The Spiritual Meanings of Birds. Birds have inspired humans throughout history with their ability to rise above the Earth.
Birds soaring through the air stir our souls, motivating us to rise above earthly concerns and learn about the spiritual realm. Birds and angels share a bond, because both symbolize the beauty of spiritual growth. Additionally, angels often appear with wings. People sometimes see birds appear before them to deliver spiritual messages. They may encounter angels in the form of birds, see images of a beloved bird that has died and believe it is acting as a spirit guide, or glimpse bird images, or animal tokens, symbolizing something God wants to communicate. Angels as Birds Angels are associated with birds more than any other animal because angels that appear to humans in heavenly glory sometimes feature wings. In "A Small Book of Angels," author Eugene Stiles writes: Hallucinations: Symptoms, Signs, Causes & Treatment. Ergot: Uses, Side Effects, Interactions, Dosage, and Warning. Ergot is UNSAFE.
There is a high risk of poisoning, and it can be fatal. Early symptoms of poisoning include nausea, vomiting, muscle pain and weakness, numbness, itching, and rapid or slow heartbeat. Ergot poisoning can progress to gangrene, vision problems, confusion, spasms, convulsions, unconsciousness, and death. Special Precautions & Warnings: It is UNSAFE for anyone to use ergot, but some people have extra reasons not to use it: Pregnancy and breast-feeding: It’s UNSAFE to use ergot. Heart disease: Ergot can narrow blood vessels and make heart disease worse. Kidney disease: People with kidney problems are not able to flush ergot out of their bodies well enough. Liver disease: People with liver problems are not able to remove ergot from their bodies well enough. Narrowing of the blood vessels that supply the legs and feet (peripheral vascular disease): Ergot can narrow blood vessels and make this condition worse.
WATCH: This Hallucinogen Might Have Sparked The Salem Witch Trials. Between February 1692 and May 1693, more than 19 people were executed in Salem, Massachusetts, for being suspected witches.
As you probably know, this odd moment in US history became widely known as the Salem witch trials, which saw a small puritan town collectively lose its mind after a series of young girls reportedly suffered attacks from 'supernatural beings'. Many of these attacks were reported by other villagers, who saw people start to shake, experience pain, fainting spells, and just act plain weird in ways that couldn’t be explained by the doctors of the time. The strange symptoms caused panic among the masses, who ended up blaming witchcraft. While a number of researchers have weighed in on what happened in the town, with many of them marking up the event as a case of mass hysteria, political manoeuvring, or the town’s weighty puritan belief system gone wrong, there might be a more evidence-based reason for why the town experienced such 'attacks'.
No. 1037: Rye Ergot and Witches. Today we ask: Is it from God?
Is it from the Devil? Or is it from the bread we eat? The University of Houston's College of Engineering presents this series about the machines that make our civilization run, and the people whose ingenuity created them. In 1976 Linnda Caporael offered the first evidence that the Salem witch trials followed an outbreak of rye ergot. Ergot is a fungus blight that forms hallucinogenic drugs in bread. I have eaten your bread and salt. I'm John Lienhard at the University of Houston, where we're interested in the way inventive minds work.
Ergot Poisoning Theory: Fact or Fiction? - Ergot Poisoning Theory. Caporael isn't pulling her theory out of thin air.
The historian researched the growing season of rye -- the grain on which ergot seems to grow most easily. She found that there had been a wet summer in Salem, Massachusetts prior to the winter of 1692, and ergot spreads most easily in damp weather. The historian also researched where the households of the girls who suffered the fits the villagers concluded was bewitchment got their grain. The first two afflicted, Elizabeth Parris and Abigail Williams, were cousins and lived beneath the same roof, so they both would have eaten the same grain. Moreover, two-thirds of the salary of their provider, the Reverend Parris, was paid in goods -- like grain -- rather than currency [source: Caporael]. The ergot-poisoning theory certainly seems to explain the afflictions the girls underwent, but the idea has come under attack since it was first introduced in 1976.
For more information on witchcraft and other related topics, visit the next page.