Sunday 23 December 2012

Ancient Origins of Santa Claus: The psychedelic shamanistic traditions

Modern Christmas traditions are based on ancient mushroom-using shamans.
Although most people see Christmas as a Christian holiday, most of the symbols and icons we associate with Christmas celebrations are actually derived from the shamanistic traditions of the tribal peoples of pre-Christian Northern Europe.
Most of the major elements of the modern Christmas celebration, such as Santa Claus, Christmas trees, magical reindeer and the giving of gifts, are originally based upon the traditions surrounding the harvest and consumption of these most sacred mushrooms.

“The Pharmacratic Inquisition” that talks about all of these things in detail. Definitely worth watching if you are interested in these subjects and how they influence culture. Funny how most people today don’t really know very much about the things they celebrate. I would argue that it is somewhat pointless to be a culture without knowing its origins, especially considering how much it has become skewed and twisted from its original meaning.
The sacred mushroom of these people was the red and white amanita muscaria mushroom, also known as “fly agaric.” These mushrooms are now commonly seen in books of fairy tales, and are usually associated with magic and fairies. This is because they contain potent hallucinogenic compounds, and were used by ancient peoples for insight and transcendental experiences.
The Pharmacratic Inquisition: The Suppression of Direct Religious Experience, Sexuality and Drugs. Christianity’s Darkest Secrets Revealed.
This is a 3.5 hour lecture, regarding the origins of religion.
As above So below – This video covers both aspects of Christianity: God’s son in heaven, the risen savior; and God’s son on earth, whose flesh and blood is consumed.
This video is presented by Jan Irvin and Andrew Rutajit, authors of the book, “Astrotheology & Shamanism – Unveiling the Law of Duality in Christianity and Other Religions” A fantastic foreward was written for these authors by their friend Jordan Maxwell.
The world tree
These ancient peoples, including the Lapps of modern-day Finland, and the Koyak tribes of the central Russian steppes, believed in the idea of a World Tree. The World Tree was seen as a kind of cosmic axis, onto which the planes of the universe are fixed. The roots of the World Tree stretch down into the underworld, its trunk is the “middle earth” of everyday existence, and its branches reach upwards into the heavenly realm.
The amanita muscaria mushrooms grow only under certain types of trees, mostly firs and evergreens. The mushroom caps are the fruit of the larger mycelium beneath the soil which exists in a symbiotic relationship with the roots of the tree. To ancient people, these mushrooms were literally “the fruit of the tree.”
The North Star was also considered sacred, since all other stars in the sky revolved around its fixed point. They associated this “Pole Star” with the World Tree and the central axis of the universe. The top of the World Tree touched the North Star, and the spirit of the shaman would climb the metaphorical tree, thereby passing into the realm of the gods. This is the true meaning of the star on top of the modern Christmas tree, and also the reason that the super-shaman Santa makes his home at the North Pole.
Ancient peoples were amazed at how these magical mushrooms sprang from the earth without any visible seed. They considered this “virgin birth” to have been the result of the morning dew, which was seen as the semen of the deity. The silver tinsel we drape onto our modern Christmas tree represents this divine fluid.
Reindeer games
The active ingredients of the amanita mushrooms are not metabolized by the body, and so they remain active in the urine. In fact, it is safer to drink the urine of one who has consumed the mushrooms than to eat the mushrooms directly, as many of the toxic compounds are processed and eliminated on the first pass through the body.
It was common practice among ancient people to recycle the potent effects of the mushroom by drinking each other’s urine. The amanita’s ingredients can remain potent even after six passes through the human body. Some scholars argue that this is the origin of the phrase “to get pissed,” as this urine-drinking activity preceded alcohol by thousands of years.
Reindeer were the sacred animals of these semi-nomadic people, as the reindeer provided food, shelter, clothing and other necessities. Reindeer are also fond of eating the amanita mushrooms; they will seek them out, then prance about while under their influence. Often the urine of tripped-out reindeer would be consumed for its psychedelic effects.
This effect goes the other way too, as reindeer also enjoy the urine of a human, especially one who has consumed the mushrooms. In fact, reindeer will seek out human urine to drink, and some tribesmen carry sealskin containers of their own collected piss, which they use to attract stray reindeer back into the herd.
The effects of the amanita mushroom usually include sensations of size distortion and flying. The feeling of flying could account for the legends of flying reindeer, and legends of shamanic journeys included stories of winged reindeer, transporting their riders up to the highest branches of the World Tree.
Santa Claus, super shaman
Although the modern image of Santa Claus was created at least in part by the advertising department of Coca-Cola, in truth his appearance, clothing, mannerisms and companions all mark him as the reincarnation of these ancient mushroom-gathering shamans.
One of the side effects of eating amanita mushrooms is that the skin and facial features take on a flushed, ruddy glow. This is why Santa is always shown with glowing red cheeks and nose. Even Santa’s jolly “Ho, ho, ho!” is the euphoric laugh of one who has indulged in the magic fungus.
Santa also dresses like a mushroom gatherer. When it was time to go out and harvest the magical mushrooms, the ancient shamans would dress much like Santa, wearing red and white fur-trimmed coats and long black boots.
These peoples lived in dwellings made of birch and reindeer hide, called “yurts.” Somewhat similar to a teepee, the yurt’s central smokehole is often also used as an entrance. After gathering the mushrooms from under the sacred trees where they appeared, the shamans would fill their sacks and return home. Climbing down the chimney-entrances, they would share out the mushroom’s gifts with those within.
The amanita mushroom needs to be dried before being consumed; the drying process reduces the mushroom’s toxicity while increasing its potency. The shaman would guide the group in stringing the mushrooms and hanging them around the hearth-fire to dry. This tradition is echoed in the modern stringing of popcorn and other items.
The psychedelic journeys taken under the influence of the amanita were also symbolized by a stick reaching up through the smokehole in the top of the yurt. The smokehole was the portal where the spirit of the shaman exited the physical plane.
Santa’s famous magical journey, where his sleigh takes him around the whole planet in a single night, is developed from the “heavenly chariot,” used by the gods from whom Santa and other shamanic figures are descended. The chariot of Odin, Thor and even the Egyptian god Osiris is now known as the Big Dipper, which circles around the North Star in a 24-hour period.
In different versions of the ancient story, the chariot was pulled by reindeer or horses. As the animals grow exhausted, their mingled spit and blood falls to the ground, forming the amanita mushrooms.
St Nicholas and Old Nick:

Saint Nicholas is a legendary figure who supposedly lived during the fourth Century. His cult spread quickly and Nicholas became the patron saint of many varied groups, including judges, pawnbrokers, criminals, merchants, sailors, bakers, travelers, the poor, and children.
Most religious historians agree that St Nicholas did not actually exist as a real person, and was instead a Christianized version of earlier Pagan gods. Nicholas’ legends were mainly created out of stories about the Teutonic god called Hold Nickar, known as Poseidon to the Greeks. This powerful sea god was known to gallop through the sky during the winter solstice, granting boons to his worshippers below.
When the Catholic Church created the character of St Nicholas, they took his name from “Nickar” and gave him Poseidon’s title of “the Sailor.” There are thousands of churches named in St Nicholas’ honor, most of which were converted from temples to Poseidon and Hold Nickar. (As the ancient pagan deities were demonized by the Christian church, Hold Nickar’s name also became associated with Satan, known as “Old Nick!”)
Local traditions were incorporated into the new Christian holidays to make them more acceptable to the new converts. To these early Christians, Saint Nicholas became a sort of “super-shaman” who was overlaid upon their own shamanic cultural practices. Many images of Saint Nicholas from these early times show him wearing red and white, or standing in front of a red background with white spots, the design of the amanita mushroom.
St Nicholas also adopted some of the qualities of the legendary “Grandmother Befana” from Italy, who filled children’s stockings with gifts. Her shrine at Bari, Italy, became a shrine to St Nicholas.
Modern world, ancient traditions
Some psychologists have discussed the “cognitive dissonance” which occurs when children are encouraged to believe in the literal existence of Santa Claus, only to have their parents’ lie revealed when they are older. By so deceiving our children we rob them of a richer heritage, for the actual origin of these ancient rituals is rooted deep in our history and our collective unconscious. By better understanding the truths within these popular celebrations, we can better understand the modern world, and our place in it.
Many people in the modern world have rejected Christmas as being too commercial, claiming that this ritual of giving is actually a celebration of materialism and greed. Yet the true spirit of this winter festival lies not in the exchange of plastic toys, but in celebrating a gift from the earth: the fruiting top of a magical mushroom, and the revelatory experiences it can provide.
Instead of perpetuating outdated and confusing holiday myths, it might be more fulfilling to return to the original source of these seasonal celebrations. How about getting back to basics and enjoying some magical mushrooms with your loved ones this solstice? What better gift can a family share than a little piece of love and enlightenment?
FURTHER LINKS AND REFERENCES:

- The Hidden Meanings of Christmas, Mushrooms and Mankind, by James Arthur
- Who put the Fly Agaric into Christmas?, Seventh International Mycological Congress, December 1999, Fungus of the Month
- The Real Story of Santa, The Spore Print, Los Angeles Mycological Society, December 1998
- Santa and those Reindeer: The Hallucinogenic Connection, The Physics of Christmas, by Roger Highfield
- Fungi, Fairy Rings and Father Christmas, North West Fungus Group, 1998 Presidential Address, by Dr Sean Edwards
- Fly Agaric, Tom Volk’s Fungus of the Month for December 1999
- Father Christmas Flies on Toadstools, New Scientist, December 1986
- Psycho-mycological studies of amanita: From ancient sacrament to modern phobia, by Jonathan Ott, Journal of Psychedelic Drugs; 1976
- Santa is a Wildman, LA Times, Jeffrey Vallance
BOOKS WORTH READING:
- When Santa Was A Shaman: Ancient Origins of Santa Claus & the Christmas Tree, by Tony van Renterghem
- Mushrooms and Mankind, by James Arthur
- Soma: Divine Mushroom of Immortality, by Gordon Wasson
- Mushrooms, Poisons and Panaceas, by Denis R. Benjamin

Saturday 22 December 2012

Pirate Bay Censorship Backfires as New Proxies Bloom

After legal threats from the music industry the UK Pirate Party saw no other option than to shut down their Pirate Bay proxy service. However, as is usually the case with censorship, the Internet has found a way to route around it. Responding to the UK situation Pirate parties in Argentina and Luxembourg have decided to start fresh Pirate Bay proxies.
pirate bayAs reported earlier, the UK Pirate Party has taken the difficult decision to shut down their Pirate Bay proxy service.
Music industry group BPI threatened legal action against six members of the party, who would each have to risk bankruptcy to fight for their ideals. Understandably, the party chose to fight another day.
The BPI claimed that justice has been served, but a few days later they can put the Champagne back in the fridge.
Pirate parties in Argentina and Luxembourg have been closely following their colleagues in the UK and as result have decided to spring into action. The parties have now started their own Pirate Bay proxies (ARG / LUX), sending a clear message to the copyright lobby.
“Due to pressure from lobbyists, politicians all over Europe are incited to expand the censorship infrastructure to prevent freedom of expression, the right to information and the free exchange of culture. With our proxy, we help to circumvent the Internet censorship of European countries,” Luxembourg Pirate Party President Sven Clement says.
The Argentinian Pirate Party is sending a similar message, and invites those who can’t access The Pirate Bay due to blockades to use their proxy.
“We wish the UK Pirate Party best of luck in their continued fight for free access to culture and knowledge. We have put up our own Pirate Bay proxy which is accessible from anywhere in the world, including the UK and other places where it has been censored.”
The above shows that for every proxy site that’s taken down, one or more new ones are likely to appear. It’s a game of whack-a-mole that will be very difficult for the copyright lobby to win.
Those who really want to download torrents will find a way to access The Pirate Bay or one of the many alternatives. Presently there are hundreds of active Pirate Bay proxies.
As John Gilmore once said: “The Net interprets censorship as damage and routes around it.”
Proof of the ineffectiveness of Pirate Bay blockades was previously highlighted by several Dutch and UK Internet providers, who claimed that BitTorrent traffic didn’t decline after the blockades were implemented.

Thursday 20 December 2012

it's TEOTWAWKI

...Messrs. Stetson, Wackem, Shoddy & Waft proudly present...
...it's the EVENT of the CENTURY, it's the LAST SHOW on EARTH, it's TEOTWAWKI...
...starring local beat combo the ASCENSION Plan, featuring the guitar and vocal stylings of Martin Jackson (Ethatone, Quietly Torn), and the ethereal electric violin of the Waft (Eden's Ashes, Bates Motel) backed by solid rhythm engineers Gurt Wackem and Mungo Shoddy, featuring Fabio Montana, Vicky Abbott & friends...
...described as "warm and unusual" the Plan will take us on a journey from a whisper to a scream, thru Love, Death and Rebirth with Lightshow/Projections by WSW in association with Ko0oT303...

...support comes from Ella Turk-Richards...
...and Shelley Macphail...

...TOMORROW'S FEAR becomes TODAY'S NIGHTMARE...
...20:12:2012 - 8pm till the END of TIME* at the Acorn, Penzance...
... streaming LIVE via USTREAM...
...the most MEMORABLE, the most STARTLING EXPERIENCE of YOUR LIFE...

...YOU can't AFFORD to MISS...
...a GIGANTIC production to STARTLE your IMAGINATION...
...anotherQUATILYproduct...

Wednesday 19 December 2012

A Royal Commission? – Far too risky for prohibitionists.

by
And so at last after a year or so of meetings, the Home Affairs Select Committee (HASC) drugs inquiry was finally published last Monday. In the event it was probably worth a murmur of approval, if not half a cheer.
It’s fair to say that some of us weren’t that hopeful it would produce anything much, especially given the fact that it was chaired by Keith Vaz, not an MP known for his radical thinking or willingness to upset any apple carts. It was very noticeable throughout the whole inquiry that the 90-odd percent of the drug using population – those who are non-problematic recreational users – didn’t get so much as a look-in. From what I saw the only drug users who ever got considered were those who had an addiction or some other problem.
In September I attended a meeting of the HASC which was open to people who had submitted written evidence. In his opening remarks Keith Vaz listed all the problems “caused by drugs”, which were actually caused by the prohibition of them.
So we had an inquiry into the future of the drugs laws which failed to take into consideration the vast majority of the users and seemed based on a deliberate misunderstanding of the problem. So I wasn’t expecting it to come up with anything much worthwhile and on the whole I was right, it was a pretty bland report all in all. You can download the whole thing (called “Breaking the Cycle) here
But it wasn’t all bad, most importantly it recommend a Royal Commission to review the whole issue, specifically to look at other regimes and to study the effect of the recent legalistion of cannabis in some states of the USA and of course, this was far too much for the prohibition lobby, represented now by that former supporter of law reform David Cameron who vetoed it instantly, the Home Office trotting out the same old same old.
It really is depressing that a country like ours, so full of creativity and cultural vitality, gets leaders like Cameron but we do seem to make a habit of it. Cameron dismissed the report’s main findings instantly, there is no need for any review of prohibition apparently, everything is fine. Once again the British government’s position on drug law reform can be sumarised by “We’ve got our fingers in our ears and we’re not listening, lalala”.
But even as the HASC was proceeding, the ground was beginning to shift and in November the inflexible wall of prohibition received its first real crack with the states of Washington and Colorado voting for legal cannabis – not just for medical use but for people to enjoy using for pleasure. The thing the prohibition movement must surely have dreaded  finally happened and prohibition was actually voted down democratically, and not just anywhere but in the home of the drug war, the USA.
React the prohibitionists certainly have. the UN “International Narcotics Control Board”  – INCB was first off the blocks warning the US to enforce prohibition and to strike down these moves to legalise.
Mr. Yans stated that “these developments are in violation of the international drug control treaties, and pose a great threat to public health and the well-being of society far beyond those states”.
The US Drug Tsar Richard Gil Kerlikowske made it clear that there would be no change, (BBC Audio clip) but the state law duly came into being early December as thus far nothing has been heard from the US Federal government
Obama has stated they aren’t going to go after small time recreational users though so it does look like prohibition has taken its first big hit although quite where this will lead is anyone’s guess, but it hasn’t gone unnoticed  and cannabis law reform is now very much on the agenda all over South America. To coin a phrase from a different era, the dominoes are starting to fall.
Add to this a new campaign called Breaking the Taboo, launched on the back of a film of that name and it’s clear this whole debate isn’t going to get shut down as the prohibition lobby would like to see.
So what about us here in the UK? The HASC recommended a Royal Commission which will report in 2015, in time for our next general election and before the UN is due to review the drug war globally. So now is a really good time for a Royal Commission to sit in other words and David Cameron’s rejection of it is not only depressingly predictable, it’s actually not helpful in terms of formulating this country’s attitude to the UN review.
We have no idea what Labour thinks of it all, not a word has been uttered on the subject. Previously though Ed Milliband has shown himself to be aligned with Cameron’s lack of thinking so it looks like the British voter isn’t going to be offered a choice come the next election from either of these two parties.
The genie does seem to be out of the bottle though and the reaction in most of the media has been pretty hostile to Cameron’s foolishness. It’s no longer risky to speak out against the prohibition regime and more and more people are doing so. Even Sun readers voted overwhelmingly for a review of drug laws, something that was certainly never supposed to happen.
Into the mess comes Nick Clegg, the leader of the LibDems and deputy Prime Minister in the Con-Dem government. On Friday Nick Clegg actually made history by being the first ever serving minister to admit the war on drugs has failed and to call for a review. In doing this he has put a real distance between himself and David Cameron. It is just a pity that the LibDems are so reviled now, with support for them almost down to single figures they look very close to being wiped out come the next election. But it is possible that issues like this could provide hope for the millions of UK voters who are simply alienated by the mainstream parties and Clegg my yet pull a rabbit from his hat. Time will tell. One thing for certain though, the prohibs are mad as hell about it, as Peter Hitchens demonstrated
But this is a country where senior politicians (I know who they are, but cannot name them) have snorted cocaine in their adult lives, where the political, media and academic establishment is crammed full of former or present dope-smokers, and where the police themselves are broken defeatists in the face of drugs.
Such a Commission would undoubtedly be stuffed with the apostles of dope, as every single body has been that has considered the subject since Baroness Wootton’s original committee in 1968-69.
Away from the closed minds of people like Hitchens it’s interesting to note the argument being used in support of drug law reform is something I’ve always believed would be used by politicians who understand the need to climb out of the hole of prohibition. The case for reform is being used as an argument to crack down on drugs, to prevent use – especially by children – by offering treatment rather than punishment, which is fine except of course, 90 odd percent of users don’t need treatment. Those who support legalisation do so because they want proper control and regulation of the supply side, it”s all a long way from the liberalisation and a move to greater freedom as the “traditional” legalise cannabis campaign tried to argue, although of course it ends in the same place. This is a classic example of how politicians can do a U turn in policy whist saving face and that’s fine by me. It’s also, to be honest, the strong argument against the war on drugs.
What this past week has shown very clearly however is just how scared prohibition supporters are of any examination of the present policy. They have good reason to be scared because in truth it isn’t possible to moderate the war on drugs, prohibition is either all or nothing, especially when it comes to cannabis. How much longer can this madness continue? Time will tell.

Monday 3 December 2012

Bill Oddie - BBC covers up to protect Prince Charles

WASP sends -

http://swns.com/news/jimmy-savile-scandal-bbc-covered-abuse-friends-prince-charles-claims-bill-oddie-26272/





BBC covered up Jimmy Savile’s child abuse because he was friends with Prince Charles, claims veteran broadcaster Bill Oddie

October 19, 2012 | by  1 Comment Clip Article
Veteran BBC presenter Bill Oddie has backed claims disgraced Jimmy Savile’s abuse was covered up – because he was friends with Prince Charles.
The Springwatch star, who appeared on TOTP with the Goodies when Savile presented it during the 1970s, said there was a “running sick joke” at the BBC about Savile being a paedophile.
He suggested there might have been some sort of “censorship committee” preventing the truth being released because of Savile’s royal connections.
Scroll down for video
The Prince of Wales and Sir Jimmy Savile in Glencoe in July 1999
The Prince of Wales and Sir Jimmy Savile in Glencoe in July 1999
The presenter also backed claims made by other former BBC presenters that Savile’s antics were well known at the time.
He said: “The idea that youngsters were prey – everybody knew that.
“I was not surprised at all. And the surprise is in a sense that that didn’t happen years ago.
“The establishment or who ever it is decided to keep it all quiet and decided to give him a knighthood. He was, to a certain amount, a friend of royalty.”
The pair of friends chat happily during the charity trip, where Savile kept a holiday cottage
The pair of friends chat happily during the charity trip, where Savile kept a holiday cottage
He added: “I do not know why it took so long to come to light. That is what I am curious about.
“Whether there is somewhere in Britain, some sort of censorship committee that we don’t know about that suppresses these thing and somebody gets together in a room and says ‘come on he was a friend of Prince Charles, it would look awfully bad on Prince Charles if we said he was a bit of a perv’.
“And someone decides ‘yes you are right, we will keep it quiet, nobody will ever find out.’
“I don’t know who that would be.”
Speaking after a question and answer session with students of Cambridge University’s historic debating society – The Union Society – on Tuesday, Oddie said Savile’s reputation was “just taken for granted.”
The Prince of Wales is shown round the holiday cottage, which Savile had hoped would be turned into a retreat for disabled children
The Prince of Wales is shown round the holiday cottage, which Savile had hoped would be turned into a retreat for disabled children
He said: “There was just this running sick joke that Jimmy Savile pestered the young youths of both sexes.
“It was just taken for granted. It doesn’t mean anyone thought they must do something about it – and it probably wasn’t realised how serious it was – it certainly wasn’t realised to the extent of the hospital – which is horrendous.
“When this came out it was not a surprise at all. The surprise is that it did not come out a lot earlier and the puzzlement is or the question is was it covered up or did people just chose to ignore it or was there an order and if so from whom, by whom and with whom saying we are not going to allow this to get published.
“It does make you think who would you look at. Would you look at the BBC, the police, would you look at the NHS hospital people? Did they all know and didn’t say?”
Bill Oddie claims the BBC covered up Savile's sex abuse
Bill Oddie claims the BBC covered up Savile’s sex abuse
Oddie revealed there was a “naive groupies scene” at the time.
He said: “This is not a mitigating circumstance obviously, but the only thing I will say is that that was a time in history in television and radio and live shows where there was a sort of naive groupies scene.
“I do not think the girls were incredibly promiscuous, certainly not the younger ones.
“There were people who hung around after gigs and tried to get to the stars – or the disk jockeys.
“You haven’t half got a booby prize if you went for Cliff Richard and ended up with Jimmy Savile.”
He added: “The thing that you could not ignore was that it was the era of the sort of groupies.
“Not the heavy groupy, but it was an extension of those shots of the Beatles in the 60s where there is hundreds of girls crying and screaming and god knows what – well that was pretty rife.
“My wife was saying the other day about a friend of hers from way back when they went to see the Monkeys and the girl said ‘I am going to try and get in the dressing room’ and my wife said ‘he will only want one thing you know’ and she said ‘yes, I know. that is what I am going for’.
“But that is not quite the same thing as a paedophile – that was just rock bands and includes other people I am sure and is due to availability and other things. The 70s was like that.”
Oddie, who started on BBC radio with his show I’m Sorry I’ll Read That Again, reiterated claims that former director general of the BBC Mark Thompson must have known what was going on with Savile.
He said: “It is so extraordinary that there is any sort of mystery – when the ex head of the BBC Mark Thompson the other day said ‘I don’t know anything about it’.
“You worked at the BBC and you don’t know anything about it – don’t be ridiculous.
“That is absolute nonsense.”
Oddie claimed Savile “bribed his way out” of getting found out for molesting children in hospital because he was a large donor.
He said: “Anyone of that era knew something – he had a reputation for being a groper.
“The most awful aspect is the idea of molesting kids in hospital – that is just unbelievable. He was sort of bribing his way out of it by giving millions of pounds to the hospital – that is staggering.”
As well as Savile’s contact with children at the BBC, his interaction with sick youngsters at Stoke Mandeville Hospital, in Sussex, and Leeds General Infirmary, is also being investigated.
TAP - If the figure that holds the primary responsibility for the Savile fiasco is Prince Charles, then surely he is the one who should resign, not the hundreds of pathetic minions who did his bidding.

Saturday 1 December 2012

it's The End Of The World As We Know It...

"...according to the Mayan Calendar the 21st of December marks
the end of non-time and the beginning of time.
It is the end of the Macha and the beginning of the Pacha.
It is the end of selfishness and the beginning of brotherhood.
It is the end of individualism and the beginning of collectivism...
the end of hatred and the beginning of love.
The end of lies and the beginning of truth.
It is the end of sadness and the beginning of joy.
It is the end of division and the beginning of unity..."
President Evo Morales of Bolivia in a speech to the UN 26/9/2012