MUSHROOMS AND MANKIND A Brief Introduction to Ethnomycology

MUSHROOMS AND MANKIND: A Brief Introduction to Ethnomycology

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The Hidden Meanings of Christmas

the Amanita muscaria mushroom. This mushroom is found growing all over the world under Pine (& other coniferous trees), Birch, and sometimes Oak. The Pine tree is one of the well-known central relics of Christmas.

The Santa Claus and Christmas traditions of today have metamorphosed out of many older mythologies. The icons, symbols, and relics that have managed to survive from the “Winter Solstice” celebrations of old

Today’s Santa Claus is a metamorphosis of many older mythologies, including Thor or Donner (German Donar) who wears red and rides in a Golden Flying Chariot pulled by two Goats (Cracker and Gnasher). In a sense, these goats were the ancestors to the now popular reindeer. What would the red and gold clad angel be doing with that nice basket? An Easter basket at Christmas is an interesting concept.

Christmas is commonly thought of as a Christian holiday (the birth of Jesus). Many Christian beliefs and traditions were borrowed from more ancient religions and mythologies. This is well documented by authors such as Gerald Massey, Godfrey Higgins, Robert Graves, Kersey Graves and many others. The virgin birth, the incarnation of God, the sacrament, Christmas, Easter, etc. have all been adopted/stolen by Christianity as its own.

It is well documented by fundamentalists (apologists) that the Christmas traditions are Pagan in origin.. This simply means that their origin comes from the traditions of the country-folk (pagan). By contrast, the Pagan origins of most of the other attributes of Christianity are vigorously denied. It is also very easy to obscure, overlook and discredit the Egyptian, Mithraic, Germanic, Norse, Celtic, Greek, Hindu and Buddhist roots by lumping all non-Christian religions together and labeling them Pagan. These are certainly not simple country-folk religions. So to just say Christmas has Pagan roots, and not go further, is glossing over what exactly those roots are, and discrediting their study as worthless. Christmas icons, traditions and stories have hidden meanings. Although not initially apparent, a more thorough investigation reveals far more symbolic content (which is decipherable) than originally suspected. At the roots of this symbolism research is information about the secrets of the mushroom, regarding its habitats, forms, uses, preparations, and effects.

Shaman of Siberia and the Russian icon, St. Nicholas, both play parts in the tale of Christmas, providing clues as to where Christmas came from and why there are certain symbols associated with the holiday. It is these types of clues that will help (the questors) in the deciphering of the symbols. Siberian Shaman used/use (despite governmental oppression) the Amanita muscaria as a religious sacrament. It is used for spiritual vision, out-of-body travel into the realms of the spirits, and as a plant-spirit guide in teaching and healing. The value of the inebriant is placed highly among the commodities of the native tribesmen, fetching reindeer pelts, meats, and all manner of tradable goods in payment and barter. Interesting to note: If you aren’t quick enough in the hunt, you will find only the mushroom stubs, the rest greedily gobbled up by the hungry reindeer.

One of the traditions, of ornamenting a tree, comes from the tradition of “The Paradise tree”, a fir tree decorated with apples (representing the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge in the Garden of Eden). This ‘fruit’ will be discussed later as the Amanita. During Germany’s Middle Ages, a popular play, which was symbolic of the paradise story, was staged on December 24th (the religious feast day of Adam and Eve) . Two more symbolic connections with the mushroom are the candles and cookies that were also hung on the tree (candles = Christ; cookies = wafers of the Christian sacrament). This ornament is of particular interest because of its association with the fruit of the tree of knowledge and the Amanita muscaria. This indicates that there have always been people “In the Know” from time to time. According to Apocryphal texts and other older ones, the “Fruit of the Tree of Life” and the more recently added “Fruit of the Tree of Knowledge” were originally one in the same.

It is because, underneath the Pine bough is the exact location where one would find this “Most Sacred” Substance, the Amanita muscaria, in the wild (in Nature). These mushrooms grow in a symbiotic/mycorrhizal relationship with the Pine tree, which means they always grow underneath it. The symbolic placing of gifts under the tree at Christmas is a sort of proxy-present-giving action, whereby the celebrants ritually mimic the work of God/Santa/Nature, by placing under the tree a gift (actually The gift). Big clue here: Winter brings rain; rain brings mushrooms, In the mountains, at Christmas time, under the Pine trees. Then and there will you find that which unlocks the key mysteries of the Universe, through a multi-dimensionalizing of the consciousness in a way that no other known substance can. This Gnosis (joining together of your mind with the mind of the Universal Consciousness) is what the Sages, Mystics, Teachers, and Prophets were attempting to communicate through their rampant symbolism. (Had they not feared persecution, they may have spoken of it openly and directly in public documents.)

All over the world, people bring Coniferous trees into their houses and place brightly colored packages underneath them. In Nature, this is where you will find the Amanita muscaria (under coniferous trees). The actual mushroom “plant” is the underground “mycelium” or “mycorrhizae”, which is directly attached to the tree roots; the mushroom itself is only the fruit-body of the mycelium. The mushroom is literally the Fruit of the Tree. They grow in a mycorrhizal (not parasitic) relationship with the tree. Many people follow the tradition/custom of bringing a tree into the home and putting presents under it, yet have absolutely no idea why. Even people that think they know, usually have no knowledge of these mushroom connections. The true symbolic meaning transcends dogmatic etymological and historical evidence, by revealing itself in the totally obvious iconography and historically associated myths and traditions.

Saint Nicholas is the patron Saint of children in Siberia (Russia), a supplanter to the indigenous Shaman. The Amanita muscaria mushrooms grow nearly exclusively under the Christmas (Coniferous) Trees (Birch also [another whole story]). The Reindeer eat these mushrooms, hence the presumed flight. Santa brings presents in his white bag/sack. Mushrooms are gathered in bags, and Amanita muscaria sprouts out of a white vulvae sack. The mushrooms are red and white and grow under a green tree. Christmas colors are red, white and green. Typically, the red and white mushrooms are dried by stringing them on the hearth of the fireplace. Christmas stockings are red and white, hung in the same way, and shaped similar. The Virgin Birth is symbolic for the “seedless” growth/germination pattern of the mushroom. To the ancient mind, with no microscope to see the spores, it’s appearance was thought to be miraculous. The very name, “Christmas” is a holiday name composed of the words, “Christ” (meaning “one who is anointed with the Magical Substance”) and “Mass” (a special religious service/ceremony of the sacramental ingestion of the Eucharist, the “Body of Christ”). In the Catholic tradition, this substance (Body/Soma) has been replaced by the doctrine of “Trans- substantiation”, whereby in a magical ceremony the Priests claim the ability to transform a “cracker/round-wafer” into the literal “Body of Christ”; ie, a substitute or placebo.

Saint Nicholas, known as the “Patron Saint of Children” (among other things), is the most revered saint in Russia, second only to the apostles. He is the Russian Orthodox Church’s supplanter to the native people’s highly respected local Shaman. A Shaman is a holy man that is well acquainted with a form of spirituality that incorporates plant entheogens which facilitate the NDE (Near Death Experience), or “out of body” experience. Saint Nicholas may not have been a shaman, yet the symbolism on, and coloring of his robes could lend to speculation. The equilateral-circumscribed-cross is an ancient symbol for Christianity and the Holy Grail, it is also another mushroom symbol.

The ancient shamanic use of Amanita muscaria in Siberia is well documented. Despite governmental oppression against its use, there are still many who refuse to accept the authorized state religion, and continue the shamanic traditions in secret. Just as the Siberian shaman (commonly dressing in red and white) would enter through the opening in the roof of a home where a ritual was to be done, Santa Claus also arrives on the roof and enters through the chimney. Just as the shamans would gather the mushrooms in bags which they would bring with them when performing a ceremony, Santa Claus also (on the Holy Day) brings presents in a bag. The Santa Claus we see today evolved from traditions developed in Germany. It is fairly common knowledge that the Weihnachtsmann (St. Nick) was an amalgamation of older Germanic/Norse gods such as Thor, Donner, Odin and Wotan. What’s missing here is just as Santa flies through the skies in his sleigh, Odin (as well as the rest) rode through the sky in his chariot, which is depicted in the stars by “The Big Dipper”. The Big Dipper is the chariot of Odin & Wotan, Thor, King Arthur, and even Osiris (of Egypt). The chariot that circles the North Star in a 24 hour period is thus also known as the sleigh of Santa Claus because it circles his mythological home, the North Pole. It is no surprise that Nordic/Germanic gods have connection to mushrooms in their mythology. As Thor throws his mushroom-shaped hammer to the ground, mighty thunders and lightning cracks cause the real mushroom(s) to appear. As the horses pulling Odin through the sky in his chariot become over-exerted, their blood-mingled spit falls to the ground and causes the Amanita mushrooms to grow at those exact points. The Osiris mythology has even more to add to this. To the Egyptians; South was up (North). Osiris was the lord of the underworld, the South, (South=down) which is why he circles the sky in the furthest possible lower (southern) area. Not only did Osiris ride the sky in a chariot, but after his death Isis found that an evergreen (Cedar) had grown overnight from a dead stump to full- sized (this also relates to the Djed pillar); which was understood as a sign of Osiris’ rebirth and immortality. Interestingly, the traditional birth of Osiris is the 25th of December. The 25th of December was also celebrated annually by putting presents around the Cedar tree. This tradition is at least five thousand years old. The birth of Horus to the goddess-virgin-mother, Isis, is perhaps the eldest representation of the goddess/son mythology, yet it is impossible to know this or the real age of the Astro-theological-Virgo-giving-birth-to-the-child/god/star mythology for sure. However it is the oldest source I have found; it is very old.

Drying the mushrooms was/is a necessary procedure typically accomplished by stringing them up (like popcorn) and hanging them above the hearth of the fireplace. shamans and lay people alike, would gather and dry them. They gather all they can since they are a valuable commodity. Reindeer (native to Siberia) are known to be quite fond of eating these mushrooms. The mythology of flying Reindeer reflects the supposed pharmacological effects of such a meal.

It is important to point out that this Christmas/Winter Solstice celebration, with all its various counterparts, transcends the world’s religions. The reason that this celebration is held all over the planet in various forms may have something to do with this other commonality at which we are looking; it is certainly entwined in the symbolism.

The idea of a “Sacred Meal” is incorporated into many ancient traditions that also celebrated the birth of the God on December 25th. The Sun, as it reaches the winter Solstice, ends its course across the heavens and appears to stop for 3 days, then it begins anew its trek across the heavens towards the Northern hemisphere. This 3 day “stoppage” was mythologized as the death of the Sun of God on the cross of the celestial 4 points, and after the 3 day waiting period as it began another precession across the sky, it was thought to return to life. Later mythologies transfer the death on the cross to a hanging on wood, and the 3 day death to the Son (Sun) being locked inside a tomb. The fact that the mushrooms must be dried before consumption is another euphemism of the god needing to die, or sacrifice himself, to save mankind through atonement (at-one-ment).

Here are some synonymous names and/or terminologies given to this

SOMA (Hindu plant-god). Soma is also Greek for “body”. Amrita (Buddhist Magical Sacrament). Ambrosia (Greek, “Food of the Gods”). The Holy Grail (note the Grail-like shape of the upturned muscaria mushroom; “Vessel containing the blood of the God”). Fruit of the Tree of life: Fruit of the Tree = the mushroom; the main body (mycellium) growing underground in a Symbiotic relationship with the Pine tree. The Golden Fleece The Fountain of Youth: Ponce De’ Leon is likely to have unknowingly kicked over the very thing for which he was searching; the red muscaria grows under Longleaf Pine in northern Florida in December. Haoma: Islamic Sacrament. Manna: There are two kinds in the Bible; see John ch. 6 to 14. Manna means “mushroom”. Bread of Life: Yes, it’s the “Loaf of Bliss”. Fountain of Living Waters: Its alive, 90% water, and shaped like a fountain. Hidden Manna: See Rev. 2:17 The Cosmic Egg, The Easter Egg (What are we really mimicking at Easter? The mushroom hunt, OF COURSE). The Prima Materia/Philosophers stone: The secret substance of the Alchemists (Get Clark Heinrich’s book “Strange Fruit” for this one; fascinating!). Soma: The Hindu plant God and elixir of immortality. The Flesh of the God: The mushroom is very flesh-like and is depicted so. The Fruit of the Tree of Knowledge/Life. The Flesh of Jesus, and other Gods (Take and eat. This is my “body” [Greek, “SOMA”]). The Hammer of Thor: The shape is obvious. Thor throws his mushroom-shaped hammer to the ground in a bolt of lightning and a mighty thunderous CRACK. Lightning is the mythical creator of the mushroom. The Small White Stone: The infant state of the mushroom resembles a small white stone. The Elixir of Immortality: The churning-of-the-milky-ocean myth describes this in a phenomenal way. The Feathered Serpent: From its first egg-state to its snake-looking second state, then shedding its universal veil (shedding its skin) and finally upturning its cap (gills resembling feathers). The feathered serpent is cosmopolitan in its symbology. The Phoenix: From the ashes (spores) the egg appears. Then comes the upturned cap resembling a gold and red colored bird (the gills as feathers). Then the heat (sun) burns the mushroom and it dissolves, once again leaving only ashes (spores), and finally repeating the whole cycle. Ankh: Waters and life, or the waters of life in Egypt. Rudra: The Hindu red god of the forest. Djed: The phallus or pillar of Osiris. The One Eyed Howler: The round eye shape which represents the vision of the universe. The Eye of Horus: (Djed-Eye) Sound familiar? The World Tree: The mushroom is thought to be the creator of the world, in many cultures. Celestial Food: The food of the Gods in the Egyptian “Book of the dead”. Aten: The Egyptian winged-disc. Fly Agaric: Although “Fly” is commonly thought of in association with the “House-fly”, there is also evidence that it refers to the act of “flying”, as in taking spiritual flight.

Amanita muscaria, long associated with the “Flesh of the God” in religious sacraments, was and is the true Holy Grail. The Grail cup, holding the blood of the god, is an obvious analogy for the shape of the fully-grown specimen and its juices. Note the look of the fully grown specimen. The imagery of a cup or fountain are two of the more pronounced symbols used to keep the understanding of the true nature of the sacrament a secret from everyone but the “Elite”. In its infant (button) state, the muscaria resembles a small white stone. The pulling of the sword from the stone (a symbol of wielding the power), is another Arthurian legend connecting the mushroom to the myth. The quest for the Grail itself is the quest for the knowledge of the mushroom. The Parcival myth depicts paths (traditions), which are to be explored (but not adhered to), in order to complete the quest. This quest is described in the myths as a journey into the forest (the world) and finding paths (systems) which one may follow, for a time, but ultimately one must blaze his/her own trail in order to truly reach the final goal, the Holy Grail (the discovery and usage of the mushroom).

The search for the Holy Grail is a mythology that has become, through adaptation, a part of the story of the Crucifixion. Some of the stories incorporate a cup which was used to catch some of the flowing blood of Jesus as he died on the cross. This cup, like many other relics, was thereby thought to possess magical powers. Historically, themushroom has been the container for the juice of the “elixir of immortality”, or the “blood of God”, in many myths. The final shape of the muscaria, with its inverted cap, is the reason that the cup/fountain/grail symbology is used in the stories. King Arthur, as a child, gained his rightful place as King by pulling the sword from the stone. This is symbolic for wielding the power of the mushroom. The stone is a metaphor for the mushroom, and pulling the sword from it is symbolic of being able to crack the code and possess the power of the magical plant. After Arthur took ill (in his later years) he was told that he must seek and find the Holy Grail to renew his strength and re-acquire his power.

John Marco Allegro, one of the worlds leading philologists, put his neck on the line when he wrote his book, “The Sacred Mushroom And The Cross”, which made numerous connections from sacred doctrinal enigmas and sacraments to the Amanita muscaria.

Allegro linguistically linked the SOMA (Greek=Body), the Manna (Sumerian = Mushroom), (of which there are two kinds), the names Jesus, James, and John, the Fruit of the tree of Knowledge, and the symbol of the cross, to the Amanita muscaria, by stating that all of these names and terms (and others) were synonyms and wordplay for the hidden identity of the mushroom.

The Manna the Israelites ate in the desert is presently defined as a question. It is not ordinary for a word describing bread to be thought of in this context. Manna is defined in this way: (Manna=“What is it?”) a Biblical description of this mystical substance will toss the reader some clues. 42. 43. 44. Manna was a small round thing that appeared on the ground after the dew had fallen. If it was left to the warmth of day it would breed worms and stink. Manna was thought of as being produced miraculously (IE: birth without seed). This is a perfect botanical description of a mushroom. Birth without seed (miraculous) is due to spores being microscopic and not visible to the naked eye.

Jesus describes the Mannas in detail in the book of John. In this story Jesus attempts to make clear; of manna, there are two different ones/kinds. He describes the manna that he is giving the disciples (last supper) as the Manna that bestows immortality. His statement, unless you have eaten his flesh/body (Soma/Manna), and drink of his blood (Soma Juice), you have no life in you, takes on a whole new meaning in light of this discovery.

The Manna is directly associated with the fruit of the Tree of Life in the 2nd chapter of the book of Revelation. It is the reward for those who overcome (the lies of the world). The “Fruit of the Tree”, the “Hidden Manna” and the “Small White Stone” are spoken ofseparately, but in the same context. All of these are symbols for the Amanita muscaria.

Figure 11. The Fruit of The Tree This 13th Century Fresco from France shows the Amanita muscaria as the “fruit” (of the Tree) of the “knowledge of Good and Evil”. Adam and Eve had their eyes opened. The Gods looked down and said “Behold, they have become as one of us”. Contemporary Scholars and researchers have since uncovered many such representations. The Mushroom as the Fruit of the tree is actually pretty common among esoteric circles.

The knowledge of good and evil seems a strange thing to condemn someone for, unless the Gods wanted to dictate what was right and wrong, rather than have them know the difference for themselves. Imposing their will (and law) upon mankind is not so easy when people can think for themselves, especially if it becomes obvious that what you are being told is right and/or wrong is in direct opposition to what actually seems to be good and bad (The big knowledge).

What we have here, may be the future as we were never to know it to be. The “Fruit of the Tree of Knowledge” is the same thing as the “Fruit of the Tree of Life”. The fruit of the tree that is to come down out of heaven and line the streets in the city of the “New Jerusalem”, the city of the new “Golden Age”. The same, of which, when you partake imparts direct communion with, and the direct knowledge of, God.

The Cuneiform clay tablets of Mesopotamia (at least 4,000 BC/CE) tell the oldest known tales of Adam and Eve, in the Garden of Eden, eating of the fruit stories. But they tell a different tale than what is in the Bible of today. Zechariah Sitchen has been very foremost in the dispersion of what these tablets say. The gods came to our planet in Space/Time/Dimension ships from the star Sirius. Finding Neanderthal Man a bit primitive, they manipulated the DNA to produce the Homo-Sapien. In the stories, The Father God, “Anu”, remained on Sirius, while two Brothers, Ea and Enlil, were the stewards of the new colonization. Enlil, wishing to Control the population, and Ea, wanting to expand man’s consciousness. The High Council, and Anu, leaned towards the Enlilian point of view. But Ea, was determined to multi- dimensionalize (open/wake-up) the minds of his creations. This will be dealt with more fully in the section on Mesopotamia. But, for now, suffice it to say that the earlier stories portray the eating of the fruit in a completely different light, in fact the whole concept is flipped one hundred and eighty degrees. What was originally a glorious and incredible story about the hope and potential of humanity has become a primary story of a horrible fall-from-grace and even condemnation of the entire race.

Note: mushrooms can sometimes survive in space. Maybe they came from meteors from that direction. These mushrooms accelerated the evolution of the human brain. The fall from grace was more accurate. It symbolizes the emergence of consciousness from the acquisition of language

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MUSHROOMS AND MANKIND: A Brief Introduction to Ethnomycology

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