Ferrum nitricum.

CONCEPTS
Nitricum
o Assertiveness
o Enthusiasm
o Tension Congestion
o Relaxation
o Enjoyment
o Congenial

Ferrum
o Firm
o Persevering
o Durable
o Discipline
o Soldier
o Beatings

Group analysis
o Firm assertiveness.
o Persevering and idealistic.
o Durable tension.
o Discipline creates tension.
o Beating people through tension.
o Fighting for relaxation.
o Enjoying your exams.
o Duty gets in the way of enjoyment.
o Perseverance in order to feel free.
o Failure through too much assertiveness.

Picture of Ferrum nitricum
o Essence: firm and assertive.

Firm and assertive
They like to assert themselves through their work and persevere in what they consider to be their duty.
They want to show the world what they are worth and they do this by means of presenting their ideals
and then pushing as hard as they can to get them realised.

Lasting tension
Their will power is extremely strong and they never relax the tension. Their plans are always straight and
to the point, but they themselves can feel quite emotional and tense.

Discipline creates tension
They try to keep their tension under control by being very disciplined, hoping that order and routine can
keep that busy and restless feeling at bay. But it usually has the opposite effect: all these rules and
regulations make them feel even more hurried and tense.

Beating people through tension
They are very impatient and the slightest form of criticism can provoke quite an extreme reaction, like a
sudden slap for the person who happens to contradict them. Injustice or time wasting is something that
makes them very angry.

Fighting for relaxation
They are under so much pressure that there is no longer time for any sort of relaxation. They have to
fight for some space for themselves, for some time away from work. As soon as they think they have
finished their task there is another job waiting for them. Their sense of duty prevents them from saying
'enough is enough'. In their desperation to get rid of this pressure they may suddenly go to the other
extreme and fling off all responsibilities.
They may even feel that relationships are nothing more than yet another duty, so they would rather
avoid them. A mother might feel her child to be a heavy burden, or a husband may experience the
presence of his wife as a huge pressure.

Perseverance in order to feel free
They like to work, and at the same time to be themselves. They feel they cease to exist if they allow
others to walk all over them. Their feeling of self-worth disappears as soon as they are not allowed to be
busy and exuberant.

Failure through too much assertiveness
Their extreme assertiveness can also lead to failures. They can be so pushy and put others under so
much pressure that they turn round and say: 'Why don't you do it yourself'. Nobody wants to be
involved anymore.
The other extreme is that they are so desperate to enjoy life that there is no time for work and the
whole thing fails because they spend all their time or money on other things.

Failure means the end of pleasure
When they fail they feel they don't deserve to enjoy themselves anymore. They feel guilty if they make
mistakes, even if this is caused by the pressure they are under. Then the guilt takes over: they think that
from now on they won't be allowed to enjoy themselves and they will probably get ill or some other
terrible thing will happen to make sure the fun is over.

Expressions
Fears: failure, criticism, opposition, observed, anticipation, cerebral haemorrhage, crowds, death,
accidents, narrow spaces (3), being locked up, tunnels, caves, shops, lifts, planes, trains, enjoyment,
disease (3), cancer, heart disease, vague, unknown, life, strangers, future, travelling, flying, open spaces,
insects, spiders, snakes.
Dreams: unsuccessful efforts, paralysis, straight lines, battles, fights, contests, war, water, falling, dead
people, dead friends.
Delusions: large open spaces, criminals, poisoned, war.
Mood: happy, restless, gloomy.
Irritability: quarrelsome, cursing, insulting, choleric, < noise, < pain, < opposition, about food, <
contradiction.
Mental: sluggish.
Contacts: <- company.
Professions: soldier, midwife, secretary, blacksmith, builder.
Causes: opposition, contradiction, criticism, quarrels, suppressed will, injustice, abuse, incest, parents
absent.

Generals
Type: obese (3), red hair.
Locality: left.
Weather: warm, < heat, < inside, > outside, < damp; hot flushes.
Time: < 3 and 9 am; < summer; sudden complaints.
Desires: fried bacon (3), fat, fatty meat, ham, cheese (3), salt, carbonated drinks, tomatoes, meat.
Aversion: fat (2), cheese (2), fat, ham, meat, beans, eggs, tomatoes, nuts.
Food: < eggs, tomatoes, sour, tea, beer, cheese, fat, bacon, beans, coffee, meat.
Menses: profuse (3), large clots.
Sleep: sleeplessness.
Physical: < pressure, pressure of clothes, < shocks and jars, > driving in a car; > slow movement, <
exertion; < noise, rustling of paper.

Complaints
Discharges putrid and stinking.
Pains congestive, pulsating (3), stitching, as of splinters (3).
Redness, swelling and heat.
Hot flushes (3), < night, < after urinating.
Paralysis.
Vertigo < wine, getting up.
Headache every 14 days.
Red cheeks, < wine.
Nose: crusts, difficult to dislodge and painful. Sneezing.
Cough, mucus.
Heart and vascular diseases (3); angina pectoris. Palpitations, arrhythmia.
Arteriosclerosis. Claudicatio. Cerebral haemorrhage. Anaemia (3), from lack of iron. Low and high
bloodpressure
Stomach complaints, vomiting without nausea. Diabetes.
Abdominal pains with swelling, much rumbling, flatus and eructations. Diarrhoea acrid, < eating.
Inflammation of joints of hands, with congestion, swelling, stiffness. Shoulder pains (3). Restless feet.
Skin: red patches, allergy, eczema.
DD: Carbon series, Ferrum series, Stage 8, 11 to 15, Ammoniums, Arnica, Rumex, Sulphur.

----------------
Ferrum series

#4.0 The Ferrum series: Kali to Krypton

Strictly speaking it would be more correct to call this the Copper series, since Cuprum belongs to stage
11, like Silver and Gold, after which the two subsequent series are named. But because I have called the
fourth series the Ferrum series in my last book, I decided to stick with this name. My initial thoughts
about this Ferrum series have since been further developed, particularly with respect to the different
stages. That is why we will take a second look at some of the previously mentioned remedies, not only
to expand on the old ideas, but also to include some information about the new combinations that have
been discovered in the meantime.

Task Work Duty
The central theme of the Ferrum series is the individual task. This theme already presents itself very
clearly in the first element of the series, i.e. Kalium. The other elements have a similar feeling of having
to fulfil their task. The strong drive to work hard is well known in Calcium. They feel very responsible and
want to fulfil their task as best they can.
The task is not only a task, it is also a duty, there is a certain element of force behind it, as if they had
been ordered by some else to do it. This forceful element is characteristic of all the metals, but the
sense of task is typical of the Ferrum series.

Trade Craft Civil servant
These people are the ones who carry out the tasks. They may have a trade, like being a baker, a butcher,
a carpenter, but they can also be the government official who follows his orders to the letter. The
division of tasks in society is an important theme. Everybody gets a task in which he can specialise, as in
a beehive or a colony of ants, where every individual has a specific task.

Skills Technique Perfectionism
In order to carry out their task they have to have certain skills, which they have to learn through a form
of training. They want to develop their skills so that they can become craftsmen and enjoy the fruit of
their labours. They like to develop their craft to perfection. Their sense of duty increases the drive to
precision and perfectionism. They also like others to notice that they are acquitting themselves of their
task in the best possible way.

Usefulness Practicality
Of course there is also the practical aspect of their task: they have to earn a living. That is why they tend
to judge everything according to whether it is useful or not. They are very practical in their approach to
work, very pragmatic.

Order Rules
The sort of work they like doing is very routine orientated. They are the craftsmen who repeat the same
actions hour after hour.
They like everything to be in order, to divide things into little boxes, so you know where everything is.
They need to have things well defined and bound by rules and regulations. [The Dutch are very good at
this!]. This desire for order is an expression of their underlying anxiety: 'Am I doing well enough?' We
see this very strongly in Arsenicum album with his extreme fastidiousness and in Cuprum metallicum
with his spasmodic rituals.

Control Rigidity
Control is another key phrase of the Ferrum series. They feel they have to keep checking all the time to
see whether things are up to standard. This control may result in a suppression of feelings, as Vithoulkas
has already described in Kali carbonicum. It can even lead

Observed Criticised
The feeling of being observed or criticised is a theme that belongs to the whole Ferrum series. It is most
prominent in stage 2, where we find Calcium, the remedy we know to be extremely sensitive to being
observed.
Criticism is another sensitive issue and we find problems related to either giving or receiving criticism.
Every remedy in this series has its own way of handling criticism, whilst the opposite, i.e. the handling of
compliments, is also part of this whole theme.
The beginning stages of the series are more timid and inclined to withdraw into their shell. In the end
stages we see more anger in reaction to criticism, because they feel that by now they are wise enough
themselves to know how things should be done.

Exam
A typical example of an aggravating influence is exam time. This is when their knowledge and expertise
is going to be put to the test. They will be judged by their superiors, the Silver series and the Gold series.
The exam itself is symbolised by Niccolum, at the top in the Ferrum cycle. Zincum, stage 12, two stages
beyond Niccolum, represents the retakes. Cobaltum, stage 9 just before Niccolum, represents the
anxious moments just before the exam.

Failure Fault Guilt Crime
The sense of duty can easily lead to a fear that they can't fulfil their task. This fear can be so strong that
they consider the most minor mistakes as a complete failure. In a later stage it may provoke feelings of
guilt. Not only have they failed, but they know they could and should have done better, so they are also
guilty. The feeling of guilt can in extreme situations take the form of a sensation as if they have
committed a crime.
The sense of failure comes back in their dreams. They dream of falling, of unsuccessful efforts, of being
criticised, of missing the train, of forgetting their passport, of failing their exam etc. The physical
expression is often a feeling of tiredness, with or without anaemia, and even paralysis.
In the beginning stages of the Ferrum series the failure often takes place before they have even started:
they just miss the train (Cobaltum), they are searching for their luggage (Scandium), they have to learn
too much for the exam (Manganum). In the end stages the failure comes to light afterwards: they failed
an exam in the past (Zincum), they get swept away (Gallium), they are being obstructed, guilt
(Bromium).

Pursued Tried Police
The more mistakes they make, the more restless they become. They feel hurried and they try even
harder to avoid mistakes. Later on the guilt grows stronger, resulting in the feeling that they have
committed a crime. This makes them feel persecuted, as if the police are hot on their heels, the law is
just about to catch up with them. A typical symptom in the Ferrum series is the restless legs, partly
caused by the feeling they have to get into action to perform their task, and partly caused by their sense
of having to run because they have failed.

Adolescence
The phase belonging to this series is that of young adulthood. Adolescence is the time of attending
college, a time of learning and exams. It is the time of choosing the direction you want to go in, choosing
your profession and under-going the training.

Village
The area that plays a large role at this stage is the village. In former times it used to be the tribe. It is the
community in which everyone has his own func-tion, but everyone still knows everyone else.
In a village everyone has his own trade and through this trade he earns a living and receives
acknowledgement for his contribution to the community.

Expressions
Fears: failure, criticism, opposition, observed, anticipation.
Dreams: fruitless efforts, paralysis.
Mental: perfectionism.

Complaints
Cancer.
Anaemia (3).
Diabetes.
Stomach problems.
Muscle problems.
Paralysis.

DD
DD: Silver series. The Silver series also has a task, but a more independent one. Both series may have
jobs related to science, but the Ferrum series are the technicians and laboratory assistants, whilst the
Silver series are the inventors.
This is clearly related to the issue of order. The Ferrum series doesn't like to venture beyond the well
trodden path, he likes to stick to the rules, whilst the Silver series thinks regularity is a 'swear-word'.
DD Gold series: In the Gold series everything is a lot heavier. They also feel responsible, but this goes far
beyond their own task. They also feel responsible for other people, the people they have to lead. They
feel responsible for whole groups, for organisations, businesses and whole villages, whilst the Ferrum
series feels mainly concerned with his individual task. They have to carry out the task that has been
given to them and they have to do it well.
DD control: This is an important issue in the Ferrum series. They want to control their own work and
they also feel controlled by their superiors. The Carbon series may have a desire to control things, but
more as a means to suppress their fears. The Silicium series may also show a tendency to control, but
more directed towards the family or friends. The Gold series controls others to get them to work for
their own organisation.

4. THE FERRUM SERIES: KALI TO KRYPTON

Task Trade Abilities Profession
This is the level where abilities start to be developed. They have to learn to fulfil certain tasks. In order
to do this they have to be schooled by another person, either a master or a teacher, a school or the
parents themselves. Eventually they learn to carry out this task by themselves.

Youth Adulthood
This is the phase of becoming an adult. In our society this includes the years of puberty. This is when
they learn a certain trade at school.

Village
This is the area of the village or the tribe, as it used to be in the olden days. The individual gets to know
the whole group and starts to determine his own position within this group. This position is linked to a
trade he has learned, for instance being a baker or a carpenter. The area is still small enough for
everybody to know everybody else, the way it happens in a village. Research has shown that it is
possible to know about 2000 people personally, and this is the average population of a village.
Ferrum iodatum [Ferr-i.]
Concepts
Ferrum
Firm
Standing one's ground
Perseverance
Beatings
Irritability

Iodatum
Food
Work, busy, restless
Freedom of movement
Forgetfulness
Obsessive
Right of existence
Escape

Group analysis
o They have the feeling that they have to persevere to be able to provide for them-selves. They are
hard and efficient workers, Vithoulkas (during a seminar) described them as efficient secretaries. The
ferrum side sees to it that they can get on with things and keep unwanted interference at bay, while the
iodatum side allows them to do a great variety of tasks quickly and efficiently.
o Another aspect of the ferr-i character is that they get irritated if their freedom of movement is
hampered. They want to feel free to come and go as they like. This fits in with the image of the
unmarried secretary, for whom marriage is the most extreme form of being tied. They like to lead their
own life, that way it will be less likely that they clash with their partner, because of their firm and strict
behaviour.
o A third variation on the general theme is that they are anxious 'to avoid a beating'. They can't relax
because of a continuous feeling that something is threatening them. They usually convert this
restlessness into a zest for work and greater productivity.

Case
A 43 year old woman suffers from bronchitis. It started three years ago with flu, fever, coughing and
perspiration. Since then her throat is full of mucous, which is white, loose, salty and tasting of iron.
She frequently has a dry cough which makes her chest feel raw. The cough is worse from heat, mist,
smog, morning, 3 to 4 h., smell of paint, lying down. Her voice is hoarse and she feels suffocated with a
sensation as if her trachea gets cramp.
She has warts in the neck, axillae and elbows, they are small, pedunculated warts.
Past history: whooping cough when she was 4.
Frequent tonsillitis with painful, swollen glands.
Dyspnoea when she was a child, almost suffocated a few times.
Appendicectomy in 1963.
Yellow fever with very high fever in 1965.
Hayfever with copious, watery, acrid discharge and much sneezing. Her eyes are watery and burning.
Hayfever worse from grass, dust, mite. She keeps her nose covered with her hand.
In 1986 severe headache with pressure behind the eyes, pain radiating to neck.
General characteristics:
Temperature: cold, but heat makes her lazy.
Perspiration: copious at night.
Desires: vegetarian food, sweet, spices, nectarines.
Aversion: meat.
Menses: rather copious. Headache and irritability before menses.
Back - and stomach pains during menses.
Sleep: refreshing.
Mind: She knows what she wants and she goes for it. She is very stubborn, 'not an easy person' to deal
with. But on the other side she can be very kind.
She is rather critical and a bit suspicious. She quickly gets angry, but tries to hold it in. What annoys
her most is when people are lazy and take things for granted.
She has a had a strict, catholic upbringing with firm rules. If she stayed out late she was not allowed to
go out during the whole of the following week.
Work: She works as a secretary and she enjoys it very much, although she tends to worry about
discussions with her colleagues.
She never got round to getting married.

Analysis
We have some symptoms of ferrum: the bold personality, anaemia, taste of iron in her mouth, worse
from lying quietly, and we also have some symptoms of iodatum: acrid discharge, activity, swollen
glands, worse from heat.
If we look at the group analysis we find the essence of having to be strong and upright at work. In her
case this fits perfectly, because she is active and straight forward and it annoys her very much when
other people at work are lazy and 'don't pull their weight'. She couldn't stand the idea of taking it easy
and letting things take care of themselves.

Reaction
One month after taking ferr-i 1M she feels much better. She has lost weight and finds it easy to eat
less. She has remained well and did not need a repeat prescription.

Ferrum iodatum
Essence: the idea that they have to stand firm to be able to provide for themselves.
Mind: they are hard and efficient workers, who can work long hours and won't give up. A secretarial
job suits them very well, they are able to keep unnecessary contact at a distance and carry on with their
work.
They dislike being tied, as in marriage. They would rather stay independent, because they love their
freedom. Being tied would make them angry because they want to come and go as they please, and
they are also afraid that others will interfere with their business. Other peoples sounds can even irritate
them. This means that they would have to push the other person away again, so it is better to stay
single.

General characteristics:
Location: right sided.
Temperature: warm.
Time: Worse from 3 and 5 h.
Desires: meat, tomatoes.
Aversion: eggs, tomatoes.
Menses: frequent, copious.
Sleep: restless.
Physical: Better from slow movement.

Complaints:
Acrid discharges.
Anaemia, high and low blood pressure.
Red cheeks worse from wine. Dizziness worse from wine and getting up.
Headaches, migraines.
Colds and hayfever.
Swollen glands.
Pain in shoulder.
DD: ferrums, iodatums, sang.

Ferrum metallicum [Ferr.]
I will be very brief about ferrum metallicum, because the remedy is well known. It contains all the
basic characteristics of ferrum.

Concepts
Ferrum
Firm
Standing one's ground
Perseverance
Beatings
Irritability

Single
All or nothing
Loose
No integration

Case
One of my patients had a beautiful description of the ferrum state: She always had the feeling that
she had to do everything correctly from the very beginning. She was afraid that other people would be
stronger than her, that they would push her aside, that she wouldn't count. That is why she always
wanted to keep an eye on everything, that way she knew where she was and what she had to do. Her
sensitivity to sound was connected to her feeling of having to be alert, having to be ready for action.
This attitude had started in her childhood, when she had to help looking after 8 brothers and sisters.
Being the eldest child, she was a sort of second mother. But it was chaos at home and she found it very
difficult to keep everything in order. If she did something wrong she would get a beating, but she never
knew when. Sometimes she would get praise and at another time a smack. Hence the feeling 'I have got
to get it right first time, otherwise..'.

A brief picture of Ferrum metallicum

Essence: The idea that they have to stand firm for the things they have chosen for themselves.
Mind: Firm, brave, persevering.
Irritability worse from contradiction and opposition.
Angry if other people overstep their boundaries.
Fear of criticism and beatings. Jumpy.
Sensitive to sounds.

General characteristics:
Location: right sided.
Temperature: cold.
Desires: tomatoes, meat.
Aversion: eggs.
Menses: copious.
Physical: Better from slow movement.

Complaints:
Anaemia, low and high bloodpressure.
Red cheeks worse from wine. Vertigo worse from wine, worse from getting up.
Headache.
Pain in shoulders.
DD: ferrums, arn, kaliums, sulph.

The Ferrum group

The ferrum group is different from the previous groups of remedies, in chemistry it is called 'the group
of transition elements of the fourth period'. These are the ele-ments with atomic number 22 to 30, the
metals titanium, vanadium, chromium, manganese, iron, cobalt, nickel, copper and zinc.
Although these are all different elements, there are certain similarities between these metals, both
from a chemical as from a homeopathic point of view.
We could apply a kind of group analysis to this group, a group analysis which differs from the one we
have used so far. Until now we have used the group analysis on a series of different combinations of the
same element. Now we will use it on a series of related, but different elements.
We can see the similarities most clearly in the three best known metals of this group: zincum, cuprum
and ferrum. But the same characteristic traits can also be found in the other metals in this group.

Forced
The most obvious common trait is the forceful aspect of these remedies. They all have the feeling that
they have to do something, they have to comply with some sort of rule. This is more than a sense of
duty. It is a compulsive feeling that they have to fulfil some sort of task, driven either by an outside, but
later on also by an inner force.

Suppression
They are not allowed to listen to their own feelings, thoughts and wishes, they have to comply with
the wishes of someone else. This leads us to the second characteristic trait of this group: suppression.
They easily let their own emotions be suppressed by outside forces. On the physical level we can see this
happen in the neurological complaints following suppressed eruptions, as in zincum and cuprum.

Crime
Having to live up to something, having to fulfil some sort of task, can also result in a feeling of having
failed, or having done something wrong. This is expressed in the delusions: 'being pursued by the police',
having committed a crime', having neglected their duty'. These feelings come up again in their dreams:
they are being pursued, not so much by animals or robbers, but usually by the police. The police
represents the law, and their delusion is that they have committed a crime. Cobaltum has a particular
delusion that he is a criminal, and that everyone knows this.

Anxiety of conscience
They suffer from great feelings of guilt and anxiety of conscience. This guilt can be totally out of
proportion to the so called 'crimes' they have committed. They usually have very high moral standards
and even very minor faults may be seen as major misdeeds.

Restlessness
Because they feel hurried and persecuted, their behaviour tends to be restless. They can't sit still and
do nothing. In zincum we see this restlessness in the continuous movement of their feet, especially
when they aren't doing anything, in the evening when they have gone to bed.

The above mentioned symptoms are all linked to the same basic feeling: anxiety of conscience. As
soon as one of these symptoms is known in any one remedy, the rest of the picture can be built up by
careful analysis.
DD bromatums: The feeling of guilt in the bromatum is different, it is more the result of their passions
and their instinctive actions. In the ferrum group the guilt is a result of the fact that they haven't been
able to fulfil their task, they have failed. The persecution is therefore of a different kind: the bromatums
are being chased by God, the ferrums by the police.
DD kaliums: The duty consciousness of the kalium resembles that of the ferrum group. But in the
kaliums the impetus comes from within themselves, they just carry out what they see to be their task.
The ferrum group has to fulfil a task that has been forced upon them by someone else. That is why they
feel as if they are being censored, as if they are being chased.

The Ferrums
Ferrum metallicum is a relatively well known remedy, but not much is known about the exact
contribution of the ferrum element in its different compounds. This is why we will first have a look at
the essential characteristics of ferrum.

Firm
To be brief, one could characterise ferrum by the word: firm. The description of the word firm in a
dictionary gives us some idea of the ferrum personality: solid, stable, steady, determined.

Perseverance, persistence.
Ferrum people have the delusion that they will be pushed aside, they are afraid to lose their place.
They think that others will push them away if they don't do their best. It is as if they have to deserve
their place instead of having a natural right to it. They also have the feeling often that others are
crossing their boundary. That is why the characteristic of ferrum is that they have to remain steadfast
and resolute.
There are some typical phrases which express this persistent character: 'the iron discipline in the
army', Thatcher 'the iron lady'. This describes the hardness and the strength of the iron group.
Perseverance also has an element of compulsion. They have to persist, they have to hold out. That is
why they can't tolerate contradiction or interference with their plans.
We see the same theme in the physical symptoms, forcibly holding on and then letting go. Their
bloodpressure is sometimes too high and at other times too low. it is as if they blow themselves up and
then let all the air out again.

Beatings
A recurring theme which I have noticed in the ferrums is that they have often been beaten in their
childhood. For instance sudden and unexpected beatings from their father who used to be
unpredictable in his moods. This has made them very weary, they had to constantly be on their guard.
When they are older their apprehension takes the form of being sensitive to other peoples opinions.
They are afraid that others will give them a sudden heavy blow in the form of a negative remark, they
would experience this as a heavy beating.

Irritability
The ferrums are very irritable. Anything invading their space may upset them, sounds for instance can
make them very angry, but also contradiction or opposition in their plans. They feel as if they have to
take a stand on something, and if other people work against them they won't succeed. Everything is
such an effort for them anyway, the last thing they want is opposition.

DD calciums: there is an obvious relationship with the calciums. It seems that the sensitivity to other
people is characteristic of all the elements whose ions have an electrical charge of 2+. The electrical
charge of 2 is a representation of the relation-ship between two people.
The calcium reaction to this sensitivity is to protect themselves. In ferrum the reaction is more active,
they will stand up for themselves.
DD kaliums: their boldness may resemble the firmness of the kaliums. But the kaliums have the feeling
of: 'I just have to do this', 'I
Rubrics
mind; CONTRADICTORY (31)
mind; CONTRADICT, disposition to (80)
mind; OBSTINATE, headstrong (206)
generalities; FOOD and drinks; chocolate; desires (169)
mind; ANXIETY; money, financial matters, about (33)
mind; PRACTICAL (7)