From: Valkyrie Area: Magical Plants To: Xochipili 2 Aug 93 08:59:02 Subject: BLACK INDIAN HEMP RO UpdReq * In a message originally to Joe Jackson, Xochipili said: > I think that the plant you've been hearing about is > Apocynum cannabinum (Indian Hemp). The roots have been used > as a heart stimulant, but I haven't heard of any Magickal or > sacred applications. I just came across several references to hemp being used as prt of ecstatic rituals of the Thracians and the Scythians in Eliade's _Shamanism_. "Only one document appears to indicate the existence of a Getic shamanism: it is Strabo's account of the Mysian _kapnobatai_ a name that has been translated, by analogy with Aristophanes' _aerobates_, as "those who walk in the clouds_ but which should be translated as "those who walk in smoke." Presumably the smoke is hemp smoke, a rudimentary means of ecstasy known to both the Thracians and the Scythians. The _kapnaobatai_ would seem to be Getic dancers and sorcerers who used hemp smoke for their ecstatic trances. (pg 390) Herodotus has left us a good description of the funerary customs of the Scythians. The funeral was followed by purifications. Hemp was thrown on heated stones and all inhaled the smoke; "the Scythians howl in joy for the vapour-bath". (394) ...shamanism and ecstatic intoxication produced by hemp smoke were known to the Scythians. As we shall see, the use of hemp for ecstatic purposes is also attested among the Iranians, and it is the Iranian word for hemp that is employed to designate mystical intoxication in Central and North Asia. (395) In any case, shamanic ecstasy induced by hemp smoke was known in ancient Iran. _Bangha_ (hemp_ is not referred to in the Gathas, but the _Fravasi-yast_ mentions a certain _Pouru-bangha_, "possessor of much hemp." In the _Yast_, Ahura-Mazda is said to be "without trance and without hemp," and in the _Videvdat_ hemp is demonized. This seems to us to prove complete hostility to shamanc intoxication. (pg 399) Hemp was introduced into Germanic and Norse areas very early and seems to have been associated with flax. There is an interesting (and funny) coincidence that I came across recently which is probably why I noticed the mention of hemp in the above cases. There is a god who is referred to as Fimbulltyr who is supposed to reign after Ragnarok. There are references to the mask of Fimbulltyr as well as runes. The term is quite often translated as the "High One" which correlates to the "high seat" of the Norse gods and goddesses, and the shamanesses. On a whim I looked to see if there was a word that had descended from Fimbultyr. Imagine my surprise to find that Fimbul refers to the female hemp plant specifically, although the word is used generically for both the male and female plants. Another term that is associated with Fimbulltyr is the 'bright, shining one." I got a bigger laugh when I scanned the NORML echo and saw a posting that said that the flowers sparkle because of whatever the active ingredient is. The female flowers, supposedly are the most potent part for inducing, if you'll excuse the expression, a high. Certainly an odd set of coincidences. 718499927771849992777184999277718499927771849992777184999277718