Tuesday, May 26, 2015

, , , from the archives #85: Datura Blossoms, Mojave Desert, 1975

Datura Blossoms - Mojave Desert  1975

"Oddly enough, Datura is known both as the Angel’s Trumpet and the Devil’s Weed. Much of the contemporary interest in Datura is traceable to the writings of Carlos Castaneda, and especially his popular book The Teachings of Don Juan. In this work, Castaneda describes the philosophy of Don Juan, a Yaqui sorcerer and shaman, whom he had met in the early 60s, before psychedelic drugs became popular with the hippie movement. In Castaneda’s writings, Don Juan appears as a typical shaman who teaches his apprentices to navigate through the fantasy realms carried by the wings of Datura.

"Although typically associated with Peyote, Castaneda’s first drug experiences were actually with Datura. In a series of fascinating dialogues, Castaneda learns from Don Juan, his teacher and shaman, about a spiritual helper—an ally—living in Datura plants. The name Don Juan uses to refer to this spiritual entity is one of the Spanish names for Datura: Yerba Del Diablo or 'Devil’s Weed.' The shaman’s power is vast and unthinkable, but it comes to its full use only with the help of the ally who assists in transcending the realm of conventional reality. In one of his infamous experiments with Datura, Castaneda transformed into a crow and learned how to fly—just like medieval witches on their broomsticks."


From a 40-year old negative!

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