How to Identify a Charlatan
Sussing Out Psychedelic Guides: Part II
Hey friends. Got an exciting announcement:
I’m having a book launch at my home bookstore, Powell’s Books in Portland, Oregon on Sunday, October 20th, 3pm. If you’re in the area, come on by!
I’ll be having an afterparty somewhere in the area. Details TBD.
Also, my Facilitator’s Circle Retreat starts TODAY! I am beyond excited to work with this amazing crew of aspiring psychedelic healers and therapists for the next four days in the woods.
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As I’ve said before, the psychedelic field is suffering from an epidemic of charlatans, grifters, and leaders who simply don’t have their shit together.
This is the second part of a series where I’ll be sharing ways to vet psychedelic practitioners and guides. My hope is that this serves anyone reading who is trying to trudge their way through the brackish waters of the psychedelic ecosystem.
Specifically, I am focusing on the notion of the charlatan as a key figure that I want to shed some light on. I’ve written before about different archetypes I’ve seen in psychedelic leaders.
Some of the inspiration behind this post are the things ironically platformed by Adam Aronovich, the meme-curator behind my favorite, wonderfully cringe Instagram profile, Healing from Healing. Others are people or encounters I’ve had during in my time in the psychedelic sphere.
The charlatan is more of a pattern of behavior that unfortunately seems to be amplified in our era of social media. The highwayman, con artist, or traveling grifter are all permutations of this type of character. While I wouldn’t consider this figure “archetypal,” they do share certain qualities with what I would consider as a dark variation of the Trickster.
I share all of this not to call out anyone one person, but rather a style of behavior that now passes for normal but in fact can be extremely harmful. Psychedelics are potions of power, and when in the wrong hands, have the potential to cause immense damage in the lives and psyches of others.
My intention here is to sound a warning call, in the hopes that more people will know what to watch out for in this increasingly wild world.
What is a Charlatan?
In the age of online gurus and wellness influencers, learning how to identify dubious or fake practitioners is essential, especially in the psychedelic field.
The word charlatan comes from the middle ages, specifically from France and Italy. Its roots refer to itinerant traders or travelers who peddled questionable healing remedies. The word is also connected to their use of language or chatter, or their propensity for “babbling,” meaning that a charlatan is a person who can talk a good game but cannot back it up in practice. In the Canterbury Tales, Chaucer wrote a story called “The Pardoner” about an itinerant salesman selling bunk religious relics meant to bestow bullshit blessings to the uneducated.
This is one of the oldest games in town.
According to Etymology Online, usage of the word “charlatan” peaked in the 1890’s - a period known for all manner of pseudoscientific remedies and practices, from phrenology to seances to snake oil medicine shows. Interestingly, the word is now on the rise once again. I wonder why.
When exploring the depths of internet wellness culture and discovering the new cures and remedies hawked by wide-eyed influencers, its clear that we really haven’t come too far in 700 years.
Shamanic Origin Story
“When I was 35, I finally had my spiritual awakening after drinking ayahuasca in Tulum and decided to FINALLY quit the corporate world and follow my TRUE calling to become a SHAMAN!”
I’ve heard various permutations of this same story 100 times. Charlatans will often peddle their own origin story as the basis for why you should trust them. Usually, this comes down to the simple fact that they had an “awakening,” or some vaguely spiritual experience that imbued them with some seemingly divine understanding or perspective which is the grounds for you to trust them.
Their origin story might entail leaving the corporate world, manifesting this or that, and finally realizing their true potential by making $100K a month. You go girl. Go far away. Please.
A semi-divine origin story is a cornerstone of most if not all charismatic cult and religious leaders. It is what imbues them with their purported knowledge, wisdom, and superiority. This origin story is often used to explain why you should trust them, as opposed to a dedicated practice or relationship with certain traditions.
Here’s the point: charlatans haven’t actually earned anything. They’re not interested in putting in the road miles, but rather the roadside attraction, meant to make a quick buck.
Enjoying this particle? My book Psychedelics and the Soul: A Mythic Guide to Psychedelic Healing, Depth Psychology, and Cultural Repair, hits shelves on October 1st and now available for pre-order!
Order your copy here or through my favorite independent bookstore, Powell’s Books. It means a lot to new authors like me. Thanks for being here!
Talking the Talk
As I mentioned in my previous article, at some point around the time I started my graduate program, I lost my ability to entertain most New-Agey conversations. I simply no longer had the patience to listen to people talk about concepts that felt above their pay-grade, or not grounded in any real learning or lineage.
Here are three ways that language plays a role in charlatanism.
First, their words and ideas have no clear definition. If someone wants to talk about the shadow, lets say, I want to know what they mean by that. It might turn out that we have very different definitions of that word. It might turn out that they don’t even know what they mean by it in the first place. If someone can clearly articulate what they mean by a certain word without stammering into a Lebowski-esque rant or dodge the question altogether, then there is a good chance you’re dealing with a reliable person.
A charlatan, on the other hand, might tend to lavish on even more bizarre words and concepts to even further confuse or manipulate you.
Second, charlatans use language to create and bolster their own worldviews and opinions. Today, it is easy to use catch-all words to express complicated concepts. Our language creates our stories about the world, and everyone in it. Charlatans can often latch on to certain language that they use to manipulate and hoodwink people. Even if they’re not doing this consciously, people often latch onto a fresh word or concept without a broader understanding of the field (in this case, psychedelics and psychology.) To me, this is the mark of charlatanism.
Here’s an example. I’m an IFS therapist, and have been a part of that world since about 2020 when I completed my level 1 training. Currently, the notion of “unattached burdens” is all the rage, thanks to Robert Falconer, who wrote a book on the subject. An “unattached burden” is conceived of as an outside force or entity that a person has unconsciously taken into their own psyche, which does not belong to them. Notions of spirit possession and sorcery are similar to this idea. This is just a new phrase for an old phenomenon with debatable ontological roots.
Now, I am sure that Falconer is an exceptional practitioner who has helped a lot of people. That’s not the point. The point is that language like “unattached burdens” is like a ripe fruit for charlatans because it can easily be used to tell people what is going on with them, and confirm the worldview of the person using it. Never mind trauma, never mind ancestors, never mind any other of the myriad factors that make up a person's lived experience.
When people only have a hammer, or whatever limited tool they are currently fixated on, everything looks like a nail.
Third, using inaccessible or confusing language can often serve to confuse or manipulate people. Fancy words automatically place the one using them on an imagined pedestal. When someone doesn’t understand certain words, they can either say “I don’t understand,” or stay silent and simply go along with it. When power dynamics are at play, it's a hell of a lot easier to choose the latter.
Boy, do I have a deal for you!
A charlatan will always try to sell you something, either literally or ideologically. They will try to convince you of their trust, rather than simply earn it through their authentic being. Then they will try to convince you of their worldview, and of the fact that they have a special solution to the problem you are dealing with. Before you know it, you’ve dropped $10K on an “Ascension Mastermind” or a “Fit For Service Elite Circle” or a coaching package you didn’t know you needed.
Does their body language or communication style make you feel strange or uncomfortable? Do they show up in a way that is narcissistic, performative, or simply cringe? Do they have a shadowy or unclear history of who they are and where they are coming from?
Many online wellness charlatans these days like to portray themselves as unfathomably wealthy, or constantly in luxury environments in places like Bali or Tulum. These are all strategies of manipulation meant to sell you on their outrageously overpriced offerings. The wealth they portray might be entirely manufactured, an alluring facade meant to gain your trust.
Nothing is Sacred
I have yet to see any genuine spiritual practice that can be portrayed accurately on social media. In most ceremonies or rituals I have been a part of, photography is either extremely limited, or completely prohibited.
We’re living in a bizarre world where spiritual practices are being commodified into social media clout. No judgment on anyone’s personal practices or ways of relating to the holy. I just personally find that to document and share every last shred of one’s life, especially private moments of ceremony and prayer to be a spiritually questionable decision.
In the feverous quest for spiritual illumination, it seems that some folks have lost sight of what is sacred altogether. To me, prayer, ceremony, and deep emotional processes are not things to commodify and plaster on the walls of the internet. When I see someone, or some group, use pictures of people in extreme emotional states to sell their offerings, I feel disgusted.
When nothing is sacred, someone’s most private, intimate moments are simply content.
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I love this Simon. And I think it really begs a thorough examination of how those of us in fields of healing and myth, psyche and psychedelic, can communicate and act in reliable ways, as more than even just a personal thing that some folks “do” I see charlatanism as a cultural phenomenon, largely bred due to the capitalist penetration of social media, and effecting most folks. For instance, it took me over 10 years of a journey to ever utter the word “initiation,” online, in a podcast or in something I was offering (I’ve run two year long initiation containers so far in my life where that was the direct language, and the deeply rooted cultural intention). And that was no light decision on my end, grounded from years with teachers, mentors and elders keeping me in check. And now, I see that word being thrown around all time, in weekend workshops, etc, which is sad as I can’t imagine a true initiation happening in a weekend. And yet, because of how culture is shaping that word, I feel hesitant to use it, and or recent have been wondering how to speak in the most plain language without dangerously underselling what something is (like not calling a guided psylocibin journey as having the potential for “underworld, shadow, and extreme emotional discomfort,” would be improper when it does hold all that potential). At some level, I think the deeper issue is our relationship as practitioners and explorers to power, power that often does necessitate naming it as such, and yet does hold the obvious danger of being used to manipulate people when under the auspices of capitalism. A lot to consider here.
Great series, thank you for this easy-to-understand guide. I’ll be linking these articles when I get questions about whether a retreat or program is legit.
I was taken in by a coaching program several years back and it destroyed me financially. I wish I’d had a few more years of experience in the healing arts bc I would have immediately identified the warning signs. But I had just started practicing and thought it was “divine synchronicity.” Turns out it was just the algorithm. 🤦