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Panthera pardus (sanguis) Black panther
Homeopathic proving results Proving supervisor: Olga Fatula summer 2005 Translation from Russian: Leonid Anikeev. Edited by: Alicia Lee |
Introduction
This was one of my first provings and it happened spontaneously. Jeremy Sherr would characterize this kind of provings as “informal”.
I was getting ready for the seminar on the milk remedies and a thought occurred to me to include a separate section on the Cats. At that point of time I could not find anything about the Panther in the available homeopathic sources, so my choice was made. I wanted to extract at least a few symptoms to distinguish this remedy within the group.
I took a pill of Panthera pardus sanguis 30CH. In a few days three of my friends said, looking at me, 'give us this'. I realized that I was in the state of the proving and I started to process data, both from my own observations and those received from other provers.
Black Panther
The etymology of its name is well presented on the corresponding Wikipedia page.
There are six varieties of the large cats in existence. All of them except cheetah belong to the genus Panthera.
The cats’ color varies. It can be white or black or yellow, with spots or stripes, etc.
Black Panther is actually a black-furred leopard. It is not a separate species; it is just a genetic modification of the leopard fur color. So, there are black lions, black tigers; North America’s Black Panther might be the name for a puma, although when taxonomy comes to the big cats it can be very confusing.
Their young do not inherit the parents’ fur color and may come into being with any other coloration.
Felidae’s body is pliant and springy. All of them but cheetah stretch out claws. The tail of many cats functions as a helm; their frame structure allows the body to operate in almost any environment, to move on a large variety of surfaces and landscapes including crowns of trees, rocks and any irregularities. The largest species of cats is tiger; the second largest is lion.
Most cats are loners. The lion is the sole exception forming communities. Cats’ hunting behavior varies widely. Among lions the females are the primary hunters, they go out for hunting in groups. Jaguar takes its prey by its patience (it lurks), and its force. Only anaconda can overcome its strength. Tiger and lion suppress their prey with their weight. Cheetah wins by its lightning speed – it is the fastest, up to 80-120 km/h. They feed only on the prey they catch themselves. However, they are rather yielding; they concede the prey to other cats. A male can take a female virtually as hostages, and then other predators can devour their young. Most cats eat in a recumbent position.
Leopard is characterized by the ability to adapt to any environment and food type. They are less distinctive in the food preferences than other cats. Leopards are the most secretive of all the big cats. They often drag the fallen prey up to a tree hiding it from other cats. They often steal prey from each other. They rest and recover their energy in a secluded nook, most often on a tree. One can discover them by their tail that usually hangs down from a branch. Their larynx is equipped with a flexible ligament allowing leopards to roar. Cheetah and snow leopards lack such ability.
It is a myth that black leopards are often rejected by their mothers at an early age because of their color. In actuality, poor temperament has been bred into the captive strains as a side-effect of inbreeding and it is this poor temperament that leads to problems of maternal care in captivity.
The notorious Bagheera from Kipling’s Mowgli jungle story is a male panther recognized for its confidence and good judgment. He is associated with a noble hero. Its counterpart is Shere Khan personifying the anti-hero.
The drug
The drug was made of the panther blood in 30CH, M.Goyens pharmacy, Belgium.
The provers
There were five provers, all female, of different interests and professions, different communication circles. All of them knew the remedy.
Themes
The proving revealed many themes common for the feline remedies: pugnacity; increased attention to the face, care of the face; grab the opponent’s face during fights; reticence, on the sly; gossiping.
Apart from that, below are the themes specific for Panther that have been revealed during the proving.
- Calmness. Self-confidence.
- Aggression. Revengefulness. War.
- You and Me.
- Idleness, lounging. Activity outside.
- Appearance. Hair. Clothing. Lure.
- Charity. Religiosity. Death.
- Money. Theft.
The clearest and most vividly expressed mental state was that of the self-confidence, being sure of self, being on the right track. It was a confident calmness under any circumstances and in any situation, be it routine or the most violent, unexpected or unpleasant environment. It was described as ‘icy’, ‘I won’t falter’, as a feeling of one’s own dignity reasoned by superior internal strength, both mental and physical.
This state was reflected in the behavior as well. There was an aversion to the home routine, as if ‘I am not made for that’, ‘it does not fit my self-respect’; there was idleness and laziness in the family environment. The lack of activity at home was compensated by a desire for entertainment, get-togethers outside, and festivities. The unusual provocative outfit and overly attractive appearance were treated by provers as self-explanatory, ‘I am pleased with myself’.
These themes are confirmed below by the abstracts from the provers’ diaries, the quotes from our dialogs with them and our own observations. The text in [square brackets] denotes the editor remarks.
Quotes from the diaries
“Calmness, ice-cold, I will not waver.”
“Complete self-control.”
“I am shocked about how tranquil I am.”
“I am taking many things quietly, do not get irritated. There is energy and there is no irritation. Although the battle still goes on.” [Sensation as a delusion of everyday life being a battle.]
“I talked diplomatically with the neighbor.”
“Nobody but me could do it, nobody [else] would dare.”
“I feel enthusiastic during the whole day. The feeling is ‘I am on the right track’. Everything will be fine.”
“The number one task is, to master everything that I cannot handle yet; and I have everything that I need, even a car.” [Locally, it is a luxury for a single woman]
“An unusual confidence in myself. The bank had talked me into a gold card. They called [to tell] me that they could not deliver it today. I answered them, in the presence of other people, in an icy tone, ‘I recommend that you make it on time today, in order not to be in a serious trouble’”.
“You must not touch me.”
“Only me, by myself. I do not pay attention to anybody.”
“It is a madhouse in the train, unbearable, only morons around me. They all irritate me with their dirty shoes and filthy nails.”
“Don’t want to quarrel with anyone; do not want to get offended. The situation is, as if I have put on a[nother] dress.” [a new skin, a new-found demeanor, not naked and open to offense anymore]
“I am taking everything quietly. Yes, I know, everything is awful, life is shit, and neighbors are morons. I am calm, however. Just lying and watching it.”
DREAM. They gave me a small salary. Why so little? I call my boss crying, “I will not survive.” I sobbed a lot.
“I have ‘stolen’ a chicken in a shop (calmly put into my bag what the previous buyer left behind on the cashier desk). It seemed quite natural.”
“I catch myself at an impulse to steal something, say, from a shop. It is so simple. Why have I been brought up with the idea that it is forbidden?”
“There is a vague thought that my friend can steal something from me, a hair comb, a hairgrip, a decoration.”
“Last night I let my boss’ partner have it: I yelled and swore but with complete control. Everyone in the office came out to watch the performance.” “I wanted to go home half an hour earlier, and he wanted to send me for some food. I tell him, do you think that my responsible position here means, to open and to close the doors? [She is a top assistant to the owner of a gaming club.] And it is not you who pays the money to me, it is my boss; and I can stay until midnight then.” “I got mad. He must have taken me for a waiter or a dishwasher. He is a Mr. nobody to me. They left for the restaurant; and I was outraged, shouting for the whole office to hear; everybody came running from each room. I told them, ‘so, just in case, never mind’. I felt relieved that I did not suppress myself.”
“Now I will do my revenge, – I will spit in his teacup, I will wipe out the next few years of his life. Clever people do not get rude with a waiter. Has he mixed me up with someone? – So let him have it in full! I am not a waiter in the office. You can call me a toilet bowl, but you must pay me money.”
“I was glad when I managed to chop down her talk, this traitor of a neighbor.”
“If something goes wrong I will shoot them one at a time.”
“You never hit a man when he is down. Wait till he recovers, I will strike him for sure, he will not gasp.”
“Behaving calmly in the underground train, even if they push me. Let them rush; I am not in a hurry, not pushing anyone. The doors open, I must get out, and a woman dashes in. I elbowed her, kicked ‘get out of my way’. You fat cow three times wider than me!”
“Desire to lie, sleep, lounge.”
“Lazy. To lie down, to do nothing.”
“My schedule was, to lie on the lawn reading a book the whole day through, and in the evening a persistent urge appears, to go out to a restaurant or somewhere else to hang around, or for a get-together.”
“It is impossible to stay at home. I must be active elsewhere.”
“I came home after work, lay down and did not rise.”
“I would sleep even longer. The mood is perfect. Took a relaxing bath.”
“A bath is a pleasure, with the chocolate vanilla (odor enhancer), and me, a brunette, floating in the chocolate.”
DREAM. A brunette of an oriental appearance, with dark eyes, the hair is parted at one side. The idea is that we must look for men. She says, let’s go for men, you can reckon on me. There is a wardrobe full of clothes, choose what you like.
“Plenty of contacts – where to go? Whom to talk to?”
“Felt kind of a diva, very much confident in myself, and therefore, benevolent.”
“The self-awareness was remarkable. I was satisfied with my appearance. The most distinctive feature was the hair. The desired hairdo was: all the hair collected in a long tail. I wore then an add-on wig – a long hair add-on.”
DREAM. I see myself with a new haircut, a fringe, large locks, curls, and long ringlets. It’s a tall hairdo. I am very much satisfied with myself, with how much hair I have and what a nice wave they form.
“I raised my eyes in the train today. Two men, as if on a cover page, pictures of beauty, elegant, in cashmere coats, expensive kid gloves, wonderful haircuts, pomaded hair. I could go crazy. They did not tally with others at all. Choose the one you want, I am dazzled and my vision scatters - looking left, looking right. I want them both. I feel I can flare up a bit.”
“Men are looking at me, women don’t like me.”
“I buy new dresses every day; I got crazy about the velvet. The dream is, to have velvet shoes, velvet furniture…”
DREAM. Velvet and chiffon.
“I feel myself like something in between chocolate and a rose. As if everybody wants to sniff me and lick me.”
“Loafing in the garment shops. A preference for the violet and brown.”
“I want a dress of satin embossing, coffee-black, or a leopard color, or a striped pattern.”
“All my clothes are skin-tight, stick to the body.”
“Dreams (desire) of black dresses, close-fitting trousers.”
“I just wanted love, in every fiber. The love lyrics prevail.”
“I want love, the fourth chakra is activated.”
“Have you been out today? Go, have a walk! There are so many men around!”
“Lots of thoughts about death. Sleepless, but without depression.”
“I began to think about my own death. The responsibility. How will it be? The life after death. Will it be so? How? The abstract philosophical contemplations and reflections. The trust, the belief… One must seize it; it is easier both to die and to live with it.
“The mood and themes are all mourning, like black bed linen.”
DREAM. My deceased uncle asks, “Who told my father that I am dead? I am alive.”
Physical
The proving was initially aimed at discovering the mental picture of the remedy; hence there was no systematic analysis of the revealed physical symptoms. Below are the abstracts showing only separate unusual symptoms for each of the provers.
General
Pain in the back, < morning, > to bend back, to “bridge” back
Pain in the neck, a “short circuit”
Ears, pain, 1 am., 5 am. > swinging, in a rocking-chair
Ears, blocked as if in an airplane
Ears, itching, discomfort
Yawning after 4 pm.
Sensation, as if a strange body in the right eye
Sensation, as if the liver is swollen, evenings
Pain between shoulder-blades after bath
Food
Ate everything that I had in the fridge.
Ate plenty of meat rolls before going to sleep.
Wanted some persimmon, ate plenty.
Desire for astringent, dense, saturated wine.
Thirst increased. Bought mineral water, drinking with pleasure.
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