Salsola
o. Kali tragus = Tumbling
weed/= Russian thistle/= saltwort/= Russian cactus/= buckbush/= roly-poly/= Wind Witch
Connection can mean a sensation of being rooted
and grounded but may extend to a sense of dependency and a subsequent wish to
get away. The disconnection felt like dying in one case. The rolling movement came
through as a sensation of buoyancy.
There were drug themes such as euphoria and
clairvoyance in the proving;
Therapeutics: It contains Salsolin which can
regulate blood pressure. Its action resembles papaverine.
The remedy Tumbleweed was chosen because of its
distinctive qualities. This is the first proving of a peregrinating plant. In
addition, Tumbleweed is an icon of desert
regions and a prime representative of desert
plants and we have been conducting ongoing research in desert medicines. Little
is known of the Chenopodiaceae plant family from a homeopathic perspective and
it
was our hope that this remedy would provide a
window into this family. Lastly, Tumbleweed is known for its healing
properties, including regulating the blood pressure, vasoconstrictive effects
on the uterus, treatment of cancer, cathartic, diuretic, emmenagogue,
vermifuge, treatment of dropsy and excrescences, treatment of influenza and
smallpox, intestinal obstructions, hardness of the liver and spleen and
expelling a dead child.
The core sensation of the proving had to do
with connection/disconnection. The plant must disconnect from its stem to begin
the process of rolling and spreading its seeds,
or it dies.
This sensation was most clearly expressed in
prover #1:
Made a decision to move; it feels like my
partner, daughter and family are tying me down with rope, karmic and psychic
strings; I am beginning to lose patience; people are telling me not to go;
I am going and have decided that I have a right
to be happy right now; feeling is that I will break off and move on without
these people; I would like to do it with their blessing, but I am going;
Feeling free and not bogged down; like a break of some kind; Detachment; who am
I attached to and why; like detachment/attachment; it is OK to detach in life
and that is the way it is supposed to go; it is OK to move and be detached and
go; feeling of rolling on down(1)
There was a significant tension in the proving
between searching for ones roots and wanting to connect to one’s family,
friends, old acquantainces vs. wanting to detach, break free, disconnect
and move along.
The connection is associated with feelings and
sensations of being stifled, constrained, rooted, grounded, connected to all
life, attached and feeling safe warm and protected. One prover described this
as a feeling of being packed in cotton. It is also associated with codependency
where individual give up themselves for the other.
The disconnection is associated with feelings
and sensations of freedom, separateness from life, dividedness, detached, joy,
separation between inner , and outer self, sadness, euphoric and powerful,
feeling of losing a parent or a child-something very close and a separate
entity that nothing can touch. Many of the provers felt empowered and able to
let go of codependency traits.
Some experienced this as a selfishness. Many of
the provers also described a feeling of disconnection from their proving
supervisors, an experience which has not been seen in previous provings.
The disconnection was experienced by some
provers as a death. This was felt as a natural dying process and not one that
was a fearful experience. One prover described it as follows:
Felt like the energy of the remedy was gone by
today; felt like it slowly died and was gone, drifting across a desert; I feel
like I am dying; It feels as though . . . it is a dying; it feels as though
being thirsty but not drinking; even if I eat
or drink (rolling hand gesture) it is not doing anything; not being
assimilated; the dying is like the detaching; one part dies but it goes on
(rolling hand gesture); that kind of thing; it feels like my joints and hands
and arms even are dying like they are dried up like they are brittle and like I
am cracking all over the place and I need to take some glucosamine; it felt
very natural the dying process; it was not fearful at all.
However, two provers described dreams of
suddenly losing children and waking with a profound sense of grief. The plant
has been strongly associated with the American Cowboy, a symbol of restless
wandering movements over the desert landscape.
The cycle is one of connection, disconnection
and ultimately reconnection. The reconnection was symbolized by the recurring
dreams of reunions. The feelings of connection and disconnection
were profound for many of the provers and
bordered on spiritual experiences.
This plant would be limited to a very limited
area if it were not for man. Because of agriculture and clearing out large
tracts of land, this plant has been able to extend its range extraordinarily
rapidly into 49/50 of the
Other important sensations in the proving
included electrical sensations, cramping/constricting, heaviness, needle like
sensations and cotton sensation.
The core movement of the proving related to
Rolling. The Tumbleweed is well known for its rolling motion and its rolling
motion is what makes it so effective in propagating its seeds.
The plant is so effective, that its design was
copied for the Mars Rovers to explore the Martian Landscape.
The rolling movement was experienced as a
physical sensation:
Sensation in right upper stomach as if baby
kicked; rolling sensation.
Sensation in left hand, palm near thumb felt as
if a rolling sensation; as if someone were kneading it or ripples; sort of a
rolling electrical wave, not painful but irritating.
On the second day had the feeling of more
movement; feeling of being able to take my oxygen into my system; I could
inhale more deeply and the oxygen was going to all the cells in my body;
feeling of being buoyancy; think of a buoy
bobbing up and down.
It was also experienced as an emotional/mental
experience and in the hand gestures of many of the provers:
Wandering, Detachment; who am I attached to and
why; like detachment/attachment; it is OK to detach in life and that is the way
it is supposed to go; it is OK to move and be detached and go; feeling of
rolling on down.
This motion can also be seen to some extent in
the embryo. James A. Young (Scientific American, March 1991) explains,
"The Russian thistle does not undergo germination in the normal sense,
whereby cell division results in the growth....Rather the embryo uncoils....If,
after uncoiling, the radicle (seed root) finds sufficient moisture...it quickly
spreads cotyledons, or seed leaves and begins growing...."
Plant/Chenopodiaceae Themes
A plant like sensitivity was a prominent theme
during the proving. This included sensitivity to light, noise and odors, and the
sound of others talking. The reaction was predominantly one of irritability
related to this. What was most unusual was that three of the provers described
an increased sensitivity to caffeine (coffee, tea and chocolate). They were
unable to use any caffeine, whereas this had not been a problem previously. It
could be postulated that this relates to an increased sensitivity of the
sympathetic nervous system. One prover also noted a cured feeling.
She had struggled much of her life with
oversensitivity prior to the proving:
Overall I am less sensitive; don’t feel as
much; able to step back and not get caught up in drama so much.
It is difficult to compare this remedy to other
Chenopodiaceae plant remedies since these have been so poorly studied. One
unusual symptom from this proving was the tendency in three of the provers to
wake up in the morning with a song repeating in their head. This is similar to
the tendency in Chenopodium anthelminica to repeat things:
Mind: GESTURES,
ACTIONS, REPEATED.
Repeats same things.
Tends towards dropsy and gastrointestinal
symptoms-qualities that were born out by this proving.
Peregrinating Plant
Desert Themes
Many typical desert themes were noted in the
proving analysis. These included water, connection/disconnection, codependency,
circular motions, wandering, violence, large/small, swelling/contracting,
old/ancient, dryness, drug sensations, religion, foreign and downward motions.
The strongest desert theme had to do with connection/disconnection.
Salsola tragus is relatively associated with
the desert, although it is found outside of desert regions. As a symbol and in
imagery, it is strongly associated with desert regions.
Miasm
Strongest association was to the Sycotic Miasm.
The issues of hiding, concealment, covering up, outer façade were relatively
strong. The tendency towards sties, warts, rheumatic pains and
copious discharges is typical of the sycotic
miasm. The strong tendency in this proving for the provers to not want to
connect or talk to their supervisors is also indicative of the sycotic miasm.
Also, many of the provers denied having
symptoms, when they clearly were having a profound effect of the remedy.
General
Characteristics
Mild tendency towards chilliness = typical for
a desert remedy. < in the morning/on waking. Predominantly r. sided. General
tendency towards swelling and edema. Food cravings not prominent and several of
the provers experience a lack of appetite throughout the proving.
Dryness was another central characteristic.
This was seen in the lips, face, mouth, cough, nose, throat and skin.
Associated with a feeling of dirtiness in one prover (a Theme of the proving):
Apartment is dry and smelly; it smells like an
old motel room in a hot desert that has been smoked in for 50 years; smell of
dust; Could not stand the musty smell; musty, dusty old motel six that has been
there for a million years and all this time; dusty, dirty (rolling hand
gesture) pig pen; like Pig Pen in Charlie Brown.
The dry skin in some provers was quite marked.
Dryness is a critical part of the plants disconnecting from its stem and
wandering the desert landscape. The dryness makes the plant more mobile
and capable of dropping its seeds.
Water was also a prominent theme in the proving,
which is typical of desert remedies. This was reflected most strongly in the
dreams. The plant produces plant material with a high energy
content while using very little water.
There was a strong feeling of urging throughout
the proving. This accompanied the GI symptoms but also was a mental/emotional
characteristic.
Physical
Characteristics
The strongest physical areas effected were the
sinuses, musculoskeletal and gastrointestinal tract. Salsola tragus is a
prominent allergen here in the Southwest (up to 5% of the pollen load) and
it is no surprise that allergic symptoms were
characteristic in the proving. These mostly consisted in post nasal drip, sinus
pressure and heaviness and sneezing.
The GI symptoms were marked. Most
characteristic were nausea and vomiting. The nausea was mostly experienced
during the morning and several provers described this as reminiscent of
morning sickness. The vomiting was mostly
experienced at night. Phytology: useful for liver and spleen problems. Crampy
abdominal pains were quite strong and often accompanied
by diarrhea. The diarrhea was explosive and
accompanied by much urging. Heartburn and indigestion were other GI symptoms.
The GI symptoms may correspond to the high content of Oxalic acidum found in
this plant.
Acne was very strong in the proving and seen in
seven of the seventeen provers. In addition, one prover developed a stye and
another had a cured symptom of a wart falling off.
Used in the treatment of tuberculosis and
asthma. Several of the provers noted shortness of breath during the proving.
Back pains and extremity pains were relatively
prominent. This was primarily in the upper back, scapula and shoulder. The
pains were primarily tingling, electrical, stitching and shooting and
travelling into the neck and occiput. Several provers experienced awkwardness
and clumsiness. This also relates to injuring toes and fingers because the
provers were hurrying.
One prover broke a toe because of this during
the proving.
Emotional and
Mental Characteristics
Irritability was one of the strongest emotional
characteristics during the proving. In several provers this bordered on anger
and hatred, relating to their oversensitivity.
Concentration problems, dullness, slowness and
incapacity to talk to other people were relative strong and seen in four of the
provers. This was described as a torpor by one prover, a theme common to desert
remedies.
Drug themes were relatively prominent and took
the form of clairvoyance, euphoria, feelings of intoxication, isolation, tranquility,
calmness, visionary dreams and excitement.
Sexuality
Sexuality kept arising as a theme throughout
the proving. This took the form of an increased sex drive and amorous dreams.
One prover described this as follows:
Lots of sex dreams; 3 - 4 sex dreams this
night; very high libido in dreams; most intense sexual dreams I have ever had;
very intense like a dog in heat.
Several provers described the increased sexual
attention they were receiving in their dreams as unwanted.
Blond
Several provers noted that they kept dreaming
about blond’s during the proving. They described this as a distinct departure
from their normal dream patterns. No explanation for this symptom.
Losing Things/Theft
Many of the provers lost things during the
proving. This was associated with clumsiness in part. For example one prover
had the following experience:
I went to my parents house for Thanksgiving and
lost my cat; in the past I usually go ballistic; not one tear, not one worry.
This may relate to the theme of disconnection.
In addition, there were many dreams of searching for lost things.
Directions
The theme of direction recurring. The plant is
dependent on which direction the wind is blowing for propagation and movement.
In the proving, much of this related to struggling to determine
which direction to take in life:
Not sure about my life right now or what
direction to go in(16)
Dirt/Dirty
Many of the provers described feeling, dry,
dusty and dirty. For example, one prover described it as follows:
I keep getting this image of an old west
movie-an old motel in the distance, wind blowing and gusting, stuffy flying
around, dust devils, tumbleweeds and dirt(1)
The dreams were also filled with images of
dirt.
Preparation of the
Remedy
A video was made of the preparation of this
remedy. The theory is that people who prepare the remedy also briefly
participate in the energy of the remedy. Although we did not include this
information in the selection of proving themes and rubrics, it was interesting
to note that several of the themes were reflected in the making of the remedy.
These included codependency/care taking of others, difficult concentration,
weariness, feeling of intoxication, headache, cheerfulness, speed, vertigo and
communication.
Negativ:
;
Repertory: [Todd Rowe]
Mind: Anger
Anxiety
Desires to remain in bed
Buoyancy/cheerful/gay/happy/vivacious
Codependent
Concentration difficult (with headache)
Confused (to own identity/about location about)
Feels connected
Delusion - is brittle/is cracking/is
dirty/everything is dirty/is dying/floats in air/is larger/is smaller/is
separated (from his life/from the world)/everything is uneal
Detached
Dull/torpor
Euphoria/excited in general/high
spirited/feeling of lightness
Hatred
Hurried/impatient/urgent
Indolence
Industrious
Irritable (morning/> after eating/at talk of
others)
Laughing
Cannot say no
Offended easily/starting
Patient/slow
Religious affections in general
Sadness
Sensitive to light/to odors
Sympathetic, compassionate
Taciturn, indisposed to talk/aversed to
thinking
Thoughts clearness/persistent about a
song/rushing
Tranquility
Wander - desires it
Vertigo: in general
Morning
< motion of head
Head: Hair -
brittle/falling out
Constriction of occiput
„As if packed in cotton“
Heaviness
Pain [< light/< noise/<
odors/migraine/> pressure/in forehead (and occiput)/in temple (cutting)/in 2
spots/dull]
Pressure in general
Eye: Heaviness
Itching
Lachrymation in general
Opening difficult
Pain „As from needles“
Sties in general
Swolleng in general (lids)
Vision: Acute
Ear: Catarrh in
eustachian Tube
Itching
Hearing: Impaired („As if
stopped by cotton“)
Nose: Catarrh in general in posterior nares
Internal coldness on inspiration
Sinuses - congested/full/internal
Discharge
(clear/glutinous/profuse/thick/yellow/green)
Dry
Obstructed in general (r./morning)
Odors - dusty/musty/tobacco
Pain -aching
Sneezing in general (in morning on and after
waking/frequent)
Face: Chapped lips
Clenched jaw
Bluish around eyes
Dryness objective
Eruptions, Acne (on nose/cold sores on lips)
Itching around mouth
Numb lips
Pain (jaw/stitching in morning/stitching in
chin)
Tension in jaw
Mouth: Dry
Pain - sore, bruised in soft palate
Throat: Dry (on waking)
Irritated
Mucus in general
Pain (l./r./morning/lancinating/raw/after
swallowing)
External neck: Stiff sides
Swelling in cervical lymphatic tissue
Stomach: Appetite -
increased/wanting (in morning/with nausea with)/thirst (drinks without desire)
Eructations
Hard sensation over stomach
Heartburn
Indigestio
Nausea (in morning/after eating/in
pregnancy/< after stool/on waking)
Pain (in morning/cramping/smaller, shrinking
sensation)
Vomiting (at night/> lying)
Abdomen: Distension
(morning/after eating)
Movements „As if from foetus“
Pain - on waking/< pressure/cramping
(morning/at night)/dull
„As if rolling)
Rectum: Diarrhea [morning
(waking with urging)/at night]
Flatus
Pain - burning
Urging, Desire (in diarrhea/not > stool)
Stool: Forcible, sudden,
gushing
Odor offensive
Bladder: Urination
frequent (at night)
Pain - burning (in morning)
Urine: Bloody
Female organs: Itching
Leucorrhea (offensive)
Menses frequent (too early, too soon/profuse)
Pain - burning in vagina
Sex drive decreased
Tumor - cyst on ovary
Voice: Rough
Larynx and trachea:
Pain during coughing
Rough
Respiration: Deep
Difficult (at night)
Cough: in morning/at
night
< cold air
Dry
Rasping
Tickling
Chest: Pain - aching in
mammae/“As from needles“
Mammae - swollen mammae/tingling, prickling/“As
if cold water“ underneath
Tension
Heart - fluttering sensation/pain -
sore/bruised
Pulse rapid, tachycardia
Back: Icy cold
Acne
„As if rolling“
Pain [> pressure/aching (in
cervical/lumbar/dorsal region/rheumatic)/stitching, shooting ext head/in dorsal
region (in morning on waking/drawing)/in lumbar region (at night/>
lying/> warmth/during motion)/sacroiliac region]
Cervical region - stiff/tingling, prickling
Extremities: Awkward
Cold hands and feet/arm
Constriction in shoulders
Cracking in joints of hands
Cramping in calves on waking
Dry feet
„As if electric current“ in hands
Heaviness of upper limbs
Injuries on fingers/toes
Itching - in forearm/in knee/in foot
Pain - in shoulder in morning on waking/aching
(in shoulders/in arm)/burning in toes/in knee (< walking)/in hip/in
legs/sciatica/rheumatic
Perspiration clammy in hands/feet
Restless feet
„As if rolling“ in hands
Swollen lower Extremities (leg)
Tension in shoulders
Tingling, prickling in upper limbs (soles of
feet)
Wart on finger
Sleep: Deep/prolonged
Restless
Sleepless
Waking - 3 h./frequent/with song in head
Yawning (morning/constant)
Dream: „As if in a
dream“/amorous/clairvoyant/death/left, right, up, down/dirt(y)/losing
things/mountains/music/nausea/influential people/people not seen for
years/reunions/restless/stealing, theft/visionary/water
Chill: Evening
Perspiration: after midnight
Skin: Dry
Echymoses
Eruptions
Itching
Generalities: r./morning
„As if air“ passing through all cells/„As if
dust coating over external parts“/„As if dry“
Cracking in joints
Faintness (< stooping)
Food and drinks: Desires:
Chicken/Fat/Orangejuice/Salt; <: Caffeine/Chocolate;
Heat - lack of vital heat/flushes of heat/“As
if heated on waking“
Heaviness
Injury, Fractures of bones
Before menses
Pain - „As if needles“/wandering
„As if pricked“/„As if rippling“/„As if
rolling“
Swelling in general (edematous)
Tension in muscles
Weary (< afternoon)
Vergleich: Enthält: N + Ox-ac;
Compare: Salsola + Ox-ac.
(5%) + Uran-n. (absorbed by Salsola).
DD.: Chenopodiaceae
Ox-ac. (5% by weight of the plant),
Uran-n. (strong affinity)
Desert
Remedies
Feeling of
disconnection associated with a brittleness, lonesomeness, death and a feeling
of a wandering moving on.
Siehe:
Caryophyalles + Wüste
Papin.
(vasoconstriction/effect on the smooth muscles of blood vessels) ó Salsola tragus ó Hydr.
(bleeding/effect on the smooth muscles of the uterus).
Wirkung: allergen/poisonous/sycotic
Allerlei: Burned to make soap/used in making
glass bbnn
It travels long distances/wanders
Phytologie: Salsolin
regulates blood pressure/resembles papaverine in its effect on
vasoconstriction/resembles hydrastine in its effect on the smooth muscles of
the uterus.
Cancerous condition termed
superfluous flesh
Cathartic/diuretic/emmenagogue
Dropsy and
excrescences/obstructions and hardness of the liver and spleen and for
expelling a dead child.
Navaho’s: decoction of the
ashes internally and externally for influenza and smallpox.
Vorwort/Suchen Zeichen/Abkürzungen Impressum