SEPIA OFFICINALIS

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 CN: inky fluid of the Cuttle Fish.
Family : Mollusca.
Thermals: chilly
Miasm : sycotic
Sepia is a blackish brown liquor found in the contents of the ink-bag of
the Cuttle Fish a fish very common in the Mediterranean Sea.
This fluid is utilized by the fish for purpose of self-protection and
catching its prey.
This is done by darkening the water with this fluid, when it is pursued
by its enemy or when it wants to pursue its own prey.
This is somewhat on the principle of the smoke-screen theory of the
present day navy and the aeroplane warfare.
The triturations and tinctures are made from the pure, dried,
genuine Sepia.
It belongs to the natural orderwww.similima.com
of Cephalopoda. 4
 The idea of proving Sepia dawned on
Hahnemann on having found a complex lot of
symptoms in a friend of his, an artist, who was
in the habit of wetting his brush containing
India-ink with his saliva.

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Physical appearance

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 Like traditional images of witches, they tend to be
very thin, bony, and have long, thin limbs and
digits and a long neck.
The complexion is characteristically sallow.
the hair is usually straight and black, (or
sometimes reddish or mousy brown), and is
generally worn long.
Moles are commonly found, both on the face and
the body.
the woman tends to be hirsute, with dark facial
and bodily hair.
The eye sockets are often deep and hollow
looking, giving an intense, mysterious
appearance.

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 great many of the Sepia women who have not
found their true identity become overweight
with time, since they become sedentary, and
use eating to diffuse some of their sense of
dissatisfaction.

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Gp 2: - Baryta carbonica
Borax
Natrum muriaticum
sepia
Aurum metallicum
Carbo vegetabilis

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 Sepia child
Negative attitude to everything
Depressed, moody, indolent, disinclined for work,
not even interested to play. Greedy
If pushed they weep
Nervy children, scared of being alone, fear dark
Habit of nodding head
Always constipated. Enuresis early in night
Fainting attacks
Sensitive to cold, weather changes
Milk disagrees
Sallow, greasy skin, sweat profusely
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Keynote: the independent woman

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 Sepia's natural independence sets her apart from
other women. She seeks to be herself, unfettered
by the expectations of others, especially those of
men.

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 In this she differs from Natrum women, who
generally seek independence as a reaction
against the hurt they have received, a
protective mechanism.

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 Sepia is naturally independent. She is not running
away from anything like Natrum-she is just being
herself, and refusing to let other people mould
her personality to their own ends. This
independence of Sepia sometimes gives her a
certain masculine appearance to others, since we
expect men to be more independent than women,
but it is not really masculinity.

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The witch

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 The Witch, or The Wise Woman has always
dedicated herself to her 'craft', her wisdom, rather
than to husband and family. Most witches are
Sepia, and most Sepia women have something of
the witch in them. They are naturally somewhat
clairvoyant, and are usually fascinated in things
psychic or mystical. Furthermore, they have a
sound, detached intellect, which is subtle, and can
easily grasp hidden mysteries which cannot be seen
by purely deductive, masculine reasoning. Sepia
loves to delve into hidden mysteries, whether of
the personal psyche, or of a more philosophical
nature .
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 She is liable to favour people she likes, and to
ignore those she dislikes, or sometimes to punish
them.

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 I have come across many Sepia women in the
nursing profession. Like the natural healers, they
have a love of life, and an empathy with people, but
their intellect is generally stronger than their
intuition (understanding without apparent effort),
and hence they choose a more conventional and
practical form of service.

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Sepia women are likely to become horticulturalists,
vets, nutritionists, doctors and nurses.

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 The dancer

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 Every homeopath knows that Sepia women love to
dance, and feel better in general for vigorous
exercise.
Well connected to body language.
Sepia is often attracted to dance, and also to yoga.
Phosphorus and sepia dance as loose as goose
whereas natrum mur will be stiff,some loose.

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Sepia are musicians and artists.
Sepia women are sensitive to sensual
impressions.
Has lot of common sense. she tends to be
practical, and also gifted at practical crafts,
such as weaving and basket-making. In this
she resembles Arsenicum, who is also very
much at home with the material world.

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Are healthier emotionally than others.
Sepia needs degree of freedom,independence to be
happy.
Many sepia women are depressed because they have
to sacrifice for their family.
Sepia tends to be partially introvert and extrovert.
She is generally social and able to mix with all types of
people, because she is herself.
On the other hand she needs time for herself to go
within and be creative.

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Sepia is not a good housewife, pulsatilla and natrum
can become a good housewife, many find fulfilment.
they need through roles as wife and mother

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 Her introversion doesnt depend upon dwelling on
the past or unpleasant thoughts.

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 The courtesan
(A courtesan was originally a woman courtier, which
means a person who attends the court of a monarch or
other powerful person ):
Sepia feels attracted to a man by a kind of magnetism,that is
partly sexual and partly spiritual.
Sepia is attracted by a meeting of minds or spirits more than
meeting of hearts.
Sepia explore sexuality, when less money is present(she
becomes a prostitute for money and this she explains in the
clinic without shame,since sexuality is something to explore
like any other subject, to make money.
Sepia women can tolerate celibacy (as the lifestyle of
someone who is voluntarily abstaining from all sexual
activities, remaining without any sexual or romantic
partner, and unmarried, all of his or her life), so easily that
one would assume that she doesnt have sexual drive.

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 Shrew(a mammal)
When Sepia is allowed to be herself in childhood,
she will develop sufficient self-assurance to avoid
abusive conditions and relationships later on, and
will be able to honour her own interests, which
usually include either artistic or metaphysical
pursuits or both. On the other hand, if her father
expects her to show him respect when he behaves
disrespectfully or foolishly, she will react in a
'spirited' manner, at first opposing his attitude
quietly, and then more vehemently as he begins to
try and crush her 'rebellion'.
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 Sepia adolescents are renowned for their
temper, which can be fierce and explosive.

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 Sepia resists anger for a long time, with
outbursts of temper and floods of tears.
Sepia women has mood changes during the
time of harmonal flux.
Bitterness is a quality that can be possessed
by any constitutional type, but is characteristic
of a few, in particular Arsenicum, Natrum
Muriaticum, Sepia and Nux.

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 Sepia is actually less liable to become bitter than
Natrum, because she suppresses her anger less.
Once she has lost her temper, the tension is eased.
She is more likely to enter into transient periods of
resentment, which are over relatively quickly when
she explodes, especially if she receives an apology
from whoever she was resenting. More often than
not it is her husband or boyfriend, who has taken her
for granted in some way, thus activating the constant
tension inside that results from compromising her
true nature. In contrast, Natrum is more likely to
swallow her resentment for a long time, for fear of
losing her partner's love,

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 The drudge (unpleasant work)
apathy(emotionless) and acopia(unable to cope)
Once the Sepia woman has compromised her true
nature for long enough, she begins to lose her
spirit. As this occurs, she experiences a gradual
deadening of her appetite for life. She starts to live
life more and more like a robot, going through the
motions of her usual activities, with no enthusiasm
or motivation inside her. Because she has lost
contact with her own 'life-force', she feels sluggish
both mentally and physically (Kent: 'Dullness,
sluggishness'), and her emotions are also blunted,
producing a kind of indifference to everything.
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 Later she may develop agarophobia. She
doesnt like any one coming for her house
because she no longer fits to the state to talk
to them. She withdraws more and more, feels
afraid while alone. She wants somebody to
reassure. Later goes for depression and
suicidal tendency.

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 sometimes anxiety predominates over apathy,
sometimes weeping is the most prominent feature,
and sometimes dullness and indifference is the
main complaint. Some Sepia women enter into
deep depressions that are more or less
indistinguishable from a deep Natrum depression,
with withdrawn brooding, self-recrimination,
despair and a tendency to dwell on past unpleasant
events. In these cases the generals, the physical
features, and the previous personality will help to
differentiate a Sepia from a Natrum depression.

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 The sepia man
men looked very much like Sepia women look, in the
sense that he was of spare build, bony, with a very
dark complexion. He was quiet and rather
introverted, and also sensitive and nervous.
Other men , he had mousy brown hair, and
numerous dark moles on his face, and he had a
quiet, shy temperament.
Kent states that Sepias of both sexes develop an
aversion to the opposite sex.

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 keynotes
Faints easily; after getting wet; from extremes
of heat or cold; riding in a carriage; while
kneeling at church.
Anxiety : with fear, flushes of heat over face
and head; about real or imaginary evils;
toward evening.
Headache : in terrific shocks; at menstrual
nisus, with scanty flow; in delicate, sensitive,
hysterical women; pressing, bursting <
motion, stooping, mental labor, >> by external
pressure, continued hard motion.
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 Morning sickness of pregnancy : the sight or
thought of food sickens (Nux); the smell of cooking
food nauseates (Ars., Coch.).
Dyspnoea : < sitting, after sleep, in room, >>
dancing or walking rapidly.
Erythism : flushes of heat from least motion; with
anxiety and faintness; followed by perspiration over
whole body; climacteric (Lach., Sang., Sulph., Tub.);
ascends, from pelvic organs.
Itching of skin; of various parts; of external
genitalia; is not >> by scratching, and is apt to
change to burning (Sulph.)..
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 Prolapsus of uterus and vagina; pressure and
bearing down as if everything would protrude from
pelvis; must cross limbs tightly or "sit close" to
prevent it; with oppression of breathing (compare
Agar., Bell., Lil., Murex, Sanic.(rest better,
supporting parts).
Irregular menses of nearly every form - early, late,
scanty, profuse, amenorrhoea or menorrhagia -
when associated with above named symptoms.
Sensation of a ball in inner parts; during menses,
pregnancy, lactation; with constipation, diarrhoea,
haemorrhoids, leucorrhoea and all uterine
affections.
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 Painful sensation of emptiness, "all-gone feeling,
" in the epigastrium, relieved by eating (Chel.,
Mur., Phos.).
Constipation : during pregnancy (Alum.); stool
hard, knotty, in balls, insufficient, difficult; pain in
rectum during and long after stool (Nit. ac.,
Sulph.); sense of weight or ball in anus, not >> by
stool.
Urine : deposits a reddish clay-colored sediment
which adheres to the vessel as if it had been
burned on; foetid, so offensive must be removed
from the room (horribly offensive after standing,
Indium).
Enuresis : bed is wet almost as soon as the child
goes to sleep (Kreos.); always during the first
sleep.
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 HEAD
Headache
Ailments from: in terrific shocks; at menstrual
nisus
Character: with scanty flow; in delicate,
sensitive, hysterical women;
Pains: pressing, bursting
< motion, stooping, mental labor,
>> by external pressure, continued hard motion.
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 Nose
Character: Thick, greenish discharge; thick plugs and
crusts.
Chronic nasal catarrh, especially post-nasal, dropping of
heavy, lumpy discharges; must be hawked through the
mouth.

Eyes
Muscular asthenopia; black spots in the field of vision;
asthenic inflammations, and in connection with uterine
trouble. <morning ,evening.
Ptosis, ciliary irritation.
Venous congestion of the fundus.
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Ears
Herpes behind ears on nape of neck.
Swelling and eruption of external ear.
Face
Yellow blotches; pale or sallow; yellow about
mouth.
Rosacea; saddle-like brownish distribution on
nose and cheeks.

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Mouth
Tongue white.
Swelling and cracking of lower lip.
Pain in teeth from 6 p.m till midnight; worse
on lying.

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 Stomach
Feeling of goneness; not relieved by eating. [Carb. an.]
Nausea at smell or sight of food.
Nausea worse lying on side.
Tobacco dyspepsia.
Everything tastes too salty. [Carbo beg; Chin.]
Nausea in morning before eating.
Disposition to vomit after eating.
Burning in pit of stomach.
Longing for vinegar, acids, and pickles.
Worse, after milk, especially when boiled.
Acid dyspepsia with bloated abdomen, sour
eructations.
Loathes fat.
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Abdomen
Liver sore and painful; relieved by lying on right
side.
Feeling of relaxation and bearing-down in
abdomen.
It must not be supposed however that Sepia is
the only remedy that has this symptom of
emptiness and goneness; Cocculus(travelling),
Ignatia(mind), Kali carb., Lobelia, Mercury,
Petroleum(stools after), Phosphorus,
Stannum(chest), Sulphur and a few others can
put in just as valid a claim to this symptom as
Sepia.

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Rectum
Bleeding at stool and fullness of rectum.
Constipation; large, hard stools; feeling of a ball in
rectum, cannot strain; with great tenesmus and pains
shooting upward.
Dark-brown, round balls glued together with mucus.
Soft stool, difficult.
Prolapsus ani. [Pod.]
Almost constant oozing from anus.
Infantile diarrhoea, worse from boiled milk, and
rapid exhaustion.
Pains shoot up in rectum and vagina.
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 The rectum prolapses particularly after
smoking.
The stools are insufficient and they look like
sheep-dung.
They also are covered with mucus as in
Graphites.

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Urinary
Red, adhesive, and in urine.
Chronic cystitis, slow micturition, with bearing-
down sensation above pubis.
Male
Organs cold.
Offensive perspiration.
Gleet; discharge from urethra only during night;
no pain.
Condylomata surround head of penis.
Complaints from coition.
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Female
- Bearing-down sensation as if everything would
escape through vulva [Bell.; Kreoso; Lac c.; Lil.t. ;
Nat.c. ; Pod.]; must cross limbs to prevent protrusion,
or press against vulva.
Leucorrhoea yellow, greenish; with much itching.
Menses Too late and scanty, irregular; early and
profuse; sharp clutching pains.
Violent stitches upward in the vagina, from uterus to
umbilicus.
Prolapse of uterus and vagina.
Morning sickness.
Vagina painful, especially on coition.
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Respiratory
Dry, fatiguing cough, apparently coming from
stomach.
Rotten-egg taste with coughing.
Oppression of chest morning and evening.
Dyspnoea; worse, after sleep; better, rapid
motion.
Cough in morning, with profuse expectoration,
tasting salty. [Phos.; Ambr.]
- Whooping-cough that drags on.
- Cough excited by tickling in larynx or chest.
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Heart
Violent, intermittent palpitation.
Beating in all arteries.
Tremulous feeling with flushes.

Back
Weakness in small of back. Pains extend into back.

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Extremities
Lower extremities lame and stiff, tension as if too
short.
Heaviness and bruised feeling.
Restlessness in all limbs, twitching and jerkings
night and day.
Pain in heel.
Coldness of legs and feet.

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Fever
- Shivering, with thirst; worse, towards evening.
Skin

Herpes circinatus in isolated spots.

Itching; not relieved by scratching; worse in bends of
elbows and knees.
Chloasma; herpetic eruption on lips, about mouth
and nose.
Ringworm-like eruption every spring.
Urticaria on going in open air; better in warm room.
Sweat on feet, worse on toes; intolerable odor.
Lentigo in young women.
Ichthyosis with offensive odor of skin.
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 herpes carcinatous, ringworms, nettlerash,
acarus itch, pruritus, tetters, warts, vesicles,
pemphigus, pustules, boils and psoriasis.

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Modalities
Worse, forenoons and evenings; washing,
laundry-work, dampness, left side, after
sweat; cold air, before thunder-storm.
Better, by exercise, pressure, warmth of bed,
hot applications, drawing limbs up, cold
bathing, after sleep.

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Relationship
- Complementary : Nat. mur.; Phosph. Nux.
intensifies action.
- Guaiacum often beneficial after Sepia.
- Inimical : Lach.; Puls.
- Compare : Murex.; Silica; Sulph.

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 Murex purpurae
For the sufferings during climacteric (Lach., Sep.,
Sulph.).
Sinking, all gone sensation, in stomach (Sep.).
Violent excitement in sexual organs, and excessive
desire for an embrace (rev. of, Sep.).
Bearing down sensation, as if internal organs would be
pushed out, must sit down and cross limbs to >>
pressure (but no sexual desire, Sep.).
Menses: irregular, early, profuse, protracted, large
clots.
- Leucorrhoea: < mental depression, happier when
leucorrhoea is worse.
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