By Ian Watson

“The homeopaths of the future will not be ‘unprejudiced observers’.  They will be self-aware participants in the magical interaction that occurs between practitioner, client and remedy.  Furthermore, they will no longer rely only on that which can be perceived ‘objectively’ with the senses.  They will learn to fine-tune their inner faculties, and practice with confidence and accuracy based on their understanding and awareness of energy.”

Ian Watson

Definition

This method encompasses a number of different ways of grouping remedies together according to certain themes or patterns, and matching these to corresponding themes and patterns found in patients. 

Introduction

In recent years there has been a considerable expansion of the materia medica, and whilst the repertories have struggled to keep pace with all the new remedies being introduced, the prescriber’s job is not made any easier by the introduction of literally hundreds of unfamiliar remedy pictures every year.  One way in which homoeopaths have found that they can integrate a large amount of information into practice is to learn remedies in groups and families of different kinds, rather than attempting to learn every remedy individually.  This is not a new idea by any means - Farrington’s Clinical Materia Medica, for example, discusses remedies that fall into natural groups such as snake venoms and remedies from related plant species.  Cooper and Burnett also studied remedies in this way, recognizing that several plants from the same family were liable to have certain symptoms and affinities in common. 

These hints from some of the old masters have inspired contemporary homeopaths to develop these themes even further, and to extend them beyond being simply aids to learning, into the realms of case analysis and actual prescribing in fairly sophisticated ways.  The basic idea is to categorize remedies according to some particular theme, and then to look for a similar theme in a patient.  Once the theme itself is identified, the job of finding the most similar remedy is made a lot easier because only the remedies related to that theme need be considered.  As an example, it has become commonplace for homeopaths to say “this person needs a spider remedy” or “that person needs a mineral”.  Having matched the person to a specific group of remedies, the task then is to use the symptoms of the case to differentiate within that group. 

The groups and themes that have been developed are many and varied, and reflect the interests of different prescribers.  I will mention only a few of the better-known themes with which I have some personal experience. 

The Circle

The circle is a system of analysis based on the traditional four elements -earth, air, fire and water.  The Israeli homeopath Joseph Reeves is credited with associating homeopathic remedies with these themes initially, and in recent years this work has been developed and extended in the U.K. by Jeremy Scherr, David Mundy, Misha Norland and others. 

The four elements are understood to be inter-related and complementary, and they represent the four basic ways in which energy-as-matter manifests.  They are sometimes referred to as the four qualities - dry, cold, hot and damp.  (It is interesting to note that they overlap considerably with the ancient Chinese five-element system, where the types are described as earth, water, metal, wood and fire.) Once the nature of these basic qualities have been understood, it is then possible to describe remedies and patients in terms of the relative emphasis of the four elements.  Remedies can be grouped by noting, for example, which element is dominant or lacking.  Natrum-mur., by this method, would have a predominance of water, whilst Belladonna, with all its heat, redness and fevers, would clearly be in the fiery group. 

Case analysis based on the circle attempts to gain an understanding of the balance of these energetic qualities in the patient, and then to find a remedy or group of remedies with a corresponding balance.  The circle has been extended to include many correspondences of organs, systems, diseases, temperaments etc., and someone who is well versed in it has a considerable advantage over a homeopath who only sees symptoms as symptoms.  What the circle, and some of the other ways of grouping remedies provide, is a framework for understanding the energetic imbalance within a patient which, to my mind, is an essential skill for a practitioner of what is, after all, an energy medicine. 

Planetary Diagnosis

This technique has been developed and refined by Robin Murphy, and instead of being based on four basic types, it is based on seven.  These are represented by the seven planets of the ancients, corresponding to the seven days of the week.  These are the sun (Sunday), moon (Monday), mars (Tuesday), mercury (Wednesday), Jupiter (Thursday), Venus (Friday) and Saturn (Saturday).  One of the most interesting aspects of this system is that it allows for the diagnosis of both ‘fixed’ planets that are determined by the day and time of a person’s birth, and also transitory planets that are passing influences.  This enables the prescriber to diagnose inherent organ weaknesses and other susceptibilities with a fair degree of accuracy, and also to differentiate between diseases that are a result of constitutional tendencies from those that are acquired due to other causes. 

As with the elements of the circle, each of the seven planets represents a particular type or quality of energy, and has a wide range of correspondences associated with it.  The moon, for example, is considered to rule the brain, stomach, and breasts; the menstrual cycle, conception and fertility; sleep, dreams and the unconscious realm; and disorders such as addictions, insomnia, hemorrhage and travel sickness.  Each planet also has a corresponding metal and gemstone, and a range of herbal and homeopathic remedies that will tend to resonate with that particular type of energy.  Another intriguing aspect of planetary diagnosis is that associations can be made with times of the day, days of the week and specific stages of life, which can help to illuminate many of the otherwise inexplicable modalities that exist in our materia medica. 

Case Examples

I once treated someone with an undiagnosed neuro-muscular problem, with varying degrees of weakness in the limbs and transient pains.  After trying several remedies based on the symptom-picture to no avail, I studied the planets that corresponded to the patient’s date and time of birth, which turned out to be mercury in both cases.  On this basis, and knowing that mercury has an affinity with the nervous system, I gave the corresponding planetary metal, in the form of Mercurius-vivus 6c, and it produced a marked and lasting improvement in her condition. 

My colleague Anne Waters tried a similar approach in a case of chronic rheumatoid arthritis which indicated remedies failed to alleviate.  The patient was born on a Saturday, which suggests she would have a constitutional tendency to problems corresponding to the energy of the planet Saturn.  These include problems with the bones and skeletal system, and a tendency to stiffness and degeneration of tissue.  Anne prescribed the planetary metal of Saturn, which is lead, in the form of Plumbum metallicum and Plumbum iodatum, combined together in the 6th potency.  The patient reported that this remedy gave a huge amount of relief, and was decidedly more effective than the other remedies she had taken.  Cases like this one serve to illustrate how the potential curative properties of metals and other substances are not always confined to the symptomatic indications brought out in provings. 

In another case I treated someone with a chronic tickly cough which the usual

cough remedies failed to cure.  Tracing it back to its origin, the cough had begun on a Saturday, and on this basis I gave Ceanothus 6c which produced a curative result.  The remedy was chosen because in the planetary system the main organ associated with Saturn is the spleen, and this reminded me of a number cases that Burnett describes in his writings where the patient had what he termed a ‘splenic cough’. 

Chakra Diagnosis

Another map of seven which many homeopaths have found helpful describes the seven chakras, or energy-centers, and this system provides another way of grouping a large number of phenomena and their corresponding remedies into a manageable number of basic themes. 

The chakras are considered to be places within the human energy system where life energy is concentrated and filtered, and they are a kind of interface between a person’s psychological state and their physical body.  Each chakra has an associated endocrine gland and other related organs, as well as a correspondence with a particular type of emotional energy.  When, for example, the emotion becomes suppressed, the energy flow at that centre will be impeded, and there will be a corresponding effect on the related endocrine gland and other organs. 

Although the chakras were described thousands of years ago in the ancient vedic texts, fields such as psycho-neuro-immunology have only recently begun to confirm how truly inseparable the mind and body are.  Homeopaths, of course, have long recognized this inter-relationship, but familiarity with the chakras enables a far greater depth of understanding in this area.  I have come to believe that the anatomy and physiology of the energy system, of which the chakras are an important aspect, ought to be a standard part of any homeopathic training. 

Chakras and Corresponding Remedies

Here a few suggestions of polychrest homeopathic remedies and the chakras with which they have a particularly strong affinity.  Obviously most remedies have an effect on more than one energy-centre, but it is still helpful to understand where the main emphasis of the remedy’s action lies. 

Case Examples

I have seen many cases where an awareness of the location of a disturbance within the chakra system enhanced my understanding of what needed treating and what kind of remedies might be helpful.  Often I have noticed that during a consultation people will tend to protect the area of their energy body where they are vulnerable or where their energy is blocked, usually with their hands, folded arms, crossed legs or a similar unconscious gesture. 

One patient I remember always clasped both hands tightly across her abdomen in the region of the solar plexus chakra.  This immediately pointed to issues with self-confidence, fears and possibly anger.  She had physical complaints of indigestion, flatulence and various food intolerances.  The remedy that was clearly indicated on every level was Lycopodium, which I have come to realize is probably the leading polychrest with a solar-plexus chakra affinity. 

One advantage of understanding the energy state of the chakras is that a cross-reference can be made between a person’s physical and emotional state.  I have seen many patients with chronic coughs which failed to clear up with well-indicated remedies.  Knowing that the heart chakra (which relates to the whole chest area, including the lungs) is associated with grief and sadness, I have often found that Ignatia will cure these coughs even when it doesn’t seem to match the symptoms exactly.  Just as Lycopodium has an affinity with the solar-plexus chakra, so Ignatia has an affinity with the heart chakra, and can be prescribed by correspondence when indicated remedies fail to act. 

On one occasion I prescribed Medorrhinum 30 to a patient suffering with chronic catarrh, sinus trouble and some joint problems.  Immediately after taking it she had some profoundly vivid dreams, and then began to see the auras of people around her - something which had never happened before.  This alerted to me the affinity that Medorrhinum has with the brow chakra, situated at the site of the ‘third eye’.  This chakra is associated with clairvoyant vision and the dream faculty, among other things.  I have subsequently found that many people with sinus trouble and frontal headaches have congested energy in the brow chakra, which may be associated with a latent clairvoyant or other kind of psychic sensitivity. 

I have found that understanding remedies according to their chakra affinities often helps to make sense of some of the strange symptoms that many remedies seem to have.  For example, the base chakra is associated with survival issues, and is often blocked energetically when there is a history of violence, injury or abuse - i.e.  any situation where a person has felt that their survival may be in danger.  Anacardium is a remedy that is often indicated for someone with this kind of history, which would suggest that it has a base chakra affinity.  Interestingly, one of the super-keynotes of Anacardium is a sensation as if the rectum were plugged up, which is a perfect physical description of an energy blockage in the base chakra! I imagine that as our understanding and knowledge of the human energy system grows, we will develop a correspondingly deeper understanding of our materia medica also. 

Further Reading

A.  Judith
Eastern Body, Western Mind
Wheels of Life
Celestial Arts, Berkeley, California

C.  Myss
Anatomy of the Spirit
Bantam Books, London

C.  Page
Frontiers of Health
C.W.  Daniel Co., Saffron Walden, Essex

I.  Watson
Health & The Planets
Homoeopathy & the Chakras
Dynamic Homeopath
Dynamic Materia Medica
Audiotape sets
Cutting Edge Publications, PO Box 32, Kendal, LA9 4AR, England

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