Lilac Beauty - the Lilac Beauty Moth (Apeira syringaria):

Case and remedy proving

*Remedy proving: Apeira syringaria (Lilac Beauty)

*Remedy proving by K.-J. Muller; Dreams in remedy proving

- I should do something, but because I lack the right equipment and the skills, I fail.

- I should heal my symptom, but I do not have the money for it, so I couldn't…

- I dream of beta-blockers. I wonder whether beta-blockers are good for patients with thin blood vessels. They are not indicated for patients with severe illnesses.

- Later I walked my parents to the GP; they were dressed all in black.

Interpretation and observation:

The first four symptoms reflect my patient's frustration. The last symptom, the zip, symbolises the DNA strand, which was interpreted as the cause of the hereditary illnesses she is confronted with.

* Loss of energy while trying to drive (lead)

Interpretation and observation: This dream is a symbol of the collective unconscious, because the dreamer has no personal connection with the elements of her dream… To understand this better, it is worth recalling the nine Muses in Greek mythology, the goddesses of inspiration and the arts:

Calliope - epic and heroic poetry
Clio - history
Erato - love lyric
Euterpe - music and lyric
Melpomene - tragedy
Polyhymnia - songs and hymns to the gods
Terpsichore - dance
Thalia - comedy
Urania - astronomy

The Muses were the daughters of Zeus. It is interesting to note, however, that King Pierus also gave his daughters the names of the Muses, which establishes a direct connection to the butterfly family "Pieridae" (whites). (The inclusion of "Clio" is also important for our patient, who at that time was struggling with her dissertation in history...)

* Sensuality, beauty and vivid colours. On the other hand she hates wearing jewellery and looks through a completely dirty pair of glasses.

* Responsibility – which fails because of forgotten aids or lack of skills. Then she realises that others have thought of themselves first, and the examinee becomes angry with herself. (one dream was a combination of the previous two dreams; in that dream the others only noticed her when she looked well groomed.)

* She can decide what she wants to do – and is angry with herself when she does not do what she wants.

* The dreaming itself can be blocked. In one dream everything that happened was incomprehensible – extreme confusion.  

C. is a 14-year-old girl who grew up in a respectable middle-class family. The pregnancy was disturbed by a violent conflict between the parents. Although both parents wanted the child, the father left the mother at the beginning of the pregnancy. The act of leaving was accompanied by an extreme outburst of violence, which is highly unusual in this conservative, wealthy and traditionally Catholic social stratum.

C. was full-term at birth and delivery was normal. However, she soon developed skin problems – Leiner-Moussous (a severe infantile dermatitis), later eczema – followed by an acute attack of heartburn, and then a severe bronchitis which was shortly afterwards diagnosed as asthma.

She developed well. She was even ahead in many areas of development: learning to walk, language, where she demonstrated an unusual feel for grammar for a two-year-old! She showed very early great artistic abilities. Her mother's house is truly a museum, with furniture, paintings and beautiful china from the 18th century. C. especially loves singing and music.

I had been her paediatrician since she was 18 months old, because her mother wished homeopathic treatment for her.

C.'s initial health problems – asthma, eczema, allergies and sore throats – were resolved relatively quickly after treatment with the well-known homeopathic remedies: Tuberculinum, Pulsatilla and Phosphorus.

At age 5 she entered a very traditional, religiously oriented primary school run by nuns; a private school for girls. At the same time C. entered the conservatoire and learned violin, music theory and singing.

As soon as she started school she became bored, refused to learn and had no desire to work. She is a dreamer. She disrupted lessons and the poor nuns did not know what to do with her. They would have liked to be rid of her, but unfortunately the headmistress was a very close friend of C.'s mother!

At that time a conflict developed between C. and her mother. C. rebelled, refused to eat and to sleep, swore and blasphemed against religion.

C. came to see me at ages 6, 8, 10, etc. In my practice she always behaves nicely and charmingly; she smiles, is elegant and wears clothing from a previous century. She stands out markedly from other patients her age.

C.'s behaviour towards her mother became so terrible – aggressive, nasty, ill-mannered – she is a real devil – that she had to be cared for by the grandparents, who live in a strange, rundown old castle.

The mother: Of aristocratic descent; she is small in stature, charming but odd. She has a very pale complexion reminiscent of Roman Polanski's film "The Fearless Vampire Killers". She is not employed but trained in Paris as a psychologist. Her whole life is concentrated on the extreme hatred of C.'s father and on the constant conflict with her daughter. She has urogenital problems which even very well-known doctors in her town cannot cure; only an acupuncturist can relieve her complaints a little.

The father: I have never seen him, but his wife says that he is a "bastard". He is a ship officer, and although well-off he has never supported his daughter financially. He writes to his daughter, for example at Christmas, but C. sends his letters back unopened. During one consultation, however, she told me she had kept one of his letters and that she would read it to me.

Maternal grandparents: They live in an old English country house which houses a children's home for severely mentally disabled children from "good families". C. spent the first five years of her life in this environment. The grandfather is a British aristocrat, very Catholic and of a very patriarchal appearance; the only man in the family. The grandfather believes that C. is possessed by the devil and wants a priest to perform an exorcism on her.

Result of the WISC-III psycho-test (Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children):

C. seems very happy when she can speak and work intellectually, less so when she has to do practical tasks. She is emotionally unbalanced; she shifts between blockage and compensation.
.
* Concentration test (-)
- Capacity for concentration
- at school she becomes bored quickly and is easily discouraged: “School is important, but uninteresting”, “school is too easy, school is of no use to me.”

* Logical understanding (0)
- Logical thinking, mental processing, capacity for abstraction
- Mathematics

* High performance test (++)
- Information, general knowledge,
- Adjustment to reality: C. observes a lot, worries and is afraid of not coping.

C. was always treated homeopathically. She is also seeing a psychotherapist, which allowed me to step back a little and to reduce the very lengthy consultations with her mother's long complaints.
Recently C. told me that she does not like the therapy sessions with the psychotherapist; she has to confess something to her (sic), but she is unable to do so. I suggested she consult another psychotherapist not chosen by her mother, with whom she might feel freer.

January 2007: 1. - Iridium metallicum 1M (C 1000 Korsakoff)

- C. is 11 years old and in the process of prepubertal growth. She is exhausted and growing too quickly. (Silicea)

- She is at the height of her artistic development within her age group: during the last two years C. has composed music and played it on her violin; preferably when her mother was not present. Nobody knows what she writes; not even her teacher knows.

- An important event: The headmistress reports that C. was close to achieving good results but ruined everything at the last minute, failing just before her goal.

- Great exhaustion

- Family: grandfather, old-fashioned, "Vieille France", very dominant.

- War between mother and daughter and with an invisible enemy: the father.

Germanium 1M(1) was prescribed one month after Iridium and had a favourable effect on her exhaustion and her school performance; she concentrates better now and is less restless.
During 2008 I had no contact with her because the psychotherapist had taken over.

C. returned - with her mother - in spring 2009. The conflict between them flared up again and C. is vomiting constantly. All her energy seems concentrated on the fight with her mother, and the mother continues to fix her own energy on the eternal hatred of the father. Obviously the "devil" the grandfather wants to drive out is none other than the father.

C. returns and the conflict with the mother continues to escalate. She still has concentration difficulties and is very preoccupied with aesthetics, especially her appearance and her music.

The following key symptoms led me to prescribe this butterfly remedy:

Energy: constant loss of energy in the struggle. Source of creative energy in music and dreams, especially at school.
 
Art and beauty: C. has grown 13 cm and is becoming a beauty; she has the bearing of a princess. She is intensely involved with music; I had the good fortune to be invited to listen to her interpret one of her own compositions on a Sunday afternoon.
 
Origin: C. was (partly) raised alongside disabled children in her grandparents' castle.

Animals and relationships: C. had to ride a horse at Easter, which she hated; she also rejects all kinds of animals, except those that fly at night, such as owls, bats and moths (night-flying butterflies).

Energy level: She suffers from loss of energy; she is too entangled in family problems.

Response: the response to the remedy is almost spectacular with regard to her concentration and the mother's aggressiveness towards her. She has become calmer and is coping better at school; the nuns have now accepted her. She takes great pleasure in her violin, which she continues to play with passion.
Follow up two months later:

A nocturnal moth of the "Thorn" family is not very colourful, but the edges of its wings are nicely scalloped. This, together with a delicate colour pattern, gives the impression of a crumpled leaf. This moth flies between June and July and occurs mainly in England, Ireland and Wales. It prefers hedgerows and woodland edges. The caterpillar feeds on honeysuckle (Lonicera), privet (Ligustrum) and some other plants. Its wingspan is 38–42 mm (Linnaeus, 1758).

The main paediatric symptoms of APEIRA:

1. Sensuality, beauty, joy, aesthetics
These are artistically inclined, aesthetic patients with ideals.
 
2. Complaints from loss of energy due to; excessive expenditure because of family problems
The children feel responsible for family problems in their environment over which they have no control.

3. Affection for animals, especially butterflies.
These are lively, active people who seek pleasure and enjoyment.

Apeira syringaria is an interesting butterfly remedy that fits the artistic environment and the severe family conflicts!

There are several reasons to treat the young girl at this stage of life with a butterfly remedy. Firstly, the dramatic experience of being abandoned; secondly, her aesthetic environment both socially and physically. The sense of beauty and harmony, and the desire for beauty is always present when a butterfly prescription is indicated. Thirdly, her upbringing alongside severely disabled children (with hereditary illnesses) is a guiding symptom to be taken into account. Finally, the restlessness and instability that often occur in such cases are added. This young girl is always searching for harmony and everything that prevents her from achieving it causes anxiety and unrest.
Such a prescription can promote the patient's development and help her to manage her aesthetic demands in a meaningful way.

Patricia Le Roux is a paediatrician with a homeopathic practice in Marseille, France. She has become known as the author of various homeopathy books such as "Homéo et Juliette", "Homéo-Pitchoun", "The Energy of Hydrogen", "The Metals in Homeopathy" and "Butterflies in Homeopathy".

Category: Cases

Keywords: Aesthetics, longing for beauty and harmony, loss of energy, restlessness, instability, family problems.
 
Remedy: Apeira syringaria

(1) C 1000 Korsakoff