Under the Volcano – Homeopathic Remedies from Inside the Earth

Introduction

WHY VOLCANOES?

As a result of the immigration of my Czech grandparents to the south of Chile in 1938, the majority of my paternal family, including myself, were born and grew up beside one of the most active volcanoes in South America: Villarrica Volcano. Pucón, the town of my childhood, is situated at the base of this stratovolcano, which has a height of 2,847 meters (9,340 feet). The volcano dominates the view and, I believe, the lives of the people in Pucón.

Its most recent eruptions were in 1948, 1964, 1971 and 1984. I clearly remember the last one, which wasn’t violent at all like the previous ones, with the lava flowing down the cone, a magical view at night time. At present, all the Villarrica area is under zone alert. But the locals (including my parents who still live there) are used to it, that big old cone with the non-stop fumarole coming out its chimney. It is the focus of everyday life and it has an influence in people’s behavior.

The magnetic attraction that Villarrica has on people, like my grandparents, fascinates me. People settle and create communities around this magnificent force of nature. This happens all over the world, cities and settlements being developed, despite the danger that involves living “under the volcano”.

VOLCANOES IN HOMOEOPATHY

The first remedy that comes to mind when thinking about volcanoes and its Doctrine of Signatures is Sulphur. Sulphur is often called “the King of Remedies” (Pulsatilla being the Queen) for its wide and well known picture. Sulphur is also a predominantly Psoric remedy and it was proved by Hahnemann who described its action in The Chronic Diseases.

The crude substance comes from deep within the earth, brought up by volcanic activity. It can be found in yellow crystal form around volcanic vents and fumaroles. “When a volcano is actively erupting, then gaseous Sulphur makes the connection between earth below and the atmosphere above”(1). For the purpose of this project, I am going to centre on the picture of the remedy given by Misha Norland, according to its Doctrine of Signatures.

The second remedy to be explored is Hecla lava. Hecla has been in our Materia Medica since the end of the 19th Century, with cases described by Hering, Burnett and Clarke among others. Hecla was potentised after observations on the pathology developed by sheep grazing in the vicinity of the volcano. It is interesting to notice the connection between those symptoms originally described and those of Fluorosis, one of the most important livestock hazards during the aftermath of a volcanic eruption. The remedy Etna lava also has some common symptoms to Fluoric acid, as pointed out by Bruce Barwell, editor of Homoeopathica, the Journal of the New Zealand Homoeopathic Society in his article Does fluorine contribute to volcano remedies’ effects?(2)

The remedy Fluoric Acid was proved by Hering in 1845 and I have included it in my project because of its connection with volcano activity. Recent provings of volcanic material include Etna lava in Italy, Arizona lava in Devon and Cinis popo in Mexico. For the latter, I am including all the information I have been able to find up to date. For some reason, getting in touch with Mexican homeopaths hasn’t been easy for me.

The remedy Obsidian (Black) features in the book Meditative Provings, by Madeline Evans. Obsidian is a volcanic glass, formed when hot lava from an erupting volcano reaches the sea rapidly, solidifying and forming a black glass. To me, this remedy reaches a further level in homoeopathy and I haven’t included it in these pages.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I would like to thank Bruce Barwell, editor of Homoeopathica, the Journal of the New Zealand Homoeopathic Society, for his rapid response, interest, insights, generosity and enthusiasm for this project. To my friends in Chile, Valeria Kalfón and Mervil Frau, who live and work under the volcano, for their insight into the psychological and pathological aspects of a ‘volcano society’.

To Julissa Segura Urbano, homoeopath practicing in Puebla, Mexico. For her interest and for sharing of information with me about Cinis popo. To my husband Richard, for patiently proof reading and helping me to translate my ideas into ‘real English’. And finally to my grandparents, Guillermo and Catalina, for their seed planted under the volcano.

The themes of the volcano

In my collected memories, including emotions, sensations and thoughts, I can see themes unfolding from the active presence of the volcano in my life and in the community I grew up in. Interestingly, these themes develop in polarities, as homoeopathic remedies act out. Villarrica has brought a lot of devastation to people over the years, but it has also brought creativity and transformation. In miasmatic terms, the syphilitic miasm found its deepest representation in what a volcanic eruption brings about: creation follows destruction.

There is a sense of insecurity and fear in contrast with confidence and acceptance of the power of nature. Since the last devastating eruption in 1971, where avalanches of water, mud and rocks flew down the sides of the volcano destroying anything in its way, including trees, bridges and houses, the population has dramatically increased. People are building exactly on the places where the most devastation occurred, despite local government regulations and warnings. The endless source of energy and fertility attracts the population and the local government doesn’t want to interfere with the economic growth of the area. It is the rhythm of the volcano.

‘Ailments from shock’ features in Hecla lava, Sulphur and the rubric ‘Starting, startled’ is in Sulphur and Arizona lava. The rubric ‘Mind; FEAR; Happen; something will; terrible, horrible’ features Fluoric acid and Sulphur. Etna lava and Arizona lava both feature in Calmness and Resolution.

The native population on this land are the Mapuche (meaning “the people of the land”). Mapuche people believe that the volcano is the home of Pillán, the Spirit, founder of races and lineages. The volcano erupted because he was angry about the inadequate behavior of people. They didn’t fear him, they respected him like children do their father. Pillán showed his anger through smoke, tremors and lava. Villarrica’s native name is Rucapillán (meaning “home of Pillán”). The theme of anger and irritability is present in all the volcano remedies. Mapuche people also have a horizontal/vertical view of the world.

Volcanoes have to do with verticality. “Sulphur has to do with the connection from below (earth) to above (spirit) and its reverse”(1).

Volcanoes have an important role in the evolution of the crust of the Earth. It creates structures, reliefs and fertile land. The affinity of the remedy Hecla lava is with the bones, the structure of our bodies.

Lava features four states:

1. Flowing no matter what, nothing gets in the way (childlike state according to Misha Norland) Arizona lava. It burns everything.

2. Hardness, the crust of cooling lava (the compensated state). Resistance.

3. Aridity and bareness. Isolation (the decompensated state, pathological estate) Etna Lava.

4. Fertility, rebirth. Creativity.

The cooling of the lava represents the process of getting into the calm again. The activity has ceased, it is time to “chill-out”.

Etna lava provers experienced feeling calmer than usual: “I am still feeling very calm. I shout much less than usual, I think; I don’t fly into a rage; I face trouble quietly. As if I can look at the world more serenely”. (Prover 6). “I still feel cheerful and strong; I sleep less; I do a lot of things, more than usual…This cheerful mood is strange. I am not upset in spite of many troubles….I am not upset as if it’s not worth taking such things to heart…” (Prover 1). Hecla lava patients are usually calm, gentle and quiet but, when provoked, they explode in anger, out of control. Then, they become calm again. (Symptoms appear suddenly and go suddenly). Tranquility, serenity and calmness feature in Arizona lava too.

The “chilling out” aspect of lava is represented in the sensations of the lava remedies. The person is chilly, or the chilliness is alternated with heat, or the person experiences intense heat, like in Sulph and Fl-ac. Of course the “intense heat” can be seen on a mental plane, as in the case of Hecla. Etna lava also suffers from intense and impotent rage and Arizona lava can become abusive and cruel.

Suppression of emotions, especially anger, it is also a feature in all the lava remedies. “The silliest thing one could ever do with a volcano would be try to cap it, through this has been tried at least once in this century, with devastating consequences”(1). The volcano “cooks-up”, silently under the crust of the earth. Then, it lets go.

The burning sensation in all of these remedies is very intense. Fluoric acid suffers from an overheated system, so does Sulphur. It all comes from under the crust, under the skin. It is not a surprise that all these remedies have an affinity with the skin. Skin eruptions, rashes, itchiness. Cracked skin, like lava when it cools down. There is also the centrifugal effect of the volcano, the discharges are profuse and acrid.

There is also an aspect of cheerfulness in the volcano remedies. To me, this is the compensating state to the heaviness, building-up to the eruption. In my personal experience, the excitement of looking at a volcano in activity is immense. The senses become very acute (Arizona lava), there is euphoria and nervousness (Etna), Buoyancy of mind and an increase of energy (Fl-ac).

Sulphur

The Materia Medica of this remedy is very extensive. For the purpose of this project, I have selected the symptoms related or compared to other volcanic remedies and to its Doctrine of Signature.

‘The stone which burns’ was the concept the ancients had of Sulphur. Native or elemental Sulphur occurs mainly near volcanoes and hot springs. It is widely distributed in nature as constituent of minerals, coal, petroleum, natural gas and in all living organisms.

Sulphur is yellow, odourless, tasteless, insoluble in water and extremely active. Heated at 115°C, it turns into a thin yellow liquid. When heated to 160°C it changes into a viscous semifluid.The viscosity increases up to 250°C, the colour changes from yellow through dark red to black, to change back to a thin, yellow liquid the closer it gets to its boiling point. Approaching 444°C, its boiling point, sulphur turns from a yellowish orange vapour through red into a yellow gas. Sulphur is widely use as a food additive. Sulphur dioxide and Sulphites are preservatives, antioxidants and anti-browning agents in foods. The most common adverse effect in humans is broncho-constriction and broncho-spasm, particularly in asthmatics. Other reactions include stomach cramps, nausea, diarrhoea, hypotension and skin problems. Support groups recommend that hyperactive children should avoid Sulphur-active preservatives.

To many authors, the central theme of Sulphur is the ‘delusion he is disgraced’. Scholten sees this characteristic as not knowing anymore what is good and what is ugly: ‘Delusion, old rags are beautiful’ or ‘delusion, rags are fine as silk’. Sulphur sees beauty in things that other people miss. This brings me back to the erupting volcano. The sense of the unknown and fear, as opposed to the attraction of the beauty of such a spectacle in nature.

Norland says that “Sulphur has to do with the connection from below (earth) to above (spirit)”. The more sulphur is heated, the more it changes, from solid, liquid, viscous, liquid again to finally meet the skies in gaseos form (the remedy is worse for atmospheric changes). “Sulphur comes into play where a person is unable to integrate the worldly with the spiritual”. Types present in polarities: The philosophical, theorizing person, who cannot bring his theories in the air down to earth (‘the ragged philosopher’).

Then there is the other, the practical, earth-bound stranger to spiritual life. He is “concerned only with the material physical level of reality”. The above-below polarity is also presented in a physical level: rushes of blood, flushes of heat and vertigo (ascending effects). Burning of soles, bunions. The feet, the contact to the earth, are affected. They cannot stand, always looking for a seat or to lean on something.

On the mental/emotional plane, the non-connection is in the relationships.”Sulphur’s failure to make and maintain relationships may lead to his feeling disappointed in his friends (‘ailments from deceived friendship’) and desire to live alone (‘aversion to all persons’)”.

The colours that elemental sulphur changes into, while heated, yellow, red and black, are featured in its Materia Medica: ‘delusion, she is black’, red face or yellow deposits on the skin. “Sulphur often suffers from liver problems, which can lead to a yellowish complexion”. Sulphur has many symptoms around heat. Burning sensations, burning discharges. Worse for becoming overheated.

Sulphur is insoluble in water. ‘Aversion to bathing’. Worse for bathing, especially the skin, which burns. He is thirsty, can gulp down large amounts of water.

The centrifugal theme in Sulphur is pretty much the volcanic way, from inside out. “The discharge outlets of the body such as nose, mouth, ears, anus and urethra can be compared to the vents and fumaroles of the volcano”. The Sulphur patient may show burning around these orifices. Also, Sulphur is prone to yellow crusty skin irritations. In the mental/emotional plane, Sulphur is fiery and irritable, “with a tendency to erupt in sudden anger”. His anger abates as quickly as it arose.

The summary of Sulphur that Misha Norland gives us is very interesting. He says the two main themes of Sulphur are:

• connecting (and in pathology not connecting) from above to below; and

• connecting (and not connecting) horizontally with others.

I already commented on this idea of verticality/horizontality, the Mapuche cosmovision.

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Carolina Pollak

Carolina Pollak - originally from Chile, she has made Ireland her home since 1996. In 2008 she graduated from the Irish School of Homoeopathy, becoming a registered member of the Irish Society of Homeopaths. Carolina runs a full time homoeopathic practice in Tullamore, Co Offaly, Ireland. Her work is driven by the life-changing results she continuously witnesses in her patients, of all ages, through the use of homoeopathy.