List of Entities from “The Illustrated Guide to DMT Entities” (Part 1 of 3)

May. 22nd, 2025 09:57 am
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Self-Transforming Machine Elves
Includes Machine Elves, the Tykes, and Clockwork Elves
First described by Terance McKenna, the ethnobotanist, these Beings are the most well-known of DMT entities. Similar to the Elves of Celtic folklore, these entities have a strange sense of humor. Extremely playful, the Tykes like to sparkle with their bodies. Meanwhile, Self-Transforming Machine Elves will usually emerge from the geometric patterns formed by DMT. These entities seem to be teaching people about their DMT world.
 
Mantis Entities
Includes Mantids and Insectoid Aliens
People report their encounters with these Beings to be intense, challenging and overwhelming. These entities seem to be cold-hearted scientists experimenting on humans. Mantids are also reported in UFO abductions, usually operating on people’s brains. They are believed to be the future descendants of Earth’s insects, coming to this time from the far future.
 
Reptilians
Includes Reptoids and Lizard People
These entities also appear in UFO contact writings. David Icke, the British writer, claims that they (i.e. Reptilian Aliens) control Earth’s political systems. These entities do seem to be involved in human affairs. Since many people report them to be to be frightening, caution is advised when encountering Reptilians.
 
Greys
Greys are the classic UFO beings who are reported in abductions. It is believed that they are interdimensional Beings living in a symbiosis with humans. In their encounters, people have reported them to be robotic in their movements. Meanwhile, others have considered their abductions by the Greys similar to fairy kidnappings.
 
Blue and Purple-Hued Beings
People who encounter Blue and Purple-Hued Beings report a feeling of love, peace, and understanding coming from Them. These humanoids seem to be a part of people’s spiritual journeys. (People using cannabis also experience these Beings welcoming them.) Various DMT users have met Blue and Purple-Hued Beings ranging from Lord Krishna to Barney the Dinosaur, who then became their guides.
 
Clowns and Jesters
Includes Tricksters, Harlequins, Imps, and Jack-in-the Box
Terence McKenna said that these represented the archetype of the DMT which is the circus. These entities are a part of that milieu. Meanwhile, Joe Rogan, the Podcaster, reported being flipped off by a Jester. Since they are tricksters, caution is advised when encountering these Beings.
 
Threshold Guardians
Includes Gatekeepers
Also known as “Dwellers on the Threshold,” these entities were first descried by Manly P. Hall in his occult writings. They will challenge anyone who approaches the Threshold. Before moving on to a higher dimension of reality, a person has to pass a rite of passage given to them by the Gatekeeper.
 
Spirit Guides
These Beings will appear as often on psychedelic journeys as they do on New Age “shamanic journeys.” Protective of their charges, Spirit Guides will guide people through the process of enlightenment. Users tell of how they are benevolent teachers, who help people to navigate the realms of hyperspace.
 
Notes:
Note 1. David Jay Brown and Sara Phinn Huntley, “The Illustrated Guide to DMT Entities.” Park Street Press. 2025.
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Cosmos-theology: A Brief Intro

May. 12th, 2025 09:38 am
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 If most of the writings on astrotheology have a Christian focus, that is because most of the people pondering these questions are Christians. However, other people have written on what they call “cosmotheology.” (Note 1) In their metaphysical considerations, various philosophers stress the Cosmological Principle: “We do not live in a special place in the Universe.” (Note 2) Noted philosopher, A.N. Whitehead wrote, “On a grand scale, our cosmology discloses a process of overpowering change, from nebulae to stars, from stars to planets, from inorganic matter to life, from life to reason and moral responsibility.” (Note 3) Whitehead’s concepts have formed a basis for examining religion and exo-life (Note 4) outside of Christianity.
 
Stephen Dick, noted astrobiologist and former NASA historian, has developed several principles of cosmotheology. (1) “Humanity is not physically central to the universe.” (2) “Humanity is not central biologically, mentally, or morally in the universe.” (3) “Humanity is not at the top of the great chain of being in the universe.” These three principles acknowledge the cosmological de-centering of the universe for humans. According to Whitehead, “humans are as fully natural as everything else in the Universe.” In other words, humans are not the moral center of the Universe.
 
Dick continues with (4) “Cosmotheology must be open to radically new and non-supernatural conceptions of God…a God grounded in cosmic evolution.” (5) “Cosmotheology must have a moral dimension, extending to embrace all species in the universe – a reverence and respect for life in any form.” (6) “Cosmotheology must embrace the idea that human destiny should be linked to natural cosmic events, not to the divine.” Dick states that the “God of cosmotheology is a natural evolutionary product, potentially with many characteristics normally associated with God.” (Note 5)
 
Andrew Davis, a process philosopher, interprets Dick’s God as a “fully contingent super intelligence (emphasis by Davis), an outcome of evolution.” Meanwhile, Whitehead, who developed process philosophy (Note 6), claims that the “non-temporal actuality of divine mentality” is in every phase of evolution. He adds, “The universe is thus understood as including a source of ideals. There are experiences of ideals…This is the experience of the deity of the universe.” For Whitehead, God is the divine duality as experienced across the universe.
 
Davis further develops a cosmotheology based on Whitehead’s process philosophy. “(1) Humanity exemplifies metaphysical principles that are utterly central to the universe. (2) Humanity exemplifies biological, mental, and moral antecedents that are metaphysically central to the universe. (3) Humanity exemplifies the same metaphysical principles that are expressed in various intensities throughout the great chain of being in the universe. (Note 7) (4) Cosmotheology must be open to truly radical and non-supernatural conceptions of God, a God grounding and exemplifying the metaphysical conditions of cosmic evolution. (5) Cosmotheology must provide the ontological basis and stimulus for ideals of moral reverence and respect in the nature of things. (6) Cosmotheology must embrace human destiny as inextricably linked to the destiny of the cosmos as an infinite evolutionary expression of the metaphysical conditions chiefly exemplified in the divine.”
 
Since some of us may be alive when life is discovered beyond the Earth, we do need to understand our place in the cosmos. I believe that Polytheists should add their thoughts to how this affects all of us. Since Polytheism entails that humans are connected to other worlds and other beings, Polytheists have a unique perspective to offer.
 
Notes:
Note 1. The astronomer Steven Dick defines “cosmotheology” as his attempt at a theology based on what “we know about the universe based on science. It is a naturalistic theology that denies supernaturalism.” From Interview with Ted Peters, “The Cosmotheology of Steven Dick,” Patheos, 22 April, 2023. https://www.patheos.com/blogs/publictheology/2022/05/cosmotheology-steven-j-dick/.
 
Note 2. Formally stated, the Cosmological Principle is “Viewed on a sufficiently large scale, the properties of the Universe are the same for all observers.” In ordinary language, the Earth, the Sun, the Milky Way, etc. are only average and not special. The Cosmological Principle is a part of Isaac Newton’s Laws of Physics.
 
Note 3. Whitehead as quoted by Andrew Davis in “Metaphysics of Exo-Life.”
 
Note 4. “Exo-life” refers to all life other than the Earth’s including extraterrestrials (ETs).
 
Note 5. Unless otherwise defined, “God” refers to Yahweh, the Monotheistic Deity.
 
Note 6. Alfred North Whitehead developed process philosophy further in the 1920s. He believed that “there is urgency in coming to see the world as a web of interrelated processes of which we are integral parts, so that all of our choices and actions have consequences for the world around us.”
 
Note 7. “The Great Chain of Being” is a hierarchy of Gods, Angels, humans, animals, plants, and minerals. The philosophy behind the hierarchy is that everyone has a role and purpose in the Cosmos.
 
Works Used:
Davis, Andrew, “Metaphysics of Exo-Life.” Grasmere (ID): SacraSage Press. 2003.
Meade, Shannon, “Faith in the Cosmos.” Machiasport (ME): Shannon Meade. 2024.
O’Meara, Thomas, “Vast Universe.” Collegeville (MN): Liturgical Press. 2012.
Peters, Ted, “The Cosmotheology of Steven Dick,” Patheos, 22 April, 2023. Web. https://www.patheos.com/blogs/publictheology/2022/05/cosmotheology-steven-j-dick/. .
Weintraub, David, “Religions and Extraterrestrial Life.” London: Springer Book. 2014.
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Out-of-Body Experiences and the Afterlife

Apr. 26th, 2025 11:15 am
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After much research, I conclude that Out-of-Body Experiences (OBEs) can also contribute to ideas about the Afterlife. People who have OBEs often experience other realms, one being the afterlife. In their OBEs, they have encountered angels and other divine beings. Meanwhile others have received divine wisdom.
 
Marilynn Hughes (Note 1), who researches OBEs and mysticism, has collected thousands of OBE accounts. She says that OBEs allow people to receive messages beyond ordinary perception. Hughes cites the Apostle Paul being caught up to the Third Heaven and the Prophet Muhammad’s Night Journey (the Isra and Mi’raj). Each brought back spiritual insights for their respective believers.
 
Meanwhile, in “Wicca For Life,” Raymond Buckland discusses Summerland where Wiccans (Note 2) go after death. He writes that he gleamed his knowledge from people who had either NDEs or OBEs. Buckland writes, “Many records of near-death experiences, speak of leaving the body, going toward a bright light – often times down a sort of tunnel – and seeing deceased loved ones there.” He adds that “Summerland – which outwardly, looks much like this land where we lived and breathed.” Most Wiccans believe that Summerland is a place of perpetual summer of lush meadows, deep woods, and babbling brooks.
 
Buckland states that Summerland came from Gerald Gardner, who took the name from Spiritualists. (Note 3) In “The Next World: Extraordinary Experiences of the Afterlife,” Gregory Shushan writes that Victorian and Edwardian mediums coined the term “Summerland.” The spirits that spoke through these mediums called their Afterlife, “Summerland.” Several stated that “the other realm is a place of ‘peace and plenty,’” and “the soul and consciousness are one.”
 
In “NDEs and the Afterlife in Ancient Civilizations,” Gregory Shushan describes the OBEs of shamans. In the “Rig Veda,” munis (Note 4) drink a drug to allow “the Gods to enter” and then they “mount the winds.” Other scholars such as Mircea Eliade suggests that beliefs about the Afterlife stem from various shamanic practices. These visionary practices include OBE journeys to the Afterworld.
 
In “Ecology of Souls (Volume Two),” Joshua Cutchin drives home this aspect of shamanism. He writes “Shamanism is a death discipline, focused upon rebuilding relationships with not only with our ancestors but the broader ecology of souls. Shamans in their journey do encounter other worlds. One can be the Dead and the Afterlife.”
 
In “Time Expansion Experiences,” Steve Taylor, who has studied time extensively, lists one of the laws of time. “Time passes very slowly in intense altered states of consciousness, when our normal psychological structures and processes are significantly disrupted and our normal ‘self-system’ (Note 5) dissolves.” He describes it as “stepping off a train and finding ourselves in a strange, panoramic landscape, where people enter a different “timeworld.’” When entering this ‘timeworld,’ they will visit other worlds including the Afterlife. Altered states of consciousness both transcend the boundaries and space of the self and time.
 
My brain injury has me go into fugue states where I experience what Taylor describes. I find myself in a different ‘timeworld’ where high-weirdness reigns. In that world, I have experienced various Gods and have come away with a different perspective of the Cosmos. I think that Polytheists could investigate OBEs to learn more about the Gods and the Afterlife.
 
According to Hughes, common traits of a prophetic vision are: (Note 6)
 
Sense of divine presence
The person feels an overwhelming transformative experience.
Clarity and precision
Messages or visions are specific and detailed.
Timelessness and universality
Messages or visions transcend time and place.
Transformation and healing
The experience reshapes the person’s understanding of the world.
Role of divine guidance.
Ancestors or spirits provide assistance and clarification.
Notes:
 
Note 1. Marilynn Hughes is a researcher in the field of OBEs and mysticism. She is the founder of The Out-of-Body Travel Foundation https://outofbodytravel.org/ , which details people’s experiences.
 
Note 2. Buckland refers to Wicca as the “Old Religion” as opposed to the “New Religion” of Christianity. For Buckland, Wicca is a “mystery religion” of initiation and oaths of secrecy. It is considered to be Neo-Pagan in its belief system.
 
Note 3. Some Wiccans claim that Summerland comes from the Celtic “Plains of Joy” (Mag Mell).
 
Note 4. Munis are considered to be long-haired ascetics who are sages and hermits.
 
Note 5. Taylor explains that “self-system refers to our normal sense of identity and all the normal psychological processes and functions that constitute it.”
 
Note 6. Marilynn Hughes, “Prophetic Journeys.” Out-of-Body-Travel Foundation. 2025.
 
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MY RESPONSE TO “SPIRITUAL BUT NOT RELIGIOUS”

Jan. 17th, 2024 10:50 am
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In “Spirituality Without Structure,” Nimue Brown, Druid author, writes “Atheist humanism shows us that we do in our lives ought to make sense in compassionate, human terms, ideally. It’s like the only measuring tool we have and should replace any ideas about what Gods allegedly want us to do.”
 
John Michael Greer, occult writer, in “A World Full of Gods,” discusses why people think of religion in this manner. “To the classical monotheist (Note 1), divinity is infinite, humanity is finite, and the only possible relationship between them is the absolute submission of the worshipper to the god.”
 
Greer responds to that thinking by describing Polytheisms. “While the greatest of Pagan gods and goddesses are superlative in their might and majesty, they and their worshippers exist in the common world and share a common measure. What the gods ask of humanity, in turn, is not object submission but respect, love and cooperation.” He continues that the Polytheistic faiths “affirm that humans to flourish in relationship with the gods and in harmony with their purposes, and that this can and will be pursued in every aspect of human life, but they also recognize that human existence as such has it own value, its own place in the broader pattern of the cosmos.” (Note 2)
 
Like many others, Brown regard revealed religions as the standard for religion. Revealed religions have an historical founder and incorporate teachings revealed by that founder. Examples are Buddhism and Christianity. In discussing the differences between spirituality and religion, many Neo-Pagans default to Christianity as “religion.”
 
Meanwhile natural religions such as Shinto are more confusing to many people. These religions are often regarded as spiritual but not religious. However, natural religions are formed by the response to something beyond humans, usually Gods or other Sacred Beings. They are orthopraxic with proper practices, but do not have orthodox beliefs.
 
Polytheism is a natural religion. However, people who are “spiritual but not religious (SBNR)” (including Neo-Pagans) focus on the doctrine of the Gods as they perceive it. This causes problems since there is no doctrine concerning the Gods. What replaces doctrine are rules on how to relate to what is holy. This becomes confused in the thinking of SBNR people that Polytheism is the same as Christianity. Therefore, its practices seem to be doctrine to SBNR people.
 
To change this thinking, Polytheism must challenge the central claims of atheism and classical monotheism. The most natural way for humans to live is to experience multiple Gods, according to Edward Butler, Polytheistic philosopher. These experiences could be considered “spiritual and religious.” Then the practices of Polytheism becomes a way of experiencing these Gods.
 
To explain religion as a function of the human brain as Atheism does is reductionistic. It denies both the reality of the Gods and human experience. As someone with a brain injury, I question the theory of Gods as rooted in the human brain. Think of music. A person can measure the hearing of the notes, but they cannot explain why the personal response to Brahms differs from Mozart. As for me, I experience the Gods outside of myself.
 
Meanwhile, Monotheism has bankrupted religious thinking in the West. That is one reason why people are “spiritual, not religious.” They have despaired of the barren, polluted world of rationality where everything is explained as the Will of God. They want a religion that encompasses all of life. Polytheism offers that.
 
Notes:
 
Note 1. Defined by John Michael Greer in “A World Full of Gods.” Classical Monotheism is “The belief in one and only one god, who is the unique eternal, omnipotent, omniscient, and omni benevolent creator of the universe.” Classical monotheism emphasizes that this god is the depenser of morality.
 
Note 2. Greer defines cosmos as “The vision of the universe as a beautifully ordered whole, in which anything that affects one part affects all parts, in which everything has a place and nothing every goes ‘away.’”
 
Further Reading:
 
Alain de Botton, “Religion for Atheists.”
Nimue Brown, “Spirituality Without Structure.”
Edward Butler, “The Way of the Gods”
John Michael Greer, “A World Full of Gods.”
Dr. Linda Mercadante, “Belief Without Borders.”
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WHAT IS “SPIRITUAL BUT NOT RELIGIOUS”?

Jan. 13th, 2024 09:26 am
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 For modern Polytheists, the concept of “spiritual but not religious” (SBNR) needs to be examined. Many problems that modern Polytheists often encounter are from people who are SBNR. These issues range from expressions of piety to sacrifices to the Gods.
 
In “Spirituality Without Structure,” Nimue Brown, Druid author, writes “Religion is the means by which countless lives have been harnessed, saddled, and sent forth to suit a private or political agenda.” She continues, “I’m too anarchic too opposed to authority and oppression.” Her version of religion is shared by many. It is also an underlying assumption by SBNR people encountering Polytheist practices.
 
In her book, Brown explains the differences between spirituality as experienced by the individual, and religion as a formal system. She states that Atheists and people of conventual faith can “lend themselves to a genuine spiritual outlook.” This separation of religion from spirituality enables people to be “spiritual but not religious.”
 
What does that mean – spiritual but not religious? This contemporary idea refers to the sacred interior life of a person, who does not belong to a religious organization. Another term for this could be “non-ritual personal faith.” According to Rev. Linda Mercadante, religious scholar, SBNR people are usually anti-institutional and private in their beliefs. She separates them into several categories. The dissenter dislikes institutional religion. The casual believer prefers therapeutic spirituality such as New Age practices. The explorer is a spiritual tourist. The seeker is searching for a new religious identity. Finally, the immigrant has joined a new spiritual community.
 
Rev. Mercadante, in her studies, said that today, religion is thought of as a social construct, and spirituality is the interior life. She says that in prior times, spirituality was considered the same as piety. For this reason, spirituality and piety overlap in modern society in a confusing manner, although modern people think of piety in terms of “annoying church ladies.”
 
In “Spirituality Without Structure,” Brown describes a spiritual experience as giving a person “a feeling of profound connection with something beyond themselves. That something doesn’t have to be a god. It could be a place, a person, tradition, or an idea.” This fits in with my working definition of spirituality as the awareness of a person of something beyond themselves. Meanwhile, religion is the response to that something.
 
Rev. Mercadante writes in “Belief Without Borders,” that SBNRs and Atheists agree that spirituality is a “this-worldly reality, often conflated with … mental health or emotional well-being.” She says that spirituality is portrayed as “a personal, individual, and heart-felt state that is easily divorced from organized religion.” She observes what Nimue Brown expresses as the standard view of religion – external, organized, dogmatized, and group oriented,” in SBNR people.
 
This presents something for modern Polytheists to ponder. As more people leave Neo-Paganism to become Polytheists, they often carry this idea of religion with them. Since many modern Polytheists are immigrants to Polytheism, I believe that the first step is to remember when we first entered the country known as Polytheism.
 
Further Reading:
 
Alain de Botton, “Religion for Atheists.”
Nimue Brown, “Spirituality Without Structure.”
Edward Butler, “The Way of the Gods”
John Michael Greer, “A World Full of Gods.”
Rev. Linda Mercadante, “Belief Without Borders.”
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