On ritual entheogenic ritual fumigations- burnt offerings and fragrant woods and resins were some of the earliest and most ancient ways of connecting with the spirit world. Fire consumed the offering and was believed to multiply the strength of the offering by turning it to smoke. The pleasant (often only to spirits) aromas were the sustenance of the gods and the ancestors. Oftentimes various pharmaka would be throw on to the fires as well, the psychoactive plants would affect everyone in the vicinity “filling them with divinity.” Cannabis, opium, tobacco and a long list of fragrant resins have all been used for their entheogenic effects in ritual. Ceremonial magicians also make use of ritual fumigants contains psychoactive pharmaka as we see in recipes from the Sepher Raziel, The Book of Magic of Abramelin the mage and even in the legendary tales of Dr. Faustus. Smoke is often used in divination, whether as the medium to be interpreted, as a means for spirit manifestation or for its consciousness altering effects. Ritual fumigation a we’re not only used for divinatory purposes but also to summon and bind spirits to the magicians will. Folk witches take a slightly different approach as opposed to binding spirits we meet them on their own terms. Chris Bennet in Liber 420 Cannabis, magical herbs and the occult, mentions that Nostradamus also used different reflective surfaces for his prophesying and some of his quatrains suggest the use of psychoactive pharmaka. #pharmakon #poisonpath #pharmaka #pharmakeia #veneficium #ritualincense #ritualfumigation #nostradamus #divination #scrying #mirrorscrying #smokescrying #ceremonialmagic #poisonpath #entheogens https://www.instagram.com/p/CRVSvxJLyN-/?utm_medium=tumblr
