Happy Midwinter Solstice!
There is a strong link between Sami (northern Sweden) belief in the red and white of the Fly Agaric (amanita muscaria), Santa’s robes and flying reindeer:
In Sami shamanism, herdsmen noticed that the deer would eat the mushrooms and become intoxicated. They used the deer’s body to process out the toxins and drank the urine heavily laced with the psychedelic muscimol, resulting in a comatose state in which they made shamanic journeys- literally flying with the reindeer. The shaman would return to his body by descending through the smoke hole, tying us in to Santa entering houses via the chimney.
Odin himself was lord of the Wild Hunt – rampaging through the skies on his eight legged steed Sleipnir… But! In the winter, he left the high seat of Asgard in the care of Yew deities Uller and Ullin (whose sacred items were the snowshoe and yew bow) to wander the nine worlds: certainly a poetic kenning for Shamanic journeying..
mixmage 