Page 10 - Winter 17

discovered, and was eventually named for Ceres, the asteroid discovered in 1801, itself named for the Roman goddess of agriculture. Cerium oxalicum is even included in Boericke’s Materia Medica, albeit with limited information. Lanthanum was later extracted from Cerium nitrate, after many years of not realizing it was also there. Thus, Carl Gustav Mosander, the discoverer of many of the lanthanides, gave it the name lanthanum, after the Greek word lanthanein, which is usually translated as ‘hidden,’ or ‘to be hidden.’ However, the New Oxford American Dictionary translates this as “escape notice,’ 3. which well describes the reactions of cats I have treated with Cerium and Lanthanum salts.
Returning to homeopathy, as Scholten and others have found, lanthanides can be needed for autoimmune diseases. I have been using lanthanide remedies for autoimmune conditions for the last few years, when another homeopathic medicine has not worked or one is not obvious to me. I like Scholten’s ‘Proposition One’ from Homeopathy and the Elements: ‘An unknown picture needs an unknown remedy.’ Realistically, despite our assertion of homeopathic medicine as individual treatment, in fact, as we have been taught, we tend to fit our patients into known remedy pictures, whether twelve to fifteen polychrests or two hundred remedies which we know reasonably well. This is human nature, of course, but it is also the proverbial attempt to fit a square peg into a round hole. It is also the basis of conventional medicine. We must broaden our remedy search and usage in order to reach more patients, probably more than ever now, with the proliferation of such strange, rare, and peculiar diseases within the autoimmune spectrum, which no doubt accounts for almost everything we see today.
The lanthanides, however, have been minimally proven, and the primary indications for them lie within the psychosocial sphere. We need a leap of faith or two in order to select these for animals, but we can do this successfully. Here is my process: Once I see a strong autoimmune component, I sort of challenge myself to prove that I should not use a lanthanide. If I cannot, then I choose a lanthanide. My next question is, which lanthanide? Now my task becomes interesting. To some degree, the left-to right progression within a series (row) revolves around confidence and certainty as applied to that row’s theme. For the lanthanides, their task, their fundamental view of the world focuses upon autonomy, self-image, and a sense of personal power. This is not the power struggle of the gold series, which concerns power in the external world, the world of rulers, kings, and dictators. Power for lanthanides reflects a more quintessential feeling: I know myself, I know what I need, and I know who I am despite influences from the external world. The poet E. E. Cummings said it this way: ‘To be
nobody-but-yourself-in a world which is doing its best, night and day, to make you everybody else – means to fight the hardest battle which any human being can fight.’
This progression across the series (row) is a mountain-shaped curve. At the far left, there is no confidence at all, then confidence grows through the first nine stages, and at stage ten it peaks. Stage ten is about balance, and Gadolinium, the stage ten lanthanide, is balanced in their understanding of autonomy, like the Buddha. Past stage ten, the balance is lost again, and confidence and autonomy begin to slip away. There can be similar levels of confidence on the right and left sides, so it is necessary to understand whether the lack of confidence is from never having attained any or if it is from having lost the confidence.
In cats, I look for this self-confidence in how they relate to others, especially to other cats, but also individuals of other species. I want to know, is she at peace within herself? If he is dominant, how does he manifest this dominance? Must he use force? (gold series, iron series) Or does his power emanate from within, so that others simply know he is strong and there is no conflict? (lanthanides, maybe silver series)
At the far left, the sense of power will be very limited. These cats will not be leaders. They will be in the background, even hiding (escaping notice). As autonomy and self-power is still their goal, but they have little to no awareness of how to attain the goal, they withdraw. Perhaps by withdrawing, it allows them a certain sense of autonomy by being alone. A nation of one, so to speak. Cerium patients, for example (stage four), may feel they are in a cocoon or inside a glass bell, isolated and separate. Lanthanum patients, in stage three, may be teased and bullied. How often do we see this within multiple-cat households, where there is a pariah whom everyone chases? Perhaps many of these cats need Lanthanum remedies (metallicum or salts).
Finally, two cases [third in next issue]. I will keep the case reports somewhat short, focusing upon how I determined the proper lanthanide.
Case One
Katrina, two-year-old female
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Gingivitis and timidity. (See the winter 2014- 2015 issue for the full case report.) Katrina was a young cat with increasingly inflamed gums but with no other symptoms other than her behavior. She had been a rambunctious, happy and playful kitten. Her guardian reported that she was now timid, and rather stayed to herself. After vaccine tautodes and a couple of remedies failed to change anything, I opted for a lanthanide. I asked the guardian for further clarification as to Katrina’s behaviors, especially on the timidity and how Katrina interacted with the other cats. ‘Anne’ reported that Katrina stayed in one room – ‘her room,’ Anne said – and did not come into the living area where the guardian and the other animals tended to stay. And Katrina liked to be in small boxes, as if she wanted to isolate herself. I questioned Anne further about this, wondering if Katrina retreated on her own or if the other cats picked on her. Anne felt that it was mostly her own choice, but that the other cats did not seem interested in her, as though she did not belong to the household.
So we have a timid cat who hides in a box and avoids others; furthermore the others are not interested in her. She must then be towards the right or left, not in the center. Is she on the right? Holmium is withdrawn but cynical and bitter; Erbium andThulium also tend to be darker, more withdrawn and resigned. Anne said Katrina was playful and rambunctious, however, so she did not seem right-sided. On the left, side we have Barium, Lanthanum, and Cerium. Lanthanum feels teased and mocked and bullied, but the cats did not bully her; they ignored her. Barium has the hiding and sense of powerlessness, so this was possible. Cerium has a fear of new things, and they are watchful, but they feel isolated, in a cocoon, and locked in. Could the small boxes she liked represent this? It seemed possible.
I started with Cerium oxydatum because of the connection to gingivitis and oxygen’s leprosy miasm-like feelings of isolation. She improved, but then the improvement stalled. As Natrum muriaticum had helped her a bit also, I then changed to Cerium muriaticum, which brought dramatic improvements. She returned to the household and her gingivitis disappeared over the next few months.