Song of Solomon 5
1 I am come into my garden, my sister, my spouse: I have gathered my myrrh with my spice; I have eaten my honeycomb with my honey; I have drunk my wine with my milk: eat, O friends; drink, yea, drink abundantly, O beloved.
Our narrator is ready to imbibe. Coming into the garden is the metaphor for this as will become apparent. After gathering the myrrh with the spice its time to eat the honeycomb with the honey, to drink the wine with the milk. No one would really be drinking wine mixed with milk. Wine here does not mean the common wine, made with fermented grapes. The Hebrew word translated as wine is “yayin” and it means intoxication as well as wine, there are lots of various types of intoxication besides alcohol. In the ancient world the herbalists knew very well what the chemist knows today, that some alkaloids are soluble in water and some are not. Those alkaloids that are not water-soluble are soluble in alcohol. Wine and strong drink are both terms used to describe liquids that can carry a wide variety of intoxicating substances. The party has begun in this verse; our narrator has invited friends (real or imagined) to join in.
2 I sleep, but my heart waketh: it is the voice of my beloved that knocketh, saying, Open to me, my sister, my love, my dove, my undefiled: for my head is filled with dew, and my locks with the drops of the night.
Amanita intoxication has a particular effect that is unique to most substances. The body tends to fall asleep but the mind is wide-awake. Here this effect is described, as the heart being awake while the person is asleep. The voice of the beloved knocking is another description of this stage in the intoxication. Also we see the common switching back and forth between first person narrative and second (the beloved). “Open to me my sister, my love, my dove for my head is filled with dew” brings out all sorts of wild speculation as to what is going on in this part of the song. As previously explained these are all homologues for the mushroom and “open to me’ means to allow entrance into the heavenly realms while “head filled with dew” means the intoxicant is in full swing and the peak experience is at hand. Another effect that the mushroom produces in abundance is sweating. “Locks filled with the drops of the night” is none other than the profuse sweating associated with the Amanita muscaria intoxication.
3 I have put off my coat; how shall I put it on? I have washed my feet; how shall I defile them?
To put off ones coat is to become free, how can you put it back on afterwards? This is what is happening to our narrator. The intoxicant has propelled the imbiber into a state of divine grace, into the heavens, the presence of the Lord. When this happens the clothes come off because it is a natural effect. Don’t be surprised if you are in the company of someone that takes the Amanitas and they strip off all of their clothes and run around naked. When Adam and eve became ashamed of their nakedness in the Garden of Eden they covered themselves. This was the sign that they had fallen from divine grace. The same metaphor is the washing of the feet. To wash ones feet is to become purified, cleansed, washed from the bondage of sin. When you take the Amanitas and become one with god it becomes very difficult to return to the mundane world, once again become defiled and willingly put back on the clothes of that fall from divine grace.
4 My beloved put in his hand by the hole of the door, and my bowels were moved for him.
Suddenly comes the urge to defecate. The mushroom inside is wanting out thus are the symptoms described as “My beloved put in his hand by the hole of the door” expelling the mushrooms can be a traumatic experience and strange as it may seem to the uninitiated this requires mention (as evidenced by or narration) thus the resulting explanation “my bowels are moved for him” is not shockingly out of place but a simple fact of life and of the experience.
5 I rose up to open to my beloved; and my hands dropped with myrrh, and my fingers with sweet smelling myrrh, upon the handles of the lock.
The effects are subsiding quickly and so the initial impulse is to open the lock again, take more mushrooms and regain the experience. The Hebrew word translated here as “handles” is “kaph” and means an empty hand or the hollow of the hand. This seems to indicate that there were no more mushrooms. The “hands dropped with myrrh, and my fingers with sweet smelling myrrh” is another reference to the sweating. The mushrooms being inside the body and the sweat and excrement coming out of the body as the experience subsides was ample reason for the conclusion that the spirit and presence left the body by these means.
6 I opened to my beloved; but my beloved had withdrawn himself, and was gone: my soul failed when he spake: I sought him, but I could not find him; I called him, but he gave me no answer.
The effects have clearly subsided here and our narrator is again looking for the beloved but he is nowhere to be found. Not only are there no more mushrooms but the presence in the consciousness is clearly withdrawn. My soul failed when he spake is an indication of another phenomenon associated with the experience. When the peak experience is happening there are glimpses into other realms. But the downside is that it is not possible to remain in the states of ecstasy. Leaving these realms of delight can be traumatic and it carries weights of being unworthy, unprepared and unable to stay, as well as feelings of rejection. ‘My soul failed when he spake” is reference to precisely this. This is compounded by the experience subsiding “my beloved had withdrawn himself” and then the rejection of “I sought him, but I could not find him; I called him, but he gave me no answer.” This calling after and going to look for (seeking) him is about to get our narrator into trouble because in this state of mind you do not want to leave the safety of your home. Unfortunately, this is exactly what our narrator does. “I sought him, but I could not find him” describes his leaving his house to go looking in and about the city.
7 The watchmen that went about the city found me, they smote me, they wounded me; the keepers of the walls took away my veil from me.
“I sought him, but I could not find him” describes the search but those unsympathetic to the inebriated narrator found him instead. For whatever reason they wounded and smote the unfortunate searcher and the experience has gone from bad to worse.
8 I charge you, O daughters of Jerusalem, if ye find my beloved, that ye tell him, that I am sick of love.
It’s not any wonder that our narrator is sick of love after stumbling around the city babbling about losing the beloved and inadvertently coming upon some bad apples that decide to beat up our love-lorn and inebriated psychonaut. This entire section of the song is meant to caution anyone who decides to take the mushrooms. It is not a good idea to go walking around the city asking people to help you.
9 What is thy beloved more than another beloved, O thou fairest among women? What is thy beloved more than another beloved, that thou dost so charge us?
This chastising attitude seems to be coming from another point of view. Someone is asking what it is about the mushroom that makes it so special (presumably to endure the hardships and turmoil that goes along with taking it). The question is coming from the “daughters of Jerusalem”, the mushrooms. “What is thy beloved more than another beloved, O thou fairest among women?” is observing the attitude of the one who has taken the mushrooms as a love-lorn female that is conceited in thinking she is the “fairest among women”. This admonition accompanies the observance of a supposed exclusivity in the relationship because of a vain attitude. “Who are you to call this mushroom yours?” and “what is so special about your mushrooms compared to any other mushrooms in the patch (the daughters of Jerusalem)?” asks the mushroom inquisitors. The statement “thou dost so charge us” implies that the mushrooms are offended by the one who took the mushrooms, had a rough time and blames the beloved, rejecting the mushrooms for deserting in time of need.
10 My beloved is white and ruddy, the chiefest among ten thousand.
White and ruddy, the chiefest among ten thousand is a high and mighty position or at least a high and mighty opinion. The word translated here as “ruddy’ in Hebrew is “adom” and it means rosy-red (as should by now be expected) and this word comes from the Hebrew word “adam” the name of the first man in genesis and it also means red or to be made red.
11 His head is as the most fine gold, his locks are bushy, and black as a raven.
A head as the most fine gold describes the golden colored cap of the mushroom (especially after being dried), and “locks bushy, and black as a raven” describes the mushroom that has pushed its way through the pine needles (after a rain) and the pine needles (which are black when wet) are stuck to the cap of the mushroom, like black hair on the top of a head. After the mushrooms are dried and take on the golden hue if the pine needle fragments are still on the cap they are stuck for good. You can shake the mushroom all you want and they will not fall off, just like hair you can shake your head but the hair doesn’t fall off.
12 His eyes are as the eyes of doves by the rivers of waters, washed with milk, and fitly set.
The eyes of doves washed with milk is the red mushroom cap with the spots of white veil fragments fitly set (evenly spaced throughout the cap). Were this a person being described, red eyes would not be a flattering statement. On the contrary, eyes as the eyes of doves would be deep bloody red and if this is not describing a serious illness it would be some sort of broken blood vessels. It is, however, an apt description of the mushroom, especially if you consider that the Hebrew word translated here as “eyes” can also mean a fountain (as previously explored).
13 His cheeks are as a bed of spices, as sweet flowers: his lips like lilies, dropping sweet smelling myrrh.
Cheeks are down lower on the face and so this is describing an unopened mushroom cap. The lips dripping with myrrh describes the bottom (edges) of the cap with veil fragments hanging along the edge (lips).
14 His hands are as gold rings set with the beryl: his belly is as bright ivory overlaid with sapphires.
Hands, translated here from the Hebrew word “yad”, indicate an open hand (as opposed to a closed fist). This is descriptive because it denotes the opened mushroom cap. If you have rings on your hand the gems are on the top of the hand, just as the gems (veil fragments) are atop the mushroom cap.
15 His legs are as pillars of marble, set upon sockets of fine gold: his countenance is as Lebanon, excellent as the cedars.
The legs as pillars represent the stem of the mushrooms. Again, as we have seen before, the legs are like pillars. The pillar reference is an ongoing theme because it is one of the distinctive attributes of the mushroom and makes for great descriptive metaphor. To describe the stems (pillars) as legs made of marble describes the white marble-like color and texture of the stems. These pillars (legs) are set upon sockets of fine gold because the base of the mushrooms looks like a bone socket, precisely like a knee or ankle joint. This is a great metaphor because the universal veil fragments on the cap, as well as the socket-like bulbous base at the bottom of the mushroom, can be golden-honey colored. The reference to a countenance as Lebanon, excellent as the cedars provides description of the location of the plants.
16 His mouth is most sweet: yea, he is altogether lovely. This is my beloved, and this is my friend, O daughters of Jerusalem.
Again our narrator praises the beloved. Despite the turmoil of the nights events and the rigors of discomfort that accompany the intoxication, as well as the ordeal with those unsympathetic to the strange effects of the intoxicant, the beloved is still considered as a friend and its appearance considered lovely.