Getting Started with Homeopathy PART 3

Incorporating the Materia Medica and Repertory

As promised, here is the next step to utilizing homeopathy for yourself and your loved ones. We’re going to start to put it all together.

This is a long post. I won’t apologize for that, as I feel all this info should be all in one place. But please feel free to take it in sections, and take breaks. I think you’ll discover a lot here that will expedite your journey with homeopathy.

This was an epic one to write and has taken a lot of contemplating and editing over the last couple of weeks.

How to share what I do? I’m not interested in rehashing the ‘old ways’, but to help usher in a new paradigm in homeopathy— which is not generic yet is accessible to anyone who cares to learn it.

The democratization of health in the purest sense.

So, here we go…

After you’ve explored the combination remedies in Getting Started with Homeopathy Part 1, as well as the Banerji Protocols in Getting Started with Homeopathy Part 2, the question becomes what if there is no clear ‘recipe’ (protocol) to use?

By now you should have the Banerji Protocol books in hand. If not here’s the link to the original book, and here’s the link to the ‘additional protocols’ book.

And don’t forget the index I created so you can easily, digitally search all the main protocols in the two books.

We’ll come back to this, but when there isn’t a clear protocol, we first look at all similar or related protocols. This includes the ones that ‘hidden’ in the main protocols.

For instance, from the Banerji Protocols book:

Atopic Dermatitis (Eczema) pg 49-50 

In addition to the protocols, use only coconut or olive oil on the skin. Allow time on the protocols to completely disappear from the system.

Hepar Sulph 200 eOD / Ars Alb 200 2D (SOS acute itching) / Coffea Cruda 200 SOS, itching, esp at night if prevents sleep / In case of acute infection with ulceration- Psorinum 1000C in liquid e15Ds (often gives relief and complete cure)

Be sure to visit the book to read the full entry. Above is from my notes, for my quick reference.

[I actually typed up all the protocols from both books, so I have complete, searchable files. Yes, I’d love to share it, but that would be a major copyright infringement. However, I did create the index for you, to help you search, because the book indexes leave a lot to be desired when you need to find something.]

There’s a lot to unpack just in this first Line of this protocol. There is much here that can be used beyond this one protocol.

(If you have eczema, start with the protocol as listed. Remember, we start with Line 1 for at least a couple of months, assess the big picture, and if moving in the right direction we continue until all better, or very much so, or until the remedies stop acting and we must move to Line 2.)

Hepar Sulph— good for skin conditions such as eczema, but not only for eczema. Hepar is helpful for many skin conditions, especially skin infections, also for throats and ears and hair loss and more. Go through the protocols in the books and notice everywhere Hepar Sulph is used. Start to get a feel for it as a medicine. It is used in many protocols.

(Later you can also look it up your Materia Medica. More on that below. But even before that, you will start to sense a theme around this homeopathic medicine.)

Hepar Sulph appears 44 times in the original Banerji Protocols book and 18 times in the additional protocols book.

Arsenicum Album— very useful for itching, also burning, and can be used as an SOS for many conditions that have itching and/or burning. But certainly not ONLY for these, as Arsenicum is a major medicine that covers a great many conditions. You will see it used repeatedly in the protocols. Again, take some time to go through the books and notice all the places it utilized. 

Arsenicum Album appears 68 + 36 times!

Coffea— also helpful for itch, especially at night, but not necessarily only at night. Now you have two great itch options. Coffea is also helpful for other conditions, particularly mentals, but mostly it shows up in the Banerji Protocols for ‘itch at night that prevents sleep’. You will also find it in the Line 1 Depression protocol. (I also use it with clients for insomnia where the mind is too alert and races, as if you drank too much coffee.)

Coffea appears 11 + 3 times in the books.

Psorinum— a top homeopathic medicine for chronic skin conditions, with ulceration, but not only with ulceration. This premier homeopathic medicine covers a wide variety of skin ailments and can also help to uproot chronic allergies and many other issues. Again, see if you can find all the protocols that use it. Note that because it is often used as a 1M ( the same as 1000C, which is how it is written in the books), it is used less frequently, usually every two weeks.

Psorinum is found in the protocol books 13 + 2 times, respectively.

[By the way, this book, by the author of the Additional Protocols, does what I am doing here by remedy— listing which protocols each remedy is used in. You may find that helpful.] 

Above is just one example of the depth of knowledge that can be extracted from one line of one protocol. These are our medicines. It is our job to get to know them.

Now, if you want to know more about these medicines, beyond just the protocols they appear in, that’s when we need additional resources.

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That’s when we are grateful for a homeopathic Materia Medica and Repertory. 

If you are going to be practicing homeopathy you really must invest in these books.

A Materia Medica is like a dictionary, or encyclopedia, for homeopathic medicines. The remedies are listed in alphabetical order and the entries will include the known symptoms that the substance causes in healthy people.

[As you may recall, in homeopathy, we are working with the law that like cures like. So, if a substance, in nature, taken in gross form, causes, say a heart attack in most people, that will be a medicine to consider FOR an ill person having a heart attack. Various heart related symptoms are outlined in the Repertory and Materia Medica for you to consider, as there are usually many options. But, REMEMBER, there will often be an existing Banerji Protocol for the condition you are looking for, so don’t forget to check. You don’t have to reinvent the wheel.]

A Repertory is what we use to find a homeopathic medicine for a specific condition. Like a reverse phone book, where we use the phone number to find the person, here we use the symptoms to find the medicine(s). They are categorized according to how good a fit they are for the symptom, and how successful they have been in treating the condition in the past.

My top choice for a Materia Medica and Repertory is:

Nature’s Materia Medica by ROBIN MURPHY, ND

Usually costs $100-$120.

A few places that often stock this book can be found here, here, and here. But do shop around as prices and availability are always in flux. Note that some companies will charge shipping and others won’t.

and

MetaRepertory 4th Edition by ROBIN MURPHY, ND

Usually costs $100-$120. Be sure to comparison shop this one too.

A few possible places to buy this at a competitive price can be found here, here, and here.

Yes, I know, they aren’t cheap! But these books are extremely comprehensive resources, in one volume each.

I use these the most of all my homeopathic books, by far. 

If you are on a budget and need something a lot less expensive, but still decent, here is one possibility. It’s a nice reference that includes approximately half Materia Medica and half Repertory in one little book. (I showed my hand in the picture below for size reference.)

Pocket Manual of Homoeopathic Materia Medica & Repertory by William Boericke, MD. Here’s the Amazon link.

Though of course, simply comparing the size, there’s no way this can be anywhere near as comprehensive as Murphy’s. (I’ll compare these a bit below.) But I do like this one for travel.

There are many, many others. Here are two more that I think are top-notch resources, but I wouldn’t rely only on these:

The first is a Materia Medica of keynotes— the most important aspects of some primary remedies. (It’s pretty comprehensive, but you will not find every remedy in this book.)

Desktop Guide: To Keynotes and Confirmatory Symptoms by Roger Morrison, MD

And this is a great little Repertory, very well organized, simple, easy to use. Often with some different results than Murphy’s. (That’s a good thing, especially when stumped.) From a famous Indian homeopath, this is the repertory he created:

A Concise Repertory of Homeopathic Medicines by S.R. Phatak

There do exist some free options online, but I will say that compared to the above listed resources, they don’t even come close:

Here’s a link to Materia Medica books online.

And a couple of online Repertories to try here and here.

[In all honesty I can’t stand the free online options. If that’s all I had to use, I probably would have abandoned homeopathy early on. So don’t feel discouraged if you are trying to navigate homeopathy with them—  just get the books!]

Between the two Banerji Protocol books and Murphy’s Materia Medica and MetaRepertory, for less than $400, you will be armed for anything. Truly.

Yes, I also like repertory software. I use it a often for researching. The one I settled on is the Miccant Vision software (currently Vision 2) with the added on Murphy Repertory. No subscription required. Just a one time cost. It’s pretty easy to use (for me anyway).

However, this is much more expensive than buying Murphy’s two books, so when in doubt, just start with the books. (More on repertory software in the future.)

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Using a Homeopathic Materia Medica and Repertory

Now, let me say, I rarely do a full ‘repertorization’. (If you know what that means, you’ll understand more as you read below. If you don’t know what that means, don’t worry about it!)

When I do repertorize, I use the software, as doing it well by hand is very time consuming.

And why do all this work when we have the Banerji protocols?

The way the Banerjis operated was to give a protocol for each condition. They didn’t look for one remedy to fit everything in one person. Just this protocol for this disease. And this one for that condition. (Both in the same person.) Then observe. If no action, pivot to the next line or protocol. And so on. If acting, continue until uprooted.

It is so obvious, yet such a new paradigm for homeopathy that practicing homeopaths resist it.

If you read the Organon by Samuel Hahnemann (the founder of homeopathy), which is the book that remains the basis of homeopathy- and if a good translation- you’ll see that Hahnemann never said you had to find one remedy for the whole person. He was repeatedly talking about each disease condition.  

So let’s use the protocols for each condition, and then go to our other resources IF we need more assistance.

That is the simple summary of this practice.

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How about an introduction to Murphy’s Materia Medica and MetaRepertory?

Before starting, be sure to read the short intros to these books (or whatever Materia Medica and Repertory you are using). You will find many details that are helpful for understanding and using them.

For instance:

‘The disorders in [bold] italics are known to have been historically cured by the remedy.’- Quote from pg. v of the introductory to Nature’s Materia Medica. 

That means, when written this way, you are being pointed an important ‘keynote’ of the remedy. (Though don’t discount everything else in plain type. It’s all there for a reason.) But if it’s in bold italics that should really catch your attention.

Also check out the back of these same books where you’ll find indexes, including one to help you decipher remedy abbreviations. (Such as acon, aesc, agar, ant-c etc.)

These books are very comprehensive, so make time to flip through them to see what’s included and get familiar with the overall layout. Do not let them overwhelm you. You will only be looking at one thing at a time, just like in a dictionary. And the more you use these resources, the more navigating them will become second nature. 

Here’s just one entry from Murphy’s Materia Medica—

Meet Argentum Nitricum (arg-n):

Take note of the circles which point out the main categories. These will correspond (for the most part) to the categories in the Repertory. These categories are generally the same for every remedy, but not always, some may have Rectum and Stool, for example, and others only include one of those. If something isn’t applicable, or there’s no data on it, that category will be omitted.

‘Clinical’ is a great summary section and often lists diagnostic terms that the remedy may be helpful for.

The section called ‘Homeopathic’ at the beginning of the entry, after Clinical, is like an overall introduction to the remedy. Be sure to read it.

I’ve highlighted all the important sections that appear throughout this entry. If you are looking for something to do with hair, that’s on the ‘Head’, so check there. ‘Limbs’ include arms, legs, hands, feet. ‘Chest’ may be the organs inside and/or a rash on the chest. But a rash may also be found under ‘Skin’. So consider all the options when searching.

And don’t forget the last section, called ‘Comments’. There is often repetition, like a summary, in this section— but frequently important tidbits will be hiding in here as well.

It always pays to read the entry from start to finish.

Notice also, under Argentum Nitricum, in the ‘Mind’ section where I circled ‘fears, phobias and anxieties’. This is one example of a keynote that stands out. The bold italic means it has a history of uprooting this condition in many people. From my experience, I agree that this can be an excellent remedy for those types of mental conditions. You can read the rest of the entry for more details!

Also here’s the Argentum Nitricum entry in Boericke’s Pocket Manual for comparison:

(It’s no comparison really. But doesn’t mean Boericke’s isn’t at all useful.)

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Now on to the MetaRepertory—

Remember, now we are starting with a symptom or condition.

The following shows how the Repertory is organized by section. If the problem is with an ear, for example, you’ll start under Ears/Hearing (after first checking the Banerji Protocols, of course!)— unless it is a clinical diagnosis— such as Otitis Media (aka ear infection)— which would be found in the Clinical/Generals section.

(In the case of Otitis media there is a Banerji Protocol, so once again, all searching aborted!)

Note: When you come across mention of ‘rubrics’, that just means symptoms. The repertory is a collection of symptoms, or rubrics. A rubric could be bruises, blood clots, pain in left leg, fatigue, irritability, etc. Above is the chart showing how the symptoms/rubrics are categorized in the MetaRepertory.

[Keep in mind that every repertory will be a bit different in layout and ranking system, so once you find one you like, you’ll mostly likely stick with it so that you don’t have to reinvent the wheel all the time.]

To familiarize you with this repertory, I chose Bruises.

One, I know that’s not to be found as a specific Banerji Protocol (though almost any homeopath will know the top choices for bruises already from experience), and two, it’s a good illustration for navigating the repertory. 

At the top of the page below you’ll see we find Bruises in the Clinicals-Generals section of the repertory, under BRUISES, general. There are 74 homeopathic medicines listed here.

They are categorized from least important (using regular text), to next most useful (italic text), to next best fit (in bold), to best overall fit (using bold AND underlined text).

We are going to start with the best matches = BOLD AND UNDERLINED.

Also note how the repertory will sometimes lead you to other sections that you can check. Here is says next to BRUISES, general ‘(see Clinical, Ecchymosis)’. That’s the clinical name for bruise. So, when finished here we can check that section too.

[Yes, there are big words sometimes, but, hey, that’s what the internet is for!]

Beneath the BRUISES, generals section are some specific rubrics/symptoms, such as ‘discoloration remaining after pain and inflammation subsides- led’.

Always worth a look here to see if there’s a better specific fit such as that.

Another is ‘crushing, as mashed fingers, especially tips - hyper’. And it’s true, Hypericum is a better fit, or at least should be added to the mix, in a situation like this with nerve pain and damage, in addition to bruised pain.

So, now that we’ve found  the top two matches for Bruises (see below)— ARN and LED (they are both bold and underlined in the book, but I can’t underline in Substack! what the heck?)— let’s go and look them up in the Materia Medica.

Also here’s the Boericke Pocket Manual entry, for your comparison (only found under Ecchymosis). Not a lot included, but Arnica is still number one!

Oh, and here is the ‘Clinical, Ecchymosis’ entry, which leads to ‘Clinical, Injuries, Ecchymosis’, from Murphy’s Materia Medica… with similar results.

And which refers us back again to Bruises.

Now, with our top two picks for Bruises we go to the Materia Medica, so you can see how to read about the medicines we discovered.

Arnica Montana (arn)- Looking just at the Clinical section for now, and only at the keynotes (below), we find; Aching pains, Black eye, Blows, Boils, Bruises, Concussions, Contusions, Ecchymosis (bruises again), Falls, Fatigue, Head Injury, Hematoma, Influenza (know that sore all over/bed too hard feeling you can get?), Injuries, Over-lifting, Over-working, Shock, Sore, Sprains, Strokes, Swellings, Trauma, Traumatic Fever.

There’s a reason we say ‘when in doubt, Arnica’ in just about any case of injury (which is what bruises come from). This simple flower, in homeopathic form, is often the gateway to homeopathy for many people. It is found in most stores and really can work magic.

I’m just showing you the beginning of this entry in the Materia Medica to demonstrate how much info there is in just the Clinical section. The entry for Arnica goes on for five full pages. So please go read it!

We usually reach for Arnica 30 or 200 in cases like bruising, but in very extreme cases we may even venture into higher potencies.

You can go look at the Banerji Protocols and see how they use Arnica, which of course they do. You will find examples of the 30 and 200 mostly in the Additional Banerji Protocols book. In the original book, you will see a lot of Arnica 3C, often combined with Hamamelis 200. That’s because Arnica is also excellent for bleeding and hemorrhage (note the Hematoma and Stroke keynotes above). When combined with Hamamelis, it’s a real powerhouse for all things blood-flow related. (A good combo to know about these days!)

You can also get Arnica in topical form (usually a 1X gel or cream) which can be very helpful for bruises as well. (Most homeopathic remedies will not be used topically, but this is one that may be.)

Now let’s also check out Ledum (pronounced LEEduhm), our second choice from the Repertory.

Ledum Palustre (led)- Here are the keynotes, to compare with Arnica: Anal fissure, Black eye, Bruises, Carbuncles, Gout, Lyme Disease, Puncture Wounds, Rhus Poisoning (aka Poison Ivy), Stings, Tetanus, Vaccinations, Wounds.

Who would have thought that Wild Rosemary in homeopathic form could be such as useful medicine? It’s a good fit for bruises (particularly for the specific rubric/symptom noted above; for bruises that linger).

In the Banerji Protocols book you’ll find the primary use of Ledum 200 is for the pain of gout, combined with Belladonna. And it is excellent for that. In the Additional Protocols book you’ll find Ledum used post Biopsy, for Bug Bites, and for Vaccinations. (It’s a top remedy for puncture wounds, think of the needles of a rosemary bush). It is also very useful for pains of the lower leg and feet, such as in Plantar Fasciitis (and, again, gout— although note that if it feels like gout pain, even if it technically isn’t gout, the remedy will still likely be helpful).

Again, I’m showing just the Clinical section. Ledum has over three more pages of information in this Materia Medica.

In summary, on the topic of bruises, Arnica and Ledum are excellent picks. Judging from just the keynotes in the Materia Medica Clinical section for each, you’ll see that Arnica is probably a solid, #1 place to start. (And it is!) However, if it failed to act, we actually have 72 more medicines to consider, all ranked for your convenience.

Whew, now rest your brain for a moment, go get a cup of tea, refresh a bit, and I’ll give you the rundown on how to choose a remedy for a condition.

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Choosing a remedy for a condition:

1) Is there a Banerji Protocol? 

(ALWAYS start here. It will save you SO much time and stress.)

There are far more protocols than you may remember. I still sometimes forget to check all the options.

For example, here’s a lesser used one, that could save someone a lot of searching:

Entropion and Ectropion (common eyelid disorders, often caused by infection or trachoma, may follow degeneration or scarring) pg. 73 (found in book one)

When searching through the books, don’t forget to use the clinical name or the diagnosis. If unsure, a quick internet search will often turn up the medical name for the condition, or at least a few options.

Baldness or hair loss >>> See Alopecia (pg. 46)

Hair on woman’s face >>> See Hirsutism (pg. 86)

Ear infection >>> also search Otitis (see pgs. 67 and 75)

Kidney issues? >>>  search Kidney and also search ‘Neph’ in the index I created for you. (‘Neph’ includes Nephritis and Nephrotic for all of the kidney related protocols.)

Next, we ask, what if there’s no ‘diagnosis’, other than, say, PAIN! 

Let’s make it joint or muscle pain. But you can do the following exercise with any body part, or any condition. Not all pain is the same. Menstrual pain, head pain, gallstone pain those will be different remedies for the most part. 

Now, we go through the Banerji Protocols and look for possible related or relevant protocols. (Example below.)

Going through the Banerji books, look at the individual entries, not just the title. Often the remedies for acutes are ‘hiding’ in the protocols. 

Just like at the top of this article, there were two homeopathic medicines for itch included within the protocol for eczema.

Another example, say, under Appendicitis, you’ll find, ‘In all cases of acute pain: Belladonna 3C e10-15min’. (You’ll find that one a lot.)

Then once we have some protocol ideas, we can check out the remedies used and the potencies. You’ll usually see crossover and repetition. (A theme emerging!)

With a little investigating, you’ll see how often certain remedies repeat. Then use these as a template, a launching pad, to save you a lot of time and headache. (And you can also look up them up in your Materia Medica to learn even more about the scope of these medicines.)

Now back to our muscle and joint pain:

Protocol search terms:

Try searching ‘musc’ in the index (includes both words muscle and musculoskeletal for the best results).
Also search ‘joint’, ‘pain’, ‘arthritis’, and by body part, ie. ‘shoulder’.

Here are my results:

The Banerji Protocols Book:

Musculoskeletal Disorders pg. 98

Gout/Gouty Arthritis pg. 82 

Rheumatoid Arthritis pg. 112

Frozen Shoulder (Adhesive Capsulitis) pg. 78

Carpal Tunnel Syndrome (CTS) pg. 55 

Tennis Elbow (Lateral Epicondylitis) / Golfer’s Elbow (Medial Epicondylitis) pgs. 119-120

Additional Banerji Protocols Book:

Arthritis pg. 6

Plantar Fasciitis pg. 52

Cervical Pain pg. 14 (Neck Pain)

Fibromyalgia pg. 25

Joint Pain pg. 38

Knee Pain pg. 38

For joint pain (with Lyme Disease) pg. 42

Pain pg. 50: Pain all over body / Pain in heel / Pain in lower back / Pain in suprascapula

You’ll find a lot of commonalities in the above listed protocols.

(Again, if you aren’t used to looking at homeopathy this way, it’s a bit of paradigm shift.)

This is the Banerji approach, essentially. The Banerjis would look at a disorder and say, which homeopathic medicine is good for this condition? They did not break out the repertory for each person. In fact, according to my teacher who studied under them for 9 years running, she never saw them consult a repertory, or even pull out a materia medica. A thousand patients through their clinic every week, for years on end, over three generations— they just knew their medicines. 

And, I repeat, the medicines for the conditions. Not for the ‘person’.

If you look up the remedies used in the protocols I listed above, you’ll notice that musculoskeletal problems and pains often utilize remedies like Symphytum + Calc Phos, Rhus Tox, Bryonia, and Hypericum. 

Belladonna is often used for pain as well, sometimes in joints (ie. Gout), though it’s typically not going to be a baseline heavy lifter long term for chronic arthritis-type muscle and joint pain.

So, now let’s say you have general arthritic musculoskeletal issues in a few joints from old injuries. Creaky, sometimes painful, tired and stiff. 

Most likely some combination of Symphytum, Calc Phos, Rhus Tox, Bryonia, Arnica and Hypericum. are going to be helpful.

Which potencies, and how often, you ask? Check the protocols, it’s all right there! Use them as a template. If you are trying to decide whether Rhus Tox 30 or 200, you can always start with the 30 and go to 200 if after some time there seems to be no effect. If it’s pretty intense, you can start with the 200.

[200 is really a mid-level potency, high potency would be 1M and up.]

Don’t get overly uptight here. It’s incredible how people will take whatever toxic substance the doctor offers them, then lose sleep over these super gentle and kind medicines.

You could potentially, if they were a good fit, mix all six of the remedies listed in the previous paragraph and take them together. Granted, that is not a Banerji Protocol, and some might say it’s sloppy homeopathy— but I will tell you straight up that a combination like that, taken twice a day, over time, would be helpful for a lot of people. 

Note the over time piece, this is not necessarily overnight, though occasionally that does happen. If you haven’t been ‘tinkered with much’ (by mainstream medicine mostly), you might notice a big change within 6 weeks (no matter how long you’ve had the condition).

But if you are in the other camp (which is most of us), and have been through the mainstream medical machine since you were a child, it could be many months or a year to really uproot the problem; however, with the right medicines there will be incremental improvements along the way. Two steps forward and one step back, we often say.

Please note, PAIN is a BIG subject, and one I have a lot of experience helping people with through homeopathy. I will be writing much more on this in the future. 

For now, in summary, look at it this way:

You are looking for a baseline protocol, either straight from the books, or adapted from the books, to basically set and forget. Taken as per the protocol, daily, for many months. Don’t even think about it, unless something is clearly off, or unless you are all better (then stop).

Such as Symphytum 200 + Calc Phos 6X + Rhus Tox 30 + Bryonia 30, twice a day.

(I wrote about wet dosing before, in my article about Adminstering Homeopathic Medicines, which is what I do with my family and all my clients. And yes, I combine medicines, it works and makes life much easier.)

In the meantime, while the baseline is quietly working in the background, for acute suffering you may add remedies, such as a higher potency Arnica and or Hypericum to help get you through to a more stable and manageable place. 

If the pain is super intense you might need a higher potency or more frequent dosing. To start maybe Hypericum 200 very often. If it doesn’t touch the pain, then maybe Hypericum 1M— or even 10M in the most excruciating circumstance, such as a 9 or 10 (out of 10) on the pain scale.

[This is not discussed in the protocols, and I will write much more about this in the future.]

Arnica 1M + Hypericum 1M, SOS can be an excellent pick for intense pain.

[SOS is every 10-30 minutes for 5-6 doses. More frequent = more intense pain. If NO better after that time, then it’s the wrong remedy, or a higher potency is needed. If improving, but not yet in the the clear, continue on a timeframe that seems to work, say every hour, then every three, then twice a day. If better, and pain free, stop and only resume if the pain returns. We do not just keep taking these to ‘head off’ something. That’s not how homeopathy works. It is there to meet an actual stimulus. If there exists is no problem to meet, you can end up ‘proving’ the remedies, particularly with the high potencies.]

Again, much more on this in the future.

Notice now that you can have a great place to start without ever even cracking open a Materia Medica or Repertory. However, do feel free to look up these medicines. It’s very helpful education and builds confidence.

If you have questions about any of this, subscribers are able to ask me specific questions below.

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1a) In addition to Step 1— first checking if there’s a Banerji Protocol…

you can also check Joette Calabrese’s blog for more support in this search.

In addition to use of the Banerji Protocols, you’ll find tons of free info on her blog. 

The easiest way to search Joette’s blog is actually to enter the condition in your search engine along with the word joette. (I’d say Google it, but don’t use Google!)

Example, search: Pain joette

I got 6 results for free blog entries about pain. You will notice the same remedies as above come up over and over. Her guidance may also help give you more confidence, and you will surely find other useful tidbits as well.

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3) NOW you may go to the Repertory…

IF you feel you still need something more— let’s say there are zero matching protocols or related or relevant protocols. (Otherwise go to step 4.)

In a sense, nowadays, the repertory is my last stop, last resort. 

If you have protocols, don’t waste your time in the repertory, until you need it. (Unless you find it fun and educational!)

Refer back to the above illustrations for how to look up a symptom or rubric in the repertory.

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4) Which homeopathic remedies do you have on hand?

In an acute/urgent situation, what you own will help you decide what to start with.

It’s all well and good to read about all these remedies in the Materia Medica (that you looked up first in the Repertory), but it’s not very helpful if you don’t own them or have quick access to them. (Other than to put them on your ‘to order’ list for next time.)

For a chronic condition, you may very well need to order the remedies before starting. Without the same urgency as an acute, I urge you to start with the protocol exactly as it is designed.

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5) And next you can read up in the Materia Medica…

Let’s say you have two remedies that you own, that fit the condition, and you’re not sure which to choose. Now you crack open the Materia Medica and read the entries to compare. (Just like we did with Arnica and Ledum above.) 

You are not, ever, looking for everything to match. You are looking for a few key symptoms to support your reason for using the medicine.

Read the appropriate sections, then go back and read the whole entry, you may find things hiding in sections you wouldn’t think of necessarily, particularly the ‘COMMENTS’ section at the end of the Murphy entries.

And please beware the MIND section. IF you are looking for remedies for ‘mentals’, such as anger, fear, depression, then DO look there, by all means. But if your condition is otherwise covered well by the remedy and the mentals don’t fit, then just ignore them! Really. 

A great example is Medorrhinum. It is a preeminent homeopathic remedy for Urinary Tract Infections (UTI), and most things urogenital, including female and male sex organs. (See the Banerji Protocols that use it!)

But when you read the entry in the Materia Medica you may think, oh my, this is so intense, this person isn’t a sex maniac, they never had gonorrhea, this remedy can’t be for them! You must ignore that part or you will miss out on this great medicine. I have used it, as have many of my clients, many of them with a low libido and no lascivious thoughts. (However, if those aspects fit the person, then you can of course also use those MIND keynotes as a leg to stand on.) Medorrhinum works for animals too!

To repeat, no person is ever going to match everything in these entries. We are looking for either one really big and particular keynote, or more typically a ‘3 legged stool’ to stand on. (Of course a 10 legged stool is even better, when it shows up!)

As my teacher (and my parents), always used to say, there is more than one way to skin a cat. There will almost always be more than one remedy that can help. So do not get caught up in being ‘right’, just focus on what works. If you use a remedy and it takes care of the condition, then it was ‘right’.

6) DOSING

More on dosing to come, but if ACUTE here’s the reminder, again: 

Generally start with the remedy every 15-30 minutes (unless really severe it might be every 5 minutes) for 5-6 doses. Then, if there IS improvement we decrease the frequency as needed, to every hour, every three hours, maybe twice a day, and then done when very much better. If NO better at all after 5-6 doses, we need to pivot to another medicine.

For CHRONIC dosing, go take a look at similar protocols, or look at how specific remedies are typically used in the Banerji Protocol books, and consider the dosing and frequency they use as a template to work with. It’s very useful. For example- Thuja is usually 30C. Belladonna is commonly 3C or 6C. Lycopodium could be 30C or 200C depending on the condition. Often twice a day, but certainly not always!

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To Summarize:

If you have a diagnosis, use the Banerji Protocol for that diagnosis.

If no diagnosis, then look for similar conditions and other possibilities in the protocols. Often it helps to look by ORGAN, such as bladder, kidney, liver, etc.

If you come up with nothing, and only have symptoms to work with, then don’t worry, symptoms are your best friend. Homeopathy was originally built on symptoms. Symptoms are our signals, we USE symptoms… in the Repertory and Materia Medica!

Write out all the symptoms, taking note of anything unique or peculiar. (If too broad, it will be way too hard.)

For instance, runny nose, fever and cough are going to lead to a mountain of remedies. They are just so general.

But bursting red hot fever, congestive headache, and barking cough are much more useful. 

If you look up each of these symptoms/rubrics in the repertory, you will find BELLADONNA under all three.

This is the essence of ‘repertorizing’.

You now have one remedy that fits all three primary symptoms. It makes a three-legged stool to support the use of that remedy in this case. That is likely a very good place to start! (And we homeopaths do know the BELL would be a good one to consider here.)

Now, if tomorrow, the person is still sick, and now the picture is different, you may find that BELL is no longer acting and you must reassess based on the current picture.

For those reason, colds and flus are some of the hardest conditions to treat homeopathically. It’s not impossible, just challenging. (So start with the Banerji protocols at first sign, if possible!)

[This is often when I use my repertory software, especially if I am the one who is sick, which makes it a lot harder to think!]

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Congrats you made it!

Final thoughts—

You can search the internet for remedy ideas, but goodness there’s such a wild mix out there. Sometimes, when at a loss, you can get some good ideas to work off of. But you can also end up down a rabbit hole, into toxic-lyme-candida-overgrowth land, which is not going to be very helpful, I’m sorry to say.

Having the Banerji Protocols really turned me around. That’s when I started to be consistently successful with homeopathy.

If you take the time to really dive into the two Banerji Protocol books, you will find a treasure trove in there. (And I’m here to help you figure out what to do with that treasure trove!)

As for the Materia Medica and Repertory, if you are serious about this, you are going to have to just spend time in these essential books reading. After a while the remedies become like old friends: Someone starts telling you an issue and your mind starts thinking, oh, that sounds like Mercurius, as if she was a buddy whose characteristics you knew so well.

However, also like with people we’ve known forever, we can pigeonhole the remedies and think of them only for their common keynotes, and forget the nuances.

So it never, ever hurts to read them again. And again. And again. :) I am always extracting new tidbits from these incredible resources.

So much more to share, but I think that’s PLENTY for one entry! Stay tuned for more. I plan to finish some more basics, as I have some classes I’m going to start teaching, and will be using these articles as a basis. But we’ll also be getting into the details of specific conditions and cases before long.

Now set aside this article, and come back and re-read it in a week or a month. I guarantee you will extract whole new levels of understanding from it.

As a final reminder, I am not a doctor, I do not diagnose, and am not prescribing anything. I leave it to you to make the right choices for your health and well being, though I support you fully in that journey.

Thanks for reading and subscribing! Everything here is still free, though if you want to support me, I am very grateful for my paying subscribers.