Gorse
Botanical: Ulex Europaeus
Family: Fabaceae
Homeopathic remedy: Not used
Description:The plant is dense, branched, stunted shrub. The leaves are very small and fall off early, not being present in the older stages, when they take the form of long, thread-like spines, which are straight and furrowed. The stem is hairy and spreading. Gorse grown mainly in waste places and on commons. It is uses as a soap substitute and as a fodder for farm animals.
Medicinal uses: Jaundice, Scarlet-fever, Purgative, Cardiac dropsy.
Keywords: I give up, Hopelessness, Pessimism, Depression
Compare: Sweet Chestnut, Gentian
Dr Bach's description: Very great hopelessness, they have given up belief that more can be done for them. Under persuasion or to please others they may try different treatments, at the same time assuring those around that there is so little hope of relief.
Essence: The central theme of Gorse remedy is the willful belief, that their case is hopeless. The Gorse people exchange the hope of success for the consciousness of failure. The typical Gorse situation may be a situation of a person, that is ill for a long time and he is so used to the illness, that he consciously refuses the fact that he may get better. He uses many arguments as the affirmation of this state (inherited diseases, incurable chronic diseases etc.).
We must not however confound the hopelessness of the Gorse remedy for the despair of the Sweet Chestnut, even though these two remedies are closely related. Gorse hopelessness is not really a despair, because the situation offers many solutions, but the Gorse person is unwilling to use them. Sweet Chestnut represents a person in a typical despair situation, since the situation of the Sweet Chestnut is really a dead-end. There are no solutions left and the only possible reaction is despair.
Another closely related remedy is Gentian. We can differentiate these two remedies quite easily. Gentian state represents a milder discouragement which will get better by itself after a time. Gorse state is more severe hopelessness and the person is unwilling to accept that there are solutions for his situation, even though the solutions present themselves readily.