Magic Mushrooms in Religion and Alchemy

Features

• Cover Type: Paperback with 256 pages
• Published by: Park Street Press
• Edition: 2nd Edition September 1, 2002
• Written in: English
• ISBN 10 Number: 0892819979
• ISBN 13 Number: 978-0892819973
• Book Dimensions: 9.9 x 8 x 0.6 inches
• Weighs: 1.4 pounds

Product Review
. . . fascinating, scholarly and original . . . I love it. -- Terence McKenna, author of Foods of the Gods and True Hallucinations

No researcher to date has tackled the subject with Heinrich's painstaking ingenuity. His conclusions are as fascinating . . . controversial. -- Huston Smith, author of The World's Religions

[An] extraordinary and gorgeous book. . . . I have learned a good deal. -- Albert Hofmann, discoverer of LSD and coauthor of Plants of the Gods

Product Review
". . . fascinating, scholarly and original . . . I love it."
(

Terence McKenna, author of Foods of the Gods and True Hallucinations )

"No researcher to date has tackled the subject with Heinrich's painstaking ingenuity. His conclusions are as fascinating as they are certain to be controversial."
(

Huston Smith, author of The World's Religions )

"[An] extraordinary and gorgeous book. . . . I read it with the highest interest and enjoyed enormously following its excursions into the realm of myths and the origins of religions, into fascinating possible connections. I have learned a good deal."
(

Albert Hofmann, discoverer of LSD and coauthor of Plants of the Gods )

Reader Reviews
This beautifully illustrated investigation into the entheogenic use of psychoactive mushrooms, more specifically the fly agaric or Amanita Muscaria, draws parallels between religious literature and the psychedelic experience. The author looks at ancient cultures and certain symbols in the Hindu scriptures, Judaism, Christianity and Alchemy. He believes this Amanita mushroom was the soma of the ancient Vedic people according to his interpretation of certain passages from the Rig Veda. He discusses the work of entheogenic pioneer R Gordon Wasson and then discusses the following prophets of Israel in detail: Moses, Elijah, Elisha, Isaiah and Ezekiel. With the exception of Ezekiel's visions, I did not find his ideas convincing in this regard. He seems to find mushroom references everywhere! That includes the Song Of Songs, a book he claims is a song "in praise of the divine mushroom." Hmmm, I don't know. He also deals with the story of Jesus, the last supper, crucifixion etc. and here too, I think the author is stretching it a bit. The chapter on Gnosticism, the Dead Sea Scrolls, The Nag Hammadi scriptures, especially books like the Gospel of Truth, the Gospel of Thomas, the Gospel of Philip, the Apocalypse of Adam and the Apocryphon of James is very engaging, thorough and quite insightful. He also covers the Grail Legend and claim the philosopher's stone was none other than the fly agaric mushroom. The author then describes his ingestion of the sacred mushroom over a period of 31 days, when he finally had a brilliant and transformational numinous experience on the last day, as an example of heaven. He also describes a bad trip when he became nauseous and had a deeply unpleasant experience. He concludes with the observation that the proper use of entheogens requires maturity, education, instruction and guidance plus a safe and protected setting. He is convinced that the informed use of these substances challenges any system of dogma or brainwashing and claims that the expanded consciousness is a genie that cannot be put back in the bottle. The final message of the book is that heaven is worth the trip. This book was great reading and although I think the author tries too hard to see a mushroom under every myth, he writes with style and offers many valuable insights. Plenty of figures, black and white illustrations and full colour photographs enliven the text and the book concludes with an index.