Strange Portal

Ylva, 2019, Lova Dahn.

Photoshop CC 2018.

The Moon Maiden, 1923 by Frank Dicksee (English, 1853–1928)

Art by Néstor Ávalos

Hongos Sagrados. “Cure yourself with the light of the sun and the rays of the moon. With the sound of the river and the waterfall. With the swaying of the sea and the fluttering of birds. Heal yourself with mint, with neem and eucalyptus. Sweeten yourself with lavender, rosemary, and chamomile. Hug yourself with the cocoa bean and a touch of cinnamon. Put love in tea instead of sugar, and take it looking at the stars.” - Maria Sabina 🍄 Mushroom stones dating from 3000 BC were used in ritual contexts across Mesoamerica and into South America. The majority were found in Guatemala in the highlands or in areas along the intercontinental mountain range which were heavily influenced in Pre-classic times by the Olmec culture. 🍄 The Olmec, Zapotec, Maya, Aztec and Inca all used hallucinogenic mushrooms as a catalyst for spiritual insight, poetry and philosophy. To this day the Mazatec use them ritualistically and primarily to cure illnesses. Additionally, much like the early religions and philosophies of Eurasia and their sacred, mediating substance called Soma (see previous post on Scythians), these transcendental substances were undeniably at the very core of all world religions. 🍄 It is suggested that European ideas of heaven and hell may well derive from the same cult mysteries. Tlaloc, the mayan rain and mushroom god was created by lightening, so was Dionysus; in Greek folklore as in Mazatec, so are all mushrooms - proverbially called ‘flesh of the gods’ in both languages. Tlaloc wore a serpent crown, so did Dionysus. Tlaloc has an underwater cave, so did Dionysus… 🍄 What all these cultural links seem to suggest is that entwined within the physical world is a realm concealed to ordinary sight. Just as Maria Sabina claimed that all her poetry was not hers but was given to her by the mushrooms, so too the most ancient living traditions claim that their knowledge is not their own but was handed down to them from much older civilisations - sometimes in the form of pure, non-material consciousness.

Ossian’s Grave by John MacWhirter (Scottish, 1839–1911)

Amos 5:8

Zapotec Civilization, Máscara del Dios Murciélago, 200BC - 200AD [800x1200]