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Homoeopathy is based on four cardinal principles:
These are the checks and balances which make Homoeopathy a safe and effective system. Thus Homoeopathy has a safety net integrated into the use of similars. The following article is a post from my archive that deals with this subject. This sets the foundation of homoeopathic philosophy.
Homoeopathy uses the similar remedy to cure similar diseases. All homoeopathic remedies are tested on healthy volunteers so that the symptoms they produce demonstrate the nature of the illnesses they will cure. After careful provings they are tested in clinical trials on those who are ill with similar disorders. After a detailed assessment of their potential causative rubrics and symptomatology these similar remedies are entered into the homoeopathic repertory and materia medica. Thus the homoeopathic reference works are a careful balance of provings and clinical confirmations. Homoeopathic remedies are chosen by similar constitutional factors, aetiology and the totality of the signs and symptoms. A remedy chosen in this way is called the "simillimum".
All diseases have an effect on the entire human organism which manifests as signs and symptoms on the mental and physical levels. The instinctive vital force attempts to externalize constitutional disharmony in the form of local affections and one sided complaints in the more external parts. This movement outward acts as a pressure valve which seeks to protect the inner most sensitive organs of the mind, nervous system, lungs, heart, liver, kidneys, etc. Therefore, the constitutional vital force may set up a local discharge, a regional affection or a persistent one-sided complaint to palliate an internal disorder. This phenomena has been observed since the time of Hippocrates (c. 450 B.C.), the father of the constitutional philosophy.
If a local manifestation of this constitutional derangement is treated one-sidedly by a single symptom or a common disease name it may suppress this palliatory expression of the vital force causing the disease to metastasize to the interior regions producing a more complex pathological state. This is a primary aspect of the suppression syndrome as recorded in the Introduction of The Organon of the Healing Arts (page 32 & 33) and The Chronic Diseases. Such phenomena can be caused by homoeopathic, naturopathic and allopathic remedies when used improperly. For example, I once gave a remedy which cleared up a digestive problem and rapidly caused maddening headaches and a crisis of the inner ear. One would have to be in tremendous denial not to admit such a mistake. Fortunately, those trained in the complete homoeopathic system have been taught to watch for such negative signs and know how to apply the appropriate counter measures.
For these reasons traditional homoeopaths collect all the data related to the spirit and mind, domestic and social relationships, the physical constitution, aetiology, miasms, iatrogenesis, suppressions and the signs and symptoms (Org. § 5, 6, 7, etc.). In this way a homoeopath avoids treating any one single symptom and the use of nosological disease names as a basis for a prescription. A homoeopath uses the symptoms of the complete mind-body complex as the basis for the administration of a homoeopathic potency. In this way the suppressive potential of homoeopathic remedies is neutralized.
Many eclectics mix several healing methods in such a manner that can only be called unique. Some are using potentized remedies in combinations under the illusion that they practice a new improved form of Homoeopathy or naturopathy. Others give new-age health products which have vitamins, minerals, herbs and homoeopathic remedies. These remedies are not administered by the law of similars and can truly be called unhomoeopathic. The combination remedies of old times were low potencies given by simple indications. Today's new age combinations have high potencies or all potencies mixed together. These individuals are under the illusion that homoeopathic remedies are completely safe no matter how one uses them. Nothing could be further from the truth.
Some individuals use potentized remedies in a questionable manner & because they remove the safety features Hahnemann integrated to lower the chance of side-effects. One such system is the Sequential Therapy (ST) of Elgimer which uses combinations of high potency remedies chosen by causations, disease names, and isopathy. Some of his students claim that Hahnemann had two methods of giving remedies, the homogenic and homoeopathic. These so- called "homogenic remedies' are prescribed by disease names without any recourse to the signs and symptoms of the patient. Such methods increase the chance of suppression, prolonged aggravations and remedy produced diseases.
Homoeopaths do not look at each individual disease name or symptom in isolation. They look at the entire constitutional expression of the individual through the totality of the symptoms. As each individual represents a single mind/body organism any mistunement of the unitary vital force produces a syndrome of signs and symptoms. This singular constitutional state is most similar to the single remedy that is the simillimum of the entire derangement. The singularity of the similar remedy reflects the integrated nature of the defensive powers as well as the unitary nature of the vital force. The single remedy allows the vital force to concentrate its maximum healing power on the essential picture of the illness rather than dispersing vital energy in reaction to several medicinal influences simultaneously.
The reason homoeopaths do not use combination remedies is that it makes case management of complex problems almost impossible. Combination remedies often have remedial qualities which are contradictory in nature. The practitioner has no idea what the combined action of several remedies and potencies may have on the individual. There is no way to manage a case because you can not tell what may be causing aggravations, new symptoms or amelioration. Combinations have no provings which test their actions on the healthy so their indications in disease are completely unknown. Hahnemann also experimented with dual remedies in 1832 but found them ineffective and their actions difficult to assess. For these reasons he left them completely behind. These are a few of the reasons homoeopaths do not use combination remedies. They are inherently allopathic in nature.
A homoeopathic remedy works by being similar to the disease state but slightly stronger due to potentization. The primary action of the homoeopathic remedy is opposed by the secondary healing action of the vital force which leads to the cure. If a constitution is too warm a similar warm remedy in potency will stimulate the opposite reaction of coolness from the instinctive vital force bringing the individual toward a balanced state of health. This is Hahnemann's model of how homoeopathic remedies work (Organon, § 63, 64, 65, 66). Sensitive constitutions make the best provers (remedy testers) of homoeopathic remedies because they will react to almost any remedy. This has been demonstrated many times. The homoeopathic materia medica is based on provings on the healthy as well as clinical confirmations on the ill. In this way homoeopaths know the remedial actions of their potentized remedies.
It is those with sensitive constitutions, hidden pathology, and weakened vitality who are prone to be hypersensitive to homoeopathic remedies. They make up a significant percentage of our contemporary cases. If such a constitution is too warm, and they are given a cold remedial potency, the vital force will oppose this primary coolness by producing more secondary heat making the disease worse not better. Such phenomena have been documented. If we give a combination of remedies including a shy remedy, an aggressive remedy, a cold remedy, a hot remedy, a dry remedy and a moist remedy, the secondary action of the vital force may become fragmented running the danger of confusing secondary reactions, coincidental suppression and disruption of the natural symptom pattern. Such reactions are often mistaken for deeper layers, cleansing crises or new diseases by those who have not mastered the fundamentals of homoeopathic methodology. Such difficulties can be avoided by a proper education in homoeopathic philosophy.
Hahnemann learned early in his career that medical practice was dangerous. The side-effects he experienced with orthodox medicine upset him so much he stopped using allopathic drugs and treatments. After this bitter experience he decided to practice the natural healing arts in the tradition of Hippocrates, the father of western medicine. The ancient Greeks were very careful with the use of medicines. They relied on diet, lifestyle, exercise and philosophy for cure as well as materia medica. Hahnemann's use of the Hippocratic methods was so successful that the first "Hahnemannian Treatment" was pure Greek naturopathy. As the young doctor applied his 'new' treatments he began a search for the proper ways to use remedial agents. This was the beginning of Homoeopathy.
Hahnemann was very careful with his doses of homoeopathic remedies. Many homoeopaths misunderstand the nature of the minimal dose. Most modern homoeopaths believe that there is no difference in the action of one homoeopathic pill and one thousand pills ad infinitum. They confuse the small amount of original substance in a high potency with the maxim of the minimal dose. In truth they are two different synergistic principles. The concept that the dose does not matter can be traced to James Kent and can be found in his classic Lectures on Homoeopathic Philosophy in the chapter called On Simple Substance. In this work Kent explains the Swedenborgian theory that energy is based on a fourth state of matter called the "simple substance". Hahnemann noticed right from the very start that a homoeopath must be very careful with both the potency and size of the dose. He found that the size of the dose was as important as the potency factor in the producing the phenomena of aggravation. For this reason the amount of the dose is as carefully regulated as the level of the potency in Hahnemannian Homoeopathy. Vide aphorism 275.
"The suitableness of a medicine for any given case of disease does not depend on its accurate homoeopathic selection alone, but likewise on the proper size, or rather smallness, of the dose. If we give too strong a dose of a medicine which may have been even quite homoeopathically chosen for the morbid state before us, it must, notwithstanding the inherent beneficial character of its nature, prove injurious by its mere magnitude, and by the unnecessary, too strong impression which, by virtue of its homoeopathic similarity of action, it makes upon the vital force which it attacks and, through the vital force, upon those parts of the organism which are the most sensitive, and are already most affected by the natural disease."
Modern physics states that all forms of energy are contained in small energy packets called quantums. The amplitude of a force is increased when the number of quantums of energy present are expanded at any given wave length. In the same way, Hahnemann taught that each pill of a homoeopathic remedy possessed a certain amount or "quantum" of medicinal energy. In a sense the potency of a remedy represents the wave form or frequency of the energy and the number of pills represents the amplitude or power of the signal. This is why the power of a homoeopathic dose increases each time the practitioner uses more pills when preparing the remedy for ingestion. Hahnemann gave a direct warning about the abuse of the small number #10 pills. Vide The Chronic Diseases.
"The physician can, indeed, make no worse mistake than first, to consider as too small the doses which I (forced by experience) have reduced after manifold trials and which are indicated with every anti psoric remedy...."
As the potencies of homoeopathic remedies became higher Hahnemann progressively reduced the size of the dose. This is why he stopped using drop doses of the alcohol base potencies and began using the small pills we are all so familiar with. Even here he found that the number of pills still needed to be strictly controlled. In the note to this page Hahnemann speaks of the mistakes he made in his earlier experiments when he used too many pills in his homoeopathic practice.
"I have myself experienced this accident, which is very obstructive to cure and cannot be avoided too carefully. Still ignorant of the strength of its medicinal power, I gave Sepia in too large a dose. This trouble was still more manifest when I gave Lycopdium and Silicea, potentized to the one-billionth degree, giving four to six pellets, though only as large as poppy seeds. Discite moniti!"
Most modern homoeopaths interpret the size of the dose as being synonymous with the level of the potency. They mistakenly believe that using the smallest dose relates to the tiny amount of the original substance present in a high potency remedy. This is not the full story as Hahnemann speaks of the difference between the size or amount of a dose and the potency factor in his writings. Hahnemann taught that the phenomenon of the aggravation was not only linked to the potency, but also to the number of pills used when giving the dose. The unwarranted use of a random number of pills of a high potency remedy is the exact opposite of what Hahnemann taught as the minimal dose.
The minimal dose means that the homoeopath should use the least amount of medicinal stimulation necessary to bring about a healing reaction. This is why the maxim of the minimum dose includes three variable factors, i. e. the size of the dose, the level of the potency, and the number of times the remedy is used. Hahnemann recommends that a homoeopathic remedy be given in a dose as "sufficiently minute i.e. as small as possible". This is because even the correct homoeopathic remedy given in proper potency but in an unnecessarily large amount will aggravate the case and delay the cure. In patients with severe pathological tissue changes, hypersensitivity, or suffering from lack of vitality, large doses may be dangerous.
Some remedy combinations are low potencies, some are high potencies, some are mixtures of both. Some have several potencies of several remedies. None of the potencies in such combinations can be individualized to the disease state nor symptoms. There is absolutely no standard of manufacture nor uniform code of administration. Potentized remedies are extremely powerful and should not be treated like some new age holistic "good for everyone" health product. Most combination practitioners do not understand the homoeopathic posology system nor how to apply it to an individual state of disease. This is because they do not understand the science and philosophy of Homoeopathy. *This increases the risk of side-effects.
* In this document I have exclusively used the words like "potential to, may cause and runs the danger of, etc.." This is because such negative phenomena depend on variable causes and circumstances and are not absolute in nature. Nevertheless, the percentage of cases in which they do occur should be of concern to healers in all fields.
"Discite Moniti!" cried Hahnemann in The Chronic Diseases (page 206) after he misused his new anti-psoric remedies in ignorance of their potential powers. Homoeopaths have always tried to learn from their mistakes and prevent others from repeating them. It is the principles of individualization, likes cure likes, the single remedy, the minimal dose and the potentized remedy which makes Homoeopathy a safe and effective system. Without these cardinal principles the use of similars is potentially dangerous. These are the checks and balances that Hahnemann integrated into his system as he perfected the method. It is these principles which provide the path to a gentle, rapid and permanent cure.
Why do classical homoeopaths respect these principles so much??? Because over the years in our ignorance we have given the wrong remedies and caused negative affects, suppressed symptoms with partial simillimums, given the wrong potency, used too large a dose, disrupted the vital force with untimely repetition, and aggravated cases to the point of danger on occasions. Such difficult moments are great teachers. They cause one to go back to basics and see where one has gone wrong. Our cautions are not given lightly nor with lack of personal experience. We have also witnessed suppressions, over medication, and symptom disruptions coming from other healing disciplines. Remember the first Hippocratic maxim is "Healer ,do no harm!"
The night can be long and sleepless for a homoeopath with a conscience. Hahnemann learned by trial and error and so must we. That is the lonely path a healer must tread. No one has a perfect track record. Homoeopaths have always been very honest about this. As one's remedies become more accurate, and one's cases more serious, the potential for difficulties only deepens. Some say they have never seen any problems, suppressions, aggravations nor side-actions caused by homoeopathic remedies. For them such a thing is impossible, and therefore, it does not exist at all. Do they mean that all those homoeopaths who have witnessed such things over the last 200 years must be crazy? Such is the state of their denial.
To those of us who have caused problems in our own cases, as well as discussed them in the cases of our honest colleagues, such absolute claims sound very, very hollow. We have case histories which demonstrate the negative affects of giving an incorrect homoeopathic remedy and the wrong potency and dosage. We have accepted our mistakes and try to learn from them as all responsible healers must do. If one carefully follows the cardinal principles of Homoeopathy such difficulties can be reduced to a minimum and mistakes easily rectified. Without the homoeopathic principles the power of potentized remedies is very difficult to control.
This wisdom is born of two centuries of clinical experience and is not religious dogma, fundamentalism nor prideful fanaticism. Many do not understand the chain of human experience behind these cardinal principles and cautions. Even to become a homoeopath takes 5 years of training to learn the basics and another 5 years of clinical experience to master those fundamentals. For the next 10 years one must keep studying case histories and materia medica daily. Then one finally is an experienced homoeopathician. There is no other way. Of course, many are looking for a short cut because they lack the dedication it takes to be a real homoeopathician. I have watched such healers over the last 25 years and their knowledge of Homoeopathy never grows. They do the same things today as they did all those years ago. If one takes a "short cut" in the beginning one's knowledge is "cut short" in the end. You get out exactly what you put in!