The French physician Rouhier, in his classic work on mescaline intoxication, attempted to classify the types of visions experienced under its influence. Importantly, he stressed that these types are not sequential stages (like a ladder of progression) but rather modes of experience that often overlap. In most mescaline states, one type tends to dominate, while traces of the others are also present.
Here’s a breakdown of the four types Rouhier distinguished:
1. Geometric-Kaleidoscopic Visions
- Essence: endlessly shifting geometric forms, patterns, and kaleidoscopic transformations.
- Examples: lattices, zigzags, spirals, mandalas, and crystalline shapes that morph in rhythmic ways.
- Relation to Phosphenes: this is the closest to entoptic and phosphene phenomena—those universal form constants (spirals, tunnels, grids) that arise from the visual system itself.
- Interpretation: Rouhier sees this as the most basic and characteristic visual type of the mescal state.
2. Symbolic-Figurative Visions
- Essence: imagery takes on recognizable shapes—animals, mythological beings, symbolic figures.
- Examples: serpents, birds, gods, or archetypal beings emerging from the shifting forms.
- Relation to Mysticism: often feels meaningful, as if the visions carry a message or hidden symbolism.
- Interpretation: where pure geometry starts “clothing itself” in myth and culture.
3. Scenic or Architectural Visions
- Essence: vast landscapes, temples, cathedrals, cities, or cosmic spaces.
- Examples: “a basilic court with statues” (as noted in the synaesthesia reports), majestic palaces, mountain ranges.
- Relation to Synaesthesia: music often evokes these majestic architectural or spatial scenes.
- Interpretation: the imagination projects structured, often monumental environments, suggesting the grandeur of an inner cosmos.
4. Dramatic or Narrative Visions
- Essence: visions unfold like stories or dramas, often with characters, plotlines, and symbolic action.
- Examples: mythic battles, ritual processions, cosmic journeys.
- Relation to Mystical Experience: this is where the vision becomes a kind of inner theater, with a participatory element.
- Interpretation: Rouhier notes this as the most “complete” form, where the vision-world behaves like a lived myth.
Key Point
Rouhier insists that these four types are “intimately mixed”—for example, kaleidoscopic patterns (Type 1) may suddenly crystallize into a serpent (Type 2), which then appears within a palace (Type 3), and finally moves into a mythic battle scene (Type 4).
here’s a comparison table mapping Rouhier’s 4 types of mescal visions onto a modern phosphene-based taxonomy (like the one you are developing for the Yoga of the Inner Light).
Comparison of Rouhier’s 4 Types of Mescal Visions and Phosphene Taxonomy
| Rouhier’s Classification (1930s) | Description | Examples from Mescal Reports | Phosphene/Inner Light Taxonomy Parallel | Interpretive Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Geometric-Kaleidoscopic | Abstract, dynamic geometric forms; kaleidoscopic transformations | Grids, spirals, zigzags, crystalline mandalas | Form Constants / Level 1–2 Phosphenes (afterimage flickers → lattices, tunnels, spirals, cobwebs) | Represents the entoptic baseline; closest to raw neural light patterns. |
| 2. Symbolic-Figurative | Recognizable images and archetypes emerge from geometry | Serpents, birds, mythological beings | Emergent Archetypal Forms / Level 3 Phosphenes (figures and faces emerging from patterns) | Geometry acquires cultural-symbolic overlay; the visionary field begins to “speak in symbols.” |
| 3. Scenic-Architectural | Vast structured spaces, landscapes, palaces, cosmic temples | “A basilic court with statues,” grandiose architectural vistas | Mandalic & Environmental Formations / Level 4–5 Phosphenes (mandalas → cosmic landscapes → temples, radiant fields) | The vision projects a stable inner cosmos; music or ritual often triggers these. |
| 4. Dramatic-Narrative | Full visionary scenes with storylines, mythic dramas, rituals | Battles, processions, cosmic journeys | Visionary Narratives / Level 6 Phosphenes (immersive hyperspace with movement, dialogue, mythic unfolding) | Vision becomes participatory and narrative; the “inner cinema” or ultra-subjective hyperspace. |
Key Observations
- Continuity: Rouhier’s four types anticipate the progression from simple to complex phosphenes (your model), but he sees them as “mixed modes” rather than a strict sequence.
- Overlap with Form Constants: His Type 1 corresponds exactly to Klüver’s form constants and modern CEV (Closed-Eye Visual) research.
- Expansion into Myth: Types 2–4 show how raw neural light patterns are progressively interpreted by consciousness into archetypes, environments, and full-blown myths — very close to your Yoga of the Inner Light phenomenology.
- Integration with Synaesthesia: Rouhier often links music (auditory input) to transitions between Type 1 → Type 3 (geometry → architecture), which resonates with your sound-light integration work.
References
Ellis, Havelock, “Mescal, ‘A New Artificial Paradise,'” Annual Rep. Smiths. Inst., 1898
Fernberger, S. W., ” Observations on Taking Peyote (A nhalonium Lewinii) “, Amer.]. Psychol., 1923, 34, 267, 616.
Rouhier, A. (1926) Monographie du Peyotl: Echinocactus
Williamsii Lem.: Thèse pour l’obtention du diplôme
de Docteur de l’Université de Paris (Pharmacie),
Lucien Declume, Lons-le-Saunier.
Rouhier, A. (1975) La Plante qui fait les yeux émerveillés:
Le Peyotl, [1927 edition with minor corrections by
the author], Trédaniel, Paris
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