The Prince of Flowers

Xochipilli ("The Prince of Flowers"), is the Aztec god of art, beauty, song, dance, fertility and flowers. In the mid-19th century, a 16th century statue of the god was discovered on the side of the volcano Popocatepetl (Tlalmanalco, México)
The statue of the god, seated in an ecstatic state of consciousness upon a temple-like base, is covered - like the base itself - in carvings of sacred psychoactive plants such as mushrooms (Psilocybe aztecorum), tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum) and ololiuqui (Turbina corymbosa).
Currently the statue is exposed at the Museo Nacional de Antropologia in Mexico City. 
Xochipilli

Machu Picchu: Diverse Perspectives

Machu Picchu, the famous 15th century Inca  site, seen from different perspectives....a gallery of beautiful photos of this magical place and its enchanting atmosphere.....
See photos and description here 

Mushrooms and Religion in the New World

If you're interested in entheoarcheology don't miss this interesting and thorough study about Mushrooms and Religion in the New World before Colombus by archaeologist and Maya researcher Carl de Borhegyi (who also writes something interesting about 2012)

Ernst Haeckel: Art Forms of Nature

Ernst Haeckel (1834 - 1919) was a German philosopher, professor, physician, naturalist, biologist and artist. The Pinnacle of his work, Art Forms of Nature, was originally published in 1899 and still is an astonishing record of life on earth. When art and science combine, something sublime can pass to come...
( read more on kuriositas )
click on pix to biggify...

Peru's Entheogen Temples

Stanford University archaelogists and acousticians are studying ancient pre-Incan temples underground in Peru's Chavin de Huantar to understand the use of sound (conch shells) and light in combination with entheogens to induce MSC (Modified States of Consciousness) and mystical experiences.

"The sound is ancient and eerie. For a palpable sense of time, blow into the sawed-off spire of a conch. Feel the ache in your lungs and hear the oceanic roar as it vibrates the hefty shell in your hand.
In the Sanskrit epic the Mahabharata, the warriors blew conches to announce battle. In Buddhism, the conch's deep and penetrating drone proclaims the far reach of the dharma. Tibetan monks still use them to summon devotees.
But in the Andean sierra of South America, what did it mean when, three millennia ago, the pre-Incan residents of Chavín de Huántar raised those ornately decorated conch shells to their lips in the underground corridors of their temple?" 
(read more)