Making
a homeopathic remedy is generally a three step process.
-here is a rough guide, for a full explanation read the
Organon
If the video above doesn't work, check out the VIDEO
LINK HERE
This process of preparing
a remedy does not in of itself create
a 'homeopathic' remedy.
This process is more correctly known as 'potentisation'
or 'dynamisation' (the terms are interchangeable).
What 'potentisation' or 'dynamisation' does is create a
substance ready for homeopathic application. This
distinction is critical, not just academic.
It is not homeopathic until it is prescribed according
to the homeopathic principle of 'similar' disease symptoms
- see the matera medica of Sulphur
for an example.
I should have made the distinction betwen potentisation
and homeopathy clear when I made the animation above, but
I am not doing it again - it took me ages (animation is
not my forte)!
Any given 'potency' e.g. 6th or 30th or 200th potency, refers
to the number of times a substance has progressively continued
in this process
For
insoluble substances,
take one part of the starting substance that you want to
make into a remedy and add to 99 parts of milk sugar and
then triturate (grind up) with a mortar and pestle for one
hour. This produces the first attenuation (1c potency)
One part of
this mixture is then taken and further triturated with another
99 parts of milk sugar for a further hour. This produces
the second attenuation (2c potency)
This step is
further repeated to the 3c potency at which point any substance
you started with is now able to be dissolved in alcohol;
this is the end of the first part of the process.
For
the second part of the process one part of the
triturated 3c potency is taken and mixed in a test tube
with 99 parts of 90% pure alcohol. This is then 'succussed'
40 times (struck firmly on a solid but not hard surface
like a leather bound book). This then gives the 4c potency.
One drop of
this is then taken and added to another 99 parts of alcohol
and succussed to produce the 5c potency
To increase
potency this step is repeated as many times as necessary.
These alcoholic attenuations provide the medicating potency.
The
final part of the process is to take the medicating
potency of the desired strength and add a few drops (4 to
10) to sucrose (sugar) pills in a bottle labelled with the
remedy name and the potency, the bottle is shaken to evenly
distribute the remedy and there you have your potentised
remedy, ready for homeopathic application
For starting
substances soluble in alcohol, the trituration steps are
replaced by dilution and succussion in alcohol
It is still
done this way by hand up to the 200 potency. The higher
potencies (above 200) are mostly produced by a mechanised
version of the same process.The lowest potency available
to the public is the 6c but the 30c is what is most commonly
stocked by high street pharmacies.
Sometimes the
strength will have an 'X' or 'C' or 'CH' or 'K' after the
number, this refers to tiny differences in the way they
were made, for all practical purposes they are the same.
