What is Homeopathy?

Homeopathy is a system of medicine that has been practised throughout much of the world for the past 200 years.  Its founder was a German doctor called Samuel Hahnemann. His book Organon of the Healing Art, sets out the guiding principles, which he continued to update until his death. §2 The highest idea of cure is rapid, gentle and permanent restoration of the health, or removal and annihilation of the disease in its whole extent, in the shortest, most reliable and most harmless way, on easily comprehensive principles’.

The word homeopathy comes from the Greek  ‘homeo’ meaning similar and ‘pathos’ meaning suffering. It is based on the principle of like curing like. In essence this means that a substance that can cause symptoms in a healthy person can cure those same symptoms in a sick person.  In fact Hahnemann was not the first to discover this.  Hippocrates, the ‘father of medicine’, stated that cure takes place through the way of opposites or the way of similars, more than 2,000 years ago. The 12th Century German Benedictine abbess, Hildegard von Bingen, wrote extensively about the relationship between the natural world, plants, animals and stones, and human health. She recognised that physical symptoms are often the mirror of emotional and spiritual imbalance.

Basic Principles

It is a gentle form of treatment which stimulates the natural ability of the body to heal itself. The process can be slow but rewarding or remarkably quick as seen in hay fever cases. It is suitable for everyone from the young to the old.

The Law of Similars

This is the fundamental principle of Homeopathy. Put simply it means ‘like cures like’. For example, drinking too much coffee can make a healthy person feel jittery, anxious and wide awake. Homeopaths use a remedy made from coffee, Coffea cruda, to help with the symptoms of insomnia.

Totality & Individualisation

Homeopathy is a holistic system of medicine. ‘Holistic’ means supporting a person’s overall wellbeing—incorporating physical, mental, emotional, and lifestyle factors—rather than treating an isolated symptom or disease. Disease is viewed as an expression of disharmony within the whole person.

As every individual is unique, so too is each person’s experience of ill health. A homeopath works to understand that unique experience to find the remedy that most accurately matches it. For example, two people with hay fever may present with completely different symptoms:

• If a patient has watery eyes and a runny nose, the chosen remedy might be Allium cepa (onion).
• If their primary symptom is burning, irritated eyes, Euphrasia (eyebright) might be the indicated remedy.

I want to find out how you tick. An important part of homeopathic treatment is being heard and listened to in a relaxed environment.

The Wisdom of Our Remedies

Homeopathic remedies are specially prepared in dedicated pharmacies using minute quantities of plant, mineral, and animal sources. 

We see this natural wisdom reflected in many of our traditional remedies:

• Taraxacum (Dandelion): Used traditionally to support liver and kidney function and aid digestion.  In early February, Italians seek out the young leaves to make a salad to aid digestion.
• Calendula officinalis (Marigold): Cherished for its soothing properties to support the healing of minor skin irritations.
• Hypericum perforatum (St John’s Wort): Associated with the relief of nerve-related discomfort, making it invaluable for injuries to nerve-rich areas like fingers which have been trapped, a fall on your coccyx or the lingering tingle from shingles.
• Ruta graveolens (Rue): The primary affinity is with the tendons, ligaments, and cartilage. It is an excellent remedy for strains and injuries.
• Arnica Montana (Arnica): It grows at altitude and mountain communities have traditionally used it as a natural pain reliever. It is used for muscle pain, stiffness and bruising. St Hildegard may have been the first person to have written about its benefits in her book Physica.

These remedies have been safely tested on healthy human volunteers in a process Samuel Hahnemann called ‘provings’.