Insecta

Comparing Insect remedy and Spider remedy themesby Carolyn Burdet
Animal Kingdom theme Insect theme Spider theme
Competitive
  Ambitious, hard working, work for the corporation. Striving, need to achieve goals for validation and material gain. Ambition to be someone big or to do something big. Ambitious to become bigger. Attention seeking
Competition with a Winner/Loser Ambitious to do better, improve, get ahead, make something of their life, Competitive power struggle. Wants to get one over someone else. Victory! Must win, must come out on top  
Power struggle -
Me vs You Domination, submissive, enslave, inferiority complex, downtrodden, want to be seen as an individual but feel like nothing Exert their will over others. Overpowering, or wants to overcome an oppressor. Head belongs to another - personality sublimated into another person’s identity
Bigger than me / smaller than me  Feel small, belittled, humiliated, feel as if people demean them and treat them like dirt Won’t tolerate disrespect. Feels a need to be bigger in order to defend oneself from a bigger oppressor
Animal kingdom has hierarchy issues Insects colonise. Feel as if they are working within a structure of control that is abusing them. No fear, no intimidation, or feels manipulated and overpowered by someone. Big difference in power in a partnership (she is stronger)
 Key themes: Change, Transition, Transformation are key themes for insect remedies Vindictive, possessiveness, won’t let go, manipulative relationship, female revenge
Tubercular miasm Trapped, suffocated, fly away,
restless activity, Embroiled, entangled, can’t escape from a situation
Attack / defence is a survival issue Violent impulses: ruthless, quick attack, fear of sudden death, incandescent rage, feels harrassed, fights back Violent outbursts: pounces suddenly, premeditated impulse for revenge, spiders wait for prey to get caught up
Activity Team sport, running around, one team wins; eg football Likes violent sport, sadistic, brutal: boxing, kick boxing
Ruthless Can be unfeeling, lack of empathy for others feelings, may ruthlessly exploit others Cruelty, sadism, deceit, lies, trickster, plot to hurt, ‘take him for everything he’s got’
Teasing Cutting, stinging comments, gossip, unfeeling, abrupt Joke, tricks, pranks, teasing, mockery, teasing, jibes, sly
Irritating Irritating, harassing, feels bullied (malarial miasm) Annoying, trapped, stuck, under someone’s power
Sensitivity to environment Over sensitive, irritable, buzzing, humming, wired Sensitive to noise, vibration, rhythm, pulse, sound
Restless Internal / physical restless - suffocated, restricted, tubercular miasm Internal restlessness, physical restlessness and nervy, jerky movements
Impatience Impatient, in a hurry, rushing around, speedy, fidgeting, frenetic or fruitless activity Impatient to have it, wants it now, can’t stand being kept waiting, demanding 
Energetic High energy, restless, fidgety, energy buzzing in their body, can’t relax Highly strung nervy energy - noise /vibration reverberates in their whole body
Sexual desire High sex drive, itching for sex, urgent desire, dispassionate, fickle, casual fling. Apis is an exception - sex is suppressed  Passionate, high sexual energy, one partner has the upper hand, can be deceitful 
Animated Movement Run, hop, fidgety, ADHD, itchy, scratchy, insect bites cause itchiness, restlessness Jump out at someone, booby trap, climb, ropes, swings, spin, trapeze, ticklishness
Productive Must keep busy, structured, organised, productive work to do goals or fruitless activity Creativity, knitting, craft, art, textiles, handicraft, or there may be a desire to lie down
Energy High energy, excitement, erratic, never stops moving, inexhaustible energy, or tired out. Keep busy even when ill Rhythm, drumming, dance, Lassitude, lie down. Feels vibrations in body, noise sets their teeth on edge.
Animal kingdom is social, issues about their interaction with others Social. Conform to society, corporate, follows orders. Insect remedy children may feel overlooked, ignored Nonconformist, individual, committed to their family and children, spiders show parental care to their young
Delusions Insect delusions: feels used + abused, exploited, tormented, harassed, humiliated, small Spider delusions: caught in a web, can’t leave a bad relationship, overpowered
Sensations Squished, squashed, bugged, demeaned, dirty, stepped on, despised, downtrodden, small Crushed, crunched, kicked, smashed, tortured, distortion of size, enlargement of parts
Jealousy Apis is jealous, there is a saying “jealous as lice” Can be vindictive, revenge, turn tables, lies web of deceit
Attractive appearance Materialistic, consumer, look good, fashion trends, brands, shiny colours, nail bar Prefer black, red, green colours, individual style,
Consumption Consume stimulants, drugs, caffeine, to stay wired Craving: to smoke tobacco or marijuana to relax
Animal species in relation to humankind Insects are stepped on, low, crushed, exterminated, dirty, treated as an infestation (fleas, flies, lice, mosquitoes)  Spiders make people jump, elicit fear + phobias, spider remedies treat panic, heart arrhythmia + palpitations
Compensations
  An insect remedy feel small, treated like dirt, filthy, dirty, to overcompensate, they clean, tidy, wash compulsively Spider cases want to appear bigger and stronger to overcome their oppressor, so plot to get the upper hand
Symptoms + Sensations Burning, itching, pricking pain, swelling, allergic reaction Lassitude, enlargement, vibration, nervous conditions
Temperature Hot, red, burning Cold, chilly to the bones
Modalities Hot, itchy, Worse from heat, Better for cold applications (Apis) Palpitations Better for warm showers (Lactrodectus mactans)
Affinity / pathology symptoms Urinary tract infection, rash, allergic reactions, sore throat, with swelling constriction Heart palpitations, angina, fatigue, hysteria, nerves, jerky, injury, blood platelets
Appetite / Desires Big appetite, constant hunger, feels starved, appetite for sugar Juice, liquidised food
Can go for long periods without eating, indigestion
INSECTS
Themes Common in Insect Remedies
Busy, active, restless, industrious, organised
Ambitious to be better, acquisitive, materialistic, showy, wealth and status
Change, improvement, develop, to make something of themselves 
Feeling small, powerless, helpless, insulted, humiliated, belittled, used, taken advantage of
Squished, crushed, stepped on, squashed, trampled, downtrodden
Dirty, ugly, repulsive, disgusting, no good, cheap, low, degraded
Desire for a more elevated less lowly existence, dreams of taking flight
Symptoms Common in Insect Remedies
Suffocated, constricted, oppressed in the throat or chest
Itching, crawling, prickling skin
Buzzing, vibrating in the body
Urinary tract symptoms, irritation of genitals
Burning, stinging, stabbing pain
Hoarseness of voice, aversion to fluids
Appetite, hunger,
Worse from heat, better in the open air, better from cold applications
Insect classifications
Coleoptera - beetles
Dictyoptera - cockroach, praying mantis
Diptera - housefly, mosquitoes
Hymenoptera - ants, bees, wasps
Lepidoptera - butterfly, moths
Orthoptera - locusts, crickets
Pterygota Phthiraptera anoplura - lice, blood sucking, wingless parasites
Siphonatpera - fleas
Zygoptera Odonata - dragonfly, damselfly
Characteristics of Insect groups
Hymenoptera - highly organised social structures
Ants, bees, wasps: Busy activity, home, family, social duty, bossy, organised
Vespa: home life feels unstable, fragile, sarcasm, stinging repeatedly
Apis: organised, industrious, bossy, home loving, fastidious, inflammation amel cold water
Ants: industrious, tireless activity, unemotional, dreams aliens, robots
Diptera - housefly, mosquitoes
Musca Domestica: dirty, low, worthless, ‘rubbish’, belittled, confusion, perversion, porn
Mosquitoes: harassing, malarial miasm
Coleoptera
Cantharis: frenzy, activity, overreaction, mania, stabbing pain, burning pain, cystitis, burns
Coleoptera
Beetles: hard shell, fragile inside, feels vulnerable, bullied, feels used, feels guilty, stability
Doryphora (potato beetle feeds on solanaceae): allergy, addiction, loquacity, bloating, red
Dictyoptera
Cockroach: numb, indifference, crushed, ambition for status, to be polished, successful
Preying mantis: brutality, cursing, anger, thinks others are victimising them
Hemiptera
Lice, fleas: Parastic, greedy, needy, clingy, get too close, talk about themselves
Lepidoptera
Butterfly, moths: Restless, flitting, lack concentration, confusion, fickle, change to survive
Orthoptera
Locusts, crickets: irritability, ambition to be the best, hunger, emptiness, cold, fear of attack
Zygoptera Odonata
Dragonfly, damselfly: Floating, meditative, attacking, responsibility vs irresponsibility
SPIDERS
Themes Common in Spider Remedies
- enervation, sensitivity to noise, sound, vibrations felt in the body, noise
- dancing, music, beat, rhythm, drumming
- restlessness, activity, restless legs, busy hands
- joking, pranks, teasing, tricks, trickery, flattery, risk taking, defiant, outspoken
- jumping, hiding, jumping out, pouncing, climbing, ropes
- tubercular miasm – in a hurry, on the lookout for new and interesting
- deceit, sly, cunning, plotting, conniving
- reclusive, individual (not social like insects, but spiders are close to children)
- power struggle, jealousy, revenge, feel small, powerless, female dominance
- fear of spiders or fascination with spiders
- issues of being trapped or caught, paralysis symptoms
- palpitations, cramping pains, breathing difficulty, feels cold to the bones
- fear of illness, death, hypochondria, psychosomatic, depressed by illness
- inflammation, swelling of wound, oedema, abdominal pain, delirium
- jerky movements, chorea, cannot sit still, vertigo
- nervous exhaustion, weariness, lassitude, wants to lie down, prostration
- attractiveness, sexuality, adornment
- dyslexia, poor memory
Arachnida Remedies
Aranomorpha: eg Aranea
Spin cobwebs in the air.
Mygalomorpha: eg Atrax, Mygale, Tarentula cubensis
Live in funnel hole in the ground. Camouflage the entrance with a twig or leaf like a trap door.
Aranea diadema – papal-cross spider – garden spider (spins a fresh web daily and lives suspended in the air)
Aranea ixobola – the cross spider (larger than diadema)
Aranea scinenencia – grey spider
Atrax robusta – trap-door spider (lives in a hole in the ground)
Latrodectus hasseltii – redback spider
Latrodectus katipo – New Zealand spider
Latrodectus mactans – black widow spider (has a messy funnel-shaped web)
Loxosceles reclusa – brown recluse spider (isolation, sudden attack)
Mygale – black Cuban spider, bird spider (vigorous sexual urge)
Tarentula cubensis – decomposed Cuban spider (known as a remedy for boils)
Tarentula hispanica – tarantula (benchmark of spider characteristics)
Tegenaria domestica – house spider
Tela arnaea – spider’s web
Theridion – orange spider (keynote: hands busy, knitting, craves oranges, bananas, sensitive to noise)
Scorpion remedies Androctonos and Buthus australis are also arachnids but they have different characteristics and modalities. For this reason the scorpion remedies are not included in this comparison chart or general summary of spider symptoms. Instead of spiders’ teasing and joking there is isolation, cold blooded violence, the ‘lone fighter in the desert’.
Symptoms in Specific Spider Remedies
Sensitive to music, noise, vibration, light                      Aranea diadema Tarantula Theridion Lat-m
Teasing, Witty                                                              Aranea Ixobola, Tarantula
Cunning, Sly, Deceitful, Plotting                                   Tarantula, Latrodectus mactans, Aranea, Ixobola, Loxosceles reclusa
Restless, active, compelled to move                             Aranea diad, Mygale, Tarantula, Theridion
Restless yet worse from least motion                            Latrodectus mactans
Nervous                                                                       Theridion
Sense of danger, threat                                               Latrodectus mactans, Mygale
Concern for family’s health                                          Aranea Ixobola
Wants to fight, boxing                                                 Aranea Ixobola, Tarantula,
Twitching, jerking                                                        Mygale, Tarantula
Cramping pain                                                             Aranea Ixobola, Latrodectrus mactans
Tension, constriction, angina                                       Latrodectus mactans
Abdominal pain, back pain                                          Latrodectus mactans, Loxosceles reclusa
Cardiovascular disorders, heart palpitation                 Aranea Ixobola, Latrodectus mact, Mygale
Inflammation, lymph, cellulitis, oedema                       Latrodectus katipo                         
Nerve pain                                                                  Aranea diadema, Aranea Ixobola
Sensation of swollen enlargement                               Aranea diadema
Violent (troublesome) sexual passion                          Mygale, Latrodectus hasselti
Crave coffee, tobacco, smoking                                  Aranea diadema, Aranea Ixobola,
Icy coldness hands + feet, chilliness                           Aranea diadema, Aranea Ixobola, Mygale, Tarantula, Theridion
Burning pains                                                             Latrodectus hasselti
Chilly but flushes of heat                                            Latrodectus mactans
Head belongs to another                                           Theridion, Latrodectus mactans
Flying, floating in the air, vertigo                                Latrodectus hasselti
Crying in fully grown men                                           Latrodectus mactans
Better open air                                                          Aranea diadema, Aranea Ixobola, Tarantula
Worse, cold, damp                                                     Araena diad, Latrodectus mactan, Tarantula
Better warm bathing                                                 Latrodectus mactans
Periodicity                                                                 Aranea diadema, Mygale, Tarantula
Sensation hollow, emptiness                                     Loxosceles reclusa
Books and Further Reading
Frans Vermeulen - The New Synoptic One - (Apis, Aranea Diadema, Tarantula, Theridion)
Frans Vermeulen - Synoptic Materia Medica 2 - (Aranea Ixobola, Mygale, Androctonus (scorpion), Buthus Australis (scorpion))
Frans Vermeulen - Prisma - (Apis, Aranea Diadema, Latrodectus mactans, Tarantula, Theridion)
Peter Fraser - Insects - Escaping the Earth
Massimo Mangialavori - Milk and Bugs
Roger Morrison - Desktop Guide
Patricia Le Roux - Butterflies
Alize Timmerman - The Family Factor in the Treatment of Children – the book is available at her seminars, and an article on The Family Factor in the Treatment of Children was published in Homeopathic LINKS 2010 vol 23:30-35
Farokh Master - Spider group remedies
Jenni Tree - Owning the Earth - article in Homeopathic Links Volume 23 4/10
Misha Norland and Peter Fraser - proving of schistocerca gregaria
Jeremy Sherr - proving of damselfly Calopteryx splendens
Louis Klein - proving of Loxosceles reclusa http://www.homeopathycourses.com/pdf/Loxosceles_Reclusa_Complete.pdf
Jonathan Hardy - masterclass and seminar notes
David Mundy - seminar notesKeywords: Insect themes, Spider themes, comparison.