Santa Claus, the Mushroom Shaman, Planetary Elf God

In this episode we explore the mysterious origins of Santa Claus. We will cover three alternative theories, firstly, that Santa was based on Siberian shamanism and hallucinogenic mushrooms, secondly, that he was based on fairy folklore, and third, that he is a representation of the pagan god, Saturn. Which, if any, of these is the truth, or is Santa some combination of all the above? 

Transcript

Many of us today take the image of Santa for granted. It is often thought of as a contrivance of the secular and commercial reinvention of Christmas. The origins of Santa, however, are shrouded in mystery, and have spurred much speculation and debate. In our last foray into the roots of Christmas, we discussed the most probable genesis of the mirthful, magic gift bearer, which included elements of the pagan Nordic religion, combined with the story of the altruistic St Nicholas of Myra. His modern portrayal is attributed largely to the poem by Clark Clement Moore, A Visit from St Nicholas, or Twas the Night Before Christmas. This however, does little to settle the matter, as we do not know the sources of his inspiration in writing the poem. Further obfuscation arises as legitimate doubts have been expressed as to whether or not Moore was the actual author. Whatever the case may be, it seems likely that the poem, as well as other works of the time that introduced Santa Claus to the modern western world, were based on more than one folkloric source traditions, and perhaps real historical practices. In this episode we will explore some of the lesser known possible roots of the man in the red suit.

Among the more fantastical theories on Santa’s beginnings, perhaps the most interesting is the idea that they are actually to be found within ancient Siberian shamanism, specifically in the use of the Amanita Muscaria, or fly agaric, psychedelic mushroom. This fungus was thought to have been used in shamanic rites to induce visionary trance states. According to anthropologist and university professor, John Rush, “Santa is a modern counterpart of a shaman, who consumed mind-altering plants and fungi to commune with the spirit world.” A number of aspects of Santa Claus folklore and the surrounding Christmas traditions have been suggested by researchers and even some academics to be symbolic of these practices. In this episode, we will break down these elements and discuss their possible corollaries.

Proponents of what we will refer to as the mushroom santa theory contend that the amanita muscaria, the habitat of which spans the temperate and boreal regions of the northern hemisphere, including Siberia, was harvested by shamans during the warmer months and given out as gifts to the locals during the winter solstice. They claim that, because it was common for heavy snow drifts to block the entrances to homes, the shamans would deliver sacks of mushrooms by dropping them down peoples’ chimneys. Another version of this narrative states that the shamans themselves would enter homes through the chimney in order to perform healing rituals. They were rewarded with food, and so were often heavy-set. The first similarity between amanita muscaria and Santa that immediately stands out is the coloration of the mushroom itself, which sports a bright red cap with white dots, and these colors, of course, are the same as Santa’s suit. It is alleged that the shamans would even dress in ceremonial garbs purposely made to resemble the mushroom. The ecology of this species of mushroom provides another possible connection to Christmas traditions. All fungi require shady, damp environments, and so they will often grow underneath trees. In boreal regions, this means that the mushroom will readily be found underneath pine trees. Thus, proponents of this theory suggest that this is the origin of the Christmas tree, and the placing of gifts under the tree, often wrapped in red and white packaging, are symbolic of the mushroom. In order to be preserved, mushrooms must be dried out, and in order to do this, the shamans would allegedly place them in the branches of trees, and thus we also have the predecessor to the Christmas ornament. 

The next most significant connection to Siberian shamanism is to be found in the concept Santa’s reindeer. Siberian peoples were known to have domesticated reindeer and used them for travel by pulling sleds. If the shamans indeed undertook yearly missions of fungal gifting, they would have certainly used reindeer sleds in making their rounds. Furthermore, reindeer were considered to be animals of great spiritual power. In 1821, New York publisher William Gilley printed the first work to feature Santa’s magic reindeer, the author of which remained anonymous. In an interview, Gilley stated “"Dear Sir, the idea of Santeclaus was not mine nor was the idea of a reindeer. The author of the tale but submitted the piece, with little added information. However, it should be noted that he did mention the reindeer in a subsequent correspondence. He stated that far in the north near the Arctic lands a series of animals exist, these hooven and antlered animals resemble the reindeer and are feared and honored by those around, as you see he claims to have heard they could fly from his mother. His mother being an Indian of the area." 

In the mushroom Santa theory, the magical aspects of Santa Claus are often attributed to the hallucinogenic properties of the amanita muscaria, in that they were inspired by the visions people had while under its influence. One proposed narrative is that as onlookers, who were tripping on shrooms, saw the shaman riding past, he and his reindeer might have appeared to be flying. The reindeer were also known to have a taste for the mushroom, so flying reindeer could refer to the animal's intoxication. Perhaps a more elegant explanation can be found in considering this as representative of the shamanic soul flight we explored in episode. 

Of course, no analysis of Santa Claus would be complete without discussing his elves. As we learned in episode *, an integral component of Siberian shamanism was the use of spirit helpers. Here we could make a connection to the idea that Santa relied on the aid of his elvish artificers. Furthermore, the association between elves, fairies, and mushrooms, is well established in folklore. It seems in this case, that psychedelic visions may indeed have served as some inspiration for the legend. Ethnobotanist and lecturer Terence Mckenna, who advocated the use of psychedelic plants, spoke of the entities often encountered during psychedelic experiences, which he termed the  machine elves. Encountering these beings is a remarkable phenomenon that is experienced almost universally among people who have psychedelic experiences. Studies and surveys are now being conducted which show recurring religious, supernatural archetypes which manifest in altered states of consciousness. Often these experiencers have no foreknowledge of the subject matter of their visions, and their contents are relatively uniform despite differences in personal and cultural backgrounds among the participants. These facets of the psychedelic experience have startling ontological implications, as we will explore in a later episode. 

As we know that Siberian shamanic traditions likely had an influence on the spiritual practices and beliefs in Northern Europe, it seems entirely possible that some of these elements could have been merged with the proto-Santa, Sinterklaas beliefs found in the Netherlands and surrounding areas, which featured magical reindeer that could walk on the roofs of houses. The strongest European link to Siberian shamanism, as we have learned, is to be found in Scandinavia, and Nordic mythology is generally accepted as a significant source of Santa Claus folklore. We also know that the Scandinavians used the amanita muscaria within a religious context as well. A final and obvious connection to be made is in the idea that Santa lives in the north pole, which resembles the cold arctic climate and northern geography of Siberia. 

Ronald Hutton refutes the mushroom santa theory, citing the lack of evidence of the amanita muscaria actually having been used by Siberian shamans. It is true that psychedelics were used sparingly, and that most shamans endeavored to be able to enter trance without relying on them. Many Siberian shamans have related to ethnographers that they were too powerful to need muscaria to tap into the spirit world. This, however, does not necessarily debunk the theory, which posits that the mushrooms were given out to ordinary people by the shamans so that people without shamanic ability could have visionary experiences that were normally inaccessible to them. As these types of experiences were highly valued in shamanic cultures as providing deep insight, essential for survival and well being, it seems well within reason to suggest that this would have been seen as an important shared religious rite that (bound the people together) during an important time of year. As the sun had halted its precession, in between the old year and the new, the winter solstice was considered a liminal time when the veil between worlds was thin, similar to Samhain. The sun, resuming its motion for the new year was then associated with rebirth.  Those who take a heavy dose of psychedelics often report feeling a sense of spiritual rebirth as a result of the experience, so it makes sense that such a rite would be undertaken during this time of year. At the very least, smaller doses of the amanita could have been a prescription for seasonal depression, as it is known to function as a mood elevator. As spiritual healers, providing this relief would sensibly fall within the purview of the shaman’s responsibilities.

Let us now put the mushroom aside, and take a look at some of the tie-ins between Santa Claus lore, paganism, and folk beliefs. “The origins of Moore's vision are unclear, although Arthur, Rush and Ruck all think he probably drew from northern Europe motifs that derive from Siberian or Arctic shamanic traditions. At the very least, Arthur wrote, "Santa's sleigh and reindeer are references back to various related Northern European mythology.” In looking at the names of the reindeer, the first link to Norse mythology is revealed. The names Donner and Blitzen are derived from the Dutch words for thunder and lightning. It was said that Thor, the god of thunder, traveled through the sky on a great chariot pulled by two magical goats. In Germany, Thor himself was referred to as Donner. 

The idea of Santa descending through a chimney, also has some interesting precedence within European folklore. Fairy folklore often features fairies of various kinds entering homes through chimneys. Supernatural beings of all kinds were believed to use chimneys to access the human world, for good or for ill. An interesting variation of the Santa Claus archetype is the good Italian witch, La Befana, who came down the chimney to leave presents in peoples shoes which were set near the fireplace. The belief in chimneys as an access point for the supernatural later became reinforced by Christianity. “During the 15th century, the French scholar Petrus Mamoris became concerned about a widespread belief that witches could pass through solid objects like walls and closed doors in order to enter homes. Believing Christians were granting too much power to the occult, Mamoris offered a practical explanation: witches, elves, and the like simply entered via the chimney. This idea gained widespread cultural currency.” Here the passing through the chimney is reduced to a physical rationale, as it is a literal opening to a home. The significance of the chimney, however, appears to run deeper. Author Holly Tucker explains, “The fairy’s descent through the chimney is highly symbolic. The hearth represents family, and smoke, the life, the “respiration” of its members. While it is a signifier for the closed family space, the chimney is also understood in folklore to have a mediating function. It links the earthly world with the spirit world and was understood to be a portal for witches on their way to Sabbath ceremonies. Moreover, the witch-fairy’s penetration of the enclosed family space through the chimney is not unlike that of the child’s passage through the birth canal.” The chimney is a microcosmic version of the axis mundi, the connection between the heavens and the earth, and so in essence was a liminal space. Recall in the Christmas episode the concept of the sacred fire, which was kept burning throughout the sun’s transition during the winter solstice, invoking the eternal power of divinity at the juncture between worlds, facilitating its manifestation on earth. In this sense, we can think of Santa’s gifts as representing the gift of the renewal of life. 

Among all possible sources, many elements of Santa Claus seem to draw significantly from fairy folklore. This is notably evident in the idea of gifting. As we previously learned in the first three episodes, there is a rich tradition of fairy gifting, where humans would make offerings to the fairies, and vice versa. These offerings could be made for appeasement, or in the case of house fairies, such as the brownie, for services rendered. We can see an obvious vestige of this tradition in the custom of leaving milk and cookies for Santa Claus, milk and sweets being favored by the fairies themselves. Of the many different fairy-like beings, of particular interest in this case is the Scandinavian Nisse or Tomte, the belief in whom appears to have been prevalent in the 17th century. The Nisse was said to take an appearance similar to a garden gnome, a small elderly man with a long white beard, donning a red cap, woolen tunic and stockings. In fact, in the original poem by Moore, Santa is described as a “jolly old elf” himself, who was small in stature. “The nisse traveled from home to home with his animal, known as the yule goat, knocking on peoples’ doors to hand out gifts. The Nisse was also associated with the fly agaric mushroom, and was said to bestow them as gifts. 

Recall that a prominent feature of the fairy temperament was judgment, and sometimes harsh punishment, handed out to offending humans. The Nisse was no exception to this. Aside from the obvious similarities in appearance, it seems the idea of Santa Claus passing judgment on children, determining whether they are naughty or nice, and either rewarding or punishing them accordingly, bears a remarkable similarity to this aspect of fairy folklore. In the older European Santa Claus traditions of the alpine regions, this connection is more apparent, as naughty children were in store for far worse than a lump of coal. In many of these versions of the legend, Santa is accompanied by a dark counterpart, whose job it was to deal with unruly children. The most notorious incarnation of this was Krampus, the horned Christmas devil who kidnapped the misbehaved and beat them with birch rods. 

A final consideration is the possible connection between Santa Claus and The Greco-Roman god Kronos, or Saturn and his corresponding planetary body. Esoteric author and lecturer Manly P Hall, a proponent of astrotheology, described a key interaction as the sun passes through the astrological house of Saturn, Capricorn, during the winter solstice. He writes, “Having been struck by Libra (the state), Scorpio (the church), and Saggitarius (the mob), the sun is secretly born through the darkness by the signs of Capricorn, Aquarius, and Pisces and buried over the brow of a hill (the vernal equinox). Capricorn has for its symbol an old man with a scythe in his hand. This is father time- the wayfarer. Saturn, the old man who lives at the north pole, and brings with him to the children of men a sprig of an evergreen (the Christmas tree), is familiar to the little folks under the name of Santa Claus, for he brings each winter the gift of a new year.” In the last episode we explored how Saturn was associated with limitations and endings, however, as a god of harvest, he also appears to represent new life and fruition. Therefore he is a fitting representation of the winter solstice, which contains both death and life. His positive aspect may well be Santa, while his negative aspect is represented in Santa’s dark counterpart.  

As we can see, the legend of Santa Claus is complex, and may owe its existence to many disparate preexisting beliefs, yet all of which unified thematically in the spirit of the winter solstice. Whether a mushroom, a saint, an elf, or planet, he undoubtedly represents joy, compassion, and the promise of divine renewal. I wish you all a most happy holiday. Merry Christmas, Good Yule, and Io Saturnalia.