Happy Holidays to everyone, and I’ll see you back here January 6.
I did run across some new holiday stories of interest. From our fungal friends:
The Influence of Hallucinogenic Mushrooms on Christmas
Robert Gordon Wasson, an ethnomycologist, and anthropologist John A. Rush have investigated fungi, the religious and ritualistic perspective and also their psychotropic properties. In their research, both came to the conclusion that the Amanita muscaria mushroom is closely related to the Christmas imaginary.
Hundreds of years ago, it was found that the winter solstice ceremony of the indigenous people of the North Pole, especially the Koryaks of Siberia and the Kamchadales, had similar traditions to the ones of the last century’s Christmas Eve.
In the ancestral communities of the Arctic, the winter solstice, which occurs on December 21st, was a ceremonial and festive date. Rituals were conducted that were guided by shamans who collected the Amanita muscaria mushroom, also called fly agaric, which has powerful hallucinogenic properties.
Going down the chimney, flying through the sky, red and white colors.. I never made this association before.
For tree people:
O Cedar Tree
O Cedar Tree by Rainbow Medicine-Walker includes a link to the Lummi Song “O Cedar Tree.” She discusses the Utah junipers of her youth (called cedars) and other tree species called cedars.
I have always loved the “O Christmas Tree”/“O Tannenbaum” carol, which speaks so eloquently of the beauty and symbolism of the evergreen tree. So it was perhaps inevitable I would strongly resonate with the Lummi Cedar Tree song when I relocated here to the Pacific Northwest several decades ago.
This deceptively simple song expresses the essence of the western red cedar to the Coast Salish tribal peoples. One need only take a moment to watch a cedar dancing with the wind, its dangling green fronds clapping together like multiple hands, to understand that Cedar reaches out in all directions to share healing gifts—all we need do to receive them is reach back.
*********
The original “O Tannenbaum” (of the German carol) refers not to a cedar, but to the European silver fir (Abies alba), which is closely related to the fragrant Pacific silver fir (Abies amabilis) here in my area. The strong aroma exuded by our local silver fir is an effective mood elevator. I find it impossible to be glum when I have a branch in close proximity. So while it is not one of the sacred ‘cedars,’ it is still a powerful evergreen sentinel of a wild forest chock full of abundant healing.
Pacific silver fir – Source: Native Plants PNW Evergreens in general have come to symbolize the hope of rebirth and the everlasting renewal of life. At what time and for whatever reason the first humans brought evergreen branches and even whole trees inside of their dwellings, the practice has stuck. In Western culture, in modern times, we mostly do this during the Christmas season: a perfect time to remind ourselves—with the help of the fragrant evergreen Tree People—that even in the midst of darkness and uncertainty, life continues on.
Light, love, peace and joy to all!