Theridion Curassavicum appears in 11 of the 13 classic books on Similia. Each was written to do a different job — here is what each adds on this remedy, with the opening of its entry.
- Allen TF — The raw proving record — symptoms as the provers reported them, unedited.
“Animal kingdom. Class , Arachnida. Order , Araneideæ. Theridion curassavicum, Walk. A small spider inhabiting the West Indies frequently found on orange trees. Preparation , Tincture. Authority. C. Hering, M.D., provings on himself and others, Monograph, Appendix to Hahnemannian Monthly, and in Materia Medica, Vol. 1…”
- Boericke — The quick clinical read — keynotes, modalities and the conditions it is actually prescribed in.
“Orange-spider (THERIDION) Nervous hyperæsthesia. Has affinity for the tubercular diathesis. Vertigo, sick headache, peculiar pain around heart region, phthisis florida, scrofula have all been treated successfully with this remedy. Sensitive to noise; it penetrates the body, especially teeth . Noises seem to strike on…”
- Boger (GA) — Which general headings this remedy belongs under — the analytical scaffolding.
“CHEST, backward in CHEST, left HEAT of fire, sun, overheating, etc., Agg. JARRING, shaking, stepping hard, riding, etc., Agg. (Comp. Sensitive) NERVES, nervous patients, etc. SENSITIVE, also to noise, light, odors, pain, can't stand it, touch, triffles, etc. (Comp. Jarring.) SWAYING, swinging, etc. Agg., car or…”
- Boger (Syn) — Generals and modalities in a short analytical portrait rather than a symptom list.
“NERVES. Spine. Bones. Left side; head, chest. NOISE. Touch. CLOSING EYES. Least motion. Riding. Jar. Rest. Warmth. Hypersensitive . NOISE IS INSUFFERABLY PENETRATING; affects the teeth; causes nausea, chills, and pains all over; strikes painful spots, etc. Water feels too cold. Bounding internally…”
- Clarke — The widest entry — sources, provings, clinical uses, relationships and antidotes in one place.
“curassavicum. Orange spider. N. O. Arachnida. Tincture of the living spider. Angina pectoris / Anthrax of sheep / Bone, affections of / Caries / Climaxis / Cough / Dysmenorrhœa / Eye-teeth, pains in / Fainting / Headache / Hysteria / Liver, disorder of; abscess of / Ménière's disease / Nausea / Necrosis / Nose…”
- Hering — Graded symptoms, each weighted by how often provers and practice confirmed it.
“Orange Spider. Araneideæ. A small spider known to people as very poisonous, chiefly found in the island of uraçoa. This spider, about the size of a cherry stone, is found upon orange trees in the West Indies. When young it is velvety-black in appearance, marked with antero-posterior lines composed of white dots ; on…”
- Kent — The mental and general picture — who the patient is, before what the remedy cures.
“Hysterical sensitivity with extreme aggravation from noise, motion and exertion marks this remedy as unique. The pains are aggravated from noise, and motion, and the nerves are in such a state of sensitivity that a painful thrill passes over the body in waves and nausea follows. Nausea from noise is strikingly strange.”
- Lippe (MM) — The strict Hahnemannian reading — the symptom picture without clinical interpretation.
“Talkative, inclined to mental exertions; hilarity. Disinclination to occupy oneself in any manner. The time passes too quick. Vertigo with nausea, worse on stooping; from the least movement; on closing the eyes; from any noise; with cold perspiration. The head feels thick, with nausea and vomiting from the least…”
- Lippe (Red) — Keynotes with the most-trusted ones marked as red-line symptoms.
“Common name: orange spider. For extreme sensitiveness of puberty; during pregnancy and climacteric years (A.). Most complaints are accompanied with vertigo (Kali-P., Phos.) (Bt.). Headache: When beginning to move, as of a dull heavy pressure behind the eyes; violent, deep, in the brains, worse from lying down (Lach.)…”
- Nash — The comparisons — the remedy set beside the ones it is most often confused with.
“Vertigo, with nausea, on closing the eyes, or the least noise. Over-sensitiveness of nerves; scratching on linen or silk, or crackling of paper is unbearable. Pain running through upper left chest to shoulder. Theridion curassavicum is another spider poison proven by Hering. There is one peculiar and characteristic…”
