Etidorhpa, the strange history of a mysterious being
Etidorhpa is one of my favourite books, an occult science fiction adventure story that contains profound metaphysical and scientific truths. It was written by John Uri Lloyd, a pharmaceutical manufacturer from Cincinnati, in 1895. The word Etidorhpa is the backward spelling of the name Aphrodite. The book contains many illustrations by J Augustus Knapp and the beautifully haunting images add to the strangeness of the tale.
The book purports to be a manuscript dictated by a strange being named I-Am-The-Man to a man named Llewyllyn Drury. By his account, the speaker is kidnapped by fellow members of a secret society because he is suspected to be a threat to their secrecy. I-Am-The-Man is taken to a cave in Kentucky; there he is led by a cavern dweller on a long subterranean journey into the core of the earth. The cavern dweller was a member of a secret organization whose objective was the preservation of vital knowledge for the future enlightenment of mankind. The adventurous story becomes an inner journey of the spirit as much as a geographical trip through underground realms. The objective of this trip was to reach the inner shell of the earth, where the nameless one was to receive advanced schooling in the mysteries of the universe. Ideas presented in Etidorhpa include practical alchemy, secret Masonic orders, the Hollow Earth theory and the concept of transcending the physical realm.
The journey of I-Am-The-Man is a not-so-subtle allegory of spiritual progression to being a disembodied adept. Along the way he loses his youth, loses sunlight, becomes weightless, stops breathing, can hear without ears, then his heart stops and still he lives. Each of these steps is symbolic of a progression to a more ethereal plane of existence.
Since Lloyd was a pharmacologist, his novel has provoked speculation that drug use contributed to its fantastic and visionary nature, though no real evidence on the matter is available. During the story I-Am-The-Man discovers an unusual green coloured spiral-gilled fungus. He then splits the fungus and 'drinks' the green fluid within. The description of what occurs after this fluid is consumed is a very succinct description of the psychedelic experience. Lloyd's account of the hero's alteration in consciousness is so incredibly precise, it would be difficult to believe that he hadn't had his own personal experience to draw from. John Uri's brother, Curtis Gates Lloyd, is described by one source as one of the leading fungi botanists of his time. So it is possible that he could have come across hallucinogenic mushrooms.
The secret society that kidnaps the speaker in the book is thought to be based on the Freemasons and relating to the true story of William Morgan. Morgan had announced that he was going to publish an exposé titled Illustrations of Masonry, critical of the Freemasons and describing their secret rites and oaths in great detail. In 1826 at a town called Batavia in the state of New York, on the road to Buffalo, the printing press was burned and it’s owner beaten by a group of masked men. In the press office were fresh prints of the new book. William Morgan was abducted some days later and carried to Canandaigua. He was then taken secretly to Fort Niagara on the Canadian border, where he disappeared. Five prominent Masons in Canandaigua were tried for his murder in January 1827.
Soon after Morgan disappeared, his book was published and became a bestseller because of the notoriety of the events surrounding his disappearance. David Cade Miller, a local newspaper publisher who commissioned William Morgan to write the book, did not say that Morgan had been murdered but that he had been "carried away". The circumstances of Morgan's disappearance and the minimal punishment received by his kidnappers caused public outrage. He became a symbol of the rights of free speech and free press. Protests against Freemasons took place in New York and the neighboring states. Masonic officials disavowed the actions of the kidnappers, but all Masons came under a cloud leading to the anti-freemasonry movement that swept the country.
The cave of Zoroaster, where the speaker begins his journey to the inner earth, is said to be in Kentucky in the story. The journey from when the speaker is kidnapped and imprisoned to reaching the entrance of the cave as described by the speaker bears some similarity to the route from Niagara to the Livingston county area of Kentucky, further reinforcing the belief that the story of William Morgan was used and perhaps is even I-Am-The-Man.
Kentucky is riddled with caves and sink holes. Mammoth Cave, the longest cave system in the world, is located there and many other cave systems still await discovery. So perhaps there really is an entrance to the hollow earth somewhere in this area.
Thank you for reading.
The book purports to be a manuscript dictated by a strange being named I-Am-The-Man to a man named Llewyllyn Drury. By his account, the speaker is kidnapped by fellow members of a secret society because he is suspected to be a threat to their secrecy. I-Am-The-Man is taken to a cave in Kentucky; there he is led by a cavern dweller on a long subterranean journey into the core of the earth. The cavern dweller was a member of a secret organization whose objective was the preservation of vital knowledge for the future enlightenment of mankind. The adventurous story becomes an inner journey of the spirit as much as a geographical trip through underground realms. The objective of this trip was to reach the inner shell of the earth, where the nameless one was to receive advanced schooling in the mysteries of the universe. Ideas presented in Etidorhpa include practical alchemy, secret Masonic orders, the Hollow Earth theory and the concept of transcending the physical realm.
The journey of I-Am-The-Man is a not-so-subtle allegory of spiritual progression to being a disembodied adept. Along the way he loses his youth, loses sunlight, becomes weightless, stops breathing, can hear without ears, then his heart stops and still he lives. Each of these steps is symbolic of a progression to a more ethereal plane of existence.
Since Lloyd was a pharmacologist, his novel has provoked speculation that drug use contributed to its fantastic and visionary nature, though no real evidence on the matter is available. During the story I-Am-The-Man discovers an unusual green coloured spiral-gilled fungus. He then splits the fungus and 'drinks' the green fluid within. The description of what occurs after this fluid is consumed is a very succinct description of the psychedelic experience. Lloyd's account of the hero's alteration in consciousness is so incredibly precise, it would be difficult to believe that he hadn't had his own personal experience to draw from. John Uri's brother, Curtis Gates Lloyd, is described by one source as one of the leading fungi botanists of his time. So it is possible that he could have come across hallucinogenic mushrooms.
The secret society that kidnaps the speaker in the book is thought to be based on the Freemasons and relating to the true story of William Morgan. Morgan had announced that he was going to publish an exposé titled Illustrations of Masonry, critical of the Freemasons and describing their secret rites and oaths in great detail. In 1826 at a town called Batavia in the state of New York, on the road to Buffalo, the printing press was burned and it’s owner beaten by a group of masked men. In the press office were fresh prints of the new book. William Morgan was abducted some days later and carried to Canandaigua. He was then taken secretly to Fort Niagara on the Canadian border, where he disappeared. Five prominent Masons in Canandaigua were tried for his murder in January 1827.
Soon after Morgan disappeared, his book was published and became a bestseller because of the notoriety of the events surrounding his disappearance. David Cade Miller, a local newspaper publisher who commissioned William Morgan to write the book, did not say that Morgan had been murdered but that he had been "carried away". The circumstances of Morgan's disappearance and the minimal punishment received by his kidnappers caused public outrage. He became a symbol of the rights of free speech and free press. Protests against Freemasons took place in New York and the neighboring states. Masonic officials disavowed the actions of the kidnappers, but all Masons came under a cloud leading to the anti-freemasonry movement that swept the country.
The cave of Zoroaster, where the speaker begins his journey to the inner earth, is said to be in Kentucky in the story. The journey from when the speaker is kidnapped and imprisoned to reaching the entrance of the cave as described by the speaker bears some similarity to the route from Niagara to the Livingston county area of Kentucky, further reinforcing the belief that the story of William Morgan was used and perhaps is even I-Am-The-Man.
Kentucky is riddled with caves and sink holes. Mammoth Cave, the longest cave system in the world, is located there and many other cave systems still await discovery. So perhaps there really is an entrance to the hollow earth somewhere in this area.
Thank you for reading.
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