Editorial
by Richard Pitt & Premananda Childs
This issue is dedicated to the study of miasmatic theory and practice in homeopathy. Various homeopaths and authors have given their own opinions on this subject and so this issue of the California Homeopath is dedicated to exploring the history and relevance of miasmatic theory and its application in homeopathic prescribing.
The Development of Miasmatic Theory, from Hahnemann to the Present Day
by Richard Pitt
Since Hahnemann’s time, miasmatic thinking has developed considerably, with much more information given to the two main venereal miasms mentioned and to the inclusion of two more miasms, Tuberculinic and Carcinogenic, and more recently a few more miasmatic categorizations, mostly with a specific nosode identified for each.
Miasm
by Roger Morrison, M.D.
Hahnemann had a special understanding of the word miasm. Miasm is understood to be a derangement of the vital force that predates and is more fundamental than the current illness the patient suffers from. Though in the practical application, there is much confusion and debate.
The article addresses some fundamental challenges of miasmatic theory:
No general agreement about the need for the miasmatic concept nor the characteristics of the various miasms.
No agreement about which remedies apply to which miasm.
Modern homeopaths use miasmatic relationships in a limited way.
How do we understand the proposed new miasms and how do they differ from the original three: Psoric, Sycotic and Syphilitic.
The Chronic Miasmas
by José Miguel Mullen
The chronic miasmas are, directly or indirectly, the mother lode of all diseases currently known and still to be known by Humanity. This article describes Psora, the first of the three classic chronic miasmas originally studied and described by Dr. Hahnemann followed by the other two, Sycosis and Syphilis. These chronic miasmas are like the three successive stops or stations in the downward path toward self-annihilation. After that he describes the chronic miasmas Tuberculinism and Cancerinism, that configure the profile of patients prone to fall ill with tuberculosis and malignant solid tumors, respectively.
Chronic Miasms
by Peter Fraser
The theory of miasms has always been primarily a tool for learning more about the nature of the central disturbance or inner disease that is unseen but which is manifested in superficial symptoms. When it is used in this way, as a tool rather than as a doctrine, it is a powerful aid to finding the indicated remedy and the various different interpretations can all inform its usefulness.
The Use of Nosodes in Children
by Elizabeth Wright Hubbard, M.D.
In all constitutional homoeopathic work, one selects not only the similar remedy at the moment but jots down the top ranging half dozen remedies, their acute collaterals, and the nosode or nosodes most strongly permeating the case. Get your nosode in early in children. They are the "stitch in time that saves nine."
Constitution, Miasms and Typology
by Richard Pitt
One of the most common constitutional classifications has been into the three categories of the Carbonic, Phosphoric and Fluoric types, with similar qualities to the three main miasms of Hahnemann - Psora, Sycosis and Syphilis. This article describes each of these three constitutional types.
The AIDS Miasm
by Peter Fraser
AIDS is a disease that has a metaphorical importance out of all proportion to its actual effect on the general society. Many of the important issues that are found in the disease and which arose in the proving of the AIDS nosode and of new remedies that seem to be related to it, correspond to the issues that have affected society through the last decades of the twentieth century.
Themes of the major Miasms
The sources, indications and themes of the major miasms are discussed in this article.
The Use of Nosodes in Prescribing
by Richard Pitt
One key idea regarding the prescribing of a nosode is that they often unravel a specific dynamic in a case which is connected to an inherited tendency and which only the nosode will unravel. The assumption, correctly or not, is that the thread of cause in the case is traced to a specific miasmatic influence which only the specific nosode can unlock.