Verbascum Thapsus appears in 9 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.
“Verbascum thapsus, Linn. Natural order , Scrophulariaceæ. Common names , Mullein; (G.), Königs-kerze; (F.), Molène. Preparation , Tincture of the fresh herb at commencement of flowering. Authorities. (Nos. 1 to 5 , from Hahnemann, R. A. M. L., 5) Excited fantasies, especially of a sensual nature, for several days, 1…”
- Boericke — The quick clinical read — keynotes, modalities and the conditions it is actually prescribed in.
“Mullein (VERBASCUM) Has a pronounced action on the inferior maxillary branch of the fifth pair of the cranial nerves; on the ear; and respiratory tract and bladder. Catarrhs , and colds, with periodical prosopalgia . Quiets nervous, and bronchial, and urinary irritation, and cough. Neuralgia affecting zygoma, temporo…”
- Boger (GA) — Which general headings this remedy belongs under — the analytical scaffolding.
“COMPRESSION, squeezing, pinching, as of a vise, cap, etc. (Comp. Cramp.) LYING, Agg. NERVE PAIN SITTING, AGG. 9 A.M. 12 Noon”
- Clarke — The widest entry — sources, provings, clinical uses, relationships and antidotes in one place.
“thapsus. Great Mullein. N. O. Scrophulariaceæ. Tincture of fresh plant at the commencement of flowering. ["Mullein Oil" is prepared by placing the crushed yellow blossoms in a bottle, which is corked and allowed to stand in the sun (Cushing); or by steeping the blossoms in oil and keeping in a warm place till the oil…”
- Hering — Graded symptoms, each weighted by how often provers and practice confirmed it.
“Mullein. Scrophulariaceæ. A native of Europe, naturalized in North America. Inhabits fields and waste places ; the tall stems and leaves are woolly, flowers yellow on a cylindrical spike. The alcoholic tincture is prepared from the fresh plant, chopped and pounded to a pulp. Proved by Hahnemann, Gross, Hartmann…”
- Lippe (KN) — Only the symptoms Lippe considered reliable enough to prescribe on.
“Stinging pains in the limbs and neuralgic pain in the left ankle. The pains are generally accompanied by a benumbing sensation. The symptoms are caused and aggravated by a change of temperature, especially when entering from the open air into the room and vice versa. Very violent diarrhoea with griping. A great deal…”
- Lippe (MM) — The strict Hahnemannian reading — the symptom picture without clinical interpretation.
“Unusual hilarity, with continuous flow of ideas. Vertigo, when leaning the left cheek on the hand. Pressing, stupefying headache when entering a warm room from the cold air, and vice versa. Deep, stupefying stitches in the brain. Pain in the eyes, with the sensation as if the orbits were drawn together, with heat in…”
- Lippe (Red) — Keynotes with the most-trusted ones marked as red-line symptoms.
“Common name: mullein. This is an ancient and popular remedy for deafness now used mostly locally in the form of an oil. Stinging pains in the limbs and neuralgic pain in the left ankle. The pains are generally accompanied by a benumbing sensation (Kalm.). The symptoms are caused and aggravated by a change of…”
