This book review is reprinted with permission from Homeopathic Links.
The Homeopathic Proving
of Plutonium (nitricum)-
including the toxicology
of ionising radiation
Jeremy Sherr & the Dynamis School
Reviewed by Jorg Wichmann
'I did not want to undertake this project', is the author's first sentence. 'I was filled with fear' to prove the most dangerous substance on this planet. Having read the book the reader will know why. Nevertheless, students of the Dynamis School under the guidance of Jeremy Sherr undertook a full Hahnemannian proving of Plutonium nitricum, which was then edited by Rosalind Floyd. The proving itself was conducted, supervised, edited and repertorised in the usual accurate and extensive way of J. Sherr, strictly following the rules that Hahnemann has given us for provings. The authors have taken several years to 'chew' and 'rechew' the material, which was edited more than a dozen times to ensure its reliability.
As certain interviews have recently shown, even famous, modern homeopaths do not understand the principle that all our homeopathic work relies on the results of good provings and not on their authority as masters. As practitioners, we cannot thank those amongst us enough who undertake this enormous effort to build the foundations on which we all stand. Very often we hear the argument that the proving symptoms - especially the 'Mind' symptoms - are influenced by the expectations of the provers regarding the substance. If this was true we could forget about most of the 'classical' old provings anyway, because they were not blinded like many of the modern ones. On page 28 Sherr tells a very interesting anecdote. He did plan to conduct provings with his classes in Norway and California and had asked them if they were willing to undertake a proving of a radioactive substance. These groups expected to prove such a substance. But in the end it was decided differently, and these groups proved Helium and Eagle - still under the assumption that they were proving something radioactive. Nevertheless the provings themselves showed none of these expectations.
The reviewed book gives the text of the original proving grouped under themes and follows the head to foot scheme. This is followed by a repertorisation of Plutonium on the basis of the proving, and by six cases provided by different practitioners. Since the proving took place five years before this publication, Sherr has tried to summarise the important themes of the remedy which have come out in the first years of use. For four pages he describes some of the basic ideas of Plutonium nitricum. He describes a polarity between feeling very light and elated and feeling heavy, desperate and isolated; themes of primitive instincts and pictures of very early humanity being prominent. These are only some of the first impressions, which will have to be tested by long years of practical use. Since modern people pay a lot of attention to their psyches, there is a lot of emphasis on 'Mind' symptoms. But there are also hundreds of well-selected and specific physical symptoms so that the remedy is also useful in an everyday clinic.
The book not only provides the homeopathic proving but also a lot of interesting information on the toxicology of Plutonium and radiation in general. The last chapters give a repertory of radiation toxicology, a list of radioactive isotopes and a bibliography of books about the influence of radiation on health and the environment. We live in an age of nuclear radiation and pollution. Radioactive pollution is becoming a more and more destructive influence on human health. In our tradition of classical homeopathy, we have to use as healing agents that which makes healthy people ill. So the collection of information about radioactivity and the proving of radioactive elements is a contribution to the next generation's homeopathy which can hardly be underestimated.
Now it's up to all of us to apply the information, to experience this remedy in practice and to find out which of the symptoms are central and which are peripheral, in order to form a solid, reliable and applicable picture of this fascinating new remedy.
Homoeopathic Links
Volume 13, Number 1
Spring 2000