fascinating, via arthur magazine, which who needs the da vinci code when you have arthur magazine?

The psychedelic secrets of Santa Claus
by Dana Larsen, Cannabis Culture Magazine (18 Dec, 2003)

Modern Christmas traditions are based on ancient mushroom-using shamans.

Although most people see Christmas as a Christian holiday, most of the symbols and icons we associate with Christmas celebrations are actually derived from the shamanistic traditions of the tribal peoples of pre-Christian Northern Europe.

The sacred mushroom of these people was the red and white amanita muscaria mushroom, also known as “fly agaric.” These mushrooms are now commonly seen in books of fairy tales, and are usually associated with magic and fairies. This is because they contain potent hallucinogenic compounds, and were used by ancient peoples for insight and transcendental experiences.

Most of the major elements of the modern Christmas celebration, such as Santa Claus, Christmas trees, magical reindeer and the giving of gifts, are originally based upon the traditions surrounding the harvest and consumption of these most sacred mushrooms.

The world tree

These ancient peoples, including the Lapps of modern-day Finland, and the Koyak tribes of the central Russian steppes, believed in the idea of a World Tree. The World Tree was seen as a kind of cosmic axis, onto which the planes of the universe are fixed. The roots of the World Tree stretch down into the underworld, its trunk is the “middle earth” of everyday existence, and its branches reach upwards into the heavenly realm.

The amanita muscaria mushrooms grow only under certain types of trees, mostly firs and evergreens. The mushroom caps are the fruit of the larger mycelium beneath the soil which exists in a symbiotic relationship with the roots of the tree. To ancient people, these mushrooms were literally “the fruit of the tree.”

The North Star was also considered sacred, since all other stars in the sky revolved around its fixed point. They associated this “Pole Star” with the World Tree and the central axis of the universe. The top of the World Tree touched the North Star, and the spirit of the shaman would climb the metaphorical tree, thereby passing into the realm of the gods. This is the true meaning of the star on top of the modern Christmas tree, and also the reason that the super-shaman Santa makes his home at the North Pole.

Ancient peoples were amazed at how these magical mushrooms sprang from the earth without any visible seed. They considered this “virgin birth” to have been the result of the morning dew, which was seen as the semen of the deity. The silver tinsel we drape onto our modern Christmas tree represents this divine fluid.

Reindeer games

The active ingredients of the amanita mushrooms are not metabolized by the body, and so they remain active in the urine. In fact, it is safer to drink the urine of one who has consumed the mushrooms than to eat the mushrooms directly, as many of the toxic compounds are processed and eliminated on the first pass through the body.

It was common practice among ancient people to recycle the potent effects of the mushroom by drinking each other’s urine. The amanita’s ingredients can remain potent even after six passes through the human body. Some scholars argue that this is the origin of the phrase “to get pissed,” as this urine-drinking activity preceded alcohol by thousands of years.

Reindeer were the sacred animals of these semi-nomadic people, as the reindeer provided food, shelter, clothing and other necessities. Reindeer are also fond of eating the amanita mushrooms; they will seek them out, then prance about while under their influence. Often the urine of tripped-out reindeer would be consumed for its psychedelic effects.

This effect goes the other way too, as reindeer also enjoy the urine of a human, especially one who has consumed the mushrooms. In fact, reindeer will seek out human urine to drink, and some tribesmen carry sealskin containers of their own collected piss, which they use to attract stray reindeer back into the herd.

The effects of the amanita mushroom usually include sensations of size distortion and flying. The feeling of flying could account for the legends of flying reindeer, and legends of shamanic journeys included stories of winged reindeer, transporting their riders up to the highest branches of the World Tree.

Santa Claus, super shaman

Although the modern image of Santa Claus was created at least in part by the advertising department of Coca-Cola, in truth his appearance, clothing, mannerisms and companions all mark him as the reincarnation of these ancient mushroom-gathering shamans.

One of the side effects of eating amanita mushrooms is that the skin and facial features take on a flushed, ruddy glow. This is why Santa is always shown with glowing red cheeks and nose. Even Santa’s jolly “Ho, ho, ho!” is the euphoric laugh of one who has indulged in the magic fungus.

Santa also dresses like a mushroom gatherer. When it was time to go out and harvest the magical mushrooms, the ancient shamans would dress much like Santa, wearing red and white fur-trimmed coats and long black boots.

These peoples lived in dwellings made of birch and reindeer hide, called “yurts.” Somewhat similar to a teepee, the yurt’s central smokehole is often also used as an entrance. After gathering the mushrooms from under the sacred trees where they appeared, the shamans would fill their sacks and return home. Climbing down the chimney-entrances, they would share out the mushroom’s gifts with those within.

The amanita mushroom needs to be dried before being consumed; the drying process reduces the mushroom’s toxicity while increasing its potency. The shaman would guide the group in stringing the mushrooms and hanging them around the hearth-fire to dry. This tradition is echoed in the modern stringing of popcorn and other items.

The psychedelic journeys taken under the influence of the amanita were also symbolized by a stick reaching up through the smokehole in the top of the yurt. The smokehole was the portal where the spirit of the shaman exited the physical plane.

Santa’s famous magical journey, where his sleigh takes him around the whole planet in a single night, is developed from the “heavenly chariot,” used by the gods from whom Santa and other shamanic figures are descended. The chariot of Odin, Thor and even the Egyptian god Osiris is now known as the Big Dipper, which circles around the North Star in a 24-hour period.

In different versions of the ancient story, the chariot was pulled by reindeer or horses. As the animals grow exhausted, their mingled spit and blood falls to the ground, forming the amanita mushrooms.

St Nicholas and Old Nick

Saint Nicholas is a legendary figure who supposedly lived during the fourth Century. His cult spread quickly and Nicholas became the patron saint of many varied groups, including judges, pawnbrokers, criminals, merchants, sailors, bakers, travelers, the poor, and children.

Most religious historians agree that St Nicholas did not actually exist as a real person, and was instead a Christianized version of earlier Pagan gods. Nicholas’ legends were mainly created out of stories about the Teutonic god called Hold Nickar, known as Poseidon to the Greeks. This powerful sea god was known to gallop through the sky during the winter solstice, granting boons to his worshippers below.

When the Catholic Church created the character of St Nicholas, they took his name from “Nickar” and gave him Poseidon’s title of “the Sailor.” There are thousands of churches named in St Nicholas’ honor, most of which were converted from temples to Poseidon and Hold Nickar. (As the ancient pagan deities were demonized by the Christian church, Hold Nickar’s name also became associated with Satan, known as “Old Nick!”)

Local traditions were incorporated into the new Christian holidays to make them more acceptable to the new converts. To these early Christians, Saint Nicholas became a sort of “super-shaman” who was overlaid upon their own shamanic cultural practices. Many images of Saint Nicholas from these early times show him wearing red and white, or standing in front of a red background with white spots, the design of the amanita mushroom.

St Nicholas also adopted some of the qualities of the legendary “Grandmother Befana” from Italy, who filled children’s stockings with gifts. Her shrine at Bari, Italy, became a shrine to St Nicholas.

Modern world, ancient traditions

Some psychologists have discussed the “cognitive dissonance” which occurs when children are encouraged to believe in the literal existence of Santa Claus, only to have their parents’ lie revealed when they are older. By so deceiving our children we rob them of a richer heritage, for the actual origin of these ancient rituals is rooted deep in our history and our collective unconscious. By better understanding the truths within these popular celebrations, we can better understand the modern world, and our place in it.

Many people in the modern world have rejected Christmas as being too commercial, claiming that this ritual of giving is actually a celebration of materialism and greed. Yet the true spirit of this winter festival lies not in the exchange of plastic toys, but in celebrating a gift from the earth: the fruiting top of a magical mushroom, and the revelatory experiences it can provide.

Instead of perpetuating outdated and confusing holiday myths, it might be more fulfilling to return to the original source of these seasonal celebrations. How about getting back to basics and enjoying some magical mushrooms with your loved ones this solstice? What better gift can a family share than a little piece of love and enlightenment?

FURTHER LINKS AND REFERENCES:

• The Hidden Meanings of Christmas, Mushrooms and Mankind, by James Arthur
• Santa Claus & the Amanita Muscaria, by Jimmy Bursenos
• Who put the Fly Agaric into Christmas?, Seventh International Mycological Congress, December 1999, Fungus of the Month
• The Real Story of Santa, The Spore Print, Los Angeles Mycological Society, December 1998
• Santa and those Reindeer: The Hallucinogenic Connection, The Physics of Christmas, by Roger Highfield
• Fungi, Fairy Rings and Father Christmas, North West Fungus Group, 1998 Presidential Address, by Dr Sean Edwards
• Fly Agaric, Tom Volk’s Fungus of the Month for December 1999
• Father Christmas Flies on Toadstools, New Scientist, December 1986
• Psycho-mycological studies of amanita: From ancient sacrament to modern phobia, by Jonathan Ott, Journal of Psychedelic Drugs; 1976
• Santa is a Wildman, LA Times, Jeffrey Vallance

BOOKS WORTH READING:

• Mushrooms and Mankind, by James Arthur
• Soma: Divine Mushroom of Immortality, by Gordon Wasson
• Mushrooms, Poisons and Panaceas, by Denis R. Benjamin
Comments (0)

hype machine

lol but maybe you need to read the myspace beach house "california deathstar" blog first(?)

should i go to the concert

This blog is so distuuuuurbing.
I guess anyone's would be if they wrote in a diary style.

I was going to go to the David Copperfuck concert tonight, but for some reason I can't decide if I should... I am listening to their Live at KZSU album that I downloaded from them. Racoons has really amazing lyrics. "We like trash/cause we eat it/we like trash cause/ we're greedy..." I guess I would go because I listen to this album rather frequently, and because went through a period of believing "Lady Boner" ("this song is about a dead dog in a suitcase") was about me - because of the huge suitcase I had in the living room of Molly and Dean's house, and because of my sense of entitlement to act grumpy because of how depressed I am. However, there are a lot of lyrics that I can't even decipher, so I'd be hesitant to put forward even the slightest argument as to what this is about.

I was a pretty big fan of the Facial Expressions, the band where Andrew Leland was the frontman and shrieked lyrics about whatever was on his mind. The only lyrics I can remember are "Tisch! NYU! Tisch! NYU!" They were a hardcore band, like David Copperfuck. By "pretty big fan" I am just speaking of how much I supported them mentally. I think I smiled when they were performing.

Anyway, the members of D.C. think I am extremely weird, as a result of a number of things.

David Copperfuck sings a song, "Night Blindness", about Andrew's macular degeneration retinitis pigementosa. "I can't see you/ I can't see you/ I can't see me/ I can't see you."

They think I'm weird because I washed their floor when I stayed there. They think I'm weird because I was not as cool as them in college. They think I'm weird because I was experimenting with my personality during some portions of the time I stayed with them. I definitely felt super weird at this one bbq Dean was at when my head was shaved. Dean thinks I'm weird because I made him pay for my dinner without telling him why, but it was because I lent 20 dollars to him once in college. I guess that was immature of me.

i needed to get my last post with all the swear words out of my own face.
i am going to a cocktail hour with my krazy coworker stephanie. she is a fun girl, i am waiting for her to finish going to the bathroom or something. um, i'm sure she wouldn't want that announced.

I forgot what I was going to name this post?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smoking_Popes
what the fuck are CROONING VOCALS?
HEY BRIAN I REALLY WANTED TO SEE THE COINS OF VEGETABLES IN NON-ESSENTIAL STOCK PHOTOGRAPHY!
I have been hanging out with my roommates and one of my roommates' friends. Things we talked about:
New Yorker's most recent Annals of Medecine
Cheetahs
Rock music
Someone in the room's powerful, powerful uncle.


It was fun.

What the fuck is AP style- who the fuck cares? Oh shit, these commas are so confusing and scary, and apostrophers.

It is almost 2 in the morning, I feel like I am going insane. Er, what else is n.e.w.?

famer's almanac

farmer's almanac

everybody hates chris

the cw is so racially charged for a tv station.

souffles

this is a velvet underground lyric that i like:

"some kinds of love are mistaken for vision"

what does this lyric mean to you?