Thuja Occidentalis in Homeopathy: Unmasking the Hidden Layers of Disease

Thuja’s name, “Arbor Vitae” (Tree of Life), embellishes the essence of what this tree is about-connection between heaven and earth or body and spirit.

The fundamental homeopathic indications revolve around suppression of all manners. This is so pertinent in today’s world, and I feel like it runs from physical to emotional and mental levels.

Botanically, Thuja occidentalis is an evergreen, used for clearing stagnant energy. Looking at its essential oils it has a caustic effect, and eats into things, so we can say it cuts in and releases suppression – it eats into the suppression to release it!

Although one of the big hitters in homeopathy for around 200 years, with the progression of time, I see it becoming more useful or more pertinent due to the excessive suppressive nature of our society today, not to mention the big hype around vaccinations in COVID.

I see as we grow up in today’s society, how children are often shamed, esp. with the advent of social media. They are not often able to express their feelings, often due to norms or bullying at school and especially with the amount of cyberbullying taking place. Although sexual abuse and shame have been around for decades, it appears even more severe nowadays, in that it is hidden.

When someone is carrying emotional rot, sexual shame, or the energetic imprint of violation, Thuja helps them release it, re-root in truth, and regrow toward vitality.

Miasmatic Aspects

Thuja is part of the sycotic miasm, meaning miasmic tendencies which appear that the remedy has an effect over which to release. It has the symptomatology of excess, that can be physical, emotional or mental excesses. Responses are excess, feelings are in excess, physical is in excess. There is internal suppression, from shame, there are secrets that can’t be told, and things need to be hidden or distorted, even over years.

This can manifest as sexual abuse and molestation, which belongs to the sycotic miasm, a disease archetype characterized by excess, overgrowth, and internal compression. This is the miasm of secrets—what is concealed, distorted, or never spoken out aloud.

Most specifically we note that, the Thuja patient suffers from:

• Sexual abuse or molestation – family related, hidden or exposed
• Shame is also a big component, esp. around genitals and body secretions which with Thuja are typically linked with suppressed gonorrhea, even if it is not directly from the patient but from forefathers. Smell can be described as rotting organic matter (skin or genital discharges, or musty esp. found from fungal infections and warts. It has also been described as old cheese, fishy or sour).

The Thuja patient exhibits fears of being unclean or contaminated or defiled. There are also big body dysmorphic issues and disgust at body fluids.

Body dysmorphia is very apparent as they are obsessively concerned with flaws in their appearance together with lack of self-confidence. They may present fine to the outside world but on the inside, there is a disgust for their own body. They compensate by seeking perfectionism and even overcompensate, by for example being rigidly religious- trying to undo the sin through good works.

This all may have its origins from when the person was violated years ago, often with the individual having little memory of the violation.

This fragility is seen in the way we explain the Materia Medica symptom of ‘feels like the body is made of glass’- fragile and may break.

Physically the Thuja remedy focuses on skin, nervous system and reproductive organs, which all link to the shame, exposure and suppression.

So, we will look at the genitourinary system and symptoms related to overgrowth (sycotic) BPH, vaginal infections and putrid discharge, with the typical warts of this intimate area and where there is chronic cystitis, with emotional triggers

When looking at male patients, we consider where there is shame around sexuality, ejaculation or erections.

Skin and Mucosa

When considering the skin and mucosa, which is one of the major areas affected by Thuja, we find moles, growths, acne, esp. where there was abuse or a STD incl. HPV or vaccine. These represent symptoms of self-disgust, so when you put it together with the genital area, it fits the Thuja picture perfectly. On the mind levels they must hide, and have a fear of being exposed or found out.

As in homeopathy we look for causation as the major trigger in disease process and there are certain fundamental aspects when considering thuja, namely Vaccinosis causation from the artificial suppression of the immune system from vaccination, esp. if there was a sexual trauma violation around the time of the vaccination. It expands the trauma.

Thuja helps to change the imprint and thought patterns and beliefs the body holds about the violations, as well as removing bacterial / viral pathogens associated with the disease / STD.

This need not feel so strange, although if you separate the body into specialities or separate parts, as in conventional medicine, they do not see the link between the emotion and the physiology. But in the latest medical science of psychoneuroimmunology these aspects are inexplicitly linked together and l notice how emotional feelings manifest into physical symptoms.

Thuja is well indicated where patients are carrying unspoken sexual trauma, religious guilt, or generational shame, incl. abortions, sexual abuse, rape and unworthiness. This is something that most people don’t just come out and express so the homeopath plays a pivotal role to hugely shift this patient to similimum healing!!!

Blog post by Dr. Anthony de Pontes
Visit her website: www.drdepontes.com
Related article by Dr. Anthony about Thuja: Thuja: Clearing Suppression by Showing the Release across the Different Bodies. – Dr Anthony de Pontes