Family is the primary thing, “my biggest fear is of dying and not having reproduced.” This desire is a prominent one in the proving of Oncorhynchus, “deep longing to be pregnant and have children, I dream about children all the time,” “very intense fear of not being able to have children,” “How can I last this long without a baby?” The theme of procreation correlates with the inner nature of the salmon, since its mission in life is to swim upriver to its birthplace and breed the next generation.

Key images: Finding your way back to source. Reaching that point where you can conceive. Desire to find a place to nest. To be entwined with another – to be as one. A huge effort to reach goal. Talk of soul mate.

Just as salmon exhibit great determination and experience inordinate hardship traveling upstream, the patient repeatedly endured uncomfortable medical procedures and painful surgery in her ambition for a pregnancy. Dreams she “was frantically going around trying to get pregnant.” Dreams of unsuccessful efforts, repeated attempts to catch a flight or reach a destination, “not being able to get to where I wanted to be,” “frustrated.”

Order is a characteristic of Oncorhynchus as well as of the patient. Provers were unable to work in disordered places and needed to tidy up and throw out old objects. Sometimes suffering depression, there is a need to be alone, “desire to hibernate-remove myself from work,” “desire to be alone and silent,” “sense of depression and withdrawal.”

Water is a prominent theme, showing up in underwater sensations and dreams of oceans and floods.  Provers had images of “rivers of traffic,” “going with the river” and “rivers flowing in different directions.” 

There is also a frequent reference to cycles. The life cycle repeats.

Therapeutic

Infertility

Endometriosis

Ovarian cysts

Fibroids

Goitre

Slow exhausting labour

Desire to kill by beating head against wall. Feeling trapped longing to be free. The sensation of timelessness when swimming.

Eat only olives, lettuce and cucumbers, raw carrots and red peppers.

Desire to eat fish.

The bottom of my soul is like all time and all life times. Like there is no time and it is just the journey of the soul.

I feel like a circle is near completion

Themes

Water

Freedom escape

Walking, driving, swimming

High/racy

Travel – Home

Love – Soul mate

Queen of Sheba and king Solomon

Children of Israel

Truth

Female/male – Reproduction

Children/ mothers/ daughter/ fathers

Weeping anger grief

Irritable

Cursing

Kill animals – Victim

Alone isolation/observer

Colours

Confidence

Mischievous

Sensitivity: noise sound

Teaching

General and Physical symptoms

Generalities, Beaten up, bruised Head pain temples, eyes

Generalities, Food, desire chocolate Face, pain sinuses

Generalities, Desire meat Mouth, ulcers, lips

Generalities, Desire fish, salmon Throat, Lump

Throat, Pain, < swallow empty,

Stomach, Thirstless

Rectum, Constipation

Genitalia, Female, infertility

Extremities, feet, icy cold

Going home

Lives in fresh water and sea water

Infertility

The key note of this remedy is coming home, in some way or other the individual needs to return home, to complete a cycle before they can move on in life. A case of a young woman who had been fostered and then was chucked out of her foster home because of her drug addiction. She moves away and gets clean and gets sorted but then the only place she can find to live suddenly is back on the same street as her foster family and surrounded but those drug dealers. She needs this test, it is Salmon.

Equally common, working with IVF clients there is a need to go through a cycle. The matridonal remedies frequently are indicated in IVF cases and they may form a progression (eg placenta to amniotic fluid to umbilicus) and then possibly a milk remedy before or after the Salmon. I have often seen the cycle take 9 months and then things start happening in relation to a pregnancy. This could be a natural pregnancy when not happening before, or an IVF pregnancy or a realisation that adoption is better for them. The “home” here can be the womb and the client is focused on its state of health.

In the whole picture of Salmon there is much more of the Salmon in evidence. The salmon doesn’t eat on its homeward journey and will wear itself out reaching its goal. So there is often a worn out state from the “journey” the client is involved with, either physically or mentally.

Gynaecological issues, certainly, but also eating disorders. Especially where the process of “recovery” is wearing them out. This “lack of energy” aspect and the home coming may make Salmon a useful remedy in post Covid cases. Reviewing this article I realise the relevance of this remedy. Covid takes us back to that which has not been fixed, things left incomplete, either because or body didn’t have the vitality at the time, the resource, or because of life events. On the physical level people are not producing new symptoms after Covid but going to pathology of those organs that were previously weakened. Chest issues that were not resolved in past return and the person is now older and weaker after Covid so resolution is harder. Similarly with kidney and heart disorders. It can be the same for relationship issues and other life issues.

Salmon with its focus on family and the home would be well worth considering where the after Covid issues is related to family and home. Struggle in the family since lockdown, the idea of a child had been put to one side for career or not the right time and now its more important and difficult to get back there. Equally if Covid has rekindled an old relationship Salmon would be a good remedy to consolidate that relationship and if there is a journey ahead that is joyous and opening up then Rainbow may also be worth considering. The salmon has the struggle while Rainbow picks up the next part of the journey towards the “pot of gold”. So, back to the IVF, Rainbow is more indicated once there is a pregnancy, unless that is still a struggle as the “home” is not yet formed. Rainbow may also be complimented by Goldfish (Carassius auratus) especially where there is a history of miscarriages.