Proving
of Python regia
by Brigitte Klotzsch [copyright by the author]
1. Introduction
A number of venomous snakes have played an important part in
the homeopathic materia medica, but until now there has never been a remedy
made from an exclusively strangulating snake. I think it is really important to
give you a picture of this remedy along with the provings and rubrics. Within
this picture are included my own experiences as well as clinical detail. This
will then give you a real flavour of the remedy, a hook on which to hang the
detail. Poems and fairy tales also add to the remedy picture.
2. How I obtained original sample:
Getting hold of the original sample was an adventure in
itself. At first I was determined to get one drop of blood from an Albino Boa.
A visiting circus in my area (Refrath, Germany) was exhibiting one of these
slung across the neck of a beautiful woman. The owner of this snake was
incredibly suspicious of me and wouldn’t even speak to me when he heard of my
bloodthirsty request. And anyway, he said, snakes have got such deep veins that
you would never be able to access them. Added to which you would have to tear
the mucus membrane to access a drop of blood (mouth or anus) and you couldn’t
possibly do this, for goodness’ snake, because the gigantic snake is as
sensitive as a baby and its mucus membranes would immediately react with a
fungal infection and then he would have to buy expensive medicines to treat it.
So that was no good.
Six months later I had the opportunity to meet a reptile
connoisseur who kept these animals at his home. I became interested in the
smaller constrictor snake, the Python.
Herr Ermert knows his reptiles but is currently only keeping
Tarantulas and Pythons at home and first of all he was sceptical and reserved
about the idea of homeopathy but he was open-minded enough to let me attempt to
get blood from his snake.
I have to admit that I am not keen on injections. However, I
got hold of a set of insulin instruments in order to prick the Python and
remove a drop of blood.
I was considerably agitated when the time came to try out
this procedure between the under-side scales of the Python. Herr Ermert held
the animal meanwhile. The snake seemed not to feel a thing. It didn’t even
flinch as I inserted the needle. I had to have several attempts and each time
the snake did not react. It was as if it had anaesthetised itself. I didn’t
manage to get a single drop of blood, not even the first signs of any but I
only wanted some blood. Everything seemed withheld.
Then we got a razor blade and I felt as if I were being
terribly mercenary about the whole thing. First I had pricked the animal which
had not defended itself at all and now I was about to cut its skin between its
under-side scales and through its connective tissue. Again there was no
reaction and again there was no blood. It was incredible. The cut was gaping in
front of us, without a trace of blood, almost as if the Python had withheld
everything in order to concentrate on its own anaesthesia.
I didn’t know what to do now. I felt like a mutilator
and,deep down, gave up, bothered by deep doubts about why I even wanted the
blood of the Python. I could do something else instead.
Herr Ermert stuck up for me and became really fascinated
when I decided to use a leech to try to obtain blood. This seemed a brilliant
opportunity to both of us.
So we arranged another meeting and this time I brought two
leeches from the chemist’s. The Python hadn’t eaten anything for months by now,
ever since it had been caught in Nigeria. Before applying the leech I was
overcome with doubt. Supposing the snake bled to death, because the hirudin of
the leech prevents clotting of the blood. The snake wasn’t that big. Herr
Ermert encouraged me and so I began.
The Python still had some ticks between the side scales so
why not try a leech there?
The first leech climbed like a world champion and again the
animal didn’t react. But the leech didn’t feed. We set the second more lively
leech to work and he quickly found a spot on the side which he bit. I let him
suck for half an hour. It seemed to me that his activity was ever decreasing.
He became ever more sluggish and not really any fatter.
So I removed him with alcohol and put him into a petrie dish
with the first leech. And what happened? A minimal amount of blood trickled
from the snake’s abdomen which I collected immediately with a glass tubule and
added to a prepared 10 ml bottle with 96% alcohol and it had already begun to
coagulate. But it was sufficient. It was sufficient to make a wonderful remedy,
a remedy which has been neglected by homeopaths for decades and which should
now come to light.
I sent the sample to Helios Pharmacy in England.
They potentised the remedy and one can buy Python remedy
there.
By the way, a short time later the leech with snake’s blood
died. Its innards were full of coagulated blood.
Python has coagulating power as part of its remedy picture.
I noticed this when I cut my finger while laying mosaic tiles and didn’t have
any plasters to hand. I had a vial of Python 200c on the table. I put the vial
in my hand and observed how my blood coagulated within seconds. The bloody
wound crusted over.
3. How I conducted the proving
I gave Python 30c to 6 male and female provers. They didn’t
know the remedy. They took it daily in the morning until they had no further
symptoms. They filled in a protocol and discussed it with me. One prover was a
male medical student (23 years), two were female pharmacists (30 and 31 years)
and three were female homeopaths (33-43 years).
In order to get more information on the remedy`s symptoms I
made a sort of meditative proving in the following way: I gave each a vial of
200C to hold against their thymus gland. They lay down with their eyes closed
and began to speak of any reactions which I closely observed and recorded. This
usually takes, in my experience, between 20 to 30 minutes. Then they would give
the remedy back to me and we would talk about it again. As well as having
physical reactions certain people went into a trance-like state which revealed
pictures or sequential images. This allowed deep insights into the remedy.
I conducted 32 proving in the manner described above. Some
provers also decided to take the remedy home with them, place it under their
pillows and make notes about their dreams.
The provers were: pupils (16-18 years old), biology-students
(20-25 years old), homeopathy students and teachers (20-48 years), science
teachers (40-50 years), housewives (40-42 years), an editor of a daily
newspaper (51 years) and a female nurse (39 years).
For this type of proving a deep knowledge of homeopathy is
not necessary and so anybody who is interested can do it. By the way: many of
the provers get a glimpse into the power of homeopathic remedies.
4. Python Biology
Movment
The Python regia belongs to the Boidae as do the other giant
snakes. All these Boidae have rudimentary legs. So they are closer to their
evolutional origin than the venomous snakes. Serpents developed in evolution
from tetrapod to snake-like animals.
The missing of extremities enables them to have flowing
movements of which no other earth bound animal is capable. It is a wave- like
smooth movement with an astonishing ease. There are even swimming or flying
snakes!
Characterising the Royal Python
She is 1.25 m long, brighter on the under-side with big
scales and darker spotts on the upper side. Two dark long features are
connected like the rungs of a ladder. In spite of being quite small, she has a
very muscular body. Her head has a triangular shape and is distinguishable from
the rest of the body.
Senses
Their vision and hearing senses are not very well developed.
Instead of this they have special organs: the Jacob’s Pit for smelling. Even
with her mouth closed, she can put her tongue outside and bring the smell to
the Jacob’s Pit.With these special organs for infrared she gets a mental
picture of her prey.
With their senses of touch they are thigmotactic . This
means, they search for strong structures for example rocks or trees in order to
lean against them. They have a desire to press themselves against solid things,
for example, into a small hole. They need this contact. They need a narrow and
hidden place to withdraw to.
Living space
The Python lives in equatorial Africa. She prefers
temperatures between 24° and 36° with a humidity of 60-95%. She lives at the
border of dry and humid savannah. There she is able to get warm or a good view
from a tree or rock. And she has many opportunities to hide.
When there is a dangerous situation for the Python she rolls
together like a ball. That is why the German call her "Ball Python"
and the English call her "the shamed snake".
Predator/prey relationship
Like all the other snakes the Python swallows her prey
(rodents) as a whole without doing it any harm or hurting it. They make their
throat slimy with special mucous glands. They swallow the prey with its head
first. The joints of the jaw can loosen in order to be able to swallow a prey
which is bigger than her head . The maxillae are moveable independent of one
another and the teeth are directed towards the throat, so the prey can be
easily drawn into the throat.
Snakes have developed different strategies in order to
protect themselves from the repelling prey. The venomous ones poison their prey
and swallow then. The strangulating snakes suffocate their prey with their
immense muscular force. They strangle until the mouse lies loose and lax in the
spiral body sling of the snake.
In African savannahs the python`s lurking place is a branch
of a tree. The front of her body hangs down. As quick as lightning she slings
around the prey’s body and strangulates it in the air. The prey is mostly
surprised and offers no resistance.
The sling which envelops the rodent helps the Python to
defend herself against the unwilling prey.
Brehm describes the death of the prey as follows:
"The heavy pressure of the muscles causes the prey`s
eyes to pop out of their sockets and their hind legs twist about. The prey
quickly faints and her heart ceases to beat. It dies."
As soon as the mouse is dead, the Python loosens her grasp
and draws back at a hidden and calm place to swallow it.
She digests bones and tissue with her strong stomach juice.
She becomes bloated and flatulent.
Starving artist
It is quite difficult to convince a captured Python to eat.
She might be very sensitive about her capture and her loss of freedom. She can
starve for months. She can refuse food for 22-24 months and after this she may
die. Forced eating is not very successful. Often she chokes on the prey again.
Poikilothermic (adaptable blood temperature)
Snakes are poikilothermic , which means they cannot regulate
their blood temperature . They adapt it to the outer conditions. They do not
hibernate but rest in the appropriate shelter to minimise cold. They favour
regions with climates that suit them.
Brood caring
At copulation time the male snakes do combat dances. They
erect one third of their body length and try to press the rival away from
themselves.
The female lays her eggs into a hollow ,winding her body
around them so she can protect and give the brood a suitable temperature.
Diseases of captured Pythons:
Ektoparasites, endoparasites, pneumonia,wounds heal slowly,
abscesses and cysts, gastritis and gastro-enteritis.
Casting off the skin
Young snakes cast off their skin ten times a year whereas an
older one does it three times a year. It starts with a dead look of their skin,
the eyes look milky. Her eyelids are overgrown and transparent. In that time
she doesn’t eat, is aggressive and withdraws. The process begins at the head
and the lips. The skin peels back and then strips off totally.
She is active at dawn.
5. Python myth
Concerning Greek mythology
The oracle of Delphi belonged in the beginning to the Earth
Gaia, a female god. An earth dragon, the Python was also female and guarded the
oracle.
With revengeful feelings Apollo killed the Python and became
the master of the oracle. As he felt guilty towards Gaia he decided to let a
female priest do the prophesying. Her name was Pythia. She was inspired by the
earth’s forces and by Apollo.
Apollo also founded the pythic games: this meant muse and
sport competitions. First all every eight years, later every four years.
Melissa Assilem writes in her book ‘Women ripening through
menopause’: "At Delphi (which means womb), the main oracle for the ancient
Greeks, pythons were kept. They were said to coil around the omphalos, or the
navel of the mother. These were womb serpents, who whispered the secrets of the
goddess.
By the way, the oracle at Delphi proclaimed: That which
makes sick shall heal."
In conclusion, the essence of Python is for me
:
LOSING ONE’S OWN IDENTITY BEING
SUCKED IN BY THE OTHER GENDER
THAT MEANS FOR WOMEN: they feel sucked in by the father (
Little Red Riding Hood).
I want to formulate it positively: RELEASE
OF WHAT HAS BEEN CONFINED OR CUT OFF.
That means for women: Python enables
them to accept their own gender.
I recommend following remedies:
kreosotum, china, arnica, aconitum, portia fimbriata(or another spider), aur
mur.
The antidote to Python might be
heroin.
6. Results of the proving
Because of the quantity of information received I am not
reproducing each protocol here. Instead I have compiled individual
symptomatology in a condensed list, indicating the number of provers who had
the same symptoms where appropriate. In cases where the remedy affected
existing clinical conditions I have indicated it as curative.
SRP Symptoms are indicated*.
HEAD
Heat
in head 7
as if a wave of 2
as if he has a temperature 3
Itching
of head 2
of right side of occiput 1
pain head with pain in neck 4
from cheekbone to temple 1
from fontanelle to left side of
face,to left cheekbone, to
left lower jaw 1
pressing in head 8
above nose 3
on forehead 2
from behind the forehead pushing
outwards 1
above eyebrows 2
against top of skull 4
against occiput 2
against temples 2
pulling on temples 1
pulsating scalp 1
numbness:
right cheekbone
heat and cold: Tip of the nose icy
cold 2
acne in face 3
EARS
noises
roaring in ears 2
tinnitus shifts from right to left1
roaring in right ear 1
pain
pressing , ears of 2
pulsating ,ears in 1
cramping, left ear in 1
itching
left ear 1
TEETH AND JAW
Pressure
on teeth, clenched tight 3
determined mouth set relaxes
release of locked jaw during panic attack 2
(curative)
taste and salivation
tongue, mouth, thick, as if furred 1
mucous membranes taste bitter, like a
battery 1
mouth dry, alternates with salivation 1
intense salivation 3
has reduced saliva in times of conflict 1
NOSE
coryza
blocked nose clears 2 (curative)
sneezing and runny nose improve 1
(curative)
allergy in nasal region, also
often in eye region, sinusitis
goes 2
sinusitis 4
left 1
right 1
pain
burning
scratchy throat 3
swelling
right cheek of, as if a lump, jaw joint 1
EYES
Movement
visible twitching of eyelids, as if in REM
sleep 6
twitching of eyelids just sensation of, left 2
rolling of eyes 3
sensations as if eyes are turned
downwards 2
restless eyelids 4
inflammation
itching of eyes, sometimes left,
sometimes right 7
eyes water for no reason 3
eyes puffy in morning 2, left 1
eyes stuck together with pus, mornings 4,
left 1
vision
field of vision increased 4
dim vision at dusk 3
one eye
inner visualisations only with left eye 1
*-sensation as if right eye is hollow
and eyeball is lost 1
one eye
right lower lid feels swollen (not
visible)1
sensation of
pressure on eyes 1
desire
she doesn’t want to open eyes
in morning 1
numbness
around eyes 1
DIZZINESS/ VERTIGO
Vertigo
dizziness/vertigo 9
nausea a lot of the time
spinning around 3
objects seen spinning in all
directions 1
faints when she hangs up
curtains 1
dizzy, everything goes black 1
moving
sensation of to-ing and fro-ing 1
waves of nausea, from right to
left 1
waves from nausea, from stomach to head 2
chilliness sweeps over from top to bottom 3
heat sweeps over from bottom to top 3
cold
ice-cold feet 2
NAPE OF NECK; NECK; THROAT; SHOULDERS
heat
in neck and neck region 4
nape of neck hot 1
pain
neck , radiate to shoulders 2
cramping
neck, in, unpleasant 2
cramp begins in trapezium muscle,
moves across collar bone to
cervical vertebral- column 1
pressing
throat , in 3
constriction
sensation of lump in throat 1
as if about to retch 1
sensation of constriction when
swallowing 1
as if throat compressed 1
loosening of phlegm 3
she feels more relaxed in bronchial region
(asthma sufferer) (curative ) 1
she feels fine when she breathes out,
breathes easy, deeper than usual (curative)1
stiffness
*weight down on shoulders, sensation
of a yoke on shoulder 2
could not raise arm above shoulder height 1
lay on shoulder, could change position, hurt so
much the next morning that she couldn’t move1
stiff shoulder 1
tenseness in shoulder area 1
pain
shoulder ,in 3
stabbing
left shoulder, moves into
heart and improves 2
pressing
in shoulders and arms 2,
sensation
as if shoulders pulled out of sockets 1
STOMACH AND BOWELS
pain
heartburn in oesophagus 5-
pressing
stomach,on, 5
radiates to heart 1
sensation of
heat in stomach 2
stomach feels bigger 2
foreign bodies in stomach (stitches, stones,
lurching from side to side) 4
eructation and flatulence
wants to vomit to feel better 1
sensation of retching 4, as in bulimia, retching
without effort
eructations 3
retching and vomiting in car 1
audible gurgling of stomach 10
gurgling of abdomen,wind working its way out 1
nausea 10-
abdomen swollen usually flat 1
appetite
diminished, voracious appetite gone 3 (in obesity
curative) 3
loses weight 3 (curative)
weight gain 3
INTESTINES and ABDOMEN
stool
diarrhoea 5
diarrhoea watery, yellow-green, total
debility 2
digestion incomplete; lettuce visible in stool 1
pressure in anus, hard motion at night, like
sheep-droppings 1
flatulence
violent movement of bowels 12
abdominal pains like bloating, followed by
cramps like a clenched fist, pulling sensation 2
heat
in abdomen 2
haemorrhoids 2
ARMS
heat
warmth in left lower arm 2
numbness and twitching
vibration and itching in the arms 4
hands and arms numb, as if paralysed 5
twitching in the right upper arm 2
twitching in the left arm 2
sensation
as if right arm were longer than the left one 1
ELBOW
pain
in right elbow 5
pressing
in elbows 4
sensation of
crawling in right elbow 3
a stone lying on the right elbow 2
heaviness in the elbow 3
Hands
heat and cold
feeling, in 12
coldness 4
hands feel as if in a freezer 1
pulsation
slowly crawling or pulsating 9
right/left senses pulsation of heart in hand 2
sensation of electrical impulses in right
hand, of little finger and thumb 2
numbness
without feeling 5
right 1
numb feeling in fingers 2
stiff fingers 2
tips of fingers affected 1
right hand feels open and exposed, as if
without muscles, as if blood is
flowing out 2
* hands as if in gloves which are too tight 1
pain
in finger joints when moving, especially in
index finger and little finger 1
swelling
left hand swells up 2
bleeding
finger injured by cut: bleeding stopped 2
(curative)
deep wound in right thigh: bleeding stopped
at once (curative) 1
chronic nose bleed stopped 2 (curative)
nails
fingernails suddenly soft and break 2
LUNGS
pressure
pressure on sternum or lungs 6
as if a gigantic stone on chest 1
hard to get breath, as if stone pressing
downwards, body has to fight to breath 1
*feels as if corsetted when taking deep breath
asthma brought on by exposure to allergens
and bronchial asthma better 2 (curative)
breathlessness better when climbing stairs 1
(curative)
suffocative feelings 2
heart
senses piercing of heart 2
heart rhythm problem 2
heart needs space 2
throat
dry cough 4
irritation in throat when in uncomfortable
situations 1
desire
for fresh air, need to be able to breathe 2
BACK
heat and cold
coldness 3
waves of chilliness from left to right
rhythmically or just one sided 2
warmth from back to loin 2
pain
in spine 2 improves on awakening 1
pain in small of back extends to hips R, L. 2
trapezium muscle hurts 1
lumbago 1
PELVIS
feeling
pulling downwards 3
pelvis wonderfully soft and warm, as if
enveloped and cradled 1
pain
in hips 2
hip pain better 1 (curative)
pressing
on pelvis 2
burning
in abdomen L 1
prickling
like needles in pelvis 1
itching
in pelvis 1
MENSTRUATION
flow
very heavy menses, as if pouring out 5
rhythm
menstruation painful 4
menstruation reappears after menopause and
decline of strength 1
menses one week too early 5
leucorrhoea,
white discharge 4
lump, clear, sticky jelly 4
*sensation as if uterus were turned inside-out
and she were losing all her blood 5
orgasm
failure to reach orgasm 3
orgasm absent 6
pelvis and genitalia as if stimulated, as if life is
entering, great strength, MS patient (curative)1
LEGS
numbness and twitching
feel heavy 5
sensation of numbness 3
right leg as if anaesthetised 1
prickling 5
legs feel shaky 1
right leg is lame 2
twitching of legs 5
heat/cold
warmth in legs 3
coldness 3, upper thigh, lower leg
as if the right leg is lower than the left 1
as if legs are stiff 1
KNEES
heavy 2
twitching 3
pain
in right knee 2 (M)
pain in knee, R, L. 3
FEET
sensation of
feeling of heaviness in big toe and foot 3
pulling, as if someone is pulling at toes, feels
right foot is being pulled 3
heat and cold
feel cold 5
numbness and prickling
prickling 5
prickling right, right outer foot 1
lameness 4
prickling 5
*ankle as if chained 1
doesn’t want to move her feet but thinks she
could do 2
pain pressing
pressure on instep, like cramp 1
stinging pain in left instep2
faint cramp in right foot 2
pain , tearing
painful toe joints better in arthritis 3
(curative)
inflammation
insect bite on left foot almost as abscess, takes
long time to heal 1
SLEEP
modalities
general amelioration in the evening, worse in the
morning 2
amelioration in the afternoon, 5 p.m. 1
falling asleep
falls asleep late 3
falls asleep quickly 2 (curative)
hard to fall asleep 4
thinks she will die if she sleeps (MS patient) 1
wakes up
wakes between 2.45 – 3.00am or 1.00 am – 2.30
am 5
wakes up earlier than usual in the morning 3
wakes up later than usual in the morning
unhappy about this 3
energy
has much more energy (was exhausted before)4
has much energy for work 2
totally exhausted 4, from work 1, from disease 1
from pain 1
lots of energy even though hasn’t eaten much 1
suddenly full of energy 2
suddenly fidgety 1
abundant energy 7
sensation of
feels as if pinned down by bed covers 1
DELUSIONS
happen
something bad will happen after something
good 2
something bad happens as she takes the
remedy 4
she will get high by taking the
remedy (takes drugs) 1
with anxiety
woman will force men to have sex 1
she will get lost and not arrive somewhere on
time 2
life is passing him by 1
*she is transfixed under the bedclothes 3
she has a sling round her neck and her throat is
compressed 3
* she is being sucked in by a whirlpool ( vortex)3
*he is under a bell-jar 3
partnership
daughter/ mother will destroy her 2
is controlled by the partner 5
she is being controlled by another 3
his wife has abandoned him 4
partnership is a prison 7
her child is more valuable than she herself is 3
FEARS
to hurt other people 5
to be hurt by others 4
to show negative emotions 3
of syringes, of injection 7
of sharp objects ,for example knives 4
of snakes 3
* of vortex (being drowned into it) 2
of losing partner or parents 3
of marriage 2
of living/ life 2
of death e.g. by heart-attack, stroke 2
of bleeding to death during menstruation 3
of losing too much blood 2
of heights (cable car, glass elevators, bridges) 3
panic attacks in dark 2
of water, washing hair 2
of catastrophe 2
that eye is separated from the head 2
of starving 3
of suffocation 3
to take too much medication 5
of being devoured 7
MENTALS
mood
laid back 5
enthusiastic 10
things which usually burden or bother her no
longer do 1 (curative)
mood sinks 3
feelings more intensive, both negative and
positive 1
everything he doesn’t like surfaced (self-
sacrifice) 2
sacrifice
mothers exist only for their children 1
sociable 4
depression
sad without reason 5
deeply depressed 7
lies down in her bed, stares at the walls and is
unable to work, feels guilty for that 1
feels alone and forsaken, her family doesn’t
support her 4
realises her husband is dependent on her, thinks
he clings to her 6
doesn’t want to be touched by husband 3
mentions he is tied to his wife because she can`t
be left alone at night 2
depression
feels she carries the burden of everything 3
suicidal but won’t act because of children 2
doesn’t want to be an old man who sits and
stares at the ceiling and who wants to be ill 1
emotional withdrawal 8
always busy, cleaning up all the time,
completes outstanding tasks 6
can’t concentrate when studying 3
hysteria
suppressed hysteria 8
bashful
bashful 12
ashamed of being poor 4
ashamed of being crazy 3
ashamed of being so fat 6
clairvoyant
foresees negative events 4
healing qualities (hands-on or
cerebral) 5
nocebo person in respect of the remedies: that
means, she doesn’t trust any medication
and expects aggravations. This results in many
proving symptoms being noticed in
addition to curative action 4
selfworth
wants recognition by authorities 3
FORGETFULNESS
forgets to give things back 2
arrives late for her appointment 4
unreliable 3
forgets names 2
confuses words: "Python" for "Boa",
"in" for
"out" 3
says: "I have a heart in my cramp" instead of
"I have a cramp in my heart" 1
Laughter
for no reason 4
in embarrassing situations 10
laughter is infectious 3
derisory laughter 3
laughing until the eyes water 2
SENSATIONS
AS IF
fixation and flowing
as if hovering in the air 3
experiences everything as if she were under a
blanket 3
as if rooted to the spot 1
as if she were a snake 2
as if the body had a life of its own 2
as if he were a drop, when lying down 3
as if her arms and legs were paralysed
right and left side
as if her left side extended and her right side
contracted 4
* as if there were a dividing line between the left
and right sides of the body 3
as if one leg were getting longer than the other 3
as if the right side of the body were paralysed 4
as if his arm were a tree- trunk 1
*as if his foot were made of cement and his calf of
wood 1
as if the left ear were in the world and the right
ear were not 2
as if his left hand is a well 1
teeth
as if the teeth were dissolving 2
as if the teeth were becoming loose and were
being pulled downwards 2
old /young
as if he were an old man 1
as if she were a young girl 1
sensation
pleasant feeling as if she
were entering lukewarm water 2
As if information had to be drawn
out from the patient’s nose 2
Modalities
> in a humid
room 3
>in dark rooms
< in humid forests 1
craving for cold food 2
craving for fruits 3
craving for apples 4
craving for chocolate 3
aversion to milk 4
walking ameliorates 6
>being outdoors, being close to nature 5
7. Summary of the repertory
What follows is a short sketch of the remedy picture,
gleaned both from the proving, and also clinically:
Head and eye-region:
Pressing headache, vision restricted, strabismus. The eye
waters (often one eye); oedema of the lids. The eyes are purulent in the
morning, and provers could not open them. (I took this to possibly symbolise a
narrow or one-sided view of the world, which was certainly evident in some of
the provers).
Shoulder and neck region:
Stiffness and pain in those parts, mostly one-sided
(possibly expressing the idea of having to carry someone else’s burden on one’s
shoulders).
Thermal regulation disturbed:
Spells of cold or heat. They have ice-cold hands or feet.
This is like the adaptable blood temperature of the reptiles. They need warmth
from an exterior source. (They literally depend on other people for their
energy).
Fluid balance:
Oedema in face and feet.
Extremities:
Paralysis; the limbs are heavy and hard to move because of
pains in the joints. ( This expresses an inability to act). Also, the provers
experienced shooting pains in the knees (one-sided). Pressing pains, or an
insensible feeling, in the knees and legs.
Heart and lungs:
Oppressed feeling. Panic attacks in the night, with a
choking feeling in the throat. On taking a deep breath, she felt as if there
were a corset round her chest. Fainting. (Might express the idea of loss of
self).
Stomach:
Feeling as of stones in the stomach after eating. Belching,
heartburn. Pressure on the stomach, which radiates to the heart region.
(Symbolic of not wanting to "ingest" other peoples issues).
Mind:
Depression: feels others’ emotions and forgets or loses her
own. A lonely feeling; feels betrayed by the family. They feel as if they are
drowning in their suppressed desires. Other mental symptoms include memory
problems: they forget essential things like their car key, their purse or the
number of their account. There is a confusion: they come too late for their
appointment; they mix up words like "hot" and "cold", or
"on" and "off".
Also, there are many fears, such as:
-Fear of being strangled
-Of suffocation
-Of marriage
-Of losing too much blood
-Of whirlpools
-Of starving
-Of catastrophe
-of hurting others
(All of these fears express a general anxiety about
"letting go". The deepest fear is that of not wanting to hurt
others).
Sleep:
-Falls asleep late, and then wakes up at 1-3 o’clock in the
night.
Female Sexuality:
-orgasm absent (again, this means there is a fear of letting
go).
-Menstruation is painful and crampy. Much blood flows in
dark red clots.
-A sensation as if the lining of the uterus is turned inside
out (it is as if the woman has sacrificed all her motherly qualities).
Wounds:
-Bleeding stops very fast (clinical).
8. PYTHON DREAMS
DREAM 1 (female) In a sex hell
I left my house to go and get something. My husband came
after me, all concerned. I ended up in a sex hell. All the people were pale and
naked.
I watched them from a distance as if they were on TV. They
were painted white. The woman had two rivulets of blood which ran down the
front of the abdomen to the right and to the left. The woman screamed and he
fucked her standing up and I got a close up as he entered her with his penis.
She seemed to sort of hover in front of him. I wasn’t bothered much by it. I
seemed to keep an emotional distance.
Afterwards I saw water, like a wide river................
DREAM 2 (female) catastrophe
I dreamt of farmers who had experienced a catastrophe. All
the trees had fallen down and lay twisted on the ground. He was quite relaxed
about it. Afterwards I met my brother and took him to the station.
DREAM 3 (female) don´t get somewhere in time
A female colleague offered me underwear but I went around
the whole day in my dressing gown which I never normally do. Two unpleasant men
sat next to me in my car and I couldn’t get rid of them. They just wouldn’t get
out. One of them went to the back. There was a stone with cow shit. I wanted to
get the train to go to school but I still had my dressing gown on and got there
too late.
DREAM 4 (female) flood and therapist
I had an appointment with my psychotherapist. I didn’t know
exactly what I could say to her because I didn’t want to be disloyal to my
husband. Her practice was in Freiburg and the old part of town was flooded but
the pavements were clear. I needed longer to get there and had to give up part
of my appointment hour. Suddenly she was next to me and climbed up to save
herself from the water. A man in a boat came to save her but he saved someone
else. Then she let go and fell; her back was all bent. A man and I carried her
home. I waited for her to cancel our appointment but she just drew away from
me. I wanted to give her some emergency medication but she was not responsive.
Then I couldn’t find the remedy. I think I was disappointed.
DREAM 5 (female) motorway and prams
I was driving along a motorway to see my psychotherapist.
The right-hand lane was occupied by men pushing prams. Suddenly there was a
bike and some people running around in the left-hand lane and they wouldn’t get
out of the way despite my hooting the horn. Then suddenly there was a landslide
because of an accident and the whole road got closed. I had to go back. Didn’t
get to my destination??
DREAM 6 (female) getting lost and sex
I was supposed to take a dog out for a colleague in school.
I didn’t fancy doing it but did it. Then I went on a moped keeping hold of the
dog beside me. We went through the streets looking for the room. All the time I
was pretty pissed off, wishing that I had refused the assignment. Then I got
lost and didn’t know any longer how to get to school. I was supposed to be
teaching classes all morning and felt I was neglecting my duty. I asked a woman
the way but she didn’t know either. Then I asked a man who had full lips. He
didn’t know the way either. Somehow I ended up going home with them and waited
uncomfortably.
Then this man started kissing me and it was wonderful. I
quivered as he stroked my breasts. Suddenly the room was full of other women
who were really off with me and they sent us into a different room. I didn’t go
and he didn’t stand by me, he was a coward. I put my bra on, got dressed and
went out. Everybody came with me but nobody knew the way and it was really
embarrassing and complicated. I noticed suddenly that I had lost my bag and my
moped. I screamed at everyone, asking where my things were. But nobody gave
them to me;there was so much money in the bag !
DREAM 7 (female) triangular situation
I wanted to speak to my husband about something serious. He
was just cuddling one of my sons and was sitting close to him in the car, so I
didn’t have an opportunity to talk to him. We were going to meet up at the
swimming pool. I got there from the other side and woke up.
DREAM 8 (male) father /daughter /accident
I was standing in the middle of the well known terrace
outside Cologne cathedral. It was close to the bookshop where I worked long
ago. There was a homeless tramp lying asleep on a bench.
I saw a Python silently winding around him. But the snake
had not yet strangled him. The tramp didn’t notice the situation. My adult
daughter ran to the tramp to warn and protect him. I was very afraid that
something would happen to my daughter and called her back. But she called:
"You know, daddy, we used to hunt this animal in the old days in the
Dordogne."
Then I saw a vision of my daughter and her girl friend as
they bravely attacked a big water snake. Then I woke up."
DREAM 9 (female with snake-phobia) snakes
I am living all alone in a double bed (translation note:
continental double beds comprise two single mattresses within a double
framework) in the middle of the forest. I am surrounded by colourful snakes. I
sit up and watch how easily a snake gets through the crack between the
mattresses. I am not afraid and just think how good it is that I got up and
then I walked away.
Later she was able to see a film about snakes.
DREAM 10 (female) losing her cat
Her favourite cat has left her. She thinks bad people have
captured her. "I dreamt that my cat had come back to me."
DREAM 11 (female) masks
I saw a witch’s face made of grey-brown wood. It was stiff,
a head with roots.
DREAM 12 (female) love affair in a pool
I was with a nice man whom I didn’t know. He worked for the
police. We were not allowed to meet but he came after me. He was tall and nice.
I was in a big pool of water with other woman. All the men were washing and
rinsing the women’s heads. The nice man came to me and we half lay in the
water. My stomach fluttered like a thousand butterflies. He was incredibly
close. I became restless in the dream. He was suffering as much as me. He
wasn’t supposed to do anything like this. As he was rinsing my hair he said :
"Now everyone can see." Was that some sort of deliverance?
I hate showers and washing my hair.
DREAM 13 (female) cannot act
I want to undertake everything but meet resistance from all
corners but don’t know from whom. Defence is terribly wearing.
DREAM 14 (female) beloved dead aunt
I dream of my dear aunt who was like a mother to me and died
too soon. I was sitting at the table with my aunt and desperately needed to
speak to her but my aunt was busy and said "soon" and then the moment
had passed. I was still crying when I woke up.
DREAM 15 (male) eagle and snake
An eagle and a snake are fighting so much that feathers fly
and the whole image is transformed into a woman’s face.
DREAM 16 (female – she has constant fear that her boyfriend
will die) all my friends die
I was with my boyfriend, his brother and a medical student.
He had some private study.
All three men died because of it. They chopped my brother`s
hand off to save him but this didn’t succeed. Both of the others died. I was very
upset and cried a lot. When they were alive I enjoyed every second. I didn’t
worry so much about death because there is life after death.
She asked if the strangulating snake wants to keep hold of
everything.
DREAM 17 (female) left alone
I saw a gate and wanted to go to it. My husband was supposed
to come to me but then I saw him drive past me with a good (female) friend of
mine. They were killing themselves laughing about me. I got in a furious rage.
I felt I had been left all alone.
DREAM 18 (female) leave my child
I had a small child, an infant. I was carrying him and was
standing in the market (in Cologne). I put the child down on a stall. He was
wrapped up warm. I was interested in something else. I looked back and the
child had gone. How awful that I had been interested in something else and so
had forgotten the child. I looked everywhere for him. There is a shopping
trolley in the park with a black child in it. A woman says: " Well, why
don’t you take that one?" No, I don´t want to. I want my child. Suddenly I
am lying at the edge of the forest on a gravel path breastfeeding the child.
Other women are lying there and breastfeeding but they have husbands. It is
only me who has no blanket and no husband. I get a blanket from another woman
for the pain in my kidneys. The path carries on, slippery enough to sledge on.
I couldn’t forgive myself that I had been more interested in other things than
in my child.
Case: Obesity
Silvia H. ( 52 years )(changed the name)
I have been treating Silvia for 3 years for obesity and
illnesses associated with it. Her case developed as follows:
She doesn’t feel as if she is taken seriously by those in
authority. Nobody believes that she doesn’t eat much. She misses her family.
She was an only child and hasn’t had any children herself. She has a foster son
with whom she has fallen out in the meantime.
She has a distant relationship with her mother but a closer
one to her grandmother who helped to bring her up. Her mother was always ill
because of emphysema.
Her father couldn’t stand her. When she was 4 years old he
returned from prisoner of war camp and she ran away from him because she was
scared of him. Her parents divorced and when she was 9 her mother married her
stepfather. He abused her but she kept this secret from her mother and grandma.
1964 miscarriage at 5 ½ months
1968 miscarriage at 3 ½ months
With the second pregnancy she had intense pains, danger of
haemorrhage, was in hospital and decided never to have children again.
She took the contraceptive pill for 23 years. After that she
had the Coil fitted and almost bled to death. She was rushed into hospital.
When her stepfather died (1983) and she gave up motor racing
,she became very ill. A pulmonary embolism was suspected as was a heart attack
and stomach problems. But no diagnosis was ever confirmed ( even here she was
never taken seriously ). (Hysteria symptoms!)
When she moved to B-G (1985) and took the franchise on a
petrol station with her husband she was very well but she gained weight at an
alarming rate..
She had flu which would not get better. She got oedema of
the whole body and gained weight at a rapid rate. Then she got a rash under her
breasts just like a belt. Also a rash from the vagina to the anus. She also had
hard lumps like stings on her hands and feet. After treatment using her own
blood, ozone therapy and thymus treatment her skin peeled off seven times.
In the winter of 1985 she gained 30 kg (from 70-75 kg to 105
and more) She was in despair. She was very offended by her doctor’s suggestion that
she should get her stomach reduced. She never weighs herself because of her
shame in front of others. All doctors ascribe her complaints to her weight.
She is frightened of suffocating from emphysema like her
mother. Her mother died of emphysema in 1995.
She has a spider phobia.
I guess she weighs 130 kg. She feels weak, burnt out. She is
allergic to 51 different food products.
Coffee doesn’t agree with her. She loves fatty and smoked
foods, chocolate and cakes. She often gets colds, gets breathless ascending
stairs and walking uphill. She likes to go to the mountains for her holidays.
She loves nature.
She is lively and quick to show her enthusiasm.
She has had regular homeopathic treatment from me for the
past 3 years which helped all of her complaints except her weight gain which
would not budge.
1.5.2001. I gave her Python 200c for the following symptoms:
Embarrassment/shame about her weight
Defence of others but not of self
Fear of suffocation
Heavy bleeding in uterine region with
Fear of bleeding to death
Neck stiffness
Willingness to show enthusiasm
Follow up: 6.6.2001
She is aware of her dependency on her husband. She doesn’t
want to be touched by him anymore.
She has the feeling that she is burdened by her marital
relationship. "I want to be me and not how others want me to be," she
says. She has bad diarrhoea. She is aware of a pain in her stomach and has much
clear mucus in her mouth. She feels fresh and full of vitality during the day
but is tired in the evenings after work. She feels as if she is being nailed to
her bed by her covers
She sleeps through till 4 a.m.
RX: Python 1M
Follow up 30.6.2001
She went on holiday with a female friend. She managed
rambling and going uphill with relative ease. As she came into a forest with
decomposing foliage she had difficulty in catching her breath. She bought
walking boots which were a size smaller because the fluid has gone.
RX: wait and see
25.07.2001
She is losing weight. This is noticeable as her trousers are
getting looser. Finally she weighed herself. She has lost 7 kg.(from 121,8 kg
to 114,8) She bleeds heavily during menstruation and this reminds her that she
has many fibroids and lumps in her uterus. She decides to go into hospital and
have a hysterectomy. She recovers well in hospital and enjoys being looked
after. She is still quite weak when she returns home.
RX: Python 10 M
7.8.2001
She recovered soon and went back to work quickly. She
reconciled with her biological father and met him every Sunday. Her father died
and she inherited some estate. She shows me how her old clothes now fit.
Everything is big enough. However, she is again reluctant to weigh herself.
RX: wait and see
August 2001
In the intervening period she has also had some eczema on
her head. She continues to lose weight gradually. Progress is too slow for her
and she is dissatisfied with the spare tyres around her stomach.
She has realised that her fat has been her way of protecting
herself from the attentions of men and to stop her from being attractive and
seductive to men. She also doesn’t want to follow in her mother`s footsteps and
lead men on.
Overall she is feeling much better than before. She also has
much more confidence when dealing with authorities and no longer reports that
she is laughed at or not taken seriously.
SMOTHERED BY MOTHER
by Geoff Johnson
We had a difficult case this year at Springfield that
eventually responded dramatically to a new remedy. Patch was a three-year-old
black and white DSH who I had seen twice for minor complaints. I didn’t see him
often as his owner believed in natural organic feeding and no vaccinations.
Then in Feb ’02 he presented in a 10-minute appointment with
dandruff, voluptuous itching and hair pulling in the lumber region and "a
bit depressed". The prescribed Natrum mur had no effect, nor the Missing
Link. A long consult was arranged and the following emerged about Patch’s
personality.
Patch loved attention, was friendly and timid. He probably
had a fear of open spaces, demonstrated by the way he always hugged the fence
in the garden and lay under things if possible. He lived with his mother who
had dominated him all his life. If another cat came into the garden mother
would rush past Patch and drive the intruder away. However on her return she
would cuff Patch as well for good measure, although she would later groom and
snuggle up to him.
There was a possible causation. The owner thought the
problem had started on the very day Patch’s brother had been killed on the
road. This is of course a very likely cause for severe disease – however in
this case the brother lived 70 miles away and hadn’t seen Patch for a year! The
owner only discovered the brother’s death a few days later.
This led to a prescription of Phosphorus. It can be
attention seeking, yielding and agoraphobic. However more interestingly it is
clairvoyant and has a strong association with the brother (Jan Scholten).
Phosphorus did nothing. Further prescriptions of Lyssin (agoraphobia, felt same
pain as brother, clairvoyance), Lycopodium (dominated, lumber eruptions,
yielding, agoraphobia, dandruff), Ignatia (always worth a crack when you’re
stuck), and Sulphur (you think it is but actually not often worth a crack but
try it anyway) caused no change at any level.
Pulsatilla was nearly the breakthrough. After a 200c Patch
went to sleep for two days except to eat. However he then woke up and his skin
refused to change despite playing with the potencies etc.
Patch’s owner didn’t phone me for three months. She then
contacted me to ask if possibly a behaviourist could sort out the problem. She
wondered if Patch’s mother could be the problem – "they have such a
strange relationship – he doesn’t know where he is with her – she simply
smothers him."
TING. This reminded me of a Society conference presentation
I had heard the previous year. At the time I was convinced it could be the
answer to many cases. I had bought the remedy from the speaker and put it in my
drawer, where it had remained forgotten until this moment. Could this be a case
of Python? Sankaran says clairvoyance is common to the snake remedies, and
Python has some unique features of its own.
I prescribed Python 30c ssd. The telephone call three days
later was the sort that gives us homeopaths a warm glow yet would make our
allopathic colleagues fearful for their insurance. "He has been totally
spaced out and doesn’t know where he is. His eyes have gone huge and green and
spaced out." One month later Patch’s eyes had returned to normal, he had
beaten his mother up twice, and had no itching or dandruff.
Python, proved three years ago by Brigitte Klotzsch, is
another snake in our armoury. However unlike the others it is a non-venomous
snake that kills by suffocation by crushing.
The main mental themes of Python show once again how the
process of potentising extracts the very spirit of a substance. This spirit
then possesses us in a proving.
The essence of Python regia is that the powerful and the
powerless exist in a mutually dependent relationship where the former smothers
the latter. The python is dependent on her rodent prey, but in order to use
them she must smother them.
There is a state of clinging to/being addicted to their
partner and in the relationship one is powerful and one is powerless (dd
Adamis=diamond). The partners may lose their own feelings and take on those of
the other. The powerful feels as bracketed together and dependent as the
powerless, so it is a remedy to consider giving to both partners. The child may
feel totally addicted to the parents and have to visit them frequently. There
is also a male/female power struggle. There may be too much responsibility
expected at a young age, or a refusal to accept responsibility.
Other themes that emerged included;
The need to bear another’s burden and hence lose your own
energy,
Depending on others for your energy,
Inability to act,
Abandoned and betrayed by family,
There is an interesting rubric "her arm doesn’t belong
to her". This implies that she can’t use her arm for her own needs but
only for others.
Dreams include divorce and betrayal by family.
The full proving can be obtained from Brigitte at
stosch@surfeu.de.
Patch’s coat is gleaming two months from the prescription.