by Constantine Hering • 1800–1880
The Guiding Symptoms — 10 volumes of proving and clinical experience from the father of American homeopathy.
Constantine Hering, MD (1800–1880), German by birth and American by adoption, was the father of American homeopathy. Originally commissioned to write a book disproving Hahnemann, he instead became his staunchest scientific defender after personally proving Lachesis (the bushmaster snake venom) in 1828.
Hering founded the first homeopathic medical school in the world (the Hahnemann Medical College of Philadelphia), introduced Lachesis, Glonoine, and dozens of other remedies into the materia medica, and formulated Hering's Law of Cure — still a central concept of classical practice.
He corresponded with Hahnemann himself and was the link between the European founder and the American tradition that Kent would later systematize.
The Guiding Symptoms of our Materia Medica was published in ten volumes between 1879 and 1891, the final volumes appearing posthumously. It is the most comprehensive compilation of verified homeopathic symptoms ever produced by a single author.
Hering worked on the material for forty years. Every symptom was graded by reliability — italicized for verified clinical confirmations, plain text for provings, brackets for single reports. This is the grading system that later repertories inherited.
For any remedy Hering proved personally — Lachesis above all — his entry remains the authoritative source. For polychrests, the depth of verified symptoms is unmatched.
A ten-volume homeopathic materia medica compiled by Constantine Hering over forty years, published 1879–1891. It is the most thorough single-author compilation of graded, verified homeopathic symptoms.
Hering (1800–1880) was the founder of American homeopathy, the first prover of Lachesis, and the author of Hering's Law of Cure. He also founded Hahnemann Medical College in Philadelphia.
Hering observed that healing proceeds from above downwards, from within outwards, from more important to less important organs, and in the reverse order of the appearance of symptoms. It remains a guiding principle of classical homeopathy.
Hering graded every symptom for reliability and cross-referenced clinical confirmations with original provings. The volume count reflects the depth of verification per remedy — not padding.
412 remedies — jump to a letter or scroll the list.