July 2023 AOM: Searching for Osiris & The Tree of Life: Book 3 of the Ancient Cosmological Gods series

It is our pleasure to welcome RN Vooght, author of Searching for Osiris & The Tree of Life, as our featured author for July. RN’s book explores the oldest surviving reference to the notion of ‘resurrection’ and the ‘Tree of Life’ — The Myth of Osiris.

RN investigates the connections these ancient ideas have to the cosmologies of a plethora of civilisations—both old and new —and what this might contribute to our understanding of the human story and even reality itself. In his article here, RN examines DMT’s intimate role in shaping these spiritual beliefs and the age-old idea of ‘as above, so below.’

Interact with RN on our AoM forum here.

Myth: A traditional story, especially one concerning the early history of a people or explaining a natural or social phenomenon, typically involving supernatural beings or events.

Almost every ancient civilization, including those who inhabited some of the most remote and isolated corners of the planet, all recall a time whereby the so-called Gods kick-started and thus reseeded a devasted populous with the knowledge and tools to overcome the catastrophic fallout of the end of the last Ice Age. But who, or indeed what, were these Gods? Where did they come from? Where did they go? Will they return? Or rather, did they ever really leave us?

Ancient Egyptian mythology is steeped in tradition; a tradition whereby Egyptologists prefer to remain ostensibly steadfast in defending an outdated paradigm that has lacked the courage and conviction to keep up with the science which once supported it. Furthermore, there appears to be a plethora of ancient civilizations such as the Mayans, Inca, Aztecs, Aboriginals, Greeks, and Norse Scandinavians who all share the same mythological cosmology which encapsulates a template for Gods of Resurrection, third eye symbology, and the so-called Tree of Life. It is my intention to look at these mythologies through more of a scientific lens and focus upon both the megaliths and the molecules which I believe play a crucial part in the way we perceive the human story, and indeed, reality! Whether we’re conscious of it or not, the natural phenomenon that is N, N dimethyltryptamine, was and still is key to understanding the riddle of human consciousness. N, N dimethyltryptamine, also known as DMT, is a psychedelic chemical compound that permeates the natural world. This Class A hallucinogen can be found within almost all plant-based life and throughout the animal kingdom; we find it inside the human brain, lungs, eyes, and cerebrospinal fluid, yet even more bizarrely; no one knows why!

Described as an entheogen – a compound word meaning ‘god within’, DMT has been used as a tool to elevate human consciousness by indigenous tribespeople for thousands of years. It’s the active component of the South American shamanic brew known as Ayahuasca; which means Vine of the Soul. Classical case reports uncover an intriguing, if not profound, insight into this wholly-otherworldly mindscape. Typical ‘breakthrough’ experiences frequently involve encounters with benevolent angel-like beings and superiorly intellectual entities within the framework of an impossibly hyperdimensional and alien reality.

It is largely accepted that the DMT experience is likened to a mini-death, whereby the initiates ego or soul is temporarily dissolved into an infinite entity-rich source of pure and interconnected understanding before returning blissfully and metaphorically resurrected just as Jesus was said to have done around two thousand years ago. Here then, I hope to continue the search for Osiris; an allegorical human truth whom I believe is linked directly to the notion of a long-lost and spiritually-adept civilization who understood the nature of both the human mind and the planet and its vital role in elevating human consciousness beyond the scope of which we claim to understand in the modern era.

Imagine, if you will, that here in the 21^st century where we stand upon the cusp of sending someone to the moon once again – Mars even, yet we still have almost absolutely no idea what happens to the conscious mind after death! Zero. The riddle of human consciousness and the nature of the mind is the greatest riddle of all. So, here we stand with the advent of space exploration, yet we find ourselves poking around somewhat blindly, seeking the answers to life’s biggest questions; who are we? How did we get here? And, of course, what’s next? But what if we’re not ‘the greatest’ after all? Yes, outer space is certainly worthwhile probing, but what if it’s inner space where the answers to such fundamentally profound, albeit tantalizingly taboo questions do indeed lie? Furthermore, is it beyond the realms of plausible rational to suggest that someone, somewhere, had, in fact, worked it all out and inserted a scientifically viable explanation to who, or indeed what we are, into the zeitgeist of an otherwise interconnected global society lost to the historical narrative for the benefit of future generations of humanity?

Ancient Egyptian mythology reveals rather profound insight into the curious riddle that is human consciousness and is also the earliest reference to the mythological Tree of Life. The tale of Osiris begins during an elaborate banquet where the guests had been invited by Seth (or Set, depending on your source), who was Osiris’s wicked brother, to each lay down inside a beautifully ornate coffer and suggested whoever fitted it comfortably could keep it. Guest after guest tried the magnificent coffer, each struggling with its dimensions and either coming up too short or too tall until the turn of Osiris. Osiris duly laid down inside to find it fit him perfectly. Yet to the guest’s stunned amazement, Seth and his cohorts seized the opportunity and swiftly fastened the coffer with Osiris inside before tossing it into the river Nile. The coffer eventually ran ashore upon the coastal banks of Byblos in moFdern-day Lebanon, where Osiris became further entombed within the trunk of a resplendent Tamarisk tree. After several years, the King of Byblos ordered the felling of the beautiful tree as it was to be carved into a pillar that would adorn the halls of his grandiose palace. Osiris’s sister and consort, Isis learned of her lover’s fate and bargained with the King, who duly agreed to release Osiris from his untimely grave. Seth was enraged by this and disembodied Osiris, thus dispatching his brother once and for all. Legend further dictates that Osiris is symbolically associated with the constellation of Orion, a celestial God of Resurrection.

Here then, we have a God of Resurrection immortalized on a macrocosmic scale as the constellation of Orion, who is also considered as the complete embodiment of ‘all things acacia’ – our proverbial Ancient Egyptian Tree of Life. So, what can be said of these otherwise conflicting mythologies? Either our resurrected God resides above us within the cosmos and is depicted as Orion, the celestial hunter of the heavens, or He resides here on Earth as the spiritual essence of the ethnobotanical variety of the acacia. Osiris, it transpires, was also likened to the lifeblood of the acacia. Now, it is said, ‘God is everywhere!’ but what does this really tell us? Indeed, what does God look like? If we decide to read between the lines, then there lies a rather distinct commonality with something which lies within the lifeblood or molecular structure of the acacia and the constellation of Orion, albeit Osiris in the sky. The significance of which describes a two-dimensional rendition of the formulaic structure of DMT! As Above So Below. In the second book of the series DMT: Deities, Myth & Tryptamines, we discovered the allegorical nature regarding the typified, yet otherwise bizarre, green skin and cone-like headdress of this deified God of Resurrection. We studied the clear congruity of Osiris as being wholly identifiable alongside the photoreceptors within the human eye and pineal gland! The chief photoreceptor being green in colour, and the cone-like lamellae we found was almost indistinguishable from the odd-fitting headdress of Osiris. We also discovered that the functionality of the eyes and the pineal glands rods and cones were responsible for regulating, or indeed manifesting, our everyday consensus reality. Even more astonishing, however, is the hieroglyph, which decidedly describes Osiris rather matter-of-factly translates as; Seat of Perception! Moreover, DMT is also theorised to be present within the human eye.

We understand that the oldest surviving sandstone Stella depicting the name of Osiris, is also inscribed with an acacia tree atop the hill of creation. The significance of the acacia we know to be mythologically associated as the lifeblood of Osiris and the otherworldly entheogen contained within. And as if to reinforce the notion of an entheogenic ideology hidden within the Ancient Arabian and pre-Islamic Goddess of Strength, Healing, and Protection, Al-Uzza was deified, like Osiris, as manifesting from within the confines of the acacia. Furthermore, this central figurehead throughout the culture who is often typified as establishing the ancient city of Petra was also considered the complete embodiment of the belt stars of Orion – our two-dimensional macroscopic mind-altering molecule DMT!

Further to the myth of Osiris, we find a temple construction in Abydos which defies explanation. Most of its construction materials were sourced and quarried in Aswan, almost 200 miles away, some of which weigh in excess of 100 tonnes! Inscribed some eight feet or so above the base of one of these impressive supporting pillars is the iconic Flower of Life. An image that has become a somewhat global phenomenon due to its presence throughout ancient architecture from almost every sophisticated society known to the historical narrative. But why? What could this interconnected understanding be symbolic of? The nature of reality, maybe? DMT is rapidly being considered as a neurotransmitter —an essential chemical, albeit psychoactive, compound described as a reality switch by thinkers such as Andrew Gallimore. A switch whereby consensus reality is modulated via the external information which enters the visual cortex via the interaction of photons of light that pass through the retina. Rather remarkably, classically reported closed and open-eyed visuals during the DMT experience share extraordinary parallels with the geometric structure of the Flower of Life – and possibly reality itself! Could this hypervivid and entity-rich alternate reality, actually be host to the ever-present reports of highly intelligent ‘beings’ often referred to in ancient accounts of immaterial ‘others’ acting as a guiding hand throughout the evolution of the species?

N, N-dimethyltryptamine, or DMT, is a scientific anomaly! It permeates the natural world and is found in abundance throughout the plant and animal kingdom – but nobody quite knows why! Considered one of the world’s most highly illicit psychedelics, DMT has since been dubbed The Spirit Molecule after Dr. Rick Strassman’s now infamous human trials, which took place at the end of the last century. Strassman had theorized (and science has since confirmed) that DMT was increased in the human brain during death and near-death experiences. Classic DMT volunteer experience quotes include the following statements:

“It was familiar to me. It was like I was in the waiting room for the rebirth of souls. I was the light!”

“I didn’t know whether it was my birth I was re-experiencing, my death which was yet to come, because I know that time crumbles; the linearity of time is totally meaningless in these states. You’re at the Godhead, the point where all time folds in on itself!”

“There was no concept of time, it was so disorienting. I was so terrified. I have never in my life been so terrified to be blasted out of my body; to leave my body behind, to be going at warp speed backward through my own DNA, out the other end, and into the universe!”

For intents and purposes, the DMT experience systematically, albeit momentarily, tricks the brain into a death-like state of mind before metaphorically resurrecting the experiencer with a whole new outlook upon the world around us!

Much-famed ethnobotanist and researcher Terence McKenna once described the DMT ‘world’ as being inhabited by sentient trickster archetypes which were likened to ‘self-transforming machine elves’! On the face of it, this statement may well appear to be bizarre beyond comprehension. On the contrary, however, it would also appear that McKenna is not alone regarding this otherworldly oddity. As a matter of fact, and not unlike the Ancient Egyptian ‘underworld’ or ‘Duat’, which was said to be inhabited by a plethora of immaterial ‘others’ and presided over by the God of Resurrection, Osiris, there are a great number of Pre-Colombian artefacts which ring-true with said self-transforming ‘machine elves’!

The examples pictured depict the much-famed trickster profiles witnessed upon many breakthrough doses of DMT! Not a great deal is known about these otherworldly artefacts which continue to defy rational explanation. However, what we can be certain of is the fact that the region was, and largely still is, practising a tried and tested methodology regarding their own sacred plant-based secretion. Anadenanthrea Colubrina is a psychoactive variety whose seeds are known to contain Bufotenine, 5-MEO-DMT, and NN-DMT. And because of the uncanny connotations which go hand in hand with these psychoactive super-substances, the otherwise mythical notion, somewhat loosely termed as El Dorado, may well be better described as the DMT realm itself. The artefacts thems(elves) serve as a timeless reminder of what waits for us beyond the material bonds of everyday waking reality within the framework of the DMT experience! Thus, it becomes extremely evident that the creators of the artefacts were clearly depicting the archetypal jester-like machine elves, which have become commonplace via first-hand DMT breakthrough reports in recent years.

Further to this, however, the Mayan Tree of Life holds much in common with Ancient Egyptian mythology, whereby the tree of choice, the Ceiba, was said to be responsible for holding the entire universe within it. Moreover, the Ceiba (aka the Ya’axche) was wholly symbolic of the axis mundi, which connected the underworld and the cosmos with the terrestrial plane we fondly call reality. The underworld, or Xibalba, roughly translates as the place of fear, insomuch that it was the Gods of Death who were said to reside within it. Here then, it would appear to mirror the mythological lore of the Nile Valley, as we also understand that it was the God of Resurrection, Osiris, who dwelt within the confines of the acacia tree and ruled over the souls of the deceased in the realms of the underworld known as the Fields of Aaru. It is vital to understand that the chosen Mayan Tree of Life, not unlike the Ancient Egyptian acacia, is extremely rich in the ‘otherworldly’ chemical compound N, N dimethyltryptamine – our Spirit Molecule, DMT! Also highly revered for its consciousness-altering analogues hidden within is the sacred Vine of Souls, known locally as Ayahuasca. This ancient Amazonian shamanic tool holds much in common with pre-Renaissance period artwork, which describes the same kind of spiritual ascension which sees mortal souls and saints alike enter a heavenly plane amongst the realm of the Gods! The example expressed here from the 12^th century depicts the Ladder of Di(vine) Ascent from the St Catherine’s Monastery from the Sinai Peninsula, Egypt, no less, whereby Jesus/Osiris is pictured waiting atop! Another Pre-Columbian and Mayan creator deity who appears to reflect the myth of Osiris is Itzamna; a creator God, ruler of Heaven and day and night. It’s curious, then, to discover that the etymology of Itzamna shares the same characteristics as the myth of Osiris. In The Spirit in the Sky, we uncovered the profound nature of a mythological God who is likened to the lifeblood or sap of the acacia; notwithstanding the entire magical lore of resurrection and a plane of existence beyond the scope of our everyday perception. Rather intriguingly, we find that the prefix ‘Itza’ translates as both ‘magic’ and ‘sap’! Connotations surely abound! Let us not forget that the Mayan ‘otherworld’ was also described as being hidden within the constellation of Orion – Orion itself being described as a gateway to the Gods!

If this particular train of thought was in any doubt, however, one of the most celebrated and iconic depictions of the Mayan Tree of Life depicts the act of purging or vomiting in the upper realm; the act of purging being wholly indicative of ingesting the trees sacred secretion more commonly termed as Ayahuasca. And by way of another cosmic connection and central to the Ancient Inca cosmology, we find the geometric talisman the Chakana. The Chakana, or Andean Cross/Cruz a stepped cross which is said to be symbolic of the Tree of Life and the three levels of existence known as the Hana Pacha (the Upper World inhabited by the Gods), the Kay Pacha (the/our world of everyday existence), and the Ukha (an Underworld inhabited by the Spirits of deceased ancestors and deities with direct access to the Kay Pacha). The hole in the centre of the Chakana is said to act as a mode of transit or portal by which the shaman may access the other immaterial planes of existence. The etymology of the Chakana is rather revealing too, as the native Quechua language describes the prefix ‘Chaka’ as a ‘bridge’ or a means to ‘cross over’! The Chakana is also symbolic of the constellation of the Southern Cross/Crux and the Tree of Life; a cosmology which is further reinforced by way of its brightest star, which is called Mimosa. Mimosa being a variety of acacia withthe significant potential of the otherworldly chemical compound DMT! Returning, however, to the Myth of Osiris and the possibility of the two-dimensional nature of the molecular structure of DMT being broadcast across the cosmos as the constellation of Orion, there appears to be another celestial Ancient Egyptian Creator God described as Sahu. Sahu is also considered the complete embodiment of the constellation of Orion/Osiris, who manifests upon the cosmos via a mythology which dictates a union between Osiris and the head of the constellation of Wenet the Hare – known today as Lepus. By way of connecting the dots as intended, not only do we create (albeit complete) the hexagonal molecular structure of the benzene ring associated with DMT, but we also create Sahu in the sky. Recent scientific studies have confirmed that DMT promotes neurogenesis within the human brain. Sahu goes by a number of alternative namesakes, such as The Hidden One and The Incorruptible Soul, which is certainly suggestive of the otherworldly nature of what we currently know about DMT. Should it surprise us, then, to find that Sahu is also known as Beautiful Renewal..? There’s more to the myths than meets the eye, and it’s quite literally written in the stars.

As Above So Below.

RN Vooght