Approaching Ganja
Ganja has a long history in cultures around the world. This blog article describes my current understanding of approaching Ganja as a plant spirit teacher based on my experiences. This is an initiatory path, and at the time of this writing, incomplete.
Approaching Ganja
I refer to the plant spirit by the name “Ganja” because it appears in a Sanskrit mantra. I have been able to contact the spirit with the mantra. According to wikipedia, gañjā refers to product made from the flowers of the plant, with other names referring resin, seeds, and leaves.
The Sanskrit mantra I used is:
om shiva shankara hari hari ganja
Mantras do not work for everyone. Many people need to be initiated – attuned – to be able to use mantras. Some people have a siddhi that allows them to connect with a mantra. Generally though, initiators have been authorized by their teachers and the spirits of the lineage to initiate and transmit to the next generation.
Sometimes, lineages are lost.
I have never tried to connect someone else to the plant spirit, though I have been able to invoke Ganja after taking care to set up a ceremonial space. I did this with the intention to work with Ganja, and possibly recover an initiatory path. This leads to the first in a series of tests.
Other Names
Ganja also showed me how invoking her as Marijuana in North America honors her role as a master plant teacher in North America, coordinating with other plant teachers.