| In a message dated 4/10/2001 2:16:45 PM Central Daylight Time,
Ti@fa-kuan.muc.de writes: <I - if ever - would have imagined the use of "Bilsenkraut" (sorry, don't Henbane, Hyoscyamus niger. but the bright side has always been preferred in religious ceremonies (and for curing runny noses, for that matter). <Oh, just heard this story related to northern (e.g. Siberian) peoples using the muscaridine hallucinogenic power (which is said to give an impression of "light", i.e. an intense brightness) to better stand the extended dark seasons in those areas> Also Tibet and, indeed, most places where the fly agaric grows. I think it is the phallic that gets 'em -- plus, of course, the fact that it is easy to spot and can't readily be mistaken (I am assured) for more deadly relatives (death angels, death trumpets,...). |