Dreams Symbols Homeopathy Archetypal Dimensions Healing

Review

This book review is reprinted from Volume 97, Number 2, Summer 2004 edition of American Journal of Homeopathic Medicine with permission of the American Institute of Homeopathy.

Reviewed by Nicholas Nossaman, MD, DHt

Jane Cicchetti, a consultant and teacher of homeopathy for twenty years, integrates principles of depth (Jungian) psychology into her work in the US and Holland. This is her first book, and it speaks to the incorporation of both disciplines "to help homeopaths and others interested in the relationship between the psyche and healing to use dreams and symbols in their work." Ms. Cicchetti is well-grounded in sound sources of Jungian concepts, referring liberally to material from Jung himself, as well as from Marie-Louise von Franz and Edward Edinger, the latter two of whom are true to the principles and understanding elucidated by Jung.

Edward Whitmont has been the most articulate spokesman for the natural kinship between homeopathy and Jungian psychology, and devoted a good segment of the latter part of his life to conveying this information to homeopaths and Jungians alike. Ms. Cicchetti, one of the next generation of that same hybrid, carries on the work and does an admirable job in this engaging volume.

The book is well-indexed and contains a chapter-by-chapter bibliography as well as a separate list of references pertaining to Jungian psychology, homeopathy and mythology, symbolism and spirituality. It also has within it a glossary of Jungian and alchemical terms which I would have liked to contain more concepts such as "identification" and "projection," both of which she does explain to some degree in the text.

In the first notes of this opus, Ms. Cicchetti portrays the theme of emergence and coexistence of opposites, both in the world's approach to healing (rationalist and empiricist medicine) and as existing in the individual patient (the myths which alienate us from our true selves), and supports the usefulness of dreams in advancing the reconciliation of the opposites. She describes a series of her own dreams in which the mythical archetype of Mercurius emerges, leading her to the personal confirmation of the alchemical principle of transformation of the practitioner in the search for the healing principle which will aid him or her in their work Throughout the volume, she liberally refers to alchemical concepts, images and symbols, weaving them into her discussion of homeopathy and its relationship with depth psychology.

Following a short discussion of the principles of homeopathy, the author addresses mind-body issues, including a wonderful anecdote about Jung which echoes Hahnemann's entreaties about being unprejudiced observers. She emphasizes here, and elsewhere in the book - and backs it up with well-reasoned justification - the importance of the psychological work of the caregiver on him or herself. This is again in tune with the richness of what alchemy has to teach us. This accomplishment of inner work on the part of the caregiver is crucial as it relates to transference and countertransference with the patient and in life in general and is addressed more fully later in the book. This is an element of learning which is to a large degree neglected in medical school as well as in homeopathic training.

The author does a concise but rich explication of the concept of archetypes, relating them to the symbolic content of dreams and visions. Throughout the volume she refers liberally to the mythology of many cultures. As the volume progresses, she describes other Jungian concepts, including typology and the elements of the unconscious. She further asserts the crucial modern need of integrating awareness of the archetypal realms with scientific explorations.

Ms. Cicchetti addresses the concepts of shadow, anima and animus-all of which are necessary to understand what Jung was saying-and illustrates their practical value in understanding patients, with examples of homeopathic cases. A nice quote in her chapter on the shadow speaks to the notion of the patient being responsible for the cause of his or her own disease: "To accuse an individual of creating disease is misguided and insulting. What is being discussed here is an interior state that exists previous to thought and is not under control of the conscious mind."

In her chapter on wholeness, the author traces the parallels in the progress of a woman patient with the evolution of her dream content. Later she describes the history of dreams and how they have been regarded by various cultures. She then describes the process of dream analysis, before integrating it with the homeopathic approach. The initial theme of emergence and coexistence of opposites is revisited, with the integration of dream analysis and homeopathy as potent ingredients in pursuit of the goal of reunion of the opposites.

Her perspective on dreams in relation to the dream section of the Repertory (i.e., the appearance of dreams in provings) is interesting, resonating in many respects with the opinions of Whitmont in the emphasis on their personal nature and requiring information about the associations they evoke in the individual.

The latter part of the book is mostly devoted to an ambitious explication entitled "Symbolic Materia Medica." A chapter on trees, including the results of the author's conduction of a proving of a tree from the rainforests of Costa Rica, Ecuador and Colombia, Brosimum utile, touches on many fascinating areas of the symbolism of trees, connections with other tree provings, and relation of trees with various mythologies. Vines and various milk remedies are also addressed, followed by the homeopathic links with the seven minerals of the alchemist. This is also spiced liberally with symbolic and mythological references. found it to be welcome as a concrete integration of alchemical and homeopathic views of the same substances. In such description of "essences" it seems that what is gained is a poetic connection of pictures of our medicines - sometimes speculative, unfortunately - with material and symbolic attributes of the substances in question; and what is lost is the awareness of the breadth of individual applications of these medicines where there is no essence but only a small focused set of general and specific symptoms which indicate the remedy.

Despite this observation, the section is exceedingly rich in mythological and alchemical correlations with homeopathy and has to my knowledge never been undertaken in such detail and breadth. (Twentyman and Whitmont have written somewhat similar treatises regarding individual minerals.)

The final chapter, regarding the Internal Saboteur and some remedies for it, seemed somewhat out of step with the rest of the book in that it seems that the author had previously made a good case for the existence of the internal saboteur in the unconscious of each of us. Therefore it seems questionable that the need for reconciliation of opposites, which is addressed by homeopathic and depth psychological activities, isn't confined to a limited set of remedies.

In summary. this book is a generally sound, unique and comprehensive explication of the fruitful marriage of homeopathy and depth psychology. It is thick with understanding and imagery, is written in a very readable style and is a valuable trail-breaker for the understanding of human health and disease. One of Dr. Whitmont's dreams was to educate the Jungian and homeopathic communities about each other's disciplines. Ms. Cicchetti has succeeded nicely in advancing this cause.

This book review is reprinted from Homeopathy, Volume 93, Number 3, July 2004, with permission from Peter Fisher, Editor.

Reviewed by Yubraj Sharma

The book is largely written for the homeopathic practitioner, but kept easy enough for therapists or physicians of other persuasions. It would be of particular interest to psychotherapists, counsellors and shamanic healers. There is a basic chapter on the principles of homeopathy to enable other readers to understand somewhat the references to our materia medica. With approximately 225 pages of text the book is broad ranging and bravely attempts to enter regions of the psyche in greater depth.

The book is divided into four sections. The first discusses certain basic principles of healing, archetypes, homeopathic medicine and the relationship between mind and body. The second section explores the realm of the subconscious/unconscious, the shadow, anima/animus (male/female archetypes). The third takes the reader deeper into dream analysis, the mind-body paradigm and dreaming techniques of communicating with the psyche. The fourth part explores various remedies in relation to their dream symbols. Classes of medicines portrayed are trees, vines, milks and the seven sacred metals.

In the first section most of the mythology references to symbols and archetypes are from classical Greek models. Mercurius/Hermes is particularly well discussed in relation to the healer and to sleep healing within the Asklepion temples. Few references only are made to Indian and Celtic mythology, in other parts of the book.

In the second section the development of human consciousness is explored, to understand the place of myth and archetypal symbols in ancient civilisations. Most of the philosophy stems from Jungian models. There is brief mention only of the role played by constellations and the zodiacal belt, although this undoubtedly played a large part in the daily life of ancient man. Anthroposophical medicine is mentioned briefly.

There is comprehensive coverage of the archetypal symbols, providing a sense of the richness of the human psyche. There is limited discussion on how these fit into the framework of the soul, spirit and enlightenment process as found in world spiritual teachings. There is little discussion of perspectives of the structure of the mind, astral/emotional body or the nature of the soul. The nature of memory is not fully explored. The shadow is, however, explored in greater depth, and illustrated with reference to the materia medica, such as Causticum and Anacardium. Interesting points are made in respect of how the shadow of the patient can become 'dumped' onto the homeopath. Similarly symbols in relation to the anima/animus and sexual archetypes are analysed in depth. Well-known male and female remedies such as Nux vomica and Sepia are used to illustrate these concepts. An important chapter discusses the integration of these aspects to achieve wholeness. This is explored in relation to suppressed traumas and automaton zombie-like behaviour is mentioned.

In the third part the author indicates how the awareness of the physician can bring up the case more vividly. Case taking and analysis is covered in the section. There is a useful section on how to study the life of dreams, with practical ideas on recording and analysing the experiences. Dreaming in children is little explored, it would be useful in view of the marked symptomatology found in many of our younger patients with night-terrors and dream-disturbed sleep. Some detail on shamanic therapy is provided, but this is limited in content, few techniques of ancient and modern shamanism are mentioned. However, the technique of soul rescue or soul retrieval, integral to shamanic work, is in part covered in this section through describing the dreaming journey. This is explored in relation to ancient cultures as well as methods for the modern practitioner to use in practice. The shamanic use of talismans, herbal sage, stones, drums and the like is omitted.

In the fourth section there is interesting new proving information concerning tree remedies. These include the New Zealand Kauri tree, South American Cow tree, Gingko biloba and others. The information is provided in the context of cultural usage and mythology surrounding these trees. Vine-based remedies discussed with such perspectives in mind are Bryonia, Alcoholus (from the grapevine), Rhus tox, Passifiora and Clematis. There is, however, a lack of information about many of the well-known psychotropic substances, which might be used as homoeopathic remedies and are yet to be proved. There could be an exploration of the symbolism of existing remedies, such as Cannabis, Coca, Opium, Anhalonium. There is a limited commentary on Ayahuasca, a key modern remedy for the shamanic dreaming journey, although acknowledgement is made of this information being available in modern provings reported elsewhere.

The milk remedies discussed are human, cow, cat and dog. Again reference is made to the mythology and cultural history surrounding these animals. Brief mention is made of the other Lac remedies, by way of a table charting the keynotes within the Mentals and the dreams. There is a very good section on the seven sacred metals, connected to the solar system planets from the viewpoint of alchemy. These are the Saturn-Plumbum, Jupiter-Stannum, Mars-Ferrum, Venus-Cuprum, Mercury-Mercurius, Moon-Argentum and SunAurum remedies. There is integration of information concerning the physical diseases relevant to each metal with the archetypal myth of their connected gods/ goddesses. Little mention is made of the planets themselves from an astrological or astronomical perspective.

An exploration of the symbol of the Internal Saboteur is provided in the last chapter. This is brought in relation to those situations where the patient fails to respond to the well-selected remedy, or meets the therapy with excessive resistance. Remedies particularly discussed in relation to this symbol are Alumina, Lyssinum, Absinthium, Aconite, Agaricus, Folliculinum and Lilium tigrinum.

This is a fine work, providing useful tools for the homeopathic physician, whether for understanding the materia medica or when undertaking new provings.

The information is readily adapted for self-reflective and personal development. However, there is not enough room to explore the many areas opened through this approach, and many topics are left tantalisingly mentioned only in brief. The author may prompt much more research and exploration into this area of our art. Many of the subjects touched by the author can be found more fully developed in other specialities, such as astrology, shamanism, spiritual treatises and world mythology. It is up to the homeopathic world to accept this challenge and integrate this information into the materia medica. Comparison can especially be made with the work of Frans Vermeulen (Prisma) in his integration of myth, culture, science and the provings. Prisma is, however, written as a detailed materia medica rather than an exploration of tools and techniques. Jane Cicchetti has nonetheless brought a range of analysis that adds to the richness of homeopathic philosophy.

Yubraj Sharma
World of Light, Unit 1e,
Delta Centre, Wembley , Middlesex, HA0 1UX, UK