Cannabis: The Gateway Drug
Legend of the Guardian Cannabis Angel...
Cannabis, marijuana, or weed is often called a “Gateway Drug,” to imply that smoking pot is like opening a gate down a path to using more dangerous drugs. This on the surface may seem like the case, depending on the perspective, but that’s not why ingesting cannabis is considered the Gateway Drug. Historically, witch doctors, sorcerers, occultists, shaman, and others practitioners have used drugs to open portals to the spirit world. It is common knowledge certain drugs open spirit portals, which can have good or negative effects on people’s psyche and spirit depending if done properly under the direction of a guide. These drugs include prescription drugs (an ancient Greek word for witchcraft is pharmekeia, from which we get the English word “pharmacy” or “pharmaceuticals”), LSD, DMT, absinthe, and consuming certain other “spirits of plants.”
“Many have thought that smoking marijuana is fairly harmless, and for most people, it may be, but for others, it’s truly a Gateway Drug, and smoking it opens gates.”
There is an undeniable connection between witchcraft and drugs. Today, drugs are used more than ever throughout every realm of the occult. The truth remains drugs open the user to the spirit, yet what people fail to realize is that once a person has opened the door to possession they have no real power to close the door since the spiritual forces are operating on direct and subtle levels of consciousness. Therefore it’s always a good idea to call forth the protection of the Cannabis Guardian Angel while out flying around way up there in the spirit world beforehand. Intent and protection are two key components to safely experiencing the benefits. The smoking of marijuana initiates many processes in the body, mind and even soul, depending upon the intent with which it is intendedly used. In ancient Germanic paganism, cannabis was associated with the Norse love goddess, Freya literally improving the psychic connection from one person to the next, and this is what underlies the meaning of such terms as, “contact high”
Cannabis, like other teacher plants, is properly called an “entheogen” or “agent in God’, known throughout history as a psychoactive substance with spiritual properties since the Vedic period dating back to approximately 1500 BCE, but perhaps as far back as 2000 BCE.[1] Cannabis has been used by many cultures to ponder religious and philosophical subjects related to life, their tribe, society, or to achieve a form of enlightenment. Traditional Chinese Medicine listed herbal uses for cannabis and noted some psychodynamic effects. In Tantric Buddhism, which originated in the TIbeto-Himalayan region, cannabis serves as an important part of a traditional ceremony/ritual. A Taoist priest in the fifth century A.D. wrote in the Ming-I Pieh Lu that:
"Cannabis is used by necromancers, in combination with ginseng to set forward time in order to reveal future events."
The use of Cannabis as a hallucinogenic drug by magicians is especially notable. It should be pointed out that in ancient China, as in most early cultures, medicine has its origin in magic. Medicine men were practicing magicians.[2] It is a fact that when used with the right intent, (a spiritual focus) that cannabis can raise the user up to higher levels of consciousness. The Atharva Veda scriptures of Hinduism estimated to have been written sometime around 2000–1400 BCE, mentions cannabis as one of the “five sacred plants” through which “a guardian angel resides in its leaves.” The Vedas call cannabis a source of happiness, joy-giver, liberator that was compassionately given to humans to help us attain delight and lose fear.[3]
According to legend, the Hindu god Shiva wandered off into the fields after an angry discourse with his family. Drained from the conflict and the hot sun, he fell asleep under a leafy plant. When Shiva awoke, his curiosity led him to sample the leaves of the plant. Instantly rejuvenated, Shiva made the plant his favorite food and he became known as the Lord of Bhang. In sum, cannabis has a long and continuous history in India. Hindus use cannabis for religious ceremonies like Holi and ascetics use it to seek divinity. It has lived for thousands of years in stories of gods and warriors and it continues to live today in religious ceremonies for a way for humans to connect with their spiritual center - with the God within.
Cannabis Rituals, Ceremonies, and in the Bible.
Different religions have varying stances on the use of cannabis, historically and presently. Cannabis has not only been used in religious ceremonies, it has a long-standing tradition in numerous world faiths. The Assyrians used cannabis incense to ward off evil spirits. It was commonly burned during funerary rituals and to cast out wicked spirits from children’s rooms. Cannabis is clearly prominent in ancient eastern religions, however, there are some scholars who believe that Judaic and Christian traditions used the plant as well. Many claim cannabis was mentioned in the Bible. Different translations of the text make it challenging to know for sure. In 1936, Sula Benet, a Polish etymologist, proposed a radical interpretation of Old Testament Hebrew text stating a mistranslation occurred in the original Greek version of the Old Testament which mistook the Hebrew word for cannabis, kaneh bosm, as calamus, a plant traditionally used to make fragrances. If the translation is correct, this would fundamentally change our understanding of cannabis and the Old Testament. References to kaneh bosm are made in Exodus, Ezekial, Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Song of Songs. In Exodus, God commanded Moses to make a holy oil consisting of myrrh, sweet cinnamon, cassia, and kaneh bosm.
Chris Bennett, author of the book Sex, Drugs, and Violence in the Bible, cites sources and logic throughout the Bible that argue that cannabis was referred to in the Bible. “And said Elohim, I give you every herb that sows seed on the face of the earth and every tree that bears within it the fruit of the tree” (Genesis 1: 29-30). These words seem quite direct enough, and yet cannabis and other psychoactive active medicinal plants are rejected within our societies according to Chris Bennett. The rationale is that, since Elohim was referring to all fruits and herbs, cannabis would have to be included.[4]
If the translation is correct Cannabis then appears by name five times in the original Hebrew text of the Bible according to research by Polish etymologist Sula Benet, whose work Chris Bennett later expanded on. The first and most significant reference to cannabis is in the story of Moses, where God gives him specific instructions on how to set up the Tabernacle for worship which included a recipe for holy anointing oil that includes cannabis. The holy anointing oil was to be used to anoint the temple and the priests and is sacred, the recipe was not to be shared.
The second reference to cannabis is in the court of King Solomon who wrote the Song of Songs (also known as the Song of Solomon), a love poem that is considered to be the most beautiful and unique text in the Bible for being explicitly sexual. A man describes the beauty of his lover comparing her to the most beautiful flowers including cannabis. The third reference to the tale of Jewish history moves to the prophet Isaiah where cannabis once again makes an appearance. Cannabis is referenced in the text as one of the offerings the Israelites have failed to bring to the Lord. It seems the Lord as well at one time desired to have cannabis burned only then to change for in the fourth reference to cannabis in the book of Jeremiah, God is angry with the Israelites for their deceit and greed. In the passage, cannabis is referenced as among the offerings God rejects.
Jesus, Cannabis, and the New Testament
There are of course some who claim studies of spiritual texts show that Jesus used cannabis and was responsible for bringing the “holy oil” used strictly for royalty straight to the common folk. This purposes Christ is the Greek word for Messiah, which in English translates to “The Anointed” and thus we have Jesus (who some claim was the first marijuana “activist”) spreading around this cannabis infused oil which healed the sick and opened people’s minds to the teachings of God.[5]
After all, according to Mark 6:13, to be rubbed with the Holy Plant was to “receive divine knowledge.”
CONCLUSION
For those who seriously “swear” by cannabis, it should come as no surprise to learn about the mysterious roots of the plant is connected to the spirit realm. The use of cannabis as a spiritual means to become closer with God dates far back. Many believe that cannabis led to a connection with God and helped to ignite closer communion to our true spiritual nature. Cannabis has not only been around a very, very long time, but it’s also been an important part of world religious traditions for thousands of years. Even though cannabis is never directly mentioned by name in the Bible, we do have God-revealed principles to guide and direct our thinking about its recreational use. The key is to learn how to experience the spiritual connection that has endured since the very beginning of man’s existence on Earth in a safe manner. Each person must learn for themselves through proper guides how and when its best to use the plant medicine tool to open inner portals to otherworldly places with otherworldly beings. When traveling the inner realms by opening inner portals a person must surely have a proper plan in place to know where they are traveling to, as well as who and what they are allowing to come in through those portals. Being in a focused state within a positive safe likeminded environment is key.
“It is very important to understand what is happening during rituals/ceremonies usage etc., for ultimately the DNA of plants becomes a spiral ladder allowing for the ‘Sheppards’ to appear.”
There are some who postulate the plant itself is the source of what transpires in connection to the user but this is simply not the case. The plant is neutral of itself in nature with the ability to unground the personality of the user. When a person is going into a useful ceremony they need to be aware of what their intention is, directing the psyche to go into itself and become one with all the fragmented parts within, working with the medicine that is ungrounding in nature. These “highs” often are described as shifts of being where a person is able to look into the inner garden of Eden if only for a second. The fact there is an overtone of possession during use of plant medicines should be a warning to all who use them and prompt each person to set up specific guidelines in order to stay safe and protected during ceremony/use. According to some Psychics during these ritual/trance states of ceremony/use “astral beings drink and feed off peoples energy thus they become their meal causing a lot of damage to the chakras and other systems within the body.” Whether or not these plant medicines have the power to steal a person’s soul according to legend it must be duly noted entities and other things are able to enter into the body causing astral interference thus causing a person who thinks they are taking a step forward is actually taking two steps back. Preparation and moderation is the key. There are indeed other ways of raising a person’s frequency and energy without the use of plant medicine tools. Tools are used at the beginning stages but are not to become dependant on because someday a person will need to move forward with mastery without the tools.
Another important factor to consider is the cannabis plant is a heavy dense sticky, tiring, seducing, energy siphoning off the person which in a way says the plant will give you something but it wants something in return. At this point, each person must ask themselves am I getting high just to get high or am I trying to connect with an inner divine. The plant itself is pure but its where people go while in the state itself that they open themselves up thus becoming at times vulnerable and ultimately exposed to the shadow side of the human phycological process and astral realm. The shadow side comes through from a couple of areas, the person’s own neurosis, and the astral realm. Having a better understanding of the processes involved in using plant medicine leads to better intent and experience.
And the leaves of the trees are for the healing of the nations.-Rev. 22:2
Cannabis holy rites have been found throughout time in many of the world’s religions, with some actually believing the plant to be the Tree of Life itself. Where others who truly seek to find the Angel within regard cannabis as “wisdom weed” leading countless people throughout time to feel somehow “closer to God.”
Help everyone have the right to experience the Cannabis Angel by becoming an activist! Join the fight today on Facebook with the other Cannabis Angels!
SOURCES
[1] Entheogenic use of cannabis, Wikipedia
[2] Li, Hui-Lin. 1974. “An Archaeological and Historical Account of Cannabis in China”, Economic Botany 28.4:437-448, p. 446.
[3] Abel, E.L. (1980). The First Twelve Thousand Years. New York: McGraw Hill.