The elements in stage 17 are called the halogens and are highly reactive. They easily form compounds with other elements, so they are part of many homeopathic pictures in the form of fluoratums, muriaticums, bromiums and iodatums.
They are at the end of each series, after the last sign of the zodiac in stage 16, and before the transformation to a new cycle that belongs to stage 18.
Stage 17 in Homeopathy and the elements:
Releasing is central for this stage. As soon as they see that they cannot hold on to the past, and that letting go is the best thing to do, they are a big step ahead. That is the power of this stage. As long as they fight it, the pain and grief will increase.
In the early development of the series the complementary sign is not well known yet, and seems to come from the world outside. But in the later development of each series, the complement is more a characteristic of the remedy.
In the carbonseries that means that scorpio is very manifest in the later stages. And manipulation and abuse play an important role in those remedies, especially Fluor.
Scholten about Fluor:
The tendency to release all values. Free and immoral behaviour. Need the
glamour and admiration of others to confirm their feeling of self-
beautiful smooth, but hard outside. Take what they want, without considering others. Manifest themselves even at the cost of others. They need contact to fill their own
void. But if the other becomes to strong, they go away.
Chlorine in homeopathy is best known as muriaticum. The picture is very similar to the astrological picture of cancer, the primordial soul.
Nurturing, support, emotional bonding, belonging, roots, source. Ground of your being. The unconscious, feelings, emotion, first emotional attachments to the world. Mothering, emotional and physical nurturing. Experiences and imprinting during infancy and childhood. Family, ancestors, heritage, relationships to the past. Belonging, feeling at home, caring. Feeling supported, that needs are provided for. Insecurities and fears if your needs haven’t been fulfilled.
Scholten talks about the close relationship between mother and child.
It is a relation that has to end sometime, the child has to go it’s own way as an adult.
But also relations in general:
Afraid the other will abandon them or die. Feeling they are abandoned and do not dare to move on in life. Keep brooding about past relations.
Chlorine is in stage 17 which is the same as Fluor. So it is mainly about the polarity between claiming and abandon (cancer) and about holding on and release (stage 17).
The complementary sign (capricorn) also plays an important role here with the polarity between formal and depressed.
The goal is to learn how to use the emotions in a constructive way.
With Bromium the ironseries is coming to an end. It is in stage 17 like Fluor and Chlorum. Stage 17 is about finding the balance between holding on and release. With Bromium it is about the release of the function.
Perfection of the approach to life. Development of mundane skills, ability to change to adapt to life better. Service, helping, perfectionist, always seeking to improve, efficiency, practical, functional, analytical. Reacts to defeats and setbacks by pulling back and altering approach. Lacks confidence in the face of opposition, lives up to duties and responsibilities.
The individual has become as skilled and perfect as possible, up to the point where it would go at the cost of others. This might explain the guilt, because of doing things totaly ‘my way’.
The complement pisces plays an important role here.
Compassion and empathy, selfless work. Seeing the unity of all things. The end of cycles, forming seeds for the next cycle of growth. Mysticism, fails to make normal distinctions. Laziness, victim, martyr, servant. Tends to escapism. Fantasy, drugs, alcohol, religion. Very receptive, sensitive, even psychic.
The polarity of pisces can be seen between laziness and confusion, but also between deceive and disappear. Scholten talks about guilt and escape.
Have to let the work go. Because of a disease, their age, or are dismissal. A typical situation is that of pension. Would like to go on, find it difficult to sit still, want to have something to do. Or can not release the work and are convicted to work. Guilt because not doing their work or duty. Feeling they are disapproved and convicted. Can not stand being watched. Think they will be found guilty. Tendency to escape. Feel haunted, by people or ghosts. In the most extreme case they become psychotic. Sit quiet, just stare, or are restless with their hands. Delusion that God wants to punish him.
This religious side is also a characteristic of pisces, which has the final purpose of compassion.
Iodium is in stage 17 of the silverseries. Like the other remedies in stage 17, Fluor, Chlorine and Argon, it is the phase of releasing. Here the complementary sign is more prominent then in the previous stages. In the silverseries that is not one complement, but two. The complements of libra and sagittarius, which are aries,
Activity that is self-
and gemini.
Clever, curious, communication. Making connection with surroundings. Trying to figure out, intelligence. Talkative, sociable, loves to interact with others on a superficial level. Unemotional, impersonal, ruled by rationality. Requires great mental stimulation. Playful, inconstant, attention easily drifts so something new, seeks novelty.
So with Iodium it is about releasing the reflection (libra) and vision (sagittarius) of the silverseries and discover the impulsion (aries) and interaction (gemini). By exploring the polarity of those two principles (from irritable to exhaustion and from curious to anxious) the purpose is to find the balance between reflection (libra) and impulsion (aries) and between vision (sagittarius) and interaction (gemini).
In both complements the spirit and mind are involved, libra (individual mind) and aries (primordial spirit) along with sagittarius (universal spirit) and gemini (primordial mind). What misses here is the body and soul which are going to play a prominent role in the next series, the goldseries (universal body) and the lanthanides (individual soul).
The challenge here is to reflect (mind, libra) on impulses (spirit, aries) and to use vision (spirit, sagittarius) interactive (mind, gemini). Or use intuition (spirit) logical (mind).
Lutetium is the last remedy of the lanthanides. It is in stage 17 and, like with the other remedies of that stage, here the characteristics of the complement of the whole series become more prominent.
Fluor was in stage 17 of the carbonseries, which as a whole was similar to taurus. Taurus is about manifestation, which at the end in stage 17 is overdone. With Fluor, the complement becomes more prominent and the complement of taurus is scorpio. So the characteristics of scorpio play a prominent role in Fluor.
Chlorine was in stage 17 of the siliciumseries, which as a whole was similar to gemini. Gemini is about interaction, but stage 16 and 17 in the siliciumseries have its own dynamic, with Chlorine in stage 17 the emotions of cancer. The complement of cancer is capricorn and therefore the characteristics of capricorn play a prominent role in Chlorine.
Bromium was in stage 17 of the ironseries, which as a whole was similar to virgo. Virgo is about function and at the end it has to be released. The complement is pisces and so the characteristics of pisces are more prominent with Bromium.
Iodium was in stage 17 of the silverseries, which as a whole was similar to libra and sagittarius. Those where about reflection and vision and the complements are aries and gemini. So impulsion and interaction are characteristics of Iodium.
Here with the lanthanides, which as a whole are similar to scorpio and gemini, the compliments taurus and sagittarius become important. That makes manifestation and vision characteristic in Lutetium. These are important features just before entering the goldseries.
But someone can get stuck in this phase and than there is no desire to step into the responsibility of the goldseries. Scholten calls them unbound and playful.
The most striking quality is the playfulness. When that quality is their character they can be really nice and funny. They play with life and people in a lovely way. But with it they are also out of connection, unbound.