Ancient Psychedelia: Alien Gods & Mushroom Goddesses
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| People who take psychedelics today will often be heard saying “the universe talked to me” when describing an event in which divine intervention or some inspiring words from another person were spoken to them in passing. To these people, they are using other words than “God” because of the connotations and the power of words. The psychedelic inspired mind is open to these new thoughts which seem to flow in and out of the mind when high. It takes getting used to, similar to the way people listen to their intuition and learn to trust it over time. The shaman was traditionally the seer or oracle in the community before the advent of growing populations and large civilizations which required seers or oracular persons to actually hold positions similar to “offices.” Glaucus is described by Ovid in Metamorphosis, and was a sea god turned immortal upon consuming a “magical herb.” He was originally a fisherman from Boeotia who was changed into a god and endowed with the gift of prophecy. He was the son of the Cretan king Minos and his wife Pasiphae. After Glaucus fell into a jar of honey, the seer Polyeidus discovered the child but was punished for not being able to revive him and was shut up in the grave with the child. In the tomb he killed a serpent and watched as one of the serpent’s companions revived it with an herb which the seer then used on Glaucus to bring him back to life. (144) Glaucus fell in love with the nymph Scylla but was rejected so he applied to the witch Circe to make a love potion for him and instead Circe fell for Glaucus but was scorned by him. Circe then made a poison which she poured into Scylla’s bath and turned her into a monster. (145) There are at least two different herb of immortality stories associated with Glaucus. Scylla would later become the Irish Melusine. Scylla is shown as a winged, two-tailed mushroom deity on an Etruscan urn holding an inverted trishula in each hand, which have a traditional mushroom shape (14a; 73e). Scylla and Melusine look strikingly similar (73d, f) and interestingly, she is also likened to both Abraxas (14b; 73g), Vyala Yaksha from India (14g), and Sheela na gig as well.  (14a) Winged, twin-tailed Scylla on an Etruscan urn |
  R: (73d) Melusine with Harp - Wooden Panel From St. Martin's Church in Zillis, Switzerland  (73e) Scylla / Melusina. Sarcophagus or large urn with cover - Italic, Etruscan c. 250-300 BC L: (14b) Abraxas. Roman Limestone Relief c. 100-200 AD   R: (14g) Vyala Yaksha c. 100 BC (144) https://www.britannica.com/topic/Glaucus-Greek-mythology (145) Apples of Apollo, p. 71-72; https://www.greekmythology.com/Myths/Figures/ Glaucus/glaucus.html |
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