Editorial: precious insights

Two groups of remedies which have opened a banqueting hall in my practice are the Sarcodes (made from healthy organ tissue or secretions, enzymes, hormones or neurotransmitters, to restore healthy function when a metabolic process is out of balance), and the precious insights of the Gemstones.

The main idea of the Gemstones is that although they may have themes of their component minerals, they are harder to place on the periodic table. Like a Mineral case, the person may express an interest in structure or disruption to their routine, yet the issue is not as straightforward as bonding (ex: Natrum muriaticum), incapacity (ex: Baryta carbonica) or losing capability (ex: Zincum metallicum).

It is still a challenge for us as homeopaths to find the ‘right’ remedy for someone but the clues in a mineral case can be very precise if we use our map of the periodic table. We can see this in the cases of Scandium and Cadmium phosphoricum in this issue. We are unlikely to know the materia medica of these remedies the way we know the polycrests, they are harder to find by repertorisation, but by following our grid-reference of the series and stages of the map, we can find exactly where X marks the spot.

Gems are minerals that go beyond the map of the periodic table. They are not trans-generational like the radioactive Actinides (and DNA Sarcode) but the person’s experience of a undergoing a transformational process in their life is on a deeper level than most of the other complex mineral compounds, acids, and salts.

The Gemstones are often consciously on a journey of personal inner development and transformation, rather than fitting into the themes of the series of the periodic table. It is an alchemical transmutation that takes places under pressure, over time, an elemental process at the core of someone’s being, like the crystals that form in a seam of rock, where fire and water meet the elements.

A journey of transformation

Butterflies can represent a “personal journey” of transformation in the Animal kingdom, just as the Matridonal remedies do in the Sarcodes, the theme of a personal quest, a “personal journey” of transformation that comes with profound insight, is central issue in the Gemstone remedies.

Julie Geraghty has been delving into this group of remedies, revisiting long-standing cases, sharing her insights with colleagues at the Bristol Homeopathic Hospital, and teaching the themes of the Gemstone remedies in seminars and lectures on the hospital’s academic study course.

Formed under pressure

In a crisis, the person who needs a Gemstone remedy feels in a dark place, trapped in a situation that is impossible to reconcile. They have suffered a profound loss, a grief, there is a tension of forces; they are stuck in an unhappy marriage, imprisoned under a harsh regime. Lapiz lazuli feels stuck in the mud, mired in a situation. They feel under pressure, in a pressurised situation. Gemstones are formed over many years of being under pressure in a seam trapped between layers of rock, by volcanic alchemical processes.

Undervalued

Their beauty comes to light when they are unearthed, cut and polished. Then, they are accorded the preciousness and value of jewels.

One of the gifts of a Gemstone remedy is bringing their inner value and worth to light, discovering their multifaceted talent with jewel-like clarity, especially when they have been stuck, their inner colour jaded, their worth undervalued. Gemstones are also valuable remedies for those going through ‘a dark night of the soul’, bringing spiritual dimension to their experience.

Imprisoned or stuck

Some of the Gems are remedies for crisis, grief, shock, trauma, profoundly dark depression, loss of what was most precious, displacement, fracture of a structure, never recovering from an accident, a loss or a relationship. Sometimes, the break is not clear-cut. In Emerald, they are stuck, locked in, imprisoned in the situation of an unhappy marriage with a power struggle. In Diamond, they are struggling for recognition of their worth, they feel undervalued and unseen. In Sapphire and Ruby, there is an expression of hardness, the regime is harsh.

Sensitivity and subtlety

There is subtlety and an exquisite sensitivity in some Gems (Amethyst and Rose quartz) that we might associate with the Plant remedies, and a sensitivity to others’ energy that we may associate with the empathetic sensitivity of Phosphorus nature. In Rose quartz, they are sensitive to others’ and feel responsible for others, unable to express their needs. Flashes of colour, insights feature in all the Gems. In Opals’ creativity and excitement, we may glimpse the Nitrogen component. Without this background knowledge of Gemstones we may not recognise a Gem remedy case immediately or we may be confused by the Alumina content of Lapis lazuli. Clarity, and conversely clouded judgement, unclear murky are keywords and themes in the Gems.

Knowledge comes to light

Julie Geraghty has generously shared several of her cases in this issue, which shed light on themes shared by all the precious Gems and semi-precious Gemstones, and their individual facets. Her insight into the Gemstones comes from attending a seminar taught by Peter Tuminello in South Africa in 2015, and studying his books, Twelve Jewels and Rose quartz, books based on many years of provings and on his deep immersion in research into the Gemstone remedies.

These are immersion remedies, so they work gently at 1M potency. As knowledge of these Gemstone remedies comes to light, we can glimpse their themes in a case. A Gem remedy can restore clarity, focus and decisiveness, restore someone’s undiscovered potential, which may be experienced as unrecognised value, shed light on the dark to reveal the hidden treasure of a creative talent or mission in life.