The Green Thread: Cannabis, Mushrooms, and the Long Journey Back
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Before speaking about cannabis through the long lens of history, I want to begin with the present, with my own body, my own journey.
For years I lived with relentless pain. Complications from pituitary surgery, an eroded embolisation coil, and a tangle of conditions that traditional medicine struggled to balance left me exhausted and suffering. When I finally received a prescription for medical cannabis, I was desperate for relief.
That first weekend, I followed the doctor’s instructions and took the oil exactly as prescribed. What happened was life-changing, and not in the simple way I expected. At the time, I had undiagnosed Cushing’s disease from a pituitary macroadenoma, which meant my body was producing cortisol at extreme levels day and night. My undercurrent was anxiety. Cushing’s and anxiety walk hand in hand, and in that state cannabis amplified what was already there. The result was that I became so anxious I could not leave the house.
But alongside the anxiety came something else. My pain, which had been a constant 8 to 10 out of 10 from coils eroding through the vein walls in my pelvis after embolisation treatment, dropped to a 2 or 3 within hours. The agony that had defined every waking moment lifted in a way I had not thought possible.
That contrast taught me something important: cannabis amplifies. It heightens what is already under the surface. If your body is flooded with stress or anxiety, that may be the first thing you feel. And many people, I suspect, give up at that stage, not realising that underneath the noise, profound relief is already taking place.
For me, the breakthrough came when I learned the importance of balance. My first prescription was pure THC, but I quickly discovered that CBD is just as crucial. Every formula I now use contains both THC and CBD, often in equal measure, sometimes with more CBD depending on what my body needs. This combination steadies me, softens anxiety, and allows the physical benefits of cannabis to shine through.
As my dowsing practice developed, I began applying it directly to my prescriptions. I check in with my guides to understand which oil will best support me, and I work with my doctor to ensure I receive what aligns with my highest good. This practice has refined my use of medical cannabis in a way I could never have achieved otherwise. It has been costly and complex, but the insight has given me a level of freedom I did not think was possible.
Ancient Fires and Sacred Oils
Cannabis is not new. Archaeologists have found cannabis resin in ritual fires from Mesopotamia to Siberia. The Scythians are said to have inhaled hemp smoke in ceremonial tents. In India, cannabis has long been honoured as sacred to Shiva.
Some biblical scholars argue that “kaneh-bosm” in Hebrew texts may have referred to cannabis, included in the holy anointing oil. Whether or not this is accepted universally, it suggests a thread running deep: cannabis as sacred plant, woven into prayer and healing.
Mushrooms, too, appear across cultures as “flesh of the gods.” Both cannabis and mushrooms have been humanity’s companions in looking beyond the veil.
From Village Healers to Witches’ Trials
In medieval Europe, hemp was everywhere, grown for fibre, rope, and cloth. But it was also tinctured, poulticed, and likely smoked or infused by herbalists and midwives. Alongside mushrooms, mandrake, and other visionary herbs, cannabis belonged to the healer’s pharmacopeia.
Yet these practices drew suspicion. The Church, wary of plants that opened perception, branded them dangerous. The healers who worked with them became the witches of folklore, persecuted not only for their independence but for their knowledge of plants that dissolved rigid boundaries.
Apothecaries and Prohibition
By the Victorian era, cannabis tinctures were common medicines. They were prescribed for insomnia, pain, and melancholy, often alongside opium or coca. Writers and artists leaned on them for creative expansion.
But in the twentieth century, politics and prejudice combined to criminalise cannabis. What had been ordinary became forbidden. Prohibition was not a return to tradition, but a rupture.
A Return, Not an Innovation
Today, cannabis is slowly reclaiming its place. Legalisation is spreading. Universities are researching what village healers already knew. In truth, we are not inventing new knowledge, but remembering.
For me, this remembering is deeply personal. Cannabis is not only symptom relief, but part of my awakening. By combining it with dowsing, with ritual, with meditation, I see it as an ally for aligning body and spirit.
Beyond Symptom to Spirit
Cannabis, psilocybin, and other natural entheogens are not simply substances. They are catalysts. They dissolve the walls of ordinary thought, opening us to creativity, compassion, and glimpses of higher dimensions.
Meditation deepens this effect. When I sit in stillness with the oils or vapour moving through my body, the experience shifts. The relaxation and pain relief are there, yes, but layered on top is a profound sense of expansion. Cannabis amplifies the body’s capacity to settle, while meditation directs that settling toward healing and connection. The two practices together open a doorway: one through the body, the other through the spirit.
This is also when my guides come closest. The chatter of the mind quiets, and I feel their presence and insights more clearly. Cannabis steadies my body enough to sit with ease, and meditation transforms that state into communion.
It is not fanciful to imagine that in Merlin’s time, cannabis and mushrooms were part of the healer’s kit. The archetype of the wizard is, after all, the one who knows the herbs that bridge the seen and unseen.
Closing Thought
Prohibition was only a pause. The green thread has never truly been broken. It has lived in folklore, in hidden practice, and in the resilience of those who knew its worth.
Now, we are invited to welcome these plants openly once again. Not as commodities, not as forbidden fruits, but as companions for health, for creativity, and for awakening.
For me, cannabis is not only medicine. It is part of my healing story, my spiritual practice, and my mission to help others reclaim what has always been theirs: the wisdom of the plants, and the freedom they bring.