Tonics vs. Specifics : the Philosophy
A recent conversation with some friends in natural animal care led to a deeper discussion of the idea of tonic herbs, and to questions and thoughts on just what makes an herb tonic, and what that means in practical use. The discussion was about pet care, but it’s a relevant one to all herbalism, and [...]
Guiding Wisdom
Guardian angel, higher self, spirit guide, still small voice- all of these concepts share the idea that a higher plane of wisdom exists, accessible from our daily sphere, but also greater than our everyday self and able to help with wisdom outside of our normal consciousness.
Hermetic traditions, of which Alchemy is one, are full of [...]
Choices in Healing
When we first started this work, back in 1991, we made only a few Spagyrics, and had only a few customers. After those first few sales, we noticed a strange phenomena, in which we would suddenly be overtaken by a strange sensation of connection to another person, like being in deep conversation or closeness to [...]
Flight : Our Spagyric Offerings
Welcome to the conclusion of our series on the spiritual practice of flight and the plants that support it!
In our first article, we talked about the legends and truths behind the witches’ flights, their brooms and ointments, and the tricky chemistry that practice entailed.
In our second article, we discussed Eastern legends of gravity-defiance, including flying [...]
Flight : Magic Carpets & Kung Fu Leaps
In our first article, we were inspired by the season, and talked about witches as practitioners of shamanic flight in Europe. We looked at their legendary flying ointment from a chemical perspective, and learned about its properties and dangers.
Shamanic flight is not confined to archaic Europe, however, and examples of the phenomenon are common around [...]
Flight : Witches on Brooms
This time of year, we see many Hallowe’en decorations showing the classic witch figure, hunched over a bubbling cauldron of flying ointment, or crossing the skies on her broom. Most of these images are fanciful and fun, and part of the ritual of the season. But there is some interesting truth to the legendary flying [...]
Initiatics : what to do
In our first three articles, we talked about some more and less useful ways of relating to entheogens, what to expect and not expect of Spagyrics of these sacred plants, and why Spagyrics are unique expressions of these plants’ power. Now, we’d like to offer some suggestions for working with our Spagyrics to best effect [...]
Initiatics : how they work
In our first article in this series, we talked about the often misguided expectations people have of our Initiatic Spagyrics, often stemming from their experiences with more drug-like preparations of Shamanic plants. In the second article, we discussed what our Spagyrics do offer, when used in conjunction with personal discipline and effort.
In this article, we’ll [...]
Initiatics : what to expect
In our first article, I ranted a little about the general set of expectations that modern psychonauts have for our Spagyrics, and for the more subtle forms of plant entheogens in general.
All is not lost, though, and it is possible to make the transition from blast-off drug-dependent spirituality to an intelligent and meaningful dialogue with [...]
Initiatics : what NOT to expect
Brace yourselves, this is going to be a rant.
So, we get a call from a customer, unhappy with our Spagyrics. He says he tried a couple of our Somalixirs, Sexahuasca and Sacred Journey, and felt nothing. Seems odd to me, those are pretty strong ones, and always popular. So, I ask some questions to figure [...]
