Materia Medica (3)
 
 
LYSSIN - saliva of a rabid dog SOMETHING TERRIBLE In his wonderful book on the materia medica of nosodes Henry Allen writes about the evidence of sulpho-cyanate of potash being one of the main exciting causes of violent symptoms arising from animal, reptile, insect or human bites – sulpho-cyanate of potash being a poison constituent of saliva. Now I am no chemist but one of my past lives (and even now to a certain extent) was very much involved with film and photography and this substance was used a great deal in the darkroom to give strange colourations to images as it acts as a silver solvent – it was more generally referred to as potassium thiocyanate. This colour application has its history in the natural dyes (containing potassium thiocyanate) obtained from some plants and when concocted together yield a magnificent range of hues. But this rather nasty substance is also used as an insecticide and fungicide and perhaps more importantly this compound is one of the essential raw materials used for the production of many medications such as antibiotics, thyroid and hypertension medications, and chemotherapy drugs. More worryingly it is also to be found in skin moisturisers and toothpaste, giving that ‘minty freshness’ an ominous tone! You can download a short video clip of the cooling process of this substance that shows the amazing configuration of colours which also provides a hint of the ‘crazyness’ that lies within the potentised Lyssin (saliva of a rabid dog) that contains potassium thiocyanate. http://www.microscopyu.com/moviegallery/chemicalcrystals/potassiumthiocyanate I know from my own experience during my past life that the health hazards of this substance are wide ranging from skin irritation, gastro, liver and respiratory irritation to those fortunately not experienced, involving neuro toxicity. It is this neuro toxicity that brings us closer to the core of the symptom picture of Lyssin – a fear of going mad. When Hering proved this remedy on himself he was prevented from continuing due to the extreme apprehension he was feeling and again, this is the core of the remedy = thoughts of something terrible will happen which encourages a reckless nature to emerge, as if to distract from the gloomy apprehension. Momentary loss of consciousness will even occur to abate or avoid these feelings. In fact, it would seem, that most of the mental and emotional symptoms and even some of the physical symptoms that come through are a direct result of this fearful torment. Apprehension can be abstract, i.e. not apparently linked to any cause or, of course, it could be very real with a known cause and in cases of abuse, in any form, the apprehension during the calm intervals, can be insurmountable. In fact, from the provings, we have: “imagine that they are being abused, and energetically defend themselves against attacks and insults, which in reality are products of their own fancy.” But we know how fine the line is between reality and imagination. To what extent does a child go in suppressing the fact that they are being bullied at school? Sometimes they can barely admit it to themselves let alone an adult or a friend. That suppression can be buried so deep that the emerging return of symptoms will be heavily disguised as some other diseased state – just read the entire symptom picture to get an idea of this – bottom line is a fear that they are going to die, as if they will just sink away. On top of that, people who have been abused sometimes want to sink away and die, they KNOW what is going to happen to them, even before it has happened and this is one reason why ‘clairvoyance’ is a hidden symptom of Lyssin. An extraordinary amount has been written about abuse, maybe less so about the terrors of hydrophobia and its links to rabies – all I can do is add to that accretion based on the symptom picture of Lyssin. I can hear church bells ringing, clanging in my brain A silence, slight, before the convulsion again Ideas insane As the evening falls on me, outcast and wretched Not just the evening falling but my fear of an unprovoked assault, fetched A knowledge that something terrible will happen Excited and impulsive, I can hear voices Water running, sharp knives and choices That exhilarate me But I cannot look in that mirror, it is insulting Visions of fire, water is splashing I must cut the crap, I must cut the surface Become misshapen, when the terrible thing will happen I am viciously clamped, ready for attack My fears are fine tuned as I turn my back Away from the mirror and begin to run Growling and forsaken, please hide the sun My bones are aching, my wounds are blue from slashing and biting I am contaminated, impatient, restless and agitating Because I have the terror that something will happen Jaws stiffen, teeth grind, the chill is intense Words fall out, loquacious, but have no sense Voice oppressed as the mouth fills with a gasp Spitting, spitting, spitting like an asp Hypersensitive to all that conforms me Protection comes first because physically I cannot endure anymore the terror that will happen I am violent and suffocating as the skin is broken A breath of air is just a mere token That fuels the viral infected brain Endangering the abstraction of something evil and insane But I have clairvoyance as well as my wounds, Insomnia, nausea, delusions of sounds It counsels my terror to that which will happen. CROCUS SATIVA – saffron VISIONS OF FIRE I love this spice, I love the coloured dye it yields. Even if you get some accidentally brushed onto your clothes and it is difficult to remove, it is still a fiery reddish yellow colour that is memorable of the scorching sun that Crocus grows under. The spice itself isn’t fiery, it has an almost musty, bitter taste, but if you start to consume too much of it in all those wonderful Asian curries or north African foods then don’t hold me responsible. Saffron is expensive and treasured, mainly because each Crocus flower only produces a few stamens. Saffron contains Crocin and Safranol amongst other constituents. Safranol is a volatile oil (emphasis on the volatile) and Crocin is known to suppress tumours and thus the remedy has anti cancer properties; it has effects on the central nervous system – so an affinity to the brain/mind function; it has been used as an anti depressant and increases mobility and induces a happier outlook on life; it has been used as both a sedative and a tonic (you can begin to see the homeopathic picture of Crocus emerging now); in Asia there is a pain killing drug called Crocin (possibly Paracetamol) and the overdose limit with Paracetamol is very small and the damage done to the liver is well documented and Crocin also is linked to liver damage as well as renal damage. The liver damage is especially important because Crocus is a haemorrhagic remedy, the liver literally bleeds out – hence my advice to eat Saffron with some reserve. So, the physical damage of this remedy is quite plain to see, but what of the emotional and mental damage? Crocus is one of the alternating remedies, i.e. certain symptoms oscillate. On the one extreme there can be a violent rage and on the other an affectionate and loving demeanour. But the important keynote is the alternation and not so much the extremes as these could be reduced to ‘impulse’ that can both attract and repel or both. Another way of understanding this is that someone who might need Crocus will not like being neglected (delusion, unfit for business) and will devise methods of making themselves known and this often takes either an aggressive stance that matches the volatility of the saffron oil or one full of affectations such as kissing, dancing, laughing singing etc, that which matches the anti-depressant nature of the remedy. The alternations also take the form of changing sides, changing between mental and physical symptoms or shifting from heat to icy cold. Thus you could say that Crocus is caught between 2 fires all stemming from the fact that they are doubtful of their soul’s welfare and believe themselves to be unfit, or unworthy of the task ahead – life! The actual visions of fire comes from the sensations within the eyes – a sensation as of electric sparks or jumping spots before the eyes; a sensation as if smoke were in the eyes. The vision of fire is fanned by a sensation as if cold air were rushing through they eyes. Think of fire, visions of fire, fiery reds and yellows, think of heat, think of walking on cinders and hot footing it about and then the sensation as if something alive, one that is prominent in Crocus, begins to make sense, something makes them want to jump around uncontrollably. In the abdomen there is a sensation as if something living were jumping about (violent foetal movements, false pregnancies); there is ‘jumping’ pain in the breasts; a sensation as if cold air were rushing through the eyes; chorea and spasmodic contractions; prickling and crawling on the skin; jumping sensation around the heart; jumping spots before the eyes; cutting and jerking pains. Keeping within the theme of visions of fire Crocus has a lot of fiery redness and heat (sometimes matched with icy coldness as you would expect in a remedy with so many alternations). There are the menopausal ‘fires’ – a heat that rises upwards to the heart; the face is hot and red and alternating with paleness; unusual warmth in the mouth; scarlet redness of the whole body and this latter symptom gives a connection to Measles and Crocus has an ‘old’ reputation for ‘bringing out’ the eruption, the fire. VALERIANA OFFICINALIS – valerian ABANDONED It would seem as though every conceivable remedy could have feelings of being abandoned and forsaken, such is the world we live in, sadness prevailing as well as a lack of nurture, along with all the other factors that help create these feelings of being unwanted. But this is not a huge rubric compared to some so we must assume that the remedies contained within this rubric are precious to the real meaning of being abandoned or forsaken. So, why does Valerian feel abandoned? Valerian is volatile and over sensitive, the nerves especially are affected producing such a transient changing disposition characterised by agitation and restlessless on the physical plane and on the mental and emotional planes this transience is portrayed by a sense of duality – one that changes suddenly and goes from one extreme to the other with an in-between stage that relates to a sensation of floating. Physically this is felt as vertigo, as if intoxicated without knowing what they are doing, but in the mind they are spinning between deep grief and total euphoria and this is such a giddy state to be in that opting for a floating midline position is favourable rather than flailing around in the wilderness extreme – it is a grounding device, albeit one that is still floating. This is where the sense of being abandoned and forsaken arises – floating between a rock and a hard place. Therefore ‘isolation’ is, perhaps, a more correct understanding of being abandoned or forsaken. Much of this changing disposition is due to valerianic acid. This acid was identified from the oil of the dolphin (19thC) and was named delphinic acid and it wasn’t until later to be seen as identical to that found in valerian and was thus re-named. This acid is present in a number of plants including Sambucus, Anthemis (chamomile), Artemesia, Angelica, and Viburnum – all remedies that show an oscillation between euphoria and restless fear in some way or another. Valerianic acid is inflammable and has an extremely nasty odour when mixed with water but odourless in alcohol – possibly one reason why there are illusions of smell and taste in the proving symptoms. There are also mental and emotional hallucinations that pertain to the feelings of being isolated and abandoned – they begin to believe they are someone else; as if all around were strange and disagreeable; as though the room were desolate and does not feel at home and so compelled to leave; lots of erroneous ideas; imagines animals and people and yet they dread to be alone and become hysterical and impossible to keep grounded – this could be diagnosed as an epileptic fit but it will have the nature of passing from one extreme to the other. These extremes are also noted on the physical plane with various pains that come and go suddenly, equally transient as the mental states. These too are abated by sensations that hold the person down, in a metaphorical way – in the throat there is a sensation as if a thread were hanging down and the limbs begin to feel like lead. Needless to say, with all this excitement, Valerian is one of the remedies well known to promote sleep and induce a sensation of quiet and calm and thus this remedy is also known for its lack of reaction as well. Valerian is an untamed remedy of wild extremes suitable to the wilderness of being abandoned. Welcome About... this and that Materia Medica (1) Materia Medica (2) Remedy of the Month (1) Remedy of the Month (2) Curious Rubrics Prove It! 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