| Cavendish, in his book on Man, Myth and Magic, relates the shamanic experience with the hero’s journey and introduces the concept of the darkness of the mind which needs penetrating by the light of consciousness. According to Cavendish: “It seems likely that this pattern goes back ultimately to the practice of the shamans, or priest-magicians, of prehistoric tribes… The shaman’s trance-experiences support the modern psychological interpretation of heroic legends, in which the otherworld that the hero invades is in his own unconscious mind. It is there, in the darkest and most perilous regions of human nature, where the springs of character and action lie, that he wins his victory and discovers truth.” (9) Some of the themes that have been closely linked to shamanism, i.e., dismemberment, gashing, shamanic trees, celestial ascent by rainbows, replacement of internal organs with rocks, crystals, gems etc., the killing of the initiate and resurrection, travel on mythical beasts, magic arrows of healing and sickness, cannibalistic tests and painful delusions, can all be found in shamanic societies around the world including Australia, Indonesia, Asia, Siberia, as well as North and South America. (10) “Shamanic quests” involve climbing, travel through passageways filled with danger, and interactions with animal guides who impart “knowledge” or “healing aids.” Usually there is some sort of peril. Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark was modeled on the shamanic journey. Indiana Jones deals with curses and threats, snakes all around him, meets a monkey who becomes his best friend and travel partner, faces death by closing walls and rolling balls, all in order to get one simple gold statue that is supposed to be guarded by the gods. In his book, Shamanism: Archaic Techniques of Ecstasy, Eliade lists the numerous dangers. Floating Islands, cliffs, icebergs, mountains, knives, snapping jaws, spears, razor-edge dancing reeds, grinding millstones etc. Sometimes the initiate must pass through a firewall, or an ice sheet, or it could be clashing clouds barring the way to a sacred peyote country. Sometimes he is swinging on a celestial vine over snapping alligators, jumping jaguars, or swimming sharks below, like the videogame Jungle King. In any case, it always seems that the initiate must face his fears more than any real physical obstacle. (11) It is said by mystics that we have seven chakras in the body or energy wheels (centers). This seven-chakra system is how the flow of energy moves up through the body to bring about ultimate enlightenment, inspiration, wisdom and healthy well-being. This seven-chakra system can also be likened to a ladder one climbs along up higher and higher, in life, until we reach an apex. This ladder journey can be likened to the journey of the hero who must pass through seven gates to gain her or his initiation. The hero journeys over seven mountains, or they must try out looking through seven windows. This is the same as Jacob’s Ladder, which we read about earlier. |
In his book, The Seven Sisters of Sleep, Popular History of the Seven Prevailing Narcotics of the World by M.C. Cooke (1860), the author first introduces A. muscaria to westerners wherein he writes: “In such a land, there is little hope of cultivating Poppy, tobacco, betel, coca, hemp, or thorn-apple; and the poor native would have been compelled to have glided into his grave without a glimpse of Paradise beforehand, if, on the one hand, the kindly Russian peddler had not found a way to smuggle a little bad spirits into the country, to the great annoyance of all quietly-disposed persons, or, on the other, nature had not promptly supplied an indigenous narcotic, in the form of an unpretending-looking fungus or toadstool, to stimulate the dormant energies of the dwellers in this region of ice and snow. “The details to its effects upon the Kamtschatkans by Kraschemimkow, his natural history of that country are explicit, respecting the delirious intoxication induced by it. “This poisonous fungus has some resemblance to the one generally eaten in this country, yet there are also striking points of difference. As, for instance the gills are white instead of pinkish red, inclining to brown, and the cap or pileus, which is rather flat, is generally of a livid red colour, sprinkled with angular lighter coloured worts. These are distinctions broad enough to prevent any one having the use of his eyes, and who has ever seen the edible mushroom being deceived into the belief that the fungus thus briefly described is identical with the delicacy of our English tables. “These fungi are collected by those who indulge in them narcotically, during the hot, or rather summer months, and afterwards hung up to dry in the open air. Or they may be left to ripen and dry in the ground, and are afterwards collected. When left standing until they are dried, they are said to possess more powerful narcotic properties than when dried artificially. The juice of the whortleberry in which this substance has been steeped, acquire thereby the intoxicating properties of strong wine. (9) Sacred Mushroom Holy Grail, The Long Lost Origin of Our Most Intriguing Legend – Terry Atkinson, Jorvik Press, 2013, p. 136 (10) Eliade, Shamanism, Archaic Techniques of Ecstasy) (Johannes Wilbert, p.81-83 (Flesh of Gods) (11) Flesh of the Gods, p. 81-83 |