Applying historical critical method in the areas of Late Middle Age and Early Modern Period magic and witchcraft to determine where and when psychoactive drugs were used for either spiritual (entheogenic), magical (healing, maleficia), and recreational uses (love potions).
My area of expertise is on the so-called "witches ointment" of the Renaissance period, how it developed, what it was, and its place in entheogenic, magical, and European history. My forthcoming book "The Witches' Ointment: The Untold Story of Psychedelic Sorcery" comes out this September 2015 from Inner Traditions, Park Street Press.
Author Jerry Brown, author of The Psychedelic Gospels (2016), is unquestionably a plagiarist. In ... more Author Jerry Brown, author of The Psychedelic Gospels (2016), is unquestionably a plagiarist. In this short article, I offer two examples from his writings that testify to this fact.
A commonly misunderstood area of Western psychedelic history involves psychoactive ointments that... more A commonly misunderstood area of Western psychedelic history involves psychoactive ointments that have become part of popular lore during the early modern and Renaissance eras. These substances amorphously considered as “flying ointments” have various histories. This paper addresses four separate histories regarding these beliefs: (a) one conveyed in the writings of anthropologist Michael Harner in his Hallucinogens and Shamanism (Harner, 1973); (b) an early modern reconceptualization of witches’ ointments history that began 600 years ago as a theological misconstrual of the nature of these magical unguents that fueled popular ideas about witches; (c) a probable historical reality of transvection ointments (referring to their alleged ability to make the person fly in some form) containing powerful tropane alkaloids (henbane, mandrake, and belladonna) that informed other traditions; and (d) a “post modern ointment” derived by contemporary scholars who doubted the reality of any actua...
In Jan Irvin's uninspired pamphlet, The Holy Mushroom: Evidence of Mushrooms in Judeo-Christianit... more In Jan Irvin's uninspired pamphlet, The Holy Mushroom: Evidence of Mushrooms in Judeo-Christianity (2008), he set out to vindicate the ideas of John Marco Allegro, the man who infamously credited the origins of Christianity with a fertility mushroom cult. Using the same unscholarly tactics that can be found in all his articles and books, Irvin attempts to demonize Robert Gordon Wasson as the mastermind behind Allegro's downfall. Herein, I show that, once again, Irvin lacks the sophistication to deal with such heavy topics. (This article originally appeared in Psychedelic Press UK, Vol. I, 2014.)
Academic pursuits in the field of drug use pertaining to history, sociology, anthropology, religi... more Academic pursuits in the field of drug use pertaining to history, sociology, anthropology, religion and a host of other subjects are made less respectable due to the callous treatment of some of psychedelia's loopier authors. During the 1950s and prior, drug studies carried little by way of negative stigmas; researchers could study these drugs without incurring suspicion from their peers. However, due to sensational, non-academic books in this topic (like those produced by Jan Irvin), the area of study slowly dwindled until it was almost eradicated. This paper is just one example of how Jan Irvin does not do actual research, but rather invents his conclusions and then tailors evidence to support his ideas. How does this "scholar," this "researcher," get everything so wrong? Can it be any wonder that *all* his historical blunders, half truths, and careless butchering of evidence prove him correct? What does it mean for your research if being wrong proves you right?
Author Jerry Brown, author of The Psychedelic Gospels (2016), is unquestionably a plagiarist. In ... more Author Jerry Brown, author of The Psychedelic Gospels (2016), is unquestionably a plagiarist. In this short article, I offer two examples from his writings that testify to this fact.
A commonly misunderstood area of Western psychedelic history involves psychoactive ointments that... more A commonly misunderstood area of Western psychedelic history involves psychoactive ointments that have become part of popular lore during the early modern and Renaissance eras. These substances amorphously considered as “flying ointments” have various histories. This paper addresses four separate histories regarding these beliefs: (a) one conveyed in the writings of anthropologist Michael Harner in his Hallucinogens and Shamanism (Harner, 1973); (b) an early modern reconceptualization of witches’ ointments history that began 600 years ago as a theological misconstrual of the nature of these magical unguents that fueled popular ideas about witches; (c) a probable historical reality of transvection ointments (referring to their alleged ability to make the person fly in some form) containing powerful tropane alkaloids (henbane, mandrake, and belladonna) that informed other traditions; and (d) a “post modern ointment” derived by contemporary scholars who doubted the reality of any actua...
In Jan Irvin's uninspired pamphlet, The Holy Mushroom: Evidence of Mushrooms in Judeo-Christianit... more In Jan Irvin's uninspired pamphlet, The Holy Mushroom: Evidence of Mushrooms in Judeo-Christianity (2008), he set out to vindicate the ideas of John Marco Allegro, the man who infamously credited the origins of Christianity with a fertility mushroom cult. Using the same unscholarly tactics that can be found in all his articles and books, Irvin attempts to demonize Robert Gordon Wasson as the mastermind behind Allegro's downfall. Herein, I show that, once again, Irvin lacks the sophistication to deal with such heavy topics. (This article originally appeared in Psychedelic Press UK, Vol. I, 2014.)
Academic pursuits in the field of drug use pertaining to history, sociology, anthropology, religi... more Academic pursuits in the field of drug use pertaining to history, sociology, anthropology, religion and a host of other subjects are made less respectable due to the callous treatment of some of psychedelia's loopier authors. During the 1950s and prior, drug studies carried little by way of negative stigmas; researchers could study these drugs without incurring suspicion from their peers. However, due to sensational, non-academic books in this topic (like those produced by Jan Irvin), the area of study slowly dwindled until it was almost eradicated. This paper is just one example of how Jan Irvin does not do actual research, but rather invents his conclusions and then tailors evidence to support his ideas. How does this "scholar," this "researcher," get everything so wrong? Can it be any wonder that *all* his historical blunders, half truths, and careless butchering of evidence prove him correct? What does it mean for your research if being wrong proves you right?
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Papers by Tom Hatsis
Using the same unscholarly tactics that can be found in all his articles and books, Irvin attempts to demonize Robert Gordon Wasson as the mastermind behind Allegro's downfall.
Herein, I show that, once again, Irvin lacks the sophistication to deal with such heavy topics.
(This article originally appeared in Psychedelic Press UK, Vol. I, 2014.)
During the 1950s and prior, drug studies carried little by way of negative stigmas; researchers could study these drugs without incurring suspicion from their peers. However, due to sensational, non-academic books in this topic (like those produced by Jan Irvin), the area of study slowly dwindled until it was almost eradicated.
This paper is just one example of how Jan Irvin does not do actual research, but rather invents his conclusions and then tailors evidence to support his ideas. How does this "scholar," this "researcher," get everything so wrong? Can it be any wonder that *all* his historical blunders, half truths, and careless butchering of evidence prove him correct?
What does it mean for your research if being wrong proves you right?
Using the same unscholarly tactics that can be found in all his articles and books, Irvin attempts to demonize Robert Gordon Wasson as the mastermind behind Allegro's downfall.
Herein, I show that, once again, Irvin lacks the sophistication to deal with such heavy topics.
(This article originally appeared in Psychedelic Press UK, Vol. I, 2014.)
During the 1950s and prior, drug studies carried little by way of negative stigmas; researchers could study these drugs without incurring suspicion from their peers. However, due to sensational, non-academic books in this topic (like those produced by Jan Irvin), the area of study slowly dwindled until it was almost eradicated.
This paper is just one example of how Jan Irvin does not do actual research, but rather invents his conclusions and then tailors evidence to support his ideas. How does this "scholar," this "researcher," get everything so wrong? Can it be any wonder that *all* his historical blunders, half truths, and careless butchering of evidence prove him correct?
What does it mean for your research if being wrong proves you right?