Nature worship is a religious devotion paid either to nature as a deified collective entity or to all things in nature, including the elements, celestial bodies, plants, animals, and humanity. The worship of the elements does not seem to occur in the most rudimentary religions but frequently arises in later stages of religious development. The worship of fire, found among many primitive peoples, reached its highest development in the ancient Parsis sect of Persia. Celestial bodies have been deified in the religious systems of primitive and highly civilised peoples alike. The Khoikhoi of South Africa worship the moon; sun worship was practised by the Iroquois, the Plains Indians, and the Tsimshian Indians of North America and reached a high state of development among the Indians of Mexico and Peru. The sun was also a Hindu deity, regarded as evil by the Dravidians of southern India, but considered good by the Munda of the central parts. The Babylonians were sun worshipers, and in ancient Persia worship of the sun was an integral
part of the cult of Mithra. The ancient Egyptians worshiped the sun god Ra; they also apotheosised the moon and the starSirius. Other Egyptian deities included the constellations and the circumpolar stars. Plants and trees have been worshiped as totems or because of their usefulness, beauty, or fear- inspiring aspect. They are considered either as holy in themselves or as the dwelling places of spirits. Both the soma plant of India and the coca shrub of Peru have been worshiped for the intoxicating properties of products derived from them. Field crops, regarded as harbouring spirits of fertility, have been worshiped both by primitive tribes and by the peasants of Europe, among whom traces of the cult may still be found. Research Nature Worship
Cola acuminata is a tropical African tree of the family Sternuliaceae. It produces the fruit known as the kola nut which forms the basis of Coca-Cola. Research Cola acuminata
Erythroxylon Coca is a South American shrub which grows from one to two metres tall and is cultivated for its leaves (Coca) which are a powerful stimulant and the alkaloid derived from the leaves, cocaine. Research Erythroxylon Coca
The kola nut (or guru nut) is the fruit of the tropical African tree, Cola acuminata of the family Sternuliaceae. The nuts are larger than walnuts, very bitter tasting and contain a large quantity of caffeine. They are eaten by the natives as a stimulant and form the basis of Coca-Cola. Research Kola Nut
St Nicholas is the patron saint of children. St Nicholas was the Roman pontiff Nicholas I also known as Nicholas The Great, who was pontiff from 858 to 867 and who excommunicated Photius of Constantinople, causing the separation of the Eastern and Western Christian Churches. Adopted as the personification of the spirit of Christmas, his Dutch name was corrupted in the USA during the 18th century into the modern 'Santa Claus'.
St Nicholas, as Father Christmas or Santa Claus is first mentioned in the poem 'Twas the Night Before Christmas' by Clement Clarke Moore, published in 1822. In this poem the description of St Nicholas as we know him today is first made, and not as many believe by a 1920's Coca-Cola advertisement! In the poem St Nicholas is described as: 'a little old driver, so lively and quick ... dressed all in fur, from his head to his foot...a bundle of toys he had flung on his back, and he looked like a peddler just opening his pack. His eyes - how they twinkled! his dimples how merry! His cheeks were like roses, his nose like a cherry! His droll little mouth was drawn up like a bow, and the beard of his chin was as white as the snow; the stump of a pipe he held tight in his teeth, and the smoke it encircled his head like a wreath; he had a broad face and a little round belly, that shook, when he laughed like a bowlful of jelly. He was chubby and plump, a right jolly old elf.' The poem also describes how he drives a sleigh pulled by eight tiny reindeer, and how he visits houses via the chimney and fills stocking left out by the children full of toys. Research St Nicholas
Cocaine (benzoylmethyl ecgonine) is an alkaloid derived from the leaves of the coca plant. It is a white crystalline powder used as a local anaesthetic and also, illegally, as a euphoric drug. Cocaine taken recreationally is cut into a fine powder, arranged in what is termed a line, and inhaled through the nose - typically through a rolled-up banknote. A form of cocaine, known as crack, is smoked.
Cocaine provides the user with about thirty minutes of good-feeling, users report an increase in awareness, self confidence and sexual pleasure - the cocaine prevents the re-absorption of dopamine in the brain. Taking alcohol with cocaine enhances the effect of the cocaine. However, after about thirty minutes the effects wear off and the users may be left feeling depressed and paranoid. Inhaling cocaine often causes irritation to the sinuses, a condition known as a Columbian cold, and prolonged use can destroy the lining of the nose. Some sources claim that cocaine can cause cardiac arrest or strokes through increased blood pressure. Research Cocaine
Tropacocaine is an alkaloid used as a local anaesthetic. It is obtained from coca leaves grown in Java and also produced synthetically. It is a powerful anaesthetic and is used in place of cocaine, over which it has the advantage of being more stable in solution, and the solution can be sterilised by boiling. Research Tropacocaine
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Research Nature Worship
