Graphites [Graph]:

-Jan Scholten

The themes of Carbon are slightly different from the ones described in my previous book (Homoeopathy and Minerals). The theme of the father is still there, but it has proved to be an almost natural consequence of our present-day society rather than an essential characteristic of the Carbonicums. One could rephrase it as the theme of God the father, who provides us with the values that determine good and bad. In our culture this aspect is usually represented by the father, and in this respect the father figure is still important in the Carbonicums. The theme of the father can also be found in the Silicatums, and there it concerns his function as head and leader of the family.

The theme of values, of the difference between good and bad, not only applies to the Carbonicums, but to the whole Carbon series as well.

Jurgen Becker (1995) has also talked about the properties of the carbon composites.

Signature

The name carbon is derived from carbo i.e. coal. In nature it can be found in graphite, diamond and coal. Graphite has a hexagonal (6) structure and it is the 6th element.

Due to the very strong C-C bonding a carbon chain is the most easily formed chain out of all the elements. Carbon is not only the basic element in all organic life forms, it also the basic element in the petrochemical industries.

The universe contains relatively large quantities of Carbon: after Hydrogen and Helium it is the third most common element.

But on earth it is quite rare: only 0.09 percent of the matter of the earths crust consists of Carbon. It is, however, the basic element in all living beings. In that sense we could call living beings carbon collectors.

Carbon increases the strength and hardness of steel.

Concepts

Stage 10 Carbon series

Summit Centre Individual Person I

Success Glittering Values Meaning Self-worth

Self-evident Ethics: Good and bad

Independent Noble Body Life Lust

Self assured Haughty Possessions

Balance Hero

Stable Unstable I-weakness

Rigidity Magic Myths

Child

Group analysis

A balanced personality: stable.

A self-evident I.

Self-worth is a matter of course: dignified.

A noble person: dignified.

An unstable person.

Not being in control of Self.

Unstable borderlines: sentimental, hyperaesthetic emotional syndrome.

Self-evident values; normal.

Searching for stable values.

Rigid values.

Balanced with regard to possessions: unselfish.

Rigidity around possessions: selfish.

A successful life: working.

The central figure in values: father.

The ultimate master of values: God.

Radiating life.

The shining hero.

Rigidity of the body.

Picture of Graphites

Essence: Finding or unable to find stable values.

A balanced person: stable

These people have a very stable personality. They experience everything as a matter of course, they are who they are and that's it. I am O.K. the way I am. They feel they are the centre of their own world. This side will be most prominent if they have received lots of encouragement during their childhood.

A noble person: dignified Their sense of self-worth is well developed. They feel that in spite of all the faults they may have, they are still O.K. They radiate self confidence; it shows in their dignified behaviour.

In the extreme they may even seem (or be) aristocratic.

Unstable self-worth: shy

One way the theme of self-worth may be expressed is in shyness.

Their self confidence is easily shaken. Timidity is a rubric (Complete repertory, page 349), wherein the Carbonicums feature most prominently. The shyness and the dignity are two sides of the same coin. The underlying theme is self-worth and finding ones life purpose.

An unstable person

Another expression of the theme can be found in a person who is very unstable. They can't find their own centre. They are no longer master of their feelings and ideas, but become prey to outside influences. A typical symptom is that they get upset by all sorts of minor incidents. A mere trifle becomes a huge problem to them. Like a leaf in the wind they get swept away by a thousand and one minor little things during the day. They seem to have no stable frame of reference to measure things by, no firm set of values that gives them stability.

Their moods are changeable, they get angry, sad, fearful etc.

They often cry without an obvious reason. When they visit a doctor this tendency is aggravated, mainly because they are not sure whether something is terribly wrong.

Sentimentality is a keynote symptom. They get emotional from things that leaves others completely unperturbed. They cry when watching a sad film or when they hear a band or an organ playing (Complete repertory, 1994, page 370). But as long as they can talk about a problem they soon get over it. Advice and support from someone like their father or their doctor gives them the stability they lack in themselves. The whole problem of what is important is given to someone else to determine on their behalf.

Sometimes they look like one of those little toy people that always right themselves: Weebles wobble but they don't fall down.

Unbalanced borderlines: hyper aesthetic emotional syndrome In the extreme form it leads to a situation where all stability has been lost. They become extremely emotional and sentimental.

This can be caused by grief such as the loss of one of their parents, and it may only be a temporary state. But it can also turn into a permanent state of having to depend on someone else because they can't get a grip on their emotions anymore.

The picture of the wobbly toy turns into someone who is top heavy. He is unable to stay upright and keeps falling.

This side of the picture is likely to come up if they have a very low self image.

Stable values: normal

They feel a need for well defined and unchanging values to hold on to. They prefer these not to be too extreme: something quite normal and straight forward suits them fine. They often use the word normal. They tend not to think too deeply about life, things are the way they are and that is fine as far as they are concerned.

Searching for stable values

Their search for stable values may not always be successful.

Sometimes you notice their desperate search to have the meaning and purpose of life translated into simple standards to live by.

Rigid values

They apply themselves steadily to their tasks, undisturbed by anything or anyone. This is how they learned it should be: and God saw it was done well. They probably adopted their parents and grandparents views on life and were quite happy to carry on in the same tradition. This is how it was always done, and this is how I will do it too. The danger of this line of thinking is that they may get stuck and can't adapt as times change. They would rather not listen to new ideas because it would only disturb the way they have always done things.

Balanced with regard to possessions: generous

The way they think about their possessions is quite balanced. To them it is a natural part of life, that there are certain things you need in life, but it isn't necessary to hang on to them at all costs. They can give and take quite easily, because they know that there are more important things in life. (Generosity, Morrison 1988, page 15).

Rigidity around possessions: selfish

Once again we see that that the opposite is also possible, i.e. the need to hang on to their possessions. They may even be quite selfish in this regard. They may cling to things that represent the old family traditions like a house or a farm that they have inherited, even in situations where it makes no sense to go on like that.

A successful life: work

Work is the central theme, because it is here that they find social acceptance and their own sense of what they are worth.

Work is what life is all about, or at least it gives them a firm material base.

They are solid workers like farmers or lorry drivers. They are usually quite slow but dependable: they plod on regardless.

The central figure in values: father All previous themes can be seen as one aspect of the core theme: the father.

All issues around dignity, life purpose, work and social position can usually be brought back to problems with the father or other authorities.

In Graphites the father is there and not there at the same time.

He is often away from home, he is only there in the background.

He works hard and is probably away from home a lot. He hardly gets involved in bringing up the children. The children don't know what to think of him: father wasn't really there, we don't know where he was or what he thinks. This uncertainty about their own father seems to bring up uncertainties about the different values in life.

Mythology also speaks about the connection between father and the meaning of life. Campbell (1991) says: Finding your father has to do with finding your own character and your purpose. There is a theory that we inherit our character from our father and our body and often our mind from our mother. The search for father is thus symbolic for the search for your own destiny.

The ultimate value: God

Apart from the father himself we see that other authority figures play an important part in their life: teachers, lecturers, priests and, of course, the ultimate authority - God himself. He is the key to all the values there ever were, the one who gives us our purpose here on earth. Graphites people are often very concerned about questions such as What are we here for? or Where do we go when we die?

Radiating life

In the positive expression of their character they will be the lively type of person who radiates light to his surroundings.

They know how to inspire others in a very down to earth and simple way. They are very sociable and provide a nice, comfortable base for those around them.

The shining hero

This is the stage where the hero finally starts off on his quest.

He simply takes on the task that is meant for him. He feels that it wont be a big problem. But underneath this calm there is a little nagging doubt whether he will really be able to handle it, and whether this is really the right quest for him.

Rigidity in the body

The rigidity we spoke about earlier may also manifest itself in the body, for instance in a stiffness in the muscles and joints, or in deafness caused by rigidity in the bones in the ear. This deafness is ameliorated in a noisy environment, where they loosen up little. They are generally both worse and better from motion.

Expressions

Fears: vague (2!), unknown (!), life, strangers, future, travelling, flying, crowds, streets, failure, disease, operations, cancer, death, dark.

Mood: timid, uncertain, indecisive, (>) support, listless, meaningless, crying(<)(<) talking about the complaints (!), gloomy, suicidal; (>) at home.

Mental: confused, slow, problems orientating, lack of concentration, forgetful, dementia.

Religion: magic, obsessive.

Causes: neglect, abuse, incest, parents absent, addicted or weak, loss of parents or protectors.

Generals

Build: overweight, fat body, thin legs, top heavy, unstable.

Locality: right.

Perspiration: feet.

Weather: (<) 7 pm. Desires: sweet, normal food. Aversion: strange, or foreign food. Physical: (<) exertion, climbing stairs: (<) movement (2), (>) movement.

Complaints

Pains in occiput.

Ear infections. Otosclerosis. Deafness (>) noise (this loosens the rigidity).

Colds. Asphyxia. Lung problems from dust.

Bone problems: weakness, osteoporosis, fractures.

Eczema, behind ears, flaking and fissures.

DD Carbon series, Stage 10, Aceticums, Muriaticums, Carbons, Carboneums, Carbo mineralis, Carbo umbra (= miserabilis, brown coal), Kreosotum, Saccharum, Alcoholum, Lacticums, Oxalicums, Picricums, Phenol, Benzinum.

DD Boron: doesn't know who he is or who he is allowed to be.

Graphites knows he is allowed to be here and he knows who he is, but he is not sure what he is really worth and whether he can handle what he takes on.

DD Silicatums: the father is an important figure here too, but more in the role of the head of the household, the central figure in the family. In the Carbonicums the father is more a symbol for the meaning of life, the person who can give his child direction in finding his life purpose.

The shyness is equally great in both groups.

DD: Pulsatilla is also rather unstable and weepy, but the aim is to attract attention. Graphites cries because he can't assess the situation. He doesn't need company for the sake of it: he needs someone to tell him whether he is doing the right thing or not.

Pulsatilla and Graphites are complementary remedies.

DD Carbo vegetabilis: this remedy has a similar duality of rigidity and instability, but in this case it is mainly their metabolism (plants) that is disturbed and this is expressed in an increased desire for oxygen.

DD Carbo animalis: again a similar duality of rigidity and instability, with the emphasis on the theme of displacement (animals). This is expressed in an aggravation on displacement, moving house etc. They are like a lonely cowboy who finds himself in a ghost town.

DD Adamas (=diamond): has a similar sense of insecurity, aggravated when they are unable to get a clear view on the situation.

DD Petroleum: can also be very confused and unsure about his identity, together with orientation problems.

Case

A 50 year old woman has eruptions on face and neck. In the right side of her neck she has little lumps with desquamation of the skin. The skin near the corner of her eye is red, occasionally swollen, itching and the skin feels tight, as if it had been burnt. This extends to her nose and sometimes to her ears, aggravated by wearing earrings. The eruptions come and go. They start off as little lumps and the skin ends up feeling very rough. The sensation is hot, burning and itching. It is aggravated by sun and she is allergic to dust, cats and dogs (2).

Not influenced by weather, seasons, food or flu inoculations. The eruptions started a few years ago when her mother went through terrible suffering and eventually died of cancer. Her mother had been the strong force in the family. After her mother died she cried in her sleep for quite a while.

She is a dance teacher in a school that is run by her brother and she loves her work: it means a lot to her. She is happily married and has two children. Her husband is happy for her to have a job.

To her the family comes first and she loves her children: they often go on holiday together. She is lively and cheerful and likes having fun. She is always in a good mood, sees the good in other people and is never suspicious. On the rare occasion that she gets angry she gets very upset by her own outburst. The only time she cries is when she watches a sad film. She dreams about nice things, for instance about people who stay the night in a dance hall.

During the consultation she is very lively and she chats about herself in a relaxed manner. She wears lipstick and earrings and a bright red jersey with lots of glitter.

She is always busy, can't sit still and likes to talk. She talks about whatever comes up in her mind, she doesn't hold back, although she says she would avoid confrontations. She suffers from constipation when she is on a journey.

As a child she had chronic ear infections in her right ear. Her hearing on this side is slightly diminished. When she was 18 she had a skin eruption covering her whole body for two years with an allergy to dust. At the age of 22 she got Pfeiffer disease, just after she got married. She used to suffer from hoarseness and frequent colds and she had an operation on her nose to straighten the septum.

She occasionally gets a bit wheezy with a lot of sneezing when there are cats around.

No trouble during pregnancies. She didn't breast feed, because she didn't have much milk and it was a bit inconvenient anyway because of her job.

Generals

Weather: (>) sun, sunbathing; (>) fresh air.

Perspiration: little.

Time: (>) evening.

Desires: sweet (2), chocolate (2), prawns (3).

Aversion: olives, ginger.

Menses: every 24 days, no pains.

Sleep: good, only needs 5 hours.

Analysis

My prescription was mainly based on her appearance. She is a straight-forward kind of person, no real problems at home or at work. You could say she is who she is and she takes things as they come. No great worries about the past, or about herself and she doesn't particularly have to prove herself either. This is typical of Graphites. The fact that the skin complaints started after the death of her mother, who had been the driving force in the family, also points to the carbon series. She was left without support and had to manage for herself.

Other Graphites symptoms: eczema, roughness of the skin, desquamation, right sidedness, ear infection, constipation, (<) travelling, crying on seeing a sad film, talking during sleep, liveliness.

This is an example of a strong Graphites, although the unstable type is more commonly met in our practice.

Reaction

After Graphites 1M the eczema became much worse for two days. It kept her awake for two nights, after which it gradually disappeared. She feels fine, as she already did before she came to see me.

Case

A 30 year old woman is extremely unstable (Stage 10). She can't get a grip on what she is doing, she is always worrying and analysing. She has a problem with her ex husband because he comes and goes to pick up their son without taking her wishes into consideration. She finds it difficult to stick to what she wants and always gives way to his arguments. She cries continuously (Graphites) during the consultation and she feels like a little child (Carbon series). After taking Graphites she feels much stronger. She is able to stand up for herself and insists on definite and concrete arrangements around the boys visits to his father.

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