Belief Systems and entheogens

From NarratingLandscapes

Natalia Garcia

Belief Systems and entheogens

My experience with the San Pedro, a central plant in Andean folk medicine, has motivated me to explore the belief systems and entheogens that shape cultures. The necessity to believe in someone or something spiritual is inherent to humankind since it occurs universally in all societies and in all times. Through believe systems humans give meaning to their existence, origin and destiny (Piedmont and Moberg, 2003). Mystical experiences are common in the majority of believe systems and these experiences are ways to commune with supernatural forces or gods (Piedmont and Moberg, 2003). The desire to revere, please, or influence an unseen power is often expressed through rituals, which promote social cohesiveness (Tupper, 2002). Sacred plants or entheogens have been used in religious/spiritual ceremonies and rituals practically since humans started to live in organized societies (Piedmont and Moberg, 2003).

Entheogen literary means ‘that which generates God (or godly inspiration) within a person (Piedmont and Moberg, 2003). The term entheogen was coined in 1979 by a group of ethnobotanists and scholars of mythology as a replacement for the terms hallucinogen and psychedelic for psychoactive substances that are used in religious context (Tupper, 2002). Western society with Christianity, have refused to believe that entheogens can be used as mediums to communicate with God or the supernatural (Glockner, N/A). In XVI, where Christianity was considered to be the only truth, indigenous belief systems were seen as the product of the devil. In order to save indigenous souls, Europeans began the Christianization process of numerous cultures around the world. Today, modern society sees science as the only truth and indigenous belief systems are regarded as mere fantasy and superstition, a result of their lack of education and socio-economic delay (Glockner, N/A). Entheogens are still considered by the vast majority to be chemical agents that produce hallucinations or unreal visions produced by the central nervous system of those who take them (Tupper 2002). But for indigenous peoples entheogens are doors to access the supernatural or heaven (Sharon, 1998). The purpose of indigenous peoples’ consumption of entheogens is to achieve alternate states of consciousness, which serve to heal, explore the invisible and communicate with the divine (Tupper, 2002) (Tabla 1). Ayahuasca, for example, has been a revered plant among dozens of South American indigenous peoples for centuries. The word ayahuasca, which is a Quechua word from indigenous peoples of Ecuador and Peru, translates as "vine of the soul". Ayahuasca refers to a tea made from a jungle liana, Banisteriopsis caapi, with admixtures of other plants like Psychotria viridis (Tupper, 2002). It is used as a tool to attain understanding and wisdom. Other indigenous peoples in the Americas have used psilocybin mushrooms for millennia for spiritual and healing purposes. Mexican indigenous groups have used the peyote cactus throughout their history and the peyote is nowadays used in the United States by the Native American Church (Tupper, 2002). The San Pedro, a cactus from the genus Trichocereus found in dry areas of Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia is used for spiritual and physical healing (De Feo, 2003) (Sharon, 1998). Although a great diversity of entheogens is found in the Americas, the rest of the continents also have or had visionary plants. In Africa, the root bark of the Iboga shrub (Tabernanthe iboga) is used in Gabon to induce a near-death experience for spiritual and psychological purposes (Strubelt and Maas, 2008). In Siberia, before European contact, reindeer herdsmen tribes used the Amanita muscaria (fly agaric) mushroom to facilitate communication with the supernatural, divine the future, diagnose the cause of illness, and as a source of enjoyment on festive occasions such as wedding (Dobkin de Rios and Katz, 1975). In Asia, the Soma, was a sacred plant used in secret rituals, a personified God, and an important cosmological principle. The use of Soma is mentioned in the Vedas (Spess, 2000). In his book, The Soma of the Rig Veda: What was it?, Wasson argues that Soma was fly agaric. In the Pacific Islands, kava, a powder from the root of Piper methysticum, is considered sacred and has a deep level of respect. It is used in ceremonies to help create positive change in people (Growth-Marnat et al., 1996). European witches used various entheogens, including thorn-apple (Datura), deadly nightshade (Atropa belladonna), mandrake (Mandragora officinarum) and henbane (Hyoscyamus niger). However, the use of entheogens in Europe was greatly reduced with the rise of Roman Christianity (Muller-Ebeling et al., 2003).

Acknowledging the prominence of entheogen use in many spiritual traditions over the world and realizing that most of their consumption and meaning has been eradicated, diminished or condemned by Christianity, I wondered whether Christianity itself had entheogens in the past. To my surprise, some religious and historian researches suggest that manna was the psychoactive sacrament of Jewish and Christian traditions (Merkur, 2000) (Ruck, 2000). Manna was a type of bread containing ergot, a psychoactive fungus that grows in grains and grasses. The effects of ergot consumption were similar to those of the drug LSD since both contain similar chemicals (White et al., 2003). The origin of Manna is clearly in heaven according to the Bible (Psalms 78:24, 25, Psalm 105:40 and John 6:31). “When Moses fed manna to the Israelites, he told them that after eating the miraculous bread they would see the glory of God. And indeed they did: They looked toward the wilderness, and behold, the glory of Yahveh appeared in a cloud." Citing biblical passages Mekur suggests that manna was used as a psychedelic religious experience in ancient Israel in a “straight forward manner”. One of the passages that explicitly refers to the psychoactivity of manna reads: “And my Lord will give you the bread of hardship and the water of affliction and your Teacher will no longer hide himself, and your eyes shall see your Teacher” (Isa. 30:20). Manna was replaced by showbread, the Bread of the Presence, when the wilderness time ended. This transition removed manna from public consumption and became a secret kept by the priests (Ruck, 2000). The use of manna extended into religious experience of early Christianity based on the acknowledgement that the bread of the Christian Eucharist continues the tradition of manna (Merkur, 2000) (Ruck, 2000). It is suggested that the descent of the Holy Spirit to the disciples were alkaloid facilitated experiences (White et al., 2003). The manna, according to Merkur, was administered by Jesus to certain of his disciples and after the crucifixion a symbolic rite was substituted for the general congregation. Knowledge of the psychoactive nature of manna was probably passed down orally. The esoteric knowledge survived in the Syriac Church and became a mystery. The Grail Quest took in pagan themes with the Eucharist and in the anonymous version composed by a monk of Bernard’s Cistercian order, it is portrayed with reference to the Syriac Mystery of the Cross. At this same time members of the Kabbalah claimed to have secrets of the Bible and knew of the mystery of manna (Merkur, 2000) (Ruck, 2000).

Due to the few literary records, the mystery of manna still remains a mystery. The absence of records, though, is not unexpected when one considers that such divine substances were the domain only of specialized people in a society like it still is in indigenous communities where shamans are the ones who possess the knowledge (White et al., 2003). Nonetheless, the mystery of manna reveals the potential existence of a tradition of Western psychedelic sacraments. The most interesting aspect is that Merkur suggests this was not a heretical tradition, but a normal, Bible-based spirituality. So, how did this visionary substance become unacceptable and maleficent in later Christianity? I could not find an explicit answer but it is possible that the misuse of these substances (e.g. ergot) produced several toxicoses including gangrene, neurological diseases and death (White et al., 2003). When the entheogen was taken out of context, of out the ceremonies and out of religion, then it became a problem.

The manna is a potential example of what societies choose to ignore or simply forget over time. And with such decisions whole belief systems change and with them the knowledge they transmit. For Christianity people who have no knowledge use visionary plants, whereas in indigenous belief systems people who have the knowledge consume them. The latter becomes ironic when one thinks that visionary substances could have been part of early western religious experiences and knowledge.

Although I had an open mind about the use of psychoactive substances, especially because I come from a country where many indigenous groups consume them, my western Christian paradigm was always bothering me. Some part of me believed that the intake of these substances was not right. However, with this research, I can see better that the use of visionary substances has been part of religious experiences throughout the history of humankind. Overall, it seems, as Huston Smith (2000) suggests, religions were built on religious experiences facilitated by the use of various consciousness-altering natural substances.

References

De Feo, V. (2003). Ethnomedical field study in northern Peruvian Andes with particular referentes to divination practices. Journal of Ethnopharmacology 85: 243-256.

Dobkin De Rios, M., Katz, F. (1975). Some Relationships between Music and Hallucinogenic Ritual: The "Jungle Gym" in Consciousness. Ethos 3 (1): 64-76.

Glockner, J. Plantas sagradas: del infierno al laboratorio. Retrieved August16, 2008 from: http://lugarescomunes.com.mx/archivo/02/textos/txt1/pdf/1.pdf

Groth-Marnat, G.,Leslie, S., and Renneker, M. (1996). Tobacco control in a traditional Fijian village: indigenous methods of smoking cessation and release prevention. Social Science & Medicine 43: 473-477.

Merkur, D. (2000). The Mystery of Manna: The Psychedelic Sacrament of the Bible.Inner Traditions / Bear & Company. Retrieved August 16, 2008 from http://books.google.com/books?hl=es&lr=&id=isUMfK-2-coC&oi=fnd&pg=PP7&dq=mystery+of+manna&ots=S_yGM43_h2&sig=vbyr5k0DaoEgxgeww6qDon6RUqw Muller-Ebeling, C., Ratsch, C., and Storl, D. W. (2003). Witchcraft Medicine Healing Arts, Shamanic Practices, and Forbidden Plants. Inner Traditions/Bear & Company. Piedmont, R.L., and Moberg, D.O. (2003). Research in the Social Scientific Study of Religion: A Research Annual. BRILL.

Ruck, C.A.P. (2002). Book Reviews. Retrieved August 16, 2008 from: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL&_udi=B6WWN-45B668D-1R&_user=1022551&_rdoc=1&_fmt=&_orig=search&_sort=d&view=c&_version=1&_urlVersion=0&_userid=1022551&md5=89ed5c5f2aafbbff4605d11710f68e3f

Sharon, D. (1998). El chaman de los cuatro vientos. Siglo XXI México.

Smith, H. (2000). Cleansing the doors of perception: The religious significance of entheogenic plants and chemicals. Tarcher.

Spess, D.L. (2000). Soma: the divine hallucinogen. Inner Traditions/ Bear & Company.

Strubelt, S., and Maas, U. (2008). The near-death experience: a cerebellar method to protect body and soul-lessons from the Iboga healing ceremony in Gabon. Altern Ther Health Med 14(3):30-34.

Tupper, K.W. (2002). Entheogens and Existential Intelligence: The Use of Plant Teachers as Cognitive Tools. Canadian Journal of Education 27 (4): 499-516.

Wasson, G. 1971. The Soma of the Rig Veda: What was it? Journal of the American Oriental Society 91(2): 169-187.

White, J. F., Bacon, C.F., Hywel-Jones, N. L., and Spatafora, J. W. (2003). Clavicipitalean Fungi: Evolutionary Biology, Chemistry, Biocontrol, and Cultural Impacts. CRC Press. Retrieved August 16, 2008 from http://books.google.com/books?id=AQjPY6-GdKoC&pg=PA5&lpg=PA5&dq=White+et+al.+Clavicipitalean+Fungi&source=web&ots=Gdsq2ss3Yo&sig=OhoOhSF3lP26qdE0yJUKwW_sMYA&hl=es&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=4&ct=result#PPP1,M1

ANEXES

Tabla 1. Summary of the comparison of visionary plants between indigenous belief systems and western belief systems

Indigenous Western Sacred Maleficent Revered Product of the evil Access to supernatural Insanity Tool to communicate with the divine Hallucinogen, Superstition

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