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Psychedelic mushrooms are also known as magic mushrooms, sacred mushrooms, and, more generally, hallucinogenic mushrooms. See the section on nomenclature below for further discussion.
Psychedelic mushrooms are fungi which have psychedelic, i.e. "mind manifesting", properties when ingested and can be roughly divided into two groups: psilocybin/psilocin containing mushrooms found mainly in the genus Psilocybe (though there are also psilocybin containing species belonging to the genera Conocybe, Copelandia, Gymnopilus, Inocybe, and Panaeolus) and the muscimol containing mushroom amanita muscaria. Both groups belong to the Agaricaceae family of fungi. A third group of ergoline alkaloid containing psychoactive fungi like ergot, which is a precursor to LSD, could be defined in connection with the Kykeon.
The principal actives in the psilocybian mushrooms are the tryptamines psilocybin and psilocin, which are closely related to DMT, serotonin and LSD. Several psilocybe species also contain the alkaloids baeocystin and norbaeocystin, which are also suspected of being psychoactive. The fly-agaric amanita muscaria contains the principal active muscimol which, however, is both chemically and symptomatically unrelated to psilocybin.
Examples of common psilocybin containing "magic mushroom" species are Psilocybe cubensis, Psilocybe cyanescens, and Psilocybe semilanceata.
History
Various cultures throughout the ages have used psychedelic fungi for shamanistic and other purposes. Mesoamerican mushroom stones of the pre-classic mayans representing deified mushrooms date back to approx. 500 BC, while rock paintings in the Sahara of mushroom effigies date back to 7000 BC. Some scholars believe that Soma, the drink mentioned in Vedic literature, was derived from psychedelic mushrooms (R. Gordon Wasson suggests that this was amanita muscaria), while Albert Hofmann and Carl Ruck contend that the Eleusinian Mysteries made use of the psychedelic fungus ergot in the Kykeon. Amanita muscaria is known to have been used in siberian shamanism.
S. Odman first suggested in 1784 that Nordic Vikings used fly-agaric (Amanita muscaria) to produce their berserker rages. Supposedly, the Norse took these mushrooms so that the effect came on during the heat of battle or while at work. During the berserker rage they performed deeds which otherwise would have been impossible. The rage started with shivering, chattering of the teeth, and a chill. Their faces became swollen and changed color. A great rage developed in which they howled like wild animals and cut down anyone in their way, friend or foe alike. Afterward their mind became dulled and feeble for several days. The potency of North-American fly agarics has been confirmed by Siberian shamans, but the methodology of effective use has eluded modern experimenters.
Psilocybian mushrooms were a revered tradition in native Central American cultures at the time of the European invasion, and have been in continuous use up to the present time . Named teonanacatl in Nahuatl, "flesh of the gods," they may have been employed for healing, divination, and for intercession with the spirits. Since the beginning of colonial times their use has been hidden due to persecution by the Christian church, which branded all native religious practices and especially those employing entheogenic sacraments as "devil worship."
According to the BBC, the first documented use of psychedelic mushrooms was in the Medical and Physical Journal: in 1799, a man who had been picking mushrooms for breakfast in London's Green Park included them in his harvest, accidentally sending his entire family on a trip. The doctor who treated them later described how the youngest child "was attacked with fits of immoderate laughter, nor could the threats of his father or mother refrain him".
Around the middle of the 20th century two amateur western mycologists, R. Gordon Wasson and his wife, Valentina Pavlovna, were admitted to these secrets rites and became the first westerners to experience the agape of this sacrament. The ceremony, known as a velada, Spanish for "vigil," took place in a Mazatec mountain village named Huautla de Jimenez, and the shamaness who introduced the Wassons and a few of their friends to the secret rites was the later to become famous Maria Sabina. Later, as the village was overrun with westerners seeking either god or kicks, she was to rue her action, declaring "From the moment the foreigners arrived the 'holy children' [Mazatec euphemism for the mushrooms, which are otherwise not named directly] lost their purity. They lost their force, they ruined them. Henceforth they will no longer work. There is no remedy for it."
Subsequently the Wassons wrote about their experiences, first in an article in Life magazine, followed by various books. Their accounts triggered a wave of experimentation with these mushrooms which resulted in their eventual classification in the USA and international treaties as a Schedule I drug.
Effects
Psychedelic mushrooms can elicit a range of bodily and mental effects, such as:
- Physical
- Sensory
- Closed-eye visuals
- Open-eye visual effects
- Auditory effects
- Emotional
- Euphoric states
- Beatific states
- paranoia and/or anxiety including panic
- Intellectual
- Loop or confused thinking
- Introspective thinking
- Mental clarity
- Transcendent insight
As with many psychoactive substances, the effects of the mushrooms are unpredictable and strongly dependent upon set and setting. Generally speaking the experience of psilocybin containing mushrooms lasts four to six hours or more, is inwardly oriented, and there can be strong visual and auditory components. Visions and revelations may be experienced, and the effect can range from exhilarating to terrifying. There can be also a total absence of effects, even when under the influence of large doses.
Native practice suggests that the effects are also affected by one's preparation. The Mazatecs purify themselves before a velada, abstaining from meat, eggs, alcohol and sex for four days previous to a velada. The veladas are always done in the dark in a protected and sealed space which no one may enter or leave until all have returned to ordinary reality. Modern psychonauts often speak of "packing" for the trip, by which is meant a loading of information into the brain prior to "departure", e.g. by reading a philosophical writing or watching nature or science documentaries in the days immediately prior to the planned experience. These are ways of adjusting one's set and setting prior to the experience.
In addition, there has been some segue in the states in scientific exploration of the benefits of magic mushrooms for the treatment of chronic cluster headaches.
Legal Status
The fly-agaric is not a controlled substance in most countries.
Access to ergot and ergoline alkaloids is usually restricted since these substances are precursors to LSD.
In most western countries possession and use of psilocybian mushrooms is illegal. An exception to that rule is The Netherlands (Holland) where fresh mushrooms can be obtained in so-called smart shops which specialize in ethnobotanicals. Dried mushrooms however are considered a "preparation" and thus remain illegal even in Holland. Nonetheless there is an active international trade both in mushrooms and in spores, which can be grown in sterile medium. (See Drug policy of the Netherlands.)
As of the July 18th, 2005, both dried and 'prepared' (made into a tea, etc.) psilocybian mushrooms were made illegal in the United Kingdom. Prior to this date, fresh mushrooms were widely available, but Clause 21 of the Drugs Bill 2005 made fresh magic mushrooms ('fungi containing psilocin') a Class A drug.
In the United States, possession of psilocybin containing mushrooms is largely illegal. Fresh or unprepared psilocybian mushrooms that grow wild in Florida are legal to possess; however, you will be hard-pressed not to be hassled by authorities for having them.
Magic mushrooms are usually sold on the black market dried, but are sometimes incorporated into chocolate or baked into brownies, cakes or muffins.
Related Topics
- psilocybe mushrooms are the most common psychedelic mushrooms.
- Amanita muscaria, or Fly Agaric, is a psychoactive mushroom used by Siberian shamans.
- Ergot (Claviceps purpurea) is suspected of being one of the ingredients in the presumably psychoactive drink kykeon taken by the participants to the Eleusinian Mysteries.
- LSD and DMT are psychoactive compounds chemically related and producing effects similar to those of psilocybin.
- ayahuasca is a DMT containing psychoactive drink used by South American shamans.
- mescaline is a phenethylamine found in peyote which produces effects similar to those of [psilocybin]] and has a history of traditional use by native North Americans.
Nomenclature
The word psychedelic is a neologism coined from the Greek words for "mind," ψυχη (psyche), and "manifest," δηλειν (delein) and is usually the preferred nomenclature because of it's relative neutrality. The word hallucinogenic though common parlance is somewhat of a misnomer in the sense that psychedelic mushrooms do not primarily cause true hallucinations and is often avoided because of negative connotations. See the article on psychedelics, dissociatives, and deliriants for further discussion of classes and terminology of psychoactive substances.
Magic mushrooms is a common colloquial term almost always refering to psilocybian mushrooms.
A list of slang terms for psychedelic mushrooms is given below:
- Boomers
- Caps
- Cubes
- Fungus
- Fun Guys
- God's flesh
- Gooms
- Laughing Jims
- Liberty caps
- Magic mushrooms
- Mexican mushrooms
- Moon children
- Mush (especially in Quebec)
- Mushies
- Pizza
- Rooms
- Shrooms
- Zooms
- Zoomers
References
- R. Gordon Wasson, The Wondrous Mushroom: Mycolatry in Mesoamerica
- Alvaro Estrada, Maria Sabina: Her Life and Chants
- Terence McKenna, Food of the Gods
External links
Books
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