Author:
Jan Scholten
Book:
Homeopathy and Minerals
Type:
Subfamily
Chapter:
59
The Ammoniums
The Ammoniums are a strange group in our materia medica. Ammonium carbonicum and Ammonium muriaticum are extensively described by Kent and yet we hardly use them. A closer study reveals most of the symptoms to be too general, without a real essence being known.
Resentment rancour grudge
What really is the central theme of the Ammoniums? In my experience with Ammonium the general theme is rancour. Rancour is a word which most accurately describes the overal state of the Ammoniums. Another word might be 'grudge', or
'embittered'.
Anger hate criticism.
Rancour has two sides to it. The first is anger, aggression or hate. Ammonium has a lot of anger. The repertory has many rubrics relating to this, such as morose, hatred, malicious. One way in which we see this aggression is in the suppressed anger. This makes them very critical. It may seem that they are just very precise and unprejudiced, but when we look more closely we see that there is nothing that escapes their criticism. This criticism may eventually lead to extreme cynicism, whereby they take everything to pieces to destroy it.
This aggressive side is common to both the Ammoniums and the Acidums. We could think of the similarity with Nit-ac. for instance, which is 'the' remedy for hatred.
But Nit-ac expresses his anger much more readily, and this also counts for the other Acidums, which are more open than the Ammoniums.
There are many additions we could make to the repertory rubric 'hatred'. Am-c. and Am-m. are mentioned only in plain type, but this could certainly be increased to italic, or bold type, together with the other Ammoniums. Of those already in the rubric, Nit-ac is, correctly, printed in bold type. So is Nat-m, but Nat-m should, in my opinion, only be mentioned in plain type, as it doesn’t show hatred as much, but more sadness and bitterness.
Closed contained.
The second side of rancour is holding things in. The anger is kept inside. The reservedness of the Ammoniums is also present in the Natrums, but in the Natrums the grudge is absent: they don’t really have this type of anger. The difference between the two is very clear when we compare Nat-c with Am-c. Nat-c is usually refined and dignified, whilst Am-c can be very blunt and resentful.
Disappointment gloom.
It was not until I had studied the Ammoniums for quite a while that it became clear to me that their rancour is the result of disappointment. This disappointment is accompanied by bitterness and gloom. The Ammoniums are gloomy, just like the Natrums, whom they also resemble in their reservedness. They are discontented and disappointed in life.
Idealism
The disappointment is caused by too much idealism. In their imagination everything is always much nicer than it is in reality. They are so keen to have everything perfect that they are inclined to overlook the negative sides. At least, this is how it is in the beginning. Later on this attitude changes and they become over-critical. The biggest problem of the Ammoniums is that their idealised picture of the world is totally out of proportion with the reality.
A typical recurring dream of the Ammoniums is about a big building, where they get lost and can’t find their way out.
In order to understand the feelings of the Ammoniums, try to imagine what it is like to breathe in ammonia. Your face gets distorted in disgust and you start back in horror.
It might also be interesting to know how the Egyptians used to make Ammonia in the old days: they used to burn camel dung in large towers, after which they scraped the Ammonium carbonate off the walls.
General characteristics
Physique: Overweight is how they are usually described, but
emaciation is more common in the beginning stages.
Temperature: cold, < cold, < outside.
Time: < 3 am. (dd Kali's).
Desires: coffee (2), chocolate (2), sweet, sour, tobacco.
Aversion: meat. > eating. < potatoes, alcohol.
Physical: lying down, < stretching.
Complaints
As far as the physical symptoms are concerned, the most obvious characteristic is the biting, caustic nature of the complaints. As the nature of Ammonia is biting, so the pains are biting and burning, the discharges are acrid, yellow and watery and might even cause ulceration. The skin and mucous membranes can be bright red, swollen and burning.
Exhaustion as in the acidums.
Sinusitis. Colds.
Lung problems, emphysema.
Heart problems.
Stomach complaints.
Sciatica. Inflammation of the joints with contractures.
DD: Acidums, Ign, Natrums, Nitricums.
DD Nitricums: The Ammoniums have a strong desire for everything to be nice and beautiful. They strongly resemble the Nitricums in this aspect. There is also a chemical similarity between the two, as the ammoniums do contain a Nitrogen atom. They also contain Hydrogen atoms, like the Acids. The similarity between the Ammoniums and the Acids is therefore most obvious in a comparison with Nitric acid.