English Yew Tree Proving
Jeremy Sherr & The Dynamis School Holland 1995
The proving of Taxus baccata, the English yew, was conducted in Dynamis School Holland, 1995. This sacred tree was chosen for many reasons: its amazing longevity, rich mythology and history, its poisonous properties and its use as an anticancer drug. In retrospect, I would have used a specimen from one of the very old trees, and identified male from female. Nevertheless, I feel that each side contains part of the other side, and every branch contains part of the whole.
The proving itself was a large and sprawling affair and, at first, it was difficult to get an overview. The many pathways of symptomatology can have any number of combinations and it is a fine balancing act to match one to the other, so as to solve the grand puzzle. But, through repeated editing and distillation, a comprehensive and insightful picture has emerged. As we add more, well-proved, tree remedies to our materia medica, we can begin to perceive the subtle pattern running through this great and ancient family.
At some time, while working on the proving, I felt this little summary might help with the understanding of it:
You, Yew?
My thanks to all the wonderful provers and supervisors from the Netherlands, and, especially, to Jan Pierre Jansen, whose dedicated work contributed so much to this remedy.
Jeremy Sherr 2002
Jeremy Sherr & The Dynamis School Holland 1995
The proving of Taxus baccata, the English yew, was conducted in Dynamis School Holland, 1995. This sacred tree was chosen for many reasons: its amazing longevity, rich mythology and history, its poisonous properties and its use as an anticancer drug. In retrospect, I would have used a specimen from one of the very old trees, and identified male from female. Nevertheless, I feel that each side contains part of the other side, and every branch contains part of the whole.
The proving itself was a large and sprawling affair and, at first, it was difficult to get an overview. The many pathways of symptomatology can have any number of combinations and it is a fine balancing act to match one to the other, so as to solve the grand puzzle. But, through repeated editing and distillation, a comprehensive and insightful picture has emerged. As we add more, well-proved, tree remedies to our materia medica, we can begin to perceive the subtle pattern running through this great and ancient family.
At some time, while working on the proving, I felt this little summary might help with the understanding of it:
You, Yew?
My thanks to all the wonderful provers and supervisors from the Netherlands, and, especially, to Jan Pierre Jansen, whose dedicated work contributed so much to this remedy.
Jeremy Sherr 2002
Jeremy Sherr & The Dynamis School Holland 1995
The proving of Taxus baccata, the English yew, was conducted in Dynamis School Holland, 1995. This sacred tree was chosen for many reasons: its amazing longevity, rich mythology and history, its poisonous properties and its use as an anticancer drug. In retrospect, I would have used a specimen from one of the very old trees, and identified male from female. Nevertheless, I feel that each side contains part of the other side, and every branch contains part of the whole.
The proving itself was a large and sprawling affair and, at first, it was difficult to get an overview. The many pathways of symptomatology can have any number of combinations and it is a fine balancing act to match one to the other, so as to solve the grand puzzle. But, through repeated editing and distillation, a comprehensive and insightful picture has emerged. As we add more, well-proved, tree remedies to our materia medica, we can begin to perceive the subtle pattern running through this great and ancient family.
At some time, while working on the proving, I felt this little summary might help with the understanding of it:
You, Yew?
My thanks to all the wonderful provers and supervisors from the Netherlands, and, especially, to Jan Pierre Jansen, whose dedicated work contributed so much to this remedy.
Jeremy Sherr 2002