I know you are all swamped planning for the holidays, so I will keep this week’s newsletter short and sweet.
I wanted to tell you a short story that some believe to be the origin of Santa Claus. It’s an excerpt from my upcoming book that felt poignant. ‘Tis the season and all that.
According to anthropologist John Rush magic mushrooms gave us Father Christmas! His belief is that every December at winter solstice, Siberian shaman’s would hand out Amanita Muscaria (The holy mushroom). This is the familiar strain of magic mushroom -red with white spots. It’s so much a part of popular culture now it’s even an emoji.
They were found by their reindeer in much the same way pigs hunt for truffles. The reindeer would eat the truffles and the shamans would often drink their urine and hallucinate.
The holy men also have a tradition of dressing like the mushrooms themselves . This, of course, matches Santa’s red and white attire. The mushrooms are found in coniferous woodland i.e. under pines much like gifts on Christmas day, and given as gifts to local families.
As you can imagine, the snow in Siberia is very heavy in winter months. So much so that the door would often be blocked so residents and guests would have to access via a hole in the roof. Some might say similar to a chimney? The spirit animal of these shamans was the reindeer. Maybe this, merged with the generosity of St Nicolas, gave us Santa? It’s a lovely idea, I wonder if it’s true?
Food for thought, and a fun little Christmas anecdote.
I hope you have a wonderful holiday season, remember to look out for the Mind Body Spirit online magazine that will be emailed out shortly. There is an article about me, in it.
There will also be some big changes for Divine Empowerment in the New year, I look forward to sharing those with you shortly!
Merry Christmas!