Nicholas E. Brink's Blog, page 2
February 28, 2020
Song of the Vikings
Book Review – Song of the Vikings: Snorri and the Making of Norse Myths by Nancy Marie Brown, New York, NY: Palgrave Macmillan, 2012.
With our planned tour of Iceland in June led by Nancy Marie Brown, I was drawn to reread her book, Song of the Vikings. She used many diverse and obscure sources to write this story of Snorri Sturluson, a story that portrays him as a fat and indulgent Icelander whose life goal was to be rich and respected. Early in this story his return trip to Iceland from Norway was on a ship given him by a Norwegian Earl for his writing of a poem of praise, and he was given the title of Baron given him by the king of Norway. Home in Iceland the people valued being free of a king so he was ridiculed for his title and accused of treason and selling out to Norway. Snorri though, in a continued struggle for power, became revered as Iceland’s most important poet and writer, revered over the world for his mythological writings: The Prose Edda, Heimskringla or the Lives of the Norse Kings, and The Egil’s Saga, stories of gods, heroes and kings.
As a psychologist I have found the Prose Edda a beautiful map for the journey to overcome the tormentors of obsessive worry (Fenrir), fear (Jormungand), and guilt (Hel), a map described in my unpublished manuscript, Loki’s Children. Also, the Lost Edda of the Vanir, found in my book Baldr’s Magic, describes what life could be like in the coming New Age with the return of the Goddesses and Gods of the Vanir and the innocent Baldr. With Brown’s description of Heimskringla I have moved it from its place on a shelf to my stack of books to be read along with rereading Egil’s Saga.
In Snorri’s Prose Edda, in the creation of Earth Surt from the burning South came to melt the ice of the North, an image of the volcanic nature of Iceland unlike volcano-free Scandinavia, the home of the earlier orally passed stories of the gods and goddesses. The Scandinavian stories venerate first the strength of Thor, though the Prose Edda puts Odin at top of the pyramid of deities, a god of aristocrats. Song of the Vikings reviews a number of the Sagas and examines earlier rune engravings, images, and poems composed with kennings that required knowledge of the ancient Nordic myths thus validating the existence of these stories in the earlier era when the myths were passed orally. But there are also many elements of these stories of Thor and Utgard-Loki, of Baldr’s death and the final battle, the lay of Hymir, and others that are clearly Snorri’s own creation.
With Brown’s described conflicts between the Icelandic chieftains, peace was often attained by fostering children to other chieftains thus forming a close bond between families. At a young age Snorri was fostered to the uncrowned king/chieftain Jon Loftsson and grew up on his estate of Oddi. Jon was of royal blood with his mother being an illegitimate daughter of a Norwegian King. Snorri, living on Jon’s estate with its several churches, was educated by priests, though he did not seem versed in Latin as he wrote exclusively in Icelandic.
Snorri’s marriages for inheritances, wealth and property took him from Oddi to Borg and then to Reykholt with his great and diverse income coming from tenant farmers, driftwood, cattle, sheep, iron bogs, fishing and grazing rights. These moves also added to his chieftainships. His fame was in his ability to wheel and deal to increase his wealth. I am eager to visit and experience in ecstatic trance Snorri’s estate at Reykholt on our tour of Iceland. Egil accumulated wealth at Borg before his estate was inherited by Snorri, a saga that parallels Snorri’s own story and may to more about him than Egil. Snorri though, unlike Egil, was not a fighter. He found ways through legalities and negotiations to avoid a fight. In 1216 Snorri attained the respected status of Lawspeaker at the Althing, but over the years he also made enemies.
The stories of the Prose Edda in ways reflect the life of Snorri. Neither Odin nor Snorri ever had enough. They always wanted more. Both were impulsive, proud, hospitable, rich but greedy, and not fighters. By the age of 40 Snorri held more power than any before him, holding seven chieftaincies with the ability to call thousands of men to his defense. The raiding Viking voyages along the coastal countries of Europe brought Snorri great wealth in gold, jewels, silver, and weapons, wealth that he would give away at his feasts.
Iceland stood separate from the Catholic Bishopric of Norway in that the Icelanders did not prevent Chieftains from becoming priests and the clergy were not exempt from Icelandic laws though they had the power to excommunicate. Snorri being Lawspeaker put him at the center of these conflicts in his attempts to bring certain clergymen under the rule of law, though in his way of negotiating he found ways around these conflicts. In 1218 Snorri took leave of his responsibilities as Chieftain and Lawspeaker to travel to Norway, returning home in 1220. In his travels he collected much of the history and stories of the kings of Norway that make up his Heimskringla.
Snorri’s writing of skaldic poems is described in some detail, of the nature of the fixed rhythm pleasing to the ear and the opaqueness of three kinds of riddle-like kennings. These poems were thought of as enjoyable propaganda in the courts of the Kings and while sitting around the skaldic fires, but they were not to be used in the Althing deliberations. Yet no man was considered learned who was not also a poet. Inconsistencies in the sequences of events in the Prose Edda were noted as a problem, but with my study and love for the myths I recognize that myths are free of time and place as are our nighttime dreams.
Snorri continued compiling his strength and wealth by gaining more chieftainships through the marriage of his sons and daughters, inheritances, continued battles, estate burnings, and deaths, but as it turns out his three living sons-in-law are the ones who eventually kill him. His position as Lawspeaker lasted until 1231. He was the most powerful Icelander of the North, West and South, three-quarters of the island. But at the Althing of 1229 he stayed in his booth with the recurring skin disease erysipelas that turned his cheeks the color of orange peel. His refusal to give his grown son his rightful inheritance was an example of his critical flaw: greed. He was good at amassing wealth but incapable of sharing it, a person who sounds much like our current uncrowned king of the United States.
By 1232 battles and the end of marriages took their toll with the loss of many of Snorri’s alliances, situation’s over which he took little control and from which he ran and hid. His power and wealth rapidly deteriorated and then in 1241 his beloved Hallveig died, a death from which he did not recover. Soon his enemies came after him, and with his guard down he was murdered. Though others attempted to fill the void left by Snorri’s death, chaos prevailed and in 1262 the chieftains of Iceland swore oaths of loyalty to King Hakon of Norway, agreeing to his taxation. Pulling together bits and pieces from a number of the Icelandic sagas, Brown skillfully describes in an exciting manner the rise and fall of Snorri Sturluson.
Over the next three centuries the Icelandic manuscripts were forgotten. When they eventually resurfaced they were derogatorily described. The poetic kennings were found incomprehensible. Only in the late 1500s did some historians and literary people begin to find value in the Sagas and Eddas, in particular the history of the kings of Norway, which lead to a search to amass the ancient manuscripts. The growing respect for these Nordic stories was eventually high-jacked by nationalist Germany as a piece of their mythical heritage. But beyond this Nazi connection, many other literary people especially in England at such universities as Oxford brought these stories to life. Sir Walter Scott was inspired by the eddic stories told by the Brothers Grimm, and later they became central in the works of C. S. Lewis, J. R. R. Tolkien and Wagner’s opera The Ring of the Nibelung.
The Song of the Vikings brings Snorri Sturluson to life as never before told in other writings. Much of his life was unknown until now, a life beautifully pieced together by Nancy Marie Brown.
With our planned tour of Iceland in June led by Nancy Marie Brown, I was drawn to reread her book, Song of the Vikings. She used many diverse and obscure sources to write this story of Snorri Sturluson, a story that portrays him as a fat and indulgent Icelander whose life goal was to be rich and respected. Early in this story his return trip to Iceland from Norway was on a ship given him by a Norwegian Earl for his writing of a poem of praise, and he was given the title of Baron given him by the king of Norway. Home in Iceland the people valued being free of a king so he was ridiculed for his title and accused of treason and selling out to Norway. Snorri though, in a continued struggle for power, became revered as Iceland’s most important poet and writer, revered over the world for his mythological writings: The Prose Edda, Heimskringla or the Lives of the Norse Kings, and The Egil’s Saga, stories of gods, heroes and kings.
As a psychologist I have found the Prose Edda a beautiful map for the journey to overcome the tormentors of obsessive worry (Fenrir), fear (Jormungand), and guilt (Hel), a map described in my unpublished manuscript, Loki’s Children. Also, the Lost Edda of the Vanir, found in my book Baldr’s Magic, describes what life could be like in the coming New Age with the return of the Goddesses and Gods of the Vanir and the innocent Baldr. With Brown’s description of Heimskringla I have moved it from its place on a shelf to my stack of books to be read along with rereading Egil’s Saga.
In Snorri’s Prose Edda, in the creation of Earth Surt from the burning South came to melt the ice of the North, an image of the volcanic nature of Iceland unlike volcano-free Scandinavia, the home of the earlier orally passed stories of the gods and goddesses. The Scandinavian stories venerate first the strength of Thor, though the Prose Edda puts Odin at top of the pyramid of deities, a god of aristocrats. Song of the Vikings reviews a number of the Sagas and examines earlier rune engravings, images, and poems composed with kennings that required knowledge of the ancient Nordic myths thus validating the existence of these stories in the earlier era when the myths were passed orally. But there are also many elements of these stories of Thor and Utgard-Loki, of Baldr’s death and the final battle, the lay of Hymir, and others that are clearly Snorri’s own creation.
With Brown’s described conflicts between the Icelandic chieftains, peace was often attained by fostering children to other chieftains thus forming a close bond between families. At a young age Snorri was fostered to the uncrowned king/chieftain Jon Loftsson and grew up on his estate of Oddi. Jon was of royal blood with his mother being an illegitimate daughter of a Norwegian King. Snorri, living on Jon’s estate with its several churches, was educated by priests, though he did not seem versed in Latin as he wrote exclusively in Icelandic.
Snorri’s marriages for inheritances, wealth and property took him from Oddi to Borg and then to Reykholt with his great and diverse income coming from tenant farmers, driftwood, cattle, sheep, iron bogs, fishing and grazing rights. These moves also added to his chieftainships. His fame was in his ability to wheel and deal to increase his wealth. I am eager to visit and experience in ecstatic trance Snorri’s estate at Reykholt on our tour of Iceland. Egil accumulated wealth at Borg before his estate was inherited by Snorri, a saga that parallels Snorri’s own story and may to more about him than Egil. Snorri though, unlike Egil, was not a fighter. He found ways through legalities and negotiations to avoid a fight. In 1216 Snorri attained the respected status of Lawspeaker at the Althing, but over the years he also made enemies.
The stories of the Prose Edda in ways reflect the life of Snorri. Neither Odin nor Snorri ever had enough. They always wanted more. Both were impulsive, proud, hospitable, rich but greedy, and not fighters. By the age of 40 Snorri held more power than any before him, holding seven chieftaincies with the ability to call thousands of men to his defense. The raiding Viking voyages along the coastal countries of Europe brought Snorri great wealth in gold, jewels, silver, and weapons, wealth that he would give away at his feasts.
Iceland stood separate from the Catholic Bishopric of Norway in that the Icelanders did not prevent Chieftains from becoming priests and the clergy were not exempt from Icelandic laws though they had the power to excommunicate. Snorri being Lawspeaker put him at the center of these conflicts in his attempts to bring certain clergymen under the rule of law, though in his way of negotiating he found ways around these conflicts. In 1218 Snorri took leave of his responsibilities as Chieftain and Lawspeaker to travel to Norway, returning home in 1220. In his travels he collected much of the history and stories of the kings of Norway that make up his Heimskringla.
Snorri’s writing of skaldic poems is described in some detail, of the nature of the fixed rhythm pleasing to the ear and the opaqueness of three kinds of riddle-like kennings. These poems were thought of as enjoyable propaganda in the courts of the Kings and while sitting around the skaldic fires, but they were not to be used in the Althing deliberations. Yet no man was considered learned who was not also a poet. Inconsistencies in the sequences of events in the Prose Edda were noted as a problem, but with my study and love for the myths I recognize that myths are free of time and place as are our nighttime dreams.
Snorri continued compiling his strength and wealth by gaining more chieftainships through the marriage of his sons and daughters, inheritances, continued battles, estate burnings, and deaths, but as it turns out his three living sons-in-law are the ones who eventually kill him. His position as Lawspeaker lasted until 1231. He was the most powerful Icelander of the North, West and South, three-quarters of the island. But at the Althing of 1229 he stayed in his booth with the recurring skin disease erysipelas that turned his cheeks the color of orange peel. His refusal to give his grown son his rightful inheritance was an example of his critical flaw: greed. He was good at amassing wealth but incapable of sharing it, a person who sounds much like our current uncrowned king of the United States.
By 1232 battles and the end of marriages took their toll with the loss of many of Snorri’s alliances, situation’s over which he took little control and from which he ran and hid. His power and wealth rapidly deteriorated and then in 1241 his beloved Hallveig died, a death from which he did not recover. Soon his enemies came after him, and with his guard down he was murdered. Though others attempted to fill the void left by Snorri’s death, chaos prevailed and in 1262 the chieftains of Iceland swore oaths of loyalty to King Hakon of Norway, agreeing to his taxation. Pulling together bits and pieces from a number of the Icelandic sagas, Brown skillfully describes in an exciting manner the rise and fall of Snorri Sturluson.
Over the next three centuries the Icelandic manuscripts were forgotten. When they eventually resurfaced they were derogatorily described. The poetic kennings were found incomprehensible. Only in the late 1500s did some historians and literary people begin to find value in the Sagas and Eddas, in particular the history of the kings of Norway, which lead to a search to amass the ancient manuscripts. The growing respect for these Nordic stories was eventually high-jacked by nationalist Germany as a piece of their mythical heritage. But beyond this Nazi connection, many other literary people especially in England at such universities as Oxford brought these stories to life. Sir Walter Scott was inspired by the eddic stories told by the Brothers Grimm, and later they became central in the works of C. S. Lewis, J. R. R. Tolkien and Wagner’s opera The Ring of the Nibelung.
The Song of the Vikings brings Snorri Sturluson to life as never before told in other writings. Much of his life was unknown until now, a life beautifully pieced together by Nancy Marie Brown.
February 24, 2020
Fundamentals of Ecstatic Trance
The Fundamentals of Ecstatic Trance
My more recent blogs have been of where ecstatic trance can take us to heal the Earth, to commune with our ancestors, and to journey with the spirits of the land, experiences that facilitate our journey into the New Age. The fundamentals of ecstatic or shamanic trance again need to be considered. Felicitas Goodman in her research on ecstatic trance identified five necessary components for trance induction:
• A belief that the ecstatic trance experience in normal and valuable.
• The trance induction is performed in a sacred space.
• The mind needs to be quieted.
• Trance is induced with rapid stimulation to the nervous system.
• And specific body postures give direction to the trance experience.
This last point has made Goodman’s research especially meaningful. She found in books and museums artifacts that she believed showed the postures used by hunting and gathering shaman in their work as healers, initially identifying approximately 50 postures, postures that give direction to the trance experience. Some postures are for bringing healing energy into one’s body. Other postures are for divination for finding answers to questions. Some postures are for metamorphosis or shape-shifting to become one with one’s spirit guide. Some postures are for journeying in the three worlds, some for journeying in the underworld, others for journeying in the middle world and some for going into the upper world. Then there are the postures that produce an initiation or death-rebirth experience.
The ritual used to induce trance that follows the above necessary components is to first discuss the nature of ecstatic trance. The sacred space is created by smudging and calling the spirits of each direction. The mind is quieted with five minutes of silence while the participants follow their breathing, then the nervous system is stimulated by a rapid of a drum or shaking of a rattle at about 210 beats per minute for 15 minutes while the participants sit, stand or lay in one of the ecstatic postures.
This is followed by the participants journaling their experience. The experiences are important to return to repeatedly for finding their deeper meanings over time.
My more recent blogs have been of where ecstatic trance can take us to heal the Earth, to commune with our ancestors, and to journey with the spirits of the land, experiences that facilitate our journey into the New Age. The fundamentals of ecstatic or shamanic trance again need to be considered. Felicitas Goodman in her research on ecstatic trance identified five necessary components for trance induction:
• A belief that the ecstatic trance experience in normal and valuable.
• The trance induction is performed in a sacred space.
• The mind needs to be quieted.
• Trance is induced with rapid stimulation to the nervous system.
• And specific body postures give direction to the trance experience.
This last point has made Goodman’s research especially meaningful. She found in books and museums artifacts that she believed showed the postures used by hunting and gathering shaman in their work as healers, initially identifying approximately 50 postures, postures that give direction to the trance experience. Some postures are for bringing healing energy into one’s body. Other postures are for divination for finding answers to questions. Some postures are for metamorphosis or shape-shifting to become one with one’s spirit guide. Some postures are for journeying in the three worlds, some for journeying in the underworld, others for journeying in the middle world and some for going into the upper world. Then there are the postures that produce an initiation or death-rebirth experience.
The ritual used to induce trance that follows the above necessary components is to first discuss the nature of ecstatic trance. The sacred space is created by smudging and calling the spirits of each direction. The mind is quieted with five minutes of silence while the participants follow their breathing, then the nervous system is stimulated by a rapid of a drum or shaking of a rattle at about 210 beats per minute for 15 minutes while the participants sit, stand or lay in one of the ecstatic postures.
This is followed by the participants journaling their experience. The experiences are important to return to repeatedly for finding their deeper meanings over time.
February 17, 2020
A Burning Piece of Coal
A Burning Piece of Coal
As I wake in the morning laying in bed my morning trance state of reverie offers me as much as ecstatic trance. In my small bedroom-study I am surrounded by painted shields and figurines of my spirit guides, the buffalo, bear, deer, eagle, squirrel, mouse, snake, and coyote. I sleep and spend my time writing in this womb of my medicine bundle. This morning the buffalo came to me most vividly from the shield hanging from the northwest window. Buffalo was possible my first spirit guide, at least in my awareness of the importance of spirit guides. He showed me my contentment in my spirituality, spirituality that has continued to evolve over these last 40 years since I first embraced the Buffalo while riding on his back, snuggling into his fur.
This morning in my reverie I ventured out into the living world around me, a world full of deer and squirrel with who I most frequently commune. I sometimes hear the coyote and we have at least two black snakes and a garter snake who visit me, one black snake that I rescued from being entangled in the netting around our Paw Paws. In the world that surrounds the acre upon which our small house sits I have been tending and planting many of new plant spirit guides so that being closer I can express my love for them.
In this gardening I spend much time pulling up Japanese Stilt Grass, another very invasive spirit guide, at least it became a spirit guide this morning. Though invasive, it pulls up easily when I want to give space to nurture another plant. What it showed me this morning is that our relation to the rest of the Earth needs to be nurtured at a time when the current invasive Government Administration is seeking to take all that is of the Earth in its greed for oil, coal, and lumber. It is destroying our waterways and fertile land, showing no love for what She, the Earth, has to offer us. The image that then came to me was a hot, burning piece of coal. Though Stilt Grass is not dangerous as is a burning piece of coal or our current invasive Administration that takes away my contentment with the Buffalo/Earth, it shows me what must be done. As I experienced the red hot piece of coal I noticed where I found it inside of me, in my groin on the right side in a lymph node, the place that I recently learned contains prostate cancer cells. Like stilt grass that needs to be watched and controlled by pulling it up, the cancer cells are controlled with a hormone medication and will not kill me. The red hot piece of coal too needs to be controlled to keep a fire from spreading. Hopefully we can contain the invasiveness of the current Government in order to protect our Earth and I can again experience the contentment of the Buffalo without the burning coal within me.
As I wake in the morning laying in bed my morning trance state of reverie offers me as much as ecstatic trance. In my small bedroom-study I am surrounded by painted shields and figurines of my spirit guides, the buffalo, bear, deer, eagle, squirrel, mouse, snake, and coyote. I sleep and spend my time writing in this womb of my medicine bundle. This morning the buffalo came to me most vividly from the shield hanging from the northwest window. Buffalo was possible my first spirit guide, at least in my awareness of the importance of spirit guides. He showed me my contentment in my spirituality, spirituality that has continued to evolve over these last 40 years since I first embraced the Buffalo while riding on his back, snuggling into his fur.
This morning in my reverie I ventured out into the living world around me, a world full of deer and squirrel with who I most frequently commune. I sometimes hear the coyote and we have at least two black snakes and a garter snake who visit me, one black snake that I rescued from being entangled in the netting around our Paw Paws. In the world that surrounds the acre upon which our small house sits I have been tending and planting many of new plant spirit guides so that being closer I can express my love for them.
In this gardening I spend much time pulling up Japanese Stilt Grass, another very invasive spirit guide, at least it became a spirit guide this morning. Though invasive, it pulls up easily when I want to give space to nurture another plant. What it showed me this morning is that our relation to the rest of the Earth needs to be nurtured at a time when the current invasive Government Administration is seeking to take all that is of the Earth in its greed for oil, coal, and lumber. It is destroying our waterways and fertile land, showing no love for what She, the Earth, has to offer us. The image that then came to me was a hot, burning piece of coal. Though Stilt Grass is not dangerous as is a burning piece of coal or our current invasive Administration that takes away my contentment with the Buffalo/Earth, it shows me what must be done. As I experienced the red hot piece of coal I noticed where I found it inside of me, in my groin on the right side in a lymph node, the place that I recently learned contains prostate cancer cells. Like stilt grass that needs to be watched and controlled by pulling it up, the cancer cells are controlled with a hormone medication and will not kill me. The red hot piece of coal too needs to be controlled to keep a fire from spreading. Hopefully we can contain the invasiveness of the current Government in order to protect our Earth and I can again experience the contentment of the Buffalo without the burning coal within me.
February 12, 2020
Review A Druid's Herbal
Book Review – A Druid’s Herbal for the Sacred Earth Year by Ellen Evert Hopman, Rochester, VT: Destiny Books, 1995.
I came to review Hopman’s book because of my reading and review of her most recent book, The Sacred Herbs of Samhain: Plants to Contact the Spirits of the Dead and of the manuscript of her yet to be published book, The Sacred Herbs of Spring. Though this book is 25 years old, what Hopman offers is timeless. It is a wonderful introduction to the ancient Druid rituals that are still and even more meaningful in this 21st century.
The Druids were the healers and shape-shifters of the Celtic era, the poet-priests and priestesses who could prophesize the future. With their study of divination, magic, astrology, nature, and herbal medicine, their poetry and songs of incantation could raise the winds and fog and could dry up lakes. The Bards, the story-tellers for the long winters and for such ceremonies as wakes, weddings and baby blessings, had the ability to listen to the voices from the otherworld and provide guidance, instruction, and knowledge, often providing it for the Celtic kings and chieftains. The Ovates, the keepers of prophesy, were the executioners of prisoners and the criminal outcasts. The Celts believed in reincarnation and were polytheistic with each deity holding special functions. Their three tiered world was the water world of the ancestors, the land of the earthy beings and the sky world of the deities. The months of their calendar and the letters of their alphabet were given the names of trees.
The Druidic herbal medicines were prepared as they are today as teas, salves, tinctures, poultices and syrups, as well as homeopathic dilutions. The magical uses of the herbs were administered while in a hypnotic state of consciousness and through spells, a state of consciousness that I attain through ecstatic trance. The herbs for each of the eight spokes of the cycle of the year is the valuable core of the book, each herb presented in a clear succinct manner including its preparations, and its medicinal, homeopathic, and magical uses. Mistletoe is important for three of the eight spokes of the wheel of the year, the winter solstice or Mean Geimhridh, the summer solstice or Mean Samhraidh, and Lugnasad that falls halfway between the summer solstice and the fall equinox. Growing up in California where Mistletoe is very prevalent, I often collected it during the summer for our celebration of Christmas. I now wonder about mistletoe’s role for the Celts with it growing in the warmer latitudes of California and not in New York or Pennsylvania where I have lived for the last 40 years. Hopman though reports that at least one species grows in northern Europe. Mistletoe’s great sacredness to the Druids may be due to its greater rarity in these cooler climates. Its twigs and leaves are used for strengthening the working of magic, and for their importance in healing, protection and for producing beautiful dreams. This parasite is one of the 14 herbs sacred to the druids, possibly the most important next to the oak upon which it often grows. Research has shown that it stimulates the immune system, inhibits some tumors by activating the killer cells, and it is used to temper epilepsy.
From my love for and writings about the Icelandic Edda, I am familiar with the dart of mistletoe that was used to kill Baldr, the gentle and beloved son of Odin. There was nothing else that would harm him, a promise made to his mother by every other substance. Then, at the time of Ragnarok, the final battle with the demise of the gods of war, the gentle Baldr is reborn to lead us into a gentle New Age, a hopeful prophesy.
The herbal alchemy of the Druids defines a relationship between the Earth’s herbal forces and those of the celestial spheres, a system that classifies each herb by its planetary affiliations to the Sun, Moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter or Saturn. For example, Mars is affiliated with the thorny and prickly plants with a strong acid taste, plants that help with motor nerve, muscle, and left brain problems. These plants include nettles, hops, garlic and onion. The sun’s herbs are orange, reddish orange to yellow and are nourished in the warmth of the sun, herbs such as butterbur, borage, motherwort and grapes which are used to help with problems of the heart, circulation, and the spine.
The rituals and celebrations of the Druids take place in the groves of sacred trees such as oak, rowan and hawthorn, rituals that involve repeatedly walking sunwise around the sacred hills, springs, stones, trees and fires, acts that reflect the desire to live in harmony with the cosmos. Every tree, spring, well, rock, valley, mountain and body of water has its own animating spirits that reveal its sacred relationship with all other flora, fauna and minerals. At these sacred places poetry, legends and song find their fullest expression. At these places sacrificial gifts are offered to the deities and fairies to gain their support in providing for a fruitful life. The twenty-one described herbs used for consecration and purification include Agelica, Asafetida, Basil, Cedar, Juniper, Mistletoe, Sage, and Valerian. Many of the described herbs are also used in funeral rituals and rites and for the journey into the Otherworld, herbs such as Elder and Hawthorn. For marriage under the Oak the many herbs used include Anise, Apple and Maple. For bringing peace and prosperity to the home the herbs used include Bay Laurel, Mandrake, and Plantain; and for the rites of passage from birth, for infant naming, and for puberty the herbs used include Ash, Birch, Holly and Rosemary.
These hypnotic and magical rituals beautifully bring alive our need for a harmonious relationship with the Earth and the Cosmos. These rituals are more relevant today than ever because of our separation from our one and only Earth that has occurred over that last several centuries because of our greed, separation that has led to our current battle for survival because of the climate crisis. I still maintain that there is hope, hope for us to enter the beautiful New Age if we again reconnect with the sacred Earth and the Cosmos, a connection that was very much alive for our ancient hunting and gathering ancestors from the era of the Celts and Druids.
I came to review Hopman’s book because of my reading and review of her most recent book, The Sacred Herbs of Samhain: Plants to Contact the Spirits of the Dead and of the manuscript of her yet to be published book, The Sacred Herbs of Spring. Though this book is 25 years old, what Hopman offers is timeless. It is a wonderful introduction to the ancient Druid rituals that are still and even more meaningful in this 21st century.
The Druids were the healers and shape-shifters of the Celtic era, the poet-priests and priestesses who could prophesize the future. With their study of divination, magic, astrology, nature, and herbal medicine, their poetry and songs of incantation could raise the winds and fog and could dry up lakes. The Bards, the story-tellers for the long winters and for such ceremonies as wakes, weddings and baby blessings, had the ability to listen to the voices from the otherworld and provide guidance, instruction, and knowledge, often providing it for the Celtic kings and chieftains. The Ovates, the keepers of prophesy, were the executioners of prisoners and the criminal outcasts. The Celts believed in reincarnation and were polytheistic with each deity holding special functions. Their three tiered world was the water world of the ancestors, the land of the earthy beings and the sky world of the deities. The months of their calendar and the letters of their alphabet were given the names of trees.
The Druidic herbal medicines were prepared as they are today as teas, salves, tinctures, poultices and syrups, as well as homeopathic dilutions. The magical uses of the herbs were administered while in a hypnotic state of consciousness and through spells, a state of consciousness that I attain through ecstatic trance. The herbs for each of the eight spokes of the cycle of the year is the valuable core of the book, each herb presented in a clear succinct manner including its preparations, and its medicinal, homeopathic, and magical uses. Mistletoe is important for three of the eight spokes of the wheel of the year, the winter solstice or Mean Geimhridh, the summer solstice or Mean Samhraidh, and Lugnasad that falls halfway between the summer solstice and the fall equinox. Growing up in California where Mistletoe is very prevalent, I often collected it during the summer for our celebration of Christmas. I now wonder about mistletoe’s role for the Celts with it growing in the warmer latitudes of California and not in New York or Pennsylvania where I have lived for the last 40 years. Hopman though reports that at least one species grows in northern Europe. Mistletoe’s great sacredness to the Druids may be due to its greater rarity in these cooler climates. Its twigs and leaves are used for strengthening the working of magic, and for their importance in healing, protection and for producing beautiful dreams. This parasite is one of the 14 herbs sacred to the druids, possibly the most important next to the oak upon which it often grows. Research has shown that it stimulates the immune system, inhibits some tumors by activating the killer cells, and it is used to temper epilepsy.
From my love for and writings about the Icelandic Edda, I am familiar with the dart of mistletoe that was used to kill Baldr, the gentle and beloved son of Odin. There was nothing else that would harm him, a promise made to his mother by every other substance. Then, at the time of Ragnarok, the final battle with the demise of the gods of war, the gentle Baldr is reborn to lead us into a gentle New Age, a hopeful prophesy.
The herbal alchemy of the Druids defines a relationship between the Earth’s herbal forces and those of the celestial spheres, a system that classifies each herb by its planetary affiliations to the Sun, Moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter or Saturn. For example, Mars is affiliated with the thorny and prickly plants with a strong acid taste, plants that help with motor nerve, muscle, and left brain problems. These plants include nettles, hops, garlic and onion. The sun’s herbs are orange, reddish orange to yellow and are nourished in the warmth of the sun, herbs such as butterbur, borage, motherwort and grapes which are used to help with problems of the heart, circulation, and the spine.
The rituals and celebrations of the Druids take place in the groves of sacred trees such as oak, rowan and hawthorn, rituals that involve repeatedly walking sunwise around the sacred hills, springs, stones, trees and fires, acts that reflect the desire to live in harmony with the cosmos. Every tree, spring, well, rock, valley, mountain and body of water has its own animating spirits that reveal its sacred relationship with all other flora, fauna and minerals. At these sacred places poetry, legends and song find their fullest expression. At these places sacrificial gifts are offered to the deities and fairies to gain their support in providing for a fruitful life. The twenty-one described herbs used for consecration and purification include Agelica, Asafetida, Basil, Cedar, Juniper, Mistletoe, Sage, and Valerian. Many of the described herbs are also used in funeral rituals and rites and for the journey into the Otherworld, herbs such as Elder and Hawthorn. For marriage under the Oak the many herbs used include Anise, Apple and Maple. For bringing peace and prosperity to the home the herbs used include Bay Laurel, Mandrake, and Plantain; and for the rites of passage from birth, for infant naming, and for puberty the herbs used include Ash, Birch, Holly and Rosemary.
These hypnotic and magical rituals beautifully bring alive our need for a harmonious relationship with the Earth and the Cosmos. These rituals are more relevant today than ever because of our separation from our one and only Earth that has occurred over that last several centuries because of our greed, separation that has led to our current battle for survival because of the climate crisis. I still maintain that there is hope, hope for us to enter the beautiful New Age if we again reconnect with the sacred Earth and the Cosmos, a connection that was very much alive for our ancient hunting and gathering ancestors from the era of the Celts and Druids.
February 3, 2020
Mythological Visions
Visions of Myths
Ecstatic trance takes us into several different domains of the world of the spirits, (1) It provides us which energy for healing, (2) It brings to us the spirits of the Earth to heal the Earth, (3) It brings to us the spirits of our ancestors that give us direction in how to live, (4) It brings us the deeper meaning of the dreams of our ancestors, the deeper meaning of the ancient myths. I have journeyed through the myths of Northern Europe, the Prose Edda and Beowulf and found healing in both. From the Prose Edda the healer is Iduun who keeps the gods young with the apples of her garden, the Garden of Iduun. This opened me to wondering about the stories of the Biblical stories of Genesis and the Garden of Eden. Reading Matthew Wood’s yet to be published manuscript “The Seven Guideposts of the Spiritual Path” brought my wondering to a peak, and I have ventured into using ecstatic trance to journey through the seven stories of Genesis, the stories of Adam and Eve, Cain and Abel, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Joseph, stories that open up a new much deeper understanding of these stories.
In these stories who or what is the voice of God, the voice heard by Adam and Eve, the voice heard by Cain and Abel, the voice heard by Noah? Then after the Tower of Babel, a Tower build to reach to and be to be closer to God, the voices were no longer heard voices but visions seen in dreams or waking visions from an altered state of consciousness of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Joseph, Jacob’s vision of wrestling with a man at the banks of the Jordan River, angel speaking of Sarah, and Joseph’s visions of a stalks of grain and the moon, sun and stars bowing to him, a branch of grapes and a cup, or a basket of baked goods being eaten by birds interpreted by Joseph, and of cows coming out of the Nile, or ears on a stalk coming out of the Nile, dreams of Pharaoh. These visions were messages that came from beyond the five senses, personal messages important to the receiver, as Joseph said to Pharaoh, “Messages not from me, but from God,” messages typical of those of ecstatic trance.
According to Julian Jaynes, the Tower of Babel was built at a point in neurological evolution of integration between the two hemispheres of the brain. Before the Tower the hemispheres were experienced separately, and voices in the right hemisphere of the brain were experienced by the left hemisphere as coming from outside the brain. After the Tower, when a person opened themselves to their dreams and other extra-sensory experiences, the experiences were divinatory predicting something of personal importance in growth and for the community.
God is the voices and visions coming from beyond the five senses of sight, sound, taste, smell and touch, experiences that could be attributed to the spirit of God, or to the spirits of a world beyond the five senses, the spirits of the Earth, spirits of our ancestors.
Such extra-sensory experiences are of value and for healing and not limited to the Judeo-Christian culture but are found in all cultures around the world, experiences that provided the shamans of their cultures their exceptional powers.
In ecstatic trance we use ecstatic posture of the Olmec Diviner for divination to find answers to questions.
Ecstatic trance takes us into several different domains of the world of the spirits, (1) It provides us which energy for healing, (2) It brings to us the spirits of the Earth to heal the Earth, (3) It brings to us the spirits of our ancestors that give us direction in how to live, (4) It brings us the deeper meaning of the dreams of our ancestors, the deeper meaning of the ancient myths. I have journeyed through the myths of Northern Europe, the Prose Edda and Beowulf and found healing in both. From the Prose Edda the healer is Iduun who keeps the gods young with the apples of her garden, the Garden of Iduun. This opened me to wondering about the stories of the Biblical stories of Genesis and the Garden of Eden. Reading Matthew Wood’s yet to be published manuscript “The Seven Guideposts of the Spiritual Path” brought my wondering to a peak, and I have ventured into using ecstatic trance to journey through the seven stories of Genesis, the stories of Adam and Eve, Cain and Abel, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Joseph, stories that open up a new much deeper understanding of these stories.
In these stories who or what is the voice of God, the voice heard by Adam and Eve, the voice heard by Cain and Abel, the voice heard by Noah? Then after the Tower of Babel, a Tower build to reach to and be to be closer to God, the voices were no longer heard voices but visions seen in dreams or waking visions from an altered state of consciousness of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Joseph, Jacob’s vision of wrestling with a man at the banks of the Jordan River, angel speaking of Sarah, and Joseph’s visions of a stalks of grain and the moon, sun and stars bowing to him, a branch of grapes and a cup, or a basket of baked goods being eaten by birds interpreted by Joseph, and of cows coming out of the Nile, or ears on a stalk coming out of the Nile, dreams of Pharaoh. These visions were messages that came from beyond the five senses, personal messages important to the receiver, as Joseph said to Pharaoh, “Messages not from me, but from God,” messages typical of those of ecstatic trance.
According to Julian Jaynes, the Tower of Babel was built at a point in neurological evolution of integration between the two hemispheres of the brain. Before the Tower the hemispheres were experienced separately, and voices in the right hemisphere of the brain were experienced by the left hemisphere as coming from outside the brain. After the Tower, when a person opened themselves to their dreams and other extra-sensory experiences, the experiences were divinatory predicting something of personal importance in growth and for the community.
God is the voices and visions coming from beyond the five senses of sight, sound, taste, smell and touch, experiences that could be attributed to the spirit of God, or to the spirits of a world beyond the five senses, the spirits of the Earth, spirits of our ancestors.
Such extra-sensory experiences are of value and for healing and not limited to the Judeo-Christian culture but are found in all cultures around the world, experiences that provided the shamans of their cultures their exceptional powers.
In ecstatic trance we use ecstatic posture of the Olmec Diviner for divination to find answers to questions.
January 6, 2020
The World of the Spirits
The World of the Spirits
Over the last 50 years as a clinical psychologist I have continued to learn about life. Applying the Constructivist Approach to Cognitive Therapy: Resolving the Unconscious Past is the result, the story of my journey into an important and real world newly opened to me. A common belief is that our dreams, reveries, and trance experiences come from the world of the unconscious mind, but my research into dreams and trance states has shown me that there is another world that is from beyond the unconsciousness. I call this new world the Universal Mind, a source of knowledge that others have called the Akashic field, the Morphic field or the collective unconscious. With this vastly expanded source of knowledge, many new doors open to understanding one’s self, for learning about how to live in health and living sustainably upon our one and only Earth. The research and writings of such people as Rupert Sheldrake and Ervin Laszlo and the discoveries of Quantum Physics have revealed the reality of this world from beyond one’s unconscious mind, the world that is accessed through our dreams, hypnotic and ecstatic trance, and other imagery or altered-state experiences.
My book reviews this research and how to access this world that is beyond what we know with our brain. From beyond our five senses of sight, sound, taste, smell and touch, we meet the characters and elements of our dreams and other trance experiences that are invisible to our five senses, guiding spirits that have much to show us and teach us. These experiences that come from the world of the spirits include the spirits of our ancestors and the trauma they may have experienced that needs to be healed for our benefit. The language of this spirit world is metaphoric and often not immediately understood, but as we listen to and ask ourselves what these spirits represent, we soon learn this language of the spirits. I find this new world exciting, a world that opens us to new spiritual understanding of everything around us, not just from our unconscious mind, but from beyond, from the Universal Mind, a world that is available to all of us.
To learn more of this world of the spirits go to and like my Facebook site “Nick Brink’s Books” where you can find my weekly blogs on this topic. The book is available through your preferred bookseller.
Over the last 50 years as a clinical psychologist I have continued to learn about life. Applying the Constructivist Approach to Cognitive Therapy: Resolving the Unconscious Past is the result, the story of my journey into an important and real world newly opened to me. A common belief is that our dreams, reveries, and trance experiences come from the world of the unconscious mind, but my research into dreams and trance states has shown me that there is another world that is from beyond the unconsciousness. I call this new world the Universal Mind, a source of knowledge that others have called the Akashic field, the Morphic field or the collective unconscious. With this vastly expanded source of knowledge, many new doors open to understanding one’s self, for learning about how to live in health and living sustainably upon our one and only Earth. The research and writings of such people as Rupert Sheldrake and Ervin Laszlo and the discoveries of Quantum Physics have revealed the reality of this world from beyond one’s unconscious mind, the world that is accessed through our dreams, hypnotic and ecstatic trance, and other imagery or altered-state experiences.
My book reviews this research and how to access this world that is beyond what we know with our brain. From beyond our five senses of sight, sound, taste, smell and touch, we meet the characters and elements of our dreams and other trance experiences that are invisible to our five senses, guiding spirits that have much to show us and teach us. These experiences that come from the world of the spirits include the spirits of our ancestors and the trauma they may have experienced that needs to be healed for our benefit. The language of this spirit world is metaphoric and often not immediately understood, but as we listen to and ask ourselves what these spirits represent, we soon learn this language of the spirits. I find this new world exciting, a world that opens us to new spiritual understanding of everything around us, not just from our unconscious mind, but from beyond, from the Universal Mind, a world that is available to all of us.
To learn more of this world of the spirits go to and like my Facebook site “Nick Brink’s Books” where you can find my weekly blogs on this topic. The book is available through your preferred bookseller.
December 23, 2019
Listening from beyond our Ears
Listening from beyond our Ears 12/23/2019
The urgency required for dealing with our climate crisis and with all that is being done, e.g. calling for leaving fossil fuels in the ground, ending the use of plastics, and recycling, actions that are undeniably important, there is yet a deeper change that is more important. The change that needs to be made is to relearn how to live in oneness with all that is of the Earth, when for the last four millennia our religious belief have told us that we have dominion over the Earth, a belief that has led us to take from the Earth anything that would increase our financial wealth. This deeper change is understood by our indigenous brethren.
Living in oneness with the Earth is to listen to and following the voices of the spirits of the Earth, of again being one with all life, of understanding what each species has to say and teach. To listen in this way goes beyond using our ears but requires us to listen from a deeper level. One clue for knowing how to listen is to listen to and understand our nighttime dreams, dreams that have much to teach us. From this deeper state of consciousness, whether a dream state or trance state, we can sit quietly with our animal and plant spirit guides to hear what they have to teach us. This is hearing from beyond what is heard with our ears. There are many who have learned to listen in this way and there are many different ways of opening ourselves to listening in this way. One way is the way of Ecstatic Trance, a shamanic form of trance that I practice, teach and write about. Our hunting and gathering ancestors listened to the Earth’s flora and learned what each plant has to offer them for their health. They listened to the Earth’s fauna and learned the skills that each animal, bird, fish, and insect has to teach them. In this way all flora and fauna are their teachers, are looked to with respect, and not looked down upon with an attitude of superiority. We need to return to this way of listening, a skill that is available to us if we open ourselves to it.
The urgency required for dealing with our climate crisis and with all that is being done, e.g. calling for leaving fossil fuels in the ground, ending the use of plastics, and recycling, actions that are undeniably important, there is yet a deeper change that is more important. The change that needs to be made is to relearn how to live in oneness with all that is of the Earth, when for the last four millennia our religious belief have told us that we have dominion over the Earth, a belief that has led us to take from the Earth anything that would increase our financial wealth. This deeper change is understood by our indigenous brethren.
Living in oneness with the Earth is to listen to and following the voices of the spirits of the Earth, of again being one with all life, of understanding what each species has to say and teach. To listen in this way goes beyond using our ears but requires us to listen from a deeper level. One clue for knowing how to listen is to listen to and understand our nighttime dreams, dreams that have much to teach us. From this deeper state of consciousness, whether a dream state or trance state, we can sit quietly with our animal and plant spirit guides to hear what they have to teach us. This is hearing from beyond what is heard with our ears. There are many who have learned to listen in this way and there are many different ways of opening ourselves to listening in this way. One way is the way of Ecstatic Trance, a shamanic form of trance that I practice, teach and write about. Our hunting and gathering ancestors listened to the Earth’s flora and learned what each plant has to offer them for their health. They listened to the Earth’s fauna and learned the skills that each animal, bird, fish, and insect has to teach them. In this way all flora and fauna are their teachers, are looked to with respect, and not looked down upon with an attitude of superiority. We need to return to this way of listening, a skill that is available to us if we open ourselves to it.
December 10, 2019
Science of the Sacred
Book Review – The Science of the Sacred: Bridging Global Indigenous Medicine Systems and Modern Scientific Principles by Nicole Redvers, N.D., Berkeley, CA: North Atlantic Books, 2019.
Dr. Nicole Redvers is Dene, a member of the Deninu K’ue Band of Canada and a doctor of naturopathy. She resides in Yellowknife in the Northwest Territory and is a cofounder and chair of the Arctic Indigenous Wellness Foundation whose purpose is to revitalize traditional wellness services and to focus on the preservation of Traditional Medicines. It was her story that attracted me to review her book, The Science of the Sacred.
Redvers opens the book with a description of how we are composed of no more than vibrating energy. This is seen from the relatively recent discoveries of modern physics that everything when broken down to its source, i.e. broken down from the cell to the atom and then to the subatomic particles that when examined turn out to be only electromagnetic vibrations. Though this is a recent discovery in our world of contemporary medicine, it is something that most all indigenous societies from India, the orient, and other indigenous cultures have known since ancient times. These energy vibrations have been called by many names, e.g. in India the vibrating sound of Aum and in the orient the flowing energy Qi. These vibrations bring about healing as do the vibrations of drumming that exists in many indigenous cultures, drumming that has become important to me in my practice of ecstatic trance with its vibratory connection with all that is of the Earth.
Redvers carries this bridging journey from the physicist next to the geneticist, before carrying it on to other sciences the biochemistry, physiology, dietetics, microbiology, psychology, nature and astronomy. Beginning with Darwin and on to now with completion of the massive Human Genome Project along with the new understanding of epigenetics, modern genetics is catching up with the ancient understand of the indigenous medical traditions. The human genome is no longer considered stable or fixed but a genetic structure that is constantly changing within the individual, changes caused by the many environmental and chemical stimuli to the human body. Redvers uses as an example how trauma changes a person’s genes, changes that are then passed down from generation to generation, creating genetic predispositions that can resist the drugs used to treat the anxiety and depression caused by the original trauma, drugs that can make the treated problem even worse. Much genetic information is now available regarding an individual’s predispositions that when considered can be used to tailor make what the person needs. Again, the ancient medical systems that recognize and assess individual differences or characteristics have throughout the ages been more effective in offering what an individual needs than the global approach that is used now. Modern research has only recently found that these individual differences can be seen in the genetic patterns of the individual.
What is lacking in our contemporary medical system is a concern for the cause and purpose of a disease, aspects of the disease that are central in traditional medicine. Contemporary medicine focuses on the symptom, e.g. the cancer and its removal, but in doing so the purpose or cause is ignored with the likely return of the cancer as it calls out for remediation of the cause. The biochemistry involved in this process is very complex, yet in recognizing cancer as a metabolic disease there are metabolic/biochemical markers that can point to the cause. Traditional medicine systems have ways to diagnosis these diseases with sensitivity to purpose and cause before the symptoms develop by using such biochemical indicators as breath, body or urine odor, skin and tongue color, and breathing and pulse rate. My continued journey with prostate cancer might have been diagnosed by the odor of my urine more reliably or sooner than the PSA test. Though our current medical practitioners have lost the olfactory sensitivity to such odors there is considerable evidence that this sensitivity can be relearned as it is learned by the indigenous shamans and is now used by those involved in the wine and perfume industries.
Learning to control different physiological processes of the body that are believed to be out of conscious control is one way of traditional healing, whether through sweat baths, meditation, or breath control. Traditional medical ways have been developed over thousands of years through observation and experimentation without the double-blind placebo controlled research of modern western medicine. The traditional healer has ways of sensitively feeling variations in a person’s pulse/heart rate, assessing the pulse on 26 different dimensions. Observing respiratory and kidney functioning as well as digestive functioning enhances their skill in diagnosing illnesses in the individual. The sacred sweat lodge and sauna provide the cleansing of the many chemical toxins that have invaded the body and the rituals of these sweats increase spiritual and emotional wellness. Such sweats have been demonstrated to retard the proliferation of certain cancer cells, enhance other cells that can kill cancer cells, and enhance resistance to viral, bacterial and parasitic infections. Redvers presents much evidence for a person’s ability to learn to control heart rate, breathing rate, and brain waves through various forms of meditation. I can personally attest to this ability to control these physiological functions with my own 40 years experience with using hypnosis, biofeedback and more recently ecstatic/shamanic trance, i.e. trance induced by the vibrations of drumming.
People in our modern culture suffer with much more back, joint and muscle pain than do the people of traditional societies even though these traditional people typically carry heavy load on their back or head and walk much longer distances in a day’s time. Our hunched-over sedentary lifestyle is the culprit, and the medications prescribed for symptom relief again do not go to the cause. Traditional medicine practitioners advise to keep your joints moving and may place special smooth heated stones on the painful areas to sooth and relax. Some rocks like magnetite are mildly magnetic which may add to their effectiveness by aligning with the body’s natural magnetite, but more research is necessary to understand this. The most important factor is moving and working with a strong core and straight spine, a natural posture that in our modern culture has been unlearned. Traditional people did not sleep in soft beds with pillows, but slept on firm flat surfaces. Regarding foot pain our highly supportive shoes do not do us a favor. The traditional societies typically wore moccasins which are next to going barefoot as is becoming popular in some sporting events.
For generations the foods available from the land of a specific indigenous group have produced or caused genetic mutations such that their acceptable diet is different from that of other groups. Their diet also changes from season to season when they eat what is available during the season. But since the middle of last century with the infiltration of invading and migrating people and the marketing of processed and packaged “synthetic” foods that are easily available, the availability of their natural diet has diminished causing decreasing health and promoting new illnesses. Such governmental laws as the banning of hunting Caribou have added to this problem when replaced by fattier beef. With the detrimental effect of such changes in diet and health, the traditional elders and grandmothers are trying to find the right balance for a healthy diet between the new ways and returning to the old ways, many of which have been forgotten or are no longer possible because of the changes in the environment.
The stomach microbes or flora, both beneficial and pathogenic, are much more numerous in traditional people than for the people of non-traditional societies that eat primarily sterile process packaged foods. Also, when the stomach flora is destroyed by antibiotics the flora may not grow back as it should. Many infectious and autoimmune diseases are caused by an imbalance in stomach flora. Alterations of the gut microbe composition have also been shown to be related to such psychological disorders as depression, anxiety and schizophrenia. One science commentator put it, “Americans’ digestive tracts look like barren deserts compared with the lush, tropical rainforests found inside Indigenous people.” The lack of beneficial stomach flora weakens the immune system. Fermented foods, probiotics and organically produced foods promote the growth of beneficial flora and aid in maintaining the healthy microbe balance.
Depression, anxiety and other mental health problems caused by the frequency of severe trauma occurring around the world is on the increase. But thinking that we can help by sending counselors creates problems when the counseling methods do not fit with the traditional culture. Opening up to a stranger in expressing emotional pain does not make sense when to them dancing, singing, spending time outdoors and giving comfort likely makes much more healing sense. In most traditional cultures hallucinations are seen as a sign of being gifted and likely lead the individual to becoming a shaman. For traditional society the elders used to have greater authority than now, but there is a movement to again place them in this place of higher authority. Traditional healing includes valuing and providing greater strength, showing love, praying, sharing, crying and laughter. In some societies psychedelic drugs have been used ceremonially but now should be used only with supervision and with great caution.
Another important source for healing a myriad of disorders is nature. Forest bathing is becoming popular in Japan. Walking among trees has been shown to increase the killer white blood cells that help fight infections and cancer, and decreased cortisol levels decreasing stress and blood pressure. Time in nature increases cognition, creativity, and empathy, and decreases hostility. Our ancestors spent 99.9% of their time in nature. Our airtight buildings with high levels of volatile organic compounds and without indoor plants or even windows to look out into trees have proven to be very unhealthy. Current deforestation by large scale cutting and forest fires has become a serious problem, whereas the indigenous fire-keeper knew how to use controlled fires to keep the forests healthy and productive for all life. The smoke of burning plants for smudging is also another source of healing to reduce aerial bacteria. We must work to recreate a relationship with nature to counter the great power that electronics and urban development currently has over our lives.
“The spirits of the universe placed Earth where it with respect to the sun that brings us night and day and the seasons of the year, and the moon that brings us the tides of the oceans. The stars have provided us with the atoms of which we are composed.” This is part of the litany I use in calling the spirits from the six directions in our ritual of inducing ecstatic trance, a shamanic form of trace that I practice, teach and write about. These spirits are appreciated by Nicole Redvers in her description of the influence of the cosmos on the human body and traditional societies, a spirit world or universal consciousness found in the belief of panpsychism. Research in quantum physics has shown that when attempting to measure characteristics of subatomic particles the particle becomes what is observed, i.e. what is observed is not independent of the observer, or the observer affects what is observed. The link of our mind with the cosmos can be observed when in a trance state. Trance transports us on our journeys through the universal consciousness or the world of the spirits. The Elders of Earth’s Traditional Societies have known how to access the thousands of years of collective knowledge, knowledge that is often passed down through myths or experienced when in the altered state of ecstatic trance. This collective knowledge is on the verge of extinction unless we relearn how to access it through altered states of consciousness.
The traditional medicine ways have existed for thousands of years, much longer than our western medical establishment, yet this western way of medicine puts itself above all others and devaluates them. What is dearly needed is open communication and open mindedness between all. Many traditional medicine elders acknowledge the advances made in modern medicine and recognize the benefits of an integration of the ancient and modern, and though some that practice the modern ways are starting to show some appreciation for what the ancient ways have to offer, there is a long ways to go. The elders that are familiar with the traditional ways are far and few between and time is running out for the ancient ways to be remembered.
The Science of the Sacred well provides the bridge between the ancient and modern, laying the groundwork for a healthy integration of both ways of medicine, a book that provides hope for the future.
Dr. Nicole Redvers is Dene, a member of the Deninu K’ue Band of Canada and a doctor of naturopathy. She resides in Yellowknife in the Northwest Territory and is a cofounder and chair of the Arctic Indigenous Wellness Foundation whose purpose is to revitalize traditional wellness services and to focus on the preservation of Traditional Medicines. It was her story that attracted me to review her book, The Science of the Sacred.
Redvers opens the book with a description of how we are composed of no more than vibrating energy. This is seen from the relatively recent discoveries of modern physics that everything when broken down to its source, i.e. broken down from the cell to the atom and then to the subatomic particles that when examined turn out to be only electromagnetic vibrations. Though this is a recent discovery in our world of contemporary medicine, it is something that most all indigenous societies from India, the orient, and other indigenous cultures have known since ancient times. These energy vibrations have been called by many names, e.g. in India the vibrating sound of Aum and in the orient the flowing energy Qi. These vibrations bring about healing as do the vibrations of drumming that exists in many indigenous cultures, drumming that has become important to me in my practice of ecstatic trance with its vibratory connection with all that is of the Earth.
Redvers carries this bridging journey from the physicist next to the geneticist, before carrying it on to other sciences the biochemistry, physiology, dietetics, microbiology, psychology, nature and astronomy. Beginning with Darwin and on to now with completion of the massive Human Genome Project along with the new understanding of epigenetics, modern genetics is catching up with the ancient understand of the indigenous medical traditions. The human genome is no longer considered stable or fixed but a genetic structure that is constantly changing within the individual, changes caused by the many environmental and chemical stimuli to the human body. Redvers uses as an example how trauma changes a person’s genes, changes that are then passed down from generation to generation, creating genetic predispositions that can resist the drugs used to treat the anxiety and depression caused by the original trauma, drugs that can make the treated problem even worse. Much genetic information is now available regarding an individual’s predispositions that when considered can be used to tailor make what the person needs. Again, the ancient medical systems that recognize and assess individual differences or characteristics have throughout the ages been more effective in offering what an individual needs than the global approach that is used now. Modern research has only recently found that these individual differences can be seen in the genetic patterns of the individual.
What is lacking in our contemporary medical system is a concern for the cause and purpose of a disease, aspects of the disease that are central in traditional medicine. Contemporary medicine focuses on the symptom, e.g. the cancer and its removal, but in doing so the purpose or cause is ignored with the likely return of the cancer as it calls out for remediation of the cause. The biochemistry involved in this process is very complex, yet in recognizing cancer as a metabolic disease there are metabolic/biochemical markers that can point to the cause. Traditional medicine systems have ways to diagnosis these diseases with sensitivity to purpose and cause before the symptoms develop by using such biochemical indicators as breath, body or urine odor, skin and tongue color, and breathing and pulse rate. My continued journey with prostate cancer might have been diagnosed by the odor of my urine more reliably or sooner than the PSA test. Though our current medical practitioners have lost the olfactory sensitivity to such odors there is considerable evidence that this sensitivity can be relearned as it is learned by the indigenous shamans and is now used by those involved in the wine and perfume industries.
Learning to control different physiological processes of the body that are believed to be out of conscious control is one way of traditional healing, whether through sweat baths, meditation, or breath control. Traditional medical ways have been developed over thousands of years through observation and experimentation without the double-blind placebo controlled research of modern western medicine. The traditional healer has ways of sensitively feeling variations in a person’s pulse/heart rate, assessing the pulse on 26 different dimensions. Observing respiratory and kidney functioning as well as digestive functioning enhances their skill in diagnosing illnesses in the individual. The sacred sweat lodge and sauna provide the cleansing of the many chemical toxins that have invaded the body and the rituals of these sweats increase spiritual and emotional wellness. Such sweats have been demonstrated to retard the proliferation of certain cancer cells, enhance other cells that can kill cancer cells, and enhance resistance to viral, bacterial and parasitic infections. Redvers presents much evidence for a person’s ability to learn to control heart rate, breathing rate, and brain waves through various forms of meditation. I can personally attest to this ability to control these physiological functions with my own 40 years experience with using hypnosis, biofeedback and more recently ecstatic/shamanic trance, i.e. trance induced by the vibrations of drumming.
People in our modern culture suffer with much more back, joint and muscle pain than do the people of traditional societies even though these traditional people typically carry heavy load on their back or head and walk much longer distances in a day’s time. Our hunched-over sedentary lifestyle is the culprit, and the medications prescribed for symptom relief again do not go to the cause. Traditional medicine practitioners advise to keep your joints moving and may place special smooth heated stones on the painful areas to sooth and relax. Some rocks like magnetite are mildly magnetic which may add to their effectiveness by aligning with the body’s natural magnetite, but more research is necessary to understand this. The most important factor is moving and working with a strong core and straight spine, a natural posture that in our modern culture has been unlearned. Traditional people did not sleep in soft beds with pillows, but slept on firm flat surfaces. Regarding foot pain our highly supportive shoes do not do us a favor. The traditional societies typically wore moccasins which are next to going barefoot as is becoming popular in some sporting events.
For generations the foods available from the land of a specific indigenous group have produced or caused genetic mutations such that their acceptable diet is different from that of other groups. Their diet also changes from season to season when they eat what is available during the season. But since the middle of last century with the infiltration of invading and migrating people and the marketing of processed and packaged “synthetic” foods that are easily available, the availability of their natural diet has diminished causing decreasing health and promoting new illnesses. Such governmental laws as the banning of hunting Caribou have added to this problem when replaced by fattier beef. With the detrimental effect of such changes in diet and health, the traditional elders and grandmothers are trying to find the right balance for a healthy diet between the new ways and returning to the old ways, many of which have been forgotten or are no longer possible because of the changes in the environment.
The stomach microbes or flora, both beneficial and pathogenic, are much more numerous in traditional people than for the people of non-traditional societies that eat primarily sterile process packaged foods. Also, when the stomach flora is destroyed by antibiotics the flora may not grow back as it should. Many infectious and autoimmune diseases are caused by an imbalance in stomach flora. Alterations of the gut microbe composition have also been shown to be related to such psychological disorders as depression, anxiety and schizophrenia. One science commentator put it, “Americans’ digestive tracts look like barren deserts compared with the lush, tropical rainforests found inside Indigenous people.” The lack of beneficial stomach flora weakens the immune system. Fermented foods, probiotics and organically produced foods promote the growth of beneficial flora and aid in maintaining the healthy microbe balance.
Depression, anxiety and other mental health problems caused by the frequency of severe trauma occurring around the world is on the increase. But thinking that we can help by sending counselors creates problems when the counseling methods do not fit with the traditional culture. Opening up to a stranger in expressing emotional pain does not make sense when to them dancing, singing, spending time outdoors and giving comfort likely makes much more healing sense. In most traditional cultures hallucinations are seen as a sign of being gifted and likely lead the individual to becoming a shaman. For traditional society the elders used to have greater authority than now, but there is a movement to again place them in this place of higher authority. Traditional healing includes valuing and providing greater strength, showing love, praying, sharing, crying and laughter. In some societies psychedelic drugs have been used ceremonially but now should be used only with supervision and with great caution.
Another important source for healing a myriad of disorders is nature. Forest bathing is becoming popular in Japan. Walking among trees has been shown to increase the killer white blood cells that help fight infections and cancer, and decreased cortisol levels decreasing stress and blood pressure. Time in nature increases cognition, creativity, and empathy, and decreases hostility. Our ancestors spent 99.9% of their time in nature. Our airtight buildings with high levels of volatile organic compounds and without indoor plants or even windows to look out into trees have proven to be very unhealthy. Current deforestation by large scale cutting and forest fires has become a serious problem, whereas the indigenous fire-keeper knew how to use controlled fires to keep the forests healthy and productive for all life. The smoke of burning plants for smudging is also another source of healing to reduce aerial bacteria. We must work to recreate a relationship with nature to counter the great power that electronics and urban development currently has over our lives.
“The spirits of the universe placed Earth where it with respect to the sun that brings us night and day and the seasons of the year, and the moon that brings us the tides of the oceans. The stars have provided us with the atoms of which we are composed.” This is part of the litany I use in calling the spirits from the six directions in our ritual of inducing ecstatic trance, a shamanic form of trace that I practice, teach and write about. These spirits are appreciated by Nicole Redvers in her description of the influence of the cosmos on the human body and traditional societies, a spirit world or universal consciousness found in the belief of panpsychism. Research in quantum physics has shown that when attempting to measure characteristics of subatomic particles the particle becomes what is observed, i.e. what is observed is not independent of the observer, or the observer affects what is observed. The link of our mind with the cosmos can be observed when in a trance state. Trance transports us on our journeys through the universal consciousness or the world of the spirits. The Elders of Earth’s Traditional Societies have known how to access the thousands of years of collective knowledge, knowledge that is often passed down through myths or experienced when in the altered state of ecstatic trance. This collective knowledge is on the verge of extinction unless we relearn how to access it through altered states of consciousness.
The traditional medicine ways have existed for thousands of years, much longer than our western medical establishment, yet this western way of medicine puts itself above all others and devaluates them. What is dearly needed is open communication and open mindedness between all. Many traditional medicine elders acknowledge the advances made in modern medicine and recognize the benefits of an integration of the ancient and modern, and though some that practice the modern ways are starting to show some appreciation for what the ancient ways have to offer, there is a long ways to go. The elders that are familiar with the traditional ways are far and few between and time is running out for the ancient ways to be remembered.
The Science of the Sacred well provides the bridge between the ancient and modern, laying the groundwork for a healthy integration of both ways of medicine, a book that provides hope for the future.
December 9, 2019
Reaching out to hear the Spirits
Reaching out to hear the Spirits 12-9-19
As I have spoken of before, according to Jean Gebser as we leave the 4th era of consciousness, the rational era in which we have denied the reality and importance of the spirits and enter the fifth era, the era of time-free transparency in which we again can listen to and value the spirits, the spirits that come to us from beyond our five senses. This return to the earlier eras in which our ancestors, the hunter-gatherers, lived, they lived with the spirits that gave them direction in living in oneness with the Earth. We are now rediscovering this ability of listening but now with deeper understanding of the importance of the spirits that come to us through altered states of consciousness such as the state of ecstatic trance.
Another writer, Julian Jaynes, adds another dimension to this evolution in his book The Origin of Consciousness in the Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind. Our Wednesday morning group is taking an ecstatic trance journey though our own Judeo-Christian myths as recorded in the Biblical book of Genesis. The seven stories of Genesis are of a journey of leaving the Garden of Eden because of learning the knowledge of good and evil, knowledge that has led us to the destruction we are now experiencing in Global Climate Change, to eventually returning to the Garden as we again listen to the spirits. These stories were initially passed down orally before their recording approximately 6000 years ago. After the first three stories of Adam and Eve, Cain and Abel, and Noah comes a brief interlude when the Tower of Babel is built that according to Jaynes was built because the people were no longer hearing the voice of God so sought this way to reach to heaven to again hear God. Jaynes attributes this new deafness to a neurological mutation in the brain that improved the connection between its two hemispheres when before the right hemisphere heard what was coming from the left as if it came from outside the body. But in looking at these stories from a mythic viewpoint, stories that many take as literal history, the Tower comes at the right time in explaining our journey back to the Garden of Eden, the paradise in which our hunter-gatherer ancestors lived in peace and health. The Tower was built after the great flood when God destroyed all that was of the Earth because of their corruption, saving only Noah and those he brought upon the ark. The final four stories of Genesis, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and finally Joseph show the journey back to discovering how to listen to the voice of the spirits through dreaming as evident in the final story of Joseph with his ability to interpret dreams that brought him great prestige.
As I have spoken of before, according to Jean Gebser as we leave the 4th era of consciousness, the rational era in which we have denied the reality and importance of the spirits and enter the fifth era, the era of time-free transparency in which we again can listen to and value the spirits, the spirits that come to us from beyond our five senses. This return to the earlier eras in which our ancestors, the hunter-gatherers, lived, they lived with the spirits that gave them direction in living in oneness with the Earth. We are now rediscovering this ability of listening but now with deeper understanding of the importance of the spirits that come to us through altered states of consciousness such as the state of ecstatic trance.
Another writer, Julian Jaynes, adds another dimension to this evolution in his book The Origin of Consciousness in the Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind. Our Wednesday morning group is taking an ecstatic trance journey though our own Judeo-Christian myths as recorded in the Biblical book of Genesis. The seven stories of Genesis are of a journey of leaving the Garden of Eden because of learning the knowledge of good and evil, knowledge that has led us to the destruction we are now experiencing in Global Climate Change, to eventually returning to the Garden as we again listen to the spirits. These stories were initially passed down orally before their recording approximately 6000 years ago. After the first three stories of Adam and Eve, Cain and Abel, and Noah comes a brief interlude when the Tower of Babel is built that according to Jaynes was built because the people were no longer hearing the voice of God so sought this way to reach to heaven to again hear God. Jaynes attributes this new deafness to a neurological mutation in the brain that improved the connection between its two hemispheres when before the right hemisphere heard what was coming from the left as if it came from outside the body. But in looking at these stories from a mythic viewpoint, stories that many take as literal history, the Tower comes at the right time in explaining our journey back to the Garden of Eden, the paradise in which our hunter-gatherer ancestors lived in peace and health. The Tower was built after the great flood when God destroyed all that was of the Earth because of their corruption, saving only Noah and those he brought upon the ark. The final four stories of Genesis, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and finally Joseph show the journey back to discovering how to listen to the voice of the spirits through dreaming as evident in the final story of Joseph with his ability to interpret dreams that brought him great prestige.
November 28, 2019
Sacred Herbs of Samhain
Book Review – The Sacred Herbs of Samhain: Plants to Contact the Spirits of the Dead by Ellen Evert Hopman, Rochester, VT: Destiny Books, 2019.
With my love of the Wheel of Light with its eight spokes and communing with plant spirits through ecstatic trance, I found this title irresistible and had to purchase it. The Sacred Herbs of Samhain takes the reader on a journey along one spoke of the Wheel of Light, the spoke that falls between the Fall Equinox and the Winter Solstice, i. e. Samhain, the time when the veil between the worlds opens, the time when the spirits of our ancestors come alive. Samhain is at end of October, the time of Halloween. The early elements of wearing costumes and trick-or-treating are found in this ancient tradition.
Hopman describes in a fun and enjoyable manner approximately 30 herbs and their preparations for healing, and especially for communing with the benevolent Spirits and Fairies and protection from the malevolent ones. These herbs are also for purification, for their ability to facilitate journeys of divination, and for releasing and honoring the spirits of the dead on their journey into the other world.
Besides ingesting the herbs as teas and tinctures, some are used externally as a salve or a poultice. Some are used homeopathically or as an essence where the preparation is repeatedly diluted such that little if any of the herb remains. But what makes Hopman’s stories most enjoyable are her descriptions of how the herbs are used for making wreaths and equal armed crosses to be placed on doorways, gates, and in other places of the spirits, as bouquets for special altars to the spirits or worn on the person to facilitate communication with and protection from the spirits. Some herbs are burnt as a cleansing smudge for the grieving or for cleansing the corpse, and some are placed in the casket of the dead or planted on the grave to facilitate their journey into the other world. These herbs are central in the celebratory rituals around the Samhain bonfire or in special recipes for Samhain feasts. Many of these uses are based in the ancient Celtic myths or more contemporary stories. Hopman’s telling of these myths and stories bring this book alive especially with my familiarity and love for these stories, stories that I cherish hearing again and again.
I will select three of the herbs to review to provide a flavor of Hopman’s descriptions: Rowan, Artemesia, and the preparation of acorn flour for a special feasting cake.
I selected the Rowan tree with its orange to red berries because of my intent to plant one this next spring in my Celtic Wheel of Light Garden. Also, when I played the Highland Bagpipes one of my favorite pieces to play was The Rowan Tree. The Rowan Tree twigs are used for protection and for communing with the spirits when displayed as equal-armed crosses tied with red twine. These crosses are placed throughout the barn to protect the animals, and bits of Rowan can be tied to a cow or horse’s tail or made into a wreath placed about the animal’s neck. Rowan berries are strung as a necklace again for protection and for summoning the spirits. A branch of Rowan as a staff or wand is also used for protection.
The Rowan berries harvested after the first frost can be cooked in cakes and breads or added to mead. The berry juice and syrup is used for sore throats and colds, and berry tea is helpful for a wide variety of maladies. A recipe for Rowan Berry Jam is offered, but Hopman reports that the berries should never be eaten raw and their overuse can cause vomiting, diarrhea and kidney disease.
Artemisia vulgaris or Mugwort is used as a visionary herb and for divination. Mugwort is often give out at the conferences of the International Association for the Study of Dreams to be put under the pillow at night to facilitates dreaming. I have frequently journeyed with Mugwort through ecstatic trance and have a close relationship with it as one of my spirit guides. It is considered the first herb in the Saxon “Nine Herbs of Woden,” and it has a prominent place in my Nine Herbs of Woden Garden. Mugwort may be worn in celebrations as a crown or a belt for summoning the spirits. Drinking Mugwort tea and smudging with Mugwort at a funeral facilitate communication with the deceased and for their protection on their journey through the veil. Medicinally it is used to treat diarrhea, constipation, vomiting, premenopausal syndrome, and to aid with epilepsy, chronic fatigue and depression.
Hopman offers a number of special herbal recipes for Samhain feasts including the “Dumb Supper” when no one speaks in preparing, serving and eating the meal. One herb is the meat of the Oak acorn. The best time to collect the acorns is when they are still somewhat green and have not be infect with a worm that causes them to rot. I aim to collect acorns next fall for the purpose of making acorn flour. Once the acorn meat is removed from the shell and blended to make it into a coarse gruel, it needs to be washed in water and strained daily for about two weeks in order to remove the bitterness of tannin. Once this leaching is complete the gruel is dried and ground into a fine flour for making acorn cakes and breads that are served with maple walnut ice cream, or freshly whipped cream as a special treat for the Samhain feast.
Hopman’s trance ritual for calling the spirits includes smudging and calling the spirits from each direction, both part of my practice of ecstatic trance, though I also use specific ecstatic postures to give direction to the trance experience. She also suggests that besides calling the spirits from each direction, they may be called from the Celtic Three Worlds: the sacred land, sea and sky. I am looking forward to experimenting with calling the spirits from these three worlds in my practice of ecstatic trance. These stories and many more make this book a very enjoyable read, offering me many ideas of how to celebrate Samhain.
I am excitedly looking forward to reading Hopman’s next book, The Sacred Herbs of Beltaine: Magical, Healing and Edible Plants to Celebrate Spring that will be coming out this next April. I hope to read this new book before next May’s Beltaine. I also hope that Hopman has in mind writing similar books for the other six spokes of the Wheel of Light. Again this book is a very enjoyable and useful read for those who value and celebrate the eight spokes of the Wheel of Light.
With my love of the Wheel of Light with its eight spokes and communing with plant spirits through ecstatic trance, I found this title irresistible and had to purchase it. The Sacred Herbs of Samhain takes the reader on a journey along one spoke of the Wheel of Light, the spoke that falls between the Fall Equinox and the Winter Solstice, i. e. Samhain, the time when the veil between the worlds opens, the time when the spirits of our ancestors come alive. Samhain is at end of October, the time of Halloween. The early elements of wearing costumes and trick-or-treating are found in this ancient tradition.
Hopman describes in a fun and enjoyable manner approximately 30 herbs and their preparations for healing, and especially for communing with the benevolent Spirits and Fairies and protection from the malevolent ones. These herbs are also for purification, for their ability to facilitate journeys of divination, and for releasing and honoring the spirits of the dead on their journey into the other world.
Besides ingesting the herbs as teas and tinctures, some are used externally as a salve or a poultice. Some are used homeopathically or as an essence where the preparation is repeatedly diluted such that little if any of the herb remains. But what makes Hopman’s stories most enjoyable are her descriptions of how the herbs are used for making wreaths and equal armed crosses to be placed on doorways, gates, and in other places of the spirits, as bouquets for special altars to the spirits or worn on the person to facilitate communication with and protection from the spirits. Some herbs are burnt as a cleansing smudge for the grieving or for cleansing the corpse, and some are placed in the casket of the dead or planted on the grave to facilitate their journey into the other world. These herbs are central in the celebratory rituals around the Samhain bonfire or in special recipes for Samhain feasts. Many of these uses are based in the ancient Celtic myths or more contemporary stories. Hopman’s telling of these myths and stories bring this book alive especially with my familiarity and love for these stories, stories that I cherish hearing again and again.
I will select three of the herbs to review to provide a flavor of Hopman’s descriptions: Rowan, Artemesia, and the preparation of acorn flour for a special feasting cake.
I selected the Rowan tree with its orange to red berries because of my intent to plant one this next spring in my Celtic Wheel of Light Garden. Also, when I played the Highland Bagpipes one of my favorite pieces to play was The Rowan Tree. The Rowan Tree twigs are used for protection and for communing with the spirits when displayed as equal-armed crosses tied with red twine. These crosses are placed throughout the barn to protect the animals, and bits of Rowan can be tied to a cow or horse’s tail or made into a wreath placed about the animal’s neck. Rowan berries are strung as a necklace again for protection and for summoning the spirits. A branch of Rowan as a staff or wand is also used for protection.
The Rowan berries harvested after the first frost can be cooked in cakes and breads or added to mead. The berry juice and syrup is used for sore throats and colds, and berry tea is helpful for a wide variety of maladies. A recipe for Rowan Berry Jam is offered, but Hopman reports that the berries should never be eaten raw and their overuse can cause vomiting, diarrhea and kidney disease.
Artemisia vulgaris or Mugwort is used as a visionary herb and for divination. Mugwort is often give out at the conferences of the International Association for the Study of Dreams to be put under the pillow at night to facilitates dreaming. I have frequently journeyed with Mugwort through ecstatic trance and have a close relationship with it as one of my spirit guides. It is considered the first herb in the Saxon “Nine Herbs of Woden,” and it has a prominent place in my Nine Herbs of Woden Garden. Mugwort may be worn in celebrations as a crown or a belt for summoning the spirits. Drinking Mugwort tea and smudging with Mugwort at a funeral facilitate communication with the deceased and for their protection on their journey through the veil. Medicinally it is used to treat diarrhea, constipation, vomiting, premenopausal syndrome, and to aid with epilepsy, chronic fatigue and depression.
Hopman offers a number of special herbal recipes for Samhain feasts including the “Dumb Supper” when no one speaks in preparing, serving and eating the meal. One herb is the meat of the Oak acorn. The best time to collect the acorns is when they are still somewhat green and have not be infect with a worm that causes them to rot. I aim to collect acorns next fall for the purpose of making acorn flour. Once the acorn meat is removed from the shell and blended to make it into a coarse gruel, it needs to be washed in water and strained daily for about two weeks in order to remove the bitterness of tannin. Once this leaching is complete the gruel is dried and ground into a fine flour for making acorn cakes and breads that are served with maple walnut ice cream, or freshly whipped cream as a special treat for the Samhain feast.
Hopman’s trance ritual for calling the spirits includes smudging and calling the spirits from each direction, both part of my practice of ecstatic trance, though I also use specific ecstatic postures to give direction to the trance experience. She also suggests that besides calling the spirits from each direction, they may be called from the Celtic Three Worlds: the sacred land, sea and sky. I am looking forward to experimenting with calling the spirits from these three worlds in my practice of ecstatic trance. These stories and many more make this book a very enjoyable read, offering me many ideas of how to celebrate Samhain.
I am excitedly looking forward to reading Hopman’s next book, The Sacred Herbs of Beltaine: Magical, Healing and Edible Plants to Celebrate Spring that will be coming out this next April. I hope to read this new book before next May’s Beltaine. I also hope that Hopman has in mind writing similar books for the other six spokes of the Wheel of Light. Again this book is a very enjoyable and useful read for those who value and celebrate the eight spokes of the Wheel of Light.
