Materia Medica Viva (Volume 3): Arnica to Avena Sativa

PLEASE NOTE THE COVERS OF THESE BOOKS ARE DARK GREEN AND MANY OF THEM HAVE WHITE MARKS ON THEM WHICH IS HOW THEY HAVE BEEN SUPPLIED TO US AND IS A PRODUCT OF THE WAY THEY ARE PRODUCED.

Numerous homeopathic professionals have for a long time been asking me to write 'my materia medica.' They feel that the information I have provided in various courses over the years should reach a wider audience. To date this information has been available to only a limited number of homeopathic physicians. I have postponed this Herculean task for many years in order to create the necessary circumstances to do justice to such a tremendous job, namely, to communicate my experience, knowledge and understanding of our materia medica.

When these requests began, as early as 1975, I did not see any reason to write such a book as I felt I had little new to add to the existing voluminous amount of information concerning our homeopathic remedies and their pathognomonic pictures.

Subsequently I was persuaded by my best students, as to the importance of publishing a complete materia medica, one that would contain all the information and understanding that I have accumulated over my last thirty years of practice.

Because a real need exists for the information, I have decided to publish Materia Medica Viva in separate volumes instead of waiting for the entire work to be completed.

I have structured the Materia Medica Viva in order that the information will be used for both study and reference. The Essential Features are the part of the remedy that should be studied by the student. The rest should be used only for reference in studying a case.

1. Essences - The essential features which I consider the heart of the remedy in which I give mostly my own experience and my understanding of the remedy. In this chapter I have tried to capture the uniqueness of each remedy, the peculiarities that cause one remedy to be different from another, so that the student may be helped in understanding the remedy in its essence and the way it differs from others. This part is the one that the students should study.

2. Generalities and Keynotes - The second part gives generalities and keynote symptoms on different systems. This part is only for reference when you study a case.

• Author: George Vithoulkas
• ISBN: 9780952274483
• 529 to 788 pages
• Paperback
• Published in 1995
• Printed in Greece

• View PDF

Reprinted with the permission of The Society of Homeopaths, from 'The Homeopath' Journal, No.58, 1995. Reviewed by Robin Logan on Materia Medica Viva Volumes 2 and 3.

I like these books. There are not many homoeopathy books that I await with as much anticipation as these periodic volumes of Materia Medica from George Vithoulkas.

The latest two books complete the remedies beginning with A. With a new publisher a few improvements have been made on the first volume. They look better and contain less of the toxicological and pharmacopoeia information. I have found much less fault with these two volumes although I have rushed to review them having received them when this issue of the journal was in its final stages. 

There is something refreshingly solid and pragmatic about these books. If you are looking for elaborate descriptions of the doctrine of signatures or extrapolations of dreams and delusions, these are not for you. If, however you want a practical materia medica whether it be for a clear explanation of the application of a small remedy or to refresh your knowledge of a polychrest, I can think of no better set of text books. It is nice to have the updated, official, 'essences' that many of us were raised on. Apis, Arsenicum, Argentum nitricum, Anacardium, Arnica and Aurum are the main polychrests covered. There are many remedies you will never have used, some you will not have considered using and a few you probably have not heard of - all described in an easy to grasp way.

My one reservation is to do with the precise description of personality types in some of the remedy pictures. One example is the Ammonium muriaticum patient being described as intellectual. Essences are useful but, I feel, should be applied loosely. There are always exceptions to these rules and can be misleading like any concept that is applied to rigidly. (Situational materia medica and animal/mineral/vegetable classifications are other examples of this).

We all have our preferences and there will no doubt be individuals who will find greater fault with these books than I have. For me it is the feeling of soundness of the information and the usability of the materia medica that I value more than anything. Get them or start saving.