As we approach Christmas I’m reminded of shamanic traditions which date back to ancient Siberia. This is the home of the northern indigenous Tungusic people known as the Evenki.  

The Evenki are a shamanic culture and live in an area where the psychoactive Amanita Muscaria mushroom only grows beneath certain types of evergreen trees.  These mushrooms form a symbiotic relationship with the roots of the tree, the exchange of which allows them to grow. They are red with white dots, and look very decorative, but they are extremely toxic, so they are picked and laid to dry on the branches of the trees to reduce their toxicity. The result is that as the mushrooms are drying on the tree branches, the scene is very reminiscent of our modern decorated Christmas trees.  

The shaman or harvester would then go around to each of their mushroom stashes and gather them all in a large sack. (remind you of anything?!) As historical tradition goes, the shaman would then carry his large sack of mushrooms with him as he visited the homes of his or her people, delivering the mushrooms to each family.  The people would then continue the drying process by hanging them in a sock near the fire! Once fully dried the mushrooms would betoxic free and, along with being a valuable resource for food, the mushrooms had a mood uplifting effect which helped sustain their spirit during the bitterly cold winter.

The Shamans also noticed how the reindeer loved to eat the mushrooms  as well as eat their own urine captured in the snow. So some shamans tried eating the reindeer urine slushies too (ew!) and found they became quite intoxicated which manifested in visionary experiences without the harmful effects. Curiously, the visions from ingesting the Amanita Muscaria mushrooms are those of flying, along with massive distortions of time and space. Apparently not only do you feel like you’re flying but you can see other things fly too….like reindeer! It’s not hard to connect the dots is it?  

So when you’re decorating your tree, hanging the star, and doing your thing with red and white gift wrapping, take a moment to reflect on the esoteric meaning of the shamanic origins of Christmas and it’s Shaman Claus origin story, and what the spirit of this tradition was and is all about….community and support.  

MERRY CHRISTMAS 2023