Behind the Masks of the Feminine V

Behind the Masks of the Feminine V

 By Hwaa Irfan

 

Previously, we explored the female connection via the homeopathic remedy Natrum muriaticum, depicting a woman who is very much a product of the Industrial Revolution. Raised in a family where mother bonding is weak/interrupted at any time from the womb through to childhood, Natrum muriaticum has grown up in an environment where there is no time for deep bonds to unfold; a family as a result that is emotionally distant, conservative, and principled in a manner that deprives the bonding and participation that this type of woman needs in her life.

Then we explored the feminine face of Natrum carbonicum, more down to earth and open than Natrum muriaticum who suffers from anxiety at the idea of forming new relations out of fear of rejection, a rejection that began as a traumatic experience from her past. She prefers to stay closer to home – her comfort zone, which draws upon to define her place in the world. That anxiety can develop to the level of panic, and irritability that she takes out on her loved ones, creating distance. Thrown off-balance by anything that is not common to her comfort zone, develops a level of anticipatory anxiety about anything new feeling unworthy of love.

The growing phenomenon of Social Anxiety Disorder in our world today cuts people off from each other until they learn to ‘make friends’ with the first cause of this anxiety, and to stop punishing themselves for an emotion that should be embraced in order to become familiar with it, embrace it, and lose fear of it.

With Natrum phosphoricum still suffering from grief, we have a more volatile nature who is more sensitive to external influences. Not suffering from the depression and anxiety of her other two sisters, Natrum phosphoricum reacts to her pain with fear. They limit their internal communications, thus repressing their emotions, and the normal functioning of their bodies out of a deep sense of worthlessness with these reactionary means serving as their survival mechanism.

Of the first of three flowers explored, Pulsatilla the person is vibrant moving with the flow of events. They have an innate sense of human relations, and God’s plan for human society. Unlike the Natrum sisters, Pulsatilla’s problem is not one of grief, or inner suppression, but of external censorship. They expect fairness, and when that fairness is missing, which means censorship they become distressed, and instead of moving with the flow, they become tossed by the wind of events. This dissipates their life force, becoming weakened without ongoing environmental support and love. Without this in her life, she learns to hide that vulnerability becoming more sophisticated thus hiding her natural tendencies, out of a desire for space, and self expression thus marks an imbalance and separation between their inner world, and their outer world. With prolonged state of dis-ease, they develop an aversion to company, ailments from anger and suppressed sexual desires, an inability to focus, and menstrual irregularities amongst other symptoms.

Now we to turn to the three flowers of the homeopathy remedy kingdom, starting with a female archetype, Staphysagria.

Delphinium staphysagria  (a.k.a Larkspur/Delphinium/Stavesacre/Lice Bane/Lousewort/Knights Spur)is a biennial plant native to the arid mountains of Asia Minor and the Mediterranean, though naturalized elsewhere in temperate climes. Delphinium staphysagria grows erect, with a profusion of bluish-purple flowers. Homeopath Frans Vermeulen describes them as being:

“… extremely noticeable because of their tall, elegant, dignified appearance as they tower above surrounding plants.”

Covered in downy hairs, the hollow stems projects a softness from its purplish hue, as such these stems are easily broken unable to sustain support the umbrella of flowers. The fine palmate leaves can have 5 – 7 lobes that have heavy veins that are also covered with downy hair. The flowers arise from the short peduncles that extend towards the end of the stem, so when the flowers bloom they form a spur-like formation completely hiding the fine stems.  The seeds are blackish-brown, rough, and wrinkled containing an oily nucleus with a disagreeable scent that is hot, bitter, acrid, and nauceous – even nature knows how to protect its self. The seeds contain the alkaloid Delphinine (dolphin), which is a poison with an irritable action similar to that of Aconite, which have been used to stupefy fish. If one swallows the seed, the reaction would be one of nausea, vomiting, giddiness, restlessness, which then progresses to an inability to move, convulsions, and death by respiratory paralysis!

Fine hairs are a tribal mark that distinguishes the family that Delphinium staphysagria belongs to as the hairs cover the sepals and the leaves of the Buttercup family, Ranunculaceae.

At-Ease

Ranunculaceae are sensitive to the environment that censors them with the initial adjective being  of “shock”  -  being sensitive to the environment points to being sensitive on a higher level, and with Staphysagria that is one of intuition – they are born intuitives. Vermeulen’s description of  Delphinium staphysagria “… extremely noticeable because of their tall, elegant, dignified appearance as they tower above surrounding plants,” describes Staphysagria the person. This is reflected in one of its common names, Knight Spur. The downy covering reflects a soft nature, which is made more attractive by the expressive nature of the purple of the flower portraying charisma in the Doctrine of Signature. Purple on the level of Vibrational healing is the colour of synthesis, ritual, mastery and ceremony, very much, qualities expected of knighthood. It is also the expression of the 6^th chakra in the auric field, representing intuition/relay of signals (information), charisma, detachment from the mundane, and a desire to see the truth – is this why Staphysagria desires to rise above the rest?

At Dis-ease

They expect to be noticed, and not just any part of them, it is their perceived greatness hey wish to be admired, and this is ignored they feel hurt. Medieval knighthood found expression of its higher purpose by fighting the good fight, thus rejecting treachery in the world – a knight’s word was his bond/allegiance.

A lifetime of rejection is intolerable for most people, but when this Staphysagria the person cannot tolerate it anymore, they can explode to the point of losing control, smoothly, subdued, or with charm. They react in a variety of ways although they are categorized as suppression vs. expression.

Avoiding stereotypes, Homeopath Dr. Bailey extends from the traditional Staphysagria as being sweet, by adding that there are types, who are smooth, wild, or subdued.

Violent: Homeopath Dr. Ashis defines the violent type as being predominantly male, who craves intimacy, but his nature prevents him from fulfilling this desire. Instead his suppressed anger fuels his libido, and therefore sex and/or sexual fantasies. Ailments arise after expressing anger, one of the symptoms of which is an irritable bladder with an unending need to urinate as if the body is trying to rid itself of the emotional toxin.

Smooth: They are sociable, charming, and therefore very popular, but deep within another current flows. They will even have successful private lives with a discomfort as they gloss over serious problems, which can result in the expression of anger.

When subdued: they become like fugitives in an attempt to prevent repetition of past experiences or as a child to escape risk of punishment. As an adult it is the Stepford Wife with the controlling husband.

The charming type is more likely to be male who as children learnt to be good to escape pain, and in doing so become underdeveloped emotionally unable to express opposition to anything.

Whatever the reaction, the cause is rooted in parental censorship, disapproval, and the result of suppressed anger is the body (Kent: ‘Oversensitive’, ‘Ailment from reproach’). Neuroscience as already proven that the initial traumatic emotional experience becomes so embedded in the emotional centre of the brain (amygdala) that with any subsequent experience there is instant recall of how one felt in the first instance, that the feeling is replayed again, and again, and again until we break the loop.  Fear, and disgust, as these two emotions have been considered as prerequisites to human survival as they are protective, and cannot easily be supplanted by the nature or nurture reasoning as the emotional impulses work faster than the signals of reason, which takes longer for the brain to process.

All children want the love of their parents, and to be accepted by their parents, and the desire can be so great that if not resolved in adulthood, the same kind of relationship is repeated in marriage, as Staphysagria goes for love marriage to compensate, but suffers still like her mineral sister Natrum carbonicum, who wants less of the limelight like, and is a able to frame her comfort zone.

Being more loyal than Pulsatilla, Staphysagria is dependent on the person who censors her. We see this clearly exampled in cases of abuse, where the child will do anything to please the abuser, because they are dependent on the abuser for their own survival. They can be so good at suppressing their own feelings that they lose sight of those feelings, being completely focused on pleasing others, and wanting to be accepted by others. What happens with male Staphysagria is that they learn to suppress their male side in order to maintain a relationship with their mother. Their marital choices tend to be strong women who can replace their mother.

With the deep feeling of dejection, Staphysagria may escape through addictions of which love is one including alcohol, cigarettes etc., but with that they develop a great fear of losing control. Another form common to many is food. Staphysagria will satiate themselves with lots of rich foods, pastries, ice cream, sweets etc. – all the things that cause further complaints.

Whereas Pulsatilla changes direction when tossed by the wind, Staphysagria becomes more fragile. She develops a sensitivity to all forms of touching (including coition), and motion. She becomes sensitive to rudeness, as non-acceptance of her worth is a form of rudeness, one that she is so mortified by that she cannot respond (as in the side effects of the poison of the flower).

Whereas Natrum phosphoricum reacts to her pain with fear, with Staphysagria her reaction is complete suppression, yet both may have experienced sexual abuse, and both will have weak memories of that abuse. The only way out for Staphysagria is to resolve the pain from weak parental bonding, which determines her every relationship, including her relationship with herself.

Unfortunately, this is a common experience for many today, as society increasingly places more importance on roles than well-being, by distancing the adult relation to the child either physically and/or emotionally. The lack of this all-important emotional food, not only  prevents Staphysagria from fulfilling her potential as an independent woman (Bailey), but without it, most children become more self centered, more emotionally distant, and lack the ability to form compassion-related emotions, fundamental to balanced human relations, and relationship with one’s self. For Staphysagria, the suppressed anger is a result of a strict code of honor, one that should be directed to its true purpose, so that she may be free enough to process that which has dishonored her like her mineral sister Natrum muriaticum who suffers from anxiety at the idea of forming new relations out of fear of rejection.

Sources:

Bailey, P. Bailey, P. “Homeopathic Psychology: Personality Profiles of the Major Constitutional Remedies.” North Atlantic Books, U.S., 1992

Datta. A. “Psycho-Dynamics of Staphysagria.” http://www.similima.com/mm61.html

Vermeulen, F. “Prisma: The Arcana of Materia Medica Illuminated.” Emryss, Netherlands. 2002.

William, D. “The Harmonics of Sound, Color, and Vibration.”  Devorss and Company. U.S. 1988

 

Related Topics:

Behind the Masks of the Feminine IV

Behind the Masks of the Feminine III

Behind the Masks of the Feminine II

The Feminine Connection to the Homeopathic Sea of Life

The Charity of Love

There’s Nothing Superior to Mother’s Milk

Forgiveness Between Sand and Stone

The Rose Within…