Anhalonium lewinii Anhang 2

[Ruth Heather Hull]

History and Mythology of Anhalonium lewinii

Some Native American legends tell of an old man whose strength was leaving him as he approached the end of his life.

Then he heard a voice which commanded him to eat the peyote plant and take it back to his tribe as a sacred talisman of courage and peace.

When he ate of the plant, he was strengthened and able to return home as directed (Mangialavori, 2010: 17).

Although one automatically associates peyote with its psychoactive properties, it has been used medicinally for centuries. Applied topically, it relieves muscular aches and pains,

arthritis and rheumatism and can also be used to treat sunstroke, headaches, burns, bruises, wounds, fractures, and snakebites. It is also taken as a stimulant and tonic to alleviate

hunger, thirst and fatigue and is thought to promote health and longevity (Turner, 2008: 233).

According to Mangialavori, the origins of peyote’s traditional use are lost in time, but there is debated evidence that around 300BC natives of Mexico already venerated the plant. It was

used by many Native American Indian tribes including the Chichimecas, Toltecs and Aztecs, for divination, cure of illness and endurance. Mangialavori writes that a Franciscan priest

Bernardino de Sahagún recorded: “those who eat it have frightening or cosmic visions ... the plant confers on them courage in battle and fearlessness and they suffer neither thirst nor hunger; they affirm that this protects them from danger”. Mangialavori (2010: 15-16) also describes the collecting of peyote as follows: “The Huichol live 500 kilometers from the region where the plant grows and peyote hunting is a yearly pilgrimage which can last a month. The hunting is done with a sense of veneration and the sacred, and often includes fasting, silence and sexual abstinence.

During this period, the tribal members gorge themselves on peyote day and night, eating normally but sleeping little. The hallucinogenic effects experienced by the whole tribe in this social ritual create a notable sense of the mystical”.

The Spanish conquistadores called peyote “aiz diabolica” = devil’s root and the Inquisition denounced its dissemination and use. However, the Native American tribes continued to use it and in 1918 the “Native American Church” (NAC) was formed to protect the use of peyote (Mangialavori, 2010: 15). According to Turner (2008: 233), this church now counts 250,000-

500,000 members among 40 tribes stretching from Texas to Canada and it uses peyote as a sacrament. The major tribes that continue to use peyote are the Cora, the Tarahumara and the Huichol.

They still make annual pilgrimages to the peyote fields and the Tarahumara consider peyote to be an incarnation of a deity who was left behind by ‘Father Sun’ to cure humanity’s ills. “Spiritual and psychic associations with peyote include the notion that consuming the cactus assures tribal and community welfare, that it protects against evil (such as witchcraft), that it allows one to foretell the future, find lost objects, and most important, contact supernaturals for assistance”.

Unfortunately, peyote’s position today is precarious. Turner (2008: 237) writes that although it is thought to have been consumed for 6000 years, has a sacred status among millennia-old Mexican traditions and is the sacrament of a modern church with more than a quarter of a million worshipers, it is still an illegal substance. In the United States, peyote is considered a Schedule 1 substance with a high potential for abuse and no medical use. However, Turner argues that studies indicate that peyote is not addictive, causes no withdrawal syndrome, shows no marked tolerance, that there are no confirmed deaths resulting from peyote consumption and that there is a long history of its medical use. He finds it ironic that peyote is legal for members of the NAC, but not for others. However, he also notes that perhaps its illegal status is a good thing because it is becoming an increasingly scarce plant.

The Pharmacological Effects of Anhalonium lewinii

Peyote contains at least 57 alkaloids, including the phenylethylamine compound mescaline which increases the random discharge of neurons in the visual cortex and modulates neurotransmitters that are critical in the regulation of pleasure (Turner, 2008:237).

Its psychoactive effects are found in the green tops of the cactus which lie just below the soil, along the plant’s taproot. They resemble large buttons which are usually consumed dried. “Consuming just a few of these buttons produces only a sense of wakefulness, hypersensitivity, and contentment” (Turner, 2008: 237), but more than four buttons brings on a more “dreamlike visionary state” (Mangialavori, 2010: 18).

Although Turner (2008: 237) writes how many peyotists “describe their experience in purely spiritual terms, of awe, respect, and profound inward reflection”, other writers describe it very differently. Henri Michaux (1899-1994), a French painter, journalist and poet called it the “Miserable Miracle”, a “god-extractor” and “pollution of the angel in man”. Michaux (cited in Vermeulen and Johnston, 2011a: 16) described a mescaline-induced state as follows:

“The subject, divided, also feels multiplied. He is at a crossroads where a hundred savage currents intersect, he is pulled at in opposing directions, in lightning states of alienation....

There isn’t one me. There aren’t ten me’s. There is no me”.

Peyote has a bitter taste and can cause users to feel nauseous or gag, especially if they have taken alcohol before ingesting the peyote. It also slightly increases the pulse rate, blood pressure and body temperature and causes sweating, salivation and dilation of the pupils. After use there is an increase in appetite coupled with a desire for something sweet (Vermeulen and Johnston, 2011a: 17).

The Homoeopathic Use of Anhalonium lewinii

Homoeopathically, the keynote for this remedy is “schizophrenia between the conscious and unconscious life of the patient” and it is used when a person becomes increasingly involved with their inner life to the exclusion of the outer world (Vermeulen, 2000: 106). Boericke (2005: 51) writes that hysteria, insomnia, brain-fag, delirium and hallucinations can all be treated with this remedy as it can induce “intoxication accompanied by wonderful visions, remarkably beautiful and varied kaleidoscopic changes, and a sensation of increased physical ability”.

The Original Homoeopathic Proving of Anhalonium lewinii

Anhalonium lewinii was originally proved by Unger and six provers in 1958. For months afterwards, provers continued to experience visual hallucinations predominated by the colors blue and green, the colors of the peyote cactus, and to one female prover “the white keys of her typewriter appeared to be bluish green during a period of two years after the proving” (Vermeulen, 2004: 93).

In 1994 it was reproved by Herrick and 10 provers.

[Elizabeth Adalian]

Reconnecting to the Soul with Peyote (Anhalonium Lewinii)

Updated: Jan 27, 2021

As Covid-19 continues to take its toll despite the release from lockdown, I have observed around me mental states starting to decline in the people I speak to in my local community and beyond. During times when strong boundaries are in force, individuals generally feel contained and surer of their choices. However, now there seems to be increasingly greater uncertainty affecting those without a strong sense of self, who can then fall beneath their very fragile veneer of coping. Until now, they may never have considered that they can sink so low due to dissociation from their deeper past.

According to Dr. Matthew Tull, who writes in verywellmind, there is a very strong link between trauma (especially childhood abuse and/or neglect) and dissociative disorder, and the relationship

is important in both directions. It is thought that long-term trauma is a root cause of dissociative disorder, which occurs as a coping strategy to avoid the unbearable nature of that experience.

Even when the real danger no longer exists, however, it can be prolonged or even prevent recovery from abuse and neglect. There is also a connection between dissociation and post-traumatic-stress-disorder. It is known that changes in brain function can occur which explains how this arises. The level of fear and stress engendered by the initial shock persists and this, in turn, affects the functioning of the brain structures. In this case most importantly the amygdala which is where emotional responses are first calibrated continues to be eroded as a result of the stress induced by the pandemic.

It is thought that at least ninety percent of people who experienced childhood physical, sexual, or emotional abuse and/or neglect fall into a dissociative pattern of behaviour. In fact, dissociative disorder is linked with the highest frequency to childhood abuse and neglect of all psychiatric disorders. It is a form of self-protection.

A remedy which has remained much under wraps to-date is Anhalonium Lewinii. Being derived from the peyote cactus, it holds a strong metaphysical resonance and is used by some Native American tribes in their religious initiation ceremonies. It is also referred to as Mescaline - the latter being the active component of the peyote cactus - and made famous by Aldous Huxley in his influential book which was originally issued in 1954 entitled ‘The Doors of Perception: and Heaven and Hell’ based on his own experience of using this substance.

(The title of the book is influenced by a poem written by William Blake in 1790.)

Homeopathic remedies derived from psychedelics such as Ayahuasca (also used in initiation ceremonies), Ecstasy (MDMA), and LSD (lysergic acid diethylamide) are the drugs of choice where there is more connection with other people indicated. Ecstasy in fact has feelings of closeness with others and a desire to touch them. (3) Anhalonium Lewinii in the homeopathic proving is disconnected from the outside world to a startling degree compared to users of stimulants such as cocaine and opium-based painkillers, e.g. heroin, as well as those using cannabis. In fact, it is the only remedy appearing in the rubric - ‘delusion, standing by oneself’. They no longer know who they are, a type of dissociation, and are completely passive in the way they present. It is a type of coping mechanism with existential anguish. There is a distortion in their memory of events if memory exists at all. It can translate into audio-visual hallucinations with coloured brilliant visions.

Time loses its meaning and stands still. This is a strong feature after post-traumatic-stress-disorder.

In one case, a woman needed Anhalonium Lewinii after childbirth when the shock of the birth thrust her back into her earlier dissociated state - so much so that she could not relate to her child whatsoever. As a result, the child ended up needing the remedy Merc-v., which finds communication so hard and presents as markedly inappropriate with their boundaries. The mother’s history was one of indifference and lack of nurturing shown to her throughout her childhood and early adulthood by her main carers or those closest to her. It would seem there is a strong association between Anh. and Merc-v., judging by the case of mother and child quoted above where these remedies strongly indicated in unison given the pictures which presented themselves in both presenting parties.

The language used to describe soldiers who have suffered PTSD has been adopted during the Covid-19 pandemic to refer to nurses and other health and social care staff. This is despite the latters’ experiences and motivations for taking on their roles being totally different. In my view, patients who have recovered from Covid-19, their families and the greater community could also suffer with the type of dissociation seen in Anhalonium Lewinii.

Another use for Anh. and Merc-v., relates to a type of autism or Asperger’s syndrome which can then contribute to addiction and energise the trajectory which pushes the sufferer into the habit. Both of these remedies withhold verbal expression and may rely on drugs or alcohol respectively for any type of social functioning. In cases of autism and Asperger’s syndrome, it is conceivable that with similar triggers, addiction could manifest further along the trajectory. This later suffering can be averted, however, if the early state is recognised and addressed soon enough in the history. Mercurius Vivus, which hides behind alcohol (or drugs) as a way of opening up channels of communication, is relevant here. These channels can remain totally blocked without this type of remedy intervention.

My conclusion is that the remedy -Anhalonium Lewinii- will be increasingly indicated in cases which present at this time of uncertainty and dread due to fear generated around Covid-19 globally. This is demonstrated not only in the number of fatalities which are reported, but also in the number of cases seen in practice whose psyche has only been able to cope by shutting down in the way described in this article. By providing the structure for containment of strong emotions and cutting across the resulting numbness from the witnessing of such suffering, this remedy can deeply support the wounded psyche. In this way, the early triggers which have remained so deeply embedded can be released despite their lasting intensity. This can be difficult to navigate under such circumstances and it will often create the need for the practitioner to be available on the sidelines to help their patients on the path to reintegration.

Patients with previous psychiatric diagnoses seem to have suffered more than those without a history of psychiatric disorder. Since compiling this blog, the Psychiatry and Clinical Psychobiology

unit in Milan has shown that more than half of people in hospital for Covid-19 in Italy were found to be suffering from a psychiatric disorder a month later. The researchers said that psychiatric consequences could be caused “both by the immune response to the virus itself, or by psychological stressors such as social isolation, psychological impact of a novel severe and potentially fatal illness, concerns about infecting others, and stigma”.

British experts have also observed complications including brain inflammation, stroke and psychosis linked to the virus. Considering the alarming impact of Covid-19 infection on mental health, the current insights on inflammation in psychiatry, and the present observation of worse inflammation leading to worse depression, it is recommended assessment of any psychopathology of Covid-19 survivors is made. Furthermore, it is suggested to deepen research on inflammatory biomarkers, in order to diagnose and treat emerging psychiatric conditions.

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