Sacrament Calendars

[rkundalini]

There is an idea stuck in my head I thought I would share. For xmas recently my partner and I were given 3 or 4 calendars. I was staring at the one of Hubble Space Telescope images and thinking hmmm wouldn't a similar thing for psychoactive plants and fungi be nice? On each month large, high-quality reproduction of a good photo of a particular plant/fungus, with a paragraph underneath giving info on traditional use, botany and chemistry. On the bottom half, a grid of days of the month with entries for significant dates in various calendars of the world (pagan, mayan, etc), and dates of modern events (scientific, poltical, birth/death days etc).

I don't have enough excellent photos of my own, and besides I am no entrepreneur. But I do have one or two really good photos and there are dozens of people in the greater internet ethnobotany community who would have more. It should be easily possible to get enough people to donate the copyright to their photos to make a calendar whose proceeds go to a non-profit organisation. Online printing companies can print it for cheap and they could be sold for a reasonable price with proceeds going to some worthy cause such as erowid, MAPS, Torsten's efforts, Amazon conservation groups, whatever. They could be sold online and/or in shops, e.g. smart shops (I am convieniently located in that regard ).

A similar thing could be done for psychedelic visual art and would be a great way for people to get exposure but I suppose it is harder to find someone willing to give away a work that took a lot of work to make, compared to photos...

anyway, comments?

[Torsten]

Originally posted by rkundalini:

It should be easily possible to get enough people to donate the copyright to their photos to make a calendar whose proceeds go to a non-profit organisation.

I think this is an excellent idea. I would probably like to see the money go to MAPS or one of the on-location shamanic culture preservation agencies in the Amazon.

They could be sold online and/or in shops, e.g. smart shops (I am convieniently located in that regard ).

I think there would be a broad appeal for this from alternative bookshops, headshops and smart shops to e-tailers and even cultural non-profit shops.

A similar thing could be done for psychedelic visual art

Floyd & co did this at very small scale with their Illuminated adventures work. It was one of those calenders where you stick postcards onto each page. Low tech, and sadly not well received, but a nice idea. I think high quality production would make all the difference. The main issue is the price (small runs) and what to do with left over stock. Calendars is a risky business.

I am interested to have a go at it. However, I am really busy for the first half of 2002 and I think it would be too late to start then if aiming for a 2003 release. However 7/02 might be a good time to get it organised for 2004, so that there is plenty of time for promotion and distribution.

I will be talkking to my printers early next month and will see what they think about the financial side of it.

My suggestion would be to use photos of plants in flower and to put them into the month that this species is in flower in its native habitat. Rarety and/or cultural significance should be another factor.

[waterdragon]

sounds like a neat idea. i'd buy one. the only problem is that you'd be restricted to 12 beauties per year. spose that would give one something to look forward to each year. might be a good idea to make them frame-able ie with no hole through the piccy. if indeed such a development came to fruition don't be slow to mention it on the forums.

btw - torsten - whatever happened to the botanic artist that you spoke of some time ago? i'm nearly certain it was u that mentioned it.

[anubian lights]

wicked idea. your sitting on an excellent project. 12 months in the year 2003, need 12

plants to represent the months. Salvia of course, cannabis. Cacti species, San Pedro and Peyote. please include some mushroom months.

Id buy one for sure.

Dont forget the south american exotics.

Amazingly this site SAB is an excellent

grounding zone for further research into sacred plants.

[rkundalini]

Thanks for the support.

I agree with the comment about only one pic per month being a pity, I often think the same thing about other calendars. The other option is a diary with one pic per week (I loved my ACF Wilderness Diary last year) but I think there is less of a market for them (not everyone uses one, I only looked at the pictures for mine ), the pics would be much smaller, and they would cost way more to produce even though they couldn't be sold for huge amounts more than a 12-page calendar...

Also if this was successful it would be nice to do it for a few years, with different species each year, which would be a bit hard with 52 species per year.

Re plants while they are flowering, I thought the same thing about mushrooms (fruiting season), however (especially with mushrooms which can be indigenous in both hemispheres) you have the problem of which hemisphere you choose. Anyway minor detail .

Good point about the dangers of trying to sell calendars, since they get dated. I personally never use the date squares so to me it makes sense to get rid of them and double the size of the pictures. Then it just becomes a booklet of posters though, would this have less appeal to customers? The other option is to make each page correspond to a month and take the bottom third or so to list the important dates, but don't mention days of the week, so the calendar is good for any year....

[This message has been edited by rkundalini (edited 12 January 2002).]

[Torsten]

Originally posted by waterdragon:

the only problem is that you'd be restricted to 12 beauties per year. spose that would give one something to look forward to each year.

yes, I think it should be looked at as a 3 year project minimum. After 3 years it wouldn't matter if some of the same species turned up again. On the other hand you also don't want all the top or pop species in the first year.

might be a good idea to make them frame-able ie with no hole through the piccy.

definitely. I think one of those flip-over types would be best rather than the leaf-up type.

if indeed such a development came to fruition don't be slow to mention it on the forums.

I love this idea and it will come to fruition eventually. And I woulnd't have a problem pushing it like hell anywhere I can. It would have to be somewhat successful the first year to warrant keeping it going. With tha in mind I think breaking even would be a decent achievement for the first year.

btw - torsten - whatever happened to the botanic artist that you spoke of some time ago? i'm nearly certain it was u that mentioned it.

I know a couple of people, but neither got their shit together. I also know a couple of professional photographers who specialise in plant and nature close-up photos. They would probably be ideal for this calender as the photos would have to be taken with the calender in mind to produce a good enough quality and size..

[Torsten]

Originally posted by rkundalini:

Re plants while they are flowering, I thought the same thing about mushrooms (fruiting season), however (especially with mushrooms which can be indigenous in both hemispheres) you have the problem of which hemisphere you choose. Anyway minor detail .

I guess in such a case the country with the oldest traditional use can be the guide. If it is a neo-shamanic plant, then the country where it was first discovered. Arbitrary really, but at least a guide.

Good point about the dangers of trying to sell calendars, since they get dated. I personally never use the date squares so to me it makes sense to get rid of them and double the size of the pictures.

I think a single page calendar looks more attractive (ie the last month flips over the back). That means there is a strip at the bottom of the page for the dates (assuming all pics are wider than tall). The dates don't have to be big squares to put stuff into, but could just be little boxes or even just numbers in rows. basically most people use such calendars to check what day or date it is rather than as a diary.

Then it just becomes a booklet of posters though, would this have less appeal to customers?

yes. I believe so.

The other option is to make each page correspond to a month and take the bottom third or so to list the important dates, but don't mention days of the week, so the calendar is good for any year....

I personally find these calendars useless. For those who want to use them to check day and date they offer no help. And to write anythign on them is impratical, so they don't get used as a diary. I think the time limitation is a bullet we just have to bite.

[shroomy]

well i just got to say what a shit hot idea I would definetly buy one. dont be to slow on bringing it to life though theres been many a time i have thought of things and than 6 months latter bang there it is on the market.

[Herbmajik]

Xcellent Idea rkundalini, maybe you could ask for images from anyone who posts on any of the SAC forums .. the info on the plants , shrooms etc could include some of the medicinal uses as well where applicable . Go for it . If you do deciede to do it Torsten if I can be of any help on the medicinal side let me know .

[Torsten]

Originally posted by Herbmajik:

If you do deciede to do it Torsten if I can be of any help on the medicinal side let me know .

Good idea. A little text about the significance of the plant should be included somewhere - visible or not.

[anubian lights]

This idea has much potential, and many interesting points have been raised as to its fruitation. I feel for starters that if a calander format was decided, 12 ethnogen

plants/fungi..would have to be represented.

Other details such as text, chemical composition, cultural usage, growing cycles etc..format etc..will follow.

Lets try and get some agreement on the 12 teachers to be represented in this calender.

Im sure you have already thought of this rkundalini, but Id have to say you would already have Peyote, Salvia divinorum in your collection. The other 10 months Id love to hear suggestions!

[Torsten]

As I said before, maybe we should look at this as a 3 year project right from the start. Thus we should choose 36 plants. Once they are chosen we can then pick out the 12 best pics for the first year and work on getting better pics for thos plants that aren't up to scratch.

my suggestions:

Tabernanthe iboga

Brumansia sanguinea

Datura meteloides

Cannabis sativa

Rivea corymbosa

Ipomoea violacea

Lophophora williamsii

Trichocereus pachanoi

Erythroxylum coca

Anadenanthera colubrina

Areca catechu

Atropa belladonna

Catha edulis (rev how about it??)

Duboisia hopwoodii

Heimia salicifolia

Lobelia tupa

Lactuca virosa

Mitragyna speciosa

Nelumbo nucifera

Nicotiana rustica

Nicotiana tabacum

Papaver somniferum several varieties

Passiflora

Peganum harmala

Piper methysticum

Psychotria viridis

Salvia divinorum

Stipa robusta (reeeevillllle.....??)

Turnera diffusa

Psilocybe cyanescens

Psilocybe cubensis

Psilocybe mexicana

Psilocybe eucalypta

Ephedra sinensis

and the neoshamanics:

Acacia phlebophylla

Argyreia nervosa

many of these will be hard to get good photos of and some just aren't very photogenic, so the list needs to be expanded drastically.

[rkundalini]

I'd agree with Torsten and say let's not put all the usual suspects in the first year, because all familiar species will be a bit less interesting, as will all obscure species in following years.

I agree about the flip-book style, although I think this might turn out more expensive, probably it is worth it. I have a brilliant calendar like this with black and white landscapes from the Victorian Alps, the print quality is superb, perhaps I should call the publisher... anyway, I agree it is the nicest way to present. Then as you say, the dates+days of week (perhaps for two years). And also the paragraph of info and a list of relevant dates in spiritual/visionary traditions and modern history.

I agree that the highest quality of images is imperative, but I do think it is worth canvassing for contributions from the internet community before getting someone to fill in the gaps. There are a lot of mediocre photos out there but I think there are also might well be enough very good ones to make up most of the calendar. I suggest we get people to submit photos, bearing in mind the guidelines that they must have the negative or slide and it must

* be in vertical 35mm format (or able to be cropped to same aspect ratio)

* be sharp (focus & depth of field, no movement blur, pref. not too fast film)

* have the main subject take most of the frame (macro if necessary)

* have pleasing lighting and backdrop

* have pleasing composition

I think this is worth a try to start with and if we're not fully satisfied we can fill in all or some of it with more attempts or a professional's photos. It would be nice though for this to be an expression of the community as much of possible.

If we did it that way it would be more of a lucky draw on what people already have good photos of. But it is still fun to discuss what we would like to see. I would add to that list:

Hyoscyamus niger

Mandragora officinalis

Banisteriopsis caapi

Psychotria viridis or Diplopteris cabrerana

Mimosa hostilis

Virola spp

Trichocereus spp.

Lophophora spp.

Various other mexican "peyotes"

Sceletium tortuosum or friend

Pannaeolus cyanescens

Psilocybe semilanceata

Amanita muscaria

Claviceps purpurea

and perhaps scrap Turnera diffusa and Cannabis sativa (I agree it is important but photos always remind me of High Times and Playboy...)

[Torsten]

Originally posted by rkundalini:

I agree that the highest quality of images is imperative, but I do think it is worth canvassing for contributions from the internet community before getting someone to fill in the gaps.

depends very much on the size of the calendar too. A4 would take almost any decent photo, but by the time you enlarge it to 1.5X A4 or even larger than the image has to be really crisp. I notice a lot of the shortcomings when i scan and prepare photos for the site. They look good at normal res, but crap when enlarged even just a little bit.

I probably agree, but we should check out how text and days fit into the frame as well.

It would be nice though for this to be an expression of the community as much of possible.

Dan Lieberman was a professional photographer. He is the source of our iboga plants and his work should definitely be part of the calendar as a memorial to him.

I alos have a friend in Sydney who is professional photographer and she is also involved in the ethnobotany scene. I wasn't looking for complete outsiders - the pics need to not just be pretty, but also have meaning to all of us.

and perhaps scrap Turnera diffusa and Cannabis sativa (I agree it is important but photos always remind me of High Times and Playboy...)

cannabis should be in there, however not in the high times style. I just bought the most beautiful book about hash and the pictures are inspiring. If cannabis was to go in the calendar I would like to see a village plantation in Nepal with the local hash farmers in their traditional clothes and children playing in the hemp field. Definitely not another pic of a trichome close-up.

As for damiana, I must have been missing out. I have 4 pics in my collection and it is one of the hardest plants to get decent pics of. It is also a really pretty plant when snapped in the native habitat of textured desert rock outcrops etc. What damiana pics do they have in high times???

[Happas]

man that is a brilliantly concieved idea...i wanna buy one right now...where do i send my cash?

[rkundalini]

If you can get such a cannabis photo that would be fantastic . Damiana I only poopooed because it seems to be "very mild in its effects".

Definitely it would be great to include one of Dan Lieberman's photos if it could be got royalty-free.

I think we are thinking pretty much on similar lines with the need for quality, but I still would like to see photos from as many different people as possible. It is hard to take a (35mm) photo that can stand enlarging to 11x14 but if a person is competant, has a good camera and takes lots of photos they will have at least a few of that quality collected over the years. Multiply by 20+ people and you have the bulk of the calendar. Or if not, then we supplement where necessary with contributions from e.g. your pro friend.

[spiraleyes]

i think amanita muscaria should appear in december,hence christmas.

with a clear picture of christmas tree in the photo.

to me it seems clear-

christmas colours-red and white,

agarics only grow under birtch trees,

reindeer eat fly agarics,

rudolfs red nose,they can fly,

santa flys down the chimney(like a spirit).

stockings above the fire to dry(decarboxalate the ibotenic acid,)

tinsle looks pretty psychedelic to me,

the traditional colours of the siberian shamas is red orange and white,

santa to me equals shaman.

lots of other reasons.

james aurthor speaks alot about the mushroom-cristmas correlation.

calender sounds great.

very keen on photography.

ill help if i can.

i would love a series of long wooden frames with about six photos of each of my favourite plants in stages.

one of seeds-seedlings-month olds-year olds-flowering-dried,prepared sacrement,herb,medicine.

stages of mushroom life etc

i will have this some day soon,it would be nice to be able to make a limited adition of these.

not something for everybody,im sure they wouldnt be cheap,only for the serious plant enthusiast.

maybe other people who would also love this could say so and we could get some put together cheaper.

sounds like there will be some nice photos going around.

om

[spiraleyes]

im sure wandjina gardens would love a series.

what does wandjina mean anyways torsten?

[Torsten]

Originally posted by rkundalini:

If you can get such a cannabis photo that would be fantastic .

there is one in Laurence Cherniaks book on hashish. He is a professional photographer and hemp activist (among other things), so close enough to our community.

Damiana I only poopooed because it seems to be "very mild in its effects".

That's cos the active constituent is the essential oil, which is very volatile and usually absent by the time it arrives anywhere outside mexico. I know of people who get VERY strong effects from fresh leaf.

Definitely it would be great to include one of Dan Lieberman's photos if it could be got royalty-free.

I have had contact with his dad and i think he would be happy to have something lasting in Dan's honour. Dan was certainly one of the most important figures in african ethnobotany in my books. Not because of volume of work, but because of his honesty and dedication. Did you know his sister was the driver in the car accident that also killed Nicholas Saunders?!? I just can't get over how two such important people could die on South African roads pretty much the same way in such a short space of time.

Multiply by 20+ people and you have the bulk of the calendar.

agreed.

[shroomy]

um, just a thought but do you think maybe a general disclaimer about using such a calander for plant id would be appropiate. i can see some idiot looking at a nice cubensis piccy and than going out and picking phaloides. still a shit hot idea though.

[Torsten]

sure we can put a disclaimer is it. pity though, cos I am a firm believer in evolution (ie Darwin)

[shroomy]

Originally posted by Torsten:

sure we can put a disclaimer is  it. pity though, cos I am a firm believer in evolution (ie Darwin)    

lmfao ie:natural selection

[rkundalini]

Yep, good point shroomy.

Natural selection will still apply, only those who are so stupid as to go and eat some despite the disclaimer will die. But anyway I don't put that much faith in natural selection, if it really worked at killing off all the stupid people then parliament house would be a dangerous place to be...

Have you had a chance to speak to your printers yet Torsten?

[Torsten]

Originally posted by rkundalini:

Have you had a chance to speak to your printers yet Torsten?

Not touching any new projects till after EB2. We're moving house, moving shop, preparing for EB2 and will be looking after Christian, Claudia, Piers and a few others for a few weeks. Also clearing out dumpster after dumpster of crap from our new place.