A Druid's Handbook to the Spiritual Power of Plants: Spagyrics in Magical and Sexual Rituals - Jon G. Hughes 2014

Homeopathy
The Principles of Arriving at the Complex and the Incense
Alchemy: Its Relationship to the Druidic Tradition

Homeopathy shares a number of its basic principles with some of the oldest medical practices in the world. Along with acupuncture and ayurvedic medicine, it is based on the belief that the body has the innate ability to heal itself. Homeopathy, however, is a relatively modern practice. Developed around 1796 by the German physician Samuel Hahnemann (1755—1843), homeopathy was hailed as a new medical science. It is based on two fundamental principles.

The first principle of homeopathy is “Like cures like”; the second is the Doctrine of Infinitesimals, that being the administration of the smallest possible dosage. The first principle is based on Hahnemann’s belief that certain medicines induce the same symptoms in the healthy body as they appear to relieve in the sick person. This can be closely compared with the much more ancient theory of correspondence as practiced in both Chinese and Indian herbalism. The second principle was of Hahnemann’s own invention; he called this the Doctrine of Infinitesimals. It can be understood as “the smaller the dose, the more likely it is to be effective.” He believed that the process of dilution actually refined the original substance, making it more pure and therefore even more potent.

In his Organon of the Healing Art, Hahnemann explains that in the healthy person, the body is held in balance by the spiritual vital force, which he calls the Dynamis. This vital force rules over the spiritual body, which in turn maintains the equilibrium of the physical body. The purpose of homeopathic medicine is to help the body’s vital force restore itself to balance and, by doing so, allow the physical body to use its natural ability to cure itself.

Homeopathy continues to be controversial, and skepticism has grown even greater since recent scientific analysis suggested that homeopathic remedies appear to contain no active ingredients whatsoever. All the same, homeopathy remains a relatively popular form of alternative medicine, and its advocates provide regular reports of its medical successes.

It is possible to draw some parallels between Hahnemann’s homeopathy and the way in which the Druidic tradition deals with plant remedies. To explore these similarities in greater detail is beyond the scope of this book, but the reader may gain insight into these similarities by further research on this subject.