Homeopathy Papers

Raptors – Powerful Creatures of Nature

Written by Ghanshyam Kalathia

The Author describes the various raptors and then offers some symptomology based on provings.

It is very exciting and interesting to study newly exposed bird remedies. We have more than thirty bird remedies, so now they create confusion when we prescribe. So for the purpose of more precise understanding, I started to divide them according to groups, like Raptors, Corvids, Anatidae (Duck family) etc. Here we discuss the Raptors.

Raptors are the birds of prey or they are predatory birds. Eagle, Hawk, Falcon, Owl and Vulture are the Raptors. First we’ll see their natural history and then the beautiful connection between nature and homeopathy.

Raptors’ Natural History: (Homeopathically important words are written in bold)

The term “raptor” is derived from the Latin word “rapere” (meaningto seize or take by force) and may refer informally to all birds of prey, or specifically to the diurnal group. Usually raptors are called birds of prey.

    • Birds of prey are birds thathuntfor food primarily on the wing, using theirkeen senses, especially vision.
    • Their talons and beaks tend to be relativelylarge, powerful and adapted for tearing and/or piercing flesh.
    • In most cases, thefemales are considerably larger than the males.
    • Because of theirpredatory lifestyle, often atthe top of the food chain, they face distinct conservation concerns.
    • Birds of prey generally prey on vertebrates, which are usually quitelargerelative to the size of the bird.
    • The vultures and condors eatcarrionas their main food source.

 

Classification:

The Raptors are divided into main two groups…

(1) Diurnal Raptors and

(2) Nocturnal Raptors

Diurnal Raptors are usually called falconiforms and they are further divided into the following families :

(1) Accipitridae (hawks, eagles, buzzards, harriers, kites and Old World vultures)

(2) Pandionidea (Osprey)

(3) Sagittariidae (Secretary Bird)

(4) Falconidae (falcon and caracaras)

(5) Cathatidae (New World vultures)

Nocturnal raptors are owls and further classifies in to two families…

(1) Strigidae (typical owls)

(2) Tytonidae (barn and bay owls)

Correlation with nature:

(A) Excellent Vision

    • Raptors have a very large field of vision.
    • Raptors have large rounded eye balls which casts a relatively large image on the ratina.
    • Raptors have binocular vision, so they can see the same thing with both eyes, which gives them special vision for catching the prey.

 

Words…

See clearly

Over view of the earth/See from the height

Very attentive

(B) Powerful talons and beaks:

    • Raptors have powerful feet with sharp pointed claws called talons with which the prey is acquired.
    • Raptor’s talons are very powerful for catching the prey and killing by very high pressure.
    • Usually bird’s beaks are specialized for acquisition of prey, and Raptors have a very strongly hooked beak that can be used to tear apart the prey, which is already killed by the feet. (This is in contrast with other birds where food is acquired by the beak and not by the feet.)

 

Words:

Catch and kill

Tear apart

Zoom from the height

(C) Soaring and floating

    • Raptors (except owl) soar very high in the sky and see the ground from a great distance.
    • Raptors feel safe and comfortable when they in flight instead of on the ground. They feel awkward and vulnerable on the ground.

 

Words:

Soaring/Fly round and round

Feel light, tranquil

My own world

Raptor’s source words:

    • Alertness
    • Quickness
    • Concentration
    • Pin point focus
    • Speed, fast, swoop, spiral
    • Free fall
    • Sudden attack
    • Sharp, cutting, tearing, splitting
    • Rip, tear
    • Violence

 

We will discuss each group’s remedies one by one…

Haliaeetus leucocephalus (Bald Eagle)

The bald eagle is the only eagle unique to North America. The bald eagle’s scientific name signifies a sea (halo) eagle (aeetos) with a white (leukos) head.

Natural History of Eagle:

Scientists loosely divide eagles into four groups based on their physical characteristics and behavior – fish eagles, snake or serpent eagles, booted or true eagles, and harpy or buteonine eagles.

    • Eagles differ from many other birds of prey mainly by their larger size, more powerful build, and heavier head and beak.
    • Like all birds of prey, eagles have very large hooked beaks for tearing flesh from their prey, strong muscular legs, and powerful talons.
    • They also have extremely keen eyesight which enables them to spot potential prey from a very long distance.This keen eyesight is primarily due to their extremely large pupils which ensure minimal diffraction (scattering) of the incoming light.
    • Many species lay two eggs, but the older, larger chick frequently kills its younger sibling once it has hatched. The parents take no action to stop the killing. The dominant chick tends to be the female, as they are bigger than the male.
    • Golden Eagles usually mate for life. They build several eyries within their territory and use them alternately for several years. These nests consist of heavy tree branches, upholstered with grass when in use.
    • The bald eagle is in the family of sea eagles and are primarily scavengers, the bald eagle hunts only when there is no easier available source of food.
    • The bald eagle is not strictly a migratory species. Some individuals stay in the same area year round, or migrate towards seasonal food sources.
    • They have one tree for their nest, and a different tree for perching-and-staring, an activity at which they spend a lot of time. The perching tree will usually be one snag that stands out above the others and offers a good view.
    • They use the same nests and add to them year after year, so the nests become huge.
    • Eagles are believed to mate for life, although biologists have observed that they stay mated only as long as they are a successful reproductive pair.
    • Mating, carried out in flight, involves several dramatic maneuvers. One of the pair turns upside down and grasps claws with the other bird; both fold wings and the mating occurs in free-fall as the pair drops toward the earth.
    • During their nesting cycle they are extremely sensitive to disruption and will abandon their nests and their young if they are disturbed.

 

Central issue:

    • The main feeling coming through the proving, was rising above all the negative emotions like anger, jealousy, greed, hatred, etc. The proving also mentioned one has to have a sense of objectivity when he has risen above his negative emotions.
    • From the proving symptoms we can easily obtain the nature of Haliaeetus leucocephalus as a dichotomy of two parallel extremes, upward motion, elevation and elation and grounding, spiral depression, and despair.
    • Dreams of anger but couldn’t express. Absolve to be free from obligations, sin and guilt.
    • Feels trapped, caged, caught by the NEGATIVITY of anger, hatred, and ego, competition within and by its need for relationship.
    • The desire is to RISE ABOVE & ABSOLVE oneself of the negativity within.
    • To be indifferent, distant, detached, from the relations where they feel DOMINATED and confined by duties and obligations put on them.
    • The Eagle expresses the desire to detach, fly away from, and rise above the human made world which traps them.

 

Correlation with nature:

(A) Eyesight/Vision: (The eye is the main survival tool for the eagle)

All eagles are renowned for their excellent eyesight, and the bald eagle is no exception.

    • Eagle have two foveae, or centers of focus, that allow the birds to see both forward and to the side at the same time. Bald eagles are capable of seeing fish in the water from several hundred feet above, while soaring, gliding, or in flapping flight. This is quite an extraordinary feat, since most fish are counter-shaded, meaning they are darker on top and thus harder to see from above. Fishermen can confirm how difficult it is to see a fish just beneath the surface of the water from only a short distance away.
    • Due to the position of the eyes on both sides of the head, separated by the great beak, there may be double or parallel vision, with an ability to focus only at long distances. Both eyes face forward, giving the eagle binocular vision, which allows for the precise depth of field necessary when diving from the sky to snatch prey.
    • Haliaeetus’ extreme clarity of vision is mental as well as physical, at times ‘seeing’ things clearly before they happen.

 

(B) Speed, Concentration and Accuracy are must:

Like an Eagle, keeps an eye on that prey and then catches the prey with lots of skill … comes with full force and concentration… never miss the target.

    • The other feature which was seen very prominently in the proving was speed. The prover enjoyed driving very fast, above the normal speed limit.
    • There may be extreme inability to focus the eyes and difficulty with accommodation at varying distances.

 

(C) Power, Strength, Strong, Superior

Eagles sit at the top of the food chain, making them more powerful, stronger and superior.

    • You have to be strong so that people do not dominate. I have power, I wanted to do what is right – on the other side- I fear-attack by somebody. Therefore, I have to be strong.
    • Dream- harassed by the guy. If I do not do anything, they will be more powerful/do something, so I have to be strong.
    • I have the strength to fight. I am superior. I am tall, others are small. I am upright; no one can dare to touch me.
    • If you fall down you will fall in dirt, muck so never let yourself fall down.

 

(D) Syphilitic miasm:

There is no guilt or morality accompanying these impulses, and an uncaring and remorseless attitude. However the Haliaeetus may take pleasure in its violence.

    • “Something has started and I don’t know where the end is. It’s an endless feeling.”
    • “It’s like a deep, deep crack and it is getting deeper. The crack has an endless quality to it, like a crack in my soul or the universe.”
    • “Life seems like hell, a negative spiritual experience, painful and frightening. All the beauty and order are gone. Horror of the extreme evil force of darkness emanates out of this crack, reminding me of extermination camps and killing machines.”

 

Eagle source words:

    • Accuracy
    • Speed
    • Concentration
    • Force
    • Skill
    • Power, Strong, Strength, Superior
    • Dominant/Domination
    • Chasing and catching the prey.
    • My Social Position/My Worth
    • Clarity and Focus
    • Low down depression

 

Falco peregrinus (Peregrin Falcon)

The scientific name Falco peregrinusmeans “wandering falcon” in Latin. The name Falcon comes from the Latin falx, a sickle and alludes to the sharp beak that, like the grim reaper, brings sudden death.

Natural History of the Falcon

    • They differ from other Falconiformes in killing with their beaks instead of their feet. They have a “tooth” on the side of their beak for that purpose.
    • The Falcon (female) is more powerful but the Tiercel (Male) is often more agile.
    • The Falcon’s flight takes the form of a series of rapid strokes of the wings followed by a short glide.
    • While its diet consists almost exclusively of medium-sized birds, the Peregrine will occasionally hunt small mammals, small reptiles, or even insects.
    • The Peregrine requires open space in order to hunt, so they search for prey either from a high perch or from the air.
    • The Peregrine Falcon is often said to be the fastest animal on the planet in its hunting dive, the stoop,which involves soaring to a great height and then diving steeply at speeds commonly said to be over 320 km/h (200 mph), and hitting one wing of its prey so as not to harm itself on impact.
    • If the prey is not killed by the shock of being hit with razor sharp claws moving at more than a hundred miles an hour, it is quickly dispatched by a bite to the neck.
    • They have a “tomial tooth” a projection on the upper beak with a corresponding notch on the lower one. This serration allows them to kill their prey immediately with a bite to the back of the neck and they do not generally have to contend with a struggling victim as the hawks do.
    • The birds usually hunt in the early morning and again in the evening.
    • A pair mates for life and returns to the same nesting spot annually. The courtship flight includes a mix of aerial acrobatics, precise spirals, and steep dives.
    • The pair defends the chosen nest site against other Peregrines, and often against ravens, herons and gulls.
    • The male brings the food close to the nest and passes it to the female in mid air. This can be an impressive display as they both fly vertically up, chest to chest, and pass the food from talon to talon.
    • Apart from such anthropogenic threats as collision with human-made objects, the Peregrine may be killed by large eagles or large owls.

 

Central issue:

Falco peregrinus has a particular theme or dreams which include speed, free fall, and the bliss of freedom and being the fastest in the animal kingdom.

    • It is a gripping feeling (sensation) as if you are stuck in a cage (delusion) it is something that grips you & it is black & dark. It is something vague that holds you & keeps you in a cage.
    • The black thing is something that is inside of the me from top to feet & through the legs & it can make me do things, it is much more powerful than me. I’m & it is domineering me ,it has power over me, it makes me do things that l don’t want to.
    • Recurrent dreams….A crushing feeling, totallyblack & I was so super-small & the black thing is so huge ,it came down on me so that I couldn’t breathe anymore….it came down in slow motion, like a black cape coming down slowly on me that wraps you completely.

 

Correlation with nature:

(A) Speed/Stoop/Dive/Danger

The Peregrine Falcon is widely renowned for its incredible speed. High speed achieved only during the characteristic swoop (hunting dive)…the Peregrine Falcon is the fastest creature on earth.

    • ‘I drove home that evening in a record time of 1hr 10 min, a journey which usually takes me 1hr 30min. I drove at high speed, I was aware of the speed but I didn’t care’.
    • ‘I was aware on my journey home that my driving was somewhat careless and that if I was not more careful I would have an accident, but it didn’t stop me.’
    • ‘Was very speedy’
    • ‘Went out by myself – feeling very good, pleased with myself, I walked out on the dam on the stream without a thought, after a few minutes I noticed how precariously I was perched and thought quite calmly, “You’d break a leg if you fell off here“, but I didn’t go back immediately.’

 

(B) Courage/strong/agile

Peregrine Falcons arecourageous, strongandextremely agilebirds provided with dreadful weapons. When they catch their prey, usually the victims are stabbed to death or strangled up in the air, or very heavy birds are tortured in the air and then killed after they plunge to the ground.

    • I don’t care and feel very relaxed.
    • I find it very difficult to take anything seriously at all, great fun.
    • Periods of great stillness – completely unworried by things
    • Fierce and passionate
    • Assertive/confident/courageous
    • Swearing without apologizing
    • Explosive anger

 

(C) No sense of Danger

The Peregrine Falcon is often stated to be the fastest animal on the planet in its hunting dive, the stoop, but the dive may be dangerous sometimes, because the falcon may hit a tree or rock.

    • Danger, lack of reaction to danger
    • Danger, no sense of danger, has
    • Delusions, danger, impression of, fear, but without
    • Harming her own children
    • Reckless driving
    • Feeling in charge/Powerful

 

(D) Biting

If the prey is not killed by the shock of being hit with razor sharp claws moving at more than a hundred miles an hour, it is quickly dispatched by a bite to the neck.

    • Biting, about him, bites
    • Biting, nails
    • Biting, people, family, her
    • Fear, injury, being injured, of
    • Fear, attacked, fear of being

 

(E) Abused/Dominated/Falconry

The falconry……The bird is left tethered in semi-darkness without food. After a substantial time, when the bird is exhausted and starving, it is offered a morsel of meat on the gloved fist. When it is driven by hunger to eat it will step on to the glove to take the meat.

    • I can’t stand up for myself
    • Feel dominated and controlled
    • Feel hemmed in
    • Imprisoned/caged
    • Undervalued/Humiliated/Scorned
    • Numbness/Detachment/Disinterested in sex and sensuality

 

(F) Reaction to Imprisoned…

A bird of prey is never domesticated. The learned response to the lure and the sound of the whistle will usually call back the bird but if it were to fly out of sight or hearing it would be free…

    • They will usually have experienced severe abuse of a physical, emotional and/or sexual nature. As a result, there is a great deal of anger, which may either be suppressed or expressed.
    • Ailments from, scorn
    • Anger, cold and detached
    • Anger, contradiction, from
    • Anger , touched, when
    • Anger, violent
    • Cursing, contradiction, from
    • Cursing, rage, from
    • Dictatorial

 

Leprosy miasm

    • Feeling of being dirty and cheap
    • Vision of people living in squalor
    • No interest in personal appearance
    • Fear of infection and infecting others
    • Dream of eating corpses

 

Falcon source words:

    • Dark place/Covered by something huge
    • Caged, imprisoned
    • Beat/punch/stab/bite
    • Agile
    • Dive with great speed

 

Buteo jamaicensis (Red-tailed Hawk)

The Red-tailed Hawk is a bird of prey, one of three species colloquially known in the U.S. as the “Chicken hawk”, though it rarely preys on chickens.

Natural History of Hawk

    • In flight, this hawk soars with wings in a slight dihedral, flapping as little as possible to conserve energy. Active flight is slow and deliberate, with deep wing beats. In wind, it occasionally hovers on beating wings and remains stationary above the ground.
    • The cry of the Red-tailed Hawk is a two to three second hoarse, rasping scream, described as [kree-eee-ar],which begins at a high pitch and slurs downward. This cry is often described as sounding similar to a steam whistle.
    • The Red-tailed Hawk frequently vocalizes while hunting or soaring, but vocalizes loudest in annoyance or anger, in response to a predator or a rival hawk’s intrusion into its territory.
    • Prey varies with regional and seasonal availability, but usually centers on rodents, comprising up to 85% of a hawk’s diet.

 

    • The Red-tailed Hawk hunts primarily from an elevated perch site, swooping down from a perch to seize prey, catching birds while flying, or pursuing prey on the ground from a low flight.
    • The Red-tailed Hawk reaches sexual maturity at two years of age. It is monogamous, mating with the same individual for many years. In general, the Red-tailed Hawk will only take a new mate when its original mate dies.
    • Red-tailed pairs will remain together for years in the same territories. The birds are very territorial. The female is usually the more aggressive partner around the nest itself, whereas the male is more aggressive when it comes to the territory boundaries.
    • The same nesting territory may be defended by the pair for years.
    • During courtship, the male and female fly in wide circles while uttering shrill cries. The male performs aerial displays, diving steeply, and then climbing again.
    • Copulation often follows courtship flight sequences, although copulation frequently occurs in the absence of courtship flights.
    • Great Horned Owls compete with the Red-tailed Hawk for nest sites. Each species has been known to kill the young and destroy the eggs of the other, but in general, both species nest in adjacent or confluent territories without conflict.
    • Great Horned Owls are incapable of constructing nests and typically expropriate existing Red-tail nests.
    • Red-tails are therefore adapted to constructing new nests when a previous year’s nest has been overtaken by owls or otherwise lost.

 

Central issue:

    • Looking after children and the vulnerable and being devoted to partner and to family are general bird features but, at the same time, partner, family and children are all tremendously restrictive.[this things strongly expressed in Buteo-j red-tailed hawk, in which the phrase, often used by patients…..”being tied to the stove” or ”to the kitchen”]
    • “In the first night I had five dreams and in all of them I was naturally taking care for another person. I was especially impressed that my thought was a natural loving feeling like family.”
    • The hawk is torn between the needs of the others and his own needs.

 

Correlation with nature:

(A) Needs of the others v/s His own needs

The hawks are small among the Raptors, so it has more predators. They have to defend against all odds but they are not as powerful as the Eagle and Falcon, so they have the necessity to stay together…

    • He feels he is obligated to care for others (handicapped & retarded) out of his GUILT and yet when he does that, and not what he needs, there is RESENTMENT.
    • Trapped by his guilt and resentment he longs to be free and do what is NATURAL for him.
    • There is also a strong need to be a part of group or fit in & to do what is expected of him/rules or he will be abandoned , neglected (D/D cow).

 

(B) Me v/s Family or group

Hawks are the only Raptors that take care of a family for long periods. Usually all raptors are solitary and stay together only during nesting and hawks are not an exception, but they take care for longer during raising their young…

    • Dreams, caring, another person, about
    • Dreams, family, own
    • Dreams, father
    • Dreams, friends, old
    • Forsaken feeling
    • Forsaken feeling, isolation, sensation of
    • Negative relationship, exploited being, feels as if
    • Talking, people, more than wanted to give

 

(C) Power v/s Helpless

As a Raptor the Hawk is more powerful than the other Birds but its smaller than other Raptors, so it has more predator…. even some Raptors like Eagle and Great horned Owl …

    • Mind, confident
    • Mind, delusions, great person, is a
    • Mind, power, sensation of
    • Mind, helplessness, feeling of
    • Insecurity, mental
    • Dreams, helpless feeling

 

Hawk source words:

    • Care/Duty/Responsibility
    • Heavy/Burden/Load
    • Space/Privacy
    • Guilt/Shame
    • Dependant/Independent/Handicapped
    • Socializing/Self Control

 

Vultur gryphus (Andean Condor)

TheAndean Condor is a species of South American bird in the New World vulture family Cathartidea, it has the largest wingspan (as much as 10 ft). than any land bird.

Condor Natural History

    • It is a large black vulture with a ruff of white feathers surrounding the base of the neck.
    • The head and neck are nearly featherless, and are a dull red color, which may flush and therefore change color in response to the bird’s emotional state.
    • The condor is primarily a scavenger, feeding oncarrion. It prefers large carcasses, such as those of deer or cattle.
    • It is one of the world’s longest-living birds, with an average lifespan of 50 years.
    • It reaches sexual maturity at five or six years of age and nests at elevations of up to 5,000 m (16,000 ft), generally on inaccessible rock ledges.
    • The head and neck are kept meticulously clean byrubbing on the send,and their baldness is an adaptation for hygiene;this lack of feathers prevents bacteria from the carrion it eats from ruining its feathers and exposes the skin to the sterilizing effects of the sun.
    • The skin of the head and neck is capable of flushing noticeably in response to emotional state, which serves to communicate between individuals.
    • The middle toe is greatly elongated, and the hind one is only slightly developed, while the talons of all the toes are comparatively straight and blunt. The feet are thus more adapted to walking, and are of little use as weapons or organs of prehensionas in birds of prey and Old World vultures.
    • The beak is hooked, and adapted to tear rotting meat.
    • The condor soars with its wings held horizontally and its primary feathers bent upwards at the tips. It flaps its wings on rising from the ground, but after attaining a moderate elevation it flaps its wings very rarely, relying on thermals to stay aloft.
    • It prefers to roost on high places from which it can launch without major wing-flapping effort. Andean Condors are often seen soaring near rock cliffs, using the heat thermals to aid them in rising in the air.
    • Like other New World vultures, the Andean Condor has the unusual habit ofurohodrosis; it often empties it’s cloaca onto its legs and feet for cooling effect through evaporation.
    • They locate carrion by spotting it or by following other scavengers, such as corvids or other vultures.
    • The condor is invariably dominant among the scavengers in its range.
    • Andean Condors are intermittent eaters in the wild, often going for a few days without eating, then gorging themselves on several pounds at once, sometimes to the point of being unable to lift off the ground. Because its feet and talons are not adapted to grasping, it must feed while on the ground.
    • Sexual maturity and breeding behavior appear after five or six years of age.
    • During courtship displays, the skin of the male’s neck flushes, changing from dull red to bright yellow, and inflates. Other courtship rituals include hissing and clucking while hopping with wings partially spread, and dancing.
    • It deposits one or two bluish-whiteeggs, every second year. If the chick or egg is lost or removed, another egg is laid to take its place.
    • Healthy adults have no natural predators, but large birds of prey and mammalian predators, may take eggs or hatchlings.
    • There is a well developed social structure within large groups of condors, with competition to determine a ‘pecking order’ by body language, competitive play behavior, and vocalizations.
    • The Chicks can’t fly until they are 6 months old and then rely on their parents for two more years.
    • The older condors get to eat first, and then the younger ones take turns in order of age.

 

Comparison with Old World vultures:

    • New World vultures have a good sense of smell, but Old World vultures find carcasses exclusively by sight.
    • No New World vulture possesses a syrinx, the vocal organ of birds; therefore the voice is limited to infrequent grunts and hisses.
    • An unusual characteristic of the species in genus Cathartes is a highly developed sense of smell, which they use to find carrion. They locate carrion by detecting the scent of ethyl mercaptan, a gas produced by the bodies of decaying animals.
    • Other species, such as the American Black Vulture and the King Vulture, have weak senses of smell and find food only by sight, sometimes by following Cathartes vultures and other scavengers.

 

Central issue:

    • The central theme is soaring associated with themes of flight, flying and floating sensations. (Soaring is specific to vulture)
    • The feeling was that of feeling calm, centered, peaceful and content while flying. (The vulture is vulnerable on the ground.)
    • Phoenix rising from the ashes. (The phoenix is a bird that through purification is disintegrating and rises from its ashes transformed and changed.)
    • Probably Leprosy miasm

 

Correlation with Nature:

(A) Death, Transformation, Rebirth, “Phoenix”

Vultures have eyes for death. They purify the environment of death and infection by eating carrion, which is then transformed through the ”fire” of the bird’s powerful digestion into new life.

    • Feeling trapped in my own physical body with all of its needs and drives.
    • A sense of revulsion at my own shit, and at the odors associated with bodily decay, age, sickness, and death. In the past, when I worked as a hospital nurse, this caused me tremendous guilt and mortification.
    • Dreams with a theme of death and the beyond.
    • A total lunar eclipse; emerging strongly from the proving was the theme of immersion into darkness, and like the mythological ”phoenix”, rebirth through magical transformation from the ashes of loss and death.
    • Decaying while still being alive, knowing others are just waiting for you to die. A hidden anger
    • Falling into the circle of life and death brings one into time, while one’s natural state is to be disembodied, detached, alone, and outside this circle.
    • There was a sense that she had lost a sense of solidity, a feeling of being fully present on earth…as if disembodied.
    • Dreams of zombies…..people who are empty inside, alive but vacant, just not there.
    • I’m not fully in my body. I exist in a kind of dead zone. Where I open with all kind of energies
    • What is dead in people, what they need to do to move on…

 

(B) Family, Care and Nourishment

There is a well developed social structure within large groups of condors, with a very well organized ‘pecking order’ …eg. The older condors get to eat first, and then the younger ones take turns in order of age.

    • Strong aspect….feeling of love, forgiveness, and gratitude (opposite–detached, estranged, alone)
    • Alone with no help or support
    • Nourishment and food (fear of not getting enough)

 

(C) Andean Condor as a Raptor

Vultures are so different than the other Raptors. Firstly, they feed on carrion, so they have much less competition and aggression. Power, strength, domination are missing here, and you can see it share, following issues with other Raptors…

    • Issues around my vision and eyes; my inability to fuse the images from each of my eyes seemed to reflect my own sense of inner division and split.
    • My nature as a solitary traveler who treasures his freedom and own intuition; I dislike and look down on restriction by rules, boundaries, conventions, and habits of thought.
    • An unbalanced, up-in the air…..constant swaying as she spun back and forth in her swivel chair.
    • Wanting to get grounded and find balance in a life

 

D/D with Cathartes aura:

    • The Andean condor and Turkey vulture shares common theme of death, clearing, but cathartes have also letting go and purification and detoxification. Would be have boils, sepsis, pus while vult-g would be having itching cath. Focuses on the polarity of releasing something toxic that was hitherto blocked. Vult-g holds within it the theme of sacrifice, collective guilt and shame, and tremendous self-judgment. Vult-g has its great size, a theme of gentle giant, great gentleness in all the energy.

 

One theme which strongly appearing in Cathertis while absent in Vulture-gryphus…

    • Invisible
    • Unacknowledged
    • Being the invisible, unrecognized
    • Acting as the unseen force, or being susceptible to and/or a victim of unseen force

 

Tyto alba (Barn Owl)

The barn owl’s scientific name means the “white owl”. tyto= owl and in Latin alba = “white“. Barn Owl known as “screech owl”, referring to the piercing calls of these birds.

Barn Owl Natural History:

    • TheBarn Owl(Tyto alba) is the most widely distributed species of owl, and one of the most widespread of all birds. T. albais found almost anywhere in the world.
    • The light face with its heart shape and the black eyes give the flying bird an odd and startling appearance, like a flat mask.
    • It produces the characteristicshreescream, ear-shattering at close range.
    • Males in courtship give a shrill twitter.
    • It can hiss like a snake to scare away intruders, and when captured or cornered, it throws itself on its back and flails with sharp-taloned feet, making for an effective defense.
    • Tyto albais nocturnalas usual for owls, but it often becomes active shortly before duskalready and can sometimes be seen during the day, when it relocates from a sleeping place it does not like.
    • It has an effortless wavering flight as it quarters pastures or similar hunting grounds. Like most owls, the Barn Owl flies silently; tiny serrations on the leading edges of its flight feathershelp to break up the flow of air over its wings, thereby reducing turbulenceand the noise that accompanies it.
    • It hunts by flying low and slowly over an area of open ground, hovering over spots that conceal potential prey. They may also use fence posts or other lookouts to ambush prey.
    • The Barn Owl feeds primarily on small vertebrates, particularly rodents.
    • Studies have shown that an individual Barn Owl may eat one or more rodents per night; a nesting pair and their young can eat more than 1,000 rodents per year.
    • Barn Owls consume as much as twice their own body weight of rodents, frogs, lizards, bats, moths and occasional small birds in a day.
    • Barn Owls have no crop like falcons and the digestive system is less acidic than other raptors, so they cannot digest bone and fur. This undigested matter is disgorged in the form of a pellet. This is a conscious act.
    • Hunting nocturnally or crepuscularly, it can target and dive down, penetrating its talons through snow, grass or brush to seize rodents with deadly accuracy.
    • It is not a territorial bird and hunting territories can overlap.
    • Compared to other owls of similar size, the Barn Owl has a much higher metabolic rate, requiring relatively more food.
    • Occasionally, nesting takes place in mine shafts and caves. The male brings food to the nest as the female incubates the eggs and cares for chicks.
    • Some pairs remain together during the winter, others separate and come together again to breed.
    • It is not a great traveler and often doesn’t venture far from its place of birth.
    • Once established in a nest site they can have great loyalty to the site, rearing their young for many generations.
    • Barn Owls will destroy the eggs and the chicks if they feel threatened. Their most vulnerable times are just before the eggs hatch and up to two weeks after hatching.
    • The nest site is often very dirty and smelly and the chicks can become quite grubby.
    • They have a special comb on one of their toes which they use to preen and clean their feathers. After preening they emerge a beautiful white with varying markings in brown and apricot.
    • The Barn Owl has a large range of predators, so they live on average 2-4 years.
    • The barn owl’s eyes are large and fixed in the skull. They do not move, but this is compensated by an extraordinary ability to turn the head through 270 degrees and to move it widely within a plane.
    • The White Owl’s eyes face forward, giving it binocular vision, and are on the front of the face rather than the side. The eye consists of more rods than cones, so it is more sensitive to light and can see only limited colors.
    • They lower the upper eyelid when they blink, which gives them great character.
    • The Barn Owl has acute hearing, with ears placed asymmetrically for improved detection of sound position and distance, and it does not require sight to hunt.
    • Barn Owls have acute hearing, which allows them to detect the slightest rustle.
    • The pink cere at the base of the bill is covered with bristles, and forms part of the facial disc structure, being extremely sensitive to sound vibration.

 

Central issue:

    • The keynote of all owls is magic, wisdom and innervision.
    • The barn owl is a particularly ghostly figure. Its white plumage and its ability to fly in absolute silence through the twilight give it the appearance of a visitor from another world while its call can be unnerving. It has an association with death which came through in the provings. (Condor and Vulture also have connections to death and dying) Thoughts about death and endings and dreams of death were significant. There was also a tendency to notice or come across deadpeople and dead animals.
    • Owl myth has evolved throughout the centuries. Owl is a contradictory symbol since flight is representative of spirit, yet it is a night creature and therefore associated with death, darkness and destruction. Man fears the darkness, as he cannot see what is hidden.
    • The barn owl is a nocturnal animal and this affected many provers. They were awake, lively and energized through the night but inactive and very sleepy during the day and particularly in the afternoon. Moonlight was important with lunar periodicity.
    • Things seen peripherally are never full perceived and they therefore become a source of fear and anxiety but when those things are observed squarely and face on, the truth is exposed and they become powerful in a more positive way.
    • It seems that this contradiction between facing things and avoiding them could be an important issue in the remedy.

 

Correlation with Nature:

(A) Blurred vision/ Shadow

The White Owl’s eyes are fixed and face forward, giving it binocular vision, and are on the front of the face rather than the side. It can see what happen on the front of its face, but it has to move its face on all sides to see in different directions, so they are vulnerable if attacks happen from other areas of sight…

    • Peripheral vision and things happening just on the fringe of vision came up in the provings: “Sensation of something happening on the fringes of my perception which always vanished when I focussed my attention on it. A shadow moving on the edge of vision. Not there when looking.”
    • Things seen peripherally are never fully perceived and they therefore become a source of fear and anxiety but when those things are observed squarely and face on, the truth is exposed and they become powerful in a more positive way.
    • It seems that this contradiction between facing things and avoiding them could be an important issue in the remedy.

 

(B) Death, darkness, endings

The barn owl is a particularly ghostly figure. Its white plumage and its ability to fly in absolute silence through the twilight give it the appearance of a visitor from another world while its call can be unnerving…

    • Talking intensively about death and dying.
    • Thoughts of death and dying, feel as if she will die in her sleep.
    • Feel dark and removed; Things seem very black
    • Falling into sleep like falling into death, the darkness in the whole thing is frightening. It’s the darkest time of the year.
    • The dead are always looking down on us; they watch the top of our heads and see things moving below on Earth.
    • Watching the river from the window and feel as if – ‘It’s turbulent and moving – there’s lots of stuff in it – lots of rubbish being cleared out. Lots of endings are occurring – stuff that has been left is being sorted out.’
    • I can’t sleep. Everything seems so black. Think it would be better if I was dead.

 

(C) Vulnerable, anxious

Barn Owls will destroy the eggs and the chicks if they feel threatened. Their most vulnerable times are just before the eggs hatch and up to two weeks after hatching…

    • Apprehension with no apparent reason, < afternoons
    • Afraid to look in the shadows as if someone was behind her
    • Scared and fearful < alone
    • Frightened going to sleep; Frightened on looking in the mirror, I am not the person I see in it.
    • I have been feeling sensitive, exposed, jelly-like and unsteady. I Couldn’t put my finger on it before, since the remedy.
    • I’m terrified of slipping into an abyss.
    • I thought a vampirewas going to bitemyneck. I feel awful and so tense and anxious. Feeling like something dreadful is going to happen.

 

(D) Accidents and injuries

Hunting nocturnally or crepuscularly, it can target and dive down, penetrating its talons through snow, grass or brush to seize rodents with deadly accuracy, but the dive may cause injury or death because it may hit a rock or any hard object…

    • I slammed my finger in a door and skinned my left thumb separately.
    • I had to fill out an accident form as slight injury to right thumb and left thigh.
    • I was kicked by a horse nearly two weeks ago.
    • My bruised toes now hurting.

 

Comparison with Bubo veriginians:

    • The particular issue in Bubo virginianus is around three dimensional orientation and depth perception. Whereas in Tyto alba the particular symptoms were around peripheral vision.
    • Low light, black and white vision predominates over bright colour vision in the barn owl, and there was a monochrome feel to parts of the provings and some dreams were in black and white.
    • Both the Great Horned Owl and the Barn Owl have issues around truth, knowing the truth and telling the truth. In Bubo virignianus there is a need to stand back as an observer and get the picture in perspective. Doing this brings about a wisdom that can be passed on but more importantly is known and preserved.

 

About the author

Ghanshyam Kalathia

Dr. Ghanshyam Kalathia, is a practicing homeopath with a busy local as well as online clinic based in Ahmadabad/India. His articles and cases have appeared in world various journals including Homeopathic Links, Homeopathy International UK, Similia-Australia, Hpathy.com and Interhomeopathy.com. He passionately teaches students from all over the world with his current four international video master courses and his “Journey with Dr. Kalathia Series”. His systematic approach regarding the understanding of case studies merges the spiritual and practical aspects of homeopathy into a synergy of true and lasting healing. He is well known teacher and mentor for Indian as well as western homeopaths. He is the first person to explore kingdom sarcodes in-depth. His work includes the study of mammals and birds. He is author of the book “Invertebrates in Homeopathy”.
His published articles are available at www.drkalathia.com and http://www.interhomeopathy.org/august-2016 and homeopathic software like “Radar Opus” and “Synergy homeopathic software” (Formerly known as mac-repertory)

7 Comments

  • Wow! This type of article I appreciate very much. I am also attached with H R C . I welcome more such articles from Dr. Ghanshyam,

  • I assume that the author is aware that homoeopathy cannot use such matter in lieu of actual knowledge of the capacity of the substance under test to derange health upon ingestion. I’d be fascinated to learn what kind of proving resulted in the notes expressed above. The proving symptoms of bald eagle, peregrine (note the final “e”) falcon, and Andrean condor read rather as contemplative thoughts concerning the topic. Is that what they actually are? Just how were those provings conducted?

    I’m also interested to learn how the proving supervisors would account for the entire absence, among the proving symptoms obtained for all five birds, of all physical symptoms. (Not, of course, counting injuries.)

    Were these provings in fact no more than waking and sleeping thoughts about the relevant bird?

    • Hi John
      I appreciate your comment and willingness to work with the bird remedies.
      My article is modified for a homeopath who are know and work according to “The sensation method” so please try to learn the sensation method then you can understand it’s value in your practice…
      I think your all questions are valid, but basic difference is in our belief…
      Have a nice experience of the homeopathy…

    • Interesting point/question! I’ve also found it interesting that there is a lack of physical symptoms! BUT.. since it is the only remedy that is curing my psoriasis, sciatica, headaches, constipation and many other symptoms.. i would say these qualify as strong physical symptoms for haliaeetus leucocephalus!

  • I have a great horned owl and I work with Shasta wildlife and need a question answered He was electrocuted and had been flightless for 5 years. He went to a training class to teach members how to catch raptors safely for human and raptor, he flew about 6 feet up he had never been able to do this. My question is, will he eventually regain his flight in 5 years more or less or never? Is he able to compensate for his disability not having either wing removed.

  • Grt work! I m sure u hv thoroughly digested the raptor group of remedies. So far I hv an experience of just one raptor case that is mecau . Keep up the good work, best wishes for future

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