Hyoscyamus niger:Patient enjoy talking unconsciousness about her sexual life
- VERMEULEN Frans
Hyos.
They babble out almost everything a sensible person would have kept silence about all his life.
[Grünewald]
Signs
Hyoscyamus niger. Black Henbane. N.O. Solanaceae.
CLASSIFICATION Hyoscyamus, as well as Stramonium and Atropa belladonna, belong to the Solanaceae or Nightshade family, a widespread plant family comprising about 96 genera of herbs, shrubs and, occasionally, trees. Although occurring around the world [except in the arctic areas], the principle centre of the Nightshade family lies in Andean South America. The plants in this family commonly produce poisonous alkaloids. Due to high contents of tropane alkaloids, genera such as Atropa, Datura, Hyoscyamus, Duboisia, Brugmansia, and Mandragora, have narcotic and hallucinogenic properties. The family is of huge economic importance as a source of food-stuff [tomato, egg plant, green peppers, red pepper, potato, pepino, Cape gooseberry], medicines and narcotics [belladonna, mandrake, datura, etc.], a fumatory [tobacco], and poisons [belladonna, henbane, etc.].
HYOSCYAMUS The genus Hyoscyamus comprises some 20 species of annual to perennial herbs with simple leaves and spike-like racemes of bell- or urn-shaped flowers. All species are highly poisonous. "Hyoscyamus niger is susceptible to considerable diversity of character, causing varieties which have by some been considered as distinct species. Thus the plant is sometimes annual, the stem almost unbranched, smaller and less downy than in the biennial form, the leaves shorter and less hairy and the flowers often yellow, without any purple markings. The annual plant also flowers in July or August, the biennial in May and June. The annual and biennial form spring indifferently from the same crop of seed, the former growing during summer to a height of from 1 to 2 feet, and flowering and perfecting seed, the latter producing the first season only a tuft of radical leaves, which disappear in winter, leaving underground a thick, fleshy root, from the crown of which arises in spring a branched, flowering stem, usually much taller and more vigorous than the flowering stems of the annual plants. The annual form is apparently produced by the weaker and later developed seeds formed in the fruit at the ends of the shoots; it is considered to be less active than the typical species and differs in being of dwarfed growth and having rather paler flowers. ... [Cultivated] Henbane is very capricious in its growth, the seeds being prone to lie dormant for a season or more, refusing to germinate at all in some places, and the crop varying without any apparent reason, sometimes dying in patches."1 The whole henbane plant has an unpleasant odour, and its leaves, if bruised when fresh, emit a strong narcotic smell similar to that of tobacco.
HABITAT Hyoscyamus niger is native to Europe, western Asia, and northern Africa, but now naturalized and growing spontaneously across north temperate Asia and North America. As a weed of cultivation it came with the first settlers to North America, where it 'sprung up since the English planted and kept cattle in New England.' It prefers rather dry or sandy soils, but will also be found [abundantly] on rubbish heaps, in waste places, near old buildings, probably as an escape from old herb gardens. Although not truly indigenous to Great Britain, it is there, according to Mrs Grieve, frequently found on chalky ground and particularly near the sea. In The Book of Poisons, the German toxicologist Gustav Schenk describes the plant as follows: "We have only to look at this three feet tall plant with its grey leaves and yellowish flowers veined with purple to see that it is a typical poisonous plant. Sombre, luxuriant, sticky, evil-smelling and covered with close hairs, this sinister-looking plant seems to live exclusively on human refuse, on the corpses in the cemetery or the offal that lies around human dwellings. Black henbane seems to suck up and retain within it all the poisonous matter from its habitat."
FLOWERING Hyoscyamus niger is a so-called long-day plant; it flowers in the summer, but only if the light periods are longer than a critical length. Studies have shown that black henbane will flower when exposed to light-periods of 10 hours and 20 minutes and when the temperature is 22.5o C. But with a light-period of 10 hours, it will not flower at this temperature. Environmental conditions also affect light-periodic behaviour: at 28.5o C, henbane requires 11 hours and 30 minutes of light, whereas at 15.5o C, it requires only 8 1/2 hours. Cold may also affect the flowering response. The biennial form of henbane culminates its first year's growth with a vegetative rosette. The plant will flower only in the next summer if it is exposed to cold in the winter. After cold exposure, it becomes a typical long-day plant, with the same light-periodic response as that of the annual form.
HISTORY The discovery of high pollen values and seed numbers of black henbane in residues adhering to pottery shreds from a Neolithic ceremonial site at Balfarg, Fife in eastern Scotland, in the mid-1980s, suggests that hallucinogens were part of ritual activity during the Neolithic period. In ancient Greece Hyoscyamus served as a poison, and as a means to simulate dementia and to evoke prophecies. The ancient Romans knew that Hyoscyamus comprises several species, and that the black variety caused insanity. Hyoscyamus has been employed medicinally since very early times. It has been valued as a sedative and anodyne for inducing sleep. Accidental poisonings are recorded from medieval times and earlier in Europe. The hallucinogenic Lang-tang of China has been identified as H. niger. In the 16th century the use of Lang-tang was described as 'increasing stamina and aiding communication with demons and other spirits'. "The medicinal uses of henbane date from remote ages; it was well known to the Ancients, being particularly commended by Dioscorides [first century AD], who used it to procure sleep and allay pains, and Celsus [same period] and others made use of it for the same purpose, internally and externally, though Pliny declared it to be 'of the nature of wine and therefore offensive to the understanding.' There is mention of it in a work by Benedictus Crispus [AD 681] under the names of Hyoscyamus and Symphonica. In the 10th century, we again find its virtues recorded under the name of Jusquiasmus [the modern French name is Jusquiame]. There is frequent mention made of it in Anglo-Saxon works on medicine of the 11th century, in which it is named 'Henbell', and in the old glossaries of those days it also appears as Caniculata, Cassilago and Deus Caballinus. Later it fell into disuse. It was omitted from the London Pharmacopoeia of 1746 and 1788, and only restored in 1809, its re-introduction being chiefly due to experiments and recommendations by Baron Storch, who gave it in the form of an extract, in cases of epilepsy and other nervous and convulsive diseases."2 "Henbane has been used in India as a form of birth control; the seeds were mixed with mare's milk to make a paste which is kept wrapped in a piece of wild bull's skin and then worn by the woman. In Kashmir and Pakistan henbane is sometimes smoked with tobacco or cannabis. Remains of the henbane plant have been found at ancient Egyptian sites, such as the rubbish dump at the animal cemetery at Saqqara. It is also mentioned in the Ebers Papyrus [c. 1500 BC]. Henbane has been widely used by the Bedouin people. The Bedouin of the Negev region of southern Israel smoke a few henbane leaves to alleviate the symptoms of shortness of breath, depression and nervousness. ... The Vikings made use of henbane, as is made clear by the discovery of several hundred seeds in a female grave in north Jutland dated to the 10th century. This archaeological find suggests that henbane may have played a role in their funerary practices. In the 10th-century Anglo-Saxon Leech Book of Bald and Cild [the first 'modern' medical text in Western Europe] there is a medical preparation described as: 'a salve against the elfin race and nocturnal visitors, and for women with who the devil hath carnal commerce.' The ingredients of this salve/ointment include henbane. ... Henbane also had numerous medical uses. ... In Italy it was called Priapeia and is said to have been used to treat priapism. ... The Old Germanic tribes put it in their beer and mead, which makes the 'strong ales' of today seem rather tame. In some of the bath-houses of early Europe - a kind of forerunner of the seedy sauna - henbane seeds were burnt on hot dishes as an erotic incense designed to encourage sexual abandon."3 The corruption of the German name for the plant - Bilsenkraut - is the true origin of Pils, the name for a variety of lager beer formerly spiked with henbane. [Pilsen, the 'beer brewer's' city in the Czech Republic, is named after the beer.]
MYTHOLOGY In Greek myth, the dead were adorned with henbane when they wandered beside the Styx prior to their arrival in Hades. Styx, the river of Hate [Gr stugein, to hate], flowed nine times round the infernal regions. To touch its water was instantly fatal. All materials except the hooves of horses were said to be broken or corroded by it. When a god swore falsely by the Styx, he was made to drink a draught of its water which made him lie speechless for a year. Hermes escorted the dead souls down to the Styx, which formed the boundary of Hades, the Underworld. If they had received proper burial, the aged ferryman Charon in his boat carried them across the waters. The gates of Hades were guarded by the watchdog Cerberus, who wagged his tail for new arrivals, but devoured all those who tried to leave again.
NAME "The herb is also called Hog's-bean, and both its botanical name Hyoscyamus and the 10th-century Jusquiasmus are derived from the Greek words hyos and cyamos, signifying 'the bean of the hog', which animal is supposed to eat it with impunity. An old Anglo-Saxon name for it was 'Belene', probably from the bell-shaped flowers; then it became known as 'Hen-bell', and from the time that its poisonous properties were recognized this name was changed to 'henbane', because the seeds were thought to be fatal to poultry. Dr. Prior is inclined to think that the name henbane is derived from the Spanish hinna [a mule], e.g. 'henna bell', referring to the similarity of its seed-vessel to the bell hung upon the neck of the mules."4 The specific name niger, black, refers to the old belief that parts of the body touched by this plant would turn black and rot. The ancient names of the plant, Pythonion and Apollinaris, are attributed to the gifts of prophecy obtained by the inhalation of the smoke from smouldering henbane. [The priestess of the oracle of Apollo at Delphi was the 'Pythoness'. A witch is also called a pythoness.] In addition, the Greeks knew the plant under the names Adamas and Atomon. It was also known variously as dioskyamos [Zeus' bean], hypnotikon [sleep inducer], emmanes [frenzy making], and insana [madness]. In the Middle Ages, it had the Latin name dentaria, denoting its use as a remedy against toothache.
CONSTITUENTS The tropane alkaloids atropine, hyoscyamine, and scopolamine contained in Hyoscyamus niger are the same as in Atropa belladonna and Datura stramonium, but the proportions are different. The largest proportion of the total alkaloids in Hyoscyamus consists of up to 50% scopolamine [formerly known as hyoscine]. Minor alkaloids of H. niger that have been isolated include tropine, scopine, apoatropine, and cuscohygrine. The total alkaloid content of the various parts of the plant was found to be as follows: leaves, 0,04 to 0,08%; roots, 0,16%; seeds, 0,06 to 0,1%. Hyoscyamine and scopolamine possess specific anticholinergic, antispasmodic activity and elicit some central nervous effects as well. These effects usually consist of stimulation in low doses, depression in higher toxic doses. Hyoscyamine is twice as potent as atropine in its antispasmodic activity. Intoxication with atropine or hyoscyamine is characterized by psychic excitation often combined with panic and hallucinations. Scopolamine was found to produce a state of excitement followed by a kind of narcosis in which, in the transition state between consciousness and sleep, hallucinations sometimes occur. 5 Henbane's relatively high scopolamine content gives it a more specifically sedative action than its relatives Datura stramonium and Atropa belladonna. Scopolamine was added to morphine in 1902 to cause a trance-like state called 'Twilight Sleep' to lessen the pain and the mortality of childbirth as well as to make women in labour amnesic for the experience of childbirth. The therapy was introduced by the German physician Carl Gauss who, as a result, got himself into trouble with the Lutheran Church. The church elders denounced Gauss because women were to bring forth in pain, according to the Old Testament. Scopolamine was also the infamous 'truth serum' once used in so many legal battles and court cases. This hypnotic 'serum' may still be used in some countries for 'brain-washing.' Scopolamine is still used as a medical drug. Until recently, low doses of it went into over-the-counter sleeping pills, and some cold and allergy tablets still include it to dry up runny noses. Low doses can be applied to the skin in special patches to prevent motion sickness [Band-Aid plasters]. American astronauts have used these plasters as a treatment for the motion sickness experienced during space travels. Other constituents of henbane are oleic and stearic acids, potassium nitrate, and protein.
TOXICITY Black henbane has caused rare poisoning in humans, cattle, poultry, and swine. Cattle have been poisoned after ingesting black henbane that was included in forage [the alkaloid content is retained upon drying], tainting the milk of cows. Fresh plants are usually avoided on account of their unpleasant taste and smell. Poultry have died after ingesting the seeds and hens after eating the roots, which is in line with the common name of the plant, henbane, 'hen poison.' Pigs have died after eating the roots, despite the fact that they, according to popular belief, should be able to eat the plants with impunity. General poisoning symptoms for cattle include bloating, laboured breathing, convulsions, cyanosis, increased heart rate, pupil dilation, restlessness and incoordination. General poisoning symptoms for humans after ingestion of the roots include hallucination, dryness of mouth, nausea and vomiting, reduced contractions of gastrointestinal tract, pupil dilation, flushed skin, urinary retention, confusion, coma, and death. Purposeless movements, such as picking at the air [carphology], have also been observed. Ingesting the flowers has caused agitation, restlessness, dryness of mouth, and pupil dilation.
WITCHES Images of witches flying on broomsticks come from medieval church records of witch persecutions. In these records greenish 'flying ointments' are mentioned which witches rubbed on their bodies or applied to their genitals by means of a broomstick 'in such a way that they imagine they are carried a long distance.' Made from herbs such as belladonna, henbane and mandrake, these salves contained the powerful hallucinogens hyoscyamine and scopolamine which can penetrate intact skin. In Hallucinogens and Shamanism, Harner gives typical examples of the effects of the salve. "When the Inquisition of Como was being carried out, in Lugano the wife of a notary of the Inquisition was accused of being a witch and sorceress. Her husband, who was troubled and thought her a holy woman, early on Good Friday when he missed her found her naked in a corner of the pigsty displaying her genitals, completely unconscious and smeared with the excrement of the pigs. He went to draw his sword but hesitating she awoke and prostrated herself before him confessing that she had gone that night on the journey. When the accusers came to take her for burning she had vanished, possibly drowned in the lake nearby." Another medieval record recounts the adventures of the wife of a hangman "who was restless with suspicion of her husband." After being anointed from head to toe with the green witches ointment she became comatose and couldn't be awakened for 36 hours, although her eyes were wide open. When finally regaining consciousness, her first words were: "Why do you wake me at such an inopportune time? I was surrounded by all the pleasures and delights of the world. Knavish one, know that I have made you a cuckold, and with a lover younger and better than you."6
EXPERIMENT Gustav Schenk gives an account of an experiment in which he inhaled the fumes from a handful of henbane seeds thrown on a hot iron plate. "The henbane's first effect was purely physical discomfort. My limbs lost certainty, pains hammered in my head, and I began to feel extremely giddy. ... I went to the mirror and was able to distinguish my face, but more dimly than normal. It looked flushed and must have been so. I had the feeling that my head had increased in size: it seemed to have grown broader, more solid heavier, and I imagined that it was enveloped in firmer, thicker skin. The mirror itself seemed to be swaying, and I found it difficult to keep my face within its frame. The black discs of my pupils were immensely enlarged, as though the whole iris, which was normally blue, had become black. Despite the dilation of my pupils I could see no better than usual; quite the contrary, the outlines of objects were hazy, the window and the window frame were obscured by a thin mist."7 Solanaceae such as Belladonna, Datura, and Hyoscyamus cause temporary loss of memory; users report difficulty in recalling the experience of intoxication in any detail. Schenk, too, found that the psychoactive smoke obliterated his memory so that he only recalled vivid but disconnected images afterward. "I caught the gleam of a disc of yellow metal, which assumed a terrifying significance. It was looking at me, not with eyes and with a human gaze; that would be the wrong way to describe it. A metal disc cannot see or look at us, we say. But at that instant I knew such a disc to be entirely capable of casting glances which sent a shudder through my heart. The next moment, however - and this is the extraordinary thing - this vision caused me tremendous amusement, filling me with an immoderate desire to laugh, which seemed to go on and on. Yes, everything suddenly amused me - my inability to see properly, the dancing room, the uncertainty of my hands, with which I couldn't get a grip on anything; and all the time the disc kept staring at me unwinkingly, with grim, piercing, menacing earnestness. Now image followed upon image; they were shattered fragments of the real world. I saw them within the area of my own eyes; they were not the invention of a passing madness. My uninhibited hilarity quickly vanished, making way for a feeling of amazement that everything I saw appeared completely topsy-turvy. A billowing, sooty cloud was a woman, or at least the essence of a woman. It was the epitome of everything female, and so demonical and overpowering that the impression it made upon me is beyond description. Although I could hardly walk or even stand up, I was seized by a raging impulse to move. Since my feet seemed firmly welded to the floor, I could only clutch and grasp at things with my hands and tear them to pieces. Because my hands needed them, the things which could be moved, pulled apart and torn up were immediately there. There were animals, which looked at me keenly with contorted grimaces and staring, terrified eyes; there were flying stones and clouds of mist, all sweeping along in the same direction. They carried me irresistibly with them. ... They were enveloped in a vague grey light which emitted a dull glow and rolled onward and upward into a black and smoky sky. I was flung into a flaring drunkenness, a witches' cauldron of madness. Above my head water was flowing, dark and blood-red. The sky was filled with whole herds of animals. Fluid, formless creatures emerged from the darkness. I heard words, but they were all wrong and nonsensical, and yet they possessed for me some hidden meaning. ... My teeth were clenched and a dizzy rage took possession of me. I know that I trembled with horror; but I also know that I was permeated by a peculiar sense of well-being connected with the crazy sensation that my feet were growing lighter, expanding and breaking loose from my body. [This sensation of gradual bodily dissolution is typical of henbane poisoning.] Each part of my body seemed to be going off on its own. My head was growing independently larger, and I was seized with the fear that I was falling apart. At the same time I experienced an intoxicating sensation of flying. ... I soared where my hallucinations - the clouds, the lowering sky, herds of beasts, falling leaves which were quite unlike any ordinary leaves, billowing streamers of steam and rivers of molten metal - were swirling along. All this time I was not peacefully sleeping with limbs relaxed, but in motion. The urge to move, although the capacity for movement is greatly curtailed, is the essential characteristic of Hyoscyamus intoxication."8 Schenk proceeds by explaining the conditions called forth by henbane. "The ears become deaf, the eyes almost blind; they see in a haze only the bulk of objects, whose contours are blurred. The sufferer is slowly cut off from the outside world and sinks irretrievably into himself and his own inner world. The room dances; the floor, the walls and the ceiling tilt slowly to the right and then back to the left. But the victim has no sense of moving himself, although obviously he is staggering about in a stationary room. While these terrifying signs of catastrophe accumulate, the sufferer is abandoned by the familiar world. The fact that his face seems to grow larger, that heat rises into his head and brings the sweat pouring down his cheeks, that the light grows dark, the walls disappear and the rays of the sun go out - all this causes no astonishment now that he is shut up inside himself as though in a tiny room. ... The nightshades, as we see, are not purely narcotic plants like the opium poppy or hemp. The Solanaceae, and particularly henbane and thorn apple, stand on the borderline between the plants which intoxicate and those which cause pain. But pain predominates. Their derangement of the senses, madness and terrifyingly sombre hallucinations cannot be compared to the ephemeral bliss and euphoria induced by the well-known narcotics. ... In the henbane madness I never lost a sense of terror and impending doom, even though this terror was mingled with enjoyment. The name nightshade, borne by this family of plants, well describes the grim menace in henbane poison."9
PROVINGS •• [1] Hahnemann - 7 provers; method: unknown.
•• [2] Lembke - self-experimentation; method: repeated doses of 2-25 drops of tincture.
•• [3] Schneller - self-experimentation, 1846; method: increasing doses of extract.
•• [4] Austrian proving - 6 provers, 1847; method: increasing doses of extract.
•• [5] Gerster - self-experimentation; method: tincture in repeated doses from 15 to 42 drops.
•• [6] Lindermann - self-experimentation; method: tincture in repeated doses from 3-50 drops, also 3rd dil. in doses from 8-30 drops.
[1-2] Grieve, A Modern Herbal. [3] Rudgley, The Encyclopaedia of Psychoactive Substances. [4] Grieve, ibid. [5] Evans Schultes, The Botany and Chemistry of Hallucinogens. [6] Harner, cited in Nature's Pharmacy: Ancient Knowledge, Modern Medicine; University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics Medical Museum. [7-9] Schenk, The Book of Poisons.
Affinity
MIND. Brain. Nerves. Muscles [face; eyes]. Blood. * Left side. Right side.
Modalities
Worse: EMOTIONS [fright; jealousy; UNHAPPY LOVE]. TOUCH. Lying. Cold. Sleep. Beginning of menses; during menses. Eating and drinking. Rest.
Better: Sitting up. Stooping.
Main symptoms
M JEALOUSY and [paranoiac] SUSPICION.
Jealousy + rage.
DELUSION he would be poisoned, be murdered, is being watched, is injured by his surroundings.
Thinks everybody DECEIVES, cheats, tricks him.
Delusion partner is unfaithful; obsessively controls everything.
Claiming; constant accusations that other people are favoured [e.g. in children].
Strong desire to be close to somebody; sensation of being an OUTSIDER.
• "Henbane has the extraordinary faculty of producing jealousy. Many authenticated cases are recorded of the power of the leaves, and the fumes of the seeds, over the more intense passions. A disposition to quarrel and fight is decidedly produced. One case is that of a young couple, who had married from affection, had lived upon terms of the most perfect mutual regard - indeed, had been noticed for the warmth and strength of their attachment; but suddenly, to the surprise of the surrounding neighbours, their harmony was not only disrupted, but they became bitter antagonists, fighting and beating each other most unmercifully. What seemed most surprising was, that in one particular room appeared to spring their most determined quarrels, and that they soon subsided elsewhere. This mystery was at length explained, and their days of happiness restored, by the discovery that to the effects of a considerable quantity of henbane, stored up for drying, their miseries were owing, and on the removal of this, the source of their feuds appeared to vanish."1
M LOQUACITY.
c Mocking, slandering, gossiping.
• "The prospect of finding anybody out in anything would have kept Miss Miggs awake under the influence of Henbane." [Charles Dickens, Barnaby Rudge]
c Incessantly and hurriedly.
• "Very cheerful delirium; she sang and spoke incessantly and very hurriedly but indistinctly, became very violent and beat about her when spoken to loudly or touched." [Hughes]
• "Speaking quickly tends to release the pressure inside the head to some degree. It is difficult to keep such patients to the subject of your question, and also difficult to end the consultation, since the patient will continue to chatter, ignoring hints that the session is over. The homoeopath may have to virtually leave the room himself to encourage the loquacious Hyoscyamus patient to get out of her chair, and she will continue to chatter at a rapid pace as she is leaving the room." [Bailey]
c Lively and elegantly.
• "He rose up suddenly and strongly, said with a smile that he was uncommonly well. Thought he was at home, wished to go out, and endeavoured to persuade those about him to let him, spoke in elegant language, with well-chosen expressions, and with such liveliness that the quiet and indolent peasant could scarcely be recognised, as he used to express himself in very vulgar language." [Hughes]
c Associatively.
• "Throughout the next day he was intent upon taking a journey, but if any incident of his past life was suggested, he entered minutely into every particular, talking incessantly, with unwonted rapidity and emphasis. He used the simplest and most descriptive language; and he was quite independent of conversation, for it was necessary, in order to avoid any increase of excitement, to treat him silence. Once a subject was named, no matter whether the attendant circumstances occurred the previous day or 50 years ago, it immediately engaged his attention until some incidental remark or an illusion suggested other ideas. If a subject with which he was not wholly familiar happened to be mentioned, he spoke of it rapidly and coherently as far as his knowledge extended, but then became confused, incoherent, and a little irritable and impatient. The connecting links in a particular train of thought were weakened and occasionally broken by illusions and delusions. The sight of a white napkin suggested, through milk, his former breakfasts in India, the milking of the cow at the door of the house, the appearance of the frothed milk in the silver basin." [Hughes]
c With absent/dead persons.
• "When awake he talks nonsense; says a man has been there - which was not the case." [Hahnemann]
• "Talks as if he were talking to himself, but he really imagines that some one is sitting by his side, to whom he is talking. Sometimes he talks to dead folks; recalls past events with those that have departed. Calls up a dead sister, or wife, or husband, and enters into conversation just as if the person were present. ... Imagines that somebody has asked a question, and he answers it, hence, you will find a patient with typhoid fever answering questions that you have not asked. He imagines that persons are in the room and asking him questions." [Kent]
M Can be SILENT for hours; just sits and STARES.
• "Pre-occupied with an internal state, sitting and muttering to himself, talking to absent people, to dead people; oblivious of their surroundings." [Kent]
M VIOLENT OUTBURSTS.
Evoked by jealousy, suspicion or after DISAPPOINTED LOVE ["without sexual gratification"].
Wants to KILL everyone he sees; "wants to kill the guy who did it after a love disappointment." [Hyos. can kill in cold blood, Stram. in blind anger, Hep. only threatens to kill.]
M Strong SEXUAL element: nymphomania, exhibitionism [plays openly with genitals], lewd talk and songs, DEFIANT.
• "Sexual obsession is a key feature of Hyoscyamus, in both the psychotic and the pre-psychotic individual. The patient will enjoy talking in a totally unconsciousness manner about her sexual life [the majority of Hyoscyamus patients who I have seen were women], often either boasting about much she enjoys sexuality, and describing with relish a long list of sexual encounters, or lamenting the lack of them in her life. She is stimulated by talking about sex, and will bring up the subject again and again, especially if she sees that you are not shocked by her. ... The Hyoscyamus woman may be tortured by sexual frustration, and yet will resist infidelity when she is married, since she believes it is wrong. The closer to insanity she becomes, the less likely she is to resist her sexual urges." [Bailey]
Children who deliberately use foul language and laugh foolishly.
Or the reverse: very shameful and strong aversion to undressing [e.g. taking a shower after sports]. Aversion to men because "all they want is sex".
M Plays ANTICS; grimaces; foolish behaviour.
M Constantly FUMBLES with the hands [Kali-br. more wringing].
PICKS at fingers, face, lips, clothes.
M Delusion that the body is breaking up or dissolving.
• "I know that I trembled with horror; but I also know that I was permeated by a peculiar sense of well-being connected with the crazy sensation that my feet were growing lighter, expanding and breaking loose from my body. [This sensation of gradual bodily dissolution is typical of henbane poisoning.] Each part of my body seemed to be going off on its own. My head was growing independently larger, and I was seized with the fear that I was falling apart. At the same time I experienced an intoxicating sensation of flying." [Gustav Schenk]
G Chilly. Sensitive to cold.
G Sensation of HEAT in blood vessels.
G < At BEGINNING of and DURING MENSES. G < TOUCH. G Masturbation in children. G Epilepsy. Preceded by ringing in ears, empty sensation in stomach, restlessness or vertigo. During fit grinding of teeth or tendency to laugh. Epilepsy from fright. • "In the epilepsy of Hyos. there is, before the fit, vertigo, ringing in ears, sparks before eyes, gnawing hunger: during the fit, face purple, eyes projecting, shrieks, grinding teeth and enuresis; followed by stupor and snoring. Bell. has spasms of larynx and clutching of throat during fit. In Stram. there is risus sardonicus, and quick thrusting of head to the right. Stram, has also 'a stupid friendly look'." [Tyler] G Spasms, twitchings, jerks, cramps. • "The Hyoscyamus chorea, unlike 'the gyratory motions of Stram.' Has the coarse angular jerks that hurl the patient about, and make a pitiful little object look in danger of turning herself inside out with a jerk, when told to put out her tongue. Hughes speaks also of 'local chorea' - squinting, stammering, twitchings of face." [Tyler] P Strabismus or visual disturbances after [or since] prolonged fever, convulsions or brain affections. [Kent] [1] Cooke, The Seven Sisters of Sleep. Rubrics Mind Affectation, in gestures and acts [1]. Ailments from, jealousy [3]. Answering, imaginary questions [2]. Desire to attack others [1]. Bites everyone who disturbs him [1/1]. Complaining of imaginary injury [2/1]. Delusions, persons are animals [1], devil is after her [2], he is possessed of a devil [2], of being injured by his surroundings [3], he has offended people [3], body is separated from soul [1], she is being watched [2], wife is faithless [1], he has suffered wrong [3]. Wants to set things on fire [1]. Gossiping [2]. Imitation [1]. Insanity, lascivious [1], loquacious [1], malicious [2]. Intriguer [1]. Jealousy, driving to kill [3/1], vindictive [1/1]. Desire to kill everyone he sees [1]. Meddlesome [1]. Mocking, passion to ridicule [1]. Mutilating his body [1]. Quarrelsome, from jealousy [2]. Does not recognize his relatives [3]. Revealing secrets [1]. Sadness, > urination [1]. Shameless, exposes the person [3]. Desire to strike [3].
Vertigo
From odour of flowers [2].
Head
Beats head against the bed [1]. Pain, > shaking head [1]. Waving sensation after stooping [1].
Vision
Blurred, before headache [1]. Colours, everything looks golden [1/1]. Diplopia, with convulsions [2]. Objects seem large [3]. Sparks, before epilepsy [2/1].
Ear
Noises, before epileptic fit [2/1].
Teeth
Clinched firmly [2]. Grinding, during maniacal rage [2].
Throat
Choking, on swallowing liquids [3].
Stomach
Appetite, ravenous, before epilepsy [3]. Hiccough, with convulsions [3], after abdominal operation [2/1].
Rectum
Involuntary stool, from excitement [2/1], although solid [1].
Bladder
Involuntary urination during menses [2].
Dreams
Wild animals [1].
Perspiration
Profuse, before menses [1], during menses [2].
Skin
Burning, where hand has lain on [1/1].
Generals
Convulsions, begin in the face [2], after grief [2].
Food
Aversion: [3]: Drinks; water. [2]: Alcohol.
Desire: [2]: Alcohol. [1]: Cheese.
Worse: [1]: Cold drinks; wine.
Better: [2]: Coffee.
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| Hyoscyamus niger |
They babble out almost everything a sensible person would have kept silence about all his life.
[Grünewald]
Signs
Hyoscyamus niger. Black Henbane. N.O. Solanaceae.
CLASSIFICATION Hyoscyamus, as well as Stramonium and Atropa belladonna, belong to the Solanaceae or Nightshade family, a widespread plant family comprising about 96 genera of herbs, shrubs and, occasionally, trees. Although occurring around the world [except in the arctic areas], the principle centre of the Nightshade family lies in Andean South America. The plants in this family commonly produce poisonous alkaloids. Due to high contents of tropane alkaloids, genera such as Atropa, Datura, Hyoscyamus, Duboisia, Brugmansia, and Mandragora, have narcotic and hallucinogenic properties. The family is of huge economic importance as a source of food-stuff [tomato, egg plant, green peppers, red pepper, potato, pepino, Cape gooseberry], medicines and narcotics [belladonna, mandrake, datura, etc.], a fumatory [tobacco], and poisons [belladonna, henbane, etc.].
HYOSCYAMUS The genus Hyoscyamus comprises some 20 species of annual to perennial herbs with simple leaves and spike-like racemes of bell- or urn-shaped flowers. All species are highly poisonous. "Hyoscyamus niger is susceptible to considerable diversity of character, causing varieties which have by some been considered as distinct species. Thus the plant is sometimes annual, the stem almost unbranched, smaller and less downy than in the biennial form, the leaves shorter and less hairy and the flowers often yellow, without any purple markings. The annual plant also flowers in July or August, the biennial in May and June. The annual and biennial form spring indifferently from the same crop of seed, the former growing during summer to a height of from 1 to 2 feet, and flowering and perfecting seed, the latter producing the first season only a tuft of radical leaves, which disappear in winter, leaving underground a thick, fleshy root, from the crown of which arises in spring a branched, flowering stem, usually much taller and more vigorous than the flowering stems of the annual plants. The annual form is apparently produced by the weaker and later developed seeds formed in the fruit at the ends of the shoots; it is considered to be less active than the typical species and differs in being of dwarfed growth and having rather paler flowers. ... [Cultivated] Henbane is very capricious in its growth, the seeds being prone to lie dormant for a season or more, refusing to germinate at all in some places, and the crop varying without any apparent reason, sometimes dying in patches."1 The whole henbane plant has an unpleasant odour, and its leaves, if bruised when fresh, emit a strong narcotic smell similar to that of tobacco.
 |
| Hyoscyamus niger |
FLOWERING Hyoscyamus niger is a so-called long-day plant; it flowers in the summer, but only if the light periods are longer than a critical length. Studies have shown that black henbane will flower when exposed to light-periods of 10 hours and 20 minutes and when the temperature is 22.5o C. But with a light-period of 10 hours, it will not flower at this temperature. Environmental conditions also affect light-periodic behaviour: at 28.5o C, henbane requires 11 hours and 30 minutes of light, whereas at 15.5o C, it requires only 8 1/2 hours. Cold may also affect the flowering response. The biennial form of henbane culminates its first year's growth with a vegetative rosette. The plant will flower only in the next summer if it is exposed to cold in the winter. After cold exposure, it becomes a typical long-day plant, with the same light-periodic response as that of the annual form.
HISTORY The discovery of high pollen values and seed numbers of black henbane in residues adhering to pottery shreds from a Neolithic ceremonial site at Balfarg, Fife in eastern Scotland, in the mid-1980s, suggests that hallucinogens were part of ritual activity during the Neolithic period. In ancient Greece Hyoscyamus served as a poison, and as a means to simulate dementia and to evoke prophecies. The ancient Romans knew that Hyoscyamus comprises several species, and that the black variety caused insanity. Hyoscyamus has been employed medicinally since very early times. It has been valued as a sedative and anodyne for inducing sleep. Accidental poisonings are recorded from medieval times and earlier in Europe. The hallucinogenic Lang-tang of China has been identified as H. niger. In the 16th century the use of Lang-tang was described as 'increasing stamina and aiding communication with demons and other spirits'. "The medicinal uses of henbane date from remote ages; it was well known to the Ancients, being particularly commended by Dioscorides [first century AD], who used it to procure sleep and allay pains, and Celsus [same period] and others made use of it for the same purpose, internally and externally, though Pliny declared it to be 'of the nature of wine and therefore offensive to the understanding.' There is mention of it in a work by Benedictus Crispus [AD 681] under the names of Hyoscyamus and Symphonica. In the 10th century, we again find its virtues recorded under the name of Jusquiasmus [the modern French name is Jusquiame]. There is frequent mention made of it in Anglo-Saxon works on medicine of the 11th century, in which it is named 'Henbell', and in the old glossaries of those days it also appears as Caniculata, Cassilago and Deus Caballinus. Later it fell into disuse. It was omitted from the London Pharmacopoeia of 1746 and 1788, and only restored in 1809, its re-introduction being chiefly due to experiments and recommendations by Baron Storch, who gave it in the form of an extract, in cases of epilepsy and other nervous and convulsive diseases."2 "Henbane has been used in India as a form of birth control; the seeds were mixed with mare's milk to make a paste which is kept wrapped in a piece of wild bull's skin and then worn by the woman. In Kashmir and Pakistan henbane is sometimes smoked with tobacco or cannabis. Remains of the henbane plant have been found at ancient Egyptian sites, such as the rubbish dump at the animal cemetery at Saqqara. It is also mentioned in the Ebers Papyrus [c. 1500 BC]. Henbane has been widely used by the Bedouin people. The Bedouin of the Negev region of southern Israel smoke a few henbane leaves to alleviate the symptoms of shortness of breath, depression and nervousness. ... The Vikings made use of henbane, as is made clear by the discovery of several hundred seeds in a female grave in north Jutland dated to the 10th century. This archaeological find suggests that henbane may have played a role in their funerary practices. In the 10th-century Anglo-Saxon Leech Book of Bald and Cild [the first 'modern' medical text in Western Europe] there is a medical preparation described as: 'a salve against the elfin race and nocturnal visitors, and for women with who the devil hath carnal commerce.' The ingredients of this salve/ointment include henbane. ... Henbane also had numerous medical uses. ... In Italy it was called Priapeia and is said to have been used to treat priapism. ... The Old Germanic tribes put it in their beer and mead, which makes the 'strong ales' of today seem rather tame. In some of the bath-houses of early Europe - a kind of forerunner of the seedy sauna - henbane seeds were burnt on hot dishes as an erotic incense designed to encourage sexual abandon."3 The corruption of the German name for the plant - Bilsenkraut - is the true origin of Pils, the name for a variety of lager beer formerly spiked with henbane. [Pilsen, the 'beer brewer's' city in the Czech Republic, is named after the beer.]
MYTHOLOGY In Greek myth, the dead were adorned with henbane when they wandered beside the Styx prior to their arrival in Hades. Styx, the river of Hate [Gr stugein, to hate], flowed nine times round the infernal regions. To touch its water was instantly fatal. All materials except the hooves of horses were said to be broken or corroded by it. When a god swore falsely by the Styx, he was made to drink a draught of its water which made him lie speechless for a year. Hermes escorted the dead souls down to the Styx, which formed the boundary of Hades, the Underworld. If they had received proper burial, the aged ferryman Charon in his boat carried them across the waters. The gates of Hades were guarded by the watchdog Cerberus, who wagged his tail for new arrivals, but devoured all those who tried to leave again.
NAME "The herb is also called Hog's-bean, and both its botanical name Hyoscyamus and the 10th-century Jusquiasmus are derived from the Greek words hyos and cyamos, signifying 'the bean of the hog', which animal is supposed to eat it with impunity. An old Anglo-Saxon name for it was 'Belene', probably from the bell-shaped flowers; then it became known as 'Hen-bell', and from the time that its poisonous properties were recognized this name was changed to 'henbane', because the seeds were thought to be fatal to poultry. Dr. Prior is inclined to think that the name henbane is derived from the Spanish hinna [a mule], e.g. 'henna bell', referring to the similarity of its seed-vessel to the bell hung upon the neck of the mules."4 The specific name niger, black, refers to the old belief that parts of the body touched by this plant would turn black and rot. The ancient names of the plant, Pythonion and Apollinaris, are attributed to the gifts of prophecy obtained by the inhalation of the smoke from smouldering henbane. [The priestess of the oracle of Apollo at Delphi was the 'Pythoness'. A witch is also called a pythoness.] In addition, the Greeks knew the plant under the names Adamas and Atomon. It was also known variously as dioskyamos [Zeus' bean], hypnotikon [sleep inducer], emmanes [frenzy making], and insana [madness]. In the Middle Ages, it had the Latin name dentaria, denoting its use as a remedy against toothache.
CONSTITUENTS The tropane alkaloids atropine, hyoscyamine, and scopolamine contained in Hyoscyamus niger are the same as in Atropa belladonna and Datura stramonium, but the proportions are different. The largest proportion of the total alkaloids in Hyoscyamus consists of up to 50% scopolamine [formerly known as hyoscine]. Minor alkaloids of H. niger that have been isolated include tropine, scopine, apoatropine, and cuscohygrine. The total alkaloid content of the various parts of the plant was found to be as follows: leaves, 0,04 to 0,08%; roots, 0,16%; seeds, 0,06 to 0,1%. Hyoscyamine and scopolamine possess specific anticholinergic, antispasmodic activity and elicit some central nervous effects as well. These effects usually consist of stimulation in low doses, depression in higher toxic doses. Hyoscyamine is twice as potent as atropine in its antispasmodic activity. Intoxication with atropine or hyoscyamine is characterized by psychic excitation often combined with panic and hallucinations. Scopolamine was found to produce a state of excitement followed by a kind of narcosis in which, in the transition state between consciousness and sleep, hallucinations sometimes occur. 5 Henbane's relatively high scopolamine content gives it a more specifically sedative action than its relatives Datura stramonium and Atropa belladonna. Scopolamine was added to morphine in 1902 to cause a trance-like state called 'Twilight Sleep' to lessen the pain and the mortality of childbirth as well as to make women in labour amnesic for the experience of childbirth. The therapy was introduced by the German physician Carl Gauss who, as a result, got himself into trouble with the Lutheran Church. The church elders denounced Gauss because women were to bring forth in pain, according to the Old Testament. Scopolamine was also the infamous 'truth serum' once used in so many legal battles and court cases. This hypnotic 'serum' may still be used in some countries for 'brain-washing.' Scopolamine is still used as a medical drug. Until recently, low doses of it went into over-the-counter sleeping pills, and some cold and allergy tablets still include it to dry up runny noses. Low doses can be applied to the skin in special patches to prevent motion sickness [Band-Aid plasters]. American astronauts have used these plasters as a treatment for the motion sickness experienced during space travels. Other constituents of henbane are oleic and stearic acids, potassium nitrate, and protein.
TOXICITY Black henbane has caused rare poisoning in humans, cattle, poultry, and swine. Cattle have been poisoned after ingesting black henbane that was included in forage [the alkaloid content is retained upon drying], tainting the milk of cows. Fresh plants are usually avoided on account of their unpleasant taste and smell. Poultry have died after ingesting the seeds and hens after eating the roots, which is in line with the common name of the plant, henbane, 'hen poison.' Pigs have died after eating the roots, despite the fact that they, according to popular belief, should be able to eat the plants with impunity. General poisoning symptoms for cattle include bloating, laboured breathing, convulsions, cyanosis, increased heart rate, pupil dilation, restlessness and incoordination. General poisoning symptoms for humans after ingestion of the roots include hallucination, dryness of mouth, nausea and vomiting, reduced contractions of gastrointestinal tract, pupil dilation, flushed skin, urinary retention, confusion, coma, and death. Purposeless movements, such as picking at the air [carphology], have also been observed. Ingesting the flowers has caused agitation, restlessness, dryness of mouth, and pupil dilation.
WITCHES Images of witches flying on broomsticks come from medieval church records of witch persecutions. In these records greenish 'flying ointments' are mentioned which witches rubbed on their bodies or applied to their genitals by means of a broomstick 'in such a way that they imagine they are carried a long distance.' Made from herbs such as belladonna, henbane and mandrake, these salves contained the powerful hallucinogens hyoscyamine and scopolamine which can penetrate intact skin. In Hallucinogens and Shamanism, Harner gives typical examples of the effects of the salve. "When the Inquisition of Como was being carried out, in Lugano the wife of a notary of the Inquisition was accused of being a witch and sorceress. Her husband, who was troubled and thought her a holy woman, early on Good Friday when he missed her found her naked in a corner of the pigsty displaying her genitals, completely unconscious and smeared with the excrement of the pigs. He went to draw his sword but hesitating she awoke and prostrated herself before him confessing that she had gone that night on the journey. When the accusers came to take her for burning she had vanished, possibly drowned in the lake nearby." Another medieval record recounts the adventures of the wife of a hangman "who was restless with suspicion of her husband." After being anointed from head to toe with the green witches ointment she became comatose and couldn't be awakened for 36 hours, although her eyes were wide open. When finally regaining consciousness, her first words were: "Why do you wake me at such an inopportune time? I was surrounded by all the pleasures and delights of the world. Knavish one, know that I have made you a cuckold, and with a lover younger and better than you."6
EXPERIMENT Gustav Schenk gives an account of an experiment in which he inhaled the fumes from a handful of henbane seeds thrown on a hot iron plate. "The henbane's first effect was purely physical discomfort. My limbs lost certainty, pains hammered in my head, and I began to feel extremely giddy. ... I went to the mirror and was able to distinguish my face, but more dimly than normal. It looked flushed and must have been so. I had the feeling that my head had increased in size: it seemed to have grown broader, more solid heavier, and I imagined that it was enveloped in firmer, thicker skin. The mirror itself seemed to be swaying, and I found it difficult to keep my face within its frame. The black discs of my pupils were immensely enlarged, as though the whole iris, which was normally blue, had become black. Despite the dilation of my pupils I could see no better than usual; quite the contrary, the outlines of objects were hazy, the window and the window frame were obscured by a thin mist."7 Solanaceae such as Belladonna, Datura, and Hyoscyamus cause temporary loss of memory; users report difficulty in recalling the experience of intoxication in any detail. Schenk, too, found that the psychoactive smoke obliterated his memory so that he only recalled vivid but disconnected images afterward. "I caught the gleam of a disc of yellow metal, which assumed a terrifying significance. It was looking at me, not with eyes and with a human gaze; that would be the wrong way to describe it. A metal disc cannot see or look at us, we say. But at that instant I knew such a disc to be entirely capable of casting glances which sent a shudder through my heart. The next moment, however - and this is the extraordinary thing - this vision caused me tremendous amusement, filling me with an immoderate desire to laugh, which seemed to go on and on. Yes, everything suddenly amused me - my inability to see properly, the dancing room, the uncertainty of my hands, with which I couldn't get a grip on anything; and all the time the disc kept staring at me unwinkingly, with grim, piercing, menacing earnestness. Now image followed upon image; they were shattered fragments of the real world. I saw them within the area of my own eyes; they were not the invention of a passing madness. My uninhibited hilarity quickly vanished, making way for a feeling of amazement that everything I saw appeared completely topsy-turvy. A billowing, sooty cloud was a woman, or at least the essence of a woman. It was the epitome of everything female, and so demonical and overpowering that the impression it made upon me is beyond description. Although I could hardly walk or even stand up, I was seized by a raging impulse to move. Since my feet seemed firmly welded to the floor, I could only clutch and grasp at things with my hands and tear them to pieces. Because my hands needed them, the things which could be moved, pulled apart and torn up were immediately there. There were animals, which looked at me keenly with contorted grimaces and staring, terrified eyes; there were flying stones and clouds of mist, all sweeping along in the same direction. They carried me irresistibly with them. ... They were enveloped in a vague grey light which emitted a dull glow and rolled onward and upward into a black and smoky sky. I was flung into a flaring drunkenness, a witches' cauldron of madness. Above my head water was flowing, dark and blood-red. The sky was filled with whole herds of animals. Fluid, formless creatures emerged from the darkness. I heard words, but they were all wrong and nonsensical, and yet they possessed for me some hidden meaning. ... My teeth were clenched and a dizzy rage took possession of me. I know that I trembled with horror; but I also know that I was permeated by a peculiar sense of well-being connected with the crazy sensation that my feet were growing lighter, expanding and breaking loose from my body. [This sensation of gradual bodily dissolution is typical of henbane poisoning.] Each part of my body seemed to be going off on its own. My head was growing independently larger, and I was seized with the fear that I was falling apart. At the same time I experienced an intoxicating sensation of flying. ... I soared where my hallucinations - the clouds, the lowering sky, herds of beasts, falling leaves which were quite unlike any ordinary leaves, billowing streamers of steam and rivers of molten metal - were swirling along. All this time I was not peacefully sleeping with limbs relaxed, but in motion. The urge to move, although the capacity for movement is greatly curtailed, is the essential characteristic of Hyoscyamus intoxication."8 Schenk proceeds by explaining the conditions called forth by henbane. "The ears become deaf, the eyes almost blind; they see in a haze only the bulk of objects, whose contours are blurred. The sufferer is slowly cut off from the outside world and sinks irretrievably into himself and his own inner world. The room dances; the floor, the walls and the ceiling tilt slowly to the right and then back to the left. But the victim has no sense of moving himself, although obviously he is staggering about in a stationary room. While these terrifying signs of catastrophe accumulate, the sufferer is abandoned by the familiar world. The fact that his face seems to grow larger, that heat rises into his head and brings the sweat pouring down his cheeks, that the light grows dark, the walls disappear and the rays of the sun go out - all this causes no astonishment now that he is shut up inside himself as though in a tiny room. ... The nightshades, as we see, are not purely narcotic plants like the opium poppy or hemp. The Solanaceae, and particularly henbane and thorn apple, stand on the borderline between the plants which intoxicate and those which cause pain. But pain predominates. Their derangement of the senses, madness and terrifyingly sombre hallucinations cannot be compared to the ephemeral bliss and euphoria induced by the well-known narcotics. ... In the henbane madness I never lost a sense of terror and impending doom, even though this terror was mingled with enjoyment. The name nightshade, borne by this family of plants, well describes the grim menace in henbane poison."9
PROVINGS •• [1] Hahnemann - 7 provers; method: unknown.
•• [2] Lembke - self-experimentation; method: repeated doses of 2-25 drops of tincture.
•• [3] Schneller - self-experimentation, 1846; method: increasing doses of extract.
•• [4] Austrian proving - 6 provers, 1847; method: increasing doses of extract.
•• [5] Gerster - self-experimentation; method: tincture in repeated doses from 15 to 42 drops.
•• [6] Lindermann - self-experimentation; method: tincture in repeated doses from 3-50 drops, also 3rd dil. in doses from 8-30 drops.
[1-2] Grieve, A Modern Herbal. [3] Rudgley, The Encyclopaedia of Psychoactive Substances. [4] Grieve, ibid. [5] Evans Schultes, The Botany and Chemistry of Hallucinogens. [6] Harner, cited in Nature's Pharmacy: Ancient Knowledge, Modern Medicine; University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics Medical Museum. [7-9] Schenk, The Book of Poisons.
Affinity
MIND. Brain. Nerves. Muscles [face; eyes]. Blood. * Left side. Right side.
Modalities
Worse: EMOTIONS [fright; jealousy; UNHAPPY LOVE]. TOUCH. Lying. Cold. Sleep. Beginning of menses; during menses. Eating and drinking. Rest.
Better: Sitting up. Stooping.
Main symptoms
M JEALOUSY and [paranoiac] SUSPICION.
Jealousy + rage.
DELUSION he would be poisoned, be murdered, is being watched, is injured by his surroundings.
Thinks everybody DECEIVES, cheats, tricks him.
Delusion partner is unfaithful; obsessively controls everything.
Claiming; constant accusations that other people are favoured [e.g. in children].
Strong desire to be close to somebody; sensation of being an OUTSIDER.
• "Henbane has the extraordinary faculty of producing jealousy. Many authenticated cases are recorded of the power of the leaves, and the fumes of the seeds, over the more intense passions. A disposition to quarrel and fight is decidedly produced. One case is that of a young couple, who had married from affection, had lived upon terms of the most perfect mutual regard - indeed, had been noticed for the warmth and strength of their attachment; but suddenly, to the surprise of the surrounding neighbours, their harmony was not only disrupted, but they became bitter antagonists, fighting and beating each other most unmercifully. What seemed most surprising was, that in one particular room appeared to spring their most determined quarrels, and that they soon subsided elsewhere. This mystery was at length explained, and their days of happiness restored, by the discovery that to the effects of a considerable quantity of henbane, stored up for drying, their miseries were owing, and on the removal of this, the source of their feuds appeared to vanish."1
M LOQUACITY.
c Mocking, slandering, gossiping.
• "The prospect of finding anybody out in anything would have kept Miss Miggs awake under the influence of Henbane." [Charles Dickens, Barnaby Rudge]
c Incessantly and hurriedly.
• "Very cheerful delirium; she sang and spoke incessantly and very hurriedly but indistinctly, became very violent and beat about her when spoken to loudly or touched." [Hughes]
• "Speaking quickly tends to release the pressure inside the head to some degree. It is difficult to keep such patients to the subject of your question, and also difficult to end the consultation, since the patient will continue to chatter, ignoring hints that the session is over. The homoeopath may have to virtually leave the room himself to encourage the loquacious Hyoscyamus patient to get out of her chair, and she will continue to chatter at a rapid pace as she is leaving the room." [Bailey]
c Lively and elegantly.
• "He rose up suddenly and strongly, said with a smile that he was uncommonly well. Thought he was at home, wished to go out, and endeavoured to persuade those about him to let him, spoke in elegant language, with well-chosen expressions, and with such liveliness that the quiet and indolent peasant could scarcely be recognised, as he used to express himself in very vulgar language." [Hughes]
c Associatively.
• "Throughout the next day he was intent upon taking a journey, but if any incident of his past life was suggested, he entered minutely into every particular, talking incessantly, with unwonted rapidity and emphasis. He used the simplest and most descriptive language; and he was quite independent of conversation, for it was necessary, in order to avoid any increase of excitement, to treat him silence. Once a subject was named, no matter whether the attendant circumstances occurred the previous day or 50 years ago, it immediately engaged his attention until some incidental remark or an illusion suggested other ideas. If a subject with which he was not wholly familiar happened to be mentioned, he spoke of it rapidly and coherently as far as his knowledge extended, but then became confused, incoherent, and a little irritable and impatient. The connecting links in a particular train of thought were weakened and occasionally broken by illusions and delusions. The sight of a white napkin suggested, through milk, his former breakfasts in India, the milking of the cow at the door of the house, the appearance of the frothed milk in the silver basin." [Hughes]
c With absent/dead persons.
• "When awake he talks nonsense; says a man has been there - which was not the case." [Hahnemann]
• "Talks as if he were talking to himself, but he really imagines that some one is sitting by his side, to whom he is talking. Sometimes he talks to dead folks; recalls past events with those that have departed. Calls up a dead sister, or wife, or husband, and enters into conversation just as if the person were present. ... Imagines that somebody has asked a question, and he answers it, hence, you will find a patient with typhoid fever answering questions that you have not asked. He imagines that persons are in the room and asking him questions." [Kent]
M Can be SILENT for hours; just sits and STARES.
• "Pre-occupied with an internal state, sitting and muttering to himself, talking to absent people, to dead people; oblivious of their surroundings." [Kent]
M VIOLENT OUTBURSTS.
Evoked by jealousy, suspicion or after DISAPPOINTED LOVE ["without sexual gratification"].
Wants to KILL everyone he sees; "wants to kill the guy who did it after a love disappointment." [Hyos. can kill in cold blood, Stram. in blind anger, Hep. only threatens to kill.]
M Strong SEXUAL element: nymphomania, exhibitionism [plays openly with genitals], lewd talk and songs, DEFIANT.
• "Sexual obsession is a key feature of Hyoscyamus, in both the psychotic and the pre-psychotic individual. The patient will enjoy talking in a totally unconsciousness manner about her sexual life [the majority of Hyoscyamus patients who I have seen were women], often either boasting about much she enjoys sexuality, and describing with relish a long list of sexual encounters, or lamenting the lack of them in her life. She is stimulated by talking about sex, and will bring up the subject again and again, especially if she sees that you are not shocked by her. ... The Hyoscyamus woman may be tortured by sexual frustration, and yet will resist infidelity when she is married, since she believes it is wrong. The closer to insanity she becomes, the less likely she is to resist her sexual urges." [Bailey]
Children who deliberately use foul language and laugh foolishly.
Or the reverse: very shameful and strong aversion to undressing [e.g. taking a shower after sports]. Aversion to men because "all they want is sex".
M Plays ANTICS; grimaces; foolish behaviour.
M Constantly FUMBLES with the hands [Kali-br. more wringing].
PICKS at fingers, face, lips, clothes.
M Delusion that the body is breaking up or dissolving.
• "I know that I trembled with horror; but I also know that I was permeated by a peculiar sense of well-being connected with the crazy sensation that my feet were growing lighter, expanding and breaking loose from my body. [This sensation of gradual bodily dissolution is typical of henbane poisoning.] Each part of my body seemed to be going off on its own. My head was growing independently larger, and I was seized with the fear that I was falling apart. At the same time I experienced an intoxicating sensation of flying." [Gustav Schenk]
G Chilly. Sensitive to cold.
G Sensation of HEAT in blood vessels.
G < At BEGINNING of and DURING MENSES. G < TOUCH. G Masturbation in children. G Epilepsy. Preceded by ringing in ears, empty sensation in stomach, restlessness or vertigo. During fit grinding of teeth or tendency to laugh. Epilepsy from fright. • "In the epilepsy of Hyos. there is, before the fit, vertigo, ringing in ears, sparks before eyes, gnawing hunger: during the fit, face purple, eyes projecting, shrieks, grinding teeth and enuresis; followed by stupor and snoring. Bell. has spasms of larynx and clutching of throat during fit. In Stram. there is risus sardonicus, and quick thrusting of head to the right. Stram, has also 'a stupid friendly look'." [Tyler] G Spasms, twitchings, jerks, cramps. • "The Hyoscyamus chorea, unlike 'the gyratory motions of Stram.' Has the coarse angular jerks that hurl the patient about, and make a pitiful little object look in danger of turning herself inside out with a jerk, when told to put out her tongue. Hughes speaks also of 'local chorea' - squinting, stammering, twitchings of face." [Tyler] P Strabismus or visual disturbances after [or since] prolonged fever, convulsions or brain affections. [Kent] [1] Cooke, The Seven Sisters of Sleep. Rubrics Mind Affectation, in gestures and acts [1]. Ailments from, jealousy [3]. Answering, imaginary questions [2]. Desire to attack others [1]. Bites everyone who disturbs him [1/1]. Complaining of imaginary injury [2/1]. Delusions, persons are animals [1], devil is after her [2], he is possessed of a devil [2], of being injured by his surroundings [3], he has offended people [3], body is separated from soul [1], she is being watched [2], wife is faithless [1], he has suffered wrong [3]. Wants to set things on fire [1]. Gossiping [2]. Imitation [1]. Insanity, lascivious [1], loquacious [1], malicious [2]. Intriguer [1]. Jealousy, driving to kill [3/1], vindictive [1/1]. Desire to kill everyone he sees [1]. Meddlesome [1]. Mocking, passion to ridicule [1]. Mutilating his body [1]. Quarrelsome, from jealousy [2]. Does not recognize his relatives [3]. Revealing secrets [1]. Sadness, > urination [1]. Shameless, exposes the person [3]. Desire to strike [3].
Vertigo
From odour of flowers [2].
Head
Beats head against the bed [1]. Pain, > shaking head [1]. Waving sensation after stooping [1].
Vision
Blurred, before headache [1]. Colours, everything looks golden [1/1]. Diplopia, with convulsions [2]. Objects seem large [3]. Sparks, before epilepsy [2/1].
Ear
Noises, before epileptic fit [2/1].
Teeth
Clinched firmly [2]. Grinding, during maniacal rage [2].
Throat
Choking, on swallowing liquids [3].
Stomach
Appetite, ravenous, before epilepsy [3]. Hiccough, with convulsions [3], after abdominal operation [2/1].
Rectum
Involuntary stool, from excitement [2/1], although solid [1].
Bladder
Involuntary urination during menses [2].
Dreams
Wild animals [1].
Perspiration
Profuse, before menses [1], during menses [2].
Skin
Burning, where hand has lain on [1/1].
Generals
Convulsions, begin in the face [2], after grief [2].
Food
Aversion: [3]: Drinks; water. [2]: Alcohol.
Desire: [2]: Alcohol. [1]: Cheese.
Worse: [1]: Cold drinks; wine.
Better: [2]: Coffee.
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PLEASE WRITE YOUR SYMPTOMS HERE TO GET SUGGESTION.