DIDIER LUSTIG : „The Big Book of Actinides – The Mutation Remedies“, Vorden 2024,
366 pages, Hardcover, Emryss Publishers 46,95 €
In June 1994, Didier Lustig received from a French nuclear physics laboratory a tiny sample of Plutonium-239 nitrate in such a high dilution (1.10-7g) that no radioactivity could be detected. For two years, the French astrologer, musician and homeopath had been looking for ways and contacts to somehow obtain the raw material for a homeopathic proving. On the one hand, he wanted to tap the therapeutic potential of this destructive substance for homeopathy; on the other, he was interested in the links between mythology, astrology and homeopathy in the case of Uranium, Neptunium and Plutonium.
At the same time, Jeremy Sherr was on a difficult quest to find potentised Plutonium to prove the substance at his Dynamis School. It was a stroke of luck for homeopathy that Lustig approached Sherr and suggested that he carry out a proving of his sample of Plutonium nitricum. The result of this collaboration - according to Lustig - hit the homeopathic world like a bombshell, especially after he succeeded two years later, with the help of radiochemists, in potentising four other artificial elements from the group of transuranic elements: Neptunium, Americium, Curium and Californium.
After 30 years, he now presents the fruits of his pioneering efforts in a comprehensive work. The fact that 34 homeopaths from all over the world have contributed their practical experience with this largely new group of remedies, based on over 80 case studies, shows the chain reaction that was triggered by Sherr's proving in 1995. This is undoubtedly due to the special place that the Actinide group occupies as medicines of our time. Their energy is frighteningly consistent with the energy of our present, where the end seems very near.
The Periodic Table
The rapid spread of the new medicines was also largely due to the homeopathic interpretation of the periodic table of elements developed at the same time by Jan Scholten, which placed the transuranics in the context of the long-known and well-tested natural Actinides Radium bromatum and Uranium nitricum (see table). With the help of the themes of the 7th series (Uranium series) and the different stages, it was possible to use the newly potentised artificial radioactive substances without a homeopathic drug proving. This is still the case today for Curium and Californium, for which there is no or only fragmentary proving.
A chapter is devoted to each of the potentised Actinides, starting with radium (level 2) and ending with Californium (level 12). The chapters contain basic information on the history, physical and chemical properties of the elements, their isotopes and their toxicity. In the case of Uranium, Neptunium and Plutonium, Lustig pays particular attention to the history, mythology and astrology of the planets and gods after which these elements are named. Against this background, the homeopathic insights into the substances, the Nitricums, Muriaticums or Oxidatums of the radioactive elements, is then presented in detail.
As already mentioned, the position in the periodic table, the stage according to Scholten, plays an important role in understanding the themes of these remedies. Didier Lustig, however, attaches great importance to a detailed reproduction of the respective drug provings. He writes about this in his preface: „I have therefore proposed to collect the existing provings of the Actinides, and then to present their, physical, mental and dream sysmptoms. The mental symptoms and the dreams are grouped together by themes and quoted in their original version, i.e. as they were reported directly by the provers or supervisors without any subsequent interpretation. This has made it possible to obtain for each remedy a unique picture that is rich and complex, often surprising, and quite lively. Far from contradicting the deductions given by the Theory of Elements, the provings tell a story.
They bring an extra soul by describing a specific climate and offer a knowledge of the remedy "from the inside", whereas Scholten's predictive analysis permits to describe it "from above" as a specific part of a coherent whole. This double perspective offers the possibility of understanding the remedy both as itself, in its absolute identity, an in relation to the other elements of the 7th Series, in its relative identity.
Provings and Cases
All the remedies studied are illustrated by numerous clinical cases from the practice of great homeopaths all over the world. The great diversity of the cases and the methods used enrich the understanding of these remedies and reveal many, sometimes unsuspected facets of them ... If we pay enough attention, we often find thus in the patients' speech the same images, the same expressions and sometimes the same words as those reported in the provings. This observation only underlines the essential role of the provings which are the very origin of homeopathy. Moreover, these sometimes astonishing similarities between the discourse of the provers and that of the patients show to what extent homeopathy is a reality more alive and real than ever.“
The theoretical deductions from the position in the periodic table and the experimental findings from the drug provings are put into the context of personalities, their life stories and the individuality of their perceptions and reactions through the case examples. The more cured cases we have for a remedy, the more vivid the remedy picture becomes. For Plutonium (nitricum and muriaticum), Didier Lustig has collected no less than 33 case studies from 20 different homeopaths.
Plutonium and Covid 19
For Lustig, Plutonium, the substance with which he began his adventurous journey into the world of transuranic elements in 1994, is at the centre of his work. The chapter on this element, named after the Roman god of death and more than any other symbol of the destructive power of Actinides, takes up almost half of the book. This is mainly due to the extensive provings and the now considerable clinical experience with the two Plutonium salts.
And then, there is the special relationship with Covid-19. At the beginning of the pandemic, Lustig suggested Plutonium nitricum and muriaticum as possible epidemic remedies for the homeopathic treatment of coronavirus patients. He justified this on several levels - the virus's origin by mutation, its destructive power, the mythological and astrological signature of the god and planet Pluto, and not least the repertorisable symptoms of SARS-CoV2 infection. As proof of the remedy's efficacy, Lustig cites Belgian homeopath Piet de Baets, who reports on 30 Covid patients successfully treated with Plutonium nitricum: „Plutonium nitricum is one of the remedies that deserves a place among the leading remedies of the Covid-19 epidemic genius. It is one of the most surprising remedies whose results are rapid, stable and above all spectacular in the Covid-19 pandemic.“
Californium and HIV
Lustig also postulated a link between the Actinides and another potentially fatal infectious disease very early on. In the case of HIV infection, it is not the Plutonium salts but the Californium salts that have proven to be potent epidemic agents. Jeremy Sherr, who together with his wife Camilla has been treating AIDS patients in Tanzania since 2008, says: „In the five years we have been treating AIDS in Africa, there is no doubt that the most radical and miraculous results have been obtained with Californium muriaticum (and Californium nitricum). It is especially used when all conventional treatments and anti-retroviral options are exhausted.“ Eight case studies document the remarkable effect of Californium in HIV-positive patients.
COVID-19 and AIDS are typical examples of the special effects of the Actinides. Severe, destructive pathologies, often on the border between life and death, are the main indication for homeopathic remedies from the group of radioactive substances. Lustige therefore refers to them as "mutation remedies whose primary role is to allow the person to emerge from his or her state of potential disintegration and to mutate definitely by finding or recovering his or her cohesion, integrity and identity.For this reason, they are transitional remedies which, in principle, should not be repeated indefinitely because, once the transformation has been accomplished, the subject regains possession of himself and the normal course of his life, as we see in clinical cases."
For those who wish to use the great homeopathic potential of these 'mutation remedies' in their practice, studying The Great Book of Actinides is a must. The comprehensive holistic presentation of the remedies, combined with an impressive wealth of case studies, provides a solid foundation for the homeopathic use of the Actinides. However, there is a serious practical problem, which Lustig addresses in his foreword. Although the potentised remedies have been shown to no longer emit radioactivity, the production and sale of the Actinides is banned almost everywhere, especially in the European Union. This has made them very difficult to obtain. Fortunately, all the Actinides described in the book are still available from the English Helios Pharmacy, which originally potentised Lustig's transuranics. However, due to the consequences of Brexit, this is not so easy in other European countries either. We therefore recommend that all interested homeopaths not only purchase this excellent book, but also an Actinide set as soon as possible, if they do not already have one. The following case study at the end of this review represents 80 further cases that illustrate the practical application of the insights gained from provings and the periodic table.
Case study by Deborah Collins
A 45-year-old woman came for a consultation due to extreme anxiety, so severe that she was no longer able to manage her household. After moving with her husband and children to a country far from her homeland, where she felt uncomfortable in the language, she ‘fell apart’. Her complaints had a long history, though, dating back to before her birth. When her mother was pregnant with her, she witnessed the death of her young son: a drunken man swerved his car onto the sidewalk where the boy was playing, and killed him instantly. Later, a series of tragic deaths in the family further shook the already fragile unit: one child died of leukaemia, and the father and a daughter committed suicide.
The first thing that I noticed about this woman was her eyes: her irises had the strange appearance of shattered glass. She was so ridden with anxiety that she could barely contain herself. She paced the room constantly and held herself, as though she was literally falling apart. She was unable to sleep without medication, which she hated, as she wanted to find her own means of healing. She had in fact tried many approaches in order to overcome the huge burden of her fraught family history, and she was hailed by her therapists as being “highly intelligent and gifted, someone who ought to be a therapist herself.” She said of herself: “I know that I am very sensitive – I pick up accurately on what people are feeling and thinking, but it does me no good at all, it just feels invasive. I can’t protect myself from feeling bombarded by the world and all its pain. I feel so connected to all those children suffering in war zones; alone, afraid, and hungry. I know that if I was well my energy could reach out to them, but I can’t even hold myself together or look after my kids at the moment, let alone look after anyone else.”
Plutonium muriaticum
The shocking series of violent deaths in her family, and her feeling that “everything was falling apart”, led to an Actinide prescription: Plutonium muriaticum. Plutonium corresponded with the explosive situation of her family history, and with the sensation of being ‘shattered’, as expressed in her peculiar-looking eyes. Broken glass features strongly in the proving of Plutonium nitricum. She also had a strong desire for red meat when she was feeling unwell, which she found strange, as she considered herself by nature to be vegetarian. The muriaticum aspect corresponded with the fact that her major trauma took place via her mother, in the womb, when her mother witnessed her brother’s death. Her feeling of being able to connect with the suffering of all the children in the world further conirmed the remedy: on the one hand the ‘exploding mother’, on the other hand the mother who can reach out to the whole world. She was given Plutonium muriaticum 200C.
The response to the remedy was rapid and reassuring: she said that she could feel the extreme tension almost dissolving out of her body. “I can sleep without medication now. In the past, it felt like I had to hold myself together all the time, otherwise I was falling apart. I had no centre, no ‘I’. I used to cling to my husband, and it was causing problems between us, which made me even more anxious because I was afraid that he would become fed up with me and leave. Now, I can be alone in the house and manage my daily things with the kids without calling him home from work all the time.” Financial insecurities, and the situation of being in a foreign country, still caused a wobble at times. When she threatened to become sleepless, another dose of the remedy brought her back to her equilibrium: she received three doses of Plutonium muriaticum 200C in total, over fourteen months.
Matridonals as complements
Several months later, she talked of feeling much more stable, yet some symptoms still remained. “Everything is still coming into me, as though I have no buffer. At least, I have a centre now, a core that is ‘me’; I am not just a collection of shattered pieces. I feel so naked, though, as if every thought and feeling of the people around me comes right into me. It makes me want to stay home and protect myself.” The next remedy was becoming apparent: Vernix caseosa 200C, the protective baby grease for building up an adequate defence system. She recognised when she required another dose, as she would again start to feel ungrounded and painfully vulnerable. Each dose, four in total, helped her to establish safe emotional boundaries for herself and to find her way into the world. An added bonus was that a long-standing eczema disappeared.
Encouraged by her results, she wondered about other intra-uterine remedies, and we decided together on Amniotic fluid, given her great desire to spend long periods in the bath, or to simply float in the sea. “I am rebuilding myself.” Her chronic tiredness, with a longing to stay in bed, diminished, then disappeared, as did her frequent headaches. Two years after the initial consultation she was feeling much more confident and was able to lead a ‘normal’ life. “I still feel a strong bond with the suffering of the world – my heart goes out to all those who are in grief or pain but now, it comes from a place of strength within me, not from my own pain. At some point, when the kids are grown up, I would like to work in foreign aid – I know I could do that. For now, I am just so content to be able to say that I am happy.”
