ASTERACEAS

JAN SCHOLTEN

An introduction to the Asteraceae family

by Jan Scholten

The basic themes

of the Asteraceae can be found in those of the Lanthanides and Carbon.

Asteraceae have a strong drive for individuality, independence and living their own
lives. They have a strong aversion to being interfered with. They want to do things on
their own, going their own way. They prefer to say that things are going well rather than
being interrupted or intruded upon. This is exemplified by the symptom known for
Arnica when he says he is well and sends the doctor away. Even when they are sick,
they do not want to be hassled by doctors or others. They hate operations, vaccinations,
medications, and any other intervention. It is an expression of wanting to go their own
way, a theme of the Lanthanides, combined with that of their body, which relates to the
Carbon theme. The bodily theme is similarly expressed by ailments from traumas. They
want to keep their integrity, also in their body. Any blow, beating, accident, or
hemorrhages in any form is an intrusion of their boundaries, a violation of their
integrity. A basic expression of the remedy is a feeling of vulnerability.

Psychologically, they want to become integrated. They have a desire to become one
person instead of a complex of different personalities that act differently in different
situations. It is a drive for individuation. It makes it difficult for them to project
problems onto others. They want to take responsibility for their own lives, taking their
life in their own hands. They have a feeling that they are not strong enough to keep
other influences out of their system. They express that as a lack of resistance. Often, it is
also a physical problem; they do not have enough resistance against infections,
especially viral infections with high fever. The typical disease for Asteraceae is the
classic influenza, with high fever, cold shivering, dull mind, and muscle and bone pains.
Typically, they do not have a fear of death at all during these fevers. They are very ill,
far away most of the time, they want to be left alone, and they have an aversion to food
and sometimes, even drinks. But they do not fear death; they almost feel pleased if they
would die. This comes from a kind of natural spiritual confidence, a trust in nature or
God.

Asteraceae are the most developed plants, in my opinion. They have a strong need for
individuality and autonomy. They want to feel like a human being, not a child, wife,
husband, worker or whomever. They want to make the world a better place where
everyone can be healthy, happy, and in the light. They want to make the world sunny,
but in order to be able to do that, they have to become free themselves and find out what
their purpose in life is. They need to know what they have come to do in this world.

Autonomy:
It is important for them to live their own lives, to follow their own path in life. They
want to be autonomous and independent. They have an aversion to being influenced,
dominated, held back, limited, and made dependent or blocked in any way. They want
to do things for themselves, also heal themselves when sick. Others telling them what to
do is very harmful. They hate doctors and treatments that take them over. They have a
strong need for integrity. They want to be themselves and be uninfluenced by strangers,
but they fear they will not have enough resistance. A lack of resistance is a typical
expression for them.

Skin/Wounds:
Intrusions in all forms are felt as detrimental. Typical is the fear that their bodily
integrity will become violated. They have accidents, wounds, bruises, ecchymosis; any
intrusion into their bodily field can be very detrimental. Integrity must be defended.
They have to protect their boundaries against attacks of enemies. They feel vulnerable,
insecure, and threatened. Their defense can go so far that they even consider touch or
being watched as an attack. They have a strong desire to have enough resistance.

Integration:
They want to integrate parts of their personality; like the integration of many small
flowers into one big flower. Jung calls this individuation. They try not to be a victim of
their different personalities, but to be one. They hate the hypocrisy of saying something
on one occasion and then something else on another.

Individualization:
They want to be individuals. They want to feel like a human being. They do not want to
be cast in a particular role: child, wife, husband, worker or whomever. They feel more
human than man or woman, are more androgynous. They want to find their purpose in
life. During high fevers, they often realize their life purpose and become more
independent, stronger, and adult. High fevers somehow ‘burn’ the personality into the
child.

Self-worth:
They have a need for a strong personality. They want to be strong, self-reliant with
enough resistance to be able to cope with the world, all threats. They can be ambitious.
They hate humiliation, belittling. They have a need for a safe family, a strong father
supporting them to develop their self-worth and individuality.

Mind:
Central emotion: vulnerable; lack of resistance
Androgyny
Absent-minded, confused, can't think clearly, < fever
As children, they don’t feel like children, but more like small adults
Hypersensitive: sounds, music; light, sun; pain, health; intrusions of others, blows,
trauma
Desire: freedom, independence, autonomy
Desire: resistance; protection from parents
Aversion: hierarchy, hypocrisy, being domineered, put in a frame or box, controlled,
forbidden
Aversion: doctors, injections, medication, operations, vaccinations, wounds, hurt
Aggression, anger, fight, bossy, tyrannical; kicking, screaming, beating, biting,
stamping their feet, slamming doors
Obstinate, stubborn, self-willed, conceitedTimid, shy, closed, pacifism
Sadness, despondency, weeping
Ailments from being belittled, criticized, humiliated, treated as a child
Fears: being hurt, criticized, ruined, threat, invaded; operations, injections, doctors;
accidents, blows, wounds, smacked; touch; dark, alone; big scary animals, witches,
monsters, vampires, ghosts; death of parents; strangers

General:
Sensation: sore, bruised, beaten; wounded, beaten, broken
Weather: -> sun; <- grey weather
Aversion: liver; intestines; food, < fever
Physical: < < < vaccinations; < dentition

Body:
Fever, high more than 39-40 C/102-104 F, cold shivering, alternating with heat and
sweating, bruised everywhere, dull, inability to think, sick, only lying, averse food
General: bleeding, hemorrhage, nosebleed, haematemesis, menorrhagia; inflammation,
swelling, edema, heat
Infection: virus; influenza, flu, measles, rubella; bacteria, microbes; fungi, yeast;
parasites; worms; insects
Head: pain aching, full, pressing, forehead, < bending forward, < stooping; sinusitis
frontal; encephalopathy, < liver failure
Eyes: watering, red, itching, tears
Nose: hay fever; running nose, < grasses; sneezing
Mouth: pains, teeth, < dentition
Stomach: nausea, vomiting
Abdomen: spleen problems; liver complaints
Rectum: diarrhea
Urinary: cystitis
Female: infertility; menorrhagia, metrorrhagia; miscarriages; parturition problems,
bleeding
Limbs: bones broken; muscle pain, bone pain; fibromyalgia
Skin: wounds, injuries, bruises, beaten; warts, mollusca

Photos: Wikimedia Commons

Asteraceae poster; Alvesgaspar, Tony Wills
1. Yellow chamonile; 2. Garland chrysanthenum; 3. Coleostephus myconis; 4.
Marguerite; 5. Sow thistle; 6. Chicory; 7. Treasure flower; 8. Galactites; 9. Field
marigold; 10. Ox-eyed daisy; 11. Common hawkweed; 12. Cape daisy

Autonomy, Integration, and Trauma: the Asteraceae Family

by Sally Williams

In October 2012, Louis Klein and Luminos hosted Jan Scholten for two enlightening
seminars. His long awaited new book, Wonderful Plants is near publication and the
seminar revealed to us, once again, Jan Scholten's brilliance. In this issue of
Interhomeopathy, Carol Jones will present a review of his seminar and the plant system.

During Jan's visit to Toronto a group of homeopaths came together to prove three new
plants from the Asteraceae family. The Asteraceae, at one time more commonly known
as the Compositae family, are of the flowering-plant order Asterales. With more than
1,600 genera and almost 24,000 species of herbs, shrubs, and trees distributed
throughout the world, Asteraceae is one of the largest plant families. Based on the
discovery of well-preserved fossils, Paleo-botanists suggest that the first members of
this family may have evolved in Argentina some 50 million years ago.

Despite being vast, the Asteraceae family has been well represented in our materia
medica with familiar remedies such as Abrotanum, Chamomilla, Echinacea,
Taraxacum, and others, but a depth and breadth has been lacking in our understanding.
In Jan's article on this complex plant family, he compares the Asteraceae to the
Lanthanide series of elements, giving us a broader, well developed picture. Along with
Jan's article, we also feature the three trituration provings conducted in Toronto:
Cosmos, Moonbeam coreopsis and Gaillardia aristata. The three provings beautifully
illustrate the themes of the Asteraceae: autonomy, integration, and trauma.
To round out this issue, Nancy Frederick presents a superb case of a little documented
snake root, Nabalus sepentaria, and Marty Begin provides a unique perspective with a
case of the classic Bellis perennis.

I hope you enjoy this issue as much as we have enjoyed bringing it to you. I want to
thank the authors of the wonderful articles presented this month and the courageous
provers that brought three new beautiful remedies to our materia medica. Finally, many
thanks to Robert Muntz and Remedia for generously potentizing these new remedies to
a 200C.  We wish you happy reading and – as always – successful prescribing!

A proving of Gaillardia aristata; Blanketflower

by Matilde Flores

Natural History:

Class                                       Magnoliopsida
Subclass                                  Asteridae
Order                                      Asterales
Family                                     Asteraceae
Genus                                     Gaillardia Foug.
Species                                   Gaillardia aristata Pursh - blanketflower

Gaillardia aristata, known by the common names: common blanketflower and common
gaillardia, is a perennial wildflower native to much of northern and western North
America, where it grows in many habitats. It reaches maximum heights of 20-70
centimeters (7.9-28 inches). It has lance-shaped leaves near the base and several erect,
naked stems holding the flowers. The flower head has a center of brownish to reddish
disc florets and a fringe of ray florets that are about one to three cm. long and yellow to
reddish with dark bases.
Uses:

- Some Plateau Indian tribes used blanketflower to treat wounds and fevers.[1]

- Gaillardia aristata is a widely cultivated ornamental plant, used as a perennial garden

flower.

Commentary:

I planted Gaillardia aristata in my garden about six years ago and I love how profusely it
blooms and how colorful it is. It reminded me of Mexican huipiles (wipiles), the
colorful traditional garment worn by indigenous women in Mexico and Central
America, so I gave it the name “Frida Kahlo”. 

On arriving in Toronto, I found out that a few days before The Art Gallery of Ontario
has opened the show “Frida and Diego: Passion, Politics and Painting”.

The provers did not know the story of Frida Kahlo, yet the feelings that started to
emerge even before someone inquired about Kahlo’s story were: deep “mournful
yearning”, broken heart, broken structures, broken bones and images of pools of fresh
blood.  Survival, passion and search for self-meaning and healing were also strong
themes.

At the beginning of C3 – Third round of trituration – Jan, who had been to the exhibit
the day before, brought into the room the book: Frida Kahlo: Retrospective, by Helga
Prignitz-Poda; et.al., Prestel, NY. The provers looked through the book and were
amazed to realize that the themes that were coming through in the proving were
confirmed by the artist’s paintings.

My sense is that the nature of this substance is a strong survival instinct. The shadow
side of that is the apprehension about not being able to survive the strong challenges
that threaten the inner and outer integrity of being. Not surviving means disconnection,
aloneness and loss. To make it through the challenges will require finding and holding
onto the inner fire.

According to Jan Scholten’s Plant System:

666-44.12 Gaillardia
Series: Lanthanide of the lanthanide series.
Clade: Angiospermae; Asteranae; Campanulidae; Asterales; Asteraceae; Heliantheae;
gaillardia
Phase: 4; sub-phase 4
Stage: 12

The following is a sample of the main issues brought up by the proving. For the
complete proving go to: www.greatlakesprovings.com

Mental/Emotional Themes
Strength in Surviving/Confidence

Jan: C2 Powerful flower, lots of strength

2: C2 The plant feels like a survivor. It does not matter what goes on you will come out
the other side ok.   

2: C3 One of the paintings depicts a person with roots in place of legs. The roots of a
tree convey the idea of being grounded and rooted.

2: C3 I still think it is a strong stable plant. It will keep thriving no matter how many
times you cut it back, it will come out on top of its game, cannot be broken down.

Fire/Inner Fire or Inner

Source/Spiritual/Passion

1: C1 Vision of tribal people, maybe in Africa sitting around a wood fire talking about
daily things. Some are joking. “How was your day? What did you do today?”
Conversations at the end of the day about what happened during the day in a communal
gathering.

3: C3 This plant is not as light as I thought. There is a lot of suffering in this (looking at
Book on Frida Kahlo). I am not religious but what comes to me is drinking from the
chalice of blood, bringing God or Source, or whatever into you. Somehow drinking
from that blood of life. Blood is the source of life and God, Christ is spirit source for
you.

1: C3 Having the resources to sustain life... The Inner fire. It is about tapping into your
inner resources: the fire to repair. It is soul repair at the deep level.
3: C3 It has to do with the fire, bringing fire and light into oneself. Frida’s passion
found an expression through her art. She found another passion; the solution is about
finding another passion.

2: C3 That brings back the religious aspect: Passion, Easter, Crucifixion and
Resurrection. His structure is repaired. Frida has all these images of nails in her
paintings.

1: C3 That can be the soul that you are trying to get back to. Come back to the fire. 

3: C3 Romance itself needs that fire, and you feel so good in that warm rich relationship
that the soul is present there, as opposed to when that is not there.

Blood/Birth/Nurturing Resource

3: C1 I get a perception of blood. The center of the plant and the color of my shirt
reminds me of blood, blood, blood... Deep, red, thick blood. And I am not a bloody
person, but that is what I am thinking. The flow of the blood... Cholesterol came to
mind... Pumping blood... Circulatory system.

3: C2 I was thinking of Bordeaux red. Thinking of the color of the wine and the blood. 

I think about blood and bone marrow... That rich thick stuff, hmmm. It usually tastes
coppery. This blood I am seeing is not the simple blood from a little tiny cut. It is pretty
powerful stuff. It is not the blood from a rare piece of meat either, which is not like this
rich, thick stuff. I see a pool of thick blood (laughs); this is not the normal me at all. But
it is not a bad feeling.

1: C2 The blood is a resource. It is the essence of life, if you wish, and you need that to
live. It is also fiery.

2: C3: The blood is nurturing blood that is supposed to be for the baby. It is rich, core
blood that allows the baby to survive, even if the mother dies.

1: C3 That is the placenta (looking at Kahlo’s book).

Mournful Longing/Broken Heart/Loss

3: C2 Though the feeling is heavy, it is not a very dark remedy or a dark substance. I
feel a very deep feeling... depression would be too strong a word. I am not sure that it is
sadness, but a deep mournful longing. It is not desire as in sexual desire or wanting
something, but just a longing for something lost.   

It is a mournful longing that is related to either something lost or something you have
been searching for and not being able to find. Longing for a lost love or a waiting for a
love that has not appeared.

It is not necessarily sad - there is no crying. It is a woeful expression, a yearning. That is

a good word for it. It is a yearning that is somewhat heavy, but not quite grief. A lost
love that has not died, cast away and gone away a great distance, so you cannot be
together. It is more a soul connection that has not come to you, or that you cannot find...
A sigh, something missing that you cannot reach, but that you really want. It is a deep
red feeling. There is depth and substance to it.

Jan: C2 (continuing with Frida Kahlo’s story)... She married Diego Rivera in 1929. She
was 20 years his junior. She was saddened by his many infidelities, including an affair
with her sister Cristina. As a reaction to that betrayal Kahlo cut off most of her long
dark hair. She suffered several miscarriages that some describe as additional
heartbreaks. She and Rivera went through periods of separation. She also had affairs
with men and women.     

1: C3 The problem is that she (Frida) loved him (Diego) and he did not realized it or
loved her back. He did not realize how much he loved her until she had died.

2: C3 A broken heart... Look at the painting “Without Hope” where she is in bed and
vomiting out all the stuff. That is the mournful longing.

Structures/Broken Structures/Broken Bones

3: C2 Something about structure. I am making these lines at the bottom of the bowl as I
triturate and scrape and it is forming a grid. To have strength is about having structure I
think; maybe this is how it relates to bones and joints. Broken structures. It is also about
the inner strength and inner structure about having structure in your life.

Jan: C2 She (Frida Kahlo) had polio at the age of 6. At 18, she had a horrible accident
where the bus she was riding on collided with a trolley car. She broke her spinal
column, a collarbone, a few ribs, her pelvis, had several fractures in her right leg,
crushed her right foot, and an iron handrail pierced her abdomen and uterus. 

3: C3 I am focusing now on the yellow in the flower - the community around the flame.
The red at the center is the fire around the heart, the structure from the inside. If you left
your inner structure you get it from the outside, from the community. The fire you are
seeing, the blood and the structure are very connected.

1: C3 Look at “The Broken Column” on Page 147. She is open from the front with a
view of the spine broken and mended with nails.

Lost Identity/Anxiety/Apprehension/Indecision

1: C3 The flower lost its identity somehow. Not being one way or the other way. What
are we? Which way are we? There is irresolution: you cannot choose “shall I go left or
right?” It is something very deep and it is not even a choice. It is how things turn out.
Your greatest fears become realized when you become something that causes your
partner to not be able to be with you.

3: C3 I am thinking about childbirth. That is in my head. You do not make that decision;
that is why you are bleeding. If you stay in that middle you can get cut. There is
ambivalence between one way and the other way.
3: C3 She (Frida) has a beautiful sketch of her lady parts, which is interesting. For the
1940’s, she was very on the edge.

1: C3 In looking at the photographs and the paintings Frida had some male
characteristics that were pronounced, as the moustache and the unibrow. Her hormonal
system was not in balance. 

A Picture depicts a heart framing a face. Half of the face is hers and the other half is
Diego’s. The first impression I get before I identify the faces, is confusion of gender
identity that is the problem.  

Connected/Disconnected/Not knowing one’s self or one’s strength

Jan: C2 What is the problem of this plant. What is the state?

1: C2 Lack of community.

1: C2 Being alone, not connected. 

3: C2 Not knowing one self. Lack of confidence, not knowing your strength or that you
have a strength. Feeling unable to burn brightly. Pull yourself together and stand up.

Other themes:

Color

Clarity/Brightness

Rhythm/Quiet/Calm

Physical:

Generalities:

3: C1 Dryness from upper chest to the jaw and mouth. Tightness.

3: C1 This is not as much fun as it is supposed to be. I feel weak, not as if passing out
weak, not really tired, more like a physical lessening of energy. Do not want to lift
anything. I know it is all cool but.

2: C2 A lot of bone stuff for me.

3: C2 Yawning a lot.

Note: During C1 and C2 all the provers felt dehydrated and needed to drink water
constantly.  

Head:

3: C1 Pressure in the right temple.

3: C2 A burning pain at the top of my head, more burning than anything, better with
pressure  on the skull, not a headache.

Eyes:

1: C1 Sensation on the right eye, won’t call it a pain but sort of

2: C1 Slight headache over the right eye; circumscribed over the eye. 

3: C1 Pressure in the right temple area with right eye contracting.

Face:

2: C1 Very serious expression.

2: C1 Red face.

2: C2 Pain at the crease of the smile. Leveled with the lower part of the nose.

Mouth:

3: C1 Having phlegm into my mouth but getting rid of it easily.

2: C2 Pin-point pain on the right TMJ - clicking when opening mouth.

Throat:

3: C1 Suffocation, not being able to breathe.

3: C2 Constriction

Stomach:

3: C1 Burping, not easy swallowing and tightness in chest.

3: C1 Now I am having a little bit of reflux.

3: C2 Feeling of heartburn and I am attracted to that word now because it has the heart
and the fire. More burning than I’ve ever gotten. I know it will be released.

1: C2 Heart burn right in the center below the sternum.  

Abdomen:

3: C2 Constriction in the solar plexus under the rib cage, more on the left, but I am
sitting leaning that way.

Chest:

Jan: C1 Oppression in chest and needing to take a deep breath.

3: C1 Burping, not easy swallowing and tightness in the chest.

2: C2 Fluttery feeling in my heart. 

Respiration:

3: C1 Fear of suffocation that I will not be able to breathe.

1: C1 Sigh

Jan: C1 Sigh

Jan: C1 Oppression in chest and needing to take a deep breath.

Extremities:

2: C1 Sharp pain on the left ankle right at the malleolus, started abruptly and still there.
3: C1 Right shin pinpoint pain, not quite stabbing. It did go away shortly. It was right in
the middle of the shin.

2: C2 For me a lot of joint pain.  

Skin:

3: C1 I am itchy in the head and right temple.

1: C1 (Rubbing back against the back of the chair) I was itchy before, but this is very
strong.

1: C1 (Scratching incessantly) I am really itchy. (Everybody laughs) He scratches his

head.

Final comment:

Jan: The Asteraceae family has strong lanthanide and carbon qualities. So the themes of
finding your own self, the spiritual search, is a Lanthanide aspect. Wanting to have it
reflected in the outside world is a carbon aspect. When you look at Frieda’s paintings
you are looking at the inner world, not the outer world, which is a Lanthanide theme. 

Photos:
Gaillardia aristata: Jürgen Weiland
The Broken Column; Frida Kahlo (1907-1954)

References:
http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=GAAR

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaillardia_aristata

1. Hunn, Eugene S. (1990). Nch'i-Wana, "The Big River": Mid-Columbia Indians and
Their Land. University of Washington Press. p. 353. ISBN 0-295-97119-3.

Categories: Provings
Keywords: Gaillardia aristata, Blanketflower, Frida Kahlo, survival, strength, inner
fire, blood, birth, nurturing resource, mournful longing, broken heart, broken structures,
broken bones, lost identity
Remedies: Gaillardia aristata
A proving of Cosmos bipinnatus
by Patricia Maher

Natural History:

The plant was procured from a private home garden in Buffalo NY.

Kingdom:  Plantae
Subkingdom: Tracheobionta
Superdivision: Spermatophyta
Division: Magnoliophyta
Class: Magnoliopsida-Dicotyledons
Subclass: Asterida
Order: Asterales
Family: Asteracea
Genus: Cosmos Cav- Cosmos
Species: Cosmos Bipinnatus Cav.- garden cosmos

Cosmos bipinnatus, commonly called the garden cosmos or Mexican aster, is a

medium-sized flowering herbaceous plant native to Mexico. Spanish priests grew them
in their mission gardens in Mexico, where they were inspired by the symmetrical nature
of their petals and christened the flower "Cosmos," the Greek word for harmony or
ordered universe. (Further exploration of the word “cosmos” reveals the following:
according to Wikipedia, “today, the word is generally used as a synonym of the Latin
loanword "Universe"… In many Slavic languages such as Russian, Bulgarian, and
Serbian, the word  ‘cosmos’ means the "outer space". In Mandarin Chinese, cosmos and
universe are both translated as… space-time…”)

The species and its varieties and cultivars are popular as an ornamental plant in
temperate climate gardens. It can also be found in natural areas in much of North
America.   Cosmos bipinnatus is considered a half-hardy annual, although plants may
reappear via self-sowing for several years. The plant height varies from 2–6 ft. When
flowering, the plant can become top-heavy. This problem is alleviated when grown in
groups, as the bipinnate leaves interlock, and the colony supports itself.

The leaves of Cosmos plant are simple, pinnate, or bipinnate, and are arranged in
opposite pairs and finely cut into threadlike segments. The flowers bloom twice a year
and only once in the season, and die with first frost. They can regrow in the following
spring if seed falls on bare ground, and have achieved weed or invasive status in some
parts of the US. Cosmos flowers occur in pink, white, maroon, and pink with deep pink
flares. They are produced in a capitulum, surrounded by a ring of broad ray florets and a
center of disc florets. Cosmos flowers, 2-4 inches in diameter, come in brightly colored
single or double flowers. [1]

Commentary:

“How does it feel

 How does it feel

 To be on your own

 With no direction home

 Like a complete unknown

 Like a rolling stone? “

            Excerpt from Like A Rolling Stone, Bob Dylan

“ One sees clearly only with the heart. What is essential is invisible to the eye.”

                Antoine de Saint-Exupery, The Little Prince

The proving showed the utter aptness of the flower’s name, Cosmos. This is a remedy
about being very alienated, very far out there, not understood except through the heart.
Cosmo Cramer, the character from the TV sitcom Seinfeld, is a perfect exemplar of an
aspect of this remedy—being so eccentric that you can no longer connect. As the
provers said, “these plants are so far away they can’t speak,” and “maybe if you’re out
of this world they speak to you…”  There were many references to outer space, the
stars, the universe – all appropriate in light of the plant’s origin.

In an extraordinary interaction, one prover repeatedly argued with the plant, demanding
to know why the plant had never spoken to her. (“You never even say good morning!”)
She was demanding communication in a way that the plant could not deliver. 
Interestingly, this same prover was able to manifest alienation, grief, and desire to “be
part of” which speaks to the deep desire for connection in this remedy. Once she felt
part of the universe, she also expressed a sense of balance and groundedness which
speaks to the original Greek meaning of the word ‘cosmos” as “ordered universe.”
Another theme that emerged was that of secrets, but not in a clandestine way. It was
more reflective of information that needed to be shared so that commonality could be
established.

Interestingly, Florence Nightingale emerged as a distinct theme. Two of the provers

were nurses, and they thought the mention of this nursing icon was simply a way for the
two provers to find commonality. Upon closer examination, Nightingale was not only a
radical reformer in patient care, but she was also a religious radical, believing that all
sinners had equal access to heaven.  (Keep in mind this plant was christened “Cosmos”
by priests.) Florence Nightingale may represent an aspect of this remedy – the visionary
and humanist who is eccentric yet able to act concretely on her beliefs, not becoming so
out there that she loses her head. As one of the provers articulated, if you can let go of
your alienation, you feel connected… Even if you are ahead of your time!

The Nightingale itself - the bird - is also connected symbolically to poetry and the
Muse. Who is more alienated than the poet yet who is able to make exquisite
connections? Who else brings the stars to earth?

According to Jan Scholten’s plant system:

666-44.17
Series: Lanthanide of the Lanthanide series
Clade: Angiospermae; Asteranae; Campanulidae; Asterales; Asteraceae; Heliantheae;
Cosmos
Phase: 4; sub-phase 4
Stage: 17

Below is an exerpt of the proving. For the complete proving go to

www.greatlakesprovings.com.

Mental/Emotional Themes:

Alienated/Connected,  “Out There”

2:C1 When I looked at it my first thought was they are the least talkative of plants. They
don’t say much.  It s the first plant I planted in the place I first did homeopathy. I
planted them along the path. They bring an airy feeling.

2:C1 My biggest complaint about this plant is that they have nothing to say.

3:C1 They are for people who don’t say much.

3:C1 She (Susun Weed) does research about medicinal herbs and she doesn’t like sick
people. People listen to her.

3:C1 She is “out there.” Her opinions are out there – too far out in the cosmos – like
Cosmos the plant. 

3:C1 Susun
Weed is opinionated. Her opinions are out there. But she doesn’t treat people.

2:C1 These plants are so far away they can’t speak.

1:C1 Maybe if you’re out of this world they speak to you.

2:C1 It is as if they need a medium.

3:C1 A channel.

1:C1 Seinfeld – Cosmo Cramer.

2:C1 Maybe he needed this remedy.

3:C1 He had a presence.

2:C1 Nobody understood him because he was so far out.

3:C1 Out there, eccentric, voice of the eccentrics.

2:C1 I feel really sad.

2:C1 I just want to lay outside and look at stars.

2:C1 Something is making me sad.  I feel really sad, so small.  Everything is so vast
[she cries.]

3:C1 I used to get existential angst. When I looked at Time lapse photography of
millions of years of earth – freakish, scary.  Our insignificance.

2:C1 Sadness. I felt very insignificant on the planet, when looking at how much bigger
everyone is.

2:C1 Separate and alone.

2:C1 I want to see all the stars – millions and millions – to be one with them rather than
being separate on one star.

2:C1 Not united.  Just a part of it all.

2:C1 The feeling of separate and alone goes away – it all comes from the heart but my
back is really connected to the earth.

2:C1 This is a good, clear feeling – balanced. Never felt this even on drugs.

2:C1 Separation. I have this name and I want to talk about the healing energy of plants
but I don’t want to treat people – people are problematic, disappointing.

2:C1 To need connection and love is natural.

2:C1 Something is far away and really close, elusive, vs something that is so true to the
heart vs a distance.

Obs: 2 Prover 3 begins to sing “Like a Rolling Stone” by Bob Dylan., especially the
lyric “no direction home/like a complete unknown”.

Outer Space/The
Cosmos/Stars

2:C1 Cosmology is outer space.

2:C1 A star in the cosmos. The purple ones [cosmos flowers] didn’t talk either.

1:C1 See—the blossoms are like stars.

2:C1 Marty is turning 49. 49 is 7x7—it’s the cosmos.

3:C1 Reaching out to the cosmos.

1:C1 They speak volumes to me. Favorite plant, the petals reach out like rays of the sun.

3:C2 Star-struck.
Carrying Secrets

2:C1 They can hold secrets. They aren’t blabbermouths. They hold them going in and
coming out.

2:C1 [to the Cosmos] I’m sick of you not saying anything, you secret- carrier, you.

1:C1 Someone needs to carry secrets.

2:C1 What is this thing that I want this plant to say something? 

2:C1 Why are they called Cosmos?

3:C1 They’re screaming out.

2:C1 Maybe they have the secrets of the Cosmos.

2:C1 It’s withholding a secret bit it wont tell me its secret.

Jan:C1 It tells you the secret all the time, but not everyone can hear it.

2:C2 Revealing confidences

OBs: C2 Big discussion about Bob Dylan. Provers and supervisor revealed information
about his personal life.

2:C2 He wanted to be a poet. He didn’t want people asking him questions.

Physicals:

Heaviness/Tightness/Pressure

2:C1 Heaviness around my chest. Not oppressive but a heavy fullness, like hands are
pressing gently. It is not disturbing.

2:C1 I feel really grounded, connecting downward. 

3:C1 Feeling heavier in the chair, leg feels heavy on the other leg. Draggy.  [Obs: he
closes eyes].

2:C1 Ribcage is hurting. Intercostals are relaxing.

1:C2 Heaviness in left temporal area.

2:C2 Shoulders hurt, pectoral muscles. It feels like it was tight and it relaxed. When it
relaxes you feel the tension. 

2:C2 Pressure ameliorates the chest pain.

Headache
2:C1 That gave me a headache and tightness in occiput

3:C1 The smell of this hotel room is giving me a headache. How come all hotels smell
the same?

Vertigo

2:C1 Dizzy

3:C1 Dizzy. A slippery dizziness, falling to left.

2:C1 If I stood up I’d list to the left.

3:C1 Dizzy – a bit like cannabis

2:C1 Left side of my body is falling off or down.

Eyes

1,2,3: C3 Eyes watered. Tingly and watery.

Bladder

2:C3 I had a long pee, very yellow.

1:C3 Polyurea

2:C3 I went to pee and peed a gallon.

Sources:
[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cosmos_bipinnatus
http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/archives/parsons/flowers../cosmos/cosmos.html  
http://www.theflowerexpert.com/content/aboutflowers/tropicalflowers/cosmos-pink

Moonbeam coreopsis: a trituration proving of Coreopsis verticillata

by Sally Williams
Natural History:

The plant was procured from a private home garden in Buffalo NY.

Class:               Magnoliopsida
Subclass:          Asterids
Order:              Asterales
Family:             Asteraceae
Genus:             Coreopsis
Species:           Coreopsis verticillata

Thread-leaf coreopsis (also commonly called whorled coreopsis) is a rhizomatous

perennial which typically grows in dense, bushy clumps to 1-3' tall. 'Moonbeam' is
somewhat more compact (to 2' tall) and features pale yellow, daisy-like flowers (1-2"
diameter) with un-toothed rays and darker yellow center disks. Flowers appear singly in
loose clusters (cymes) in a lengthy late spring to late summer bloom period which
sometimes extends to first frost. Shearing plants in mid-summer (early August) when
bloom usually tapers down will encourage a fall re-bloom. Palmately 3-parted leaves
with thread-like segments end a fine-textured and airy appearance to the plant. Plants in
the genus Coreopsis are sometimes commonly called tickseed in reference to the
resemblance of the seeds to ticks.

Commentary: At the beginning of the trituration the provers experienced a sense of joy
and giddiness; a childlike quality with a feeling of generosity and the joy of giving to
others. As the proving continued, the provers started to feel disconnected and alone.
There was a sense of not being nurtured as a child, unloved and unseen and an attempt
to mask these feelings with cheerfulness. In order to gain the love and acceptance that
they so desperately wanted they chose to be of service to others, generous and joyful.
But ultimately, when the feelings of invisibility, being misunderstood and unloved
persisted, irritability, intolerance and anger ensued.  In their anger they felt
unappreciated, judged and alone once again. The provers played very different roles in
the proving. One took a path of anger and resentment, another a path of escaping from a
relationship where there was anger and intolerance and another completely
disconnected, each of them ending up alone.

According to Jan Scholten's plant system:

666.44.05
Coreopsis verticillata
Series: Lanthanide series of Lanthanide series
Clades: Angiospermae; Asteranae; Campanulidae; Asterales; Asteraceae; Heliantheae;
Coreopsis
Phase: 4; Sub-phase 4
Stage: 5

Below is an exerpt of the proving. For the complete proving go to

www.greatlakesprovings.com. This remedy is available at www.remedia.at.

Mental/Emotional Themes

Compensating with Joy/Generosity/Helpfulness

1:C1 A desire in me to serve. To do things for others. Be generous. All those sunny
little flowers doing something for others.

3:C1 I have a real sense of playfulness. To play and have fun. Like a child. A
playground.

1:C2 It is a very hollow thing to serve, can be a very genuine gift and it can be for
pleasing and trying to be a part of.  

1:C2 (Smiling) I was laughing at the theme again of “if she could really see me”, that is
the whole point. If you are seen you are vulnerable and if you are not seen you are
longing to be seen. Because no one cares that you need something or want something...
just suck it up; that is life.

1:C3 ... I am being sunny and cheerful and serving because if I do not do that someone
is going to get hurt. Set myself aside; I have to take care of the people around me in that
ridged way. 

1:C3 This place I am that you see is a fork in the path, that is my purpose – to be on my
own and distracting my pain with cheerfulness and happiness and service. To protect
against, that hurt. I feel extremely powerful and a painful blast of rage. 

Sad/Hiding/Misunderstood/Protection
3:C1 I am connected with this hiding feeling. I feel more protective of what is hiding
and deep within the plant. It is not wanting to be known; what is in there.

1:C1 The feeling I am having now is sadness about being misunderstood. Shame,
because I default to the sunny superficial presentation. So I have no right to be sad
about being misunderstood. But it is a protection.

3:C2 What is being protected is the me. I have to appear to be more than I am so that
what I am will not be discovered to be not enough. 

2:C2 I feel there is a lot of strength here. This is so delicate, but the parts are so different
from the way it presents as a whole. Something hidden, but not is a bad way. It feels
protective. It is not hiding more than it is a safe haven.

2:C3 We are all protecting ourselves. Separate.

Unloved/Unseen/Un-Nurtured

1:C2 I get hurt. And I can’t ask for it, I can’t ask to be seen.

1:C2 someone who did not get any nurturing. When they needed basic nurturing.
Children who are not seen by their parents. False sunniness. That is the way the world
wanted to see them and so they got really good at showing that.

2:C2 that nurturing that it didn’t get. For me normally I have a strong sense of service
and so normally for me there is a large part that wants to make the world a better place
and this is a completely different feeling. Serving people and I do not have that sense in
this room. I am feeling inward and the impulse is to circle into myself and not to reach
out...

1:C3 Love. No one ever loved me. Suck it up and do what you got to.

1:C3 I am still missing love. Invite love. Be lovable.

Pissed off/Anger/Intolerance

1:C2 I am pissed off that people do not get it. I am more than annoyed. I am pissed off
because it should be obvious. So instead of ob-fuscating, it is ob-vious and I am pissed
off that people do not see it.  

3:C2 I feel like... how can they see it when you are so busy being pissed off all the time?
No one wants to deal with that level of pissed off. I do not feel pissed off. I am like;
how can they see what you want them to see when you are so angry all the time and
working all the time? I feel like I am relating to the part that wants to be seen and I
cannot be seen because people are diverted by the anger and business. They cannot
work their way through it all to get to the central place. 

3:C2 That is what increases the pissed off. Every blossom is serving. Serving all of
them and the plant gets bigger and bigger and so does the pissed off. The sunny
disposition cannot be held any more. It is harder and harder not to be pulled into that
feeling of anger. Hold my center. Calm compassionate understanding of limitation.

3:C2 I feel like there is a choice to either be pissed off or deep grief and I am losing its
centered-ness and I cannot stop it and it was a fabulous place. I have a choice to be
pissed off about it or grieve the loss of it. The grief is heavy.  

3:C3 See that is what happens when you take the path of being pissed off you become
so disconnected from what you need...

Physicals

Ears

1:C1 I was really feeling my carotid glands. I was feeling the ear canal and it moved to
the carotid and there was an awareness of the ear. The physical sensations are in my
head.

1:C1 The mastoid process is... it feels full and congested and pressing on it feels good.
Like I am squishing the springiness. There is something big about the ears with this
remedy.

Mouth

2:C1 Mouth is dry and gummy.

2:C1 My tongue feels sharp like I will cut myself. There is an edge.

1:C2 Parched is an excellent word. That is the state. I am so accustomed to having no

appetite; I have no taste. You cannot feel parched unless you can feel thirst.

Fever

2:C1 I feel flushed too. Like this surface of my hands are cold, but heat is coming from
my chest.

2:C1 I still have that thing a little bit that my skin feels cold, but I am warm with heat
rising from inside.

3:C1 I am almost feeling a chill. Like a shiver.

References:

http://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/gardens

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coreopsis_verticillata

http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=cove5
Trod on and comes up smiling: a case of Bellis perennis
by Marty Begin

I first saw this 47-year old man, a manager for a furniture manufacturing company, in
November 2011. He comes across as well balanced, likable, somewhat jovial, and
responsible. He elaborates a lot in his way of speaking and it is hard for him to keep a
boundary. He has trouble finding flexibility in his work in order to be with his kids. It
has also been difficult for him to confront bad workers.

The first thing reported was his sleep issues. He is active in the late evening; he finally
sleeps, but wakes after an hour or two. He then stays awake, sometimes getting some
sleep towards the morning. He has had many sleepless nights, which were getting worse
lately, exacerbated by his relationship problem. He has been in a trial separation with
his wife since she was not happy in the relationship. He describes the process as
traumatic and hopes it will work out. He feels very connected to her. They have two
young children; before that they did a lot of traveling together, doing social and
environmental volunteer work. They’ve been in therapy together and apart.

Before they separated he was having a lot of anxiety associated with the sleep loss, but
he’s always been a bad sleeper, sensitive to sounds. Clonazepam in small doses has
helped somewhat. His first response to his wife initiating a split was an overwhelming
anxiety, which would give way to a heavy feeling he really could not control, though in
time he managed.

The only dream he could remember during his first visit was one he had had around age
7, when he was sexually abused by his uncle; the same feelings surface at the present. 
This traumatic time was fraught with “horrendous nightmares” that he finally learned to
control, but then he didn't dream anymore. There was a dream where his mother was
“standing at a futuristic podium; I’d be falling, spiraling down. She was trying to say
something to me, and I couldn’t understand what it was. It felt clean, a lack of emotion.
I couldn’t understand or hear her. She was dressed in a white futuristic garb, I’d be
spiraling out of control, it was a heavy dream.”

He suspects his sleep and relationship has been affected by the abuse and says he’s been
holding onto it ever since it happened. He says, “I’ve had flash backs of it my entire life
and had uneasy feelings around it… never really resting… my body has been on guard
most of my life. There's a lot of tension. I’m overly analytical… I’ve been angry… can
see I’ve held onto a lot of anger, never dealt with the trauma I’ve suffered. So, I’m
working through that. It’s a slow process, I am hoping (homeopathy) will make a
difference.”

He analyzes himself: “I’ve closed off a lot of my emotions and held onto them, so I’m
not overly expressive. Then anger would come out to the point where I had no problems
expressing it! I thought I was a loving person, I think I was… guarding or protecting
myself… closing off and becoming tight, not letting anyone in too close, otherwise I’d
feel vulnerable. It’s in my character that I’m on guard, ready to… look after myself… to
be on edge…”

While growing up he didn’t feel supported around what happened to him, neither by his
mother nor his father, who was an alcoholic for a while. He said “I became rebellious
and my own person. I wouldn’t listen well to others because I didn’t get the support;
they wouldn’t understand, would criticize me, or whatever. It gave me a feeling of
helplessness, but strength, like ‘I’m going to do what I want to do’… I’ve always been
distrustful of authorities.”

More recently, he lost his mother to ovarian cancer and his father is struggling with
colon cancer at 79.

Additionally, he broke his arm twice around 14. He said it was quite traumatic and
involved a bone cyst. He also dislocated his shoulder in his early 20s. His “controlled
treatment” proved very beneficial, but he still feels pain and he guards his shoulder. It’s
another impediment to sleeping. He says, “It’s hard to surrender myself to being in that
sleep state. It’s weird; I’ve always feared that if I relax completely my arm would come
out. I don’t know if that would happen but...”

Analysis

At first, I thought there were a lot of indications for a tree remedy: the control issue and
the need for flexibility, with a sensation of heaviness behind his anxiety. He has a
responsible, practical and balanced disposition, so I considered the Fagales order.
Fraxinus is strong for dislocations. He is also very much into wood-working in a
utilitarian way. Not far off, Salix fragilis of the Malpighiales, is the cracked willow, and
the proving had a lot to do with ‘splitting up’. He described losing his temper as
‘snapping’. But then, I thought of how often the word and the occurrence of trauma
presented in his case. His need to guard himself had expressed itself in his injury, his
sleeping problem, his reaction of autonomy to the abuse and his holding onto the abuse:
not being able to directly deal with it. It was also part of his disposition. He also strived
for integrity and had a strong humanitarian aspect to his nature, so I considered
Asteraceae.
This family also has a huge need for (or loss of) control arising from trauma, as does he.
Their boundaries are easily transgressed or they lose boundaries themselves, as he did in
his talk and temper. He would easily lose his temper with his kids or employees. On the
other hand, there was an underlying helplessness and difficulty resolving conflict. He
would always see the other’s struggle or point of view. I got the feeling, which was later
confirmed, that his wife had the power in the relationship negotiations and he actually
sympathized more with the trauma she herself had gone though at a younger age. She
could be very stand-offish and cold during the separation; she didn’t give at all, even as
he pined to have the relationship back.

For fun, I put in ‘Asteracea/Compositae’ in the same remedy as ‘sexual abuse’ into
Referenceworks. Bellis perennis, the British daisy, was the only compositae referred to
in the spagyrical proving by L. Deacon and A. Ribot-Smith. Rajan Sankaran places it in
the cancer miasm, and it was made famous by Clarke for tumors arising from blows to
the soft tissue, as in the breasts or abdomen. In this case there is a strong cancer element
in the family history, including the colon and ovaries, also spheres of action for Bellis.
He has the ‘overdoing’ of stage 12, but the ‘adaptability’ of stage 2. Overall though, I’d
say it is in stage 12. Clarke says “The daisy is a flower which is repeatedly trodden upon
and always comes up smiling afterwards and being the ‘day’s eye’ may be the sign of its
too early waking propensities.” Perhaps, this is a main problem of the daisy. The theme
runs through this case.

Prescription: Bellis perennis 200C

F
ollow-ups

Throughout the monthly plus follow-ups, usually re-dosing with a 200 or 1M, it was
clear that this patient was processing his trauma. He reported in the first follow-up that
he had a deep experience of grieving his mother’s death, which he thought he had
already done. He started vividly dreaming again, after years with few remembered
dreams. He was more motivated to clear out things he didn’t need and felt more aware
of what he wanted. He started woodworking more, wanting to be more hands on.

His dreams clearly reflected his underlying feelings. In one dream he was working in a
role that was totally not him. The next night he dreamt of his abuse. It was a very real
and alive dream as if it had gone on in his adult life and he felt very threatened. He had
another dream where he was in Africa fixing up his wife’s mother’s unlivable decrepit
house. It wasn’t his decision to be there, but he’d go along and make the best of it.

He has been calling people on actions that have made him feel angry or isolated and he
has been getting positive responses. He is more in touch with his emotions and can see
his own needs as much those of others. He is still in a holding pattern with his wife,
giving her time.

After the second visit, his shoulder improved dramatically, even the other shoulder
which he hadn’t mentioned; it had been a constant factor since his early 20s. He can see
more clearly that his wife’s way of behaving has been tough on him. He suggested a
limit to when they would come to a new agreement. He is giving her space, but showing
that he is not pushing.  He is more at ease, and sleeping somewhat better. He feels that
he needs to directly address his abuse history, maybe face the perpetrator, but the
outcome is unknown.

The notable thing of the third visit was that he had been in a bicycle accident. He says,
“…bad things happen when you let down your guard: I fell on my shoulder and head,
went head over heels and was a little dazed. I reinjured the left shoulder a little, but I
was really lucky, I landed on my face, my tuque (woolen winter hat) took the brunt of
it.” He also got a stiff neck.

He has a dream that he and his daughter were being attacked while canoeing. He had the
feeling was that there was no safe place to land. He is going to Whistler, British
Columbia, which he has always dreamed of doing; he wanted to treat himself. He is
tired of the stalemate with his wife since she is sending mixed messages. He
experimented in taking his wedding ring off; she has hers off. He’s had some positive
interactions with other women, and says, “If she feels she’s not my soul mate then she
might not be.”

He joined a men’s group focused around survivors of sexual abuse. He says, “I don’t
feel the guilt and shame I was carrying, that whole secretive aspect that I carried for 40
years. I put a lot in perspective…when you're 7 years old you're innocent…but
regardless I was feeling that (guilt).”

During the next visit, he said he had recovered from the bike injury well. He had a few
falls while skiing at Whistler, but no injuries.

A friend’s child fell and injured herself. It really stuck with him and during the night, he
remembered the times when his own child had some bad injuries and how traumatic it
had been for him. His men’s group was focused on the aspect of unresolved trauma in
sexual abuse. They also watched a program on how neuroplasticity helped with PTSD.
A woman made a pass on him, but he wasn't into it. She asked him point blank if he was
still in love with his wife. He said he guessed he was. On the other hand, the separation
is not as much on his mind in the last month. He knows he has as much power as she
does to call it off.

A month later, his sleep and shoulder are better. He went to a seminar called
“Transforming Trauma to Triumph”. He focused on the fact that a large percentage of
males are susceptible to as much abuse as females, but that it is overlooked by cultural
stereotypes. Also, when men look for help and it is not there, they go on living their
lives in silence.

He says, “I’m not feeling guilty about going to bed when I want to without the kids;
even if I do have with me them I don't feel guilty. That would have been impossible in
the past. I’m listening to myself more. You have to do what you feel, sometimes there's
stuff you have to do.”

He says, “I’m calmer, not as reactive or as explosive as I used to be. When I do feel the
anxiety coming on I’m more mindful of how it might manifest itself.” He’s more tactful
with his kids, getting them to school in the mornings. He’s not as aggressive with
people at work who are not pulling their weight, but he lets them know it is bothering
him. One employee was giving him some held-in anxiety. Finally, he fired her and he
was OK with it. He was too forgiving and now he feels free of the dark energy she
brought to the department. He hired two new employees who he thinks will be perfect.

Over the next visits, more of this processing happens, as reflected by his dreams and
occurrences in his life. He is no longer getting the ‘Sunday anxiety’ he has had for
years; he has more relaxing days and thinks his kids feel more relaxed too. He had a
‘heart to heart’ with his boss about what he dislikes about his job. His sleep has
improved even more and he’s better able to communicate with his wife and other
people. He’s now completing the divorce and is really thinking of what his needs are
and that his (ex-)wife needs to be more independent. He met a woman he really likes
and is trying to hold back his enthusiasm. He didn't think he had time to meet new
people, but she was just suddenly there.

He has a new perspective on how things were with him and his wife. He says he didn't
have a concept of boundaries. She was manipulating him for a long time and maybe he
was impinging on her boundaries since he had needs, but everyone does.

In summary, there’s been a real shift in the sense that he’s resolved a lot of his trauma,
his guard is down, his injuries healed, he’s becoming more integrated and he’s feeling
more in control of his boundaries. He’s not being trodden on anymore.

Photos: Jürgen Weiland

Bellis perennis

Categories: Remedies
Keywords: trauma, injury, sexual abuse, anxiety, guarded, boundaries, own-person,
cancer miasm
Remedies: Bellis perennis

I see auras: a case of Nabalus serpentaria

by Nancy Frederick

WW female, age 42

CC: Chronic fatigue, fibromyalgia, memory issues

WW is a heavyset female in her early

forties with a pleasant face and an air of stress. She pulls her hand back when I extend
mine in greeting, explaining that she doesn’t touch people. “I have this quirk – I see
colors and auras. Meeting people is hard for me because I feel what people think. I see
things before they happen. With certain events, I’ll have the feeling that I’ve completely
been there; it’s more than a premonition. Also, I can see in the dark.

“My life has consisted of long periods of stress. I was the youngest of seven children
and abused by an older sibling. Shit rolls downhill. I had to learn to read other’s moods
and personalities to survive. My sister was placed in control of the family at the age of
thirteen, as my father lost his job working for an oil company and worked three jobs to
replace the income. My mother was an OR nurse. My sister would lock me in the
basement and told me there was a monster behind the furnace. I would knock at the
door and no one ever answered.

“My sister fought constantly with one of my brothers. They both had explosive anger. I
have a hard time with angry people; I’ll let someone lose it, and I listen and try to figure
things out before I tell them to shut up. As a kid, I was angry for a long time, all the
while knowing I had to wait until l was big enough to stand up for myself.

“I don’t have a lot of memories, but the ones I have aren’t good, though I can remember
significant events. I do remember feeling wonderful when my next older brother left
home and I was alone in the house. This was the moment I had waited for my whole
life! I was a bookworm, and we were ten miles from my nearest friend so I spent a lot of
time alone.

“I had mononucleosis at one point and was very sick for a long time. I remember I had a
fever of 104 degrees for two weeks and my spleen was huge. In high school I smoked
pot a couple of times, and drank occasionally, but I had blood sugar issues so I never
felt well afterwards. When I had my wisdom teeth out I was allergic to codeine; I passed
out and knocked my head pretty hard.

“At the age of 19 I left home to live and work on my own. I was attacked, hit on the
head, and it left me not knowing what really happened. Then my family purchased a big
farm and started an agency providing care for the elderly. We serviced a caseload of
600-700 homes. I managed that business and have spent twelve years in the field of
care-giving seniors. I used to be able to multitask and remember details and specifics. I
was responsible for handling a lot of information. Now if I don’t write everything down,
I forget. I’ve had to deal with many crises; it seems like there’s always something
happening that needs immediate attention, both at work and at home.

“I went for therapy to try to understand the family issues. All I knew was that I was on
the shit end of the stick. My family history is unremarkable, but there is some OCD,
some schizophrenia, and my mother had rheumatoid arthritis.

“My first husband died of cancer. He was sick or injured all of our married life. I
worked two or three jobs to keep us afloat in addition to caring for him in his illness. I
gave his meds every hour for two years; I never slept. He had been in the Special Forces
in the service and had numerous and severe fractures after a sky-diving accident. For
him, it was never about his health, it was always about the pain. He couldn’t deal with it
and was addicted to morphine and Darvocet. He was abusive on some level. When I
became pregnant with our daughter he wanted me to have an abortion. I refused and left
him for a while. We never really had a solid marriage after that. His parents had gone
through a nasty divorce, and he couldn’t believe that people could trust each other. I
believed in marriage so much. I think I was put in that man’s life to show him what love
is. I always loved him and I wanted him to understand that.

“When I finally made the decision to divorce him, he was diagnosed with cancer the day
I served papers. It was on 9/11. At that point, I couldn’t leave him. I think he changed
his attitude when he was faced with his own death. For the next three years, I commuted
long distances for work and the kids were with him most of the time.

“I was in a severe car accident and it’s since then that I have all this pain. I spent six
months in a body cast with multiple fractures: ribs, my left arm and leg, my pelvis and
some vertebrae. I healed fine, but was left with pain. It was diagnosed as fibromyalgia,
severe pain on the left side of my body. I have difficulty breathing, especially at night
when it really flares up. It comes in my left leg and hand, a numbing pain which causes
the muscles to seize. I can’t control it, I drop things, I have to concentrate on every
movement. The sensitivity, especially my upper arms, is very intense. I can’t wear
sleeves because the sensation is too much for me. I have constant pain and tension in
my neck and shoulders.

“My daughter is 16 and has a lot of anger towards me. I let her vent it - it helps me
understand where she’s at in her grieving for her father. I know she has issues and has
never done well in school.

“I take Synthroid as I’m hypothyroid and I was on Premarin forever before having kids.
I’ve always had a lot of tumors, always benign, in my uterus and bladder. I had major
abdominal surgery for a tumor removed on my bladder, then two more were found
against my spine. I then threw two blood clots within a week.

“I can have really smelly gas, but my bowels move okay. I have ridges on my nails
when my fibromyalgia flares up.

“I don’t care for dogs but I love cats. I hate spiders, earwigs, any crawly thing. I’m
afraid of basements, though I don’t mind closed spaces.

“I always sleep on my left side curled up, and can get hot flashes in my sleep.

“War is a big theme in my dreams; always battling and always bloody. There are also
bears in my dreams. I can turn my dreams around.

“Hobbies are something I haven’t had a lot of time for, but I’ve always loved wood
carving, wood burning. I see faces in the wood and just carve away the extra.

“My fiancé and I have a great sex life, a healthy bedside, though I experience some
pain; on intercourse, it feels like everything’s dropping.

“I’m very superstitious. I also believe there is a real big picture and that I can control
every decision. I’ll never give that power to someone else again. It leads to abuse. I
don’t want to lose my ability to provide; I’m really afraid of being ill for that reason.”

Analysis:

In the Gold series, Osmium has the elements of control, responsibility, crisis
management, and offensive flatus. The Lanthanide aspects of autoimmune disease and
the need for control were obvious, as were the Asteraceae themes of trauma, high fever
and aversion to touch. She was very much in charge of the consultation, providing a
steady stream of information without being prompted, and I was aware of watching for
cues for a snake remedy, especially after her comments of being able to see in the dark,
and feeling others’ thoughts, but the aggression and intensity did not emerge. There was
definitely a quality of anger in the case, but it was about control, rather than suppression
or expression.

ASSESSMENT:
This woman walked through the door with the strange rare and peculiar symptom that
led to the remedy:
MIND; SENSITIVE, oversensitive; general; aura of others, to, and
MIND; SENSITIVE, oversensitive; general; magnetic contact, to

Lou Klein has taught that Nabalus serpentaria is a remedy for someone who had been
pushed around by a caregiver. This remedy is also called “snake root”, and the essence
of snake confirmed the remedy selection. What is interesting in hindsight is the
understanding that developed for me, as a practitioner, of the Asteraceae family and
their connection to the Lanthanides. This patient had established, through her
symptoms, a strategy for insuring autonomy: "If I don’t allow you to touch me, you
can’t hurt me." The plant qualities of sensitivity and a focus on other people were strong
aspects of the case. It was difficult to elicit specific symptoms; the conversation would
be deflected to another person or circumstance.

Plan: Nabalus serpentaria 30

Follow up

Six weeks: “I feel really good! I feel really clear in my mind. All the fatigue is going
away. I think my thyroid is functioning. I’m exercising almost daily, sleeping deeply,
but not remembering my dreams, if I’m having them. My pain is less intense and the
spasms are less frequent.”

Plan: Nabalus serpentaria 200c

Five months: “I feel like I’m processing and communicating on a whole other level. I
couldn’t remember or process anything and it feels like I don’t have to push anymore. I
feel like I’m getting back to being able to structure my life, like I have some wiggle-
room to take a step back. The physical pain is very much under control. Now and then I
have a slight burning in my left arm. My legs feel really good. My fine motor skills are
much better, especially typing. I still have the sensitivity to others, but not as intense. I
have no pain waking me at night. I dream of daily stuff, of my fiancée, nice dreams. I
always feel clearer in the morning. I solve things in my dreams and have a lot of
confidence. I’m wearing sleeves, did you notice?”

She continued to do well over the next year and never returned.

Jan Scholten's Periodic System of Plants

by Carol Jones

“All the cosmic and natural laws are written in trees, in flowers, in grass, in the shining
of the sun, in the flow of rivers, in rains and the wind… and in all the beauties of
nature.” Edmund Szekely, “Medicine To-Morrow”, 1938

Jan Scholten presented his new system in October to North American audiences through
two well attended seminars in Vancouver, British Columbia and Toronto, Ontario.
These seminars provided an introduction to Jan’s forthcoming book Wonderful Plants,
to be released in early 2013. He presented interesting cases, many remedies of which
were found in his recent Lamu Provings (Alonnissos, 2011), a new book of sixteen plant
trituration provings.

In Jan’s own words, his goal is to create a systematic overview of the plant kingdom in
order to get a grasp on the prescription of plants. From my perspective as a homeopath,
his system creates a clearer and more extensive accessibility to the plant kingdom, much
as his Elements System did for me with the mineral kingdom.

The Periodic System of Plants uses many aspects of Scholten’s Elements system in
conjunction with the botanical APG III (Angiosperm Phylogeny Group) classification
system. The APG III (published in 2009) is based upon current DNA analysis. The
beauty of Jan Scholten’s new system is that it uses a clear, systematic approach yet
incorporates the complexity and multi-dimensionality of plants. He believes that
categorizing plants for homeopathic prescribing has been a difficult process for several
reasons:
- Complexity; much more so than minerals
- The fact that relationships in the plant kingdom are less sure than in the mineral
kingdom
- In homeopathic prescribing the vast majority of plants are unknown.

He highlighted the importance of utilizing plant evolution information in our

prescription of plants because evolutionary difference is reflected in the APG III
classification and seen throughout nature.

The System

Scholten believes that a good classification works on all levels, for example the periodic
table works for chemistry but also works for homeopathy. The same applies to APG
classification: it is good for botany and it should be good for homeopathy.

He has devised an innovative numeric-based classification system which is specific to

each plant. I liken it to the Dewey Decimal system - a library classification system. It is
similar in that it moves from a general grouping to a specific grouping, allowing the
user to access or place the plant within a larger classification. In Scholten’s system, each
plant will have its own 7 digit number reflecting its APG III phylum, order, family,
class, sub-class, and genus. Seven digits is not a random choice. Jan believes that the
number seven is very special and is provided by nature. For example, you can see it
reflected through the seven series in the periodic table and in the development of a life
cycle. One of the beautiful aspects of Jan Scholten’s Element system is the series
concepts which follow the life cycle. You come into existence (Hydrogen series), move
into childhood (Carbon series), then into teenage-hood (Silica) and finally into various
ages of adulthood (Iron to Gold series).

Scholten has combined the concepts and organization of the APG III system and the
Element system and used them as the underpinning of his new Periodic Plant System. In
his Plant system, the Angiosperm phylum corresponds to the Gold/Lanthanide series in
the periodic table. This represents a high level of self-reflection and evolution. Scholten
believes that everyone is an Angiosperm, part of the monophyletic group (clade), i.e.
descended from a common evolutionary ancestor or ancestral group, especially one not
shared with any other group. It is the sixth series and represented by the number 6.

As in his Element System, answering the question “what is the problem” in case
analysis leads you to a series. This is reflected in the Plant System through the class, for
example, monocots. Once that is determined, you ask “what is the main focus of the
case”, which leads you to the sub-class. There are seven classes and seven sub-classes
which mirror the periodic table series. To determine the phase and sub-phase, you ask
“what happens (externally)”, “how it is for them”, “and how do they feel about it”.
There are seven phases, and seven sub-phases which take the 17 periodic table stages
and synthesize them into seven. Finally, “how they handle it” and “how they react to
what happens” is the stage as it is in the Element System, e.g. she fights (stage 12).
There are seventeen stages.

The Periodic Plant System diagrams and charts lead you to answering these questions.
Complete detailed charts, including those essential for determining the sub-phase of the
prescription, will be available in the book.

For example, a prescription of Amaryllis would be 63356.12 in Scholten’s Periodic

system of Plants. The number 6 represents Angiosperm, #3 represents Monocots (class),
#3 represents Lilliales (sub-class), #5 represents Asparagales (phase), #6 represents
Amaryllidaceae (sub-phase)  and #12 represents the stage, just like the Element System.

Jan Scholten stated that his Periodic Plant System is still evolving and will have
continuing refinements. A wonderful bi-product of this system is that it clearly shows
where the gaps are in our plant materia medica and where we can be doing future plant
provings.  He noted for example that in the Amborellales, Pandanales and the
Celastrales plant families we have no or very few remedies.

One aspect that I love about Jan Scholten’s system is that it works with current
Botanical knowledge and research. His system can evolve along with changes in
botanical information. It really reflects the totality expressed in homeopathy by
reflecting the intention of our profession and following the order of the natural world. It
is greatly needed in these complex times. I already know that when his book comes out
it will transform my prescribing the same way Elements did, and the world and all in it
will benefit greatly.