The Mirror & the Magnet
By David Mundy, F.S. Hom
Mirror, mirror on the wall, who is the fairest of them all?’ Snow White & the Seven Dwarfs
‘God is like a mirror. The mirror never changes, but everybody that looks at it sees something different.’ Harold Kushner, American rabbi
‘Each one perceives himself everywhere; World and God are mere reflections of one’s own state of mind’ Ramana Maharshi - the Sage of Arunachala
‘Once you realize that the world is your own projection, you are free of it. You need not free yourself of a world that does not exist, except in your own imagination!’ Nisargadatta Maharaj - From the book - ‘I Am That.’
Introduction: Homeopathy is an art. It is more than just a healing system. It is a unique medical art that seeks to understand an individual in all their complexity - physical/mental/spiritual. As any disease cannot be separated from the person who is sick, we need to be aware of all aspects of a person’s life. Everything is connected and therefore, what happens in a person’s life and the choices they make in life must reflect their character and personality. This information can be useful to help find the correct remedy. Sometimes it is obvious what is important, whereas at other times it takes significant digging into the story of a person and the most characteristic symptoms and broader phenomena that needs to be considered. In this article I am making a case that the concept of the “mirror” and the “magnet” are important qualities that can help assist in a remedy choice. This is not to say that simplistic anecdotal observations will lead to a remedy but if taken with discernment and a holistic analysis of the complete case, certain qualities, characteristics and choices made in life reflect the inner nature of the person. When considering the deepest motives in a person and what makes them who they are, people can be attracted to certain situations – the magnet – and at the same time life acts as a mirror to what is going on inside a person. These phenomena can at times help lead to a remedy or can confirm a remedy.
My main influence in homeopathy was James Tyler Kent. Kent himself was influenced by the Swedish mystic, Swedenborg. These ideas that I am presenting in this article are from my own observations in over 45 years in practice. They are not an alternative to how to analyse a case. I still go through the process of identifying the themes of the case, selecting rubrics and comparing materia medica. In that sense I am a Classical Homeopath. I love the repertory and use it in every case. The concept of the Mirror and the Magnet is not new; in the sense that others, who are not homeopaths, have also observed the idea of the Magnet and how people create their own reality. I believe that people are possessed by the energy of an archetype that determines their perception of reality and their responses to life and alterations in their sensations and functions.
How movie characters reveal remedy archetypes and how left and right hemispheres of the brain are needed to explore homeopathy.
Homeopathy is not only logic. As Herbert A. Roberts has said, homeopathy is both science and art.
I see homeopathy everywhere. In the best movies, characters can have an archetypal quality about them. The characters extend outside of the movie into life itself and amazingly can be reflected in our description and knowledge of homeopathic remedies. It is the same in any part of life, whether politics, history, world affairs, books and TV. At times the remedy just seems to come out. For example, the remedy Arsenicum album is beautifully expressed by David Suchet as the character Poirot. Inspector Poirot is the creation of Agatha Christie who seemed to have a deep knowledge of homeopathy, and I believe she based many of her fictional characters on homeopathic drug pictures. When I visited her home in Devon I noticed a wooden chest containing a collection of homeopathic remedies. Apparently, she always travelled with it. Maybe that is why her books are the number one best-selling fiction? People unconsciously recognise and relate to the Universal Archetypes.
The movie ‘Tombstone’ expresses the Tubercular Miasm. Is the movie “2001” an example of the remedy Plutonium Nitricum? Is it possibly Stanley Kubrick’s remedy? Does Cersei (Game of Thrones) need Platina? Does Basil Fawlty express a perfect Lyssin picture? Does Paul Simon require Natrum muriaticum? Listen to the lyrics of ‘The Sound of Silence.’
Did Mohammed Ali need Agaricus muscarius? He boasted he was the best, he prophesied in which round he would win, he became very religious, and later in life developed Parkinson’s disease. The Mirror is everywhere!
Muhammed Ali repertorization Agaricus Mundy
According to quantum physics, matter and energy are essentially interchangeable, with fundamental particles (matter) acting as excited states or ‘vibrations’ of underlying quantum fields. Matter is not inherently solid but represents organized, vibrating energy, with particles displaying both wave-like and particle-like properties, often described as ‘slowed down’ energy.
Our human brains are separated into left and right hemispheres. According to Ian Gilchrist, the author of ‘The Master and his Emissary,’ they function according to different realities. Essentially the left hemisphere is linear and functions though logic, and it is time bound. The right hemisphere is circular, non-time bound and functions through synthesis, intuition and analogical thinking – it sees the complete picture and the interconnectedness of the wholeness of life. The beauty of homeopathy is that it integrates both sides of the brain. We need both logic and intuition. Modern technological medicine is totally left-brained and fails to consider the totality.
The influence of James Tyler Kent and the hierarchy from spirit to material
My own introduction to homeopathy was an ’accidental’ reading of ‘Kent’s Lectures on Homeopathic Philosophy’. I was an acupuncturist at the time and was not looking for another health discipline, but after reading the first chapter, something clicked, and I knew I had to study homeopathy. I had found my passion. Incidentally, I often ask my patients, what is your passion? The answer can be a key to exploring the inner nature of the patient and what is important to understand the core issues of the patient.
‘The finger is aided by the microscope down to an elongated point,’ is a quotation from the first chapter in the book. Kent argued that such a reductionist viewpoint ignores the vital force or energetic imbalance that proceeds tissue change and pathology.
The concept of the Mirror and the Magnet sprung from the development of my understanding of Kent’s classification. Kent divided the psychological part of a human being into three components; Will, Understanding and Memory.
Kent’s approach to homeopathy, although following the principles laid down by Hahnemann in The Organon, was also greatly influenced by Swedenborg (1688-1772). Swedenborg was a Christian mystic who believed in levels of reality from spiritual to material. Swedenborg must in turn have been influenced by the ideas of Plato and possibly Paracelsus. Kent’s use of ascending potencies reflects this. The phrase ‘Higher and higher until the secret spring is touched’ is a famous quote from Kent when describing the remedy Natrum Muriaticum, in his Lectures on Homeopathic Materia Medica. It is worth reading ‘The Correspondence of Organs and Direction of Cure’ in Kent’s Lesser Writings. It is a brilliant chapter.
The following diagram illustrates hierarchy from spirit to material. This diagram is based on the ideas of Israeli homeopath Joseph Reves, to whom I have gratitude for deepening my understanding of homeopathy.
Joseph Reves Archetype Potency to Manifestation Material World
THE WILL – THE MAGNET
In Kents’ philosophy, ‘The Will’ is the ‘voluntary’ part of mankind. The Will gives direction and is expressed in what Kent called the loves and the hates, or the desires and aversions. Food desires and aversions are expressions of the Will expressed via the stomach.
I call this function the Magnet. Everything in the Universe operates on the forces of attraction and repulsion. Planets revolve around the Sun because of magnetic attraction. We are attracted to that which we love and we repel that which we hate.
This attraction and repulsion is not only governed by the conscious mind, but also by the unconscious. We are attracted, in a somewhat mysterious manner, to that which makes us feel better. Conversely, we are also attracted to that which aggravates us! For example, a craving for fatty food; even though it makes us worse, or even repeated toxic relationships, called psychological patterns.
The first patient that made me think about this, over 40 years ago, was a professional potter. He was an elderly man suffering from angina pectoris. He was breathless from the slightest exertion and had frequent chest pains. After analysing his case, I decided on Aurum metallicum. At the follow up he was very impressed by the improvement in his symptoms and wanted to know what I had prescribed for him. When I told him his face expressed first shock and then laughter. He said, ‘I told you I was a potter, but I didn’t tell you that my speciality is gold glazing. I am well known for it.’
It turned out all his life he had been in love with gold. You could say that he was attracted to his Similimum, but in the wrong potency! I still own the gold pot he gave to me in gratitude.
Since then, I have observed this phenomenon numerous times. A word of caution is needed here. It would be illogical to decide on a remedy based on a tattoo or piece of jewellery that the patient was wearing. I mention these cases only as examples of synchronicity and the mirror and the magnet. I must emphasise that I base my remedy prescriptions by analysing and repertorising in the traditional manner. These cases are only presented as examples of synchronicity. The totality of symptoms must always be our guide to remedy selection.
I gave the snake remedy Black mamba (Dendroaspis polylepis) to a patient. I had no idea that he had a snake tattoo, this was only revealed when he came for his first follow up and wanted to know what I had given him. When I told him the name of the remedy he laughed and rolled up his sleeve to show me the tattoo.
Case examples:
The patient who was obsessed with seashells. Her previous homeopath had given her Sepia. She was greatly helped by Murex, the juice of the purple dye snail (gastropod).
The 30-year-old patient, who as a five-year-old girl, was placed in a tree trunk while her father worked in a nearby field. On his return he was shocked to find a poisonous snake just inches away from her. Her remedy was Elaps corallinus.
The man that loved climbing mountains and using Cocaine was helped by Cocaine in potency.
The man who loved the ocean and windsurfing and seafood but told me felt sorry for crayfish being cooked in a pan. His remedy was Astacus fluviatilis (Crayfish).
The boy who wanted to jump off a mountain and fly away was relieved of his asthma by Haliaeetus leucocephalus (Bald headed eagle)
The man with bleeding from his penis who hated his brother, describing him as ‘Snakelike.’ Crotalus horridus resolved the haemorrhage.
The man who had a pronounced fear of snakes – ‘They strike when you least expect it.’ He had a snake tattoo on his arm (done when he was 16 and very drunk). His passion was Karate. He wept when he talked about his hero father. He was given Dendroaspis (Black Mamba) with benefit.
Snake tattoo
These examples reflect the possibilities of a remedy or a confirmation but as in any case it needs to be seen in the context of the whole case. Nothing is separate but these are examples of how people can be attracted to the remedy they may need.
Another example is in the film Django by Quentin Tarantino. I believe Tarantino’s remedy is possibly Black Mamba. In the Bombay proving of the remedy, the symptom, ‘Sympathy for black people’ was observed. Tarantino wanted to create a black hero in the film. He discussed this in a BBC interview. ‘Hero’ is one of the themes in Dendroaspis polylepis. Snakes appear in many of his films. Uma Thurman plays the part of ‘Black Mamba’ in ‘Kill Bill’. All the actresses have snake names in the movie. This is a very interesting and unusual phenomena. Why would Tarantino choose snake names and then why would he want to create a black hero? These themes are consistent with the proving that was carried out.
This type of mirror/magnet reflection may be useful and should be one consideration of the larger picture in any case. It may seem anecdotal to some, a variation of the “doctrine of signatures” that Hahnemann critiqued. But I am making a case that it actually reveals an essential aspect of a person’s character, and this can be mirrored in the proving and clinical picture of a remedy.
AN EXAMPLE OF THE LAW OF THE MAGNET: SNOW WHITE
Perhaps the most extraordinary example of the Law of the Magnet was a patient who was suffering from acne and severe depression. She complained that whilst her husband had become fulfilled and successful, she was trapped and “dumped” with all the domestic chores. She felt betrayed and unsupported by her husband. Her doctor had prescribed many anti-depressive drugs which were making her feel progressively worse. She felt her talents and creativity were “stunted.” She dreamt of deformed babies. She thought they symbolised her frustrated creativity.
The remedy Adamas (diamond) was sent to her in the post, but not named. After receiving it, instead of taking it immediately, she decided to do a guided meditation. In her meditation she met her older and much wiser self. This wise woman took her to the centre of the earth, where there was a raging fire. She felt that the fire would be healing, so she ate it. After ascending to the surface of the planet the wise woman handed her a casket, which contained her heart. They then kissed and diamonds poured out of the wise woman’s mouth into her own mouth. Then babies appeared in the sky. Diamonds poured from the sky.
Later that night she took the Adamas 200c. She described the reaction as transformative. She immediately stopped taking all drugs, and, in her own words, ‘Sprang forward like I was wearing seven league boots: it’s what dwarfs wear in fairy stories. They travel seven leagues with one step,’ she said.
She was then told the remedy was diamond. It turned out that on getting engaged, both herself and her husband agreed to have tattoos of diamond rings on their fingers - rather than real diamonds. ‘Too much cruelty in diamond mining,’ she said. She was brought up in South Africa near many diamond mines. Amazingly she had tattooed her healing remedy on her skin!
Diamond tattoo
One of the largest diamonds in the world is called the ‘Snow White Diamond.’ The Disney ‘Snow White’ movie portrays Snow White whose beauty is unrecognised. She is just a servant girl doing domestic chores, dreaming that someday her Prince will come to rescue her. Snow White is like an uncut diamond whose beauty or talents are concealed. The huntsman is ordered by the evil (Platina?) Queen to kill Snow White and bring back her heart, to prove she was dead. The huntsman cannot kill Snow White and instead puts a pig’s heart in a casket to fool the Queen. Snow White is helped by the Seven Dwarfs. The Dwarfs work in a diamond mine. Afterwards, Snow White is poisoned by an apple, and she is placed in a transparent coffin. Coffins end up buried in the earth or burnt. All these themes were revealed in Sherr’s excellent proving of Adamas. The following repertorization confirmed the remedy in this case and how the archetype of Snow White is seen in the remedy.
Snow White Adamas repertorization
POSSESSION AND ARCHETYPES
It would seem that in sickness we are ‘possessed’ by the spirit or energy of an archetype. In ancient cultures it was believed that when people fell sick they were possessed by an evil spirit. The shaman would perform a ceremony to exorcize the disease. In people disease is the non-human part of their situation, as if they have moved from their original condition and are now vibrating within the field of the remedy they need, and which is part of them.
The Aurum patient has been possessed by the spirit or symbolic energy of gold
He thinks he must be like gold, as good as gold
Aurum is a symbol of success and wealth
When an Olympian athlete wins a race, he is given a gold medal, which is symbolic of being the best - Number One
You are the best, the highest achiever, you beat everyone
The failed side is unacceptable and leads to dark depression and even suicidal thoughts of jumping from a high building – symbolic of the fall from grace
GONE WITH THE WIND
In the movie ‘Gone with the Wind’ Scarlett O’ Hara is a typical Tarentula hispanica patient.
Cunning, mischievous and suffering from unrequited love for Ashley
She refuses to wear black when her first husband dies and wears a bright green dress to seduce Bret Butler (Tuberculinum)
Lives at TARA
She pulls her sister’s hair
She throws and smashes a vase
She refused to get pregnant as it would destroy her figure
She refuses to eat
She suffers from unrequited love for Ashley (Desires Ash!)
Her maid accuses her of “Waiting for Ashley - like a spider.”
She loved to dance
Father and daughter both die from falling off a horse
Scarlett O’hara Tarentula hispanica repertorization Mundy
Although we cling to the belief that we are in control and make independent decisions, the truth is that we are all, in a sense, archetypes, and those archetypes are represented by homeopathic drug pictures. Rather than living life, maybe we are ‘lived.’
‘One may think that one lives, actually one is lived.’ Nisargadatta Maharaj
Does Pulsatilla pratensis choose to weep? Does Nux vomica choose to become angry? Does Aurum choose to succeed? I am reminded of the story of the scorpion and the frog. The scorpion wishing to cross a river asks a frog to give him a lift. At first the frog, seeing the danger of a scorpion, refuses but is told by the scorpion that he will not sting him because if he did, they would both drown. The frog, seeing the logic of this argument, allows the scorpion to get on his back. Halfway across the river the frog feels a terrible pain in his back as the scorpion stings him. ‘Why did you do that,’ cries the frog, ‘now we both will drown.’ The scorpion replies, ‘I know, but I couldn’t help it – it’s in my nature.’
DELUSIONS - THE MIRROR
‘What if I told you that everything you see in front of you is nothing more than an illusion, a mirage, a hologram that YOU are creating, that this is nothing more than your own hallucination’?’ Nada Amari - author
We create our own reality. So-called delusions can be understood as a false perception of reality. But what is reality? We don’t experience reality; the brain interprets it. Light and sound are reaching us at different speeds, yet the brain synchronises the experience. It mysteriously fills in the blind spot at the back of our retina so that we don’t see it. Unable to see our own psychological blind spot, it is projected externally. We are all conditioned – by our parents, teachers, culture, religion, beliefs.
In paragraph 7 of the Organon Hahnemann states –
‘And, moreover, the totality of these symptoms, of this outwardly reflected picture of the internal essence of the disease, that is, of the affection of the vital force, must be the principal, or the sole means, whereby the disease can make known what remedy it requires - the only thing that can determine the choice of the most appropriate remedy.’
Delusions are not seen by homeopaths in the same way that they are normally understood. A delusion is basically a false perception of reality. It is a false belief often, based on past events, possibly patterns of behaviour inherited from parents or even further back down the family history. We are recycled beings.
I once had a cancer patient who was a soldier. He had liver disease, gall stones and craved hot milk. In a battle he saw a comrade shot in the neck. They both fell, covered in blood and were buried alive and suffocating. His cancer appeared six months after he retired. ‘I’m going to fight this cancer and defeat it,’ he said. His body created the cancer so that he could continue the delusion of being a soldier. As a soldier living out his delusion, he had no need for the cancer. His remedy was Chelidonium majus– a remedy in the same plant family as Opium. Both war remedies. Every single one of his symptoms was covered by Chelidonium. He was living out the archetype of Chelidonium!
Soldier Chelidonium case repertorization Mundy
CARL JUNG AND SYNCHRONICITY
The word ‘Synchronicity’ was coined by Jung to describe meaningful coincidences that appear related but lack a causal connection.
Two personal experiences show the truth of Synchronicity. One day I decided that my kitchen knives were blunt, so I went into town to a hardware shop to get the contact details of a local professional knife sharpener. They did not know of one, so I left the shop and immediately saw a van with the back open. I approached the van and saw a man sharpening knives. A professional knife sharpener, no less!
Then, a week later, on my way to a pub a companion and I were discussing how in the 1960’s air travel to Europe was very expensive, until a man named Freddy Laker introduced package holidays and cheap flights. Shortly after, sitting in the garden of the pub we saw a man approach us with a tee shirt on which was a picture of an aeroplane and the letters ‘Freddy Laker Airlines.’ Yes, this could be just ‘coincidence’ but what does that really mean? Perhaps it reveals patterns of consciousness which we tap into and become aware of at certain times.
‘Psychic projection is one of the commonest facts of psychology ... We merely give it another name, and as a rule deny that we are guilty of it. Everything that is unconscious in ourselves we discover in our neighbour, and we treat them accordingly.’
‘We must admit that what is closest to us is the very thing we know least about, although it seems to be what we know best of all.’
‘The mirror does not flatter, it faithfully shows whatever looks into it; namely, the face we never show to the world because we cover it with the persona, the mask of the actor.’ - Carl Jung.
All this suggests that unresolved issues within us are projected outside.
Hence:
“I really dislike critical people.”
“I can’t stand ridged inflexible people; they should be lined up against the wall and shot.”
THE VICIOUS CIRCLE OF DELUSION
I was once consulted by a mother about her 10-year-old son who had become violent following the divorce of his mother. His violence was paroxysmal - he would physically attack his mother. He refused to be alone at night and would come into her bed. He had recently come from living in a town in the north to a southern town. I asked if he liked his new school. He replied that it was okay now, but that it would not last as he always was the one blamed at school for any trouble, even if he had not started it. His friends had turned against him. ‘It’s not fair, I always get the blame.’ Since the divorce he had developed a deep fissure in the centre of his lower lip.
Combining the delusion of persecution with the crack in the centre of his lower lip I gave the remedy Drosera rotundifolia.
Persecuted boy case Drosera two symptoms
Investigating Drosera showed it was a perfect match:
Persecuted boy case Drosera totality repertorization
Drosera 1M completely changed the boy’s behaviour and he settled in nicely to his new school. His lip quickly healed. Drosera is normally thought of for a violent cough in paroxysms. In this instance violence in paroxysms was on the mental plane, not the physical.
This case also shows that a delusion creates situations that confirm the delusion. With his Drosera attitude he would soon attract a similar situation as his previous school and then he could announce – ‘See, I was right.’ A delusion is therefore part of a person’s personal reality.
These examples show how by exploring all phenomena in a person’s life, from the smallest detail to the deepest mental state, to dreams and to the very circumstances that a person is experiencing, all can be a reflection and indication of the remedy the person needs. I have found this type of analysis, using the Mirror and the Magnet, a useful and fascinating tool in finding the Similimum.
Biography
Originally an Acupuncturist and Osteopath, David has studied with many leading homeopaths including George Vithoulkas, Joseph Reves, Jan Scholten and Rajan Sankaran. A practitioner for 45 years, he has taught at Homeopathy Schools in the U.K., Ireland, Finland, Sweden, Canada, the Czech Republic and Japan. He now specialises in post-graduate training. He is currently writing a book on homeopathic philosophy and relaxes by playing blues guitar.
He says that the most important attribute of a homeopath is not memory but learning to think homoeopathically. David's teaching, based on his wealth of clinical experience, memorably fills minds with homeopathic gems and plenty of humour along the way. For information on his case study course email david@davidmundy.org. David sees all patients on zoom now. Please go to his website for information.
Website: www.davidmundy.org.
