I have thought for some time that the doctrinal meanderings of the Anglican Church of Canada owed more to hallucinogens than hermeneutics; my suspicions have now been confirmed.

In its fevered denunciations of the Doctrine of Discovery, the ACoC has sought inspiration from – not the cross, that would be too obvious – but from the medicine wheel:

Finlay and Wesley reported that the commission began to develop a theological reflection on the Doctrine of Discovery, its continuing impact and ways that it might be dismantled. Secondly, members discussed “what reconciliation looks like in parishes and communities, particularly around the understanding of healing and wholeness and the Circle of Life,” which Wesley explained is a part of the teachings of the medicine wheel.

For sceptics who think I am making up the magic mushroom aspect of the ACoC’s delirium, look here:

The space where you take your trip [the magic mushroom trip] is not only important, but also magical; it is possible to design this symbolically by putting an object in the four corners, a kind of watchtower. Native Americans also frequently make a circle or a medicine-wheel; this is also a kind of screen, meant to keep the `good’ energy inside and to lock out evil energy.