Pulsatilla nigricans

Prepared from the entire fresh plant of Pulsatilla nigricans, a perennial herbaceous plant in the Ranunculaceae family. It grows wild in Europe and is known for its silky, nodding flowers and irritant sap.

Proved by Samuel Hahnemann and his students in the early 19th century. Key symptoms recorded in Materia Medica Pura and Chronic Diseases.

Pulsatilla is the embodiment of gentle adaptability—a soul that bends rather than breaks, and suffers silently if affection is withheld. It is the remedy of changeability, not only in symptoms but in emotions, moods, desires, and complaints. Like the flower swaying in the wind, this patient constantly seeks balance between inner need and outer environment. Their sweetness masks vulnerability, and many ailments trace to disappointment, hormonal upheaval, or emotional neglect. They long to be held, to be loved, to cry without judgment.

• Venous system: congestive and sluggish circulation
• Mucous membranes: bland, yellow-green, thick discharges
• Female reproductive organs: hormonal sensitivity, menses irregularities
• Gastrointestinal tract: indigestion from fatty foods
• Mind and emotions: changeable mood, weepiness, need for consolation
• Respiratory tract: dry coughs, nasal catarrh, loss of smell
• Eyes and ears: conjunctivitis, otitis media
• Joints: wandering pains, especially knees and ankles

Pulsatilla’s emotional landscape is soft, yielding, and deeply changeable. The patient is mild, timid, often appearing sweet-natured, but prone to sudden tears, melancholy, and insecurity. There is a strong need for consolation, touch, and emotional closeness, and ailments often arise from being forsaken, disappointed, or unloved [Kent]. Easily moved to tears by kindness. Great fear of abandonment. Symptoms and mood are both changeable—they may laugh one moment, cry the next. Indecisiveness is profound, always seeking reassurance. Aversion to quarrels and conflict, though they may become jealous or sulky if neglected [Clarke]. Mental symptoms are often worse in the evening, or when left alone.

Sleep disturbed by frequent waking and vivid dreams. Sleep unrefreshing. Restless in early part of night. Sleep position constantly changing. Sleepless from thoughts or suppressed emotions.

Dreams of water, weeping, abandonment, or emotional events. May cry in sleep. Dreams vivid and easily recalled. Dreams of being pursued or lost. Changeable content, often reflecting day’s emotional state.

Changeable symptoms—no two days the same. Lack of thirst even in fever. Aggravation in warm, closed rooms. Great sensitivity to hormonal changes. Chilliness with aversion to heat. Symptoms improve with motion, open air, and sympathy. Left-sided complaints, or migrating from one side to another.

Fever with chilliness, no thirst, and desire for fresh air. Alternating chills and heat. Fever in evening, often with weeping. Sweat is scanty or profuse, often on covered parts.

Chills begin in the back or extremities. Warmth aggravates all stages of fever. Sweats in fits and starts. Lack of thirst is notable in all stages. One-sided chills or heat (e.g., flushed on one cheek).

Headaches that are shifting, congestive, or bursting. Pain may localise to the temples, vertex, or forehead, and often change sides. Pain comes with gastric symptoms—after rich food or suppressed menstruation. Head feels as if tightly bandaged. Vertigo on rising or after stooping. Headache worse from warm rooms, better in cool air or gentle motion [Boericke].

Thick, yellow or green bland discharges, without much irritation. Lids are stuck together in the morning. Profuse lachrymation in wind or sun. Eyes may feel hot or gritty. Sty formation frequent. Itching or burning improved by cold applications. Sight dim in evening or during menses.

Otalgia with throbbing pain, especially at night. Ears feel stopped or as if water inside. Thick, offensive ear discharges. Hearing loss during colds. Noise aggravates. Sensation as if air is rushing out of the ear [Hering].

Coryza with loss of smell and taste. Discharge thick, yellow-green, bland (non-irritating). Nasal obstruction worse indoors. Nosebleeds during menses or from suppressed eruptions. Changeable obstruction—alternating nostrils [Clarke].

Pale, sometimes blotchy. Cheeks hot, red—one-sided flushes. Lips dry, cracked. Expression mild and melancholy. Acne around puberty or menses. Swelling of face or eyelids in the morning. Tearing facial neuralgia shifting sides.

Dryness of mouth and tongue without thirst. Mucus accumulates in mouth, with bad taste in morning. Tongue coated white or yellow. Taste altered—bitter, metallic, or absent. Aphthae in children. Speech may be slow and hesitant from weakness.

Toothache worse from warm food and drink, better from cold. Pulsating, tearing pain. Toothache worse at night, especially in bed. Decay of molars. Gums bleed easily. Teeth feel too long or loose [Hering].

Dryness with burning or scraping sensation. Tonsils inflamed, especially on the right. Discomfort worse in warm rooms, better from cold drinks. Thick mucus in throat, especially in morning. Voice hoarse or lost in evening.

Cough dry, worse at night, especially when lying down. Must sit up to relieve it. Cough loose in morning, dry in evening. Pain in chest shifting sides. Oppression and heaviness in chest. Shortness of breath in warm rooms. Palpitation from lying on left side or from emotional upset.

Palpitations worse lying on left side. Pulse rapid or irregular. Sensation as if heart stops, then starts with a jerk. Anxiety centred in the chest. Palpitations during menses or after emotions.

Shortness of breath, worse in warmth, better in open air. Must sit up to breathe. Oppressed chest with frequent sighing. Sensation of weight on chest. Dyspnoea during menses or pregnancy. Tightness in throat and chest from weeping.

Great aversion to fatty foods, which cause bloating, nausea, or vomiting. Gnawing, sinking sensation with emptiness in stomach. Belching relieves. Taste of food returns hours after eating. Craves sweets or cold food but digestion is weak. No thirst, even with fever or dryness [Kent].

Flatulence and distension, worse after rich food. Wandering abdominal pains. Pain before and during menstruation. Liver region sensitive, especially after indulgence. Chilliness in abdomen. Pain relieved by motion or pressure.

Constipation with frequent ineffective urging. Stools are large, soft, and difficult to pass, or thin and scanty. Diarrhoea from cold drinks or fright. Stool may be offensive and accompanied by chilliness. Itching in anus. Worse at night.

Urging to urinate with little output. Painful urination in girls during puberty. Dribbling or interrupted stream. Involuntary urination when coughing or laughing. Mucus in urine. Bladder pain relieved by warmth.

Craves: butter, pastries, sweets, ice cream
Aversion: fatty foods, pork, warm dishes
Worse from: rich food, pork, cold drinks
Better from: cold food, open air, gentle walking

Low libido or impotence from emotional causes. Drawing pain in testicles, especially right side. Prostatitis with urging and incomplete flow. Gonorrhoeal discharge thick, yellow-green, bland.

Highly suited to hormonal disturbances—delayed, suppressed, irregular, or painful menses. Menses often scanty, changeable, or late, with pain worse lying still. Amenorrhoea from fright, exposure, or grief. Vaginal discharges are thick, yellow-green, bland. Nausea in pregnancy. Craving for sympathy during PMS. Labour pains that are weak, irregular, or cease altogether.

Stiffness and aching between shoulder blades. Pain in small of back with menses. Chilly feeling along the spine. Crawling or shivering down back in evening. Wandering back pains, worse from rest.

Wandering joint pains, especially in knees and ankles. Drawing, tearing pains worse from warmth or rest. Feet hot, must uncover them. Veins of hands distended. Hands and feet easily chilled. Oedema in lower limbs before menses.

Itching eruptions worse from heat. Acne in puberty or around menses. Urticaria from rich food. Skin greasy or dry. Warts that bleed. Suppressed eruptions may cause deeper pathology. Chilblains with burning, itching.

• Sepia – Also hormonal, indifferent, and moody; Sepia is more irritable and withdrawn, Pulsatilla weeps and seeks affection
• Ignatia – Also weepy and sensitive; Ign. has internalised grief, sighing, and sudden hysterical states; Puls. is soft, gentle, and yielding
• Silicea – Timid and chilly like Puls., but more stubborn, perfectionistic, and headstrong beneath the surface
• Sulphur – May share heat aggravation and venous stasis; Sulphur is philosophical, messy, more selfish; Puls. is mild and clean
• Lycopodium – Digestive sensitivity and timid persona; Lyc. is bossy at home, cowardly outside; Puls. is genuinely yielding and flexible

• Complementary: Sulph., Calc., Sil.
• Antidotes: Cham., Coff., Nux-v.
• Inimical: Rhus-t.
• Follows well: Sep., Calc., Nat-m.
• Precedes well: Sulph., Sil., Lyc.

• Excellent remedy for children, women, and sensitive adults
• Useful in puberty, menstruation, pregnancy, and menopause
• Indicated in otitis media, acne, dry coughs, and delayed menses
• Acute prescribing: 30C–200C, especially for colds, earaches, or indigestion
• Constitutional prescribing: 200C–1M, given infrequently
• Do not repeat too often—symptoms change rapidly and may mask the simillimum

Mind

• Weeping, easily
• Consolation, amel.
• Forsaken feeling
• Timid, yielding disposition
• Changeable mood

Head

• Headache, shifting
• Headache, suppressed menses after
• Vertigo, rising from bed

Eyes

• Discharges, bland, thick
• Sty, recurring
• Photophobia, warm room agg.

Ears

• Otalgia, night, tearing
• Hearing, impaired, after otitis
• Discharges, yellow-green, bland

Nose

• Coryza, thick yellow-green
• Smell, loss of
• Obstruction, alternating sides

Stomach

• Aversion, fat, rich food
• Craves sweets, pastry
• Thirstlessness, fever during

Female

• Menses, delayed, irregular
• Leucorrhoea, thick, bland
• Amenorrhoea, emotions from

Chest / Respiratory

• Cough, dry, night
• Oppression, warm room agg.
• Expectoration, morning only

Extremities

• Pain, shifting, wandering
• Feet, hot, uncovers them
• Joints, swelling before menses

Generalities

• Aggravation, warm room
• Amelioration, open air
• Thirstlessness, with dryness
• Symptoms, changeable

Samuel Hahnemann – Materia Medica Pura: Original proving notes, including mental themes, thirstlessness, and digestion
James Tyler Kent – Lectures on Homoeopathic Materia Medica: Deep insight into emotional characteristics and hormonal affinity
C. Hering – Guiding Symptoms of Our Materia Medica: Described eye, ear, and menstrual complaints in detail
William Boericke – Pocket Manual of Homoeopathic Materia Medica: Clinical utility in respiratory, GI, and hormonal conditions
John Henry Clarke – Dictionary of Practical Materia Medica: Offered complete analysis of shifting pains, mucous membranes, and modalities