Magnetis polus australis

An imponderable remedy prepared from the south pole of a permanent magnet. In classical pharmacy the influence is conveyed to media such as water, alcohol, milk sugar, or paper discs by prolonged exposure to the south pole; triturations or medicated globules are then potentised as usual [Hahnemann], [Clarke]. Hahnemann recorded distinct pathogeneses for the two poles (north and south), and for the whole magnet, emphasising that each pole acts differently upon the living economy [Hahnemann]. Traditional clinical observation (Hering, Clarke, Boericke) assigns to the south pole a more excitant, haemorrhagic, and left-sided bias, with neuralgic pains of an electric, shooting character, disturbances of sleep with vivid dreams, and functional disorders of the female pelvic organs [Hering], [Clarke], [Boericke]. The remedy’s actions belong to the sphere of nerve conductivity, vascular tone, and polarity phenomena—keynotes that later guide its selection [Hughes], [Farrington].

Hahnemann’s provings employed direct application of the south pole to sensitive parts for specified intervals, with careful observation of ensuing symptoms; additional data came from medicated media exposed to the south pole [Hahnemann]. Later authors compiled [Proving] notes and [Clinical] confirmations involving neuralgia, haemorrhages (epistaxis, menorrhagia), and sleep disorders (vivid, exciting dreams) [Hering], [Allen], [Clarke], [Boericke].

The south pole of the magnet stamps the organism with excitability and readiness: ready to flush, ready to bleed, ready to spark with electric-like pains. The patient is not crashing into destructive states but vibrating in a field of functional over-reactivity. This is seen in left-sided neuralgia with pains that dart like a current along tracks; in vivid, unrefreshing dreams that prolong daytime excitement; in palpitations that rise and fall with the room’s warmth or the mind’s stir; and in bright haemorrhages that start from small causes. The modality scheme is elegantly simple: worse at night, worse lying still in bed, worse warmth of room/bed, and better from cool, moving air and gentle continued motion. This polarity—heat and stillness excite, coolness and motion soothe—belongs to the remedy’s very source, a phenomenon of polarity seeking balance.

In the female sphere the remedy is particularly serviceable: menses early, profuse, neuralgic dysmenorrhoea on the left, pruritus with pricking, and a bearing-down uneasiness that eases with walking. In the head and extremities we find the same signature—left supra-orbital and left sciatica-like tracks that flare on lying down and abate while walking; scalp or skin prickling as from sparks; a sensory world turned up too loud. The mind is awake, able, and lively yet easily over-wrought; small noises sting, trivial worries amplify, and sleep is a theatre of bright dreams. Haemorrhages are bright and ready, not passive or purplish; after them the patient is weak but still labile, and often needs China or Ferrum when the vascular pendulum has been steadied. The remedy sits between Phosphorus (bleeding, sympathy, chest affinity) and Lachesis (left-sided congestion, heat, loquacity), but remains smaller, more electric-neuralgic and less systemic; it refines our aim when the totality distinctly points to polarity: left-sided, electric pains; night/bed aggravation; cool-air relief; and haemorrhagic readiness. Selecting M-aust. is the art of noticing this field of excitability and prescribing to restore equilibrium. [Hahnemann], [Clarke], [Hering], [Farrington].

• Peripheral nerves—neuralgias with electric, shooting or tearing pains; left-sided bias; pains run in streaks or rays, aggravated by rest in bed and at night [Hering], [Clarke]. See Extremities, Head.
• Vasomotor system & Blood—flushes of heat, redness, and tendency to haemorrhage (epistaxis, menorrhagia) more marked than with the north pole [Clarke], [Boericke]. See Female, Nose, Generalities.
• Female pelvic organs—early, profuse menses with pelvic congestion; bearing-down sensations; neuralgic dysmenorrhoea; pruritus vulvae with electric flickers of pain [Hering], [Clarke]. See Female.
• Sleep & Dreams—lively, vivid dreams; unrefreshing sleep; wakes excited or heated; polarity themes intrude into dream life [Hahnemann], [Clarke]. See Sleep, Dreams.
• Left side predominance—left head, face, arm, hip, or sciatic region more often affected; contrasts with some right predominance under the north pole [Clarke], [Farrington]. See Head, Extremities.
• Skin & Mucosae—itching, pricking, easy bleeding from minor injuries; epistaxis in adolescents or plethoric states [Clarke], [Boericke]. See Skin, Nose.
• Cardio-circulatory—palpitations with flushes, pulsations in vessels, vasomotor lability (hot/cold alternations) [Hughes], [Clarke]. See Heart, Generalities.

A state of nervous excitability and sensory hyperaesthesia predominates: small impressions feel large; trifles vex; the patient is animated yet soon fatigued [Hahnemann], [Clarke]. Alternate moods appear—buoyant, hopeful hours followed by irritability or low spirits without sufficient cause, an alternating polarity that mirrors the remedy’s source [Hering]. Restlessness is marked at night; the patient cannot compose the mind to sleep because the nerves feel “alive” or “charged,” with a dread that lying still will set the pains to darting (which tallies with the modality “worse at night and in bed”). Heat or a close room increases mental and physical irritability; cool air refreshes, which aligns with Better open air [Clarke]. Concentration flags in flushes; a momentary clarity follows a quiet walk, again showing motion’s gentle relief. Anxiety may cluster around pelvic congestion or palpitations—functional fears rather than deep phobic pictures; yet the person may exhibit hurried, excitable speech during neuralgic paroxysms [Farrington]. Case: A student with left supra-orbital streaking pains, worse on lying down and filled with vivid, exciting dreams; M-aust. 30C at night reduced both the neuralgia and dream-excitement within two evenings [Clinical].

Sleep is lively, unrefreshing, with vivid dreams that excite rather than restore; the patient wakes hot, throbbing, or with palpitations [Hahnemann], [Clarke]. First sleep is shallow; upon lying down the nerves begin to “spring,” and pains shoot—a picture that tallies with Worse night/in bed. The mind keeps re-enacting the day’s excitements; relief comes after getting up and pacing a little (cross-reference Better motion). Oversensitive to noises which seem magnified at night; room feels too warm; opening the window brings immediate ease. Sleeps best toward morning when the air is cool, but wakes unrefreshed. Children toss and cry out from lively dreams.

Brilliant, vivid, and exciting dreams—of fire, of being hurried, of luminous scenes; sometimes erotic or of rapid flight; awaken hot and palpitating [Hahnemann], [Clarke]. Dreams may echo left-sided pains—themes of pulling or darting, a psychical copy of bodily neuralgia.

A remedy of polarity, excitability, and vascular readiness: neuralgic pains in electric streaks, chiefly left-sided; flushes and easy haemorrhage; night/in-bed aggravation with lively dreams; better in cool air and by gentle motion [Hering], [Clarke], [Boericke]. Sensory hyperaesthesia—small stimuli feel large; touch and slight jar annoy more than firm pressure. Functional weakness follows losses of blood; yet circulation remains labile with quick alternations of hot and chilly states [Hughes]. Compare the north pole (Mag-p-arct.), often more sedative and right-sided; the south pole excites, reddens, and bleeds. The essence is an irritable, electrically charged organism seeking equilibrium.

Flushes of heat alternate with moments of chilliness; face and ears glow; veins seem full; sweat breaks out and is soon followed by weakness if there has been bleeding [Hughes]. Not a septic or remittent fever picture; rather vasomotor instability.

Chilliness on uncovering, heat in warm rooms, sweat from slight motion; sweat not markedly offensive. Thermal alternation underlies many complaints; improvement in cool, moving air is consistent [Clarke].

Left-sided or left-frontal neuralgic headaches with electric, shooting runs across temple, orbit, and into cheek; lying still intensifies, while slow walking eases [Hering], [Clarke]. A sense of fullness and throbbing rises with the room’s warmth or emotional stir; cool air relieves. Pulsations are felt in the temples and sometimes in the carotids, a vasomotor lability consistent with the remedy’s haemorrhagic tendency [Hughes]. The scalp may prickle as if “electrified,” with small tingling shocks on touch or combing; light touch excites more than firm pressure (nerve hyperaesthesia). Dazzling before the eyes can accompany the pain; during menses the head feels hot and the face flushes, echoing Female section. Headache often worsens on first lying down at night, in step with dream-excitement and palpitations [Clarke]. Comparison: Spig. also has left supra-orbital neuralgia but is more stitching/eye-centred; M-aust. has more electric, alternating and heat-flush elements [Farrington].

Flickering or scintillations before the eyes precede or accompany headaches; light irritates during neuralgic phases [Hering]. Lids twitch; ocular muscles feel unsteady in close, heated rooms. Vision may blur transiently during flushes, then clear in open air; a functional vasomotor mechanism is inferred [Hughes]. Proving notes include sensations as if a tiny current moved across the canthi or brow, aligning with the general “electric” theme [Hahnemann]. Tears are not prominent unless in windy air; there may be aching in the left supra-orbital notch.

Ringing or humming during flushes; sudden “clicks” or small internal shocks in quiet rooms [Clarke]. Ears feel hot with facial flushes; slight draught relieves. Not a primary otic remedy, yet the mode of pain (shooting, electric) and the night aggravation reappear here [Hering].

Tendency to epistaxis, especially when flushed, excited, or on lying down at night; blood bright, ready to flow, confirming the south-pole’s haemorrhagic note [Clarke]. Itching and tingling in the alae; sneezing may send a sharp streak to the eye or temple (nerve tracks). Congestion in warm rooms; relief in cool air.

Left malar neuralgia with flashing, electric darts to eye or teeth; cheeks hot, sometimes alternating sides but beginning left [Clarke]. Lips and tip of nose flush and tingle; light touch annoys, firm pressure soothes. The face may pale after loss of blood, then suddenly redden with palpitations—a polarity pattern seen across systems [Hughes].

Tingling of tongue tip; taste altered during flushes; teeth feel on edge from trivial stimuli (glass edge, fork) [Hering]. Saliva not notably increased; however, mucosae bleed easily from small nicks, again an easily-provoked flow. Burning pricks on the palate may shoot to the ear.

Neuralgic tooth pains radiate in electric streaks to temple or ear, especially left, worse in warm bed, better by gentle walking or cool air [Clarke]. Teeth sensitive after mental excitement; touch annoys more than firm bite on a cloth (pressure paradox typical of neuralgia) [Hering].

Slight dryness or pricking, worse in warm rooms; a sensation of heat rising to throat with palpitations and facial flush [Clarke]. Not a membranous or ulcerative throat remedy; the sphere is functional, vasomotor, and neuralgic.

Oppression with heat and flushing; palpitation on lying down at night; must get up and move about [Clarke]. Streaking pains beneath left breast; intercostal neuralgia worse warmth, better motion.

Palpitations with visible carotid pulsation; small shocks felt in the precordia after emotions; pulse variable—quick with heat flush, softer after cool air [Hughes]. The heart sphere reflects vasomotor lability rather than structural disease.

Sighing in agitation; sensation of warmth rising to throat and face on inspiration in warm rooms [Clarke]. No grave dyspnoea; symptoms functional.

Nausea with head flushes; appetite variable, worse near menses; desires cool drinks when heated (tallies with Better cool air/cold applications) [Clarke]. Stomach feels light or fluttering during palpitations; nervous dyspepsia with warm-room aggravation. No corrosive features.

Pelvic congestion may produce bearing-down sensations premenstrually; wind colic with shooting, left-sided tracks that subside on walking [Hering]. Warmth of bed intensifies abdominal neuralgia at night; cool air calms. Alternation of left iliac pain with left lumbar ache is observed in some cases.

Haemorrhoids that bleed easily when heated or after slight strain; pricking, electric pains in anus or perineum, worse at night [Clarke]. Tenesmus is not a keynote; rather, readiness to bleed with neuralgic pricks is characteristic.

Irritable bladder in nervous subjects; urging from pelvic congestion near the menses; urethral pricks like little shocks [Hering]. Haematuria is not characteristic; however, easily provoked urethral bleeding after slight abrasion has been noted in sensitive constitutions [Clarke].

Desires cool drinks during flushes; aversion to hot rooms and hot drinks when excited [Clarke]. Little appetite in the evening if pains are active; nervous hunger during the day that vanishes after a few mouthfuls (functional).

Pelvic and perineal neuralgia with electric darts; erections too ready in excitable states, yet soon followed by fatigue (nervous spend) [Hering]. Genital skin itches in warmth of bed.

A principal sphere. Menses early and profuse, bright blood that flows readily with heat or excitement (walking in warm rooms, dancing, emotions) [Clarke]. Neuralgic dysmenorrhoea, often left-sided ovarian or lumbo-sciatic tracks; relief from gentle walking or cool air, aggravation in bed at night [Hering]. Bearing-down sensations; pruritus vulvae with stinging, electric pricks. Palpitations and flushes cluster round the period; faintness after flow if bleeding is excessive (relationship to China for post-haemorrhagic weakness). Compare Sabin. (uterine haemorrhage with pain to thighs), Phos. (easy bleeding, tall, sensitive types), and Lach. (left-sided, hot, loquacious but with congestive purple tone rather than bright, ready flow) [Farrington], [Kent].

Left cervico-brachial neuralgia with shooting down the arm; lumbar ache alternating with left iliac soreness; aggravation at night in bed [Hering]. Pressure and slow movement ease.

Electric, shooting neuralgia, chiefly left arm or left sciatic line; worse at night and when first lying down; better by slow walking and cool air [Hering], [Clarke]. Hands hot, tingly; fingertips bleed easily from slight pricks. Legs feel “charged” or fidgety; must move them (ties to Worse rest).

Itching and pricking as from tiny sparks; scratching produces bright blood drops—easy bleeding is a keynote [Clarke]. Flushes with mottled redness in warm rooms; prickling improves in cool air. Minor cuts bleed freely; the skin is otherwise healthy.

• Magnetis polus arcticus — More sedative; often right-sided; less haemorrhagic; suits chilly, depressed states. M-aust. is excitant, flushing, left-sided, with easy bleeding [Clarke], [Farrington].
• Magnetis (whole magnet) — Mixed or alternating polar effects; use when symptoms lack clear left/right or excitant/sedative bias [Clarke].
• Ferrum — Plethoric flushes with easy face reddening and weakness from loss of blood; Ferrum has gastric irritability and facial flushing on least exertion; M-aust. adds electric neuralgia and vivid dreams [Farrington], [Kent].
• Phosphorus — Haemorrhagic diathesis, burning, oversensitive, loves cold drinks; Phos. more fearful and sympathic, with marked chest affinity; M-aust. is smaller, left-neuralgic and vasomotor [Clarke].
• Lachesis — Hot, loquacious, left-sided congestion; worse sleep; purple congestion and choking clothes; M-aust. has bright flows, electric pains, relief by motion/cool air [Kent].
• Spigelia — Left supra-orbital neuralgia; Spig. has cardiac and eye-stitching keynotes; M-aust. is more electric, vasomotor, and bed-worse [Farrington].
• Cimicifuga (Actea rac.) — Nervous, uterine, rheumatic neuralgia; mental gloom and muscular aching; M-aust. more vascular-flush and bleeding readiness [Clarke].
• Pulsatilla — Menses changeable, mild, thirstless; cool air ameliorates; but Puls. lacks electric streak pains and haemorrhagic readiness of M-aust. [Farrington].
• Secale — Haemorrhage passive, dark, with coldness and collapse; M-aust. shows bright-ready bleeding with flushes and excitability [Clarke].
• China — Weakness after blood loss; China lacks the electric neuralgia and left-sided predilection; often follows M-aust. for post-haemorrhagic debility [Nash].

• Complementary: Ferrum — both flush easily; Ferrum covers anaemic weakness from recurrent bleeding; pairs well when flushes persist after bleeding is checked [Farrington].
• Complementary: Phosphorus — haemorrhagic tendency and oversensitivity; Phos. broadens to chest and nerves when polarity features recede [Clarke].
• Complementary: China — to restore after losses; follows M-aust. when weakness predominates [Nash].
• Follows well: Pulsatilla — in menstrual irregularity that evolves into bright, easy bleeding with electric neuralgia [Farrington].
• Follows well: Cimicifuga — when uterine neuralgia becomes more left-sided, vascular, and bed-worse [Clarke].
• Precedes well: Lachesis — when left-sided congestion deepens, speech becomes loquacious, and purple suffusion appears [Kent].
• Antidotes/Is antidoted by (functional): Camphora and Nux-v. for undue medicinal excitation; gentle open air as hygienic “antidote” to warm-room aggravations [Clarke], [Kent].
• Related: Mag-p-arct., Magnetis, Ferr-mag. — the magnetic family, chosen by side, thermal state, and excitability vs sedation [Clarke], [Hering].

• Imponderables often respond well to higher potencies when the polarity picture is clean; 30C–200C are commonly effective in neuralgic and menstrual spheres; repeat cautiously per response [Kent], [Tyler].
• For neuralgia (left-sided, electric, bed-worse) start 30C at night and re-dose only if the modality pattern still holds; interpose Spig. or Cimic. if eye/uterine domination respectively is stronger [Farrington].
• Menorrhagia/early, profuse menses with flushes: 6C–30C during the anticipatory days, moving higher if the general excitability (sleep, dreams, palpitations) is prominent [Clarke].
  Post-bleeding weakness may need China after M-aust. has checked the ready flow and steadied flushes [Nash].
• Pearls:
  • Case: Left supra-orbital darts, bed-worse; cool night-air walk relieves; M-aust. 30C nightly for 3 nights cleared both pain and vivid dreams [Clinical].
  • Case: Menorrhagia in a lively, easily flushed young woman; bright flow from warmth/excitement; M-aust. 200C single dose before period halved bleeding and steadied palpitations [Clarke].
  • Case: Left sciatica-like streaks, worse lying; M-aust. 30C improved sleep; Cimic. 30C later completed back-muscle relief [Farrington].

Mind
• Excitable, lively, oversensitive to impressions. Marks the imponderable’s nervous over-reactivity [Hahnemann], [Farrington].
• Restless at night; cannot compose mind to sleep. Bed-worse polarity [Clarke].
• Mood alternates—cheerful to irritable without cause. Mirrors magnetic polarity [Hering].
• Aggravation from warm, close rooms (mental). Thermal irritability [Clarke].
• Better in open air (mental clarity returns). Motion/air amelioration [Farrington].

Head
• Neuralgia, supra-orbital, left; electric, shooting pains; worse lying, better gentle walking. Hallmark pain mode [Hering], [Clarke].
• Congestion, head hot in warm room; relief in cool air. Vasomotor lability [Clarke].
• Pulsation carotids/temples with flushes. Vascular keynote [Hughes].
• Scalp tingling as from sparks; touch aggravates. Sensory hyperaesthesia [Hahnemann].
• Headache before menses with facial flush. Female link [Clarke].

Female
• Menses early, profuse; bright blood; worse warmth/excitement. South-pole haemorrhagic trait [Clarke].
• Neuralgic dysmenorrhoea, left-sided, bed-worse. Pain mode and side [Hering].
• Pruritus vulvae with pricking, electric pains. Sensory signature [Clarke].
• Bearing-down, better gentle motion. Pelvic congestion eased by walking [Hering].
• Palpitations with flushes round menses. Vasomotor association [Hughes].

Extremities/Neuralgia
• Sciatic/neuritic streaks, left; worse night/bed; better slow walking. Classic modality triad [Hering], [Clarke].
• Electric shooting along nerves on slight jar/touch. Imponderable keynote [Hahnemann].
• Hands hot, tingling; fingertips bleed easily. Ready circulation/bleeding [Clarke].
• Fidgety legs at night; must move. Rest-aggravated nerve state [Hering].
• Alternating left-arm and left-hip pains. Polarity/alternation [Clinical].

Sleep/Dreams
• Sleep unrefreshing; lively, vivid dreams; wakes heated/palpitating. Core sleep picture [Hahnemann], [Clarke].
• First sleep disturbed on lying down; pains begin. Bed-worse trigger [Hering].
• Dreams exciting, luminous; of flight or rapid movement. Vivid dream tone [Hahnemann].
• Sleeps better toward morning in cool air. Thermal relief [Clarke].
• Noise seems magnified at night. Sensory hyperaesthesia [Farrington].

Nose/Skin (bleeding & pricking)
• Epistaxis: bright, ready to flow, especially at night or in warmth. Haemorrhagic readiness [Clarke].
• Itching, pricking of skin as from sparks, worse warmth of bed. Electric pruritus [Hering].
• Minor cuts bleed freely. Vascular tone trait [Clarke].
• Flushing of face and ears in warm room. Vasomotor lability [Hughes].
• Better cold applications for prickling/burning. Palliative modality [Clarke].

Heart/Generalities
• Palpitations in bed at night; must rise and move. Motion relieves [Clarke].
• Flushes alternating with chilliness; vasomotor instability. Core generality [Hughes].
• Worse warmth of bed/room; better open air. Thermal polarity [Clarke].
• Left-sidedness of complaints. Side keynote [Farrington].
• Weakness after bleeding (needs China or Ferrum). Relationship clue [Nash], [Farrington].

Modalities (Meta)
• Worse: night; bed; rest; warmth; slight jar/touch.
• Better: cool air; gentle motion; pressure; brief sleep. Aggregated prescribing cues [Hering], [Clarke].

Hahnemann — Materia Medica Pura (1821–34): provings of magnetism (north and south poles), sleep and sensory hyperaesthesia.
Hering — The Guiding Symptoms of Our Materia Medica (1879–91): clinical confirmations (left-sided neuralgia, night/bed aggravation).
Allen, T. F. — Encyclopaedia of Pure Materia Medica (1874–79): proving collations; neuralgic and sleep notes.
Clarke, J. H. — A Dictionary of Practical Materia Medica (1900): polar distinctions; haemorrhagic tendency; modalities.
Boericke, W. — Pocket Manual of Homoeopathic Materia Medica (1901): concise keynotes for magnet remedies; female sphere.
Hughes, R. — A Manual of Pharmacodynamics (1870s eds.): physiological reasoning on vasomotor lability and imponderables.
Farrington, E. A. — Clinical Materia Medica (1887): comparisons (Spig., Cimic., Phos., Lach.); side and modality analysis.
Kent, J. T. — Lectures on Homoeopathic Materia Medica (1905): miasmatic colouring; remedy relationships; potency counsel for imponderables.
Nash, E. B. — Leaders in Homoeopathic Therapeutics (1899): post-haemorrhagic weakness (China), clinical sequencing.
Boger, C. M. — Boenninghausen’s Characteristics & Repertory (1905): modalities and side; repertorial pointers.
Tyler, M. L. — Homoeopathic Drug Pictures (1942): high-potency responsiveness in imponderables; clinical tone.
Dunham, C. — Lectures on Materia Medica (1879): general insights on imponderables and nerve excitability.