It’s Te Wiki o Te Reo Māori, or Māori Language Week.
Last year I chose some polychrests and looked at them through Te Whare Tapa Whā, a Māori model of health and education. You can read more about this model here, and Pulsatilla, Natrum Muriaticum, Stramonium and Tuberculinum through the lens of Te Whare Tapa Wha here.
This year, I want to write more about homeopathy through the lens of Te Wheke, another model of health. You can read more here.
So let’s consider the remedy Sulphur.
The eyes of Te Wheke are waiora and wellbeing, and the well balanced Sulphur has a healthy ego, curiosity and is bright and intellectual.
The head of the octopus is that of whānau and family. Sulphur can struggle with rules and expectations of family, not because they don’t love them but because they have their own interests and ideas and can struggle with being tied down to chores and responsibilities.
Each tentacle also represents a different aspect.
In wairuatanga, or spirituality, Sulphur can be disconnected from spirituality as instead they are tied up in their own ego and sense of self. They have a strong belief in themselves, and at times they may take this too far to blame all misfortune on others. They may also boast about their own abilities – not because they are trying to bolster their ego, but because it is well developed.
Hinengaro is the mind, and Sulphur is fortunate to have a great intellectual ability. They can live a lot in their mind, be busy theorising and lose sight of more practical matters.
Sulphur has a very large taha tinana, or physical wellbeing picture. There can be a big skin picture, with eczema, dry skin or rashes. When Sulphur get sick they can have bright redness, and inflammation, and red ears, or lips, and burning sensations. They are also known for their smell – stinky farts, BO and smelly feet are all Sulphur characteristics. There are many more physical symptoms of Sulphur, in every system of the body, it is one of our largest polycrest remedies.
Whanaungatanga is extended family and community, and for Sulphur we can see how they relate to others. They want to be liked, in some cases Sulphur can be the class clown as they want others to like them and don’t know another way to connect. In other cases, Sulphur can be oblivious to others – taking over conversations and keeping the topic on themselves.
Mauri is the life force in people and objects, and in this tentacle I see the way that Sulphur the remedy stirs a reaction – it is one we are careful of if there is a history of eczema because it can flare this and cause an aggravation before an improvement.
Mana ake is the unique identity of individuals and family, which comes naturally to Sulphur – they do not change themselves for others and are happy to lose themselves in their interests. Philip Bailey has also described Sulphur as a ‘regal presence’.
Hā a koro ma, a kui ma is the breath of life from forbears. This tentacle reminds me that Sulphr is a remedy of the Psoric miasm. We see this in the under functioning of the skin barrier, difficulty adapting as they are too hot, and the excessive hunger, particularly at 11am.
The final tentacle is Whatumanawa, the open and healthy expression of emotion. Sulphur feels things intensely, and can be quite extroverted and dramatic. They may also explode like a volcano – however once they have done so they often calm down quickly.
Sulphur as a polycrest remedy has a much larger picture than I have shared here – with whole chapters in books written by Philip Bailey, Catherine Coulter and Paul Herscu. This I hope gives you an idea of how homeopathy complements Te Ao Māori and Te Wheke model of health.