"'Indigenous prophesies point to an imminent polar reversal that will wipe our hard drives clean,' Daniel Pinchbeck wrote in his exploration of ayahuasca, technology, and Mayan millennialism, '2012: The Return of Quetzalcoatl.'"
— Levy, Ariel (b. 1974)
Author
Date
September 12, 2016
Metaphor
"'Indigenous prophesies point to an imminent polar reversal that will wipe our hard drives clean,' Daniel Pinchbeck wrote in his exploration of ayahuasca, technology, and Mayan millennialism, '2012: The Return of Quetzalcoatl.'"
Metaphor in Context
Ayahuasca enthusiasts frequently use the language of technology, which may have entered the plant-medicine lexicon because so many people in Silicon Valley are devotees. "Indigenous prophesies point to an imminent polar reversal that will wipe our hard drives clean," Daniel Pinchbeck wrote in his exploration of ayahuasca, technology, and Mayan millennialism, "2012: The Return of Quetzalcoatl." In an industry devoted to synthetic products, people are drawn to this natural drug, with its ancient lineage and ritualized use: traditionally, shamans purify the setting by smoking tobacco, playing ceremonial instruments, and chanting icaros—songs that they say come to them from the plants, the way Pentecostals are moved by the Holy Spirit to speak in tongues. "In Silicon Valley, where everyone suffers from neo-mania," Ferriss continued, "having interactions with songs and rituals that have remained, in some cases, unchanged for hundreds or thousands of years is very appealing."
(p. 32)
(p. 32)
Categories
Provenance
Reading
Citation
Ariel Levy, "The Secret Life of Plants" The New Yorker (September 12, 2016). Print.
Text from online article, titled "The Drug of Choice for the Age of Kale" (September 5, 2016). <Link to newyorker.com>
Text from online article, titled "The Drug of Choice for the Age of Kale" (September 5, 2016). <Link to newyorker.com>
Date of Entry
09/15/2016
