Introduction

The Substance Crystal Healing The Remedy Footnotes and After Thoughts

Thematic Materia Medica Proving Notation Provers

Below is a brief introduction to Alabaster as a substance, the background of the proving, and an initial perspective on the themes of the remedy. On the other pages (links above) there are the proving details and provers symptoms listed by repertory heading. We intend this site to be a developing resource for the remedy Alabaster, including:

• materia medica
• repertory additions (hopefully by the end of the year)
• clinical experience (in the not too distant future - it has been used successfully)
• it is unlikely that we will also be publishing the proving in print form, so we are looking at producing printer friendly downloadable versions of the proving, separated into sections

If you use the remedy, any results are gratefully received and will help us build up the remedy database here on the site. Please ensure any details sent have the permission of the patient to be shared and/or published. Anything giving away patient identity would not be used. Send to chriswilkinson111@yahoo.com

Send an email to chriswilkinson111@yahoo.com to receive notification of significant site updates (your email address will only be used for this particular purpose).

A big thank you ! to all the provers and supervisors for their efforts in helping with this proving.

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The Substance

Alabaster is a fine-grained, massive, opaque or translucent variety of Gypsum. It tends to be white in colour but can be streaked or tinted with brown, red, yellow, green, etc.
It has been used for centuries across the world for making statues, carvings, ornaments and in internal decoration.

Alabaster is soft enough to be scratched with a fingernail (its scale of hardness is 2 ) and hence it is easily broken, soiled and weathered and is rarely used for outdoor sculpture. One exception to this was in the pyramids near Cairo which were originally faced in Alabaster (now completely weathered away).
Alabaster is quarried in Algeria, France, Egypt, England, Spain, Iran, Italy, Mexico and USA.

Chemically Alabaster is hydrous Calcium Sulphate - CaSO₄•2H₂O manifesting as a monoclinic crystal structure.

Gypsum is formed by the evaporation of bedded deposits that are precipitated mainly from evaporating saline water. It occurs in extensive beds in association with other evaporite minerals e.g. halite (rock salt - NaCl).
Gypsum is of considerable commercial importance and is used as a fluxing agent in glass production, as fertiliser, in paint, as filler in paper and textiles, as a retarder in Portland cement, and in school chalk.
About three quarters of the total production is calcinated (dehydrated by heat) for use as Plaster of Paris and as building materials in plaster-board products, tiles and blocks.

Plaster of Paris (and Gypsum plaster) is made by the partial (or complete) dehydration of Gypsum by heating or burning. When mixed with water it gives a plastic paste which can be cast or moulded. It eventually sets and hardens due to the chemical recombination of the Gypsum with water.
Plaster of Paris is so named because of the prevalence of Gypsum in the Paris basin whence it was originally produced.
Plaster of Paris is generally the hemihydrate of Calcium Sulphate - CaSO₄•2H₂O

Other forms of Gypsum include:

Anhydrite	Satin Spar	Selenite (this e.g. is fishtail)

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Crystal Healing

From a healing point of view Alabaster rock is reported to have the following attributes:

Connection with ancient Egypt.
As an aid to meditation, especially as carved geometric forms; helps promote centring of the self and mental acuity.
Enhances the skills needed in providing "service to man", including maturity, composure and the ability to forgive. Enables realisation that one will ultimately "acquire the heavenly state".
Helpful in the treatment of heart disorders. Assists in diminishing internal anger related to the severity of the disease.

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The Remedy

The Alabaster used to make the remedy was discovered by us (a group of Bristol homeopaths) in May 2000 on a weekend away at Blue Anchor Bay near Minehead in Somerset, UK. The 2 mile stretch of coast between Blue Anchor Bay and Watchet has dramatic red sandstone cliffs with some spectacular outcrops of Alabaster - ranging in colour from pure white (near Watchet), through pale green and brownish-white, to salmon pink and translucent orange (at Blue Anchor Bay). This is also a fossil rich area with shells, and bones and teeth of fish and marine reptiles. We found several ammonites there.

The cliffs on the east side of Blue Anchor Bay

It seems that the Alabaster here was made by areas becoming covered by sea then drying up, sometimes repeatedly. The sandstone had been created by a desert, this became covered by ocean at the end of the Triassic period. There was then probably a rising of sea levels, freshwater lakes being invaded by the sea, maybe lagoons regularly evaporated and replenished by the sea, thus allowing the minerals to be deposited.

The remedy was made from the salmon pink variety by two members of our group at Helios Pharmacy on 23rd June, 2000. It was hand succussed up to the 30c potency, and the proving was done using the 6c, 12c and 30c potencies. It can be bought from Helios Pharmacy, in potencies from 3c up to 10M, at:

www.helios.co.uk (currently the specific link is www.helios.co.uk/cgi-bin/store.cgi?action=link&sku=Alab )

Helios Homeopathic Pharmacy
97 Camden Road,
Tunbridge Wells
Kent TN1 2QR
England

Telephone: (01892) 536393 (24hr)
(01892) 537254 (9.45am-5.30pm)
Fax: (01892) 546850
email: pharmacy@helios.co.uk

The proving was started in Autumn 2000, though some provers didn't take the remedy until early in 2001. Thirteen provers took part in the proving.

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Footnotes and afterthoughts

1) Chemically related remedies would be Calc-sulph. (Calcium Sulphate - CaSO₄) and Hepar-sulph. (impure Calcium Sulphide - CaS).

2) Although chemically Calcium Sulphate, Alabaster is expected to have its own character as a remedy, distinct from Calcium Sulphate, which was apparently made from Plaster of Paris. This is attributable to the differing crystal structure and level of hydration, the presence of trace element impurities (which bestow the characteristic colour), local / historical energetics of the area / particular rock outcrop (including uses it has been put to), and the energetic input / association of the group that developed the substance as a remedy. Some connection / overlap with the symptom picture of Calcium Sulphate would of course be expected for obvious reasons.

3) The crystal healing properties attributed to Alabaster may or may not be part of the homeopathic remedy picture - this remains to be seen and I think it would be a mistake to conjecture at this stage. We will keep an open mind to the proving symptoms and see if a discernible "picture" emerges.

The proving is still being worked on, what is here is what we have so far. You can find other information as it arises on these pages.

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Thematic Materia Medica

Below is the begining of a materia medica of Alabaster compiled from the mental symptoms and dreams of the proving. It's a rough sketch, but can hopefully help with placing the individual proving symptoms.

Carefree / Letting go / Relaxed / Uninhibited / At ease
Careless / Full of cares / Anxious / Holding back / Difficulty in doing things / Struggle

Holiday / Beach / Sand / Blue Sea / Sunshine / Space / Fun
Water / River / Floating / Flowing / Not flowing

Pink / Red / Peach / Orangy-brown
Pink clothes / Fluffy / Frivolous / Barbie girl
Rose-tinted glasses

Light (hearted) / Drunk / Floaty / Dippy / Ungrounded
Heavy / Dull / Clay

Nostalgia / Happy times in the past / 20 yrs ago / Past relationships /
Old friends

Positive / Motivated / Getting things done / Sorting things out
Get up and go / Spontaneous / Buying clothes / Shopping
Smiling / Happy / Buoyant / High (spirits) / Optimistic / Prozac /
Absence of guilt / Absence of fear / Letting go of anger

Calm / Able to just be / Content
Focussed / Clear thinking / Present / Alert / Aware (of the room) / Peaceful
Confused: words; time / Split / Indecisive / Clumsy / Bumbling / Forgetful / Losing things / Gathering things / Discarded babies

Sociable / Outward / Open / Communicative / Connectedness (with angels) / Desire to connect / Flirtatious / Yearning for home and family
Relationships / Wedding / Marriage / Babies
Separate / Closed / Inwards / Disconnected (body parts)

Depressed / Hopeless / Melancholic / Sad / Discontented / Inadequate / Lack of confidence / Hostile universe / No God
Rocking (self) / Vulnerable / Want to be held

Anger / Irritable / Impatient / Road rage

Distorted Body / Swollen legs
Houses / Cars / Driving / Trains
Big spiders / Bulls / Cows / Mice / Puddings

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Proving Notation (as used on the proving symptom pages)

RS - Recent symptom i.e. one suffering from now or in the last year.
NS - New symptom.
OS - Old symptom. State when the symptom occurred previously.
AS - Alteration in a present or old symptom. E.g., used to be left side, now on the right
US - An unusual symptom for the prover.

> or amel. = is ameliorated, better from, etc.
< or agg. = is aggravated, worse from, etc.

Symptoms in [brackets] indicate an observation of a proving supervisor. In some cases provers supervisors have indicated their thoughts. In the main, the symptoms below are exactly as they were written by the provers.

Under each symptom, is the prover number, and where relevant, followed by the time of the symptom. Time indicated by
day hour.minute
with the initial day being 01 and the hours and minutes being the hours and minutes of the day. The first night is still 01, unless there is a specific time indicated. Provers 11C, 12A and 13C have no start time times indicated.

The letters after the prover numbers indicate the potency they took.
A - 6c
B - 12c
C - 30c

Provers were instructed to take a maximum of six doses over 48 hours, taking no more if they suspected the remedy had begun to have an effect.

Prover 5C decided to end the proving on day 2 as he was feeling so bad and took a single dose of Lac Humanum 30 which had been the last positive remedy he’d taken before the proving. All symptoms recorded are from before this, unless indicated.

Prover 7B received treatment for a symptom that became a significant problem, taking Nux Vomica 30 on day 19 at 19.55 and 20.00, day 20 at 10.30, 13.30, 16.30 and 21.30 and Phosphorus 30 on day 21 at 20.00, day 22 06.45, 09.00, 11.45, 14.10, 16.30.

Prover 13C stopped proving on 19th December, day 9, because he was ‘proving’ alcohol over Christmas.

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Provers

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References:

http://web.ukonline.co.uk/conker/fossils/blue-anchor.htm

http://www.ougswessex.fsnet.co.uk/BlueAnchor.html

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