Fly agaric and the Santa Clause Legend.

Fly Agaric.

The sacred mushroom 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.

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 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 the shaman of ancient people such as the Sami of Finland, and the people of Siberia, 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, and 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 urine, 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.
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.

Originally Santa Claus was not red and white, but was first depicted like this due to a seasonal link to native spiritual traditions involving hallucinogenic red and white mushrooms known as fly agaric. 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.

Later the Coca Cola Company would patent these colours and popularise the now universally accepted colours of Santa’s costume. 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.

Sami Ceremony and Entheogenic Mushrooms.

The red and white fly agaric mushrooms also played a part in the aboriginal origins of the flying reindeer image that is now popularly associated with Christmas. These mushrooms, or plant teachers, have always been used in rituals involving the sacred reindeer by the shamans of the Sami tribal peoples, who are still practicing traditional lifestyles as nomadic reindeer herders in Norway, Sweden, Finland and Russia today.

The Koryak shamans of Siberian tribes gained notoriety in the grand western narrative of discovery when their winter solstice rituals involving the fly agaric were observed and recorded by anthropologists/adventurers, giving rise to several modern Christmas myths.

At this ceremonial time, the Koryak tribe’s people would work ritually with the mushrooms in their family tents. Their shamans would also work with the mushrooms to reach a non-ordinary state of reality that allowed them to do spirit-walking.
Spirit Walkers Bringing Gifts.

Koryak spirit walkers would visit the tents of their fellow tribesmen on their flying reindeer, the reindeer being a sacred totemic being for Sami tribal peoples. Once there, they would enter the tent through the smoke hole in the roof and distribute more mushrooms as gifts. Then they would exit through the chimney hole and fly away on their reindeer beings once again.

It has been suggested that the egg-nog Christmas tradition was even grounded in these rituals, based on the practice of tribesmen drinking the agaric-spiked urine of the shamans who had ingested the mushrooms, perhaps mixed with egg and spices to disguise the taste. (Makes you think twice about mulled wine, for that matter!).

Clearly, the origins of many western Christmas traditions such as Santa’s elves, Santa coming down the chimney, gift-giving, Santa’s colours, Santa’s home base in the Arctic North, and mistletoe can all be linked to time-honoured indigenous tribal ceremonies and customary practices.

Aboriginal Christmas Reflections.

Christmas is as good a time as any to acknowledge the contributions of indigenous peoples around the planet to the formation of global knowledge, culture and innovations since the “age of discovery”. So much of the technology, food, textiles, traditions and even mathematics that formed the basis for modern western civilisation was ‘borrowed’, or synthesised, or developed in conjunction with native peoples.

So spare a thought for the planet’s fourth-world (indigenous) peoples at Christmas time, most of who are excluded from the bounty of first-world colonies built on stolen native lands, resources and knowledge. So many Aboriginal people are even excluded from basic rights like education.

Spare a thought as well that in the ‘first world civilised countries’ (I use that term loosely) every year people spend more money on Christmas presents for their pets than it would cost to educate every third-world and fourth-world person on earth who is currently denied schooling and medical aid. Think about that over your Xmas turkey.

Ho, ho, ho.


The fly agarics’ religious connections are far reaching. It is widely thought to be the “Soma” talked about in Hindu scriptures, and some also believe it to be the “Amrita” mentioned in Buddhist scriptures. Closer to home, there is a popular myth that Nordic Viking warriors used to consume fly agaric to send them into their berserker rages, although compelling evidence for this theory is hard to find.

Another theory, again difficult to substantiate, suggests that Zulu warriors consumed fly agaric before battle during the Zulu war, and that, in part, this helped them leave the field victorious during the famous “charge of the light brigade”.

In ‘civilised’ Europe its use has given rise to the ‘little people’ such as faeries and leprechauns.

Lewis Carroll was familiar with the affects of Fly agaric, in Alice in Wonderland there is a scene where a caterpillar is sitting on a mushroom (Fly agaric) smoking a pipe. Alice is in front of him at mushroom height and she nibbles on the mushroom to make herself bigger and smaller.

After Alice in Wonderland was published images of the Fly agaric appeared in much of the Victorian literature and it was also painted on children’s toys and cradles. It continues to serve as a classical symbol of enchanted forests and magical groves-the kind of places where fairies, gnomes and all sorts of strange, wonderful and sometimes frightening creatures dwell. Familiar, mysterious and magical.

WARNING:

Fly Agaric is a powerful fungus, whose effects can be extremely variable and dangerous in the hands of those who do not know what they are doing (In Irish we call them Amadán).

Self-experimentation is not recommended. In particular all amanita species with a white or greenish cap should be avoided, as these are definitely very deadly.

The information provided in this article is intended for educational purposes only and should not be used as medical advice. I do not take or share in any responsibility for any events that may occur as a result of self-experimentation.

Have a great Yule, Winter Solstice and Christmas.

Don't forget those who may not be as fortunate as you, especially in this cold weather, be them human or animal we are all part of the wheel.

Celtic Tree Zodiac. This is just a bit of fun.

Elder - The Seeker
November 25 – December 23

The Elder Tree - Elder tree people command respect. When they are young they are extravagant and wasteful but inevitably, at some point of life something dawns on them and they settle down. They have a great deal of patience and self discipline. They can sometimes be heartless and cruel and sometimes possess a lack of good judgement in their choice of friends. They are ambitious people and are determined to win at all costs.

They are outspoken and can be inclined to speak without thinking first but are very persuasive and elegant when they take the time. They are highly energetic people and have a great deal of physical stamina. They are often misjudged as outsiders because they have a tendency to be a little withdrawn but in actual fact they are deeply thoughtful and philosophical. They are also very considerate of others and strive to be helpful.

Elder tree people are open in relationships but don't tend to fall too deeply. They seem to keep their emotions out of most situations. They make wonderful aunts and uncles but have difficulty taming their restless nature enough for parenthood. The druids and ancient Celts recognized that the elder had natural banishing abilities. The essence of its leaves and the odour of its pretty white flowers were proven to ward off annoying insects.

This origin might have been expanded upon in Celtic lore where we learn branches were hung over doors to ward off evil spirits. Along with its association with banishment and death we have the elder’s attributes of rebirth and renewal. It has long been recognised as a medicinal tree. Everything from its bark to its berries has been used to treat all manner of ailments and it was honoured for its healing abilities.

It is known as a transformative Celtic symbol because it is associated with the realm of fairies. Celtic lore indicates that if you stand near an elder tree at Midsummer's Eve the land of the fairies will be revealed to your searching eyes. Furthermore, fairies love music - particularly the lulling notes of a flute made from elder wood. The Elder tree was sacred to the faeries and branches were hung above stables to protect horses from evil spirits. It was unlucky to burn Elder and an omen of death to bring it indoors.

Please remember this is just a bit of craic.

The rural value of eggs.

Years ago the humble egg was a very valuable part of the rural economy of Ireland.

Every farmyard was home to a few chickens and ducks and maybe a couple of geese and we collected their eggs every day, not to eat but to sell. We would put them into straw baskets usually home made during those long winter evenings and they would be taken to the local shopkeeper who would buy them. This money was then spent in the shop on groceries for the week. Sometimes the eggs would be tested by putting them into a basin of water.

In the bigger towns when all the eggs were tested, sorted and placed into boxes they were loaded into a lorry for transportation to Dublin and from there they would be shipped over the water to England. At one time there were weekly markets in every town in Ireland. Eggs would be taken to the market and sol to the local people. Hen and Duck eggs and sometimes Goose eggs provide a good meal for the breakfast with a slice of soda bread and homemade butter a strong cup of tea and you were set up for the day.

It was always looked upon as the job of the women of the house, with the help of the older children to look after the poultry and if you were lucky enough to have them, calves and pigs as well and any egg money that was saved was used to buy the little extras that may be needed in the household as well as the normal weekly supply’s. In days gone by the selling of eggs belonged to the era when the women of the rural areas would sell not only eggs but any surplus vegetables and butter to the local shop or market in the square and this provided a link between the town people and the country people.

Nowadays more and more people are keeping the backyard hens, ducks and sometimes geese. Growing your own fruit and vegetables and a few herbs is no longer just the play thing of a few as for some it is becoming a way to supplement the family larder. At one time you would only see chickens running round the farmyard but now they can be seen in peoples gardens housed in little arcs, providing a fresh egg every morning.

In some ways its therapy, in other ways a commitment to lifestyle but in every way it is a reconnection to our past and in a small way our heritage.

Here is a recipe for Soda bread or as we call it at home Farl. It used to be baked in a pot oven when hot turf was placed on the lid to help it cook or on a griddle.

You can add in a handful of raisins or seeds to make it a little different on occasion and in some areas people fry it in bacon fat (a little unhealthy these days but it warmed up the visitor).

Soda Bread

(Makes 1 large or 2 small loaves)

Ingredients.

574g/ 4 cups (1.25 lbs. plain flour sieved).

1/2 teaspoon bread soda.

15 fl oz (1/2 to 3/4 pt buttermilk) or sour milk.

1/2 teaspoon salt.

1 egg.

Small drop of fresh milk.

1 rounded teaspoon Bextartar (raising agent).

25g/loz. sugar.

Method.

1. Heat the pot/oven and grease with a little lard.

2. Mix all the dry ingredients in a basin and make a well in the centre.

3. Pour in nearly all the milk and egg; gather in the flour and mix to a loose dough, adding more milk if necessary.

4. With floured hands, knead lightly on a floured board or table and flatten out. Cut a cross on top, this lets out the faeries. It also divides the farl into four.

5. Bake in a greased round tin or pyrex dish with a lid, pre-heat the oven (425f, 220c or Gas mark 7 for 40 minutes).


To keep the bread soft, wrap in a clean damp tea towel when it is taken out of the oven.

Start cooking the rashers , eggs, sausage, white pudding, etc. Now spread a bit of home made butter onto the warm bread add a mug of strong tea and you are set up for the day. Of course the people who are very healthy will say its a heart attack on a plate and have a croissant and a cup of water (god love them) but this is what we call an Irish breakfast. Ye can't cut turf on a French mans croissant.

Red Squirrel. Native or not ????

There are two types of squirrel in Ireland one is classed as an invasive species and it is called the Grey Squirrel, the other is classed as our native squirrel and is called the Red Squirrel.

Now I was reading a very interesting book by David Cabot (Ireland) and on page 257 I came across a very interesting account of the Red Squirrel (well I think it is interesting) that I thought I would share with those who read this blog. It strays a little from my normal route but it’s a cold night.

The native species is the red squirrel, which is more at home in coniferous woodlands. Formerly widespread throughout the country, red squirrels became extinct sometime after the middle of the seventeenth century for reasons not entirely clear but probably related to capture and killing of the animals for their fur which was a valuable commodity at the time. The last known date recorded for taxes levied on the export of skins was in an Irish statute of 1662, It is generally considered that the red squirrel died out soon after 1662.

After its demise the red squirrel was reintroduced to Ireland in the early nineteenth century and has since spread to all counties but seldom in close proximity with the grey squirrel-due probably to interspecific competition for food and breeding territory.

From inquiries carried out by the Victorian naturalist Richard Manliffe Barrington who investigated the reintroduction date, it would appear that the great-grandfather of Francis Synge-a relation of the playwright John Millington Synge-of Glanmore Castle, Ashford, County Wicklow, was responsible for the reintroduction at Ashford sometime between 1815 and 1825.

There were many subsequent reintroductions of red squirrels brought from England, throughout Ireland during the mid and late nineteenth century. They are now firmly established as part of the Irish fauna (Cabot, 1999).

Cabot, David. 1999. Ireland. Harper Collins Publishers. London.

Fascinating red squirrel facts.
• Their scientific name is Sciurus vulgaris.

• Red squirrels eat seeds, buds, flowers, shoots, nuts, berries and fruit from many trees and shrubs. They also eat fungi and insects, and occasionally birds’ eggs.

• They store nuts in the ground in the autumn.

• They can be right- or left-handed when they eat a pine cone!

• They will occasionally strip bark from trees (usually conifers).

• Squirrels moult their coat twice a year, once after winter and then in the late summer before the weather gets colder again.

• They moult their ear tufts only once a year, in late autumn.

• They can live to six years of age.

• They have four fingers and five toes.

• They are not always red in colour but can also be brown, almost black or quite grey!

• They weigh 275-300g, the same as four Mars Bars or a packet of biscuits.

• Their body is 18-22cm long and their tail is 14-19cm in length.

• Squirrels live high in trees in a nest made from twigs, leaves and moss. This is called a drey.

• The drey may be in a hole in the tree or set against the trunk and branches.

• Pregnancy lasts 36-42 days and their young are called kittens.

• Kittens are born with their eyes closed, without teeth and with no hair. After about seven weeks they look just like small versions of their parents and are ready to leave the drey.

• There can be two litters a year, with 3–4 kittens in each litter.

• Average densities in conifer and broadleaf areas are 0.5–1.5 red squirrels per hectare.

• They do not hibernate over winter, but may be less active when weather conditions are bad.

• They can hang upside down!

• They can swim!

• Red squirrels are extremely susceptible to Squirrelpox virus, (carried by the grey) which is lethal.

http://www.forestry.gov.uk/forestry/infd-6l4f7q

As a matter of interest the Grey Squirrel was introduced into Ireland by man in 1911. The Red spends most its life in tree’s. The Grey spends most its life on the ground.

http://www.npws.ie/en/Biodiversity/IrishSpecies/Mammals/RedSquirrel/

I shall now return to my normal blog postings but I can't promise not to stray again???

Harsh Winter Weather Can Spell Doom For Our Garden Birds.

Harsh winter weather can spell doom for our garden birds.

The current cold spell across the country is making life hard for our garden birds. As temperatures drop, so the birds need to eat as much high energy food as possible to try to keep warm.

In an effort to ensure that as many of our feathered garden visitors as possible survive the current weather conditions. I would like to encourage people to put out food for the birds that visit their gardens. It is very easy to do and will make it far easier for the birds to keep warm.

The menu is easy. Wild bird seed, peanuts and sunflower seed can found in local supermarkets and garden shops, as can the special wire or plastic feeders that they should be put in; these feeders can then be suspended from tree branches or a bird table. Apples, whether cut in half and speared on branches or just left out whole on the lawn, are also a great source of food, particularly for Blackbirds and other members of the thrush family, as well as Blackcaps (small warblers that have only recently begun to spend the winter in Ireland).

Kitchen scraps, such as bacon rinds, cheese (particularly loved by Robins), suet, raisins, moistened bread, melon seeds, fruit, stale cake, cooked potato, oatmeal, fresh coconut and uncooked pastry, also make welcome meals. Fat is an especially important source of energy for birds, so please don’t waste it! Lumps of suet may be hung out on strings or in plastic mesh vegetable containers, and meat trimmings, bacon rinds and other scraps will also be eaten. Melted fat may be poured over bread or cake scraps to make “bird cake”.

There are a couple of items which should never be fed to birds. These include desiccated (dried) coconut, uncooked rice or dry bread, which may swell up in the bird’s stomach.

It is equally as important to ensure that your garden birds have a constant supply of fresh drinking water, something that can be very hard for them to find when ponds and puddles are frozen over. As well as needing to drink it, they also need it for bathing, to ensure that their feathers are kept clean so that they will insulate them effectively against the cold weather.

A simple bird-bath can be made from an inverted dustbin lid sunk into the ground; remember to keep the surface ice free.

Once you begin to feed the birds they quickly become dependent on you, so please be sure to continue feeding right through to mid-spring.

For further information on what you can do to help the birds around your home, please have a look at the BirdWatch Ireland website and Garden Bird Factsheets page and Garden Bird FAQ.

Don’t forget, if the food isn’t eaten within a couple of hours then be careful of unwanted visitors such as rats.

Also it is important to feed late afternoon as people tend to forget birds also feed at this time and as the night temperature drops they need extra energy to keep warm.

They will reward you in spring with bird song and new life.

Thank you on behalf of our feathered brothers and sisters.

The Carnmoney Witch. Mary Butters. An Update.

In an earlier post (Saturday, August-21st-2010) I wrote about Mary Butters, The Carnmoney Witch. Since then I've come up with some additional information.

Mary Butters was accused of causing the deaths of three people but it was the verdict of the trial that the deaths were accidental. However, were they really an accident? An earlier event may provide a clue. I'll leave you to decide.

In addition to my first post:

Alexander Montgomery,s eldest son was brought to the house on the insistence of Mary Butters, even though he was married and lived some miles away. Butters insisted that his presence was essential for the spell to be successful.

At 10-00pm Butters sent everyone, apart from David and Elizabeth out of the house.

Margaret Lee, an elderly friend of Elizabeth's who had been staying with the family refused to leave the house, even though Butters repeatedly warned her of the dire consequences if she stayed.

The rest is history and you can read the post of 21st-August. Now for the update.


In 1803 a man called David Porter was executed for posting insurrectionary notices.

At the trial his conviction had been secured by evidence given against him by Elizabeth and David Montgomery. Porter, it was later discovered, had been a close relative of Mary Butters.

So, were David and Elizabeth Montgomery killed for their part in the death of David Porter? Was this all just an elaborate vengeful plan? In this context, Butters insistence on David Montgomery's presence at the ritual makes sense; as does her attempts to dissuade Margaret Lee from staying in the house. Margaret had no part to play in Porter's trial; but her loyal friendship with Elizabeth may have made her a witness who had to be silenced.

It is impossible to say for sure what really happened that night, over two hundred years ago. However, what history has recorded as a terrible and tragic accident may really have been a witch's revenge. What do you think?

The Irish Bardic Tradition.

The Irish Bardic Tradition.

That the Irish could have such a profound effect on Western music should come as no surprise. The Irish were famous, almost legendary, for their love of music as well as their skill as poets. It has even been suggested that they were "intoxicated by the power of words", and there have been incidents when the Catholic Church sought to outlaw Irish bards. The monk Columcille, otherwise known as St. Columba, defended the bardic tradition of Ireland, declaring that poetry was an essential part of Irish life, and that Ireland would not be Ireland without it. So important was poetry and music that Irish history, genealogy, law codes, and medical traditions were composed in verse and set to music.

While the term bard has in modern culture a general connotation of a singer and storyteller, among the ancient Celts a bard was a poet, especially a lyrical poet, something like a modern balladeer. Yet while their primary function was entertainment, they were no mere song-and-dance men (or women), but were counted as one of the three learned groups, along with the druids and the filidh (singular, fili). They served both religious and secular functions, including retelling historical events, genealogies, heroic tales, myths and legends, and composing praise-poetry, wherein they would recite the exploits of the chiefs and kings. However, they also had the reputation of being able to use satire to blight and even kill.

Ancient Irish society recognized four grades of musician poets, of which the bards were the lowest and the filidh were the highest. The novice poet also learned his or her trade in one of numerous schools, where he or she spent at least three years for each grade. Not every poet achieved the highest grade, nor was there any preset period of time in which he or she had to complete the education. However, the filidh tended to make up virtually all the official poets attached to the kings. The reason was because the official poets were concerned with courtly, tribal, and national concerns, and the filidh were trained in at least 350 different poetic metres and epic legends, impromptu composition, and prophecy and divination.

So important was the poet to this aristocratic warrior society that the ollamh, or chief official poet, had a social rank second only to the king. In fact, the ollamh was considered more sacred than the king, and poets were virtually never killed. The Irish had no corporal or capital punishment; instead, a crime was punished by the payment of a dire, or fine, which was based on a person’s honour price, and could range from a fraction of the price to some multiple thereof (Ragan-Legal Tender). The honour price for an ollamh was seven cumhal, or bondmaids (Ragan-Legal Tender), and was worth twenty-one milk-cows, while his or her dire was generally set equal to that of the king.

Poets were generally attached to specific chiefs and kings, and were given stipends of land and cattle to support themselves, but they often journeyed about the land, visiting the strongholds of rulers and nobles, and often staying with them for as much as a year or more. The higher-ranking poets were allowed to have retinues, which usually included lower-rank poets and students. So a fili could have several bards to accompany him, as well as at least one apprentice fili to assist him. An ollamh tended to have the largest retinue, as many as twenty four people, but even a low-ranking fili could have ten. Yet for all their sanctity and reverence, poets could be corrupt, and stories abound of retinues staying until they ate their host out of house and home, and poets extorting rich gifts by the threat of satire.

It is perhaps a measure of the importance of the filidh that, alone of any social group except the kings, they survived the depravations of the English conquerors until the seventeenth century. When Christianity drove the druids underground the filidh took over their roles as teachers, advisors, and witnesses to contracts, and they gradually usurped the important ceremonial roles of the bard, relegating them to the status of mere performers. Though the Irish monks were almost fanatical in their zeal to record the old legends, histories, and genealogies, the filidh were just as responsible for the preservation of the Irish myths, and they began the folk tradition that would make Ireland famous down to the modern age.

Every artistic tradition that is considered to be characteristically Irish, from the seanchaí storyteller and the sean-nós singer, to the Irish tenor and the modern Celtic band, can be traced, directly or indirectly, to the filidh, and through them to the ancient Irish bardic tradition.