I’m reading Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire at the moment with my daughter. It’s possibly my favourite Harry Potter book, adding so many facets to the wizarding world introduced in the earlier books.
In the book Hermione gets extremely upset about the treatment of House Elves, who are bound to the service of a wizard family, and starts the Society for the Promotion of Elfish Welfare, or S.P.E.W. for short. Hermione wants to improve the House Elves position from enslavement to wizarding families to paid servants with time off and benefits. The House Elves however are quite happy with the status quo.
This really made me think of the remedy Causticum. They have a huge sympathy to others and a complete intolerance to injustice. They are also sensitive to authority, especially if they think it might be contributing to a situation that they find intolerable. They are idealists, and can be both fanatics or revolutionaries, fighting for a cause, and may even work or volunteer for a non-profit organisation doing good for a part of the world they are passionate about.
Over time, especially if life has disappointed them, there can be a gradual hardening and paralysis, mentally and emotionally, and physically. It can be a remedy for ailments after grief, and they can have a lot of anxiety, worrying that something bad will happen and a lot of concern for other people. They may have feelings that they have forgotten something (And have to go back and check that they have shut the door, or remembered to turn off the stove). They can get so excited or angry they have trouble getting the words out or stammer.
Physically there is an affinity for nerves, both motor and sensory, and they can have paralysis (particularly right sided, including Bells Palsy), and numbness, and even twitches and cramps.
There is also a hardening and shortening of tendons and muscles, and they could have conditions like Dupuytens contracture and Carpal Tunnel. It may be used for arthritis or even strains if the pains have a tearing sensation.
The throat, particularly the larynx can be affected with laryngitis, hoarseness and a croaky voice. The pains are raw and sore like an open wound, and feel better from drinking cold water. While they may have difficulty swallowing, there could also be a sensation that they need to swallow all the time.
The bladder is also affected with paralysis, and they may have either difficulty urinating, or involuntary urination. There can be bed wetting at night.
Causticum is a good remedy for burns, particularly second degree burns with large blisters, or old burns that are not healing. They can also have warts around the fingernails, or on the face.
Causticum is not a remedy that you will find in most home homeopathy kits, but is a really useful remedy, and you can often recognise it by their passionate belief in a cause.