Masters of the Outer Darkness
In his book “The Way of the Shaman” published in 1980 by Harper & Row, Michael Harner described in vivid detail the visions which manifested after he agreed to partake of the shaman’s sacred drink made from ayahuasca.
“As I stared upward into the darkness, faint lines of light appeared. They grew sharper, more intricate, and burst into brilliant colors. Sound came from far away, a sound like a waterfall, which grew stronger and stronger until it filled my ears……
“I heard the sound of water grow louder and I could see dim figures engaged in shadowy movements. As my eyes seemed to adjust to the gloom, the moving scene resolved itself into something resembling a huge fun house, a supernatural carnival of demons.
“In the center, presiding over the activities, and looking directly at me, was a gigantic, crocodilian head, from whose cavernous jaws gushed a torrential flood of water. Slowly the waters rose, and so did the canopy above them, and the scene metamorphosed into a simple duality of blue sky above and sea below. All creatures had vanished…..
“….now I was virtually certain I was about to die. As I tried to accept my fate, an even lower portion of my brain began to transmit more visions and information. I was “told” that this new material was being presented to me because I was dying and therefore “safe” to receive these revelations.
“These were the secrets reserved for the dying and the dead, I was informed. I could only very dimly perceive the givers of these thoughts: giant reptilian creatures reposing sluggishly at the lower depths of the back of my brain, where it met the top of the spinal column. I could only vaguely see them in what seemed to be gloomy, dark depths.
“Then they projected a visual scene in front of me. First they showed me the planet Earth as it was eons ago, before there was life on it. I saw an ocean, barren land, and a bright blue sky. Then black specks dropped from the sky by the hundreds and landed in front of me in the barren landscape.
“I could see that the “specks” were actually large, shiny, black creatures with stubby pterodactyl-like wings and huge whale-like bodies. Their heads were not visible to me. They flopped down, utterly exhausted from their trip, resting for eons. They explained to me in a kind of thought language that they were fleeing from something out in space. They had come to earth to escape their enemy.
“The creatures then showed me how they had created life on the planet in order to hide within the multitudinous forms and thus disguise their presence. Before me, the magnificence of plant and animal creation and speciation – hundreds of millions of years of activity – took place on a scale and with a vividness impossible to describe.
“I learned that the dragon-like creatures were thus inside of all forms of life, including man. They were the true masters of humanity and the entire planet, they told me. We humans were but the receptacles and servants of these creatures. For this reason they could speak to me from within myself.”
Some days later, when Michael had recovered from the ordeal that had brought him to the very brink of death, he decided to discuss his visions with the local Conibo shaman. This elderly man, who was blind, had made many excursions into the spirit world.
Referring to his notebook in which he had carefully recorded everything that he had seen and heard, Michael began to tell the old man about his extraordinary visions. When he came to the part involving the dragon-like creatures, he hesitated, as there was no word for dragon in the Conibo language.
Instead, he referred to them as giant black animals, something like great bats. To his astonishment, the old man casually waved his hand towards the sky. He stared up at Michael with sightless eyes and said: “They are the Masters of the Outer Darkness”.
