Shade

January 26, 2010, 9:42 am • Tags: , ,

icon_38Kikayon is the Hebrew name of a plant mentioned in the biblical Book of Jonah. God causes the plant to grow over Jonah’s shelter to give him some shade from the sun. Later, God causes a worm to bite the plant’s root and it withers. Jonah, now being exposed to the full force of the sun, becomes faint and desires that God take him out of the world.

The kikayon is only referenced in the book of Jonah and there is some question as to what kind of plant it is. Some hypotheses include a gourd and a castor oil plant. The concurrent Hebrew usage of the word refers to the castor oil plant.

It has been theorized that the description may indicate an entheogenic mushroom such as fly agaric. Mushrooms grow and wither very rapidly, were uncultivated in ancient times due to the invisibility of mushroom spores to the naked eye, and in some cultures the fly agaric mushroom is associated with and named after an umbrella or parasol because of its shape.

Paradoxically, the red cap of fly agaric was also associated with the sun due to its round shape and color. When the mushroom cap is dried its color changes from red to gold, like the sun rising in the sky. The sun beating on Jonah’s head and causing him to become faint describes the effects of fly agaric intoxication.