The gospel according to Amanita muscaria, the world’s most charismatic mushroom
…accounts of explorers in the 17th and 18th centuries witnessing mushroom rituals and shamanism in Siberia. Before the Russians and Finns introduced them to vodka, A muscaria was not only a sacrament but the inebriant of choice for the native tribes of Siberia and Lapland, in northern Scandinavia, eaten in a soup or fermented into a brew…
British scholar John Allegro in his 1970 book “The Sacred Mushroom and the Cross,” …argued that Christ never existed and the Bible is just an allegory for a mushroom-crazed sex cult. Needless to say, this was not well-received by the faithful. Less scandalously, the shrooms have been suggested as the secret ingredient in soma-haoma, the trippy concoction from ancient Indo-Aryan scriptures forming the basis of modern Hinduism and Zoroastrianism… despite the FDA’s decision in December [2024], retailers can still operate openly, albeit in a slightly grey area of the law. Unlike psilocybin, this mushroom hasn’t been widely banned yet. It’s still legal in 49 states (the lone exception being Louisiana), and online retailers offering fly agaric-based gummies, smoking blends and tinctures can sleep soundly knowing their front doors won’t be kicked down by SWAT teams with machine guns in the middle of the night. However, in December [2024] the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ruled that A. muscaria products do not meet health-and-safety standards.
Original Article (Salon):
The gospel according to Amanita muscaria, the world’s most charismatic mushroom
Artwork Fair Use: Paul Sableman
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