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Huichol Wolf Shamanism - Senear - 01-18-2012
Not sleeping so doing some stalking. I was back on some of the bark figures my dad had from his time in mexico. I showed them to an anthropologist on the huichal once. He said they were ones they dont sell to tourists, and never did in the 1960's. My father had a friend who was from the lowland huichal, and he eventually ended up living with them and some time with the highland ones, who avoided even mexicans at the time. Whatever y father may have learned passed with him, and in all honesty, he thought about such things only as cultural art. Anys way using google to reflect a bit, as i dont feel like music or sleep or games or doodling atm, i found a interesting article. Well title, but also ravenmoons thread about aids and other things. Im jsut going to copy paste it here if anyone is interested.
Huichol Wolf Shamanism - Senear - 01-18-2012
Huichol
Wolf Shamanism and A.
muscaria
By Mark Hoffman
Entheos70@aol.com
Posted
3/27/02 at www.entheomedia.com/huichol_wolf_shamanism/htm
Among
the Huichol, the celebrated yet highly esoteric practice of
“Wolf-shamanism” has survived as a best kept secret.i
Though little is known about the inner workings of this cultic
sub-group,ii
the fact of their sacramental use of the Amanita muscaria
mushroom has slipped through the veils surrounding this, the most
arcane of Huichol traditions.
While
it is true that the entheogenic emphases of Huichols in general, and
these shape-shifting, or nahual Wolf-shamans in particular, is
well-attested,iii
the present discussion concentrates on the lesser known and
previously unconsidered evidence for the role of A. muscaria
as “Wolf-peyote.”
The
Huichol Wolves
Wolf
nahualism, the practice for which the Wolf-shamans are best
known, is a form of shape-shifting in which the shaman internalizes
the tutelary spirit of the Wolf-ancestors, who are closely associated
with the origin of Huichol shamanism. The evidence suggests that this
transformational process is often achieved by means of entheogenic
sacraments, which are themselves designated ‘wolf foods.’iv
Shape-shifting into wolves and other animals is a universal theme of
archaic religion, being widely documented in both the Old and New
World. That this practice commonly involved psychoactive plants is
also well known.v
The
esoteric nature of this phenomenon is reflected in the Aztec-derived
term nahualism, meaning “something hidden.”vi
Indeed secrecy, like the faithfulness of the initiate to their vows,
is a matter of first importance among the Wolves and can be
considered a matter of life and death. The extremely serious nature
of these wolf-vows extends also to traditions concerning their
sacraments.vii
The
infamous secrecy of the Wolf-shamans must have deepened significantly
as the conquering Catholics stigmatized them as ‘sorcerers,’viii
the most diabolical connotations of this designation certainly being
reserved for the esoteric and influential Wolves, as well as other
shaman-leaders who resisted conversion.ix
There are also other reasons–botanical reasons–that
contributed to the labeling of certain practitioners as ‘sorcerers.’x
Having
earned the respect of their community by undergoing the preeminent
shamanic apprenticeship, they are considered the guardians of
critically important Huichol esoterica, especially that associated
with their wolf familiars. As Fikes points out, it is the special
responsibility of the Wolf-shamans to communicate with Kumukemai
(Father of the Wolves), who, along with Kauyumárie (Deer-person)
constitute the central complimentary dyad of Huichol culture-heroes.
Such communication is accomplished only in trance states
whereby the shaman unites with these tutelary spirits.xi
Unlike the majority of shamans who become consubstantial with
Deer-person by eating his peyote-heart, singing, and performing
communal rituals, the shamanism of the Wolves is practiced apart from
the community.xii
In
both cases it is essential that the shaman access an ecstatic state
(most commonly with the aid of peyote), which is considered a
necessary precondition to establishing contact with these spirits.
Ultimately, such communication plays no less a role in Huichol
culture than to maintain the natural and spiritual ecology of the
world.xiii
Wolf
Entheomythology
The
Wolves’ entheogenic complex of rituals and beliefs finds its
precedent at the heart of Huichol mythology, specifically the cycle
having to do with the origin and performance of the peyote hunt.
Belonging to the earliest stage of Huichol mytho-history, wolves are
thought to have shared a common ancestry with humans. In this
primeval role, they are also the first shamans and teachers and are
accordingly represented as culture heroes and role models in Huichol
mythology.
The
association of wolves with the entheogenic origin of shamanic wisdom
is made clear in several myths. One important creation narrative, as
told by Ulu Temay, opens with the half-wolves/half-humans living ‘in
darkness’ before the flood in their homeland of Nayarit. These
Wolf-people were the first to eat the deer-peyote, and thereby they
received “great wisdom in all things.” This fundamental mythic
event is the primordial prototype upon which the significance of the
peyote pilgrimage is ultimately derived. Every year this mythic hunt
is reenacted, the role of the Wolf-god Kumukemai being assumed by a
devotee who makes the annual peyote pilgrimage and brings offerings
to the Wolf-ancestors.xiv
Huichol ceremonial life revolves largely around the
all-important peyote hunt and the continuance of the compensatory
rituals for the martyred deer, both of which had been initiated by
the Wolf-ancestors.xv
Another
revealing myth involves five hunters (also called ‘ancestors’)
who are sent by Takutsi Yurameka (Grandmother Growth) to teach humans
how to hunt.xvi
The half-deer/half-human guardian of the corralled deer tells them
that they may only talk to the deer through the first hunters, the
wolves. As the wolves talk to the deer, trying to convince them to
leave the corral, five flowers of different colors (used initially to
call the wolves) are taken to the pen. Then,
“The
leading hunter threw the flowers into the pen and the deer ate them.
When the sun came up, the deer started to run and jump and go crazy
because the flowers made them ‘drunk.’ The flowers were like
kiéri and made the deer feel happy but confused, so they all jumped
out.”xvii
It
is clear in the telling of this myth that the wolves and the
inebriating flowers play an identical role; both encourage the deer
to leave their enclosure. When this fateful act was accomplished, the
wolves were finally able to demonstrate their hunting techniques to
humans.
Zingg
mentions several other interesting myths regarding Kauymáli,xviii
Elder Brother Wolf, which support our case for A. muscaria as
the entheogen involved. One in particular describes a punishmentxix
that leaves Kauymáli and his offspring with only one foot
and one good eye.xx
Despite the fact that a three-footed wolf would surely have been
pathetic enough, similar one-footedness, as well as the one-eye
attribute, have often been used metaphorically to describe fungal
entheogens in other cultures (in both the Old and New World).xxi
In
another remarkable myth recorded by Zingg, the intimate relationship
of Sun, Grandfather Fire, Elder Brother Wolf and certain “magic
stones,” (from which the Sun was born) is described.xxii
“Kauymáli, still in the guise of the two deer,
went to the sea and jumped in. He came out as little stones… The
little stones went to a cliff near Santa Catarina. Here they
remained at the place where the paraphernalia from the birthplace of
the Sun was deposited. With them were five rattlesnakes. Another
companion of theirs was the hiss-adder.
The Sun told the little stones, which were Kauymáli,
to gather the saliva of the snakes. Kauymáli anointed himself with
this stuff. There was also another rattlesnake, Táte Ipau (like the
peyote dancing staff). From this snake Kauymáli bit off the
rattles, anointing himself with the blood. He did this with all the
snakes. Thus he became very sacred.xxiii
I
direct the readers attention to the possibility that these ‘stones’
are intended to represent the button stage of A. muscaria
morphology, the solar and otherwise fiery attributes are especially
appropriate to this red mushroom.xxiv
In addition, the ‘stones’ gather the (presumably) poisonous
‘saliva’ of the snakes, and it is with this that the (one-footed,
one-eyed) wolf, Kauymáli is anointed. As Wasson and others have
shown, the sympathetic association of snakes and mushrooms, with
special regard to their relative venoms,xxv
is a universal theme. This is expressed also in our Figure 3,
where the association of the central mushroom and snakes is explicit.
xxvi
It
is important to note that the Huichol give mushrooms a special status
as one of the 'first plants'xxvii;
which were available prior to agriculture. These were brought from
the first world by Kauyumárie after this god transformed Tatei
Yurianaka into a gourd–the body from which this (second) world was
formed and the consenting receptacle of the seeds brought by
Kauyumárie to the new creation.
Yet
other interesting and suggestive myths exist which fall outside our
focus on Wolf traditions, and will therefore not be considered in the
present inquiry.xxviii
Though a thorough analysis of possible fungal elements in Huichol
mythology is called for, in the next section we see why, based on
prior ethnological investigations, we should expect such a study to
bear much fruit.
Ethnological
Evidence
The
best evidence of the ritual use of A. muscaria among the
Huichol Wolves was recorded in remarkable detail by Susan Valadez
whose informant, Ulu Temay, from San Andrés Cohamiata, Jalisco, came
from a long line of Wolf-shamans.xxix
He specifically describes the fly agaric as wolf-peyotexxx
and gives us a revealing glimpse into the secret religion of the
Wolf-people as well as the prolonged initiation process required of
them.
When
asked if the Wolves use peyote to stimulate their reputed ability to
communicate telepathically, Temay answered,
“No,
they do not eat peyote. They eat their own plants that make them feel
as though they had eaten peyote. They bring mushrooms which they eat.
This is a red mushroom with white spots. They use these mushrooms in
all of their ceremonies.”xxxi
Ramón
Medina Silva, a semi-urbanized Huichol shaman, also described the red
mushrooms which are eaten by Hewi (ancient) sorcerers in order
to transform themselves into wolves and foxes. This he depicted in a
detailed yarn painting (Figure 2), showing the characteristic
veil remnants and the universal veil, which identifies the mushroom
as Amanita muscaria.xxxii
This composition, like Figure 3 below, represents the two
‘sorcerers’ under the central mushroom, a motif seen elsewhere in
the context of underworld and death mythology appearing in Huichol
yarn paintings, pre-Columbian statuettes, funerary ceramics, and
elsewhere.xxxiii
While
interviewing a shaman-informant (whom he calls Serratos), Fikes also
encountered the “red and white mushroom,” which he was told went
by the name sorakai and was “a little bit of a shaman.”xxxiv
Fikes’ informant also discussed the Wolf-foods and include among
them another mushroom, different from the red and white sorakai,
which he calls yacüa. It was described as having ‘poisonous’
effects similar to kiéri.xxxv
Fikes was told that this mushroom is found growing on the roble,
a broad-leafed oak tree and were offered, along with rock torillas
and kiéri leaves, to initiates by the wolves.xxxvi
Another
yarn painting is reproduced here (Figure 1) which may betray
the botanical identification of Wolf-peyote.xxxvii
Though the object in question is common enough in yarn
paintings as a representation of peyote, the color scheme matches
that of the fly agaric. I hasten to suggest that, Temay’s
designation of A. muscaria as a type of ‘peyote’ more than
justifies the extension of the common artistic motif to include this
distinctive mushroom. In addition, since peyote is almost always
represented in a green color, this red over white color scheme can be
considered very unusual. Thus, it is less likely that the color
scheme, down to the light orange spots, is purely coincidental than
that it intentionally represents the fungal Wolf-peyote identified by
Temay.
According
to Temay, in the sixth and final year of Wolf-initiation, offerings
of copal, maize meal, maize beer and chocolate water are brought by
the aspirant to Muxia Uxiye, the most powerful of the Wolf-sites.xxxviii
Here, wolves come to the initiate when he is in a state closely
resembling a lucid dream.xxxix
The wolves communicate with him by means of this liminal state, by
“making it as if he has eaten peyote, so they can talk to him”;
then the wolves might indicate acceptance of the shaman by licking
and urinating on him, claiming him as one of their own. The very
next night, the shaman again holds vigil–only now explicitly under
the influence of “the powerful wolf-kiéri plant.”xl
Though
Solandra species are definitely known and used by the Wolves,
it is possible that Temay’s use of the term ‘wolf-kiéri,’
like ‘wolf-peyote,’ may be applied to other plants, which are as
distinct from kiéri as A. muscaria is from peyote.
When asked about the Wolf-plants Temay replied,
“One
eats wolf-kiéri in order to have an exhibition, a vision, of what it
will be like to become a wolf. One usually eats the kiéri one time,
unless for some reason he doesn’t understand or see well. Then he
will take it another time, until he learns how to do everything.
There are only two kiéri plants that teach people about becoming
wolves. The one in Kuyetuaripa
and another one not far from there, in Nalatawoatua.
But many people eat peyote when they want to become wolves, because
the peyote provides the strength and energy one needs to run and keep
up with them.” xli
Regarding
the Wolf-foods, Valadez reports that Temay “seemed cautious in
discussing them, but gave the distinct impression that he ate them
anyway, once, as his final test as an apprentice wolf shaman, and
again while participating in the wolf peyote ceremonies, when he
readily tasted the mushrooms he called “wolf peyote.”xlii
The
final requirement before transformation can take place, is the
tasting of several very bitter plants that are considered
“wolf-food.” Though Valadez reports that these plants are not
psychoactive,xliii
it is supremely likely that this particular test, as the culmination
of more than five years of intense preparation, is a much more
climatic event than simply forcing oneself to eat unusual and
terrible-tasting plants.
Since
Temay repeatedly refers to Wolf-kiéri, and the red mushroom
that he calls Wolf-peyote, and because we have corroborating evidence
from Ramón Medina and ‘Serratos’ regarding the shamanic use of
the ‘red mushrooms,’ we must assume that Wolf-kiéri and
Wolf-peyote are (or originally were) among these bitter foods that
represent the final test of the aspiring Wolf-shaman, and that it
is these plant-spirits which guard(ed) the final threshold of
Wolf-nahualism.xliv
Given the general predilection of Wolf-shamans for entheogenic
herbalism and the fact that Solandra and Brugmansia
species, peyote and A. muscaria are all known
Wolf-sacraments,xlv
it is difficult to imagine that an entheogen would not
be taken during this climatic event.
All
of this is not to mention that Temay himself gave Valadez the
“distinct impression” that he had eaten A. muscaria during
his own “final test as an apprentice Wolf-shaman.” Apparently
Temay has a broader, entheogenic understanding–as should we–of
his statement that “if you want to turn into a wolf, you must eat
like one.”xlvi
Bibliography
Ayala,
Nahara and Carlos Ochoa. 1998. Hongos conocidos de Baja
California, Universidad Autonoma de Baja California.
Fikes,
Jay C. 1985. Huichol Indian Identity and Adaptation.
Unpublished doctoral dissertation. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan.
Heinrich,
Clark. 1995. Strange Fruit: A Speculative History of Magical
Foods. London: Bloomsbury.
Lumholtz,
Carl. 1973. Unknown Mexico, Vol. 2. Glorieta, N.M.: The Rio
Grande Press, Inc.
Negrín,
Juan. 1975. The Huichol Creation of the World. Sacramento:
E.B. Crocker Art Gallery.
–––––.
1977. El Arte Contemporaneo de los Huicholes. Guadalajara:
Universidad de Guadalajara.
Sidky,
H. 1997. Witchcraft, Lycanthropy, Drugs, and
Disease : An Anthropological Study of the European Witch-Hunts.
New York: Peter Lang.
Valadez,
Susan in Furst, Peter T. and Stacy B. Schaefer, Eds. 1996. “Wolf
Power and Interspecies Communication in Huichol Shamanism” Ch. 9 of
People of the Peyote: Huichol Indian History, Religion and
Survival. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press.
Wasson,
V.P., and R.G. Wasson. 1957. Mushrooms, Russia and History.
New York: Pantheon Books.
Wasson,
R.G. 1968. Soma: Divine Mushroom of Immortality. New York:
Harcourt Brace Jovanovich.
Wasson,
R.G., S. Kramrisch, J. Ott, and C.A.P. Ruck. 1986. Persephone’s
Quest: Entheogens and the Origins of Religion. New Haven,
Connecticut and London: Yale University Press.
Zingg,
Robert M. 1938. The Huichols: Primitive Artists. New York:
G.E. Stechert.
–––––.
1934. Huichol Mythology. Typed ms, 370 pages. Publication
pending, Tucson: Arizona State University. (Citations follow the
English version of the unpublished ms.)
NOTES
i
Following Valadez, I am careful in referring to this group of
shamans as a “cult,” though this is not a completely inaccurate
description. “Wolf-shamanism” is sensitive to the internal
fluidity and variety of traditions common to Huichol shamanism
generally, and to this group specifically, which is perhaps best
described in terms in terms of a shamanic ‘society.’ For matters
of convenience I refer to members and initiates of this ‘cult’
as “Wolf-shamans,” and “Wolves.”
ii
Valdez 1996 (in Schaeffer & Furst) remarks on the lack of
published research on Huichol Wolf-shamanism. The important sources
include Lumholz (1902), Zingg (1938) and Benítez (1968) as well as
an unpublished dissertation by Fikes (1985), and a currently
in-press manuscript of myths collected by Zingg in 1934.
iii
In general, Huichol entheogen use is well documented. This inquiry
necessarily draws heavily upon Valadez’s groundbreaking article
(1996), which did much to document the extraordinarily strong
emphasis of Wolf-shamanism on entheogenic herbalism.
iv
Ulu Temay describes this phenomenon in clearly non-literal terms.
Describing what happens when he ‘turns into a wolf’ he states,
“my body does not change at all, my ears remain the same, and
everything.” (Valadez, 296)
v
Documented evidence of the use of entheogens for this purpose comes
to us especially by way of accounts describing werewolfism (or
lycanthropy) in medieval and early modern Europe. It is
interesting to note the parallels between Old and New world
shape-shifting. In Europe, as among the Huichol, solanceous plants
were commonly used in order to transform into a wolf (Sidky 1997).
Amanita muscaria also is
highly suspect as an agent of inducing bestial blood lust among the
Nordic bezerker
warriors who wore bear and wolf pelts and were said to have become
like ‘ravenous wolves’. An article on shamanic and entheogenic
lycanthrophy in Eurasia will appear in a future issue of Entheos.
vi
Valadez 267. This secrecy pertains to the ‘spirit-double’ or
‘altar-ego’ possessed by the nahual
shaman. As Fikes discusses, it is probably that nahualism
played the common role of providing guardian spirits to those
participating in vision quests, while, when practiced to the extreme
it had the effect of apostatizing shamans as immortal ancestor
deities. (Ibid., 270 & 274)
For an excellent concise discussion of shape-shifting
see Wasson, The Miskwedo of the
Ahnishinaubeg, pages 3-12 above.
vii
Fikes, 267-268. Wolves jealously guard their secrets by killing
those who betray the requirement of sexual continence (Valadez, 276)
and it is widely understood that Huichols risk their lives by
undergoing the mysterious transformation into wolves (Ibid.,, 277).
On the potentially dire consequences of breaking kiéri vows
see Fikes & Carrillo, pages 39-42 above.
viii
It is well documented that entheobotanical practice was considered a
high form of heresy by the Catholic Spanish and their inquisitors,
and was demonized as a satanic form of sorcery, commonly punished
with torture and/or death. It is not surprising that the echoes of
the ‘pharmacratic inquisition’ (as Ott aptly puts it) can be
witnessed today in the general apprehension and ‘secrecy’ of
informants on entheobotanical subjects (Fikes, 278-279).
ix
This is regardless of the fact that Wolf-shamans are no more likely
to practice malicious sorcery than any other shaman. (Valadez, 268).
Also, on the problem of erroneous accusations of sorcery regarding
kiéri shamans see
Fikes and Carrillo above, pg. 40.
x
The ‘witch craze’ of medieval Europe is the western equivalent,
and much can be gained by considering these two contemporaneous
historical events together. Whereas the Western Inquisition was the
climatic continuation of more than a millennium of Christian efforts
against heresy, in the New World the situation was not complicated
by the accretions of centuries of interaction and conflict. In both
contexts, psychoactive and medicinal plants were a defining
characteristic of the pagan and shamanic traditions, and in both
situations this archaic knowledge was prosecuted mercilessly, and
forced underground.
xi
The “identification with these two tutelary spirits is the
ultimate expression of Huichol identity.” Fikes, 247.
xii
Fikes, 248.
xiii
Fikes, 248, 253, 258
xiv
Among the sacred paraphernalia, (initially instigated by the Father
of the Wolves [Kumukemai], who was informed by the hunting deities),
was the “arrow of the wolves”’ (Kumukemai
uruyare) which ensured perpetual
communication between humans and wolves, and “a candle with a
viney plant,” representing long life and fecundity (Valadez, 270).
xv
Valadez, 271.
xvi
In order to even find the deer, these hunters had to consult
Takutsi’s “magical staff,” in which her heart was preserved
when she died (Valadez, 271). This mythogem perhaps
parallels that of the ‘hearts of the Sun’ which come from a
hollow log “at the margin of the sea,” which are to made into
prayer arrows. (Zingg 1934, 74). These were intended as the means by
which the Sun allowed humans to communicate with the Great Gods and
to fight the small pox epidemic. Similar arrows are made from a log
whose sound, when struck, is that of thunder (Ibid., 72).
These ‘stones’ and ‘hearts’ are often suggestive as fungal
metaphors, and like entheogens, they are of the highest ritual
significance. Certain snakes are described as like ‘balls of
cotton’ though they are also snakes (Ibid., 45). Even Grandfather
Fire rests on small stones, upon which he “sits like live coals”
(Ibid., 1) Indeed, such unusual and exceptionally sacred stones are
even eaten (Ibid., 200).
xvii
Valadez, 272. As the deer, of their own free will, leave the safety
of their pen, their role as the martyr of Huichol culture is
prefigured for all time. The fact that this self-immolation resulted
from the eating entheogenic flowers speaks volumes about the place
of entheogenic sacraments among the Huichol; it is also reminiscent
of the Aztec practice of preparing their sacrificial victims with a
similarly inebriating preparation.
Valadez astutely mentions the similarity between this story and the
reported practices of Siberian reindeer hunters, who waited until
reindeer become intoxicated from eating the fly agaric, which made
them easier to kill. She speculates that yellow flowers described in
the myth could be kiéri, and cites Benítez (1968, 280-281)
on the use of kiéri pollen to “confuse and entrance” the
deer on a ritual hunt. Fikes (1985, 216-218) also describes the use
of kiéri pollen in this context.
xviii
Not to be confused with the Deer-Person, (Kauyumári), though
Kauymáli had also taken deer form. (Zingg 1934, 92) Elder Brother
Wolf but was also defined as “half-bad.” His sexual misdeeds
caused Tacutzi to give him a new name, Kauymáli. His sacrilegious
offspring are identified as modern Mexicans (Ibid., 186). Fernando
Benítez distinguished Nuipashikuri, the mythical Huichol sexual
deviant, from the deformed Wolf-Man called Mautiwaki, noting that
the latter’s deformity was a punishment for a sexual transgression
committed during his avowed period of sexual continence. As Benítez
recognized (1968a, 446-451; 1968b: 222-223), Zingg’s composite
character known as Kauymáli / Kuimáli combined attributes of
Nuipashikuri and Mautiwaki and then merged them with Kauyumári, the
world-organizer and tutelary spirit of Huichol healers and singers.
Other anomalies pertaining to Kauyumári’s character have been
specified by Fikes (Fikes, 53)
xix
This is typical of lesser known myths where Wolf Person is
considered “half-bad” (Zingg 1934 & 1938).
xx
Zingg 1934, 113. Though this ‘one-footedness’ is probably to be
interpreted as ‘one-leggedness’ (as is the case with the
Hyperborean [and all other mythological] ‘Single-foots’), I am
following the literal narrative of Zingg’s informant.
xxi
The single-eye, single-foot theme has been explored by Wasson and
Ruck (see especially Wasson et al, 1986). A few notable
examples being the Classical Greek, European, Indian and Mayan
civilizations.
xxii
Zingg 1938, 236, fn. 23, 24; p.347, fn.131. Grandfather Fire was
also born of a stone, near the sea (Zingg 1934, 1).
xxiii
Ibid., 93-94.
xxiv
On the fiery attributes of A. muscaria
see Wasson, 1968 and Heinrich, 1995.
xxv
On snakes injecting mushrooms with their venom see Wasson &
Wasson, 1957.
xxvi
Negrín has published a very similar yarn painting, with narrative,
by José Benítez Sanchez entitled Los Muertos se Reúnen Debajo
de un Hongo (The Dead Meet Beneath a Mushroom) (1977,
Plate 30, p.129). Our figure 2 was created by José Benítez’s
son, Elisio, and is typical of the ancient mythological and artistic
motif linking mushrooms and the Land of the Dead. Additional
examples can be found at www.entheomedia.com/wolves
xxvii
The other ‘first plants’ include tomatoes, onions, peppers, a
legume called guajes, and two species of prickly pear cactus
or nopales. (Negrin 1975, 82).
xxviii
One such myth describes the pursuit of deer person by Huichol
hunters. Buzzard directs Deer Person to take refuge in the shade of
five pine trees, in the mountains. When Buzzard returns, he searches
beneath each of said trees, eventually finding the corpse of Deer
Person, infested with maggots. Licking off the maggots, Buzzard
brings Deer Person back from the dead (Zingg 1934, 51-51).
The probable connection of the Deer with Amanita muscaria
mythology isn’t surprising given that Wolf-peyote might well also
be identified with the sacrificed body of Deer Person, as is peyote
proper and kiéri.
xxix
Ulu Temay, whose Spanish name was Santos Aguilar Carrillo, (Valadez,
268) is now deceased (Valadez, personal communication).
xxx
Valadez, 299.
xxxi
Temay continues, “They say this is their peyote, but it is not
their peyote. I tried some of it, just a little bit. It didn’t
feel like peyote, it felt different. It felt like I was off the
ground, like I was in a gentle wind that lifted me off the ground”
When I eat peyote I can touch the ground, but with this I couldn’t.
I didn’t eat more of it because I did not know what would happen
to me.” (Ibid., 295)
xxxii
Ibid., 300. Medina’s yarn painting also includes representations
of kiéri flowers.
xxxiii
Please visit www.entheomedia.com/wolves
for additional images.
xxxiv
Fikes, personal communication. Kauyumárie’s birthplace, Hurihuari
is in a pine forest in the high sierra (Fikes, 251). Wolves occur in
Mexico where pine trees grow, and the primary sacred spots visited
by would-be Wolf-shamans are located in pine forests (personal
communication, Jay Fikes). In addition to the fact that these
shamans seem to have local access to A.
muscaria in the pine forests of the Sierra
Madre, we are able to document the occurrence of this mushroom in
Baja. (Ayala & Ochoa 1998).
Another possible piece of
evidence connecting the Wolves with their fungal entheogen has to do
with the fact that, when in wolf form, the trickster wolves give the
shaman wolf-food to eat, including pine sap (Valadez, 298). We
might well ask why pine sap is considered the food of wolves, and in
what other ways wolves might be mythologically associated with pine
trees, the mycorrhizal host–and therefore source–of their
entheogen.
xxxv
Fikes, personal communication.
xxxvi
Fikes, 320-321. Eating these foods would turn the shaman into a wolf
permanently. This taboo was not observed by Ulu Temay.
xxxvii
This unsolicited yarn painting is of unknown origin, and was found
in a Santa Cruz, California shop window as this article was being
prepared. Thanks to Anandi Heinrich and Clark Heinrich for finding
and sharing this interesting piece.
xxxviii
Valadez, 283. In the sixth (and last) year, the aspiring
Wolf-shamans complete the initiation process with the “ceremony of
the wolves” (Kumukita Waitowe)
at the place of the Red Wolf, where the apprenticeship started. The
aspirant travels again to each of the Wolf power spots, in ascending
order. If they are granted power at the lesser places, they are
never to learn the ultimate secret of transformation, which can only
be achieved at Muxia Uxiye. Without being specific, Temay also
mentions that a gourd bowl is brought that contains, “special
plants the wolves like to eat” (Ibid., 284).
The maize beer described here is an important
ceremonial drink among the Huichol. Even the gods partake of this
nawá (also tejuino)
to achieve inebriation. According to José Benítez it was such
drunkenness that allowed Watákame to remove the ‘voice’ of the
ancestors, who must now communicate ‘secretly’ through Huichol
shamans who are informed, in turn, by Kauyumárie (Negrín 1975,92).
xxxix
“He feels as if he is awake, but he is sleeping.” (Valadez, 285)
xl
Ibid., 285. Though in this context Temay is explicit that
this kiéri is a flower, it is interesting to note that the
Wolf-kiéri is found on a mountain top (wolves often being
associated with their mountainous habitat [Ibid., 294]), which he
climbs to obtain the kiéri. Atop the mountain, at the base
of the kiéri plant, the initiate leaves a red arrow in
addition to other offerings (on kiéri offerings see Fikes &
Carrillo above, page 41) and eats the kiéri flower. During
the visions that follow, the wolves come again and the initiate,
though still human and still afraid, begins to feel as if he is
becoming wolf-like (Ibid., 286-287).
xli
Ibid., 287. In this instance, Temay doesn’t explicitly identify
the other wolf-kiéri
plant, though he does touch on an important trait of both peyote and
A. muscaria–that they provide uncommon strength and stamina to
those that are required to perform exceptionally difficult physical
tasks–such as keeping up with wolves, or chasing down a deer.
Huichols have told me of individuals who are able to overtake a deer
by foot, though they made no reference to Wolf-shamans.
Lumholtz
didn’t identify the “yerba de lobo” but does report that it
allegedly turned shamans to wolves after eating it five times (1902,
206).
xlii
Valadez, 299.
xliii
Ibid., 288.
xliv
It is yet another full month before the shape-shifting will finally
take place, on a “steep hill in the wolf territory” known as
Cerro de Kumutemai (Wolf Mountain). Here, Temay’s narrative
seems to loose some cohesion, as he perhaps intentionally obfuscates
as to the secret processes by which the shaman transforms. He
describes a series of ritual somersaults, (in each direction), and
five turns, after which “he turns into a wolf” and is greeted by
his wolf-friends, who will take him deer hunting. (Ibid., 289)
xlv
These plants, unlike peyote and psilocybin mushrooms can also
explain the inherent risk of life when consuming transforming into a
wolf. Though it is true that A. Muscaria cannot be
considered a potentially lethal sacrament, it sometimes induces
conditions in which the inebriated individual feels as if they are
dying.
xlvi
Paraphrased from Valadez 288, “if he wants to turn into a wolf, he
must eat like one.”
Huichol Wolf Shamanism - Senear - 01-18-2012
"if you want to turn into a wolf, you must eat like one"
Speculation about magic mushrooms aside (not my imediate target/interest in article per say...i seem to find other ways to find semi estatic state) That line more then any other leaps out and grabs my by the scruff so to speak. Food, eating, has always been important in my dreams. I just had the dream that was but the large meal, and a few days before, to "eat the food before you" and "pups eat to grow" it took to be knowledge here. So it was the target of my non specific searching, and why certain things recalled themselves ot my attention. I think. Meaning? well i speculated a bit...and meaning is for the birds. (As grandma used to say...bit of irony here hehe) Now definition, without meaning, clarity of perspective not faith in/or belief per say...thats where the smart money invests...where the wolf hunts, so to speak. lol. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wWmRTjLRMfU
Huichol Wolf Shamanism - Nagual LoneWolf - 01-20-2012
Thanks for posting this Senear. For many reasons.
Huichol Wolf Shamanism - Senear - 01-21-2012
Your welcome. When i stalked it, and after i digested what i needed to from it, it felt like it was about more then me at that moment. Wasn't sure if it was also for ravenfield or DD people so i put it in RF. Because if its not for them it wouldnt matter, nothing in there to use without prior understanding. thank you for clarifying that and moving it to its proper place.
Huichol Wolf Shamanism - Guest - 01-21-2012
Since Wolf did move it it made me notice it as a DD topic. Like you Senear, I also ingest things in dreaming and it shifts me. I have documented this in my dream thread, though the dream are all spread out over time, but this made me think about it. I ingested some chalk like thing a black lady gave me. In another dream some Indonesian women offer to sell me alcohol (a bottle) I said I didn't drink, they said, oh you'll like this, and I tried it and it empowered me in that dream. Then there was some tea an old woman offered me and wolf. And then a banquet, but I don't recall eating, but the food was significant. Then one dream I never wrote about in which a male member of Ravenfield gave me mushrooms to ingested, perhaps a precursor to events here (what you would post). What all this means to me is, it can be a signifier of shift in awareness or indicate new ability or seeing.
I am not sure what this article means to you Wolf, but would be interested to hear more about it. If I remember you correctly, in the forests of northern Texas as a teen you met your teacher who appeared in the form of a black wolf, just like you appear.
Huichol Wolf Shamanism - Senear - 01-21-2012
Yea. food. I dont have alott of juice in me atm or stuff to add to what you said Ravenmoon just nodding my head. But an old favorite seized me so ill put it here.
Huichol Wolf Shamanism - Nagual LoneWolf - 01-23-2012
Yes there is more to this I want to study because it hits certain parts of me.I will need more quiet time to absorb this but it belongs here not in RF.Nice find Senear.
Huichol Wolf Shamanism - Senear - 01-24-2012
I saw one of those bark things, not the yarn ones of my fathers my sister hung it on the wall. I was...reminded of a wolf, or maybe that's just what i formed, its not of a wolf per say. Same one i had asked about in say 1997 my dad had let me take to school when i saw a anthropology lecture on that tribe. Hoichol. Wolf. Shamans. Search terms in my awareness so i took it to google. It answered the question i had when i looked at the object. But it was also more. That's how i found this.
My body still feels broken I'm not even asleep its 3:30. I reacted to the thought of assaulting the tenant, not my thought. I saw it in anothers. In that same space i saw that, not in my mind how do i say....After prayers when i lay down, I had many strange still space now rantic visions. Of wanting to merge? With the tenant, becasue i felt she was not given due deferance? Or maybe you and raven, yes, threatened somehow by disrespect. But it was not clear, all i perceived in chaos was a snarling wolf, a lunging wolf, me. i kept trying to merge into it, and i could then i would fall out and just see it so fierce, not at me, at...i don't know. Whatever i was reacting too. I couldn't merge very long. I tried dealing with this, merging in many ways. My toes cramped and they curled, my fingers, my arms, my muscles in my back. All at once, so much pain, trying to merge with wolf. I was a ball, of writhing tense, i didn't really feel the pain, i did but it didn't hurt. I curled up. I **** and pissed myself a little, but that was because of curling all my muscles. I remembered I'm a shield, not a sword. A shield can bash, its a weapon, but it lets others strike and reacts against it. It doesn't slash. I fed the wolf deer, but it was angry. So i made my weird impressions into a swine. It took it by the throat. A swine looks kind of like a man. the wolf, was calm, it took the throat. And the muzzle was covered with blood, and it howled. I uncurled, but i almost could swear i was growling. And then i again reaffirmed my nature, to be a shield, to guard, not to strike. And i calmed. I stayed curled, i remember a wolf in den of wolves, i was here but also that not merged again half and half. And slept to my normal time. Then i cleaned myself. And watched funny youtube videos.
that one thing about what i posted here i think. I messaged raven when this started, and today after. I'm confused. Was i really trying to become a real wolf...if it had happened, then, i would have believed it. I could or would not, not with an attacking one. Not for more then a few moments. My body well i explained that. I'm still confused. Well i thought id ask you about it. Im not worried or amazed it just was but i need to pay more attention? Not lash i don't know.
Huichol Wolf Shamanism - Nagual LoneWolf - 01-24-2012
Yes I dreamed of being in a room with one who was shapechanging, small room,wood walls, so the wolf form was you senear makes sense an why I awoke at 330 am too, stressed and my body also had feelings in hands an feet.
Huichol Wolf Shamanism - Senear - 01-24-2012
Ahh that clears alott up then thank you. Katherine messaged me about it too but all she got was worried and woken up. My room is small, the wood is on outside but inside walls are dingy can look like wood. I oftens ee them as wood but its wallboard. Ty for letting me know.
Huichol Wolf Shamanism - Senear - 01-26-2012
And thank you wolf. Im know you assisted me through that, and doing so caused you stress. I both apologize for that, and thank you for that effort on my behalf.
Huichol Wolf Shamanism - Nagual LoneWolf - 01-26-2012
Your welcome, it was stressful I admit.
Huichol Wolf Shamanism - Senear - 02-02-2012
Wolf i got my sister to play photographer, ad had her take picture of the objects i was talking about i touched and got intent to find what i found here. Or sparked it in me. I had tapped the non Eagle one a few times with my finger on impulse. I had a similar event last night, (neither were triggered by touching objects, just the finding this article) but i went to place of no pity almost. actually, i was laughing, and in a fine mood but my bodies reaction as not attached to emotion. All i could see was the concept of power. But my body was as if it were being electrocuted, and i collapsed. I did my silly intent "prayer" and naming those i love as i always do. I was luck not to bite of my tongue n my mouth since i felt the need to sub vocalize as i did so. this event was triggered much the same way as before, but was even more intense. I just went with it but it had no intent so it was pulling me all over like electrocution. I had just posted here and then went to the Ravenfield after. I noticed the first event you helped with "felt" like the first picture, and last night "felt" like the second.
Huichol Wolf Shamanism - Nagual LoneWolf - 02-02-2012
Nice. A treehaman/tenant and a twoheaded eagle I see. Nice in that they convey more than what one first sees.
Huichol Wolf Shamanism - Senear - 02-10-2012
I noticed someone else posted a reference to that tribe not sure it means anything just interesting.
http://sorcery.yuku.com/t...ura-huichol#.TzSmH-Q0hBl
"
WICA
Wicapii I remember kind paintings huichol and suab (jibaro) are from
the States superiors of consciousness come under ayahuasca, peyote, or
perfectly concentrated meditation l yogis or l tantric@s. It
is a primordial and universal vision of our collective supra-consciente
of the foreign installation of castaneda (for the castañedos)
Wica Wicapii facebook "
Huichol Wolf Shamanism - Senear - 05-15-2012
http://books.google.com/b...Wolf%20Shamanism&f=false
the exerpt talks allot about linages, and how if broken wolf spirits draft another, and illness that follows an umpayed promise det owed wolf spirits. Stuff ive seen from spirit but never been able to explain well. I cant copy and paste its a google doc i think i will buy the book though. this came up for a reason again. First reason is i looked with SEEING at the painting a artist shaman from the tribe made for my father for his wedding. It has me and my siblings in it, and the future fate. My dad never SAW what it was. I looked deep into it the other day is the first reason. Another reason was we lsot a cat today, and iw as so upset somebody left the bobbo cat out with no survival skills. I got quiet followed his fear to the fense found him on toehr side. he is a mostly mute cat. He had curled in a ball **** himself with fear but was ok. stuck n thorns fell fo the fense. I felt his terror hes an inside cat, when i had quited my own. Last reason is Wg was looking for a new cdoctor in her town. she choose one that was kinda also had some spiritual stuff. The spiritual stuff the new one has is from Huichal tribe living in central mexico. which is unlikely in central europe. She told me afte ri found the cat tonight. So three thing smade me refocuss on this and find new information.
there are bit sin it about the arts of women, and sewing threads, a bit from a sorcery side as well.
Huichol Wolf Shamanism - dreamgirl - 05-16-2012
I was looking at movies on demand, I saw a Liam Neeson movie called "Grey" and watched the preview. I decided not to watch it, have any of you seen it? I think it is about a plane that goes down in Alaska and the survivors are under attack of grey wolves.
Huichol Wolf Shamanism - delawaredan - 05-16-2012
Yes - I have heard of it...I want to see it. I was going to watch it on demand last weekend but it was not available until yesterday.
Huichol Wolf Shamanism - Senear - 05-24-2012
Some people say there never was a Don Juan Matus. Others say he was composite of several people, most often being named the revered Cahuilla spiritual elder Salvador Lopez and the Mazatec curandera Maria Sabina. Others, such as Tezlcazi Guitimea Cachora have claimed outright to BE Don Juan Matus. Still others say someone like Alex Apostolides, of whom I address the possibility, or the lack of same, in The Tree, if not Don Juan was the role model for him.
As for the Huichol shaman-priest Ramón Medina Silva being Don Juan or a potential composite for Don Juan, the connection is made by a very thin thread that some say leads to Castaneda.(see) Although the thread existed, the strength of the connection weakens because of the timing of events. The person designated only as the Informant that shows up in various writings including Castaneda's last book, The Active Side of Infinity and who is known to have have been friends with Sabina long before her rise to fame is perhaps the most credible source.
the funny thing is, i first Heard of Carlos Casteneda stuff drom trying to google more about theman from my childhood dreams. the fact he was mad einto a footnote in some hippy ****, as i saw it then, mad eme feel his memory was disrespected. But still i bought art of dreaming a bit after. And Since This figure was also Dr who, or anothe raround him, but a talkative one, i figured sure why not who cares. Not the same though. One was a person who had been living. Dr who ive never been sure. I dont have an opinion. Its just funny. I cna ask, but the answers are more for perspective then truth telling. I let it go.
http://the-wanderling.com/lopez.html
Byrat shamanisim was the first symbol i got in dreams that led me here indirectly. I drew it in 2006. It was a funny dream. I drew what is aw then googled a description of my drawing. The dream didnt tell me exact. Just shaman spirit. I asked what power i had what being did something ina drema and it was funny to power. It had me look in a mirror, and i drew what was on my head, which identified the "guilty" party. My reaction brought much laughter. I saw on my head the inverse of the flag of the sakha republic in russia, and the symbol for tengerisim. But inversed in mirror even colors somehow. And in the center, was a feutes...the drema said me maybe. I hope i can find that one again. I drew this when i wok eup the next morning. Was on old computer, but i saved it on facebook it seems
Salvador Lopez (d. August, 1967, with some reports stating 1973) was a member and highly revered spiritual elder of the Cahuilla band of Indians of the Morongo Reservation, Banning, California. He was renowned as an expert on medicinal plants, a bird singer and doing feats with fire as well as being a Bear Shaman. Lopez is considered by some to be at least one of the sources of information Carlos Castaneda used regarding Sacred Datura and other hallucinogenics presented in his first two books.* True, the possibility does exists that Lopez could have contributed in some fashion as an informant of Castaneda's
When i was a child, this is where i lived, Banning Ca, and that reservation one end is where i would wander the hills. In dreaming, as a child, that was the name that man who didnt speak much gave to me...watched me...his name. He died three years after i before I was born. I didnt research any of this untill...i was deciding to come here and investigate myself in this way or not. Many of my dreams still happen here. Its my dream hometown like dreamed of showing people recently. Had a long dream on thois durring a nap a few hours ago again. the thing i was shown over and over was the fire...the sacred house was burned when the last shaman died. the version of the "Old Seers" in this tribes lore is similar. Also from my early dreaming, and the burning of the sacred house. this mythological figure found me in...2001 the summer. I still wont speak the name. I spoke of it once to a friend, and it saw her too. So i am carefull what i invoke. Its similar though. I will more freely speak of menily and agroot and the others When i went to a pool with fish in a dream the other night, this was menilys pool, when she left the earth to become the moon, that coyote tried to drink and drink to reach her.
When i said i went to find CC after leaving the house with all you gathered on the airplane with clock propellers. this is what i did. I went to find him, Carlos Casteneda, and pose some direct questions. The bit about faith as molds and spirit as syrup came out of our conversation. I then rode to menilys pool to see her reflection in the water and bring peace. Sometimes the fish are there, sometime sits the great axoltol. the next night i was prepared to ride the winds, like i explain, to the cloud palace. And learn more then return
Huichol Wolf Shamanism - Senear - 05-24-2012
Set back the center art piece i tapped Is a Fransisco Mora. It gave a different vision then the Two headed eagle (two paths) and Tree man figure tonight. I guess thats why it hangs near elizabeth catlet one (they are married). I tapped it three times the central figure is a colorful moth with three wings and one eye moth (ive long known represented me and my siblings are like bees or butterflys.) Its a readable piece he made it for my parents wedding. Fransisco mora is still alive? i might try and contact him.
I thought it was a Ramón Medina Silva. Mom is awake. She thinks thats the man my parents met in guadlarja in 1978. When i had my trip to mexico at two. She says theres some yarn painting stuff in a box somewhere i need to look. Im trying to clsoe the fallout from the alst two nights of dreaming out. Shes never heard of carlos casteneda too funny. Either had i though lol.
http://www.dhushara.com/book/genaro/genaro.htm
Introduction: The Trickster
"The superhuman culture heroes of North American mythology also behave as tricksters, using cunning and stealth to steal fire, outwit monsters or play tricks on others. Many peoples have developed these trickster tales into a separate body of myth, and in some areas, such as the Northwest coast, the culture hero and trickster are sometimes regarded as separate beings. ... Because the trickster is usually the same as the culture hero, he is usually called by the same name: Great Hare, Nanabush or Glooskap in the Woodlands, Rabbit in the Southeast, Coyote on the Plains and in the West, Spider on parts of the Plains, and Raven, Blue jay or Mink on the Northwest coast. Despite his different guises, he exhibits similar characteristics across the continent, the same tales occurring in widely separated areas. He can be a crafty joker and a bungler, who is usually undone by his own horseplay or trickery, ending up injured or even dead - only to rise again, seemingly none the wiser for his experience. At times utterly irreverent and idiotic, the trickster's doings highlight, in an entertaining context, the importance of moral rules and boundaries. Many trickster myths are extremely vulgar" (Willis 227).
One character who behaves simultaneously as shaman culture hero and trickster on many levels is Carlos Casteneda in his allegory with Don Juan. Here he ranges from the extremes of the nagual as superhuman shaman to the trickster as allegorist
"Don Juan was looking straight at don Genaro. His gaze was fixed. His eyelids were half-closed. He was sitting very erect with his hands resting between his legs, on the edge of the rock. I leaned over a little bit to see the two young men. Don Juan made an imperative gesture with his hand to make me get back in line. I retreated immediately. I had only a glimpse of the young men. They seemed to be as attentive as he was. Don Juan made another gesture with his hand and.pointed to the direction of the waterfall. I looked again. Don Genaro had climbed quite a way on the rocky wall. At the moment I looked he was perched on a ledge, inching his way slowly to circumvent a huge boulder. His arms were spread, as if he were embracing the rock. He moved slowly toward his right and suddenly he lost his footing. I gasped involuntarily. For a moment his whole body hung in the air. I was sure he was going to fall but he did not. His right hand had grabbed onto something and very agilely his feet went back on the ledge again. But before he moved on he turned to us and looked. It was only a glance. There was, however, such a stylization to the movement of turning his head that I began to wonder. I remembered then that he had done the same thing, turning to look at us, every time he slipped. I had thought that don Genaro must have felt embarrassed by his clumsiness and turned to see if we were looking. He climbed a bit more toward the top, suffered another loss of footing, and hung perilously on the overhanging rock face. This time he was supported by his left hand. When he regained his balance he turned and looked at us again. He slipped twice more before he reached the top. From where we Were sitting, the crest of the waterfall seemed to be twenty to twenty-five feet across" (Casteneda 1971 125).
It is my impression that this special condition of the shaman cannot be faked - that not only he himself but his companions really do know whether or not a man who lays claim to being a mara'akame has what the Huichol call "balance"- that special, ineffable capacity to venture without fear onto the "narrow bridge" across the great chasm separating the ordinary world from the world beyond" (Furst 152).
Watergaze told me of a dream, her shaman, a collapsing bridge, etc. It stuck with me a week now. Came back in context. And a new doctor.
RdeM: I suppose his biggest trick on you was feeding your waterfall story right back to you.
BGM: That was a very interesting incident. I mean, it never crossed my mind that his description of don Genaro on the waterfall proved anything except that I was doing good fieldwork because I had come up with an observation and interpretation so much like his. When he said, "Oh, that's just like don Genaro," it was very validating for me.
RdeM: How do you feel about it now?
BGM: The feeling of validation remains, the feeling that we were both talking about the same serious and important manifestation of Mexican shamanism.
RdeM:Even though his part of it was made up on the spot, the feeling of mutual understanding and significance remains.
BGM: Yes.
RdeM: He must have a remarkable ability to resonate to things people tell him.
BGM: Oh, he does.
RdeM: The stories he makes up exactly fit the person he is talking to.
BGM: They're mirrors. It's happened over and over. So many people describe their conversations with Carlos, saying, "I know just what he's tailing about." But each one tells you something different, something that is part of his or her own world, which Carlos has reflected. ... His allegories, the stories he tells, seem to validate everybody.
"In the summer of 1966 Ramon gave us a memorable demonstration of the meaning of "balance." He took us to a spectacular waterfall, with a sheer drop of hundreds of feet to the valley below. This, he said, was "specially for shamans." While the other Huichol grouped themselves in a semicircle in a safe place some distance from the edge, Ramon removed his sandals and, after making a series of ritual gestures to the world directions, proceeded to leap -"fly" might be more appropriate - from one rock to another with arms stretched wide, often landing but a few inches from the slippery edge. Occasionally he would disappear behind a great boulder, only to emerge from an unexpected direction. Or he would stand motionless at the extreme limit of a massive rock, wheel about suddenly and make a great leap to the other side of the rushing water, never showing the slightest concern about the obvious danger that he might lose his balance and fall into space. We were frankly terrified, even annoyed, at such "foolhardiness," but neither his wife nor the other Huichol watching showed any real apprehension. The demonstration ended as abruptly as it had begun, without any explanation of Ramon's strange behaviour. " (Furst 152-3, Meyerhoff 44) "The mara'akáme must have superb equilibrium otherwise he will not reach his destination and will fall this way or that"' - Barbara Meyerhoff (Halifax 233, Meyerhoff 44)
"The following day he asked if we thought he had been showing off. He said, "Perhaps you thought, 'Ah, Ramon is drunk with too much beer.' But no. I took you there to show what it means 'to have balance.' So you could see and understand. Because when one crosses over as a shaman one looks below, and then one perceives this great abyss filled with all those animals waiting to kill one. Those who do not have balance are afraid. They fall and are killed." In order to render intelligible something he feared our cultural experience might not have prepared us to understand, he had decided to give us a physical demonstration-a kind of literal translation-of a phenomenon basic to shamanism wherever it occurs" (Furst 153).
Il snap pictures latter if i can. Of the art piece. Im posting in a shifted state. Or was. Sorry. Im not even sure what the point is as i come out. the conversation the other night waht i was grilling CC about beofre iw ent to the pool. that must be it.
Huichol Wolf Shamanism - Senear - 05-24-2012
No ramon died in 1971. But thats the name my mom rememebred? Is that accurate info? My fahters friend who let him live with huichal for 4 years early 60's. There was a gallery...so who did they meet. Another? Somebody who was keeping his stuff going. Ahh see so the transfer of knowledge/lineage was messed up to start with now. Why was the new person angry at my dad? Why was he cursed for lack of respect. no it still holds. I tapped again. Pattern holds. this october, my dad made contact, had a student that was nephew of the friend. or great grandchild. Sent message back to them, huichol had lsot contact. Dad seemed troubled, but happy. Then died on the floor 11/11/11 see? Seeing. Wall in time. Eclipse now. Transfer of texts....Wg did it. Wolf...Rm. pattern. cyclical nature of time see? cycles. moon and sun. Menily, and trickster. Same. Azatlan...axotlotl. Cahuilla. Sun dagger.
Huichol Wolf Shamanism - delawaredan - 05-24-2012
Thank you Senear......I enjoyed readinig this.
Huichol Wolf Shamanism - dreamgirl - 05-25-2012
Wowza, I was just reading this whole thread, and the article Andrew posted was incredible. One thing I want to mention is that I have heard that the whole Santa Claus stuff, with his red and white clothes has its origin in this mushroom. I always thought this was very cool. I love the Huichols yarn paintings and always thought they were the bomb! Hope you post pictures soon.
I have actually seen my wolf double, at least that is what I think it was. At first I thought it was someone here, but now looking back, I think it was me. It was a giant rusty colored wolf with whitish undercoat sitting next to my bed when I awoke from a lucid dream. I checked to make sure that I was not dreaming, but after a few seconds, this beautiful, amazing wolf apparition disappeared. I will never forget that vision. Have any of you had that experience?
Huichol Wolf Shamanism - Senear - 05-25-2012
dreamgirl wrote:Wowza, I was just reading this whole thread, and the article Andrew posted was incredible. One thing I want to mention is that I have heard that the whole Santa Claus stuff, with his red and white clothes has its origin in this mushroom. I always thought this was very cool. I love the Huichols yarn paintings and always thought they were the bomb! Hope you post pictures soon.
I have actually seen my wolf double, at least that is what I think it was. At first I thought it was someone here, but now looking back, I think it was me. It was a giant rusty colored wolf with whitish undercoat sitting next to my bed when I awoke from a lucid dream. I checked to make sure that I was not dreaming, but after a few seconds, this beautiful, amazing wolf apparition disappeared. I will never forget that vision. Have any of you had that experience?
Im glad you enjoyed it Dan. Every once in awhile I liek to stalk msyelf or past or power a bit or all three and it keeps coming back to these few things so i post them when the mood siezes me to do so. Just to get it said and done.
thats neat kim about your double. Ive had it happen to me at least once since i got here...it sat on my chest and stared in my eyes once right after i got here. I thought it was wolf but it was the wrong color. That was a bit beofre the stuff i posted about in this thread happened even with the shifting around. It was pretty...trippy. And here ive never even tasted santas mushrooms lol.