Ancient Psychedelia: Alien Gods & Mushroom Goddesses
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| “She ran as long as her feet would go until it was almost evening, then she saw a little cottage and went into it to rest herself. Everything in the cottage was small, but neater and cleaner than can be told. There was a table on which was a white cover, and seven little plates, and on each plate a little spoon, moreover, there were seven little knives and forks, and seven little mugs. Against the wall stood seven little beds side by side and covered with snow-white counterpanes. Little Snow White was so hungry and thirsty that she ate some vegetables and bread from each plate and drank a drop of wine out of each mug, for she did not wish to take all from one only. Then, as she was so tired, she laid herself down on one of the little beds, but none of them suited her, one was too long, another too short, but at last she found that the seventh one was right, and so she remained in it, said a prayer and went to sleep.” When she awoke she met the dwarfs, introduced herself and an agreement was reached where she could stay if she tended the place for them. The queen discovered through her looking glass that Snow White was still alive and went in disguise to the dwarf’s home peddling shoe laces. A second attempt was made on poor Snow White’s life when the queen laced her up so fast and tight, she almost died but just passed out. The queen went home, and the looking glass again told her Snow White was the fairest in the land, so she had to come back two more times, the second with a poisoned comb, and the third time she returned with a poisoned apple. “So, she went over the seven mountains to the seven dwarfs, knocked at the door, and cried, ‘Good things to sell, cheap, cheap.’ Snow White put her head out of the window and said, ‘I cannot let anyone in, the seven dwarfs have forbidden me.’ ‘It is all the same to me,’ answered the woman, ‘I shall soon get rid of my apples. There, I will give you one.’ ‘No,’ said Snow White, ‘I dare not take anything.’ ‘Are you afraid of poison?’ said the old woman, ‘look, I will cut the apple in two pieces, you eat the red cheek, and I will eat the white.’ The apple was so cunningly made that only the red cheek was poisoned. Snow White longed for the fine apple, and when she saw that the woman ate part of it, she could resist no longer, and stretched out her hand and took the poisonous half. But hardly had she a bit of it in her mouth than she fell down dead.” Then the dwarfs laid her to rest and “birds came too, and wept for Snow White, first an owl, then a raven, and last a dove.” When the king’s son had his servants carry it away “it happened that they stumbled over a tree-stump, and with the shock the poisonous piece of apple which Snow White had bitten off came out of her throat. And before long she opened her eyes, lifted up the lid of the coffin, sat up, and was once more alive.” |
Snow White is born red and white like the A. muscaria mushroom. There were seven dwarfs, a significant occult number which signifies the days of the week. They are dwarfs and short, indicating Snow White has left the normal world and gone like a shaman into the supernatural world and she did it by running off into the forest. That was her “window.” The queen traveled over seven mountains to get to Snow White each time. The queen visited the home of the dwarfs three times before killing her with the poisoned apple, another significant number. The apple being the mechanism to bring about temporary death is symbolic of the Garden of Eden story of the serpent offering Eve the apple and the fact that she awakened after “choking it out,” is really like saying she “vomited” the mushroom back out and was alive again thus signifying that she was now endowed with immortality and/or enlightenment. There is an illustration of Snow White, featured in the early fairy tale book and drawn by Franz Jüttner Schneewittchen from 1910, which features Snow White fleeing into the forest with A. muscaria mushrooms growing by the trees (90f). Most people never associated amanitas or mushrooms at all with snow white, other than the poisoned apple for those “in the know.” But this little clue on the ground is very revealing because it shows how she got to the home of the dwarfs. They asked her upon her waking, “How did you get here?” She replied, “I ran through the woods.” Also, to get to the dwarf’s home, one has to pass over seven mountains. This is another aspect of the hero’s journey. Passage through seven gates like the seven gates of Ishtar. Now there is an entirely different story of Rose Red and Snow White told by Grimm based on The Ungrateful Dwarf, written by Caroline Stahl (1776–1837). This story deals with two sisters and has nothing to do with the traditional Snow White. This particular story does not have enough of a plot that is relevant to our study to make it worth exploring, so suffice to say, the title alone is worth mentioning since it reflects a red-white (amanita) theme.  (90f) Snow White drawn by Franz Jüttner Schneewittchen. 1910 |
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