Psychedelic Santa: Uncovering The Hidden History of the Sacred Mushroom
"He that eateth of my flesh, and drinketh my blood,
dwelleth in me, and I in him." John 6:56
"And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat." Genesis 1:29
"And the children of Israel ate manna forty years.." Exodus 16:35
There is a powerful secret that for the most part has been hidden away from mainstream society. It was once known all over the world, but then it was suppressed. It was a secret that only those at the highest levels of the Catholic Church were aware of, but the secret was so powerful that some felt the need to keep it concealed. Traces of this well kept secret have been cleverly disguised and openly flaunted in the face of mainstream culture (Alice in Wonderland, Smurfs), but unconcealed for those with knowledge of this arcane wisdom, and eyes to see its symbolism. The secret for which I write about is the power of the sacred mushroom, and its ability to help you reach your higher state of consciousness, even extending into the world of extrasensory perception and psycho telepathic abilities. Some may laugh at that idea, and think that I must be talking about Professor Xavier and Jean Grey of Marvel's comic book the X-Men, but they are wrong. The power of the mushroom is rooted in a very real, and very much shrouded history that until recently has been kept from the masses.
Some mushrooms have even been recorded to give a person so much clairvoyance that they can even read minds. If this is truly the case, and I believe that it is then you can almost understand why during a deceptive age like Pisces some would want to keep these powerful secrets hidden for themselves. It seems that now only today in the enlightened informative Aquarian Age it is finally ok to openly discuss a subject that at one time could get you blackballed, or even killed. First there are many different varieties of mushrooms, but there are two that seem to have been revered the most by the ancients for their magical godlike powers more than others. The two mushrooms that I am speaking of are the famous red and white Amanita Muscaria and the other is the Psilocybin mushroom known as "the one that stains blue."
The Amanita Muscaria mushroom is famous for being found in the forest growing at the base of the pine or evergreen tree because of this the red and white Amanita Muscaria are closely linked to the pine tree, for Christmas celebrations. This mushroom is known to make a persons face turn flush and to make one laugh and hallucinate. Some esoteric scholars have linked this mushroom to Santa Claus, or St. Nicholas who famously dons exactly the same red and white colors as the Amanita Muscaria. Santa Claus is also known to give his trade mark "ho, ho, ho," laugh. It is this same exact laugh that is repeated by many partakers of the sacred mushroom when they are under its spell. Santa Claus is also known to have a ruddy red complexion which is one of the same affects the Amanita is known to have on people.
Santa Claus ruddy complexion is the flush colored face known to be one of the affects of the mushroom. This particular Santa has a lot going on because It just so happens that this Santa is drinking a Coca-Cola that gets its name from the early but no longer used ingredient cocaine.
Santa Claus of course is mythological but his history is rooted in a very real St. Nicholas from Turkey, but others believe that many of his attachments are rooted in the folk traditions of Russian tribespeople. In fact St. Nicholas is the most revered Saint in Russia. It also just so happens that it is among these old tribes of Russia and Siberia among their shaman that the mushroom was used.
It should not come as a surprise to people that drugs, or herbs and plants were used both in the past and present for ritual, or religious and spiritual purposes. It is well known that the Inca used the coca plant for many different uses. During the Middle Ages in Persia and Syria there was a Muslim Ismaili sect known as the Assassins, who were said to use hashish for ritual purposes. It is said that the European Knights Templars learned about the powerful uses of hashish from them, bringing the practice back to Europe. Some believe that it is from the word hashish that we derive the word assassin. The use of peyote among some Native American tribes is well documented, and of course marijuana use among the Rastafarians is even more well known.
All of these groups are very much like the ancient shaman of Siberia/Russia who utilized the mushroom as a sacrament for higher purposes. These Siberian shamans like the uniform of Santa Claus were also known to dress in red and white robes that imitated the Amanita Muscaria.
It also just so happens that Santa Claus is known to travel, and fly through the sky with his reindeer. It is these same reindeer that are known to roam the lands of Russia and Siberia eating mushrooms and "prancing" through the air in a stupor.
The mushroom grows at the bottom of the pine tree, and it just so happens that the mushroom activates the gland (DMT) in the human body associated with higher states of consciousness and awareness known as the pineal gland. The mushrooms association with the pine tree is why old Christmas trees used to be decorated with mushrooms.
Some have noted that the garland that wraps around the pine tree as decoration is symbolic of the kundalini snake that wraps around the spine activating higher consciousness at the level of the brain and pineal gland, which of course would be symbolic of the illuminating star placed at the top of the Christmas tree. Under the Christmas tree are the gifts, this of course is symbolic of the true gift, which is the Amanita Muscaria that grows under the pine tree. It makes me wonder is their a link between the shape of the mushroom, and its manipulation of atoms (DMT) in the brain, and the atomic bomb that also manipulates atoms as it explodes into a mushroom cloud? It is known that the human body can often mimic what happens in nature; for example, the famous spiral of the Fibonacci numbers can be found in both the spiral of the Milky Way, the spiral found in rams horns and sea shells, as well as the spiral in a persons hair and ears. It would not shock me at all if the shape of the pine cone linked with the mushroom, and the shape of the pine cone shaped pineal gland were more than coincidental. This same logic extends to the mushrooms manipulation of atoms and the famous mushroom cloud of an atomic explosion. The mushrooms release an explosion of dimethyltryptamine (DMT) that raises our level of awareness this is why some call it the "spirit molecule."
Famous Vatican pine cone. The pine cone like the pine tree are connected to the Amanita mushroom that grew underneath it and had a great affect on the brain and pineal gland when eaten. It is also interesting that the pineal gland itself is shaped like a pine cone, some say that the human body has a way of imitating the universe and nature.
The Catholic Church seemed to be very aware of both the power of the sacred mushroom, and its relation to the pineal gland because many of its high level members including the Pope himself famously dresses like a Amanita Muscaria mushroom. The Bible itself is loaded with veiled references to mushroom use. In fact the prophet Moses constantly tells the Hebrews to eat the manna (Exodus 16) that grows on the ground. Manna is a word for mushroom. Mushrooms are also called flesh for how they look and feel. The Bible is often charged with cannibalism, but that is only if we are reading the Bible the wrong way. When Jesus says (John 6:54) eat of my flesh, and drink of my blood this may have been referencing the sacred mushroom, as a sacrament.
It is most likely that the church learned about the mushrooms magical powers from the people their conquistadors conquered. The Olmec, Aztec, and Mayans were also known to partake in the powers of the mushroom, as they left carvings of the sacred plant in their artwork.
This information may not have necessarily been learned through invasions, for it is well known that many Christian traditions are built upon the older civilizations of Egypt, Mithra, and India. It is among the followers of Mithra who lived in both Syria and Persia who famously used the mushroom for religious purposes.
The famous childhood cartoon the Smurfs is loosely based in the religious practices of Mithraism. The followers of Mithra ate mushrooms hallucinated in relaxing tubs of water, and wore hoods later known as the Phrygian cap.
The Smurfs also wear hoods, and you probably guessed it, they also live in mushroom houses. Papa Smurf is none other than a wizard, or shaman, who mastered the mushroom. The Smurfs are also blue which is a perfect segway for me to write about another mushroom known as the Psilocybin mushroom. The Psilocybin is famously known to turn blue when pinched.
In ancient India the Psilocybin mushroom is known to be a fungus that grows out of cow dung. The famous phrase "holy crap" or "holy sh*t" now take on a totally different meaning. Many of the gods of India like Krishna as well as others are the color blue. This blue color choice is most likely connected to the Psilocybin mushroom. The use of the sacred mushroom some believe go beyond India as far as the Himalayan nation of Tibet, and what many see as its influence on the religious text known as The Tibetan Book of the Dead. This is a topic that influenced some of the writing of radical thinkers such as Timothy Leary, and even inspired some of the songs of the Rock n Roll group The Beatles.
Ancient India is not the only place that utilized the sacred mushrooms. The ancient Egyptians were very much aware of the power of the mushroom, as they decorated the tops of their pillars that held up the temple roofs to look like mushrooms.
Of course not all the columns were mushroom some were other plants like the lotus and papyrus; for example, but there is no denying that some also look like mushrooms. The famous red phoenix bird, so celebrated at places like Heliopolis was suppose to resemble a mushroom. The Amanita Muscaria is known to crumble apart in a way that some say resemble the wings, and color of the red phoenix bird. Many of these mushrooms when they die they drop seeds in the exact same place as their death only to grow again in the exact same spot. It just so happens that the Egyptian phoenix dies, or burns out only to come back again to the very same spot in a 500 year cycle.
Depiction of Jewish priest with mushroom headdress.
To be certain this is not a crap on Christianity post, as I say over and over again the more you study religion the more you see that they all overlap and in some shape or form they are all interconnected. The use of the mushroom and other sacred drugs (plants) was an ancient global phenomenon. Even when one looks at Judaism we see that the priest class wore attire that resembled the mushroom especially the headdress that they wore is very much reminiscent of the cap of a mushroom. The mushroom was known to be so powerful that when one urinated it was said that the potency of the mushroom still resided in the urine. Ancient people would drink the urine as a way to partake in the mushrooms powers. This is why there are so many fountains all over the world shaped like mushrooms with statues of naked little children urinating into the fountain in order to recycle the mushrooms power. This of course sounds very extreme and even unbelievable, but if it could be documented that one could read minds and see unforeseen events this then is the power of gods. In fact the phrase getting high may actually be a mistranslation of getting to the "most high," or climbing the ladder (Jacobs) to heaven, and bursting through the seven chakras by way of the gifts of the mushroom.
It is said that many fountains all over the world are built to resemble mushrooms. The Amanita Muscaria is known to curve upward in the shape of a cup, or grail during its final stage. It is while in this cup shape that the mushroom can catch dew and rain water, while giving the water a red blood dyed color, and magical abilities if consumed.
As drug laws most certainly begin to change during the Age of Aquarius because we have now entered into an age of knowledge, and higher consciousness. What was once hidden, outlawed, or made illegal will slowly begin to be more accepted. This newer relaxation in drug laws can now be seen in the United States with marijuana. Alternative health communities are beginning to talk more, and more openly about these subjects, and in the future I have no doubt that this subject will become more mainstream. Until then I would say read this article with a healthy dose of common sense. Mushrooms are nothing to play with, though they are revered for their gifts, they are also feared for their toxicity. Also in most countries the use of mushrooms is illegal, so this is definitely not written to entice one to break the law, but hopefully laws will change. The spirit of this article is to raise awareness about an obscure, strange, and illuminating subject matter that hopefully will not be so strange in the near future, as science begins to tap into the potential of this powerful fungus.
Some esoteric writers have pointed out similarities between the shape of the tau cross and Christ with out stretched arms and covering at the mid section. This is almost identical to the shape of the Amanita mushroom and the mushrooms skirt.
This is the actually Amanita Muscaria at a stage now where it is turned upward like a cup, as mentioned before it is known to catch dew and rainwater, but now dyed red by the mushroom. This was consumed by the shamans or priest class. Some writers have stated that the true esoteric meaning for when Christ says "eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood." is that the mushroom is the true holy grail, not some mythical golden chalice. The blood is the now red stained chemically induced rain water.
Jesus depicted as the Lord of the magical plants from the Canterbury Psalter made in Canterbury England. The plants viewed as magical are the red Amanita Muscaria the blue Psilocybin the Syrian Rue followed by an Opium plant. The color green is most likely symbolic of Cannabis.
Finally one can not write a post on mushrooms without acknowledging the archaeologist and religious scholar John M. Allegro. For those that don't know Allegro was one of the scholars famous for translating the Dead Sea Scrolls. What many may not be aware of is Allegro wrote an unpopular book on the mushroom, and its religious use, titled The Sacred Mushroom and the Cross Fertility Cults and the Origins of Judaism and Christianity. It was Allegro's knowledge of the mushroom, and its connection to Christianity and Judaism that pretty much stopped his ascension as one of the worlds most respected religious scholars. Allegro like many avant-garde scholars was writing in the wrong age, and his career suffered for it. I believe if Allegro was writing in this current Age of Aquarius his work would have been less ridiculed and far more accepted and appreciated.
Today as we are now at the dawn of a knowledge based, and enlightened new Age of Aquarius information that was once off limits is now ready to be freely discussed, even encouraged. Popular writers like Defense of Food author Michael Pollan is doing much to push the mushroom and psychedelics back into mainstream discussion. During the Age of Pisces these topics would have been career suicide for sure, but this is no longer the case. Of course these plants are considered illegal in most places, and test done should be done by experts in a safe controlled environment. I do believe in the near future, with the spirit of the age being what it is laws will eventually become more enlightened and relaxed, as psychedelics are used to heal things like depression and anxiety, all while helping humanity reach higher states of consciousness. For your viewing pleasure I did however come across some old footage of a short episode from the 1961 television show One Step Beyond. Though the footage is grainy the subject matter is fascinating, as television host John Newland explores the magical powers of the sacred mushroom. Of course much more can be said on this subject feel free to stimulate your interest and explore the booklist below.
Further Reading:
James Arthur. Mushrooms and Mankind: The Impact of Mushrooms on Human Consciousness and Religion. The Book Tree. 2000
John Allegro. The Sacred Mushroom and the Cross: Fertility Cults and the Origins of Judaism and Christianity. Hodder and Stoughton, New York. 1970
Michael Pollan. How to Change Your Mind: What the new Science of Psychedelics Teaches us About Consciousness, Dying, Addiction, Depression, and Transcendence. Penguin Press. 2018