Maria Sabina " The Priestess of Psilocybin mushrooms"
María Sabina (1894 - November 23, 1985) was a Mazatec curandera or healer who lived her entire life in a modest dwelling in the Sierra Mazateca of southern Mexico. Her practice was based on the use of the various species of native psilocybe mushrooms used.
María Sabina was the first contemporary Mexican curandera, defined as a native shaman, to allow Westerners to participate in the healing vigil that became known as the velada, where all participants partake of the psilocybin mushroom as a sacrament to open the gates of the mind. The velada is seen as a purification and as a communion with the sacred.
In 1955, the US banker and ethnomycologist R. Gordon Wasson visited María Sabina's hometown of Huautla de Jimenez, Oaxaca, and participated in a velada with her. He also brought spores of the fungus, which he identified as Psilocybe mexicana, to Paris. The fungus was cultivated in Europe and its active ingredient was duplicated as the chemical psilocybin in the laboratory by Swiss chemist Albert Hofmann in 1958.
US youth began seeking out María Sabina and the "holy children" as early as 1962, and in the years that followed, thousands ofcounterculture mushroom seekers, scientists, and others arrived in the Sierra Mazateca, and many met her. By 1967 more than 70 people from the US, Canada, and Western Europe were renting cabins in neighboring villages. Many of them went there directly after reading theMay 13, 1957 Life Magazine article written by Wasson about his experiences.
Sabina cultivated relationships with several of them, including Wasson, who became something of a friend. Many 1960s celebrities visited María Sabina, including rock stars such as Bob Dylan, John Lennon, Mick Jagger and Keith Richards.
While she was initially hospitable to the truth seekers thronging to her, their lack of respect for the sacred and traditional purposes caused María Sabina to remark:
"Before Wasson, nobody took the children simply to find God. They were always taken to cure the sick"
Many of the travelers were penniless, and they contributed little to the local economy, especially when they learned to find the mushrooms on their own
Late in life, María Sabina became bitter about her many misfortunes, and how others had profited from her name. Nevertheless, late in her life she confided to Joan Halifax that the dissemination of the knowledge of the sacred mushroom was her fate, that it was pre-ordained by God that she met Wasson. She also felt that the ceremony of the velada had been desecrated and irremediably polluted by the hedonistic use of the mushrooms:
"From the moment the foreigners arrived, the 'holy children' lost their purity. They lost their force, they ruined them. Henceforth they will no longer work. There is no remedy for it."
What do you feel about psychedelic mushrooms in this day and age? Do you feel that individual intentions are what truly matter when taking the mushrooms? Or is a guide with experience necessary? Check out the video on YouTube about her life, its in spanish but has subtitles..enjoy!
Source: Wikipedia and many other books...
Views: 835
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Dusty Tru on
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it's not over yet, Maria. you're children are still doing their work. the sick will be cured and the sacred will be restored once again. where ever in this cosmic ocean you are watching us from, please be patient with our stubborn ignorance like all good mothers.
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Permalink Reply by daniel sunn on
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Maria is who sanctified the use of 'the little ones' to me. She is a beautiful soul
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Permalink Reply by Cee on
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So you actually met her live in the flesh or in the astral??, ohh and by the way thanks for recommending the interesting Shaman King anime, unfortunately I can only find it english dub.
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my introduction to the little ones as a sacrament was only commenced once i had read ample information about maria sabina and recited her prayer that she would use before ceremony. i had consumed them twice prior in high school with only a brief study into their actions and from my initial experiences i knew they were my friends and would not cause me harm if my intentions to commune with them had purpose and moderation. I have since moved away from embracing her as my guide and now i have my own solemn relationship with them.
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Interesting...after reading about her life, learning so much knowledge information from her rituals and building reverence towards the mushroom and my ancestors ways, the ceremonies became a completely different experience than playing around in high school(the pure, magical and innocent times of youth help enhance the experience). Do you think that playing around with mushrooms as a youth can leave open portals/dimensions/gates/doors? Do mushrooms impact you to the point where you leave a part of self in the underworlds? Maybe you can provide insight.
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I think it can for sure. a next question would be can you retrieve those parts.
as for leaving parts of self in the underworld..which underworld do you mean?your 'subconscious self'?
i've had differing levels of journeys and my first serious ventures were to retrieve portions that broke off from me during traumatic experiences. those missions led to more introspection and acceptance of self and realities. i later began understanding that crystals were a key part of the kingdom to relate with. as well as the many herbals of the plant kingdom which synergies the effects. id caution one not to become reliant on them nor to take them too often as that would result in what is termed 'eraser head'. a numb/dumbness that occurs leaving one very open to a host of entities/energies/feelings etc. one should also take into consideration what is allowed entry into the aura once it is expanded temporarily in those altered states. just like traveling in the astral one is advised to have some sort of mission or map in mind at the onset, going into the realm of psilocybe, it would be wise to do so also to a point……there is a point of relinquishing control and allowing the species itself to inform you on its own mission. i'm no expert but i have my experiences as guides. i studied a lot of terrence mckennas works on that realm and they helped me greatly. in understanding the role of plant allies u come to find which ones are effective and helpful and which ones will thrash you.
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