Reprinted with the permission of The Alliance of Registered Homeopaths. From the Journal 'Homeopathy in Practice', Winter/Spring edition. Reviewed by Michael Thompson.
List of 17 snakes:
- Bitis arietens
- Boa constrictor
- Bothrops lanceolatus
- Bungarus fasciatus
- Cenchris contortrix (Agkistrodon contortrix)
- Cerastes cerastes
- Crotalus cascavella (Crotalus durissus cascavella)
- Crotalus horridus
- Dendroaspis polylepis
- Elaps corallinus (Micrurus corallinus)
- Hydrophis cyanocinctus
- Lachesis muta
- Naja tnpiudians (Naja naja)
- Python regius
- Toxicophus pugnax (Agkistrodon piscivorous)
- Vipera aspis
- Vipera berus.
My first impression on receiving Peter's book to review was how can a 69-page book begin to scratch the surface of snakes in homeopathy. However it does provide a very good introduction to the subject and, if you didn't feel the need for an in-depth study on snakes, then this is definitely the book to go for. Peter has written quite a number of books similar in size to this present one and obviously he's become quite adept at getting plenty of information into small packages.
It is unfair to compare this book to the much larger works by Sankaran and Master, and one would hardly expect to find very much original material by comparison to the others either. But I was surprised to find snippets here and there which were new to me. Here are some examples in the author's own words:
The shedding of their skin as snakes grow, like the stages of insect development, is indicative of a transformation but it also suggests an ability to leave the past behind and to start afresh. This has implications of avoiding responsibility, of being able to shake off past sins without having to face the consequences of them and thus of amorality and an existence outside the bounds of an ethical framework.
A number of snake remedies have some sort of gender conflict or gender confusion. The serpent's achievements in Genesis was not so much that he seduced Eve but rather that he empowered Eve to seduce Adam. Snake sexuality is a feminine seduction rather than a male overpowering. It is an enjoyable read, well worth the money, contains no fluff and it fits in the pocket! As well as covering 17 snakes in the book he also has chapters on snake mythology; the characteristics of snake remedies in general in relation to their homeopathic use; and a taxonomy of the snake families. To be honest I was surprised at how much I learned from the book.
