My husband and I recently visited Philadelphia. While most tourists headed toward Independence Hall, the Liberty Bell or the Rocky statue, Perry and I set off on a complicated search for the gravesite of an American hero, Constantine Hering, known as the Father of American Homeopathy.
Born in 1800 in Saxony (now Eastern Germany), his story is fascinating. In the 1820s, Hering was a medical student — an allopathic medical student — who was charged by his mentor with the job of writing a paper to discredit homeopathy.1
Hering began as a skeptic and jumped at the opportunity to try to prove that homeopathy was worthless. But then something interesting happened. He set out to disprove homeopathy — then devoted his life to it.
Homeopathyworks®
As part of his campaign to discredit Hahnemann, Hering, a diligent researcher, successfully replicated Hahnemann’s experiments with homeopathically prepared substances, such as Cinchona and others. Hering soon discovered — as we already know — that homeopathy works.
As a result, he abandoned his task, and the assigned book discrediting both Hahnemann and homeopathy was never published.
A couple of years later, Hering injured a finger on his right hand while dissecting a corpse for his medical training. The cut became infected — gangrenous, in fact — and he and his medical colleagues couldn’t cure the infection.
Rather than resort to the treatment of the day — amputation — which certainly would have ended his dream of a surgical career, Hering instead turned to homeopathy.2 (A prime example of TEETH, right Mighty Members? You just learned about this concept a week ago in Memo to Mighty Members #331*)
Within a day, I think it was, Hering started to notice a big shift in his injury. Then the next day, it was better yet, and soon enough, Dr. Hering’s gangrenous hand was cured.
From staunch opponent to continuing Hahnemann’s work
Through his research and diligent documentation, Dr. Constantine Hering added additional homeopathic medicines to the materia medica.
For instance, we have him to thank for uncovering the power of potentized Lachesis mutus,3 one of our premier remedies. I’ve written about Lachesis several times previously, but now you can think of Dr. Hering when you reach for that particular medicine.
- To combat flu symptoms in the lungs:
https://joettecalabrese.com/blog/ferocious-flu-fears/ - For palpitations, angina and breathlessness:
https://joettecalabrese.com/blog/heart-warming-homeopathy-for-angina/ - For palpitations and angina, especially during menopause:
https://joettecalabrese.com/articles/wtfall2014/ - To help uproot asthma:
https://joettecalabrese.com/blog/four-homeopathic-medicines-for-asthma/ - For hemorrhagic fevers:
https://joettecalabrese.com/blog/bioterrorism-epidemics-knowing-homeopathy-can-help-make-world-less-scary-place/ - For hot flashes:
https://joettecalabrese.com/blog/discover-lachesis-a-versatile-homeopathic-medicine-for-hot-flashes/
After Dr. Hering’s conversion to homeopathy, he eventually moved to the United States in 1833, where he not only practiced as a homeopathic physician but also formed the Hahnemannian Society, the North American Academy of the Homeopathic Healing Art, and later the Homeopathic Medical College of Pennsylvania.4
His work was so influential, and his promotion of this paradigm was so robust, as I said earlier, he became known as the Father of American Homeopathy.
He also introduced “Hering’s Law of Cure,” a fundamental principle describing the direction in which healing should proceed — from the deepest, most vital organs outward and in reverse order of symptom appearance.”5 This law is a foundational concept in homeopathy that is still in use today.
On the hunt for Dr. Constantine Hering’s grave
Dr. Hering practiced in Philadelphia. I knew that. I also knew he was buried there. So, during my recent trip to the area, I wanted to find his gravestone to pay my respects.
Unfortunately, there were two burial grounds with very similar names, but they were at opposite ends of town. Naturally, as luck would have it, we went to the wrong one first. Yet, undaunted, Perry reassured me, “I think I can find it.”
He went online, dug around using various resources, and tracked down the correct cemetery.
Once we made it there, we went to the cemetery’s map. Sounds like it should have been easy from that point, right?
Wrong.
Because there were no names for the streets — the roads weren’t named or numbered or anything — we resorted to starting at one specific place, and then we just tried to follow the curves in the road as we matched them to the map.
It was a convoluted “scavenger hunt,” to say the least. We easily spent two and a half hours searching.
But as you can see in the picture, we eventually found him. With no accolades or fanfare, Dr. Hering rests in a rather unpretentious grave, belying the importance of the man and his life’s work.
It had been a long day, but I was honored to be at the grave of such a revered homeopath, whose lasting legacy has paved the way for us today. We stand on Mighty shoulders, my friends.
Pass on the good news of Practical Homeopathy®!
Warmly,
- https://www.hahnemannhouse.org/constantine-hering-and-homeopathy/
- https://drexel.edu/legacy-center/blog/overview/2013/december/constantine-hering-the-father-of-american-homeopathy/
- https://www.ovid.com/journals/holin/abstract/10.1055/s-0040-1705145~dr-constantine-hering-18001880
- https://maescenter.com/blog/f/constantine-hering-md-founder-of-american-homeopathy
- https://heringshomeopathy.com/the-legacy-of-dr-constantine-hering/
*You must be logged into your Mighty Member account for protected links to take you directly to the offering.
Disclaimer: Joette is not a physician, and the relationship between Joette and her clients, students and followers is not that of prescriber and patient, but that of educator and learner. It is fully the learner’s choice whether or not to take advantage of the information Joette presents. Homeopathy doesn’t “treat” an illness; it addresses the entire person as a matter of wholeness that is an educational process, not a medical one. To be treated or diagnosed, Joette believes that the advice of a holistic physician is in order.
Claims based on traditional homeopathic practice, not accepted medical evidence. Not FDA evaluated.