Anthropology has revealed that this hypnotic mushroom, Amanita Muscaria aka Fly Agaric, is the divine "Soma" that was worshiped and ritually consumed by the Indo-Iranian and Indo-Aryan ethnic groups 4000 years ago. The sacrament's use was canonized in the Rig Veta, one of the four sacred Hindu texts. In fact, a full 15% of the Rig Veta is entirely devoted to Soma and the Soma rituals. Which shouldn’t be surprising considering that early Hindus treated the mushroom as a living god, making Amanita Muscaria the only “plant” known to have been deified by ancient man.
Perhaps too much is said of the Soma cults of the Hindu Kush and not enough attention is given to Amunita Muscaria’s traditional use in many other ancient cultures around the northern hemisphere. For example, the vikings “berzerker warriors" drank Amanita-spiked potions before charging into battle.
Ancient Greeks and Romans imbibed on Ambrosia, the nectar of the gods, which often contained A. Muscaria and other ethneogens. These potions were ritually consumed at mystical ceremonies for over 1,000 years, everlasting with much antiquity until the drug-cults were banned during the Conversion to Christianity. Perhaps, the migrating Indo-Iranians passed their Soma lore to the agrarian cultures dwelling in the Greek lands before the rise of the empires.
And yet that is not all: there is documented use of the mushroom-sacrament by groups and tribes in Siberia, Japan, North America (near Lake Superior), Spain, and more.
Modern man now uses the imagery of A. Muscaria as the prototypical mushroom - just type "mushroom" into a gif search! Or just look around my house, including our new woodland-themed nursery room.
There’s even a strong link between our spotted Amanita and Santa Clause, the Siberian shaman that is now used to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ.
But what many people don’t know is that these mushrooms are hallucinogenic, though not as much as Psilocybin mushrooms (“shrooms"). In lower doses, its effects are a little like alcohol and it can be used as a tonic. In higher doses it can induce feelings of ecstasy, but it can also put you into a semi-comatose sleep if you’re not careful.
I wish I knew all of this while hiking in Colorado last week and stumbling across dozens (if not hundreds) of these toadstool mushrooms. Unbeknownst to us, we were hiking among living deities! The nectar of the gods! THE IMMORTAL MUSHROOM-SACRAMENT OF ANTIQUITY!