Lilium tigrinum
Made from the tiger lily — the spotted orange lily of American gardens, and the classical remedy of the hurried heart and the bearing-down pelvis.
The whole picture, in one breath
Think of a woman who cannot be still: heart-pounding and chest congestion, a bearing-down in the pelvis as if the organs would fall, hurry in every act and thought, indifference to those she loves, and a strange relief from support and from being busy. The hurried, congested, bearing-down woman: that is Lilium.
The substance, in plain words
The tiger lily is the spotted orange lily of American gardens. Its alkaloid chemistry is modest; the proving gave one of the library's great mental portraits — hurry, congestion, bearing-down, and the paradox of relief from being supported and occupied.
The traditional picture Classical sources
The inner state
- Hurried in mind and body. The keynote: cannot sit still, walks fast, thinks fast, does everything in a rush — 'the busy remedy' of the books.
- Indifference to loved ones. Feels nothing for the family; religious despair alternating with apathy.
- Anxious foreboding. Fear of heart disease, of impending doom, worse in the quiet hours.
The body
- Heart congestion with hurry. The keynote: a sensation of fullness and congestion at the heart with the furious hurry — the books' great cardiac-congestion portrait.
- Bearing-down of the pelvis. As if the pelvic organs would fall out; must cross the limbs and find support.
- Worse from consolation. Sympathy aggravates — the books note it with care.
- Better for support and occupation. Something firm against the bearing-down, and being busy, bring relief.
- Worse left side. And worse warmth, and worse the quiet, thoughtful hour.
- Ovarian and uterine heaviness. Heaviness and dragging of the female organs with the heart symptoms.
Modalities (worse and better factors)
| Worse from ⬇ | Better from ⬇ |
|---|---|
| consolation; the quiet thoughtful hour; warmth; standing; left side. | support and firm pressure; being busy; open air. |
Where it acts (organ affinities)
Heart and chest, female organs (bearing-down), mind and hurry, pelvis.
Where the classical picture comes from
The garden lily's proving gave the hurry-congestion-bearing-down triad; clinically Lilium attached to the driven, anxious, congested woman of the books — the one who cannot sit, cannot feel, cannot be consoled.
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.
The tiger lily's honest medical story is brief: no drug came of it, and its portrait — cardiac anxiety, pelvic bearing-down, hurry — maps today onto anxiety disorders, prolapse and heart-disease work-ups, all of which modern medicine investigates and treats directly. The lily's contribution was descriptive, and it was vivid.
Look-alikes (how the classical authors told it apart)
| Remedy | Looks similar because… | Tells it apart because… |
|---|---|---|
| Sepia officinalis | Indifferent, bearing-down, better exercise | Sepia is worn-out and better for dance; Lilium is hurried and better for support and business. |
| Helonias dioica | Prolapse, busy-better | Helonias is better when busy and worse when idle; Lilium is better for support and worse for consolation. |
| Ignatia amara | Worse consolation | Ignatia is grief with sighs; Lilium is hurry with congestion. |
| Cactus grandiflorus | Heart constriction | Cactus is the iron band with arm pain; Lilium the congested hurry. |