Peter Tosh & Mountain Pride Flower Essence
By Niara Michelle
Peter Tosh was, and posthumously continues to be, a spokesperson for the underserved and disenfranchised of his beloved Jamaica and the world. Tosh used reggae music as a vehicle to spread the message of faith, empowerment, morality, strength, justice, equality, uprising and revolution. He is the epitome of a spiritual warrior: “one who combats the universal enemy self-ignorance, the ultimate source of suffering; a heroic being with a brave mind and ethical impulse”. Through songs of political and social protest, Tosh challenged the fear, lies, false beliefs, and judgments that create life’s suffering and unhappiness.
“It is only the truth that can make man free, it’s only the truth that can make a man live”
-Peter Tosh
“It is only the truth that can make man free, it’s only the truth that can make a man live”. This is one of the principles that served as the foundation for his behaviors and choices. He always stayed true to himself, no matter the consequence.
Mountain Pride Flower Essence
Peter Tosh embodies the archetype of the Spiritual Warrior, a vibration that resonates with the plant Mountain Pride. The positive qualities that distinguish Mountain Pride as an archetypal remedy for Peter Tosh are:
“forthright masculine energy and warrior-like spirituality which confronts and transforms”
In learning to distinguish good from evil, or truth from untruth, the soul is compelled to take a stand in the world
“Especially in our modern world, it is of utmost urgency that the individual learn to transform feelings of dissatisfaction or disillusionment with the world into positive energy for change”
(FES Repertory)
These themes are evidenced throughout his discography and interviews. Tosh’s outspoken and unwavering stand against systematic oppression combined with his awareness and practice of Rastafarian spiritual and humanistic ideals reflect the essence of the spiritual warrior archetype. He used his platform to differentiate good from evil in the world and had international impact. He suffered greatly because of his convictions. The industry rejected his message. He was labeled a rebel and trouble maker juxtaposed with his counterpart, Bob Marley, who was accepted and revered as a peacemaker (not to mention the many other political factors influencing the times). Tosh outright rejected the notion of peace without justice, risking his person, reach and career.
Mountain pride would have supported his soul development in line with what the repertory suggests, "ushering in the positive masculine for persons who confuse peace with passivity". Who's to say, as a result, Brother Tosh may have translated his honorable intentions to positive action, been more willingly received, and experienced less hostility while holding fast to his convictions. “Mountain Pride imparts…the radiation of the positive masculine for both male and female souls. Such individuals must learn that positive activity is an important healing agent, not only for personal strength and soul development, but also for real peace in the world.
Mountain Pride Flower Essence
Through Mountain Pride the soul learns to take a stand in the world and for the world, by aligning its own personal identity with forces of goodness and truth”
(FES Repertory).
Peter Tosh, born Winston Hubert McIntosh on October 19, 1944, was a reggae musician, Rasta, Revolutionary, Rebel and Spiritual Warrior. He was born in Petersfield, Jamaica where his mother, who was young and living in impoverished conditions, could not care for him. He was raised by his aunt. At the early age of 3, he was influenced by the church where he began to sing. He enjoyed watching guitar players and taught himself to play a self made tin can and string guitar. His determination and an incident with a barbed wire fence slicing his eye, earned him the moniker ‘Steppin Razor’. As a young teen, he began to question the church doctrine, left his aunt's home and ended up in Trenchtown, Jamaica where he channeled and refined his African consciousness through the RasTafarian faith. There, Tosh used music as an outlet, speaking out for those who could not fight for themselves. He met Bunny Wailer and Bob Marley and became a core member of the reggae band The Wailers. Tosh, who also wrote many of the songs and melodies for the group, wanted to express his own creative inspirations and felt stifled by the group dynamics and political complexities of the ‘shit’ stem’ (shitty system); terminology created to describe the systemic corruption impacting the poor.
Tosh forged ahead as a solo artist, however, while he was alive he never reached the international impact and acclaim he would have liked. The message of his music spoke boldly against a system wrought with corruption and injustice. During the political climate of his time, money makers of the industry preferred to promote a more palatable message of peace rather than revolution and justice. Nevertheless, Tosh’s message reached millions and as a solo artist he demanded equal rights and justice for all, was a trailblazer for the Rastafari movement and the first to publicly advocate for the legalization of marijuana, a herb for the use of mankind and the healing of the nation.
He expressed the frustrations of millions through his music which was considered rebellious and dangerous in his time. Tosh was among the few courageous artists who stood firm and unwavering in his beliefs. He was a man of principle and conviction, no matter the cost; supported by his statement “My philosophy is if you don't bear a cross, you can’t wear a crown so you gotta go through some form of humiliation to reach tribulation.” Often the cost was great. He suffered physically, professionally and financially. On numerous occasions Tosh suffered brutality by the hands of the Jamaican police. Usually his run-ins with the law were a result of fearless public smoking of the Rastafarian herbal Sacrament, Marijuana and his demands for its legalization. His first record which propelled his solo career, Legalize It from the album of the same name, demanded “ legalize it and I will advertise it”. Tosh was ahead of his time. He and his music played a pivotal role in the fight for the legalization of herb; which continues today, 40 years later.
Professionally, he did not reach the universal acclaim he would have liked. He said, “I am not a politician but I suffer the consequences” Tosh said, referencing the inequalities faced by impoverished peoples who were lacking basic necessities such as food, clothing, proper housing. A devout RasTafarian and disciple of His Imperial Majesty Emperor Haile Selassie I, Tosh’s message of equality and justice mirrored the major tenets and themes within the faith and its teachings. This formed the foundational springboard of Tosh’s mindset and is a consistent theme found throughout his music. Tosh’s stand against injustice was uncompromising. He was jailed and beaten many times for his blatant disdain for the political regime of his time. Due to the direct, outspoken, unapologetic and relentless delivery of his message, he was often likened to his African-American contemporary Malcolm X and South-American Che Guevara.
After an illustrious career with The Wailers and as a solo musician, he was brutally murdered at his home during a robbery; many speculate his murder was part of a conspiracy to remove another spirited and determined voice against injustice. A former convict, whom Tosh had helped by providing food, clothing, shelter and money, decided to rob Tosh's home at gunpoint while several friends were there. While all who were in the home were shot and left for dead, only Peter and one other person did not survive their wounds. Tragically, Peter Tosh left the physical plane at age 42. His legacy and fearless messages of Truth, Right living, Equal Rights and Justice lives on through his music.
