Chelidonium majus
- VERMEULEN Frans,
Chel.
Pure logic is the ruin of the spirit.
[Antoine de Saint-Exupéry]
Signs
Chelidonium majus. Greater Celandine. Swallow-wort. N.O. Papaveraceae.
CLASSIFICATION Chelidonium belongs to the Papaveraceae or Poppies, a plant family that is mainly native to the north temperate zone. The family consists chiefly of herbaceous annuals or perennials, and some shrubs. There are 23 genera [some taxonomic systems recognize 41 genera], of which Papaver is the largest - containing about 100 species - and Sanguinaria and Chelidonium the smallest - both containing 1 species only. Other members of the Poppy family which are employed in homoeopathy include Sanguinaria, Argemone, Eschscholzia, Adlumia, Corydalis, and Fumaria. The latter two are in some taxonomic systems included in the separate family Fumariaceae.
FEATURES All members of the Papaveraceae have stems and leaves that contain a well-developed system of secretory canals which produce yellow, milky or watery latex. The large and often showy flowers are bisexual and possess two free sepals, which fall off before the flowers open. The four petals are rolled or crumpled when in bud. The flowers are short-lived, dropping very quickly when picked. The seeds of various species yield drying oils or oils important in the manufacture of soaps. Many species are cultivated as garden ornamental plants. Chelidonium is native to temperate and subarctic Eurasia; it is naturalized in eastern North America. The whole plant abounds in a bright, orange-coloured juice. The juice leaves a persistent stain on hands or clothes, and has a nauseous taste and a disagreeable smell.
HABITAT The plant self-seeds readily and may become a pest. In addition, its distribution is enhanced by ants who carry the small, black seeds off to enjoy the fleshy white appendages inside the seeds - a delicacy for them - and then discard them. Consequently Celandine can be found in the most unusual places - in the hollows or forked branches of trees or in the cracks of a stone wall or high on a ruined tower. Celandine belongs to the group of weeds which follow human steps and cultivation, frequently spreading out wherever man 'walks' or, rather where man has walked. It holds its post long after humans have abandoned a place and hence it occurs frequently near dumps, along roadsides, and around the walls of castles and old fortresses or the ruins of them. This habit of following human settlements and then staying when the site is abandoned, is reflected by the way in which gypsies reportedly make use of the plant. They put Celandine in their shoes and keep it there when they walk, claiming that it keeps the feet fresh. Brought by immigrants to North America, it "so far is not found at any great distance from dwellings", as Millspaugh stated in 1892, but now it is widely naturalized in the north-eastern United States, especially about cities and towns, and even "has travelled across the Mississippi and will no doubt continue its westward migration into states with cool or cold winters."1
NAME The flowering time of Chelidonium coincides with the arrival and departure of the swallow. Its name thus derives from Gr. chelidon, a swallow. Dioscorides as well as Pliny [both writing in the 1st century AD] heighten this story by claiming that swallows give Celandine juice to their young to improve or restore their eyesight. Following Dioscorides' idea, the English herbalist Gerard stated that 'the juice of the herbe is good to sharpen the sight, for it cleanseth and consumeth away slimie things that cleave about the ball of the eye and hinder the sight.' Old Dutch names as 'Ogenklaar' [literally: Eyebright] and 'Schelkruid' [literally: Scale-wort, in the sense of 'scales falling from one's eyes'] refer to this old belief. The English name Celandine is a corruption of the Greek word. The story of Celandine and the swallows is often found in religious imagery as a healing symbol for 'spiritual blindness.' Since antiquity, Celandine and the swallows have shared historical significance. The swallow was called the 'bird of light' and much later considered a symbol of Christ and the Resurrection. 2 A second version has it that the name of the plant comes from L. coeli, heaven, and donum, a gift, in allusion to the alchemists' regard for its golden juice as an essential element in their experiments to make gold. Alchemists picked the plant when its solar energy was especially effective: "At the noon hour, when the Sun is in Leo and the Moon is in Aries, we gather the Heaven's Gift."3 The specific name majus, meaning 'larger', distinguishes it from a plant called 'Lesser Celandine', which is Ranunculus ficaria, a species belonging to the Ranunculaceae family.
CONSTITUENTS Chelidonine, berberine, and coptisine - isoquinoline alkaloids in the juice; chelerythrine and sanguinarine - isoquinoline alkaloids in the roots; protopine [occurs in many other Papaveraceae and Fumariaceae, e.g. Fumaria officinalis and Papaver somniferum]; sparteine [has cardiovascular and oxytocic effects; occurs also in lupin and broom]; flavonoids. The alkaloid content is highest in autumn.
EFFECTS 60-120 ml of the juice is lethal for dogs. Except for causing polyuria, ingestion of up to 500 grams of the herb leaves horses and cattle unaffected. Larger doses evoke, in cattle, salivation, thirst, polyuria, convulsions, confusion, and loss of coordination. Pigs react with confusion, staggering, twitchings, tachycardia, and tachypnoea; goats begin to stagger and get diarrhoea. In humans such effects as polyuria, confusion, arrhythmia, gastroenteritis, cramps, bradycardia, and hypotony have been reported. The dried plant loses its toxicity.
USES Alterative, diuretic, purgative, antispasmodic. English names as 'Wart flower', 'Wart wort', and 'Killwart' refer to the use of the acrid juice to remove warts. The juice was also used to cure ringworm and corns, but its coming in contact with other parts of the skin should be avoided. "The infusion is a cordial and greatly promotes perspiration. The addition of a few aniseeds in making a decoction of the herb in wine has been held to increase its efficacy in removing obstructions of the liver and gall. ... In the treatment of the worst forms of scurvy it has been given with benefit. ... In milk, it is employed as an eye-lotion, to remove the white, opaque spots on the cornea. Mixed with sulphur, it was formerly used to cure the itch. An ointment made of the roots and lard boiled together, also of the leaves and flowers, has been used with advantage for piles. Celandine is a very popular medicine in Russia, where it is said to have proved effective in cases of cancer. It is still used in Suffolk as a fomentation for toothache."4 According to a popular belief in Nordic countries one could predict the fate of a sick person by placing the plant on his or her head. If [s]he would begin to sing, particularly when in a loud voice, then death was inevitable.
FOLKLORE "We find Celandine in many old folk customs as a symbol of a peaceful, well-balanced life. Aggressive people, it was said, became calmer, their hatred and quarrelling lessened, when they wore amulets of Celandine root. It is interesting that choleric, 'gall-type' individuals tend toward emotional imbalances, venting consternation at an instant's notice, angered by anything and by anybody. [In German we say 'their gall overflows'.] Such people were urged to wear the amulets and allow the plant to bring the Sun into their hearts, freeing their spirit of melancholy and sadness. It was thought that Celandine directly brought the Sun into the liver and gall-bladder, both affecting the organs and calming the nervous system."5 As a magical herb, Celandine is said to aid in escaping unwarranted imprisonment and entrapments of every kind. Worn to court it will win the favour of the judge or jury, or will serve as a protective herb. 6 Chelidonium is a plant of the sun. It is the birthday flower for 9 October and signifies, in the language of flowers, withered hope.
PROVINGS •• [1] Hahnemann - 9 provers, 1824; method: unknown.
•• [2] Teste - 4 provers [1 male, 3 females]; method: globule of 6x in morning for two or three days, afterwards more or less frequently.
•• [3] Austrian proving - 23 provers, 1844; extract, doses of 2 grains to 4 drams a day; tincture in doses of 5-200 drops a day.
•• [4] Buchman - 17 provers [including Buchman himself, his wife, their 7-year old son, and their baby of 9 months old], 1861-62; daily doses of 5-200 drops of tincture; also 6x dil.
Mrs. Buchman supplied the well-known Chelidonium symptom "fear that she has ruined her health [by the proving]." The reason was, perhaps: "Mood very irritable, daily outbreaks of anger without cause; feels as though she could beat the children, and trembles from rage because she has no reason for doing it." She doubted her sanity: "It seems as though she could not think, and would lose her reason."
[1] Sanders, Hedgemaids and Fairy Candles. [2-3] Fischer-Rizzi, Medicine of the Earth. [4] Grieve, A Modern Herbal. [5] Fischer-Rizzi, ibid. [6] Cunningham's Encyclopedia of Magical Herbs.
Affinity
LIVER. RIGHT SIDE [portal system; abdomen; lung - lower lobe; ovary; malar bone; hip and leg; foot]. Mucous membranes. Bowels [right]. Occiput. Kidneys. Knees.
* RIGHT SIDE. Left side.
Modalities
Worse: 4 A.M. or 4 P.M. Motion. Cough. Touch. Change of weather; North-East winds. Heat. Hot applications. Warm room. Lying on the right side. Early in the morning.
Better: Hot food. EATING; dinner. Milk, hot milk. Pressure. Hot bath. Bending backward. Hot drinks.
Main symptoms
M The Great Light.
• "In the mental sphere, we note a tendency toward depression. The person becomes depressed about the present and the future. Since ancient times the liver has been symbolically associated with vision. It is the seat of another sort of intelligence, another sort of wisdom about the decisions to be made. Chelidonium refuses to see clearly, refuses to see the truth, the light; refuses, ultimately, to turn its gaze upward. It is interesting to note that the plant bears the nickname of 'grande éclaire' in France, a name roughly equivalent to 'great light.' Chelidonium individuals are energetic realists, practical and anti-intellectual, Vithoulkas tells us. They make an effort to avoid speculation or abstraction, and never try to understand the situation they face, since they see this as a waste of time. In short, they remain in the material world and only with great difficulty can they rise to a more elevated perspective, to an outlook of a spiritual nature. As emphasized by Annick de Souzenelle, for Chelidonium the passage through the porta hepatis, the gateway to the liver, is difficult. This remedy seems to have a problem with passage through other portals as well: we find it among those with great metaphysical anxiety. In the same vein, we note the presence of baldness in the occipital region, which bears a certain resemblance to the tonsure required by some religious orders. This remedy, then, is found in individuals who 'worry themselves sick' or 'get all worked up'. They feels responsible for other people's deaths, and the least noise makes them feel they have been caught in the act. There are things they have refused to see, paths they have refused to take, which is the source of their guilty conscience." [Grandgeorge]
M Restlessness; aversion to talk and to mental exertion.
• "Very often there is a good deal of restlessness, and the patients will complain of a strange and very distressing abdominal sensation, which is so acute that it makes them feel they will go crazy. They dislike any mental effort, and they dislike having to talk - I have noticed this very strikingly in quite a number of Chelidonium cases."1
• "About 10, as she was standing in the dining room, busy with jam pots, she suddenly felt uneasiness in all limbs, compelling her to make movements. She strove to stand still, but was obliged to step out, and to move arms; she could not describe the sensation she experienced; she had to walk up and down for a few minutes, and then was able to stand still again. If she were to make a comparison, she might be like one who suffered such restlessness from ennui as not to know what to do. She has not, with this, experienced any disquiet or anguish of mind. Afterwards, it was agreeable to her to be able to sit down. She had a similar attack on the 5th, p.m. , whilst sewing, when she was quite well, but said nothing about it because she thought she could not describe the sensation with sufficient accuracy. She had to get up quickly and walk about, whereupon she soon got rid of the restlessness in limbs." [Hughes]
M Less intellectual ["aversion to mental conversation, mental exertion"] than Lyc. More PRACTICAL.
M No-nonsense, down-to-earth, rational, realistic, strong-minded.
SCEPTICAL.
Can only be convinced by physical proof..
M Dominant, more so than Lyc., NOT IMPRESSED by AUTHORITY.
[Lyc. has more cowardice; only dominant and dictatorial at home; Chel. is also dominant outside the house].
M Definite sense of what is right and wrong; strong-minded.
Never wastes time with analyzing emotions.
Not overtaken by their emotions.
Wants to be sure about health [interesting delusion: Delusion he has ruined his health].
M Dreams related to death. [Observed by 6 provers!]
• "In night awakened by his wife, who was disturbed by his loud-toned, rapid, whistling respiration; had just dreamt that he had escaped in a deadhouse from naked corpse, who sprang from the bench and seized him with his hands by the neck to throttle him."
• "In night dreams of corpses."
• "Uneasy sleep, with dreams of death and a funeral and wedding."
• "Distressing dream that I was going to be shot."
• "Dreams of funerals and corpses. Dreams of cemeteries and funerals."
• "Dreamt that my husband and I were burying two men alive." [Hughes]
c The latter dream is erroneously included in Allen's Encyclopedia as well as in the repertories as "Dreams of being buried alive."
M Restlessness and anxiety of conscience, as if she had committed a great crime and could find rest nowhere.
• [After taking 90 drops of tincture at 9.30 a.m.] "at noon, restlessness and agony of conscience, as if she had committed a great crime and must run away, and yet could find no rest; trembling all over body; glowing heat all over head; both cheeks with well-defined patch of dark red; thirst." [Hughes]
Compare the delusion of Opium of being a criminal to be executed.
G Tends to be warmblooded, and sensitive to heat.
• "This is worth remembering because their local gastric digestive symptoms are aggravated by anything cold and relieved by heat, although the patients themselves are aggravated by heat."2
G RIGHT-SIDED complaints.
Left-sided complaints.
G CHEESE [aversion or desire].
G Tobacco smoking.
The Swedish physician Liedbeck undertook in 1849 a proving on himself with the pure juice of the plant 'just before it started to flower'.
• "... but for some weeks [he] was so much affected by smoking tobacco, that he had to give it up. Although in the habit of smoking a couple of cigars or pipes per diem, it now brought on violent cardialgia at night, with burning pain and acidity from cardia up into throat. He had formerly suffered from similar cardialgia when he used to chew tobacco. He believed this sensitiveness to the action of tobacco after the Chelidonium was due to the irritated state of the mucous membranes of stomach and bowels caused by the diarrhoea." [Hughes]
G > EATING
[> pain in forehead, pain in stomach, cramping pain in stomach, pain in right hypochondrium, pain liver].
• "During the proving he was obliged to make a heartier breakfast, to avoid the sensation of exhaustion and craving hunger, which otherwise came on." [Hughes]
• "'Aching, gnawing pain in the stomach, with a sense of constriction, < pressure, but > eating, or during the early hours of digestion', is, I believe, a very marked characteristic of Chelidonium dyspepsia." [Hale]
G > NOON, after EATING.
G > Hot drinks [esp. hot milk]
[> pain in stomach, bellyache, diarrhoea, nausea, vomiting].
• "Desire for very hot drinks; unless almost boiling the stomach will not retain them." [Allen]
• "Great thirst for milk and afterwards feeling good in the whole body, however much of it he took he would feel no discomfort, when otherwise it caused a lot of flatus for him." [Hahnemann]
• "In all cases of dyspepsia, where the appearance of the tongue answers to that indicating Chelidonium - moderately dry or moist, of a good natural colour, but slightly coated white, and sometimes streaky, the shape of it being narrow and pointed - I generally find that when such persons are in health milk gives rise to flatulence. ... Another patient ... had noticed that when well she could not take milk, but was able to do so when ill, provided it was warm. She obtained rapid relief from Chelidonium." [Hale]
G < 4 A.M. or 4 P.M. [Compare Lyc.; time of aggravation of Chel. mostly a bit earlier: 2 or 3 a.m. or 2 or 3 p.m.]. G < Motion; < change of position. G > Lying on ABDOMEN.
• "From pain in region of kidneys she could not lie on her back, and was also obliged to change sides often, finding most relief from lying on abdomen." [Hughes]
G Pains shoot backward or in all directions.
G YELLOW discolourations [skin, eyes, stool, tongue, face, urine, nose].
• "In consequence of the doses taken the previous days, I am in such an excitable state of mind that I feel myself obliged to stop for some days. The symptoms are so varied that some cannot be recorded. My complexion is a greyish yellow, so that my unhealthy appearance strikes everyone; my hands also are become yellow." [Hughes]
G NAUSEA and PERSPIRATION during [or from] pain.
P Periodic supra-orbital neuralgia or migraine [right or left side].
And Excessive lachrymation.
< Warmth and motion. > Vomiting bile; eating.
P Heavy feeling in occiput.
And Sensation as if head were drawn back.
• "On lying down, she cannot raise her head, but has to lift it with her hands; occiput painful on feeling it, as if it were broken loose from the rest of the cranium; sensation as if head on being raised fell forwards, whilst occiput lay still, held fast by nape."
• "At night on awaking often confusion, and heaviness in occiput; if she wishes to sit upright, occiput seems to be fastened to pillow." [Hughes]
P Can't keep eyes open [from pressure on them, from tiredness or from benumbed feeling] or wants to keep the eyes closed, because it affords relief.
Headache and pain in eyes > closing eyes.
c 21 proving symptoms in the region of eyes were left-sided, and only 9 right-sided.
P CHOKING feeling in throat / oesophagus. [Observed by 8 provers!]
P LIVER PAINS GOING BACKWARD, or FIXED AT ANGLE of RIGHT SCAPULA.
• "The discomfort of which these patients complain is pretty distinctive. They feel as if they had something tight round the upper part of the abdomen, almost like a band or a string. That is a pretty constant sensation. It varies a little and sometimes goes on to a feeling of general abdominal fulness, particularly in the upper part of the abdomen and more marked on the right side. With that general feeling of distension, you will get the complaint of acute, shooting pains which stab through from the front and usually go through to the back in the region of the right scapula. These sudden shooting pains are quite frequently accompanied by a colicky sensation and are not infrequently followed by an attack of pretty profuse vomiting, the vomit consisting of anything from glairy mucus to bile-stained material. If there is much in the right half of the abdomen, you will usually find it is aggravated by the patient's turning over on to the left side: it causes an increase of this feeling of distension and drag in the upper part of the abdomen. In the more acute colicky attacks, the pains are relieved by external warmth, aggravated by any abdominal pressure or by motion, and are made rather better by drawing the legs up and relieving the tension of the abdominal muscles."3
P COLD FINGERTIPS.
P Sensation as if shoes are too tight. [Observed by 3 provers!]
• "She cannot keep her shoes on, because they seem to be too tight, though they are very wide."
• "Intolerable pain in heels as if these parts had been wounded by too narrow and too short shoes."
• "Painful pressure, just below r. ankle, and same kind of pain in r. heel, rendering walking painful [it feels as if part had been bruised by tight and hard shoes, but no relief is given by taking off shoes]." [Hughes]
[1-3] Borland, Digestive Drugs; Homoeopathy, June 1961.
Rubrics
Mind
Anger, causeless [1]. Anxiety, > exercise [1], for others [1]. Confusion, at night on waking [2]. Aversion to conversation [1]. Delusions, he has ruined his health [1], he will become insane [2]. Fear, of her condition being observed [1]. Laziness, after eating [1]. Morose, about trifles [1]. Unconsciousness, > rubbing soles of feet [1/1]. Feels unfortunate [2].
Vertigo
On closing eyes [3].
Head
Constriction, forehead, as from a band [2], > closing eyes [2/1]. Sensation of contraction, skin of forehead, above left eye [1*]. Sensation as if hair were standing on end, occiput [1*]. Pain, > during eating [1], > after eating [1], < motion of eyes [1], > vomiting [1; Op.; Sang.].
Eye
Desire to close the eyes [2]. Heat, > closing eyes [1*]. Lachrymation, from looking at the fire [1], during headache [1], from bright light [1], from looking steadily [1]. Opening lids difficult, at night [1]. Pain, pressing inward, upper part of eyeballs [1*]; as if torn out, left eye [1*].
Vision
Dim, during anxiety [1/1], when reading [1*]. Sparks, during headache [2].
Nose
Sensation as if cold air were streaming through to throat on inspiration [1*]. Odours, of faeces [1/1], fetid [2].
Face
Discolouration, as if sunburnt [1*].
Teeth
Sensation of heat in teeth [1*]. Pain, toothache, < talking [1]. Throat Sensation as of dust in pit of throat [1*]. Stomach Pain, > warm milk [2; Graph.]. Vomiting, > drinking hot water [2].
Rectum
Diarrhoea, > hot milk [1; Crot-t.], > wine [1; Dios.].
Kidneys
Pain, > lying on abdomen [1/1], < lying on back [1/1], < pressure [1*]. Chest Palpitation, < motion of arms [1]. Back Sensation of constriction in muscles of nape, as if head were drawn back [1*]. Cracking, cervical region, when moving head [1*]. Limbs Heat, of one foot, coldness of the other [1]. Heaviness, of arms, as if weight were hung on them [1*]; of left hand, on lifting it [1*]; in legs, as if weights were hung upon them [1*]. Sensation of paralysis, of left hand, as if she could not bend it [1*]. Sensation of swelling, of left hand [1*]. Sensation as if shoes were too tight [2]. Sleep Waking by toothache [1*]. Heat Burning heat spreading from the hands over the whole body [3/1]. Skin Itching, without eruption [1*]. * Repertory additions [Hughes]. Food Aversion: [2]: Cheese; spinach. [1]: Coffee; cold food; cold water; cooked food; fish [*]; lentils; meat, boiled. Desire: [2]: Cheese; milk; strange things; strange things, during pregnancy; warm drinks; warm food. [1]: Beer; coffee; cold drinks; hot food; lime; milk, hot; pickles; pungent; sour; vinegar; wine. Worse: [2]: Milk. [1]: Beer; brandy; cold drinks; cold food; cold water; soup; tobacco. Better: [2]: Hot water; warm drinks; warm milk. [1]: Coffee; cold water; hot food. * Repertory addition [Borland].
Chel.
 |
| Chelidonium liver like leaves |
[Antoine de Saint-Exupéry]
Signs
Chelidonium majus. Greater Celandine. Swallow-wort. N.O. Papaveraceae.
CLASSIFICATION Chelidonium belongs to the Papaveraceae or Poppies, a plant family that is mainly native to the north temperate zone. The family consists chiefly of herbaceous annuals or perennials, and some shrubs. There are 23 genera [some taxonomic systems recognize 41 genera], of which Papaver is the largest - containing about 100 species - and Sanguinaria and Chelidonium the smallest - both containing 1 species only. Other members of the Poppy family which are employed in homoeopathy include Sanguinaria, Argemone, Eschscholzia, Adlumia, Corydalis, and Fumaria. The latter two are in some taxonomic systems included in the separate family Fumariaceae.
FEATURES All members of the Papaveraceae have stems and leaves that contain a well-developed system of secretory canals which produce yellow, milky or watery latex. The large and often showy flowers are bisexual and possess two free sepals, which fall off before the flowers open. The four petals are rolled or crumpled when in bud. The flowers are short-lived, dropping very quickly when picked. The seeds of various species yield drying oils or oils important in the manufacture of soaps. Many species are cultivated as garden ornamental plants. Chelidonium is native to temperate and subarctic Eurasia; it is naturalized in eastern North America. The whole plant abounds in a bright, orange-coloured juice. The juice leaves a persistent stain on hands or clothes, and has a nauseous taste and a disagreeable smell.
HABITAT The plant self-seeds readily and may become a pest. In addition, its distribution is enhanced by ants who carry the small, black seeds off to enjoy the fleshy white appendages inside the seeds - a delicacy for them - and then discard them. Consequently Celandine can be found in the most unusual places - in the hollows or forked branches of trees or in the cracks of a stone wall or high on a ruined tower. Celandine belongs to the group of weeds which follow human steps and cultivation, frequently spreading out wherever man 'walks' or, rather where man has walked. It holds its post long after humans have abandoned a place and hence it occurs frequently near dumps, along roadsides, and around the walls of castles and old fortresses or the ruins of them. This habit of following human settlements and then staying when the site is abandoned, is reflected by the way in which gypsies reportedly make use of the plant. They put Celandine in their shoes and keep it there when they walk, claiming that it keeps the feet fresh. Brought by immigrants to North America, it "so far is not found at any great distance from dwellings", as Millspaugh stated in 1892, but now it is widely naturalized in the north-eastern United States, especially about cities and towns, and even "has travelled across the Mississippi and will no doubt continue its westward migration into states with cool or cold winters."1
 |
| Chelidonium majus |
CONSTITUENTS Chelidonine, berberine, and coptisine - isoquinoline alkaloids in the juice; chelerythrine and sanguinarine - isoquinoline alkaloids in the roots; protopine [occurs in many other Papaveraceae and Fumariaceae, e.g. Fumaria officinalis and Papaver somniferum]; sparteine [has cardiovascular and oxytocic effects; occurs also in lupin and broom]; flavonoids. The alkaloid content is highest in autumn.
EFFECTS 60-120 ml of the juice is lethal for dogs. Except for causing polyuria, ingestion of up to 500 grams of the herb leaves horses and cattle unaffected. Larger doses evoke, in cattle, salivation, thirst, polyuria, convulsions, confusion, and loss of coordination. Pigs react with confusion, staggering, twitchings, tachycardia, and tachypnoea; goats begin to stagger and get diarrhoea. In humans such effects as polyuria, confusion, arrhythmia, gastroenteritis, cramps, bradycardia, and hypotony have been reported. The dried plant loses its toxicity.
USES Alterative, diuretic, purgative, antispasmodic. English names as 'Wart flower', 'Wart wort', and 'Killwart' refer to the use of the acrid juice to remove warts. The juice was also used to cure ringworm and corns, but its coming in contact with other parts of the skin should be avoided. "The infusion is a cordial and greatly promotes perspiration. The addition of a few aniseeds in making a decoction of the herb in wine has been held to increase its efficacy in removing obstructions of the liver and gall. ... In the treatment of the worst forms of scurvy it has been given with benefit. ... In milk, it is employed as an eye-lotion, to remove the white, opaque spots on the cornea. Mixed with sulphur, it was formerly used to cure the itch. An ointment made of the roots and lard boiled together, also of the leaves and flowers, has been used with advantage for piles. Celandine is a very popular medicine in Russia, where it is said to have proved effective in cases of cancer. It is still used in Suffolk as a fomentation for toothache."4 According to a popular belief in Nordic countries one could predict the fate of a sick person by placing the plant on his or her head. If [s]he would begin to sing, particularly when in a loud voice, then death was inevitable.
FOLKLORE "We find Celandine in many old folk customs as a symbol of a peaceful, well-balanced life. Aggressive people, it was said, became calmer, their hatred and quarrelling lessened, when they wore amulets of Celandine root. It is interesting that choleric, 'gall-type' individuals tend toward emotional imbalances, venting consternation at an instant's notice, angered by anything and by anybody. [In German we say 'their gall overflows'.] Such people were urged to wear the amulets and allow the plant to bring the Sun into their hearts, freeing their spirit of melancholy and sadness. It was thought that Celandine directly brought the Sun into the liver and gall-bladder, both affecting the organs and calming the nervous system."5 As a magical herb, Celandine is said to aid in escaping unwarranted imprisonment and entrapments of every kind. Worn to court it will win the favour of the judge or jury, or will serve as a protective herb. 6 Chelidonium is a plant of the sun. It is the birthday flower for 9 October and signifies, in the language of flowers, withered hope.
PROVINGS •• [1] Hahnemann - 9 provers, 1824; method: unknown.
•• [2] Teste - 4 provers [1 male, 3 females]; method: globule of 6x in morning for two or three days, afterwards more or less frequently.
•• [3] Austrian proving - 23 provers, 1844; extract, doses of 2 grains to 4 drams a day; tincture in doses of 5-200 drops a day.
•• [4] Buchman - 17 provers [including Buchman himself, his wife, their 7-year old son, and their baby of 9 months old], 1861-62; daily doses of 5-200 drops of tincture; also 6x dil.
Mrs. Buchman supplied the well-known Chelidonium symptom "fear that she has ruined her health [by the proving]." The reason was, perhaps: "Mood very irritable, daily outbreaks of anger without cause; feels as though she could beat the children, and trembles from rage because she has no reason for doing it." She doubted her sanity: "It seems as though she could not think, and would lose her reason."
[1] Sanders, Hedgemaids and Fairy Candles. [2-3] Fischer-Rizzi, Medicine of the Earth. [4] Grieve, A Modern Herbal. [5] Fischer-Rizzi, ibid. [6] Cunningham's Encyclopedia of Magical Herbs.
Affinity
LIVER. RIGHT SIDE [portal system; abdomen; lung - lower lobe; ovary; malar bone; hip and leg; foot]. Mucous membranes. Bowels [right]. Occiput. Kidneys. Knees.
* RIGHT SIDE. Left side.
Modalities
Worse: 4 A.M. or 4 P.M. Motion. Cough. Touch. Change of weather; North-East winds. Heat. Hot applications. Warm room. Lying on the right side. Early in the morning.
Better: Hot food. EATING; dinner. Milk, hot milk. Pressure. Hot bath. Bending backward. Hot drinks.
Main symptoms
M The Great Light.
• "In the mental sphere, we note a tendency toward depression. The person becomes depressed about the present and the future. Since ancient times the liver has been symbolically associated with vision. It is the seat of another sort of intelligence, another sort of wisdom about the decisions to be made. Chelidonium refuses to see clearly, refuses to see the truth, the light; refuses, ultimately, to turn its gaze upward. It is interesting to note that the plant bears the nickname of 'grande éclaire' in France, a name roughly equivalent to 'great light.' Chelidonium individuals are energetic realists, practical and anti-intellectual, Vithoulkas tells us. They make an effort to avoid speculation or abstraction, and never try to understand the situation they face, since they see this as a waste of time. In short, they remain in the material world and only with great difficulty can they rise to a more elevated perspective, to an outlook of a spiritual nature. As emphasized by Annick de Souzenelle, for Chelidonium the passage through the porta hepatis, the gateway to the liver, is difficult. This remedy seems to have a problem with passage through other portals as well: we find it among those with great metaphysical anxiety. In the same vein, we note the presence of baldness in the occipital region, which bears a certain resemblance to the tonsure required by some religious orders. This remedy, then, is found in individuals who 'worry themselves sick' or 'get all worked up'. They feels responsible for other people's deaths, and the least noise makes them feel they have been caught in the act. There are things they have refused to see, paths they have refused to take, which is the source of their guilty conscience." [Grandgeorge]
M Restlessness; aversion to talk and to mental exertion.
• "Very often there is a good deal of restlessness, and the patients will complain of a strange and very distressing abdominal sensation, which is so acute that it makes them feel they will go crazy. They dislike any mental effort, and they dislike having to talk - I have noticed this very strikingly in quite a number of Chelidonium cases."1
• "About 10, as she was standing in the dining room, busy with jam pots, she suddenly felt uneasiness in all limbs, compelling her to make movements. She strove to stand still, but was obliged to step out, and to move arms; she could not describe the sensation she experienced; she had to walk up and down for a few minutes, and then was able to stand still again. If she were to make a comparison, she might be like one who suffered such restlessness from ennui as not to know what to do. She has not, with this, experienced any disquiet or anguish of mind. Afterwards, it was agreeable to her to be able to sit down. She had a similar attack on the 5th, p.m. , whilst sewing, when she was quite well, but said nothing about it because she thought she could not describe the sensation with sufficient accuracy. She had to get up quickly and walk about, whereupon she soon got rid of the restlessness in limbs." [Hughes]
M Less intellectual ["aversion to mental conversation, mental exertion"] than Lyc. More PRACTICAL.
M No-nonsense, down-to-earth, rational, realistic, strong-minded.
SCEPTICAL.
Can only be convinced by physical proof..
M Dominant, more so than Lyc., NOT IMPRESSED by AUTHORITY.
[Lyc. has more cowardice; only dominant and dictatorial at home; Chel. is also dominant outside the house].
M Definite sense of what is right and wrong; strong-minded.
Never wastes time with analyzing emotions.
Not overtaken by their emotions.
Wants to be sure about health [interesting delusion: Delusion he has ruined his health].
M Dreams related to death. [Observed by 6 provers!]
• "In night awakened by his wife, who was disturbed by his loud-toned, rapid, whistling respiration; had just dreamt that he had escaped in a deadhouse from naked corpse, who sprang from the bench and seized him with his hands by the neck to throttle him."
• "In night dreams of corpses."
• "Uneasy sleep, with dreams of death and a funeral and wedding."
• "Distressing dream that I was going to be shot."
• "Dreams of funerals and corpses. Dreams of cemeteries and funerals."
• "Dreamt that my husband and I were burying two men alive." [Hughes]
c The latter dream is erroneously included in Allen's Encyclopedia as well as in the repertories as "Dreams of being buried alive."
M Restlessness and anxiety of conscience, as if she had committed a great crime and could find rest nowhere.
• [After taking 90 drops of tincture at 9.30 a.m.] "at noon, restlessness and agony of conscience, as if she had committed a great crime and must run away, and yet could find no rest; trembling all over body; glowing heat all over head; both cheeks with well-defined patch of dark red; thirst." [Hughes]
Compare the delusion of Opium of being a criminal to be executed.
G Tends to be warmblooded, and sensitive to heat.
• "This is worth remembering because their local gastric digestive symptoms are aggravated by anything cold and relieved by heat, although the patients themselves are aggravated by heat."2
G RIGHT-SIDED complaints.
Left-sided complaints.
G CHEESE [aversion or desire].
G Tobacco smoking.
The Swedish physician Liedbeck undertook in 1849 a proving on himself with the pure juice of the plant 'just before it started to flower'.
• "... but for some weeks [he] was so much affected by smoking tobacco, that he had to give it up. Although in the habit of smoking a couple of cigars or pipes per diem, it now brought on violent cardialgia at night, with burning pain and acidity from cardia up into throat. He had formerly suffered from similar cardialgia when he used to chew tobacco. He believed this sensitiveness to the action of tobacco after the Chelidonium was due to the irritated state of the mucous membranes of stomach and bowels caused by the diarrhoea." [Hughes]
G > EATING
[> pain in forehead, pain in stomach, cramping pain in stomach, pain in right hypochondrium, pain liver].
• "During the proving he was obliged to make a heartier breakfast, to avoid the sensation of exhaustion and craving hunger, which otherwise came on." [Hughes]
• "'Aching, gnawing pain in the stomach, with a sense of constriction, < pressure, but > eating, or during the early hours of digestion', is, I believe, a very marked characteristic of Chelidonium dyspepsia." [Hale]
G > NOON, after EATING.
G > Hot drinks [esp. hot milk]
[> pain in stomach, bellyache, diarrhoea, nausea, vomiting].
• "Desire for very hot drinks; unless almost boiling the stomach will not retain them." [Allen]
• "Great thirst for milk and afterwards feeling good in the whole body, however much of it he took he would feel no discomfort, when otherwise it caused a lot of flatus for him." [Hahnemann]
• "In all cases of dyspepsia, where the appearance of the tongue answers to that indicating Chelidonium - moderately dry or moist, of a good natural colour, but slightly coated white, and sometimes streaky, the shape of it being narrow and pointed - I generally find that when such persons are in health milk gives rise to flatulence. ... Another patient ... had noticed that when well she could not take milk, but was able to do so when ill, provided it was warm. She obtained rapid relief from Chelidonium." [Hale]
G < 4 A.M. or 4 P.M. [Compare Lyc.; time of aggravation of Chel. mostly a bit earlier: 2 or 3 a.m. or 2 or 3 p.m.]. G < Motion; < change of position. G > Lying on ABDOMEN.
• "From pain in region of kidneys she could not lie on her back, and was also obliged to change sides often, finding most relief from lying on abdomen." [Hughes]
G Pains shoot backward or in all directions.
G YELLOW discolourations [skin, eyes, stool, tongue, face, urine, nose].
• "In consequence of the doses taken the previous days, I am in such an excitable state of mind that I feel myself obliged to stop for some days. The symptoms are so varied that some cannot be recorded. My complexion is a greyish yellow, so that my unhealthy appearance strikes everyone; my hands also are become yellow." [Hughes]
G NAUSEA and PERSPIRATION during [or from] pain.
P Periodic supra-orbital neuralgia or migraine [right or left side].
And Excessive lachrymation.
< Warmth and motion. > Vomiting bile; eating.
P Heavy feeling in occiput.
And Sensation as if head were drawn back.
• "On lying down, she cannot raise her head, but has to lift it with her hands; occiput painful on feeling it, as if it were broken loose from the rest of the cranium; sensation as if head on being raised fell forwards, whilst occiput lay still, held fast by nape."
• "At night on awaking often confusion, and heaviness in occiput; if she wishes to sit upright, occiput seems to be fastened to pillow." [Hughes]
P Can't keep eyes open [from pressure on them, from tiredness or from benumbed feeling] or wants to keep the eyes closed, because it affords relief.
Headache and pain in eyes > closing eyes.
c 21 proving symptoms in the region of eyes were left-sided, and only 9 right-sided.
P CHOKING feeling in throat / oesophagus. [Observed by 8 provers!]
P LIVER PAINS GOING BACKWARD, or FIXED AT ANGLE of RIGHT SCAPULA.
• "The discomfort of which these patients complain is pretty distinctive. They feel as if they had something tight round the upper part of the abdomen, almost like a band or a string. That is a pretty constant sensation. It varies a little and sometimes goes on to a feeling of general abdominal fulness, particularly in the upper part of the abdomen and more marked on the right side. With that general feeling of distension, you will get the complaint of acute, shooting pains which stab through from the front and usually go through to the back in the region of the right scapula. These sudden shooting pains are quite frequently accompanied by a colicky sensation and are not infrequently followed by an attack of pretty profuse vomiting, the vomit consisting of anything from glairy mucus to bile-stained material. If there is much in the right half of the abdomen, you will usually find it is aggravated by the patient's turning over on to the left side: it causes an increase of this feeling of distension and drag in the upper part of the abdomen. In the more acute colicky attacks, the pains are relieved by external warmth, aggravated by any abdominal pressure or by motion, and are made rather better by drawing the legs up and relieving the tension of the abdominal muscles."3
P COLD FINGERTIPS.
P Sensation as if shoes are too tight. [Observed by 3 provers!]
• "She cannot keep her shoes on, because they seem to be too tight, though they are very wide."
• "Intolerable pain in heels as if these parts had been wounded by too narrow and too short shoes."
• "Painful pressure, just below r. ankle, and same kind of pain in r. heel, rendering walking painful [it feels as if part had been bruised by tight and hard shoes, but no relief is given by taking off shoes]." [Hughes]
[1-3] Borland, Digestive Drugs; Homoeopathy, June 1961.
Rubrics
Mind
Anger, causeless [1]. Anxiety, > exercise [1], for others [1]. Confusion, at night on waking [2]. Aversion to conversation [1]. Delusions, he has ruined his health [1], he will become insane [2]. Fear, of her condition being observed [1]. Laziness, after eating [1]. Morose, about trifles [1]. Unconsciousness, > rubbing soles of feet [1/1]. Feels unfortunate [2].
Vertigo
On closing eyes [3].
Head
Constriction, forehead, as from a band [2], > closing eyes [2/1]. Sensation of contraction, skin of forehead, above left eye [1*]. Sensation as if hair were standing on end, occiput [1*]. Pain, > during eating [1], > after eating [1], < motion of eyes [1], > vomiting [1; Op.; Sang.].
Eye
Desire to close the eyes [2]. Heat, > closing eyes [1*]. Lachrymation, from looking at the fire [1], during headache [1], from bright light [1], from looking steadily [1]. Opening lids difficult, at night [1]. Pain, pressing inward, upper part of eyeballs [1*]; as if torn out, left eye [1*].
Vision
Dim, during anxiety [1/1], when reading [1*]. Sparks, during headache [2].
Nose
Sensation as if cold air were streaming through to throat on inspiration [1*]. Odours, of faeces [1/1], fetid [2].
Face
Discolouration, as if sunburnt [1*].
Teeth
Sensation of heat in teeth [1*]. Pain, toothache, < talking [1]. Throat Sensation as of dust in pit of throat [1*]. Stomach Pain, > warm milk [2; Graph.]. Vomiting, > drinking hot water [2].
Rectum
Diarrhoea, > hot milk [1; Crot-t.], > wine [1; Dios.].
Kidneys
Pain, > lying on abdomen [1/1], < lying on back [1/1], < pressure [1*]. Chest Palpitation, < motion of arms [1]. Back Sensation of constriction in muscles of nape, as if head were drawn back [1*]. Cracking, cervical region, when moving head [1*]. Limbs Heat, of one foot, coldness of the other [1]. Heaviness, of arms, as if weight were hung on them [1*]; of left hand, on lifting it [1*]; in legs, as if weights were hung upon them [1*]. Sensation of paralysis, of left hand, as if she could not bend it [1*]. Sensation of swelling, of left hand [1*]. Sensation as if shoes were too tight [2]. Sleep Waking by toothache [1*]. Heat Burning heat spreading from the hands over the whole body [3/1]. Skin Itching, without eruption [1*]. * Repertory additions [Hughes]. Food Aversion: [2]: Cheese; spinach. [1]: Coffee; cold food; cold water; cooked food; fish [*]; lentils; meat, boiled. Desire: [2]: Cheese; milk; strange things; strange things, during pregnancy; warm drinks; warm food. [1]: Beer; coffee; cold drinks; hot food; lime; milk, hot; pickles; pungent; sour; vinegar; wine. Worse: [2]: Milk. [1]: Beer; brandy; cold drinks; cold food; cold water; soup; tobacco. Better: [2]: Hot water; warm drinks; warm milk. [1]: Coffee; cold water; hot food. * Repertory addition [Borland].
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