In an attempt to account for human illness and adversity spirits and gods are frequently invoked, but there is a nearly universal belief that at least some of this misfortune is caused by individual humans using supernatural means. While being closely related terms in general usage, witchcraft and sorcery can be distinguished for anthropological purposes. Witches are believed to have innate psychic powers that may or may not be under their conscious control. This power is passed by heredity or implanted at an early age.Demonic possession is another explanation for a witch’s power. This demon may be born in the witch, passed from mother to daughter. Sorcerers, on the other hand, are ordinary persons practicing “black” magic using spells and physical objects. At times, witc and sorc are socially approved by the community and in some cultures witches may actually cure illness, not cause it. The term “witch” describes a ‘female sorceress or magician’ and is derived from the Old English term ‘wicce’. Some other explanations for misfortune include the will of god, karma, chance, ancestor spirits, and kismet.

There are many differences and similarities in witchcraft beliefs and many symbols used are culture specific. In Europe witches are thin, whereas in central Africa they are fat. There is a common thread in the belief that witches exhibit behavior that is the exact opposite of “normal” persons in a particular culture. They violate taboos against cannibalism, incest, and necrophagia. They eat and kill babies, they eat the souls of their victims, and they make sacrifices of blood. Sometimes they exhume bodies and feed on their flesh. Witches are nearly always acquaintances or relatives and are the scapegoats for illness and troubles in the community.

Witches are organized in covens and they meet for the Sabbath. The word coven is a variation of convent and comes from around 1500. The coven was the structure; the Sabbath was the meeting. Among the Navaho, groups would meet and be led by a chief witch. They might be shape-shifters. They could make themselves invisible or turn into animals or insects so they could slip through the cracks in houses to kill babies. One of the most common and oldest beliefs is that witches fly at night. They get to the Sabbath on flying broomsticks, horses walking backwards, or by the Devil sweeping them into the air. They might go to their meetings riding nocturnal animals. They could have magic “wands” or powerful medicines. Witches often meet at night. They often exploit assistants or familiars, including imps, black cats, rats, owls, beetles, and snails. Snakes, hyenas, and skunks were common familiars. In extreme cases the witches kept a zombie; a person killed by the witch and made to be her slave.

Witches were believed to be having sexual intercourse with familiars. Incubi and succubi, male and female demons respectively, would also have sexual relations with sleeping members of the opposite sex. Witches made love potions, capable of seducing ordinary members of the opposite sex. Witches were thought to harbor hate and greed, of being able to kill at a distance, and able to place foreign substances into other’s body. There are several explanations for the similarity of beliefs about witches cross-culturally. These include cultural diffusion, the existence of a world religion of witchcraft, and coincidence.

Peyote cults are groups which use peyote for spiritual practice, where the Indians say that unless one is morally upright, he can not partake of the peyote. Peyotism is the religion of the Native American Church, founded in 1918 and may have come about as a way to deal with the defeat of their culture. Peyotism is a religion of submission and withdrawal, and one of its primary values is contemplation.

The effects of drugs are known to be variable cross-culturally and even within a single culture. For one the effect might be paradise, for another hell. Addiction and overdose are real dangers inherent in the use of drugs and the use of ritual settings may help to prevent “madness”. Drugs have been used throughout the centuries, from the ancient Greeks, through medieval times and into modern day society. It is the purpose of their use that has changed.

There are varied perspectives on the phenomena of altered states of consciousness or ASC. From shamanic trance and sex, to “raves”, a gamut of ASCs exist. Brazilian Spiritist healers induce a trance during which they perform surgeries. These are not “psychic” surgeries as performed in the Philippines, but are actual intrusions into the bodies of patients using scalpels, tweezers, and other medical instruments. These are done without anesthesia, sterilization, or sophisticated equipment and the results are typically achieved without significant blood loss, infection, or complications. There are many different healers and some of their somewhat gruesome and remarkable surgeries are extremely efficacious. But it should be pointed out the healer is not the only one experiencing an ASC. More interesting is the ASC exhibited by the patient. This patient ASC could be what really explains the results obtained by these healers who use no antisepsis or anesthesia, don’t wash their hands between patients, and perform surgeries with minimal blood loss, no pain, no infection and few complications.

None of the patients are induced by drugs or ritual into an ASC, yet videotapes seem to indicate that their consciousness is certainly altered. The human organism is hypothesized to be a communication system wherein information crucial to its functioning is constantly flowing. This information may be accessed through an ASC to aid in healing and cure by the mind of the patient. The receptivity of the patient to enter into an ASC may make this all possible. This approach could depend upon a highly specialized belief system, frame of reference, and world view. This means that the Brazilian culture and the susceptibility of the Brazilian people to “suggestion” may be how the patient achieves the ASC. With an affinity to fantasy, these patients are also believers in the powers of supernatural entities that they believe are real and are there to help them. They learn through their culture to enter an ASC easily, they trust their patron, and therefore no formal induction is needed to move the patient into an ASC. Unconscious cues given by the healer may result in the patient being able to access the bodily information and systems to achieve the astounding results of these surgeries. They may slow the flow of their blood, reduce blood pressure, access their immune systems, and speed up the healing of the wounds they suffer. And all is done in an unconsciously induced, culturally aided and founded altered state. Fascinating!

Read Altered State of Consciousness…Part 1

American “culture” imposes on us continual stress. Is the stress of having enough money to feed your family any different from ensuring that ancient crops grew? Is the stress of an angry and antagonistic mail carrier co-worker different from a neighbor that is a sorcerer? Stress and worry impose upon us all, whether American or Trobriand, a fear of what may come in the future. We feel out of control of our surroundings. So where are we to turn? The occult relieves some of the stress we experience. It provides answers to age-old questions. How do we Trobriand deal with the danger of the sea? How do I know if I should include my firing on my resume? The occult may provide answers. Who is to say that the lucky lottery winner didn’t get the numbers from a ouija board? Imagine the stress felt by a world leader. Has American foreign and domestic policy been shaped by the occult? Remember Nancy Regan’s astrologer?

The normal, competitive American is always seeking an edge. Seeking that edge in the occult may be the answer for some. Power is addictive, and if it works once, belief is reinforced. The occult will always be the refuge of some who feel downtrodden, left out, and stressed out. It will continue to thrive in America.

Drugs are the ingestion or application of any substance for other than nutritional reasons. Lewin developed a classification of drugs published in 1924 that includes the categories of Euphorica, Phantastica, Inebriantia, Hypnotica, and Excitania. A modern category has been added, known as Ataraxics. These categories include sedatives, hallucinogens, depressants, and stimulants.

Differences exist between western and traditional drug use. In modern culture drug use is primarily limited to medicinal and recreational use. Traditional use was primarily religious in character. These differences can be directly attributed to a culture’s view of reality. Modern society recognizes science as the causative force in nature, while the supernatural holds this distinction in more traditional cultures. Traditionally, drugs were used to move into the spirit world, to touch the reality “on the other side”. Use was typically limited to a religious practitioner with years of experience and training. In modern society, drugs are used or have been used by virtually every individual. Other uses include the search for power, the eternal pursuit of immortality, control over the minds of others, and for recreation and experimentation.

Traditionally drugs were used by a shaman to move into the spirit world where he controlled the spirits for the benefit of his community. These drugs include, but were not limited to, tobacco, datura, psych-tropic substances like mushrooms and peyote (Huichol and Cora), and cannabis. There were many varieties of other drugs derived from things like the Banisteriopsis vine, caterpillars, and peppers. Sedatives were also used by the practitioners. Cocaine, opium, and alcohol were typical. It is interesting to note that these drugs were not only taken orally, but could be applied externally or even delivered by means of enemas. The recent discovery of this method of delivery has become apparent from works of art depicting the act. While medical enemas had been used for centuries to treat constipation, they had in the past not been recognized a drug delivery system. The previously named drugs are all found naturally. Modern day science has devised ways to synthetically produce many of these drugs, or derivatives from them. Derivatives of opium, anesthetics, synthetic narcotics, stimulants, and hallucinogens are now mass produced. Drug problem, anyone?

Stay tuned for Part 2.

Part 2 now available.