Observations of this kind remind us of the inner strengths of iron: courage and will power to fight. At the same time, they raise questions about the purpose of the immune system. Is it there to fight infections or cancer, to kill bacteria, viruses or malignant cells, so there will be no illness? In terms of bacteriology, that would define the immune system. But it does not define health, because it does not include the personal experience of going through an illness to regain new health. When we are "run down," "under stress," or sleeping or eating poorly, not only our resistance to various illnesses is compromised, but we become victims of our own poor life style. As disruptive as an illness can be for the job we are trying to fulfill, it helps us to take a break from an exaggerated work commitment and to gain a better perspective on life. Recovery then can bring a new resolution, a new sense of inner balance and joy.

Samuel Hahnemann, the father of homeopathy, had insight into the true process of healing that always included the mind as well as the body. He saw a deep spiritual connection between an illness and a remedy. The inner dynamic of a substance does not become active in its crude material form. To become a remedy, a substance has to be rhythmically diluted. Hahnemann taught in his book Organon that in the homeopathic process the inner force of a natural substance is set free so it can truly heal. The understanding of the spiritual side of healing has been more common in the earlier days of medicine. The Finnish epic Kalewala describes the power of iron to injure and kill; but the hero Wainamoinen knows the mythic origin of the iron, from where the spiritual power comes to stop the bleeding.

The cosmic side of iron is traditionally connected with Mars, the god of warfare, and his red planet. Paracelsus wrote that iron is a universal force present in the planet Mars , in the metal, in the function of the gall bladder and the bile, and in plants permeated by the force of iron, such as the stinging nettle. How do we prescribe such remedies at present? As a medication to boost the body defenses in flu and similar viral infections, we use iron phosphate in its homeopathic form. The phosphorus component addresses the inflammatory nature of these illnesses. (see also article by J.Wilson - Ed).

Underlying dispositions like fatigue, poor resistance, anxiety, we treat by homeopathically using meteoric iron. Supplementation of material iron has little to do with these medications, even though there are conditions such as iron deficiency anemia, where we have to supplement nutritional iron. Typical "iron plants," in the sense in which Paracelsus described the stinging nettle, bear the signature of iron regardless of their material iron content. One of these plants is Boneset, Eupatorium perfoliatum, a potent flu-fighting remedy. It is a heritage of native American medicine, as it only grows wild in America. I prescribe it as the Weleda flu preparation Infludo, which contains Boneset as a main ingredient, and in combination with it Ferrum phosphoricum 6X. You may find Boneset in your back yard or alongside a country road. Its leaves are serrated, lanceolated and sharply pointed. Their flavor is of a penetrating bitterness that truly wakes us up. It is a healthy bitter taste that activates bile excretion. We can see here already a glimpse of how Boneset works its magic; there is a cleansing, "clarifying" effect to that bitterness and its bile activation, which identifies it as part of the iron force described above. The name Boneset indicates that it helps with fevers generating violent bone aches. "Perfoliatum" means "through the leaf" — opposite leaves are uniquely grown together at their base, so that the stem pierces the double leaf. This martial appearance is accentuated in the young plant by the small top pair of leaves pointing upwards like the tip of a spear.