Bufo rana
Made from the toad's poison — the bufotenin of the sorcerers' texts, a genuine molecule of modern psychopharmacology, and the classical remedy of the convulsive state.
The whole picture, in one breath
Think of a mind slipping toward seizure: strange sensations before the fit, the convulsion itself with the biting and the fixed stare, the dullness and anger after, and the books' great toad remedy of the convulsive diathesis. The seizure's shadow: that is Bufo.
The substance, in plain words
The common toad carries its poison in the glands of its skin — bufotenin and the bufotoxins, genuinely psychoactive molecules studied in modern psychopharmacology, the chemistry behind the toad's ancient fame in sorcery and its modern notoriety. The proving gave the toad the convulsive portrait.
The traditional picture Classical sources
The inner state
- The aura before the fit. The keynote of the mind: strange sensations, fear, the odd mental state before the convulsion — the books' great aura portrait.
- Anger and dullness after. The dullness and irritability following the attack.
- Anxiety and fear. Fear of the next fit, worse at night.
The body
- Convulsions with the fixed stare. The keynote: the convulsive state with the fixed eyes and the bitten tongue — the books' epileptiform portrait.
- Strange sensations before. The numbness, the odd feelings, the aura of the coming attack.
- Weakness and sleepiness after. The profound prostration and sleepiness following the fit.
- Worse the approach of the menses. The books record the fits returning with the cycle in the female.
- Worse night and emotional excitement. The quiet night and the excitement bring the fit nearer.
- Better for rest and quiet. Rest, quiet and steadiness keep the seizure's shadow back.
Modalities (worse and better factors)
| Worse from ⬇ | Better from ⬇ |
|---|---|
| night; emotional excitement; the cycle's approach; light. | rest; quiet; warmth. |
Where it acts (organ affinities)
Nervous system (convulsions, aura), mind, general vitality.
Where the classical picture comes from
The toad's poison proved the convulsive portrait; Bufo became the classical remedy of the epileptiform state — the sorcerers' toad recorded by the old school with the same respect the psychopharmacologists would later give its molecules.
The substance in real medicine Pharmacology
What this section is: the pharmacology and toxicology of the source substance. It is not clinical evidence that a homeopathic preparation of it treats any condition. What controlled trials do and do not show is set out on the Evidence page.
Bufotenin is genuinely psychoactive — a serotonin-family alkaloid of the toad's skin, studied in modern psychopharmacology and the subject of real, serious research into consciousness and seizure. The toad of the sorcerers carries molecules the laboratory respects; the convulsions it portrayed are now neurology's, treated with real, effective anticonvulsants.
Look-alikes (how the classical authors told it apart)
| Remedy | Looks similar because… | Tells it apart because… |
|---|---|---|
| Cicuta virosa | Convulsions | Cicuta's is the arching rigid spasm; Bufo's is the aura, the fixed stare and the cycle's link. |
| Cuprum metallicum | Spasms and convulsions | Cuprum's cramps end the cough in spasm; Bufo's is the epileptiform fit with the aura. |
| Hydrocyanicum acidum | Convulsive family | Hydrocyanic's convulsions alternate; Bufo's come with the aura and the dullness after. |
| Absinthium | Over-wound nerves | Absinthium is the trembling sleeplessness; Bufo is the seizure's shadow with the aura. |