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Earth Air Fire and Water The Pharmageddon Herbal Ivor Hughes Chapter 10B continues Homoeopathic Mother Tinctures 10.28 "We gain possession of the powers of indigenous plants and of such as may be had in a fresh state in the most complete and certain manner by mixing their freshly expressed juice immediately with equal parts of spirits of wine of a strength sufficient to burn a lamp. After this has stood a day and a night in a close stoppered bottle and deposited the fibrinous and albuminous matters, the clear superincumbent fluid is then to be decanted off for medicinal use. All fermentations of the vegetable juice will be at once checked by the spirits of wine mixed with it and rendered impossible for the future, and the entire medicinal power of the vegetable juice is thus retained perfect and uninjured for ever by keeping the preparation in well corked bottles further protected with wax to prevent evaporation and excluded from the sun light" Hahnemann Organon of Medicine - Aphorism 267. In the light of advancing knowledge we may understand that Hahnemann�s method of obtaining the plant magistery takes no account of seasonal availability or for that matter the composition of the juice and its ratio of water to soluble constituents and thus on the 57% spirits of wine.  "but the really important point is, not what they regarded as  fact, but how ? And in what spirit they interpreted their facts ? " Rudolph Steiner

Hahnemann died nearly 160 years ago, and in light of our considerably advanced understanding of Homeopathy, the picture that emerges is that of a truly remarkable man, whose essence is as strong today as it was then. The system he founded is destined to eclipse the current orthodox medical junta.

Hahnemann 10.29 Doctor Friedrich Samuel Hahnemann the father of Homoeopathy was born April 1755 in Meissen, Prussia at a time when the theoretical basis for the systematic practice of medicine was not yet laid. Hahnemann was contemporary with and knew personally such figures as Goethe, Schiller and Hufeland, the father of �Macrobiotics�. This was at a time when European intellectual vigor was in full flood. Dr. Hahnemann achieved that elusive great synthesis. At a time when others declined to do so, he built a single theoretical foundation for the practice of medicine which was delineated by precise principles in the preparation of remedies. Like Paracelsus before him, he insisted on a single remedy. Maintaining that 2 or more substances taken at the same time produced a confused picture that resulted in palliation rather than cure. His far seeing penetration of the nature of disease, is clearly seen in the doctrine of �miasm�. The use of �serial dilution� followed by �succussion� was unique to Western orthodox medicine, and produced some startling cures for otherwise intractable conditions. Surely Hahnemann was a man of his time but he was also � beyond time� in the same way that Paracelsus was. The Problem for Homoeopathy 10.30 The problem is not the actual substance, but rather the vehicle that carries the substance, and its method of extraction or preparation. Some of which, are of dubious value, and lack the precision of preparation, which is absolutely essential, if any claim to a scientific posology is to be entertained.

Hahnemann�s work is rooted in the Spagyric work of Paracelsus. Interestingly enough, in Hahnemann's Lesser Writings he decrys Alchemy, yet we know that he was a member of Hufelands Alchemy Club and of course there is the Mercury question and of which Paracelsus introduced to the medicine of the day.

Medicine should be based upon truth and not verbal sleight of hand. Practice should not be based upon speculative theory; Theory should be derived from practice. The nature and force of a disease must be discovered by their cause and not by their symptoms.
Paracelsus 1493 - 1541

The homeopath�s materia medica is more extensive than that of any other system of medicine, and contains thousands of substances, each of which it claims, has had extensive proving. Therefore if the homoeopathic pharmacist changes the vehicle of a substance and the method of its preparation then the �drug picture� is changed and the substance will of necessity need another set of proving or clinical trials to be performed. In practice this is rarely done.

Unlike the orthodox counterpart, the homoeopathic physician has a deeper level of interaction with a patient, that allows for quite precise posological adjustments to a remedy, that may be carried out forthwith, and without reference to a pharmacist or laboratory and in the same manner as Dr. Hahnemann.

The Apothecary/pharmacists role, is to ensure that the mother tincture is of the best that can be produced, in accord with Homeopathic and scientific principles. And when preparing remedies, that the potencies supplied are precise both in dilution and succussion. In that way the physician can have confidence in the instrument, and concentrate on the knotty problem of diagnosis or matching of symptoms to the �Drug Picture�.

The Potencies Problem 10.31
At this point the student may wish to refer back to refresh the memory regarding Avogadro�s constant and the mole concept. It is postulated that the molecular weight in grams of any substance will contain as many entities as there are atoms in 12g of Carbon 12, i.e., 6.02 x 10²³. 1 mole of any compound is its formula weight in grams. For example;

Table 10.31A

Compound	Formula	Mol Weight
Water	H2O	18
Ethyl Alcohol	C2H5OH	46
Glycerine	C3H5OH3	92
Lactose	C12H22O11H2O	360

Except for glycerine all of the substances (compounds) were used by Dr. Hahnemann as a vehicle or carrier for a therapeutic component, which if it were derived from the plant kingdom would be prepared as a 1:10 tincture.

 Cactus grandiflora, in the early 1940�s was designated as a 1:20 tincture by the U.S. Homeopathic Pharmacopoeia, although the dilution and succussion process remained as a standard for all substances. In a nutshell the potencies are made by diluting dilutions in succession.

Therefore the amount of the therapeutic substance would decrease, while the weight of the dilutant would increase, and moreover, as the quantity of the therapeutic substance decreased, then the potency of the remedy increased. For the skeptical observer this claim defied the logic of physics and chemistry for the 19^th and the best part of the 20^th century.

So it was with boring regularity, that the critics from the orthodox medical camp, would wave Avogadro�s constant to refute Homoeopathy i.e. that when the dilutions reached the 12^th centesimal or 24^th decimal stage it was highly unlikely that a single molecule of solute would remain in solution. However people were not interested in a scientific medical postulates, they wanted results, and homoeopathy consistently delivered, and patients flocked to the homoeopathic physician.

There have been some claims that Hahnemann was well aware of Avogadro�s constant and that he was possessed of some transcendental knowledge that led him to dismiss Avogadro�s findings as irrelevant.

Hahnemann was an outstanding polymath in an age of polymaths but such claims do not bear scrutiny. For sure, Avogadro and Hahnemann were contemporary, but Avogadro�s paper was not published until 1811. Hahnemann�s seminal works were published in 1786 and 1810, and further Avogadro�s paper was not dusted off and developed until some 50 to 60 years after publication.

It is more likely that Hahnemann deduced a law of succussion from the work of Paracelsus, that until very recently the sciences of physics and chemistry were unable to explain. In the same way that the full implications of Avogadro�s paper were not understood, for almost a century after it was published.

Potencies and Molecular Memory 10.32
We have briefly looked at the subject of stereo chemistry and the shape of the molecules in space. Accordingly we may understand that the matrix that contains the molecule, and irrespective of what state of matter the matrix is in, that it will adapt itself to the shape of the molecule.

Hahnemann�s matrix was the alchemist�s mercury or spirit of wine. Hydro alcoholic mixtures have some remarkable properties which as yet, are far from being explained. His method of impressing a shape into a matrix was by succussion or rhythmic shaking for liquids, or by triturating, to a state of very fine division a solid by means of a mortar and pestle. It would appear that those methods allowed him to penetrate subtle levels of energy that left a magnetic imprint in its wake. In Hahnemann�s day the words to explain such concepts were barely formed so we have no means of knowing what vision illuminated his minds eye, when immersed in his labor of discovery.

Today the quantum physicist�s grail is the unified field, the warp and woof of all. The concept that the material world is congealed sunlight, is no longer so fantastic as it would seem. We may see plasma contained in electro magnetic bottles. We may hear a professor of the biological sciences propose a vitalistic hypothesis of morpho-genetic resonance, high energy templates, the blueprints of living form. Science has probed the succussed dilutions with laser and maser in an attempt to explain the biological effects of extremely high dilutions.

French research scientist, and erstwhile head of the immuno-pharmacology unit of INSERM* Jacques Benveniste Ph.D. has suggested the water retains the �memory� of molecules that it once contained. The logical conclusion of that suggestion is that there has been an amplified transfer of information rather than the creation of a polymer
(large molecule).

* INSERM. - National Unit for Medical Research Paris.

For the research scientist, Hahnemann�s claim has evolved from the absurd, to a working hypothesis.

Serial Dilution and Information Transfer 10.32
The homoeopathic practitioner can use potencies in four different scales. They are;

1. The mother tincture or trituration. This potency has a drug/menstruum/carrier ratio of 1:10 (Hahnemann)

2. The decimal scale. The mother substance is diluted 1:10. Each successive dilution is also 1:10 (Hering)

3. The centesimal scale. This was Hahnemann�s own. It is used by the �Classical Homeopath�. The 1:10 mother substance is diluted 1:100, with each successive dilution being 1:100.

4. The millesimal scale. Which is 1:1000 with each successive dilution being 1:1000.

At the point of the 12^th centesimal or 24^th decimal dilution, we exceed Avogadro�s constant, and cease to transfer a physical molecule of the mother substance, and proceed to transfer the memory of a molecular shape which is peculiar to the mother substance.

From consistent observation the homoeopath deduced that a potency in certain circumstances could be �antidoted�, i.e. the remedy even when correctly selected would fail to bring about a wanted reaction in the patient. Strong sunlight could trigger this canceling effect, excessive heat or cold, caffeine, aromatics, magnetic radiation of various types and ultrasound. The use of ultrasound has now been abandoned as a method of succussion.

If we view the information transfer as magnetic in nature then we have the basis of a scientific framework within which to explain the phenomena of homoeopathy. Clearly light, magnetism and sound are parts of a hierarchy of energy. Every substance has its own vibratory rate or frequency that gives it a unique place within that hierarchy and every substance has octaves and harmonics that are reminiscent of dilution and succussion.

When a mother substance is viewed from the angle of information transfer within an energy continuum then the fallacious basis of poly-pharmacy is starkly revealed and we may understand the insistence of Paracelsus and Hahnemann on the use of a single substance in the preparation of a remedy or magistery.

Paracelsus and Hahnemann insisted on a hydro-alcoholic menstruum with quickly verifiable reason. For the alchemist water was the �universal solvent� and �mother of life�.

Given sufficient time water will reduce minerals to the elemental state, and will make short work of the relatively fragile bio-molecules. By patient empirical experiment, the combination of alcohol with water was found to produce the desired results and the integrity of the substance being worked upon was preserved.

It was also observed that even the slightest change in the menstruum balance, would precipitate constituents out of solution, therefore when producing the potencies the pharmacist must be scrupulous in maintaining the mother menstruum composition throughout, and on whatever scale of dilution is used.

Remember that when the physical limit of Avogadro�s number has been passed, we have entered another level of the energy spectrum, and if we change the menstruum we change and confuse the vibratory rate of the substance upon which we work, and in effect produce a magnetic equivalent of precipitation.

A menstruum that is destructive of a mother substance is at all costs to be avoided, especially if a �phytopharmacon� (Homoeopathic terminology meaning plant drug) is the mother substance employed. Notable of such destructive substances are water, strong or dilute acids and glycerine. In the late 19^th and early 20^th century a so called �Aqueous Menstruum� enjoyed a vogue in both orthodox and homoeopathic pharmacy, the formula was as follows;

Table 10.33A

The results of that menstruum on a plant drug are disastrous. The large scale precipitation, and complexing of the constituents, are closely followed by further breakdown, leaving a turbid liquid that required extensive �doctoring� to make it appear respectable.

In terms of information transfer, it is easily understood, that we transfer gibberish and not information. If we amplify that gibberish by serial dilution and succussion and introduce that substance to a diseased organism then damage to that organism is caused on a very deep level which is analogous to that of vaccinosis.

Homoeopathic preparations require scrupulous attention to detail with no �short cuts�.

Serial Dilution, Terminology and Methodology 10.34
It is a measure of Dr. Hahnemann�s stature that both he and his system of medicine have always attracted people of exceptional ability, so that in the years since his death the system has and is subjected to a process of refinement, not all of which have brought about improvements, in fact some of the introductions have raised large question marks. Some of which, clearly trample rough shod over Hahnemann�s precept of proving, and given the current size of the materia medica we may understand that any changes to the system naturally raise the problem of re-proving the materia medica.

It is fortunate that this question of �proving� only arises with the mother substance and the menstruum/carrier used for the preparation. The most significant changes introduced have been alternative methods of �potentisation�.

The problems that arise from this are at the physician/patient interface, therefore if the physician is competent (and not all are) the question of Posology is quickly and methodically dealt with; nonetheless this question of degree of dilution and the number of succussions required at each dilution, has and does generate much controversy in homoeopathic circles.

There are three methods in use. From a labeled potency, the physician may know firstly what the mother substance is, and secondly what the degree of dilution is and thirdly which method has been used to produce the dilution whether it is liquid or solid.

The student must be aware that some homoeopathic nomenclature in the wider sense is obsolete and may also use the Latin form or abbreviation in prescriptions. There are also some inconsistencies in the manner in which potencies are prefixed or suffixed, however this will not be a hindrance once familiarity is established.

Table 10.34A

Homoeopathy is a world wide system of medicine, all of the following will be globally recognized. However, the conventions of use may differ from nation to nation; some common combinations are shown in Table 10.34B. The figure(s) that precede or follow the symbols denote the number of dilutions involved and are examples to demonstrate the ways in which the nomenclature may be used.

As a base mother tincture let us take Hahnemann�s �China�, e.g., Cinchona �, or Cinchona 2 or Cinchona Tm. From this the orthodox pharmacist will understand; Cinchona Tr 1:10 (Tincture of Cinchona 1:10)

Table 10.34B

The big five of the Homoeopathic world are India, USA, The UK, Germany and France, consequently literature, books, homoeopaths and pharmacopoeias tend to express in the conventions of the prevailing national influence.

Succussion - The Mechanics 10.35
The word �succussion� is from the Latin meaning �tossed up�. Succussion is an essential part of the potentising process. Laser and thermo-graphic studies have confirmed that there is a material difference between a succussed and a non succussed dilution. In other words succussion is necessary for information transfer. The manual process may be performed as follows;

A. Take a small corked test tube that will fit into the palm of one hand and half fill with water, then re-cork.

B. With the thumb on the cork and the tube enclosed in the hand, bring hand down smartly into the palm of the other hand.

That process equals one succussion. It is said that Hahnemann performed the operation by impact of a phial onto a leather bound Christian Bible. There was, and still is, controversy as to the number of succussions required to complete the information transfer from 1 dilution to the next. Hopefully the controversy may be resolved with ongoing scientific studies. The Hahnemann 1:100 dilution was followed by 100 succussions. See Table 10-35A.

Table 10.35A

A perusal of the Table shows that from mother tincture to a 30C potency, a considerable time and labor is involved in the preparation of an individualized remedy.

Dilution Mechanics and Problems 10.36
Using the example from Table 10.35A we may understand that there are 30 x 1.100 dilutions performed, each dilution having received 100 succussions. Each dilution represents 1 part of the preceding dilution to 99 parts of the diluting menstruum. Once again it is stressed that the composition of the diluting menstruum must match the composition of the mother tincture.

The menstruum in all cases is hydro-alcoholic, not glycerine or water. Remember that each liquid will produce its own unique pattern. By changing the menstruum, we change or destroy the message. It  will make a nonsense of the proving, 

Given the repetition and length of the procedure involved in preparing a 30 CH potency there may be arise, a certain forgetfulness or even confusion as to the nature of what is being prepared. This in turn leads to laxity and the fixing of shoddy practice in the mind. That calamity may be avoided by working methodically and by being ethically scrupulous in preparing the attenuations/dilutions. Bear in mind the words of an eminent doctor turned Homoeopathic physician ;

"It is well for you to realize that you are dealing with a razor when dealing with high potencies. In the hands of an ignorant prescriber, they are the means of tremendous harm as well as tremendous good."
John Tyler Kent MD.

Older homoeopathic literature often mentions dosage in terms of �drops�. The term drop should be taken to mean 1 minim, or one sixtieth part of a fluid drachm. This only applies to a hydro-alcoholic menstruum. The size of a drop will vary according to the liquid being measured.

The following methodology is offered as a starting point upon receipt of the homoeopaths prescription;

Table 10.36A

Example 25ml Belladonna 30C

This procedure is repeated through every test tube until the 30C potency has been made. At that juncture, you will understand quite clearly, the labour involved in preparing a high potency from the mother tincture. However some of that painstaking labor is mitigated by the fact that you will have a 50ml range of Belladonna from 1 to 29C and a single 25ml of 30C.

It is permissible, with the proviso that the potencies have been correctly stored, to produce higher potencies from stock potencies. However, it is not permissible to switch from one scale to another.

For example a 6 x potency is of the same de-concentration as a 3C potency. It is not permissible to produce a 4C from a 6 x, even worse, attempt to produce a lower potency from a higher potency. The number of de concentrations and the number of succussions are different for both scales. Dilution and succussion are two sides of the same coin and one is useless without the other. To change the scale blurs or confuses the menstruum memory.

The Decimal Scale 10.37
The decimal scale of homoeopathic preparations were introduced to clinical practice by Dr. Constantin Hering, a prominent and influential figure in the history of homoeopathy. He was about ten years old when Hahnemann�s first edition of the Organon was published and is remembered in Hering�s law, of direction of cure.

Hahnemann had already passed away when the decimal scale was introduced so that we do not have the benefit of his comments on the matter; nor do we appear to have the comments of any other prominent figure in homoeopathy, so that by convention the scale is part of therapeutic practice.

Table 10.37A

If we make a comparison between Tables 10 -35A and 10 - 37A, we can see that the decimal potencies produce an intermediate scale to the centesimal potencies.

It may also be seen that a 1C potency is the equivalent in de-concentration to the 2 x potency, however there is a considerable difference in the number of succussions performed.

For example a potency at the sixth decimal level is 6 x = 60 succussions, the equivalent de-concentration is at third centesimal level is 3C = 300 succussions.

It will be understood that at higher potencies there will be a considerable saving in time and effort. Accordingly an outline of Dr. Hering�s intent is visible.

The decimal potencies are produced by the same methodology given in Table 10 - 36A. The de-concentration is in steps of 1:10 and that each dilution receives 10 succussions. Do not change scale when preparing a remedy.

The Korsakoff Potencies 10.38
In homoeopathic circles the Korsakoff method of producing potencies is subject to considerable controversy; there are those �for� and those �against�. From the pharmacy viewpoint, the Korsakoff method is slack and sloppy. The method invariably leads to gross and predictable errors in the perceived de-concentration; precision demands the elimination of variables within the limits of possibility, if the demand for reproducibility is to be met. The Korsakoff method cannot meet the criteria.

In 1832 Hahnemann opened his academy in Paris. At that time Paris was the center of European intellectual and artistic aspirations. Hahnemann, like Paracelsus before him was a medical iconoclast so that his life had not been easy but at 77 years of age his dogged persistence had started to yield results and the nobility, the rich and the famous started to flock to him.

It was in that same year that a member of the Russian elite General von Korsakoff authored a paper which was published in the German, �Archiv f�r die hom�opathische Heilkunst� (Journal of Homoeopathic Medicine). The paper outlined a potentising method that on the face of it would shorten the Hahnemann potentising process and moreover only require 1 phial.

Figure 10.38A

The Korsakoff potency was considered to be the equivalent of the Hahnemann centesimal. The concept was based on the idea that 1 drop of a preceding potency would cling to the interior of the phial when it was emptied, it was then refilled with menstruum and succussed to produce the next potency and so onto whatever level was required. The method reeks of kitchen herbalism and lacks the precision required to produce a medicine.

It is only necessary to read the records for just 1 of Hahnemann�s proving�s to be impressed by his scrupulous attention to detail, so it is hard to conceive that he would not vigorously attack the Korsakoff heresy. Apparently when approached on the matter, Hahnemann�s response was uncharacteristically mild, for he is reported to have said;

"The eminent von Korsakoff�s method might be as sensible, as it was useful."

This was Hahnemann with diplomatic tongue in cheek! When those words are spoken out loud, they take on a very different connotation to that of the written word. Whatever it was that Hahnemann had in mind we can only speculate but it is a matter of record that he made no attempt to change his own method and he spent the remaining 11 years Of his life working on the LM potencies.

The Potencies Astronomica 10.39
Dr. Hahnemann died in Paris on the 2^nd of July 1843 just prior to the imminent publication of the 6^th edition of the Organon, in which he revealed the details of the LM potencies.

In the event the 6^th edition was not then published until 1921, by that time a �certain rot� had set in and sacred cows were proliferating and cloaks for charlatans were being woven.

Dr. Hahnemann had set the limit at 30C for potencies obtained directly from the mother tincture; in the main those substances that would dissolve with relative ease in a hydro-alcoholic menstruum.

By the time that details of Hahnemann�s LM potencies were made generally available in 1921, the lid of �Pandora�s Box� had been well and truly sprung and like Paracelsus before him, Hahnemann�s work had been corrupted.

The rot was well established within 10 years of Hahnemann�s death and it led Hahnemann�s friend and author of the �New Homoeopathic Pharmacopoeia (1841) George Jahr to complain that �suspicions about the high attenuations were rife�, meaning of course that some of the �potencies Astronomica� would take many months to prepare correctly.

The progenitor of the Potencies Astronomica was a man named �Jenichen� who, it is claimed, produced a de-concentration in order of 60,000C. Jenichen shot himself to death; one suspects because of the intense professional goading to which he would have been subjected.

A reading of some of the contemporary works on homoeopathy will be sufficient to reveal the schizoid nature of the profession with many writers attempting to straddle the chasm between two camps, i.e., the followers of Hahnemann, the practitioners of classical homoeopathy, and those of the Jenichen camp with the use of the �Skinner potencies� some of which reach 1,000,000,000 C. Obviously from 30 C upwards the potentising method had to be mechanized if costs were to be contained.

A British Homoeopath Dr. Thomas Skinner (1825 - 1906) - no relation to B.F. Skinner, the US Psychologist - modified a method of potentising that had been introduced by John Tyler Kent. The method is known as the �Skinner continuous fluxion process� which is generally in use today. The starting point for a Skinner potency is normally a Hahnemann 30 C or a high Korsakoff potency. The potency is introduced to a vibrating tube and then steadily washed away by a continuous flow of water.

The followers of Jenichen/Skinner would claim the Hahnemann�s LM potencies validate their methods and prescribing habits.

It is necessary to digress slightly in order for a point to be clearly made. Paracelsus introduced the mineral remedies to Western medicine. He had first hand knowledge from his work with the �Fugger miners� of the concentrated power to kill or heal which was locked within them. We are reminded of his statement that �It depends only upon the dose whether a poison is a poison or not�. Paracelsus introduced the only then known cure for �the French disease� as syphilis was called. The cure was Mercury. The medical fools that followed on Paracelsus killed and maimed untold numbers of sufferers with their misunderstanding and injudicious usage of Mercury, so it fell into disrepute.

With his medical kit Paracelsus kept a small goblet that was lined with �Cinnabar�. It would seem that this was not the raw Cinnabar but rather the sublimed Cinnabar from sulphur and mercury, the goblet being used to condense the vapors into a lining. The goblet would have a measured amount of wine poured into it and allow to stand for a measured amount of time. The amount and the time determined how much was extracted. Thus, Paracelsus by use of art was able to individualize the dose.

Those familiar with Spagyric techniques will instantly recognize the hand of Paracelsus in Hahnemann�s LM potencies and know with a surety his reasoning behind the method.

The mode and power of action of a drug is vastly amplified in the mineral kingdom. Minerals in the wrong hands can be lethal, a fact well recognized in our scientific era. The LM potencies are proof that Dr. Hahnemann fully appreciated that distinction. His method involved the �Trituration� or grinding of a solid substance with sugar of milk with a mortar and pestle.

Table 10.39A. The LM Potencies.

This procedure may be taken, according to the Classical Hahnemann process, to the LM30 potency but not above.