Antalis pretiosum Trituration

The following article is an edited excerpt, with additions, from the book “The Table of Animals: The Lophotrochozoa” by Dr. Paul Theriault, BSc, ND, VNMI. This book is part of an ongoing series of books systematizing the materia medica of the animal remedies.

The Mollusks have been divided by modern taxonomists into seven extant categories, with several extinct varieties recognized that are no longer extant. Of these categories, three have historically been used in Homeopathy: the Bivalves, or clams, the Gastropods, or snails, and the Cephalopods, the Squid and their relatives. As part of my research on the Mollusks, I began a series of triturations of all available mollusk subphyla, adding two to the materia medica, and with two others added due to the provings of Martine Mercy of fossils of extinct classes[i]. One trituration performed was of a Scaphopod, Antalis pretiosum. The full text of my Trituration up to C5 is presented below:

Antalis pretiosum Trituration

Antalis pretiosum, known as the tusk shell, is a species of scaphopod native to the pacific coast of North America, from California to Alaska. It is a member of the Dentaliida, one of two orders of the Scaphopods. These scaphopods are small, a few centimeters in length, and live buried in mud. They splay out their tentacles, probing for small organisms to eat. They normally live in deeper offshore waters beyond the reach of tides.

This species is significant in its importance as an ornamentation in many indigenous cultures in North America. Primarily Harvested by coastal peoples of the northwest pacific coast, tusk shell was used frequently in ornamentation and jewelry. Trade in tusk shells ranged as far as the plains, where they were often used by high status individuals. They are still frequently used in plains, pacific coast, and Inuit regalia.

This trituration was preformed with a single shell, which was harvested by a local producer in Alaska.

C1-3:

The first three levels of the remedy paint a picture of a being deeply troubled. The being exists in a context of a beautiful, almost idyllic environment. This environment is harmonious, beautiful and very wholesome. The being feels as if it has a role to play in this environment, a role in upholding it and providing what this environment needs to continue. The being feels however somehow incapable. It is unable to fulfill this role fully, and is greatly troubled by guilt over this. It will often withdraw into a very sleepy state, hiding away from the harmonious environment out of guilt. It may also continue to go through the motions of its role as best it can, with a constant inner feeling of guilt and inadequacy.

C1:

Preformed March 20 2015:

• A new feeling comes over me. It’s almost like a hominess. It seems very down to earth, very grounded and very happy
  • Its very wholesome
• I feel burning and contraction inwards in my kidney region and in the sides of my abdomen
• I feel very small and homey
• I feel very innocent. Not in a childish kind of way, but like a peasant. I feel forthright, simple, undeceptive and straightforward
• I feel very plain and simple. I’m not fancy!
• I feel pastoral. It is as if I am in a country idyll, or how Beethovens “Pastorale” makes me feel
  • It is a sweet, innocent, good feeling
  • I have the fansatia version of pastorale running through my head.
• Yet, at the same time, something feels not right with this innocent scene
  • Something is wrong with me! I can’t participate, and that is really painful
• Stinging pain in Right TMJ. Twinging muscles in Right TMJ
• I now look with a heavy heart over this pastoral scene

C2:

Preformed March 21^st 2015:

• I feel a lot of uncertainty and guilt right now
• I feel really unworthy
• I feel as if I am crying
  • I feel a contraction of my heart as well
• I’m not worth it. I don’t deserve to be in a happy environment. I’ve let everyone who is pure and good down
• My heart has closed up to avoid all th guilt I am caught in and all the unworthiness I feel
• I feel a bit better now. I will put on a brave show and try to participate. But I still don’t believe I deserve this
• I get the sense of a happy wholesome family with a dad who outwardly participates in family life, but secretly feels unworthy and unable to provide. He feels unable to fully participate in the wonderful family life around him because of this feeling of unworthiness and incapability
• There is a beautiful world around me. I’m just incapable of participating in it to its full extent
• I also feel the need to withdraw from the happiness and wholesomeness around me. I would only mess it up if I fully participated
  • I feel a lot of self loathing and depression
• My heart is heavy. But I cannot cry or show weakness
  • My throat is so tight that it feels like I am choking
• I feel as if I am just not capable of doing this, or participating in this beautiful environment around me
  • There is a very dad element to this remedy. I feel like a provider looking out on a scene of beauty and lovely wholesomeness but being somehow unable to take care of it or fully participate. I feel somehow unworthy
• I feel less than what I have enabled

C3:

Preformed March 22 2015:

• I’m worried. I feel the weight of the world on my mind
• A number of things are troubling me and I cannot see a solution
  • I’m stressed out. The trouble is wearing me down and exhausting me
• My heart is heavy, and I feel a great deal of guilt. I again feel incapable or as if I had failed
• I am seeing a scene from Fantasias Pastorale, where the fawns are dancing. I don’t have the heart to join in such frivolity. I’m too depressed
• I’m responsible for all of this, but I feel like I have failed in some way, and my heart feels badly over it
  • I’ve failed to uphold this pastorale feeling. I’ve failed to do my part in supporting it, or to fulfill my role
• Yes, that is it. I have failed in my role in some way
  • Having failed in my role I am burdened by guilt
• I feel like there is an order, or a harmony in this beautiful scene that I see around me but that I am somehow out of sync with it
  • I am not doing my part
• I get a very dad, provider feeling with this remedy
  • I feel like a father guilty because he cannot provide
• I feel depressed. Again I feel like withdrawing and going to sleep
  • I just feel like hiding away. I don’t deserve to join the scene of harmony I observe around me. I’m not good enough. I failed.

C4

This level of the trituration presents a picture of redemption. The being felt as if that it was lacking in its ability to provide for the idyllic environment it was responsible for. However, it now feels as if this fault can be forgiven, and improved upon. The being now feels it can be redeemed, and resume its place supporting its environment.

Preformed March 24^th 2015:

• I feel a soothing sensation. It is similar to the sensation one gets after crying
• I feel a lot of grief having been released from the throat
• I feel as if I am releasing a great deal of pent up grief and guilt and emotion. It is as if I have been redeemed in some way
• The order I saw in C1-3. That beautiful pastoral feeling. I feel as if I failed it in some way. I failed to uphold it or provide for it. Some fault in me prevented me from doing my part. In response I wanted to hide myself away and isolate myself
  • But now I feel that whatever that fault was, it has been forgiven and redeemed
  • I feel genuinely good again
• I feel that whatever my faults are, I can fix them and rejoin that beautiful pastorale
• I feel good again. I feel like I can participate in the life of the good
  • It felt as if there was a certain amount of goodness which was needed to participate in life fully. I felt as if I didn’t have that goodness
    • Goodness in the sense of righteousness, hard work, ability to provide. These qualities were flawed in me in some way
      • But this flaw is not permanent. I can improve it and rejoin the good in my proper ( almost fatherly) role
    • Whatever within me is not working is capable of redemption abd improvement
    • I feel like I can release this burden. I can finally relax.
      • There is tightening of the throat
    • I feel good about myself again

C5

This level of the trituration feels a great guilt over its previous failure. At some point, it became aware it had a role to play in supporting the environment it inhabited which previously supported it. It feels capable now of fulfilling its support role, but was unprepared  to do so when this responsibility was first thrust upon it.

Preformed March 24^th 2015:

• I feel a little bit angry. I’m frustrated. Why did I have to go through that feeling of inferiority?
  • What made me feel so inferior?
    • I think it was that feeling of incapability
  • The time had come to step up to the plate and take responsibility and provide, but I couldn’t do it
  • Before I felt innocent. I feel now as if everything was provided for me. But now it has dawned on me that I have an active role to play in the propagation of the environment which previously sustained me
    • But I feel incapable of playing my part to sustain it. And so I want to withdraw and hide from my responsibilities and my role
  • I feel mad about this. I wasn’t ready. I wasn’t prepared
    • My throat is sore again
  • I feel sad. I didn’t know this was coming. I could perhaps have prepared myself for it
    • But I didn’t get that chance. I failed. I failed to uphold the my part in maintaining this beautiful environment that I am a part of
  • I feel guilty for not doing my part. I feel like I can do it now, but I feel terrible about lapsing when I did
    • I could have done better
  • I feel a tightening in the throat and chest
  • I feel guilt. It makes my perceptions duller and it makes me want to just shut down and sleep

I have used this remedy in practice several times. Here are two notable cases.

Case 1:

This female in her mid 20’s was a long-term patient of mine suffering from chronic sympathetic arousal triggered by a series of traumatic brain injuries obtained in car accidents.

We had had some success with treating her with complex homeopathics to decrease he parasympathetic arousal, and with adrenal support, and acupuncture and cupping for pain. However, she was continually stressed by her life circumstances. She was a student, under much financial pressure, and had gained weight recently. No matter what we did this core baseline stress seemed and impeded her recovery from the sympathetic arousal and chronic pain resulting from her brain injury.

At one point she developed a tendency towards nighttime urination which disrupted sleep.  This was dramatically helped by Hyoscyamus. Looking into chronic compliments, I settled on Calc carb. The patient reported a brief period of reduced stress, but a quick relapse that did not respond to higher potencies. The patient also did not respond to Calc Phos.

During one cupping treatment, the patient mentioned a huge feeling of guilt over her condition, and not being able to be as productive as she would like. This led me to Antalis. Over the next several months she reported a vast reduction in stress in her life, despite no outward change in circumstances. She slept more, was able to not catastrophize, and reported lessening of pain. When her stress and pain returned, she was responsive to increases in potency.

Most interestingly, the patient reported a change in her own family relations. Previously, when fighting with her sister, she would argue back, get into a large fight, and become very stressed. Recently however she began simply ignoring her sister’s provocation, and simply avoiding her, which she found much better.

Case 2:

This patient, a woman in her early 20’, was another long-term patient. We were treating her for adrenal fatigue with adrenal glandulars, and for chronic infections in her bowel with poly bowel nosode and constitutional hydrotherapy. Her treatment proceeded slowly but steadily for about 7 months until she disclosed a deep depression with suicidal ideation. She had made previous suicide attempts at 5 and 11 years old and had previously prayed for death, although her own ethical beliefs usually stopped her from taking active steps to hasten her own death. At a deep level throughout her life, she always felt sad and guilty that she was not good enough of a person. She had no drive towards perfection.

When asked what perfection was, she responded that it was to see something that needed changing, and to respond in an adequate way. She was not able to do this, preferring to wait until she had energy. She felt she should be doing it right away. Her husband did things right away, and she did not want him to feel like he was doing all the work. She particularly felt that he would not feel supported and respected.

He response to this was immense guilt. She gave up any effort at all, stopped housekeeping, and became extremely lazy. Brought into the feeling of this state, she described it like quicksand trying to suck her in, trying very hard to get out but failing to do so She felt it was inevitable that she would be pulled in, but did state that her husband could help pull her out.

In this case we can see an individual who feels herself to be responsible for creating a Perfect environment, but felt unable to do so. She felt great guilt about this, thinking her husband would do all of the work, and feeling he wouldn’t feel supported and respected (I suspect a projection of her own feelings). Source information describing being stuck in quicksand were also apparent, confirming my choice of remedy (which lives buried in mud).

I had only a 30^th potency made from the 12^th trituration available, and gave her a single dose the next day. I also put her on a multi-nutrient. She reported feeling very light after the remedy, with more emotional stability and less suicidal ideation. She felt much less bogged down by responsibility.

I eventually placed her on 200c/3 one drop per day. She made continual progress and became more and more stable. We did need to use Arsenicum and Gelsemium as intercurrents for the horrendous Flu season of 2017-18. Interestingly, this patient reported an increase in suicidal ideation when she became ill, but alleviated when she received a well-suited acute remedy. When cured her suicidal feelings would return, until she resumed Antalis. Over time her suicidal ideation decreased considerably, and she suffered no bouts of suicidal ideation, even when ill. The patient has recovered to the extent she is now able to go to post secondary school, and is doing well. She has remained on the remedy to the present day, currently being on 10M/4 or 10m made from the fourth trituration.

[i] Mercy. M. Mercy, M. Homeopathic Remedies from the Fossil Kingdom. 2011. L’lle Au Phare.