The Trituration Handbook

Review

This book review is reprinted from Volume 16, 2010 Edition of The American Homeopath with permission from The American Homeopath.

Reviewed by Gwyneth Evans, RCHom

"Trituration: The act or process of grinding raw material with a neutral, diluting substance in order to extract its medicinal powers and render them soluble. "

"A dry method of potentizing medicinal substances whereby the substance is finely ground in a mortar with a certain proportion of milk sugar, thereby progressively attenuating it. "

This book begins "Aude Sapere" and continues with a quote from Hahnemann's Organon, Paragraph 265: "It should be a matter of conscience with him (the physician) to be thoroughly convinced in every case that the patient takes the right medicine, and therefore he must give the patient the correctly chosen medicine prepared, moreover, by himself." A commentary from Joseph Reves is also included: "It is best if the physician makes his own remedies. As referred to in Paragraph 1, the physician has a mission, and it is up to his conscience to be convinced that he has genuine remedies."

The authors have given a thorough explanation of C4 homeopathy: what it is, how to do a trituration, remedy triturations and C4 homeopathy in practice.

Dedicated to Alize Timmerman as "the primary ambassador for C4 homeopathy outside of Germany," there are many acknowledgements of the contributions of teachers, supporters and co-triturators.

There is a brief introduction to the co-authors, and a Preface which sets out the reason for writing the book: "We are writing this book with one major intention: that after you read this you will be excited, inspired and ready to do a trituration." This preface includes a list of potential benefits.

"PART ONE: What is C4 Homeopathy?" includes an introduction to the topic, a clarification of what C4 actually means with reference to Witold Ehrler's cosmology and discussion of the different levels.

The whole of "PART TWO: The Trituration Process" sets out very clearly how to go about conducting a trituration to C4. It contains detailed descriptions of the materials required, the process of a trituration, how to prepare potencies once the trituration process is complete and the designation of the different potencies.

In the section called "Components," there is an interesting piece on the".. .distinct energetic or non-material aspects to the trituration process. . ." This includes paragraphs on aspects such as Respect, Intention, Group Contribution, Resonance, Synchronicity, Pace, Individual Sensitivity and Self Development.

There is also a helpful section on Practical Suggestions. Included here is a description of the management of a situation where a triturator becomes deeply affected by the process.

I found that the color drawings which were made during triturations, along with brief explanations given under each picture gave fascinating insight into remedies I know little about e.g. Salsola tragus (tumbleweed) and Pleurotus eryngii (King oyster mushroom).

"PART THREE: Remedy Triturations" presents five trituration experiences, each one of which".. .started with a very different question." The remedies here are Diospyros kaki (persimmon), Calendula officinalis (marigold), Carcinosinum (cancer), Salsola tragus (tumbleweed), and Calcarea oxalatum renalis (kidney stone).

In "PART FOUR: C4 Homeopathy in Practice," there are commentaries and some illustrative cases about changes experienced since carrying out C4 triturations and using C4 remedies. "We invited homeopaths from around the world to share their thoughts and experiences regarding triturations, C4 homeopathy, and how this development has affected their practices." These diverse commentaries are from homeopaths in England, the Netherlands, the USA, South Africa and Germany.

The Appendices include suggested Trituration Timing Sheets, more information on Witold Ehrler's Cosmology and Levels, an interview with Martin Miles and helpful "Supplies and Resources."

There is an Afterword by Alize Timmerman.

The Foreword written by Jonathan Shore begins with, "This is an important book. It is important not so much for the information it contains as for the direction it indicates: the direction home, home towards a knowledge which is ours, yet has been forgotten."

Jonathan Shore includes a quote from Wenda Brewster O'Reilly in the Organon (translation) introduction about the different kinds of knowledge - Wissen that one gains from studying or reading books, and the other, Kenntniss, from experience. Wenda says, "This is the difference between knowing wetness by reading about it versus knowing wetness by immersing yourself in water."

Having undertaken triturations and experienced the different levels or layers of the process, I can absolutely confirm that the knowing which is found within the process is a far cry from knowledge obtained by reading or being told about a remedy.

For anyone interested in what and why C4 triturations are, or wanting to do one themselves, this is an excellent "guide book."

 

This book review is reprinted from Volume XXII Fall/Winter 2009 edition, with permission from Simillimum.

Reviewed by Neil Tessler

This book highlights the unexpected values of engaging in Hahnemanns alchemical method of creating medicines by trituration. It does not take far into this important book to become convinced that the ideas herein could ignite a revolution for homeopathic students and practitioners. While such an assertion seems surprising, given the fact that the methods described are as old as the very beginnings of homeopathy, yet their modern revival, not just in our pharmacies but among the practitioners themselves, holds the promise for a radical revival of the fundamental roots of Hahnemann's empirical practice of medicine. It heralds the return of an aspect of Hahnemann's medical practice that has been, for the most part, missing from modern homeopathy.

The critical innovation is the assertion that the act of triturating is a valid proving method, particularly when amplified in groap settings. As far as the authors are concerned, along with the many who have been involved, this aspect is absolutely confirmed and very highly efficacious in bringing out the identity of the remedy. This is the remarkable marriage of two critical components of Hahnemann's empiricism, the creation of medicines through dynamization and the necessity of testing dynamized medicines on the healthy.

The authors hasten to point out that provings as a consequence of preparing potencies is well known. One English pharmacy has large collection of symptom logs of workers noted while creating medicines.

Some of these ideas were also brought out in Birds - Homeopathic Remedies from the Avian Realm By Jonathan Shore, MD, almost entirely based on provings through this method. The authors both were part of the group that created the remedies described in Shore's book and in the process proved them.

The Trituation Handbook is an impassioned presentation of what is termed "C4" homeopathy, a philosophic construct not associated with homeopathy. In my view, at least at this stage as an outsider to the methods they are describing, it appears unessential to the real story that the book tells and the clarion call that it offers: a return to the experience of making our own medicines.

The handbook offers detailed instructions for trituration - supplies, exact methods and timing of the process. It also offers a thorough presentation on making the most of the proving potential in the process.

Congratulations to Anneke Hoagland and Judy Schriebman for their outstanding contribution to the homeopathic community by the presentation of this volume. I hope that it gains the audience that it deserves. I also hope that it is brought into the homeopathic college environs. It is the kind of thing that deserves to be taken up early in homeopathic education.

PREFACE

We are writing this book with one major intention: that after you read this you will be excited, inspired and ready to do a trituration. We started triturating in 1998 and have by now participated in the explorations of many substances. With each trituration, it becomes more and more clear to us, crystal clear in fact, that this is essential training for any homeopath, as fundamental as learning how to use a repertory.

Each step of the way - from the moment the substance to be triturated is selected, to the gathering of an interested group of people, to the actual procedure of grinding and scraping, to the sharing of notes, to the receiving of information - this process gives back a hundredfold what you put into it. It is ever-evolving, and we continue to learn and discover more with each new trituration.

Here is a short list of what we have discovered so far as potential benefits:

- As a homeopath, you follow in the footsteps of Hahnemann, who experimented continuously.

- You get remedy information in today's language which incorporates current psychological, social and cultural frameworks.

- You open up to the world around you, developing a more intimate relationship with nature.

- The information derived from the substance being triturated is focused and direct. This provides a solid framework for Materia Medica study and research.

- Symptoms that are expressed often confirm and/or clarify existing remedy information.

- You become increasingly aware of the stepwise unfolding of the substance information as you make it into a remedy, moving through and experiencing the layers and levels inherent in the substance.

- You learn about potency from the inside out as you become adept at sensing the different energies of the different levels. Each substance has its own pace and intensity, and, as you become attuned to this you understand and can use potencies with more precision and fluidity.

- You become more and more sensitive, not only to the nuances of the information released by the substance, but also to yourself and to your fellow triturators.

- Your increased sensitivity makes it much easier for you to resonate with your patients.

- When the process of triturating is complete, you know a particular remedy without question and are able to prescribe it with the utmost confidence.

- As you go beyond three rounds of trituration and enter into the C4 realm, where there is no judgment or polarity, you become more comfortable with a non-polarized world view. This is the natural state of the truly objective observer.

- You develop your own therapeutic uses for the process.

We dare say that doing triturations will not only make you a better homeopath but a better person. As you do triturations on a regular basis, you develop increased sensitivity and an ability to resonate with nature. You gain fluidity with your own innate system of knowing, which in turn makes you more sensitive to the inner state of your clients. You trust your innermost guidance and intuition in a deeper way and become more comfortable expressing this. You become more and more attuned to your own process of receiving information, and, with multiple triturations, you learn to trust and rely on your own information in other areas of your life.

In our first few triturations, we have to admit that we had a certain amount of antipathy towards this process. It was yet another thing to do, another thing to learn. It took hours, and we felt it took up valuable seminar time. We found the often lengthy sharing of information after every round of grinding and scraping tedious. Reluctant as we may have been, we stuck with it because of our trust in Alize and Jonathan. In due time the trituration process began to unfold its strengths and gifts to us.

By now we are completely convinced of its immense value. In this book we first provide you with some historical background information about the genesis of the trituration movement, and explain what we mean by the levels within a trituration process. We have a "how to" section to guide you step by step through a trituration. We present five triturations that we have done to demonstrate the multi-faceted and unique ways triturations unfold. The last section presents reports from homeopaths around the world who use this process and these remedies in their practices.

C4 Homeopathy is not one person's domain or discovery. We specifically and deliberately have used the voices of many contributors in this book. Everyone coming into contact with this field gets touched by it. Collaboration at the C4 level is natural. There is no hierarchy and everyone has an equal place. Read on with an open mind. Order your own porcelain mortar and pestle and, as you read, start to think of which substance you want to triturate. Hahnemann says, "Aude sapere: Dare to think." In the spirit of that challenge we propose "Aude facere: Dare to do."

 

This book review is reprinted with the permission from the Winter 2009 Edition of The Homeopath.

Reviewed by John Morgan

For several years there has been a great interest in C4 potencies and this excellent book, born out of the authors' enthusiasm for what they describe as 'the trituration movement, tells us, in a very readable form, exactly what they are. The authors wish to excite and inspire readers to have a go and experience a trituration themselves. There is a foreword by Jonathan Shore and short interviews with Alize Timmerman and our own beloved Martin Miles.

The book acknowledges those who started and developed the C4 movement, namely Witold Ehrler, ]urgen Becker and Alize Timmerman. In 1993, Ehrler, a biologist and non-homeopath, was intrigued by remedies having personality profiles and triturated some Calcarea carbonica with the aid of an old German pharmacy handbook, achieving startling results. This particular edition specified four trituration steps as distinct from three, which Hahnemann described in the Organon. He continued quietly for many years triturating remedies before sharing his experiences with other homeopaths.

The first half of the book is a practical step-by-step section on how to do a four step C4 trituration and a comprehensive guide on how to conduct a proving whilst preparing a remedy. The second half shares some practical experiences of new remedy triturations, and the proving information received, including colourful artistic illustrations, whilg making Persimmon, Tumbleweed and Kidney Stone. They also made Calendula and Carcinosin revealing some deeper insights into those well-known remedies. There are many other interesting testimonials and case studies, from homeopaths from around the world, who have had C4 remedy experience and seen a difference in their practice when using them.

If you have any interest in the C4 potencies then this is the book for you. It is well written in an engaging style, is practical in its approach and the authors have done a great job in unveiling the mystery of these remedies. I complement the authors on their work and generosity in making this information available in such a clear and practical way.

It is true that trituration is the most powerful way of potentising a substance and the extra dimension of C4, and beyond, is an important development in the evolution of remedy preparation for the future. Remedy making provings are an intimate way to connect with a remedy and reveal its healing potential. Other innovations in remedy preparation will surely develop in time as homeopathy and humanity evolves, but for now The Trituration Handbook brings us up to date with the last 16 years and reveals in depth the fascinating phenomena of the C4 potencies.  

Finally, if this book succeeds in its intention to inspire you to want to experience a trituration yourself, I offer my assistance in obtaining the required apparatus and materials needed to do so.

 

This book review is reprinted from Volume 22, Autumn 2009 edition, with permission from Homeopathic Links.

Reviewed by Jyoti Pimple, USA

Contemporary homeopathic training often brushes over the actual making of remedies. This appears to be a result of genuine efforts to quickly lay strong philosophical foundations, and get to the clinical stuff. The Trituration Handbook lends a hand in deepening basic homeopathic understanding while filling in the gaps... if your training brushed over this Hahnemannian principle.

Although the book reads like an excellent research project, it differs from traditional, analytical, homeopathic material by offering process-oriented approaches, storytelling, drawings, verbatim trituration notes and experiences. It also offers traditional homeopathic material such as repertory rubrics. Get ready to firmly grasp the actual "how and why" of trituration, while gaining an appreciation of this fine art. Strong, dominant threads colourfully detail the principle of Hahnemannian trituration, and C4 homeopathy, while offering up "a bit of a lot of things" in this tapestry of a book.

Prior to reading this book, I knew little of the C4 potencies. In reading this book, I learned to differentiate C4 homeopathy from my traditional understanding of centesimal potencies. Herein lays a very strong suit of this powerful little book:

Page 7: "It is important to clarify that 'C' as used here has nothing whatsoever to do with centesimal potencies."

The "C" refers to the eight Carbon levels of existence (CO-C8) as described by homeopath Witold Ehrler. This approach conveys a process of doing triturations, as well as the associated higher dimensions associated with C4 homeopathy. The authors have provided a very detailed, clear illustration outlining the levels, which places the C4 potency position in a potency schematic.

Karin Degkwitz, a German homeopath, brings years of experience and insight:

Page 13: "In C4 we have the first direct contact with our inner self, our soul. It is the realm of the heart. Here is the heart of who and what everything is. We don't judge here. Here love flows and we realize that we are all one."

The Trituration Handbook will give you a more thorough background to the C4 trituration and prescribing than, say, doing a Google search will. The concrete proving responses and repertory rubrics aren't well represented on the Web, nor is the enthusiasm or the conceptual depth. "Now begins a new period in homeopathy!" Jurgen Becker's quote illustrates the feeling you'll also have.

The organization of the book means that varied material is presented without it being hodgepodge. That said, be prepared for the variety. The book adopts a non-linear approach. Prescribing homeopathic remedies is described as treating the individual from a spiritual, archetypal or collective place. The book catapults prescribing to a new place; the material beacons from the cutting edge.

C4 homeopathy warrants consideration when treating individuals facing existential life problems; this in turn requires you to search in order to help them.

One very strong point in this book: the Provings. I found the provings (Persimmon, Calendula, Carcinosinum, Tumbleweed, and Kidney Stone) invaluable. I appreciated the organization of the provings: Hypothesis; Analysis; Trituration; Natural History; Procedure; The Trituration Experience; Aftermath of the Trituration; The Dreams; and the Conclusion. Here, for example, is the conclusion of Persimmon (Diospyros kaki):

Page 75, Conclusion: "So we come full circle, back to the beginning, before the trituration. The themes of conflict and duality, of war and suffering, of shifting realities and loss of identity, and of survival, growth. and rebirth permeated the consciousness of everyone who participated in the trituration and affected several of their close friends and family members as well."

What if you want the empirical experience of C4 homeopathy without actual trituration?

The word "handbook" describes this well-edited, creatively designed book, and the answer to that question... lies in the Appendix.