The comic book aficionados of yesteryear will well
remember Captain Marvel and his magical command
Shazam ! which, when uttered, usually under incredibly
traumatic situations, metamorphosed a quiet,
nondescript man into a scintillating, cape wearing,
flying being of superhuman powers and thought. His
later emulations , Superman, Super Girl, Wonder Woman
and others also shared similar attributes. Now mum
will know what I did with my spare time,
but I never quite found the right word !!

Similar entities also abounded in Mediaeval Europe and although they were attributed with flying powers their deeds were not really socially acceptable, the witches if found were somewhat hindered by heat barriers before descending to a lower plane

Many of the so called witches were also the village / town physicians and herbalists acquiring an excellent knowledge of herbs and plants that possessed medical properties. Much of the knowledge of the effectiveness of various herbs was acquired from observations and the “word” was passed down within families and societies for generations

In line with evolutional development, chemicals, such as secondary metabolites, that are similar in structure, tend to be found in plants belonging to particular families. One such family , the Solanaceae, contains a large number of classes, species of which have high levels of tropane alkaloids. As well as having the familiar identities Tomatoes, Potatoes, Peppers, Nicotiana, Mandragora, Cestrum, Henbane, Datura, Petunia, Schizanthus etc. within its ranks this group also contains some of the most toxic chemicals known to man, many of which, in purified and measured doses, are lifesavers in the world of medicine.

Some of the active ingredients of this group include atropine and hyoscine. In humans they stimulate and then depress various brain centers, alter the heart rate, inhibit glandular secretions, relax and open blood vessels, reduce gastric secretion, increase body temperature and increase the lung ventilation capacity. The ancient and mediaeval herbalists knew about and used the herbs such as, Belladonna, ( Species Atropa from the Greek Atropos the fate who severs the thread of life ) for eye ailments, stomach pains ( stomach ulcers ), diarrhea and for local pain relief. These drugs, or their equivalents are still used today in anesthetics, ophthalmology, gastric disease treatments and other areas of medicine.

The mediaeval period was reliant on agriculture for its food and clothing and one could understand the amount of animal fats and grease products arising from skinning, curing, tallow manufacture for wick lamps and food preparation that would occur around the house. House water was not piped and was generally drawn from wells, roof butts, from the village pond or running stream and drawing on basic human laziness and no knowledge of bacteria this water would not be used for washing hands, too much effort to collect so no trivial washing please. The build up of fat residue on house appliances used in sweeping and cleaning up after preparations would be copious and since the handles were made of wood the fats would tend to impregnate them fairly thoroughly

Up until recent times the human skin was thought to be reasonably impermeable to external substances, however as the molecular structure of the skin became known it was proven, unguents and ointments based on creams had been around since the ancient Egyptians, that fats and oils could be absorbed through the skin, often having the ability to “piggyback” other fat soluble or adherent chemicals with them into the body.

All of the tropane alkaloids, expressed by plants belonging to the potato family, Solanaceae, are fat soluble and are able to penetrate the skin barrier. The plant, Belladonna was harvested regularly by the mediaeval herbalists, the berries in particular holding the greatest concentration of alkaloids and so were picked and crushed by hand. The juice on the hand being absorbed by the fats in the broomstick handle when the leaves, dirt and residues lying on the floor were swept out at the end of the session.

If the hands had been cleaned, possibly during washing the laundry in the river, the absorption of the alkaloids, when the broom handle was later gripped, could be high and in different absorption rates act as an hallucinogen.

One very common hallucination was the feeling of being transported through space to rendezvous with frantically dancing forms. A quick grip of the old Freudian broom stick and even the ugliest of old hags could get carried away on an erotic “virtual” journey. The church hierarchy in mediaeval Europe quickly branded those experiencing or practicing these “trips” as heretics and subjected them to inquisition. Many monasteries also operated physic gardens and practiced herbalism, often charging for diagnosis and treatments. In common with modern preemptive strategy, what better way than to put your competitors at a disadvantage in the area of public relations; now witch corporation discovered those ancient books ?.

In 1968 Casteneda of the University of California published a report of experiments inspired by diaries of Porta ( 1562 ), a colleague of Galileo, in which a formulae of witches salve was explained . Casteneda and some post graduate students rubbed an ointment of lard and alkaloids into their foreheads and armpits, they fell into a deep sleep of just under 24 hours in which the entire team reported having bizarre dreams that featured wild flight, frenzied dancing, weird apparitions and adventures. A great research project for California in the late 60’s “Hippie” culture.

Some of the most exciting research ever done in Ethnobotany ( plant- human ) relationships was completed in 1972 at the Harvard University School of Botany by Gordon Wasson. His research on the only plant known to have been deified involved archaeologists, paleontologists, botanists, biochemists, mycologists, toxicologists and many more ***ist’s . Wasson described how a 2000 BC civilization, known as the Aryans, invaded Afghanistan and India from the Northwest, they spoke an Indo-European language known as the Vedic tongue and possessed an hereditary priesthood. This civilization was polydeious having many gods, one of which was unique, the god Soma, being a plant, or more correctly the mushroom Amanita muscari.

Fortunately for us the hymns of praise, eulogizing the “spirit” of the mushroom Soma, were scribed and became known in this century as the Rig Veda the only documentation representative of an entire civilization

After the Rig Veda was able to be interpreted, another fascinating story, a red capped mushroom with woolly fragments was described. Along with other evidence the description fitted the poisonous, Amanita muscari , known as the “Fly Agaric”. The priests of Soma also described a practice of ceremonial urine drinking, a practice used by some scattered Siberian tribes until quite recently. This description clinched the identification since the active alkaloid in A. muscari, mascimol, is the only known hallucinogen excreted by human kidneys

In the new territories the sacred mushroom would not grow and the god Soma’s influence waned. The early priesthood kept total control of the plant, so seeing the gods was not the prerogative of the common man. As a symbol of power the priests of Soma carried a serpent like staff, possibly suggesting the swirling character of the hallucinations.

Plants of the Fly Agaric also form a symbiotic association with many conifers particularly the Siberian Birch and it was recorded that the first priests located their dwellings at the base of these declared sacred trees. When the influence of the Aryan civilization is considered, the entire area of Russia, Europe, North Asia and the North American continent, this tree is suggested as possibly the legendary “Tree of Life”.

With the slow spread of the Soma worshipping Aryan civilization to the Mediterranean, some 2000 years before the birth of Christianity, an uncanny similarity seems to exist in Genesis 3: 1 - 5. The serpent was more crafty than any wild creature that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman ,”Is it true that God has forbidden you to eat from any tree in the garden?” The woman answered the serpent,” We may eat the fruit of any tree in the garden , except for the tree in the middle of the garden ; God has forbidden us either to eat or to touch the fruit of that; if we do , we shall die.” The serpent said , “Of course you will not die. God knows that as soon as you eat it , your eyes will be opened and you will be like gods knowing both good and evil.”