Tripping the Trail of Ghosts : Psychedelics and the Afterlife Journey in Native American Mound Cultures - P. D. Newman

Tripping the Trail of Ghosts

Psychedelics and the Afterlife Journey in Native American Mound Cultures

By: P. D. Newman, Christine VanPool (Foreword by)

Paperback | 11 March 2025

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Exploring psychedelic spiritual practices and afterlife beliefs among the Mississippi mound cultures

• Examines the Path of Souls or Trail of Ghosts, a Native American model for the after-death journey

• Demonstrates how psychoactive plants were used to evoke the liminal state between life and death in initiatory rites and spirit journeys

• Explores the symbology of the large earthwork mounds erected by the Indigenous people of the Mississippi Valley and how they connect to the Path of Souls

The use of hallucinogenic substances like peyote and desert tobacco has long played a significant role in the spiritual practices and traditions of Native Americans. While the majority of those practices are well documented, the relationship between entheogens and Native Americans of the Southeast—whose psychedelic use was just as sophisticated—has gone largely unexplored.

Examining the role of psychoactive plants in afterlife traditions, sacred rituals, and spirit journeying by shamans of the Mississippian mound cultures, P. D. Newman explores in depth the Native American death journey known as the “Trail of Ghosts” or “Path of Souls.” He demonstrates how practices such as fasting and trancework alongside psychedelic plants like jimsonweed, black nightshade, morning glory, amanita and psilocybin mushrooms, and an as-yet-undocumented analogue to ayahuasca were used to evoke the liminal state between life and death in initiatory rites and spirit journeys for shamans and chiefs. He explores the earthwork and platform mounds built by Indigenous cultures of the Mississippi Valley, showing how they quite likely served as early models for the Path of Souls. He also explores similarities between the Ghost Trail afterlife journey and the well-known Egyptian and Tibetan Books of the Dead.
Industry Reviews
“In his latest work, P. D. Newman builds upon his literary legacy into the domain of the ancient use of magical plant medicines in southeastern North America. A disciplined and visionary scholar, Newman ties the oral traditions and cosmologies of Indigenous peoples to carefully researched evidence of the use of mystical substances at sacred geographic sites. Newman has uncovered a secret connection between entheogenic and medicinal plants and the inspiration behind Mississippian iconography and cosmology. Indigenous spiritualists consumed these sacred medicines and looked to the cosmos to tell the story of the first humans, the Tree of Life, and the epic tales of the Thunder Twins—among many other mythological motifs. P. D. Newman raises the bar for Indigenous anthropologists and archaeologists to higher levels of thought regarding the formation and function of cosmology in ancient Native America.”

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