Books
of Interest: ethnobotany
The underlined
links as book titles, which appear on these pages are provided to allow you to
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COVER IMAGE |
TITLE |
SYNOPIS OR REVIEW |
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Pinchbeck, breaking open the head |
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Shamans/Neo-Shamans: Ecstasy, alternative archaeologies
and contemporary Pagans by Dr Robert Wallis, due for publication February 2003.: UK purchase link to follow |
“Shamans
and shamanisms are in vogue at present. In popular culture, such diverse
characters as occultist Aleister Crowley, Doors musician Jim Morrison and
performance artist Joseph Beuys have been termed shamans. The anthropological
construct ‘shamanism’, on the other hand, has associations with sorcery,
witchcraft and healing, and archaeologists have suggested the meaning of
prehistoric cave art lies with shamans and altered consciousness. Dr Wallis explores the interface between ‘new’ (modern Western),
indigenous and prehistoric shamans, and assesses implications for
archaeologists, anthropologists, indigenous communities, heritage managers,
and neo-Shamanic practitioners. Identifying key figures in neo-Shamanisms,
including Mircea Eliade, Carlos Castaneda and Michael Harner, Wallis assesses
the way in which ‘traditional’ practices have been transformed into ‘Western’
ones, such as Castaneda’s Don Juan teachings and Harner’s core shamanism. The
book draws on interviews and self-reflective insider ethnography with a
variety of practitioners, particularly contemporary Pagans in Britain and
North America from Druid and Heathen traditions, to elucidate what neo-Shamans
do. Wallis looks at historical and archaeological sources to elucidate
whether ‘Celtic’ and ‘Northern’ shamanisms may have existed; he explores
contemporary Pagan engagements with prehistoric sacred sites such as
Stonehenge and Avebury, and discusses the controversial use by neo-Shamans of
indigenous (particularly Native American) shamanisms. Rather than discuss
neo-Shamans as, simply, inauthentic, invalid culture-stealers, Wallis offers
a more detailed and complex appraisal. He makes it clear that scholars must
be prepared to give up some of their hold over knowledge, and not only be
aware of these neo-Shamanic approaches but also engage in a serious dialogue
with such ‘alternative’ histories.” |
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Wade
Davis link to follow |
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Pharmakon
by Julian Vayne paperback
or e-book direct from publisher |
Ranging
across both published and anecdotal evidence, Pharmakon traces the story of
drug use as a means of self-exploration. By examining apparently
simple questions such as 'what is a drug?', Pharmakon deconstructs and reconstructs
the idea of drug experience. Experiences that the author believes are
fundamental to the process of self-actualisation and learning. Julian Vayne is an
occultist who has written on a number of esoteric subjects (witchcraft, the
tarot and the sociology of contemporary Paganism). This book is aimed at both
the general reader and those who are interested in the use of drugs in a
spiritual context. Delving into areas as
diverse as philosophy and neurochemistry, this is a book that in both style and
content seeks to invent a new understanding of drugs in culture… |
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Zig Zag Zen: Buddhism and Psychedelics |
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Salt on the absolute |
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