9 am Shonagh Home: Mushrooms, the Sidhe and the Otherworld

For countless initiates through time, the ritual ingestion of mind-altering substances ferried them beyond the earthly world into vastly different realms where connection to the gods, ancestors and spirits of the land was made possible. Celtic mythology and lore hold numerous stories of magical potions, berries, nuts and salmon that when ingested in the proper dose, transformed one into a sage and poet with the knowledge of the ages. The storytellers of the old Celtic world spoke in metaphor and riddle, very likely veiling the ritual use of amanita and possibly psilocybin in the training of initiates. The inhabitants of the Otherworld were known as the Sidhe (shee), which is the Irish word for Faerie. These spirits are not the sprites of Victorian fancy but rather a race of tall, wise and noble people with the power to impart certain gifts, not the least of which are poetry and music. In our modern, commercial secular world this is regarded as simply superstition and myth, yet among intrepid visionary mushroom seekers there are some who have encountered what they would describe as the Faerie, and their experiences with them are indelible. In a world seduced by technology and materialism, what is the point of trying to connect with these intelligences? Is it even possible? How can we benefit from making such a connection? And what might these Otherworld inhabitants have to teach us? I will endeavor to answer these questions and share my personal insights.