Tantalum :This metal was named after the Greek king Tantalus.
- Jan Scholten
Tantalum is anew remedy.
Signature This metal was named after the Greek king Tantalus, who became so arrogant that the Gods sent him to the underworld to undergo some terrible tortures. Tantalum was discovered in 1802 and its chemical formula is Ta.
The metal is quite resistant to corrosion, hence its use in surgery to replace parts of bone, nerves, muscles and in hart transplantations.
Its melting point is extremely high: 3000 degrees C. It can increase the strength of other metals at high temperatures. It is used in condensers, cutting tools, heating elements in vacuum tubes and in camera lenses.
It is also used as a mallet in heart and vascular operations.
Concepts
Stage 5 Gold series
Preparing Leadership Management
Advance guard Scouts Organisation Structure
Proposal Doubt Responsible
Postponing Serious Heavy
Evading King
Preposterous Unrealistic Power Dictatorial
Alternating Dignified Haughty
Torture Tantalising Alone Isolation
Failure Hurt
Religion Sexuality
Ripe old age
Land
Eyes Vision
Group analysis
Doubting whether they are a real leader.
Hesitating to take on the responsibility.
Hesitating out of fear of dictatorship.
The foundation of a kingdom is an impossible task.
Unrealistic expectations about their leadership qualities.
Indecisive out of fear of arrogance.
Preparing the business.
Postponing the real leadership tasks.
Evading their responsibilities.
Alternately taking on and leaving their religious task.
Tortured by irresponsibility.
Tortured by tarn.
Tortured by their sexuality.
Alternating their eyes: nystagmus.
Picture of Tantalum metallicum
Essence: doubt and hesitation about their fantastic plans.
Doubting their qualities as a leader
They have a desire to manifest themselves but they don't really know if they can. They may have all sorts of grandiose schemes but they don't know how to carry them out. Their life is one of many starts and stops. As soon as they have started a project they begin to wonder whether they can really manage it properly.
So they are always hesitating where to take on the responsibility or not.
Founding a kingdom is an impossible task
Many times they feel that it would be better to stop, but that means they have failed. Things do go wrong of course, because they haven't got much experience yet. But they have an intense desire to reach for the top. This alternation of moods often cause them to wonder what on earth they have let themselves in for. It is a tantalising problem. They feel that their plans or the organisation are a bit too far fetched, that they don't have the capacity to lead their business on the road to success.
Unrealistic expectations about their leadership qualities One day they see themselves as a brilliant leader, the next day they feel they haven't got any power at all. Their lack of experience makes it even more difficult to have a realistic view of their own capacities. Outside influences are likely to affect them a lot. A small mishap or a negative remark can throw them off balance and make them think they are totally useless. But an encouraging word and a minor success is likely to make them feel they have made it and that from now on the world will lie at their feet.
Indecisive from fear of arrogance
The other side of the coin is a tendency to become very haughty. This side doesn't often come to the foreground because it is usually hidden behind their uncertainty and their fear of failure. But they can become quite indecisive and hesitant, purely because they are too afraid that the successes will go to their head and that they become too arrogant or dictatorial. In the story of Tantalus the emphasis is placed more on his arrogance and this is the cause of the torture he has to undergo.
Tantalus was the king of Lydia and he was very rich and powerful.
He used to sell the secrets of the gods to his people, he stole the heavenly ambrosia and nectar and gave it to his people. He became so presumptuous that he even attempted to put the all knowing wisdom of the gods to he test (Schwabb, 1993). He does this by presenting his son on a dish as food for the gods. This proves to be his undoing. It is decided that doesn't deserve the riches and the happiness he has been enjoying.
Postponing the real leadership tasks In the story of Tantalus the torture is a punishment for his arrogance. But we can also see this torture as something that is directly connected to arrogance. The endless and fruitless striving to reach something can be a compensation for arrogance.
As long as you haven't reached your goal yet there is less danger to become too arrogant. But deep inside they will always think of what could have been. The lack of perseverance can also be a way of avoiding possible failures. As soon as they really go full steam ahead they may discover that they can't get to where they wanted. So in hat respect it is better not to try too hard, the disappointment would be too great if their dreams were no more than castles in the air. The theme of power and arrogance is a general theme of the whole Gold series, coupled to the realisation of their plans. The different stages show us how the realisation of their great plans is coming along and how they handle it. In the story about Tantalus the torture is the solution to the problem of having to make their professed greatness come true. They get stuck in their own doubts, in a constant yearning for something that is just out of reach. They keep trying to grasp it, but their attempts are too feeble to have any effect. This is the tantalising torture: he had to stand in the middle of a lake, where the water was reaching up to his chin, but he just couldn't reach it to quench his unbearable thirst. As soon as he bent over to drink the water would recede and the lake became dry. The water suddenly disappeared, absorbed into the bottom of the lake as if swallowed up by a bad spirit.
But not only did he suffer from an unquenchable thirst, he also had to suffer unspeakable hunger pains, that nearly drove him insane. And just above his head there was the most gorgeous fruit hanging down from the trees in great abundance. Apples, pears, figs, olives, all equally tempting and luscious, but as soon as the desperate man reached out his hand to grab them, a sudden gust of wind would sweep the branches away high up into to air, far out of his reach. And as if a burning thirst and a raging hunger weren't enough torture, there was also the constant threat to his life in the form of a huge boulder hanging suspended in the air just above him, threatening to fall down and pulverise him at any moment (Schwab 1993).These people never feel able to lead a large company, they consider themselves too much of an amateur to take on such a task.
Setting up a business
They are very good at setting up a business. They know a large project like that requires a thorough preparation and proper planning. They go into all the details of such an enterprise and try to foresee any possible problems. But they have to be careful not to get stuck in the preparations and never get any further than this preliminary stage. Sometimes they can't see the wood for the trees and get totally lost in all the details.
Evading their responsibility
Getting lost in details may be a subconscious way of trying to avoid full responsibility and the risk of failure.
Alternately taking on or avoiding their religious task Some of them might feel they have a religious task to fulfill.
Their project is more than a worldly venture, it also has some religious aspects. They feel responsible for adding a spiritual element to their project. But here we also see their changeable nature. Sometimes they really try to push this through and at other times they are happy to leave it out.
Tortured by their sexuality They may also feel tortured by their strong sexual drives. They want to be respected sexually, but they don't know how to put it across. This may cause them to doubt whether sexual experiences are meant to be there in their lives. They may approach other people with a view of a sexual relationship and then suddenly stop short of the actual event. As if they get stuck in the leading up phase, without ever getting to where they want to.
Expressions
Fears: heights, falling, murder, being murdered, death, suicide, heart disease, stroke, insanity, people, crowds, religion, devil, God.
Dreams: heights, fallen, failure, money, a stronger power, preparations, forgetting, steep walls, high mountains.
Delusions: superior, alone; mania, not able to manage, not strong enough, back against the wall, powerless, heaviness.
Irritability: (<) offended. Mood: haughty. Mental: absent minded, confused, rigid, insane. Professions: king, leader, director, manager, president, chairman, captain, mayor, bishop, top sportsman or woman. Generals Type: male, dark hair, overweight. Locality: right. Weather: cold; (>) open air; (<) gloomy; (<) dry. Time: (<) night. Desires: alcohol, drugs, bread, sweet, meat, cold water. Aversion: meat, eating. Food: (<) drugs, (>) eating, (<) fasting. Menses: (<) menses, (<) pregnancy, (<) giving birth. Sleep: sleeplessness (3). Physical: (<) rest, (<) sitting, (<) lying, (>) walking, (>) motion, (<) dark, (>) pressure, (>) rubbing, (<) touch. Complaints Weakness, nervousness and restlessness. Pains: boring, contracting. Sensations: swollen, blown up, heavy, full. Glands: swollen, inflamed, indurated. Abscesses, necrosis. Paralysis, Parkinsons, multiple sclerosis. Epilepsy, tonic, clonic, tetanic. Lack of feeling. Cancer. Headache. Face swollen. Trembling (<) anger. Eye complaints:inflammations, visual disturbances. Nystagmus (!). Heart complaints: high blood pressure, infarction, failure. Pulse: too fast, too slow, fill, weak, irregular. Congestion of blood. Cerebral haemorrhage. Anaemia. Problems with testes and ovaries: inflammations, cancer, cryptorchism, sterility, amenorrhoea, metrorrhagia. Affections of bones: necrosis, inflammation. Eczema. DD: Gold series, Stage 5. DD Hafnium: is just beginning his managerial task and doesn't know what he has let himself in for. Tantalus does know what is involved, but it isn't until now that he realises how many problems there are to be solved, which he doesn't want to tackle in case he makes a mistake. Case A 28 year old man has come because of mental and emotional problems. He feels very unsure of himself and he is afraid of people. He thinks that people are looking at him all the time. He feels inferior and can't make decisions. He prefers to stay at home. In his dreams he has many confrontations with other people. When he feels nervous his diaphragm starts to contract. It happens in a spot exactly between the xiphoid and the navel. The pain is worse from taking a deep breath and sometimes it makes him feel sick. His anxiety is also expressed in other physical symptoms. He has a nystagmus that is very severe, he never looked straight at you. His speech is halting. He had a severe attack of hiccoughs once or twice that he could hardly stop. He also smiles constantly, as if he wants to please you. His sense of smell is diminished and he gets a sore throat in strong, dry winds. He gets frequent headaches right between his eyes, (<) heat and sunlight. His neck and shoulders are usually quite stiff, and he gets an itch on his lower legs. Also a nagging pain in the region of his kidneys, as if his kidneys are being squeezed out. Occasional pain in the testes. His parents were divorced because they were always fighting. They were incompatible and there was a horrible atmosphere at home. After the divorce his mother always spoke bad about the father. During his secondary school years he went to live with his father, but when his father got a new girl friend they told him to leave. He feels very vulnerable, as described above. It is a sense of apathy, as if everything is grey and flat, he can't really feel things. He has become far too serious, lost his sense of humour. He is also very sensitive, especially with regard to appreciation from others. He used to be criticised for his ideas. People also find his behaviour and his nystagmus off putting. He is an individualist and likes to pursue his own ideas. He can get too obsessive about it, he wants things done fast. He can get very annoyed by his friends who want to push him into a direction he doesn't want to go. He is afraid of getting stuck and not finding his way back again. He loves games, but only for the sake of playing. He hates it when it gets too serious. He once had a relationship but split up after a while. Now he is afraid of committing himself because he thinks he will lose his freedom to speak for himself. His father always forced him to study hard, otherwise you'll get nowhere in this big, hostile world. He is good at learning, he studied law and English language, but didn't finish it, he couldn't absorb any more information in the end. Now he does administrative work on a free lance basis. Generals Weather: cold, cold hands and feet, (<) heat and sunlight; (<) dry, strong wind; (>) sea.
Perspiration: profuse, forehead and back.
Time: (<) 3 pm. Desires: spices, biter; he is a vegetarian. Aversion: sour, sauerkraut, sprouts, meat, fish, egg, milk. Sleep: tense, on side. Analysis After Magnesium phosphoricum he improved considerably, emotionally as well as physically with respect to his nystagmus. But after a year there was no further improvement, not even with higher potencies. Other remedies such as Cadmium phosphoricum and Baryta sulphurica did nothing. An analysis based on nystagmus, using Reference works, gave a whole range of remedies, far more than mentioned in the repertory, but none of these worked either. But I still felt that the nystagmus represented the core of his problem. It was so obvious and so severe that you couldn't deny it. Eventually I decided to translate the nystagmus into a stuttering with the eyes, an uncontrolled, stammering movement of the eyes. Stammering is a symptom of Niobium, and of the 5th stage in general, with its theme of hesitation and doubt. The eyes however are more involved in the Gold series and so I go to Tantalum. The pain in the testes is also typical of the Gold series. Reaction After Tantalum 1M suddenly all sort of things started to happen. He realised that he never manifested his abilities, never put his ideas into practice. He noticed he was caught up an a sort of bubble that he couldn't get out of. Every time he tried to reach the end to break out, the wall would recede and he couldn't get through. The likeness to the story of Tantalus is most striking! He had a dream in which he was a king (Gold series) who got poisoned (Gold series). His own people had betrayed him, because he was standing in the way of a revolutionary new era. The poison had turned his teeth green. He received treatment from some spiritual healers (Gold series) who stuck needles in his gums. After a while he began to feel stronger and more sure of himself. The world is no longer threatening. He is being asked to treat other people and he now feels he is being asked to make a choice (moving towards Stage 6, challenge). The tension and the energy in his eyes is easing up. The nystagmus is getting less and after one year it is only a third of what it used to be. His vision used to be weak, chaotic, foggy and didn't reach further than about 3 metres. Now it has become much stronger. Proving By Kees Dam and Yvonne Lassauw. Pain the heart region (Gold series), cramping, violent, radiating to left under arm, shoulder and arm; happened again later; (>) hands under armpits and hunched up shoulders. A feeling of: I am going to die right now. groaning and moaning, want to cry out for help but can't. My breathing is audible, as if I am suffocating, with the impression of a decompensation of the heart. It happens very suddenly, is totally overwhelming and feels life threatening. I feel helpless and overwhelmed, I can't do anything.I get a vision of a little flower that is being bashed by the waves on the beach. Suddenly a huge wave comes along and that flattens the flower unto the beach. it is lying there all sad and squashed, but is roots are still in place (rooted but still weak, Stage 4 or 5).
Image: a firm cactus that remains upright and lets the water wash over it without being affected.
My voice is trembling, goes up into a little squeak, as if frightened. Making little noises, like, iiih, ooh and aah, not from fear, sooner as a sort of joke (N.B. going from iih, to aah, is going down in tone; is this a compensation?). After this a sort of hilarious spell, making trilling sounds, humming, mimicking voices and making fun. Jumpy from noises.
Afraid of an impulse to throw hot soup in Kees face and then asking him if it hurt.
In bed I had a feeling as if my left cheek was stung by a mosquito, itching and pricking, this sensation moved to between my breasts, (where I developed a few spots), after that to the inside of my right heel, then high up on my forehead, on elbow, knuckles of hands. The sensation on my left cheek is the the strongest, but there is also a strong, stitching sort of itch underneath my right toe that doesn't go away, worse when I uncover the blankets.
A patient was going to give a seminar on the difference between animal and plant remedies. She said you could see the difference in the patients eyes. She was talking about the snakes and how introverted they could appear. (I had been thinking of a snake remedy for her myself).
My mother wants to drive me to the station. My granny is coming with us and an aunt is driving so slowly that I am worried about missing the train. My mother is crying, telling my grandmother how sad she felt when she (my grandmother) died. My grandmother is also visibly moved by this story. I have to go and buy a ticket, so I grab my bags and run to the counter. I can hardly find the ticket office in all the chaos at the station so I shout: One Pulsatilla please!. Fortunately the lady a the desk understands that I want a ticket to Amsterdam. When I run up the stairs to the platform I can see the train leaving. When I get back to the car I notice that all the doors are open and all my bags are still on he seats. Apparently I had forgotten to take them in the rush. Feeling: I am obsessed with the thought of catching the train, like a blinkered horse.
I have a prickling, electric shock like sensation in my chest, let and right side. Before menses quite weepy and sentimental, more sensitive to a kind word and a cuddle.
There is a sort of theatre competition in a small room, an informal space without chairs, with cushions on the floor and children crawling around. Kees has won the first price and I became second. Somebody had gone too far in presenting the image of a manic, half nude person and had tried to get the audience involved. I started crying about a slight quarrel with Kees, who said I shouldn't cry here. Kees first place had been a surprise, that is why they showed a video of his winning piece. We see Kees swimming in the water with tears in his eyes. It is a sort of reunion. I also come swimming along (and think: perhaps I shared a bit of the first prize?). The prize is handed over by Keess parents.
Pain in left upper arm, rubbing.
Acute, stitching pains in the region of the liver and right groin, in waves lasting 15-25 seconds.
After the pain another hilarious spell with iihs, and aaahs, much movement of the mouth, rhythmic tapping of the feet and singing.
Sudden thought: drinking water is a very important aspect of his remedy.
I get the impression that this remedy isn't very aggressive. I feel weak and weepy from music (mouth organ).
I get spots on my left shoulder, wrist, and back of hand successively with an itch on the acupressure point 4 of the large intestine, situated on the left hand.
I have to give a speech for a large audience. But a very loudmouthed man wants to steal the show. At first he restricts himself to some funny remarks about a woman who is sitting in the front row, but then he puts a bag over his head so that everybody is forced to look at him. He becomes more and more exuberant and I can't cope with this. Later on Jan Scholten gives me a hand to get this man to the front row so that he will shut up. But then there are suddenly three more characters like that who begin to shout. Jan tells me: These are all Mongezers (Hyoscyamus type people from Africa) and you'll never win. Now they are all leaning across the table with my lecture notes: How on earth will I be able to manage? A man who had fallen in love with me was trying to make contact.
He was using all his charm to get my attention, a real perseverer. I wasn't interested, so I locked all the doors and windows of the house and pretended I wasn't there. Then he started to push presents like earrings and bracelets through the letterbox. I changed my telephone number about five times but they still managed to find me.
I feel there is no antidote for this remedy.
A have been given the opportunity to appear in a t.v. programme but I have to be very careful that nothing will happen to spoil my plans.
I give large amounts of money, about f. 100, to a beggar in the street. This happens three times and I also give a large sum to two women who are selling something.
It was a bit naive of me because they will probably spend the money on drink. I would have been more sensible to buy them something useful like a coat or something.
A tramp in the park with thick eyebrows and a thick coat is taking Parkinson like little steps backwards, as if he is retreating from some danger and will soon be pushed back up against a wall (Stage 5). (This man does live in the Vondel park in real life and does show this kind of behaviour).
I see lots of silver earrings and also an ugly white cupboard with many beautiful decorations, as if to hide its ugliness.
One of my patients is taking some money out of my purse. I try to protest but when she takes an even more authoritative instance and says that it is her money I quickly try and pacify her saying: O,K., O.K., it is your money, I totally trust you! A strange, untrustworthy man has to shake my hand. He was always carrying a sharp piece of glass to hurt others with. So I try to avoid giving him my hand, but if I have to Ill do it in such a way that he can't harm me.
Catharina had had to work very hard on the farm she runs with Wim. I thought: Why should she have to do all that as well, she has plenty of work bringing up two children and studying at the same time. She was totally exhausted and was leaning on her right shoulder. I asked if she at least had been given some money for her labours and she said: eh, no I didn't. I wondered whether she had asked or money and she said again: eh, no (Heavy, tired, exhausted.)
Vomiting, tough mucus in throat.
I can't go on, everything is so too much, too heavy (Gold series), as if a ton of bricks is resting on my body, I haven got the strength to tackle anything.
Too tired even to sit, to eat, to work. I wish I were dead. I cancel my patients appointments. The worst thing about is that I wont earn any money today. The feeling of pressure, as from a lump of concrete is mainly situated in the upper part of my body, the elasticity has gone. I can't cry even, although it would probably bring some relief. I can't have an organism, it did happen, but I didn't feel it. (A week later this whole day seemed to have been erased from my memory).
Image: a vagina (Gold series), with a large thick earthenware dish in front of it, which was broken down the middle (grey, orange). It was so heavy that it broke. I took of my rings and I didn't put them back on for a week, the imprints of the rings are still visible on my fingers.
I suddenly feel that I should give a message to a friend. I am walking and walking, in a countryside with high, thick hedges. I am searching, but I can't ask anything, I have to go ahead now. Then I see her house, overgrown with ivy and rather low down, as if it had sunk into the ground. I find her in a shed busy doing the washing. She is too thinly dressed for the time of year although she is very ill. I suddenly realise I have forgotten what message I was going to give her, I had been to fixated on finding her house. She is happy to see me and not at all surprised. She takes me inside for a cup of coffee. Inside a man in waving a duster over the sitting room table. He sands up but doesn't offer to make the coffee. He says in a flat voice: I was planning to leave this house anyway, although my girlfriend doesn't know this yet. I am shocked, thinking Shell need some Ignatia quickly.
I have a desire for physical activity like walking. It doesn't feel like an exertion, I could go on forever. I am running around like mad. It is a case of having to, to stay abreast of the opposition and the forces that are stronger than myself.
Periodicity: seven days.
A strange feeling in my head, right in the centre. A sort of fainting, with a fear that I wont be able to use my brain anymore. It is not like fainting from lack of air, it is not a light headedness, more a dull pressure from several points towards one spot. A feeling of pressure towards the back, as if something is going to be switched off and you'll control over your brain. It is as if my head moves backwards because I am powerless to give contra pressure. It was worse when I had to concentrate or look my patients in the eye. After playing the piano (Harlem nocturne) I felt more relaxed.
Image: foreigner, man with black, hair in tight curls, lots of gel, hair running down into his neck (like the Mongueze in the previous dream).
Feel threatened in a foreign country by a group of men who want to rob me. I can't do anything to prevent it. A nice shop is heavily fortified with lattice iron railings. I found a strong piece of blue sheeting which I grip tightly while I float just above ground level, like a sort of surfing.
I feel as if people are spying on me., I would like to bury myself in a hole in the ground. I can't find my shopping list and I immediately think the Mongeze people have taken it.
I repeat things I have just said, either because I forgot I had said it, or because I want to make sure that it has been heard.
I am constantly checking things, whether the door is locked, whether I have put my purse in my bag, that sort of thing. And even then I still forget.
Discharge from right ear (before that from left ear).
Tough mucus in throat with retching, worse mornings.
Tired and sleepy but can't go to bed, can only sleep on the sofa or the floor.
I was looking for a students flat in a good position and a nicer view. The road was very steep (Stage 5, 4-8).
There was a notice on the side of the road saying the incline was so many percent, followed by an exclamation mark. When you looked at it you would lose all hope of ever getting up that hill (discouraged, Stage 5) before you had even tried it (Stage 5). We did walk a little way up, but soon felt we couldn't go on. It was almost impossible, like walking up a steep rock face, and when you stood up straight you could fall backward any moment.
Pushy people asking me to marry them. A woman had had an accident and three men came up to her and started making advances. One man wanted to marry me to get a residence permit. Another man followed one of the women all the time and even asked for her telephone number.
Tantalum is anew remedy.
Signature This metal was named after the Greek king Tantalus, who became so arrogant that the Gods sent him to the underworld to undergo some terrible tortures. Tantalum was discovered in 1802 and its chemical formula is Ta.
The metal is quite resistant to corrosion, hence its use in surgery to replace parts of bone, nerves, muscles and in hart transplantations.
Its melting point is extremely high: 3000 degrees C. It can increase the strength of other metals at high temperatures. It is used in condensers, cutting tools, heating elements in vacuum tubes and in camera lenses.
It is also used as a mallet in heart and vascular operations.
Concepts
Stage 5 Gold series
Preparing Leadership Management
Advance guard Scouts Organisation Structure
Proposal Doubt Responsible
Postponing Serious Heavy
Evading King
Preposterous Unrealistic Power Dictatorial
Alternating Dignified Haughty
Torture Tantalising Alone Isolation
Failure Hurt
Religion Sexuality
Ripe old age
Land
Eyes Vision
Group analysis
Doubting whether they are a real leader.
Hesitating to take on the responsibility.
Hesitating out of fear of dictatorship.
The foundation of a kingdom is an impossible task.
Unrealistic expectations about their leadership qualities.
Indecisive out of fear of arrogance.
Preparing the business.
Postponing the real leadership tasks.
Evading their responsibilities.
Alternately taking on and leaving their religious task.
Tortured by irresponsibility.
Tortured by tarn.
Tortured by their sexuality.
Alternating their eyes: nystagmus.
Picture of Tantalum metallicum
Essence: doubt and hesitation about their fantastic plans.
Doubting their qualities as a leader
They have a desire to manifest themselves but they don't really know if they can. They may have all sorts of grandiose schemes but they don't know how to carry them out. Their life is one of many starts and stops. As soon as they have started a project they begin to wonder whether they can really manage it properly.
So they are always hesitating where to take on the responsibility or not.
Founding a kingdom is an impossible task
Many times they feel that it would be better to stop, but that means they have failed. Things do go wrong of course, because they haven't got much experience yet. But they have an intense desire to reach for the top. This alternation of moods often cause them to wonder what on earth they have let themselves in for. It is a tantalising problem. They feel that their plans or the organisation are a bit too far fetched, that they don't have the capacity to lead their business on the road to success.
Unrealistic expectations about their leadership qualities One day they see themselves as a brilliant leader, the next day they feel they haven't got any power at all. Their lack of experience makes it even more difficult to have a realistic view of their own capacities. Outside influences are likely to affect them a lot. A small mishap or a negative remark can throw them off balance and make them think they are totally useless. But an encouraging word and a minor success is likely to make them feel they have made it and that from now on the world will lie at their feet.
Indecisive from fear of arrogance
The other side of the coin is a tendency to become very haughty. This side doesn't often come to the foreground because it is usually hidden behind their uncertainty and their fear of failure. But they can become quite indecisive and hesitant, purely because they are too afraid that the successes will go to their head and that they become too arrogant or dictatorial. In the story of Tantalus the emphasis is placed more on his arrogance and this is the cause of the torture he has to undergo.
Tantalus was the king of Lydia and he was very rich and powerful.
He used to sell the secrets of the gods to his people, he stole the heavenly ambrosia and nectar and gave it to his people. He became so presumptuous that he even attempted to put the all knowing wisdom of the gods to he test (Schwabb, 1993). He does this by presenting his son on a dish as food for the gods. This proves to be his undoing. It is decided that doesn't deserve the riches and the happiness he has been enjoying.
Postponing the real leadership tasks In the story of Tantalus the torture is a punishment for his arrogance. But we can also see this torture as something that is directly connected to arrogance. The endless and fruitless striving to reach something can be a compensation for arrogance.
As long as you haven't reached your goal yet there is less danger to become too arrogant. But deep inside they will always think of what could have been. The lack of perseverance can also be a way of avoiding possible failures. As soon as they really go full steam ahead they may discover that they can't get to where they wanted. So in hat respect it is better not to try too hard, the disappointment would be too great if their dreams were no more than castles in the air. The theme of power and arrogance is a general theme of the whole Gold series, coupled to the realisation of their plans. The different stages show us how the realisation of their great plans is coming along and how they handle it. In the story about Tantalus the torture is the solution to the problem of having to make their professed greatness come true. They get stuck in their own doubts, in a constant yearning for something that is just out of reach. They keep trying to grasp it, but their attempts are too feeble to have any effect. This is the tantalising torture: he had to stand in the middle of a lake, where the water was reaching up to his chin, but he just couldn't reach it to quench his unbearable thirst. As soon as he bent over to drink the water would recede and the lake became dry. The water suddenly disappeared, absorbed into the bottom of the lake as if swallowed up by a bad spirit.
But not only did he suffer from an unquenchable thirst, he also had to suffer unspeakable hunger pains, that nearly drove him insane. And just above his head there was the most gorgeous fruit hanging down from the trees in great abundance. Apples, pears, figs, olives, all equally tempting and luscious, but as soon as the desperate man reached out his hand to grab them, a sudden gust of wind would sweep the branches away high up into to air, far out of his reach. And as if a burning thirst and a raging hunger weren't enough torture, there was also the constant threat to his life in the form of a huge boulder hanging suspended in the air just above him, threatening to fall down and pulverise him at any moment (Schwab 1993).These people never feel able to lead a large company, they consider themselves too much of an amateur to take on such a task.
Setting up a business
They are very good at setting up a business. They know a large project like that requires a thorough preparation and proper planning. They go into all the details of such an enterprise and try to foresee any possible problems. But they have to be careful not to get stuck in the preparations and never get any further than this preliminary stage. Sometimes they can't see the wood for the trees and get totally lost in all the details.
Evading their responsibility
Getting lost in details may be a subconscious way of trying to avoid full responsibility and the risk of failure.
Alternately taking on or avoiding their religious task Some of them might feel they have a religious task to fulfill.
Their project is more than a worldly venture, it also has some religious aspects. They feel responsible for adding a spiritual element to their project. But here we also see their changeable nature. Sometimes they really try to push this through and at other times they are happy to leave it out.
Tortured by their sexuality They may also feel tortured by their strong sexual drives. They want to be respected sexually, but they don't know how to put it across. This may cause them to doubt whether sexual experiences are meant to be there in their lives. They may approach other people with a view of a sexual relationship and then suddenly stop short of the actual event. As if they get stuck in the leading up phase, without ever getting to where they want to.
Expressions
Fears: heights, falling, murder, being murdered, death, suicide, heart disease, stroke, insanity, people, crowds, religion, devil, God.
Dreams: heights, fallen, failure, money, a stronger power, preparations, forgetting, steep walls, high mountains.
Delusions: superior, alone; mania, not able to manage, not strong enough, back against the wall, powerless, heaviness.
Irritability: (<) offended. Mood: haughty. Mental: absent minded, confused, rigid, insane. Professions: king, leader, director, manager, president, chairman, captain, mayor, bishop, top sportsman or woman. Generals Type: male, dark hair, overweight. Locality: right. Weather: cold; (>) open air; (<) gloomy; (<) dry. Time: (<) night. Desires: alcohol, drugs, bread, sweet, meat, cold water. Aversion: meat, eating. Food: (<) drugs, (>) eating, (<) fasting. Menses: (<) menses, (<) pregnancy, (<) giving birth. Sleep: sleeplessness (3). Physical: (<) rest, (<) sitting, (<) lying, (>) walking, (>) motion, (<) dark, (>) pressure, (>) rubbing, (<) touch. Complaints Weakness, nervousness and restlessness. Pains: boring, contracting. Sensations: swollen, blown up, heavy, full. Glands: swollen, inflamed, indurated. Abscesses, necrosis. Paralysis, Parkinsons, multiple sclerosis. Epilepsy, tonic, clonic, tetanic. Lack of feeling. Cancer. Headache. Face swollen. Trembling (<) anger. Eye complaints:inflammations, visual disturbances. Nystagmus (!). Heart complaints: high blood pressure, infarction, failure. Pulse: too fast, too slow, fill, weak, irregular. Congestion of blood. Cerebral haemorrhage. Anaemia. Problems with testes and ovaries: inflammations, cancer, cryptorchism, sterility, amenorrhoea, metrorrhagia. Affections of bones: necrosis, inflammation. Eczema. DD: Gold series, Stage 5. DD Hafnium: is just beginning his managerial task and doesn't know what he has let himself in for. Tantalus does know what is involved, but it isn't until now that he realises how many problems there are to be solved, which he doesn't want to tackle in case he makes a mistake. Case A 28 year old man has come because of mental and emotional problems. He feels very unsure of himself and he is afraid of people. He thinks that people are looking at him all the time. He feels inferior and can't make decisions. He prefers to stay at home. In his dreams he has many confrontations with other people. When he feels nervous his diaphragm starts to contract. It happens in a spot exactly between the xiphoid and the navel. The pain is worse from taking a deep breath and sometimes it makes him feel sick. His anxiety is also expressed in other physical symptoms. He has a nystagmus that is very severe, he never looked straight at you. His speech is halting. He had a severe attack of hiccoughs once or twice that he could hardly stop. He also smiles constantly, as if he wants to please you. His sense of smell is diminished and he gets a sore throat in strong, dry winds. He gets frequent headaches right between his eyes, (<) heat and sunlight. His neck and shoulders are usually quite stiff, and he gets an itch on his lower legs. Also a nagging pain in the region of his kidneys, as if his kidneys are being squeezed out. Occasional pain in the testes. His parents were divorced because they were always fighting. They were incompatible and there was a horrible atmosphere at home. After the divorce his mother always spoke bad about the father. During his secondary school years he went to live with his father, but when his father got a new girl friend they told him to leave. He feels very vulnerable, as described above. It is a sense of apathy, as if everything is grey and flat, he can't really feel things. He has become far too serious, lost his sense of humour. He is also very sensitive, especially with regard to appreciation from others. He used to be criticised for his ideas. People also find his behaviour and his nystagmus off putting. He is an individualist and likes to pursue his own ideas. He can get too obsessive about it, he wants things done fast. He can get very annoyed by his friends who want to push him into a direction he doesn't want to go. He is afraid of getting stuck and not finding his way back again. He loves games, but only for the sake of playing. He hates it when it gets too serious. He once had a relationship but split up after a while. Now he is afraid of committing himself because he thinks he will lose his freedom to speak for himself. His father always forced him to study hard, otherwise you'll get nowhere in this big, hostile world. He is good at learning, he studied law and English language, but didn't finish it, he couldn't absorb any more information in the end. Now he does administrative work on a free lance basis. Generals Weather: cold, cold hands and feet, (<) heat and sunlight; (<) dry, strong wind; (>) sea.
Perspiration: profuse, forehead and back.
Time: (<) 3 pm. Desires: spices, biter; he is a vegetarian. Aversion: sour, sauerkraut, sprouts, meat, fish, egg, milk. Sleep: tense, on side. Analysis After Magnesium phosphoricum he improved considerably, emotionally as well as physically with respect to his nystagmus. But after a year there was no further improvement, not even with higher potencies. Other remedies such as Cadmium phosphoricum and Baryta sulphurica did nothing. An analysis based on nystagmus, using Reference works, gave a whole range of remedies, far more than mentioned in the repertory, but none of these worked either. But I still felt that the nystagmus represented the core of his problem. It was so obvious and so severe that you couldn't deny it. Eventually I decided to translate the nystagmus into a stuttering with the eyes, an uncontrolled, stammering movement of the eyes. Stammering is a symptom of Niobium, and of the 5th stage in general, with its theme of hesitation and doubt. The eyes however are more involved in the Gold series and so I go to Tantalum. The pain in the testes is also typical of the Gold series. Reaction After Tantalum 1M suddenly all sort of things started to happen. He realised that he never manifested his abilities, never put his ideas into practice. He noticed he was caught up an a sort of bubble that he couldn't get out of. Every time he tried to reach the end to break out, the wall would recede and he couldn't get through. The likeness to the story of Tantalus is most striking! He had a dream in which he was a king (Gold series) who got poisoned (Gold series). His own people had betrayed him, because he was standing in the way of a revolutionary new era. The poison had turned his teeth green. He received treatment from some spiritual healers (Gold series) who stuck needles in his gums. After a while he began to feel stronger and more sure of himself. The world is no longer threatening. He is being asked to treat other people and he now feels he is being asked to make a choice (moving towards Stage 6, challenge). The tension and the energy in his eyes is easing up. The nystagmus is getting less and after one year it is only a third of what it used to be. His vision used to be weak, chaotic, foggy and didn't reach further than about 3 metres. Now it has become much stronger. Proving By Kees Dam and Yvonne Lassauw. Pain the heart region (Gold series), cramping, violent, radiating to left under arm, shoulder and arm; happened again later; (>) hands under armpits and hunched up shoulders. A feeling of: I am going to die right now. groaning and moaning, want to cry out for help but can't. My breathing is audible, as if I am suffocating, with the impression of a decompensation of the heart. It happens very suddenly, is totally overwhelming and feels life threatening. I feel helpless and overwhelmed, I can't do anything.I get a vision of a little flower that is being bashed by the waves on the beach. Suddenly a huge wave comes along and that flattens the flower unto the beach. it is lying there all sad and squashed, but is roots are still in place (rooted but still weak, Stage 4 or 5).
Image: a firm cactus that remains upright and lets the water wash over it without being affected.
My voice is trembling, goes up into a little squeak, as if frightened. Making little noises, like, iiih, ooh and aah, not from fear, sooner as a sort of joke (N.B. going from iih, to aah, is going down in tone; is this a compensation?). After this a sort of hilarious spell, making trilling sounds, humming, mimicking voices and making fun. Jumpy from noises.
Afraid of an impulse to throw hot soup in Kees face and then asking him if it hurt.
In bed I had a feeling as if my left cheek was stung by a mosquito, itching and pricking, this sensation moved to between my breasts, (where I developed a few spots), after that to the inside of my right heel, then high up on my forehead, on elbow, knuckles of hands. The sensation on my left cheek is the the strongest, but there is also a strong, stitching sort of itch underneath my right toe that doesn't go away, worse when I uncover the blankets.
A patient was going to give a seminar on the difference between animal and plant remedies. She said you could see the difference in the patients eyes. She was talking about the snakes and how introverted they could appear. (I had been thinking of a snake remedy for her myself).
My mother wants to drive me to the station. My granny is coming with us and an aunt is driving so slowly that I am worried about missing the train. My mother is crying, telling my grandmother how sad she felt when she (my grandmother) died. My grandmother is also visibly moved by this story. I have to go and buy a ticket, so I grab my bags and run to the counter. I can hardly find the ticket office in all the chaos at the station so I shout: One Pulsatilla please!. Fortunately the lady a the desk understands that I want a ticket to Amsterdam. When I run up the stairs to the platform I can see the train leaving. When I get back to the car I notice that all the doors are open and all my bags are still on he seats. Apparently I had forgotten to take them in the rush. Feeling: I am obsessed with the thought of catching the train, like a blinkered horse.
I have a prickling, electric shock like sensation in my chest, let and right side. Before menses quite weepy and sentimental, more sensitive to a kind word and a cuddle.
There is a sort of theatre competition in a small room, an informal space without chairs, with cushions on the floor and children crawling around. Kees has won the first price and I became second. Somebody had gone too far in presenting the image of a manic, half nude person and had tried to get the audience involved. I started crying about a slight quarrel with Kees, who said I shouldn't cry here. Kees first place had been a surprise, that is why they showed a video of his winning piece. We see Kees swimming in the water with tears in his eyes. It is a sort of reunion. I also come swimming along (and think: perhaps I shared a bit of the first prize?). The prize is handed over by Keess parents.
Pain in left upper arm, rubbing.
Acute, stitching pains in the region of the liver and right groin, in waves lasting 15-25 seconds.
After the pain another hilarious spell with iihs, and aaahs, much movement of the mouth, rhythmic tapping of the feet and singing.
Sudden thought: drinking water is a very important aspect of his remedy.
I get the impression that this remedy isn't very aggressive. I feel weak and weepy from music (mouth organ).
I get spots on my left shoulder, wrist, and back of hand successively with an itch on the acupressure point 4 of the large intestine, situated on the left hand.
I have to give a speech for a large audience. But a very loudmouthed man wants to steal the show. At first he restricts himself to some funny remarks about a woman who is sitting in the front row, but then he puts a bag over his head so that everybody is forced to look at him. He becomes more and more exuberant and I can't cope with this. Later on Jan Scholten gives me a hand to get this man to the front row so that he will shut up. But then there are suddenly three more characters like that who begin to shout. Jan tells me: These are all Mongezers (Hyoscyamus type people from Africa) and you'll never win. Now they are all leaning across the table with my lecture notes: How on earth will I be able to manage? A man who had fallen in love with me was trying to make contact.
He was using all his charm to get my attention, a real perseverer. I wasn't interested, so I locked all the doors and windows of the house and pretended I wasn't there. Then he started to push presents like earrings and bracelets through the letterbox. I changed my telephone number about five times but they still managed to find me.
I feel there is no antidote for this remedy.
A have been given the opportunity to appear in a t.v. programme but I have to be very careful that nothing will happen to spoil my plans.
I give large amounts of money, about f. 100, to a beggar in the street. This happens three times and I also give a large sum to two women who are selling something.
It was a bit naive of me because they will probably spend the money on drink. I would have been more sensible to buy them something useful like a coat or something.
A tramp in the park with thick eyebrows and a thick coat is taking Parkinson like little steps backwards, as if he is retreating from some danger and will soon be pushed back up against a wall (Stage 5). (This man does live in the Vondel park in real life and does show this kind of behaviour).
I see lots of silver earrings and also an ugly white cupboard with many beautiful decorations, as if to hide its ugliness.
One of my patients is taking some money out of my purse. I try to protest but when she takes an even more authoritative instance and says that it is her money I quickly try and pacify her saying: O,K., O.K., it is your money, I totally trust you! A strange, untrustworthy man has to shake my hand. He was always carrying a sharp piece of glass to hurt others with. So I try to avoid giving him my hand, but if I have to Ill do it in such a way that he can't harm me.
Catharina had had to work very hard on the farm she runs with Wim. I thought: Why should she have to do all that as well, she has plenty of work bringing up two children and studying at the same time. She was totally exhausted and was leaning on her right shoulder. I asked if she at least had been given some money for her labours and she said: eh, no I didn't. I wondered whether she had asked or money and she said again: eh, no (Heavy, tired, exhausted.)
Vomiting, tough mucus in throat.
I can't go on, everything is so too much, too heavy (Gold series), as if a ton of bricks is resting on my body, I haven got the strength to tackle anything.
Too tired even to sit, to eat, to work. I wish I were dead. I cancel my patients appointments. The worst thing about is that I wont earn any money today. The feeling of pressure, as from a lump of concrete is mainly situated in the upper part of my body, the elasticity has gone. I can't cry even, although it would probably bring some relief. I can't have an organism, it did happen, but I didn't feel it. (A week later this whole day seemed to have been erased from my memory).
Image: a vagina (Gold series), with a large thick earthenware dish in front of it, which was broken down the middle (grey, orange). It was so heavy that it broke. I took of my rings and I didn't put them back on for a week, the imprints of the rings are still visible on my fingers.
I suddenly feel that I should give a message to a friend. I am walking and walking, in a countryside with high, thick hedges. I am searching, but I can't ask anything, I have to go ahead now. Then I see her house, overgrown with ivy and rather low down, as if it had sunk into the ground. I find her in a shed busy doing the washing. She is too thinly dressed for the time of year although she is very ill. I suddenly realise I have forgotten what message I was going to give her, I had been to fixated on finding her house. She is happy to see me and not at all surprised. She takes me inside for a cup of coffee. Inside a man in waving a duster over the sitting room table. He sands up but doesn't offer to make the coffee. He says in a flat voice: I was planning to leave this house anyway, although my girlfriend doesn't know this yet. I am shocked, thinking Shell need some Ignatia quickly.
I have a desire for physical activity like walking. It doesn't feel like an exertion, I could go on forever. I am running around like mad. It is a case of having to, to stay abreast of the opposition and the forces that are stronger than myself.
Periodicity: seven days.
A strange feeling in my head, right in the centre. A sort of fainting, with a fear that I wont be able to use my brain anymore. It is not like fainting from lack of air, it is not a light headedness, more a dull pressure from several points towards one spot. A feeling of pressure towards the back, as if something is going to be switched off and you'll control over your brain. It is as if my head moves backwards because I am powerless to give contra pressure. It was worse when I had to concentrate or look my patients in the eye. After playing the piano (Harlem nocturne) I felt more relaxed.
Image: foreigner, man with black, hair in tight curls, lots of gel, hair running down into his neck (like the Mongueze in the previous dream).
Feel threatened in a foreign country by a group of men who want to rob me. I can't do anything to prevent it. A nice shop is heavily fortified with lattice iron railings. I found a strong piece of blue sheeting which I grip tightly while I float just above ground level, like a sort of surfing.
I feel as if people are spying on me., I would like to bury myself in a hole in the ground. I can't find my shopping list and I immediately think the Mongeze people have taken it.
I repeat things I have just said, either because I forgot I had said it, or because I want to make sure that it has been heard.
I am constantly checking things, whether the door is locked, whether I have put my purse in my bag, that sort of thing. And even then I still forget.
Discharge from right ear (before that from left ear).
Tough mucus in throat with retching, worse mornings.
Tired and sleepy but can't go to bed, can only sleep on the sofa or the floor.
I was looking for a students flat in a good position and a nicer view. The road was very steep (Stage 5, 4-8).
There was a notice on the side of the road saying the incline was so many percent, followed by an exclamation mark. When you looked at it you would lose all hope of ever getting up that hill (discouraged, Stage 5) before you had even tried it (Stage 5). We did walk a little way up, but soon felt we couldn't go on. It was almost impossible, like walking up a steep rock face, and when you stood up straight you could fall backward any moment.
Pushy people asking me to marry them. A woman had had an accident and three men came up to her and started making advances. One man wanted to marry me to get a residence permit. Another man followed one of the women all the time and even asked for her telephone number.
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