| When comparing remedies within any particular group
it is important to emphasise that one doesn’t lose sight of
each and every individual symptom picture of each remedy within
the group and its application to individual clients. Each and every
one has its own special application within the search for the simillimum
– and that is what is important. Having said that, I hope
the following is interesting.
The name and number of ‘group 8’ hardly does justice
to the group of minerals that I call the ‘lusty’ or
‘sexy’ group of minerals.
In this group we have:-
Ferrum metallicum (iron) – lustrous and
volatile, excitable, capacious yet sensitive.
And for our purposes we would have to also take into consideration
-
Ferrum aceticum – restless, excess and depletion,
lungs and blood
Ferrum arsenicosum – weakness, enlargement
and emaciation, spleen and liver
Ferrum bromatum – heaviness and anxiety,
uterus and head
Ferrum citricum – anxiety about the future
Ferrum cyanatum – weakness and neurotic,
brain and bowels
Ferrum iodatum – debility and bearing down
and pushing upwards sensations, glands
Ferrum magneticum – weak and dejected with
feelings of self importance, abdomen, skin and muscles
Ferrum muriaticum – sexual activity painful,
bowels and blood
Ferrum phosphoricum – loquacious or quiet,
excitable anger or apathy, circulation and blood
Ferrum sulphuricum – weak and hot, bowels,
gallbladder, teeth, muscles
Ferrum tartaricum – sensations of heat,
heart and stomach.
And then on to
Osmium metallicum (precious metal) – precious,
lustrous and brittle, gives up easily but impatient and morose,
frequent erections, thoughts of accidents.
Plutonium metallicum (actinoid, star shaped) –
suppressed and explosive energy, feels heavy, disintegration, feels
threatened, multiple personalities (like Platina), shape shifting,
sexually aggressive or obligated.
Plutonium nitricum – suppressed and buried,
sexually aggressive or servile, threat to humanity, threatened relationships.
Naturally, these groups will leak into other groups of minerals,
namely Osmium which is part of the platinum precious
metals group which includes:-
Platinum (group 10) – excessive sexual desire
fused with contempt.
Iridium (group 9) – very heavy but gets
carried away by rainbows, romantic, iridescent.
Palladium (group 10) – egotistical, in love
with the self, impotence, soft and ductile, used in watch springs.
Common to all these remedies in this group is MOVEMENT of some
kind that is characterised by ENERGY, HEAT and EXCITATION or ANXIETY.
On the upper level, with Ferrum, this energy is volatile, restless,
driven by anxiety and sensitivity until DEPLETION takes over. Then
it becomes heavier and we have the uncontrolled and reckless energy
of Osmium, refractory but lazy and then heavier still until we come
to Plutonium where it is either suppressed and threatening or explosive
and disintegrating.
The ‘sexual energy’ theme in this group of remedies
is identifiable via this polarity of energy versus depletion. It
becomes a thing of survival and endurance signified by the struggle
to continually exist – the survival of the species. In the
Ferrum group Scholten calls this PERSEVERANCE. I call it sexual
energy because the species cannot survive without this.
Initially, in this group of Ferrum (1), Osmium (2) and Plutonium
(3) we have:-
Restless weakness (1) – impatience (2) – oppression
(3)
Then
Blood (without which we cannot survive) (1) – preciousness,
sexually flaunting but cannot sustain (2) – survival of the
species (3)
Then
Problems with self identity, feeling small and the need to assert
(1) – confusion (2) – dominating and threatening or
die and be buried (3).
FERRUM has a powerful influence on the blood. It causes anaemia
and this is where the weakness and sense of depletion come from.
This weakness is mingled with excitation, irritability, moroseness
and sadness and this compounds into general anxiety. Scholten describes
one vital aspect of Ferrum as being that of PERSEVERANCE. It needs
to hold on and keep all the excitation together else they will lose
it, i.e. become depleted. This is where the ‘capacious’
level of Ferrum comes into play – expanding with the excitation
and depletion with the moroseness and sadness.
Leading rubrics for the emotional and mental aspects of Ferrum
would be
Delusion, surroundings seemed large, surroundings are capacious.
Excitation after menses.
Morose after menses.
Irritability from noise, such as crackling of newspaper, drives
him to despair. (This is very similar to Asarum and Kali arsenicosum).
Lots of ‘Anxiety’ and ‘Fear’ rubrics.
Obstinate.
Oversensitive.
Confusion of mind, motion >>>
Moods alternating – so you will find Ferrum in opposing rubrics
such as ‘Haughty’ and ‘Indifference’, ‘Morose’
and ‘Laughing immoderately’, ‘Sadness when alone’
and ‘Averse to company’, ‘Tranquility’ and
‘Excitable’ etc.
Lots of ‘Restless’ rubrics.
With blood in mind, blood that is always on the move, Ferrum is
always flushed and yet cold. Ferrum needs this movement but it is
better if it is slow movement. Pallor can alternate with flushing,
as if there is no blood at all. It is a haemorrhagic remedy. The
pulse if full yet soft. Ingestion of food usually stirs up the blood
and provides heat and so Ferrum will always have problems with the
digestive sphere, and iron is present in so many foods. Limbs cold,
head and face hot. Toothache is >>> for icy cold water.
Ferrum is a real mixture of heat and cold = energy and depletion.
Other related remedies include Rumex (contains iron); Graphites;
Manganum; Cuprum.
OSMIUM is reckless, driven mainly by impatience, but they cannot
sustain effort, they quit. This is mainly due to the fact that there
is a contiguous nature to the ailments – pains and sensations
seem unrelated to the point of origin. It has a special affinity
to the eyes, respiratory tract and trachea, the latter being interesting
because they tend to scream – the respiratory tract being
the organ where this force is expelled. Osmium is also one of the
‘smelly’ remedies.
Perhaps, because the eyes are involved, their vision of life is
distorted and this is why they become reckless and susceptible to
accidents. The vision is iridescent, they see rainbow colours (Iridium?).
There is Glaucoma, Herpes within the eyes, Conjunctivitis, Photophobia,
supra and infra-orbital neuralgia, violent pains in the eyes with
lachrymation.
As well as being ‘smelly’ – urine smells like
violets; sweat smells like garlic; belchings smell like radishes;
the substance itself has an odour like chlorine (hence the affinity
to the respiratory tract); the remedy produces an intolerance of
particular odours such as cocoa, coffee and tobacco.
The entire respiratory tract has ailments: pain the trachea and
larynx; bronchitis; colds and coughs that are noisy, dry, spasmodic
and hard. It can be so violent that it shakes the whole body and
they dread having to breathe in and open air <<<.
Strange sensations are as if he had swallowed broken stones and
as if insects are crawling on the back and shoulders. This causes
an itching that drives them crazy.
Leading rubrics for Osmium would include
Impatience from itching
Indolence
Confusion – makes mistakes in speaking
Restless
Weeping or screaming during cough.
Related remedies include: Argentum nitricum; Selenium; Manganum;
Iridium; Tellurium; Thallium; Platina; Palladium; Chlorine and Bromium.
PLUTONIUM METALLICUM has extreme gravity, fatigue and exhaustion.
Feels constantly under threat and in fear of disintegration. Whereas
in Osmium it is recklessness, in Plutonium it is a deep and pressing
constraint that requires enormous effort to clear.
Again, just as in Ferrum and Osmium, we see the need for perseverance
in the effort required. Ferrum cannot sustain this due to depletion
and weakness and Osmium cannot either due to impatience.
The fatigue in Plutonium can be paralysing and by shape shifting
or a change of identity the individual is able to ‘cheat’
this threat of paralysis. Multiple personalities can form to serve
this purpose (as in Platina). This is the beginning of the decay
or disintegration. There is an obligation to persevere, the powerful
force is working against them so they can become aggressive in their
need to survive. Either aggressive, deeply religious, philosophical,
overly responsible or servile. Fear and panic also dominates.
Understandably, depression and other deep seated disease states
develop, such as asthma, chronic fatigue syndrome, allergies, anorexia,
hypertension, bone diseases, psychosis, gastro-enteritis, sacralgia.
The very essence of survival is threatened and there is emotional
pain and physical pain. Relationships are threatened or disturbed.
Terrible chaos and accidents occur. We have a hint of this in Osmium.
PLUTONIUM NITRICUM brings in the characteristics of Nitricum, one
of these being a sense of abundance and expansion which links in
with the capaciousness of Ferrum. Nitricum needs space else it will
explode and as explosion is the main threat behind Plutonium this
creates a twofold terror.
As with Plutonium metallicum we have again suppression, threat
and endangerment of survival of the species and this threat is either
faced with aggression or servility. Depression, fear and panic is
observed. The individual ceases to be important in the survival
of the species so there are issues around confusion of identities.
Accidents feature again, often in dreams. Once more, relationships
are threatened. Because the Nitricum aspect cannot be contained
in a small space there will be terrible fears accompanied by a need
to escape. Interestingly a fear of cancer is a strong keynote and
one could define cancer as an ‘expansive’ disease.
Physically you can expect to see congestion, swelling, respiratory
problems such as bronchitis and asthma, allergies, ailments of the
spinal column and chronic fatigue syndrome, headaches that feel
as if the head will explode, acute illnesses that have taken on
a sub chronic state, such as tonsillitis, nausea, diarrhoea.
Such is the threat with Plutonium I believe some practitioners
have noted bizarre accidents occurring just by having the remedy
on the premises!
In summary
Related themes are ENERGY – EXPANSION – ACCIDENTS –
EXHAUSTION.
Ferrum is the blood supply for life and energy. Osmium is reckless
with that energy, is ambitious but cannot sustain and Plutonium
has so much gravity and oppression one either disintegrates, becomes
dead and buried or survives through aggression.
COBALT AND THE SILVER STEALING GOBLINS
Once upon a time in the year of 1737 and in the land of Sverige,
a young man came across a hexagonal crystal formation that was later
discovered to be an ingredient of a tough, silver white transition
metal which he named Cobalos (Cobaltum or Kobeolt).
Kobe is a hut or a cage, some structure that holds and stores,
maybe where stolen goods could be stashed. Olt refers to a spirit,
a gracious spirit and Cobalt is in silver ore where it was believed
to have been placed by silver stealing goblins who were trying to
cover their tracks by replacing the silver with this dangerous,
radioactive substance.
Stealing can never really been seen in a gracious light but the
good intention was there and thus Cobaltum metallicum has, at the
focal point of its symptom picture ‘DELUSION HE IS A CRIMINAL
AND OTHERS KNOW IT’ + full of self reproach, guilt and no
self esteem – an emotional holding or storage of damaging
feelings.
This sense of guilt leads to constantly changing moods –
on the one hand, vivacious, cheerful and happy with a strong feeling
of exhilaration and clearness of the mind and on the other, indolence,
confusion, restless nervousness, impotence and sadness – the
impotence being replaced with self satisfaction and lots of sexy
dreams. This alternation almost represents a healthy letting go
that is soon replaced by the hoarding of guilt, just like the guilty
goblins replacing the silver ore with Cobalt.
Open or shut and empty or full is another way of viewing this –
the abdomen has an empty feeling at the navel; there is a disposition
to keep the jaws shut tight; vertigo with a feeling that the head
grows large; teeth feel too long; water from the stomach rises up.
Even the brain feels like it is going up and down.
Letting go on the physical plane is seen as a need to hawk mucous
which >>>; haemorrhages (constant dropping of blood from
the anus); lachrymation; sweaty feet; discharge of semen without
erection; green discharge from urethra.
But the most dominant physical symptom is felt in the back. There
is severe backache that can find no relief from sitting or standing
but lying or walking about can help. The knees are weak and they
just won’t straighten up, always bent and trembling. This
could be because there is pain in the liver region that shoots downwards
to the thighs, but being weak in the knees could also be the result
of all those guilty burdens being carried around.
It is a colourful remedy – the tongue is coated white; the
skin can become anything from yellow, brown, red, blue or purple.
Cobalt has an affinity to cancer, although this is more prominent
in Cobaltum nitricum. Cobalt 60 is the radioactive isotope used
in allopathic treatment of cancer.
Cobalt is an important trace element and so has dietary relevance.
It is also very interesting that the theme of ‘holding on’
is linked to the fact that Cobalt is also used in the making of
magnets.
Thanks for reading.
Joy Lucas RSHom
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