Tarentula (the Spanish spider) is in a way representative of the spider kingdom in general, being the best proved of the spider remedies. It belongs to the tubercular miasm. As with the other spider remedies, Tarentula is industrious, busy, has high energy, and a love for music, dancing and colours. There is also the fear of being assaulted, injured, and of getting trapped. But characteristic of Tarentula is the feeling of unreciprocated love or affection. The person has the feeling that he is not attractive enough and therefore does not get the attention he craves for. So in Tarentula you have many features that have to do with attractiveness. These include the wearing of bright-coloured clothes, singing and dancing, as in a discotheque. Also mischievousness, cunning, hysterical behaviour, lasciviousness, shamelessness, exposing himself and even threatening – all with the intention to attract attention.
The situation of Tarentula is that of a person who wants to be noticed but is not, such as could happen when a person tries unsuccessfully to attract the attention of another especially from the opposite sex. This is not a situation of disappointed love, but one of unrequited love. Phatak gives in his Materia Medica as the causation of Tarentula: “Ill effects of unrequited love”.
Another prominent feature of Tarentula is haste – hurry and impulsiveness. All this gives Tarentula a tubercular dimension and brings it close to Tuberculinum. Indeed it is difficult to differentiate Tarentula from Tuberculinum in a child in whom disobedience, restless behaviour and increased energy are prominent features.
The restless hands of Tarentula are often put to creative use, as in painting, which involves colour as well. Not so well known about Tarentula are its intense anxiety states and the fear of being trapped – attacks of suffocation, must have fresh air. The desire for music is a strong confirmation for Tarentula. Indeed, it is mandatory to have it in a very high degree. This love for music can also extend to: “Whistling when passing urine”, “Restlessness of extremities ameliorated by music” and “Stares at one place when listening to music” or “Irresistible urge to dancing”. The kind of music that Tarentula likes is hard, fast and rythmic.
Sepia comes close to Tarentula, since the theme of Tarentula is unrequited love and the need to be attractive. The dancing, attractive hysteria and sarcasm are common to both, and a young Sepia can often seem like Tarentula. Tarentula can also be very industrious, but here again the emphasis is more on the attractive behaviour while the contradiction of will found in Sepia is not present. The deceitfulness, mischievousness and speed are more prominent in Tarentula in comparison with Sepia.
Rubrics:
o Colours, charmed by blue, green, red.
o Crafty.
o Dancing, wild.
o Deceitful.
o Delusion, assaulted, is going to be.
o Destructiveness, cunning.
o Hurry, movements, in.
o Industrious.
o Insanity, love, from disappointed.
o Insanity, threatens destruction and death.
o Music ameliorates.
Kent:
o Desires ashes.
o Restlessness hands.
Phatak:
o Activity, fruitless.
o Constipation, purgatives, no relief from.
o Hands restless.
o Walking, impulse to.
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To read about the philosophical approach to developing these remedy pictures, see Dr. Sankaran’s introduction to Soul of Remedies: http://hpathy.com/homeopathy-papers/soul-of-remedies/
