Visions of a Huichol Shaman Book

This book features the yarn paintings of the Huichol Shaman, Jose Benitez Sanchez. It does a good job of presenting them in their proper context and briefly deals with the endangered nature of the traditional religion of the Huichol people and their sacramental plant, the peyote cacti. Due to environmental, cultural and economic factors, the Huichol's traditional ways of knowledge, healing and divination have been marginalized. To make matters worse, grazing of livestock and amateur peyote enthusiasts have endangered the survival of an already rate cacti in its native habitat.

The first time I saw a Huichol yarn painting, I was blown away - these images are striking and visionary in nature. The Huichol Shamans use brightly colored yarn which is pressed into a beeswax layer on a board backing to represent visions and communications from animal spirits while in a trance induced by ingesting peyote in a ritual setting. The lessons and parables which are communicated via the communion with the plant spirit are translated into a visual art form that is beautiful. I see something new each time I look at these yarn paintings, and they take on an entirely new dimension when viewed under the right circumstances and/or state of mind.

To anyone who has not yet viewed a Huichol yarn painting, I would encourage you to seek some out. Just do a google search for "Huichol yarn painting" and you will find many resources online. This book is one of the best art books I have acquired in the past year and I cherish it! It is not large, and I am left wanting more, but the contents are wonderful enough to easily warrant five stars, in my opinion.

On a side note, if you are interested in peyote conservation, please support the Peyote Way Church and other peyote and cacti conservation efforts. Too many people plunder the natural wonders of our world without giving anything back. I endeavor to be one of the contributors that leaves things better off rather than worse!