hubBy Homeopathy Network TeamMarch 4, 2026

Glossary of Homeopathic Terms

Homeopathy has its own precise vocabulary. This glossary defines the key terms you will encounter across homeopathy.network — from foundational concepts like remedy and proving to specialized terms like repertorization and simillimum. The full A–Z list below stays current as new entries are added.

A

  • Active & Passive Reaction — Active and passive reaction describe how the vital force first submits to a remedy's primary action, then actively counteracts it to restore health
  • Acute Prescribing — Acute prescribing selects a remedy for sudden-onset, self-limiting conditions, focusing on the immediate symptom picture
  • Acute vs Chronic Disease — In homeopathy, an acute disease is self-limiting and runs a short course, while a chronic disease persists and calls for deeper constitutional treatment
  • Aetiology (Causation) — In homeopathy, aetiology is the causation of illness — the grief, fright, injury, or 'never well since' event that a remedy must match in prescribing
  • Aggravation — A homeopathic aggravation is a temporary worsening of symptoms after a well-chosen remedy
  • Antidote — In homeopathy, an antidote is a remedy that neutralizes or counteracts the effects of a previously given remedy

C

  • Case Taking — Case taking is the systematic interview through which a homeopathic practitioner gathers detailed information about symptoms, history, temperament, and modalities
  • Centesimal Scale — The centesimal scale is the most widely used potency scale in homeopathy, using 1:100 dilution with succussion at each step
  • Clinical Rubric — A clinical rubric is a repertory entry whose remedies come from cured cases rather than provings — learn how these rubrics guide and caution prescribing
  • Compensated State — A compensated state is one in which the organism adapts to a chronic disturbance so well that it appears healthy, masking the deeper susceptibility beneath
  • Complementary Remedy — A complementary remedy follows well after another, completing its action
  • Concomitant Symptom — A concomitant is a symptom that accompanies the chief complaint without an obvious causal link
  • Constitutional Prescribing — Constitutional prescribing selects a remedy based on the whole person — build, temperament, and chronic tendencies — not a single complaint

D

  • Decimal Scale — The decimal scale uses 1:10 dilution at each potentization step
  • Dilution — In homeopathy, dilution is the measured reduction in concentration at each preparation step
  • Direction of Cure — The direction of cure describes how genuine healing progresses: from within outward, above downward, and in reverse order
  • Doctrine of Signatures — The doctrine of signatures reads a plant's form as a hint to its use
  • Drug Picture — The drug picture is the complete symptom profile of a homeopathic remedy, compiled from provings, clinical use, and toxicology

E

  • Essence of a Remedy — The essence of a remedy is the central theme uniting all its symptoms into one coherent picture — the thread homeopaths follow when they prescribe

H

  • Hering's Law of Cure — Hering's Law of Cure describes the direction genuine healing takes — from within outward, from above downward, and in reverse order of a symptom's appearance

I

  • Imponderabilia — Imponderabilia are homeopathic remedies prepared from non-material energy sources such as X-ray, sunlight, and magnetism
  • Individualization — Individualization is the principle that each patient requires a remedy matched to their unique symptom picture, not a standard prescription based on diagnosis

K

  • Keynote — A keynote is a highly characteristic symptom that strongly points to a particular homeopathic remedy
  • Kingdom Classification — Kingdom classification groups homeopathic remedies by their natural source — plant, animal, mineral, or nosode — to reveal the shared themes that guide prescribing

L

  • Laterality — Laterality is a remedy's tendency to favour one side of the body — right or left — and the direction its symptoms travel
  • Law of Similars — The Law of Similars is the foundational principle of homeopathy: like treats like
  • Level of Experience — The level of experience describes the depth at which a patient encounters their disturbance — from name and fact through emotion to sensation and energy
  • LM Potency — LM potencies use a 1:50,000 dilution ratio at each step

M

  • Materia Medica — The materia medica is the body of knowledge describing the medicinal properties of homeopathic remedies, compiled from provings and clinical observation
  • Miasm — A miasm is a fundamental predisposition to chronic disease in homeopathic philosophy
  • Miasmatic Analysis — Miasmatic analysis is the homeopathic method of classifying a chronic case by its underlying miasm — Psora, Sycosis, or Syphilis — to guide anti-miasmatic prescribing
  • Minimum Dose — The minimum dose principle states that the smallest effective quantity of a remedy should be used
  • Modality — A modality is a factor that makes a symptom better or worse — such as time of day, temperature, motion, or rest
  • Mother Tincture — A mother tincture is the initial liquid extract of a source substance, prepared to pharmacopoeial standards

N

  • Never Well Since (NWS) — Never Well Since (NWS) marks the event a patient's health broke down and never recovered
  • Nosode — A nosode is a homeopathic remedy prepared from disease products or diseased tissue

O

  • Organon of Medicine — The Organon of Medicine is Hahnemann's foundational text on homeopathy, revised through six editions

P

  • Palliation — Palliation in homeopathy means temporary symptom relief without addressing the underlying disturbance
  • Periodic Table in Homeopathy — The periodic table in homeopathy maps the mineral remedies by series and stage, revealing the developmental themes that shape each element's homeopathic picture
  • Pharmacopoeia — A homeopathic pharmacopoeia is an official compendium of standards for remedy preparation and quality control
  • Plussing Method — The plussing method is a dosing technique where a remedy is dissolved in water and succussed before each dose, slightly altering the potency each time
  • Polychrest — A polychrest is a homeopathic remedy with a wide range of action, applicable to many conditions and constitutional types
  • Posology — Posology in homeopathy covers potency selection, dose repetition, and method of administration
  • Potency — In homeopathy, potency refers to the level of preparation a remedy has undergone through serial dilution and succussion
  • Potentization — Potentization is the two-step process of serial dilution and succussion that transforms a crude substance into a homeopathic remedy
  • Prover — A prover is a healthy volunteer who takes a potentized substance during a proving and records all symptoms experienced
  • Proving — A proving is a systematic experiment in which a substance is given to healthy volunteers to document the symptoms it produces, forming the basis of the materia medica
  • Psora — Psora is the primary miasm in Hahnemann's chronic disease theory, underlying most chronic conditions

R

  • Remedy — A remedy is a homeopathic preparation made from a natural substance through potentization
  • Remedy Relationship — Remedy relationships are the established affinities between homeopathic remedies — complementary, antidotal, and inimical
  • Repertorization — Repertorization is the systematic process of using a repertory to identify the remedies that best match a patient's totality of symptoms in homeopathic prescribing
  • Repertory — A repertory is a systematic index mapping symptoms to the remedies known to produce or treat them — the practitioner's primary tool for finding the simillimum
  • Rubric — A rubric is a single entry in a homeopathic repertory representing a specific symptom alongside the remedies associated with it

S

  • Sarcode — A sarcode is a homeopathic remedy prepared from healthy animal tissues or secretions
  • Sensation Level — The sensation level is the deep, shared body-and-mind experience beneath a homeopathic case in Sankaran's method — where the physical complaint and inner state meet
  • Simillimum — The simillimum is the single remedy whose proven symptom picture most closely matches the patient's totality of symptoms — the ideal prescription in classical homeopathy
  • Single Remedy — The single remedy principle means prescribing one remedy at a time
  • Source Language — In homeopathy's sensation method, source language is the words a patient uses that describe the natural source of their remedy rather than their illness
  • Succussion — Succussion is the vigorous shaking performed at each step of homeopathic potentization
  • Suppression — Suppression in homeopathy refers to driving disease symptoms to deeper levels through inappropriate treatment, distinguished from genuine cure
  • Susceptibility — Susceptibility is an individual's predisposition to disease and sensitivity to remedies
  • Symptom Picture — The symptom picture is the complete presentation of a patient's symptoms used as the basis for homeopathic prescribing

T

  • The Second Prescription — The second prescription is the homeopath's decision after the first remedy has acted — whether to wait, repeat, raise the potency, or change
  • Thermal Type — A thermal type describes whether a patient runs chilly or warm and how heat and cold affect their state — a general modality that guides remedy selection
  • Tincture — A tincture is a liquid extract of a substance in alcohol-water solution
  • Tissue Affinity — Tissue affinity describes the specific organs and body systems on which a homeopathic remedy has its primary action
  • Totality of Symptoms — The totality of symptoms is the complete picture of a patient's physical, mental, and emotional state — the sole basis for selecting a homeopathic remedy
  • Trituration — Trituration is the process of grinding insoluble substances with lactose to prepare them for liquid potentization

V

  • Vital Force — The vital force is the animating, self-governing principle that maintains health and orchestrates self-healing in homeopathic philosophy
  • Vital Sensation — The vital sensation is the deepest, wordless experience shared by mind and body in a case — the core of Rajan Sankaran's Sensation method of prescribing