Pharmako Trilogy

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The Pharmako Trilogy is a trilogy by author Dale Pendell, published by Mercury House. The books are Pharmako/Poeia (1995), Pharmako/Dynamis (2002), and Pharmako/Gnosis (2005). The books discuss plant powers and teachers, poisons, and herbcraft - that is, psychoactive plants - in an alchemical context, dealing with the way such plants influence individuals and societies.

Contents

[edit] Structure

While the books are divided logically - with chapters for each substance as well as for other relevant topics, such as alchemy, - each chapter is divided into several small sections ranging from a few words or a paragraph to several pages of text. The organization of the chapters holds to an overall scheme, following (loosely) Louis Lewin's system of classifying psychoactive plants.

[edit] Chapter Organization

Each of the chapters in the Pharmako series of books that focuses on a substance is divided into several sections designated by margin headings. While there are numerous different headings used in each chapter, several recurr quite often.

Each chapter focusing on a substance generally starts out with:

Common Names 
different names used to describe the plant (i.e.: for the chapter on Cannabis sativa, Pendell provides:

Hemp, marijuana, dope. AKA bhang, ganja, hashish, mota, weed, grass, et cetera ad infinitum

Related Species 
other plant species related either by taxonomy or active substance.
Taxonomy 
the plant's position in Linnaean taxonomy, usually accompanied by an explanation.
The Plant 
descriptions of the plant and its tendances; this section tends to recurr throughout the chapters.
Part Used 
the portion of the plant used.
Pharmacology/Toxicology 
replaces Taxonomy and The Plant in the case of psychoactive chemicals (though it shows up occasionally in plant-oriented chapters), describing the chemical's direct effects on the nervous system.
How Taken 
the method of "taking" the plant, whether smoked, injected, swallowed, etc.

The rest of each chapter focusing on a substance may contain one or more of the following:

The Ally 
loosely, the substance or effects of the substance personified or deified. See below.
Effects 
the perceived psychological, spiritual, and physiological effects of the substance on the subject. May be specific to a method of ingestion.
Class 
an explanation of the classification of the substance. See below.
Chemistry 
the active substance of the plant, its history, and place in society.
History 
the background of the plant, both evolutionarily and in society. May be specific to one particular society or geographic location.
Signatures 
occurences of the Ally in literature, society, or common knowledge.
Poesis 
describing how to generate the Ally: this can mean either growing a plant or extracting its active principle, or how to generate a psychoactive chemical.
Matters of State and Liberty 
legal issues surrounding the substance in question.
Other headings 
specific to each plant, regarding attributes that don't fall under the other headings. In some cases, a story is told throughout a chapter, broken up into one recurring heading.

Another common feature is Correspondences sections. These provide lists of abstract correspondences between ideas and objects, such as color, archetype, Ritual Event, and planet. While these occur in several chapters - even several times per chapter - they do not show up in all.

[edit] Classification

Pendell uses a modified version of Louis Lewin's system of classifying psychoactive substances based on their pharmacological effects. Pendell arranges his modified classes of psychoactives at the points of a pentagram as such:

Inebriantia 
substances inducing inebriation.
Thanatopathia 
poisonous substances.
Excitantia 
stimulating substances.
Phantastica 
substances inducing visions.
Euphorica 
substances inducing euphoria.

Making a complete graph out of the pentagram, he relates each node to another to generate ten other derivative classes:

A diagram of Pendell's Classification
A diagram of Pendell's Classification
Hypnotica 
between Thanatopathia and Inebriantia
substances inducing sleep.
Metaphysica 
between Inebriantia and Euphorica
substances bringing to mind the idea of being.
Evaesthetica 
between Euphorica and Phantastica
tactile or sensual substances.
Telephorica 
between Phantastica and Excitantia
substances combining delerium and stimulation.
Charismatica 
between Excitantia and Thanatopathia
empowering substances.
Pacifica 
between Thanatopathia and Euphorica
substances bringing (moral) peace.
Empathogenica 
between Euphorica and Excitantia
substances inducing empathy.
Rhapsodica 
between Excitantia and Inebriantia
substances inducing song.
Existentia 
between Inebriantia and Phantastica
substances bringing to mind existence.
Daimonica 
between Phantastica and Thanatopathia
substances inducing delerium.

The first book, Pharmako/Poeia (1995) includes the classes Inebriantia, Thanatopathia, Rhapsodica, Euphorica, Pacifica, Existentia, Evaesthetica, and Metaphysica.

The second book, Pharmako/Dynamis (2002) encompasses Excitantia, Charismatica, and Empathogenica.

The third book, Pharmako/Gnosis (2005) includes the rest of the classes, Phantastica, Telephorica, and Daimonica. It includes an additional class, Oneirophorica - dream-inducing - containing Peganum harmala which is positioned somewhere in the center of the mandala.

Hypnotica is not mentioned.

[edit] Themes

There are several themes that last throughout the trilogy, including the idea of a Poison Path, Plant people, and the idea of plant Allies.

The Poison Path sometimes refers to the path through life taken by someone investigating, ingesting, or otherwise dealing with these substances, and at other times, the path taken along a relationship with one particular substance or another; plant people being those that follow along such paths.

[edit] Allies

The effects or reactions to each substance is personified or objectified in the form of an "Ally". In each Ally heading of each chapter, the effects are taken in an abstract, nearly anthropomorphized context. This can take the form of a conversation between the author and himself (see below), a description of what people encounter having ingested the substance, describing the effects in a round-about way, obfuscated poetry, or anecdotal warnings.

Throughout the series, Pendell often writes in an indented italic style. These comments are generally about the surrounding text and often break the fourth wall, addressing the reader, talking about the author, or the process of writing. Many times, however, the "play the part" of the plant Ally being discussed, or provide further, more personal descriptions.

[edit] Writing Style

The style of writing in the Pharmako trilogy is decidedly poetic, often straying from the topic at hand, whether the topic is the synthesis of a chemical, or a first-hand account of a psychedelic experience. Grammar is often sparse, with sentences being left in intelligible fragments instead of flushed out, particularly when describing a more abstract concept.

[edit] Imagery

Many images accompany the text, usually in the margins, sometimes inline, and occasionally taking up a whole page. Woodcuts, other prints, and simple drawings are represented most often, with more in-depth drawings and paintings following that, with photos being in the minority of images. The relevance of each picture is not immediately apparent.

[edit] References

  • Pendell, Dale (1995). Pharmako/Poeia. Mercury House, San Francisco, California. ISBN 1-56279-069-2
  • Pendell, Dale (2002). Pharmako/Dynamis. Mercury House, San Francisco, California. ISBN 1-56279-125-7
  • Pendell, Dale (2005). Pharmako/Gnosis. Mercury House, San Francisco, California. ISBN 1-56279-130-3

[edit] External Links

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