calcarea carbonica - the collector of days

7/29/2019 Calcarea Carbonica - The Collector of Days

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CALCAREA CARBONICA - THE COLLECTOR OF DAYS & FOSSILS

by Peter Morrell (1984)

Just as the earth consists of hard and soft material, such as rocks,

water and air, so too does the human body consist of the liquid, racing,

iron-filled blood, the sulphurous skin and hair and the hard, rock-like,

calcareous skeleton. The legion correspondences that really exist

between earth, minerals, remedies, body and disease-states are

endlessly fascinating and profoundly enriching for the natural therapist

to consider. These patterns, when exposed and explored in detail, also

point to deeper, more meaningful psychological insights about our

remedies, health and disease.

Calcium manifests in the mineral world chiefly as chalk and

limestone, as ossified deposits, layers of white or grey material

consisting mainly of the compacted shells of dead microscopic

organisms that lived in oceans millions of years ago and which then

accumulated over vast periods of time to be changed into rock.

Limestone and chalk contain fossils or fossil imprints, often in

abundance, or are actually composed of fossils. More than any other

rock, they seem to contain the most complete, the most detailed and the

best preserved fossils. Shortly, we shall see their relevance and

importance to our understanding of the Calc carb mentality.

Calcium manifests in the living world as the shells of Molluscs,

some marine worms, corals, many crustaceans, bryozoans, crinoids and

sea-urchins and the calcareous spicules of sponges. Many of the

molluscs, corals and worms are (like the typical Calc patient)

profoundly immobile, while the crustaceans (eg crabs) use their

calcareous shells merely as armour-plating with which to protect

themselves from change and in the wars of existence. Very few of

these animals are adapted for swift movement. Nor must we forget the

calcareous shells of birds' eggs. As with all other vertebrates, in the

human body, calcium manifests as the skeleton and teeth, but it is also

important in fat metabolism, linking it to Vitamin D, for example.

We can identify certain Calcium subthemes like ossification, time,

depos-its, layers, roundness/plumpness, hardness, enclosedness

(refuge), white-ness, immobility and alkalinity to name a few. These

subthemes are found not only in the minerals, but also in the body, in

the provings of calcium salts and in the Calc mentality.


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In the birds' egg, we see the roundedness, the layering, the smooth

matt whiteness and the inward enclosedness (refuge) of the Calcium

type. Likewise there is a clear link between calcium as a medicinal

agent and its use in cement, concrete, house building and an agent of

defences and protection. Again, we see that the theme is one of laying

down defensive structures, hard ossifications, stubbornness, hardness,immobility, unwillingness to change and longevity. Limestone and

chalk are both porous and permeable rocks, that are not very soluble in

water, though they do render water `hard' and calcareous. These rocks

also become hollowed out by the erosive action of water and contain

vast interconnecting systems of underground caverns. Lime is also

used in agriculture to render more permeable the heavy clay soils of the

eastern counties. Calcium has the same saturnine slowness typical of

lead, trees, mountains and the earth itself. It has slowness to develop,

longevity, sluggishness, obstinacy, stubbornness, inability or

unwillingness to change and the lumbering immobility - mentally and

physically - of molluscs. `Dull lethargic children who do not want to

play' (Phatak, p126). They live as if in a different time-frame from the

rest of creation. Little wonder then that the classic Calc type is so often

described as overweight, pale, cold, slow and breathless!

Related remedies are Silica, Plumbum, all silicates, Aluminium,

Lycopodium, etc. All these remedies have broad parallels with the Calc

state character-ised by slowness, etc as briefly outlined above. The

rocks of the earth can be broadly grouped into three major categories of

calcareous, silicious and aluminicious. The five major remedies here

are Calc, Silica, Alumina, Calc silicate and Alumin silicate. One might

also add Plumbum silicate, but it has not been proved, to my

knowledge.

Is it really a coincidence that Hahnemann chose the Oyster shell,

Calcarea ostrea, as the basis for the remedy we call Calc carb? Maybe

he dimly sensed that the calcium of the Mollusc is the archetypal

Calcium per forte of the living world, as opposed to the more inert

limestone or chalk of the mineral world that was his other majorCalcium source. In strictly Steinerian terms, the Calc of molluscs is the

calcium that has been absorbed, processed, and metabolised `through'

the tissues of a living organism and thus we might believe it has been

transformed somehow into a partially organic form and thereby

rendered more suitable as an agent of healing in medicine. Certainly,

Steiner (c1860-1925) held the view that a mineral or element is subtly


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altered (`retuned') when it passes through an organism, and in different

ways according to the particular organism it passes through. He also

avowed that it thereby becomes stamped with a subtle `fingerprint' of

features that typify the organism concerned. Thus according to this

view, crabshell, eggshell and oystershell (maybe even from the same

beach), would all differ from each other and from chalk, limestone orcalcite, in spite of their overwhelming chemical similarity.

Calcium also has links with Phosphorus and Zinc oxide and

luminescence where we may witness their use in luminous gas mantles

(the `limelight') and cathode ray tubes (TV and VDU's). These also

contain the notion of `after-image' or afterglow. These relate to the

light absorbing quality and the memory trace ideas so close to Calcium

itself. Note also the peculiar fact that glow-worms only live in

limestone and chalky areas. This theme of bioluminescence is further

carried by its link with Phosphorus as an element. There are also links

between calcium and architecture, struts, bones and buttresses as

revealed in the detailed micro-structure of bones (eg ribs, cranium and

head of femur) and in the architecture of churches and cathedrals. And

how such churches glow in the golden sunshine!

Calcium is also closely allied to Magnesium, Strontium and

Barium, both in the materia medica and in minerals. And with

Magnesium we also think of Chlorophyll, the light-capturer, which is

unquestionably the single most important chemical on the planet, as

without it there would no photosynthesis and thus no other life. And

through Magnesium we also think of Mag phos and Calc phos. With

magnesium we might also think of the softer minerals Dolomite and

Gypsum and thus the mighty Alps.

Finally, chlorophyll and Mag phos might leads us on to reconsider

the light-capturing, the glow-worms and then the link between the oily

vitamins A and D and the Visual purple in the retina that enables us to

see the world around us and record and store our visual memories. And

also more distantly cognate with both are the nervous and photographic

Argentum salts. Stretch ing things far too much that then leads us on to

Mercurius and the stranger areas of the nervous system. But we have

strayed from dear old Calcium by a long chalk! And thinking of chalk,

we also think of cheese, both of which are rich sources of Calcium.

And that brings us back to Phosphorus, fish, the brain-food and the

nervous system yet again. Remember here also that chalk is also used

for writing. Think chalk, think white cliffs of Dover and that links in to


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the Romans and how those cliffs must have appeared - like huge

defensive ramparts as old as time itself and repelling wood-be invaders

perhaps? Calcium also links with vitamin D (Calciferol) and the fats, to

the breast and milk feeding and thus to the nutrition of the infant and

the problems of nursing mothers. This also links in with Rickets, a

calcium deficiency-disease and also the general medical problems ofmilk, breasts, infantile milk intolerance, female reproductive

hormones, fibroids and the other diseases of the female reproductive

system. Milk, which is white like marble, is rich in Calc, Phos and fats.

This also links to remedies like Lac deflor and Lac can. The typical

Calc patient being milky white, breathless, malnourished, well-rounded

and sensitive to cold. The strong link between calcium, reproduction

and fats is further reinforced in birds' eggs, which are reproductive

structures, contain high fat levels and have a calcareous shell.

Like Lead and trees, Calcium is linked to the time-god Chronos, for

it is in the minute sculpturing of seashells that we find the records of

the days, weeks, months and years of their lives, etched minutely into

the patterns of the layers of calcium carbonate. This also applies to

snail-shells, where each twist of the shell represents a year and the

finer serrations mark out the days, weeks and months. Time and the life

of the animal, is recorded and `stored up' in the shells, just like the

rings in the wood of treetrunks, the fossils in the rocks or the files in an

archive or record. These can all be seen as aspects of Saturn or

Chronos, the god of time and history. Skeletons and fossils are also like

histories, memories and records of lifetimes and often lurk in our

deepest cupboards! Heaping up or collecting the days, weeks, months

and years in this way is typical of the sense of memory and history

common to both Plumbum and Calc. And the keeping of records

requires writing, say with chalk on a board or slate, or with a piece of

lead (Plumbum). The god of time counts and records the passing of the

days and records events, obsessed with history and the minutiae of life.

So similar to the remark about Calc patients: `sits and thinks about

little affairs that amount to nothing' (Phatak, p127). Witness also the

intense clarity of their memories, dreams and visions! As if theirrecordings are so perfect.

We might also see fossils as collected memories, records and

histories that the Calc rocks have accumulated and retained in

incredible wealth and detail. They are recorded with great faithfulness.

This magpie or squirrel tendency to absorb and collect, record and


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store in detail for very long periods might be seen as a feature of the

Calc mentality. It is like a mental equivalent of the afterglow on the TV

screen when it is switched off. And in Plaster of Paris the Calc habit of

making copies, taking impressions, of being a mould or template

comes to the fore and is cognate for example, both with fossils and

with cenent for joining walls. Plaster of Paris is also for setting bones!

Another important aspect of Calc is that the two main mineral

forms of it - chalk and limetsone - were formed by accumulation of

calcareous particles in the oceans or in shallow seas. This links it as a

remedy to Natrum mur and to Sepia. In the case of certain marine

worms (Sterculids), if you look at their twisting and convoluted

calcareous tubes, they very closely resemble veins in the body. Maybe

that particular form of Calc could be used as a specific for varicose

veins and clogging of arteries, heart attacks, even? There is not only a

physical similarity here, it also operates on a functional level, as the

tubes are being sclerotized, as the worm hardens its mucilaginous tube

until it becomes hardened and limey. The close parallel between the

condition and this particular form of Calc is very interesting and worth

further investigation clinically. In the case of a common tropical form

of Calc, brain coral, we can see a direct physical similarity to the brain.

Maybe this should also be proved or investigated clinically as a

separate form of Calc to discover if it has any specific usefulness for

brain disorders of a sclerotic nature, such as apoplectic strokes due to

hardening of the arteries or even Alzheimer's disease.

Turning next to the psychological aspects of the Calc type, we

might conclude that they are introverted, too sensitive, defensive,

insecure, want security in shells and deposits, seek the security of the

womb, the egg, the mother's milk (which disagrees), seek refuge in

castle-like interiors protected by vast shell-like stone ramparts; relate

badly to the cold, to water and winter, want to be immobile; eat

uncontrollably and compulsively, without knowing why and hate

activity as they sweat easily and become breathless and flustered.

They appear to be locked in a heavily protected, stone-like shell of

armour that greatly reduces their mobility, a crab-like carapace or shell.

They seem to 'clam-up' and 'go into their shell', become agoraphobic,

turn inwards to the detailed phantasmogoria of an inner world of

visions, dreams and nightmares, where they seek refuge and security

from the transient, unpredictable and painful events of the outer world.

They seem to prefer the greyness of their refuge to the stark unbearable


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contrasts of black and white outer reality. They fear change and resist

change. Even their recording of time is like a clinging on to things and

not wanting to let them go. It is like a form of attachment.

They are disappointed and constipated people. There is the

constipated mentality, just described. There is also an air of failure andwithdrawal to this mentality, a sloping off to lick one's wounds in a

private refuge. They are stuck in a peculiar limbo-land which is neither

one thing or another, which hovers in fact between night and day, an

eternal twilight. They follow the moon, suffer menstrual irregularities

for the same reasons and also reproductive problems and problems

related to the link between outer world-cycles and inner world

constancy. They retreat into the greyness of their shell as they dislike

change of day-night, high-low rhythms of move ment of planets,

change of cycles, highs and lows and attempt to regulate this outer

change into a vastly attenuated realm of stillness, greyness, no change

and their precious secret dreams and visions. There is ossification of

emotions and inner-outer world, thoughts and aspirations as well as the

outer processes of the body. Sluggishness is a very good general rubric

for Calc carb, as it bridges both the Molluscan features we have

explored and the general slowness.

It is also important to remember that we all contain a bit of this

mentality. We must resist the temptation to stand in judgement over the

remedy archetypes, as we all have skeletons and must acknowledge

these qualities of the Calcium in ourselves. We are all stubborn and

resist change to some degree and we all at times find difficulty of

going with the flow or want to control the outer world's more painful

twists and turns. We all contain the Calc archetype, but clearly it finds

its ultimate expression in the imbalances of the typical Calc person.

Then these inbalances become pathological in their immensity. At that

point the potentised remedy can perform its usual miracles.

Turning finally to the materia medica we can see a repetition of

many of the above themes we have listed about Calc. The Calc patient

is fat, chilly, congested, sensitive in every possible way, has boney

growths, ossifications, encrustations, polyps, cysts and warts.

Exostoses and peculiar deformities of bones, skin and nails (like Hekla

lava). They are weak, lack stamina, have an inclination to sit rather

than work, get breathless and sweaty very easily. Get gouty and

rheumatic, joint problems and arthritic. Then there are the generals like

slowness and weakness, dullness and great debility and tiredness.


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These are typical. The symptoms of eyes, ears, nose and throat are also

typical, showing congestions and catarrhs, loss of smell, dimness of

sight and hearing, as if the consciousness would prefer to withdraw

from the sensory world altogether. Stomach and digestion are impaired

and the bowels very sluggish and constipated. There is marked love of

or aversion to eggs. In general they adore eggs and hate milk, whichdisagrees. The rest is detailed in all the materia medicas.

The Calc urge is more of a pausing, a rest, a putting down roots,

leaving traces and keeping records, collecting memories, dwelling in

matter and time and making deposits. This tendency seems to represent

a deeper attachment to things and life and surroundings and thus a

desire to keep a record of one's life. So the link with the past, time,

matter, records, traces, memories and the old. Cognate animals are

those that are sessile, have reduced motility, which put down roots or

attachments to rocks or which have large shells, calcareous deposits

around them or which leave a hard skeleton. The fact that they leave

these hardened or sclerotized parts behind them after their death is

evidence of their strong plant-like urge. These include molluscs, some

marine worms, barnacles, crinoids and sea-urchins, tortoises & turtles,

foraminiferans, crustaceans, bryozoans, etc.

Also in the Calc mentality and in molluscs, marine worms, corals,

bryozoans, etc, we encounter the most plant-like animals, those that

must keep records and build up traces of their life. This desire to keep a

record, to leave deposits, shells, bones and traces of one's existence is a

plant-like drive that is much more diminished within the animal world.

It manifests in the plant by the layering of tree-rings, which is an

expression in the lignified cellulose of a record of the years. The tree

rings are records of the passing years and represent the life record of

that tree.

Yet in all plants the record-keeping or sclerotizing tendency is very

strong. While it is true that plants push out green shoots, like to grow

and expand, they also tend to consolidate such gains by sclerotizing,

hardening, making into wood and laying down harder tissues, thorns

and spikes both for protection and to demarcate owned territory. Thus

plants are the natural record-keepers and deposit makers of the living

world.

In its more extreme forms, this plant-like Calc force manifests as

shrunken, withered leathery, thorny and spiky plant stems as seen in


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the Cacti and many other succulents, in Lithops the stone plant and, of

course, in trees. But even amongst trees, it manifests most typically in

the dry, thorny, withered, hardened and emaciated kind of tree that has

adapted to extreme aridity.

In spite of many broad differences between Calc and Sepia, it isnevertheless useful to compare them both. In the Cuttlefish, the

calcareous external shell of other molluscs has been greatly reduced

and internalised to produce the `cuttlefish shell' so beloved of budgies!

Going back to our previous analysis of the molluscan nature of Calc

carb, we can see that by first reducing and then internalising the shell,

Sepia has achieved a much greater mobility and has hidden away

inside itself the basic Molluscan problem of being `insecure and

defensive and needing a shell for protection against hostile forces in a

painful world'. In exchange, of course, the Sepia has the ink-jet, the

agility, the brilliant and mesmerising stroboscopic skin colour-changes,

the improved stereoscopic vision and the aggressiveness of a marine

predator. It has moved from the sessile and slow but secure life of a

limpet or clam and out into the sea as an active hunter.

Yet, talking remedies, we can see that Sepia has tried to solve the

ancestral Molluscan problem of defensiveness and insecurity by

reducing and internalising its shell. It is only partially successful in

this. It is still very weird and unstable in its behaviour - evasive,

jealous, emotion al, angry and callous. It has exchanged the 'femininity

of submissiveness and immobility' (clam, limpet) for a mock male

mobility and assertiveness that still appears incomplete, forced and

imbalanced. The parallels here pathologically are too obvious to

require further emphasis. So we could also extend this discussion

indefinitely to all the other Molluscs and then take a look at the

Crustaceans and Insects, who present similar problems, solved in

different and novel ways. But that must wait for now.

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calcarea carbonica - the collector of days

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