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David Jay Brown and Sara Phinn Huntley. “The Illustrated Field Guide to DMT Entities.” Park Street Press: Rochester (VT). 2025
In shamanic and sacred work, people have used several methods to achieve altered states of consciousness. (Note 1) One of them is the “Path of Sacred Plants,” which entails ingesting plants such as the Little Red Man Mushroom and Ayahuasca among others. Another drug ingested in the “Path of Sacred Plants” is the chemical DMT (N,N-dimethyltryptamine) (Note 2). Users of DMT refer to the drug as the “Spirit Molecule.” (Please note that I have never used Sacred Plants, and are only reporting on what other people have said.)
The authors, David Brown and Sara Huntley, both experienced in using N,N-DMT, have catalogued the various entities reported by people in their encounters in “The Illustrated Field Guide to DMT Entities.” These beings range from mantis-like animals to clowns to fairies and Gods. (Note 3) The authors describe the entities and how people perceive them as they meet each entity. The reports include how people felt, which varied from confusion and fear to awe and comfort.
For background to their book, Brown interviewed various scientists about DMT entity contact. For the authors and many others, the entities experienced under DMT are real and not figments of their imaginations. (Note 4) Terence McKenna, noted for his work in DMT research, viewed the entities as “Souls of Another Realm.” Neuroscientist Andrew Gallimore, also thought, they were beings of other dimensions. Gallimore perceived that DMT was a new way to “travel to these new worlds and engage with the beings there.” (Note 5)
One researcher, Daniel McQueen, who leads the DMTx project at Center for Medicinal Mindfulness, discussed his protocols. “We did ceremony as part of our protocol. We provided offerings on an altar with fruit and water. We engaged [the entities] with respect. We acknowledged and understood their boundaries.” McQueen stressed that the entities were real and not drug induced hallucinations.
Joe Rogan, the Podcaster, told Brown about his DMT experiences as well. Rogan said, “There are these things that are there, and they communicate with you. But they don’t seem to be you. They seem to be something else.” Rogan referred to the “things” as a “well of souls.”
Having established the entities’ existence (Note 6), the authors detail the various Beings often encountered. Besides Angels, Gods, God (Yahweh), Christ and Mary, people may meet Beings described in UFO and occult writings. One written about by Manly P. Hall is the Threshold Guardian. This Gatekeeper challenges people before they are allowed to enter a higher dimension. UFO aliens such as the Greys and Reptilians are also encountered.
One group often met by DMT users is the Devil and Demons. The varying reactions to Them by people are based on their ideas about Demons and their fears. While some have had positive encounters, the authors conclude is that these entities are too complex for understanding.
Polytheists know these Entities are real since they experience the Gods in their rituals and devotions. The Beings, described by Brown and Huntley, are a part of the interconnected Cosmos. The authors are not Polytheists, but they and others regard these DMT Beings as worthy of respect and awe.
Notes:
Note 1. Northern Traditional Shamanism refers to these methods as “the Eightfold Path to Altered States of Consciousness.” They are “Meditation,” “Ritual,” “Rhythm,” “Asceticism,” “Sacred Plants (Drugs),” “Flesh (Sex),” “Ordeal,” and “Spirit Possession (Being a Horse).”
Note 2. There are two DMT chemicals in use to achieve altered states. One is N,N-DMT which launches users into hallucinogenic and visionary experiences. N,N-DMT is the psychoactive ingredient in Ayahuasca and other plants. The other chemical is 5-MeO-DMT, which launches users into a void. This DMT, a modern ceremonial drug, is derived from a toad (Bufo alvarius). Caution is advised in using 5-MeO-DMT since it can be disorienting with its powerful effects.
Note 3: List of Entities: Self-transforming Machine Elves, Mantis Entities, Lizard People,
Greys, Blue and Purple Beings, Clowns and Jesters, Threshold Guardians, Spirit Guides, Gods,
Jesus Christ, The Virgin Mary, Angels, The Devil and Demons, Animal-humans, Ancestors,
Fairies, Gnomes, Mother Ayahuasca, Plant Spirits, Animal Spirits, Octopi, Chemical Spirits, Mother Gaia, Beings of Light, and God (Yahweh).
Note 4. There are two schools of thought in metaphysics as to the reality of these entities. (1) Physicalism: “Anything with a physical form is real, everything beyond that is imaginary. In order to exist, something must involve observable phenomena.” Under this theory, the entities are not real because they have no physical bodies. (2) Idealism: “Reality is created entirely in the mind of the beholder.” Since people do experience these entities, they are real.
Note 5. The Qualia Research Institute lists six levels of the DMT realm (also known as “psychedelic hyperspace:”
1.Threshold – Experiences of enhanced HD vision and vibrant colors.
2. Chrysanthemum – Emergence of a fabric made of shapes and bright colors resembling a chrysanthemum.
3. Magic Eye – The chrysanthemum then forms a complex autosterogram (a two-dimensional image that creates the optical illusion of a three-dimensional scene).
4. Waiting Room – The autostereogram forms a waiting room around the person.
5. Breakthrough – The geometric patterns become extreme and uncontrolled. DMT entities are encountered at this level.
6. Amnesia – A person becomes unaware of their body.
The Qualia Research Institute seeks to develop “mathematical formalizations for subjective experience and its emotional valence.”
(Source: Justin Cooke, “What Are DMT Machine Elves? 8 Theories Explained,” 10, January, 2024, https://tripsitter.com/dmt/machine-elves/)
Note 6. Theories about DMT Entities are:
1. Denizens of the DMT Realm.
This is the theory that Terence McKenna proposed.
2. The human brain is a Consciousness Generator.
The brain makes order out of chaos of the DMT experience. It takes sensory information and translates it into a coherent experience.
3. Alien communication.
They are messages from aliens of other dimensions.
4. The psychedelic microscope.
The DMT acts as a microscope allowing the person to see what they could not perceive but actually is there.
5. Contact with the Divine.
DMT is one of the ways that shamans connect with the Other Worlds. Traditional substances used by shamans have been Ayahuasca and Peyote.
6. Tapping into the Collective Unconscious.
DMT is a method to tap into Carl Jung’s Collective Unconscious. The elves and others are manifestations of the Collective Unconscious.
7. Innate anthropomorphic recognition.
This is the Rorschach inkblot test for psychedelic experiences. People make sense of random patterns by seeing them as faces.
8. Meme theory
The entities could be ideas passed on through other people. Terence McKenna invented “machine elves” which then became standard for others to meet in DMT space.
(Source: Justin Cooke, “What Are DMT Machine Elves? 8 Theories Explained,” 10, January, 2024, https://tripsitter.com/dmt/machine-elves/)
