As key materials in modern microelectronics, the Lanthanides are of great commercial significance. Jan Scholten introduced them to homeopathy in the 1990s. With the help of his interpretation of the periodic table and despite the fact that there were no remedy provings, it has been possible to chart these secretive rare earths, which had hitherto resisted therapeutic application. In the meantime, their usefulness has been confirmed in the cases of many patients around the world, especially for the homeopathic treatment of autoimmune disease.
Even more commercially and politically important are the radioactive elements of the Actinides subgroup – and not just as a result of Fukushima. This terra incognita in Scholten's periodic table is only now being increasingly opened up. Proving reports and example cases show how the tension between high potential energy and impending decay can be harnessed for homeopathy. This issue of Spectrum aims to deepen our knowledge of two remedies groups central to our modern age.