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EDITORIAL
Christa Gebhardt & Dr Jürgen Hansel
Chief editors
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SPIDERS AND SCORPIONS
EDITORIAL
SPECTRUM OF HOMEOPATHY
Dear readers,
are you afraid of spiders? Are you disgusted by touching a spi-
der’s web? If so, you aren’t alone. Arachnophobia is by far the
most common fear of animals. This exaggerated aversion cannot
be explained in terms of the real danger posed by spiders. As
Massimo Mangialavori emphasizes in his contribution on my-
thology, the archetype of the spider has been associated since
ancient times with the devious exercise of power, violence, and
an aggressive dark sexuality. We reacted to many contributions
in this SPECTRUM with consternation and revulsion but also with
great compassion. Common themes are vicious attacks, sexual
abuse, lack of empathy, and asocial behavior.
The case histories of scorpion and spider remedies clarify how
this highly toxic mixture is handed down from generation to
generation so that victims repeatedly become aggressors. An
example of this is Pratik Desai’s case of an Indian girl who was
severely abused in her family, going on to become shameless
and violent in puberty. Her poor school marks prompted the
parents to seek homeopathic help. The pediatrician Andreas
Richter describes how the typically impulsive, provocative and
aggressive behavior arises from severely disturbed bonding in
early childhood. Wim Roukema’s appalling cases of Androctonus
and other scorpion remedies confirm this finding.
The negative picture in our collective unconscious obscures the
special abilities and natural talents of the arachnids. Scientists
envy the construction, resilience, and durability of their webs,
without which we would be overwhelmed with insects. Tara
Cicchetti presents the remedy picture of Tela araneae, in which
the main feeling is being excluded. All spider remedies have to
fight for recognition and appreciation, which is often pursued
with unfair methods. This can be seen in an unadulterated
form in children. Their spider nature is expressed directly in their
behavior, drawing, or fantasies. Climbing ropes, building traps,
knitting, wangling, teasing, and provoking can lead directly to
the remedy group Arachnida if hectic restlessness, tics, ADHD,
or behavioral disturbances are also present – especially if their
hero is Spider-Man.
Jonathan Hardy describes the variants of the typical spider
themes. His brief casetaking clips familiarize us with how these
patients think and speak. This makes it easier to recognize the
remedy class in the contributions of the other authors. Yet the
identification of the precise species is less easy. This problem
is well known to homeopathic pharmacists, as noted by Jörg
Wichmann in his contribution on classification. So Hering’s
description “large, brown and not very poisonous” is hardly
enough to clarify the identity of Tarentula cubensis.
The difficulty of making a definitive remedy selection is described
by Bhawisha Joshi in a case of Mygale lasiodora prescribed as
a follow-on to Aranea diadema. For Joshi and most other au-
thors, the physical symptoms that can be repertorized lead to
the optimal spider remedy. This is especially true of well-known
remedies, as shown in the cases by Deborah Collins on Mygale
lasiodora and Theridion. With new remedies like the silk spider
proved by Olga Fatula, the signature can provide a remedy idea,
which must then be confirmed by proving symptoms.
In this issue mental disorders definitely take priority. The spec-
trum ranges from ADHD, autism, and asocial behavior in children
and teenagers through panic attacks, borderline personality, and
depression with suicidal ideation in adults. It is astonishing what
homeopathic treatment can achieve even in cases of severe
attachment disorders or extreme psychopathology. Even if we
cannot heal those affected of their trauma, we can give them a
scorpion or spider remedy to make them calmer, less aggressive,
and more approachable, so helping them to integrate better
in social life. With children there is often an improvement in
social behavior and school marks. We wish you success with
the spiders and scorpions!
STOP PRESS: We are also bringing you a special report on the
search for epidemic remedies to treat Covid-19. We have re-
cently been closely watching and interacting with homeopaths
around the world as they discuss their cases and analyse the
genus epidemicus. Our resulting report focuses on the experi-
ence of several prominent homeopaths together with their pub-
lished results, focused especially on the authors who regularly
publish their work here in SPECTRUM. They have been treating
patients in some of the major epicenters such as Iran, Italy,
Spain, UK and New York. They are unanimous in claiming that
initial homeopathic treatment of the initial, moderate phase of
the illness is often successful and can therefore fill the gap be-
tween general preventive measures and high-tech medical care.
The Liga Medicorum Homoeopathica Internationalis (LMHI) has
therefore made an official request to the WHO to take part in
studies examining the efficacy of homeopathy especially in the
first stages of the illness, with the aim of preventing deteriora-
tion and avoiding the need for artificial respiration, so relieving
the intensive care units.