SUPERHEROES, SUPERPOWERS, SHAMANS, AND ENTHEOGENS: THE MYTHS, THE LEGENDS, AND THE COMIC BOOKS, MOVIES, AND VIDEOGAMES OF TODAY

SUPERHEROES, SUPERPOWERS, SHAMANS, AND ENTHEOGENS: THE MYTHS, THE LEGENDS, AND THE COMIC BOOKS, MOVIES, AND VIDEOGAMES OF TODAY

"Shamans are individuals who are socially recognized for 

their special abilities to get in touch with 

spiritual beings and control supernatural forces. All the

shamanist complex includes some form of experience of

trance during which the shaman's powers are increased. The

most frequent form of shamanic trance is possession, invasion

of the human body by a god or spirit. The shaman

goes into a trance smoking tobacco, taking drugs, hitting

the drum, dancing monotonously or simply

closing the eyes and concentrating."

Cultural Anthropology (Translated from the Spanish Edition)
Marvin Harris.

To John W. Allen, Dominick Ferragola and Ricardo Rivera in the United States of America...

INTRODUCTION

This writing pretends to be a whole totally new approach to the study of myths and legends without on being academic. On the contrary. You will find on the following paragraps the pure anarchy of The Joker and the isolation of Batman in his dark nights on Gotham City when he is after his nemesis. Excuse my bad english. You will find some errors and some slang but you will have to excuse me.

Also the delight of reading a COMIC BOOK is exalted on the following letters. The magic of opening a COMIC BOOK has no match. The digital reproduction of COMIC BOOKS as the PDF lacks the magic. Basically the technology with time gets useless and replaced with another technology. But books get more expensive and valuable with time and you dont have to upgrade them in order to continue the endless buying change established by corporations which its cool with me. I enjoy technology but I can assure my dear reader your IPHONE well get outdated on the next year while you have to replaced it with the new one and you wont deny each year books like some of the R. Gordon Wasson  titles and the first SUPERMAN number are getting more expensive year after year.

ANCIENT SHAMANS AND MODERN SUPERHEROES

Let me begin with Thor. 

He is one of the most popular superheroes of the Marvel Comics house. He is inspired in a mythological character of the Germanic Mythology. The God of Thunders. He is armed with a magical hammer that helps him defeat his enemies while he is engaged in some kind of love-hate relation with his brother Loki that ends in an eternal fight between the two brothers. The Marvel Comics characters of the Thor Universe are totally inspired in the Germanic Mythology without leaving behind the modern additions done by comic book artists and writers. Comic is the 9th Art without discussion .

Thor is the only one that can pick up his magical hammer both in myths and legends and in the modern comic book. I think this can be interpreted as the hability of the shaman to do the correct botanical identification of the psychedelic mushroom. Shamanisn requires specialization and the Shaman is an entheogen specialist. The hammer is the mushroom. The same magical mushroom portrayed in Fairy Tales and in Videogames.

I really think the mushroom is the Amanita muscaria. It´s a common believe in many parts of the world that an Amanita muscaria will rise on the exact point a lightning hits the earth. All this happens usually after the rains. There is a cultural complex relation between rains, lightings and mushrooms.

Usually mycelium pops up after the rains into beautiful fungal forms that delight us with their diversity of colors but Ive had read of some strange species reported in Mexico that will appear on dry seasons. There are also some news on the Internet accounting the role of lightnings in the Fungi realm. 

So in conclusion Thor represents the ancient mushroom shamans of the Germanic Culture. This idea has been portrayed by some authors in the past and its a common believe Amanita muscaria was part of ancient traditions of pagan europe.

In the ancient European Fairy Tales all this ancient knowledge was encoded to hide the secret from the Catholic Inquisition. Same in myths and legends of pagan Europe. A similar analogy can done in the myths and legends of indigenous tribes so the conquerors wont learn about the native sacraments. 

In Colombia, South America there are some indigenous tribes whose shamans identify with bats. I am aware that the use of the word Shaman is controversial since its origin dates back to Siberia and some researchers suggest using the proper terms of each culture to designate their religious leaders. Times change and the use of words also, remembering R. Gordon Wasson. Today the word shaman has been globalized and serves to designate the religious leaders of the diverse cultures.

These South American bat men use entheogens and spend it fighting against the forces of evil that threaten the community. Remember Batman in his eternal fight against crime in Gothic City. Batman's enemies include a range of people who identify with animals like Catwoman who identifies with a Cat and The Penguin who obviously identifies himself with a penguin. In many South American indigenous cultures the shamans identify themselves with animals like Jaguars and transform in their animal counterparts after ingesting the entheogens. This is very common also in comic books. Spiderman is perfect example.

The Joker deserves a chapter on its own...

THE JOKER AND THE SACRED CLOWNS

In the indigenous North American culture of the Lakota there are people who are considered sacred.

The Heyoka are considered sacred clowns among the Lakota.

All the daily acts they perform are reversed contrary to how normal society works. Everything they do is contrary to nature. They act absurdly and unconventionally. The act backwards all the time.

In order to be considered a Heyoka by the tribe the initiate has to be visited in his dreams by fantastic flying beings related to thunder. Birds of Thunder.

The Hekoya are not obliged to comply with the laws and can act freely. In one way or another they make fun of the established society by breaking the taboos and cliches imposed on the culture.

His role in Lakota society is very important. They maintain harmony as to what is sanity and madness in culture.

For good to exist. There must be evil.

A very popular character in today's culture is The Joker. Batman's most dangerous enemy in comic books. His fame has grown greatly that today is the protagonist of Hollywood movies.

In 2019, a film was released that became a commercial success and actor Joaquin Phoenix who personified the legendary enemy of Batman in a magnificent performance was awarded the Oscar for best actor in 2020.

To finish this chapter, the role of Heyoka as a specialized medicine man in plants will be highlighted and this involves the knowledge of entheogens. The famous indigenous leader and medicine man Black Elk of the Lakota was a Heyoka.

We also remember the magnificent performance of Heath Ledger in the 2005 movie The Dark Knight directed by Cristopher Nolan.

Let's not forget the role of jesters in the old European courts making fun of the king and making him laugh.

The eternal fight between Thor and Loki.

There is no Batman without the Joker.

There is no Joker without Harley Quinn.

SUPERPOWERS AND ENTHEOGENS

I once read that in ancient Indian culture, marijuana was considered a kind of Superpower that should only be used on special occasions.

In stories of indigenous practices carried out by South American tribes, it is common to hear that shamans are transformed into animals and fly through the cosmos after ingesting sacred fungi, yage and other entheogens.

Superman's powers in comics are incredible. From flying to shooting x-rays through your eyes.

The sensation of flying after smoking a marijuana cigarette is known.

In Marvel comics we find in the X-Men fabulous powers such as telepathy and telekinesis. It is presumed that some shamans after ingestion of entheogens or techniques such as meditation can achieve communication and movement of objects through the mind. Storm, the famous X-Men, is able to control the weather at will. In ancient cultures the shamans held the same.

It´s not insane to propose a relation between Shamans, entheogens and superpowers. 

MARIO BROS AND THE SACRED MUSHROOM

Without a doubt the most famous character in the history of video games.

Mario's story is famous. A plumber transported to a fantastic world where he has to fight a dragon and rescue a princess.

The perfect plot of a postmodern fairy tale with hints of epic poetry.

Mario has to overcome a lot of obstacles and enemies before reaching the final fight with the Dragon Bowser.

On the way Mario helps all kinds of plants, flowers and magic mushrooms.

When Mario ingests the fungus it grows in a disproportionate way that allows him to defeat his enemies.

There is a flower that allows Mario to shoot fireballs after ingesting it and let's not forget the plant that allows it to fly.

Mario is a postmodern shaman and the mythology of the videogames of the universe of Mario Bros is part of our current world popular culture.

This video game was created in Japan and reflects the ancestral Japanese folklore where mushrooms are recurring protagonists.

CONCLUSIONS

The children of ancient Greece grew up with the stories of Perseus and Hercules. The children of today's postmodern societies grow up with the stories of Batman, Superman, the Black Widow and other characters in the comic books.

In one way or another, the universes created by the comics work like the myths and legends of today's societies.

The comic books have been adapted to numerous movies and video games.

They are part of popular culture.

It is a good place to remember one of the stories of the legendary hero of Greek antiquity: Perseus: The foundation of the city of Mycenae. In one of the versions, Perseus, after feeling very thirsty, finds a mushroom and after plucking it, water beggins to sprout in the place.

Mýkēs in ancient Greek means mushroom.

This is the etymology of the word: "Mycology", which today defines the science that studies the Mushroom Kingdom. It comes from this ancient Greek story.

THE END
JUAN CAMILO RODRÍGUEZ MARTÍNEZ
FEBRUARY 10 . 2020.