| “The effects which this singular narcotic produces are, some of them, similar to that produced by intoxicating liquors; others resemble the effects of haschisch. At first, it generally produces cheerfulness, afterwards giddiness and drunkenness, ending occasionally in the entire loss of consciousness. The natural inclinations of the individual become stimulated. The dancer executes a pasd’ extravagance, the musical indulge in a song, the chatterer divulges all his secrets, the oratorical delivers himself of a philippic, and the mimic indulges in caricature. Erroneous impressions of size and distance are common occurrences, equally with the swallower of amanita and hemp. The experiences of M. Moreau with haschisch are repeated with the fungus-eaters of Siberia; a straw lying in the road becomes a formidable object, to overcome which, a leap is taken sufficient to clear a barrel of ale, or the prostrate trunk of a British oak.” (12) Robert Graves was first to suggest that the usage of mushrooms was borrowed from the native Pelasgians by the Achaeans of Argos. Graves was also the first to point out that Dionysus’ Centaurs, Satyrs and Maenads, all ate the A. muscaria mushroom. Graves writes: “In one of Gwion’s tales, in lines 234-237, Gwion implies that a single gem can enlarge itself under the influence of “the toad” or “the serpent” into a whole treasury of jewels. His claim to be as learned as Math and to know myriads of secrets may also belong to the toad-serpent sequence.” (13) In the mountains of the Hindu Kush, the A. muscaria is still ritually used and called “tshashm baskon,” “eye-opener.” (14) Although it was thought to have long vanished in Siberian, recent ritual and shamanic use was discovered to be taking place in the Kamchatka peninsula. (15) The first use of the word “toadstool,” to describe any wild, inedible mushroom, first appeared in English in 1398 in a work by Bartholomius Anglicus, an English physician. The Welsh call toadstools bywd y llyffant (toad’s bread) or caws llyffant (toad’s cheese) and the Dutch refer to all mushrooms as paddestoel (toadstool). In Denmark and Norway, they are called paddehatt (toads’s hat). In 16th century France inedible fungi were dismissed as Crapaud (toad’s bread). In Scotland, in 1591, a witch admitted trying to assassinate James VI with toad’s venom by smearing it on his undergarments. In the 16th century, Italian poisoners resorted to salt to extract venom from toads and Juvenal, around 140 AD, claimed Roman wives occasionally disposed of their husbands by administering to them poisons containing toad’s lungs. (16) |
Wasson & Siberia The May 13, 1957 Life Magazine issue featured a story on Gordon Wasson and his discoveries with mushrooms. In his book Persephone’s Quest, Wasson brags that “Henry Luce ordered that not a single word was to be changed.” Henry Luce also happens to be a member of Skull and Bones, from Yale, a notoriously powerful secret society. (17) Wasson has documented the extensive connection between reindeer and the A. muscaria mushroom as well as its connection to urine. The reindeer love both the amanita mushroom and the human urine whether it contains it or not. Apparently, the reindeer enjoy it so much they can be found stumbling around after consuming them, which allows easier capture by the reindeer hunters. The fascinating thing is that those who then eat the reindeer meat can expect to experience almost as profound of a high as had they consumed the A. muscaria themselves, however, the difference being they don’t get sick as easily from stomach nausea. (18) Wasson reports that the tribesmen of the Maritime Provinces of Siberia are said to pay as much as a reindeer for a single amanita even as many as two or three reindeer. (19) Wasson, in Soma, brings our attention to the linguistic connection between the navel and the mushroom. Wasson writes: “The lexicographer Dal reports that in Russia pup means “navel” and the derivative pupyri is applied in the familiar language to fungal growths. In contemporary Cambodian the word pset means both navel and mushroom.” Wasson further suggests the reason many of our mushroom names contain words like “umbilic” or “umbonate” in their title, although added recently in history, is testimony to the influence the ideas have had in relation to each other over the millennia. (20) (12) The Seven Sisters of Sleep, Popular History of the Seven Prevailing Narcotics of the World by M.C. Cooke (1860), p. 337-342 (13) White Goddess, p. 44-45 (14) Gholam M. and Geerken 1979 (15) Salzman, 1996) (Encyclopedia of Psychoactive Plants, Ethnopharmacology and its Applications, Christian Ratsch (16) Soma, Wasson, p. 35; Adrian Morgan, New Scientist, December 25, 1986-January 1, 1987 (17) Persephone’s Quest, p. 22 (18) Soma, Wasson, p. 75-76 (19) Soma, Wasson, p. 24 (20) ibid, p. 49-50 |