: [2]: Coffee; fats and rich food; food; meat; milk. [1]: Beer; cabbage;
cold water; eggs, hard boiled; smoking; tobacco; warm drinks; water.

Desire: [3]: Cold drinks; warm drinks. [2]: Beer; coffee; meat; milk, warm;
oysters; pungent; sour; strange things; sweets; sweets and sour; wine. [1]:
Alcohol; brandy; cabbage; cold food; indigestible things; liquid food; milk;
soup.

Worse: [3]: Beans and peas; bread; cabbage; flatulent food; fried food; fruit;
sauerkraut.

[2]: Beer; cakes, hot; cheese, old; cold drinks, in hot weather; cold food;
farinaceous; hot food; lettuce; milk; milk, hot; pancakes; potatoes; rice; rich
food; sausages, spoiled; turnips; vegetables; vegetables, green; wine; [1]: Bread,
black; buttermilk; chicken; chicken salads; chocolate; coffee; fat; frozen food;
heavy food; oil; oysters; raw food; rye bread; salads; smoking [= excessive
salivation]; sweets [= fulness stomach and heartburn*]; water.

Better: [3]: Cold drinks. [2]: Warm drinks. [1]: Cold food; hot food; vinegar;
wine.

* Repertory addition [Mezger].

Bufo rana

Bufo

Sweet are the uses of adversity,

Which like the toad, ugly and venomous,

Wears yet a precious jewel in his head.

[Shakespeare]

Signs

Bufo bufo. Bufo vulgaris. Common Toad.

CLASSIFICATION Toads and frogs are amphibians belonging to the order

Salientia

[from L. salire, to leap] or Anura [from Gr. an, without, and oura, tail].
Amphibians [from Gr. amphi, on both sides or double, and bios, life] lead a
double life, dividing their life between land and water. Anatomically they come
midway between fishes and reptiles.
Toads, frogs, salamanders, newts, and caecillians form a class of animals that
have skin poison glands and mucous glands. The skin has no feathers, scales, or
hair. Most amphibians start their life as aquatic larvae, and in subsequent stages
metamorphose into their final adult stage. Anurans are highly specialized for a
hopping method of locomotion. Most species can walk slowly, rather like newts,
but they rely on hopping /

jumping for fast movements. This is facilitated by the lightness of the whole
body skeleton as a result of the reduction and loss of bones during the evolution
of amphibians.

This is particularly apparent in the skull.

NAME "Bufo is a buffoon. The word buffoon is derived from buffare, to puff,
and in 1658 Edward Topsel, referring to the toad, stated that the Latins called it
Bufo '... because it swelleth when it is angry'. In medieval courts the buffoon or
jester, by his licensed mockery of the king and nobles, acted as a mirror so that,
by objectivation of any tendency in them towards being pompous or 'puffed up',
the great were enabled to keep their sense of proportion and a decent humility."1

TOADS AND FROGS There are some 3400 known species of toads and frogs.
Although there is no scientific distinction between toads and frogs, frogs are
typically smooth-skinned, have long hind limbs for leaping, and live in water,
where toads have warty, drier skin, with shorter hind limbs for hopping, and live
on land. Toads and frogs inhabit a wide variety of habitats, ranging from arid
desert regions to mountainous regions to tropical rainforests to swamps. Toads
and frogs have at most nine vertebrae in front of the sacrum, and the three or
four posterior to the sacrum are fused into a rod called the urostyle. In contrast
with salamanders and caecillians, toads and frogs are tailless in the adult stage.
The lack of a tail, reduction in vertebrae, and elongation of propulsive segments
of the body [utilized in jumping], are several of the features that set toads and
frogs apart from other major vertebrate groups. In addition, toads and frogs have
a distinctive life phase known as the tadpole, and a unique mechanism of tongue
projection. 2 Toads are famed for their longevity and may live forty years or
more.

TEMPERATURE Temperature and water regulation are critical to toads and

frogs. They rely on the ambient temperature for body temperature regulation.
Toads and frogs in temperate zones cannot remain active during the winter
months and then enter into a state of torpor or extremely reduced activity. During
the warm summer months they remain underground, or in the water, during the
day and become active at night. Susceptible to dehydration, toads and frogs have
a permeable skin that gives them the ability to absorb water simply by jumping
into a pond or sitting in a puddle. Toads and frogs living in arid regions regulate
their body water in other ways: their skin is impermeable to water to prevent
rapid evaporation and their bodies may be covered with a thick mucus, or they
avoid the heat altogether by burrowing. 3 Toads appear more by night than day.
When cold weather comes, toads dig backwards into their summer quarters or
choose another site for their hibernation. The toad inflates its body to occupy the
entire space of its burrow and to prevent too great drops in body temperature.
Homoeopathically, Bufo has the interesting feeling of 'being forced as through a
narrow opening.'

MATING During the mating season - triggered by rainfall and temperature

change -

thousands of toads and frogs become active in attracting mates by calling; often
many males call in chorus, usually near a pond, where the eggs can be laid and
fertilized. Egg masses are laid in long chains or in large clumps. Parental care
varies from little care in species laying many smaller eggs to remaining with the
eggs until they develop in species laying a few larger eggs. 4 Mating occurs by a
process known as amplexus [from L.

amplexus, embrace or encircling], in which the male clasps the female until she
deposits her eggs. There is no courtship; the first male that meets a female
mounts, without any ado, on her back and clasps her firmly round her neck.
Once coupled with a female, a male toad will not relax his hold however badly
he is treated or attacked by superfluous males. Even when severely injured, as by
pecks from crows, males will continue in their quest to breed. It frequently
happens that several males cling to one female. The female will suffocate under
such a multiple embrace and clusters of toads are often found

clasping a corpse. It is common to find decomposing bodies of female toads in

breeding ponds, drowned during episodes of gang-rape. Sometimes these
corpses provide food for their offspring. Males may clasp objects such as rocks
or logs, their clasping reflex being so strong that it will continue even after
mutilation. As the female lays her eggs, the male discharges seminal fluid,
containing the sperm, over the eggs to fertilize them.
Numbering up to 20,000 [depending on species], the eggs are laid in strings, and
hatch within 12 days. "Toads' breeding habits are devoid of subtleties and could
more easily be called gang-rape. Males achieve orgasm when their hind feet
make contact with the egg-disgorging cloaca of the female. I had heard of this
toe-stimulation leading to orgasm, but was surprised to witness it first hand.
While observing toads one spring, I noticed an attacking male coupling with the
head of a male in possession and appearing to be strangling it. I tried to dislodge
the attacker, and he instantly took a fancy to my hand.

Toads have full colour vision, and females are often pink-tinged at this time.
Perhaps this is why it attached itself to my finger; whatever the reason, I could
not shake it off. I eventually tried to prize it off by lifting its hind legs. It
deposited a clouded liquid and slipped off."5

HERMAPHRODITISM "Found only in Bufonidae is a structure known as

Bidders Organ which is present in both sexes and which, in the male, produces
hermaphroditism.

In the male toad the mature functional sexual gland is preceded by a non-
functional gland which assumes female form, and thus every male toad begins as
a female, changing its sex when the masculine factors have overcome the
feminine. The rudimentary gland known as Bidders Organ degenerates and
atrophies as the true gland evolves but it never disappears completely. It is a
minute non-functional ovary, the development of which is inhibited by the
testicles. If a young male toad is castrated, Bidders Organ begins to develop and
within a year or so he will be capable of evacuating the large, ripe, fertilizable
eggs which will have filled the ovaries. Through the coupling of feminized
males with normal male toads, offspring have been obtained which are literally
the children of two fathers, for the spawning toad is still a male as far as its
chromosomes are concerned. In the female toad the rudimentary sexual gland
assumes the same sex as the mature gland and Bidders Organ appears to be more
atrophied than in the male. If a young female is sterilized she may eventually
ovulate from Bidders Organ instead of from her natural ovaries."6

DEFENCE Many anurans rely on concealment and their protective colouring.

Toads defend themselves in a more active way. They have short legs, stout
bodies, and thick skins with prominent warts. The warty skin contains many
poison glands that produce a poisonous milky fluid, providing toads with
excellent protection from potential predators.
When faced with predators, i.e. snakes, some species inflate themselves while
raising their bodies by fully extending their limbs - increasing their normal size
by as much as 50

per cent -, while others shoot venom from the parotid and other glands on the
back.

TONGUE The tongue is an organ which was first developed by the amphibians;
no fish have such a structure. It is attached to the front of the mouth. Using an
extendible tongue that shoots out, toads capture flying insects in the blink of an
eye. Toads can move their tongue faster than they could ever move themselves.

HEARING Frogs and toads have developed eardrums. These detect sound
vibrations in the air very efficiently. "While exploiting this ability to hear, the
anurans developed a voice. Frogs and toads are most impressive singers. The
lungs which blow air through

their vocal chords are still simple and relatively feeble, but many frogs amplify
the sound of their voices with huge swelling throats or resonating sacs bulging
from the corners of the jaws. An assemblage of frogs, calling in a tropical
swamp, can create such a noise that a human voice has to shout to make itself
heard. The variety of sound produced by different species is enormous and
amazing to anyone who has only heard frogs of the temperate regions. There are
groans, metallic clicks, mewing and wails, belches and whinnies."7

RESPIRATION "Having no ribs, anurans cannot breathe by expanding the chest

and sucking air into the lungs as reptiles and mammals do, they can only breathe
with their mouths tightly closed, and air entering the mouth through the nostrils
is forced down the glottis into the lungs by the intermittent lowering of the throat
and contraction of its muscles. This action can be observed in a pulsation of the
throat which in Common Toads and Frogs varies from ninety to one-hundred-
and-fifty beats to the minute and thus the throat appears to be in a state of
perpetual motion."8

SKIN "The skin plays an important part in the life of anurans. It is an auxiliary
respiratory organ and experiments have shown that respiration through the lungs
alone is not sufficient to support their life on land for long, while during periods
spent under water or buried in mud, their breathing is carried on entirely through
the skin. They do not drink through the mouth but through the integument and,
although Bufo stands desiccation better than Rana, it absorbs water almost as
readily, for both carry a reserve supply of liquid which they will eject if roughly
handled. So long as the skin is moist, blood vessels in the dermis can extract
oxygen from the air, but if the skin dries it becomes impervious to air and they
soon suffocate."9

CHANGING COLOUR "Amphibians have the ability to change the colour of

their skin, thus enabling them to escape detection against different backgrounds.
The natural colouring of Bufo bufo blends with the soil of its surroundings, for
on a white ground it becomes lighter in tone and on a black surface, darker.
There are, however, factors which bring about change in the colour of the skin
irrespective of environment. Emotions such as fear or anger can make it lose
colour; dryness, light, and warmth will induce light colour, and moisture,
darkness, and cold dark colour. Toads late in hibernating and caught by sudden
frost can turn almost black."10

INTELLIGENCE Toads are thought to be more intelligent than frogs. Contrary

to the frog, who remains very shy and unresponsive to human beings, Bufo bufo
is easily tamable and, as one author claimed, it is "easily responsive to
appreciation, and comes out to a friendly call to receive tribute of moth or fly"; it
actually likes "to be stroked down its back or tickled under its flabby chin." To
escape danger, frogs are exclusively reliant on their jumping power. To
compensate for their lack of jumping power, toads possess more sophisticated
means of defence. A frog will blindly jump off a high place, where a toad will
cautiously approach the brink of the height and look down to estimate the depth.
Toads are pretty quick in learning not to eat honeybees - after five or six attempts
to do so - and will remember this for about two weeks.

HOME If displaced, toads are capable of finding their way back over
surprisingly large distances. Many toad species take their daily rest at the same
spot and will return there if they are removed over a distance of [maximally]
1500 metres. They have a strong homing instinct, and a well-developed sense of
orientation. In any given area, the number of toads is related to the moisture of
the territory. As all amphibians, toads need to keep

moist, and the less threatening their home base, the more tolerant they are of
invaders.

The instinct of self-preservation deserts them in the mating season, when they
travel continuously day and night, surmounting obstacles, ignoring waters and
ponds closer at hand, to reach the particular pond where they year after year
return to.

FOOD Toads feed on large numbers of insects as well as on snails, earthworms,

plant matter, and, if available, dog and cat food. Like most anurans, toads will
recognize moving small animals as a potential food source. Toads are greedy and
yet conscious eaters. Instead of bolting down anything that passes by, toads will
first intently scrutinize their prey for a couple of seconds - meanwhile
manifesting their nervous energy by twitching their toes - and then gobble it.
With flying insects there will be less time for careful consideration, but then their
extendible tongue shooting out at lightning speed will help them out. Toads
appear to have an insatiable appetite and to have no sense of repletion. Toads, as
well as frogs, blink at every gulp. They move their eyeballs down into the skull
when they blink and this movement creates a bulge in the roof of the mouth, and
helps squeeze food into the throat. The tongue assists in the swallowing process
by producing much mucus that lubricates the food, and by moving the food
backward to the throat.

SURVIVAL Toads have amazing survival abilities. "Throughout history there

have been reports of toads, discovered by builders, surviving unharmed
entombed inside walls.

Because the date when the structures were built was generally known, it became
accepted that toads could miraculously live holed up for thirty years or more. ...
The most likely explanation is that they entered the wall as toadlets, while still
small enough to squeeze through a crack to the cavity inside. The chamber
would provide shelter and high humidity and, because insects were attracted by
the same conditions, the toad would have a ready supply of food."11

DISTRIBUTION The genus Bufo is the largest and most distributed genus and
comprises some 200 species worldwide. Bufo americanus [Cane Toad or Giant
Toad] is considered a pest species in its introduced range of Australia and the
Pacific and Caribbean Islands. It is able to outcompete native species and also
causes predator declines, since these predators have no natural immunity to the
bufotoxin it secretes.

"Cane Toads were first released in the cane fields of Far North Queensland in
1935. It was hoped that the toads would control Grey-back and Frenchi beetles,
the larvae of which stunt cane growth. The introduction of the toads, however,
had little or no effect on the cane beetles and since that time, the toads have
spread south and west to areas where cane has never been grown." [The beetles
of Australia were able to survive being eaten and would burrow out of the toad's
stomach!] "The Cane Toad, which is also known as the Giant American or
Marine Toad, is native to Central and South America. It has one of the widest
ranges of any living toad and has also been introduced into the Caribbean
Islands, southern United States and several Pacific Islands. The toad is extremely
toxic to other animals. It is not uncommon for family pets to die after they have
ingested toad venom. In the wild, toads compete for food, shelter and breeding
sites with native animals. Scientific evidence suggests that the toad is a nuisance
to man and an ecological threat to the environment. The Cane Toad's success can
be attributed to it being a supreme opportunist. Cane Toads do not require
specialised diets or conditions to start breeding. Added to their tolerance of a
wide range of environments, it is no surprise that they have spread so far and
wide."12

BUFO BUFO Bufo bufo is the common European toad. It is a plump animal
measuring from 6 cm in males to 9 cm in females, but may reach a size of 13 cm
in warm regions.

Its broad, neckless body has a humped back and a swollen belly. Not jumping or
hopping much, it walks rather clumsily, dragging its body along the ground. And
yet it may walk great distances and shows great tenacity and perseverance in
overcoming obstacles. Bufo bufo is widespread throughout Europe and is even
found near the northern polar circle.

Due to its great adaptability it inhabits almost every habitat, including

mountainous regions up to an altitude of 2000 metres. In March mass migration
to the breeding-grounds occur, resulting in lots of traffic victims. Apart from the
three weeks in March, Bufo bufo spends its live in celibate solitude.

TOADSTOOLS "Toads have played an important role in the folklore and

mythology of Europe since prehistoric times. Often such beliefs have connected
the toad with various kinds of fungi epitomised by the English term toadstool,
which refers to a number of mushrooms deemed inedible or poisonous [but also
covering a number of psychoactive species, including the fly-agaric]. This
conjures up an image of a toad squatting on a mushroom but this kind of
figurative stool may not be what is meant. For the word stool also refers to faecal
material, thus making toadstool mean 'toad excrement'. Now, fungi have been
associated with excrement in many parts of the world, as the folk names given to
them amply confirm, but it may also be read in another way. Excrement does not
always refer solely to faecal matter but has the wider meaning of any substance
excreted from the body. That would, of course, include the exuded venom of the
toad."13

VENOM Toad venom, secreted from the parotoid glands [located behind the
eyes], is a milky fluid that dries quickly, forming hard brittle scales which are
yellow in colour.

Brought in contact with water, these dry scales swell into a gelatinous mass. If
much water is added an opalescent neutral foamy emulsion is obtained, having a
nauseating bitter taste and a pungent odour. When a steel knife is brought in
contact with the secretion it immediately will be covered with a bluish green
discolouration.

BUFOTOXINS Toad venom does not protect the toad from all predators; most
snakes and birds are insensitive to it. Traditional Chinese medicine includes
compounds from toad species, in particular Ch'an Su, made of dried and
powdered toad skins. These are used for local inflammations, for dropsy, and to
arrest bleedings. Toad venom is largely comprised of cardioactive substances.
Bufotoxins can lead to profuse salivation, twitching, vomiting, shallow breathing
and paralysis if the toad is bitten, ingested, or when in contact with mucous
membranes. The toxin may cause temporary paralysis and even death in small
mammals and predators. Bufotenine is the most potent bufotoxin.

HALLUCINOGEN Licking secretions of toads leads to hallucinations, although

smoking the dried venom [or the chopped skins] is considered by experts a more
reliable method to experience consciousness-altering effects. Bufo alvarius is the
only Bufo known so far to contain a hallucinogenic tryptamine, although in the
70's drug users in Queensland, Australia, were smoking the chopped skins of
Bufo marinus for its hallucinogenic effects. The use of a decoction of the dried
skin - so-called cane skin tea -

has also been reported. Bufo alvarius has been called "The Toad of Light", and
its venom is a sacrament of the "Church of the Toad of Light". The venom
contains considerable amounts of 5-hydroxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine. This
compound is chemically similar to DMT [dimethyltryptamine], which naturally
occurs in plants with hallucinogenic properties and which was popular among
the drug connoisseurs of the 60's as

"businessman's high" or the "lunch-hour psychedelic session". Both are short-

acting tryptamines. Magic mushrooms, most notably Psilocybe species, also
contain DMT. The effects of the 5-hydroxy variety, however, are considerably
stronger than those of DMT.

The Amahuaca of Peru are reported to use frog or toad poison by applying it into
self-inflicted skin burns. This causes a state of trance in which the hunters
believe themselves to be in contact with the spirits of animals and the forest.

EXPERIMENTS Andrew Weil, an academic with great expertise in the field of

psychoactive substances, reported that smoking the venom within seconds
induces intense visual and auditory hallucinations for a period of about five
minutes. Another experimenter describes entirely different effects: "Before I
finish exhaling, I can feel myself disappearing. To say 'I' experience extreme
hallucinations would be to miss the point. There is no perception of a 'me'
experiencing anything: no visions, no memories, no fear, no pleasure or pain,
nothing to hold onto and no one to do the holding. In its place is the most
overwhelming cyclone of energy ever to rip through my brain, and it lasts for an
eternity. On the way back in is an awareness of breathing, a wheezing inhalation
followed by a roaring moan of exhaust that spooks a few of the observers.

Gradually I begin to realise that this human accordion is me. With each gasp I
am sending out a life's worth of weariness and pain. After what I am told is five
minutes I am able to open my eyes and speak again ... then I lean over and cry
my guts out into the dust

... although my faculties gradually return over the course of the evening, my
powers of cynicism do not."14 A similar effect of 'mental anaesthesia' is brought
about by Haitian sorcerers who use toads in the making of zombi drugs.

Adrian Morgan, the author of Toads and Toadstools, confesses having been an

"amphibian abuser". After pulverising and drying a mixture of venom glands and
skin of two toads, he took some of it as a snuff. The effects included anaesthesia
of the nose and teeth, profuse sweating, and mild psychoactivity in the form of
'trails' following in the wake of moving objects and increased intensity of the
perception of colour. There were definite stimulant effects, both mental and
physical, lasting for about an hour and followed by a deep but short sleep. "The
experience was not pleasant, and because it was hard to stay upright or walk, I
spent most of the second experiment seated. The first two entries in my notes
had jagged and crude handwriting, resembling the scrawling of a child and
contained irrational spelling errors. The following day my nose was still affected
by a mild burning sensation. The effects are felt at their height for a very short
period, an hour at most, and are only slightly psychedelic. The production of
thick saliva concurs with symptoms of psilocybin and LSD, as do 'trails'
produced by moving objects and the richness of perceived colours. ... The
venom's greatest influence is as a stimulant, creating an increased overactivity of
the mind and a feeling of agitation and strain. This may be caused by the
bufotoxins or bufogenines, or by adrenaline or noradrenaline, which are also
present in the skin secretions, or combinations of the above. The stimulant
sensation is soon followed by exhaustion and sleep."15

BUFOTENINE On October 12, 1955, bufotenine was injected into human

volunteers.

The experiments were conducted in Ohio State Penitentiary upon four inmates.
"The first subject was given 1 mg of the compound over a period of three
minutes, and the second received 2 mg. Both experienced sensations of tingling
and tightness. The second developed a flushed face, and his eyes oscillated from
side to side for a full seven minutes. The third man received 4 mg and had
similar symptoms, as well as a numbness

of the entire body and 'a pleasant martini feeling - my body is taking charge of
my mind.'

His pupils were dilated and he claimed to be seeing scarlet and orange spots
moving around. His face did not return to a normal hue for a full fifteen minutes.
The fourth subject received 8 mg. As the last of the bufotenine entered the vein,
he said: 'I see white straight lines with a black background. I can't trace a pattern.
Now there are red, green, and yellow dots, very bright, like they were made out
of fluorescent cloth, moving like blood cells through capillaries, weaving in and
out of the white lines.' These visual symptoms could be registered with eyes
opened or closed. His face was sweating and a deep purple. The hallucinatory
images abated after two minutes, along with the eye oscillations and pupil
dilation. After his experience, he claimed, 'Even at the height of this, my mind
felt better and more pleasant than usual.' One hour and a half after his initial
dose, the second subject was given a further measure of 16 mg. Immediately he
felt a burning in his mouth, and his entire body tingled. In the last moments of
his injection he felt that his chest was being crushed, and he threw up. He could
see red spots in front of his eyes and red-purple blobs on the floor, which seemed
closer to him than usual.

After two minutes the hallucinations were gone, and he saw everything tinged
yellow. He could not perform simple mental tasks and felt strange for twenty-
five minutes, with crowded thoughts and a feeling of tenseness. 'I am here and
not here.' Forty minutes from the start of the process, he claimed to be feeling
better, but in need of walking it off, like a hangover. An hour from
commencement, his face had returned to its normal colour.

None of the men were seen to have significant changes in blood pulse or
pressure."16

PHARMACOLOGY Bufagins [bufandienolides] are cardioactive substances

found in toad venom. They have effects similar to the cardiac glycosides found
in such plants as Digitalis, Apocynum, Asclepias, Helleborus, Gratiola, Adonis,
Oleander, Squilla, and Strophantus. Before digitoxin was extracted from
Digitalis purpurea, dried and powdered toad skins were used as a cardiac
medication. There are several catecholamines in toad venom. Epinephrine has
been found in as high a concentration as 5% in the venom of several species.
Norepinephrine has also been found. Specific indolealkylamines in toad venom
include several bufotenines [cinobufotenine, dehydrobufotenine, bufotenine],
bufothionine, and serotonin. Besides having some hallucinogenic effects, these
compounds may stimulate uterine and intestinal muscle. Noncardiac sterols
found in toad venom include cholesterol, provitamin D, gamma sitosteral, and
ergosterol. 17

Bufotenine also occurs in plants - including Arundo donax, Banisteriopsis spp.,

Mucuna pruriens, Anadenanthera peregrina and such fungi as Amanita citrina
and Amanita pantherina.

TOXICOLOGY 'Toad licking' as well as ingestion of the venom may lead to

severe poisonings. The ethnobotanist Knab reported the effects of drinking a
potion prepared from the parotoid glands of ten Bufo marinus species. "The
drink starts to take effect within a half hour; profuse sweating is noted along
with a sudden increase in heart beat.
The heartbeat becomes continuously harder and stronger. A pronounced chill
sets in with twitching of the facial and eye muscles. A pounding headache and
delirium shortly follow the onset of twitching ... This state usually lasts from
three to five hours and wears off very slowly."18 Knab's disagreeable experience
can be explained by the fact that toad venoms contain cardiac steroids which are
much more potent than digitalis. The venom of Bufo bufo contains toxic
quantities of cardiac steroids.

CLINICAL EFFECTS Clinical effects of toad venom include cardiovascular

disturbances

[ventricular

fibrillation;

palpitation;

vasoconstriction;

increased blood

pressure], respiratory problems [dyspnoea and weakened respiration], neurologic

symptoms [paralysis; seizures; numbness of oral mucosa], and gastrointestinal
disorders

[salivation; nausea; vomiting]. Hyperkalemia is similar to that seen with

Digitalis poisoning. The poison does not normally affect human skin, but it does
irritate the eyes and mucous membranes. Handling toads is thought to
dramatically reduce perspiration.

Contrary to popular belief, toads do not cause warts. A toad sitting in a dog's
water dish for some time may leave enough toxins to make the pet ill. The
toxicity varies considerably by the toad species and its geographic location. The
death rate for untreated animals exposed to Bufo marinus is nearly 100% in
Florida, is low in Texas, and only about 5% in Hawaii.

PSYCHIATRY The aetiology of human psychiatric diseases, such as autism, is

known to be linked to the methylation of serotonin. High levels of bufotenine
and its precursor, N-methylserotonin occur and accumulate mainly in the brain
during the degradation of serotonin in the central nervous system of the toad. As
a product of the serotonin-degradative pathway, the presence and levels of
bufotenine might be useful and important markers of some psychiatric disorders
in humans. Bufotenine was detected in urine from all autistic patients with
mental retardation and epilepsy, and many autistic patients with mental
retardation. It was also detected in the urine of 15 of 18 patients with depression.

Thirteen of 15 schizophrenic patients were positive for bufotenine. Only two of

200 urine specimens from healthy controls were positive for bufotenine. 19
Violent offenders with paranoid symptoms or whose violent actions had been
directed against family members have higher urinary levels of bufotenine than
other violent offenders. A Finnish study demonstrated that "in drug-free patients
suspiciousness was positively correlated, and socialization was negatively
correlated, with urinary bufotenine secretion. These two personality variables
were strongly interdependent. In drug users, bufotenine excretion was correlated
positively with social desirability and negatively with irritability, but not with
suspiciousness."20

AMBIGUITY "There may be a connection, on the psychic level, between the

fact that the toad is amphibious and that it frequently sheds its skin. It is possible
to take both phenomena negatively, for if being amphibious is viewed as an
ambiguous condition in which the animal is ill-adapted to both lives and neither
properly in nor out of water, then the casting of its skin appears as a continual
exchanging of one life for the other with no commitment to either world. The
skin is then primarily a divider and its casting an act of rejection which reflects
the behaviour pattern, typical of the schizoid personality, in which there is a
fundamental lack of acceptance of the essential doubleness of life, and a
compulsive switching between its different aspects in a state of conflict and
often with overriding feelings of guilt and fear. If the life of the Common Toad is
seen as a whole, however, its amphibiousness would seem to be a very positive
phenomenon. Whereas to live in an unconscious state of compulsive doubleness
and dividedness in which one is possessed by, and torn between, opposing
values, is a morbid condition; to live at the boundary, in a state of openness and
in constant awareness of ambivalence, voluntarily frequenting both worlds, is
not only the potential solution to the closed, schizoid mentality, but is a position
of enlightenment naturally accompanied by continual regeneration."21

FOLK MEDICINE 'Folk' uses include expectorant, diuretic, and as remedy for
toothaches, sinusitis, and bleeding of the gums.

SYMBOLISM As a symbol the toad represents the inverse and infernal aspect of
the frog-symbol. Toads were supposed to create darkness by intercepting
starlight and swallowing it. Their unblinking stare was the sign of their
insensitivity or indifference to light. In Europe the toad has been surrounded by
superstition. As a companion of witches it was associated with death, darkness
and demons. It was said to be one of the shapes assumed by a demon when he
sat upon a witch's left shoulder. Witches took infinite care of their toads,
baptizing them, dressing them in black velvet, and making them dance after
putting little bells on their paws. The belief that the toad like the snake had a
jewel in its forehead - referred to as toadstone, craupadina, bufonis lapis, borax
or batrachites -

was widespread in medieval Europe. The stone would bring happiness, and
would change colour when its wearer had been poisoned. It had to be snatched
away from the toad otherwise it would reabsorb it itself. It was also thought that
the toad would only void the stone if it became irritated. Therefore one had to
strike it. Since an irritated toad will excrete its venom, the magical toadstone and
the [psychoactive] venom might have been one and the same. Of similar purport
was the belief that gnomes, delving precious metals during the night, turn into
toads during daytime because they can't stand sunlight.

Striking a toad would have been unacceptable for the Vietnamese, because toads
were highly respected by them as rainbringers and anyone striking a toad would
be struck by Heaven's lightning. The Chinese regarded the toad as the Moon-
goddess. She was the wife of the Good Archer Yi and stole from him the draught
of immortality which had been given to him by the Queen Mother of the West.
She fled with the draught until she reached the Moon, where she was changed
into a toad. Thus for the Chinese the toad was a yin and humid symbol, a
rainbringer and therefore associated with luck and riches. As appearing and
disappearing it is both lunar and a symbol of resurrection. Symbolizing rain and
fertility it may have the status of a culture hero in Mexico and in certain parts of
Africa. For the alchemists, the toad depicted the dark but fertile side of nature.
Or as Avicenna put it: "Join the toad of the earth to the flying eagle and you will
see in our art the Magisterium." In Grimm's fairy tale The Frog-King the cold
and dark aspects of human nature, i.e. impersonal sexual instincts, have to be
elevated, esp. morally. The frog tells the King's daughter how to accomplish this:
"Lift me up beside you." It also symbolizes the development from a state of
child-like self-will into womanhood.

SEXUALITY Ancient traditions associated the frog / toad with Hecate, the
Greek version of the Egyptian midwife-goddess Heket or Hekat. Her totem was
the frog / toad, symbol of the foetus. [The male of a European toad species,
named midwife toad, gives great care to the eggs. With the strings of eggs
twined around its hind legs, it hobbles about with them for 3 to 7 weeks until
they hatch.] The three-legged toad living in the moon, portraying the three lunar
phases, as the Chinese believed, finds its analogue in the trinitarian Lunar deity
Hecate. In ancient art often represented with three faces or three bodies, Hecate
came to combine the attributes of Selene [the Moon in heaven], Artemis

[the Huntress on earth] and Persephone [the Destroyer in the underworld] and to
be identified with them. Four thousand years later Hekat became the Christians'
queen of witches, with the frog / toad still as her main companion. Hecate of the
Mediterranean area was sometimes called Baubo, which means 'toad'. In another
version, Baubo and her husband Dysaules welcome Demeter in their house
during her long hunt for her lost daughter Persephone. Baubo cheers Demeter's
distraught spirits with lewd jokes and by

pulling up her skirts and exposing herself. Many European country people still
believe that the toad is an omen of pregnancy. The frog test is a pregnancy test in
which the woman's urine is injected into the dorsal lymph sac of the platanna
frog. The test is positive if spermatozoa are present in the frog's urine within
three hours.

IDIOM A hateful or contemptible person [or animal] is called a 'toad', while a

servile flatterer behaves 'toady'. Persons who, in a show of affection, flatter to
gain favour are called 'toad-eaters'. Formerly, toadeaters were the assistants of
charlatans or quack sellers of remedies. It was their task to impress, or rather to
cheat the audience by swallowing, or pretending to swallow, toads. A person
who desires anything for which he has no real need, has as much need of it as a
toad of a side pocket. "To live like a toad under a harrow," is an expression
denoting extreme personal wretchedness.

PROVINGS The homoeopathic remedy Bufo bufo is prepared by triturating the

secretion from the cutaneous glands of the common toad, obtained by irritating
the animal. The original proving, conducted by Mure on a male prover, was
performed with the saliva of a toad obtained by so exciting the animal that it spat
its annoyance on some milk sugar. Both Hering and Clarke amalgamated the
provings of Bufo sahytiensis and Bufo bufo, whereas Allen placed them under
separate headings. Hering motivated this by stating that the provers "mentioned
having used about half a dozen different species, and nearly every one proved a
different preparation." Although Hering expressed strongly his doubts about
three of the references, Allen came with an astonishing collection of bizarre,
unappealing proving methods, conducted voluntarily or undergone involuntarily.
These include: effects of taking the poison in wine; effects of venom applied to
the skin; effects of venom spurted into the eye; of bathing in water taken from a
pool frequented by toads; effects of momentarily introducing a toad into the
mouth, without touching [sic!]; effects of toads taken into the stomach, by eating
the spawn on herbs; effects of the bite [unlikely since toads are toothless!];
effects of an infusion of roasted and powdered toads; effects of a toad jumping
into the mouth and entering the stomach during sleep [sic!]; effects of ingesting
the ovules of a toad in muddy water. However, the main source of the mental
symptoms of Bufo is Houat. Houat was a controversial figure. His proving
methods were unknown; most probably, he presented clinical cases. Hale and
Hughes, respectively, denounced his provings as "phantasmagoria floating
through his notorious pathogenesis"

and as "actual lies". On the other hand, Hering declared that "many of Houat's
symptoms have been verified." Arguing in favour of Houat, Berridge even
cherished a hope that Hughes would make "the amende honorable to the memory
of our departed colleague."

"Surely it was somewhat rash thus to bring against Dr. Houat a charge, not
simply of incompetence, but of fraud, unless this charge can be supported by
proofs, which as yet Dr. Hughes has failed to produce; for should these 'actual
lies' be demonstrated to be

'actual facts', and valuable ones, too, Dr. Hughes will have to eat his own words -
not a very appetizing diet." To underline his point, Berridge cites a Dr.
McClatchey who wrote that "within a circuit of five miles from our editorial
sanctum we could gather such a cloud of witnesses to the truth of very many of
the Bufo symptoms [of Houat] as would astonish all skeptics."22

[1] Dale-Green, A Study in the Symbolism of the Common Toad; BHJ, Jan.
1960. [2-4]
Cannatella, Ford and Bockstanz, Salientia; website. [5] Morgan, Toads and
Toadstools.

[6] Dale-Green, ibid. [7] Attenborough, Life on Earth. [8-10] Dale-Green, ibid.
[11]

Downer, Supernatural. [12] Queensland Museum, Wildlife of Greater Brisbane.

[13-14]

Rudgley, The Encyclopaedia of Psychoactive Substances. [15-16] Morgan, ibid.

[17]

Spoerke, Toad Toxins; The Vaults of Erowid [website]. [18] cited in Ott,
Pharmacotheon.

[19] Takeda et al., Bufotenine reconsidered as a diagnostic indicator of

psychiatric disorders; Neuroreport, Nov. 1995. [20] Karkkainen et al., Urinary
excretion of bufotenine is increased in suspicious violent offenders: a
confirmatory study; Psychiatry Res., Sept. 1995. [21] Dale-Green, ibid. [22]
Berridge, Are Houat's provings reliable?; Homoeopathic Physician, July 1886.

Affinity

Mind; nerves; brain. Heart [blood; circulation]. Kidneys. Sexual organs. Ovaries.
Skin.

Modalities

Worse: In warm room. Sexual excitement [onanism]. During sleep. Least motion

[lumbago]. Injuries.

Better: Bleeding. Cool air. Bathing; feet in hot water.

Main symptoms

M Contradictory and alternating states. Ambivalence.

Laughing - crying.

Aggression - withdrawal / dreamy state.

Biting, striking, scratching - tenderness.

Company - solitude.

• "Ambivalence and double-living. The life of Bufo starts, not with an

undifferentiated mass of frogspawn, but with its eggs divided out into a double
string; it both climbs and burrows; is terrestrial and aquatic; cold-blooded and
'fiery'; greedy and ascetic; lowly and

'puffed-up'; poisonous and healing; masculine yet capable of producing young;

powerfully accepting the 'shadow' in that it devours its skin, yet strongly
rejecting it by the focussing of all spirituality in its head. The toad, which has
engraved on its Stone an image of itself as the holy hermaphrodite, but also has
been recognized as Satan, is both lighter and darker, climbing higher and
spawning deeper, than the frog, which is a comparatively unanimous and
innocuous animal. Whereas Rana's [frog] awareness is mostly restricted to pond-
life, Bufo, having developed terrestrial life, has experience of both worlds, and it
is significant that its urge to reproduction is greater than its instinct for self-
preservation. It is thus a symbol not only of doubleness, but of an 'other-ness'
and its detachment, which may be described as an awareness of ambivalence, is
revealed in its solitary life, its hibernation and fasts, and in its homing instinct
and sense of orientation."1

M Desires solitude,

"and yet is afraid of being left alone and dying forsaken." [Houat]

M Hyperkinetic; autistic [difficult to make contact with].

M BASIC types, not necessarily retarded, but close; sometimes actually mentally
retarded.

• "He drops the jaw and looks stupid, as if he had forgotten everything." [Kent]

M CHILDISH BEHAVIOUR; sometimes depravity, mainly on sexual level.

Somewhat stupid, besotted expression, thick lips, open mouth.

CONSTANT LICKING OF LIPS, LAPPING of or PLAYING with TONGUE.

• "Childish behaviour, foolish behaviour, makes gestures, giggling, indolence,
causeless laughing." [Kent]

M Music intolerable.

Or:

• "They like music very much. Boericke describes: 'Aversion music', but in al the
cases which had a beautiful reaction to Bufo, I observed that they all liked
music."2

Every little noise distresses.

• "Very easily frightened; a bird or insect flying by causes a start." [Houat]

M Stammering, nonsensical speech; ANGRY WHEN NOT UNDERSTOOD.

• "He mistakes words; often he half pronounces a word and gets angry when not
understood." [Houat]

M Presence of strangers <; aversion to strangers.

• "Fears animals and strangers." [Boger]

M Single- minded. Bright in one specific subject.

• "Our society moves towards a 'childish' phase with a strong emphasis on

education and intelligence, encouraging a kind of mental 'hypertrophy' which
cuts out feelings and emotions. The basic animal instincts rise up and we become
just brain and genital oriented. 'Masturbation on a mental level.' ... Another case
showed a man whose work had become so important that he had sacrificed his
emotional life. His family complained to no avail, mathematics and computers
were his sole interest and when disturbed he would fly into a rage. ... This case
shows the more intelligent type of Bufo - mental masturbation. Bufo arouses the
lowest passions e.g. sex and rage, but we may often observe that one part of the
brain is highly developed, e.g. a great gift for music, an extremely developed
sense of equilibrium as seen in some circus people, or the highly specialised
academic."3

M Extreme anxiety, day and night.

• "Wringing the hands and talking about something awful that is going to happen
when there is nothing to happen; some awful event, some terrible things in the
future, it is all darkness and despair, walks the floor and wrings the hands and
says over and over the same awful things that are going to take place, when in
reality the future is safe and there is nothing to be anxious about. This occurs in
cases of insanity. Such as are approaching imbecility are passive, they have a
lack of comprehension of things around." [Kent]

M Fury, rage.

Anger with desire to strike and destroy.

Inclination to bite.

Defiance, duplicity, spitefulness.

• "Paroxysms of fury, which cease as soon as he sees any one." [Houat]

G Metamorphosis.

Breakdown at forty, or CHILDREN prematurely old.

• "He is not likely to live to be old, he is likely to break down at forty. She comes
to her end by cancer of uterus or breast, or by imbecility." [Kent]

• "Adult people who act as they were children. An aspect of child-like simplicity
is present and the mind returns to a state of child-like innocence. ... The mental
state has not developed, the child has not grown into a man or woman in
intellectual attainments or wisdom, and remains as a whimpering, screaming
child. ... The child-like state remains while the body grows." [Kent]

• "According to a Fulani tradition, toad's oil seeps into stone. When the neophyte
asks the mystagogue how to pass from ignorance to knowledge, the latter
replies: 'Change yourself into toad's oil.' That is to say that humans can penetrate
to the depths of a subject

without altering its externals through the subtle fluidity of their spirit."4

G Depravities and bad inheritance. Obesity.

Low-minded and low disease forms.

• "Causes a desire for intoxicating drink, and produces impotence." [Boericke]

Bloody oozing; nipples, saliva, etc. [Boger]

Offensive discharges.

• "You would think you had the odour of gangrene or gangrenous erysipelas in
the room from smelling these discharges." [Kent]

G CHILLY.

Yet < warm room.

G PROFUSE PERSPIRATION.

< During sleep, esp. towards morning.

From slightest exertion.

• "Copious sweat, with weakness, and often with morbid hunger." [Houat]

G Great appetite.

• "Violent hunger, even after eating, esp. in the evening." "In the morning after
breakfast, often feels hungry, as if he had eaten nothing." [Houat]

But: Fastidious in eating.

G High sex drive, mostly not leading to sexual relationships, but driving to
MASTURBATION.

• "Desire for solitude in order to practice masturbation. This alone throws a flood
of light upon the nature of the remedy; the lack of government, the lack of
control over the sexual longing, and the low-mindedness whereby he is willing
to abandon himself to the lower things that are in the human race, to perverted
practices and vices." [Kent]

• "Arouses the lowest passions." [Boericke]

• "In Ancient Greece a famous courtesan, Phryne, bore the name of toad
[phryne] and plunged stark naked into the sea to play the role of Venus
Anadyomene, having taken part with other courtesans 'in the licentious
rejoicings, nominally in Aphrodite's honour, which took place at the end of the
festival of Poseidon'. She was hailed as the prophetess and priestess of
Aphrodite. The toad would seem to have symbolized sexual abandon in her
person."5

• "The toad's impulse to clasp has been described as 'frenzied ardour', and this
may be recognized as a confusion of the heat of compulsive impulse and the
coldness of indiscrimination. The cold-bloodedness of the toad, with its
externalization of sex, its lack of discernment, and the fact that it neither courts
its mate nor suckles its young, strongly reflects all that in human psychology
appears as lack of feeling, and unrelatedness."6

G Pains BURNING.

G < Morning; on waking.

G Epileptic CONVULSIONS.

• "The chief laurels of Bufo have been won in the treatment of epilepsy. Bojanus
has cured many cases; and no medicine has served me better in the treatment of
this disease.

Few people who have witnessed a characteristic epileptic seizure can have failed
to notice the curiously toad-like aspect assumed by the subject. The epileptic
seizure and the status epilepticus give the clearest correspondence to the Bufo
range of action." [Clarke]

c Seizure preceded by:

Lapping motion of tongue; rubbing of nose; feeling of face; mouth wide open.

Unintelligible speech.

Dilated pupils; sighing; spasmodic laughing.

Restlessness; external numbness.

Straightening and stiffening of lower limbs.

Stiffness of arm[s].

c Aura [seizure starts in]:

Plexus solaris; stomach; uterus; nape of neck [like a shock]; brain [as if numb];
face; abdomen.

c Symptoms during seizure:

Unconsciousness; falling.

Eyes turned upward [to left] or eyes open; biting of tongue; chewing motion of
jaw; redness of face; face bathed in sweat.

Foam from mouth; grinding of teeth; paralysis of tongue or lapping motion of

tongue.

Spasmodic laughing; shrieking.

Involuntary urination.

c Symptoms after seizure:

Comatose, deep sleep.

Severe frontal headache.

Spasmodic laughing.

c Petit mals.

• "Bufo often corresponds to lesser attacks resembling vertigo. In this state

people do not fall, and for a few seconds everything is blank, or sometimes they
do things automatically in these moments. A person, in this mild form of
epileptic vertigo, will hardly show anything, but he will sometimes come to a
perfect standstill and then go on as if nothing had happened. What occurred
during that attack he knows nothing of.

Sometimes he will continue right on doing what he was doing, and nobody will
know of the spell." [Kent]

G Skin problems and neurological disturbances.

P Heat / congestion of head.

Great heat in head, with feeling as if the brain were boiling.

Sensation as if a hot vapour rises to the vertex.

Throbbing and heat of the face, as from being too near the fire.

P Cardiovascular.

Heart feels too large. Heart feels as if plunged in a vessel of water.

Numb feeling in heart region extending through chest.

Chest and heart feel tightly compressed.

• "Faithful Henry has been so unhappy when his master was changed into a frog,
that he had caused three iron band to be laid round his heart, lest it should burst
with grief and sadness."7

Pain in heart > pressing upon cardiac region.

Sudden and strong increase of heart beat, and profuse perspiration.

• "The beating of the heart increases the headache and seems to correspond with
it."

[Allen]

• "Violent ebul itions of the blood with a sensation as if the heart were swimming
in blood." [cured case, Boger]

P Sensation as if the skin is hanging loose.

• "The skin of anurans is loose-fitting, attached as it is to the muscles at a few

places only, for elsewhere lymphatic sacs intervene. Amphibians shed the thin,
transparent layers of the epidermis. ... All species of Bufo have a thin line
extending down the middle of the back and it is on this median raphe that the
skin splits. In the Common Toad, shedding, which is preceded by the free flow
of secretion from the mucous glands, takes place simultaneously on all parts of
the body."8

[1] Dale-Green, A Study in the Symbolism of the Common Toad; BHJ, Jan.
1960. [2]

Geukens, Bufo and Epilepsy; HL 3/93. [3] Geukens, notes from seminar in
Switzerland; HL Vol. 2. [4-5] Chevalier and Gheerbrant, Dictionary of Symbols.
[6] Dale-Green, ibid.

[7] Brothers Grimm, The Frog-King, or Iron Henry. [8] Dale-Green, ibid.

Rubrics

Mind

Love for animals [1]. Cursing [1]. Deceitful, sly [1]. Fear of animals [1], of dogs
[1], of infection [1], of mirrors in room [1]. Giggling [1]. Hatred and revengeful
[1]. Irritability in morning on waking [1], when aroused [1], when questioned
[1], when spoken to [1].

Laughing alternating with weeping [1]; causeless [1], childish [1], over serious
matters

[1], silly [1]. Lewdness, lewd talk [1]. Playful [1]. Runs about [1]. Spitting
people in their face [1].

Vertigo

Objects seem inverted, as if house were turned upside down [1*].

Head

Sensation of a heavy ball, when shaking head [1/1*]. Heat > epistaxis [1]; as if
brain were boiling [1]; as if hot vapour were rising up to top of head [1/1*]. Pain,
> spirituous liquors [1]. Sensation as if head were full of water [1].

Eye
Open, during convulsions [1*]. Pupils dilated before epileptic attack [2]. Staring
during convulsions [1*].

Vision

Objects appear crooked [1]. Dim, while eating [1].

Nose

Sneezing on going to bed in evening [1/1].

Face

Chewing motion of jaw, with convulsions [1/1*]. Skin of face tans quickly
[1/1*].

Teeth

Teeth seem to sink into gums, when eating [1*].

Stomach

Feeling of coldness in stomach alternating with sensation of heat [1*].

Eructations like spoiled eggs, after eating fresh bread and pastry [1/1*]. Pain, <
wine [1*]. Vomiting after wine [1*].

Abdomen

Sensation as if cold balls were running all through intestines [1/1*]. Distension,
with emaciation of rest of body [1*].

Urine

Odour, ammoniacal [1], fish-brine [1].

Male

Aversion to coition [1]; enjoyment absent [1]. Sexual desire violent [2].

Female
Pain, uterus, when sitting long [2/1]; extending down the thighs [1]. Sexual
desire increased during menses [1]. Tumours, fibroid, uterus [1].

Chest

Sensitive nodules in mammae [2]. Pain, heart, > pressure of hand [1]. Shocks in
cardiac region [2]. Sensation as if heart were swimming in water [2]; swimming
in blood [1/1*].

Limbs

Constriction feet, as if shoes were too tight [1/1*]. Pain, sensation as if a peg
were driven in joints [1/1]. Weakness, tendency to sprain ankle[s] [1*].

Sleep

Sleepiness after being in open air [1], after smoking [1/1].

Dreams

Journeys [1]. Greatness [1/1].

Skin

Eruptions, blue boils [1], large boils [1]; carbuncle [2]; pemphigus [1];
gangrenous and vesicular [2]; yellow vesicles [1]. Sensation as if skin were
hanging loose [1].

Generals

Chorea, cannot walk, must run or jump [1]. Convulsions in nursing children
when mother is angry or frightened [1; Cham.*], from fright of the mother [1].
Emaciation, in spite of good appetite [1*].

* Repertory additions [Houat / Allen].

Food

Aversion: [1]: Drinks; food; salt.

Desire: [1]: Alcohol; brandy; delicacies; pastry; rich food; sweets; sweet drinks.
Worse: [1]: Alcohol; cold drinks; milk; pastry.

Better: [1]: Alcohol.

Cactus grandiflorus

Cact.

When God measures a man, He puts the tape around his heart instead of his
head.

[McKenzie]

Signs

Selenicereus grandiflorus. Night-blooming Cereus. Queen of the Night. N.O.

Cactaceae.

DISTRIBUTION Cacti are mainly New World plants. They are native to
semideserts of the warmer parts of North, Central and South America, and are
doubtfully native or early naturalized in Africa, Madagascar and Sri Lanka. The
genus Opuntia is naturalized in Australia, South Africa, and the Mediterranean.
Several species of Opuntia are found in colder regions, i.e. in Patagonia and
Canada. Various Cereus grow exposed to the icy winds of the Mexican
Cordilleras. The typical habitat of cacti is arid regions with erratic rainfalls and
long drought periods in between.

CLASSIFICATION The classification of this family is more than usually

controversial.

"The Cactaceae is of especial interest to botanists for its combination of a

primitive, unspecialized flower with highly advanced vegetative organs; to the
ecologist for its survival under adverse conditions and drought; and to the
evolutionist for its parallel lifeforms to other unrelated xerophytes, e.g. Stapelia,
Euphorbia and Pachypodium. To the taxonomist it presents great problems,
being apparently still in a state of active evolution,

and resisting the standard herbarium procedure based on dried specimens. Under
pressure from collectors and commercial growers large numbers of 'genera' and
'species' have been created, more nearly equivalent to subgenera and subspecies
or varieties in other plant families. It is here considered to contain 87 genera,
while others recognize over 300. "1

Cacti are easily confused with certain cactiform species in the family
Didiereaceae -

small family of four genera of columnar cactus-like plants, confined to

semidesert areas in Madagascar - and with some Euphorbia species in the family
Euphorbiaceae, the Spurge Family. Euphorbias - chiefly those of the tribe
Euphorbieae - differ from cacti in having a milky white latex which is a
powerful purgative and extremely irritant to the skin and mucous membranes.

FEATURES "Most cacti have spines, and the spines, branches and flowers arise
from special sunken cushions or areoles which may be regarded as condensed
lateral branches; these are either set singly on tubercles or serially along raised
ribs. Tufts of short barbed hairs [glochids] may also be present in the areoles.
The young green shoots undertake photosynthesis, but with age these become
corky and in the arborescent species develop into a hard, woody, unarmed trunk
as in conventional trees. The vascular system forms a hollow cylindrical
reticulated skeleton and lacks true vessels. The roots are typically superficial and
in the larger species widely spreading and adapted for rapid absorption near the
soil surface. The flowers are solitary and sessile [Pereskia excepted], bisexual

[with rare exceptions] and regular to oblique-limbed. Colour range is from red
and purple through various shades of orange and yellow to white; blue is
lacking."2 Cacti vary considerably in size, ranging from tree Opuntias of 10 m
tall to desert dwarfs such as Lophophora, and epiphytes perched on trees. Most
cacti are succulents and are characterised by swollen stems which harbour water.
The water-filled stems are frequently strengthened by means of tough ridges.
Covered by a thickened epidermis, cacti contain a thick and mucilaginous sap.
The entire structure of cacti is meant to check excessive evaporation, enabling
them to survive in hot and arid places.

ECONOMICAL USES Cacti have few uses, apart from their wide use as garden
and house ornamentals. The fleshy fruits of many are collected locally and eaten
raw or made into jams or syrups. Opuntias [prickly pears or Indian figs] are
grown commercially in Mexico and California for their large juicy fruits.
Opuntias, in particular Opuntia ficus-indica, have become troublesome weeds in
Australia, India, and North and South Africa.
The juice of Opuntias is employed in the manufacture of candles. The large-
flowered epicacti are grown primarily for their flowers. Epicacti are epiphytes,
plants growing on other plants without being parasitic.

VITALITY Although cactuses grow slowly, their unparalleled vitality ensures

that they survive in areas scorched by the merciless sun. So great is their vitality
that it would take months or years for them to dry out completely. The lack of
rain gives them very little time to reproduce by means of seed. Because of this,
the seeds have a phenomenal germinative capacity. After all, they have to
germinate in the short, fertile period [rain] at their disposal. It is quite a normal
occurrence, therefore, for cactus seeds, waiting in the soil for a shower, to
germinate in less than 24 hours. They make use of the first chance they get, and
make the best use of the time they are given, as it were. In the cool of the night,
they bloom unexpectedly and almost unnoticed. Neither is the blooming period a
long drawn-out affair, because however striking the flowers may be, they only
bloom for one night and then start to wither. The plant often does not bloom for
years, so when it

does occur, it is quite spectacular. The huge tubular flowers - usually red, and
sometimes white or yellow - also emit a delicious odour. The juicy fruits then
produced are a local treat. In this way, the cactus begins its existence as a
spherical, moist plant and ends it in the same way as a juicy, round fruit. The
plant's enormous vitality is also evident from its ability to multiply from
cuttings. Pieces that have been broken off grow into a full plant again. If they
were not kept in check by 'harmful insects' they would overpower and control
huge areas in the shortest time. They are virtually immune to fire and poison.
The cactus exerts all its energy on the conquering of territory.

NAME The name Selenicereus derives from Gr. selene, the moon, in allusion to
its nocturnal blooming, and L. cereus, waxy or wax taper, referring to the shape
of some of the species of this cactus. The name cactus comes from Gr. kaktos, a
name used by Theophrastus of Eresus [372-285 BC] for a prickly plant of South
Europe - most probably Cynara, cardoon - but now applied as a general name for
any plant of the family Cactaceae.

QUEEN OF THE NIGHT "Selenicereus grandiflorus is the Queen of the Night,

a straggling Mexican climber which has little to commend it until it flowers.
Then it deserves every complimentary epithet, for at dusk the great trumpet-
shaped blooms expand, 30 cm long and 20 cm wide, white on the inside and
yellow without, exuding a rich vanilla fragrance which can be discerned at some
distance."3 The blossoms commence expanding about 6 or 7 p.m. , and are fully
blown about midnight. The flowers emit their fragrance only from the time when
fully expanded. About 3 or 4 a.m. , however, they already have withered. When
touched before opening, the blooms will not expand.

CONSTITUENTS Selenicereus grandiflorus contains alkaloids [including

cactine], flavonoids [isorhamnetin], acrid resinous glycoside, fat, wax, and a
pigment. Cactine's cardiotonic effect is considered similar to that of cardiac
glycosides. Alkaloids, triterpene saponins, betacyanin flower colours, and
mucilage are widespread in the Cactaceae in general.

EFFECTS Application of Selenicereus grandiflorus to the skin causes pruritus,

pustules, and excoriations. In Cuba, the juice of the stems is used as a vermifuge
and as a vesicant.

The spines of cacti are capable of inflicting mechanical injury. Comparatively

common in the arid regions of the western United States is an eruptive disorder
confined to the skin of the limbs, characterised by secondary infection and skin
ulceration. The disorder results from spines of cactus plants breaking off under
the skin. The inflammatory reactions are believed to be caused by contaminating
fungal material. The Mexican Aztecs ritually impaled victims on the tops of
spiny cacti. In Mexico Selenicereus was, at one time, a popular remedy for
various diseases, including irritation of bladder and kidneys, intermittent fever,
difficult breathing, and cough. In sufficiently large doses it acts as an intense
irritant to the heart, resulting in hyperaesthesia, irritability, arrhythmia, spasms
and neuralgia of the heart. "The tincture, in large doses, produces gastric
irritation, and also affects the brain, causing confusion of mind, hallucination,
and slight delirium. In excessive doses, a quickened pulse, constrictive headache,
or constrictive sensation in the chest, cardiac pain with palpitation, vertigo,
dimness of sight, oversensitiveness to noises, and a disposition to be sad or to
imagine evil, are among its many nervous manifestations. Melancholia often
follows such action. It is generally conceded, however, that the mental, cerebral,
gastric, and other effects are secondary to and

dependent largely upon the primary effects of the drug upon the heart."4

HALLUCINOGEN The finding that large doses of Selenicereus can cause slight
delirium and hallucinations is in line with the estimation that 10 per cent of the
species of cacti are hallucinogenic. The most well-known hallucinogenic cacti
are Peyote

[Anhalonium] and the San Pedro [Trichocereus pachanoi], both of which contain
mescaline.

PROVINGS •• [1] Rubini - 2 provers, 1864; 10 drops of mother tincture, daily

for 8

days.

Introduced into the medical profession by Scheele, of Germany, it was given

little attention until Rubini, a homoeopathic physician of Naples, Italy, brought it
in 1864 into especial notice as a remedy in heart diseases. [This cactus species
grows in the south of Italy.] In a manner not stated, Rubini proved the remedy on
himself and his wife by taking the drug for eight days. "My wife and I, when we
saw that it acted so fearfully on the heart and circulating system as to produce
weeping and fright, had not courage to push our experiments further and thereby
endanger our lives. I trust that others, endowed with more courage and less
timidity than we, may be able to complete and to correct the pathogenesis where
I may have erroneously described the symptoms."5 Various cured cases are
included in Rubini's report of the proving.

•• [2] Hencke - self-experimentations; method: repeated doses of 5-15 drops of

tincture, 1x dil., 3x dil., and 6x dil., over periods ranging from 2 to 14 days.

•• [3] Lembke - self-experimentation; method: repeated doses of 5-30 drops of

tincture, for 29 days.

•• [4] Clark - self-experimentation, 1877; method: strong inhalation of recently

prepared tincture, with long-lasting effects: 'I was well in no part affected till 10
days had elapsed, and remained weak for several weeks, with frequent attacks of
palpitation.'

•• [5] Burt - self-experimentation; 100 to 600 drops of 3x dil.

•• [6] Fitch - self-experimentation; 7 to 20 drop doses of tincture for some days.

Hering collected 16 cured cases.

[1-2] Heywood, Flowering Plants of the World. [3] Perry, Flowers of the World.
[4]

King's American Dispensatory. [5] Rubini, Cactus grandiflorus; The American

Homoeopathic Review, Febr. 1865.

Affinity

HEART [muscle]. CIRCULATION. Head; right side. Chest. Circular muscles.

Modalities

Worse: Lying [on left side; on occiput]. Periodically. Exertion; walking. 10-11
a.m. or 11 p.m. Disappointed love. Sun. Damp. Slight contact. Ascending stairs.
After eating.

Fasting.

Better: Open air. Pressure on vertex. Sitting. Rest.

Main symptoms

M Taciturn - desire for solitude.

• "Profound hypochondriasis, is unwilling to speak a word."

• "Continual taciturnity, he wil not answer though repeatedly spoken to."

• "Love of solitude, he always avoids those about him who try to comfort him."

• "Sensation in the chest as if some one were pressing and holding it tightly,
under the delusion that this was the case he cried out, 'Leave me alone'."
[Rubini]

M Deliberate - impulsive.

• "Disposition to do deliberately whatever was undertaken." [Al en]

• "Slow in making up mind to action, and deliberate in carrying it out." [Hughes]

This symptom was recorded by Dr. John H. Fitch, who obviously was a
'cactophile' since he proved 4 species of cactus: Selenicereus, Cereus bonplandii,
Cereus serpentinus, and Opuntia. The disposition to act 'deliberately', observed
on the first day of the proving, seems to have been an attempt to combat
'impulses bordering on the grotesque', a symptom observed on that same first
day.

• "We understand now that this type of person, who can act only according to his
whims, feels suffocated by others and that this feeling found its way into the
subconscious the sensation: 'whole body feels as if caged, each wire being
twisted tighter and tighter'.

Whether this feeling is being felt locally or at all levels, it limits the action of the
person, and he feels that his heart is like an imprisoned bird [sensation in heart
like bird's wings].

This feeling of imprisonment is aggravated by any contact, meaning it is

aggravated by a threat from the outside. This refusal to face the external threat
leads to the symptom

'Passion at least contrariety'. In order to avoid these contrarieties, he 'desires

solitude, he avoids his entourage and those who want to comfort him'. It is a total
refusal of dialogue, as seen in prover 1: 'deep hypochondria, does not want to
utter a word. Melancholia, for which he does not want to give a reason'. Hering
says: 'Unwilling to speak a word or to answer'. Looking at all these symptoms,
one could imagine why such a state could produce autism."1

c "This is also a good remedy for children who will not venture to do anything as
long as someone is looking at them; they seem incapable of doing anything, but
get up at night and are perfectly able to act as long as they are shielded from the
gaze of others."

[Grandgeorge]

• "The fact that she gave up her work whenever she felt she was being observed
could mean that she wanted to 'create her flower hidden from sight: during the
night'. Sangeeta used to give up her occupation whenever she was being
observed and she only did what she had decided to do. She was not sure of her
action and of her decision."2

In another case - that of a young girl, suffering from a heart abnormality - there
was also a great recovery on Cactus. The remedy was chosen on the same group
of symptoms:

"Does deliberately what she wants to do, otherwise feels like being in a cage;
doubtful of progresses in life and feels life is ephemeral."3

M Dreams of FALLING; wakes up startled and frightened.

G Hot here, cold there, on account of irregularity of circulation.

G Ailments from HUNGER.

G CONSTRICTION.

[heart, chest, neck, body feels tight, bladder, rectum, vagina, uterus; often
"brought on by slightest contact"].

CONTRACTION and CONGESTION.

G Constriction as of a BAND, belt, as if caged in wires.

• "Sensation of great constriction in the middle of the sternum, as if a hoop of

iron constricted the part; this feeling produces oppression of the respiration,
aggravated by motion."

• Sensation of painful constriction in the lower part of the chest, as if a cord were
tightly tied round the false ribs, with obstruction of the breathing."

• "Sensation of constriction in the heart, as if an iron hand prevented its ordinary

movements." [Rubini]

G < Beginning of menses.

G < 11 P.M.

• "Pain in the uterus and its ligaments, recurring every evening, and increasing
gradual y till 11 p.m. , when it is worst; it then ceases until the following
evening, for many successive days." [Rubini]

G > Continued MOTION.

G Vertigo from rush of blood to the head.

P Congestion to head and violent headache, as of a heavy weight on vertex.

< Every step [esp. during menopause].

P Pulsating pain [congestive] in temples.

< RIGHT and at night.

Or heat in head from mental exertion, esp. after drinking COFFEE.

P Choking sensation [lump], cannot bear a tight collar around neck [Lach.].

• "Feeling of constriction of the throat which prevents free speech, and on

forcing himself to speak, the voice is low and hoarse." [Rubini]

P Menses only during day, cease when lying.

P Violent palpitation of heart.

< Lying on left side.

< Shortly before menses.

P HEART feels CLUTCHED and RELEASED ALTERNATELY by an IRON

hand.

Or feels if expanding and contracting.

Heart seems to turn over.

P Angina pectoris.

And Band-feeling around chest, wrists and ankles. [Vrijlandt]

P Atherosclerosis.

• "If the true meaning of the word tonic is understood as implying 'a medicine
which has the power of acting slowly and by insensible degrees', then Cactus is
pre-eminently a tonic. I wish to make it very clear, indeed, that Cactus is not a
heart 'whip', in the ordinary sense; not a drug to use for a quick, decisive action;
not a power you can summon to do instant work. Cactus must have time to act.
Given time, it does not produce showy effects, but works slowly and smoothly. It
is not often a thoroughbred, quarter-stretch sprinter, but a homely, reliable pack-
mule, in a therapeutic sense. ... There is one condition in which Cactus is king of
all the cardiac remedies, so far as my experience up to present goes, and that is,
where the heart is feeble and the vessels are atheromatous or in a state of
arteriosclerosis. ... If cardiac force be applied to the stiff arteries too rapidly, they
may rupture, with all the dire consequences of haemorrhage - cerebral, most
likely.

Atheroma or arteriosclerosis is not a contra-indication for the administration of

Cactus; in fact, it is a strong indication for its employment. I have given Cactus
grandiflorus - in material doses, too - to people so old that their arteries were as
stiff as pipe stems, the heart also participating in the senile change, for periods
varying from six months to two years. The drug has been given continuously,
and with benefit only. Cactus is pre-eminently the heart tonic of the
atheromatous and the arteriosclerotic."4

c Though Snader accomplished his successful cures by the daily administration

of five-drop doses of the tincture over considerable periods of time, the relation
with fatty deposits is interesting since dried Cereus species are used as candles
or torches on

account of their high contents of wax.

P Swelling of the LEFT hand [Dig. swelling of the RIGHT hand].

[1-3] LucFayeton, I do what I want to do; HL 1/99. [4] Snader, A Contribution to

the Study of the Clinical Uses of Cactus Grandiflorus as a Cardiac Medicine;
Transactions of the Amer. Inst. of Homoeopathy, 1895.

Repertory

Mind

Anger from contradiction [1]. Anxiety on waking [2]. Delusions he has an

incurable disease [1]; he is dying [1]; body is smaller [1]; things grow smaller
[1]; is caught in wires [1]. Hurry, seems always behindhand [2*]. 1 Impulse to
do strange things [1].
Irresolution in projects [1]. Reserved [1]. Sensitive to noise of talking [1].
Incoherent speech on waking [1]. Weeping, causeless, without knowing why [1],
< consolation [1], before menses [2].

Vertigo

Breathing deep < [2/1]. When turning in bed [2].

Head

Congestion from coffee [2], during menses [1], from mental exertion [3], from
exposure to sun [2]. Pain, comes and goes with the sun [1], > bending head
backward [2], from exertion of body [2], from fasting, if hunger is not appeased
at once [1], from noise, esp.

voices [1]; vertex, from noise [2], > pressure [2].

Eye

Protrusion [2]. Pulsation in eyes [1].

Vision

Colours, red circles before the eyes [1/1].

Nose

Epistaxis, with amenorrhoea [2], suppressed menses [2].

Throat

Choking, with cardiac pain [2], < clothing [2], compelling swallowing [1].
Swallowing difficult, must drink in order to swallow [2]; impeded, must drink at
every mouthful to wash down the food [2].

Abdomen

Constriction hypochondria as if by a bandage [2]; inguinal region extending

around pelvis [2/1].

Rectum
Weight and feeling as of a plug wedged between pubis and coccyx [2].

Bladder

Urination dribbling, involuntary, during menses [1].

Female

Constriction of vagina during coition [3/1], on touch [3/1]. Menses daytime only
[1], cease while lying [1]; clotted [1], dark [2], too frequent [2]; only on motion
[1].

Respiration

Difficult, > lying on back [3], > lying on back with shoulders elevated [3/1],
during menses [1], during pain in heart [2], during palpitation [2].

Chest

Mammae sensitive to cold air [1/1]. Pain, > lying on back [2]; in heart > lying on
back

[2], before menses [1], during menses [1], extending to left hand [2]. Palpitation,
when

holding breath [1], during deep inspiration [1], on beginning to move [1/1], >
sitting up

[2]. Whirling sensation about heart [2].

Sleep

Sleeplessness from palpitation [2], from pulsation in different parts of body

[1/1].

* Kent erroneously included "always behindhand" under Mind, Slowness,

always behindhand. The original proving symptom, provided by Lembke, clearly
shows that it stems from hurry and restlessness. The feeling of being behindhand
expresses loss of sense of time as a consequence of hurry. The proving symptom
is recorded as follows:
"Seems to have for some days a marked restlessness and hurry in what he does;
seems always to come too late, never at right time, and the day seems not long
enough for his work; at same time uneasiness and oppressed feeling in heart."

Food

Aversion: [2]: Meat; milk.