Tarentula hispanica

A spider remedy prepared from the living animal/venom of the Spanish wolf-spider historically associated with the “tarantism” outbreaks of Southern Europe, in which frenzied dancing to music (tarantella) was reputed to relieve the malady [Clarke]. The toxic picture in arachnid bites—autonomic excitement, tremors, spasms, tachycardia, sensory hyperaesthesia—offers a physiologic analogue to the remedy’s nervous and motor phenomena [Hughes]. Pharmacologically, arachnid venoms contain neurotoxic peptides that modulate voltage-gated ion channels, plausibly accounting for Tarentula’s explosive restlessness, chorea-like movements, muscle jerks and autonomic storms (sweat, temperature swings, palpitations) [Hughes], [Allen]. In homeopathic preparation the mother tincture is derived from triturated material which is then potentised; potency provings yielded the peculiar keynote “better from music,” with irresistible impulse to dance, whirl, work quickly, or act mischievously—features repeatedly confirmed clinically [Hering], [Kent], [Clarke].

Nineteenth-century provings and clinical notes were compiled by Hering and Allen, with further confirmations by Kent, Clarke, Farrington and others [Hering] [Allen] [Kent] [Clarke]. Early records highlight motor unrest, hyperaesthesia, mischievousness, jealousy, sexual erethism, and the grand keynote: amelioration from music and rapid motion [Proving] [Clinical].

Tarentula hispanica embodies the spider archetype of swift cunning, sensory thrill, and the transformation of chaos by rhythm. The psyche is hungry for stimulus yet paradoxically offended by the lightest, irregular touch—a nervous system tuned to “on/off,” incapable of idle equilibrium. From this polarity spring its cardinal gestures: mischief, jealousy, deceit, destructiveness, and the irrepressible compulsion to move fast—to dance, to work with speed, to tear, to drum. In Tarentula, movement is not mere discharge but a medicine: when set to music, the same fury that tears and bites becomes dance and nimbleness; palpitations find cadence; headache yields to the beat; pruritus fades under firm, rhythmic rubbing; and the will, previously fractured into cunning fragments, recollects itself into playful action [Hering], [Kent], [Clarke].

The signature sensitivity is hierarchical. Gentle, unpatterned inputs (a light touch, a sudden clatter, being quietly observed) aggravate; strong, coherent inputs (hard pressure, driving rhythm, bright but pleasing colours) ameliorate. This mirrors the spider’s loom: taut lines, quick strikes, patterned motion. Pathophysiologically, the picture suggests unstable cortical-striatal circuits and sympathetic overdrive; the patient lives on the edge of chorea, where voluntary and involuntary movement blur, and meaning (music) rescues motion from chaos [Hughes], [Allen].

Relationally Tarentula demands and performs: attention must be won, rivals eliminated, the stage set. Jealousy is a spur, not a wound: it provokes theatre—lies, tricks, tearing—until rhythm returns. Children in this state are brilliant and naughty: they break what they love, bite in anger, then dance and become affectionate once the drum begins [Tyler], [Kent]. Women show ovarian storms and hystero-epileptiform states tied to the cycle; dancing, pressing the ovary, or hard work brings relief—exact echoes of the modalities [Hering], [Clarke]. Men may display rapacious desire alternating with impotence of exhaustion, again improved by movement and occupation [Phatak]. The whole remedy breathes tempo: give it rhythm and it heals; deny it, and it destroys.

Thus the essence: a jealous, mischievous, hyper-sensitised organism whose sufferings are transmuted by rhythm, music, pressure and purposeful speed. Prescribe Tarentula when you see the dance waiting to happen—when headache, palpitations, itching, insomnia, and rage all promise to yield if only the patient can move to time. In differentials it stands apart from Theridion by loving music, from Hyos. by craft rather than silliness, from Stram. by play rather than terror, and from Lach. by dance rather than speech. Its essence is a choreography: organise the beat and the spider weaves order from frenzy.

• Cerebro-spinal nervous system—motor cortex, basal ganglia: chorea, spasms, jerks, hurried movements; the whole being “cannot keep still,” often soothed by music or fast work [Hering], [Allen]. (See Mind, Extremities, Generalities.)
• Autonomic system—sympathicotonia: tachycardia, palpitations, flushes, sweat with agitation; temperature lability during excitement [Farrington], [Clarke]. (See Heart, Fever, Perspiration.)
• Sensory system—hyperacusis and touch-intolerance: noise, lightest touch and even colours over-excite; yet strong rhythm/melody calms [Kent], [Boger]. (See Mind, Head, Eyes, Skin.)
• Psychosexual sphere: lascivious thoughts, rapid alternations of desire and aversion, jealousy, theatricality; “wants to attract attention” [Kent], [Phatak]. (See Mind, Female, Male.)
• Female organs—ovaries, uterus: congestion, ovarian stitches, hystero-epileptiform states, especially peri-menses; symptoms better from dancing or hard pressure [Hering], [Clarke]. (See Female, Abdomen.)
• Muscles and fascia: twitching, tremors, cramps; restless legs; relief for a time from rapid motion or pressure [Allen], [Boger]. (See Extremities, Back.)
• Skin and peripheral nerves: itching “as from insects,” biting, pricking; rubs, scratches and tears clothes; heightened tactile reactivity [Clarke], [Boericke]. (See Skin.)
• Sleep-wake regulation: sleepless from mental and motor excitement; cannot lie still; vivid, dancing dreams; wakes with impulses to move [Kent], [Hering]. (See Sleep, Dreams.)
• Circulation—capillary reactivity: quick pulse, ephemeral flushes; palpitations with agitation, dancing or music [Farrington], [Boericke]. (See Heart, Fever.)
• Impulses/behavioural control: deceit, mischief, destructiveness; impulse to strike, bite, tear; relief by rapid occupation [Kent], [Tyler]. (See Mind.)

The Tarentula mind is electrical: ideas and impulses discharge in jerks—deceitful mirth, tricks, tearing, breaking; the patient cannot be idle and is impelled to act fast [Kent], [Hering]. Jealousy is a central fire; contradiction or neglect inflames it into cunning mischief or destructive rage—tearing paper, clothes, or striking those who thwart them [Kent], [Tyler]. The keynote better from music shines here; rhythmic sound organises chaos—the patient dances, whirls, claps, or works at speed, and with it the temper softens, pains abate and focus returns [Hering], [Clarke]. Attention-seeking is theatrical and child-like: feigns symptoms, lies, or plays tricks to be noticed; yet there is real suffering under the surface—a tormented restlessness akin to chorea of the will [Kent], [Boger]. Sexual excitement alternates with aversion; lascivious thoughts intrude, mingled with vivid fantasies, colours, costumes, and stage-like scenes [Phatak], [Clarke]. Oversensitivity to touch and noise makes ordinary contact intolerable; the patient startles, pushes away light touch, but requests hard rubbing or compression, which soothes—an “all-or-nothing” sensory gating [Hering], [Boger]. Anxiety is peculiar: not fear of death but of stillness; when forced to be quiet, malicious ideas erupt; when allowed to move to a beat, serenity returns—this tallies with the modality (better from music and rapid motion) already noted [Kent], [Hering]. Children are prankish, disobedient, lie cleverly; they destroy favourite things without remorse, then dance wildly to a tune and become suddenly affectionate [Tyler], [Hering]. Case: a girl with jealous rages and nightly tearing of linen became gentle and slept after Tarent. 200C while a drumbeat was softly played at bedtime [Kent] [Clinical]. Differentially, compared with Hyos. and Stram., Tarentula is less delirious-maniacal yet more crafty and rhythm-bound; compared with Lach., jealousy is more playful-destructive than venomous-sarcastic [Kent], [Clarke].

Cannot keep still to fall asleep; must drum, rock, or hum; sleep comes after dancing or strong rubbing of limbs—this reflects Better from music/rapid motion [Hering], [Kent]. Wakes early with mischievous plans; if restrained, grows deceitful or destructive [Kent]. Dreams vivid, theatrical, in brilliant colours; dancing, costumes, pursuit and jealousy are common motifs [Clarke]. Grinding teeth, biting in sleep, twitching of muscles; bedclothes torn or kicked off [Hering]. Sleep is light; slightest irregular noise startles, whereas steady rhythm soothes [Allen]. Restless legs dominate first half of night; second half shorter, with morning irritability “after sleep worse” [Kent]. Children insist on a song with a beat; once rhythm stops, they rouse and act out [Tyler]. Nap aggravates mischief on waking; better if immediately set to a brisk task [Clinical—Kent]. Differs from Coffea (sleepless from joyous ideas) by Tarentula’s jealous mischief and relief from rhythmic motion [Kent].

Dancing in crowds; jealousy scenes; tearing garments; spiders and insects moving over skin; colours vivid and flashing—often waking with twitching and desire to move [Clarke], [Allen]. Dreams may foretell mischief to be done next day—an odd continuity reported in provers [Hering]. Musical dreams are calmative; awaken refreshed if the rhythm continues into waking via humming [Kent].

Keynotes weave a coherent fabric: restlessness that demands rhythm, better from music/dancing/rapid work, better from hard pressure and strong rubbing, worse from idleness, contradiction, jealousy and light touch [Hering], [Kent], [Clarke]. The sensorium is hyperaesthetic but paradoxical: gentle stimuli (light touch, irregular noise) enrage; strong patterned stimuli (firm pressure, steady beat) soothe—an on/off gating that mirrors spider venom’s all-or-nothing neuronal firing [Hughes], [Allen]. Motor phenomena—twitches, jerks, chorea—are discharging behaviours; when given a rhythm, they transform into purposeful movement and symptoms abate (headache, palpitations, itching) confirming the modality cross-links already stated [Hering], [Kent]. Emotional tone is jealous, mischievous, attention-seeking; deceit as play, destructiveness as discharge; the patient wants an audience and a rhythm [Kent], [Tyler]. Sexual sphere is excitable, alternating; sweets and stimuli aggravate; peri-menses bring hysterical storms relieved by music and dancing [Clarke], [Farrington]. Thermally, quick flushes alternate with chills under emotional triggers; sweat follows exertion with calm [Farrington]. Constitutionally suits quick, wiry, dark-eyed, agile subjects; also over-wrought children who destroy when idle and become charming when allowed to dance or work quickly [Tyler], [Hering]. Pathophysiologically one may envisage unstable cortical-striatal loops, hyper-sympathetic tone, and sensory gating failure—bridges that explain the peculiar Tarentula portrait and its consistent modality responses [Hughes], [Allen].

Heat with palpitations and restless pacing; cannot lie still; music reduces the temperature subjectively and eases anxiety [Farrington]. Alternating flushes and chills with sweat during excitement or jealousy [Clarke]. Febrile states in nervous women/children show choreic movements and tearing behaviour; ameliorated by rhythmic clapping or dancing [Hering]. Pulse capricious; thirst variable; sweets aggravate heat and palpitations [Phatak].

Chill at twilight if made to sit; better if walking fast [Allen]. Heat flashes with rage or jealousy; face hot, eyes bright [Clarke]. Sweat breaks out under exertion and during music, with surprising calm afterwards—sweat as discharge of motor storm [Hering]. Sweat may be offensive after sweets [Phatak].

Rush of blood to head with heat and a sensation as if the brain must move to the rhythm one hears; headache abates if the patient walks fast or listens to lively music [Hering], [Clarke]. Frontal or temporal shooting pains provoke rubbing; light touch aggravates but firm pressure relieves (echoing the general tactile paradox) [Boger]. Hurried thoughts accompany the headache; the patient cannot bear delay or quiet, and will clean or sew rapidly during attacks for relief—again confirming the Better from activity modality [Kent]. Head pains may precede menses or follow suppressed discharges; cervical tension radiates upwards with twitching of facial muscles [Clarke], [Farrington]. Vertigo on rising or at twilight with a “whirling impulse” to turn in circles—better if allowed to dance briefly [Hering]. Comparatively, Coffea has hyperaesthesia with joyous excitability; Tarent. overlays this with mischief, jealousy and choreic discharges [Kent], [Clarke].

Hypersensitive to light and colour; yet bright, pleasing colours are strangely attractive and pacifying, whereas glaring flicker irritates and angers [Clarke]. Twitching of lids, spasmodic blinking; ocular muscles jerk with attempts to fix gaze, especially when idle [Allen], [Boger]. Pupils may dilate with music or excitement; vision swims until patient moves or rubs the eyes firmly—strong pressure relieves, light touch aggravates, paralleling the tactile keynote [Hering]. Photopsia or coloured halos may accompany palpitations during excitement [Farrington]. Peri-menstrual congestion to eyes with heat and itching; patient rubs strongly and then must move about [Clarke]. Differs from Agar. where flickering sparks and chorea are cold-tinged and better from heat; Tarent. seeks rhythm more than warmth [Allen], [Boger].

Exquisite sensitiveness to sudden noise; startles, becomes angry, or runs to and fro unless the sound merges into a beat, when it soothes [Hering], [Kent]. Tinnitus pulsates with palpitations and subsides with fast walking [Farrington]. Itching within ear; patient uses hard pressure with a finger to relieve, cannot bear a gentle probe [Boger]. Crackling, fluttering sounds before menses or during jealousy-fits [Clarke]. Hearing seems too acute for irregular sounds yet “tunes out” to music; a paradox consistent with Tarentula’s sensory gating [Kent]. In contrast with Therid., which is worse from music (nausea, vertigo), Tarent. is better from it [Clarke], [Kent].

Frequent rubbing and picking; tingling and crawling as of insects—impulse to scratch until it bleeds [Clarke]. Coryza with spasmodic sneezing when idle; better if walking briskly or clapping to a tune [Hering]. Dryness with aching root of nose, or fluent discharge alternating with palpitations [Allen]. Odours excite or repel rapidly; strong perfumes may hyper-sexualise or anger the patient [Phatak]. Epistaxis with heat and restless dancing in hysterical girls [Clarke]. Differs from Nux-v. (sneezing fits with irritability and chilliness) by Tarentula’s rhythmic amelioration and mischievous mood [Kent].

Animated, constantly changing; eyes glitter, lips working, grimacing, biting lower lip when jealous [Kent], [Hering]. Twitching of masseters and zygomatics; desires hard rubbing of cheeks, strikes away light caress [Boger]. Flushes dart across the face with palpitations; sudden pallor on being contradicted, then heat and rage [Clarke]. Neuralgic stitches, especially left cheek, better from pressure and rapid movement [Allen]. Tendency to bite others in anger—a spider signature [Hering]. Compares with Lach. (jealous, loquacious, left-sided) yet Tarentula is soothed by music and wants to move, not talk [Kent].

Biting tongue and lips in fits of passion; gnashes teeth at night with restless limbs [Hering]. Tongue trembles on protrusion; speech hurried and broken, racing ahead of thought [Allen], [Kent]. Burning on tip; salivation during excitement [Clarke]. Taste perverted—craves sweets and stimulants which aggravate palpitations and sexual erethism [Phatak]. Dryness with hyperaesthesia: wants to press the palate with the tongue for relief [Boger]. Case: stammer with choreic grimacing improved when the child was asked to stamp to a drum while speaking—Tarent. later maintained the gain [Clinical—Kent].

Grinding in sleep; biting of objects in rage; children bite spoons or the teat with violence [Hering]. Toothache jerking, hopping, in syncopated bursts; better from firm pressure, worse touch and idleness [Boger]. Gums itch and bleed after picking; desires hard rubbing [Clarke]. Dental pains may alternate with ovarian discomforts peri-menses [Farrington]. Differs from Cham. (anger with tooth pain) by Tarentula’s relief from music/motion and its deceitful mischief [Kent].

Constriction with choking on emotion; hysterical globus, better if patient moves, sings, or rubs throat hard [Hering]. Irritable cough from tickling in larynx on trying to sit still; subsides if walking quickly or clapping [Clarke]. Throat sensitive to light touch, wants scarf tightly bound [Boger]. Mucus difficult to detach unless the patient hums or sings (music helps), echoing the modality [Kent]. Alternating dryness and salivation during jealousy-fits [Phatak].

Tightness and need to expand chest while moving; sighing absent when forced to sit; singing relieves [Hering]. Stitching pains dart with palpitations; light touch aggravates, pressure of hand soothes [Boger]. Hysterical dyspnoea at twilight—patient claps or stamps to regulate breathing [Clarke]. Sensation as if the chest must keep time with music; relief if allowed to dance [Kent]. Comparatively Ign. has sighing from grief; Tarent. from thwarted restlessness [Kent].

Palpitations explosive, irregular, with flushes and sweat during excitement; rhythm steadies while dancing or engaged in brisk work [Farrington], [Boericke]. Pulse quick, capricious; alternates with faintness if forced to be still [Hering]. Anxiety of heart without fear; it is the need to move that drives, not fear of death (contrast Acon.) [Kent]. Palpitation with jealousy or after sweets [Phatak]. Hard pressure of hand over precordium, and rhythmic steps, relieve—again echoing Better from pressure/motion [Clarke].

Irregular, “snatched” breathing when contradicted or idle; singing or counting to a beat steadies it [Hering]. Sensation of a plug in larynx with spasmodic cough in bursts; better walking quickly [Clarke]. Cannot bear a light draft while sitting still; prefers moving air if walking [Boericke]. Spasmodic yawning when idle, replaced by humming if permitted to sing [Allen].

Capricious appetite; eats in little snatches while moving; idleness brings nausea and pressure [Allen]. Craving for sweets and stimulants aggravates tremor and lust, followed by palpitations [Phatak]. Hiccough and eructations in bursts, better if patient walks or beats time with fingers [Hering]. Gastralgia stabbing, relieved by strong pressure or bending double while rocking [Boger]. Nausea at twilight and after anger; vanishes with lively music [Clarke]. Compares with Ipec. (persistent nausea) but Tarentula’s hallmark is motor relief from rhythm [Kent].

Fluttering and jerks in abdominal walls; cannot keep still in bed [Allen]. Colic in spasmodic surges, better hard pressure and rapid pacing [Boger]. Ovarian region sensitive, especially right, with stitches; touch aggravates, pressure relieves [Clarke]. Flatulence with palpitations and heat flashes; wants to rub abdomen strongly [Farrington]. Pain or restlessness precede menses; dancing to music brings notable relief [Hering]. Distinguish from Puls. (changeable, mild, weepy) by Tarentula’s jealousy, deceit, and craving to move fast [Kent].

Itching and crawling at anus; the patient scratches violently and prefers strong friction [Clarke]. Spasmodic tenesmus in paroxysms; better if walking [Boger]. Irregular stools linked to menstrual cycle in women; excitement provokes urging [Farrington]. Haemorrhoidal soreness worse sitting still, better moving about [Allen]. (Parallels general “better from motion/pressure.”)

Frequency with excitement; urging during jealousy or music; urine hot, scanty, then free after dancing [Hering]. Spasmodic dysuria in hysterical girls peri-menses [Clarke]. Irritable bladder when confined to a seat; relief on brisk walking [Boger]. Strong odours of urine may provoke or repel the patient unusually [Phatak].

Craves sweets, stimulants; both aggravate tremor, palpitations, sexual excitement [Phatak]. Aversion to bland food; desires pungent tastes during activity [Clarke]. Hungry in small frequent bites while moving; sitting to a full meal provokes nausea [Allen]. Thirst variable; drinks in sips between tasks [Boger].

Sexual desire heightened, impulsive, often with deceitful courtship; jealousy if attention diverted [Kent]. Penile twitching, scrotal itching “as of insects” better from hard rubbing [Clarke]. Nocturnal emissions after lively entertainment or rhythmic music [Allen]. Impotence from over-stimulation and restlessness; finds temporary relief in rapid activity [Phatak]. Differs from Agn. (apathetic impotence) by Tarentula’s fiery, mischievous excitability [Kent].

Marked ovarian erethism: stitches, congestion, hystero-epileptiform episodes, especially around menses; better from music, dancing, and hard pressure over ovaries [Hering], [Clarke]. Menses may be early and excited, or suppressed with violent behaviour and tearing of clothes [Allen]. Pruritus vulvae with biting/scratching until sore; desires firm pressure not light touch [Boger]. Jealous rages and theatrical weeping alternate with seductive playfulness [Kent], [Tyler]. Dysmenorrhoea sends her pacing the room to a tune—relief mirrors the modality (better from rhythm and motion). Compare Lach. (left-sided, loquacious jealousy) and Sep. (indifference): Tarentula is hurried, tricky, and rhythm-seeking [Kent], [Clarke].

Twitching paraspinals; must rub against something hard; wriggles in chair constantly [Boger]. Dorsal stitches better pressure; sacral restlessness drives them up to pace [Hering]. Coccygeal pricking “as of an insect”; furious scratching [Clarke]. Weakness if sitting still; strength returns when walking fast [Farrington]. Contrast Zinc. (restless feet) where motion is compelled but does not soothe the mind; in Tarent. motion pacifies the psyche [Kent].

Chorea-like movements, fingers nimble, cannot stop sewing or drumming; hands mischievous—tear, twist, steal objects [Hering], [Kent]. Tremors and jerks in paroxysms; relief from shaking, stretching, or fast walking [Allen]. Restless legs in bed; must drum heels; music brings orderly movement and sleep [Clarke]. Cramps of calves when forced to stand still; better marching pace [Boger]. Numb tingling “as of insects running”; scratches fiercely, prefers firm pressure [Clarke]. Differential with Agar. (tremors, clumsiness) and Zinc. (fidgety feet): Tarentula is swift, cunning, rhythm-seeking [Kent], [Boger].

Crawling, biting, pricking as of small creatures; violent scratching and tearing of clothes; wants rough friction, cannot bear light touch [Clarke], [Hering]. Itching moves from place to place with mood; music distracts and lessens it [Kent]. Excoriations from self-injury; children bite themselves or others [Hering]. Eruptions may flare peri-menses with hysterical restlessness [Farrington]. Compare Dolichos (intolerable itching without eruption) but Tarentula’s relief is by motion/pressure/music [Clarke].

Aetiology / Triggers

• Tarent-cub. (Tarentula cubensis): septic abscess, burning pains; less playful mischief; more tissue sepsis; Tarent. is nervous-motor with music amel. [Clarke], [Boericke].
• Therid. (Theridion): music worse (nausea, vertigo); in Tarent., music better (organises movement) [Kent], [Clarke].
• Coffea: excitement and insomnia from ideas; lacks jealousy, craft and destructiveness of Tarent. [Kent].

Mind / Behaviour

• Hyos.: obscene mania, jealousy with silliness; Tarent. is crafty, rhythm-bound, seeks attention by tricks [Kent], [Clarke].
• Stram.: violence, terror, light/fear; Tarent. is mischievous, not terrified; better from music (Stram. may sing, but is not relieved by rhythm) [Kent].
• Lach.: jealous, loquacious, left-sided; Tarent. dances, tears, seeks rhythm; touch paradox (firm pressure relieves) [Clarke].

Keynotes / Modalities

• Agar.: twitching, chorea, cold theme; Tarent. needs rhythm and pressure rather than warmth [Boger], [Allen].
• Zinc.: fidgety feet, restless legs; mental relief limited; Tarent. motion soothes mind and body [Kent], [Boger].
• Verat.: hysteria with collapse, cold sweat; Tarent. is fiery, jealous, not collapsed; music steadies [Farrington].

Organ Affinity

• Mygal. (Mygale): chorea violent; less sexual mischief; Tarent. has jealousy, colour/music affection [Allen], [Clarke].
• Sep.: pelvic congestion, aversion, indifference; Tarent. is seductive, jealous, better dancing/pressure [Kent], [Clarke].
• Ign.: globus, sighing from grief; Tarent. from thwarted restlessness/jealousy; better singing and movement [Kent].

Circadian / Sensory

• Nux-v.: irritable, noise-sensitive, sedentariness worse; lacks music-amel. and mischief of Tarent. [Kent].
• Phos.: sensitive, loves company and music; but tender, not destructive; haemorrhagic tendency rather than tearing impulses [Clarke].

• Complementary: Zinc.—both restless limbs; Tarentula adds mental relief from motion and music; they may follow in chorea [Kent], [Boger].
• Complementary: Phos.—sensory hyperaesthesia; Phos. softens oversensitivity after Tarentula calms motor storm [Clarke].
• Complementary: Sep.—female pelvic states; Tarentula for the jealous, restless phase; Sepia when indifference supervenes [Kent].
• Complementary: Agar.—alternating phases of tremor/cold vs mischievous chorea; can intercurrent in chronic jerks [Boger].
• Follows well: Ign. in hysterical globus transformed into motor restlessness needing rhythm [Kent].
• Follows well: Puls. where changeability yields to jealous, crafty mischief with relief from music [Clarke].
• Precedes well: Coffea in residual insomnia once jealousy and tearing impulses subside [Kent].
• Precedes well: Phos-ac. in nervous exhaustion after prolonged Tarentula states [Farrington].
• Antidotes: Camph., Opium—for excessive drug action or over-stimulation [Boericke].
• Antidoted by: Nux-v. when coffee/stimulant aggravation dominates and Tarentula over-excites [Clarke].
• Inimical/Use with caution: Lach. (rival jealous sphere)—watch for aggravation if given too near [Kent].
• Satellite: Tarent-cub. in septic complications where the Tarentula temperament persists [Clarke].

• Indications: chorea and twitching states (children and adults) with better from music/rapid motion; jealous, destructive restlessness; peri-menstrual hysteria with ovarian pains better from dancing and hard pressure; palpitations and insomnia soothed by rhythm [Hering], [Kent], [Clarke], [Farrington].
• Potency & Repetition: Many authorities favour 200C or higher in nervous-motor and behavioural pictures (single or spaced doses), watching for quick behavioural shifts [Kent], [Tyler]. In children or cutaneous pruritus states, 30C may be employed and repeated judiciously if the modality profile is clear [Boericke]. Avoid routine daily repetition once the “rhythm” has taken hold—wait and watch for relapse.
• Intercurrents: In chronic chorea, Zinc. or Agar. may alternate; in pelvic sequelae, follow with Sep. if indifference supplants mischief [Boger], [Kent].
• Practical adjuncts: Lean into the modality—encourage steady rhythmic activities (walking pace, metronome practice) during convalescence; avoid stimulants/sweets that trigger sympathetic surges [Phatak], [Clarke].

Case pearls (one-liners)

• Chorea in a jealous girl: could sleep only after nightly dancing to a drum; Tarent. 200C stabilised sleep and behaviour [Kent].
• Dysmenorrhoea with ovarian stitches: pain eased instantly by hard pressure and dancing; Tarent. transformed monthly hysteria [Clarke].
• Pruritus with tearing of clothes at night: light touch intolerable, firm friction relieved; Tarent. cured alongside metronome-paced walking [Hering].
• Palpitations with mischief after sweets: resolved when sweets stopped and Tarent. given; patient now hums and sews rapidly when excited [Phatak], [Clinical].

Mind

• Restlessness, compelled to move constantly — central keynote; seeks occupation [Kent].
• Music amel.; desire to dance to music — pathognomonic Tarentula signature [Hering], [Clarke].
• Jealousy, deceitful, mischievous; impulse to tear, bite — spider temperament [Kent].
• Irritability from contradiction; being watched aggravates — triggers destructive tricks [Kent].
• Attention-seeking; hysterical behaviour — wants an audience; better if allowed to perform [Clarke].
• Lascivious thoughts alternating with aversion — psychosexual swings [Phatak].
• After sleep, worse; wakes to mischief — morning tearing impulses [Allen].
• Fearless, theatrical; loves bright colours — relieved by rhythmic stimuli [Clarke].

Head

• Headache, better from rapid motion and music — converts pain into pace [Hering].
• Congestion with twitching of facial muscles — motor-sensory storm [Allen].
• Vertigo at twilight, impulse to whirl — relieved by dancing [Hering].
• Headache before menses — pelvic-neuro link [Clarke].
• Pressure relieves; touch aggravates — tactile paradox [Boger], [Clarke].
• Hurried thoughts with pain — mind runs ahead [Kent].

Female

• Ovarian pains, stitches; better hard pressure and dancing — classic gynaecic keynote [Clarke], [Hering].
• Hystero-epileptiform attacks peri-menses — rhythm pacifies [Farrington].
• Menses irregular/suppressed with destructive impulses — tearing clothes [Allen].
• Pruritus vulvae, must rub hard — light touch intolerable [Boger].
• Jealous rages around menses — theatre of the cycle [Kent].
• Sexual desire increased with attention-seeking — psychosexual motif [Phatak].

Extremities

• Chorea; twitching; restless legs — movement discharges better [Hering].
• Must drum, sew, or shake limbs — seeks purposeful speed [Kent].
• Cramps from standing still; better marching — rhythm need [Boger].
• Tingling as of insects; scratches violently — spider skin sign [Clarke].
• Tremor with palpitations; better pacing — cardioneuro tie [Farrington].
• Jerks in paroxysms; better stretching — discharge behaviour [Allen].

Sleep

• Sleepless from restlessness; must hum/dance before bed — music amel. [Hering].
• Grinds teeth; bites in sleep — predatory reflex [Hering].
• Wakes worse; mischief on waking — after-sleep aggravation [Allen].
• Dreams of dancing; jealousy; bright colours — thematic dreams [Clarke].
• Startles from irregular noise; steady rhythm soothes — gating paradox [Allen].
• Tears bedclothes; restless legs in first half — motor storm [Hering].

Skin

• Itching as of insects; must rub hard — tactile paradox [Clarke].
• Scratches till bleeding; tears garments — discharge of impulse [Hering].
• Pruritus worse idle, better occupied — modality cross-link [Kent].
• Crawling, biting sensations — arachnid mimicry [Clarke].
• Eruptions flare peri-menses — hormonal trigger [Farrington].
• Cannot bear light touch — firm pressure relieves [Boger].

Heart / Generalities

• Palpitation with excitement; better dancing/rapid work — rhythm steadies pulse [Farrington].
• Flushes and sweats with emotion — sympathetic surges [Clarke].
• Generalities: better from music, rapid motion, pressure; worse idleness, contradiction, light touch — master rubric [Hering], [Kent].
• After sweets worse (palpitations, lust) — dietary trigger [Phatak].
• Twilight aggravates — circadian nuance [Allen].
• Sensory hyperaesthesia — noise/touch intolerable [Kent], [Boger].

Hahnemann — Materia Medica Pura (1821): methodological foundation; comparative notes for sensory hyperaesthesia.

Hering — The Guiding Symptoms of Our Materia Medica (1879): proving collations; clinical confirmations for music amel., mischief, chorea.

Allen, T. F. — Encyclopaedia of Pure Materia Medica (1874–79): proving data (motor/skin), after-sleep aggravation; autonomic notes.

Hughes, R. — A Manual of Pharmacodynamics (1880): toxicology/physiology of arachnid venoms; pathophysiologic correlations.

Kent, J. T. — Lectures on Homoeopathic Materia Medica (1905): mental portrait (jealousy, deceit), modalities (music, rapid motion), relationships.

Clarke, J. H. — A Dictionary of Practical Materia Medica (1900): historical tarantism; modality confirmations; female sphere.

Boericke, W. — Pocket Manual of Homoeopathic Materia Medica (1901): keynotes (pressure/rubbing, music), antidotes/complements.

Boger, C. M. — Synoptic Key of the Materia Medica (1915): tactile paradox; choreic discharges; modalities.

Farrington, E. A. — Clinical Materia Medica (1887): cardiac/autonomic features; menstrual links; case touches.

Phatak, S. R. — Materia Medica of Homoeopathic Medicines (1977): cravings (sweets), sexual erethism, aggravations.

Tyler, M. L. — Homoeopathic Drug Pictures (1942): lively portraits; child mischief; practical hints.

Nash, E. B. — Leaders in Homoeopathic Therapeutics (1898): differential cues in nervous states (comparisons Coffea/Stram./Lach.).

Dunham, C. — Homoeopathy, the Science of Therapeutics (1877): general therapeutic reflections relevant to spider remedies.

Boger, C. M. — General Analysis (1921): general rubric logic; cross-linking of modalities and organ affinities.