Chapter Five : Holiday Symbolism I 75
F Figure 50 -Amanita growth cycle by Nicholas Zervos
These images show the growth cycles or the stages of the development of the mushroom. It starts egg-shaped (A), and soon the universal veil begins to peel away (Band C) as the red cap begins to separate itself from the base (D). Next is the dumbbell stage (E) where, symbolically, the moon is represented by the white bulbous base and the sun represented by the round, red cap. In this stage (E), you can see the phallic representation of the mushroom. The dots on top of the mushroom cap grow further and further apart as the mushroom grows. When the mushroom was in the egg stage, the spots were connected, forming the universal veil. This universal veil covers the entire mushroom, wrapping it in "swaddling clothes" (A). Later the universal veil attaches itself to the rim of the mushroom cap (pileus) as well as the stalk (stipe), covering the gills of the mushroom (F). As the mushroom grows further, the cap begins to open. In the next stage of growth (Figure 51), the outer rim of the mushroom cap begins to separate itself from the universal veil, exposing the gills and releasing its spores. This universal veil is still attached to the stipe of the mushroom as it peels away from the underside of the cap. The previous stage of growth was the last time the mushroom would appear to be the adult male. This stage of the mushroom's growth could be, at least in part, the source of the male circumcision ritual, though most cultures do not circumcise. 253
Figure 51 - Cap separating from universal veil, by Nicholas Zervos
Figure 52 -Amanita muscaria - Canopy stage, by Nicholas Zervos
As the mushroom expands further, the universal veil separates itself completely from the underside ofthe cap, falls, and hangs on the stipe of the mushroom like a skirt. Because the tips of the universal veil were once touching the red part of the cap, the very tips of this skirt become colored amber or gold. In
253 This theory originates from The Sacred Mushroom and the Cross, by Allegro, pg. 59, and is maintained by Heinrich, Ruck, Staples, and Herer, and others. However, there appear to be conflicting reports by DeMeo, in Saharasia, 2006, and others, that will be brought together and explained in another volume. Bennett (2001) suggests circumcision was done as serpent worship, pg. 69. However, Bennett overlooks the obvious associations of the serpent to the mushroom, which will be discussed in the following sections.
Astrotheology & Shamanism - Christianity s Pagan Roots