What is potency?

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AlexP
Posts: 3
Joined: Sun Nov 08, 2009 11:00 pm

What is potency?

Post by AlexP »

Hi guys,

I am confused on the description of some pills like:

Alumina, Bryonia, Anacardium, Nux vomica, etc even Omega 3 Supplements !

There is something coming as potency and is described by numbers like,
6C, 30C, OR
15X, 16X etc.

What is it? Is it there any orientation list?

Thanks


Sheri Nakken
Posts: 3999
Joined: Wed Apr 01, 2020 10:00 pm

Re: What is potency?

Post by Sheri Nakken »

At 03:58 AM 11/9/2009, you wrote:
Hi and welcome
I suggest you get a good book that will cover all the basics
http://www.wellwithin1.com/bookstor.htm#homeopathy
I have a bunch listed here

Here is some info from my online email class
The Law of Potentization (excerpted from Homeopathic Medicine at Home
by Maesimund B. Panos, MD & Jane Heimlich
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
......... the law of potentization, refers to the preparation of a
homeopathic remedy. Each is prepared by a controlled process of
successive dilutions alternating with succussion, which may be
continued to the point where the resulting medicine contains no
molecules of the original substance. These small doses are called
potencies; lesser dilutions are known as low potencies and greater
dilutions as high potencies. As strange as it may seem, the higher
the dilution, when prepared in this manner, the greater the potency
of the medicine.

In 1800, when the process of potentization was devised, the idea that
medicine containing an infinitesimal amount of matter could be
curative was inconceivable. In this nuclear age, the power of minute
quantities is all too well established. The dose of vitamin B12 used
to treat certain anemias contains a millionth of a gram of cobalt.
Trace elements, present in barely measurable amounts in the body, are
essential for its development and functioning. The human body
manufactures only fifty to a hundred millionths of a gram of thyroid
hormone each day, yet a small excess or deficiency in this already
"infinitesimal" amount can seriously affect the health of the individual.
http://www.homeopathyhome.com/services/ ... ency.shtml
Understanding Homeopathic Potency

Homeopathic remedies are prepared through a process called
potentization. Potentization involves a series of systematic
dilutions and successions (a forceful shaking action). Potentization
is important, because it removes all risk of chemical toxicity while
activating a remedy substance and enabling it to affect the body
therapeutically.

Homeopathic pharmacies operate according to strict guidelines, to
ensure that the remedies and potencies are consistent and reliable.
The first step in producing a homeopathic remedy is acquiring a pure
preparation of the original substance in its natural form (a solution
of a mineral salt, a ?mother tincture? of a plant, etc.). The
original substance is then put through a measured series of
dilutions, alternating with succussions, until the desired potency is made.

Homeopathic potencies are designated by the combination of a number
and a letter (for example, 6X or 30C). The number refers to the
number of dilutions the tincture has undergone within a series to
prepare that remedy. The letter refers to the proportions used in
each dilution of the series (the Roman numeral X means 10, and the
Roman numeral C means 100), as well as the number of succussions the
vial of solution undergoes in each successive stage.

For example: To prepare a 6X potency of Ledum palustre, one part of
the Ledum mother tincture is combined in a vial with nine parts of
the carrier liquid, and succussed ten times again, making a 2X
solution. The process is repeated four more times, for a total of six
dilutions and succussions?and the final result is a 6X potency of
Ledum. (To make a 30C, one part of the tincture would be combined
with ninety-nine parts of the carrier liquid and succussed 100 times
in each of thirty steps.) Pellets, tablets, or powders are then
medicated with the potentized liquid, or drops of the remedy are
taken in liquid form.

The more dilutions and succussions a substance undergoes, the higher
the potency will be. Higher potencies of homeopathic remedies
(anything higher than 12C) have been diluted past the point that
molecules of the original substance would be measurable in the
solution. This is a major stumbling block for skeptics when it comes
to understanding and accepting the idea of homeopathy. Homeopathic
remedies, when correctly chosen, clearly work?but not in the way that
drugs do (through chemical actions that affect the body processes).
It is not completely understood why potentized remedies can work so
deeply and specifically, but many likely theories have arisen through
research and observation. It appears that they function on an
energetic level to stimulate the body to heal itself more efficiently.
******
my comments
So the potencies refer to the number of times that a homeopathic
remedy has been diluted and succussed or triturated (I'll talk about
that in a minute).

The C's are part of the centisimal system - 1 part of substance with
99 parts of liquid and succuss 100 times for each step

The X's are part of the decimal system - 1 part of substance with 9
parts of liquid and succuss 10 times for each step

And then the solution is poured in tiny amounts (in a variety of
ways) onto the pellets that carry the remedy - the pellets or
pillules you take are not the remedy but the carrier for the solution
that is the remedy

A succussion is a hard downward thrust against a somewhat flexible
object - Hahnemann used the bible.

You can use your hand or a book. Not a hard surface - don't ask me why.

Why did he come up with succussion and not just dilution. He was
finding that diluting was NOT enough - people were getting
aggravations from the substance. Somehow, and that is not clear, he
discovered by shaking in this manner, people did not have the
aggravations. He was well versed in a lot of ancient teachings
including alchemy and this idea may have come from there. But
anyway, all remedies are diluted and succussed as mentioned.

If a substance is NOT soluble in water you cannot dilute it in water
so it has to be done in another way - trituration

The substance is mixed similarly - 1 part substance but with 9 parts
lactose and ground for an hour in a clean mortar for an X potency; 1
part substance but with 99 parts lactose and ground for an hour in a
clean mortar for an C potency. This process is called trituration &
is done usually up to a 3C potency. Then it goes further using
dilution & succussion in liquid.

Again, you will be using mainly 30C potencies (6X, 12X, 30X are OK,
but better to have 30C - the X potencies I mentioned would have to
repeated frequently, possibly, for someone with strong vital energy)
for your own first aid/acute use and also homeopaths use them in many
cases (and especially if you have someone with a depleted vital
force/energy or they ave serious pathology such as cancer or the
homeopath does not want to run the risk of aggravating the symptoms
such as skin symptoms, etc - many
reasons)

But your homeopath may also use lower potencies such as 6C or 12C or
higher potencies such as 200C, 1M (M = 1000 so= to 1000C), 10M, CM or
LM potencies. LM potencies are beyond the scope of this class to
explain but are excellent - I really like using them and if you find
a homeopath who does, you are fortunate.It all depends on your vital
force, how sure they are of matching the right remedy, the
seriousness of your symptoms and many other factors.

When you buy a remedy if you don't see any letter after the number it
is a 'C'. (or some other countries say CH)
But for acute things and your own use you will be using 30C or 30X

The greater the dilution the greater the potency. Different octaves?
Maybe. No one knows for sure why this is. Somehow its about
energy. Also the higher the potency, the less frequently it is
repeated usually. We will go into that later.

And once you have diluted a substance beyond 24X (or 12C) there is
little probability that a single molecule of the original substance
remains. But you know the substance was there to begin with and all
you have done is dilute it and shake it - the energy of it is still
there and being potentized.

Copyright 2001 Sheri Nakken
not to be reprinted or distributed for anything other than personal
use without permission
------------------------------------------
Sheri Nakken, R.N., MA, Hahnemannian Homeopath
http://www.wellwithin1.com/vaccine.htm & http://www.wellwithin1.com/homeo.htm
ONLINE/Email classes in Homeopathy; Vaccine Dangers; Childhood Diseases Reality
Next classes start December 2 & 3


Victoria Mashevsky
Posts: 186
Joined: Sun Nov 01, 2009 11:00 pm

Re: What is potency?

Post by Victoria Mashevsky »

you are now were I was several years ago.
here is a short version of what i've learned:
when they make something in C, they take 1 part with substance (called
Mother Tincture or MT) to 99 parts of diluent. Resulting mixture is
then succused (shaken) 100 times. this is how 1C is made. if you have
6C it means that process was repeated 6 times. For 30C - 30 times, for
200C - 200 times.

when they make X they make 1 of MT (see above) to 9 part of diluent.
Resulting mixture is then succused (shaken) 100 times. this is how 1X
is made. if you have 6X it means that process was repeated 6 times.
each time only 1 part with substancewas mixed with 9 of diluent.
Succusing is the same as for "C" potencies.

So in the end if you have X dilution it is more potentized and less
diluted. If you
have C dilution it is less potentized and more diluted. Since our
"scientific" process only can tell us what is going on in the dilution, we
tend to neglect the fact that we don't really know what is going on during
potentizing (succusion) and thus concentrate on the number of zeros in final
solution.

I don't think you can approach this with mathematics and say ok, I
have 6 zeros in 6X dilution, what should I take in C
to make up for the same number of zeros? The answer is simple 3C. What
missing is the times the original substance was succused and the magnitude
of the "company" in what it spend time succusing with :)
Does it makes sense?
V


AlexP
Posts: 3
Joined: Sun Nov 08, 2009 11:00 pm

Re: What is potency?

Post by AlexP »

Still confused. Is 6C stronger (more potent) than 30C ?

--- In minutus@yahoogroups.com, "AlexP" wrote:


AlexP
Posts: 3
Joined: Sun Nov 08, 2009 11:00 pm

Re: What is potency?

Post by AlexP »

This is a bit confusing

This means that 1C is stronger (more potent) than a 6C mixture.
And again a 30 mixture is like plain water, with almost nothing from the original substance.

Strange. Strange... Strange
N
--- In minutus@yahoogroups.com, "Victoria M. Sky" wrote:


Tanya Marquette
Posts: 5602
Joined: Tue Oct 30, 2001 11:00 pm

Re: What is potency?

Post by Tanya Marquette »

Alex,
You are right, homeopathic potencies seem strange because we have been taught
that more it better. We have also been taught that if we can't see it, it doesn't exist.
But we know that isn't true. Sun's energy is real. We accept x-rays as real. We also
do not see most of the invisible to the eye germs that we are taught to guard against and
we think they are real.
Current research is showing that water has memory and its structure does change under
certain conditions. Further, it holds this 'memory' which can be augmented by hard succussions.
Thus, we CAN put a drop of a tincture into water, shake it up and the water becomes 'potenized'
with that substances energy. If we keep on doing the dilution and succussion process we increase
the potentization of the water while further dilution the material substance into non-existence. But
the energy of the substance, which is real, remains.
Does that help you understand any better?
tanya


Shannon Nelson
Posts: 8848
Joined: Fri Jun 28, 2002 10:00 pm

Re: What is potency?

Post by Shannon Nelson »

Here's another way to look at it. (And the more angles the better, I say!)
Homeopathic remedies are useful not because of their *substance* (there's nothing much there), but rather because of their "information about"; it's as if they "show" the mind/body its issues, and the mind/body goes, "Oh, that's not such a problem. All you need to do is..." As if it gives us more physiological "objectivity" on our problem.

An analogy might be teaching a kid math. The more they learn it, and the more they internalize the lessons, the more they are moving away from "how to solve problem 3c" (which is the "message" of e.g. taking a vitamin), and onto understanding the essential process of solving *any* problem of that sort.

So in a sense, 6c is closer to "how to solve problem 3c" and nearer to "how to solve integrals" etc. It's just an analogy; it's imperfect (6c *can* act just as deeply, depending... and other issues), but it's an example of where we get advantage by moving *away* from the concrete and physical, and into the realm of the energy, the pattern.

(That's one of the many ways in which homeopathy is pretty much opposite of drug medicine...)

Hope that's not more confusing than helpful! :-)
Shannon


Sheri Nakken
Posts: 3999
Joined: Wed Apr 01, 2020 10:00 pm

Re: What is potency?

Post by Sheri Nakken »

At 09:28 PM 11/12/2009, you wrote:
6C is less dilute. (and you could say less strong, but that is not a
term we use in homeopathy)
Lower potencies such as 6c, 12c are used in chronic cases for more
sensitive individuals or people with pathology or a weak vital force.
30c is typical for use with minor acutes and first aid, but can, with
instruction, learn how to use 200c or 1M for strong minor acutes or first aid
Typical potency if using water potencies as Hahnemann taught, for
chronic illness, is 30C or LM1
Sheri
------------------------------------------
Sheri Nakken, R.N., MA, Hahnemannian Homeopath
http://www.wellwithin1.com/vaccine.htm & http://www.wellwithin1.com/homeo.htm
ONLINE/Email classes in Homeopathy; Vaccine Dangers; Childhood Diseases Reality
Next classes start December 2 & 3


Soroush Ebrahimi
Moderator
Posts: 4510
Joined: Thu Feb 07, 2002 11:00 pm

Re: What is potency?

Post by Soroush Ebrahimi »

Dear Alex
The question of potency has confused many people.
When homeopathic remedies are made, in general, they are serially diluted and after each step of dilution they are succussed. This is where a closed vial of the liquid is gently banged on a reasonably hard surface - usually 10 times. It is said that Hahnemann banged the vial on his leather-bound Bible.
Potency is a factor made up of a combination of the rate of dilution (1:10 or 1:100 or 1:50,000), the number of serial dilutions and also the number of succussions at each dilution step.
It is therefore difficult to compare a potency of one series to another. When prescribing for a patient, one needs to find the similimum for the patient as well as matching the potency of the remedy to the patient's vitality. Therefore, one needs to develop a 'feel' for it.
Until the last year of the college course we were not allowed to prescribe anything higher than 30C unless it was one of our supervised cases.
LMs (or Q potency) are called Hn's perfected potency. The dilution is 1:50,000 which is carried out in 2 steps at each dilution, but succussed at the end of the second step.
LMs allow one to gently test the remedy on the patient and check that all is well with the selection. If necessary, one can repeat it easier at shorter time intervals. They are particularly useful when one is trying to wean someone off allopathic drugs, where the danger exists that the remedy is being antidoted by the allopathic drug.
Some people have accused Homeopaths of using very dilute substance. If you take a series of mathematical ratios, one very quickly passes one drop in all the oceans of the world. However, when you consider that only a small amount of water is used, the logic of one drop of water in all the oceans does not apply.
In C potencies, 1 drop of the substance is added to 99 drops of water. Each 100 drops is approx 3.5 ml.
so for 30C, we have used a total of 30 x 3.5 ml = 105 ml
In fact I remember reading somewhere that with one of the radioactive elements, radioactivity was still detectable at 60C.
I hope this has been of use to you.
If you have any more questions, please do let us know.
Best wishes
Soroush


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