SHAMANIC ODYSSEY: Homer, Tolkien, & The Visionary Experience

Weaving together the native traditions of the ancient Greeks and Celts, the work of J. R. R. Tolkien, and the voices of plant medicine healers in North and South America, the authors explore the use of healing songs, psychoactive plants and vision quests at the heart of the Odyssey, in particular, the Cyclops episode is seen in the light of the encounter between the indigenous peoples of the Americas and the 'civilised' European conquistadors. From Homer to Shakespeare, Tolkien to indigenous shamans, here is a world where the old gods walked with us and the animals taught us how to live and the plants that healed us. The book is an awakening for us to return to our native minds and bring our disconnected souls back into harmony with the living cosmos. It looks at plant divinities, altered consciousness, animal shape-shifting, and sacred topography and the deep affinities between the healing powers of ancient bardic song and the icaros of the shamans of the Amazon rainforest. Odysseus's battle with Circe follows the traditional method of negotiating with a plant ally, and his journey to the Land of the Dead signifies the universal practice of the vision quest. 212 page illustrated softback.