Page 13 - Summer 22
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The Proving of Chillingham Wild Cattle By Geoff Johnson, UK
The proving substance was hair with some faecal contamination from two individuals from the Chillingham estate. The hair was gathered from thorn bushes and pasture in May 2021. This was potentised to the 30c.
The Wild Cattle of Chillingham
The cattle at Chillingham are the only survivors from the original wild cattle that wandered through the plains and forests of the UK. They have been enclosed at Chillingham for the purposes of food and hunting for at least 700 years. They are the only wild cattle in the world, and have had virtually no human intervention, although nowadays if one appears to be in great pain they might be shot. Hence, they are completely untamed, behave totally naturally, and are the closest living animals that could equate to the original wild bovine, the aurochs. They have been separated from all other cattle so are hugely inbred – in fact could almost be described as being one super-organism. One would think this was a genetic dead end, but despite the inbreeding they remain healthy.
Aurochs
Bos primigenius were the ancestors of modern domesticated cattle and evolved in Africa about one million years ago. They subsequently spread to Europe. They were huge, standing up to 180 cm at the shoulder, and had horns up to 80cm long. The last one died in Poland in the 17th century. They were extinct in Britain 3000 years ago. They are frequently depicted in cave paintings and were black with a grey streak along their backs. Some weighed up to 1500kg. Domestication began in the Fertile Crescent about 11000 years ago.
Why attempt this proving?
In my homeopathic veterinary work I found that Lac leoninum was quite frequently indicated in domesticated cats. I wondered if the process of taming created a state that required the energy of a wild relative to achieve health. As a farm vet I wished that I had a ‘wild, untamed cow’ to potentise and use in my patients. However, I believed such an energy was gone from the earth, with the extinction of the aurochs. However, I then read about the Chillingham Wild Cattle.
The Proving Methods
Two separate provings were undertaken. Both were blind, with me being the only person knowing the source of the remedy. The first was a dream proving in September 2021, conducted by eight homeopathic vets from around the world. As this was during Covid 19 lockdown, everything was conducted over zoom. Each prover took a 30c tablet each evening on going to bed for three nights. We then all met on zoom, did a meditation upon the substance, and then related our dreams. The second in June 2022 was a meditative proving at Hawkwood College, performed by the students from the 4th year of The School of Homeopathy in Stroud. They had graduated the evening before, were a close-knit group, and it was a great privilege to share this experience with them on their first day as qualified homeopaths.
The provings had strong similarities, especially the meditative part of the 2021 dream proving to the meditative proving in 2022. The second proving, when we were all together physically, produced a clearer and more logical picture. Why this was I can only hypothesise, but I
suspect that the close-knit group, who had been through four years of study together, and were possibly in a slightly ecstatic state after celebrating their graduation, were more open to the influence of the remedy. Maybe oxytocin, known to be increased in groups that have been through extraordinary or meaningful experiences together, played a part. Possibly the physical presence, rather than zoom, was important.
The Protocol of the Meditative Provings
I took the group to a meditative state by concentrating on the breath. I then guided the group to put their awareness into their body, starting from the feet, rising to the crown of the head, and then down into their hands as they held the remedy. This was in pill form with provers from around the world via zoom in 2021 and succussed in a glass of Hawkwood spring water at Hawkwood in 2022. I then invited them to experience the energy within the remedy in their hands and allow it to spread throughout their body, noting any sensations, thoughts and images that followed.
We all then chewed a tablet or took a sip of the solution and repeated the process of awareness. When each prover related their experience, I took them deeper into the state using the techniques I use when taking a case using the sensation method. I have performed five meditative provings; LH, GnRH, Hawkwood spring water, stork and pineal gland. On three occasions the group guessed the remedy or were very close; ‘some reproductive hormone’ for GnRH, at Hawkwood the group guessed it was the nearby spring, in Denmark the group guessed stork. I have attended other meditative provings, where the substance was guessed, including Lac equinum and Helium. I find
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