Genus: Strychnos
Common name: St. Ignatius bean, Ignatia amara
Family: Loganiaceae
Native to the Philippine Islands, this large climbing shrub bears fruit the size of a pear with many bitter one-inch seeds that contain strychnine, a poisonous neurotoxin. In 1818, strychnine was discovered by French chemists, although the toxic properties of the seeds were already known to native peoples. The painfully dramatic effects of strychnine poisoning include twitching, muscle spasms, seizures, heart and respiratory failure, with death occurring within a few hours. The novelist Agatha Christie used strychnine poisoning as a plot device in several of her murder mysteries. In the classic book, Anne of Green Gables, Mrs. Lynde warns Marilla against adopting an orphan girl by recounting how an adopted girl poisoned her family by putting strychnine in their well.
As a homeopathic remedy, Ignatia is considered one of the primary remedies for grief. It is used for recent grief, sometimes called the “funeral remedy,” and is also helpful when someone has experienced disappointment, humiliation, criticism, and hurt feelings. A person needing Ignatia is sensitive, romantic, idealistic, and introspective. Someone who suppresses deep emotions of sorrow, self-reproach, or shame, and who suffers silently with only a sigh that hints of the enormous sadness within, can be released from this emotional imbalance by the gentle action of this important remedy. As a result of this inner suppression of emotional trauma, physical symptoms develop as a way for the body to release this pent up anxiety. Ignatia has an affinity for the mind and the nervous system.
Keynotes:
- Ailments from grief, disappointment, anger, disappointed love, shame
- Idealistic, romantic, sensitive, easily hurt feelings, gentle, yielding
- Strong sense of inner duty, over-conscientious about doing everything correctly
- Introspective, averse to company, reserved, secretive, suspicious, persistent thoughts
- Self-reproach, sense of having done something wrong or not being good enough
- Controlled emotions, indifference
- Sighing or yawning, sensation of a lump in the throat, paroxysm of coughing, belching
- Avoids crying, but may give way to sobbing or embarrassed laughing
- Touchy, easily offended, proud, rude, irritable
- Highly intellectual or logical, intolerant of contradiction or hypocrisy
- Desire for traveling and better from traveling
- Muscle spasms, cramps, twitches, tics, chorea, convulsions, petit mal
- Hysterical paralysis, numbness, tingling sensation
- Tendency to bite tongue or cheeks
- Hemorrhoids, sensation of a knife in the rectum
- Insomnia from relational stress or excessive sleepiness after grief
- Dreams of broken relationships, death of loved ones, water or ocean waves
- Nervous headache with stabbing pain as if a nail were driven into side of the head
- Aversion and worse from tobacco smoke
Information contained on this site is for educational purposes only and should not be used to prescribe, diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease or illness. Any information provided is not intended to replace medical advice offered by a physician. If you desire or need such advice, you should consult a professional healthcare provider.