The Eternal Return of Mysticism
摘要
The central issue raised in this chapter is the emergence of neo-shamanic psychedelic churches in Brazil that claim to have roots in the Catimbó/Jurema Sagrada traditions of the Northeastern region of the country where the black jurema tree (Mimosa tenuiflora) grows and is traditionally used by Indigenous peoples. Two examples are offered, together with biographical sketches of their founders: the IDMT (acronym in Portuguese for Church of the Divine Master on Earth), a single-person congregation registered by Mark Collins in Fortaleza, Ceará, and the Igreja Mirífica Eterna (Eternal Mirific Church), initiated by Jan Clefferson de Freitas and 14 other psychonauts in Natal, Rio Grande do Norte. The author argues that this is not a new phenomenon, as it revives the wave of American psychedelic churches born in the mid-twentieth century researched by J. Christian Greer, who criticizes the expression “Psychedelic Renaissance” and its perennialist inspiration.