We’ve all heard that cannabis has been around for thousands of years and used as an entheogen—a psychoactive substance used in a religious or spiritual context—in the past. While we have already looked at world religions and groups that embrace the entheogenic use of cannabis, there are questions still unanswered, such as how one can use and benefit from ancient practices in modern days, especially when they may not prescribe to those groups.
According to the journal NeuroQuantology, shamanic and pagan cultures incorporate cannabis spiritually to ponder religious and philosophical subjects relevant to them, enter a state of enlightenment, make discoveries of the mind and subconscious, and even use cannabis as an aphrodisiac. These uses all point to the efficacy of cannabis as a holistic remedy rather than just a recreational or medicinal substance.
Stacey B., who goes by Stasya, is the creator of Tarot Pugs—a blog about tarot, witchcraft, spirit work, and magick—as well as a psychic tarot reader, energy healer, and witch. She practices Slavic folk magick and has over 25 years’ worth of relevant experience and knowledge. As a modern-day witch who includes cannabis in her rituals, Stasya is an excellent example of how cannabis spiritual practices are being used today.
In her article “Cannabis & Witchcraft,” Stasya explains, “Working with plants and herbs is often more than simply adding the herbs or plant materials to a candle or spell bag.” In her practice, Stasya draws from shamanism, which involves communicating with the plant spirits. This communication involves entering a meditative state while possessing the plant in order to connect with the essence of the plant’s spirit.
Communicating with the cannabis plant spirit should occur before or while using the cannabis in order to allow “any visions, insights, impressions or words to come to mind.” Stasya then recommends recording these in a journal. One can even take things a step further and work with the terpenes in the cannabis to explore different aromatherapeutic and psychological effects.
Dr. Wayne Dyer, a renowned self-development author, emphasizes the importance of letting go in spiritual growth:
“You have to just be. You have to let go. You have to allow. You have to be free and make this your consciousness. Basically, what you would see is a frequency (of energy) that manifests itself through the process of giving, of allowing, of offering and of serving. It asks nothing back.”
If you wish to use cannabis for enlightenment, healing, or access to the subconscious, using the power of intention to connect and communicate with the spirit of the plant is crucial. For a successful ritual, you should set positive and open-minded intentions before beginning meditation and consumption.
Stasya dives deeper into the magickal properties of cannabis by explaining that cannabis, like any other plant, has associations with astrology and deities. Cannabis is associated with the elements of water and earth, as well as with the planet Saturn. This combination, she says, creates a balance of death and love.
This love and death relationship is explained as the cycle of life in which the cannabis plant has to “die” (be burned) in order to bring about beauty and love. One can also connect with the deities associated with cannabis—Hestia, Venus, Freyja, Osiris, Bastet, Isis, Dionysus, Pan, and Santa Muerte—in order to invoke or channel messages from the deities.
Just like the experience of cannabis consumption varies from one consumer to the next, Stasya explains that those who wish to engage in rituals such as these should understand that “the use of cannabis for magickal purposes and in witchcraft is always a personal experience and can vary from practitioner to practitioner.”
Reign Rituals, a community wellness studio located in Denver, Colorado, specializes in spiritual cannabis rituals. In her article outlining the process for working with cannabis spiritually, Reign Rituals writer Sade Preston explains, “To get an understanding of how plants affect us in our spiritual practices, it’s important to first understand the plant as a whole.” As a devotee of the deity Santa Muerte, Preston views cannabis as a sacred offering. The ritual process includes:
Cannabis can be a unique spiritual tool when used purposefully. With intention and an open heart, you don’t have to be a witch like Stasya to experience the rejuvenating energy surrounding the cannabis plant.
Migraines are far more debilitating than typical headaches, often disrupting daily life. More and more people are turning to cannabis to manage their chronic pain, with migraines being the top reason among headache patients. Cannabis is such a powerful tool for migraine and pain relief that many patients even use medical marijuana in place of…
We all know honey comes from bees, and bees need flowers to make honey, so does this mean bees can make infused honey from the flowers of the cannabis plant? The details are more complicated than you’d think. Cannabis flowers don’t produce nectar, so bees can’t make honey from them. Since cannabis plants pollinate via…
Over the last decade, there has been considerable discussion about the future of cannabis. Typically, those conversations center around legality, market size, and social and medical impacts, all of which are interesting topics in their own right. But there has been far less discussion about the digital future of cannabis. With more and more of…
Talking to your family about cannabis can be difficult. You’re often battling with generations of stigma and the impacts of changing social norms in real time. Conversing with a grandparent who grew up believing that cannabis is bad and those who smoke weed are lazy, among other sentiments, can be challenging. With that in mind,…
With so many Western contexts for cannabis (legal dispensaries, lounges, education pathways, etc), we sometimes forget the big picture. The history of cannabis use spans centuries, with unique applications across China, India, and many other regions. Throughout centuries of use, many cultures have developed traditions that are still in practice today. One scarcely documented example…
Sign up for our newsletter
Get your medical marijuana card today
Sign up in under 5 minutes
Start By Selecting Your State
