Xan'hattanutl (Veleta)

The Metal Clan Xan'hattanu'tl
Emblem of the Veletan Order
Statistics
Members	2
Spread	Renasia
Founded	June 6, 2012
Important Places
Founding Site	Renasia

Xan'hattanu'tl (literally "The Metal Clan") was a school of practice within the Veletan Movement, which practiced within the archetype of entheogenic classicism. It was the first established school within Veleta, and the predominant school within Renasia. It was a heavily combative school, encouraging combat training as part of common practice. Key focuses were the production of a system of endogenic discipline and integrity, the development of mind and body and the gaining of higher level consciousness via meditation and entheogens.

Influences

Xan'hattanu'tl was most influenced by two main sources; Tao and Naturalistic Pantheism. From the Tao concepts come such as wu wei. A selfless act can only be performed by someone in an egoless state. Every act performed by someone in the usual way of things has some kind of reward attached whether it is financial, power, love, status or just feeling good about oneself. All these things are ego reinforcing. To perform a selfless act one must let go of one's ego. This is the first kind of wu wei. The second kind is more physical, and involves the effortless intuitive actions of the combatant, the lack of thought. Every move is efficient and unthinking, and the sole aim is to find a point, through the movement of the Veletan, where it is possible to neutralise the opponent effectively with a single strike with the appropriate weapon.
From Naturalistic Pantheism, we find a simple reverence for the Cosmos and its laws. This is however tempered by the previously mentioned metaphysical naturalism, and so there is not belief that any thing supernatural exists. Within the Xan'hattanu'tl, there is no God or Creator even in a deistic sense, and nature is self caused or causeless. It is understood that rational inquiry with the senses and scientific endeavour are the way to reveal nature. This awe in the face of the staggering wonder of the Universe at large, and for the laws that govern it, is the core of the system.

Focuses

The Bureau promoted five central focuses for adherents, each of equal importance to the Xan'hattanu'tl Veletans. Xan'hattanu'tl Veleta (to be referred to as XV from here on in) was thus defined, to a certain extent, by these focuses.

• Warrior Conditioning. Regular practice of practical martial arts and blade work are key to the Xan'hattanu'tl Veletans, who emphasise the utility of such skills as both practical tools, spiritual focus and mental discipline. This practice continues throughout life and is often practiced in groups or alone. In the first, practical self defence is indispensable in the modern world, there is a both the physical improvement, and the mental feeling of security. Spiritually, one finds that the intense focus requires to be competent in sparring and combat situations confers easily to meditation, to other forms of cultural practice and to simple day to day task.
• Ego Death. Ego death occurs at the point where the boundary between self and surrounding breaks down. This "perceived loss of boundaries between self and environment" is said to be experienced through a sensation that one is the whole universe (and therefore there is no need to differentiate the "I" from the "universe") or by simply acknowledging the "I" does not exist. This is considered desirable in XV, as it is considered that this experience enriches the life experience of the practitioner. This is often realised by psychedelics and meditation, either alone or in combination.
• Altered States. Entering altered states is a key focus in XV. There are a variety of states, and capturing these states in the mind is part of the key progression in XV. Often through use of entheogens, and multiple other routes, a number of states can be accessed. Logging these experiences is also an important aspect of this facet, and must be thorough in order to allow for post analysis and recollection.
• Freedom. Freedom is considered key, and there are three types of freedom which are important to XV. Firstly, existential freedom is key to living in tune with XV. Existential freedom is the ability to create one's own essence, to create for one's self a system of ethics, of integral values and a personal nature. Secondly, freedom from need and reliance in terms of coping. Self sufficiency in one's personal affairs, to be able to cope with issues that may present itself. However, like all freedoms, it should not be exercised at one's own detriment. Finally, freedom from the binds of societal expectation and common value. To be released from the shackles of what is considered correct and proper by social dictatorship is paramount to XV.
• Self control. The ability to have complete control over the emotions which would otherwise completely rule one's mindset and thought patterns, which would cause them to be clouded over and could cause rash or poor decision making. Controlling these emotions, both in day to day life and most importantly in the field of combat, is a core consideration for the Xan'hattanu'tl Veletan. Control of compulsion is also a key part of this issue, in order that issues like greed and compulsive consumption being seen as counter to the ideals of XV. This does not extend to combating desire, which can be helpful in achieving great things.

Pan-Veletan holiday traditions

What follows is a list of details which complement the general Veletan holidays:

• The Darwin-Einstein Feast
  • Celebrated on the 24th and 25 November, Xan'hattanu'tl Veletans chose these two days for the usage of Kratom. Kratom (Mitragyna speciosa) is a tropical tree that is native to Thailand and Malaysia. The primary active chemicals are mitragynine, mitraphylline, and 7-hydroxymitragynine, all found in the leaves. Kratom leaves have been chewed for stimulant, sedative, and euphoric effects by people in Thailand and South Asia for centuries. They can also be smoked, brewed as a tea, or made into an extract.
  • Kratom's effects range from positive effects (such as simultaneous stimulation and sedation, feelings of empathy, feelings of euphoria and vivid waking dreams) to the much more negative (such as very bitter taste, dizziness, nausea and/or vomiting at higher doses, mild depression during and/or after, increase in perceived body temperature and a hangover similar to alcohol).
  • Kratom is used on these days because it is very social, promoting feeling of empathy and euphoria. It is also use to try and instigate the powerful waking dreams mentioned in order to gain insight into the more complex and unintuitive ideas which underlie modern cosmology.
• The Day of Duality
  • Celebrated on the 19th of October, Xan'hattanu'tl Veletans chose this day to utilise mescaline bearing cacti, such as Peyote or Peruvian Torch, among others. Both these and other contain mescaline, a psychoactive phenethylamine chemical. Mescaline is considered one of the classic psychedelic entheogens, with a long history of traditional use in Central America (in the form of cacti), formalized modern ritual use in the Native American Church, considered by many experienced users as uniquely powerful and widely known throughout the world because of the many accounts of its use.
  • Mescaline is used to bring on deep, meaningful and insightful hallucinations, which the Veletan who partakes hopes will grant them a new perspective on the nature of duality, and it differences from contradiction. Its usage is thus intended to be consciousness altering, but not completely dissociative. Complete dissociation is a state of mind that is valued in some circumstances, but which is avoided on this day in favor of seeking a more lucid experience.
• Criticality Day
  • Celebrated on the 2nd of December, Criticality Day is the day Xan'hattanu'tl Veletans choose to use Sinicuichi, the fittingly named Sun Opener. Sinicuichi has been used by the shamans of Central America and Mexico, where it was brewed and fermented into a tea. The effects of sinicuichi have been known to include a deep sense of calmness and unity, and the ability to recall the past, even prenatal events, with great clarity. It is also often said to cause sounds to seem far away, to cause a yellowing of the vision which the Aztecs referred to as throwing out the "brightness of gold", and to cause a drowsiness or intoxication.
  • The effects are short lived, but the increased function of memory is used to try and deeply ingrain the considerations of the day, of the consequences of improperly used power, deep into the mind so that they might not be forgotten. It also allows the user to recall times where they have abused power that they had, and the consequences this invoked, which helps them to provide extra insight for themselves and others around them who are engaged in the discussion.
• Moonlanding
  • Celebrated on the 20th of July, The entheogen used by Xan'hattanu'tl Veletans at this time was Kanna. Kanna is a mood elevating, anxiety, stress and tension reducing empathogen type herb. In heightened doses, it can cause euphoria, initially creating a state of increased energy, which can then progress into a state of relaxation or even sedation. This kind of effect is often beneficial if celebrations are taking place with a close friend. It allows for quiet and contemplative spells, which are suited ideally to the celebrations of this Festival.
• Da Vinci Day/Leonardo Day
  • Celebrated either on April 15, or April 14 in leap years, Xan'hattanu'tl Veletans used this day to take morning glory seeds, or failing that, hawaiian baby woodrose seeds, which contain LSA. These were used by the Aztecs and Zapotecs to bring forth visions, and it is for this purpose they are utilised in Veleta. These visions are intended to bring forth images will will serve to inspire and inform the artistic endeavors of the day, but just as often the visions are terrifying, and the side effects may include anxiety, nausea, gas, vomiting (common), abdominal cramps, delerium, dizziness, confusion, paranoia, fear, and panic (infrequent, more common with higher doses). For this reason, some choose to use salvia divinorum instead.
  • Ideally visuals include items such are fractals or form constants, objects of great regularity which possess both great beauty and symmetry. These are also items of great mathematical and scientific interest, in the latter case especially those which occur within natural systems spontaneously. They are thus a fitting tribute to Da Vinci, whose works spanned both great art, great mathematics and great science in equal measure.
• Foundation Day
  • Celebrated May 4, or 3rd in leap years. On this day, Xan'hattanu'tl Veletans utilised Nymphaea caerulea, the Egyptian Blue Lotus. This flower, prized in ancient Egyptian mythology, in which it was said to rise and fall with the sun. The flowers are soaked in alcohol for three weeks prior to the celebrations, so that the alkaloids can soak into the solution. Alternatively, the petals may be made into a tea to achieve the same effect.
  • The flower contain nuciferine and aporphine. Both of these have hypnotic and anti-anxiety effects, calming the user and ridding the body of stress and tension. They are easily absorbed both into hot water and into alcoholic solutions. The usage of these plants on Foundation Day is usually reserved for the evening as these alkaloids tend to promote deep and refreshing sleep. As such lotus tea and wine are unsuitable for usage at times when focused and alert mental states are required, such as congregations or Codicem reviews of the kind Foundation Day involves.
• New Years Day
  • Celebrated 20th to 21 June. For Xan'hattanu'tl Veletans, a few hours of sleep after the days ceremonies was common, as oneirogens, dream inducers, are the main used entheogens. Silene capensis and Calea zacatechichi, the Mexican and African dream roots, are either drunk in a tea, chewed, smoked or vapourised. They contain sesquiterpenoids, such as calaxin and ciliarin. They contain numerous germacranolides as well. The herbs bring on powerful, sometimes lucid, dreams, and the aim of this usage is to try to allow the practitioner to enter into lucid dreams and experience the empowering ability to control this reality, as a metaphor for trying to exercise influence to create and affect waking reality.

Xan'hattanu'tl Rites

The Xan'hattanu'tl had a variety of School specific rites, which marked specific important transitions in the lives of members, ranging from rank transitions, to the equivalent of wedding, including funereal services and coming of age. These were set out in the Musnizu'tl primarily. What follows is a list of links and short descriptions of these rites.

• Rank Transitions
  • Initiation: The movement between Rank O, Neophyte to Rank I, Initiate.