SEPIA:
The universally favorite Sepia (about the only remedy coming form the sea some of us know) is the cuttlefish.
Anatomy: The cuttlefish has a pair of fins which allows it rapid locomotion, eight arms and two tentacles which are attached directly to the oral opening upon the head. The tentacles are shot out together with lightning speed, acting like a pair of tongs, when the prey is to be caught. The ink of the cuttle fish is brownish black fluid situated in a small sac in the abdominal cavity and ejected through a slender duct which opens near the anus.
NO. FISH REMEDY COMMON NAME
- Ambra-grisea Ambergris from Whales
- Astacus Fluviatilis Craw fish (cancer Astacus)
- Asteria Rubens Red Starfish
- Erythrinus Red Mullet Fish
- Homarus Digestive fluid of lobster
- Ichthyolum Fish fossil
- Limilus King Crab
- Medusa Jelly fish
- Murex Purple fish
- Oleum Jecoris Aselli Cod Liver Oil
- Propylamine-trimethylaminum Herring brine
- Pyrara Fish from Amazon
- Sepia Cuttle fish
- Serum Anguillar Icthyotoxin Eels Serum
- Trachinus Sting fish
Whenever the fish is alarmed a cloud of brown-black ink is thrown into the water. Originally it was thought that the ink formed a smoke screen behind which the animal retreated. Recent observations however suggest that the jet of ink when shot out does not diffuse rapidly but persists as a definite object in the water and serves as a dummy to engage the attention of the enemy while the cuttlefish darts off in a different direction. Similarly, Sepia patient also develops emotional antagonism and, behaving as if she is being attacked, throws out a screen of indifference which clouds and masks her real tender nature and feelings. it is an independent creature which swims alone rather than in groups and lives in the crevices of rocks in the cool depth of the sea.
Source and History: Although Sepia was used by eminent physicians like Hippocrates, the ink secreted by it was never used and the credit for its discovery in curing innumerable ailments, goes to Dr. Hahnemann.
The first involuntary proving was in fact done by a male though Sepia is pre-eminently a female remedy. Dr. Hahnemann had a friend, an artist, who became so ill that he was scarcely able to attend to his duties. Despite Hahnemanns most careful attention he grew no better. One day when in his friends studio he observed him using the pigment made from Sepia. The artist would paint on the canvas and as soon as the brush turned dry, he would moisten it on his tongue. Immediately the possibility of this being the cause of his illness flashed across Hahnemanns mind. He suggested the idea to the artist who declared positively that the Sepia point was absolutely innocuous. At the physicians suggestion however, moistening of the brush in the mouth was abandoned and the artists obscure illness shortly passed away. This first accidental proving of Sepia led to numerous and very complete tests of the substance in potentised form on healthy humans, demonstrating that it has profound and long lasting action on the vital energy and tissues of the body.
The ink which in its dried form furnishes our medicine is essentially melanin and interestingly enough has a very high content of Sulphur and Calcium salts.
Dr. Hahnemann once treated a washerwoman from a village with Sepia. On being enquired about her progress by his student he asked them to find out. The students went to the village to ask her to which she said she was fine. "Why had she not come back to Dr. Hahnemann?" - a student asked. She replied - "Should I walk all the way just to thank you." Sepias thanklessness, indifference to others; too busy to find time - are features of the remedy in this little story. I find most Sepia patients are thankless but their husbands thank you immensely if your remedy works.
Small wonder that Dr. Gibson Miller should have said if he were allowed only one remedy, he would choose Sepia "A wonderful quote to describe Sepias symptoms is "They cause bachelors to thank God they are still single, and Gynecologists to thank heaven they are alive."
A working woman ends up burning the candle at both the ends. The reality of most womens lives, which spans a never ending cycle of professional responsibilities and gruelling domestic demands with little help form men in the house. Husbands, brothers and sons get back from work every evening only to put their feet up and read the papers, watch television, make telephone calls, visit their friends, have a drink ... while wives, mothers, sisters and daughters get back to chop the vegetables, cook the dinner shop for provisions, set the table, tidy the table, iron the clothes. The boss in the office, the husband at home, the baby in the creche, the absconding servant, the spiraling prices, the million and one crisis, the cooking, cleaning, the washing, the dusting, the late nights, the early mornings, the furtive glancing at the clock as the minutes tick by, the tasks yet undone ... all these leading to a Sepia state and hence we certainly have, many a Sepia women in this metropolis.
