Hi!

I just joined today. I'm interested in learning more about safe dream travel, and I feel drawn to Silene Capensis. I have plenty of experience with vivid and lucid dreams, but I'm not having them so much just now. Unfortunately, I also have high blood pressure, so in the interest of not making a journey to the ancestors into a permanent change of address, I feel I need to do my homework first.

The reason I came to this board instead of elsewhere is that unless I'm mistaken, this group seems to be the possible origin of the Silene Capensis/MAO-inhibitor theory.

Can anyone confirm that for me?

I've been doing a lot of research online and also approaching the plant with an open mind to see what she tells me about herself.

What do you guys think about her name? The Greek word Seline is thought to be related to saliva, for the sticky secretion on her branches. I wonder if instead it might be a close cousin of the Greek name Selina (Moon)? The Xhosa use it when the moon is full; the full moon shines down to us in white paths, showing us white ways. The Moon has a feminine and watery signification, appropriate to the growing preferences of the plant.

I'll look forward to hearing from you all!

Best,

OneofTwo

The Male in the Moon

I haaven't had a response to my first post yet, so I'll elaborate on some of the preliminary dream work I've been doing regarding SC to date. To clarify, I'm not using it--just researching and sleeping with a bag of it under my pillow.

Learned from lore:

http://www.africanshaman.com/id27.htm

To the Xhosa, the Moon is male when a crescent, and female when full.

http://www.psychohistori...frican_star_lore.content

The Xhosa diviners who use Silena Capensis and other oneirogens are predominantly female.

SC is used at the full moon for three days, which is approximately the duration of the full moon phase.

The flowers of SC grow on a forked branch. One flower is female, the other is male.

A forked branch is used to stir the SC tincture to a foam. I wonder if traditionally, the actual branch of the plant is used in its preparation? These leggy branches are said to be covered in a sticky substance containing saponins, which might add to the bubbling action when preparing the SC foam.

In the mythology of the herb's lore, the initiate dives into a river, then wrestles with a snake.

The dreaming initiation may present an opportunity for the aspiring diviner to work towards integrating their male and female sides. Perhaps this is intended to break down the initiate's resitance to taking the opposite gender when necessary to approach the ancestors in dreams.



Learned from Silene Capensis:


I'm still beginning to learn from this teacher. The process is far from complete. So far, this is what I have learned:

I asked Silene to show me how to learn from her. In a dream, she showed me three numbers. It doesn't matter what they were, because they may be different for someone else other than me.

Here is what the numbers meant to me. They were a sort of prescription: when to use, how often, when to stop.

They suggested that the properties of the plant are enhanced by intermittent rather than constant application. There is a point of completion, when the use of the substance is to be stopped because its work is done, or as some have said, made permanent.

I asked Silene to show me how she worked in dreaming, and put a small bag of roots under my pillow. This is in part what happened:

I had a brief dream on (at least) three levels which demonstrated the additional "eyes" the dreamer can use in this sort of dream.

I dreamed I was approaching my house and going through the front door. At the same time, I saw who I was from the side, slightly above. I was my son. I knew I was dreaming. I saw and heard myself open the door. I knew that it meant I was entering a new realm, a new reality. In real time, my son came up the stairs to our second floor apartment and coughed. This woke me up.

I knew what was happening "real time," in real life, which gave rise to the dream; I knew what was happening in the dream; I knew what the symbology meant as it was happening in the dream. I wasn't trying to control or cause events during this dream.

This lesson suggests SC dreaming can give the initiate access to multiple points of view, a tool very valuable to creativity, problem solving, and integration of life lessons.
Interestingly, I later learned that the threshold of the home has a significance to the ancestors in the Xhosa belief system:

www.ajol.info/index.php/...cle/download/65600/53281

Later in the same evening, I had a long dream that involved a rather large group of people, who were relatives of mine. I didn't know them in real life, except one. We were all part of a travelling musical act; we had to get packed up to go to the next venue of the tour. I had something to do with the lighting, I think. I did compare several lighting arrangements with very beautiful colors synchonized to music. I also noticed a larger-than-life video screen which showed a woman drummer playing a few riffs. I remember thinking that it was unusual for a woman to make a career of drumming (apologies to feminists or anyone else offended by these thoughts in my dream).

My mother was in my dream. She has passed on, and we didn't get along well. But we stayed fairly civil in the dream. She wanted me to cut my hair, which didn't surprise me. In retrospect, if I see her again in such a dream, I believe I need to resolve some issues with her. Not to make a scene, but for my peace of mind. I woke up not long after the exchange with my mother.

This lesson suggests that SC dreaming permits the initiate another opportunity to resolve issues with family members who have passed on.

I'll let you know if I find out anything else.

Because I have significant hypertension, I probably won't use SC until I have several health issues under control. But I think this has been interesting so far.