The Enchanted Realm of Fungi
Fungi exist largely out of sight, underground or inside other organisms. Even in homeopathy only a few representatives of this kingdom have so far become visible; their classification is a focus of SPEKTRUM 1-2015: three apt keys to the enchanted realm of fungi are provided by the Dutch Masi group, Jan Scholten with his new plant theory, and the sensation method, presented by Jörg Wichmann, Angelika Bolte and Ruth Wittassek. All three perspectives complement and permeate one another and, in the synopsis, convey a vivid homeopathic picture of this fascinating kingdom, which with its characteristics and themes will also make previously unknown fungal remedies recognisable in practice.
Fungi and their spectrum of effects — whether as gut symbionts or pathogens, as intoxicants or medicines, as edible or poisonous mushrooms — promise broad, hitherto much underused applications in homeopathy: SPEKTRUM presents several new, exciting proving reports including interesting case histories. Bob Blair’s contribution on Cryptococcus neoformans not only provides insight into the symptomatology of this AIDS-associated pathogen, but also exemplifies many typical fungal themes and sensations. Twenty years after its proving Marco Riefer presents clinical experience material for Candida albicans that contributes to an extensive remedy picture. Misha Norland’s LSD proving sheds light on that mysterious dark side of fungi that is associated both with ecstasy and with psychosis. Sigrid Lindemann provides a case in which LSD is indicated both isopathically and constitutionally. As a differential diagnosis to LSD, the true magic mushroom, Psilocybe caerulescens, in Annette Sneevliet’s case study is not a remedy for psychosis but for a specific form of depression — burnout. Psilocybin is currently being investigated in psychiatry for its antidepressant effect.
Anneliese Barthels has contributed to the discussion about Ötzi and the birch polypore with her proving of Piptoporus betulinus in a homeopathic manner. While science rules out a hallucinogenic effect of the fungi found with the glacier mummy, the proving symptoms do contain indications of a drug-like medicinal reaction. It is undisputed that for millennia fungi have been valued by shamans and folk healers worldwide both for their intoxicating effects and for their healing powers.
At the same time they are known as the cause of many troublesome skin diseases, which Rajan Sankaran has grouped into a distinct miasm. A case study by Ruth Wittassek shows this Ringworm miasm in its particularity. As a symbiotic community of fungi and algae, lichens occupy a special place in the enchanted realm of fungi. In homeopathy we are particularly familiar with Sticta pulmonaria. Willi Neuhold works out the vital sensation of this remedy family in his article and, with the miasmatic classification, gives us the opportunity to apply remedies such as Cetraria islandica or Cladonia rangifera in practice.
Of course this issue of SPEKTRUM also includes the classical homeopathic remedies of this group, foremost Agaricus muscarius. It is no coincidence that the emphasis in Mike Keszler’s case studies is on neurological disorders, since muscarine, the toxin of the fly agaric, acts at the cholinergic synapses of the nervous system. We also know of Secale cornutum, the second major homeopathic fungal remedy, and its affinity for the nerves. Andreas Holling, however, presents Secale as a remedy for hair loss, with a detailed discussion of the corresponding leprosy miasm. Felix Morgenthaler’s contribution on Bovista complements homeopathic knowledge of the fungal remedy group with the viewpoint of Massimo Mangialavori.
With this guide through the enchanted realm of fungi, SPEKTRUM presents, in the compilation of contributions from our internationally renowned team of authors, another particularly exciting chapter of its modern, living Materia Medica.
