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Author: Clark Heinrich Publisher: Inner Traditions / Bear & Co ISBN: 9780892819973 Category : Body, Mind & Spirit Languages : en Pages : 258
Book Description
An illustrated foray into the hidden truth about the use of psychoactive mushrooms to connect with the divine. • Draws parallels between Vedic beliefs and Judeo-Christian sects, showing the existence of a mushroom cult that crossed cultural boundaries. • Contends that the famed philosophers' stone of the alchemist was a metaphor for the mushroom. • Confirms and extends Robert Gordon Wasson's hypothesis of the role of the fly agaric mushroom in generating religious visions. Rejecting arguments that the elusive philosophers' stone of alchemy and the Hindu elixir of life were mere legend, Clark Heinrich provides a strong case that Amanita muscaria, the fly agaric mushroom, played this role in world religious history. Working under the assumption that this "magic mushroom" was the mysterious food and drink of the gods, Heinrich traces its use in Vedic and Puranic religion, illustrating how ancient cultures used the powerful psychedelic in esoteric rituals meant to bring them into direct contact with the divine. He then shows how the same mushroom symbols found in Hindu scriptures correspond perfectly to the symbols of ancient Judaism, Christianity, the Grail myths, and alchemy, arguing that miraculous stories as disparate as the burning bush of Moses and the raising of Lazarus from the dead can be easily explained by the use of this strange and powerful mushroom. While acknowledging the speculative nature of his work, Heinrich concludes that in many religious cultures and traditions the fly agaric mushroom--and in some cases ergot or psilocybin mushrooms--had a fundamental influence in teaching humans about the nature of God. His insightful book truly brings new light to the religious history of humanity.
Author: Clark Heinrich Publisher: Inner Traditions / Bear & Co ISBN: 9780892819973 Category : Body, Mind & Spirit Languages : en Pages : 258
Book Description
An illustrated foray into the hidden truth about the use of psychoactive mushrooms to connect with the divine. • Draws parallels between Vedic beliefs and Judeo-Christian sects, showing the existence of a mushroom cult that crossed cultural boundaries. • Contends that the famed philosophers' stone of the alchemist was a metaphor for the mushroom. • Confirms and extends Robert Gordon Wasson's hypothesis of the role of the fly agaric mushroom in generating religious visions. Rejecting arguments that the elusive philosophers' stone of alchemy and the Hindu elixir of life were mere legend, Clark Heinrich provides a strong case that Amanita muscaria, the fly agaric mushroom, played this role in world religious history. Working under the assumption that this "magic mushroom" was the mysterious food and drink of the gods, Heinrich traces its use in Vedic and Puranic religion, illustrating how ancient cultures used the powerful psychedelic in esoteric rituals meant to bring them into direct contact with the divine. He then shows how the same mushroom symbols found in Hindu scriptures correspond perfectly to the symbols of ancient Judaism, Christianity, the Grail myths, and alchemy, arguing that miraculous stories as disparate as the burning bush of Moses and the raising of Lazarus from the dead can be easily explained by the use of this strange and powerful mushroom. While acknowledging the speculative nature of his work, Heinrich concludes that in many religious cultures and traditions the fly agaric mushroom--and in some cases ergot or psilocybin mushrooms--had a fundamental influence in teaching humans about the nature of God. His insightful book truly brings new light to the religious history of humanity.
Author: Jerry B. Brown Publisher: Simon and Schuster ISBN: 1620555034 Category : Body, Mind & Spirit Languages : en Pages : 376
Book Description
Reveals evidence of visionary plants in Christianity and the life of Jesus found in medieval art and biblical scripture--hidden in plain sight for centuries • Follows the authors’ anthropological adventure discovering sacred mushroom images in European and Middle Eastern churches, including Roslyn Chapel and Chartres • Provides color photos showing how R. Gordon Wasson’s psychedelic theory of religion clearly extends to Christianity and reveals why Wasson suppressed this information due to his secret relationship with the Vatican • Examines the Bible and the Gnostic Gospels to show that visionary plants were the catalyst for Jesus’s awakening to his divinity and immortality Throughout medieval Christianity, religious works of art emerged to illustrate the teachings of the Bible for the largely illiterate population. What, then, is the significance of the psychoactive mushrooms hiding in plain sight in the artwork and icons of many European and Middle-Eastern churches? Does Christianity have a psychedelic history? Providing stunning visual evidence from their anthropological journey throughout Europe and the Middle East, including visits to Roslyn Chapel and Chartres Cathedral, authors Julie and Jerry Brown document the role of visionary plants in Christianity. They retrace the pioneering research of R. Gordon Wasson, the famous “sacred mushroom seeker,” on psychedelics in ancient Greece and India, and among the present-day reindeer herders of Siberia and the Mazatecs of Mexico. Challenging Wasson’s legacy, the authors reveal his secret relationship with the Vatican that led to Wasson’s refusal to pursue his hallucinogen theory into the hallowed halls of Christianity. Examining the Bible and the Gnostic Gospels, the authors provide scriptural support to show that sacred mushrooms were the inspiration for Jesus’ revelation of the Kingdom of Heaven and that he was initiated into these mystical practices in Egypt during the Missing Years. They contend that the Trees of Knowledge and of Immortality in Eden were sacred mushrooms. Uncovering the role played by visionary plants in the origins of Judeo-Christianity, the authors invite us to rethink what we know about the life of Jesus and to consider a controversial theory that challenges us to explore these sacred pathways to the divine.
Author: Terry Atkinson Publisher: ISBN: 9780988412248 Category : Amanita muscaria Languages : en Pages : 164
Book Description
Terry Atkinson's study presents a fresh and startling theory about the true origin of one of our most enduring legends - the quest for the Holy Grail. Many authorities agree that the core theme of this seductive story, through all its metaphoric mutations over the centuries, is humanity's unrelenting desire for spiritual transcendence - for a state of heightened consciousness. Our modern concept of the Grail dates from the 15th Century story of the chalice from Christ's Last Supper, brought to the British Isles and then buried or somehow lost, and the subsequent holy mission of King Arthur's knights to retrieve the icon. But in traditional cultures of past millennia, where the legend originates, the goal of this sacred quest was a religious encounter of a different order. Our ancestors sought to reveal the presence of the divine being within through a mind-expanding experience rooted in nature. Every version of the Grail legend features near-impenetrable coded references to its entheogenic origins - the ritual use of naturally occurring psychedelics to reach transcendence. Approaching the subject like a detective solving an ancient mystery, the author employs textual forensics to explain for the first time the meaning behind several aspects of the story that have puzzled scholars for centuries. Unlike such works as "Holy Blood, Holy Grail" (whose theory was used as the basis of "The Da Vinci Code"), Atkinson's book delves deeply into Grail literature from the 12th Century, particularly the very earliest written work, Chretien de Troyes' "Parsifal." Launching a detailed investigation of the legend's intriguing fish symbolism and examining the key role of shamanism in Celtic and other ancient cultures, the author also uses clues drawn from Grail scholar Jessie Weston's "From Ritual to Romance, " the classic study that inspired T. S. Eliot's "The Waste Land." The Grail is more real than most recent explicators and fabricators imagine, but in a very different way from that assumed by the old-school searchers. The author's astonishing conclusion is that the hallucinogenic mushroom "Amanita muscaria" is the long-lost secret origin of the legend. "
Author: Carl Ruck Publisher: City Lights Books ISBN: 0872868524 Category : Religion Languages : en Pages : 294
Book Description
This illustrated book traces the history of an unlikely force in the shaping of Western civilization: the use of psychedelic mushrooms, namely by a secret society called the cult of Mithras. Nero was the first emperor to be initiated by the group’s “magical dinners,” and most of his successors embraced the ritual as a source of spiritual transcendence. The cult was officially banned after the Conversion, but aspects of their rituals were assimilated or co-opted by Christianity, and the brotherhoods persist today as secret societies such as the Freemasons. This is a fascinating exploration of a powerful force kept behind the scenes for thousands of years.
Author: Susan Greenwood Publisher: Southwater ISBN: 9781843094678 Category : Body, Mind & Spirit Languages : en Pages : 260
Book Description
This volume offers an examination of the history and traditions of magic and witchcraft, from very early times to the present. The book gives an examination of magic and its relationship with religion, from prehistory to the modern eras.
Author: Thomas Hatsis Publisher: Simon and Schuster ISBN: 1620558017 Category : Body, Mind & Spirit Languages : en Pages : 288
Book Description
A comprehensive look at the long tradition of psychedelic magic and religion in Western Civilization • Explores the use of psychedelics and entheogens from Neolithic times through Antiquity, the Middle Ages, and the Renaissance to the Victorian era and beyond • Reveals how psychedelics were integrated into pagan and Christian magical practices and demonstrates how one might employ a psychedelic agent for divination, sex magic, alchemy, communication with gods, and more • Examines the role of entheogens in the Mysteries of Eleusis in Greece, the worship of Isis in Egypt, the Dionysian mysteries, and the magical practices of the Thessalian witches as well as Jewish, Roman, and Gnostic traditions Unbeknownst--or unacknowledged--by many, there is a long tradition of psychedelic magic and religion in Western civilization. As Thomas Hatsis reveals, the discovery of the power of psychedelics and entheogens can be traced to the very first prehistoric expressions of human creativity, with a continuing lineage of psychedelic mystery traditions from antiquity through the Renaissance to the Victorian era and beyond. Describing how, when, and why different peoples in the Western world utilized sacred psychedelic plants, Hatsis examines the full range of magical and spiritual practices that include the ingestion of substances to achieve altered states. He discusses how psychedelics facilitated divinatory dream states for our ancient Neolithic ancestors and helped them find shamanic portals to the spirit world. Exploring the mystery religions that adopted psychedelics into their occult rites, he examines the role of entheogens in the Mysteries of Eleusis in Greece, the worship of Isis in Egypt, and the psychedelic wines and spirits that accompanied the Dionysian mysteries. The author investigates the magical mystery traditions of the Thessalian witches as well as Jewish, Roman, and Gnostic traditions. He reveals how psychedelics were integrated into pagan and Christian magical practices and demonstrates how one might employ a psychedelic agent for divination, magic, alchemy, or god and goddess invocation. He explores the use of psychedelics by Middle Eastern and medieval magicians and looks at the magical use of cannabis and opium from the Crusaders to Aleister Crowley. From ancient priestesses and Christian gnostics, to alchemists, wise-women, and Victorian magicians, Hatsis shows how psychedelic practices have been an integral part of the human experience since Neolithic times.
Author: Kevin M Feeney Publisher: ISBN: 9780578303321 Category : Languages : en Pages : 508
Book Description
With more than two-dozen contributors and over 450-pages of content Fly Agaric is the most comprehensive book on the iconic red and white-spotted mushroom ever assembled. In the 29 chapters contained herein the reader is taken on a journey through history, folklore, and the magical landscapes experienced under the influence of the Fly Agaric, and its many close relatives. The reader of this book will learn: How to recognize and identify over a dozen types of psychoactive Amanita species, subspecies, and varieties occurring in North America, and how to distinguish them from look-alikes. What psychoactive and other active compounds are found in psychoactive Amanitas, and how they affect the mind and body. The differences between the effects and experiences produced by psychoactive Amanitas and psychedelic Psilocybe mushrooms. How the Fly Agaric can be detoxified and safely prepared for the dinner table. The history of medicinal and homeopathic use of the Fly Agaric. How the Fly Agaric can be used topically and internally to treat conditions such as pain, inflammation, insomnia, and anxiety. Theories regarding the historical and religious use of psychoactive Amanitas around the world based on archaeological, folkloric, and other evidence.
Author: Thomas Hatsis Publisher: Simon and Schuster ISBN: 1620554747 Category : Body, Mind & Spirit Languages : en Pages : 361
Book Description
An exploration of the historical origins of the “witches’ ointment” and medieval hallucinogenic drug practices based on the earliest sources • Details how early modern theologians demonized psychedelic folk magic into “witches’ ointments” • Shares dozens of psychoactive formulas and recipes gleaned from rare manuscripts from university collections all over the world as well as the practices and magical incantations necessary for their preparation • Examines the practices of medieval witches like Matteuccia di Francisco, who used hallucinogenic drugs in her love potions and herbal preparations In the medieval period preparations with hallucinogenic herbs were part of the practice of veneficium, or poison magic. This collection of magical arts used poisons, herbs, and rituals to bewitch, heal, prophesy, infect, and murder. In the form of psyche-magical ointments, poison magic could trigger powerful hallucinations and surrealistic dreams that enabled direct experience of the Divine. Smeared on the skin, these entheogenic ointments were said to enable witches to commune with various local goddesses, bastardized by the Church as trips to the Sabbat--clandestine meetings with Satan to learn magic and participate in demonic orgies. Examining trial records and the pharmacopoeia of witches, alchemists, folk healers, and heretics of the 15th century, Thomas Hatsis details how a range of ideas from folk drugs to ecclesiastical fears over medicine women merged to form the classical “witch” stereotype and what history has called the “witches’ ointment.” He shares dozens of psychoactive formulas and recipes gleaned from rare manuscripts from university collections from all over the world as well as the practices and magical incantations necessary for their preparation. He explores the connections between witches’ ointments and spells for shape shifting, spirit travel, and bewitching magic. He examines the practices of some Renaissance magicians, who inhaled powerful drugs to communicate with spirits, and of Italian folk-witches, such as Matteuccia di Francisco, who used hallucinogenic drugs in her love potions and herbal preparations, and Finicella, who used drug ointments to imagine herself transformed into a cat. Exploring the untold history of the witches’ ointment and medieval hallucinogen use, Hatsis reveals how the Church transformed folk drug practices, specifically entheogenic ones, into satanic experiences.
Author: Melusine Draco Publisher: John Hunt Publishing ISBN: 178099138X Category : Body, Mind & Spirit Languages : en Pages : 197
Book Description
Magic Crystals, Sacred Stones is aimed at those who have explored crystal working as a beginner and who now wish to understand the mysteries of the Earth at a deeper level. , ,