Lycopodium: A Study
NATIONAL JOURNAL OF HOMOEOPATHY 2004 Mar / Apr VOL VI NO 2.
Dr Vishpala Parthasarathy
'Lyco / Ars-a / Nux-v / Thuja

My topic for the 10^th SSMS was Lycopodium
Now why had I chosen to take Lycopodium

1. It is the No. one remedy which can come for all colitis cases - suited both emotionally and physically. It has some 300 symptoms delineated for just GI and Colon.
2. The other reason for tackling one specific remedy is to trace the study and understanding of a remedy which will stand us in good stead in the methodology of studying any and every remedy.
3. I am going to graphically bring out the picture before you of Lyco.
4. Lyco has remained a difficult remedy to study and use, because the commonly referred materia medicas portray only one aspect of Lyco - in the stage of decline- which we rarely come across, and the other aspect in the ascent or the evolutionary aspect -is not easily known. Only recent works have started exploring how the Lycopodium evolves.
5. The recent works include:
   • ICR Symposium volume
   • Catherine Coulter: Portraits of Remedies
   • Philip Bailey: personality types
   • Helped by our recent repertories

A small introduction to study of Lycopodium:
From what we know about Lyco, we wonder - Is it an Enigma? Is it a 2-faced personality? What is it? Why is it so confusing?

What if we had to use one symbol for Lyco - it would be Ostrich-Deception-whether self or others.

To begin at the very Origin:
Lycopodium comes from the words: Lycos: wolf - so is Lycopodium a wolf in lamb’s clothing?
Podos: Paw - does this mean the friendly paw - outstretched to all and sincere/ faithful/ stuck to none?

Lycopodium is Club-moss.
What are the characteristics of club-moss?
First -moss is one of the oldest forms of plant life. This spells survival, where it has survived for centuries without radically changing itself. One cannot survive unless one adapts to the changing environment or one is soon killed. NB: Lyco has little < environment
From these both emerge the strong Viability of Lycopodium- ability to survive in all circumstances:
Moss is green, uniform, undulating with the surface on which it grows, undistinguishable one part from another. So it is cool and green and serene.
The traits we get from this are:
Serene, stable, and Resilient.
We can easily lift it off the ground without struggling with strong roots
Thus, Detachable and Detachment.
Add these to the strong Intellect and you get a person brimming with Self-confidence
With this short introduction. Now move on to the study we can understand how each characteristic can help developed the basic traits of the remedy:

Graphics are good way to learn, so I give you the rest of Lyco through slides.

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