Deep Dark Library: Psychedelics, Spirituality, & Meaning

🌙 About the Deep Dark Library

Should I eat mushrooms with my friends? How do I get paid to do something I love? Am I ready to have children? These are some of life's most meaningful questions. There are hundreds of questions like these, and they span the human experience from love, sex, money, psychedelics, family, home, community, happiness, purpose, & beyond. 

But these aren't ordinary questions; they're deep dark questions. Deep questions are the ones that take us beyond the everyday, beyond the superficial. Dark questions are the ones we hide - the ones we don’t know when or how to talk about.

Most of us navigate the Deep Darks alone - but it wasn't always this way. Our ancestors would gather around fire to share stories, to share wisdom - creating spaces where we explore, discuss, & share our deep dark questions. 

The Deep Dark Library exists to rekindle this lost tradition. It's a place for the ritual exploration of deep dark questions, where seekers of authenticity, wisdom, & belonging,  connect with each other through mystery, imagination, & stories about the things that matter most.

We're a library like no other - we use plant medicine (alcohol & tea) to drop us into ourselves, and story medicine to drop us into each other.

Our rituals are lead by the trickster Head Librarian - a master weaver of ideas, stories, & people. We gather in circles, the librarian posing deep dark questions for personal reflection, group storytelling, & curious discussion.

At the Deep Dark Library, only one thing is certain - you’ll leave with more questions than you came, and yet, somehow, you carry more wisdom within you.

🪄 Opening the Portal

In this opening of the Deep Dark Library, we'll be exploring psychedelics, spirituality, & meaning.  

We'll open the portal at a private residence in NE Portland (Cully neighborhood). The venue is outside and there will be a limited number of chairs available - offered to elders first. All others should bring blankets, cushions, and/or folding chairs to sit on. 

Our elixir bar will feature alcoholic and non-alcoholic libations. 

If you can't make it this time, join us at one of these portals. 

Tues, Sept 17: Family, Community, & Belonging
Thurs, Oct 3: Work, Money, & Purpose

🙌 What People Are Saying

🧐 FAQ

Can I arrive late?

We open the portal to the library at 7:30p. Please arrive no later than 7:45p. 

What happens at the Deep Dark Library? 

Guests arrive between 7:00 PM and 7:30 PM and are invited to settle in and reconnect with themselves. At 7:30 PM sharp, the Head Librarian takes the stage, beginning the Portal Opening Ceremony.

In the Deep Dark Library, stories are not just told—they are the lifeblood, the very essence that fuels the magic. To open the portal to this mystical place, we must first use our voices. Together, we raise them in unison, and the portal begins to reveal itself.

With the portal open, we reflect on the deep dark questions we're wrestling with in our own lives, writing them down and offering them to the Head Librarian, who collects them in a hat brimming with mystery.

Next, we seek a few brave volunteers to become assistant librarians—those willing to guide a small circle of 8 to 12 people through the exploration of these deep questions. Once the assistant librarians are chosen, everyone selects a circle to join, and the journey begins.

The Head Librarian draws a question from the hat, setting the stage for each group’s discussion and storytelling. At some point, the Deep Dark Library will signal to the Head Librarian that it's ready to feast. We'll then gather back as a full group, and the stage will be offered to anyone who has a story to feed the library.

We continue this cycle of pulling a question, small group pondering, and full group storytelling until 10:00 PM. As each round passes, we sink deeper into the magic of the library.

What do you mean by plant medicine? 

Plant medicines are the plants that allow us to connect more deeply with ourselves, each other, Earth, & beyond. At the Deep Dark Library, we serve the plant medicines of alcohol and tea to help us do that. We hold these plant medicines as tools for connection - and engage in the conscious consumption of these medicines. 

Although cannabis & psychedelics are also plant medicines, we do not serve them at public gatherings. 

How Can I support the deep dark library?

The Deep Dark Library is on a mission to rekindle village life. Humans are villages, and many of us have lost touch with the traditions of our people—gathering to share stories, to share wisdom. The Library exists as an invitation to remember what it feels like to be in the village again. Through stories, we reconnect with each other and ourselves, reviving the deep bonds that make us feel truly human. 

The Deep Dark Library is a grassroots non-profit organization funded by private donors. If you want more depth, more village, more support, more real, then help us feed the library. You can bring your friends to gatherings, contribute your talents, make introductions to venues/funders, or donate your money, so that our core team can continue to have the time to pour our everything into creating magic for you, for us, and for the world. 

💛 Origin Story

My name's Chris Orcutt. I've lived in Portland, OR for 5 years. I've been part of the many dance communities for the same amount of time. There are people that I've seen probably 100 times at dances over the past 5 years...but I still have no clue who they are. I want more depth.

I've lived in, launched, or have supported 24 intentional communities over the past decade. These have been the most important relationships in my life. I want more village.

I did a 5-day transformational journey. The 2 weeks following that journey I was getting massive insight from whatever is beyond, waking up in the middle of the night and writing for hours. I thought I was going crazy. I want more support.

For the past 25 years, I've struggled with addiction. For the past 10 years, I've struggled with depression. 3 months ago I started talking about it. I thought people would run away. But the opposite happened. They shared the stories of their own hard parts. I want more real.

My soul's mission is to forge a path back to village life by healing our soul wounds through soul medicine. The Deep Dark Library is an attempt to start doing that.

If you share this mission, let's do it together.