Letter of the Week

Every week, on this page, we will show a different letter from a selection of letters from Paul O'Prey's books on Robert Graves correspondence In Broken Images and Between Moon and Moon.

Date: 07 FEB 1960

Recipient: Wasson, Gordon (1898-1986)

Location: Canellun

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Deyá

7 February 1960

My dear Gordon:

Thank you ever so much, and ever so much over again for your kindness to me and Jenny: crowned by the kindness of Jan. 31st. That was not merely a red-letter day but a day marked with all the colours of a celestial rainbow.

One result is that I am now able to see pictures in my mind far more clearly than I did before: the mushrooms seem to have broken down some sort of barrier between thought and vision — not completely yet, but noticeably.

I have no doubt at all but that the mushroom should be restored among Europeans and people of European descent to its original (presumed) position in religion: first of all as an initiation ceremony to religion at puberty; then as a heightening of the marriage rite; finally as a viaticum — so that when the door of heaven opens one really enters and sees those one has loved.

Jerome Robbins's remark was one with which I concurred wholeheartedly: 'Why reserve these drugs for the mentally sick? They should be given to the mentally whole. Especially to poets and artists.' I'm glad you liked Jess; she's pure gold. I have heard of a man being given the psilocybin treatment at Los Angeles -— at 100 dollars a treatment — 14 treatments. But when I heard that he had seen himself as a Samurai warrior, and again had the experience of a return to the womb, I felt that the drug was in the wrong hands —~ I suspected that the doctor who was present with a notebook was wishing the visions on him, just as Freud and Jung's pupils dream the dreams expected of them by their masters. And one should not be given the food of the gods unless in a state of grace.

— Jenny suggested that she and the rest of us should write out our experiences with an introduction by yourself . . . I think I was the only person to notice that you alone did not reveal your vision; and I understood why. We were neophytes; you were an adept and we weren't in your class. But I could at least see that you were in a state of grace, and also that you saw things indescribable: your face glowed like Moses on his descent from Sinai.

When one has had this experience. everything else seems dull; except returning to Beryl and my family, which was better than ever.

On the way across France to Geneva by Swiss Air Tomas remarked: 'I wonder why that propeller isn't going round?' The pilot also noticed this odd phenomenon — it was a 2-engined plarie — and hurried us back to London. The air hostess broke two coffee cups in her emotion.

Much love to Masha and yourself. Beryl and I shall be coming over early in May and making the Buffalo ceremony the finale on May 15th. I hope that will mean that Masha and John can see us here; and that we can stay a while with you.

Dr Engler sent me a Christmas card. Good! His address is: Dr Engler, Almirante, Panama. ('Almirante' seems to be a town or village.)

If as I imagine the priestess is the original mystagogue, not the priest, she will have been Semele, Dionysus's mother, in the European rites; her child is a God but she is very much his mother. Laughs and plays with him. - I feel that we as well as the Indians should have expert curanderas too: women with the necessary [ ] balance, humour, courage and discretion. There are such about. [ ] nothing with their talents.

Yours ever affectionately

Robert