Aconitum napellus

Acon.

Signs

Aconitum napellus. Monkshood. Wolf's Bane. Granny's Nightcap. Iron Hat. Captain over the Garden.
N.O. Ranunculaceae.

CLASSIFICATION Aconitum is included in the Ranunculaceae . Comprising over 1800 species in about 50
genera, the family is centred in temperate and cold regions of the Northern and Southern hemispheres.
It contains a number of very poisonous plants, such as Helleborus and Aconitum, and a number of well-
known garden ornamentals. The plants are mostly herbs, rarely woody climbers, such as Clematis. "The
family shows a wide variation in flower structures, and also a wide variation in pollination methods. The
family is insect-pollinated in the main, although some species of Thalictrum are wind-pollinated. Many
of the annual species are self-pollinated. The remaining insect-pollinated types are visited for either
their pollen or their nectar and they can be divided into these two types. The genera Anemone,
Pulsatilla and Clematis do not produce nectar and are visited only for their pollen. Nectar flowers with
well-developed nectaries are found in Ranunculus, Aquilegia, Delphinium and Helleborus. In Anemone
and Clematis insects are attracted by brightly coloured sepals, in Ranunculus by showy petals [with
prominent nectar pouches, known as honey-leaves]; in Aconitum by showy sepals and petals."1

DISTRIBUTION Aconitum is indigenous to areas at altitudes between 1,000 and 3,000 metres on
mountain slopes. There are about 100 species, mainly herbaceous perennials that need cool rich soil and
will grow in full sun or partial shade. When in the plain it is already summer, the high-altitude habitat
retains its cooler, spring-like air. Drought is detrimental to the roots, so the roots must be kept moist. It
likes to follow the course of brooks and water-filled ditches. The plants should be left alone when well
established as they take time to resettle after being disturbed. The seeds need frost to germinate the
next spring.
NAME It is called Monkshood, because of the shape of the flowers, which turn over and give the
appearance of a hood, thrown over the head, but also because it was associated with political intrigue
among the ranks of the Roman Catholic clergy. The name Wolf's Bane refers to its one time use as
poison bait for wolves. The name Aconitum is said to have been derived from Gr. akon, a dart, in
reference to arrows at one time being poisoned with the juices of the plant, or from akone, cliffy or
rocky, because the species grows in rocky glens. Another possibility is that the name comes from the Gr.
akonitos, 'without struggle' or 'without dust'. Napellus means "turnip-rooted." Its Sanskrit names
'Ativisha' and 'Visha' both mean poison.

FEATURES "The flowers, shaped like a monk's cowl, are no longer radially symmetrical like those of the
spring Ranunculaceae - anemones, aquilegia, peony - but are isobilateral. They have given up the radiate
flower form and attained a higher form of symmetry suggestive of the animal kingdom. The higher
invertebrates as well as all vertebrates possess bilateral symmetry as their fundamental morphological
concept. ... It is of interest that Aconitum napellus is in polar contrast to Helleborus niger, the Christmas
rose, which is the most ancient member of the Ranunculaceae. Aconitum is a more recent
representative of this very primitive family of plants. It shows much more advanced structures, in the
specialised upper sepal which forms a protective covering for the other parts of the flower, in the deep
blue colour of the flowers, and in the arrangement of the blossoms, not on single stems but in an
inflorescence. Seasonally also the plant is at the opposite pole to the Christmas rose. Instead of pushing
its way up through the snows of winter it springs vigorously upwards to burst into bloom at the peak of
summer. Thus instead of torpor, the characteristic of Helleborus, there is here a suggestion of terror.
Instead of the sluggishness of winter growth this upstanding summer-flowering plant betokens swift,
sudden, strenuous activity."2

ROOTS The plant Aconitum is perennial; yet each distinct root lasts only one year, the plant being
continued by daughter roots. "At the same time as growth and development take place above, there is a
stir of movement below ground. The root tuber begins to release the life, which until now it has wilfully
held on to, into an adventitious root that in turn swells to form a tuber. The old root later dies and the
daughter root will in the following year send forth the flowering plant. The root process thus stands out
from the life pattern of the Monkshood, as something special. It permits only part of the life of the plant
to rise and unfold above ground, forcing another, important, part to remain forever in the root sphere.
The Monkshood overemphasizes the root life. ... In the midst of a season when the earth element is
effervescing, burning itself up, merging into the cosmic sphere, and the cosmic is entering with might
and main into the earthly sphere, the Monkshood in its tautly gathered, definitively shaped form, with
the helmet and visor of its dark violet or blue flower, is like a stronghold guarding and containing
selfhood, a bulwark of firm resolve, resisting any inclination towards volatility."3
CONSTITUENTS Aconitine; aconine; napelline; aconitic acid; itaconic acid; succinic acid; malonic acid;
levulose; dopamine and noradrenaline. Aconitic acid - used as plasticizer for buna rubber and plastics - is
found in the leaves and tubers of Aconitum napellus, as well as in Achillea millefolium, Equisetum, beet
root, and sugar cane. The strong irritant malonic acid is employed in the manufacture of barbiturates. All
parts of the plant contain the alkaloid aconitine.

TOXICOLOGY The toxicity of Aconitum varies with the climatic conditions under which it grows. The root
is the most dangerous part but the leaves are greatest in toxicity just before flowering. Symptoms of
poisoning include muscular weakness, irregular and laboured breathing, weak pulse, bloating, belching,
constant attempts at swallowing, contracted or dilated pupils. All parts are poisonous, even the honey!
In the winter the roots are the richest in aconitine [the main alkaloid]. Even handling the plant is
dangerous to highly sensitive people. Touching the plant's juices to an open wound can cause pain,
fainting sensations and suffocation. Used as an arrow poison by early stone-age cultures, aconitine
[from A. napellus or, in particular, Aconitum ferox] is very fast acting, a feature that once made it a
favourite poison, dubbed as 'queen mother of poisons'. In ancient times a decoction was given to
criminals as fatal punishment and, on the Greek island of Ceos, infirm old men, no longer useful to the
state, were compelled to take a deadly drink of aconite. The sudden death of the Roman emperor
Claudius, in AD 54, is accredited to poisoning with aconitine. Monkshood is also credited by historians as
being the 'murder weapon' in the death of Pope Adrian VI and in an unsuccessful attempt on the
prophet Mohammed's life. In the Middle Ages monkshood was believed to protect against werewolves
since the plant was also poisonous for wolves. 18th- and 19th-century physicians used monkshood as a
cardiac sedative. Until the 1930s, the plant was used as a painkiller, diuretic and diaphoretic. In the form
of an ointment it was used externally to treat rheumatism, neuralgia and lumbago. The tincture was
used to lower pulse rate and fever and treat cardiac failure.

EFFECTS "In all its parts, but particularly in the root, the aconite harbours one of the most formidable
poisons known. For the old Greeks it constituted the poison. In their mythology they attributed its origin
to the foam spilling from the mouth of Cerberus, the watchdog of hell. Aconitine, the main
representative of a group of similar alkaloids contained in the plant, is the most poisonous and swiftest
acting alkaloid. Three milligrams are sufficient to kill a horse. More powerful than hydrocyanic acid, it
acts with similar tremendous rapidity. Such overwhelming power, if released within the human
economy, can evoke only one kind of mental reaction - fear. The expression of fear in its highest degree,
the fear of death, the fear that the end is approaching, will be found only among the most powerful
poisons which attack life at its very source. The condition, which is most likely to produce this deep-
rooted biological fear, is interference with the process of respiration. This expression of fear is to be
found particularly in patients who suffer from despondency, be it of pulmonary or cardiac, or toxic or
mechanical origin. The process of respiration, i.e. of oxidation, is at the very source of life and any
obstruction of this process resulting in local or general anoxaemia will result in fear. ... The wanderer in
the mountains, where the oxygen content of the air diminishes with increasing altitude, leading to a
state of anoxaemia known as 'mountain sickness', will find in these altitudes the typical habitat of
Aconitum, Digitalis and Veratrum album. These plants are obviously able to resist the relative anoxia of
the high mountain regions."4 "If monkshood is eaten, symptoms start rapidly with a burning or tingling
sensation of the lips, tongue, mouth and throat. Delayed-onset symptoms include excessive salivation,
nausea, vomiting, tightness and numbness in the throat, impaired swallowing and possibly speech
impairment. Intermittent visual disturbances can include blurred vision or colour patches in the visual
field and pronounced and prolonged pupil dilation. Dizziness, prickling skin sensation, muscle weakness
and uncoordinated movements can also occur. In critical cases there are heart rate and rhythm
disturbances followed by convulsions and death. Death may occur as early as a few minutes after
ingestion or as late as four days. Heart rate and rhythm disturbances can be serious. Those who survive
report odd hallucinations during the poisoning episode and sensory disturbances for a long time
afterward. If the victim does not die, recovery occurs within 24 hours."5

MYTHOLOGY According to legend, Aconitum came from the hill of Aconitus where the monstrous three-
headed dog Cerberus was killed by Hercules, which was his twelfth and last labour. The saliva of the
monster became the deadly poison of the plant. The Greek goddess Hecate - goddess of the dark hours,
thus connected with the moon, ghosts, witches and magic - used the plant to poison her father, the
Titan Perses, who ruled over the strategies of war. In addition, monkshood formed the cup that Medea
prepared for Theseus. Another legend tells that Aconite originated from Prometheus' blood dripping on
the rocks when the eagle devoured his liver. Prometheus' name means forethought. As a descendant of
the Titans, he symbolizes a revolt of the spirit, the spirit which, if it cannot make itself the equal of the
divine intellect, at least tries to steal a few sparks of its light. This is not a quest of the spirit for its own
sake, along the path of gradual self-spiritualization, but the use of the spirit for purposes of self-
gratification. The rebellious intellect chooses the material in preference to the spiritual. By unleashing
material cravings, liberation becomes imprisonment in matter. 6 The price that the divine helper pays
for his gift to mankind - fire - is grief, destruction and being forever chained. Yet, he personifies the
unconquerable will opposing greater power, confident of the ultimate triumph of his cause. As the
Promethean complex it exemplifies all those tendencies which impel us to know as much as our fathers,
more than our fathers, as much as our teachers, more than our teachers. In perfecting our objective
knowledge, the Prometheus complex is the Oedipus complex of the life of the intellect. 7 "The serpent,
like Prometheus, initiates development at the price of suffering, for consciousness brings with it
knowledge of the tragic fate of every human life - the inevitability of death. Pain, suffering, and death
exist in the absence of consciousness, it is true, but if there is no consciousness to experience them,
then they do not exist psychologically. Without consciousness, life is a state of anaesthesia. Accordingly,
Prometheus suffers the eagle's visit to gnaw at his liver during the daytime [consciousness], and the
wound heals up at night [unconsciousness]. During the night we all return to that original unconscious
wholeness out of which we [and the ego] were born. In this way, the ills and traumas of the day are
healed by the sleep that 'knits up the ravell'd sleeve of care'."8

WITCHES Aconite often featured as an ingredient in witches' ointments. "Although aconite doesn't
seem to have genuine psychoactive properties, it can have marked physiological effects [such as
reducing the rate of the heartbeat] and may thus have contributed to the overall effects of such
ointments. It is also reported to cause the unusual feeling of having fur or feathers, which may well have
been a highly desirable effect to witches seeking magical transformations into mammals and birds."9
During the Middle Ages, the plant was widely feared because it was thought witches used it to summon
the devil. Monkshood seeds wrapped in a lizard skin and carried with you, will give you the ability to
become invisible at will.

RITUALS The Austrian esoteric novelist Gustav Meyrink [1868-1932], who lived and worked in Prague,
was originally a banker. He turned to writing when he went bankrupt and published short stories full of
gruesome events, occult happenings, and corporeal, psychical and spiritual abnormalities. Especially
prominent are the motifs of the amputated limb or organ, and the mummified corpse and the mask. His
best known novels are 'Der Golem' - published in the middle of World War I and an instant success - and
'Der Engel vom westlichen Fenster' [1927]. An adept in occultism and alchemy, Meyrink incorporated
specific knowledge about [or from personal experience?] such hallucinogens as Cannabis, Lophophora,
Amanita, Aconitum and Veratrum in his works. In the short story 'Der Kardinal Napellus' he describes a
secret order called Blauen Brüder, whose followers let themselves be buried alive when they felt their
end was nearing. After his death, the founder of the order, Cardinal Napellus, had transformed himself
into the first Aconite. To join the order, novices had to set Aconites in the ground, baptize them with
their own blood, and nurture them with the blood obtained from the wounds of flagellantism. The
symbolic meaning of the blood baptism was to implant the soul magically in the Garden of Eden and to
nurture its growth with the blood of one's desires. The members of the order used the plant in a
psychoactive fashion. After the flowers had withered in the autumn, the poisonous seeds were gathered
and ingested. Resembling miniature human hearts, the seeds represented, after the secret tradition of
the order, the 'mustard seed' of faith. In the same way that the dangerous poison affected the heart and
brought one in the state between life and death, so the germ of faith was thought to alter the blood,
turning into the miraculous power that occurs during the hours between the agony of death and ecstatic
elation. 10
 FOLKLORE "Monkshood is under the astrological influence of Saturn and is the birthday flower for 9
September. It signifies deadliness, illicit love, remorse, vendetta and misanthropy. In the language of the
flowers it means, 'Your disdain will kill me'."11

TRIBES The Buttercup family is divided into two subfamilies and five tribes. Homoeopathy employs
some 28 members of the Ranunculaceae. They fall under the following tribes.
• Subfamily Helleboroideae.
Helleboreae: Actaea, Aquilegia, Caltha, Eranthis, Helleborus, Nigella, Xanthorrhiza.
Delphinieae: Aconitum, Delphinium.
• Subfamily Ranunculoideae.
Ranunculeae: Adonis, Ranunculus.
Anemoneae: Anemone, Hepatica, Pulsatilla.
Clematideae: Clematis.
• The place of Hydrastis canadensis is open to controversy. Sometimes still placed in the
Ranunculaceae, it now often is put in its own family, the Hydrastidaceae.

PROVINGS •• [1] Hahnemann - 8 provers; method: unknown.

•• [2] Austrian proving [Gerstel and Arneth] - 15 provers [13 males, 2 females], 1843; method:
increasing doses of tincture, every 1-4 days, for periods ranging from 3 to 6 weeks.
[1] Heywood, Flowering Plants of the World. [2] Gibson, Studies of Homoeopathic Remedies. [3]
Pelikan, BHJ, October 1976. [4] Gutman, BHJ, Oct. 1959. [5] Turkington, Guide to Poisons and Antidotes.
[6-7] Chevalier and Gheerbrant, Dictionary of Symbols. [8] Stevens, Ariadne's Clue. [9] Rudgley, The
Encyclopaedia of Psychoactive Substances. [10] Rätsch, Enzyklopädie der psychoaktiven Pflanzen. [11]
Addison, The Illustrated Plant Lore.
Affinity

MIND. NERVES [sensory]. HEART [arterial; circulation]. Brain. Viscera [chest; abdomen]. Joints. * Right
side. Left side.
Modalities
Worse: NIGHT. Violent emotions [FRIGHT; SHOCK; vexation]. Chill [by COLD, dry winds; while sweating].
Noise; music; light. Dentition. Lying on affected side. Tobacco smoke. Rising in bed.
Better: Open air. Rest. Warm perspiration.
Main symptoms
 M Forethought - knowledge.
• "An insufferable know-it-all. ... death has been at their door. It could come again. These subjects will
then try to organize themselves to be able to face it: they must plan everything in advance, know
everything there is to know. Anxiety and fear of death - possible at any moment - will drive our
Aconitum to study, pursuit of knowledge, even clairvoyance. This will all be done in a great hurry,
because it is an emergency. This individual might become, for example, a doctor or a fire-fighter,
prepared for any contingency. The most difficult periods for Aconitum will be those which remind them
of their inexorable march toward old age and death: birthdays and anniversaries, which mark the
passage of time." [Grandgeorge]

M EXCITABLE.
• "Acon. is very excitable. Can flare up all of a sudden. Can get frightened very easily. Pain can make him
beside himself. This excitement will be manifested suddenly and violently - violent anger, violent fear
etc. with great restlessness; will go up and down, pace back and forth and show an acute panic reaction.
The Aconite person who is calm can suddenly flare up and start shouting, can get frightened and start
moaning and groaning and can get so panicky that he can start throwing his arms widely about. Not only
his health, but also the health of people around him causes him great concern; a problem with anyone
and he doesn't react in a cool manner, but always in a panicky, jerky fashion and will raise a big hue and
cry, get worked up - pace back and forth - summon all the doctors and may even land himself in the
hospital after that - so great is his excitement." [Sankaran]
M Extreme RESTLESSNESS.
And Anguish, FEAR of DEATH.
And TOSSING ABOUT.
Hurry.
• "On coming from lecture at 11 a.m. he experienced very disagreeable restlessness. He felt extreme
hurry; anything that prevented him walking quickly was highly obnoxious, so that he rudely pushed
against those who did not get quickly enough out of his way, and ran breathlessly upstairs. Even when
he got home this great hurry in all movements continued until 1 p.m. , when his usual calm returned."
[Hughes]

M VIOLENT, SUDDEN ATTACKS of panic/terror.

Unreasonable and unaccountable fear.
And Palpitation and tingling sensations throughout the body, but mainly the extremities.
Often started after a frightful experience, e.g. car accident in a tunnel, or a strong fright, or being stuck
in an elevator, although sometimes without a known causation [too far back in the past].
M Sensation of PRESENTIMENT OF DEATH; predicts the time.

[In most cases during the first or second experience of a frightening situation, e.g. hyperventilation;
after the first occurrence, and noticing that he didn't die,
the patient is more used to the situation and consequently less panic-stricken.]
• "Rhus is easily distinguished from Aconite. The Rhus patient will tell you it is no use to prescribe for
him - he is going to die any way; while the Aconite patient is distressed, and predicts the day or hour."
[Kent]
* Fear of death during pregnancy, esp. during labour,
or fear that the child will die or will be deformed. [Cimic.]
• "During labour it is of service when there is great restlessness and fear of death. The patient is sure
she will die. The labour is slow. The vagina is hot and dry, and the os uteri is tender and undilatable."
[Blackwood]
• "Tendency to have intuitions, presentiments, the second sight when awake or when asleep. Thus very
vivid dream in the morning, in which he finds a solution of a problem, from which he was unable to free
himself while awake." [Gallavardin]

M Fear in a CROWD, in narrow places [esp. after a frightful experience].

M OVERSENSITIVE to:

Light, particularly sunlight.

Noise, particularly music.
Odours, particularly unpleasant odours.
Pain. ["Even when the pains are slight and bearable, due to his extreme susceptibility he exaggerates
them to such an extent that his own imagination of the enormity of his complaints overpower him." -
Kent]
Tastes. ["Bitter taste of everything, except water."]
Touch. [Aversion to being touched; abdomen sensitive to touch.]
Trifles. ["He gets vexed at trifles and takes things seriously even when meant in a joke." - Kent]

M Anxious expression during complaints.

M Sequela [constitutional effects] of fear or fright [e.g. after witnessing an accident].

Complaints SINCE a certain moment or situation, esp. fright or SUDDEN CONFRONTATION WITH
DEATH.
• "There is something in their past that had to do with fright. They usually have learned to tone down
their degree of panic. They still have a deep active feeling that something terrible is about to happen.
Beyond fear, towards panic. It was a sudden onset as causation. Near miss in an auto accident, or a bad
landing in an airplane, earthquake, witness violence or a murder, etc. Severe and sudden unexpected
fright [Stramonium often with extreme rage and anger]." [Gray]

M Active, open-minded persons, rarely or for a very short time self-centred. [Gallavardin]

G Plethoric and strong persons; desire for company.

• "Esp. applicable to plethoric persons, or those leading sedentary lives; dark hair and eyes; persons
with rigid fibre." [Cowperthwaite]
• "The weakly, careworn individual is never taken suddenly." [Kent]

G Complaints SUDDEN and ACUTE; very violent and frightening.

Pseudo-croup or croup, AWAKENS from FIRST SLEEP.
• "It is particularly useful in sudden, violent and acute cases, which are worse in the evening. The
patients are tortured by fears; afraid of darkness, ghosts."

[Dewey]
G Inflammations [anywhere], FIRST STAGE.
ACUTE PAINS.
And Great restlessness and intense fear.
• "Aconite produces no formation of pus; this is a negative feature. You may give Aconite where there is
redness of the mucous membrane, but when pus forms it is not indicated." [Kent]
G Complaints coming on suddenly from very cold winter weather, or from intensely hot summer
weather.
G Exposure to DRY, COLD WIND:
Coryza; conjunctivitis; pseudo-croup; cough; pneumonia; pharyngitis; laryngitis.
G High fever and DRY, burning heat.
Generally > when perspiration starts
• "The type of the Aconite fever is sthenic and continuous, and not intermittent or remittent. It has no
symptom in its pathogenesis, which points to intermittence. Beginning with the initial chill or chills, the
dry heat follows and continues until sweat brings relief. Then the fever is over so far as Aconite is
concerned. It has no typical return of these febrile attacks. Hence, you cannot give Aconite in
intermittent fever. Then, again, it must be borne in mind that sometimes the fever is not the disease
itself, but a symptom which is necessary for the proper development of the disease." [Farrington]
c The Aconite fever begins in the head and goes down; the cold begins in the feet and comes up.
G BURNING THIRST for cold water.
 G < NIGHT, esp. around midnight.
G PAINS BURNING [internally], sticking, EXCRUCIATING [driving to despair].
INTOLERABLE PAINS; driving him crazy; shrieking with pain; expects to die.
G Parts feel NUMB; enlarged; burn; TINGLE, prickle or crawl.
G VERTIGO.
And Sensation of swaying to and fro in brain [< stooping, motion].
And Staggering, esp. to the right.
And Bursting headache [as if the brain were agitated and boiling, and as if it would protrude through
the forehead].
And Nausea and vanishing of sight.
P Conjunctivitis.
• "Aconite is to be preferred in the beginning of a conjunctivitis, or in fact any acute inflammation of the
eye, when of traumatic origin, as from a foreign body, the eyes feel full of sand, there is photophobia
and painful inflammation of the eyes from exposure to cold, or from the action of acrid substances in
the eyes, as from wounds or burns. It is also the first remedy in other forms of conjunctivitis. Important
to use after operations on the eyes." [Dewey]
NO PURULENT FORMATION or EXUDATION.
P Face red, hot, flushed, swollen.
On rising the face becomes deathly pale.
Or: one cheek red, the other pale.
P Retention of urine caused by shock.
In newborn children immediately after birth - main remedy.
Child wakes up at night and screams, and puts the hands to the genitals.

Rubrics
Mind
Mental activity alternating with dulness [1/1]. Anxiety > cold drinks [1]. Aversion, has no affection for
anybody during pregnancy [1]. Cheerful before menses [1]. Clairvoyance [2] [= predicts time of death].
Thoughts of death [3]. Delusion some part of body is deformed [1; Sabad.]; he was about to die [3]; sees
faces grow larger [1; Aur.]; of jostling against everyone she meets [1/1]; mental acts were performed in
stomach [1/1]. Fear of busy street [3] of death during labour [3]; of death during menses [1; Plat.;
Verat.]; of death during pregnancy [3/1]; of narrow places [3]; of suffocation [3]; of tunnels [2]. Hurry,
while walking, rudely pushes everyone out of his way [1*]. Indifference after anxiety [1]. Desire for light
[2]. Desire for mental exertion in morning [1/1]. Restlessness before sleep [2; Phos.; Thuj.]. Slowness
while eating [1/1].
Head
Sensation as if hair were standing on end [1*]. Pain, painful spots on hairy scalp, < cold air [1*], < touch
[1*], < strong wind [1*].
Eye
Photophobia during rage [2; Bell.; Stram.]. Eyelids sensitive to cold air [3/1].
 Vision
Colours, blue spots before the eyes [1; Kali-c.].
Face
Heat > blowing nose [1/1]. Sensation of swelling, left side of face and forehead, gradually spreading
over entire body [1*]; of lips [1*].
Mouth
Sensation as if root of tongue were spasmodically drawn down at both sides [1*]. Fishy taste [1; Astac.;
Graph.; Lach.].
Stomach
Sensation as if stomach were alternately distended and fallen in [1*]. Nausea, > after breakfast [1*],
after meat [1*]. Thirst during pains [1; Cham.; Nat-c.].
Rectum
Sensation of a warm fluid flowing out of anus [1*].
Chest
Oppression > wine [1/1]. Pain, can only lie on back [2; Bry.; Phos.]. Sensation as if boiling water was
poured into chest [3/1].
Back
Numbness, loss of sensation in lumbar region, extending to lower limbs [2/1]. Stiffness cervical region
during cold weather [1/1].
Limbs
Sensation as if feet were adherent to the ground [1*]. Coldness of feet, in warm room [1*], when
walking [1*]. Heaviness, lower limbs, on ascending stairs [1*]. Automatic motion of hands, he strikes his
face [1/1]. Numbness, of lower limbs, when sitting [1*], while standing [1*; Sep.]. Tingling in feet
extending upward [3/1]. Weakness, lower limbs, on ascending stairs [1*].
Perspiration
Profuse sweat and copious urination during diarrhoea [2/1].
Generals
Catalepsy after fright [2/1]. Faintness after fright [3]. Sensation as if he stood on the vibrating stool of
an electric machine and sparks were drawn from him [1*].
* Repertory additions [Hughes].
Food
Aversion: [3]: Wine. [1]: Artichokes; bread, wheat [*]; coffee; cold drink; fat; ice cream; milk; oysters;
tobacco.
Desire: [3]: Beer; cold drinks. [2]: Bitter drinks [during fever]; bitter food [during fever]; wine. [1]:
Alcohol; beans and peas; brandy; cabbage; fish; pungent [during fever]; sour; whisky.
Worse: [2]: Fat; wine. [1]: Alcohol; beer; bitter drinks; butter; coffee; cold food; fruit; hot food; meat =
nausea*]; milk; pork; pungent food; soup; sour; sweets; vinegar; warm food.
Better: [3]: Wine. [1]: Coffee; cold drinks; cold food; milk; soup.
* Repertory additions [Hughes].
Aesculus hippocastanum
Aesc.
There is nothing new except what has been forgotten.
[Marie Antoinette]
Calm in the morn without a sound,
Calm as to suit a calmer grief,
And only thro' the faded leaf
The chestnut pottering to the ground.
[Tennyson]
Signs
Aesculus hippocastanum. Horse chestnut. Buckeye. N.O. Hippocastanaceae.

CLASSIFICATION The Hippocastanaceae family consists of two genera only: Aesculus and Billia. The
genus Aesculus comprises 13 deciduous species and is native to north temperate regions. The two
evergreen species of the genus Billia are restricted to southern Mexico and tropical South America.

NAME Aesculus is the ancient Latin name of an oak or mast-bearing tree. The name [from esca, food]
was applied originally to a species of oak, which was highly prized for its acorns. The specific name
hippocastanum is derived from Gr. hippos, a horse, and L. castanea, the Chestnut tree or Virgil. Some
writers think that the prefix 'horse' is a corruption of the Welsh gwres, meaning hot, fierce, or pungent,
e.g. 'Horse-chestnut' = the bitter chestnut, in opposition to the sweet one, Castanea vesca [= C. sativa],
although this is an entirely different tree to which it is not even distantly related. Castanea is one of the
eight genera constituting the Fagaceae family; other well-known members are Fagus [beech] and
Quercus [oak]. Another explanation for the name Horse chestnut is the resemblance of the large seeds
to chestnuts, and because the Turks often grind them into a coarse flour, which is mixed with other food
and given to horses that are broken-winded [having short breath or disordered respiration]. The name
Buckeye comes from the resemblance of the seeds to the eye of the buck.

FEATURES All thirteen Aesculus species have large and usually sticky winter buds, wrapped about with
fourteen resinous scales. No frost or damp can thus harm the leaf and flower. The terminal buds
develop with amazing rapidity with the approach of spring. The sun melts the resin that binds them
together. These splendid trees with spreading branches, in particular A. hippocastanum, are widely
planted in Europe as ornamental shade trees. A. hippocastanum is indigenous to Eastern Europe and
northern and central parts of Asia. It thrives best in a good, sandy loam and very rapidly may reach 30
meters in height and as much across, with five- or seven- five- or seven-lobed leaves and spikes of
variegated white and red flowers, "tapering upwards amidst the foliage like so many wax lights." The
large leaves spread like fingers from the palm of the hand. "All over the small branches may be found
the curious marks in the shape of minute horse-shoes, from which, perhaps, the tree gets its name. They
are really the leaf scars. Wherever a bygone leaf has been, can be traced on the bark a perfect facsimile
of a horseshoe, even to the seven nail markings, which are perfectly distinct. And among the twigs may
be found some with an odd resemblance to a horse's foot and fetlock."1

SEED The fruit, a brown nut, has a remarkable shining, polished skin. A large green husk with short
spines envelops it, which splits into three valves when falling to the ground. The ripe seeds, known in
England as 'conkers', are a source of starch, and fed to stock. Cattle are said to eat them with relish,
though pigs will not touch them. "The method of utilizing them is to first soak them in lime-water, which
deprives them of the well-known bitter flavour inherent in the nuts, and then to grind them to a meal
and mix them with the ordinary provender."2
USES From the wood charcoal is obtained which is used for manufacturing gunpowder. The soft and
spongy timber is too light to be of much value. The nuts, unpalatable for humans, are particularly rich in
potash [60% of the ashes] and phosphorus [22%], and have been used as a substitute for soap. To
prevent them from becoming mouldy and rot, the nuts are preserved in sand during the winter. They
reputedly contain narcotic properties. Aescine, present in the nuts, is used as a sunburn protective. The
bark is odourless, but has a bitter astringent taste. It has tonic, narcotic and febrifuge properties and has
been used in intermittent fevers.

EFFECTS The leaves are poisonous in early spring. Intoxications from eating the nuts are rare. Symptoms
of poisoning may include inflammation of mucous membranes, vomiting, diarrhoea, violent thirst, facial
redness, and anxiety. In more serious cases nervous disorders, sleepiness, stupor, loss of power to
coordinate action of limbs, and even paralysis of respiration can occur. Aesculus has properties similar
to those of vitamin P [permeability vitamin]: it reduces the permeability and fragility of capillaries, and
has antiphlogistic and diuretic properties. Owing to its vasoconstrictive effect, argyraesceine is
employed in the treatment of varicose veins and haemorrhoids.

QUERCETIN Aesculus contains substantial amounts of quercetin, a bioflavonoid that serves as a

backbone for other flavonoids and is considered to be the most active of them all. Quercetin is widely
distributed in the plant kingdom, particularly in rinds and barks, but also in clover blossoms and ragweed
pollen. Plants rich in it include Pseudotsuga menziesi, Viola tricolor, Adonis vernalis, Matricaria recutita,
Crataegus spp., Humulus lupulus, Malus spp. [Apple], Artemisia absinthium, and many members of the
Ericaceae [Ledum, Vaccinium, Rhododendron, Arctostaphylos]. It is also abundant in fruits and
vegetables such as citrus rind, garlic, onions and blue-green algae. Research has demonstrated quercetin
to be a capillary protective. Quercetin is an effective inhibitor of ragweed antigen-induced histamine
release from the basophils of subjects with hay fever; it also decreases the contraction tonus and
amplitude of intestinal and uterine segments induced by histamine, acetylcholine, and barium chloride.
"Quercetin has been found to be a powerful antioxidant, neutralizes free radicals, which are the
underlying causes of the degenerative diseases of ageing such as heart disease, cancer and arthritis; it
has also been reported to possess strong and prolonged anti-inflammatory and wound-healing
properties. In addition, it is reported to be effective against viruses, esp. oral herpes."3
FOLKLORE In the language of flowers Aesculus symbolizes luxury. As an herb of Jupiter and the fire
element, the primary use of the chestnut in magic used to be for love spells. Horse chestnuts, threaded
on strings, were used in England in the game of conkers, in which each player seeks to break their
opponent's by hitting it with their own. The one remaining unbroken is the 'conqueror'. Carrying a nut in
ones pocket is believed to prevent piles. Carrying three nuts guards against giddiness. To attract money,
one has to wrap a dollar bill around a nut, place it into a sachet and carry it. It can also be carried for
success in all things.

FLOWER REMEDY Dr Edward Bach chose the remedy Chestnut Bud [the green buds of the horse
chestnut] for people who repeatedly make the same mistake but seem unable to learn from it. He says
that the cause might be indifference, inattention or failure to anticipate the outcome of their actions.
These people try to forget the past and in the process, lose a grip on the present and the future.
[Compare the rubric: "Dulness or confusion on waking, morning or night."]

PROVINGS •• [1] Buchmann - 7 persons [3 males, 4 females], 1857; method: 'chewing and swallowing
fresh kernel' or taking 5-30 drops of tincture.
•• [2] Hale - 6 [male] provers, 1864-1865; method: repeated doses, at irregular intervals, of 'pulverised
nut', 1x trit., 2x dil., 3x dil., and tincture.
[1-2] Grieve, A Modern Herbal. [3] Sharon, Nutrients A to Z.
Affinity
Veins [liver; nasopharynx; ABDOMEN - right side; RECTUM]. Mucous membranes. Occiput. Lumbar
region. Sacroiliac region. * Right side.
Modalities
Worse: Morning, on waking. After stool. Urinating. WALKING. During and after sleep. Rest and lying.
Closed and warm room. Stooping.
Better: COOL, open air; cold water. Bleeding [piles]. Kneeling. Continued exertion. Warmth [superficial
stinging pains]. Summer.
Comparisons
c VEINS
"The Puls. veins contract in cold weather, and the shrivelling up makes the patient feel better, but the
veins fill and become engorged in the warm air and after a hot bath. A tepid bath sometimes makes a
Puls. patient feel better, but a Turkish bath is generally distressing. Many of the complaints of Aesc. are
of this sort; Aesc. often feels better in cold air." [Kent]
Main symptoms
M Dulness or confusion on waking; morning or night.
• "On waking [from sleep while sitting] cannot recognize what she sees; knows not where she is; nor
whence came the objects about her." [Allen]
• "It is especially useful in children that rouse up in sleep frightened and in confusion, like Lyc." [Kent]
c Bach Flower Key Symptoms [Scheffer]
Chestnut Bud: Repeating the same faults over and over again, because experiences are not really
digested and not enough is learned from them. Seems very slow to learn from life. Events are not
reconsidered at sufficient depth. Attempts to forget unpleasant experiences as quickly as possible.
Prefers to rush into new ventures rather than letting past ones have any real effect. Mental blocks,
retarded development.
White Chestnut [flowers of horse chestnut]: Unwanted thoughts keep going round and round in one's
head, cannot get rid of them, mental arguments and dialogues. Very much head-orientated; prisoner of
one's thoughts. Keep going over the same problems time and time again in one's mind. Mental
hyperactivity therefore lacks concentration in everyday life. Tired and depressed during the day, head
feels full.
Compulsive and obsessive thoughts.
OR:
M Clearness,
"with light feeling in anterior lobes, but heaviness and dulness in occiput." [Allen]
M Extreme irritability.
Loses temper easily and gains control over it again but slowly. [Allen]
Dominance.
Dreams of fighting in a battle.
G Aesculus picture in herbal medicine.
• "Physically active people in health, there is good muscular co-ordination in the lower part of the body,
which is always the heaviest and strongest. These people love walking, climbing, mountaineering, and
tend to be adrenally cheerful first thing in the morning - sometimes too much so for the rest of the
household! Early mornings tend to be their best time of day for strenuous activity, but the strongest of
them are still leaping up on the tables at midnight, singing loudly and waving their arms about. 'Horse
chestnut' is a frightfully jolly person! ... All this energetic leaping about in early life can lead to adrenal
over-charging and a constant strain on other endocrine glands because of it. In the male, especially,
there often seems to be great development in the physical and athletic use of adrenal glands,
sometimes at the expense of the sensual and sexual uses for the prostate gland. Such males can be
gladiators in the sporting world, but find great difficulty with the softer and gentler hormones used in
emotions, in sexual activity, and in physical comfort. They can, and do, become martyrs to physical
competency, training hard and vigorously to achieve 'perfect' condition. They run up sandhills and three
flights of stairs at the office, thoroughly enjoying their 'excellent' health. They can even regard sexual
activity in a 'performance' sense, notching up the quantity, and not necessarily aware of the quality -
esp. for their partner! If ever a herb reflected macho-maleness, it's Horse Chestnut! The female 'Horse
chestnut' can be fearsome! Large arms pummel you on the massage-table, and you can bet she'll run
round the block at the end of the day, just to use up all that excess hip and thigh energy."1
G WEARINESS.
Fatigued feeling, as from a long walk. Totters when walking.
G Slowness.
• "Everything is slowed down in this remedy: Digestion is slow. The heart is labouring. The veins are
congested. The bowels are constipated." [Howland]
G Chilliness.
And Sensation of heat [veins, skin] and burning rawness [mucous membranes].
 G < MOTION [of affected parts].
G > Continued motion [general].
• "The symptoms pass away after considerable exertion; moving about, doing something, keeping busy
relieves." [Kent]
G < Rubbing.
Congestion of face after rubbing.
Painfulness [and sometimes bleeding] of haemorrhoids after rubbing / wiping.
G HOT, DRY, STIFF, ROUGH or FULL feeling internally; throat; anus.
FULNESS of veins [rectum; hands; feet].
• "Not the fulness that pits upon pressure, that we call oedema, but a tenseness." [Kent]
Fulness and pulsating in veins, as if one has too much blood.
• "Can feel the pulsations all over the body." [Kent]
VENOUS CONGESTIONS, esp. portal and haemorrhoidal.
G Sensation of HEAVINESS [externally].
G DARK RED, purplish DISCOLOURATION.
[throat; varicose veins; haemorrhoids]
G Secretions usually diminished, occasionally increased.
• "Dryness of the mucous membranes. Dryness of posterior nares and throat. Dryness and constriction
of the fauces. Dryness and stiffness of the glottis. Dry, hacking cough. Dry or fluent coryza.
Lachrymation. Dryness, heat and constriction of the rectum, as if obstructed. Stools dry, hard, knotty,
difficult; dark or whitish, from excess or lack of bile." [Fornias]
• "In all the digestive as well as respiratory troubles in which Aesculus is indicated disturbed
metabolism translates itself by a constant dryness, constriction and burning of the affected parts."
[Fornias]
P Coryza.
Scanty, thin, watery discharge; rawness and burning.
Similar to Ars., but with sore feeling on inhaling cold air.
P Talking.
• "Unable to articulate long words distinctly; cannot control the tongue so as to form the words aright."
[proving symptom; Allen]
The same prover [T.C. Duncan, taking 1x and 2x] experienced a dry feeling in palate and posterior nares,
and a feeling as if the tongue was swollen.
P Throat affections [swelling, dryness, burning, soreness, < swallowing]
alternating with affections of rectum [haemorrhoids].
• "Aesculus is also a remedy for follicular pharyngitis when the chief symptom is a dry rough or raw
feeling in the fauces, and a sensation of constriction, and esp. when occurring in haemorrhoidal
subjects." [Cowperthwaite]
P Congestion of liver [from portal stasis].
Aching, pinching pains in right hypochondrium, < walking.
Pains extend up between the shoulders.
And Haemorrhoids.
P Constipation.
 And Backache in lumbar region,
< WALKING and STOOPING.
P HAEMORRHOIDS [blind, bluish, large].
• "There is little tendency to haemorrhage, but much severe fulness and bearing down, with
constipation." [Kent]
< Walking.
And Pain in rectum after stool.
And Constipation.
And Fulness, burning and itching in rectum/anus.
[Anus intensely painful for hours after stool.]
• "Dry uncomfortable feeling in the rectum which feels as if it had been filled with sticks."
• "Dreadful pain in the anus, could not sit, stand or lie down. The pain was like a knife, sawing backward
and forwards, almost a martyrdom for agony." [Hughes]

P PAIN ACROSS SACROILIAC JOINTS.

More or less constant, and feeling as if the back would give way at that point.
This causes a sense of great fatigue when walking, so that walking is almost impossible. Must sit down,
is still better by lying.
When this symptom occurs in uterine displacements, or during pregnancy, it may be regarded as a
keynote.
Lameness as if strained, extending to hips or legs, or aching and weakness.
< Walking, stooping, or any movement.
Pains and stiffness often > after continued motion.
P Rheumatic pains.
Flying, shooting, wandering, shooting along nerves.
• "They seem at times to be scarcely more than skin deep." [Kent]
> Warmth.
[1] Hall, Herbal Medicine.
Rubrics
Mind
Confusion on waking [2]; knows not where she is [2]. Feeling as if death were impending during the
darting pain in trachea, followed by exalted condition of brain and nervous system [1/1*]. Dulness in
morning on waking [2].
Head
Feeling of contraction in skin of forehead, during frontal headache [1/1*].
Vision
Colours, black spots before the eyes > fixing eyes on an object [1/1].
Nose
Sensation of heat in tip of nose [1*].
Face
Congestion after rubbing [1/1]. Red discolouration after washing [2]. Swelling of face after washing
[2/1].
Mouth
Speech difficult, inability to speak long words distinctly [1/1*]. Taste like liquorice [1*].
Teeth
Sensation as if teeth were covered with oil [1/1].
Throat
Dryness of throat after eating [1; Nat-m.]. Disposition to swallow, from saliva [1*].
Stomach
Sense of constriction before convulsions [2/1]. Nausea after tea [2/1].
Abdomen
Sense of fulness in hypogastrium [2]; before and during menses [1*].
Rectum
Haemorrhoids > warm weather [2/1]. Pain > kneeling [2/1]. Prolapsus at night [2/1]. Urging on each
eructation [1/1].
Cough
Short, on breathing deep [2/1]; from swallowing [2/1].
Chest
Sensation as if right lung moves up and down, with respiration [1*].
Back
Sense of paralysis of muscles of back [3/1]. Stiffness on beginning to move [2].
Limbs
Heat of left arm and hand [1*]; feeling of heaviness and swelling in them [1*]. Pain, broken sensation in
hip, as if pelvis were falling apart [1; Tril.]. Sensation of paralysis of legs [3]. Swelling of hands after
washing [1/1]; of feet after washing [1/1].
* Repertory additions [Hughes].
Food
Worse: [2]: Tea.