Why and How Homeopathy Works
Homeopathy is an intelligent application of universal laws that govern natural systems. This medical system uses foundational principles of nature to restore balance and harmony within living organisms—including the human being. Samuel Hahnemann, the founder of homeopathy, made an extraordinary and unparalleled contribution to humanity by discovering these laws and constructing a therapeutic system with a solid theoretical foundation, precise definitions of health and disease, and a complete framework for remedy preparation, dosage, and prescribing.
In this article, we explore the core principles of homeopathy and the natural laws that explain why it works.
The Foundation: “Like Cures Like”
The central law of homeopathy is the law of similars or “like cures like.”
This means that a substance capable of producing certain symptoms in a healthy person can cure similar symptoms in a sick individual, when administered in a highly diluted and potentized form.
Hahnemann discovered this principle through personal experimentation. While translating Cullen’s Materia Medica at age 35, he questioned the explanation offered for the action of quinine (Cinchona). Curious, he tested it on himself. After several days he developed periodic fever symptoms similar to malaria—the very illness quinine was used to treat. When he stopped taking the substance, the symptoms vanished. He repeated such experiments with other substances and consistently observed the same pattern:
a substance can cure the symptoms it is capable of producing.
This became the fundamental therapeutic law of homeopathy.
How a Remedy Acts: The Artificial Disease
Homeopathic remedies do not act through chemical means. After dilution and potentization, they contain no material molecules of the original substance. Their action is dynamic—energetic—directly influencing the Vital Force (the body’s inherent capacity to maintain life, regulate balance, and adapt to the environment). A remedy stimulates this self-healing power by producing a temporary, artificial disease state that resembles the natural disease but is slightly stronger on the dynamic plane. Because this artificial state is stronger yet short-lived and non-toxic, the Vital Force is compelled to respond with greater strength, ultimately overcoming the natural disease.
According to the natural law that “two similar diseases cannot coexist,” the stronger artificial state displaces the weaker natural disease. Once the natural disease is removed, the remedy’s influence fades quickly because it is minute, leaving the vital force free to restore balance.
The result is the curative secondary action—the organism’s own healing response.
The Law of Primary Action and Secondary Reaction
One of the most important natural laws described by Hahnemann in the Organon is the law of primary action and secondary reaction. This is a universal biological principle:
- Primary action: the immediate, direct effect of a strong stimulus
- Secondary reaction: the vital force’s compensatory response, usually opposite to the initial effect
The organism always attempts to counterbalance the initial influence and restore equilibrium.
Examples from Hahnemann
- Coffee → primary: stimulation & wakefulness → secondary: heaviness, drowsiness
- Alcohol → primary: excitement, cheerfulness → secondary: depression, lethargy
- Laxatives → primary: diarrhea → secondary: constipation
These examples demonstrate that the body consistently produces an opposite reaction following any strong stimulus.
Why Homeopathy Works
Homeopathy uses this natural principle with precision. A homeopathic remedy provides a similar but harmless stimulus—one that mimics the patient’s symptoms on the dynamic level. The vital force responds with a secondary reaction opposite to this stimulus, thereby neutralizing:
- The remedy’s effect, and
- The patient’s actual disease process
This alignment with the body’s natural healing mechanism makes the therapeutic effect of homeopathy both logical and profound.
Classical Homeopathy Is Rooted in Natural Laws
The system of classical homeopathy is built upon several core principles. In this article, we discussed the Law of Similars and will explore the other foundational principles, in future articles.
Core principles of Homeopathy:
1. The Law of Similars
Treat with a substance capable of producing similar symptoms.
2. Single Remedy
Prescribe one remedy at a time to clearly observe its effect.
3. Provings
Systematic testing of substances on healthy individuals to understand their symptom profiles.
4. Minimum Potentized Dose
Administer the smallest energetic dose necessary to stimulate healing.
5. Hering’s Laws of Cure
Healing proceeds:
- from within outward
- from more vital to less vital organs
- from above downward
- and in reverse order of symptom appearance
6. Individualization
Every patient is unique; the remedy must match the whole person, not just the disease name.