The Periodic Table in Homeopathy - The Silver Series

Review

This book review is reprinted from Volume 104, Number 1 Spring 2011 Edition, with permission from American Journal of Homeopathic Medicine.

Reviewed by George Guess, MD, DHt

The Periodic Table in Homeopathy: The Silver Series has A. a lovely hardbound cover - silver orbs in "a pyramidal design set against a backdrop of sky and sea; however, the real beauty of this book lies between its covers. With this publication Ulrich Welte at once broadens considerably readers' scope of understanding of what might be termed "Elemental Homeopathy." Welte's exceptional and intelligent writing style, his succinct yet very thorough depictions of the stages of the periodic table and the corresponding remedies, coupled with illuminating case histories, provide, in this reviewer's opinion, a much more practical and easily understood depiction of Elemental Homeopathy than Jan Scholten's writings on the topic.
Welte initially provides an approximately one page narrative description of the themes of each stage and element as remedy, then recapitulates same in shortened keynote form; this is followed by a very valuable brief listing of varied sce-narios that might correspond to the remedy in question - I find these illustrations a quite illuminating addition to the Element Theory of homeopathy. Then he gives an accounting of the chemistry of the elements - how they were discovered, interesting historical facts about the process, and then their physicochemical properties, many of "which dovetail fascinatingly with the psychological themes of the elements as remedies, much the same as is more easily perceived for the animal remedies from a study of their behavior. Although the recognition of such themes for the elements can be more elusive, they are nonetheless available to the mscerning eye, which Welte's most certainly is. Case histories follow, some sixty-one of them in all; they are described briefly but quite adequately, with adequate follow-up and quite convincing results.
Here's an excerpt from the book, part of the chapter on Niobium:
Niobium
Stage 5. Preparations for Success
The first major hurdle has been overcome: optimism is in the air. You're making progress. The goal is set, the direction is right, but now there is a wealth of options available. What's the best way to continue? The necessary preparations are being made so that the ascent can be successful. Ambitious plans are in the making. Yet after many sincere attempts fail, the undertaking comes to seem too big. After initial success, it's as if you're fac-ing an unconquerable mountain, although you can make out the goal in the distance. You try again and again, but after many agonizing setbacks, the old skepticism returns: the goal is too far away and appears ever more unrealistic. Then you lack the necessary drive because you've failed too often. You've overreached yourself and lose hope. Now you just make preparations, avoiding real exertion: you repeatedly postpone things. It's as if the whole world is in league against you, and implacable fate means you're tragically doomed to fail. It's like the fox who declares the grapes must be sour when he can't reach them.

Key concepts: Preparations. Progress. How to continue? Plans. Suggestions. Options. Steep ascent. Difficulties pile up. Repeated attempts. Up and down. Postponing things. Avoiding. Agonizing. Unrealistic. Tragic.

Combinations of key concepts indicating Niobium
•Ambitious ideas and unrealistic scientific proposals trigger doubts about the feasibility: castles in the air
•Agonizing setbacks on the way to fame: provincial actor doesn't achieve national breakthrough
•Uncertain journalist whose creative interviews lack the final punch
•Talented sportsperson can't get beyond initial promis-ing success: local matador
•Many ideas but only minor commissions: cautious inventor
•Programmer enters middle management but is overextended: bitten off more that he can chew
•Painter initially sells a few pictures, but is then dropped by the patron
•Disappointed intellectual: sour grapes.

Along the way, as he writes of cases, Welte indicates the considerable assistance he receives by utilizing the color preferences of his patients, as well as handwriting analysis. (See U. Welte's other books, Colors in Homeopathy and Handwriting and Homeopathy. Narayana Publishers.) At times, it was clear that the patient's color preference first suggested the remedy to him; in other cases, it provided a valuable confirmatory 'symptom.'
One significant benefit I received from Welte's treatment of the Silver Series came from the case studies that illustrate the application of Element Theory. When reading Scholten's treatment of the topic, I had the impression that the themes of the stages should apply very specifically to the central themes of the Silver Series, such broad and potentially weighty themes as: creative endeavors, inspiring ideas, aesthetics, artistic pursuits, science, mysticism, performance, etc. The Silver Series themes Welte lists, while coinciding in many ways with Scholten's, are in general broader and seem more widely applicable - communicating ideas, power of thought, disseminating knowledge, intellectual display, show, fame, publicity, science, art, culture, creativity, originality, aesthetics, elegance, sensitive sense of honor, subtle arrogance, first lady. Some of the case stud-ies presented demonstrate that Silver Series issues needn't relate only to creative or scientific, etc. pursuits; they might also apply to much simpler everyday considerations. For example, one female patient felt that her daughter was not allowing her a say in the management of her venous ulcer; she felt criticized and patronized. She was annoyed that she had to adapt to her daughter's preferences, and in her unhappiness she seemed 'heavy,' more so than might be anticipated in either Carbon or Silica Series remedies. The fact that she felt that she couldn't say anything (stifled communication), plus themes of feeling criticized and adapting, suggested the Silver Series and Stage Two, and thus the remedy Strontium; the remedy actually given was Strontium muriaticum. (More on selecting the anion of the salt later.) To say this was anything but a revelation to my mind would demean its significance to this reviewer, limited as my exposure to Elemental Homeopathy is.
It became apparent too from the case studies that remedy selection was very often based on the full presentation of the patient, both mental-emotional and physical. Pathology often played a role in deciding either the series or specific remedy; prescriptions were not only based on mental-emotional characteristics. The process of selecting an appropriate anion when a salt form of remedy seemed more appropriate than a pure element, as revealed again in the case histories, is interesting. Anion selection involved far more than the case having some additional theme, such as mother or nurturing (muriaticum), or feeling exiled (halogens - Stage 17); more 'basic' characteristics such as Sulphur keynotes might justify the prescription of a sulfide, or tremulousness and the sensation that someone is looking over one's shoulder might suggest a bromide.
After completing the series with Xenon, Stage 18, Welte goes on to offer very valuable differential diagnoses of the various stages; then he differentiates the series, providing new insights, especially with the Lanthanides. He closes with a history of the evolution of the periodic table and a compelling philosophical consideration of the homeopathic interpretation of the periodic table, as this quotation attests:
"The fact that we can, with the series and stages, therapeutically use elements that have so far not been used in this way—that the periodic table demonstrates a rule-governed 'human chemistry' with all its mental ramifications, a psychological chemistry just as compelling as the well-known physical chemistry—shows that human evolution and the evolution of the elements follow a similar developmental imperative. So we can rightly presume that the developmental steps of the elements in the periodic table and evolution in 7 series and 18 stages are universal facts that are not only valid for humans but also for all forms of life."

Elemental Homeopathy and the Sensation Method (of Sankaran) have, of course, generated a lot of controversy amongst homeopaths. Many classical homeopaths scoff at the notion that such methods can bear fruit and dismiss them as "non-homeopathic." Welte offers an eloquent defense of the Element Theory as consistent with homeopathic principles, most especially the Law of Similars:
"The relation of similarity, therefore, must not—as in classical homeopathy—be based exclusively on the proving symptoms, but can also arise out of the series and stages. If you find similarity between the situation and behavior of a patient and the situation indicated by the position of an element, it is at least as valid as the classi-cal similarity of symptoms. Ideally, these two approaches supplement each other and may also give a deeper understanding of symptoms."
The Periodic Table in Homeopathy: The Silver Series pro-vides a lucid, thorough, and quite practical grounding in not only the material medica of silver series remedies but also the intricacies of Elemental Homeopathy as a whole. For any practitioner at all interested in Elemental Homeopathy this book is an essential read. Studying it, memorizing much of it is bound to prove a rewarding endeavor. One can only hope that, for the sake of completeness, Welte decides to cover in like fashion all the series.

About the Reviewer: George Guess, MD, DHt, practices homeopathy in Crozet, Virginia. (Charlottesville area). He is editor of the American Journal ofHomeopathic Medicine and Vice-President of the American Board of Homeotherapeutics.

This book review is reprinted with the permission from the Autumn 2010 Edition of The Homeopath.

Reviewed by Francis Treuherz

At my school I had to give up science at the age of 14 if I wished to study French and Latin. I subsequently learned some philosophy of science at university but only really learned some science in order to understand homeopathy. Many years later the first presentations about the Periodic Table by Jan Scholten seemed like homeopathic science fiction. Reading this book for the first time it all begins to make sense as Ulrich Welte clearly explains not only the concepts, but contributes well worked out cases. When he describes cases of remedies that I have already studied or even prescribed, like Stannum metallicum, all becomes clear. Additionally the author incorporates information about colour and handwriting from his other work. A border policeman with a penchant for a lilac coloured parka confirms the Stannum.

The book begins with an introduction by Jan Scholten, an overview of the series and stages and a longer description of the silver series. The main body of the book is devoted to 18 remedies with 61 cases, from Rubidium to Xenon, followed by explanations of differential diagnosis of the stages and series. Fresh from the reinforcement of my own knowledge of Stannum, it made perfect sense to study something new like Xenon, using the same criteria. Xenon is used in modern anesthaesia, a noble knockout gas; under the influence you feel shut off, absent or not present. In potency it beings you back. Apart from possible uses to assist Dr Who, I immediately thought of a patient who remains stuck and I shall write him a tactful note to come and see me.

There are plenty of gems or silver nuggets of wisdom buried in the cases and remedy pictures, which deserve to be indexed. For example under Palladium, there is essay on the boundaries of the repertory: individualization and generalization.

There is an appendix with essays on the periodic table and how it relates to homeopathy, and an index of remedies. There are 9 more pages of useful reference tables. These final essays are really really helpful. If you are new to this field, or maybe sceptical, you can start at the back because the final essay deserves the limelight: justifying the use of the element theory as 'the inner beauty lying hidden in the depths of classical homeopathy.'