Who is the true Ganja Queen?

Ma Gu ~ The Ancient Cannabis Goddess ~ A mythological history of Cannabis and longevity…

From a young age since ii started my healing career ii have been referred to as ‘the ganja queen’ by people ii have helped to access Cannabis medicine over the years and ‘queen’ is a reference to Rastafari spirituality. But please let me introduce you to the true Cannabis Goddess and her name is Ma Gu which literally means Hemp. In ancient times more than 5000 years ago the Chinese, Japanese and Koreans appointed an Asian guardian for Cannabis and her name was Ma Gu and she became known as The Hemp Goddess and The Immortal Hemp Maiden and today we continue to respect her as The Goddess of Cannabis. Most of the mythological stories surrounding this goddess involve her work with the poorest of the poor, healing the sick and cultivating the natural world as either a goddess or a priestess.

Legend states that before she was immortalized she had freed thousands of slaves who had worked for her evil father and she taught them how to farm sustainably. Her youth and beauty became symbols of the health and healing of the entire universe which she was believed to protect and to this day she is regarded as the guardian of vitality throughout East Asia. We can see throughout history that it was the Chinese who seemed the most keen to preserve her memory and this is displayed widely in Chinese art where she is famous for healing with peaches and Cannabis.

In fact she was known to serve tea with Cannabis for longevity and this is how she healed the symptoms of menopause and became the symbolic protector of women in Chinese mythology and to this day her birth day is still celebrated on the 6^th day of the 6^th lunar month.

This is how Ma Gu was immortalized as a goddess possessing the elixir of life… the goddess who healed with Cannabis. This is also the first reference to Cannabis and the Feminine Divine which embraces the consciousness of the human companion plant. On a spiritual level the Chinese have always believed that Cannabis can protect us against demonic possession by increasing the “second sight” which is a reference to the pineal gland our third eye and the burning of hemp seeds was associated with cleansing rituals and it was the goddess Ma Gu to whom the people were praying which also gives us a better idea of the value the Chinese placed on the Cannabis plant by aligning it with the goddess of healing and surely only a highly valued goddess could be entrusted to care for our companion plant.

There is a great article titled Beliefs about Aging and Longevity in Ancient China by Joges Candra Ray an Indian researcher who wrote about the fact that the ancient Soma ritual drink of importance was in fact Cannabis. Personally ii find this interesting as this work dates back to 1939 which is the exact same year in which language specialist Sula Bennet confirmed that Kaneh-bosm an ingredient in the biblical Holy Anointing Oil mentioned in the book of Exodus is in fact Cannabis.

Soma is also a plant and is the name of the intoxicating and holy drink which the ancient people of India and surrounds believed could cure disease and offer immortality and Cannabis was the active ingredient of this drink. According to ancient Chinese scripts it is all about rejuvenation and it would be unfair if ii fail to mention that in 2009 it was recorded that the worlds oldest women Fulla Navak 122 years old from India smoked Cannabis every day and praised our human companion plant for her personal longevity.