“In his latest work, P. D. Newman builds upon his literary legacy into the domain of the ancient use of magical plant medicines in southeastern North America. A disciplined and visionary scholar, Newman ties the oral traditions and cosmologies of Indigenous peoples to carefully researched evidence of the use of mystical substances at sacred geographic sites. Newman has uncovered a secret connection between entheogenic and medicinal plants and the inspiration behind Mississippian iconography and cosmology. Indigenous spiritualists consumed these sacred medicines and looked to the cosmos to tell the story of the first humans, the Tree of Life, and the epic tales of the Thunder Twins—among many other mythological motifs. P. D. Newman raises the bar for Indigenous anthropologists and archaeologists to higher levels of thought regarding the formation and function of cosmology in ancient Native America.”
“P. D. Newman has written a remarkable and authoritative book that dramatically alters what we have long believed about Native American shamanism. He has masterfully uncovered and documented key aspects of the rituals involved in what is called the ‘Path of Souls’—the journey of the souls of the departed to the sky world and beyond. For those interested in the practices and beliefs of Native American mound builders, this is a must-read book that answers long-concealed mysteries.”
“P. D. Newman has produced a book with a rare and elusive combination of qualities: engaging, intellectually stimulating, and benefiting from sound scholarship and personal experience. His reconstruction of the interface between psychedelics and shamanic afterlife journeys among the Indigenous peoples of the Mississippi Valley is both inventive and original.”