GRUPO DE ESTUDOS HOMEOPTICOS SAMUEL

HAHNEMANN
GEHSH

B - Traqueofita
Lycopodium
Sinopses 2015
GEHSH

2010-2015

Aldo Farias DiasEmail: aldofariasdias@gmail.com Telefone: 9199-6503

Lycopodium - 2

NDICE
ndice
2
Lycopodium clavatum
3
A Fonte. 3
Caractersticas Indicativas.
4
Localizao.
5
Modalidades.
5
Abordagem Sistmica.
6
Sankaran Introduo do livro Survival...
6
Sankaran The Soul of Remedies
7
Dinmica. 9
Masi Elizalde 9
Guy Loutan Repertoire des THEMES 11
Didier Grandgeorge The Spirit of Homeopathic Remedies
Essncia. 12
Magia das Plantas 14
Mind Symptoms
17
Hahnemann Chronic Diseases 17
Allens Enciclopedia of Pure Materia Medica
20
Cases 23
Petite bully in princess' clothing: a case of Lycopodium
23
Case of bronchopneumonia treated with lycopodium
26
Appendix28
Paul Herscu Treatment of children 29
Vermeulens Prisma 41

11

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LYCOPODIUM CLAVATUM
A FONTE.
Explosions of Lycopodium

Description: A: Lycopodium powder ignites in a closed metal can, blowing off the lid. B: Lycopodium is lighted in a
pile and just smolders. Then lycopodium is placed in a turkey baster and blown into a flame. The difference is quite
dramatic.

Spores of Lycopodium
http://www.biologie.uni-hamburg.de/b-online/library/uwi/scitec.uwichill.edu.bb/bcs/bl14apl/pter3.htm

B Plantas Vasculares sem sementes (traquefitas)

Licopodios, cavalinhas e Samambaias.

01Lycopodiaceae: Lycopodium. (club-moss = licopdio)
02Equisetacae: Equisetum. (Horsetails = cavalinhas)
03Dryopteridaceae: Filix. Scolopendrium. (Samambaias)

Kingdom: Plantae. Division: Lycopodiophyta. Class: Lycopodiopsida. Order:

Lycopodiales. Family: Lycopodiaceae Genus: Lycopodium Species: L.
clavatum

Lycopodium clavatum (Stag's-horn Clubmoss or Ground

Pine) is the most widespread species in the genus Lycopodium of the
clubmoss family Lycopodiaceae.
It is a spore-bearing vascular plant, growing mainly prostrate along the ground
with stems up to 1 m long; the stems are much branched, and densely clothed with
small spirally-arranged leaves. The leaves are 3-5 mm long and 0.7-1 mm broad,
tapered to a fine hair-like white point. The branches bearing spore cones turn
erect, reaching 5-15 cm above ground, and have fewer leaves than the horizontal
branches. The spore cones are yellow-green, 2-3 cm long and 5 mm broad. The
horizontal stems produce roots at frequent intervals along their length, allowing
the stem to grow indefinitely along the ground.
The stems superficially resemble small seedlings of coniferous trees, though it is
not related to these.
It has a subcosmopolitan distribution, with distinct subspecies and varieties in
different parts of its range:
Although globally widespread, like many clubmosses, it is confined to undisturbed
sites, disappearing from farmed areas and sites with regular burning. As a result,
it is endangered in many areas.

Lycopodium - 4

Fontes: Authorities. (Nos. 1 to 8 from Hahnemann, Chr. K-n.). Ver Enciclopedia de Allen.

Lycopodium - 5

CARACTERSTICAS INDICATIVAS.

SENSAES: Cimbras no peito concomitante com perturbaes gstricas. Como

se o corao pendurado por um fio. Como se o estmago fosse cair. Como se algo
estivesse movendo para cima e para baixo no estmago. Como se gotas de gua
caindo. Constrio no trax. Queimando como carvo quente entre as omoplatas.
CEFALIA: quando est com fome e que melhora comendo. (Cactus < aps comer).
- Latejando no crebro ao inclinar a cabea para trs. - Latejante, aps cada acesso
de tosse. - Dor nas tmporas, como se apertadas juntamente; < durante a
menstruao. - Pontadas nas tmporas, predominantemente direita, de dentro para
fora. - Pressionante no vrtice; < de 16 s 20 horas, por abaixar-se, deitar e esforo
mental; seguido de grande fraqueza. - < pelo calor da cama, quando aquecido ao
andar, pelo esforo mental e mortificao (chagrin); > deitando, ao ar livre, ar frio,
e descobrindo a cabea.
DORES nas COSTAS: intensas, > urinando -> e do lado direito, por congesto
heptica. - como se fosse quebrar; com fezes duras e clica como se o intestino fosse
romper. - Especialmente til no lumbago, aps Bryonia.
SONHOS: acidentes; acordam o paciente; afogando; gua; animais; cachorros;
insetos; animais selvagens; ansiosos; arvores; assassinado, sendo; assassinato;
assustadores; barco afundando; confusos; continuam depois de acordar;
desagradveis; discusses; doena; erticos; eventos do dia anterior; exaustantes;
fantsticos; festas, banquetes, farras; com gigantes; infortnio; inquietos;
intelectuais; lutas; motins; revolues; nadando; estando em negcios; ocupado;
perigo; pesadelos; cheio de preocupaes; tristes; urinando; vexatrios; visionrios;
voando.
MENTAIS: Grande ansiedade. Pensamentos ansiosos como se fosse estivesse para
morrer, pelos quais prepara mensagens de despedida. // Assusta-se facilmente e
sobressalta-se; sente-se assustado com tudo, at com o toque da campainha da
porta. // Grande temor. Temeroso o dia inteiro. Grande apreensividade na boca do
estmago, por rabugice. Antropofobia. Antropofobia (em crianas); medo de
fantasmas ao anoitecer, com angstia. Medo dos homens; da solido. Quando outras
pessoas se aproximam muito dela, ela sente angstia no scrobiculus cordis. No
quer falar. Quer estar apenas com as pessoas de sua convivncia. Teme a presena
de pessoas estranhas. Quer estar sozinho, mas tendo alguma pessoa dentro de
casa. // Extrema irritabilidade, com apreenso. Irritado e violento. Mal-humorado,
desassossegado. Muito mal-humorada, taciturna e melancolia antes da menstruao.
Humor muito taciturno, excitvel, facilmente levado clera; torna-se rabugento por
bagatelas, e taciturno. Encoleriza-se facilmente e menospreza. No pode tolerar a
mnima contrariedade e fica fora de si rapidamente. // Falta de segurana em si
mesmo; indeciso; timidez; resignao. Perda de confiana: no prprio vigor; no
mdico e nos remdios. Grande timidez. Muito tmido o dia todo. Averso a
empreender coisas novas. No suporta ver nada novo. Sentimento de incompetncia,
de inabilidade de realizar sua tarefa. Medo de falar em pblico, de fracassar. //
Sensvel, sentimental. Chora quando lhe agradecem. Chora pelas mnimas
emoes. // Obstinado, desafiador, arbitrrio; procura disputa. Desconfiado.
Misantropo. Orgulhoso. Crtico, repreendedor e ditatorial. Procura defeitos. //
Cobioso, avarento, malicioso e pusilnime. // Depresso mental. Taciturno; deseja
estar sozinho. Humor muito deprimido; sente-se infeliz. Melanclico, abatido, triste,
sem alegria. Melancolia: tem dvidas de sua salvao; antes da menstruao; em
indivduos meigos. A criana perde sua alegria, torna-se quieta e desespirituosa.
Cansado da vida, particularmente de manh. Indiferena para as impresses

Lycopodium - 6

externas, com humor irritvel. Tdio. Chora o dia todo e no consegue se acalmar, <
de 16 s 20hs. Tendncia ao suicdio. // Distrado. Fraqueza da memria. Comete
erros escrevendo ou falando. No consegue lembra o significado das letras. Torpor
mental. til para pessoas idosas com esquecimento de palavras e confuso de idias.
FEBRE: Calafrio entre 15 e 16 horas, seguido de transpirao. Frio glido. Sentado
como se deitado em gelo. Um calafrio seguido de outro. // Febre durante
pneumonia catarral; febre alta, 16 horas; grande inquietao e insnia. // Ataques
febris durante a tuberculose; no tolera o quarto quente, deseja as janelas abertas
dia e noite; febre < entre 16 e 20 horas, inquieto at a meia noite. // Nusea e
vmito, depois calafrio, seguido de transpirao, sem a febre intermediria.

Lycopodium - 7

ESTADOS AGUDOS: Sempre h evidncias de sintomas digestivos ou urinrios. Os

sintomas predominam do lado direito. Vo da direita para a esquerda. Agravao de
16 s 20 horas. Melhor antes do meio-dia. Piora depois de comer. Fica saciado com
um pouco de comida. Amigdalite. Difteria. Direita. Da direita para a esquerda. Clica
heptica por litase biliar. Grande sensibilidade na regio heptica Clica renal.
Litase renal. A criana chora antes de urinar (Borax). Pneumonia prolongada.
Depois de pneumonias. Movimento das asas do nariz. Citica pior do lado direito,
deitado sobre o lado afetado.
GENERAL ACTION: A "tissue" remedy far-reaching in its effects. One of its most prominent
effects is the peculiar indigestion (See symptoms of Stomach, Abdomen, Liver, Stool ; Kidneys, etc.).
The productions of the "uric-acid diathesis" is very clear. Its catarrhal symptoms in nose, throat, and
especially in lungs, are prominent. Consult also the eruptions, tendency to boils, carbuncles, etc.
In general it is a drug adapted to atonic and sluggish types of disease, though, like sulphur, it is not
infrequently required, as an "intercurrent," during the course of an acute malady. Allies :- Sulph.,
Sil., Sep., Zinc., Puls., Bry., Nux v., Carbo v., Chel., Cycl., Phos., Mag. c., Nat. m., Iod., Iris, Kali bi.
(Allens Handbook of Materia Medica). // <Characteristics> This drug is inert until the spores are
crushed. Its wonderful medicinal properties are only disclosed by trituration and succussion. In
nearly all cases where Lyc. is the remedy, some evidence of urinary or digestive disturbance will be
found. Corresponds to Grauvogl's carbo-nitrogenoid constitution, the non-eliminative lithaemic. Lyc.
is adapted more especially to ailments gradually developing, functional power weakening, with
failures of the digestive powers, where the function of the liver is seriously disturbed. Atony.
Malnutrition. Symptoms characteristically run from right to left [THROAT, chest, ovary], acts
especially on right side of body, and are < from about to p.m. In kidney affections, red sand in urine,
backache, in renal region; < before urination. Intolerant of cold drinks; craves everything warm.
Deep-seated, progressive, chronic diseases. Carcinoma. Emaciation; and debility from loss of fluids;
upper parts wasted, lower limbs swollen. Debility in morning. Marked regulating influence upon the
glandular [sebaceous] secretions. Pre-senility. Ascites, in liver disease. Lacks vital heat; has poor
circulation, cold limbs. Pains come and go suddenly; or = anger, jerking, etc. Sensitive to noise and
odours. Deep seated progressive chronic diseases. Repeating symptoms or alternating symptoms;
chill after chill, flushing then pallor; flexion then extension; automatic acts. Prostration of mind and
body. Circulation seems to stand still; & cold, numb limbs, or numbness appearing in spots. The
patient is FULL OF GAS. ACIDITY; sour, taste, eructations, etc. Descending symptoms; colds,
emaciation, etc. Calculi; gallstones, gravel. Coldness; partial, head, throat, etc. Dryness; of palms,
soles, vagina, skin, etc. Rawness; in folds, anus, nipples, etc. Formication of affected limbs.
Inflammation of bones, mostly at ends; softening and caries of bones. Spasms & screaming, foaming
at mouth; throwing the arms about. Oversensitive, to pain; patient is beside himself. Sense of internal
paralysis. One side of body hypertrophied at change of life, in women. Atrophy of infants.
Haemorrhages; dark blood. Erectile tumours; < before menses. Boils recurring periodically. Craves
air but is chilled by it. CONVULSIONS IN RIGHT SIDE OF BODY. Twitching and jerking during sleep.
Upper part of body emaciated, lower part semi-dropsical. Weakness, particularly a feeling of loss of
internal strength, especially after every effort. Weakness if felt even during rest, yet every movement
is dreaded; fatigue and weakness is felt more during rest than during motion, yet averse to exercise.
Takes cold easily. General desire for open air. Heat of bed > but wants a cool place for the head.
Withered children, after pneumonia. General > evening or at midnight. Weariness after eating. Bad
effects from spirituous liquors; from wine; from rye bread. Great weakness from chronic catarrhs.
Even hot things feel cold to touch. Moistening affected parts <. Soft parts feel painful to touch or
pressure. Sensation as if void of marrow. Sensation as if he was bound up and would burst; during
renal colic. Venous and arterial naevi materni. (Vermeulens Concordant Materia Medica).

LOCALIZAO.

Local: NUTRITION [DIGESTIVE TRACT; portal system; skin]. URINARY

ORGANS. Brain. Lungs.
Lateralidade: Direita. Direo da Direita para a Esquerda. * RIGHT SIDE. Left
side. RIGHT then LEFf side. RIGHT SIDE [THROAT; chest; ovary; abdomen

MODALIDADES.

Causa: Transtornos por: clera; susto; mortificao.

Lycopodium - 8

Agrava: bebidas e comida fria. Worse: PRESSURE OF CLOTHES. WARMTH;

warm room; wrapping up head. Waking. Wind. Eating; to satiety. Oysters.
/ndigestion. 4-8 P.M. Lying on right side [liver troubles]. Bread
Melhora: > descobrindo. Particularmente as cefalias. (Sil. > cobrindo a cabea).
Bebidas quentes, < bebidas e comida fria. Better: WARM DRINKS; warm food.
Cold applications. Motion. Eructations. After urinating [pain in back]. Loosening
the clothes. Open air. Uncovering the head. Warmth of bed.
Horrio: Agrava de 16 s 20 horas.
Concomitantes: Intenso desejo de doces. Averso a bebidas frias, quer tudo
quente. Mandbula cada na febre tifide. Presena de sedimento vermelho na
urina nas afeces dos rins.
Miasma. Psora (Hahnemann). Psora. Sycosis. Syphilis. (Ghatak). Psora
(Sankaran.)

Lycopodium - 9

ABORDAGEM SISTMICA.
SANKARAN INTRODUO DO LIVRO SURVIVAL...

Como exemplo examinaremos um caso:

Um advogado diz que tem ataques de ansiedade. Prosseguindo com as perguntas, ele
nos leva a claustrofobia ele no consegue tolerar lugares fechados. Ento ele no
pode viajar de avio e isso o afeta porque seu filho mora distante, ele no o pode visitar.
Quando lhe perguntado, Qual o seu sentimento em relao a isso?, ele diz Eu
sinto a perda de meu filho. Ele comea a falar como ele um dos maiores advogados
da cidade. Ele construiu com o trabalho sua prpria posio atual, nada tinha mas
agora tudo tem. Ele diz Eu sou extremamente talentoso extremamente bom em meu
trabalho.
Se consideramos esta informao num nvel superficial, percebemos muitos aspectos de
desempenho e podemos concluir que estamos vendo um mineral ou metal. Poder-se-ia
at considerar administrar-lhe Argentum nitricum.
Mas para confirmar isso precisamos ir mais fundo. Ento, pedimos a ele para falar um
pouco mais sobre a ansiedade, a queixa principal, para descrev-la mais. E ele diz que
levanta-se no meio da noite com muita dor no peito Para descrever a dor ele diz
como alguma coisa me mordendo, e faz um gesto com as mos, que como segurando
sua mo e puxando-a para for a com o punho fechado. um gesto orientado para fora.
Esta energia a que nos leva fonte. Ali onde as palavras humanas especficas como
ego, poder, posio e desempenho, mesmo claustrofobia e medo de lugares
fechados desaparecem.
Agora algum poderia dizer Alguma coisa me mordendo parece como animal. Mas a
energia que est sendo expressa por seu gesto com as mos no uma coisa mordendo,
mas alguma coisa segurando e puxando para fora e ns precisamos de um maior
esclarecimento daquilo. Ento pedimos que ele nos fale mais [o tal do conte-me mais
sobre isso]. Ele diz que como se alguma coisa apanhasse o seu corao e ento o
puxasse para for a [como que para arrancar, ou arrancando]. Ns ento lhe pedimos
para descrever mais a isso e observamos a expresso da energia enquanto ele o faz.
Quando a energia est para fora [exposta, mostra] e isso mais freqentemente corre
atravs de um gesto com as mos significativo ns o inquirimos pela experincia
daquele gesto e ento vemos a sensao.
Este o ponto em que o reino torna-se diferenciado. E naquele ponto neste caso
particular, podemos achar que ele no diz Alguma coisa mais forte que eu est vindo
para matar-me ou levar-me. Ele diz que a experincia para ele como sendo retirado
de suas razes [arrancado do solo com razes e tudo]. No que algum est fazendo
alguma coisa comigo, mas que alguma coisa aconteceu comigo. Est expresso to
sutilmente!
Portanto, sensao vital de ser arrancado [com razes e tudo][como quem puxa e
aniquila algo arrancando do solo em que se est estabelecido]
Ao perguntar mais quanto a reas significativas de sua vida, ns descobrimos que a
partio/diviso perturbou/causou distrbios sua famlia. (N.T.: parece que o autor se
refere ao evento da diviso da ndia que ocorreu perto dos anos 1940); eles tiveram de
correr como refugiados e se estabelecer em outro lugar. Eles eram industriosos e
foram bem nesse intento. Outra coisa interessante que ele diz Eu tenho setenta anos
de idade e sou um advogado muito proeminente, mas se voc retirar-me do direito e me
colocar em qualquer outro lugar estarei no topo muito rapidamente.
Ento voc descobre que a sensibilidade e a reatividade no so referentes a perder
alguma coisa. Uma coisa particular acontece com ele e a sua sensibilidade a de ser
[desenraizado/arrancado]. Na sua vida ele sempre sentiu que era arrancado dali e
ento ele crescia.

Lycopodium - 10

A sensibilidade e a reatividade so: Posso eu crescer em outro lugar se sou

desenraizado?
E esta a sensao exata de Lycopodium
O sonho de crescer numa cerca sem qualquer raiz o sonho de Lycopodium. Seus
esporos podem voar para qualquer lugar e, onde quer que pousem, eles crescem.
Ento naquele nvel no a perda da posio ou talento ou habilidade. No uma
perda de sua estrutura interna ou que alguma coisa o est devorando, mas sua
sensibilidade e adaptabilidade ao desenraizamento que aconteceria em sua vida.
Portanto voc pode ver a sensao apenas no nvel mais profundo que voc atingir no
caso. E quando voc pode confirmar essa sensao novamente nas reas importantes e
significantes da experincia de vida da pessoa, ento voc est certo do remdio, a
despeito do fato de que os sintomas e as expresses superficiais parecem indicar uma
outra coisa.

Lycopodium - 11

Texto Original
For example we will examine a case:
A lawyer says that he gets anxiety attacks. On asking further, he takes us to claustrophobia - he
cannot tolerate clos~d places. So he cannot travel in a plane and he is affected because his son
lives far away. He can't visit him. When asked, 'What is your feeling in relation to this?' he says,
'1 feel the loss of my son.' He starts talking about how he is one of the top lawyers in his city.
He worked his way up; had nothing but now he has everything. He says. "1 am extremely
talented and extremely good at my work."
If we consider this information at a superficial level, we perceive a lot of performance aspects
and may conclude that we are looking at a mineral or a metal. One may even consider giving
him Argentum nitricum.
But to confirm this we need to go deeper. So we ask him to talk some more about the anxiety,
the chief complaint, to describe it more. And he says he gets up in the night with a lot of pain in
the chest. To describe this pain he says, 'It is as if something is biting me,' and makes a hand
gesture, which is like holding his hand, and pulling it out with his fist closed. It is an outward
gesture. This energy is the one that brings us to the source. That is where all the human
specific words like 'ego', 'power', 'position', and 'performance', even claustrophoby and' fear of
closed spaces' disappear.
Now one may say 'Something biting me' looks like animal. But the energy that is being
expressed by his hand gesture is not something biting but something holding and pulling out
and we need further clarification of that. So we ask him to tell us more. He says it is as if
something gets hold of his heart and pulls it out. We then ask him to describe this some more
and watch the expression of the energy as he does so. When the energy is out - and it most
frequently occurs through a significant gesture - we ask him about the particular energy
pattern he is showing; we ask for the experience of that gesture and then we see the sensation.
This is the point at which the kingdom gets differentiated. And at that point in this particular
case, we may find that he doesn't say, 'Something stronger than me is coming to kill me or take
me.' He says the experience for him is 'like being uprooted.' It is not that' somebody is doing
something to me,' but that 'something happened to me.' It is so subtly expressed!
Hence, the vital sensation is of being uprooted.
On enquiring further into the significant areas of his life, we find that the partition disturbed
his family; they had to run away like refugees and settle elsewhere. They were industrious and
did well. Another interesting thing is that he says, 'I am seventy years old and I am a very
prominent lawyer but if you take me away from law and put me anywhere I will be at the top
very soon.'
So you find that the sensitivity and the reactivity are not to losing something. A particular
thing happens to him and his sensitivity is to being uprooted. In his life he always felt that
he was uprooted from there and then he grew. The sensitivity and reactivity is: 'Can I grow
in a new place if I am uprooted?'
And this is the exact sensation of Lycopodium.
The dream of growing on a fence without any root is a dream of Lycopodium. Its spores can fly
anywhere and wherever they land, they can grow.
So at that level it's not the loss of position or talent or skill. It's not a loss of his internal
structure or that something is devouring him, but his sensitivity and adaptability to the
uprooting that would happen in his life.
Thus you can see the sensation only at the deepest level that you reach in the case. And when
you can confirm this sensation once again in the important and significant areas of the person's
experience of life, then you are sure of the remedy, in spite of the fact that the superficial
symptoms and expressions seem to indicate something else.

Lycopodium - 12

SANKARAN THE SOUL OF REMEDIES

Lycopodium is sometimes called "vegetable Sulphur". It is a plant remedy and

belongs to the psoric miasm.
I have been told that several thousands of years ago, Lycopodium clavatum was
actually a huge tree, and that over the years it reduced to a small fern - the club
moss. The main feeling inLycopodium is that if the person remains small, his
survival will be difficult, he will be humiliated, he will be nowhere. The main theme
of Lycopodium therefore, becomes ambition, a desire to grow bigger, a lot of effort
which is concentrated fully on becoming bigger, being more powerful, reaching a
higher position - the top rung of the ladder.
Lycopodium is a part of the Ca/carea - Lycopodium - Su/phur cycle. Ca/carea
represents the human need for stability and security, which translates into having
a house, family, source of income, good health and protection. Stability also entails
lack of movement, adventure and growth. The other need ofthe human is
represented by Su/phur, and that is the need for a name, for an ego, an image; the
need to be somebody important, to matter, to be recognized, to be counted in; the
need to be proud of oneself, to think highly of oneself, to have a good self-image.
In order to reach from the position of Ca/carea to that of Su/phur one has to
concentrate on growing, on making an effort to achieve one's ambitions, on
movement - undertaking new things rather than sticking to the old and the stable,
on goal-oriented activity. Lycopodium represents precisely this phase in human
life, and becomes a person's remedy when he/she gets stuck in this phase and
cannot think of anything else.
The original situation from which a Lycopodium state may have arisen is
probably that of a person who feels he has no power. He is therefore aggravated
with anything that concems loss of power, while anything to do with acquiring
power will make him feel better.
Lycopodium is very ambitious and can employ any means to achieve success. He
can dictate, dominate, and will take the help of anyone he can. But Lycopodium
people have one big fear, and that is the fear of undertaking new challenges, facing
new situations, meeting new people. All these situations have to be encountered if
he is to achieve success, and in the face of these situations Lycopodium lacks
confidence; he feels incapable. He develops an anticipatory anxiety from this lack
of confidence. This may appear like Silicea, but the difference is that in Silicea, it is
not whether he is actualIy capable of doing the task that bothers him, rather it is
that his image should be protected at alI costs. So Silicea is afraid to go on stage,
and Lycopodium is afraid to speak. In the adult Lycopodium person however, this
cowardice may be hidden by an outward show of bravado. This becomes necessary
to protect his ego. He may take recourse to tall talk, and boasting with bravado,
and this may eventually produce in him a fear ofbeing discovered.
An offshoot of this egotism is his censorious attitude towards others. Lycopodium
is not unhappy with others; he nonetheless criticizes them in order to establish his

Lycopodium - 13

own superiority. At the same time, his conscientiousness does not allow him to be
overcritical although lie will justify his criticism on the grounds that it is his duty to
do so in the interest of the person being criticized. Lycopodium can thus be subtle
in his criticism of others.
The timidity and cowardice of Lycopodium is best seen in children requiring the
remedy.
They have a fear of facing new situations, meeting new people, and will try and
avoid the same. As a result ofthis timidity, and also because ofthe physical
weakness, inLycopodium children we find an aversion to play. The Lycopodium
adult however, being too egoistic to admit his lack of self-confidence and fear in
facing new situations and meeting new persons, will try and compensate the same
by surrounding himselfwith people whom he can dictate, and therefore need not
fear. He creates around him a world in which he is all powerful, land others accept
his authority and can be dominated by him. For example, he will select a woman
who is mildand can be easily dictated over a Pulsatilla woman, perhaps. The
same will be true in his work, play and social situation. His dictatorial attitude is
however confined to within the safety ofhis domain, and when he steps outside he
is still timid. And so he seldom does venture out ofhis domain, rather he seeks only
to expand it further, and bring more and more people under his power. Hence the
rubric: "Love of Power".
Lycopodium thus represents a constant struggle between cowardice and egotism,
between lack of confidence and haughtiness, between timidity and a dictatorial
attitude. The person is scared of those in authority, but to those for whom he can
represent it, he is rude and contemptuous.
Lycopodium has a tremendous fear ofbeing alone, amidst unfamiliar people. He
seeks out known persons, wants someone with him "even if in the next room". He
can't do without people, he needs them. This may make him appear sentimental,
affectionate and sympathetic like Phosphorus, but the contrast is that while
Lycopodium depends on and dictates people, he does not like others to depend on
him. He does not like responsibilities and avoids them as far as possible. Even in
his love affairs (a part oflasciviousness of Lycopodium) he does not want to
commit. So when an affair reaches a peak, he backs out. Lycopodium persons very
ofien are late to marry. But once he does commit himself, he accepts full
responsibility due to his strong sense of duty.
In my observation, Lycopodium is a grateful person. If someone has done
something for him, he is bound to remember and return the favour when the
opportunity comes. He is also much affected by gratitude as well as the
ungratefulness of others. Under the irritable exterior he is a sensitive person and
can weep while watching sentimental scenes, ofboth of joy and sorrow.
Lycopodium can be hurried. The patients do things fast but not necessarily in an
orderly manner. This hurried nature could be explained on the basis ofthe lack of
self-confidence. Because they are anxious to complete the job, they are hurried in
their work. In the clinic during the interview, especially during follow-ups, they are
very impatient and want to get away quickly. This along with weakness of memory
accounts for a lot of mistakes especially in speech and writing. Weakness
ofmemory is especially for proper names, but also extends to dates, events and
other things they have to do.
The situation of Lycopodium is that of a man who feels that he is not loved as he
is, but only if he achieves something in his life. So he must achieve in order to be
loved. He must reach a goal that is not easy, one that is very difficult. When

Lycopodium - 14

Shivaji's mother told him to conquer the fort, he did not have any army and the fort
belonged to the Emperor. It was an uphill task. He had to collect an army around
him to achieve what his mother wanted him to. Lycopodium is the child of a parent
who demands achievement, the wife of a husband who demands achievement. So
he has the anticipatory anxiety, the lack of confidenee and the "Fear of being
unable to reach his destination" on one hand, and love of power, ambition, egotism
and domineering attitude on the other. When looking for a wife, he may feel that a
woman would not love him unless he is an aehiever. He would want her to Iike him
not for what he is but for his aehievements, and so he constantly emphasizes to her
that he is achieving, that he is an aehiever.
The other remedies Lycopodium has to be compared with are Aurum,
Staphysagria, Nux vomica, Chelidonium, Phosphoricum acidum, Platinum,
Medorrhinum, China, Argentum nitricum, Bryonia, Lachesis.
Being a remedy ofthe plant kingdom, Lycopodium is very sensitive, sentimental. He
is also imaginative and intellectual, and can easily make abstractions and theorize.
He can generalize and make up a theory by looking at many faets.
Lycopodium is the most syphiltic remedy of the Calcarea, Lycopodium and
Sulphur eycle, all three being esseritially psorie remedies.
Pbysical concomitants:
The physical concomitants of Lycopodium that I have observed are:
Dilated nostrils.
Flatulence.
Cracks on the heel.
They show signs of premature senility, like greying of hair, baldness,
enlarged prostate, etc.
There is desire for warm food and drinks, and for sweets.
Hurriedness in eating and drinking.
Ill effects of overeating.
Rubrics:
Confidence, want of self. Egotism. Sentimental. Cowardice. Fear of people.
Contemptuous, hard for subordinates, pleasant to superiors or people he has
to fear. Dictatorial. Fear of being alone. Hurry while eating. Timidity
appearing in public, but capable to. Weeping when thanked. Weeps at
ungratefulness.
Presence of strangers agg. (Phatak).
DINMICA.
MASI ELIZALDE

(Club Moss, Wolf's Claw) Lyc.

Motive: The suffering of Lycopodium consists in the loss of the optimal
human fertility, which man possessed in his original innocent state before the Fall,
and which was the expression of, or the reflection of, Gods perfect fertility.
Lycopodium suffers from the consequences of having coveted God's perfect
fertility.
Transcendental: Symbolically, spores represent procreation, continuation,
reproduction, fertility, productivity, creation, generation, genesis, source, and thus
cause. The concept of spore may be directly connected with the idea of a cause,
source, causa, which all are founded on the abstract idea of origin. The tree has a

Lycopodium - 15

symbolic connection with the concept of 'father,' which is precisely one of the
major guiding motives of Lycopodium, and it is this that the dream about trees
expresses. The right side, where the problems of Lycopodium begin, symbolises
the masculine side.
Inner focus: With Lycopodium, there arises a conflict in the area of
procreation. But the raising of progeny is just as important, for Lycopodium is
envious of the ability to be father, and thus to be able to protect and promote that
which he has created in procreation. So with Lycopodium the main emphasis is
placed more on the concept of 'father' in its widest sense, not only on biological
fatherhood. The female Lycopodium wants to be father, not mother. Therefore, she
suffers from the traditional mother role. She wants to be the one who is
responsible for the protection of the family and the entire family line.
Guilt: Lycopodium has coveted God's perfect fertility.
Loss: For a patient to be a Lycopodium, he must have the picture of a person
for whom all of the male qualities are breaking down, that is, not only as regards
courage and manly courage, but also in the mental and sexual areas. Otherwise it
is not Lycopodium!
Secondary psora: Lycopodium's feeling of inadequacy and lack of
confidence in his own powers is based on the loss of fertility, creative power, and
creativity.
Egotrophy: In the egotrophic stage, we have the same basic suffering in the
background, but it is veiled by an attempt at proving to others that they are
intellectually fertile, or by attempting to make a show of their abilities, brilliance,
courage, or life style.
Egolysis: In the self-destructive stage, the same basic suffering is veiled by a
complete denial of his human fertility and productivity, that is, by total
unproductivity.
Alterolysis: In the alterolytic stage, we have the same basic suffering in the
background, but it is veiled here by aggressiveness, violent anger, and a
destructive urge towards others, their issue, and whatever they produce.

The substance

Lycopodium is made from the spores of the plant Wolf's Claw, which is estimated to
be several millions of years old. It is a small plant, the smallest of its species, even
if it originates from a three as the other species of Lycopodium, which are much
taller, and more resemble threes.
The problem with Lycopodium is if, and how it is triturated. All the spores are not
pulverized by machine trituration as when following the instructions of
Hahnemann: hand-grinding 0,0648 g of the spores with 6,48 g lactose for one hour.
In the outer coating of the spore there is an oily layer in which seems to reside
most of the medicinal virtues of the drug, and trituration sets this free by rupturing
the spore. Ether will extract the oil, and an ethereal tincture is therefore another
method of pharmacy, but there are also mineral salts in the spores included in the
trituration, and it is probable that they count for something in the pathogenesis.
Particularly prominent here are the elements silicon and aluminium, and
similarities to the symptoms of the former are significant in the provings.
Therefore, the use of trituration seems desirable, but machine trituration of 1 - 10
kg will never give the same energy to each spore, as the well-defined manual
trituration of Hahnemann, where the procedure is much more precise and intense.

Lycopodium - 16

Every step of preparation is vital and not just a relative quantity. As an illustration
of this I will quote a piece of 'Meyer's Artillerietechnik':
'Sulfur, nitrate and carbon have no power of propulsion if just mixed together.
However, if they are ground for three hours, the mixture has power enough to send
a cannonball through the air. After six hours of grinding, the mixture is so refined
that it may no longer be used as powder, because its explosive power would
destroy the cannon.'

Lycopodium - 17

GUY LOUTAN REPERTOIRE DES THEMES

Inveja a condio de Deus enquanto Pai. Da a patologia da fecundidade, da relao com seus filhos, os
empregados, mas tambm da palavra e da vontade, pois a perfeita fecundidade de Deus consiste na capacidade
imanente de engendrar por seu intelecto, palavra e vontade. ... Sensao de decadncia aps um fracasso
literrio ou cientfifo e de desonra que procura compensar pela ditatoriedade, tom de comando e desprezo.
Culpabilidade religiosa e em relao a um dever negligenciado: com a impresso de Ter agido mal. Perdeu a
Dignidade aps Ter ocupado um cargo importante: a paternidade ou o matriarcado. Ne pouvant pas par lamour
insuffler lesprit, le courage ou lenergie quelquun, il nest plus rien du tout, vulnerable aus autres, dans sa
sant, une nullit quil essaie de cacher.

DIDIER GRANDGEORGE THE SPIRIT OF HOMEOPATHIC REMEDIES

Lycopodium clavatum
Too far to the right
This is the contrary of Lachesis. Overdevelopment of the right-hand sphere leads
the individual to a strong desire for power and a macho temperament. It has been
said that Lycopodium was once a giant, the greatest tree in the forest. Today, it is
just a tiny, ludicrous plant (club moss).
Lycopodium individuals want to recover the power, strength, and dignity that have
been lost, but lack the self-confidence necessary to do so. In school, they will be at
the head of the class, but although they are intelligent, they are also stubborn and
lack open-mindedness, especially toward the left-hand sphere, that of feelings. As
we saw in our discussion of Apis and the symbolism of the Nativity scene, the child,
to be able to say "I am," must one day leave the mother, the father, the ass (to
acquire knowledge) and the ox (to remove the blinders). It is this last point that
proves to be a stumbling block for Lycopodium.
In society, Lycopodium subjects are often lower-level executives with narrowminded views, authoritarian but not very courageous, who suffer from liver
problems (the key organ of the right side) or other problems affecting first and
foremost the right side of the body. In her book on the symbolism of the human
body, Annick de Souzenelle gives a remarkable explanation of the role of the porta
hepatis (the gateway to the liver which includes the portal vein) and its
correspondence to the passage through the portals of spiritual faith.* To reach the

Lycopodium - 18

level of the body above the diaphragm, to leave the material world and rise up
toward a larger view, human beings must pass through the porta hepatis (the
narrow gates of heaven, the portal vein which reaches the liver). Once the passage
has been made and spiritual faith discovered, the "bilious" human nature can be
tempered. The cross is a powerful symbol of growth and faith; in order to grow,
one must believe, have confidence, and it is there that Lycopodium falls short.**
These individuals fret too much; they suffer from stomachaches, abdominal
bloating, constipation, and hemorrhoids (they stay confined to the oral and anal
stages, do not reach the oedipal stage, and therefore do not gain access to the rest
of society).*** Lycopodium children love judo and karate. In school, they suffer
from dyslexia, confusing sounds and inversing syllables. They have asthma or
pneumonia on the right side, with characteristic flaring of the nostrils. The worst
time of day for them is late afternoon to early evening, around five to seven o'clock
in the evening. As for the digestive system, they have strong cravings for seafood,
especially oysters, but one day they get sick from eating them, and then develop a
total aversion for these items. Onions are difficult on their digestive system
(Thuja).
Lycopodium infants often have red sand in the urine (uric acid) and a right-sided
umbilical or inguinal hernia. They spit up abundantly, particularly in the late
afternoon, a time when they are also subject to violent episodes of anger.
Observation: Alexis, six years old, has a long history of chronic nasal obstruction,
despite an operation on his adenoids at the age of six months. He suffers from
recurrent right-sided sore throats and otitis (inflammation of the ear). He also has
attacks of acetonemia (Sepia, Phosphorus). In my office, he eyes me with an
authoritative air, arms crossed over his chest, and wants to go "pee-pee" as soon as
he is up on the examining table. Right away, his well-trained parents get up to
accompany him to the toilet. "You can go afterward," I tell him. He tries throwing a
tantrum, but I ask the parents to sit back down and, looking the boy in the eye, tell
him in my best firm voice that if he cries, the doctor will not be pleased. He calms
down immediately, and the rest of the examination proceeds smoothly under the
parents' astonished gaze. With Lycopodium, he has no further health problems.
*Original version: Here, the author adds: (tu es le pere, tu hais le pere, tuer le
pere), a play on three phonetically similar phrases, meaning, "you are the father,
you hate the father, to kill the father." **"Jaloux comme un pou," a common French
expression to describe jealousy.
***Original version: il faut tuer "l'poux," (literally, one must kill the spouse), a
play on the phonetically similar words l'poux (the male spouse), and les poux (the
lice).
*Original version: . . . l'a "porte du foie" ou de la foi (literally, the "gateway to the
liver" or to faith). Both authors draw a parallel between access to the liver (le foie)
and spiritual faith (la foi) through their respective portals-the porta hepatis and the
portal vein, for the former, and the portals of heaven, for the latter.
**Original version: The author here plays on the words croix, cross, cro"tre, to
grow, and croire, to believe or have faith.
*** See discussion under Lachesis.
.

Lycopodium - 19

ESSNCIA.
Vermeulens Synoptic I.

Lack of self-confidence, agg. new things, responsibilities. Dictatorial at

home.
Inflation [ego, stomach, abdomen]. Gastro-intestinal disturbances.

Right-sided complaints; or right to left.

Desire for sweets.

Chilly, yet craving for open air.

agg. 3-4 a.m. and 4-8 p.m.

Luc de Shepard

Lycopodium - 20

MAGIA DAS PLANTAS

Lycopodium - 21

Lycopodium - 22

Lycopodium - 23

MIND SYMPTOMS

HAHNEMANN CHRONIC DISEASES

Authorities. (Nos. e.1 to e.8 from Hahnemann, Chr. K-n.)

Dever de Casa: IDENTIFICAR na lista dos sintomas mentais da Enciclopdia de Allen os sintomas provenientes de
Hahnemann (experimentadores e.1 a e.8) e compare as TRADUES.
1.
Hypochondrische, qulende Stimmung; er fhlt sich Hypochondriac, tormenting mood; he feels unhappy (the
unglcklich. (d. ersten 2 T.)
first two days).
2.
Hchst
melancholisch,
niedergeschlagen, Exceedingly melancholy, dejected, joyless.
freudelos.
3.
Traurig hypochondrische, (rgerliche) Stimmung.
4.
Gedrcktes Gemth. (n. 17 T.)
5.
Das Kind verliert seine Munterkeit, wird still und
muthlos. [Htb.]
6.
Streben nach Einsamkeit.
7.
Leute-Scheu. (d. 1. T.)
8.
Wenn ihr Menschen zu nahe kommen, fllt es ihr
gleich, wie Angst auf die Herzgrube.
9.
Sie flieht ihre eigenen Kinder.
10.
Schwermthig, Abends.
11.
Schwermuth, Unlust, traurige Gedanken.
12.
Traurige Stimmung, sie musste den ganzen Tag
weinen und konnte sich nicht zufrieden geben, ohne
Veranlassung.
13.
Traurig, verzweifelnd, zuletzt weinerlich.
14.
Verzweiflung, Weinen.
15.
Trauriges Gemth.
16.
usserst traurig und missmthig.
17.
Weinerlichkeit bei Frostigkeit.
18.
Er weint und heult erst ber dieVergangenheit und
dann ber die zuknftigen bel.
19.
Grosse Bangigkeit in der Herzgrube, von rgerniss.
20.
Grosse ngstlichkeit, wie in der Herzgrube, ohne
besondere Gedanken. (n. 24 St.)
21.
Innere Angst, Vormittags, und innerlicher Frost, wie
ein inneres Zittern.
22.
ngstlichkeit, Abends, wobei es ihr vor den Augen
wie halb verwirrt ist.
23.
ngstlich, furchtsam, zaghaft.
24.
Grosse Furchtsamkeit. (d. 10.T.)
25.
Grosse Furcht vor Schreckbildern, Abends, die sich
ihrer Phantasie aufdrngten, und am Tage,weinerlich.

Sad, hypochondriac (peevish) mood.

Depressed mood (aft. 17 d.).
The child loses its cheerfulness, becomes quiet and
dispirited. [Htb.]
Seeks for solitude.
Dread of men (1st d.).
When other persons come too near her, she feels anguish
in the scrobiculus cordis.
She flees from her own children.
Melancholy, in the evening.
Melancholy ill-humor, sad thoughts.
Sad mood; she has to weep all day long and could not
content herself, without cause.
Sad, despairing, at last disposed to weep.
Despair; weeping.
Sad of heart.
Extremely sad and disheartened.
Disposition to weep, with chilliness.
He weeps and cries, at first, about the past, then about the
coming evils.
Great oppression in the scrobiculus cordis from vexation.
Great anxiety, as it were, in the scrobiculus cordis, without
any particular thoughts (aft. 24 h.).
Internal anguish, in the forenoon, and internal chilliness,
like an internal trembling.
Anxiety in the evening, things are half confused before her
eyes.
Anxious, fearful, timid.
Great timidity (10th d.).
Great fear of phantoms, which crowd upon her fancy in
the evening; during the day she is disposed to weep.

Lycopodium - 24
26.
Abends, im Dunkeln, kmmt ihm Furcht an, als eine
Thr, die er ffnen will, schwer aufgeht.
27.
Es kmmt ihm, Abends, beim Eintritt ins Zimmer die
Furcht an, als sehe er da Jemand; auch amTage glaubt er
zuweilen, Jemand im Zimmer zu hren.
28.
Sie frchtet sich, allein zu seyn.
29.
Innere Unruhe. (n. 24 St.).
30.
Ungeduld.
31.
Sehr muthlos und matt.
32.
Mangel an Vertrauen auf seine Krfte.
33.
Kleinmthig, traurig, schwrmerisch.
34.
Misstrauisch, verdachtsam, belnehmend.
35.
Hchste Verdachtsamkeit und Misstrauen.
36.
Verzweifelt und trostlos.
37.
Hchst empfindlich am Gemthe; sie weint ber
Dank. (n. 20 St.)
38.
usserst reizbar, schreckhaft und rgerlich.
39.
Grosse Schreckhaftigkeit.
40.
Sehr schreckhaft den ganzen Tag.
41.
Sie erschrickt sehr leicht und fhrt zusammen.
42.
Jedes Gerusch thut ihr weh.
43.
Unzufriedenheit. (n. 72 St.)
44.
Sehr reizbar und zum Trbsinn geneigt.
45.
rgerlichkeit. [Gll.]
46.
rgerlich niedergeschlagen. (d.15. T.)
47.
Es fallen ihr eine Menge unangenehmer
Begebenheiten aus vorigen Zeiten ein, ber die sie sich
rgern muss, selbst Nachts, beim Erwachen.
48.
Er hat Mhe, einen innern Eigensinn und rger zu
bergen.
49.
berreiztheit mit Bangigkeit.
50.
Er lchelt ohne froh zu seyn, launig.
51.
Das Kind wird unfolgsam, obgleich nicht bel
gelaunt.
52.
Trotzig, eigenmchtig, halsstarrig, auffahrend,
zornig.
53.
Sehr heftig und reizbar.
54.
Heftiges Gemth, ohne Verdriesslichkeit. (n. etl.
St.).
55.
Sie kann nicht die mindeste Widerrede vertragen,
und kommt gleich ausser sich vor rgerlichkeit.
56.
Zornige Wuth, theils gegen sich, theils gegen
Andere.
57.
Leichte Erregbarkeit zu rger und Zorn.
58.
Er streitet im Geiste mit abwesenden Personen.
59.
Wahnsinn und Wuth, in Neid, Vorwrfen,
Anmassungen und Befehlshaberei sich auslassend. (n.
12T.)
60.
Wie wahnsinnig, sucht sie Hndel, macht
ungegrndete Vorwrfe, schimpft auf das Heftigste und
schlgtden so Beleidigten. (n. 2 St.)
61.
Lange Weile. (n. 2 T.)
62.
Unempfindlichkeit des Geistes fr ussere
Eindrcke.
63.
Gleichgltig gegen ussere Eindrcke, bei gereizter
Stimmung.
64.
Gleichgltig im hchsten Grade.
65.
Gleichgltigkeit. [Gll.]
66.
Rede-Unlust. [Gll.]
67.
Zum Weinen und Lachen zugleich geneigt.
68.
Nach ngstlichkeit, grosse Neigung, ber
Kleinigkeiten zu lachen, etliche Stunden lang, und darauf
ein halbstndiges Weinen ohne Ursache.

In the evening, in the dark, he is frightened because a

door he wants to open, opens with difficulty.
He is afraid in the evening, on entering a room, as if he
saw somebody; by day also he sometimes imagines he
hears somebody in the room.
She is afraid of being alone.
Internal restlessness (aft. 24 h.).
Impatience.
Very much discouraged and tired.
Lack of confidence in his strength.
Pusillanimous, sad, fanciful.
Distrustful, suspicious, inclined to take things ill.
Extremely distrustful and suspicious.
Despairing and inconsolable.
Extremely sensitive in spirit; she weeps on being thanked
(aft. 20 h.).
Excessively irritable, timid and peevish.
Great timidity.
Very timid, all day.
She is easily frightened and startled.
Every noise hurts her.
Discontented (aft. 72 h.).
Very irritable and inclined to melancholy.
Peevishness. [Gll.]
Peevish and dejected (15th d.).
She thinks of a number of disagreeable occurrences in
former times, which vex her, even at night, when she
wakes up.
He has trouble to conceal his internal obstinacy and
vexation.
Excessive excitement and apprehension.
He smiles without being merry, capricious.
The child becomes disobedient, though not ill-humored.
Obstinate, self-willed, refractory, passionate, angry.
Very violent and irritable.
Violent mood, without peevishness (aft. sever. h.).
She cannot bear the least contradiction, and at once gets
beside herself for vexation.
Angry fury, partly against himself, and partly against
others.
Easily excited to vexation and anger.
He quarrels in mind with absent persons.
Insanity and fury, breaking out in envy, pretensions and
ordering others about (aft. 12 d.).
As if insane, she seeks for quarrels, makes ungrounded
reproaches, abuses most violently and beats the person
whom she abuses (aft. 2 h.).
Ennui (aft. 2 d.).
Insensibility to external impressions.
Indifferent to external impressions, with irritable mood.
Indifferent in the highest degree.
Indifference. [Gll.].
Aversion to talking. [Gll.].
Simultaneously inclined to weeping and laughing.
After being anxious, there is a great inclination to laugh
about trifles, for several hours, and then weeping for half

Lycopodium - 25
69.
70.

berlustig, bei drehender Schwindeligkeit.

bermthig und ausgelassen lustig.

71.
Wenn man sie, Etwas ernstes erzhlend, ansieht,
muss sie lachen.
72.
Unwillkhrliches Pfeifen und Dudeln.
73.
Nach bermunterkeit, als wenn er die Muskeln des
Gesichts verziehen msste, Unaufgelegtheit und
Ungeduld.
74.
Gedchtniss-Schwche. (n. 3 T.) [Rl.].
75.
Zerstreutes Handeln. [Gll.]
76.
Eine Art ausser sich Leben, wie beim Anfange
eines Fiebers.
77.
Im Denken ist ihm der Kopf wie leer, er kann keinen
Gedanken festhalten.
78.
Er kann nichts thun, nichts denken; er bringt seine
Zeit mit unbedeutenden Dingen hin, ohne sich
entschliessen zu knnen zu dem, was er zu thun hat.
79.
Er kann den Gedanken nicht festhalten; es wird ihm
schwer, sich auszudrcken und die passenden Worte zu
finden, vorzglich Abends.
80.
Sie kann keinen Gedanken fassen, vor
Eingenommenheit des Kopfes mit innerer Spannung.
81.
Die Gedanken sind ihm wie still stehend, der Geist
unbehlflich und wie erstarrt, wie eine Eingenommenheit
ohne Verdsterung.
82.
Er kann ber hhere, selbst abstrakte Dinge,
ordentlich sprechen, verwirrt sich aber in den alltglichen;
so nennt er z. B. Pflaumen, wenn er Birnen sagen sollte.
83.
Versprechen mit Worten und Sylben.[Goull.]
84.
Whlen falscher Worte. [Gll.]
85.
Er kann nicht lesen, weil er die Buchstaben
verkennt und verwechselt; er sieht sie und kann sie
nachmalen, sich aber auf ihre Bedeutung nicht besinnen;
er weiss, z.B. dass Z der letzte Buchstabe im Alphabete
ist, hat aber vergessen, wie derselbe heisst; er kann
schreiben, was er will, schreibt die gehrigen Buchstaben,
kann aber sein Geschriebenes selbst nicht lesen.
86.
Eingenommenheit des Kopfes, wie unbesinnlich.

an hour, without cause.

Over-merry, with whirling giddiness.
Overweening and extravagantly merry. (*overweening =
arrogante, presunoso. not overheening as in the original.
GEHSH).
When any one looks at her, while relating a serious matter,
she has to laugh.
Involuntary whistling and humming tunes.
After excessive merriment, as if he was obliged to distort
his features, there follow ill-humor and impatience.
Weakness of memory (aft. 3 d.). [Rl.].
Distracted action. [Gll.].
Living, as it were, beside oneself, as at the
commencement of a fever.
When thinking, his head feels empty, he cannot grasp a
thought.
He cannot do nor think anything; he spends his time in
trifling, and is not able to resolve to do what he has to do.
He cannot hold fast a thought; he finds it difficult to
express himself and to find the fitting words, especially in
the evening.
She cannot grasp a thought, because her head is
occupied by an internal tension.
His thoughts, as it were, stand still, the mind is awkward
and, as it were, rigid, like a numbness without gloominess.
He can properly speak about higher and even abstract
things, but gets confused in everyday matters; e. g., he
says plums when he means to say pears.
Slips in words and syllables. [Gll.].
Choosing the wrong words. [Gll.].
He cannot read, because he mistakes and confuses the
letters; he sees them and can copy them, but he cannot
remember their signification; he knows, e.g., that Z is the
last letter of the alphabet, but has forgotten its name; he
can write what he desires, writes the proper letters, but he
cannot read what he has written.
The head is benumbed, as if unconscious.

Lycopodium - 26

ALLENS ENCICLOPEDIA OF PURE MATERIA MEDICA

1.
2.
3.
4.
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56.

Authorities. (Nos. e.1 to e.8 from Hahnemann, Chr. K-n.)

Delirious at night, <e.41>.
Delirious, raging, envious, reproachful, presumptuous, and imperious (after twelve hours), <e.1>.
Irrational talking, with weeping, as if she would become delirious, the day preceding and the first day during
menstruation (after seven days), <e.1>.
A kind of living outside of herself, as in the commencement of fever, <e.1>.
Involuntary whistling and humming, <e.1>.
Desires to be alone, <e.1>.
Disinclination to talk, <e.3>.
Weeping, with chilliness, <e.1>.
Weeping at night in sleep, <e.1>.
He cries and howls, at first about past and then about future troubles, <e.1>.
He laughs without being pleased; humorous, <e.1>.
If one looks at her to say anything serious, she is obliged to laugh, <e.1>.
Inclined to laugh and cry at the same time, <e.1>.
Excited and exceedingly merry, <e.1>.
Very much excited, almost jovial, from a glass of wine (third day), <e.9i>.
Lively mood (ninth day), <e.29>.
Very lively mood during the whole proving, <e.17a>.
Lively and excited, with busy fancies, in the afternoon (fourth day), <e.9i>.
Great hilarity, especial good humor (fifth day), <e.31>.
Remarkably joyous mood for several days, <e.17>.
Exceedingly merry, with dizzy vertigo, <e.1>.
Sad mood, <e.1>.
Sad mood, she is obliged to cry all day, and cannot be contented; without cause, <e.1>.
**Very sad mood, with confusion of the head (fourth day), <e.16a>.
Sad, despondent, at last lachrymose, <e.1>.
Extremely sad and ill-humored, <e.1>.
Sadness when hearing distant music (thirty-fifth day), <e.45>.
Melancholy in the evening, <e.1>.
**Melancholy; loss of spirits; sad thoughts, <e.1>.
Extremely melancholy; depressed, joyless mood, <e.1>.
**Depression of spirits (after seventeen days), <e.1>.
She became very miserable (with sore throat), and the color of the face became yellowish-gray), <e.7>.
**Despondent, sad, fanciful, <e.1>.
Very despondent and weak, <e.1>.
Despairing, lachrymose, <e.1>.
Hypochondriac, complaining mood; he feels unhappy (first two days), <e.1>.
Anxiety in the evening, whereby there seems to be a sort of semiconfusion before the eyes, <e.1>.
Anxiety on falling asleep, <e.1>.
Attack of anxiety on waking after midnight, so that she is unable to get her breath, lasting two hours, two nights in
succession, <e.1>.
If people come near her, she is immediately attacked with anxiety at the pit of the stomach, <e.1>.
**Great anxiety, as if in the pit of the stomach, without special thoughts (after twenty-four hours), <e.1>
Internal anxiety in the forenoon, and internal chilliness, like an internal trembling, <e.1>.
Anxious thoughts, as if she were about to die, for which she even prepared by thinking of her farewell messages, in
the morning after waking from a deep sleep (after sixteen hours), <e.1>.
Loss of confidence in his own vigor, <e.1>.
While walking in open air, apprehensiveness and attacks of vertigo, <e.1>.
He is easily frightened and starts up, <e.1>.
**Great fearfulness, <e.1>.
**Very fearful all day, <e.1>.
Fear of going to bed in the evening, <e.1>.
In the evening on entering a room he is attacked with fear, as though he saw some one; even during the day he
believes that he hears some one in the room, <e.1>.
In the evening, in the dark, he is seized with fear when a door that he wishes to open moves with difficulty, <e.1>.
Great fear of frightful images, which her fancy conjures up, in the evening, and lachrymose during the day, <e.1>.
Great apprehensiveness in the pit of the stomach, from peevishness, <e.1>.
Anthropophobia (first day), <e.1>.
She flees from her own children, <e.1>.
She dreads to be alone, <e.1>.

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99.
100.
101.
102.
103.
104.
105.
106.
107.
108.
109.
110.
111.
112.
113.

Lycopodium - 27
Great irritability, <e.34a>.
**Extreme irritability, with apprehensiveness, <e.1>.
**Very irritable and violent, <e.1>.
**Very irritable, and inclined to melancholy, <e.1>.
**Extremely irritable, fearful, and peevish, <e.1>.
**Irritable, peevish mood, <e.9a>.
**Very irritable mood (twenty-seventh day), <e.29>.
**Very irritable, peevish mood (fifth day), <e.9c>.
Extremely sensitive mood, she cries about being thanked (after twenty hours), <e.1>.
**Ill-humor (ninth and tenth days), <e.30>; (eleventh day), <e.29>; (eighteenth day), <e.31>.
Ill-humor; no desire to talk (after two days), <e.34>.
Ill-humor, with ravenous hunger, in the evening (fourth day), <e.34d>.
Ill-humored in the morning (seventeenth day), <e.29>.
Ill-humored, fretful (twenty-first day), <e.29>; (twenty-seventh day), <e.30>.
Ill-humored all day, and made to weep by the slightest causes (sixth day), <e.34c>.
Ill-humored and indolent (eleventh day), <e.30>.
Very ill-humored (first day), <e.22>.
**Very ill-humored, morose, and melancholy just before menstruation, <e.1>.
Ill-humored and fretful mood (seventeenth day), <e.29>.
Extremely ill-humored in the evening (twentieth day), <e.29>.
Out of humor, with disinclination to talk, all day (seventh day), <e.34c>.
**Fretfulness, <e.3>; (eighteenth day), <e.30>.
Fretfulness and peevishness (seventh day), <e.24>.
**Fretful, ill-humored (sixth day), <e.29>.
Fretful; very irritable in the evening (eight day), <e.29>.
Fretful, taciturn, inclined to weep (sixth day), <e.28>.
Frequent crying, the child was fretful, and in the evening would not go to sleep for a long time (sixth day), <e.26>.
Fretful mood, with disinclination for everything, in the morning (twenty- second day), <e.29>.
Peevish and irritable; easily excited to anger (twenty-third day), <e.34d>.
Peevish, despondent (fifteenth day), <e.1>.
**Sad, hypochondriac (peevish) mood, <e.1>.
He can hardly conceal an internal obstinacy and peevishness, <e.1>.
She cannot endure the slightest opposition, and is speedily beside herself from peevishness, <e.1>.
**Mood very morose, excitable, easily roused to anger; becomes peevish about trifles, and is taciturn (fifth day),
<e.9c>.
She is overpowered by many unpleasant recollections, about which she becomes vexed; even at night on waking,
<e.1>.
**Easily roused to anger and scorn, <e.1>.
Passionate mood without fretfulness (after a few hours), <e.1>.
Indolent, obstinate, rebellious, wrathful, <e.1>.
He mentally quarrels with absent persons, <e.1>.
Quarrelsome rage, partly at herself, partly at others, <e.1>.
As if out of her mind, she seeks quarrels, makes unfounded reproaches, is most exceedingly violent, and strikes
those whom she thus insults (after two hours), <e.1>.
Anxious, fearful, quarrelsome, <e.1>.
The child becomes disobedient, though not ill-humored, <e.1>.
Impatience, <e.1>.
Seems impatient on waking, <e.41>.
Discontented (after seventy-two hours), <e.1>.
Distrustful, suspicious, morose, <e.1>.
Extremely suspicious and distrustful, <e.1>.
After the anxiety, there is great inclination to laugh at trifles, for several hours, followed by weeping for half an hour
without cause, <e.1>.
Her temper became very much affected, at one time she was excessively merry and laughed at the simplest things,
again she was melancholy and low-spirited, <e.35>.
Indifferent, <e.3>
Indifferent and impatient, <e.1>.
Indifference to external impressions, with irritable mood, <e.1>.
Exceedingly indifferent, <e.1>.
The child loses its playfulness, becomes quiet and listless, <e.4>.
Apathetic, <e.31>.
Excited, busy mood in the evening, without perseverance, changing from one subject to another, with difficulty of
fixing the thoughts, and greater difficulty in accomplishing anything; while reading fell asleep (fourth day), <e.9i>.

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138.
139.
140.
141.
142.
143.
144.
145.
146.

147.
148.
149.
150.
151.
152.

Lycopodium - 28
Special aptitude for mental work (third day), <e.29>.
Disinclined for mental work (sixteenth day), <e.29>.
Disinclined to mental work, distracted, without connected thought (second day), <e.9i>.
Disinclined to thought; dulness of power of thought, <e.9a>.
Disinclined to work or think in the afternoon (third day), <e.9c>.
Ennui (second day), <e.1>.
Inability to perform mental labor (sixth day), <e.29>.
Inability for and aversion to mental work; apathy (fifth day), <e.29>.
Dull and without thought, in the evening, after a cup of milk (third day), <e.9c>.
(Difficulty of fixing the thoughts, especially when reading), <e.9d>.
Frequently distracted in mind for a moment during earnest conversation soon after dinner; I was unable to pay
proper attention to what was said, and was obliged to give way to thoughts which forced themselves upon me (third
day), <e.10>.
Confusion of ideas while reading; is unable to rightly comprehend or associate thoughts (third day), <e.9c>.
The thoughts seem to stand still; the mind is helpless and as if dazed, like a confusion, without obscuration of mind,
<e.1>.
Indecision and loss of confidence, <e.1>.
He is unable to do anything, cannot think; passes his time with trifles, without being able to make up his mind what
to do, <e.1>.
Confusion of thought; reflection is difficult, causing a dulness of the head and dimness of vision, <e.9>.
**Distraction of mind, <e.3>.
**Very much distracted; weak power of thought; can neither comprehend nor remember what is read; much
diminished power of reflection (second day), <e.9c>.
A piece of music I once heard came so vividly before the mind that I could almost hear it (fifty-fifth day), <e.45>.
Great loss of memory, she talked confusedly; her friends laughed at her and could not understand her altered
manner; she was quite unable to write; having written a letter, she burnt it, because she could not read it, <e.35>.
Awoke about 2 A. M. with difficult recollection, heat of the head and upper part of the body, with cold feet in bed,
<e.9i>.
Forgets names of persons (twenty-second day), <e.43>.
**Weakness of memory (third day), <e.5>; (sixth day), <e.28>.
Memory very weak; forgets words (fourth day), <e.9i>.
**A peculiar distraction of mind (loss of ideas), lasted ten days (after twelve days), <e.33>.
**He is unable to fix his thoughts; it is difficult to express himself and to find fitting words, especially in the evening,
<e.1>.
**When writing, omits and adds letters (eleventh day), <e.45>.
**Speaks wrong words and syllables, <e.3>.
**Mistakes in writing; spells words wrong (thirty-ninth day); the mistakes have continued at times (fifty-fifth day),
<e.45>.
**Selects wrong words, <e.3>.
**When writing, uses wrong words, adds too many letters, misspells, omits words and letters, but is, conscious of
these mistakes (tenth day), <e.45>.
**He is able to talk rationally on exalted, even abstract subjects, but becomes confused about every-day things,
as, for example, he speaks of plums when he means pears, <e.1>.
He is unable to read, because he does not recognize and confounds letters; he sees and is able to copy them, but
has no idea of their significance; he knows, for example, that z is the last letter of the alphabet, but has forgotten
what it is called; he is able to write whatever he wishes, writes the proper letters, but cannot read what he has
written, <e.1>.
Insensibility of mind to external impressions, <e.1>.
Stupefaction, <e.33>.
Stupefaction, as if intoxicated; he could scarcely keep erect; tottering, weakness of the feet, and vertigo; in the
morning (twenty-second day), <e.30>.
Stupefaction towards evening, with heat in the temples and ears.
It seems as if everything would vanish from her (third day), <e.1>.
Stupefaction on reading, with heaviness of the head, sleepiness, falling asleep (first day), <e.9c>.

Lycopodium - 29

CASES
2012 February

PETITE BULLY IN PRINCESS' CLOTHING: A CASE OF LYCOPODIUM

by Paul Labrche
A new practitioner, sailing on the vast homeopathic sea, must first learn how to navigate in all sorts of weather.
Sometimes it is calm, sometimes turbulent, and sometimes it is quite a challenge when you get into an area where
the winds are competing for the sails.
For one thing, there are so many ways to practice this art, some of which diverge pretty radically from others. From
one great homeopath to another, from one school to another, from one approach to the other, the ways of practicing
can be radically opposed but equally justifiable at root. And what is more, these different strands can be intertwined
with one another. There are homeopaths who give a single dose and wait, wait, wait. Others give a dose of the
remedy and repeat, repeat, repeat.
In the 90s, a doctor prescribed two polycrests for me, to be alternated, every two weeks. I did this for 4 years! It
was not until the third year that a patch of eczema on my ankle started to heal.
Often, we do not quite know how to set the rudder to steer us toward the desired destination. Some say, we should
stick to (return to) Hahnemann and strictly follow his teachings. Others say that homeopathy is always evolving and
that we should embrace the work of Scholten, Sankaran, Smits, and others - that we should not be afraid of
plunging into the infinite depths of the memory of water.
If Hahnemann had lived to be 200 years old, how many more versions of the Organon would he have written? Up
to what point, would his practice have continued to evolve, he who never stopped questioning and perfecting?
These are the thoughts of a navigator who feels he has as yet little delved into an immense sea, a sea in which he
sometimes feels he has just dipped his paddles. But it is with great pleasure that this navigator shares one of his
successful expeditions - especially with those also new to this craft, who do not have the charts of remedies that
more seasoned practitioners can draw upon.
Case
A four year old girl comes with her mother to consult with me about her asthma. Every cold she gets turns into
asthma and always ends in a trip to Emergency. Her very experienced pulmonologist says that the young girl is one
of the most difficult cases she has seen in her long career.
The first thing I notice about her is her beauty, her radiant and somewhat timid smile and her thick hair. She is
petite and not a bit affected, even though she likes to play princess. Everyone always tell her how beautiful she is.
In spite of that, she often asks her father if she is pretty. Is that a need for admiration, with an underlying insecurity?
Beauty seems to be a major concern in her daily life. She always tries to look pretty and she stubbornly refuses
help from anyone else in choosing what she will wear.
She is very thin. Her muscles are not well-developed. However, she has lots of energy and is very physical. She
loves to dance and to do gymnastics. While her mum and I are talking, she is busily going through her moves. She
seems able to amuse herself without needing my attention. Or is that a ploy?
Her mother says that she concentrates well. She is clearly precocious and intelligent, and was able to solve a 100piece puzzle when she was 3 years old. She loves learning and enjoys intellectual exercises. Ironically, her speech
is delayed. She mumbles and has trouble forming complete sentences.
Seeing her kind, and somewhat luminous, qualities, I immediately thought of Phosphorus. There is, however,
another side to her personality, one that drowned out this first intuition pretty quickly. When children at her daycare
try to take her toys, she hits them. She ignores her teachers when they ask her to stop. At home, she is also very
hard on her little brother and she fights quite a lot with him.
Faced with a new challenge, she says I cant. She also takes care to observe a lot before she gets involved in any
new situation.
She has difficulty getting to sleep at night. She gets up, whining, saying she has a stomachache, wants to watch
television, etc. She also often needs to eat in the night. When she gets up in the morning, she is in a good mood.
She has little appetite, likes to snack, loves sugar, and drinks a lot of juice. At mealtime, she is a picky eater.
Other symptoms to note:
- smelly foot sweat
- bad breath (according to her mother)
- chronic runny nose
- eczema in the folds of her elbows; very dry skin

Lycopodium - 30

- marked constipation
- very sensitive to having her mother brush her hair

Analysis
What strikes me, in retrospect, is that I was so blinded by her presentation as princess that I overlooked the fact
that she was also a bully who does not hesitate to hit and push others around. On the other hand, I perceived both
her stubbornness and her hesitation to engage in new activities. These two key elements, and her big craving for
sugar, led me to explore Lycopodium. In Jacques Lamothes Pediatric Materia Medica, I found several indications
that this could be the right remedy. These were the most notable:
- whininess
- need for admiration
- hard on younger children
- precocious, active, an achiever
- language delays
- problems in physical development; underweight; undeveloped muscles
These symptoms seemed to confirm the picture of this child. I still worried away at some loose ends, mainly
because she had central features that seemed completely contradictory to the remedy, as I understood it. For
instance, she is very physical and is most often in a good mood, especially in the morning, two major elements that
really do not belong to this remedy, as I saw it.
Accordingly, it was with some reservations that I prescribed Lycopodium. I chose a 15 CH, to play it safe. Liquid
dosage, every two weeks, to be spaced as soon as improvements are witnessed.
Follow-ups
May and July 2011
No asthma attacks at all, for the first four months of treatment, despite her having had fevers twice, one of which
was very high and was accompanied by a cough. She has never expressed a fever before, so I saw this as
positive. The vital force was recovering some stamina.
There were great improvements in her behaviour. At daycare, she now does what the teachers tell her to; she is
able to wait and she is less rude with other children. At home, she is nicer to her little brother and even hugs him.
She is also less whiney and less of a princess.
Other improvements: her chronic rhinitis disappeared; her appetite is better and less finicky; getting her to sleep is
easier; constipation is improved; no more bad breath (and no coated tongue); and her smelly foot sweat has gone.
Also, she is less sensitive to having her hair brushed. Her eczema comes and goes, but overall her skin is much
less dry.
However, her mother felt that her daughters symptoms were beginning to return when I saw her in July. She is
becoming impatient, she is refusing to put away her toys, and she is pickier at mealtimes.
Since she has responded well to the remedy at this potency, and there are still improvements in the picture, I
recommended Lycopodium 15C to be repeated as needed.
November 2011
She and her mother visited the pulmonologist 2 weeks ago. The tests showed that the childs pulmonary
resistance had improved and so the doctor will no longer need to see her every 6 months. The doctor is amazed at
this improvement and cannot understand how she could possibly be doing so well.
For a month, now, she has been coughing. Repeating the remedy more frequently has not helped.
She has improved in several other areas, including a clear improvement in her speech.

Lycopodium - 31
Several physical symptoms have recently returned, including her foot odour, and on a behavioural level she wants
to be number one, and at daycare is pushing when in line.
This time, she mentions her fear of skeletons.
Analysis
The Lycopodium 15C has worn out its action. One option is to raise it to a 30C.
Some approaches favour waiting for signs of miasmatic blockage before prescribing a nosode. Others prescribe
during treatment, when there is some clear expression of the miasm involved. At this point in my practice, I usually
opt for the latter. So, I gave her a dose of Psorinum (thinness, foot odour, asthma, eczema, fear of skeletons).
Lycopodium 30C, followed two weeks later by Psorinum30C one dose.
Informal Follow-up (early January 2012)
There have been major family upsets in the last month. Her father has left to do military training and her mother
and the children have returned to live with the mothers parents in another city. The little girl says she wants her
whole family together, living in their own home. She is having nightmares and a bit of constipation. On the other
hand, she has had no coughs.
Lycopodium 30C, to be repeated, if needed.
Observation: In the 4 to 6 weeks preceding this informal follow-up, corresponding to the time period where she took
the Lycopodium 30c and the Psorinum, I would have thought she might suffer major setbacks with all she has gone
through. I thought, especially, that her asthma might return or at the least that the recurrent cough would not
subside. However, there has been nothing of this nature. The little girl is working through the imbalances in her life both verbally, by expressing her unhappiness, and through dreams.
Conclusion
I have to say, in the beginning, that I felt the picture of this child was miles away from the difficult, combative,
unhappy child that we associate maybe complacently - with Lycopodium.
If we consider, though, that inside this remedy lurks the feeling of being small, then it follows that it would work for
children who are upset about being little, and who are seeking ways and means to mask their vulnerability. Does it
not make sense, then, that Lycopodium, in pursuit of such stature, might climb into the shoes of a princess?
Paul Labrche pratices in Montreal, Canada and on Skype. Website: www.facebook.com/PaulLabrecheHomeo
Photo: Wikimedia Commons
The stag's horn clubmoss, Lycopodium clavatum; Christian Fisher
Categories: Cases
Keywords: asthma, timidity, princess, insecurity, precocity, language delays, underdeveloped muscles
Remedies: Lycopodium, Psorinum

Lycopodium - 32

CASE OF BRONCHOPNEUMONIA TREATED WITH LYCOPODIUM

A case of bronchopneumonia treated with lycopodium (R. Petrucci)
Inflammation of lungs, inflammation of bronchial tubes
Lycopodium clavatum
Case
Aldo, male, born 1963
Profession: carpenter
Married, has one child
On the 25th of April, the patient went diving in the sea and reported that the water was
particularly cold. The day after, he started having a cough and later it increased. The catarrh was
first brownish and then yellow. In the following days the cough became dry and then it has
decreased.
* Expectoration; brownish (Synthesis 993): Bry. Lyc. Phos.
* Expectoration; yellow (S 998): Bry. Lyc. Phos. Tub.
On the 2nd of May, Aldo went to wash the car in an open place. It was hot and he was sweating.
In the evening, he started not to feel well. I considered that the patient, as he reported, became
heated and then he got cold, so I took the rubric:
* Generals; pain, sore, heated walk and rapid cooling after (S 1652): Bry. Rhus-t. Tub.(addition
Geukens)
The following day (3rd of May) the fever rose to 39.5C and he spontaneously took his
constitutional remedy, first a 1M and the day after a 10M.
On Monday (5th of May) the fever decreased to 37C and he went for a consultation to the
family doctor who told him that there was nothing in his lungs. On the 6th of May, the fever rose
to 38C again and during the night he woke up with a strong, stabbing pain on the right side of
his chest.
* Chest; pain, cutting, sides, right (S 1034): Lyc.
In order to differentiate the remedies, it is important to ask to the patient in which position he
feels relief. To my question on this matter the patient answered: 'I could not lie down on my right
side. I was sitting with a pillow behind my back in my bed, then I slowly slipped down, but the
more I lay down the more I felt a sharp pain.'
* Chest; pain, side, on affected (S 1022): Bry. Phos.
* Chest; pain, side, on painful (S 1022): Bry.
* Generals; lying, painful side, agg.: Bry. Lyc. Phos.
At 1 p.m. , the family doctor went to the house of the patient, but he had a lot of problems while
examining him because the pain was very strong: 'I was very angry, I was lacking vitality. I was
not angry with anybody or for any particular reason, but I had clenched teeth. I felt lifeless. They
said that I looked furious.'
* Mind; irritability, heat during (S 133): Bry. Phos.
* Mind; rudeness, fever during (S 168): Lyc.
The wife reports that he had not been speaking or answering her questions since the night
before; he didn't want to be disturbed.
* Mind; disturbed, averse to being (S 87): Bry. Tub.
The pain was brought on by coughing, breathing and on motion. In a week the patient lost 4-5
Kg.
* Chest; pain, cutting, coughing (S 1033): Bry. Phos.
* Chest; pain, cutting, motion, agg. (S 1034): Bry.
* Chest; pain, cough, during (S 1021): Bry. Lyc. Phos.
* Chest; pain, respiration (S 1022): Bry. Lyc.
* Chest; pain, motion agg. (S 1022): Bry. Lyc. Phos.

Lycopodium - 33

The 7th of May, I saw the patient and I made a prescription. I asked the patient to take his
constitutional remedy, even if he hadn't seemed to have had any positive reaction. I prescribed
50M, every hour, and I told him to have an x-ray taken. The report was: 'Focus of
bronchopneumonia in the basal anterior segment of the middle right lobe.'
* Chest; inflammation lungs, right (S 1015): Bry. Lyc. Phos. Tub.(addition Geukens)
During the night the patient woke up a few times and at 2 a.m. the cough became particularly
insistent. The pain was more bearable, but he had to hold his chest with his hands.
* Cough; hold, chest with both hands; while coughing must hold (S 972): Bry. Phos. Tub.(addition
Geukens)
In the morning the expectoration changed and became white, like saliva. The fever decreased to
37.4C.
In the afternoon of the 8th of May, the patient reported a clear amelioration of pain and
respiration. To my question concerning the thirst, he answered: 'I drink but I don' t have much
thirst. I drink water, but not from the refrigerator. The water must be room temperature. If I leave
the bottle in the car and the water becomes warm, I like to drink it, then.'
* Stomach; thistles, heat, during (S 672): Bry. Lyc. Phos.
* Stomach; thirstless, heat, during (S 672): Bry. Lyc. Phos.
* Generals; food and drinks, cold drink, cold water, aversion (S 1597): Bry. Phos.
* Generals; food and drinks, warm drinks desire, fever during (S 1608): Lyc.
'At present, I can't bear a draft of air. I like to stay in the open air, but not in the wind; when I
enter the car and it's very warm, I feel very well. I feel it in my bones.'
* Generals; air open, desire for, but draft agg. (S 1551): Bry. Lyc. Phos.
In the morning of the 8th of May, his temperature decreased to 36C.
I saw the patient again on the 19th of May. At first, the patient took the remedy every hour, then
every half-hour, in the most acute phase. During these days, the patient called me two times a
day and I reduced the number of the doses with reference to the amelioration that the patient
reported.
On the 15th of May the patient went to have another x-ray taken with this result: 'Evident
regression of the focus of the bronchopneumonia observed to the level of the middle lobe. There
persists a little congestion in the anterior lateral basal part.'
After the morning of the 11th of May, all the symptoms had completely disappeared; the patient
phoned me and, joking, asked me an antidote because he felt he had too much energy.
Prescription: Lycopodium 50M
Analysis of the case
I had to differentiate between four remedies:
Bryonia: Almost all the rubrics include this remedy, but usually we see an amelioration lying on
the painful side and thirst for large quantities. If you want to differentiate Bryonia from
Phosphorus in an acute case, you must ask about the desire for drinking. This is usually cold for
Phosphorus and warm for Bryonia.
Phosphorus: This remedy is in the rubric 'Irritability, heat during', but usually this patient is
afraid and worried more than irritable. Then we know that Phosphorus is in the rubric 'Stomach;
thirst, extreme, fever with' and has a strong aversion for warm drinks.
Tuberculinum: We had a lot of good additions from Alfons Geukens for this remedy, so we have
to consider it in all the cases of pneumonia, but the remedy is missing in some important rubrics.
We know that this remedy has a strong desire for cold drinks during a fever. It is also important
to remember that it is complementary to Lycopodium, Natrum muriaticum, Pulsatilla and Thuja.
Lycopodium: This is the constitutional remedy of the patient. He reacted well in allergic
problems in the past and some warts disappeared after taking the remedy. Lycopodium is so
irritable when he is sick, that we must think of it every time we have this symptom. It is very
easy to observe in children (Mind; irritability, children, sick when).

Lycopodium - 34

I think that often we can use the constitutional remedy for acute cases also, when of course the
symptoms fit with the idea of the remedy. It is easy not to succeed in curing the case if we don't
use the right potency. Often we see that it is necessary to use very high potencies and repeat
the remedy often in order to cure our patients from acutes.
Roberto Petrucci, MD
Centro di Omeopatia
Viale Ca' Granda, 2
20162 Milano
Italy
Roberto Petrucci, MD, studied homeopathy full time for three years in Hechtel with dr. Alfons
Geukens. At present he is the director of 'Centro di Omeopatia - Clinical training centre for
classical homeopathy' in Milan, where he supervises eight doctors. The center is open 24 hours a
day.

Lycopodium - 35

APPENDIX

Musgo que cresce na Europa, sem poder medicinal aloptico, porm com enorme aplicao e indicao
medicamentosa quando triturado ou dinamizado de forma homeoptica.

Lycopodium

The noisiest drum has nothing in it but air. [English proverb]

Do not make yourself so big, you are not so small. [Jewish proverb]

Lycopodium - 36

PAUL HERSCU TREATMENT OF CHILDREN

Lycopodium clavatum

Mental/emotional characteristics
The descriptions of the remedy Lycopodium as presented in the old materia medicas may mislead the prescriber
because they tend to fit only the adult. The Lycopodium youngster may be an entirely different experience.
Two distinct types of behavior can be observed in Lycopodium children. In one type, fear and apprehension affect
every aspect of the childs life. In the other, the child is bossy to the point of being dictatorial and strives to control
those close by, be they parents, siblings, or friends.
In the waiting room, the first child sits very near his mother and watches everything from that secure vantage point
since the office visit is a strange, new situation. The second child, in contrast, can be heard loudly voicing variations
on a theme: Bring me that toy! I dont want to be here! Take me home!
What this demanding child says is only part of it. It is the tone in which these commands are spoken and the
attitude that it reveals that prompts one to first think of Lycopodium. The child speaks irritably to the parent and the
parent answers weakly, almost apologetically; one quickly grasps that the normal parent-child dynamic has been
reversed. The child, not the adult, controls the relationship. Furthermore, it is as if all the members of the family
have become the Lycopodium youngsters inferiors, there only to meet the little tyrants needs and gratify his
whims.
From these brief initial observations, the doctor can deduce the major thematic elements that will shape the
behavior of Lycopodium people throughout their lives.
In the first example, we see a lack of self-confidence and the presence of many overriding fears. In the second, we
find an irritable nature and a great desire for power. While these two types may be found in different individuals as
described in this chapter, they also represent a continuum that may be expressed in one person.
First I will discuss the aspects of fear, then the lack of self-confidence, and finally the emergence of the desire for
power.

Insecurity/fear
Fear is an essential factor in the development of the Lycopodium psyche. In Kents Repertory, one finds only Baryta
carbonica and Lycopodium under the rubric: Fear; People, in children. Even the babies are apprehensive. Infants
need to be near the mother or on a parents lap, as they become especially afraid when alone and when around
other people, especially loud strangers. Fear is immediately observable in the facial expression, set off by the
distrustful look in the eyes and a stare. While most three-month-old babies smile back at a doting parent, the most
pleasant expression a Lycopodium child of that age can muster is often a mild frown. There may be clearly visible
wrinkling of the forehead proportionate to the degree of apprehension the child is feeling. For example, in the office,
the closer the doctor gets to the baby to pick her up, the more numerous and deeper the creases become. The
eyes, too, stare out at the world with an expression of fear unusual for such a young person, making the observer
wonder what the child is so worried about.
This illustrates the fact that one of the main ways in which fear is elicited, even in very young Lycopodium children,
is as anxiety caused by the presence of strangers. Whereas most children go through a stranger anxiety phase at
some time within the first couple of years, Lycopodium babies develop this from birth and experience it throughout
most of their childhood. It seems as if these infants and children only like what is already known; in this case, only
those people with whom they are intimately familiar.
Such a strong fear of strangers may often be conjoined with a fear of being alone that becomes evident in many
circumstances. The parents may describe it in the interview if the child does not. The child keeps track of the
parents whereabouts throughout the day, following them around the house and constantly querying the parents:
Where are you going ? When will you be back ? Are you upstairs or downstairs ?
While in Natrum muriaticum this same behavior exists, it stems from a concern and fear for the parents safety. In
Lycopodium, the fear is that if the parent is not nearby, they themselves will not be safe. They may need to be in
the same room or at least next door to a parent, as with Pulsatilla. In Pulsatilla the fear is of abandonment, whereas
in Lycopodium the fear is that something bad will actually happen to them.
Happier Lycopodium children wish to stay in the room with a parent and will be quite content with that setup.
Conversely, the irritable child wants to be alone, yet is afraid. When expressed fully in the irritable child, this fear
leads to the famous symptom and keynote in the Repertory: Mind; Company; aversion to, yet dreads being alone.
Fear of being alone is greatly accentuated in the dark. They often do not like to go to bed alone, wanting a parent
to go along to check the area and turn on the lights. A Lycopodium baby will begin to cry as soon as the parents
turn off the lights and leave the room, just like those needing Pulsatilla. Some fear may be allayed by keeping a
light on, but many of these children continue to scream until they are allowed to sleep with their parents or siblings.

Lycopodium - 37
This is especially true after they have watched a scary movie, listened to a ghost story, or even just viewed the six
oclock news on television. Phosphorus, Pulsatilla, and Calcarea carbonica are also unusually sensitive to horrible
stories and have fears in the dark. Lycopodium children may wake up with a fright and go to the parents bed, as do
Phosphorus, Pulsatilla, and Stramonium. Some children go to sleep more easily than described, but if they wake up
at night for any reason, such as to urinate, they may check all the beds to make sure that the family members are
each where he or she should be and that they have not been left alone.
Fear of being alone in the dark may arise at other times as well. For instance, the child will refuse to bring
something up from the basement. The thought of going into the dark underground, unprotected and alone, is
unendurable. The fear of being alone, aggravated by being in the dark, is a good clue to other remedies as well,
such as Causticum, Phosphorus, Pulsatilla, and Stramonium. In Phosphorus, one encounters many other fears the
likes of which only an intensely active imagination can create; in Stramonium, this fear will be seen in a violent
child.

Fear of new things

The child may also develop a fear or aversion to new things, not due to stubbornness, as is found in Calcarea
carbonica, but because he fears the new thing itself. The parent states that in new places and situations (as in the
interview) and in crowds, the child will be fearful and timid at first. Once the situation is better understood by the
child, he becomes more comfortable and is able to interact with others more normally. In brief, anything new will be
regarded with suspicion until it can be understood.
In contrast, a Calcarea carbonica child s dislike of new things is due to slow assimilation and comprehension.
Mothers say that the Calcarea carbonica children cannot be budged to start activities in a new situation because
their stubbornness prevents it. However, when they finally understand what is going on, they join in and often
cannot be stopped! The Calcarea carbonica child is obstinate and unyielding, while the Lycopodium child is fearful
and anxious. Even though similar behavior is noted in their dislike of new things, the root causes are radically
different for each of these remedy types.
Fear of new situations may be observed in the clinic. If there are several chairs from which to pick, the first-time
Lycopodium patient will often pick the chair farthest from the doctor and will have to be coaxed to sit any closer.
The child, squirming in her seat, will neither talk to nor establish any eye contact with the doctor. Others whisper,
mumble, or look at the parent for cues or for whole answers. Some giggle nervously before or after every answer.
Some will be very adultlike and answer properly (if stiffly, due to nervousness), looking at the mother only when
they do not know the answer. Toddlers may sit on their mothers laps frowning at the doctor and screaming
whenever the doctor or the mother asks a question.
During the follow-up interview some weeks later, the child knows the doctor and what to expect and so is much
friendlier and acts more comfortable all around. At this point the practitioner may be misled to think that the remedy
given has acted, based on the changes observed in the office, but these changes will occur even if the wrong
remedy was prescribed simply because the situation is no longer new and therefore not threatening. A good way to
determine accurately whether or not it was the remedy that caused a change in the child is to ask the parent how
the child behaved in other new situations during the interim or in situations that previously made the child anxious.
Often the fear of new things leads to a predictable lack of initiative. The parents state that the Lycopodium child is
not a spur-of-the-moment type of person. For example, every time the family goes out for supper the child may
order the same meal. Parental attempts to convince the child to choose something else are usually in vain. If forced
to pick a new food, and if the food is liked (as it often turns out to be), the new item will be added to the menu of
acceptable choices.
I am reminded of eight-year-old Roger, who was brought for treatment of his frequent colds. Along with the rest of
the symptoms was a strong fear of new things. He would invariably cry and hide when presented with new tasks or
new choices in clothes, foods, or activities. If he had not shown all the other fears and physical general
characteristics of Lycopodium such as a fear of the dark and of being alone, right-sided sore throats, and
stomachaches, I would have given the remedy Baryta carbonica, so marked was this behavior of hiding from new
situations.

Fear of public failure

If one perceives why and how the child exhibits these fears, the case becomes greatly simplified. The fear of new
situations in Lycopodium is intimately bound to a prominent fear of failure. This pattern grows more and more
pronounced as such children mature into adulthood. The exact description of what I have observed is that they fear
the decision-making process and the repercussions of any decisions made.
For the most part, the fear of failure is felt only before an upcoming event, not during it. They anticipate that
something will go wrong, something bad will happen, or that they will be ridiculed in some way. However, once they
begin the activity, the fear diminishes and they accomplish the task with ease. The type and degree of
apprehension is second only to that found in those responding to the remedy Silicea. These children also
experience fear before an activity or event that disappears as soon as the event begins and they find that they
perform well. Argentum nitricum, Gelsemium sempervirens, and Phosphorus may likewise greatly fear upcoming
events.

Lycopodium - 38
It should be noted that this fear is not merely a fear of failure; rather, it is a fear of failing in public. What the child
may tell the doctor is that she does not mind trying new things if she is alone, but does not wish to do them in front
of others, especially her peers.
This sensitivity to ridicule should be explored carefully, as it leads the prescriber to understand the Lycopodium
childs personality more fully. Each constitutional remedy type is affected by the same stresses in different ways.
Compare the Lycopodium child to Natrum muriaticum and Pulsatilla. The Natrum muriaticum child can be
destroyed emotionally by ridicule. Natrum muriaticum children have such strong emotions, which they try to control,
that the thought of being made fun of is itself overwhelming. They become severely traumatized, something that will
not be easily resolved once they are made fun of. The Pulsatilla child also has an emotional base of existence,
being also easily hurt; especially if the ridicule threatens to take love away from him. If he does not feel that this will
happen, however, the Pulsatilla child will usually resolve the situation easily. The Lycopodium child is concerned
about something quite different. He does not have the strong, deep emotions of the Natrum muriaticum and so will
not be so easily crushed emotionally. However, he is sensitive to social ranking and will not wish to lose status. For
this reason, the Lycopodium fears new situations, people, and activities that can potentially reveal his
inadequacies. He resists new projects, new ideas, and even new games. He fears that he will get up in front of the
class, make an error, and look foolish. Herein lies the Lycopodium fear of ridicule. Later in life these individuals
learn to bluff their way through situations such as this, but as youngsters, they resist putting their rank on the line.
We can conclude that in Natrum muriaticum the criticism and condemnation comes from within. In Pulsatilla the
fear of losing love is the major threat felt in being made fun of. In Lycopodium the child is most concerned with how
he or she is perceived within the group.
As a corollary to this concern about what others think, one finds that the Lycopodium child may compromise easily,
dress neatly, and maintain a tidy appearance in general. Such behavior shows that her energy is spent on climbing
the social ladder, doing everything right so as to secure a desirable position within the social strata.
Lycopodium children are preoccupied with their looks. The children may be sloppy in their rooms and messy in the
bathroom but they groom themselves well, always concerned about their show. Lycopodium will often prove to be
the remedy needed for seven- to ten-year-old girls who are preoccupied with clothes, hair style, jewelry, and
makeup, even though her family does not encourage this behavior.
A memorable case illustrating this aspect involves sixteen-year-old Jody. She complained of allergies, a postnasal
drip, and sore throats that had become more or less constant during the past two years. The case fit Lycopodium in
the time and temperature modalities, becoming aggravated in the morning and late afternoon and in the cold. When
asked what had happened in the two previous years, the answer confirmed a Lycopodium diagnosis. When she
was fourteen years old, she became pregnant. This shock seemed to place her not in grief or in sadness, but rather
in a deep Lycopodium state. She became so concerned about what others might think that she starved herself. For
eight months no one suspected that she was pregnant. Finally, when she could hide the truth no longer, she was
found out and married the father of the child. As usual in Lycopodium pregnancies, she developed constant
stomachaches. And what is also usual for Lycopodium pregnancies, though unusual for one her age, she
developed extensive varicose veins and hemorrhoids. She became severely constipated as well and needed strong
laxatives to have a bowel movement during the two months following the birth.
It was impressive to hear how the emotional shock of this unwanted pregnancy, which put an unbearable strain on
maintaining social status and appearances, expressed itself physically. Even two years later, when she was first
seen in our clinic, all the symptoms of her physical pathologies still fit the Lycopodium picture.

Fear somaticized
Apprehension and anxiety are often felt by Lycopodium children in the stomach and abdomen. They develop
frequent stomachaches, nausea, vomiting, and loose stools or diarrhea. I remember a teenager who complained of
frequent sore throats. Along with all the Lycopodium modalities of the sore throats, food desires, and skin problems,
she also described herself as having had a weak stomach her entire life. She was a very good student who
maintained a high grade average. Her scholastic abilities, however, did not lessen the anxiety she experienced
before every test. Whenever she studied for any test she would develop stomachaches so intense she would
eventually vomit.
Physical problems may also lead to emotional changes. Charles, a boy of seven, became very crabby and
challenged all of his mothers requests and argued with the neighborhood children with no apparent provocation.
This behavior began immediately after a hernia operation and persisted until given the remedy Lycopodium years
later. It seemed that the physical Lycopodium symptomatology transferred to the emotional state after the
operation. Another Lycopodium patient of mine developed similar irritability, along with fears of the dark and of
being alone, after receiving allergy shots to cure a chronically stuffy nose.
In arthritis cases, as the inflammation increases, so too do the fears and irritability. Parents of arthritic children
bemoan the transformation, saying that the child used to be more happy-go-lucky until the physical changes
occurred. Changes in emotions can be an especially important clue in diseases that have exacerbations and
remissions. These slight changes on the emotional level can indicate to the parent that a flare-up is eminent even
before the physical symptoms are fully expressed. One little girl who responded well to the remedy Lycopodium in

Lycopodium - 39
the treatment of juvenile rheumatoid arthritis became increasingly insecure in the weeks before a relapse, needing
to be near her parents all the time and being unbearably sensitive and crabby with her siblings. Whenever her
moods would change to fit this remedy, we would repeat the remedy, thus preventing any relapse of her arthritis.

Flat affect
Parents often talk about their Lycopodium children using descriptions that are flat; that is, lacking any enthusiasm.
They describe the child as a considerate little girl, or say that she is nice. Others volunteer that the child does all
the right things, and yet it is as if the child has little soul or charisma; as if she lacked a personality. In trying to
maintain her social rank, she has abdicated anything that sets her apart from others. While this Lycopodium
offspring may be a relief for the parents of, say, a Tuberculinum child (because the Lycopodium is at least not out of
control), most parents are apt to favor children of other remedy types and feel neutral or negative about the
Lycopodium child.

Indecisiveness
A hallmark of the combined lack of self-confidence and insecurity is seen in the childs indecisiveness. In the office,
the child presents a very weak handshake at best, and that only after the doctor has offered a hand first. The child
often answers in a timid voice that lacks any expression of self-assurance. She anxiously looks at the mother for
every answer, as does Pulsatilla. The indecisiveness may even make a Lycopodium child run away and hide her
head or cry if forced to make a decision. The child may need to have the parent decide what should be worn to
school the next day. While speaking with such children, it may be noticed that they giggle before every answer and
never look up at the doctor. The doctor may do a double take on the age that is written down on the information
intake form because the child seems so much younger than the age reported.
Timid, fearful boys may often be mistaken for Pulsatilla youngsters. One differentiating point will be that a
Lycopodium boy will have nasty, irritable moments with the family whereas Pulsatilla will rarely show this negative
trait. Likewise, Lycopodium teenaged girls will at times be closed and shy, resembling Natrum muriaticum, but will
not have the callous or oversensitive emotions and special sensitivity to grief found in the latter.

Love of power
To restate the characteristics of the Lycopodium psychology mentioned thus far, we may safely say that the children
fear being alone and being around new people and situations. They rarely develop a strong sense of self and
remain plagued by a feeling of powerlessness. Since they feel that the parents will take care of them in difficult
situations, Lycopodium children try to stay very near them.
The natural outcome of this is that the child is surrounded by adults who do not make fun of or criticize her. An
interesting phenomenon occurs as she realizes that there are times when she can be in absolute control of
situations. The child needs something; namely, protection, which the parents offer. In her mind, the Lycopodium
child translates this into the belief that the parents are under her control. When this occurs, the child now realizes
that, for the first time, she can exert some power.
Kent describes this situation in his Materia Medica thus: It is a dread of people, and when that is fully carried out
in the Lyc. patient you see that she dreads the presence of new persons, or the coming in of friends and visitors;
she wants to be only with those that are constantly surrounding her.
Occasionally this dread may be taken to some strange extremes. The child may appear rude whenever he is
around strangers. The parents say that the child will totally avoid a stranger, as though pretending that the unknown
person did not exist. He will not look at the person or respond to any attempts at communication. Looking at the
quote from Kent, one can deduce the source of this desire for company and yet not for strangers. Since one never
knows how a stranger will react, they are to be avoided. He wants to only be around family members, the ones who
can be controlled and will not put up a fuss. This is what unconditional love means to many Lycopodium children.
A more conscious decision is then made to have only people around who they can control, since this is the first real
feeling of power that they have felt. It is only external power, though; internally, they still feel weak.
I once treated a toddler, Lisa, just over one year old, for respiratory tract infections. When asked about the girls
temperament, the mother bemoaned the fact that the child would respond to any attempted request by her mother
by screaming at the top of her lungs. The noise would automatically stop the mothers request and she would
capitulate. This description of domination by one so young combined with the fears mentioned above and the
modalities of the respiratory tract infections confirmed the prescription for the remedy Lycopodium.
Because the feeling of power allays insecurities, it becomes addictive to Lycopodium children, and they develop
what can be found in Kents Repertory as a rubric: Mind; Power, love of. This desire for power is strong and takes
many forms. One may hear parents complain of the the headstrong, cranky Lycopodium who controls the
household. The bossy child orders around parents and siblings alike. During this phase of the interview, a
description of the childs behavior may become confused with that of Nux vomica, as this particular trait can
become quite pronounced in both remedy types.
In one case, the child whined constantly and ordered his mother around. Get me this book. Turn on the
television. Give me that toy. The homeopathic prescription was confirmed by the fact that the same child was
also fearful and would not play by himself, always following the mother about the house instead. It is a peculiar

Lycopodium - 40
combination: a domineering yet needy, fearful person. When these characteristics are found together, it will most
often point to Lycopodium.
Lycopodium children grow irritable if not obeyed or if not obeyed quickly enough. As alluded to above, this
behavior can be already manifest in the infant who early on grasps the fact that if he yells, screams, or acts badly,
he can manipulate this loving adult to do anything he wishes. The child becomes critical and faultfinding, chastising
siblings for doing this and that wrong or even accusing the mother in a similar fashion. In the interview it is this sort
of Lycopodium child who constantly corrects and insults the mother in a way that implies the parent is but a peon.
This is an important point to remember as it keeps one from confusing Lycopodium with Pulsatilla, as exemplified in
the following story.
While eliciting a case history from seven-year-old Janice, I found that all the symptoms fit both Lycopodium and
Pulsatilla. Each remedy was considered and questions were asked and answered. As I pressed on, the manner in
which the questions were being answered was noted and recognized. Though the answers came forth easily and
with the eagerness one would expect to find in a Pulsatilla child, the ease with which the girl also corrected her
mothers responses (in a tone of voice somewhere between good-natured and condescending) helped to confirm
the Lycopodium diagnosis.
The love of power syndrome will also manifest in the manner in which the child plays. A Lycopodium child with
this trait often prefers to play with younger children so that he will be king. He can then decide what and how they
will play, give directions, and set the tone for all events.
The power dynamics may also be seen in the interaction between siblings in relation to toys. The child becomes
manipulatively possessive, requiring brothers or sisters to ask permission or pledge obedience before using his
toys. Lycopodium at this stage of development is frequently confused with Tuberculinum, as they both may hit other
children. The Lycopodium, however, only hits younger or weaker playmates. When the child is forced to play with
older children, the weakness of character shows itself readily. In these circumstances the Lycopodium child tends
to be a follower, quieter and more compliant to what others wish. This again shows a painful awareness of social
standing and the fear of making mistakes.
In later stages of Lycopodium psychopathology, this love of power leads to a strong intolerance of contradiction.
The child is not able to handle the slightest degree of criticism or correction from others, yet with ease he picks on
and finds fault with other children or family members, especially those deemed weaker.
Many teenaged Lycopodium girls become hypercritical and faultfinding. After being with one of them for half an
hour or so, one begins to feel that they can find something bad to say about everyone. One such teenager, a
sixteen-year-old suffering from chronic sore throats and hay fever, was sure to tell me about her brother. My
brother is a bum. All he ever does is watch television and play sports. Hes so lazy. The degree of unelicited
criticism and nastiness led me away from a Natrum muriaticum prescription, although it initially seemed from the
girls ailment to be equally called for.
In both the fearful and the domineering types of Lycopodium, as the interview proceeds there is a growing feeling
that these young women take themselves entirely too seriously. These girls are usually very neat and proper in their
attire, hair, manners, and speech, but the judgements and disgusted feelings they express toward others will
confirm Lycopodium over other possible remedies, resembling the remedy Nitricum acidum most closely.

Irritability
One definite Lycopodium characteristic is intense irritability. Lycopodium children who tend to be domineering also
tend to be irritable. They become impatient, cranky, and demanding. If they are not obeyed they fly into a rage, as
one would expect to see in a Nux vomica. They become annoyed easily with what the parents claim are
insignificant things. One eventually realizes that this irritability is yet another tool that the children use to manipulate
situations for their own ends.
The little Lycopodium tyrant must have his way without any contradiction or he throws a fit. He does not wish to
speak to the offending parent, and in this mood exaggerates every little thing. For instance, he may act as if he is
very sensitive to physical contact. At a busy shopping center the parent may request something of the child; for
example, to put down a toy; asking over and over again while the child ignores both the parent and the request
each time. As the parent pulls at the childs arm to lead him away, he will scream something like, Ow! Youre
hurting me! Let me go! Ouch! The child complains as if the parent had committed an atrocity against his body.
Bystanders turn to see what is happening while the parent sinks in disgrace, lest others suspect child abuse. As the
parent releases the arm, the child feels victorious once more and occasionally smirks in defiance. I should add,
however, that these children may also truly be very sensitive to pain and can become as irritable as Hepar
sulphuris does when they are in true physical pain.
They may become more irritable when constipated. They are easily frustrated, hitting younger children or perhaps
telling the mother that she is stupid. After a bowel movement they may become reasonable for another few days
until the constipation returns. The parents, not the children, are the ones who must be convinced to stop giving
cathartics so that their systems might have a chance to come back into balance. One can commiserate with the
poor parents predicament as their childs irritability holds hostage everyone in the household.

Lycopodium - 41
The child often wakes up in an irritable mood and does not wish to talk or get out of bed. The parents state that the
childs worst time is in the morning when she first gets up, especially if she did not get enough sleep or is hungry.
These cranky youngsters become much more civil after they have eaten and have been awake for a while. They
are also quite grumpy around four in the afternoon, a classic Lycopodium aggravation time, when they return from
school. When the parent asks the child how school was, the child, in a hypoglycemic state, growls and goes to the
kitchen for some sweets and then lies down in front of the television for a couple of hours.
Babies are also typically irritable, and frown and scream at the slightest provocation. The crankiness has a
demanding tone to it. They are, of course, especially cranky when they are hungry upon awakening or if they are
tired, ill, or colicky.

Dyslexia
In Lycopodium there can be an inability to integrate the left and right sides of the brain. It is as if the corpus
callosum has been severed and does not transfer information from one hemisphere to the other as it should.
Lycopodium infants commonly have difficulty mastering the sucking reflex. They likewise have difficulty developing
a coordinated pattern of crawling (cross-crawling) and learn to walk later than their siblings. They are found to be,
along with Medorrhinum, the most prone to dyslexia, both as children and as adults. Indeed, dyslexia often first
indicates a need for this medicine. They make mistakes in reading and writing, inverting or leaving letters out or
using the wrong words; and in arithmetic, adding up columns of numbers incorrectly.
Frustration with these disabilities naturally causes apprehension any time they need to demonstrate their mental
skills either in front of classmates or in homework. In order to avoid being laughed at by their peers or receiving a
poor grade from the teacher, the child needing Lycopodium procrastinates instead of doing assignments. They put
off doing their schoolwork as frequently as does the Sulphur child. While Sulphur resists doing homework out of
laziness, for Lycopodium it is due to fear of failure and lack of self-confidence.
A peculiar behavior pattern may develop in these children: they hurriedly write their work but cannot bear to read
what they have just written. This is seen particularly in those who have a history of making many mistakes.
Reviewing the work means having to come to terms with the mistakes made, a task that is anathema to the
Lycopodium psyche as it deflates the ego as well as makes the child fear a loss of status. Also, refusing to review
the mistaken work is a type of procrastination. They feel that since they must write it down, they wish only to be
finished with the torture as quickly as possible.
The more immature Lycopodium children also exhibit this symptom when they do not care at all about the work but
are forced to do it by a parent or teacher. The attitude that the child portrays in this case is, Fine. I did it. Now leave
me alone, I want to play. Younger children will not care about schoolwork at all and will prefer to play most of the
time. In Lycopodium the extent to which children are lazy reflects the degree to which they fear failure, while in
Sulphur it reflects a breakdown in the ability to concentrate.

Sensitivity
Some Lycopodium children cry easily. They can be moody and tearful when offended. They cry involuntarily and
say they cant help it when a parent demands that they stop. This is especially true after admonition. If the child
did something objectionable and the parent raises his or her voice to tell him why it was wrong, the child begins to
weep, forcing the parent to cut short any planned discourse. In addition, a low pain threshold will cause some to cry
from the slightest injury.

Hyperactivity
There are some hyperactive children who respond beautifully to the remedy Lycopodium and who exhibit many of
the traits discussed here. They are hurried and unrelenting in everything they do. They rush through their
homework, make many mistakes, have a poor attention span, and are often dyslexic. They scribble down anything
as long as they can say they are finished. As mentioned before, these children hate to read what they have written.
They are very restless and unable to sit still, and nervously touch whatever they can in the room. They must eat
every two or three hours and especially crave sweets, sometimes screaming at a parent, Give me, give me, as if
their lives depended on it. Their hands are often in their mouths and they lick their lips until dry, red, and irritated.
When reprimanded, they weep. If a parent grabs them, they feign pain, screaming as if they had been struck with
force. The hyperactive Lycopodium child is also very messy in his environment.
Fears in general
The main fears of the Lycopodium child discussed so far are of being alone (especially in the dark), failure, making
mistakes, new situations, and strangers. Other strong fears include those of ghosts, skeletons, monsters, large
animals, and robbers. The way the child often describes it is that he hates to be alone because of the monsters out
there, or that the bears will kill me. While there are many examples of how a child might express this, the
common element of all these fears is that the child feels too weak to overcome these external forces. This is
confirmed by the fact that most of these fears disappear or do not arise if the parent is nearby.
They may also fear snakes, insects, and especially spiders, though not as intensely as do the remedy types
Calcarea carbonica, Natrum muriaticum, or Phosphorus.

Lycopodium - 42

Correcting the past

There are two other symptoms that the old materia medicas describe in great detail that I have not found to be as
important as was previously thought.
Early books describe the behavior of crying all day and sleeping all night as a major keynote of Lycopodium in
infants and toddlers. This symptom is rarely found among Lycopodium babies in practice, and in actuality, many
Lycopodium infants with colic have exactly the opposite modality, waking up and crying the whole night through and
sleeping soundly during the day.
The other symptom often described in the past is an overall weakness of the body combined with a keen mental
aptitude that encourages the child to sit and read all day. This, too, is rarely observed now. In the past, because the
aggravation time of Lycopodium is from four oclock in the afternoon to eight oclock in the evening, they were too
tired to play after school like other children. Afternoon reading was thus not so much because of a brilliance of the
mind as much as from a dullness of the body. Now what is reported is that the child comes home from school and
sits down to watch television or plays with a coloring book until dinnertime, activities that show that the child is in a
passive mode both physically and mentally.

Sleep
Some children develop insomnia during anxious times such as before a test, play, or singing performance. One
common time is due to apprehension before school begins. Many have trouble sleeping after summer vacation
ends, just as school is about to start again. During these anxious times the child may again need to sleep with a
parent or sleep with the lights on. Some girls who have a fear of monsters and of the dark will not be able to fall
asleep unless a parent sleeps with them. I remember charming little Caroline, who would sneak into her parents
bed during the middle of the night, but defended it, stating that I surely must be asleep when I do that because I
cannot remember any of it at all. I remember trying to maintain composure as she spoke, having doubts about this
last comment.
Occasionally one finds a child who wakes up at night frightened and not knowing where he is, which causes him to
scream and yell for his parents. The parents come in, calm the child, and stay with him until he falls asleep again.
This is noted to be without the violent characteristics of Stramonium, the clinginess of Pulsatilla, or the night terrors
of Calcarea carbonica.
They frequently need the lights on and may need to sleep with others in the room. The children sleep on their right
side, as do Phosphorus children, or on their abdomens. In their sleep they frequently talk or laugh. Even the infants
will babble or coo. They remain covered, well cocooned under their blankets, even in the summertime.
They suck their thumbs until they are quite old, sometimes into their teens.
They awake unrefreshed in a terribly irritable mood and do not bounce out of bed like Pulsatilla, Calcarea
carbonica, or Natrum muriaticum children. As well as being ill-tempered, the characteristic strong hunger directly
after rising makes Lycopodium the first child to arrive in the kitchen. This is in sharp contrast to those children
needing the remedy Sulphur or Natrum muriaticum, who may skip breakfast completely.

Physical symptomatology

Head: The head of the Lycopodium child may appear similar to the Silicea head by seeming too large for the size of
the body. This apparent disproportion is only in relation to the smallness of the rest of the body, not because of the
absolute largeness of head that is often evident in Silicea or Calcarea carbonica children. Curiously, many
Lycopodium girls often draw people with gigantic heads, tiny or insignificant bodies, and spindly limbs; similar in
appearance (at least as a caricature) to some needing the remedy Lycopodium. The scalp develops eczema quite
easily, Lycopodium being the main remedy for eruptions appearing on or behind the ears. The eruption oozes a
clear to yellow watery discharge that forms sheets of itchy, cellophanelike material that can be pulled off in strips.
Occasionally, teenaged girls may complain of slow hair growth or of gradually thinning hair. This is not usually a
major complaint, rather being mentioned only during a follow-up interview as an observation that, since the remedy
was taken the hair has been filling in and growing much faster than before.

Headaches: Lycopodium children occasionally complain of one of two types of headaches. The first is common to
adolescents who crave sugar. If they miss a meal or are late for one, they develop a headache that subsides as
soon as they eat. While the same will also be found with Phosphorus and Sulphur, the differentiating point is the
sensitivity to noise and the irritability that accompanies a Lycopodium headache. During headaches they become
extremely sensitive to noises, shouting at offenders in a bossy tone to cut it out! or to shut up! This sensitivity to
noise may not be seen in younger children with such headaches. What may be described in these cases is their
irritable mood upon awakening, accompanied by a voracious appetite and a demand for food. Tuberculinum also
becomes very irritable with a headache, but the greater intensity of the irritability prompts one to consider the
nosode instead of Lycopodium. The second type of headache about which a Lycopodium teenager is likely to
complain is nondescript in comparison. It tends to be located in the right temple area, aggravated by heat and
worse at night when the sufferer lies down or in the morning if he or she sleeps too long. It is ameliorated by taking
a walk in the cool air. These headaches may resemble those of Natrum muriaticum and Pulsatilla, but the rest of
the symptoms should be used to dictate the remedy.

Lycopodium - 43
Lycopodium should be added to the subrubric: Head; Perspiration, night. While this symptom is not as commonly
found in Lycopodium as it is in Calcarea carbonica, it can help point to this remedy.

Eyes and ears: The eyes are relatively free of problems except for an occasional stye. In contrast, the ears are
frequently affected. The child often develops painful cracks behind the ears, as if the ears were trying to detach
themselves from the scalp. Lycopodium is the main constitutional type with this symptom, although Calcarea
carbonica and Sulphur share this complaint. The cracks are so prevalent in Lycopodium children that they can be
used as a confirmatory symptom in prescribing. I am commonly told by parents that the child had these ear cracks
as an infant and toddler. The lesion may only be a crack or there may be a full-blown case of eczema behind the
ears. Such eczema exudes a clear, yellow, watery discharge that coagulates into thin, transparent sheets that can
be peeled away to expose raw skin, which may bleed. The Lycopodium child may also develop middle ear
infections that resemble those of Calcarea carbonica. The otitis media tends to be on the right side and often
causes the tympanic membrane to rupture and the ear to discharge thick, yellow pus that has a strong odor. Infants
become very irritable with this condition. After the membrane heals, some fluid or mucus may remain in the middle
ear that thickens and causes gradual deafness in that ear. The common combination of right-sided otitis media with
cracks behind the ears will almost always be cured by the remedy Lycopodium. Kents Repertory gives the rubric:
Ear; Discharge, purulent, with eczema, and lists five remedies, one of which is Lycopodium.

Nose: The nose is affected in almost all Lycopodium children. Infants, toddlers, and young adults almost all have
obstructed nasal passages. The babies will not be able to nurse properly because they cannot breathe through the
nose. Infants must pull off the breast, breathe through the mouth, cry, and then try to nurse again. The mother of
such an infant may show the doctor the bulb syringe that she carries around in the diaper bag with which she
suctions out the babys nostrils. The obstruction may also consist of swollen nasal turbinates that accompany dry
snuffles. The mucus resembles the discharge from the ears: thick and yellow to green in color, similar to that found
in Kali bichromicum. The mucus may form hard crusts, also found in Kali bichromicum, that the child picks at all
day. The difference with Kali bichromicum crusts is that once they are pulled away they leave the nose very raw
and sore. In Lycopodium the nose does not become so sore. The other differentiating key is that this thick type of
discharge is seen more in acute Kali bichromicum sinusitis cases, whereas in Lycopodium it is found in chronic
ailments. A case of snuffles in infants or children is cured most frequently by the remedy Lycopodium, which should
therefore be raised in grade in the Repertory to bold type in all the appropriate rubrics. The nasal obstruction is
much worse at night when the child lies down, as is found with Pulsatilla. It is aggravated in the morning due to
mucus accumulating overnight. It is commonly made worse by taking dairy products, summertime heat, and pollen.
Those prone to nasal obstructions develop frequent head colds with these symptoms. The nose may be completely
dry and the snuffles described only as sniffing, but which drives the parents to distraction. They ask the child to
blow the nose but no mucus comes out. This chronic, dry snuffling is even more infuriating for parents who
compare this child to another of theirs who needs the remedy Calcarea carbonica. This other child sniffs and
blows and mucus pours effortlessly out the nose, so they cannot understand why the Lycopodium child sniffs and
sniffs and rubs the nose, but reports that there is nothing there. This incessant need to sniff is commonly
observed in practice and can confuse the prescriber who may mistakenly try to repertorize each of the little rubrics
in the nose section, leading to many obscure remedies that do not work or work only partially for a short time. The
symptom of dry snuffling is observed frequently in Lycopodium children and should alert the prescriber to look for
other confirmatory symptoms during the interview and exam. The other keynote of the Lycopodium nose is the
flaring of the nostrils. Though all the materia medicas describe this symptom as a common finding, in practice it is
rarely observed in children; it is more commonly found in adults. Flaring nostrils will be observed in pediatric
practice in nervous teenagers and in infants and children with severe respiratory tract infections who require
Lycopodium as a remedy to regain their health. In both cases, wrinkling of the forehead will also be observed.
Finally, the remedy Lycopodium should be considered for nosebleeds and should be listed in italics under a new
rubric I have created: Nose; Epistaxis, summer.

Face: The face may be quite distinctive, especially in children with malabsorptive syndromes. Those with such
conditions tend to lose weight from the head area and upper torso, so that the skin hangs a little more loosely there
and begins to wrinkle. The materia medicas describe infants showing such a failure to thrive as having the
countenances of very old people. What they were referring to was the degree of wrinkling combined with the
wasting of flesh that one would expect to find in someone over sixty years old. In practice, this extreme example is
not frequently seen. More commonly found is the infant who sits on the mothers lap looking right at the prescriber
with an anxious look on the face, eyes full of apprehension and forehead lined with wrinkles proportionate to the
anxiety felt. As the doctor approaches to reach for the child, the anxiety increases, the eyes widen, the wrinkles
deepen, and the grip on the mothers arm tightens. This type of fear may confuse one, thinking that it is a Pulsatillatype fear of abandonment, but the extensive wrinkling and yellowness of the skin common in Lycopodium will aid in
differentiating the two. Babies may be jaundiced at birth and may never lose a yellowish tinge around the nose and
cheeks, similar to the Sepia skin color, even as adults. Lycopodium children with allergies, eczemas, and
respiratory problems develop dark blue circles under their eyes and adenoidal faces. This expression,
characterized by slight to moderate buck-toothedness and a mouth that is always slightly open, reflects the need to
breathe through the mouth instead of the obstructed nose. The boys often lick the lips causing a chapped
appearance with a red discoloration or eruption around the mouth. Lycopodium children also often have freckles.

Lycopodium - 44
Mouth: One of the few oral conditions found here is the speedy yellowing of teeth. This may be seen not only in
children who do not like to brush their teeth but also in the ones who brush their teeth religiously. Even the older
children often put their fingers in their mouths, showing an oral fixation.

Throat and neck: Recurrent sore throats and tonsillitis plague this group. Perhaps eighty percent of those who
complain of sore throats that begin on the right side and extend to the left, or that affect the right side only, and that
are ameliorated by warm drinks, benefit from a dose of Lycopodium. This is especially true if one confirms the time
modality that the child worsens upon awakening and during the late afternoon, beginning at about four oclock in
the afternoon. The tonsils enlarge and repeatedly exude smelly white pockets of hardened pus from deep crypts
within the tonsillar surface. These are offensive and strong enough to smell up an entire room, resembling Hepar
sulphuris. After the patient leaves, the doctor often wants to air out the examination room. Swollen, tender cervical
glands develop with pharyngitis that coincide with the above modalities of right-sidedness and aggravation in the
morning and at four oclock. It is very unusual for a child to desire warm drinks in general, but Lycopodium leads
the list in that respect, as it ameliorates the pain in the throat. The child will likewise desire and will be momentarily
soothed by a warm compress to the neck. It is common for a postnasal catarrh associated with subacute sinusitis
to either bring on the sore throat or be concomitant to it. The mucus not only obstructs the nasal passages but also
irritates the mucous membrane of the pharynx. Torticollis is a neck complaint that the remedy Lycopodium
frequently cures in the adult. While the disease is less common in children, Lycopodium is frequently called upon to
cure it when it does occur. Though a full-blown case of torticollis is rare, the prescriber may more frequently see the
child who does not hold his head straight. In the office the childs head moves from being vertical to leaning toward
one side. It is as if there is a weakness of one of the sternocleidomastoid muscles so that good posture of the head
cannot be maintained.

Mononucleosis: Lycopodium should be one of the first remedies considered for the treatment of mononucleosis.

The right side of the throat will be most affected, and the glands will be more swollen on the right. Offensivesmelling pus produced from the throat and obstructed nasal passages is also present. The child becomes very
chilly, weak, and tired. Pains develop in the abdomen and nausea and vomiting follow. The abdominal pain is
ameliorated by bending over and by eating. As the acute infection progresses, the child begins to lose weight,
especially in the upper torso. The skin begins to look translucent with a greenish hue and the face becomes ashen
with dark circles under the eyes. One should also think of Lycopodium if the child has a history of frequent upper
respiratory tract infections, an obstructed nose, and stomachaches ever since an episode of mononucleosis.

Lower respiratory system: The Lycopodium child is susceptible to colds and flu that descend easily into the bronchi,
leading to bronchitis, bronchiolitis, or pneumonia. Recurrent bronchitis produces scant expectoration or, in serious
cases, thick yellow mucus. After the acute infection is over, a lingering dry cough often remains, which keeps not
only the child but the parents up at night. It is aggravated at night when lying down, resembling the cough found
with Pulsatilla children. Infants develop chest colds that are accompanied by much mucus, causing rattling in the
chest with breathing. The cough rattles so much it may be mistaken for a Kali sulphuricum or Antimonium
tartaricum infection. With the congestion the prescriber has an opportunity to observe two keynotes of Lycopodium:
the wrinkling of the forehead and the flaring of the nostrils. The right lower or middle lobe of the lung is most often
involved. This acute infection becomes a problem later in life if the bronchitis or pneumonia is not addressed
quickly and properly. From that time onward, whenever the child develops a cold it descends and becomes
bronchitis easily. This is one of the reasons Lycopodium can be found listed in bold type in the rubric: Chest;
Inflammation; lungs, neglected. Other Lycopodium children develop asthma after such an acute respiratory
infection. This asthma presents as shortness of breath that begins when a cold drops into the lungs and sets off the
attack. Exertion, such as climbing steps or running, may also set off an attack, as it does in Calcarea carbonica.
The asthma attacks are aggravated at night.

Alimentary system: Food cravings and aversions: By far the most enjoyable foods for Lycopodium children to eat
are sweets. This overwhelming desire in a child is a forecast of blood sugar problems in the future. Tendencies
toward hypoglycemia or diabetes are also heralded by intense hunger and irritability upon awakening and by
headaches that come on after missing a meal and are dissipated by eating. The importance of sweets and treats in
these childrens lives becomes obvious when the doctor suggests to the parents to stop giving sweets in order to
improve the childs overall well-being and the child bursts into tears. They crave ice cream, soda pop, and warm
food and drink. Some of the following foods they simply dislike; others wreak havoc on their digestive systems,
causing gas and colic: beans, bread, fat, cheese, onions, oysters, and any vegetable of the cabbage (Brassica)
family. If a nursing infant or mother needs the remedy Lycopodium, the child reacts to these foods in the mothers
diet as well. Oysters may act as a poison to them, causing diarrhea, vomiting, or hives. They might not show much
evidence of thirst, especially being averse cold drinks, except for a desire for sweet drinks like soda pop.

Stomach: The stomach and abdomen are the most symptomatically rich areas of the Lycopodium body. The
children are often described by the parents as having a sensitive stomach. The Lycopodium child develops
stomachaches during all illnesses, from colds to flu to asthma. Children needing Lycopodium feel anxiety in the
stomach more than any other remedy type discussed in this book. The stomach becomes affected by frequent
stomachaches, nausea, and vomiting with the slightest degree of stress. These children say that they develop such

Lycopodium - 45
symptoms before any test or performance. The discomfort is ameliorated by eructation or by passing flatus. This
line of questioning should always be pursued, as the responses may confirm a number of remedies. It must be
explored especially if the remedy Lycopodium is being considered. It may be that the child does not have these
symptoms now but indeed did have them in the past. This history of symptoms can also be used for the
confirmation. The child may also complain of stomachaches if she eats too much; something Lycopodium children
are often guilty of doing.

Appetite: The adult has either a voracious appetite in which the more I eat, the hungrier I become and the more I
want to eat, or a very small appetite: I can come to the table hungry, eat only a mouthful or two, and suddenly feel
full. In the child, we find mostly the former. The infant has a huge appetite and screams when it is hungry. Unwilling
to wait patiently for the mother to unfasten a nursing bra or heat up a bottle of milk, the baby fusses and screams
until fed. The baby may wake up during the night to nurse with a big appetite every hour or two and not voluntarily
stop until the morning. Mothers have to call it quits each nursing session. The baby may be described by the
mother as a wild nurser. As the infant breast-feeds, it sucks forcefully, almost greedily, naturally taking in a lot of
air along with the milk. The air becomes one of the ingredients adding to digestive problems. In the child or
teenager, the appetite verges on the voracious. This is especially marked upon awakening, in the afternoon when
the child returns from school, and in the evenings. During these times the child must be fed or there will be no
peace in the house. Occasionally the parents may only complain that the child eats too quickly, not chewing food
properly. In these situations the prescriber must ask directly about the level of hunger, as the parents may not be
able to gauge it accurately. Ask how this child compares in food consumption with others his age or with adults in
the household. Lycopodium babies often hiccough after nursing. Some women say that they have felt their
Lycopodium babies hiccough in utero. Lycopodium should be added in italics to a new rubric I have created:
Stomach; Hiccough; after eating, in newborns. Pulsatilla should be listed in bold type, Calcarea carbonica in italics,
and Nux vomica in plain type.

Colic: Babies are often good sized at birth but become underweight quickly. Problems begin with infantile colic.
Trapped gas in the stomach causes pain and fussiness all day and/or all night. The parents may report that the
trouble begins in the late afternoon or evening. They may say that there are times in the evening when the child
begins to scream and roll back and forth, trying to find a comfortable position. This may continue for as long as two
hours, with the parents unable to console their suffering infant. Finally the baby passes flatus or stool, and then is
hungry again and wishes to nurse. During this time the baby looks very unhappy, with a wrinkled forehead and a
scowl. The infant may also wake up in the middle of the night with a howl and continue screaming until the gas
passes. The parents may report that hot compresses applied to the abdomen or warm baths enable the baby to
eructate more easily, alleviating the pains. The child can be rocked in any direction to try to help with the passage
of flatus. The colicky Lycopodium infant may only appear contented during feedings and while being held. At all
other times the baby becomes irritable and fidgety, and experiences episodes of screaming. The parents state that
they cannot put the infant down for five minutes without the child crying.

Abdomen: After infancy the abdomen continues to fill with gas frequently, becoming a constant source of
discomfort. The gas passes up or down or becomes trapped within the digestive tract. The pain is ameliorated
when hot compresses are applied to the abdomen or with abdominal massage, both of which encourage the gas to
pass. With malabsorption syndromes the flatus actually distends the abdomen, making it tympanic. Even young
babies pull the clothes away from the abdomen and stretch this way and that, screaming, until the gas passes.
After these children eat or directly before passing stool, loud intestinal rumbling may be heard that ends with the
passage of flatus. In the evening this often precedes a bowel movement. Although this book, as well as other
materia medicas, describe digestive symptoms in great detail, these discomforts are not necessary for the
prescription of the remedy. Many children who need the remedy Lycopodium will not have any digestive
complaints. One should not hesitate to give the remedy if this is so, as it covers such a multitude of symptoms.
Many children who develop pathology in other physical systems still benefit greatly from the administration of
Lycopodium.

Rectum: The child tends to be constipated, having a bowel movement every two, three, or even five days. The
constipation can be traced to anxiety or the lack of effective bowel urges. The difficulty in passing stool may occur
in situations that cause anxiety for the child, such as may occur in public rest rooms. The child finds it difficult to
relax the anal sphincter muscles when anxious, and may have to read for an hour or more while sitting on the toilet
to have a bowel movement. Lycopodium children may not feel any urge to stool or have urges that are
unproductive. Passing stool may be painful, though; the infant or child may fuss and cry and be averse to anything
and everything until relieved by a bowel movement. One differentiating point between Lycopodium and Calcarea
carbonica is that some children needing the remedy Calcarea carbonica may feel fine when they are constipated,
while Lycopodium children are disturbed during constipation. The child may exhibit the keynote commonly found in
adults that the first part of the stool is hard and the last part is soft. Lycopodium children, even infants, may develop
hemorrhoids that remain the same, rarely becoming symptomatic, enlarged, or bleeding; unlike those of Nux
vomica or Muriaticum acidum, which do become very painful.

Urogenital system: Older materia medicas describe many symptoms in the kidneys and urinary tract. In practice,
the kidneys are adversely affected in only a small minority of Lycopodium youngsters. The oft-quoted symptoms of

Lycopodium - 46
red sand in the urine and screaming with pain before urinating are very rare indeed. The former symptom was
easier to find in the early part of the century when there was no indoor plumbing. This meant that the child urinated
into a receptacle that allowed the urine to settle overnight, and so one could easily spot the red sediment. The latter
symptom is found in the atypical child who has a uric acid diathesis and passes gravel, screaming before urinating,
and eventually develops either gout or (right-sided) kidney stones. A confirmatory symptom that may be elicited is
the curious fact that the boys have to urinate more frequently in the evening than during the day. There is a great
propensity toward birth anomalies involving the urogenital tract. These anomalies include structural problems of the
kidneys or ureter, such as a ureter attaching at an improper location, hypospadias or epispadias (where the urethral
meatus is not in the proper location), and urethral stricture. Many of these problems are surgically corrected and
the patients granted normal function, so the information is only elicited in the history taking. Others, however, may
have some lingering symptoms after the repairs, such as frequency and urgency to urinate as well as dribbling
profusely after urethral repair. Perhaps it is this urogenital weakness that causes these boys to commonly be bedwetters.

Boys: I have found that Lycopodium is the most frequently prescribed remedy for infant boys born with
undescended testicles, and should be added to the appropriate rubrics. Boys also develop right-sided inguinal
hernias. Many adults who need Lycopodium mention this symptom in their health history. It is interesting and
curious to note how many of these children develop a new condition, such as hay fever or chronic sinusitis, after
the hernia repair.

Girls: The girls may not develop secondary sexual characteristics until fifteen or sixteen years old. The menarche
may arrive quite late. Premenstrually, the adolescent experiences an increase in her appetite, especially for
sweets, as well as an increase in constipation and irritability. A smaller percentage develop a slight case of acne
just before the flow, and may weep easily. The menstrual flow is accompanied by pains that begin in the right lower
abdomen and extend to the inner thigh. Right-sided ovarian pain at the time of ovulation may also be elicited.
A thin neck and upper body atop wide hips for some teen girls resembles the characteristic shape so commonly seen in
Lycopodium adults. At first these girls appear very thin while sitting in the waiting room, until they stand up and the
heavy buttock and thigh area can be seen.

Musculoskeletal system. Extremities: A Lycopodium prescription should be considered for rheumatic pains and
arthritis in the childhood years when it is worse on the right side. The modalities are identical to those of Rhus
toxicodendron: the pains are ameliorated by motion and heat and are aggravated by rest. Nodular swellings will be
observed in the affected limbs, especially the joints of the hands and feet. A characteristic feature of Lycopodium
rheumatoid arthritis is painless swelling of the right knee, even when there is much effusion in the joint and bursa.
The joints that are affected may also make a cracking sound when moved. The child may become more insecure
or irritable with a flare-up of arthritis. A common observation made about Lycopodium children is the restless
motion of the legs. In the interview one notices that the legs are in constant motion, going around in circles from the
knees down, not from the ankles down as is found with Natrum muriaticum. Parents may report that the child
moves the limbs about in bed at night. The keynote of dry, cracked skin covering the heels may already have
developed and be observed in teenaged girls, though not as commonly as in adult Lycopodium women.
Some children develop plantar warts on the right heel. Nail biting is a frequent complaint of parents about their children;
the gnawing arises out of nervousness as well as excess energy and restlessness.

Skin: The child is often plagued by eczema from birth, as are Medorrhinum, Sulphur, Tuberculinum, and Calcarea
carbonica. The feet, fingers, and scalp (especially behind the ears) are the most affected areas. One may also elicit
the history that the child was jaundiced at birth, had tenderness in the liver area, and had much flatulence. These
children may not completely lose the yellowness of the skin, and in these cases will always maintain a golden or
sallow hue. Moles and freckles easily appear on these children. Lycopodium is often the remedy for the child who
develops neurodermatitis. The itching forms vesicles, which may cover a small or large portion of the body. They
may ulcerate and heal slowly because the child picks at them constantly. The eruptions leave the skin with a
discolored, hardened scar.
These same children may also develop a tendency for hives that is aggravated by anxiety and by eating foods to which
they are sensitive. Both the hives and neurodermatitis are aggravated by summertime heat, or from the heat of the
bed or a hot shower. The intense itching lessens by going outside into the cool air. The child may likewise develop
dry, chapped skin, especially upon the face, buttocks, and legs. Such dryness tends to be aggravated in winter and
from eating certain foods such as milk, tomatoes, and citrus fruits. The children may develop warts on their hands
and especially on the soles of their feet (plantar warts).

Physical generals
Complaints are right-sided or begin on the right side and spread to the left. Respiratory diseases spread from top to
bottom.
Thinness, especially in boys, is often observed. The child eats much, at times more than the parent, yet does not
gain weight and even loses weight, resembling Calcarea carbonica, Natrum muriaticum, or Tuberculinum. However,
if this tendency for gauntness is accompanied by much flatulence, Lycopodium is the better remedy choice.

Lycopodium - 47
Aggravation in the morning and from four to eight oclock in the evening, especially when both time modalities are
present, constitute guiding symptoms noted in any diseased states as well as in times of a general drop in energy.
They are often chilly and like to wear hats, and may sleep with their socks on and the windows closed. This is
unusual as most children are warm-blooded. The only time Lycopodium children like coolness is when they have
skin disorders and, possibly, headaches; otherwise, they feel chilly and like everything warmthe room, food,
drink, and bath.
The old materia medicas often advised the prescriber not to begin treating the case by giving the remedy
Lycopodium. They suggested beginning the case by giving Sulphur or Calcarea carbonica. This is not borne out in
clinical experience and should be disregarded. Begin the case with the simillimum always.

Notes on lycopodium infants

These are very fearful babies who need to be near the mother or on a parents lap for security. Lycopodium infants
become especially afraid when alone and when around people other than the parents, especially loud strangers.
Fear and anxiety are easy to see in the stare and in the facial expression, especially the characteristic wrinkling of
the forehead.
These irritable babies frown and scream at the slightest provocation. The crying has a demanding tone to it. They
are especially cranky when hungry or tired, upon awakening, during colic, and during any acute illness.
Infants may cry every time the lights are turned off or when they are left alone in bed; they wish to sleep with the
parents. They awake often at night to nurse or due to colic, and are hungry and cranky in the morning.
The head seems large, but is so only in proportion to the small body or spindly extremities.
The skin cracks behind the ears. Middle ear infections are frequent and begin on the right side, and finally exude a
thick, smelly discharge. Irritability continues throughout such episodes.
The nasal passages of infants are commonly obstructed by mucus, making nursing for long impossible. Infants
must pull off the breast, breathe through the mouth, cry, and then attempt to nurse again. Mothers must suction the
mucus out of the nose frequently. Snuffles are common in babies, especially when they lie down at night. Mucus
may be thick and yellow-green or there may only be dry snuffles with swelling high inside the nostrils causing
obstruction.
Nostrils flare during acute respiratory tract infections.
Colds descend into the bronchi, causing bronchitis and pneumonia.
Chest colds recur and are accompanied by mucus that rattles in the chest, wrinkling of the forehead, and flaring
nostrils. Coughing fits are most common at night when the child is lying down. The right middle lobe of the lung is
most often affected.
Colic and rapid weight loss are common digestive complaints. There can be a great deal of trapped gas in the
intestines that begins in the afternoon or nighttime, causing fussiness, irritability, and pain. Children may scream
with the pain and roll around seeking relief. They feel better with hot compresses applied to the abdomen, by being
carried, occasionally by nursing, and always by passing flatus; they become very hungry after the pain is relieved.
The infant has a big appetite, waking often to nurse and not ceasing until the mother stops. Mothers have been
known to call this infant a wild nurser. Hiccoughs occur after nursing. In malabsorptive syndromes the abdomen
may distend with gas, which is released just before a bowel movement.
There are many birth anomalies in the urogenital tract: too many, not enough, or malposition of tissues and organs.
While these cannot be corrected by homeopathic medicine, such symptoms do point to this remedy and the side
effects of surgical repair often respond to Lycopodium.
Boys may be born with undescended testicles or hernias, especially of the right side.
Babies have poor motor skills, such as poor sucking reflexes or not learning to crawl properly. Dyslexia or other
problems may develop later in life in these infants.
Eczema occurs from birth, especially behind the ears but also on the feet, fingers, and scalp.
In infants with failure to thrive, the skin wrinkles and hangs. The child also wrinkles the face when in pain and while
screaming. The facial expression alternates between a fearful gaze of apprehension and a cranky, irritated frown.
The skin may be jaundiced and may never lose its yellow tinge completely.
These are characteristically thin infants with right-sided problems that are aggravated from four to eight oclock in
the evening.

Lycopodium - 48

VERMEULENS PRISMA

Vermeulens Prisma

Introduction
CLASSIFICATION One the dominant plants of the forests in the Carboniferous Period, the club mosses, also called
lycopods, are reduced today to five genera and some 900 species. The family consists of terrestrial or epiphytic,
fem-like herbs or climbers with small, simple leaves typically arranged in whorls ar spirals. The most common
members are Lycopodium and Selaginella, which enjoy widespread distribution. About 200 species are placed in
the genus Lycopodium; all have simple, crowded, scale-like leaves. The evolutionary significance of the family lies
mainly in the advances made in branching, and in the development of a more complex rooting system. Their
remains are one of the chief ingredients of coal.
FEATURES Club moss species extend from arctic regions into the tropics, but they rarely form conspicuous
elements in any plant community. Because they are evergreen, they are most noticeable in winter. They are usually
creeping ar epiphytic and often inhabit moist places, esp. in tropical and subtropical forests. The creeping species
have trailing stems from which grow erect shoots that look like tiny trees. Despite growing very slowly, the rhizomes
may reach lengths of several metres. Some of the temperate woodland species form large mats on the forest floor;
most of the tropical species grow on trees. They reproduce by means of spores, either clustered into small cones or
bome in the axils of the small scalelike leaves. Some species of Lycopodium are called ground pine or creeping
cedar, esp. those that resemble miniature hemlocks with flattened fan-shaped branches, and are often used for
Christmas decorations.
COOL CLIMATES Lycopodium species such as L. clavatum, L. obscurum, L. alpinum, L. complanatum, and L.
annotinum are native to the cool, boreal forests of North America, Russia, and Scandinavia. They are considered
an indicator of cool temperature climates, fresh and very moist nitrogen-poor soils, and compacted forests floors.
They will tolerate low nutrients and can withstand a wide range of light conditions. If temperatures become warmer
and the forest becomes drier, these species will decrease. Lycopodium clavatum can be found in boreal forest,
bracken grassland, northem lowland forest and northem upland farest.
CONTRASTS "The capsule which contains the gametes and the oil has a tetraedic, almost crystalline form, and is
of such hardness that in the preparation of the remedy, trituration of several days duration is needed, using a
special mill, in order to release the soft inner contents. During its entire phase of development, Lycopodium thus
exhibits a contrariness in all its characteristic manifestations. From the enormous tree to the crouching tiny plant,
from powerful vitality to the greatest vegetative weakness, and combined with such weakness enormous tenacity of
survival. Such contrariness is symbolized, as it were, by the spore, where the extraordinary hardness contrasts with
the softness of the contents. Once a mighty tree with an enormous trunk, the plant now winds snake-like [therefore
the byname snakeroot], reaching a length of ten metres along the ground. Its basic form is still tree-like and it is
thus called ground pine. From its miniature stem ascend tiny branches whose growth always favours one side. The
side with the weaker growth remains retarded, the branches appearing curved to the side of stronger growth. They
are covered with scale-like leaves which develop very slowly. The tiny plant requires coolness and for this reason
favours the shade of woods, thickets, barren and solitary places, often near the relics of old walIs. It does not
develop directly fiom the spores, but goes through an asexual phase of a prothallus producing the sexual organs
fiom which the spores originate. These remain sterile in most instances and only a few germinate. If they develop
they need six to seven years untilleaves appear, and for its whole development the plant needs ten to twenty years,
the time a tree needs for its full growth. The few germinating spores need even here the presence of a saprophytic
fungus to bring about any spermatogenesis at ali. The sperms move actively with the help of tiny tails and need the

Lycopodium - 49
element of water around them in order to be able to move. The outstanding characteristic is the enormous
slowness of development of the plant, beginning with inability to achieve spermatogenesis independently, together
with frequent sterility, sexual development slowed down even further, and the inability to form cWorophyll
independently. In connection with extremely slow growth, this points to a generally slowed-down metabolism and
thus to reduced vitality. This again is contrasted by great persistence through the plant's evolution and a wide
distribution which makes Lycopodium endure through millions of years, with 11 main and 40 subspecies and in alI
zones of the earth. Thus the phylogenesis and ontogenesis of Lycopodium, its development, growth and
metabolism manifest an unusual slowness, and at the same time great persistence of the life processo Again a
certain contrariness emerges.'"
USES Several Lycopodium species are grown as ornamentaIs, some are a source of fibre, and Lycopodium spores
or powder are utilized in sound experiments in physics. The spores of Lycopodium clavatum are very flarnrnable
and were formerly used in fueworks, in theatre productions [special effects] and as an absorptive powder for
pharmaceutical purposes. Its [former] use for surgical gloves has caused granulomatous reactions in wounds. The
powder used in powders, soaps and shampoos has been reported to cause dermatitis. In 19th century Sweden, the
trailing stems were used to plait doormats, as well as to mop floors and to scrub pots and pans. "Used as a base
for face-powder preparations, and a dry shampoo for the hair. The spores were used in tracer bullets and flares in
World War 11. It has been found that L. clavatum spores used to coat non-lubricated condoms, so that they will not
stick when rolled up, can cause allergic reactions ranging fiom dermatitis to severe asthma attacks and worse. In
Colombia a decoction has been made of 60 g of the green plant in one litre of water. This is put in baths that are
taken twice by retarded children. Apparently the baths have been of great benefit. An infusion of the plant was
taken by the Aleuts of the Aleutian Islands for post partum pain. The spores were used as a styptic and coagulan
by the Potawatomi American Indians. In British Columbia the moss was inserted into the nose to cause bleeding
and to cure headache."2
NAME The name is derived from Gr lykos, wolf, and podus, foot, in allusion to the rhizomes which resemble a
wolf's paw. The specific name clavatus means club-shaped and refers to the shape of the stems. Although the
members of this family resemble the mosses, they are considered to be evolutionarily more advanced because of
their specialized fluid-conducting tissues [vascular plants]. True mosses are more primitive and nonvascular.
CONSTITUENTS Alkaloids [lycopodine, clavatine, clavotoxine]; cinnamic acid; flavonoids; polyohenols; triterpenes;
sulphur compounds [whence its popular name of 'vegetable sulphur']; aluminium [the ash of the spores consist of
15-54% aluminium]; fatty acids [the spores consist of 40-50% of a greenish-yellow oil]; traces of copper, arsenic,
iron, magnesium, manganese, and zinc [none of them in significant amounts].
MEDICINE "The parts of the plant now employed are the minute spores which, as a yellow powder, are shaken out
of the kidney-shaped capsules or sporangia growing on the inner side of the bracts covering the fmit spike. Under
the names of Museus terrestris or M. clavatum the whole plant was used, dried, by ancient physicians as a
stomachic and diuretic, mainly in calculous and other kidney complaints; the spores do not appear to have been
used alone until the 17th century, when they were employed as a diuretic in dropsy, a drastic in diarrhoea,
dysentery and suppression of urine, a nervine in spasms and hydrophobia, an aperient in gout and scurvy and a
corroborant in rheumatism, and also as an application to wounds. ... The spores are still medicinally employed by
herbalists in this country [England], both intemally and extemally, as a dusting powder in various skin diseases
such as eczema and erysipelas and for excoriated surfaces, to prevent chafing in infants. Their chief pharma ceutical use is as a pill powder, for enveloping pills to prevent their adhesion to one another when placed in a box,
and to disguise their taste. Dose, 10 to 60 grains. They have such a strong repulsive power that, if the hand is
powdered with them, it can be dipped in water without becoming wet."3

Lycopodium - 50
PROVINGS.
[1] Hahnemann - 8 provers; method: unknown.
[2] Segin - 3 self-experimentations, 1835 and 1842; method: repeated doses of 18th and 30th dils.; 10-50 drops
of 30th di!.; 10 drops of tincture and 1st di!., 1 drop of oily residue, and 50 drops of 3rd di!.
[3] Schelling - self-experimentation; method: ten trials with 8th, 19th, 20th, 23rd, 24th, and 200th dils., single dose
or repeated doses.
[4] Genzke - self-experimentation, and experiment on 6 persons, 1846; method: "Dr. Genzke also experimented
on five of his own children, boys and girls varying from 6 to 15 years of age, to whom he administered daily
increasing doses of the 15th attenuation. No symptoms attributable to the drug resulted, and the same was the
case after a 10 days course of the 3rd trit. The negative results of these experiments on Herr Rusch and on his
children, led him to question whether the symptoms noted in his own case were really attributable to
Lycopodium." [Hughes]
[5] Huber -10 provers [6 females, 4 males], 1850; method: 5 grains of 5th trit., twice daily for 5-8 days [5 provers];
daily increasing doses from 15-20 to 60-90 grains, decreasing potencies from 6x to Ix, for periods ranging from 9
to 40 days [5 provers].
[6] Martin - 11 [male] provers, 1859; method: 1-4 doses of 1-2 grains of crude drug or 1 st trit., observation
periods ranging from 3 to 14 days.
[7] Baumgartner - self-experimentation, 1862; method: single dose of 100 drops of 30th di!., after 17 days same
dose of 24th di!., after 28 days two doses of 100 drops of 18th di!., followed by 100 drops of 15th di!. on 1st and
2nd days, of 12th on 4th day, of 9th di!. on 6th nd 7th days, of 6th di!. on 9th and 10th days, of 3rd di!. on 13th day,
of 2nd di!. on 14th day, of 1 st di!. on 15th day, then 10 drops oftincture on 16th day, 30 drops oftincture on 17th
day, 100 drops of tincture on 18th and 20th days, and 1 1/2 ounces of tincture on 24th day; six weeks after last
dose, continued with twice daily 5 grains of 1 sI trit. for 29 days.
[8] Robinson - 3 provers [2 femates, 1 male]; method: one doses of 1000lh di!. every third day; 181h di!., three
times a day; 121h di!., three times a day.
AFFINITY
NUTRITION [DIGESTIVE TRACT; portal system; skin]. URINARY ORGANS. RIGHT SIDE [THROAT; chest;
ovary; abdomen]. Brain. Lungs. * RIGHT SIDE. Left side. RIGHT then LEFf side.

Mind symptoms
M EXTREME LACK OF SELF-CONFIDENCE.
Aversion to undertaking NEW THINGS [expects failure).
. "Lack of confidence in his strength." [Hahnemann]
Self-protective.
Doesn't take risks when older, no personal decisions.
Often verbally criticised when younger - no confidence.l
M Feeling of HELPLESSNESS.
. "He can properly speak about higher and even abstract things, but gets confused in everyday matters."
[Hahnemann]
Cautious, irresolute [about trifles].
M Carefulness.
. "A peculiar strain of conservatism and slowness runs through ali shades of Lyc. personalities. It is the caution of a
person who has leamed to rely not on physical strength and impulsiveness but upon the slower pace of deliberation
and careful scrutiny. [Conscientious even about trifles.] Undemeath this deceptively slow surface frequently
smoulders a choleric temper given sudden vehement outburst, more pro
nounced of course in the irritable neurasthenic who is devoid of self-control." [Whitmont]
M Fears, shuns RESPONSIBILITIES.
M Compensatory HAUGHTINESS and DICTATORIAL, presumptuous behaviour.
'Nice outside, tyrant at home' [abusive, intolerant of contradiction, etc.].
. "Bravado is seen more often in Lycopodium than in any other type. It is an attempt to cover up anxiety by acting
confident1y. ... Not all Lycopodiums succumb to bravado. For simplicity's sake we can divide Lycopodium into three
subtypes, which we could label 'the Wimp', 'the Strutter' and the average Lycopodium. In my experience the latter
accounts for about half of the type, whilst the fIrst two account for about a quarter each. The 'Wimp' does not resort
to bravado. His nervousness is undisguised and often quite crippling. ... He has not leamed to hide his fear behind
the subtle defences of the average Lycopodium, or the cruder defences of the 'Strutter'. ... In direct contrast to the

Lycopodium - 51
'Wimp', the 'Strutter' counteracts his sense of impotency by exaggerating his masculine power. ... There are the
physical strutters who go in for body-building and martial arts, so that they can kick sand in the eyes of wimps [or at
least look as if they would]. ... Since he overvalues the masculine, he undervalues the feminine, and this means
that the strutter is a very chauvinistic mano ... Strutters like to dominate others. Physical strutters do this with
physical intimidation. ... Since they are cowards, physical strutters tend to bully women and timid men, and seek to
impress those with more power." [Bailey]
M Pompous, stiff and pretentious.
INFLATED EGO.
M Irritability MORNING on WAKING.
[anger, cross, discontented, impatience, loathing at life]

The Female Lycopodium.

"As a general rule women who need Lyeopodium become aware of being unwell in - or following - a situation for which
their usual strategies for dealing with conflict are no longer adequate. They may feel too small to cope with something
which seems overwhelming: . not up to it'. ... In the patient's personal history, the decisive tuming-point may well be the
death of the father or, later on, the death of the husband or life-partner [or of some other person who has taken on a
'male' role in their life. This loss means that suddenly they fInd themselves needing to take on additional
responsibilities, tasks and duties which over-stretch their own potentia!. Similarly, growing up without a father can lead
to a Lycopodium situation: they have to take on toa mueh responsibility too early. [Differentiate with Care.] In
Lyeopodium, however, it is particularly the area of 'male duties'. ... A central feeling is that of smallness. The patient
may experience herself as a dwarf; everything else seems much too large. The rubric 'Dreams of giants' is maybe the
most expressive in the Repertory regarding Lyeopodium. Things which formerly were experienced as being of normal
size suddenly seem bigger and more threatening. ... Family or social obligations however demand a strength which is
basically not available. So as to do justice to these demands, a pseudo-strength is set up. ... It is rather a question of
self-overestimation. In other words, they compensate for their feeling of smallness with a feeling of enlargement. ... Too
great c/oseness is also an issue for Lyeopodium. Lyeopodium's timidity makes this intimidating, Lyeopodium's distension makes it restricting, Lyeopodium's pseudo-strength implies the danger of being unmasked by it. ... Since it is
the nature of praise to make the recipient feel greater than they actually are, Lyeopodium has problems in dealing with
it. Praise hits the Lycopodium button fairly and squarely. ... lu order for the synergy of pseudostrength and inner
uncertainty to work, the one must suppress the other. In this case what is involved is the suppression of the softer and
more emotional side by the harder and more rational side. ... The suppression of the intuitive side [left] by the rational
side [right] has sometimes been marked by a rather masculine or boyish disposition, even in the physiognomy. ...
Instances of self-control are particularly to be found in the area of eating ['I exercise moderation'; 'I restrain myself and
try to set a good example.'] Other areas: Health; Aggression ['I am able to control myself.']; Weeping ['Not in front of
other people.']."

Generals
G Keen intellect, weak muscular power.
. "People of a robust muscular or fat digestive type are usualIy mentalIy less active than people of the cerebral type
who tend to suffer from digestive and muscular weakness and are of frail vitality. The Lycopodium patient presents
a special instance of the 'cerebral' type with its vitality depressing activity proceeding from the head [brain]
downwards towards the vital and reproductive centres. Thus we find that Lycopodium fits weak children with welI
developed heads but puny sickly bodies; that its symptoms generalIy are: aggravated from above downwards; and
that it produces and cures a state of emaciation of the upper part of the body with a semi. dropsical condition in the
lower parts." [Whitmont]
G Chilly, yet strong craving for OPEN AIR.
Sensitive to DRAFTS.
G < WARM room, yet > warm BED.
. "A peculiar thing about Lycopodium is the paradoxical symptoms in regard to heat and cold. In one case it
expressed itself in this way. During the daytime he can't stand heat and throws off alI his clothes. At night he wants
to pile one blanket on top of the other, particularly on the feet, and he freezes and closes alI the windows. During
the day he just couldn't live in the warm room." [Whitmont]
G Becoming COLD [< or >].
< Becoming warm in open air.
G EASY SATIETY, or increased appetite after eating a little.
G HUNGRY at night; wakes from hunger.
Has to eat before going to sleep.
MUST eat at regular times [to avoid headache].

Lycopodium - 52
G Craving for SWEETS.
G < FLATULENT FOOD.
G HOT food [desire + >].
G < 3-4 A.M. and 4-8 P.M.
Q In terms of biorhythms and the 'organic clock', at 3 a.m. "the lung 's vital capacity is at its lowest point, with
congestion in the pulmonary circulation and venous retum at a minimum. 4 a.m. is the critical period when the
change-over from assimilation to dissimilation occurs. Switch-over from trophotropic to ergotropic rhythms in autonomic sphere, and to secretory functions in glandular system. AlI patients whose regulatory functions are out of phase
and who are unable to switch easily from nighttime to day-time rhythms wake up at 4 a.m. At 4 p.m. the change-over
from day to night phase in liver rhythms takes place.,,3
G > FORENOON.
> AFTER midnight.
G FULL of GAS. INFLATED.
Gastrointestinal disturbanees.
G Bubbling / clucking sensation.
[ears; chest; heart; liver; renal region]
G RIGHT-SIDED complaints; or from RIGHT to LEFT.
G < At beginning of motion.
> Motion.
G DRYNESS [palms, vagina, skin, nose, ete.].
. "Most conspicuous among the trace mineraIs in the enveloping structures of the spores is aluminium, the
percentage of it in the ash varying between 15 and 54%. This might account for the great dryness of mucous
membranes, sometimes characteristic of Lycopodium, and also the great hunger which is found in the picture of
Alumina." [Gutman]

Rubrics

RUBRICS
MIND: Want of amativeness, in men [3], in women [1]. Answering, dietatorial [2]. Anxiety, when the train is in a
tunnel [1]. Aversion, to her own ehildren [2], to women [3]. Cheerful when it thunders and lightens [3]. Dictatorial
[3]. Delusions, has ehildish fantasies [1/1], of being in two plaees at the same time [2], everything will vanish [1/1].
Dulness, > open air [3]. Fear, during eoition [1], of being unable to reaeh his destination [1/1], body is smaller [1
*], with sensation of stoppage of eireulation, at night [2/1], of undertaking anything [3]. Flattering [3]. lrritability,
from noise, even from eraekling of newspapers [1]. Laughing, when looked at [1]. Sadness, < eompany [2].
Starting, startled, on going to sleep, as if starting from feet [1/1]. Weary of life, in eompany [2/1]. Weeping, when
thanked [3/1].
VERTIGO: When looking at revolving objeets [1].
HEAD: Empty sensation while talking [1]. Motions of head, shaking head involuntarily, which makes him dizzy
[3/1]. Pain, > sneezing [1], > uncovering head [3].
EYE: Sensation as if eyes were falling out [1]. Pain, stitehing, when looking at anything white or red, or at the sun
[3/1]. Pupils, dilated before menses [1/1].
VISION: Hemiopia, with hemicrania [3/1]. Lost, evening at twilight [3]. Vibration, as of heated air [2/1].
HEARING: Acute, to noises, noises long retained [1]. Lost, during menses [1].
MOUTH: Speech, indistinct, moming [2/1]; stammering, last words of sentence [111].
THROAT: Constant disposition to swallowing from choking [2].
STOMACH: Appetite, increased, with pain in stomach [2]. Aversion to food, until he tastes it, then he is ravenous
[3]. Indigestion after onions [3]. Nausea, after cold drinks, not after warm drinks [1], while fasting [3]. Sinking
sensation at night [2]. Vomiting without nausea [1].
ABDOMEN: Pain, altemating with backache [2]; right hypochondrium, after eating to satiety [3/1]. Rumbling, on
walking [2/1].
RECTUM: Constipation when away from home [2]. Diarrhoea, after fat food [1 *].
URINE: Copious, at night [3]. Scanty, during daytime [2].
FEMALE: Pain, bearing down, uterus, when stooping [2/l].
COUGH: Lying on back > [2]. From putting out the tongue [1/l].
CHEST: Palpitation during digestion [3], after eating [3].

Lycopodium - 53
BACK: Electric-like shocks along the spine, extending to vertex [111].
LIMBS: Coldness of feet after wine [111].
SLEEP: Waking, with anger [1], from hunger [3], with inability to move [1], from sexual excitement [1]. Yawning,
with bulimia [211].
DREAMS: Anxious, when lying on left side [1]. Giants [1]. Trees [2].
CHILL: Icy coldness of body, as if lying on ice [1/1].
GENERALS: After midnight > [3].
Repertory additions [Mller].
FOOD
Aversion: [2]: Beans and peas; bread; bread, brown; coffee; cooked food; meat; rye bread; smoking; sweets;
tobacco; warm food. [1]: Cabbage; farinaceous; fat; onions; pastry; salt; solid food; sour.
Desire: [3]: Sweets; hot food; olives. [2]: Alcohol; cold drinks; cold food; oysters; warm drinks; warm food. [1]:
Bread; farinaceous; smoking; sour.
Worse: [3]: Beans and peas; cabbage; chocolate; cold food; flatulent food; onions; wine. [2]: Bread, black; carrots;
cold drinks; dry food; fmit; milk; oysters; pastry; sardines; sauerkraut; shellfish; sight of food; tumips. [1]: Beer;
coffee; eggs; farinaceous; heavy food; herring; raw food; salad; salt; vegetables.
Better: [3]: Rot food. [2]: Sweets; warm drinks. [1]: Warm food.