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"spice" origins?

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jbark

jbark

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I can't post in very many places yet, so I hope this gets seen...

Anyone know what the origins of the designation "spice" are? Dune? Somewhere else? Who coined the term?

I love referring to it as "spice"; so descriptive, mysterious untraceable and ungoogleable. Really captures its essence somehow. "The molecule" is fine too, just a little colder, less mystical; "spice" makes me think of trade routes, of new worlds and empires and of spires and temples, of mysterious concoctions, of olfactory delight, of gustatory bliss, of unequaled culinary ecstasy, of novel tastes and of the simple and unique, of untried experience and well trodden innocence, of creation, of culture, of consumption, of variety (of course), of sex, of mystical union, of orgasm, of transcendence and of mixing and combining and numbing and of well veiled and ancient alchemy and witch-crockery...

Am I alone in this? :lol:

JBArk
 
No idea on the origin, but i love your elaborate remark and think it fits perfectly. i too love the name spice.

plus that orangey "powder" looks like one crazy nice spice :D
 
That link isn't working for me gammagore. In the old Quantum Tantra extraction tek they USED to have posted on erowid (and thankfully it appears they've taken it down), the author used the term elf-spice. I don't know if he originated it.
 
yeah, that's the tek i used for my first extraction (and only, so far). I remember coming acros the term, but I'd be surprised if that was the first time - if so, it sure has gained currency!

The link didn't work for me either, gammagore.

Any other thoughts out there on the term "spice"?

cheers,
JBArk
 
In the thread from a few weeks ago, the general conclusion was that Terence Mckenna had coined elf-spice originally.
Now, he may have.
But in my heart, it's still Dune... <3
 
Thanks gammagore - good link, but it took them a while to get back on topic!

So:

a) "spice" may come from dune
b) "spice" may come from QT's extraction tech, but his reference to elf-spice probably has its origins in c)
c) "spice may come from T. McKenna's coining of term "elf-spice"
d) "spice" may come from the fact that it is extracted from an herb (phalaris) or a root bark (mimosa) and as such was often purchased through merchants of culinary spices

Food for thought. Any other ideas, theories, propositions, imaginings, dreams?

JBArk
 
The spice in Dune is super-addictive and you die without it, and the same point could be made about the naturally-occurring DMT in our bodies. Would we die without it? Perhaps... Like in Dune, perhaps endogenous DMT does give greater consciousness.
 
Have to say that the "Dune" reference will always be more meaningful to me. Don't care if it's incorrect as far as historical accuracy. Short of the whole addiction element a lot of the "mythology" associated with the "spice" in Dune really sorta jives with the real thing so that beats out the "elf-spice" tale any day.
 
Choose what to believe and you create your own reality - just don't be shocked if it doesn't jibe with others'! I kinda like the Dune source myself as well. Just wanted to see if there were any other things I could learn to believe in.
cheers,
JBArk
 
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