A few short quotes from Benny Shanon's 'Antipodes of the Mind' (dreamed caapi + psychotria over 150 times) for education:
The Contents of Visions
"I turn now to a consideration of the contents of the visions that Ayahuasca induces. The following survey is based on a systematic analysis of both my own experiences with the brew and those reported by my various informants. Whenever relevant, citations from the literature are presented as background material. This review, I should emphasize, is qualitative, not quantitative. In other words, my purpose here is to chart the space of various contents that usually appear in the visions. A numerical, quantitative analysis is presented in the Appendix.
Investigators of Ayahuasca in the indigenous context have noted that the visions induced by the brew reveal certain common elements. Thus, Der Marderosian et al. (1970: 11) observes that:
In spite of the individual nature of the hallucinogenic experience, there is a high degree of similarity in the content and frequency of occurrence of particular hallucinations from individual to individual during any one night of drinking. Certain themes also recur every time they drink Ayahuasca. The most frequent of these are: (1) brightly coloured, large snakes, (2) jaguars and ocelots, (3) spirits, both of Ayahuasca and others, (4) large trees, often falling trees, (5) lakes, frequently filled with anacondas and alligators, (6) Cashinahua villages and those of other Indians, (7) traders and their goods, and [8] gardens.
Similarly, reviewing the anthropological literature, Harner (1973r) states that the most common items seen in the visions reported by indigenous persons are snakes, jaguars, demons and deities, cities, and landscapes. Also noted are visions having to do with the resolution of unsolved crimes, flights of the soul, and experiences of clairvoyance.
A few short quotes from Benny Shanon's 'Antipodes of the Mind' for education:
Quote:
The Contents of Visions
The following discussion sets itself to answer the question 'What kind of things do people see in Ayahuasca visions?' It is the first attempt to examine the contents of Ayahuasca visions systematically and on the basis of a sizeable corpus of empirical data. The survey is structured in terms of the following main categories-personal and autobiographical material, human beings, naturalistic and non-naturalistic animals, plants and botanical scenes, beings which are neither human nor animals [henceforth, 'beings'], cities, buildings, and architectural complexes works of art, objects and artefacts, vehicles of transportation, symbols and scripts' places and landscapes, historical and mythological beings and scenes, scenes depicting creation and evolution, celestial bodies, celestial and heavenly scenes divine and semi-divine beings, encounters with the Divine, scenes of light, Platonic ideas and mathematical objects, and episodes pertaining to death.
1. Personal and Autobiographical Material
First, one can see one's own life. In particular, one can see snapshots and scenes of one's personal past. The most elaborate visions of this kind reported to me are serials in which drinkers inspected different scenes of their life and as a consequence had a psychological insight of personal import to them. In one such case, the Ayahuasca drinker saw snapshots, each of which was depicting a certain moment of her biography. The shots were not ordered chronologically, but rather juxtaposed thematically. The juxtaposition revealed some patterns in the drinker's personality and conduct of which she had not previously been aware.
A special type of biographical memory I would like to highlight is that of snapshots of seemingly insignificant moments of one's life. The experience consists of the Ayahuasca drinker seeing himself or herself in the midst of an episode the likelihood of he or she normally thinking about is very, very small. For example, I once saw myself engaged in a conversation with an elderly English lady I met on a bus ride while travelling through the island of Malta. The event took place about ten years before I had the vision in question. During the entire intervening period, I never had any recollection of this episode nor had I thought about or reflected upon it. Yet, inspecting it in my Ayahuasca induced vision, I realized that I was gaining new insights regarding my own self. Similar experiences were reported to me by my informants.
2. Human Beings
Personal Acquaintances
In conjunction with the biographical material indicated in the previous section, one may see individuals whom one knows or has known in the course of one's life. These may be seen in isolation, as single apparitions, or in the context of memories of one's personal past. While, for me, seeing personal acquaintances is rare, for many others such visions are quite common.
Significantly, the most common episodes in which personal acquaintances appear are ones having to do with the actual death of a member of the drinker's nuclear family. Especially moving was the experience one European informant had at the very beginning of her first Ayahuasca session. She found herself at her father's deathbed. For reasons beyond her control, in her real life this informant could not attend her father's funeral; indeed, the last time she saw him she was not at all aware that she would never see him again. All this happened almost forty years before the Ayahuasca session took place and it all remained an unresolved, painful wound that my informant carried in her heart throughout the years. The Ayahuasca experience finally gave this person the opportunity to bid farewell to her father. This was a wonderful, unexpected gift for her, she said, and she was greatly relieved.
Famous Persons
One can also see people one knows of but does not actually know, or has never known, personally. For me, the most common such figures were royalty. Of these I shall mention King Solomon and Zedekiah, the last king of First-Temple era Judaea, as well as several Egyptian pharaohs and European monarchs. Other specific historical figures I encountered in visions included Moses, the biblical hero Samson, Plato, the apostle Paul, Cortes, Freud, and the Nazi Josef Mengele. Historical figures that informants told me they had seen included biblical figures, popes, Leonardo da Vinci, Newton, and Einstein. On several occasions I have also seen royal persons whom I associated with various ancient civilizations but who were not identified by name. Once I saw what seemed to me to be a high priest of the Incas. Many informants also reported seeing royal and religious figures of various cultures. Not necessarily famous, yet of special presence and fairly common, are warriors and strong men of all sorts. Notably, these include knights and muscular black men.
Guides and Teachers
A special category of human beings often reported is that of guides, guardians, teachers, and other wise men and women. Non-human beings (notably, fairies and angels) can serve in these functions too. In the Amerindian tradition, the most prominent of these is the Ayahuasca mama, the mother of Ayahuasca (see Luna, 1984a); in the Daime context such a figure is referred to as the Rainha da Floresta (Queen of the Forest) and the Holy Virgin (the two are often regarded as being the same persona). The seeing of such figures is usually associated with the reception of knowledge. Most notably, shamans have told me that they determine how to cure a patient on the basis of information presented to them by wise persons that
they encounter in their visions.
Once, in a private session I was listening to Verdi's Requiem, and the scenes that appeared before me seemed to be the ones described in Dante's Divine Comedy. Like Dante, I was escorted by a guide. He stood at the back, in a corner of the visual scene, without me being able to see him. This is in line with what I heard other people describe: most typically, the guides are not seen, they stand behind the Ayahuasca drinker and direct him or her, make him or her understand what is going on, and protect him or her.
Also seen are persons one appreciates to be wise but who do not serve as guides or teachers. In my visions, these included a pre-Columbian high priest, an old man in Burma, and a magician from an unidentified ancient civilization.
Individuals
An experientially distinct category is that of individuals who do not have a name but who do have a specific, well-defined identity. Often, the figures seen have a distinct presence and those who report seeing them feel an intimate link or identification with them. Invariably, in both indigenous and non-indigenous contexts, this phenomenon is attributed to the figures seen being reincarnations of the Ayahuasca drinker's past lives. Putting the interpretative speculations aside for now, I would like to underline the special force of the experience in question. The first time this happened to me was before I had heard of such experiences from other people, and it was clear to me, instantaneously and without any doubt, that the old man who appeared before me in the vision, a lonely shaman in the icy tundra of Siberia was, while still being himself, me. Other individuals I have seen and felt a strong identification with included a wise old man on a balcony in a Chinese town and a young Spanish aristocrat of the Renaissance. People in this category described to me by informants included Amazonian Indians and Incaic figures, women of the ancient Middle East, princely figures, monks and priests from various lands and cultures, a prostitute, and a beggar. More on this will be said in Ch. 13, where personal transformations are discussed.
Social Scenes
Very common are scenes in which many people appear. The scenes in my corpus of data fall into five categories: dances, pilgrimages and processions, rituals, gatherings, and street scenes.
The dances I have seen may be divided into two kinds. The first is of colourfully decorated women celebrating the Divine. Strikingly, some of the visions of this kind that I have seen are exactly like ones found in Amaringo's work, notably the vision depicted in Plate 18 of Luna and Amaringo (1993). The second kind is of orgiastic scenes with semi-clad women, often black. Invariably, the dance was erotic and lascivious but there was no malice in it. In my own visions, the women were usually looking halfway to the side; this occurs rather frequently in the visions of other people as well (see also the report of Kusel, 1965 which was cited in Ch. 1).
As reported in Ch. 7, twice I saw a serial of scenes whose theme pertained to dancing.
The scenes of pilgrimage and processions consist of lines of people marching forward. For me, the lines of people always ran diagonally from left to right, with the participants being the members of some ancient culture climbing towards a sacred place. Most of the processions that I have seen were royal processions. These include a series of scenes depicting kings and queens appearing before their subjects. Once I saw a procession of deities. A special subtype is that of people coming towards the drinker. For example, once I saw people climbing towards me in a procession so that I might cure them. They were poor, Andean persons and I received them with an understanding nod. Similar visions were repeated to me by many informants.
The rituals I have seen were usually pagan. Some seemed to be very ancient, and several included human sacrifice. The gatherings included receptions, feasts in palaces and mansions, and scenes in eating places and bar-like establishments. The street scenes were usually related to visions of villages and cities. Examples are market scenes in medieval Europe and a grand scene depicting the lives of farmers and fishermen along the Nile in ancient Egypt.
3. The Natural World
Animals
An inspection of the literature reveals that the items most likely to be seen with Ayahuasca are animals (for a review see Harner, 1973^). Indeed, there is no report in the anthropological literature that does not mention animals. In the data I have collected this is the case as well animals are the most common category of content;3 this holds true both for my core corpus and for the data provided by my informants. By far, the animals most frequently seen are serpents, felines, and birds. This is even though, obviously, both my own personal and cultural background and those of my non-indigenous informants is so different from that of the Amerindians studied in the anthropological literature. Below are some further descriptions and comments regarding the various animals that appear in the data I have collected.
Before proceeding, it is pertinent, I think, to cite observations made some thirty years ago by C. Naranjo (1973a). In an experimental setting, Naranjo administered harmaline (one of the chemical constituents of Ayahuasca) to thirty-five Chileans with no knowledge about Ayahuasca. Especially salient in the visions these subjects had were serpents, crocodiles, felines, and birds of prey.
The felines mentioned included tigers, leopards, and jaguars (but apparently, not lions). I find the similarity between these findings and those surveyed here striking.
Serpents and Other Reptiles
Traditionally, Ayahuasca is closely linked to serpents. Serpents are also extremely common both in my own visions and in those of my informants. Indeed, in both my data and those of my informants, serpents are the most common animal and, in fact, the most common single content item reported. As described in Ch. 1, the very first figurative items I saw with Ayahuasca were lizards and in my first major Ayahuasca experience serpents featured prominently. Subsequently, I have seen serpents on many occasions. On several occasions, I have also seen crocodiles, both natural and mythological, and dinosaurs. About a third of the serpents I have seen were mythical or non-naturalistic in one way or another. Some of the serpents were adorned with flowers or shining scales. Phantasmagoric and serpents like those of mythology were also reported by my informants. Amongst these were gigantic serpents, serpents characterized as 'cosmic', winged serpents, and ones made of or emitting spewing fire. At times, serpents appear intertwined in pairs, with one serpent coiling around another; this motif is discussed at length in Narby [1998]. My own experience is that, in general, serpents appeared either as the first figures in a session or whenever I was embarking upon a new stage in the session. Why serpents are so prominent in Ayahuasca visions is an intriguing topic that I shall discuss elsewhere. Here I will just note that the associations I had with serpents in my visions were of wisdom, enchantment, seduction, and healing. A grand vision in which I saw serpents in conjenction with disease and cure is reported in the next chapter.
Felines
In the literature, apart from serpents, the most common type of animal associated with Ayahuasca visions arre felines--notably, jaguars and pumas. This is also the case with respect to the data I have collected, both mine and those of my informants. Indeed, for all groups of my informants, as well as for myself, felines are by far the most common kind of mammal seen in the visions. On the basis of firsthand experience--both my own and that of persons who participated with me in sessions--I can testify that the seeing of felines also occurs in urban contexts which are distinctly non-Amazonian. Indeed, seeing jaguars and pumas was also reported to me by first-timers partaking of Ayahuasca outside South America. Overall, I would characterize the jungle cat as a manifestation of the energy of life in its full and pristine form. Seeing a feline is tantamount to an encounter with this potent energy. Indeed, my data reveal that many visions of felines exhibit a strong interactive aspect.
Of the felines, the most common are jaguars and black pumas. The prevalence of black pumas is especially striking. In my structured interviews I have asked my informants whether they have seen 'jaguars'. Again and again, the response I have received was 'Yes, but more frequently I have seen pumas, black pumas.' This detail was given even though my query did not specify pumas as such. Some of the cats are non-ordinary. Personally, I have seen jaguars with shining or flower-shaped spots. Once I had a glimpse of what I conceived to be the primordial Jaguar. One informant reported having seen a tiger of fire.
The seeing of felines may be coupled with an interaction with them. For example, once in a vision, I found myself confronted with a puma. Watching it, I experienced a transfer of energy the puma's energy was passing over to me. An identical experience was reported to me by one of my informants. As recounted in the previous chapter, still another informant reported a vision in which she engaged in a magic journey riding a jaguar.
Birds
Birds of all kinds constitute the one single category of content that appeared most frequently in my visions. However, as explained above, it should be borne in mind that this zoological group is far more heterogeneous than that of the serpents or the felines and that it comprises several well-defined species; dividing the group into these will, of course, result in lower values of frequency. I have also seen many birds that I could not identify or label. The most common birds are birds of prey, notably eagles and condors. Also common are waterbirds (especially, cranes and herons), pheasants, hummingbirds, and parrots. For both my informants and myself, white birds are especially common. Many of the birds are characterized as being enchanted; these are often blue-feathered. Also mentioned are golden and two-headed eagles. Lastly, birds are salient in experiences of transformation and of flight; these are discussed at length in Ch. 13.
Other Animals
Mammals I have seen on more than two occasions are horses, elephants, and bulls and cows. I have also seen a dog, a lamb, a deer, a camel, a monkey, a raccoon, a hippopotamus, and a pack of jackals. In addition, I have seen fish, bees, ants, butterflies, as well as various lower organisms. Animals reported to me by more than three informants were (in a descending order of frequency) fish, butterflies, horses, bulls and cows, monkeys, lions, dogs, bats, dolphins, crocodiles, frogs and toads, all sorts of insects, as well as animals characterized as evil beasts and as prehistorical. Of these, the first seven were indicated by eight or more informants.
Phantasmagoric and Mythological Animals
Phantasmagoric and mythological animals are especially common in Ayahuasca visions; some were already mentioned in the sections concerning serpents, felines and birds. As noted in Ch. 1, dragons appeared before me most powerfully, and totally unexpectedly, in my very first strong experience with Ayahuasca. Other non-naturalistic animals I have seen include golden bulls, winged horses, a winged elephant, a taurus, a phoenix, and what I would characterize as 'evil animals'. Enchanted animals reported by my informants included dragons, winged horses, and a winged lion. As indicated above, enchanted birds are quite common. Both for me and for my informants, many of the phantasmagoric animals are creatures that are half-human, half-animal; these are discussed below.
Flora
Botanical items are seen very often in Ayahuasca visions. These may be viewed either in isolation or in scenes, either in natural settings, phantasmagoric or mythological ones, as part of works of art or decorative designs.
Perhaps the most remarkable botanical item seen in isolation is the Ayahuasca vine itself. Interestingly, such visions and the insights associated with them often resemble ones encountered in the indigenous Amerindian lore. Thus, in his first and only experience with Ayahuasca, in a private session in Europe, one European informant was struck by the feeling that a plant being was in his body and that he had a strong, intimate relationship with it. This man felt that the plant was a being in its own right and that it was passing knowledge to him. This is in line with the indigenous conception of plants as teachers, a topic with which this subject was not familiar (see Luna, 1984^). Another informant recounted a vision in which a beautiful woman turned into a serpent which in turn transformed itself into the Ayahuasca vine. Such stories of metamorphosis are central in Amerindian myths on the origin of Ayahuasca. A vision I myself had of the discovery of the vine from which Ayahuasca is made is recounted below.
Half-way between isolated items and scenes are visions in which the drinker's visual field is completely filled with flowers. Flowers can also appear as ornaments or decorations; an example of my own is that of wall drawings in a classical (ancient) Roman style. I find it in place to add a clarification here. Quite likely, the label 'flower' may fail to capture the experiential qualities that some visions depicting flowers have. A vision may present 'only' flowers, all naturalistic, yet be extraordinary. Such, for instance, was the first vision of one experienced informant, a vision he characterized as one of the most powerful he has had. In it, waves of flowers appeared one after another. I once had a vision in which my visual field expanded and was all replenished with garlands and wreaths of flowers. Just that. And yet, the vision was grandiose and its impact exhilarating.
The botanical scenes I have encountered include views of forests, gardens, meadows, and savannas. Many of the gardens that I have seen were enchanted; in some of these, fountains, pools, and waterfalls were seen as well. One image that especially stands out in my mind is a very realistic panoramic view of a forest, similar to those in Rousseau paintings. There were palm trees lit by the bluish light of the moon under a very clear night sky. Another was a garden the likes of which I have never, ever seen. It was purple-blue, and large pheasant-like birds were strolling in it. Still another was what seemed to me to be the garden of God. I did not enter it, but only viewed it through the large metal grilles that surrounded it.
On two occasions I had visions consisting of glimpses of the Amazonian forest and its mysteries. In the first, I saw Indians hunting with the aid of Ayahuasca. They were running through the forest in the dark but there was a strong white light hovering in front of them and guiding them. In the second, I saw how the plants of which Ayahuasca is made were discovered. This vision was similar to the first: An Indian was marching through the forest, and light was hovering like a halo above the plants, marking them.
An item to be mentioned also in the section on landscapes below is that of open meadows and fields. Visions depicting these are extremely common and were reported also by many first-timers with no prior knowledge about Ayahuasca. Typically, the meadows or fields extend far into the horizon and seeing them is coupled with an ambience of infinitude and eternity. This often imparts subjective feelings of serenity, faith, and optimism.
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quotes from Benny Shanon's 'Antipodes of the Mind' for education:
Quote:
4. Mythological and Phantasmagoric Beings and Creatures
Beings and creatures that are neither human nor naturalistic animals are common in Ayahuasca visions. Mythological and phantasmagoric animals were commented upon above; the other beings and creatures may be divided into several types.
First are mythological beings and creatures. The epithet 'mythological' is employed here to denote beings and scenes that are not part and parcel of ordinary reality, present or past, nor of realms interpreted as being heavenly or divine. The mythological beings and creatures at hand may or may not be drawn from the cultural heritage of the Ayahuasca drinkers. I myself have seen such creatures only on a few occasions. Mythological beings reported to me by many informants included little green men, gnomes and elves, fairies, and monsters of all sorts. Various creatures characterized as 'Ayahuasca beings' pertain to this type as well. Many times, the creatures seen are said to be playful and mischievous (but at the same time benevolent).
Second are chimeras (in the broad sense of the term) or hybrid creatures that is, creatures which are half-human, half-animal. Of these, by far the most frequent are mermaids creatures that are half-woman, half-fish. Also reported are hybrids of humans and felines, reptiles, birds, and canines. Interestingly, such creatures are also common in indigenous reports (see, for instance, Waisbard, 1958/9 as well as the paintings presented in Luna and Amaringo, 1993).
A special category is that of creatures with multiple faces. Usually, these creatures are encountered in heavenly scenes in which the drinker feels that some ultimate secrets are being revealed to him or her. These are reminiscent of the Divine beings described in the visions of the biblical prophet Ezekiel as well as in the Apocalypse of St John. Both I and several of my informants had such visions Especially remarkable is a grand vision in which one informant saw a creature with a great number of faces, each pertaining to a different animal. This creature was conceived of by the informant as the embodiment of all Life.7 The multiple faces may also appear sequentially. Thus, one informant saw a human face changing, in succession, to the face of a puma, a tiger, and a wolf.
Third are beings referred to as extraterrestrials. Often these are seen along with spaceships. For some individuals these are especially common.
Fourth are angels and other celestial beings. The term 'angels' refers to winged humanlike beings made of light. Indeed, several informants have explained to me that the wings consist precisely of this powerful light. Other, very common, supernatural humanlike beings are transparent figures. These are usually perceived as beings made of exceedingly delicate white webs of energy. Often they are explicitly described as 'beings of light'. Several depictions of these are found in the Amaringo paintings (see e.g. Luna and Amaringo, 1993: PI. 36).
Fifth are semi-divine beings, that is divine beings which are not God. The most prominent of these is the figure of a beautiful bearded man in the prime of life. The man is clad in a simple white garment whose margins are often finely embroidered. Invariably, the man is seen en face (relative to the viewer), he radiates good energy and is full of love. Many of my informants identified this person as Jesus Christ. Also very common is a benevolent female figure standardly taken to be the Virgin Mary. Conceivably, the great frequency with which these figures appear in visions of my informants may be attributed to the Christian and semi-Christian contexts in which Ayahuasca is often taken.8'9 I should note, however, that on several occasions, I too have seen both the male and the female figures of the type just noted. Other beings of the same category that I have seen are the Buddha and various Hindu and pre-Columbian deities. With open eyes, in the sky, I once saw the figure of the mischievous Hindu divine being Ganesh. Deities and divine beings reported to me by informants included ones pertaining to ancient Egypt, India, and various pre-Columbian cultures.
By way of example, let me present one grand vision in which a goddess characterized as the Great Mother appeared. This vision was seen by one independent drinker from Rio de Janeiro the third time she partook of Ayahuasca:
'She was the mother of all atoms and the matrix of all forms. All the atoms were dancing and the Mother was pure joy. She looked like an Egyptian Goddess who was covering, and protecting, all of creation with her body. 'Why do you look like an Egyptian?' I asked the Goddess. 'Actually, I do not have any form, but I appear as Egyptian because the Egyptians were the first to comprehend my secret,' she replied. Then the Goddess lifted up her arm and turned it so that the fabric unfurled. I saw that the cloth consisted of all the possible forms and I understood that the Great Mother is the creator of Everything and that what holds this entire immense Creation together was Cosmic Joy. In this process, suns and planets are created. What creates it all is Sophia, wisdom.'
The informant added that only later she found, in a book, a depiction of the Egyptian Goddess Nut which was very similar to what she had seen in the vision.
Last to be noted are demons, monsters, and beings of death. A vision of mine that especially stands out in my mind is the following:
'The Angel of Death presented itself in front of me. I knew that if I did not hold on to my life energy, he would take me. I also knew that as long as I sustained an unwavering will to live he could do me no harm. In other words, this angel will take me only if I manifested and/or conveyed a weakening of the will to live. 'But I do wish to live!', I reflected. With this, I summoned all my vital energies and the menacing figure in front of me retreated.'
5. The Cultural World
Ayahuasca belongs to the Amazonian rain forest, but my data reveal that, apart from beings and animals, the items that feature most frequently in the visions this brew produces pertain to culture: cities and architectural complexes, palaces and temples, and various works of art and precious objects all are very common for both me and the different groups of my informants. Indeed, palaces and objects of art and magic are, for some, the items most commonly seen in the visions. A perusal of the anthropological literature reveals that items pertaining to culture are also common in visions reported by indigenous persons.
Buildings
Buildings appear very frequently in the visions; most of them are magnificent. Most notable are, on the one hand, palaces and other palatial complexes and, on the other hand, temples and religious sites; castles, mansions, and archeological ruins are also common. Often the palaces and temples seen are made out of gold, crystal, and precious stones. Here, for instance, are two descriptions taken from Polari (1984: 197-8, 264):
'I found myself in the salon of a castle illuminated by torches. The salon was oval, slightly oblong, with semicircular doors, placed at regular intervals. At the same time, I saw an atrium situated in front of the principal wall, and the hall of the throne.
Thousands of tunnels, galleries, corridors, secret doors, staircases, inclined planes crisscrossed in a composition akin to one of Escher's These led to sumptuous palaces, lofty halls, sarcophagi, caverns or temples. In some of these there were sentinels appearing as medieval figures.'
I myself have seen palaces and temples many times. As described in the previous chapter, the only time I consumed Ayahuasca in the midst of the virgin Amazonian forest, I saw a whole sequence of palatial and regal scenes. I hoped to get a glimpse of the mysteries of the Amazonian jungle, but instead I saw palaces and royalty from different cultures on both sides of the Atlantic. The most impressive of these were two visits to the throne hall of an Egyptian pharaoh. In real life, I have been to many of the famous archeological sites in Egypt, and I have also visited the Egyptian galleries of many museums, but what I saw in this and other visions surpassed them all. The Egyptian palaces revealed to me in my Ayahuasca visions appeared to be totally new and full of life, as if they had just been constructed.
Like Polari, on many occasions I saw corridors, one hall opening into another, marvellous wall-paintings, sculptures, and reliefs. Architectural details that especially impressed me included sculpted marble colonnades in the form of white elephants, staircases adorned with golden lions, and finely carved gilded wooden ceilings. Several times, I saw most beautiful painted tiles. In the reports of my informants mosaics appear frequently; an example was described in Ch. 6 when serial images were discussed.
The Contents of Visions
"I turn now to a consideration of the contents of the visions that Ayahuasca induces. The following survey is based on a systematic analysis of both my own experiences with the brew and those reported by my various informants. Whenever relevant, citations from the literature are presented as background material. This review, I should emphasize, is qualitative, not quantitative. In other words, my purpose here is to chart the space of various contents that usually appear in the visions. A numerical, quantitative analysis is presented in the Appendix.
Investigators of Ayahuasca in the indigenous context have noted that the visions induced by the brew reveal certain common elements. Thus, Der Marderosian et al. (1970: 11) observes that:
In spite of the individual nature of the hallucinogenic experience, there is a high degree of similarity in the content and frequency of occurrence of particular hallucinations from individual to individual during any one night of drinking. Certain themes also recur every time they drink Ayahuasca. The most frequent of these are: (1) brightly coloured, large snakes, (2) jaguars and ocelots, (3) spirits, both of Ayahuasca and others, (4) large trees, often falling trees, (5) lakes, frequently filled with anacondas and alligators, (6) Cashinahua villages and those of other Indians, (7) traders and their goods, and [8] gardens.
Similarly, reviewing the anthropological literature, Harner (1973r) states that the most common items seen in the visions reported by indigenous persons are snakes, jaguars, demons and deities, cities, and landscapes. Also noted are visions having to do with the resolution of unsolved crimes, flights of the soul, and experiences of clairvoyance.
A few short quotes from Benny Shanon's 'Antipodes of the Mind' for education:
Quote:
The Contents of Visions
The following discussion sets itself to answer the question 'What kind of things do people see in Ayahuasca visions?' It is the first attempt to examine the contents of Ayahuasca visions systematically and on the basis of a sizeable corpus of empirical data. The survey is structured in terms of the following main categories-personal and autobiographical material, human beings, naturalistic and non-naturalistic animals, plants and botanical scenes, beings which are neither human nor animals [henceforth, 'beings'], cities, buildings, and architectural complexes works of art, objects and artefacts, vehicles of transportation, symbols and scripts' places and landscapes, historical and mythological beings and scenes, scenes depicting creation and evolution, celestial bodies, celestial and heavenly scenes divine and semi-divine beings, encounters with the Divine, scenes of light, Platonic ideas and mathematical objects, and episodes pertaining to death.
1. Personal and Autobiographical Material
First, one can see one's own life. In particular, one can see snapshots and scenes of one's personal past. The most elaborate visions of this kind reported to me are serials in which drinkers inspected different scenes of their life and as a consequence had a psychological insight of personal import to them. In one such case, the Ayahuasca drinker saw snapshots, each of which was depicting a certain moment of her biography. The shots were not ordered chronologically, but rather juxtaposed thematically. The juxtaposition revealed some patterns in the drinker's personality and conduct of which she had not previously been aware.
A special type of biographical memory I would like to highlight is that of snapshots of seemingly insignificant moments of one's life. The experience consists of the Ayahuasca drinker seeing himself or herself in the midst of an episode the likelihood of he or she normally thinking about is very, very small. For example, I once saw myself engaged in a conversation with an elderly English lady I met on a bus ride while travelling through the island of Malta. The event took place about ten years before I had the vision in question. During the entire intervening period, I never had any recollection of this episode nor had I thought about or reflected upon it. Yet, inspecting it in my Ayahuasca induced vision, I realized that I was gaining new insights regarding my own self. Similar experiences were reported to me by my informants.
2. Human Beings
Personal Acquaintances
In conjunction with the biographical material indicated in the previous section, one may see individuals whom one knows or has known in the course of one's life. These may be seen in isolation, as single apparitions, or in the context of memories of one's personal past. While, for me, seeing personal acquaintances is rare, for many others such visions are quite common.
Significantly, the most common episodes in which personal acquaintances appear are ones having to do with the actual death of a member of the drinker's nuclear family. Especially moving was the experience one European informant had at the very beginning of her first Ayahuasca session. She found herself at her father's deathbed. For reasons beyond her control, in her real life this informant could not attend her father's funeral; indeed, the last time she saw him she was not at all aware that she would never see him again. All this happened almost forty years before the Ayahuasca session took place and it all remained an unresolved, painful wound that my informant carried in her heart throughout the years. The Ayahuasca experience finally gave this person the opportunity to bid farewell to her father. This was a wonderful, unexpected gift for her, she said, and she was greatly relieved.
Famous Persons
One can also see people one knows of but does not actually know, or has never known, personally. For me, the most common such figures were royalty. Of these I shall mention King Solomon and Zedekiah, the last king of First-Temple era Judaea, as well as several Egyptian pharaohs and European monarchs. Other specific historical figures I encountered in visions included Moses, the biblical hero Samson, Plato, the apostle Paul, Cortes, Freud, and the Nazi Josef Mengele. Historical figures that informants told me they had seen included biblical figures, popes, Leonardo da Vinci, Newton, and Einstein. On several occasions I have also seen royal persons whom I associated with various ancient civilizations but who were not identified by name. Once I saw what seemed to me to be a high priest of the Incas. Many informants also reported seeing royal and religious figures of various cultures. Not necessarily famous, yet of special presence and fairly common, are warriors and strong men of all sorts. Notably, these include knights and muscular black men.
Guides and Teachers
A special category of human beings often reported is that of guides, guardians, teachers, and other wise men and women. Non-human beings (notably, fairies and angels) can serve in these functions too. In the Amerindian tradition, the most prominent of these is the Ayahuasca mama, the mother of Ayahuasca (see Luna, 1984a); in the Daime context such a figure is referred to as the Rainha da Floresta (Queen of the Forest) and the Holy Virgin (the two are often regarded as being the same persona). The seeing of such figures is usually associated with the reception of knowledge. Most notably, shamans have told me that they determine how to cure a patient on the basis of information presented to them by wise persons that
they encounter in their visions.
Once, in a private session I was listening to Verdi's Requiem, and the scenes that appeared before me seemed to be the ones described in Dante's Divine Comedy. Like Dante, I was escorted by a guide. He stood at the back, in a corner of the visual scene, without me being able to see him. This is in line with what I heard other people describe: most typically, the guides are not seen, they stand behind the Ayahuasca drinker and direct him or her, make him or her understand what is going on, and protect him or her.
Also seen are persons one appreciates to be wise but who do not serve as guides or teachers. In my visions, these included a pre-Columbian high priest, an old man in Burma, and a magician from an unidentified ancient civilization.
Individuals
An experientially distinct category is that of individuals who do not have a name but who do have a specific, well-defined identity. Often, the figures seen have a distinct presence and those who report seeing them feel an intimate link or identification with them. Invariably, in both indigenous and non-indigenous contexts, this phenomenon is attributed to the figures seen being reincarnations of the Ayahuasca drinker's past lives. Putting the interpretative speculations aside for now, I would like to underline the special force of the experience in question. The first time this happened to me was before I had heard of such experiences from other people, and it was clear to me, instantaneously and without any doubt, that the old man who appeared before me in the vision, a lonely shaman in the icy tundra of Siberia was, while still being himself, me. Other individuals I have seen and felt a strong identification with included a wise old man on a balcony in a Chinese town and a young Spanish aristocrat of the Renaissance. People in this category described to me by informants included Amazonian Indians and Incaic figures, women of the ancient Middle East, princely figures, monks and priests from various lands and cultures, a prostitute, and a beggar. More on this will be said in Ch. 13, where personal transformations are discussed.
Social Scenes
Very common are scenes in which many people appear. The scenes in my corpus of data fall into five categories: dances, pilgrimages and processions, rituals, gatherings, and street scenes.
The dances I have seen may be divided into two kinds. The first is of colourfully decorated women celebrating the Divine. Strikingly, some of the visions of this kind that I have seen are exactly like ones found in Amaringo's work, notably the vision depicted in Plate 18 of Luna and Amaringo (1993). The second kind is of orgiastic scenes with semi-clad women, often black. Invariably, the dance was erotic and lascivious but there was no malice in it. In my own visions, the women were usually looking halfway to the side; this occurs rather frequently in the visions of other people as well (see also the report of Kusel, 1965 which was cited in Ch. 1).
As reported in Ch. 7, twice I saw a serial of scenes whose theme pertained to dancing.
The scenes of pilgrimage and processions consist of lines of people marching forward. For me, the lines of people always ran diagonally from left to right, with the participants being the members of some ancient culture climbing towards a sacred place. Most of the processions that I have seen were royal processions. These include a series of scenes depicting kings and queens appearing before their subjects. Once I saw a procession of deities. A special subtype is that of people coming towards the drinker. For example, once I saw people climbing towards me in a procession so that I might cure them. They were poor, Andean persons and I received them with an understanding nod. Similar visions were repeated to me by many informants.
The rituals I have seen were usually pagan. Some seemed to be very ancient, and several included human sacrifice. The gatherings included receptions, feasts in palaces and mansions, and scenes in eating places and bar-like establishments. The street scenes were usually related to visions of villages and cities. Examples are market scenes in medieval Europe and a grand scene depicting the lives of farmers and fishermen along the Nile in ancient Egypt.
3. The Natural World
Animals
An inspection of the literature reveals that the items most likely to be seen with Ayahuasca are animals (for a review see Harner, 1973^). Indeed, there is no report in the anthropological literature that does not mention animals. In the data I have collected this is the case as well animals are the most common category of content;3 this holds true both for my core corpus and for the data provided by my informants. By far, the animals most frequently seen are serpents, felines, and birds. This is even though, obviously, both my own personal and cultural background and those of my non-indigenous informants is so different from that of the Amerindians studied in the anthropological literature. Below are some further descriptions and comments regarding the various animals that appear in the data I have collected.
Before proceeding, it is pertinent, I think, to cite observations made some thirty years ago by C. Naranjo (1973a). In an experimental setting, Naranjo administered harmaline (one of the chemical constituents of Ayahuasca) to thirty-five Chileans with no knowledge about Ayahuasca. Especially salient in the visions these subjects had were serpents, crocodiles, felines, and birds of prey.
The felines mentioned included tigers, leopards, and jaguars (but apparently, not lions). I find the similarity between these findings and those surveyed here striking.
Serpents and Other Reptiles
Traditionally, Ayahuasca is closely linked to serpents. Serpents are also extremely common both in my own visions and in those of my informants. Indeed, in both my data and those of my informants, serpents are the most common animal and, in fact, the most common single content item reported. As described in Ch. 1, the very first figurative items I saw with Ayahuasca were lizards and in my first major Ayahuasca experience serpents featured prominently. Subsequently, I have seen serpents on many occasions. On several occasions, I have also seen crocodiles, both natural and mythological, and dinosaurs. About a third of the serpents I have seen were mythical or non-naturalistic in one way or another. Some of the serpents were adorned with flowers or shining scales. Phantasmagoric and serpents like those of mythology were also reported by my informants. Amongst these were gigantic serpents, serpents characterized as 'cosmic', winged serpents, and ones made of or emitting spewing fire. At times, serpents appear intertwined in pairs, with one serpent coiling around another; this motif is discussed at length in Narby [1998]. My own experience is that, in general, serpents appeared either as the first figures in a session or whenever I was embarking upon a new stage in the session. Why serpents are so prominent in Ayahuasca visions is an intriguing topic that I shall discuss elsewhere. Here I will just note that the associations I had with serpents in my visions were of wisdom, enchantment, seduction, and healing. A grand vision in which I saw serpents in conjenction with disease and cure is reported in the next chapter.
Felines
In the literature, apart from serpents, the most common type of animal associated with Ayahuasca visions arre felines--notably, jaguars and pumas. This is also the case with respect to the data I have collected, both mine and those of my informants. Indeed, for all groups of my informants, as well as for myself, felines are by far the most common kind of mammal seen in the visions. On the basis of firsthand experience--both my own and that of persons who participated with me in sessions--I can testify that the seeing of felines also occurs in urban contexts which are distinctly non-Amazonian. Indeed, seeing jaguars and pumas was also reported to me by first-timers partaking of Ayahuasca outside South America. Overall, I would characterize the jungle cat as a manifestation of the energy of life in its full and pristine form. Seeing a feline is tantamount to an encounter with this potent energy. Indeed, my data reveal that many visions of felines exhibit a strong interactive aspect.
Of the felines, the most common are jaguars and black pumas. The prevalence of black pumas is especially striking. In my structured interviews I have asked my informants whether they have seen 'jaguars'. Again and again, the response I have received was 'Yes, but more frequently I have seen pumas, black pumas.' This detail was given even though my query did not specify pumas as such. Some of the cats are non-ordinary. Personally, I have seen jaguars with shining or flower-shaped spots. Once I had a glimpse of what I conceived to be the primordial Jaguar. One informant reported having seen a tiger of fire.
The seeing of felines may be coupled with an interaction with them. For example, once in a vision, I found myself confronted with a puma. Watching it, I experienced a transfer of energy the puma's energy was passing over to me. An identical experience was reported to me by one of my informants. As recounted in the previous chapter, still another informant reported a vision in which she engaged in a magic journey riding a jaguar.
Birds
Birds of all kinds constitute the one single category of content that appeared most frequently in my visions. However, as explained above, it should be borne in mind that this zoological group is far more heterogeneous than that of the serpents or the felines and that it comprises several well-defined species; dividing the group into these will, of course, result in lower values of frequency. I have also seen many birds that I could not identify or label. The most common birds are birds of prey, notably eagles and condors. Also common are waterbirds (especially, cranes and herons), pheasants, hummingbirds, and parrots. For both my informants and myself, white birds are especially common. Many of the birds are characterized as being enchanted; these are often blue-feathered. Also mentioned are golden and two-headed eagles. Lastly, birds are salient in experiences of transformation and of flight; these are discussed at length in Ch. 13.
Other Animals
Mammals I have seen on more than two occasions are horses, elephants, and bulls and cows. I have also seen a dog, a lamb, a deer, a camel, a monkey, a raccoon, a hippopotamus, and a pack of jackals. In addition, I have seen fish, bees, ants, butterflies, as well as various lower organisms. Animals reported to me by more than three informants were (in a descending order of frequency) fish, butterflies, horses, bulls and cows, monkeys, lions, dogs, bats, dolphins, crocodiles, frogs and toads, all sorts of insects, as well as animals characterized as evil beasts and as prehistorical. Of these, the first seven were indicated by eight or more informants.
Phantasmagoric and Mythological Animals
Phantasmagoric and mythological animals are especially common in Ayahuasca visions; some were already mentioned in the sections concerning serpents, felines and birds. As noted in Ch. 1, dragons appeared before me most powerfully, and totally unexpectedly, in my very first strong experience with Ayahuasca. Other non-naturalistic animals I have seen include golden bulls, winged horses, a winged elephant, a taurus, a phoenix, and what I would characterize as 'evil animals'. Enchanted animals reported by my informants included dragons, winged horses, and a winged lion. As indicated above, enchanted birds are quite common. Both for me and for my informants, many of the phantasmagoric animals are creatures that are half-human, half-animal; these are discussed below.
Flora
Botanical items are seen very often in Ayahuasca visions. These may be viewed either in isolation or in scenes, either in natural settings, phantasmagoric or mythological ones, as part of works of art or decorative designs.
Perhaps the most remarkable botanical item seen in isolation is the Ayahuasca vine itself. Interestingly, such visions and the insights associated with them often resemble ones encountered in the indigenous Amerindian lore. Thus, in his first and only experience with Ayahuasca, in a private session in Europe, one European informant was struck by the feeling that a plant being was in his body and that he had a strong, intimate relationship with it. This man felt that the plant was a being in its own right and that it was passing knowledge to him. This is in line with the indigenous conception of plants as teachers, a topic with which this subject was not familiar (see Luna, 1984^). Another informant recounted a vision in which a beautiful woman turned into a serpent which in turn transformed itself into the Ayahuasca vine. Such stories of metamorphosis are central in Amerindian myths on the origin of Ayahuasca. A vision I myself had of the discovery of the vine from which Ayahuasca is made is recounted below.
Half-way between isolated items and scenes are visions in which the drinker's visual field is completely filled with flowers. Flowers can also appear as ornaments or decorations; an example of my own is that of wall drawings in a classical (ancient) Roman style. I find it in place to add a clarification here. Quite likely, the label 'flower' may fail to capture the experiential qualities that some visions depicting flowers have. A vision may present 'only' flowers, all naturalistic, yet be extraordinary. Such, for instance, was the first vision of one experienced informant, a vision he characterized as one of the most powerful he has had. In it, waves of flowers appeared one after another. I once had a vision in which my visual field expanded and was all replenished with garlands and wreaths of flowers. Just that. And yet, the vision was grandiose and its impact exhilarating.
The botanical scenes I have encountered include views of forests, gardens, meadows, and savannas. Many of the gardens that I have seen were enchanted; in some of these, fountains, pools, and waterfalls were seen as well. One image that especially stands out in my mind is a very realistic panoramic view of a forest, similar to those in Rousseau paintings. There were palm trees lit by the bluish light of the moon under a very clear night sky. Another was a garden the likes of which I have never, ever seen. It was purple-blue, and large pheasant-like birds were strolling in it. Still another was what seemed to me to be the garden of God. I did not enter it, but only viewed it through the large metal grilles that surrounded it.
On two occasions I had visions consisting of glimpses of the Amazonian forest and its mysteries. In the first, I saw Indians hunting with the aid of Ayahuasca. They were running through the forest in the dark but there was a strong white light hovering in front of them and guiding them. In the second, I saw how the plants of which Ayahuasca is made were discovered. This vision was similar to the first: An Indian was marching through the forest, and light was hovering like a halo above the plants, marking them.
An item to be mentioned also in the section on landscapes below is that of open meadows and fields. Visions depicting these are extremely common and were reported also by many first-timers with no prior knowledge about Ayahuasca. Typically, the meadows or fields extend far into the horizon and seeing them is coupled with an ambience of infinitude and eternity. This often imparts subjective feelings of serenity, faith, and optimism.
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quotes from Benny Shanon's 'Antipodes of the Mind' for education:
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4. Mythological and Phantasmagoric Beings and Creatures
Beings and creatures that are neither human nor naturalistic animals are common in Ayahuasca visions. Mythological and phantasmagoric animals were commented upon above; the other beings and creatures may be divided into several types.
First are mythological beings and creatures. The epithet 'mythological' is employed here to denote beings and scenes that are not part and parcel of ordinary reality, present or past, nor of realms interpreted as being heavenly or divine. The mythological beings and creatures at hand may or may not be drawn from the cultural heritage of the Ayahuasca drinkers. I myself have seen such creatures only on a few occasions. Mythological beings reported to me by many informants included little green men, gnomes and elves, fairies, and monsters of all sorts. Various creatures characterized as 'Ayahuasca beings' pertain to this type as well. Many times, the creatures seen are said to be playful and mischievous (but at the same time benevolent).
Second are chimeras (in the broad sense of the term) or hybrid creatures that is, creatures which are half-human, half-animal. Of these, by far the most frequent are mermaids creatures that are half-woman, half-fish. Also reported are hybrids of humans and felines, reptiles, birds, and canines. Interestingly, such creatures are also common in indigenous reports (see, for instance, Waisbard, 1958/9 as well as the paintings presented in Luna and Amaringo, 1993).
A special category is that of creatures with multiple faces. Usually, these creatures are encountered in heavenly scenes in which the drinker feels that some ultimate secrets are being revealed to him or her. These are reminiscent of the Divine beings described in the visions of the biblical prophet Ezekiel as well as in the Apocalypse of St John. Both I and several of my informants had such visions Especially remarkable is a grand vision in which one informant saw a creature with a great number of faces, each pertaining to a different animal. This creature was conceived of by the informant as the embodiment of all Life.7 The multiple faces may also appear sequentially. Thus, one informant saw a human face changing, in succession, to the face of a puma, a tiger, and a wolf.
Third are beings referred to as extraterrestrials. Often these are seen along with spaceships. For some individuals these are especially common.
Fourth are angels and other celestial beings. The term 'angels' refers to winged humanlike beings made of light. Indeed, several informants have explained to me that the wings consist precisely of this powerful light. Other, very common, supernatural humanlike beings are transparent figures. These are usually perceived as beings made of exceedingly delicate white webs of energy. Often they are explicitly described as 'beings of light'. Several depictions of these are found in the Amaringo paintings (see e.g. Luna and Amaringo, 1993: PI. 36).
Fifth are semi-divine beings, that is divine beings which are not God. The most prominent of these is the figure of a beautiful bearded man in the prime of life. The man is clad in a simple white garment whose margins are often finely embroidered. Invariably, the man is seen en face (relative to the viewer), he radiates good energy and is full of love. Many of my informants identified this person as Jesus Christ. Also very common is a benevolent female figure standardly taken to be the Virgin Mary. Conceivably, the great frequency with which these figures appear in visions of my informants may be attributed to the Christian and semi-Christian contexts in which Ayahuasca is often taken.8'9 I should note, however, that on several occasions, I too have seen both the male and the female figures of the type just noted. Other beings of the same category that I have seen are the Buddha and various Hindu and pre-Columbian deities. With open eyes, in the sky, I once saw the figure of the mischievous Hindu divine being Ganesh. Deities and divine beings reported to me by informants included ones pertaining to ancient Egypt, India, and various pre-Columbian cultures.
By way of example, let me present one grand vision in which a goddess characterized as the Great Mother appeared. This vision was seen by one independent drinker from Rio de Janeiro the third time she partook of Ayahuasca:
'She was the mother of all atoms and the matrix of all forms. All the atoms were dancing and the Mother was pure joy. She looked like an Egyptian Goddess who was covering, and protecting, all of creation with her body. 'Why do you look like an Egyptian?' I asked the Goddess. 'Actually, I do not have any form, but I appear as Egyptian because the Egyptians were the first to comprehend my secret,' she replied. Then the Goddess lifted up her arm and turned it so that the fabric unfurled. I saw that the cloth consisted of all the possible forms and I understood that the Great Mother is the creator of Everything and that what holds this entire immense Creation together was Cosmic Joy. In this process, suns and planets are created. What creates it all is Sophia, wisdom.'
The informant added that only later she found, in a book, a depiction of the Egyptian Goddess Nut which was very similar to what she had seen in the vision.
Last to be noted are demons, monsters, and beings of death. A vision of mine that especially stands out in my mind is the following:
'The Angel of Death presented itself in front of me. I knew that if I did not hold on to my life energy, he would take me. I also knew that as long as I sustained an unwavering will to live he could do me no harm. In other words, this angel will take me only if I manifested and/or conveyed a weakening of the will to live. 'But I do wish to live!', I reflected. With this, I summoned all my vital energies and the menacing figure in front of me retreated.'
5. The Cultural World
Ayahuasca belongs to the Amazonian rain forest, but my data reveal that, apart from beings and animals, the items that feature most frequently in the visions this brew produces pertain to culture: cities and architectural complexes, palaces and temples, and various works of art and precious objects all are very common for both me and the different groups of my informants. Indeed, palaces and objects of art and magic are, for some, the items most commonly seen in the visions. A perusal of the anthropological literature reveals that items pertaining to culture are also common in visions reported by indigenous persons.
Buildings
Buildings appear very frequently in the visions; most of them are magnificent. Most notable are, on the one hand, palaces and other palatial complexes and, on the other hand, temples and religious sites; castles, mansions, and archeological ruins are also common. Often the palaces and temples seen are made out of gold, crystal, and precious stones. Here, for instance, are two descriptions taken from Polari (1984: 197-8, 264):
'I found myself in the salon of a castle illuminated by torches. The salon was oval, slightly oblong, with semicircular doors, placed at regular intervals. At the same time, I saw an atrium situated in front of the principal wall, and the hall of the throne.
Thousands of tunnels, galleries, corridors, secret doors, staircases, inclined planes crisscrossed in a composition akin to one of Escher's These led to sumptuous palaces, lofty halls, sarcophagi, caverns or temples. In some of these there were sentinels appearing as medieval figures.'
I myself have seen palaces and temples many times. As described in the previous chapter, the only time I consumed Ayahuasca in the midst of the virgin Amazonian forest, I saw a whole sequence of palatial and regal scenes. I hoped to get a glimpse of the mysteries of the Amazonian jungle, but instead I saw palaces and royalty from different cultures on both sides of the Atlantic. The most impressive of these were two visits to the throne hall of an Egyptian pharaoh. In real life, I have been to many of the famous archeological sites in Egypt, and I have also visited the Egyptian galleries of many museums, but what I saw in this and other visions surpassed them all. The Egyptian palaces revealed to me in my Ayahuasca visions appeared to be totally new and full of life, as if they had just been constructed.
Like Polari, on many occasions I saw corridors, one hall opening into another, marvellous wall-paintings, sculptures, and reliefs. Architectural details that especially impressed me included sculpted marble colonnades in the form of white elephants, staircases adorned with golden lions, and finely carved gilded wooden ceilings. Several times, I saw most beautiful painted tiles. In the reports of my informants mosaics appear frequently; an example was described in Ch. 6 when serial images were discussed.