An examination of the sacred botany and the pagan origins and rituals of Christmas
• Analyzes the symbolism of the many plants associated with Christmas
• Reveals the shamanic rituals that are at the heart of the Christmas celebration
The day on which many commemorate the birth of Christ has its origins in pagan rituals that center on tree worship, agriculture, magic, and social exchange. But Christmas is no ordinary folk observance. It is an evolving feast that over the centuries has absorbed elements from cultures all over the world--practices that give plants and plant spirits pride of place. In fact, the symbolic use of plants at Christmas effectively transforms the modern-day living room into a place of shamanic ritual.
Christian Rätsch and Claudia Müller-Ebeling show how the ancient meaning of the botanical elements of Christmas provides a unique view of the religion that existed in Europe before the introduction of Christianity. The fir tree was originally revered as the sacred World Tree in northern Europe. When the church was unable to drive the tree cult out of people's consciousness, it incorporated the fir tree by dedicating it to the Christ child. Father Christmas in his red-and-white suit, who flies through the sky in a sleigh drawn by reindeer, has his mythological roots in the shamanic reindeer-herding tribes of arctic Europe and Siberia. These northern shamans used the hallucinogenic fly agaric mushroom, which is red and white, to make their soul flights to the other world. Apples, which figure heavily in Christmas baking, are symbols of the sun god Apollo, so they find a natural place at winter solstice celebrations of the return of the sun. In fact, the authors contend that the emphasis of Christmas on green plants and the promise of the return of life in the dead of winter is just an adaptation of the pagan winter solstice celebration.
Autorentext
Christian Rätsch, Ph.D. (1957 ? 2022), was a world-renowned anthropologist and ethnopharmacologist who specialized in the shamanic uses of plants for spiritual as well as medicinal purposes. He studied Mesoamerican languages and cultures and anthropology at the University of Hamburg and spent, altogether, three years of fieldwork among the Lacandone Indians in Chiapas, Mexico, being the only European fluent in their language. He then received a fellowship from the German academic service for foreign research, the Deutsche Akademische Auslandsdienst (DAAD), to realize his doctoral thesis on healing spells and incantations of the Lacandone-Maya at the University of Hamburg, Germany.
In addition to his work in Mexico, his numerous fieldworks have included research in Thailand, Bali, the Seychelles, as well as a long-term study (18 years) on shamanism in Nepal combined with expeditions to Korea and the Peruvian and Colombian Amazon. He also was a scientific anthropological advisor for expeditions organized by German magazines such as GEO and Spektrum der Wissenschaften (Spectrum of Sciences).
Before becoming a full-time author and internationally renowned lecturer, Rätsch worked as professor of anthropology at the University of Bremen and served as consultant advisor for many German museums. Because of his extensive collection of shells, fossils, artifacts, and entheopharmacological items, he had numerous museum expositions on these topics.
He is the author of numerous articles and more than 40 books, including Plants of Love, Gateway to Inner Space, Marijuana Medicine, The Dictionary of Sacred and Magical Plants, and The Encyclopedia of Psychoactive Plants. He is also coauthor of Plants of the Gods, Shamanism and Tantra in the Himalayas, Witchcraft Medicine, Pagan Christmas, and The Encyclopedia of Aphrodisiacs and was editor of the Yearbook of Ethnomedicine and the Study of Consciousness. A former member of the board of advisors of the European College for the Study of Consciousness (ECSC) and former president of the Association of Ethnomedicine, he lived in Hamburg, Germany.
Inhalt
Preface
The Ethnobotany of Christmas
Traditions, Rituals, and Customs
Christmas Songs of the Hard Winter
A Pagan Feast
Red and White: Colors of Christmas
The Darkness of Midwinter
Sacred Nights, Smudging Nights, and Incense
Wotan and the Wild Hunt
From the Shamanic World Tree to the Christmas Tree
Christmas Trees
Holy Trees
St. Nicholas and His Little Helper, Ruprecht
Baccy Claus: The Smoking Christmas Man
Father Christmas: An Anthropomorphic Fly Agaric Mushroom?
Christmas Tree Decorations
The Golden Apples
Miracle Blossoms for the Winter Solstice
St. Barbara's Boughs
Christ Rose or Hellebore
Christmas Roses
Christmas Stars
Exotic Christmas Flowers
Christmas Greens
The Old Ones of the Woods
Mistletoe: Winter Woods Green
Holly: Frau Holle's Holy Tree
Laurel: The Sun God's Plant
Ivy: Tendrils of the Maenads
The Aromas of Christmas: A Shower of Pheromones
Incense for the Holy Nights
Incense Under the Christmas Tree
Incense Recipes for the Smudging Nights
Christmas Intoxications and Other Delights
Yule Drinking
Love on Christmas Eve?
Chocolate Father Christmas: Ritual Christmas Cannibalism
Mugwort, the Sacrificial Goose, and the Christmas Roast
Rosemary and the Yule Boar
Merry Christmas from Mother Coca, Coca-Cola, and Santa Claus
Christmas Spices and Christmas Baking
Anise and St. Andrew's Night
Saffron: Red Gold for Christmas
Christmas Baking
The Rebirth of the Sun
Sun Gods: Apollo, Mithras, and Jesus
Mystery Cults
Kyphi: Incense for the Smudging Nights
Saturn, the God of Incense
The Erotic Bean Feast
New Year's Eve: The Wild Feast of Sylvester
Protection and Fertility Rites
Lucky Plants
Happy New Year
Thunder and Witch Flour
From Incense to Fireworks
Lucky Mushrooms and Chimney Sweeps
New Year's Day
Magical, Shamanic Clover
The Night of Befana, the Christmas Witch
Holy Bushes that Protect Against Witches
Paradise Plant
Devil's Dirt and Witches' Smoke
Three Kings Day: The End of the Christmas Season
The Pagan Magi from the East
Frankincense, the Secret of Old Arabia
Bibliography
Index