a quiet day at the temple

Havelock Ellis is widely known for his scientific studies of sex. He also was very interested in mind altering substances.

“On Good Friday I found myself entirely alone in the quiet rooms in the Temple which I occupy when in London, and judged the occasion a fitting one for a personal experiment. I made a decoction of three buttons of mescaline, the full physiological dose, and drank this at intervals between 2.30 and 4.30 p.m.

At first there was merely a vague play of light and shade which suggested pictures, but never made them. Then, in the course of the evening, they became distinct, but still indescribable-mostly a vast field of golden jewels, studded with red and green stones, ever changing. This moment was, perhaps, the most delightful of the experience, for at the same time the air around me seemed to be flushed with vague perfume.

Carole Bouquet played Melina HAVELOCK in For Your Eyes Only

I was further impressed, not only by the brilliance, delicacy, and variety of the colors, but even more by their lovely and various textures — woven, polished, glowing, dull, veined, semi-transparent — the glowing effects, as of jewels, and the fibrous, as of insects’ wings, being perhaps the most prevalent.

image of Victorian microslide found here

It occurred to me that it would be interesting to have the experiences of an artist under the influence of mescal, and I induced an artist friend to make a similar experiment. To make sure of success the experiment was repeated with four buttons, which proved to be an excessive and unpleasant dose. There were paroxysmal attacks of pain at the heart and a sense of imminent death, which naturally alarmed the subject.

(feeling alarmed by imminent death)

Mescaline is used in the peyote religion of the Native American Church.

“The evangelistic spread of what is commonly called Peyotism is well documented . Aside from North American peyotism being an inter-tribal affair, there have at times been mixed or all-race NAC groups, anglo-american and afro-american groups or members.

Peyote church fan found here

An unusual case of harassment under the Drug Control Act took place in North Dakota, in October 1984, when a white couple, Mr. and Mrs. John D. Warner, were arrested by the FBI for possessing peyote, a controlled drug. The two were members of the NAC of Tokio,  North Dakota, and had been for a number of years, and Mrs. Warner was custodian of the supply of peyote for the Tokio congregation. A jury in Grand Forks Federal Court found the defendants innocent of breaking the law, since they were able to prove that although they were not Indians, nevertheless they were members in good standing of the local congregation of peyotists. The charges were dismissed.”

I found the image of a peyote button at this link where you can read the story of another peyote enthusiast who considers it a key element to his religious beliefs