Preface

Since we learned to know homeopathy and its materiae medicae, it seemed strange to us, that the remedies are always put into alphabetical order and that often it is not even recognizable what kind of substance it really is, that we are using.

During the last few years fortunately the question which natural substances we are dealing with and how they are related towards each other, has found more interest among those working with homeopathy. As in nature - as far as we understand it - there is nothing arbitrary, we have to suppose that with the further developement of our knowledge there will be a certain kind of structure to be found amongst homeopathic remedies, which will not be independent of the natural relationship among the substances as such.

We will only be able to systematically observe these similarities between different remedies as long as the natural order of relationships among animals, plants and chemical substances is known to us. The alphabetical order obviously does not encourage this. For this reason we have put the remedies into their modern scientific order. To avoid misunderstandings we wish to state clearly that we are not of the opinion that an homeopathic system of remedies and their relationship could be simply identical with this scientific order. But as a kind of working basis for further studies and observations the natural system will help us more than an alphabetical one.

In the following book you will find all homeopathic remedies mentioned in the common works of Hahnemann, Kent, Allen, Clarke, Hering, Boericke, Mezger and also in the more summarizing materiae medicae of Phatak, Vermeulen, Murphy. Besides this we have added most of the plants generally used in herbalism as well as the plants used by Edward Bach. We have tried to include the fast increasing number of proved or unproved new remedies, but certainly missed some of them.

Despite all our efforts there will be several mistakes and incompletenesses. And we are grateful for any corrections, suggestions, additions and criticism.

Notice: We wish to extend this book to include notes about existing provings for our remedies, with information by whom and how the proving was done and giving the adress for further material. Therefore we would appreciate all information about newly used or proved substances, with as precise as possible notes on their origin as well as an adress to ask for proving materials.

You will find a very good and most up to date list of modern homeopathic provings under www.dynamis.edu

Please get in touch with us by

Fax +49-2205-912563 or e-mail: info@homoeopathie-wichmann.de

We thank pharmacist Brita Gudjons; Kathleen A. Kron, Chairperson of Systematic Section of the Botanical Society of America; Jeremy Sherr; for important advice on the subject; David K. Warkentin.

We dedicate this book Massimo Mangialavori who put us on the path of researching the biological background of remedies.

The system of inanimate substances is build on the basis of the periodical table of elements after practical points of view.

The other systems in this book follow the commonly accepted zoological and botanical taxonomy, which was partly simplified, where more differentiation did not enhance the understanding of the relationships between remedies. Alternative taxonomical opinions are given in the text.

Additional to the plant and animal families, whose representatives are used as remedies, a few more families and orders are added to explain circles of relationship. Nevertheless the system of taxonomy could not be given at full extent, since this is much more than a booklet like this can offer.

The taxonomical levels used are the following:

Class - e.G. Dicotyledonae

with: German name and: / English name

with: German name and: / English name:

Hydrastinchlorid / Muriate of Hydrastia

 

A name different from the taxonomically correct one, which is in common homeopathic use, will be found after the / oblique. The usual homeopathic abbreviation (Complete Millenium) is put at the end of the main line in brackets. e.g.:

correct name / homeopathic name - (abbreviation)

Homeopathically common remedies are bold typed to find them easier.

Old abbreviations or alternative ones are given as Abr.: .... under synonyms. With our abbreviations we follow Synthesis 5.0 where possible, but not everywhere, since their list of synonyms and abbreviations includes mistakes, which we tried to correct as far as possible.

For some substances, mostly recent ones, it wasn´t possible to find any abbreviation in use. Here we made suggestions for an abbreviation und marked those with a #, e.g.: (#Vernx).

Plants, Animals and Chemicals, not being in homeopathic use according to our latest records, are marked:

<*phyto> - according to literature up to now only in phytotherapeutic use.

<*food> - only use as food.

<*expl> - only a widely known example for this family, no known use.

This also accounts for those substance where an homeopathic abbreviation is given, too.

<*Bach> - besides homeopathic or herbalist use also used as a Bach-Flower remedy.

The fact that for many Classes, Orders and Families of plants and animals we have given only Latin and German but no English names, has the simple reason, that in English speaking systematic biology there are only few common names in use (those we found, we did mention).

Literature