BASE CHAKRA
The coccyx and the adrenal glands
Element: Earth. The base chakra is not only the centre that ‘connects’ with the earth but is also the channel for the elimination of waste, ingested food that is processed by first fire and then water before returning to its earth state.
Planet: Saturn who represents life lessons and what they teach us. His symbol of the cross of Earth and the crescent of mind represents matter over mind.
It is in this centre that we learn basic survival; we become established as individuals amongst the ‘tribe’ of people we are born to. The coccyx represents the ‘anchor’, the source of groundedness. If the coccyx is damaged or removed then the sense of structure is threatened or absent. Often, in cases where there is injury to the spine or coccyx (even in distant history), well-chosen remedies that do not reflect the trauma may well have little chance of holding. This centre is about learning one’s limitations and boundaries. It is also about coming to terms with those things that leave us choiceless; those things that we can do nothing about and have to accept. This is the chakra most affected by fear which destabilizes it so easily. Feeling fear may indicate lack of resolve, lack of self-esteem and a wavering of purpose. If we do not inhabit the base chakra fully, we become vulnerable to the undue influence of others. If we lose our sense of autonomy then the base chakra is weakened. The homoeopathic concept of susceptibility starts in this centre. The base is most active in childhood up until puberty. Whatever trauma is registered in this time will cause problems, for the adult, with grounding which will need healing and resolution as far as possible.
Indications for the appraisal of the base chakra
• All basic conditions of the skin (psoriasis and eczema)
• weakness or lack of plasiticity in tendons, ligaments and joints (arthritis)
• conditions arising from injuries (particularly to the head, spine and coccyx)
• stasis and lack of development (stuckness on any level) including physical or mental growth (though without the miasmatic influence of syphilis or sycosis)
• difficult dentition
• constipation
• numbness; paralysis; Parkinsonism
• poor ability to heal physically
• conditions arising from surgery or general anaesthetics (see also the crown)
• adrenal insufficiency
• fears and anxieties about self-worth, inadequacy and confidence
• tendency to repeat previous mistakes
• lack of grounding and severe restriction due to limitations (self-imposed or by others)
The miasms that influence the base chakra
Psora
Positive representative values:
• integrity of purpose
• independence without isolation
• self-discipline
• self-sufficiency without selfishness
• being of service
• understanding the importance of organization, sequence and establishment
• knowing one’s limitations and accepting their purpose in forging the base chakra
• acceptance of having to live in the real world
Negative representative values:
• inadequacy leading to dependency on other people, treatment, illness, systems
• denying or ignoring the lessons of experience
• repeating the same errors of judgement
• allowing oneself to be deluded
• fearing to live in the real world
• loss of direction in the face of threat or falseness
• preferring the freefall of ungroundedness and allowing one of the higher chakras to stand in for the base (especially the sacral or the heart)
All physical, mental, emotional symptoms < (worse from or aggravated by) suppression which leads to disease striking inwards and the stirring of other miasms. Poor recovery from infectious diseases. Lack of reaction. Weakness and debility. Extreme sensitivity to the environment. All processes slow down, dry out and crack up. Chickenpox.
Leprosy
Positive representative values:
• provision of mutual support (belongs to a self-supporting group that is self-sufficient)
• generosity of spirit towards others who suffer
• being prepared to sacrifice for a greater good
• acceptance of karmic justice (accepting the need to resolve past and ancestral trauma before moving on)
• lack of negative judgement in adversity
Negative representative values:
• loss of motivation through despair
• refusal to grow; being in permanent retreat
• denying the existence of anything outside immediate grasp
• dependence on religious strictures for a life structure
• allowing fate to rule life
• becoming a victim of neglect and isolation
Always feels outcast: not worthy of a place in society. Suffers in silence. Believes that disease is inevitable and that it will only heal if destiny or God will permit. Feels he or she has no influence over the negative force of disease. Accepts fate with resignation. Hates the thought of charity.
Tissue destruction: nerve damage; can be mistaken for syphilism. Glands swell; nerves clump = (leads to or causes) ganglia. Numbness and lack of feeling. << the sun. Eczema, dermatitis. Skin breaks down. Ulceration. Fungal infections.
Bowel nosode – Morgan Pure: congestion and stagnation leading to tension, irritability, depression and negativity; hypochondriasis.
The judicious use of the twelve tissue salts as support remedies for constitutional prescribing in those patients who either live within a context of strong maintaining causes or who have a fundamental weakness in their constitution is very useful in giving the base centre a strength which is otherwise lacking. Prescribing them according to patients’ birth signs can help in using the tissue salts in this way.
Established remedies of the base chakra
Aconite, Arnica, Arsen-alb, Baryta-carb, Bellis-per, Calc-carb, Kali-carb, Leprosinum, Lyc, Phos, Plum, Plutonium, Psor, Puls, Sil, Sulph, Thuja.
New remedies of the base chakra
Amethyst, Ash, Ayahuasca, Black Obsidian, Buddleia, Clay, Emerald, Fagus Purpurea, Golden Beryl, Goldfish, Hazel, Hornbeam, Ilex Aquifolium, Jet, Lotus, Lumbricus, Moldavite, Oak, Salix Fragilis, Silverfish, Silver Birch, White Chestnut Flower, Yellow.
SACRAL CHAKRA
The generative organs and the kidneys
Element: Water. This chakra is where the balance of water in the body is maintained. Water is also associated traditionally with emotions and this centre is the source of the raw energy of emotion.
Planet: Jupiter which represents duality/sensuality/expansion/growth. His symbol of the crescent of mind over the cross of Earth represents mind over matter.
This centre is the seat of humanity’s condition of duality; of free choice for the learning of lessons initiated by the base/Saturn. It becomes active with the onset of puberty though it is not the case that this chakra is only to do with sexuality. It is about the expansion of awareness; of moving away from one’s ‘comfort zone’ in order to milk the opportunities of choice. The kidneys hold the key to ancestral energy patterns and whatever unresolved patterns of behaviour are inherited will influence the manner in which an individual will set out to explore this centre. The uterus and prostate represent the ‘lower heart’. Any experience or trauma to the organs of this centre will register on the emotions (heart) and the creativity (throat and parathyroid centres). The sacral chakra is also the centre that generates the willingness or addiction to risk; the energy we need to break free of earthly constraints lies here. The dichotomy between common sense and excitement suggests the struggle between Saturn and Jupiter; where sense meets sensibility or sensuality. The sacral centre, once the base is compromised, is where susceptibility to internal disease of the vital organs is most easily initiated.
Indications for the appraisal of the sacral chakra
• Disturbances to the water balance in the system
• hormonal conditions
• urinary tract problems
• pelvic inflammatory disease, endometritis, endometriosis, polycystic ovaries, etc.
• menopausal states
• suppression of natural function by the contraceptive pill, intrauterine devices, the morning-after pill, fertility treatment or hormone replacement treatment
• sexually transmitted diseases (and their suppression)
• sexual dysfunction, abuse, perversion
• pathology of the breasts (as breasts often reflect the combined history of trauma in the sacral centre and unresolved emotional states that stem from difficult relationships with one or other of the parents or the partner)
The miasm that influences the sacral chakra
Sycosis
Positive representative values:
• unfettered enjoyment of life
• command and awareness of the senses and sensitivities to aid in making choices of direction
• imaginative, expansive right-brained activity
• ability to judge opportunity with a balance of common sense and enjoyment
• generosity – being able to accommodate others and give just as much as will make a positive difference
• knowing how and when to put the self first without succumbing to egotism and selfishness
Negative representative values:
• irrational thinking based on speculation and expectations generated by negative experience
• excessive behavioural traits
• susceptibility to addiction: inability to avoid negative temptations
• giving away too much: excessive generosity without being able to receive
• becoming a participating victim: allowing others to manipulate and use them
• muddled creative thinking; poor concentration of thought processes that make artistic expression unreliable or unpredictable
General state of confusion: cannot make decisions; doesn’t know what to believe (either from others or about life or spiritual matters). Finds it hard to discriminate between good and bad choices which leads to crippling feelings of guilt. Unable to think in a logical, linear or sequential manner. (Yet can be excellent at lateral thinking.) Become the perfect victims of syphilitics. Often genuinely psychic but always goes too far and wants to tell others what to expect (often inaccurately). Spirituality is confused. Wants to explore it but does not want to do so with any discipline; has no inclination to carry out any spiritual exercises. Want the esoteric to lift them out of the real world as a way of escape. Irrational thoughts lead to explosions of fear, anger, hatred, etc.
Oedema; inflammation; overgrowth: warts, moles and tumours. Diseases of the pelvic floor: inflammatory disease. Burning pains and fiery skin. Mumps.
Bowel nosode – Sycotic Co: irritation of the organs of the sacral chakra with susceptibility to diseases that demand urgent attention and often lead to suppressive treatment. Mood swings result from the general irritability. Fearful, nervous, sensitive.
Established remedies of the sacral chakra
Lach, Lil-tig, Lyc, Med, Puls, Sepia, Syphilinum, Syc-co, Thuja.
New remedies of the sacral chakra
Ash, Blue, Clay, Fagus Purpurea, Golden Beryl, Goldfish, Jet, Lotus, Medorrhinum Americana, Moonstone, Sandalwood, Silver Birch, White Chestnut Flower.
SOLAR PLEXUS CHAKRA
The liver, the pancreas and the spleen
Element: Fire. The spleen and liver, revitalizing and cleansing the blood, generate fire in the system.
Planet: Mars which represents challenge and conflict. His symbol of the cross of Earth guarding or leading the circle of emotion represents the search for attainment.
The liver is the organ of the will; the spleen is the organ of aspiration; the pancreas is the organ of sweetness and joyousness. The solar plexus is the chakra and engine of the manifestation of creativity, the end result of aspiration, inspiration and hard work.
Indications for the appraisal of the solar plexus chakra
• Conditions of stifled creativity; when intolerance, frustration and conflict lead to pathology; unresolved issues of anger and frustration
• gall bladder conditions; digestive tract problems: IBS, peptic and duodenal ulcers, diverticulosis, haemorrhoids
• toxicity; intolerance to wheat and gluten and other foodstuffs
• liver disease: jaundice, hepatitis and pancreatic disease: pancreatitis, diabetes (NBWS or chronic)
• blood disorders including anaemia and clotting problems; hypertrophy of the spleen; conditions arising from splenectomy
• chronic catarrhal conditions stemming from the liver
• migraine (with nausea and vomiting; can sometimes be associated with suppressed sexuality)
• the toxic effects of alcoholism (which arises from disordered base and sacral centres)
• the effects of suppressive allopathic drugging
• trauma to any of the organs of the solar plexus as well as trauma that has caused the thoracic diaphragm to contract and hold a pattern of torsion
The miasm that influences the solar plexus chakra
Tuberculosis
Positive representative values:
• decisiveness
• self-discipline and single-mindedness
• ability to deal with challenge and conflict
• ability to focus on strategy and process in order to achieve a goal
• ability to put purpose and inspiration into practice
• being adventurous within the bounds of responsibility
Negative representative values:
• frustrated ambition; being taken over by ambition
• being overzealous and overreaching
• restlessness and loss of purposeful creative direction
• loss of aspiration; loss of fire
• selfish forcefulness in dealing with others’ needs
Always dissatisfied. Drive others to do what they want. Always challenging other people but afraid or too weak to face any conflict themselves. Quick to react but slow to recover from it. Suffer ‘burnout’. Promiscuous: sex offers an irresistible challenge and a way of release from tension built up by dealing with the world, yet there is no sense of commitment to a relationship to balance this out. Fear of becoming trapped in relationships that might slow them down.
Lowered immune system which leads to frequent infections or increased sensitivity; easily becomes hypersensitive to foods or chemicals in the environment (histamine reactions exaggerated). Reactive bowel diseases; migraine; fevers; eczema.
Bowel nosodes – Morgan Gaertner: eases the physical processes of elimination when chemistry of the gut is wayward; aggressive attitude when faced with challenge; impatient of others’ inadequacies when coping with stress. Dys-co: alleviates fears and anticipation that prevent being creative; afraid of being challenged or tested. Gaertner: defective nutrition due to allergic reactions; problems associated with growing up.
Established remedies of the solar plexus chakra
Arsen-alb, Bell-per, Card-mar, Ceanothus, Chel, China, Hydrastis, Lach, Lyc, Morgan-Gaertner, Nat-mur, Nat-sulph, Nux-vom, Taraxacum, Thuja.
New remedies of the solar plexus chakra
Ayahuasca, Berlin Wall, Black Obsidian, Fagus Purpurea, Golden Beryl, Hazel, Jet, Lotus, Lumbricus, Oak, Okubaka, Red, Ruby, Sea Salt.
HEART CHAKRA with information on the thymus gland, the ‘heart protector’ Heart, lungs and thymus gland
Element: Air. In this centre oxygen invests the blood with ‘breath’; air breathes life into fire.
Planet: The Sun which represents pure feeling and unconditional love; the origin of the desire to reflect life and love in self-expression and art. The seat of the deeper emotions; of human relationships. (The lower heart, which is suffused with the colour green, is the core of earthly emotions and often, in affliction, causes stress in the solar plexus; the upper heart, which is suffused with gold, is the core of unconditional love.) The Sun symbol of the circle with a single point in the centre represents all-encompassing unconditional love.
Indications for the appraisal of the heart chakra
• Heart and circulation conditions: NBWS pericarditis, endocarditis, mitral valve insufficiency, etc.
• lung and breast pathology resulting from emotional trauma and miasmatic influences
• angina, atherosclerosis, high blood pressure, diabetes (see above in solar plexus; diabetes may also be caused by atherosclerosis of the artery leading into the pancreas)
• emphysema, asthma, bronchospasm, bronchiectasis, bronchitis (chronic)
• emotional imbalance; lost opportunities of resolution for emotional trauma
The miasm that influences the heart chakra
Tuberculosis
Positive representative values:
• unconditional love
• chivalry and honour
• open-mindedness
• charity with common sense (see Leprosy); there is no ulterior motive
Negative representative values:
• waste of creative talent
• conditional love
• destructive relationships that lead to grief and damaging karma
• envy and jealousy
• moral superiority – expectation that others should accept their point of view
Feels stifled by convention, rules and tradition. Must break out and find a new path. Restlessness and fear of restriction; avoids commitment. Asthma and other conditions of the lungs. Bleeding diseases. Fevers and inflammatory conditions which leave the patient weak.
Bowel nosode – Proteus: suppressed passion and creativity; trapped in anger and frustration; heart chakra completely blocked by feeling stifled emotionally. Quick to react in mind from long-held and unexpressed bitterness. (Often indicated in those who find themselves living outside their own cultural context or exiled from their home territory.)
Thymus gland
The thymus is an organ of maturation. It is also the organ that appears to hold the history of childhood/family/ancestral emotional trauma. It seems, too, to act as if it were a heart protector. It is as if it records the main stages of life: conception, foetal growth, birth, major events of childhood (and the increasing awareness of our world by the five special senses), puberty, menopause and death, while also registering any major traumas that are not fully resolved. It is deeply affected by artificial immunization. It is also the endocrine gland that is most associated with the syphilitic miasm.
The miasm that influences the thymus gland chakra
Syphilis
Positive representative values:
• desire to seek transformation
• fulfilment by working through negative karma
• allowing for elimination of all but the essentials
• clarity of mind with ability to measure, calculate and gauge on any level; efficient left-brain activity; the scientific, logical, reasoning mind
Negative representative values:
• loss and/or denial of connectedness to the spiritual source
• dependence on material things
• manipulation of others for personal gain
• denying the opportunity to work through karma
• fostering of evil intent by secretive means
Destructive pathology (i.e. MS; motor neurone disease; leukaemia). Internal structures and processes break down and are destroyed. Syphilitic conditions are the result of choosing not to journey towards enlightenment. They are often used by the sufferer either as a means of self-limitation or as a means of ‘punishing’ others, who become carers or anxious witnesses to the decline, and with whom the patient may have had a remarkably difficult relationship.
Established remedies of the heart chakra
Aurum, Aurum-mur-nat, Cactus, Carcinosin, Cratægus, Ign, Kalm-lat, Lach, Latrodectus, Naja, Nat-mur, Proteus, Puls, Tuberculinum, Syphilinum.
New remedies of the heart chakra
Ayahuasca, Berlin Wall, Buddleia, Chalice Well, Emerald, Goldfish, Green, Hazel, Holly Berry, Hornbeam, Jet, Oak, Rainbow, Rhodochrosite, Rose Quartz, Ruby, Sandalwood, Sea Salt, Silver Birch, White Chestnut Flower.
Established remedies of the thymus gland chakra
Arsen-alb, Baryta-carb, Carcinosin, DPT, Ign, Lac-humanum, Nat-mur, Plutonium, Staphysagria, Syphilinum, Thuja, Tuberculinum.
New remedies of the thymus gland chakra
Ayahuasca, Berlin Wall, Black Obsidian, Buddleia, Chalice Well, Eryngiummar, Goldfish, Hornbeam, Jet, Latrodectus, Lotus, Lumbricus, Moldavite, Oak, Rainbow, Rhodochrosite, Rose Quartz, Sandalwood, Thymus Gland, Winchelsea Sea Salt.
THROAT CHAKRA
The thyroid and the parathyroid glands
Planet: Venus. The power of personal magnetism and the expression of purpose, part of which is unification with another thus balancing the sacral centre. Self-expression – the ability to express the feelings that the heart needs to communicate; ruler of artistic expression. The symbol of Venus is the cross of Earth beneath or subordinate to pure emotion and it represents the surrender of the earthly body to the power of the heart.
The parathyroid centre lies above the throat chakra and is integral with it. It is the centre of the highest expressions of the self and is activated by the espousal of causes and by encountering those who can be described as ‘soul mates’.
Indications for the appraisal of the throat chakra
• Thyroid imbalances: hypo-and hyperthyroidism; sluggish metabolic rate or over-adrenalized state that weakens the base centre
• tonsil and throat problems; swollen glands (chronic or frequent acutes)
• conditions of the auditory canal
• circulatory conditions associated with thyroid function
• conditions of unexpressed emotion particularly < from the radiation miasm
The miasm that influences the throat chakra
Radiation – the thyroid is the endocrine gland most at risk from the harmful effects of radiation. (Perhaps this is not, strictly speaking, a miasm at all. It is, however, a permanent feature of ineluctable negative influence on our health though not everyone is as affected by it as others certainly are. If it has a positive side it is one that arises from its clearing as a block to cure.)
Positive representative values:
• awareness of one’s place in the universe
• optimism in the face of the negativity that seems to envelope the world
• free expression of limitless joy
Negative representative values:
• silence of despair
• fragmentation of all positive energy
• loss of awareness of need to express oneself
• being susceptible to infiltration of subversive ideas
Bowel nosode – Morgan: eases congestion and speeds up metabolization; Bacillus No. 7: eases extreme exhaustion and physical fatigue expressed in poor thyroid function.
Established remedies of the throat chakra
Calc-carb, Ignatia, Iodum, Lach, Leprosinum, Lycopodium, Merc-sol, Nat-mur, Phytolacca, Puls, Silica, Spongia.
New remedies of the throat chakra
Blue, Hazel, Rainbow, Rhodochrosite, Sea Salt, White Chestnut Flower.
Established remedies of the parathyroid chakra
Arnica, Belladonna, Hypericum, Ledum, Plantago. (This centre is most affected by the tetanus inoculation. It is also affected by physical damage to the spine, coccyx and occiput or by fevers high enough to dry out the meninges. It is also silenced by witnessing trauma when there is no ability to express in sound what has occurred.)
New remedies of the parathyroid chakra
Moonstone, Oak, Rhodochrosite, Rose Quartz.
BROW CHAKRA
The pituitary gland
Planet: Mercury who creates the balance of intellect and intuition – he is the bearer of spiritual messages to the mind. Mercury governs intuitive perception; awareness and understanding; the interface between pre-destiny, awareness and choice which governs behaviour. The application of active intelligence based on wisdom gained from experience and the observation of circumstances. Mercury’s symbol of the crescent of mind above the circle of emotion subordinating the cross of Earth represents the control of body and emotion by wisdom.
Indications for the appraisal of the brow chakra
• Growth and development problems (on any level, physical, mental or emotional)
• third eye – seeing one’s way in the world and the ability to make choices, particularly those that further karma
• hormonal conditions; endocrine imbalances
• poor drainage from the head of lymph and blood
• migraine (but see solar plexus)
• headaches
• problems of the eyes and vision
• mischief making and manipulation or lack of foresight with tendency to repeat patterns of negative behaviour (but see the base chakra)
The miasm that influences the brow chakra
Education, when the individual has been diverted from their path through the inculcation of learning that is alien to their life purpose. (Clearly this is not a miasm in the true sense of ‘inherited disease taint’ but it can be a negative influence on the life of the individual.)
Positive representative values:
• development of the individual personality
• fostering of the individual’s creativity
• encouragement of self-confidence through self-learning
• development of a tradition of creative excellence through family line
Negative representative values:
• imposition of values that are antipathetic to the individual
• stifling of personal creativity by parental or institutional expectations
• loss of clear judgement
• inability of the individual to find his or her path
• loss of awareness of the intuition
• fostering of the intellect at the expense of intuition which leads to rigidity, dominance of the rational mind and loss of empiricism
Bowel nosode – Proteus: eases tensions created by an overzealous intellect that seeks to analyse everything in the past; connected with the heart as there is a background of family or karmic grief and tension.
Established remedies of the brow chakra
Arg-met, Aurum, Baryta-carb, Baryta-iod, Calc-carb, Calc-iod, Calendula, Carcinosin, Merc-sol, Plutonium, Syph, Tuberculinum.
New remedies of the brow chakra
Ash, Ayahuasca, Black Obsidian, Chalice Well, Fagus Purpurea, Goldfish, Moldavite, Oak, Rainbow, Rhodochrosite, Ruby, Syc-seed.
CROWN CHAKRA
The pineal gland
Planet: The Moon which represents dispassion; cool reflection. The point of connection between divine and human consciousness where personality in born; the quality of receptivity of spiritual purpose. Spiritual connectedness and perception; the centre where negativity and the denial of instinct = fragmentation of purpose. The symbol of the crescent moon represents reflection and detachment from earthly concerns and a complete mastery of intuitive thought.
Indications for the appraisal of the crown chakra
• Sleep: bad dreams; insomnia
• vertigo
• head injuries
• results of drug abuse, loss of awareness/consciousness, dislocation of the spirit from the body after general anaesthesia
• pathology of the psyche
The miasm that influences the crown chakra
Cancer: which is a pathological metaphor for the loss of life purpose or an indication of being lost in a maze of ‘wrong turns’ along life’s path.
Positive representative values:
• renewed discovery of purpose
• ability to regenerate in the face of all adversity; to start again no matter what
• absolute trust in the wisdom and purpose of the universe
• ability to react creatively with what best reflects the combined forces of karma, miasmatic inheritance and spiritual intention that inhabit the individual
• a return to the level of psora
Negative representative values:
• loss of creative purpose
• loss of intuitive grasp
• suppressed ego and absent id
• inability to recover positive momentum in any disease state
• absolute stagnation
Established remedies for the crown chakra
Anhalonium, Cann-ind, Carcinosin, Helium, Hydrogen, Luna, Opium.
New remedies for the crown chakra
Amethyst, Ayahuasca, Buddleia, Goldfish, Hazel, Hornbeam, Lumbricus, Moldavite, Moonstone, Purple, Rainbow, Sandalwood.
Of what significance are the chakras to the remedies and prescribing?
That the chakras are integral to our health is a given for those who have felt the need to draw on the ancient traditions of healing that stem back to the time when Sanskrit was spoken, and beyond to the ancient Egyptians. The awareness that remedies have affinities for chakras is not new either. Nevertheless, the integration of the chakras into prescribing strategies is a process of long gestation and development and may become a source of fascinating study; it is a new enough concept in homoeopathy for us to acknowledge that we need years more work to verify its general usefulness and to understand it thoroughly.
Over the proving years, familiarity with ways of using new (and ‘old’) remedies to support stricken chakras during constitutional treatment has strengthened an approach that has been dubbed ‘three-dimensional prescribing’. This is a way of ‘reading’ and prescribing for patients in terms of:
• their presenting complaint
• the miasmatic background (if there is one – and there usually is in chronic cases)
• potential maintaining causes (either physical or emotional, mental or circumstantial)
• any areas of weakness in the system that would potentially undermine the positive effects of well-indicated remedies
So far, nothing new in this. What is different about three-dimensional prescribing is not to see these aspects separately and treat them in a linear fashion, one after the other, but to take them as a whole and create an integral prescription so that all aspects of potential weakness are supported. If we consider that remedies may not simply be homoeopathic to a patient’s constitution in sickness but also homoeopathic to:
• the condition of a stricken organ that is not the focus of a main complaint but serious enough to disturb the complete action of the chosen indicated medicine
• a maintaining cause that is contributing to the condition being treated
• a moment, an episode or a long period in history that, though lost to view, was when the roots of the illness were established
• one or more of the energy centres of the body
• a state of energy that exists or existed between the patient and another which feeds the condition
and presupposing an intimate knowledge of the complementary relationships between remedies, then it is possible to deal with more than one thing at a time in those cases that are so complex as to defy the ideal of the single minimum dose of an indicated remedy.
Thus it becomes possible to consider a three-dimensional strategy for difficult cases in which present complaint, miasmatic history, traumatic aetiology and/or weakened energy centres (or struggling vital organs outside the immediate sphere of the disease) are all taken into account in an integrated prescription of remedies recognized for their affinities for each other. If someone presents with, say, chronic headaches (NBWS a long period of dental treatment to extract amalgam fillings in which the jaw was traumatized) but also has a weakness in their kidney energy (due to a previous history of suppressed bladder infections) then only prescribing on the constitution that is producing chronic headaches may not be sufficient for a lasting result. To support the indicated constitutional remedy (e.g. Lycopodium) with, for example, Berberis Vulgaris in low potency (chosen for its affinity for the kidneys and its ability to integrate with a very wide variety of other remedies without disturbing them) is simply good homoeopathic household management. If, in addition, one also prescribes Sycamore Seed in order to cope with the history of trauma to the jaw and an imbalance to the cranial base due to the dentistry, then one is complementing the other two remedies with one that has an affinity for the after-effects of trauma to physical structure, most particularly the cranium.1 In such a case, Berberis is supporting the sacral/kidney chakra while the other remedies are working to resolve another problem with a different aetiology but it is doing so as if woven into the ‘fabric’ of the prescription. (Lycopodium is also a kidney remedy though the division of its labours between the headaches and the weakened kidneys might so easily have meant a slower healing or an indifferent result.)
Staying with the idea of chakra support, another example is this: a man with a variety of complaints asks for help to resolve them all. Though he himself gives priority to his poor memory, his acute gout, his shortness of temper, headaches and intermittent pain in his abdomen that he thinks is irritable bowel syndrome, he is clearly exhausted after lifting 100 bales of hay and then playing a 3-set game of tennis. The indications for the gout are Sulphur-ish, those for the headaches and temper are like Nux-vom, his bowel symptoms are similar to Lycopodium and his emotions are Nat-mur-ish as are his food and drink modalities. So many of his energy centres seem affected. Where to begin? This man is a stoic; he doesn’t complain. He works hard; he doesn’t know when to put his tools down and read the paper. He is given Oak 30 because his base centre is indicated by his lack of awareness of when he needs to give himself a break, by his inability to delegate the heavy work to his team and because his energy is low enough for there to be a doubt about his ability to respond to indicated remedies. His energy is immediately boosted and, paradoxically, he sees that he has for some time been doing far more work than he needs. The base chakra is revivified and he sees the reality of his situation. Oak is homoeopathic to his stricken base chakra and its prescription means that the remedies for the gout, gut and megrim that follow, work without impediment.2 (Sulphur, too, is a base chakra remedy but if it were to divide its potential for the exhaustion and the gout – a problem of the solar plexus – then it would take longer to effect a result and might bring on an eliminative aggravation that would exaggerate the already considerable fatigue, or take him into an acute episode of gout which would exacerbate his already stretched anger and energy threshold.)
One further example helps us understand the significance of the chakras in prescribing strategies. Many people come with a physical complaint that is trouble enough to require medication before the emotional aetiology that inspired it. This is typical of heavy-duty pathology such as cancer, but it is also true of lesser complaints such as Crohn’s disease, duodenal ulcer, asthma; the list is long. We might go for the emotional aetiology first but the history of progress into the pathology is just too complex for the Nat-mur, the Staphysagria or the Aurum, for example, to cope with the sheer weight and scope of the woven tapestry of disease energy. So, if one prescribes for the pathology – the energy of the diseased part being greater than the whole and the remedy being homoeopathic to the disease of the whole part – what can one do about the struggling heart centre, the core of the emotional cause? One can prescribe a complementary remedy that is compatible with both the remedy for the pathology and the heart chakra. For example, Emerald will support a Lycopodium; Ruby will support an Arsenicum; Jet will support a Phosphorus; Chalice Well will support a Thuja. These examples are chosen at random from the experience of seeing patients do well; there are many complementary relationships and few caveats about prescribing new remedies in support of each other or of familiar ones.
One of the most valuable additions in helping to support the heart chakra while pathology of other parts is eased is Rose Quartz. Though it has had reported aggravations, they are extremely few and it is a remedy of a remarkably soothing quality; it will be effective in its own right wherever it is indicated but it will support a prescription of other carefully chosen complementary remedies when the heart centre might otherwise be stirred into reaction before the body’s whole energy is quite ready to deal with past grief and trauma.
To understand how to use the information of the chakras requires only a slight shift of perspective in the way we read the remedies. Each one can be seen as a remedy fully capable of resolving conditions in its own right: the minimum dose of the single remedy. Each one can also be seen in the light of the chakra or chakras with which it has close affinities: each is ‘homoeopathic’ to the struggling energy of one or another chakra. The purpose of seeing or reading the remedies (any of them, not just new ones) in this way is to add a further string to our bow. To support a chakra can mean less aggravation, more thorough results from an indicated complementary constitutional remedy and altogether gentler healing. To issue a prescription such as this – Chelidonium LM1, White Chestnut Flower 200 (one each week) and Rose Quartz 30 (three times a week) – might seem to be prodigal and maverick until one knows that it is for a patient who has chronic bowel problems and a sense of unremitting grief having suffered cruel abuse from a violent partner some years before. Bowel (solar plexus), generative organs (sacral chakra) and the emotions (heart) are all involved. Though there are those whose constitutions have sufficient integrity to be able to take and respond curatively to just the remedy indicated by the emotions and the aetiology, these people are rare in the First World. Such cases need long and patient care and support. There is unlikely to be swift resolution for someone suffering from so much trauma buried beneath layers of unexpressed feelings, suppressed pathology and drug toxicity. Though one might be tempted to hurry to the end of the case-taking in order to give the Staphysagria so obviously waiting to be prescribed, it might be a gentler option to consider taking the immediately distressing physical symptoms of the bowels as a priority and giving support to the emotionally and traumatically stricken sacral and heart chakras. When the base (White Chestnut Flower) and solar plexus (Chelidonium) chakras are stronger, then the heart (Rose Quartz) and sacral (White Chestnut Flower) chakras will unlock from their long-held ordeal more gently and thoroughly, and without any need to stir destructive anger however righteous it might be. In other words, when the Chelidonium has done its work in strengthening the organs of elimination it is then to be expected that the patient would be ready to focus all healing efforts on the history of the trauma; the chakras below the heart – the ones that need to be structurally sound to cope with thorough emotional healing – are prepared for the profound changes that will release the patient into a newly creative future. (Grief remedies such as Winchelsea Sea Salt and Emerald follow liver remedies very well.)
It is worth noting that when a miasm hoves into view in any complex case then drawing the nosodes into three-dimensional prescribing strategies becomes useful. Think of the woman suffering from fibroadenoma of the breasts who develops a suspicious lump on the left breast. In addition she has a history of a very difficult relationship with her mother and a past peppered with repeated chest and sinus infections that have always been suppressed with drugs. She does well on Lac Humanum 1M; Silica LM1 and Rose Quartz 30, three times a week. (She asks for more of the Rose Quartz.) She develops a welling anger towards her mother which she has never felt before and at the same time she has an intense sense of restlessness and ‘cabin fever’; she wants to change her job and move house. She stays on the Silica LM1 as she feels that it is making changes to her lump. To this are added Tuberculinum 1M, single collective dose, and Emerald 200, once a week for four weeks – both remedies being of the heart chakra. She returns to say that she and her mother have been speaking to each other in a manner they have not been able to for years; that she had forgotten about moving house or changing her job; that her breast lump has completely disappeared. She appears and sounds content.
When we read homoeopathic literature, written by the indisputable masters such as Clarke and Compton Burnett, Cooper and Shepherd, we can still easily be overwhelmed by the prodigious skill that such physicians commanded. What is also interesting, however, is what is missing from their pages. Homoeopathy prides itself on being one of the few truly holistic systems of medicine; it heals body, mind and spirit. Yet what is absent from its writings is any practical application of remedies to the third aspect, spirit (with a small ‘s’ and no formal religious connotations). Perhaps past homoeopaths would say that the results of successful prescriptions are example enough of the workings of spirit and we should leave it at that. However, if, by working with the chakra system, we are able to continue to observe and to develop Hahnemann’s central tenet of medical philosophy as he enshrined it in the first three aphorisms of The Organon then we are contributing creatively to a tradition of medical thought that has now withstood the test of centuries. This is not the first book to broach this aspect of homoeopathy and the provers of these remedies make no pretence of being pioneers except in their own inner journeys. Nevertheless, it is their sincerest wish that the work begun in the last decade of the old century should be of service to all practitioners in the 21st.
In reading and studying these 36 remedies, it is helpful to absorb them in the light of patients’ potential for creativity rather than solely in the shadow of negative pathological energy. All remedies, new and familiar, do more than correct ills; they are forces of positive change that allow people to fulfil their purpose.
1 The prescription for this case was Lycopodium LM1, Sycamore Seed 30 (one three times a week for four weeks) and Berberis Vulgaris 3x (daily for four weeks).
2 In this case, the man went on to receive Lycopodium, Ignatia and Sulphur. He occasionally needed further doses of Oak when he became stressed, disorganized and unfocused. It always pulled him back to ‘centre’.