The Chthonic Realm : Baryta Carbonicum
As Arnica was the first remedy representing the cold stream of the Chthonic Realm (at the level of the physical body), Baryta Carbonica is the remedy for blockages related to the etheric body, which is the locus of all life functions and processes. You could say that it is an inversion of the themes in the chthonic remedy Stramonium, which is the more extroverted form of the types of fears expressed in Bar-c. The picture that comes to my mind when I think of the essence of this remedy is of a bashful child hiding behind their mother’s skirt. This is an image which portrays both the deep shyness of this remedy, as well as the state of emotional dependence.
This is a remedy which is useful for any number of conditions which involve some form of developmental delay, including the various forms of autism. Delays at any level can be helped with this remedy, including physical, mental, or emotional. Likewise for adults whose process of growth was halted at a certain life stage, where you get a palpable sense that their mental or emotional maturity is still frozen at an age much younger than their chronological one. As with any remedy, this can be true at very subtle levels, which may or may not be discernible in any given case. This is especially true with this remedy, which has a core fear of being laughed at, or ridiculed, and will often work out one or several means of “covering up” their core vulnerability.
Bar-c is useful for any physical delay in development, such as in children who seem to fall to the bottom of the statistical growth charts for their age, in terms of height, weight, or other developmental milestones. Early diagnosis of autism, for example, is defined in terms of identifying children who do not achieve characteristic milestones by certain chronological points in their development.
The Sean Penn movie I Am Sam portrays the Bar-c state quite accurately. It is a story of a mentally retarded father, who is fighting a custody case with the State, who is threatening to take his daughter away on account of his mental age being about age 7. His lawyer, portrayed by Michelle Pfeiffer, is a great illustration of the phenotype Nux Vomica, as she is a hard-driving career woman who has alienated herself from her own son. The theme of “all you need is love” runs through the movie, and Sam melts the icy heart of this lawyer, and many people around him with the purity that only a child could muster.
- The Chthonic Realm : Arnica
- The Chthonic Realm : Bufo
Great article. I’ve also used this remedy for swollen adenoids in kids and also chronic snoring in fellas.
Thank you Jeff very, very much for helping me learn more about chthonic and ideogenic remedies plus giving me suggestions about the movies. Your site has been a great help to me while studying the material 🙂
Lana
You’re welcome, Lana — I’m glad that they are being used as a resource.
question…can a baryta ever have ailments from domination/abuse or disappointed love? or would that most likely be a layer ontop of a baryta carbonica
It is very difficult to discern the answer to your two sentence question without an initial consultation. To answer a question of this nature using the dynamic Heilkunst map, I would need about 90 minutes to suss out the victimization issues to discern how long they been there, what is the full nature/expression, does the patient’s timeline illustrate issues of a similar nature, etc. Baryta Carb. is specifically for retarded development and skewed sexual issues more based on fear. I might suggest that we further this conversation during a consult. We also work with other practitioners to help them see cases more clearly as these isolated questions are not productive for either of us. Best, Allyson