In my film Psilocynthesis (2021), I aimed to explore the connection between plant magic and modern plant medicine and audiovisually demonstrate the way certain plant medicines are utilized in order to increase one’s nature relatedness.
My film’s cosmology is rooted in Al-Kindi’s Stellar Ray Theory, in that the woman is granted access to perceive these rays that are emitted by all things (in her case, plants) once she consumes the psilocybin capsule. Her ability to suddenly perceive that which goes unperceived is also one of the main elements of magic in my film. I revealed this ability through the use of biodata sonification recordings to represent the audible rays that are being emitted from the plants upon physical contact. The decision to use biodata sonification recordings for the audible rays was also significant in that the device I used actually recorded a musical interpretation of the live microcurrent fluctuations occurring across the surface of a leaf, further linking this concept to Al-Kindi’s Ray Theory.
I drew inspiration for the preparation scenes from Malloy and Sniadecki’s A Shape of Things to Come (2020) and attempted to recreate the meticulous preparation process that is shown in the film. The drawn out and detailed process of gathering ingredients and combining them is also meant to reflect the highly specific nature of the recipes and instructions found within the Picatrix. Additionally, the macro shots of the plants ‘singing’ later on were inspired by the extreme close-ups in Jackson’s Lichen (2019) as I aimed to present the plant’s unique point of view and emphasize the importance of the physical connection occurring.
The transformation scene in which the woman sits in front of the window and seemingly melts into a brighter, clearer reality is inspired by concepts discussed in Pollan’s How to Change Your Mind, such as the apparent shift in consciousness and increase of interconnectivity between neurons within the brain that occurs when psilocybin is ingested. This increase in neural activity allows for a hypothetical ‘reset’ of the mind, making it easier to shift deeply ingrained habits and addictions (Pollan 2019). This ‘reset’ is visually represented by the way the woman’s sweater fades from black to floral pink after she ingests the capsule. Furthermore, her decision to hang the birdfeeder immediately after the shift in consciousness is another reference to the increase of nature relatedness experienced on psilocybin.
Finally, there is reference to Talismanic magic in the close-up shots of the altar where we see numerous objects from or representing nature or spirituality in some form (chestnuts, pigs skull, figurines, preserved insects). The sacred nature of the altar is established through the slow panning close-ups of the items. Considering the rather personal nature of this film, I also decided to feature a woman as the main character in order to ground her in reality and provide an alternate approach to the gritty and untamed nature of the male lead in A Shape of Things to Come.
