SACRED PSYCHOACTIVE PLANTS WITHIN THE TEACHINGS OF V. M.

SAMAEL AUN WEOR Within the vast body of Master Samael Aun Weors teachings we find many references to the spiritual nature of plants, their work of healing, spiritual and magical help. In his books of Occult Medicine and Practical Magic, Igneous Rose and others he gives us his wealth of practical magical experience with many plant elementals .Yet in this moment we wish to specifically look at his teachings in relation to those sacred plants that are considered psycho active (mind, soul activating) or entheogenic (connecting to the sacred within). Why should we as Gnostic students be concerned with this fringe area of the teachings of V.M. Samael? Because the Master Samael pre-empted that which, in these times, is an ever increasing area of interest within the currents of humanities spiritual longing. The sacred plants and the Shamanic tradition is the subject of much research by Anthropologists, Ethnobotanists , Medical researchers, mystics and seekers of all ages. These people are producing an enormous amount of information showing that the sacred plant sacraments of the various ancient shamanic traditions the world over have very profound roots in a universal wisdom. Many of the so called authorities in these studies see the global revival of interest in shamanism and the sacred plants as part of the world wide seeking for a renewal of the spiritual relationship with the natural world. Ralph Metzna in his book Ayahuasca states: It has become clear that there is a profound discontinuity in fundamental world views and values between the Western industrialised world and the beliefs and values of traditional shamanic societies and practitioners. A powerful resurgence of respectful and reverential attitudes towards the living earth and all its creatures seems to be a natural consequence of explorations with visionary sacred plants. As such, this revival of entheogenic shamanism can be seen as part of a world wide response to the degradation of eco-systems and the bioshpere a response that includes such movements as deep ecology, bioregionalism, eco-psychology, herbal and natural medicine, organic farming and others. In each of these movements there is a new awareness or rather a revival of ancient awareness of the organic and spiritual interconnectedness of all life on this planet. We should realise that the recent research and discoveries of the western experts are known and lived realities of those indigenous peoples. These humble Indian tribes of the remote parts of the world, who for thousands of years have lived simply and completely within nature, knowing her mysteries, know that all is linked, that all is alive, connected, that what we do to the earth we do to ourselves. She is Pachamama, the great mother nature, expressed in everything. These people have in their tribal, initiatic heritage the knowledge of the sacred plants, how to respect and maintain a balanced life. Yet many of the western authorities on these subjects proclaim their discovery of something new. These intellectuals may write many books and expound countless theories in their offices in the capital cities of the world but the illiterate indigenous peoples, have always lived with this wisdom deeply integrated in there very being. Let us explore, for example, the magical vine known as Yaje or Ayahuasca and in Latin as Banisteriopsis Cappi that can be found in the Amazon jungles of Latin America. V. M. Samael writes concerning this in Logos Mantram Theurgy, Chapter Thirteen, Clue For Astral Unfoldment, Number Seven: In the Amazon Jungles and the Putumayo is a portentous plant named Yaje. The Piachis (Shamans) of the tribes take that plant by infusion mixed with Guarumo and travel in the astral. If a Gnostic student does not possess the faculty of leaving consciously in the astral, he should drink that infusion and he would instantly achieve the conscious unfoldment. If he used it daily, he would acquire the faculty of travelling in the astral for some time. Later, even if he was to not drink it he would no longer need it because that faculty will have been installed permanently in him. The shaman initiates of the Amazon jungles teach that the Yaje is a master elemental, an elemental king of all the other plants, the Yaje is the centre of their culture, it is the source of their knowledge, the ceremonial drinking of this sacred plant awakens their consciousness, they understand the mysteries of the natural and the supernatural worlds. By long years of studying with Yaje, through the visionary inner experiences, the Curaca (shaman, priest or priestess) acquires special faculties, to communicate with the spiritual dimensions, to teach the mysteries, to heal and to act as a social and political guide for the people. As V.M Samael writes in the Occult Medicine: Each elemental of nature represents certain powers of the Blessed Mother Goddess of the World, thus whoever knows how to handle the power of nature that is enclosed in each herb, in each root and each tree is the only one who can be a true magician and doctor.

The plants themselves used in the magical brew are the vine Yaje and the leaves of the plant Chagrapanga or Guaramo, as V.M Samael mentions. These plants are only active when mixed together and this is one of the mysteries that the Ethnobotanists have struggled to answer; how did the Indigenous peoples know to combine these two species of plants from the thousands of plant species present in the Amazon jungle?. The answer they received was that the spirits of the plants had taught them. The origins of the use of these sacred plants are lost in the mists of time, yet those indigenous people have preserved a sacred way of life in which they venerate Divine Mother Nature, who gives Her gifts of food, shelter, the sacred plant medicines and life itself as a means of entering the mysteries of creation . The anthropologist Geraldo Reichal Dolmattoff who spent a life time among the indigenous peoples of Columbia Peru and Bolivia recorded several stories in which the discovery of yaje is connected with the creation myths of the people. The Tukano people of the Vaupes region of Colombia say the first people came from the sky in a serpent canoe, Father Sun had promised them a magical drink that would connect them with the radiant powers of the heavens. While the men where in the house of waters attempting to make this drink, the first women went to the jungle to give birth. She returned with a boy radiating golden light, whose body she rubbed with leaves, this luminous boy child was the vine, each of the men cut a piece of this living being which became his piece of the vine lineage. Within this and other tribal myths it is said humans originated from the cosmos, and the vine of the soul was given to them as a way of staying in touch with the cosmic and solar creative energies. In conjunction with the cosmic visonary aspect, the Yaje mythology and experience among the indians is saturated with sexual and birth imagery. (Reichel-Dalmatmoff 1972,104.) In reflecting on these myths we find the Yaje elemental is represented as a Christ, a solar being sent as a gift by Father Sun, sacrificing itself to awaken and connect the people to their origins and inheritance the heavens the superior dimensions and the will of God. As the energies of the Cosmic Christ are present within all the atoms of energy, matter and spirit, it is clear that within the body of Mother Nature, Pachamama, organic life on this planet, is found the cosmic force of the Holy Spirit, the Pentecostal fire of the Kundalini. This force is found latent within the sexual energy of each person and also within the physical, chemical and elemental spirit of sacred plants. Here is found the deep mystery known by the wise shamans and indigenous people who work with them, they say the vine Yaje is a masculine spirit of force and energy and the Gaurumo or Chagrapanga plant is feminine and is the giver of visions. They are prepared in secret with many magical disciplines, the male and female elements are placed together in a cauldron with water and placed over a fire, with not a drop of the magical brew being lost, this of course is for those so called primitive peoples the representation of the Holy Alchemy, the secret key of Sexual Magic, the Great Arcanum A.Z.F. the Tantric wisdom of the transmutation of lust into love, to not spend the divine sexual secretions in orgasm but rather purify and sanctify that force in order to awaken the sleeping kundalini serpent. Some of these wise tribal peoples know the occult wisdom although they have never read a book they have studied in the leaves of green in the profound mysticism of mother nature. We find in the Shamanic traditions the same universal esoterism which has been preserved in secret in these and other cultures for centuries. It is clear from the words of V.M. Samael in chapter 26 of the Perfect Matrimony that the elementals know and teach this wisdom: The plant elementals are omnipotent since as they never fornicate they have developed kundalini. Specific plant or animal elementals have always been revered. We have to recognise that these elemental creatures are omnipotent because they have not left Eden. The great plant elementals are true angels who work for all humanity in the etheric plane or region of the magnetic fields. The plant elementals reproduce by means of sexual magic. The sacred copula exists among the plant elementals and the seed passes to the womb without necessity of ejaculating semen. Each animal is the body of an elemental. Each plant is the physical body of an elemental, these elementals are sacred and perform miracles in Eden. The most powerful elementals are venerated by the totem. The plant elemental is more pure, more beautiful and they reproduce like Gods. Among them exists the perfect matrimony. We should understand that there are, of course, two polarities in shamanism as in all magic, the white and the black. So we should not be surprised that some people work with these elementals with the ego for the ego. It is well known in South America that certain sorcerers work with Yaje in order to cause harm and illness. Others use it as a sacred sacrament in the work of awakening, healing and initiation in the mysteries of the indigenous ray of the white lodge. As Samael states this plants gives access to unfoldment into the astral

plane. These states of consciousness that are related to the powers and faculties that awaken with the arising of the kundalini. We all understand that the sexual energies are the foundation and dynamo for spiritual awakening, therefore those indigenous peoples immersed in shamanic wisdom living integrated with Divine Mother Nature, ceremonially drinking a sacred plant containing the kundalini energy of Mother Nature in their own silent and humble way through many years of persecution, genocide and exploitation at the hands of Western invaders have preserved an ancient tradition of edenic gnostic shamanism. Another sacred plant that samael refers to is the cactus Peyote, again in Logos, Mantram, Theurgy, the Sixth Clue for Astral Unfoldment: A prodigious cactus exists in Mexico, mentioned by Master Huiracocha in his Rosicrucian novel. It is the Peyote or Jiculi. This cactus has the power of awakening clairvoyance instantly to him who chews it. The Peyote permits conscious travel in the astral body. It is a sacred plant of the great White Lodge. Unfortunately, it is impossible to find the authentic Peyote in the Mexican republic. It is only found in San Luis Potosi or in Chihuahua among the Tarahuamaras Indians of the Sierra. The Masters of the temple of Chapultepec use the cactus for their instant and urgent astral journeys. It is enough to chew it, that is all! Also in Fundamental Notions of Endocrinology and Criminology, Chapter 2. When the Catholic Priests arrived from Spain during the time of the Conquistadors they came across a group of Aztec Priests and something very interesting occurred. The account is as follows; The Catholic Priests where seeking to convert some Indians. They told them of angels and archangels etc., after their talk the Indian Priests invited the Catholic Priests to eat. The story goes that among the foods that the Catholic Priests ate was a tasty cactus. This cactus momentarily gave clairvoyance to the Spanish Priests so that these Priests saw angels and archangels and they did not know what to do. Meanwhile the Indians, smiling said These angels and archangels of which you spoke, we already know them. The account continues by saying that the Catholic Priests had every one of those Aztec Priests killed as they considered them wizards and magicians. There is no doubt about the power that this cactus has for the instantaneous awakening of clairvoyance to those who use it. This cactus is the Peyote. In the state of Mexico one cannot find the Peyote usable for clairvoyance. He who wishes to find it must look for it either in Chihuahua or San Luis Potosi. One must chew it, the only good Peyote is the ripe one, if it is dry it is useless. Biology should not underestimate the Peyote nor assume in a dogmatic and intransigent form, that the clairvoyant perceptions are hallucinations. Thus as the first sages were able to see the germs with the microscope, were told and assured that such germs did not exist and what they saw through the lens was nothing more than hallucinations. Then as now we would still be ignoring the existence of germs. We need to be less dogmatic and be more studious, more eclectic and more didactic. The Peyote cactus has an ancient history of use among the Aztecs and indigenous peoples of Mexico. Its use persists to this day despite the efforts of the Spanish and European invaders to stamp it out.The Huichol peoples of northern Mexico have a rich culture in which the religion, social structure, arts crafts and music are centred around the Peyote The Huichol Maraakames,cantadoras (shaman, priests) have long apprenticeships, they make pilgrimages on foot to the sacred places where the Peyote grows ,they confess there sins and endure many rites in order to be purified for the collection and ceremonies of Peyote. As with the tribes of the Amazon jungles these people consider the cactus as a divine being a messenger of God, as the earthly representative of god. Within the book Plants of the Gods by R. E. Schultes and A. Hofmann we find this quote God told the Delawares to do good even before he sent Christ to the white men who killed him an Indian explained to an anthropologist God made Peyote it is his power. It is the power of Jesus. Jesus came afterwards on this earth, after Peyote, God (through Peyote) told the Delawares the same things Jesus told the whites. Ramon Mata Torres in his book The Life of the Huicholes records an interview between himself and a Maraakame What is the name of the god of the Maraakamess? is there some special god? Yes he is called Kauyumari. And who is Kauyumari? Kauyumari is off there in Wirikuta (Wirikuta is the sacred place where Peyote is gathered it is in the state of San Luis Potosi.) What does he look like? He looks like Peyote, he looks like a tiny deer, he looks like a mirror. A mirror? Thats the way he looks when the corn is ripe, around August and September, Kauyumari is the one who accompanies the Maraakame. (Peyote, Deer and Corn form a special trinity. For this reason

Kauyumari is the supreme Maraakame, the priest per excellence. He it is who teaches and guides the aspirant to become a shaman. Kauyumari appears when its planting time when the corn ripens and when it is harvested.) Is it true that when the Huichol people ask something of the Maraakame the Maraakame must ask it of Kauyumari and Kauyumari asks it of the Gods ? It is true. Then the Gods give an answer to Kauyumari, Kauyumari to the Maraakame and the Maraakame to the person who made the plea? Thats the way it is, Speak to the peyote with your heart, with your thoughts. And the Peyote sees your heart and if you are lucky, you will hear things and receive things that are invisible to others, but that god has given you to pursue your path. These two sacred plants share different aspects in common, they both produce the awakening of consciousness which gives rise to mystical experiences, clairvoyance, astral unfoldment etc they also produce a deep purging within the physical body. An experience with these sacred plants is nothing short of an intense intiatic trial, with visions, psychological comprehensions, Astral experiences, physical sickness vomiting, ecstatic states of being, direct contact with divinity. The process with the sacred plants is an initiatic path for the true shamans and accelerates the assimilation of the Gnostic wisdom in the sphere of direct experience. Anyone who might think the work with the sacred plants is an easy option is mistaken the elemental guru devas are very demanding teachers and if the disciple doesnt put into practice the wisdom given the elemental may give very difficult experiences or stop the experience altogether, depending on the psychology of the disciple. For those who are tired of so many theories and confusions the sacred plants, within the context of Gnostic Shamanic ceremony can give the experiences within the superior dimensions that we need so much, in order to deepen our comprehension, our faith, our will and love for the revolution of consciousness. Many of the authors, anthropologists, ethnobotanists and explorers who are writing in this field speculate that the book of Genesis and the story of Eden and the trees of life and good and evil are analogies for the sacred plants and the lose of the relationship with the magical consciousness expanding affects of these plants. Obviously through the teachings of VM Samael we have a profound explanation of the drama of Eden and the sexual fall. In that original state of paradise, man was given all the plants, fruits, trees, as food, medicines, and gifts of the creator. As has been stated previously one of the symptoms of this degenerated age of Kali Yuga is the disconnection and destruction of the planet for insane egoic purposes of, greed, war, hatred. V.M. Samael in his book entitled Occult Medicine and Practical Magic, Christmas Message 1977/78, makes some revolutionary statements in relation to the necessity of returning to nature. The hour in which we have to liberate ourselves from every social bondage schools sects religions and dogmas has arrived, in order to return with happiness into the temple of nature..We must burn the golden calf (money) abandon the cities and return into the bosom of nature..When the human being returns into the bosom of nature his mother will give him bread shelter and wisdom.Now we have to return to the sublime cosmic mysticism of the blessed mother goddess of the worldWe will do so with the same wisdom that the human knew in ancient Arcadia when he had yet to trap himself within the urban lifeWhile the human does not return to the bosom of nature his thoughts as well as his life will always be totally superficial and artificial and therefore negative and iniquitousThe human being must abandon his false idols and temples of urban life and return into the bosom of the blessed mother goddess of the world she will give light, wisdom, power and glory. These statements of V.M. Samael reflect the message and expand the message of the cultural revolution of the 1960s in which the powerful waves of the Era of Aquarius the Dyonsiac vibration expressed themselves through the hippie movement with its emphasis on ecstasy via drugs sex, and music. For example the L.S.D. guru Timothy Leary with his message of turn on, tune in, drop out, and return to nature. Obviously this is the negative polarity of this vibration. A tree is known by its fruits, the Hippie movement with its unbridled sexual passions, synthetic chemical drugs, without true spiritual discipline or psychological work, degenerated terribly with all the resulting mental illness and social problems that proceeded through the 1970s 80s and 90s On the opposite polarity is the mission of V. M. Samael Aun Weor to unveil the Gnostic Esoterism and create schools across the world spreading the teachings of authentic liberation and regeneration of man kind. This work with the Gnostic wisdom, inner psychology death of our own egos, sacred sexuality, the birth of the solar bodies and the sacrifice for this suffering humanity, harness the revolutionary vibration of Aquarius for profound spiritual awakening.

In these times the Great White Lodge through the Indigenous Ray is beginning a mission to help those who seek the light. By means of returning to nature, living communally, receiving the assistance of the Elemental Devas of the Sacred Plants of Power. It is possible to accelerate and deepen the path of awakening in these desperate times of global bankruptcy of spiritual values, degeneration gross materialism and egotism The Indigenous ray bring together all the Shamanic cultures that there have been in the entire world. All will be united to work in the preparation of conscious beings capable of forming anew human society which will love peace, life and nature. In the future the concept of countries will end, as will money, there will be no more soldiers or wars, and every thing will once again return to paradise. Those people who know how to listen to the inner voice of the masters of Pachamama (Mother Nature), will no matter were they are will be helped and orientated to find the path that will lead to the liberation from the great karma that all humanity will soon have to pay. The Gnostic Shamanism of Light is a path of liberation. This mission of the Sacred Plants transcends that which till now has been known as normal shamanismThe true Shaman does not go looking for superfluous experiments, he knows the true Astrological, magnetic, energetic and natural conjunctions of the spirits of the plants and how they relate to the different centres of the human being. The use of the Plants of Power in association with a spiritual doctrine encourages a spiritual deepening in our lives, and so develops the capacity for understanding and knowing ourselves and therefore others. Religions and all forms of coexistence in the society of the future will have to relate itself in some way with the sacred cult of Pachamama .This is the mission that the divine beings present in the sacred plants are carrying out at the end of the millennium. Excerpts from The Introduction To the Gnostic Shamanism Of Light. Vasudev. 1-11-99 Shamanic and Ecological Association of Colombia My purpose in writing this conference is to draw attention to the breadth and profundity of the gnostic wisdom, to illustrate that it is a living growing tradition that encompasses all the worlds esoteric treasures. Some have and continue to criticise us for speaking of the sacred plants and returning to nature, they say V.M Samael spoke of them in his early books and that makes them less valid. We disagree, from a foundation of direct experience. If we had but a fraction of the consciousness he had when writing his early books we would give thanks to our inner God for it. Yet the ones with closed minds and hearts, filled with fear, pride, fanaticism and intellectual theories are making a prison out of the sacred teachings of the Avatar of Aquarius. Let us remember the Masters words in chapter ten of the Yellow Book. The Gnostic must not be fanatical, he must study and learn to reject the useless and accept the useful, he must not be against any religion, school, order or sect. The gnostic movement has fought for the moral purification of many religions, schools, orders and sects. The Gnostic knows that humanity is divided into many groups and that each group needs its own system of particular instruction. All religions, schools, orders and sects are precious pearls that are strung on the golden thread of divinity. For some, including myself, who are or have been in the dark night, despite having all the keys of Gnosis, the Gnostic Shamanism and the Sacred Plants have been and continues to be light and tremendous help. For those who have ears to hear , and those who know they need help. Inverential Peace Hanan Yachakug The Shamanic and Ecological Association UK