So during the last full moon, me and the wife decided to hold a ceremony with some friends for the full moon. Our original intent was to do so sober, and ask for protection for one of our friends who was going to join us (some girl he knew was trying to curse him). So we went about our preperation, cleansed the house with sage, and burned sweet grass to promote positive energy and spirits to join us. We got our alter ready and we're waiting for our friends to arrive before closing the salt circle for protection, and I remembered I had 0.3g of some penis envy mushrooms left over, so I decided this would be a good time for such a small dose.

As everyone arrived I finished up my usual tea preperation, and sat down in the circle with everyone. We closed the circle, and I drank my tea. I didn't expect the intensity that was to follow.

During the beginning we smudged ourselves, and I smudged my tea as well while asking for guidance from the mushroom spirit. We went about the ceremony, and after 20 minutes I was really feeling the effects come on. Much quicker and stronger then I thought.

As it intensified, I listened to what everyone was saying while staring into the flickering candle flames and shadows that were cast across the table. They were dancing to our words as if they were alive. I joined in the ceremonial versus that were being said, and we all took each other's hands in an attempt to increase each of our connections spiritually and physically for the protection spell.

At this time, there was a huge surge of energy that swept through the room. I could feel everyone's energy pulsing through me and mixing with my own. It was very pleasant and had a strong warming feeling to it. I couldn't help but smile at everyone as I felt connected to them at such a deep personal level. This is when stuff became somewhat of a blur, as I seemed to enter a trance.

During this trance I had no connection to other living things. I didn't see my wife or friends, nor feel their presence anymore. However, I did feel a strong protecting energy around me, and was overcome with a strong scent that I had only smelled before as my great aunts perfume. She passed away in '11 from melanoma, and we did not end on a great note. Along with all of this I felt forgiveness. Forgiveness for the way I treated her at the end, and forgiveness for the faults that I had let come between us. It brought tears to my eyes. I swear I could feel her loving embrace once again. I should also mention that I was wearing a necklace that contained some of her ashes in an attempt to communicate that night.

As this was starting to fade I was brought back to the ceremony by my wife tapping me on the shoulder to tell me we all had to stand and recite and verse now. As I did those feelings faded, but not completely. I was also surprised to see how much time had passed, as the candles were burning much further down then I had last realized before my trance.

We did the verse, shared the communal glass of wine, and finished up the ceremony. As it ended, we went outside for a smoke and to discuss our feelings. The sky was completely clear, and the moon had a huge, pulsating corona around it. Even though I was the only one tripping, I was not the only person who saw this. It was a beautiful end to a wonderful experience.

After returning inside, we smoked a little cannabis as the mushrooms started to subside. We stayed up and talked for a while before everyone went to sleep.

This was truly one of the most magical experiences I have had, and definitely the most profound. I healed a lot that night, and can say that I don't struggle with the loss of my great aunt anymore. I know she is happy with me and forgives me. She will always be there to watch over me and my family, and I am forever grateful to have had her in my life.

Ahhhhh, what a great report!!

Thanks for that Gone-&-Back! Much appreciation for giving me a warm smile, some slight goosebumps & just a tiny little tearing in my eyes at the end of your story...

I just love to hear the healing powers of ceremony with dear friends & psychedelics; life just doesn't get much better than that!

Peace be with you.

That's a great story Gone-and-Back, I love that you gather with fellows to generate that kind of powerful ceremony, sharing energy with mutual intent. I think that's just great.

I'm impressed that I recently had 1/3rd gram of cubensis, and the spirit was so definitely there. It seems so nonlinear, and inviting the mushroom spirit into your body is essentially a magical act. You can tune your mind to meet it in you. I think you may even be able to tune your mind to meet it *out* of you!

Blessings

Thank you
We plan on performing more ceremonies like this in the future. It's just hard to fin the time to do so unfortunately.

One day I'd like to be holding ceremonies where everyone is using entheogens and healing together. For the past year or two I have really been drawn to the idea of shamanism, and have wanted to start practicing. A lot of my friends support it and even want me to guide them during their experiences. Feels good to know they trust me with such a thing. However, I need to do some more intense journeys on my own, to get more comfortable with the experience and to try to learn some of the mantras and chants that shamans take from these places.

I'm sure some people would say playing shaman isn't a good idea, but I plan on doing my research and really feel a calling to help guide people through their healing. Every shaman has to start somewhere right?

As much as I don't really trust anyone who would actually say that they were a shaman, I have found myself in similar situations in the past several decades; where I was the senior psychonaut in the group & ended up guiding the others in order to keep the journeys on track, profound & healing in some way.

I do not mean to call myself a shaman, I know that takes years and years of dedication and practice. I do however want to learn the ways of the shaman and be able to help and heal people during ceremonies such as that.

I personally see no reason why someone wouldn't be able to learn the ways of the shaman and become one with enough time and dedication. It's not just native cultures that can do these things, I believe anyone can if they truly believe in it and dedicate their life to it. I have studied many forms of Magick, and the ones that have stood out to me most are shamanism and Norse Magick. I lean more towards shamanism though for the use of plant allies, as I feel they strongly help me connect to the other worldly forces that are needed for healing to take place.

This sounds like a wonderful experience; thank you for sharing. It is amazing what such a tiny dose can do! Lately I have been finding though just how much more rewarding certain altered states can be when simply work with the substance rather than waiting for it to bring the whole trip to you. I like your whole intimate ritual setup and positive intentions.... Definitely a good way to fly.

Also, isn't it wonderful when a beautiful sky unites those who are tripping and those who aren't? Fond memories of yelling "You really see that???" at friends before breaking into tears of joy.

[quote=Flower Witch
Also, isn't it wonderful when a beautiful sky unites those who are tripping and those who aren't? Fond memories of yelling "You really see that???" at friends before breaking into tears of joy. [/quote]

This is exactly how it was. It was completely beautiful and breath taking. I can only imagine the awe that they felt as well even while sober.

I understand what you're saying Gone...

And I am certainly not anyone to tell you that you are or are not something.

And I totally agree. My point was simply that I don't trust anyone who tells others that they're a shaman. From certain peoples' perspectives, I'm kind of a shaman on some levels , but I simply would never say that to anyone.

That was my only point. I was lucky to have a small handful of powerful psychedelic teachers in my younger years. They had some serious power & soul, but they never bragged about it or said, "I'm a guru" or "I'm a shaman" or "I'm enlightened". They just did what they did, quietly, peacefully & without bravado.

I hope you see what I'm getting at here. I'm all for shamans, training to be one & being one. It's just from my experiences, I don't trust people who openly say that they are.

Just as I don't trust anyone who says that they're a witch, even though I know there's plenty of real witches out there; the real ones are the ones that would never tell you what they are.

Peace.

I completely understand your point. Those who have the gift don't brag about it, or make it widely known. I just wanted to be clear that I am not claiming to be a shaman, only that I feel a calling to that form of spiritual work I guess you could say. If I ever do get to that point, I would not be advertising it. I'm just simply stating that they all have to get their start somewhere.

The main point is I just want to help people grow and heal, and that's all it will ever be. However, the ways I would do so would be considered shamanism, through the work of plant allies. It is just a name given to a specific course used to practice healing. Just like other forms of healing and Magick have different names depending on how you go about achieving the end results. Achieving those results through the use of plant allies is, in definition, shamanism.

Hey, Gone-And-Back, I hear what you're saying about the call of the shamanic art, and I have to admit I have similar thoughts.
I'm at once pulled towards these ideas, what academics call shamanism in its traditional context. I want to hear what these people are saying, understand it as best I can from their perspective and mine, and integrate, hold it together, infuse it into my life.

So I'm thinking, I know what I mean when I think of a "shaman".
But then when you go out into society and put that out there, "I'm a shaman," what do other people think.
Do they think that means you're going to drink some ayahuasca, protect them from all harm, sing icaros, call your spirit allies, do whatever else they've read about. Do they think you're somehow superhuman, more powerful than them, necessary for their spiritual development...

I guess that's where the trouble lies, because it's a matter of holding power over someone.
And maybe thinking you're more competent than you are.

I like the idea of being a really competent trip-sitter. You can help somebody in their time of need when they're out there in billows, but it's a resignation that we're all human and all explorers in this dimension right now.
Or making space and sharing medicine with friends, in a communal effort to accomplish something. That's great too.

As for my personal feelings, I think anyone using the medicines with some degree of preparation, awareness, navigation- we're shamans and healers doing what we do. You just shouldn't put any ego behind it to puff yourself up.

We're probably all on the same page here, right

I agree with that Kerelsk, and I think we are all on the same page.

Anyways, I may be holding another ceremony on the 31st for the full blue moon. I may take some of my cacti for the first time along with it, and plan on sharing some with those who participate if they are feeling up to it. Should be an exciting experience none the less.