Asarum Europæum 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 HC — The keynotes that separate this remedy from its nearest neighbours.
“European Snake Root (Arsistolochiaceae) Nervous, anxious people; excitable or melancholy. Imagines he is hovering in the air like a spirit (Lac. c.); lightness of all the limbs. Cold "shivers" from any emotion. Oversensitiveness of nerves , scratching of linen or silk, crackling of paper is unbearable (Fer. Tar.)…”
- Allen TF — The raw proving record — symptoms as the provers reported them, unedited.
“A. Europæum, Linn. Nat. order , Aristolochiaceæ. Common name , Haselwurz. Preparation , Tincture of the root and whole plant. Authorities. [No. He imagines he is hovering in the air, when walking, like a spirit, 3. Great cheerfulness (after six and twelve hours), sometimes interrupted for a few moments by a melancholy…”
- Boericke — The quick clinical read — keynotes, modalities and the conditions it is actually prescribed in.
“European Snake-root (ASARUM EUROPUM) A remedy for nervous affections, loss of energy, with excessive erethism. Scratching on silk or linen or paper unbearable . Pains and spasmodic muscular actions. Nervous deafness and asthenopia. Cold shivers from any emotion. Feels as if parts were pressed together. Tension and…”
- Boger (GA) — Which general headings this remedy belongs under — the analytical scaffolding.
“BATHING, cold applications, etc., Amel. COMPRESSION, squeezing, pinching, as of a vise, cap, etc. (Comp. Cramp.) DRY, clear or cold weather, Agg. FLOATING, flying, etc., as if (Comp. Vertigo.)”
- Clarke — The widest entry — sources, provings, clinical uses, relationships and antidotes in one place.
“Asarum Europœum. Asarabacca. Hazelwort. Wild Nard. (Mountainous woods in Europe.) N. O. Aristolochiaceæ. Tinctures of root and whole fresh plant. Alcoholism / Anus, prolapse of / Catarrhs / Cholerine / Diarrhœa / Dysmenorrhœa / Eyes, affections of; operations on / Fidgets / Headache / Hysteria / Levitation, sensation…”
- Hering — Graded symptoms, each weighted by how often provers and practice confirmed it.
“Haselwurtz. Aristolochiaceæ. Introduced and proved in 1817 by Hahnemann (14) and his pupils (254). The second edition appeared in 1825 (16 and 254). It was physiologically arranged by A. G. Schneider in 1853. The root alone is better than the whole plant. Gradual vanishing of thought, as when falling asleep. Stupid…”
- Lippe (KN) — Only the symptoms Lippe considered reliable enough to prescribe on.
“Oversensitiveness of the nerves; the scratching on linen or silk is unsupportable. Sensation of lightness in the limbs; when she walks, she thinks she is gliding through the air. Vomiting with violent retching and anxiety. Many symptoms disappear from washing the face in cold water, from wetting the affected part…”
- Lippe (MM) — The strict Hahnemannian reading — the symptom picture without clinical interpretation.
“Nervous irritability and exaltation. Pain, as from contraction in the forehead, temples, and behind the cue, with watering and burning of the eyes, worse in the afternoon, (5 P.M.), relieved when sitting, and by washing. Inflamed eyes, blear-eyedness. The eyes stare. The cold air is pleasant to the eyes; sunshine…”
- Lippe (Red) — Keynotes with the most-trusted ones marked as red-line symptoms.
“Common name: european snake root. Hyperæsthesia of the senses (Bell., Coff., Nux-V., Op., Phos.) (Bl.). OVERSENSITIVENESS OF THE NERVES; THE SCRATCHING ON LINEN OR SILK IS INSUPPORTABLE (Ferr., Tarant-C.). Cold "shivers" from any emotion (A.). Nervous irritability and exaltation. Asthmatic breathing, worse from odour…”
- Nash — The comparisons — the remedy set beside the ones it is most often confused with.
“Remarkable over-sensitiveness of the nerves; scratching linen or silk or even thinking of it is unbearable.”
