New Mexico

A Most Southwestern Family of Plants

Nothing is more emblematic of the desert than the cactus and having just moved to the high desert of Northern New Mexico, it seems only fitting to discuss the homeopathic significance of Cactaceae family of plants.  Of course, there are many types of cacti, about 1750 species, only a handful of which - some 7 or 8 - are used in homeopathy.   

 Of these the best known to homeopaths at least, and mostly commonly prescribed is the Cactus Grandiflorus, the Nightblooming Cereus.  Others include Anhalonium lewinii (Peyote), Carnegia giganta (Saguaro), Cereus Bonplandii (Harrisa bonplandi, Queen of the Night), Cereus Serpentinus (Snake Cactus) and Opuntia vulgaris (Prickly Pear, known in Mexico as 'Nopal').  No doubt, contemporary homeopaths have conducted experiments (or provings in homeopathic jargon) on other varieties, but the above-mentioned are included in the standard materia medica.

Transitions

 In August of 1988, my wife and I along with our 3-year old son arrived in the village of Saxtons River, VT to settle into a new life in a somewhat ramshackle house rented from a cousin.  Only two years removed from the jungle villages of Sri Lanka followed up by an interim stay in Connecticut, we arrived with few belongings save our clothes, some tag sale furniture and kitchen items, my wife's sewing machine and my professional equipment - a treatment table, acupuncture needles, along with about one hundred large glass jars full of Chinese medicinal herbs.