Proving Summary

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Themes

The central issue of Alligator mississippiensis has to do with power. Self confidence and self assertion were some of the strongest themes in the proving. Many of the provers described a feeling of self reliance and an ability to do things that they felt uncomfortable with before. This was associated with a feeling of increased alertness. There was a strong feeling of freedom, fearlessness, majesty and beauty associated with that power. There was also a feeling that there were no limits to what one could do. This was experienced by some provers as a mania, while other provers experienced significant depression, even to the point of feeling that life was not worth living. This remedy has been demonstrated to be effective in bipolar illness. The negative side of this power issue came out in the form of greed and anger. The greed was best exemplified through themes pertaining to stealing and theft. There were strong fears of robbers, dreams of robbers, dreams of espionage, dreams of crime families and urges to steal coupled with a lack of remorse.

Mythologically, the crocodilians have been associated with greed and hypocrisy, as well as judges of guilt and innocence. The opposite side of this issue had to do with the need for increased security.

Anger

The anger could be intense and sudden. Mostly it manifested as irritability, coupled with intolerance and impatience. Several described it as a “chip on their shoulder”. The anger was easily triggered, especially by noise. Much of the issues here relate to feeling attacked and having to defend oneself, especially from others “stupidity”. Several described it as being “touchy” and “snappish”. One prover described it as follows: I was really irritable-intrusive thoughts throughout the day of anger and irritability. My terror was that I could not control my anger. If I did not everything would explode. It was a feeling of infinite anger-so angry that I could destroy everything around me. When someone picks up a baby alligator this generally elicits a plaintive distress call and all the alligators in the area elicit strong aggressive defensive behaviors. Many of the provers described a strong connection to death. One prover related that her fiancee had suddenly died 9 months prior to taking the remedy. She had struggled trying to make sense of this experience and to achieve closure. The night after the first dosage of the remedy, she had an experience which lasted the whole night in which she reconnected with him. She says: He filled my entire dream-as if he was the only thing that existed. We talked all night and it lasted all night and I cannot tell you everything that was said. There were so many things that were covered that I wanted to say and never said before. He soothed away all my pain-it was more real than anything I ever experienced while I was awake. It was beautiful beyond compare and there was a feeling of peace and joy. What allowed me to do this was that I felt much closer to death than before-life and death were much closer. Now I feel much more and peace with my fiancee than before.

Underworld

She also had a similar experience with her ex husband who had also died. Crocodilians are mythologically connected to the underworld and to death. Sobek was the crocodilian God directly related to Set, the God of darkness and death. They were described as ferryman for departed souls as well as judges of the dead. This also took the form during the proving of reconnecting to that which had been lost.

Sudden and Violent

The energy of the proving was often intense, sudden and violent. It was described by many as a feeling of panic or terror which was intense and overwhelming. This was described as being similar to how it felt when suddenly abandoned as a small child. One prover described:

Paralyzed With Terror

I was asleep for one hour and woke up paralyzed with fear and total terror. I was frozen and could not move. It was the most fearful that I have ever been in my life. If I moved a muscle I would be in real trouble-felt my heart would pound out of my chest-I felt the terror when I was 6 years old and left alone when my dad had to take my mom somewhere in Chicago and I was left alone, It was very similar to that.

Hypertension

My blood pressure went up afterwards and this persisted for weeks(150/105). I felt anxious, irritable, trembling- it felt like sympathetic overflow; on edge and jumpy. Crocodilians are mostly nocturnal hunters and rely on stealth, speed and surprise. They are idle hunters, lying in wait in the offshore shallows and relying on camouflage. They are rarely seen prior to an attack.

Animal Themes

There were many animal themes present in the proving. In addition to the themes of attack and defense, many of the provers experience increased sexuality and themes of competition. There were many experiences and dreams of animals throughout the proving. In particular large animals were a recurrent theme. Water themes were strongly present through out the proving. This manifested through images of diving, swimming, floating and fish. Many of the provers had a strong craving for fish and in particular salmon. Provers spoke of feeling peaceful and at home in the water. One proving became mesmerized by large fountains during the proving and spend many enjoyable hours with them. Another interesting aspect of the water theme had to do with irrigation-four of the provers had dreams relating to irrigation. This may have to do with the importance of water levels for the alligator nests. These nests are precarious and with even small amounts of flooding they can be destroyed.

Sensitivity to Noise

The sensitivity to noise in many of the provers was fairly profound. This produced significant irritability and was strongest with voices. Crocodilians have a very fine sense of hearing. Opposed to the violence and rage was also a feeling of peace. This seemed particularly associated with water and darkness, floating and creeping slowly along. Several of the provers who were not particularly comfortable with darkness noted that they felt increasing comfort with this during the proving. The peace with darkness also manifested with making peace with death. A number of provers also described the feeling of cocooning (being safely protected). Crocodilians are symbolically associated with darkness and the greedy moon which devours the sun each night. They are also associated with the cycle of death and rebirth.

General Characteristics

Strong general themes include better exertion, icy coldness, worse afternoon, stitching pains, left sidedness and craving for fish. The amelioration from exercise is interesting in that crocodilians have extremely high levels of exercise and take a long time to recover from any exertion. Several of the provers experienced a metallic sensation in their body. One prover experienced significant hypertension after the remedy, which he had never experienced previously. Physical Characteristics Strong physical characteristics included lack of appetite during the day but dramatically increased appetite at night, explosive frontal headaches accompanied by nausea, dryness of the throat and throat pain, nausea, diarrhea, neck pain, increased sex drive, deep sleep, itching of the lower extremities, acid reflux, sprain of left groin muscle, pinching hip pain better sitting, sensation of dislocation in left thumb, difficulty falling asleep and restless sleeplessness. In regards to the acid reflux, crocodilians are noted to have the most acid stomachs of any vertebrates. The increased appetite at night is related to the nocturnal activities and feeding of most alligators. Several provers described a feeling of enormous weight and pressure on their shoulders (crocodilians are said to carry the world on their back in Aztec mythology).

Comparisons

Alligator mississippiensis should be compared to other lizard remedies including Heloderma suspectum, Lacertus agilis and Amphisbaena vermicularis. There is a comparison to bird remedies, as many biologists consider them evolutionarilly closer to birds than to lizards. Comparison to other snakes are also fairly obvious. There are two dinosaur bone remedies-Tyranasourus rex and Maiasaura lapidea, both of which have similar characteristics.

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