The term ‘homeopathy’ is derived from the Greek word ‘homoios’, meaning ‘similar’ and pathos, meaning ‘disease’.
It is based on the principle ‘like cures like’. In practice, this means that a medicine capable of producing certain effects when taken by a healthy individual is capable of curing any illness that displays similar effects.
Homeopathy is an energetic form of medicine which harnesses the body’s ability to heal itself. This innate healing ability is believed to be a function of the life force, or vital force, inherent in each individual.
According to homeopathy, disease is a disturbance of this vital force and the associated symptoms reflect the nature of this disturbance. Homeopathic medicine, then, aims at correcting this disturbance by using minute amounts of substances to enable the body to heal itself.