Chelidonium majus appears in 12 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 HC — The keynotes that separate this remedy from its nearest neighbours.
“Celandine (Papaveraceae) Persons of light complexion, blondes; thin, spare, irritable; subject to hepatic, gastric and abdominal complaints (Pod.); every age, sex and temperament. Constant pain under the lower and inner angle of right scapula (Kali c., Mer. - under the left, Chenop. g., Sang.). Ailments: brought on or…”
- Allen TF — The raw proving record — symptoms as the provers reported them, unedited.
“Chelidonium majus, Linn. Nat. Order , Papaveraceæ. Common names , Celandine; (Germ.), Schellkraut; (French), la ficaire commune. Preparation , Tincture of the whole plant when in flower. Authorities.”
- Boericke — The quick clinical read — keynotes, modalities and the conditions it is actually prescribed in.
“Celandine A prominent liver remedy, covering many of the direct reflex symptoms of diseased conditions of that organ. The jaundiced skin, and especially the constant pain under inferior angle of right scapula , are certain indications. Paralytic drawing and lameness in single parts. The great general lethargy and…”
- Boger (Syn) — Generals and modalities in a short analytical portrait rather than a symptom list.
“Right side: Portal system. Abdomen. Lungs (lower). Mucous membranes. Bowels (R). Occiput. Kidneys. Knees. Motion. Cough. Touch. Change of weather. North Easters. 4 A.M. and 4 P.M. (Ign.). Hot food. Eating; dinner. Milk. Pressure. Hot bath. Bending backward. YELLOWNESS. Bilious disturbances; vomiting, jaundice…”
- Clarke — The widest entry — sources, provings, clinical uses, relationships and antidotes in one place.
“majus. Greater Celandine. N. O. Papaveraceæ. Tincture of entire fresh plant, at time of flowering. Antrum of / Highmore, inflammation of / Cancer / Chest, affections of / Chorea / Constipation / Cough / Diarrhœa / Dyspepsia / Gall-stones / Gonorrhœa / Hæmoptysis / Hæmorrhoids / Headache / Influenza / Jaundice /…”
- Hering — Graded symptoms, each weighted by how often provers and practice confirmed it.
“Celandine. Papaveraceæ. "A perennial plant with a sharp, bitter and burning taste, yielding, when pressed, a yellow, corrosive, milky juice ; it grows in hedges and waste places, among stones and rubbish." Tincture from the fresh root, or of the whole plant. This remedy, famous in antiquity, preserved its repute…”
- Kent — The mental and general picture — who the patient is, before what the remedy cures.
“Chelidonium is a remedy more suitable for acute diseases, though it cures certain chronic conditions. It is not a very deep acting remedy. It is about like Bryonia in its general plane, length and depth of action. It has been used principally in gastric and intestinal catarrhs, in acute and semi-chronic liver…”
- Lippe (KN) — Only the symptoms Lippe considered reliable enough to prescribe on.
“Paralytic drawing and lameness in single parts. Disinclination to move, which he does very reluctantly. Sleepiness and desire to lie down, without being able to sleep. Chilliness predominating. In the morning when awakening and after eating, great debility and great lassitude. Icterus. Catamenia too late and too…”
- Lippe (MM) — The strict Hahnemannian reading — the symptom picture without clinical interpretation.
“Low-spirited and desponding, with inclination to weep. Sensation of coldness in the occiput, ascending from the nape of the neck; worse when moving, better at rest. Stitches in the vertex, particularly when walking fast. Tingling in and on the head. Scald-head. Contraction of the pupils. Painful pressure on the upper…”
- Lippe (Red) — Keynotes with the most-trusted ones marked as red-line symptoms.
“Common name: celandine. Often called for in affections of the liver, when there is a great deal of pain and soreness of that organ (N.). Cough loose and rattling, difficult, associated with hepatic derangement (D.). Disinclination to move, which he does very reluctantly (Bry., Gels., Op.). Dyspnœa with oppression and…”
- Nash — The comparisons — the remedy set beside the ones it is most often confused with.
“Fixed pain (dull or sharp) under the lower inner angle of the right shoulder blade. Yellow eyes, face, skin, hands, stool clay colored or yellow as gold; urine yellow. Tongue thickly coated yellow, with red edges. Right-sided remedy; supra-orbital; hypochondriac; lungs; hip; foot cold as ice, etc. The center of action…”
