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So many moons ago I got this treasure of a book - Muthi and Myths from the African Bush - written by two of our leading botanists, and then one day I met a botanist in a coffee shop downstairs from me, secretly wondering how on earth a botanist in this country could be unaware of the book’s existence, so I ran up to my apartment, fetched the book and gave it to her. The book’s absence on my bookshelf has been bugging me ever since, but she was so overjoyed, which made it very worthwhile. Long story short, we went to the Kirstenbosch botanical gardens a few weekends ago, and there was my book again. Now it’s back on my bookshelf!

It contains all the medicinal and entheogenic / hallucinogenic plants on the African continent. Interestingly, you can get pretty much all these plants for free in the medicinal section of our botanical gardens, just pull it out and replant it at home (you need to be a member of the botanical society of South Africa for that privilege, so naturally we signed up).

I have been immersed in this book for days now, from Wormwood and Van Gogh’s addiction to it, causing him to cut off his ear (Wormwood causes you to feel no physical pain), which is why our Zulu race used it in battle back in the day, to practically every other magical plant species and interesting stories related to it.

Here’s one of the many interesting tales in the book:


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Magic Carpet Ride


Botanical name: Peganum harmala
Common names: African rue, harmal (Arabic), harmel, rue sauvage (French)


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Did you know it is possible to fly on a carpet?

It is. That is why it is called a magic carpet. But as is the cause with many magical experiences, the source of the magic is not the object that appears to be conjuring it.

In the case of the magic carpet, it is not the carpet that facilitates flying but rather a small desert shrub named Peganum harmala. This shrub, better known as African rue or harmal, grows in the desert regions of North East Africa and Arabia.

Before we go further, be warned, you should not be tempted to experiment with it yourself because the plant can be highly toxic and should only be administered by vastly experienced healers.

Certain Arabic texts contain accounts of those who have experienced flying on a carpet. They all tell the same tale: how they placed their carpet next to the fire and threw a handful of African rue seeds into the flames. Within a very short time they were flying over the desert on their magic carpet, imbibing eternity and exploring the dunes where caravans of camels, donkeys and desert clans have paved a path through the sands over thousands of years.

Their descriptions are so vivid, it is hard to believe they weren’t actually flying; that it was smoke from the burning harmal seeds releasing psychoactive vapours that stimulated the sensation of flying in their minds.

Harmal is the magic carpet and the concept of being able to fly is long since attributed to this ancient plant’s hallucinogenic effects (as are the intricate patterns in oriental carpet designs). Harmal is one of the continents many mind a mood plants.

Its hallucinogenic, intoxicant and sexually stimulating properties are well known to traditional healers. Its main alkaloid is harmine or telepathine; this same alkaloid is found in several South American mind plants, used in religious rites: caapi in Brazil, ayahuasca in Peru and yage in Colombia.

Harmal and all these other plants are traditionally used under very strict supervision to gain insight into the true reality of life: something that human beings have been seeking since the birth of consciousness.

Telepathine – the name of the alkaloid – is derived from the Greek word ‘telepathic’ (‘tele’ meaning ‘distance’ and ‘patheia’ meaning ‘feeling’.) Telepathy is the ability to convey or receive thoughts and feelings over any distance, without using any of the five known senses. It’s what we call parapsychology and extrasensory perception.

Recent parapsychology research has produced favourable results that extrasensory perception and telepathy is possible. Traditional healers have always known this and used medicines like harmal to open the spiritual doors of perception. They believe there is no greater healing than understanding the extrasensory self and our place in the universe.

On a more physical plane, harmal seeds are used as an anti-spasmodic and painkiller, effective in the treatment of eye diseases, nervous disorders and impotence.

Traditional healers would argue there is no distinction between the physical, spiritual and psychological planes; that when there is imbalance in any one of these, the human being will manifest some form of malady in all three. Therefore the treatment must penetrate all three aspects of being to clear blockages and restore vital force.

Blindness to the true riches of the human spirit is the most common affliction in the world today. Authentic traditional healers (not those riding the overcrowded bandwagon) are priceless repositories of the knowledge of our universe.

They shake their heads at the pandemic of financial greed that has possessed the world and proclaim that time is long overdue for the human race to collectively inhale the smoke of true perception. For it is only when we all ride the magic carpet that we will get a bird’s eye view of Earth and appreciate how lucky we are to be living on this pretty planet in the vast, cosmic universe.


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Another tale from my book, about Wormwood. Wormwood is interesting because it is mentioned 7 times in the Old Testament, and also once in the Book of Revelations… which might explain why Revelations reads like one big psychedelic trip…


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The Green Muse


Botanical name: Artemisia afra
Common names: African wormwood, umhlonyane (Zulu), wildeals (Afrikaans)


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When I think of wormwood, I think of Vincent van Gogh, for it was the artist’s penchant for wormwood that might well have edged him towards the madness that had him cutting off his ear and taking his own life. Van Gogh was rather partial to the ‘green muse’ – which is what absinthe, that notorious yellowy-green alcohol, is called. Flavoured with wormwood, it is extremely powerful and highly addictive, with narcotic, hallucinogenic and sometimes fatal effects. Very possibly a whole lot of French people were trying to cut off their ears or jump off buildings to fly with the angels at the same time as Van Gogh.

French poet Paul Verlaine was certainly one. Addicted to absinthe, he too led a volatile life, going down with a host of others seeking inspiration from the watery muse. By the turn of the twentieth century, absinthe was so popular in France that the French government banned it in 1915.

The wormwood used in absinthe is a species called Artemisia absinthium. It is the European version of African wormwood (Artemisia afra), a renowned African medicinal plant. Both these species of wormwood contain a volatile, narcotic substance called ‘thujone’ which is the main active ingredient in absinthe and one of the active ingredients in the medicines derived from these plants.

We know that all medicine can be poisonous; it’s just a matter of dose. Thujone taken too regularly has been directly associated with the neurotoxic syndrome called absinthism. Of course, absinthism could also have been caused by the high alcohol content in absinthe or by adulterants used in popular, cheap versions of the drink, such as copper sulphate. Astists like Van Gogh, as we know, had precious little cash and would most certainly have bought the cheapest brands.

While the European wormwood is chemically very similar to its African namesake, on this continent wormwood has been put to healthier uses. It is one of the oldest and best known of all the traditional medicines and has been used from the Cape to Cairo as a general medicine since ancient times.

African wormwood grows from the grassland regions of South Africa, all the way up to the east coast of Africa to Ethiopia. It has been widely used as a deworming treatment.

Particularly in days gone by, worms were a major human problem because most people lived in less than hygienic conditions. To combat this they would make a strong tea from the leaves, drink it and pretty immediately get rid of the worms.

African wormwood is also especially effective in the treatment of colds, fevers and flu – for which the leaves, young stems and roots are used. The Sotho people of South Africa make small plugs from the plant’s soft, feathery leaves and insert them in their nostrils to clear their nasal passages. It has a very pleasant, sweetish, lavender-like smell and a similar effect to inhaling vapour rubs such as Vicks VapoRub – a most popular brand in Africa.

The leaves are also used in a bitter tonic, which makes an excellent digestive. A couple of drops on the tongue trigger the stomach to release extra gastric juices which aid digestion. Diabetes is sometimes treated with African wormwood, but plants from certain areas are more effective than others in this regard. The geographical variability in chemical compounds is well known, which is why anyone thinking of cultivating African wormwood in the hope of bottling a South African brand of absinthe, would need to select plants with the desired degree of thujones and chemical compounds.

South Africa already has its own brand of tequila being produced in its outback region known as the Karoo, so why not an African brand of absinthe from the Drakensberg or some other grassland clime?

“It’s not impossible that it could be used in some kind of a herbal liqueur,” concedes Ben-Erik “But let’s not forget that absinthe was banned in France for a very good reason!”


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