Journal Review - Strange Fires, Weird Smokes and Psychoactive Combustibles: Entheogens and Incense in Ancient Traditions

April 14th note: Oh man, a lot of this draft is from ages ago. Better late than never, right folks? =)



Whoa. I can't believe I just stumbled upon this journal. There's a Journal of Psychoactive Drugs and I didn't know about it? Admittedly, it's clearly not a major journal, but still... better late than never, I suppose!


The article is a bit more recent than the last one I wrote about, but the subject matter goes much farther back than the 60s. Apparently one of (if not the) primary ways of altering consciousness in the ancient world was to burn substances in a closed area, and to inhale the smoke. The text gives information on the primary incense "cults" (there's that word again...), and also describes shared aspects and influences between these cults. This review is going to be a bit more bullet-point style, in an attempt to really get all the information across.

Introduction-Highlights
-Frankincense "provokes psychoactivity"?! That puts the Christmas story in a new perspective. The cited article (Moussaieff et. al 2008) looks pretty neuroscience/chemistry heavy, as a warning. In short, it appears to act by via MAO-inhibiting b-carbolines, and there's even articles discussing frankincense addiction.
-Ancient people's made the most out of what they could in their harsher existence, and burning a substance was another way of investigating it's usefulness (psychoactive usefulness, that is). The effect of the substance on the mind was seen as communication with some sort of holy or divine presence, be it in the plant or elsewhere.
-Ancient texts and scholarly research reveal highly complex systems of incense cults.

Incense Cults of Israel
-Researchers have speculated about the species of entheogens mentioned in the Bible, and links to Persian texts are also a source of information on Jewish cult practices
-The psychoactive incense used in the temple is subject to debate, and cannabis has been suggested as the kaneh bosom, which appears throughout the Old Testament after it's first mention in Exodus
-But at times the Old Testament incense is immensely powerful and dangerous, to the point of being lethal or instigating violent destruction (Leviticus 10; Numbers 16; 2 Kings 26)
-It also represented the presence of Yahweh, who was both angered and pacified by various odors. Fears of a mistake in the ritual were constant, for a mistake could bring the wrath of god.
-The ingredients in the sacred incense ktoret are highly debated, while some support the link to cannabis and other species
-Anthropologist Margaret Joyce Field speculated that Moses might have inhaled crude nitrous oxide, by placing crystals of ammonium nitrate on hot metal dishes or censers
-The Altar of Incense, a major source of contention of power between the Levite Priest class and the community between "alien" cults, as well as an issue in the tensions of the secular power of the kings and the priestly guilds
-After the Nation of Israel replaced its of meeting with temple, the Altar of Incense and was significantly less prominent
-Solomon employs Hiram of Tyre to build the temple to offer "fragrant incense", and sometimes the clouds of smoke were so thick that priests could not enter the temple



Incense in Egypt and Rome
Egypt
-Though the ancient incense recipes of the Israelites may never be known, Egypt is a logical step in terms of searching for answers
-Egyptian incenses and magico-medica-fumigants included benzoin, cannabis, Hyoscaymus, bitumen, and arsenic sulphide
-Psychopharmacologists link Egyptian plants with the soma/haoma of the ancient world and Peganum harmala, which is still used today
-The ancient kyphi has been speculated to contain cannabis, as well as Acorus calamus, and sixteen to fifty other unidentified ingredients
Rome
-Psychoactive smoke rituals of this region are discussed in a much more overt manner due to the heavily shamanic component of much of their mystery traditions
-Orphics, members of a cult of Orpheus, speak of Orpheus's mystical regimen as including as special diet and smoke. The smoke was a source of "ecstasy" and "frenzy." 
-Suspected ingredients of their incense include frankincense, myrrh, saffron, "every kind of seed", and possibly unidentified ingredients
-Distinctions between medicine and magic were not made in the ancient world; Greek medical papryi and Greek magical papyri are synonymous
-A magical papyri discusses ingredients of psychoactive concoctions that were burned, consumed, or rubbed into the skin. Ingredients included bufotenin from various frogs and toads.
-Delphi is heavily linked to psychoactive substances, particularly cannabis. Known ingredients of their incense include laurel leaves, henbane seeds (Hyoscamus niger) myrrh, and olibanum.
-Hemp, laurel, and barley, were burned in various ways at Delphi as a narcotic.



 The Incense Road
-Analogous to the Silk Road, but incense
-The ancient Persian haoma is cognate to the Vedic homa, a fire rite that accompanied the soma of the Brahmins
-These fire rites were core to both the soma/haoma plant complexes
-The fierce debate of both identities continues, though the fire rites likely included
-The surviving Mandeas and the Shia of Iran burn ephedra and Peganum harmala for apotropaic purposes
-The Iranian drug term svanta could be sandalwood, hemp, Datura spp., and henbane

Incense in China
-Chinese mystics could shed much light on unknown ingredients, as more artifacts indicate early contact between Indo-European cultures and China
-Parallels exist between the ancient cults of Israel and the Orient
-The Taoists, like other Indo-Ayran cults of holy magical plants/fungus, enshrined magic mushrooms and other substances
-The Chinese were unparalleled in their highly systematic use of smokes- times of use including warfare, fumigation for hygiene and book insects/worms, to hedonistic and religious purposes
-Ancient Taoist oratories are described as empty except for an incense burner, the "audience of the Absolute" is brought into the room via the psychoactive smoke and fumes
-Cinnabar, sulfur, or arsenical sulfides were were used to purge metals of impurities, resulting in both interesting chemical and physiological effects. The alchemical furnace and incense burner have a relationship.
-Systematic records of incense blends are present; there are known examples of Tantric psychoactive incenses composed of Datura metel
-The Himalayan shamans and Tantric mystics have a highly evolved psychoactive incense mysticism 
-Taoists were masters of quasi-lethal and lethal incenses

Incense in the Middle East
-Much knowledge is considered to have come from China
-The alchemical furnace is noted again here
-Lethal incenses are mentioned in the Arabic toxicological/alchemical literature
-Unique incense customs were present pre and post Islam
-The extensive use of Peganum harmala is well documented and still continues in many Arabic countries for hedonistic and magical purposes
-Moroccan exorcisms confine the afflicted in a tent with Peganum until the demons leave, and village fools inhale the smoke recreationally
-Datura stramonium seeds are reported to be inhaled by some in Morocco at hallucinogenic doses
-The Prophet Muhammad prescribed an incense containing harmal and frankincense used in worship
-Legends of djinn or jin (genies, or demons, depending) are associated with incense burning as is their exorcism (when demons)


From the Destruction of the Temple and Onward
-Reverence for smoke continued past ancient times, a variety of scientists studying the psychological or physical aspects of smoke are noted. Some attribute Newton's breakdowns to inhaling toxic fumes.
-Hebrew incense rites ended with the destruction of the second temple in 70 C.E.
-Debate still continues about the many incense/smoke/psychoactive related passages in the Bible
-The association of incense with various forms of magic persisted, from the truth serums of inquisitors to the witches of witch hunts
-There's actually quite a bit of literature on the psychoactive plants used by witches. Neat! Check out Hansen's book The Witches Garden (1978) for more info.


Oh man, that was a long read! But I think it was worth it. I now feel as if I have a much better idea about the use of incense across the ancient world... quite a few plants that I didn't know were psychoactive came up in this article, as well. This is a new format for summarizing an article, and though not everything is mentioned, I tried to get the basics and the interesting.

Enjoy! =)

Reference

Strange Fires, Weird Smokes and Psychoactive Combustibles: Entheogens and Incense in Ancient Traditions. Frederick R Dannaway Journal of Psychoactive Drugs; Dec 2010; 42, 4;  pg. 485-497.

The Internet Substance Market - A Ramble

The online research chemical market definitely makes a difference in psychedelic distribution. The internet in general has changed the way that people communicate about and distribute drugs.

Or so it seems.

Despite my involvement in the online "esoteric" community, I still lack "insider" information, so to speak. There's a lot going on I don't know about. Which is alright, don't get me wrong. I'm not begging for the secrets here. More so, I think it gives me an interesting perspective. I'm not all the way in the know, but I'm not all the way out of it either.

Unlike a lot of people, who see the internet as some drug dealing haven of hell. Or whatever that bum I just passed on the street was rambling about. But I can see where they're coming from. Sort of.

I'm not sure how many of the sites selling chemicals online are legitimate. But if any of them are, it's not all that difficult for someone to find what they're looking for if they try. Theoretically, any curious and adamant person could suddenly have psychedelics in their mailbox.

Uninformed people can have access to very-mind-altering drugs without having to learn much first. And well, if you've ever been on some drug forums, you'll know how scary that can be. In the understandable stance of these distributors to avoid legal troubles, the chemicals are frequently listed as "not for human consumption." It would be wonderful if everyone researched what exactly they were about to put in their body, but this is not the case.

Which, on one level, isn't anyone's problem but their own. But it leads to stories like this. New York Magazine recently published the article on "bath salts." The product is not actually bath salts, but an MDPV and mephedrone combination. The news media isn't exactly all that supportive of the idea.  And I don't completely blame them. I found this in one of the first Google results for "bath salts":

"In Panama City, Fla., two incidents alerted authorities to the drug's serious effects. In one case, several officers were needed to subdue a man who tore a radar unit out of a police car, with his teeth.

In another incident, police say a woman attacked her mother with a machete, thinking she was a monster."

Well then. The question is: why does this happen?


Easy enough. Some people are uninformed and careless in their drug use. It is also possible they have medical or psychiatric conditions that exacerbate their response to the substance.

Here's a harder question (for the FDA to answer, at least): If this drug is ravaging our streets as much as you claim, how come a majority of people who are using it aren't making the news?

Minus the quirkiness of these situations, similar situations occur due to alcohol consumption. Alcohol can lead to violence, aggression, and killing people with your car. In fact, one of our country's favorite legal drugs is notorious for the amount of death and destruction is causes. A majority of other illegal and legal drugs are consumed in this country with relatively little news fanfare. It seems that once a drug is "unpopular", it no longer makes it on the media radar.

It's regrettable that this sort of media attention often adds to the stigma already held against psychoactive substances. It's also regrettable that most people who read these articles don't know any better. They, however, are not the only ones we should focus on.

It seems that whenever a designer drug makes its way into vogue, stories of careless use and misery ensue in the media. How do these particular drugs suddenly become so popular?

And most importantly, how can we best inform people about safe substance use, so not every trend has to make the news?

Despite the progress that psychedelic research is making at the academic level, psychedelics continue to see set-backs like this in the public sphere. And as ridiculous as it is for the medical and spiritual possibilities of these substances to be constrained by public bias, if we want to move forward, we have some explaining to do.

Journal Review - Proverbs in an LSD Cult

When I first gained access to the vast world of academic literature as a university student, the first thing I searched for was LSD cults. I'll admit, I don't quite remember why I started with that, other than a general interest in psychedelic substances. Yet as I begin this blog, in which I hope to bring to light many interesting articles, it seems an appropriate place to start.

The word "cult" is defined as the follows, according to the ancient looking 1982 American Heritage Dictionary I found in my house:


1. A system or community of religious worship and ritual, especially one focusing on a particularly deity or spirit.
2. a. Obsessive devotion or veneration for a person, principle, or idea. b. The object of such devotion.
3. An exclusive group of persons sharing an esoteric interest.

An interesting third definition, considering our name! Despite the many possible applications of these definitions, it seems that the word "cult" carries a stigma, perhaps due to the extreme ways in which some deviate from the social norm. Which one of these definitions best describes the LSD cults of past and present?

Well, there's probably a bit of variation there. The most interesting article I found on the subject of LSD cults is from Richard Bauman and Neil McCabe, in a 1970 issue of The Journal of American Folklore. In the simple six page article, the authors attend and describe the initiation ceremony of a small local LSD cult in Seattle, Washington.

The authors describe the LSD cults in general, including the one observed in Dallas, as follows:


"Most (groups) share an interest in various forms of Eastern mysticism, especially Yoga and Zen Buddhism, and interpret the LSD experience as a confirmation of Easter meta-physics. The objective of the religious engagement for these cults, insofar as it can be summed up in a few words, is generally the attainment of a state of mystical insight and awareness, often identified by such Buddhist or Hindu terms as satori, samadhi, and nirvana."

In order to be initiated into the cult, the prospective member was required to be twenty-one years of age or older, had previous LSD experience, and have been interviewed and approved by the cult leader. There was also a preliminary preparation period, consisting of informal instruction in Zen, Yoga, and self-hypnotism, as well as one or more LSD sessions to determine the proper dose for initiation.

The initiation ceremony itself took place in the basement of a house. The initiate was administered LSD in a room upstairs, with a sponsor and two cult elders (of twelve total), as preparations were made downstairs. Eventually the initiation ceremony began, with a "litany" spoken by a leader with occasional one line repetitions by the chorus. Regrettably, the author was more interested in the proverbs contained in the litany than other aspects of the cult, though the proverbs are quite interesting in themselves. All but number seven are based on previous proverbs.

"The Proverbs
1. Void will be void.
2. Absence makes your part grow smaller.
3. A niche in time is thine.
4. Time and tide wait for No-Man.
5. Any saved is a fortune spurned.
6. You'll rush in where angels fear to tread.
7. Kill the drive to stay alive.
8. To be but not to be-that is the quest.
9. Live and yet die, die and let live.
10. Out of sight, out of sight, Mind.


Though they cited other published literature, the authors apparently didn't bother to interview or discuss the proverbs with the members of the cult. No mention of why this omitted is present, but it seems somewhat condescending, and well, a ridiculous omission. While cited references of literature related to cults, proverbs, and Eastern mysticism keep this article in the academic analytical sphere, it lacks any sort of perspective from a member of the cult. It feels more like a data sheet. An interesting data sheet, but a data sheet nonetheless. 

Reference

Bauman, R., McCabe, N. Proverbs in an LSD Cult. The Journal of American Folklore, Vol. 83, No. 329 (Jul. - Sep., 1970), pp. 318-324.