These charts, which I am passing around and to which I wish you to refer while I am talking, are based on 365 cases out of my own practice and 10 others. It has taken some time to compile this list. It was done in this way. When I made a successful or striking prescription and the patient came in later and said, “Doctor, I never had anything help me as much as that in my life”, I wrote down carefully the date of the prescription. These dates were collected and located in the phase of the moon, first quarter, full moon, last quarter, or new moon. The most pictorial way to show the results seemed to be to mark each case on one of the squares of this double-ruled paper. The number of squares covered here is 375, corresponding to 375 prescriptions that were striking successes.
This research was undertaken to find out whether there was anything in this question of time of remedies as related to phases of the moon. I believe this is the way we ought to go at all questions.
If you will take your Repertory and look at the remedies which are mentioned in the rubric under full moon, or new moon, or whatever phase of the moon it is, you will find almost no resemblance to this chart. it does not take very long to discover a few things from this chart, as you will see by looking at it. From the very start of the investigation I found that Phosphorus led all remedies in the number of observations. So that the accusation that Dr. Macfarlan made this morning that I am a Phosphorus fiend is perhaps true.
But there are good many homoeopaths who are Phosphorus fiends, I think. Then I discovered that Phosphorus was closely followed by Arsenic. If you will look over this chart carefully you will see that Phosphorus covers eighteen squares of the full moon. This is the highest number of squares covered. Those were eighteen successful prescriptions prescribed in the week of the full moon, and the next most prominent is in the last quarter which shows a decline.
Now if you will turn to Arsenic, you will find the highest number in the first quarter. It stops abruptly in the quarter of the full moon, and falls off then to the lowest point.
Then look at Calcarea, you see that by far the largest number of Calcarea manifestations come in the quarter of the new moon. Calcarea phos. follows closely after it. Look at Hepar Hepar. is almost equal to Calcarea phos.
Now look at Sulphur and Pulsatilla. You see that there isnt very much difference in the different phases under those two remedies. Sulphur is almost the same in all phases, and Pulsatilla is almost the same also. But look at the Sulphur iod. This remedy stands highest in the last quarter and next highest in the first quarter. Then turn to Iodine and see what that shows. Iodine is the very highest in the last quarter. This must be more than a coincidence.
If you will look through these tablets in this way, you will find that there is a connection running through the whole thing.
How are we going to apply these results in practice? That is what we are getting down to. When a new patient comes in to you you asked him, “When are you worst?” “Well, I was worst the middle of last week.” “Is that about when you are usually worst?” “Yes, about that time.”.
Open up your almanac and see what quarter the moon was in, then look down your list of remedies and see which remedies are most prominent in that quarter. It is not invariable. You may not make an absolutely accurate prescription but it will be an enormous help.
I wish all the other physician here to do this: Each one of you has some of these charts. Mark a little cross in one of these squares as I have shown you and in nine or ten months return the charts to me and I will make a further compilation on this subject. I am going to run this study up until we have three or four thousand observations. This is the scientific method. You dont start out with any preconceived opinions at all. I am going to see how it comes out. If it isnt worth anything I want to know it.
Here is another point here: Pulsatilla is looked upon as being preeminently a female remedy and as having something to do with the reproductive organs. Therefore, inferentially, Pulsatilla should manifest itself at the full moon. You see what the chart shows. Pulsatilla at full moon is very little different from Pulsatilla at any other time.
The same is true of Sepia. Sepia is the very lowest at the full moon.
If we can revamp our repertories more or less after this method then we will have something solid under our feet based on actual observations, not on somebodys opinion. When someone comes to this meeting and says, ” I had one case that was helped with Pulsatilla and this and that was the matter with it,” and you mark it down in your repertory that Pulsatilla is a wonderful remedy, such deductions are absolutely fallacious.
These things must stand the test of time and experience and that is what I am trying to do in this paper.
MOON PHASES.
N. 1st Q. F. L. N. 1st.Q. F. L.
Acon. 0 1 2 0 Bur-p. 0 1 0 2
Aesc. 0 1 2 0 Cad-s. 0 1 3 0
Agar. 3 0 2 1 Calc-c. 10 10 6 7
Aloe. 0 1 0 1 Calc-io. 0 0 1 0
Am-c. 0 0 1 0 Calc-p. 5 4 4 1
Am-m 0 0 0 1 Calc -pic. 1 1 0 0
Ang. 0 1 0 1 Cam. 1 1 0 0
Ant-c. 0 0 0 1 Canth. 1 0 0 0
Ant-t. 1 0 0 0 Caps. 0 0 1 0
Apis. 6 1 1 4 Carb-a 0 0 2 1
Arg-n. 2 2 0 1 Carb-v. 3 0 3 0
Arn. 0 0 0 1 Caus. 0 0 1 1
Ars. 13 15 10 4 Chel. 0 0 1 1
Ars-io. 3 0 2 0 Chin. 2 0 1 1
Asc-t. 0 0 0 1 Chion. 1 0 0 0
Bapt. 0 0 0 1 Cimi 0 1 0 2
Bar-c. 1 0 0 0 Cina 1 0 0 0
Bell. 1 2 0 0 Clem. 0 1 0 1
Bism. 0 0 0 1 Colch 1 0 0 0
Bov. 0 0 1 0 Coloc 2 2 0 1
Bry. 4 9 2 3 Con. 2 0 0 0
Cor-r. 0 0 0 1 Mez. 1 1 1 0
Cupr. 1 0 2 0 Mur-ac. 0 0 1 1
Dios. 1 2 1 0 Nat-m. 2 5 3 2
Dros. 0 1 0 0 Nat-p. 0 0 1 0
Dulc. 1 0 0 0 Nat-s. 1 1 1 1
Eup-per. 0 1 1 0 Nit-ac. 0 0 2 2
Fer-p. 1 0 0 2 Nux-v. 8 1 3 3
Frax. 0 0 0 1 Pall. 0 0 2 0
Gels. 1 0 3 0 Phos. 9 10 22 11
Grat. 2 4 0 2 Phos-ac 0 1 1 4
Guai. 0 0 1 0 Phyt. 2 0 2 4
Ham. 0 1 3 0 Plat. 0 0 0 3
Hep. 6 0 2 1 Plumb. 0 3 1 0
Hura. 0 0 0 1 Populus. 0 1 0 0
Hydr. 1 0 0 0 Psor. 0 1 1 0
Ign. 2 2 4 1 Puls 4 8 5 8
Iod. 0 0 0 3 Pyrog. 0 0 1 0
Kali-bi. 2 1 3 1 Radium 0 1 0 2
Kali-c. 1 1 2 2 Rhus-t. 8 4 3 2
Kali-p. 0 0 0 1 Rumex. 0 1 0 0
Kobalt 0 0 1 0 Sabad. 1 1 0 1
Lac-c. 0 0 0 2 Sabal. 2 0 0 0
Lac-d. 0 0 1 0 Sang. 0 3 2 2
Lach. 5 1 4 2 Sars. 0 0 0 1
Lapp. 1 1 0 0 Scroph. 0 0 0 1
Latrod 1 0 0 0 Senecio 1 0 0 0
Ledum. 0 0 1 0 Sepia 6 7 2 12
Lil-tig. 0 1 0 0 Silica. 1 4 3 0
Lyc. 4 5 7 9 Solidago 2 0 0 0
Mag-c. 1 1 1 0 Spig 1 0 0 0
Mag-m. 0 0 2 0 Spongia 1 0 0 0
Marum-v. 0 0 1 0 Stan. 1 2 0 0
Medor. 2 2 0 1 Staph 0 0 2 1
Merc. 3 1 4 5 Stram. 1 0 1 0
Merc-cy 0 0 1 0 Stront. 0 1 2 0
Merc-i-f. 2 2 0 0 Sulfur. 5 6 8 9
Merc-i-r. 0 0 0 1 Sul-io. 1 4 5 7
Symphy. 1 0 0 0 Vibur. 0 0 1 0
Syphilin 0 1 1 0 Tellur. 0 0 1 0
Tabac. 0 0 0 2 Xanth. 0 0 1 0
Thuj. 3 3 1 1 Zinc-pic. 0 0 0 1
Tuberc. 1 1 0 1 Zinc-sul. 0 1 1
Ver-a. 0 0 1 0.
The above is a record of the time of giving 624 prescriptions that were eminently successful. They are all taken from my records except twenty-five. In quite a few of the remedies there is shown quite a trend toward certain periods in the month; many others, for lack of observation enough are not in the least conclusive, but can be used only as possible hints. This record shows the beginning of quite a few unexpected relationships. In the future I hope to extend the tabulation much further, in order to either clear up or disprove what seems now in determinate.
DISCUSSION.
CHAIRMAN J. HUTCHINSON: I take it from what you say that this is purely for the purpose of seeing how things are. We do not do much studying of the moon phases and I think it will be an interesting experience to follow out what you have said.
Shall we have discussion on Dr. Bogers suggestions?.
DR. I.L. FARR: This subject is rather too new to discuss. Personally, I would like to ask the doctor a question from this angle: We hear a good deal about the reading of horoscopes. In your examination with this did you take into consideration anything at all as to your own horoscope, under what constellation you were born, or under what constellations your patients were born? Or does this purely concern the moon phase at that time-at the time the patient comes into the office?.
DR.C.M. BOGER: That is all. I dont know what my horoscope is. It concerns the action of the remedy at that time. I think it opens the door to a wonderful development.
DR. J.W. KRICHBAUM: In the first year or the second year of my practice I had perhaps as satisfactory a cure as I have ever made. It was a cancer of the stomach, diagnosed by the best pathologist the only symptom I could obtain was aggravation at the moons waning. The man had been losing weight for three years; he was short, and heavy-set, and had gone from something like 200 pounds down to 98. He had hiccoughed during the entire period and that was what he complained about. We washed out his stomach and found mucous scabs. At the beginning, I doubted the cancer part of it. He had been at three institutions. He came back from Cincinnati to me with a letter stating that he was in the last stages of cancer, and the only thing I could do was give him morphine and make him easy until he died.
Born in Western Pennsylvania, he graduated from the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy and subsequently Hahnemann Medical College of Philadelphia. He moved to Parkersburg, W. Va., in 1888, practicing there, but also consulting worldwide. He gave lectures at the Pulte Medical College in Cincinnati and taught philosophy, materia medica, and repertory at the American Foundation for Homoeopathy Postgraduate School. Boger brought BÅ“nninghausen's Characteristics and Repertory into the English Language in 1905. His publications include :
Boenninghausen's Characteristics and Repertory
Boenninghausen's Antipsorics
Boger's Diphtheria, (The Homoeopathic Therapeutics of)
A Synoptic Key of the Materia Medica, 1915
General Analysis with Card Index, 1931
Samarskite-A Proving
The Times Which Characterize the Appearance and Aggravation of the Symptoms and their Remedies