Hallucinogenic Powers

The Magic Drink Of The Amazon

There is a magic intoxicant in northwes ternmost South America that the In dians believe can free the soul from corporeal confinement, allowing it to wander free and return to the body at will. The soul, thus untrammeled, liberates its owner from the realities of everyday life and introduces him to wondrous realms of what he considers reality and permits him to communicate with his ancestors. The Quechua term for this inebriating drink Ayahuasca vine of the soul refers to this free ing of the...

Little Flowers Of The Gods

Above One of the largest fruiting bodies of Psilocybe azurescens ever found. Above One of the largest fruiting bodies of Psilocybe azurescens ever found. There is a world beyond ours, a world that is far away, nearby, and invisible. And there is where God lives, where the dead live, the spirits and the saints, a world where everything has already happened and everything is known. That world talks. It has a language of its own. I report what it says. The sacred mushroom takes me by the hand and...

Chemical Structures Of Hallucinogens

Chemical determination of the molecular structure of the hallucinogenic principles in sacred plants has led to remarkable results. Almost all plant hallucinogens contain the element nitrogen and therefore belong to the large class of chemical compounds known as alkaloids. divinorum are the most significant examples that do not contain nitrogen. The main active principle of Cannabis is tetrahydrocannabinol THC , while the main active principle of Salvia divinorum is salvinorin. The principal...

The Hexing Herbs

Above left The yellow blossom of the rare variety of Atropa belladonna var lutea. The yellow Deadly Nightshade is regarded as particularly potent for magic and witchcraft. Above right The bell-shaped flowers of the Deadly Nightshade clearly show its membership in the Nightshade family Page 87above left The flowers of the Mandrake Mandragora otficinarum are rarely seen, as they bloom very briefly and then quickly vanish Page 87above right The flowers of the Black Henbane Hyoscyamus niger have a...

Trumpets Of The Angels

1 The shamai lie use of the gold yellow flowering Brugmansia occurs primarily in Colombia and northern Peru. 2 The flowers and leaves are used by many Indian shamans for medicinal purpose s 3 1 ne ripe fruit of the Brugmansia ianguinea. This Angel's Trumpet puts out far more fruit than does any other species 4 The flower of Brugmansia sangu nea The Guambiano of southern Colombia y of Brugmansia vulcanicola How pleasant is the perfume of the long, bell-like flowers of the Yas, as one inhales it...

Yaqui Medicine Men Hallucinogenic

M. tortuosum L. - Sceletium tortuosum (L.) Over two centuries ago, Dutch explorers reported that the Hottentots of South Africa employed the root of a plant known as Channa or Kanna. Employed to cause dreams in order to foretell the future. Shamanistic inebriation. Religious significance healing ceremonies. Religious ceremonies. Hallucinogenic intoxication ( ), folk medicine, aphrodisiac Ceremonial use in Native American tribes Employed especially by the medicine men as a hallucinogen in magic...

Cactus Of The Four Winds

Above left Pieces of San Pedro piled up for sale in the witches' market in Cliiclayo in northern Peru. Above left Pieces of San Pedro piled up for sale in the witches' market in Cliiclayo in northern Peru. Above right The fast-growing San Pedro cactus develops few, if any thorns when cultivated San Pedro has a special symbolism in curaritrismo folk healing for a reason San Pedro is always in tune with the powers of animals, of strong personages or beings, of serious beings, of beings that have...

Beans Of The Hekula Spirit

In the beginning, the Sun created various beings to serve as intermediaries between Him and Earth. He created hallucinogenic snuff powder so that man could contact supernatural beings The Sun had kept this powder in His navel, but the Daughter of the Sun found it. Thus it became available to man a vegetal product acquired directly from the gods. center of use of this snuff's and probably always has been the Orinoco. The West Indian tribes are thought to have been, in the main invaders from...

Guide To The Ancestors

Leil The loots of the Iboga bush are ri-tually eaten by the Bwiti cult in order to call forth the ancestors Page 113 middle left Old wooden fetish objects of the Fang, who were once associated with an Iboga cult Page 113 middle right The conspicuous bright yellow fruits of the Iboga Zame ye Mebege the last of the creator gods gave us Eboka. One day he saw . the Pygmy Bitamu, '- gh in an Atanga tree, gathering ' 5 fruit He made him fall. He died, and Zame brought h spirit to him. Zame cut off...