Three butterfly casesby Enna Stellinga
Case 2: Inachis io (Peacock butterfly)The patient is a slender 49 year old woman with a youthful appearance. She arrives at the appointment a half hour too late, having lost her way, even though she lives close by and knows the way. She has lost the balance between being very active and being inactive; she can only find rest by working hard. She is not sleeping well – her head is too busy. She is very driven in her work (teaching) but now has difficulties listening: “I almost have to fake interest.”
Acute physical complaints:
Sour eructations.
Stitches in her chest.
Pressure in her chest, though not on exertion.
Sore spot between the shoulder blades.
Menorrhagia.
Headaches extending from the neck
Early in the consultation, she starts to make hand gestures, and I suggest that we follow the sensation method. The words and gestures that surfaced are as follows:
Caught, trapped.
It needs to come out
Unreasonable anger.
Sucked dry.
Warmth alternating with cold – colours: purple/blue with yellow underneath.
Vague stitches
Spots that open and close
A repetitive gesture: fists crossed in front of chest.
She sees a farmer’s gate, and landscape full of corn, cold wind.
Feels a lump in her throat and wishes to stop.
Immense need for space
Left side of her face falls away, left cheek is numb; the image is dark on one side.
A clear difference between right and left side (repetitive).
Something flutters, flies, something with wings.
Colours red, green, yellow, blue, a heart with wings and a point in the middle.
Muscular pain.
Popping sound in ear.
Cold draft of air.
Bird.
Half circle with red, purple, yellow and blue.
At the end, she feels more symmetrical, more balanced, and lighter than at the beginning.
Mind Busy, stressful, fanatic. She has had a nervous breakdown in the past.
Analytical.
Responsible position at her work
Fear of failure.
Loves symmetry, harmony, beautiful things.
Strong intuition, judges people accurately.
Does not like to be the centre of attention.
Can feel small.
In the past, “mother was disappointed in me – my sister did things perfectly.”
Feels as though she has “lost her way”: “What do they want from me, what do they expect from me?”.
From a young age, she tried to ensure that her sister would not have that feeling, so she tried to prepare her for everything by explaining things (she still does this.
Tries to create clarity for the students at school.
She can be angry.
GeneralsFood desires: dairy, chocolate, liqueur, fruit+++, raw food.
Aversion: meat +.
Allergies: house mite, pollen, grasses.
Medical history: 14 years: cysts in breasts, which came and disappeared spontaneously, operated on once
Heavy menses / anaemia
Migraine first day of menses with nausea and vomiting.
Very active at ovulation, clear thoughts premenstrual: empty, grumpy, pessimistic.
Asthmatic bronchitis as a young child.
Severe blood loss after birth of daughter.
Recurrent sinusitis frontalis/ maxillaries.
Asthma worse in wet weather.
Prescription: Inachis ioHibernates in its mature form. Lives on stinging nettles and buddleia (butterfly bush). Stinging nettles grow widely, so this butterfly is not dependent on a certain environment. The eyespots, which give the impression of being a dangerous animal, are only exposed if it is threatened by an enemy, for instance a bird.
Follow-upThe reaction was remarkable: at first, she had a severe reaction, with increased tiredness and headaches. After that, she had no need for painkillers anymore – all the physical pains disappeared. She sleeps better. She feels emotionally better, more in balance, more easily able to follow her own needs and less prone to overload herself. She has come to the conclusion that as a child, she did not receive the support or guidance that she felt she needed. She can concentrate much better and feels sturdier. Things do not touch her as deeply or bring her out of balance. She is clearer, and takes on less responsibility for others. She names her quality at her work “the ability to rise above things.” It was a tumultuous period at work, but she says “I am finding my way.”
Inachis io themes according to Patricia Le Roux
Loss of direction leading to a feeling of abandonment.
Suffering from lack of concentration.
Restless agitation.
Metamorphosis: loves to dress up, likes lively colours. Attracted by double faced masks: fear of imminent danger/ living a life of pleasure.
Case P. Le Roux
Boy, 6 year, concentration problems, very active; no discipline within the family; he just does what he enjoys, likes to dress up, esp. double faced masks; absence of authority; desire sweets, aversion meat+++
Symptoms of
Inachis io in this case:
‘Lost’ feeling.
Concentration problems.
Headache from the neck.
Sinusitis.
Strong difference between right and left, polarity, (Bombay proving), double-faced mask (Le Roux proving)
RADAR
Anger alternating with tranquillity.
Capriciousness, alternating mood.
Desire activity, Industriousness.
Dreams of birds, dreams of helping people.
Desire fruit.
Butterfly themes in these cases:Sensitive, even highly sensitive. Antennas.
Fine build, slender. Small, or feeling small.
Strong need for sweets hypoglycaemia (need for nectar), especially fluid food (sucking up nectar with a hollow tongue).
Clothing, beauty, silk, metamorphosis: passion for dressing up.
Lack of guidance as a child, losing the way, unsafe, unprotected, taking on a caring role.
Great feeling of responsibility, trying to make the other feel safe, trying to guide the other.
Own world, dreamy, in a cocoon; other polarity: play, amusement, fun.
Creative.
Concentration problems+++ Emotions, not the mind. Inability to think.
Sensitive to noise, sensitive to changes in atmosphere, smog.
Theme of death: In Asia, moths are seen as the manifestation of dead souls who have returned to protect the living.
Dreams: of birds.
Allergies/bruises.
SummaryInachis io: lost, overactive.
‘Lost’ feeling / loss of direction.
Restless/ agitation/overactive.
Double face as protection against possible danger/ eyes camouflage.
BiographyLe Roux, Patricia. Butterflies, An innovative guide to the use of butterfly remedies in homeopathy, Narayana Publishers, 2009.
Jansen, Jean Pierre, A guide to the muse. A case of Apeira syringa, Homeopathic Links, Spring 2001, Vol.14
Herrick, Nancy. Animal Mind, Human Voices. Proving Limenitis Bredowii.
Javelle, Catherine. Vlinders: ‘Blue morpho’ a ‘Californian sister’. SSC Year 41, number 2, 2011 (Dutch homeopathic doctor’s journal).
Le Roux, Patricia. Lilac beauty (
Apeira syringaria): case and proving. Interhomeopathy May 2010
Maher, Patricia. A case of Vanessa Atalanta, Interhomeopathy, October 2011.
Muller, K.J. et al. Sieben Schmetterlinge, die Homoopatischen Prufungen.
Sneevliet, Annette. Study in Sankaran’s Sensation Method.
Keywords: oversensitive, dreamy, concentration problems, abandonment, trapped, unprotected, allergies, bronchitis, urinary incontinence, asthma.
Remedies:
Apeira syringaria,
Inachis io,
Limenitis bredowii.