This essay assesses the ritual function of psychedelic intention-setting ceremonies, using ethnographic data from Burning Man 2023. The piece argues that intention settings are rites of separation that symbolically sacralize the trip for participants.
The spaces where psychedelic experiences unfold are never neutral. Whether in dense forests, urban retreats, or clinical settings, these environments shape how psychedelic senses and emotions are experienced. Psychedelic atmospherics offers a lens for...
Building on Derrida’s essay Plato’s Pharmacy, the current article examines sacred versus profane illuminations within the spiritual realm of Judaism. As exemplified by the marking nut (balādhur), the author surveys exoteric-curative and esoteric-altered...
Ethnographic research suggests that people across the United States are increasingly gathering to commune with their creators, to interact with their ancestors, to enter the spirit world, to gain supernatural insights, and to engage in what they otherwise...