So many moons ago I got this treasure of a book - Muthi and Myths from the African Bush - written by two of our leading botanists, and then one day I met a botanist in a coffee shop downstairs from me, secretly wondering how on earth a botanist in this country could be unaware of the book’s existence, so I ran up to my apartment, fetched the book and gave it to her. The book’s absence on my bookshelf has been bugging me ever since, but she was so overjoyed, which made it very worthwhile. Long story short, we went to the Kirstenbosch botanical gardens a few weekends ago, and there was my book again. Now it’s back on my bookshelf!
It contains all the medicinal and entheogenic / hallucinogenic plants on the African continent. Interestingly, you can get pretty much all these plants for free in the medicinal section of our botanical gardens, just pull it out and replant it at home (you need to be a member of the botanical society of South Africa for that privilege, so naturally we signed up).
I have been immersed in this book for days now, from Wormwood and Van Gogh’s addiction to it, causing him to cut off his ear (Wormwood causes you to feel no physical pain), which is why our Zulu race used it in battle back in the day, to practically every other magical plant species and interesting stories related to it.
Here’s one of the many interesting tales in the book:
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Magic Carpet Ride
Botanical name: Peganum harmala
Common names: African rue, harmal (Arabic), harmel, rue sauvage (French)
![[Image: 055181_w_300.jpg]](http://www.igoterra.com/photo/228/055181_w_300.jpg)
Did you know it is possible to fly on a carpet?
It is. That is why it is called a magic carpet. But as is the cause with many magical experiences, the source of the magic is not the object that appears to be conjuring it.
In the case of the magic carpet, it is not the carpet that facilitates flying but rather a small desert shrub named Peganum harmala. This shrub, better known as African rue or harmal, grows in the desert regions of North East Africa and Arabia.
Before we go further, be warned, you should not be tempted to experiment with it yourself because the plant can be highly toxic and should only be administered by vastly experienced healers.
Certain Arabic texts contain accounts of those who have experienced flying on a carpet. They all tell the same tale: how they placed their carpet next to the fire and threw a handful of African rue seeds into the flames. Within a very short time they were flying over the desert on their magic carpet, imbibing eternity and exploring the dunes where caravans of camels, donkeys and desert clans have paved a path through the sands over thousands of years.
Their descriptions are so vivid, it is hard to believe they weren’t actually flying; that it was smoke from the burning harmal seeds releasing psychoactive vapours that stimulated the sensation of flying in their minds.
Harmal is the magic carpet and the concept of being able to fly is long since attributed to this ancient plant’s hallucinogenic effects (as are the intricate patterns in oriental carpet designs). Harmal is one of the continents many mind a mood plants.
Its hallucinogenic, intoxicant and sexually stimulating properties are well known to traditional healers. Its main alkaloid is harmine or telepathine; this same alkaloid is found in several South American mind plants, used in religious rites: caapi in Brazil, ayahuasca in Peru and yage in Colombia.
Harmal and all these other plants are traditionally used under very strict supervision to gain insight into the true reality of life: something that human beings have been seeking since the birth of consciousness.
Telepathine – the name of the alkaloid – is derived from the Greek word ‘telepathic’ (‘tele’ meaning ‘distance’ and ‘patheia’ meaning ‘feeling’.) Telepathy is the ability to convey or receive thoughts and feelings over any distance, without using any of the five known senses. It’s what we call parapsychology and extrasensory perception.
Recent parapsychology research has produced favourable results that extrasensory perception and telepathy is possible. Traditional healers have always known this and used medicines like harmal to open the spiritual doors of perception. They believe there is no greater healing than understanding the extrasensory self and our place in the universe.
On a more physical plane, harmal seeds are used as an anti-spasmodic and painkiller, effective in the treatment of eye diseases, nervous disorders and impotence.
Traditional healers would argue there is no distinction between the physical, spiritual and psychological planes; that when there is imbalance in any one of these, the human being will manifest some form of malady in all three. Therefore the treatment must penetrate all three aspects of being to clear blockages and restore vital force.
Blindness to the true riches of the human spirit is the most common affliction in the world today. Authentic traditional healers (not those riding the overcrowded bandwagon) are priceless repositories of the knowledge of our universe.
They shake their heads at the pandemic of financial greed that has possessed the world and proclaim that time is long overdue for the human race to collectively inhale the smoke of true perception. For it is only when we all ride the magic carpet that we will get a bird’s eye view of Earth and appreciate how lucky we are to be living on this pretty planet in the vast, cosmic universe.
**************************
It contains all the medicinal and entheogenic / hallucinogenic plants on the African continent. Interestingly, you can get pretty much all these plants for free in the medicinal section of our botanical gardens, just pull it out and replant it at home (you need to be a member of the botanical society of South Africa for that privilege, so naturally we signed up).
I have been immersed in this book for days now, from Wormwood and Van Gogh’s addiction to it, causing him to cut off his ear (Wormwood causes you to feel no physical pain), which is why our Zulu race used it in battle back in the day, to practically every other magical plant species and interesting stories related to it.
Here’s one of the many interesting tales in the book:
**************************
Magic Carpet Ride
Botanical name: Peganum harmala
Common names: African rue, harmal (Arabic), harmel, rue sauvage (French)
Did you know it is possible to fly on a carpet?
It is. That is why it is called a magic carpet. But as is the cause with many magical experiences, the source of the magic is not the object that appears to be conjuring it.
In the case of the magic carpet, it is not the carpet that facilitates flying but rather a small desert shrub named Peganum harmala. This shrub, better known as African rue or harmal, grows in the desert regions of North East Africa and Arabia.
Before we go further, be warned, you should not be tempted to experiment with it yourself because the plant can be highly toxic and should only be administered by vastly experienced healers.
Certain Arabic texts contain accounts of those who have experienced flying on a carpet. They all tell the same tale: how they placed their carpet next to the fire and threw a handful of African rue seeds into the flames. Within a very short time they were flying over the desert on their magic carpet, imbibing eternity and exploring the dunes where caravans of camels, donkeys and desert clans have paved a path through the sands over thousands of years.
Their descriptions are so vivid, it is hard to believe they weren’t actually flying; that it was smoke from the burning harmal seeds releasing psychoactive vapours that stimulated the sensation of flying in their minds.
Harmal is the magic carpet and the concept of being able to fly is long since attributed to this ancient plant’s hallucinogenic effects (as are the intricate patterns in oriental carpet designs). Harmal is one of the continents many mind a mood plants.
Its hallucinogenic, intoxicant and sexually stimulating properties are well known to traditional healers. Its main alkaloid is harmine or telepathine; this same alkaloid is found in several South American mind plants, used in religious rites: caapi in Brazil, ayahuasca in Peru and yage in Colombia.
Harmal and all these other plants are traditionally used under very strict supervision to gain insight into the true reality of life: something that human beings have been seeking since the birth of consciousness.
Telepathine – the name of the alkaloid – is derived from the Greek word ‘telepathic’ (‘tele’ meaning ‘distance’ and ‘patheia’ meaning ‘feeling’.) Telepathy is the ability to convey or receive thoughts and feelings over any distance, without using any of the five known senses. It’s what we call parapsychology and extrasensory perception.
Recent parapsychology research has produced favourable results that extrasensory perception and telepathy is possible. Traditional healers have always known this and used medicines like harmal to open the spiritual doors of perception. They believe there is no greater healing than understanding the extrasensory self and our place in the universe.
On a more physical plane, harmal seeds are used as an anti-spasmodic and painkiller, effective in the treatment of eye diseases, nervous disorders and impotence.
Traditional healers would argue there is no distinction between the physical, spiritual and psychological planes; that when there is imbalance in any one of these, the human being will manifest some form of malady in all three. Therefore the treatment must penetrate all three aspects of being to clear blockages and restore vital force.
Blindness to the true riches of the human spirit is the most common affliction in the world today. Authentic traditional healers (not those riding the overcrowded bandwagon) are priceless repositories of the knowledge of our universe.
They shake their heads at the pandemic of financial greed that has possessed the world and proclaim that time is long overdue for the human race to collectively inhale the smoke of true perception. For it is only when we all ride the magic carpet that we will get a bird’s eye view of Earth and appreciate how lucky we are to be living on this pretty planet in the vast, cosmic universe.
**************************
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