FLY AGARIC: A COMPENDIUM OF HISTORY, PHARMACOLOGY, MYTHOLOGY AND EXPLORATION EDITED BY KEVIN FEENEY: A BOOK REVIEW BY JUAN CAMILO RODRÍGUEZ MARTINEZ

 

This book review is dedicated to R. Gordon Wasson and his wife Valentina Wasson
Authorities in the studies around Amanita muscaria...

A Special dedication to my little dog Sussy the Shitzu and her faithful company in the process of writing this document.



"En el hongo Amanita muscaria (L. ex Fr.) Hoook., las abreviaciones a continuación de la especie, significan que Linneo (L.) describió la especie en el siglo antepasado; que Fries (Fr.) la actualizó en el siglo pasado, pero en ambos casos en otro género ajeno a Amanita; en particular, en el género Agaricus (Como Agaricus muscarius); de ahí que las abreviaciones L. y Fr. esten entre paréntesis  y entre ellas el prefijo "ex". Posteriormente Hooker transfirió la especie muscarius al género Amanita, que es el binomio aquí usado (debido a la terminación de las palabras genéricas, Agaricus y Amanita, el nombre se escribe con diferente ortografía, muscarius o muscaria). El nombre de Agaricus muscarius L. ex Fr. es pues, un sinónimo de Amanita muscaria."

- Identificación De Los Hongos: Comestibles, Venenosos, Alucinantes y Destructores De La Madera
Gastón Guzmán (1977)

INITIATION

This wonderful book arrives to my hands directly from Kevin Feeney. He is one of the authors featured in the book and the one responsible person who has compiled the articles presented in this outstanding work. 

It´s a book dedicated...  I would better say its a book consacrated to the enigmatic and iconic mushroom: Amanita muscaria.

This is the most famous species of them all featured in many of the Fairy Tales and 3D Movies that are projected on the Movie Theaters. It´s been said since the beggining of posmodern times that the mushroom that gives the power to Mario Bros its the classic mushroo that also makes him grow up. Amazing video game. The main character has to beat a drago and rescue a princess like in a Fairy Tale. Along his quest he is aided by plant that makes him fly and also flowers and different stuff that helps him fly and beath is enemies all along the levels.

Mushrooms had been an influence in classic literature: You can read about them in the Anna Karenina by Leon Tolstoi, and in the Thomas Mann works they are mentioned. Also H. G Wells wrote about them and actual poets are still inspired by the mushroom like cyberpunk poet Rudy Rucker and his outstanding literature of a cybernetic future in which humans, and robots, and alien transmissions are the main themes. I´ve recommend his Ware Tetralogy.

Maybe J. G. Frazers mystery in this book The Golden Bough has now been solved for once at all...

The Golden Bough could be the Amanita muscaria mushroom.

The alchemical process taking place and the red toxic disc turning into a golden sacrament of white heavenly light.

Why not? I dare to suggest it. 

Maybe Persephone was abducted by Hades with an Amanita muscaria...

Well to much for a beggining...

Let´s continue with the review of the book...

The book opens with an introduction by Kevin Feeney presenting this marvellous work. The book is divided in five parts: Part I: MUSHROOM HUNTING & IDENTIFICATION, Part II: RELIGION, CULTURE & FOLKLORE, Part III: ARCHAEOLOGICAL EVIDENCE, Part IV: DIET & CUISINE, and the last one is Part V: PHARMACOLOGY & PHYSIOLOGICAL EFFECT.

In the introduction the author writes: "The fly agaric, some claim, is at the foundation of all human religions." I would agree in part with this statement but regarding this idea I would say that I do believe the first mushrooms that gave humans an spiritual experience where the Psilocybin containing ones, in their quest for survival and edible food search. This would lead to mushroom exploration and the discovery of the secrets of the Fly Agaric mushroom and eventually to the foundings of mycological lore and mushroom cults with the Amanita muscaria turning into its definitive sacrament. 

I will do an extensive book review about this fantastic masterpiece and I want to thank Kevin for counting with me and sending me his book.

I will add to the book review my comments relating it to my own researchs around the Fly Agaric mushroom and its possible use by the indigenous Muiscas in prehispanic Colombia that I exposed in my articles Soma and The Muiscas: The Colombian Mushroom Cults, and THE HALLUCINOGENIC FUNGI OF COLOMBIA, A NEW PERSPECTIVE: An Historical Examination of Possible Past Cultic Use by the Prehispanic Muiscas and Current Ludible Use by Tourists and Local Populations in the Department of Boyacá, that was written along with John W. Allen.

So here we go...

Part I: Mushroom Hunting & Identification

Chapter 1
Mushroom Hunting by Kevin Feeney

The first chapter of the book invites the reader to the hunt of mushrooms. Its a simple short chapter well conceived with the basics that a mushroom forager should consider. The following is the list of important tips given by Kevin:

* Basket
* Paper or wax paper bags
* Small knife 
* Brush
* Pocket field guide
* Compass
* Whistle 
* Water
* Snacks 
* Warm or water-resistant clothes
* Boots
* Extra clothes and shoes to keep in the car
* Camera 
* Mushroo picking or wilderness permits, if necessary
* A companion

Kevin gives us the advice to contact our local mushroom society and get all the permits and know all the local laws regarding mushroom picking. A curious data exposed in this chapter is that while  Psilocybin containing mushrooms are reguled by laws in all the USA the hunt of Amanita muscaria and other psychoactive Amanita sp. mushroos is allowed in almost all USA except in the state of Louisiana.  

Curiously the most common psychoative Amanita sp. available in the state of Louisiana is Amanita persicina.

Amanita muscaria var. aureola in Villa de Leyva, Colombia. Photo Courtesy of Juan Camilo Rodríguez Martínez

Chapter 2
Amanita Basics by Kevin Feeney

This chapter focus on the genus Amanita.

Amanita has two subgenera:  Subgenus Amanita and Subgenus Lepidella. This is related because of a difference in the spores. This is determinated by the way they react when exposed to Melzer´s reagent. Very interesting data compiled in this chapter. 

The Subgenus Amanita has the following sections:

Section Amanita that has the following subsections: Subsection Amanita, Subsection Amanitella, Subsection Gemmatae, Subsection Pantherinae. 

Section Caesaerae and Section Vaginatae also belong to the to the Subgenus Amanita.

The Subgenus Lepidella has the following sections:

Section Lepidella, Section Amidella, Section Phalloideae, and Section Validae.

As the author writes in the chapter: "To date all of the psychoactive Amanita have been identified whithin subgenus Amanita section Amanita, which is quite distant from subgenus Lepidella, section Phalloideae, which contains several of the dealiest Amanita species including the notorious "Death Cap" Amanita phaloides.   

In a clever and very updated way Kevin introduces us to the basics of the Amanita making honour to the title of this chapter. 

Chapter 3
Psychoactive Amanitas of North America by Kevin Feeney

Kevin gives us a picture of the psychoactive members that belong to the genus Amanita in North America. A field guide. The following species are described in detail: Amanita muscaria var. muscaria, Amanita chrysoblema, Amanita muscaria subsp. flavivolvata, Amanita muscaria var. guessowii, Amanita persicina, Amanita regalis, Amanita crenulata, Amanita aprica, Amanita gemmata, Amanita pantherinoides, Amanita "pantherina", Amanita multisquamosa,  and Amanita velatipes.

Also the lookalikes of the species are provided along with their edibility, the seasons in which they can be found adding to these the habitat and the regions in which they had been reported.

This chapter is full of colorful photos and its very specific.

Here ends the first part of the book: Mushroom Hunting & Identification. Providing the reader with the basic knowledge for the following pages.

Commentary for Part I: Mushroom Hunting & Identification (Amanitas in Bogotá, Colombia.)

The reading its catchy and very specialized written in an updated language that anyone can understand. 

Even if the book is mainly compiled from various researchers its Kevin Feeneys research and checking the index you feel the presence and contributions of Kevin Feeney all around the book. 

I want to share right now the different Amanita mushrooms I had found in the city in which I live: Bogotá, Colombia. 

Amanita muscaria subsp. flavivolvata Photo Courtesy of Juan Camilo Rodríguez Martínez

Amanita brunneolocularis Photo Courtesy of Juan Camilo Rodríguez Martínez

Amanita brunneolocularis var. pallida Photo Courtesy of Juan Camilo Rodríguez Martínez

Amanita amerirubescens Photo Courtesy of Juan Camilo Rodríguez Martínez

__________________________________________

Amanita sp. found in Jardín Botánico Jose Celestino Mutis. Some species had been suggested for this mushroom including Amanita gemmata, Amanita junquillea, and Amanita xylinivolva. Photo Courtesy by Juan Camilo Rodríguez Martínez

Amanita manicata Photo Courtesy of Juan Camilo Rodríguez Martinez. There is a discussion around the naming of this genus: If it should be called Amanita or Saproamanita.

There are mushrooms belonging to the genus Amanita that are endemic from Colombia but there is a discussion around Amanita muscaria if it was an introduced species or if it was available in Colombian Prehispanic Indigenous times... Last scientific research states that Amanita muscaria has established relation with endemic colombian trees... 

Let´s continue...

Part II: Religion, Culture & Folklore

Chapter 4
Soma´s Third Filter: New Findings Supporting the Identification of Amanita muscaria as the Ancient Sacrament of the Vedas by  Kevin Feeney & Trent Austin



R. Gordon Wasson was the first one to propose Amanita muscaria as the sacrament that was featured in the Rg Veda ancient scriptures of India. 

In this chapter the authors confirm the idea but discuss the filters proposed by Wasson.

The three filters correspond to the phases of preparation of the Soma. 

While the two first filters proposed by Wasson are accepted by the authors the third filter is discussed.

The first filter is related to the sun-drying or desiccation of the mushroom while the second filter belongs to  a woolen filter conceived to remove the solid remains of the liquid elixir. The third filter proposed by Wasson corresponds to the Idea that after ingesting the Amanita muscaria and passing throug the human body the urine produced will be the purest form of Soma.

It´s well known the practice among Siberian shamans to share the urine after ingesting the mushroom.

Ibotenic Acid and Muscimol are the two principal compounds in the Amanita muscaria mushroom resposible for the psychoactive effects. It has been proved that Ibotenic Acid is descarboxylated it will transform into the more potent Muscimol. This result can be obtained after drying the mushroom or cooking it into the fire.

We will discuss the preparations of Soma latter in this book review and also we will deepen in the pharmacology of the Amanita muscaria.

The authors of this chapter propose a new third filter: Milk. Based on scientific reseach and interpretations of the Rg Veda in which Milk is mentioned numerous times.

The authors verify by the scientific method the idea that the enzyme glutamate descarboxylase (GAD) plays a fundamental role  on the Ibotenic acid and Muscimol contents on infusions made from Amanita muscaria var. guessowii.

Add to this also the possible role of Lactobacillus bacteria that consumes  lactose and converts it into lactid acid.

As the writer of this book review I agree with the authors of this chapter in the fundamental role that milk plays in the preparation of Soma.

In my personal experience I can assure that freshly milked milk potentiates the effects of the Amanita muscaria mushroom.

I will talk on my personal experiences with the Fly Agaric mushroom further in this book review.

Chapter 5
Travels with Santa and his Reindeer by Lawrence Millman

Merry Old Santa Claus by Thomas Nast. © North Wind Picture Archives

It´s an extended idea among ethnomycology that Santa Claus was inspired by Siberian shamans and the ingestion of Amanita muscaria. On a personal communication between Richard Evans Schultes and John W. Allen, Schultes says he does not accept the idea. This is featured in my article The Hallucinogenic Fungi of Colombia: A New Perspective written together with John W. Allen.

As the author of this chapter stipulates: "In a 1986 article in The New Scientist, the English historian Ronald Hutton sismissed the notion that Santa Claus, or Father Christmas, might have been a mushroom-taking Siberian shaman." 

This is very interesting. 

Instead, Lawrence Millman, exposed the idea that Santa Claus may be inspired by a Sami (Lapp) shaman. On the Wikipedia page you read the following: "The Sámi people (/ˈsɑːmi/ SAH-mee; also spelled Sami or Saami) are an indigenous Finno-Ugric people inhabiting Sápmi, which today encompasses large northern parts of Norway, Sweden, Finland and the Kola Peninsula within the Murmansk Oblast of Russia."

When one was victim of an enchanment in the ancient traditional Sami culture a shaman would visit you to give you a magical cure. The shaman will arrive in his reindeer-drawn sled. Because of the snow he would enter your house through the smoke-hole or chimney.

The shaman would ingest some Amanita muscaria  dried mushrooms prior to the medical visit.

He would do a diagnosis and determinate you are a victim of a spell.

While he is attending you he would spit you, while singing, and beating his magical drum. 

This will result in the shaman curing your ailment. 

Lawrence Millman tells us that the noaidi (Sami shaman) personificates the Amanita muscaria mushroom. 

In anthropologic studies the idea that shamans personificate the magical plants and mushrooms used in their rituals it´s an extended point of view to take into account. Would be also noteworthy to cite at this moment the story that Keewaydinoquay Peschel narrated to R. Gordon Wasson: "The Legend of Miskweedo". The main character of this story that belongs to the Anishinnaabeg indigenous peoples of North America turns himself into an Amanita muscaria mushroom.

In my personal point of view I really think there is an influence of the ancient Amanita muscaria mushroom cults and the Christmas celebrations. The modern gifts under the Christmas tree could be symbolic representations of the Amanita muscaria mushrooms and a reminiscence of the tree-mushroom cults celebrated in the past. 

Chapter 6
A Search for Soma in Russia´s Kamchatka Peninsula by Jason Salzman, Emanuel Salzman, Joanne Salzman, and Gary Lincoff

R. Gordon Wasson was unable to visit the Soviet Union while he was alive to confirm his observations in his book Soma Divine Mushroom of Immortality on the uses of Amanita muscaria.

Wasson struggled to get to visit the Soviet Union but was denied permits by local authorities. There was a prohibition and as you can read in the article: "Under the Sovierts, Siberia and the Russian Far East - which included Kamchatka- were closed to foreigners to protect secret military instalations and the gulag prison system."

In this chapters the authors write their experiences in the 90s when they managed to travel to the Kamchatka peninsula in Russia after the ban came to an end.

The adventures of the authors in Russian lands are fascinating.The descriptions of the landscapes and the fear of the inhabitants towards the Amanita muscaria is truly wonderful and the ethnographic is masterfully descripted.

Tatiana's story looks like something out of a fairy tale. Her dress equal to the Amanita muscaria and the theatricality that she shows towards foreigners is wonderful. At first she feels suspicious but the investigators earn her trust. According to what can be read, the persecution of the Soviet regime towards shamans and the cult of the Amanita muscaria has led the survivors and depositaries of the ancient tradition to maintain a silence around the subject.

The authors' experiments with the fungus and the verification of its hallucinatory effects described at the end of the article leave more questions to be solved than concrete answers to a mystery.

The Fly Agaric is called in russian "mukhomor" (mukho=fly, mor=death), The etymology of the word suggests an entheogen. A mushroom that takes you away to the other side.

The author´s conclusion is that mukhomor could had been Soma. 

Chapter 7
In Pursuit of Yaga Mukhomorovna; The Finno-Ugric Connection and Beyond by Frank M. Dugan



In this short chapter the author introduces us to Baba Yaga, the famous witch character from Russian fairy tales. She is well known in traditional European and world folklore. The author establishes the relationships of this fantastic character with the Amanita muscaria mushroom and also investigates its possible non-Russian origin. The chapter is interesting as it establishes relationships between fairy tales and pagan traditions. Something to notice is how the presence of these cannibal witches extends to legends and folklore around the world. Baba Yaga is sometimes despicted as a one-legged woman relating this physical feature to a mushrom. 

In Colombia, for example, we find the legend of LA PATASOLA. A woman who was unfaithful to her husband and is transformed into a lost soul condemned to live among the bushes of the plain and the jungle. After being unfaithful to her husband and he discovers her, she manages to escape but before that the husband murders his lover and cuts off one of the woman's leg. The woman manages to escape and becomes a hideous one-legged being with cannibal habits that feeds on the flesh and blood of other human beings.

Something interesting in this chapter is the relationship established between Baba Yaga and the goddesses of nature in ancient traditions. Women may have been the first to know the wisdom and knowledge of mushrooms. The kitchen may have been the first laboratory and the origin of culinary practices related to mushrooms as well as the secrets of entheogenic fungi and the development of Goddess cults.

Chapter 8

Magical Potions: Entheogenic Themes in Scandinavian Mythology by Steven Leto

The author of this chapter exposes his research around the possibility of entheogenic themes in Scandinavian mythology. After a visit to an archaeological site called Tofta högar in Sweden in which he finds a lot of mushrooms belonging to the species Psilocybe semilanceata and comparing the form of this mushrooms to some  cup-shaped petroglyphs in a stone found at the archaeological place he founds the mushrooms matched the cup hole carvings.

It´s very interesting the comparison he makes around Clark Heinrich Amanita muscaria trips and Terence Mckenna Psilocybe experiences with themes found in the legends and folklore of ancient scandinavian mythology. This makes him conclude in an ancient forgotten past the mushroom where used by the ancient culture of Scandinavia.

Indeed magical fruits and potions present in ancient mythologies and fairy tales could be a symbollic representation of entheogens and a way to hide them of the persecution by christianity to the pagan traditions. 

I want to quote the next passage of this chapter: "In an early descroption of a Sami shamanic ritual from 1670, the Swedish explored Nicolai Lundius (1670:7) relates: Shortly after the Noid had begun beating his drum, he fell dead to the ground and his body was hard as stone. During this time, the others present continued to sing a song, After about an hourm the Noid got up and started to sing as well, as he slowly beat the drum. After a time he began to tell how he had been under the earth (author´s translation). 

This passage remembers me what wrote Robert Graves regarding a initiation ceremony the druids practiced that its featured in The White Goddess. The poet that was initiated after the ingestion of Amanita muscaria falls into a deep sleep surrounded by the other poets who would take care of him until he awakes from the dream.

This is very interesting and suggest the idea that Amanita muscaria could had been the Soma that also inspired the poets of the Rg Veda. 

Chapter 9
An Attempt to Explain the Battle-Fury of the Ancient Berserker Warriors through Natural History by Samuel Ödmann.

This was originally published back in 1784 in Sweden and its the first article in which the idea that the Berserker warriors of the Scandinavian folklore where intoxicated with the mushroom Amanita muscaria that was the responsible to provoke in them the fury that inspired their violent fights was exposed.

On a personal way the biting of their shields done by these warriors could represent the ingestion of the canopy of the mushrom while the swords could symbolically represent the stems.

It´s curious that Odin was surrounded by 12 Berserker warriors and in the same way Jesus was accompanied by 12 apostles. 

In my personal experience I would found impossible to establish a battle under the effects of Amanita muscaria. The sleepy and trippy dream-state effects wont allow to participate in a battle. I would propose a mushroom of the genus Psilocybe reponsible for the rage in the battles that made famous this legendary warriors.

Odin has over his two shoulders two ravens. The Muiscas indigenous tribe in Colombia, South America principal god named Chiminigagua has also two birds in his shoulders. 

That is a coincidence. 

It seems the cults of Odin arrived to the Scandinavian culture and folklore from somewhere else.
Maybe it has its origins on an Aryan civilization. 

In a personal communication with Clark Heinrich he is convinced the mushroom used by the Berserkers was the Amanita muscaria. 

Chapter 10
The Berserkers: Odin´s Warriors and the Mead of Inspiration by Mark A. Hofmann & Carl A. P. Ruck

The authors brilliantly reaffirm the idea that Amanita muscaria was the mushroom used by the Berserker warriors that accompanied Odin. 

That article includes interesting R. Gordon Wasson notes around the subject. He was open to the idea but concluded that Soma was not used by the Berserkers. In a quote featured in this article and originally  published on the book "Persephone´s Quest" published the same year of his demise Wasson wrote the following: "There is no shred of historical evidence that the´´rages´ were provoked by  Soma. He continues: "Nowhere in the Soma world, neither in the New or the Old World, is there support for the notion that it made warriors better fighters. On the contrary, the evidence shows that is a pacific agent."

Regarding the above I agree with Wasson that the Amanita muscaria was not the species used by the Berserkers before the battles for its numbing, paralizing and hallucinogenic effects but in personal communications with Clark Heinrich he assures me the mushroom used before the fights was the Amanita muscaria because when mostly of the Ibotenic Acid is transformed into Muscimol the effects of the mushroom change into more stimulating.

The authors of this article give enough proofs that suggest that the Amanita muscaria was used by the Berserkers of Odin. I will propose that the Amanita muscaria was used in an initiatory rite among this brotherhood of warriors but before the fights the mushroom used  by the Berserkers was a containining Psilocibyn species like Psilocybe semilanceata. 

The recipe for Soma that propose the authors is interesting. Regarding Mead I don´t think alcohol was part of the magical potion but Milk and Honey are great candidates for the mythical elixir. 

Mead and other alcoholic drinks are surrogates of the original Soma. Alcoholic inebriation its mundane while the Soma experience is divine.

We could be talking around a mushroom lore complex belonging to the Scandinavian cultures that comprised a great knowledge around fungi including many hallucinogenic species and the practices of consumption of edible species because of their nutritional values without discarding medicinal uses. 

In a privated communication to John W. Allen, ethnobotanist Richard Evans Schultes informed him that the Berserker story has been debunked. This is featured in the article: "The Hallucinogenic Fungi of Colombia: A New Perspective." by Juan Camilo Rodríguez Martínez with John W. Allen. 

Image featured in the article The Hallucinogenic Fungi of Colombia: A New Perspective by Juan Camilo Rodríguez Martínez with John W. Allen 

Chapter 11
Speckled Snake, Brother of Birch: Amanita Muscaria Motifs in Celtic Legends by Erinn Rowan Laurice & Timothy White

I´ve read this chapters years ago. The article is available online and you can easily find it on the Internet. When I decided to do my first researchs around the Fly Agaric mushroom this was one of the first readings I found regarding the mysterious subject. Also this reading was the one that inspired me the idea that not only magical edible foods but also magical artifacts like staffs and wands present in ancient legends and myths could be symbolic representations of entheogenic motives.

This is reflected in my own research around possible uses of sacred mushrooms by pre-Hispanic indigenous tribes in Colombia, South America.

The possibility of the presence of the Amanita muscaria mushrooms in Ireland is discussed in this article in ancient times before it was deforested.

Also the iniciatory rites practiced by the druids and filidh (elite class of poets in ancient celtic cutures), in which exists the possibility that the Fly Agaric mushrooms were used as visionary sacraments are examined. 

Fascinating.

The shamanic fly is indeed a trip to the other side. To the Underworld of Fairy Tales and Fantastic beings. The shaman leaves this mundane world seeking an answer in the divine. He becomes a hero in a quest. He is aided by magical fruits, artifacts and beings. He must defeat the dragon and rescue the princess.

Like in the Mario Bros Videogames. 

Because of the persecution of which shamanic practices have been victims throughout history, the codification of the different rituals and the use of entheogens in the stories of the oral tradition has been effective in preserving the secrets over time

This happened in Europe and also with the pre-Hispanic indigenous traditions in America.

And who knows somewhere else?

This encoding practice of the pagan traditions of the past is also reflected in the modern fairy tales and children 3d movies. 

Snow White was probably under the effects of the Amanita muscaria mushroom. 

The way in which the authors relate ancient Celtic legends to the use of entheogens and the initiation ceremonies of ancient shamans and poets is brilliant and leaves no doubt about the secret and well-kept knowledge around the Amanita muscaria among the Celts.




Chapter 12
Fly Agaric Motifs in the Cú Chulaind Myth Cycle by Thomas J. Riedlinger

In this brief chapter the author relates different episodes of the mythical cycle of the cultural hero Cú Chulaind of ancient Ireland with the possible use of the Amanita muscaria in ancient celtic cultures. 

Establishing parallels between different events in which the Irish cultural hero is the protagonist and the inebriant effects caused by the Fly Agaric, the author concludes that Cú Chulaind may be a personification of the mushroom.

This idea reminds me of John Allegro´s book: The Sacred Mushroom and The Cross: A study of the nature and origins of Christianity within the fertility cults of the ancient Near East; in this polemic book the author suggested that Jesus of Nazareth was a mushroom.

There is an important parallel that the author establishes between the Vedic deity Rudra and the Irish culture hero Cú Chulaind.

The author concludes that the origin of both characters may be the same and be a cultural vestige of a common Indo-European past dating back to the Aryan migrations.

Chapter 13
Bride of Brightness and Mother of All Wisdom: An Ethnomycological Reassessment of Brigid, Celtic Fertility Goddess and Patron Saint of Ireland by Peter McCoy

The article presented in this chapter is dedicated to the goddess Brigid, it´s possible origins and evolution examining the possible relations around this female fertility deity and the Amanita muscaria mushroom. This chapter is connected with the previous two  and all three are centeder in the Celtic cultures and their possible use of the Fly Agaric in their rituals.

In my personal opinion the author forces a little the coincidences between the goddess Brigid and her connectios with a mushroom cult while some of his observations are truly wonderful and make sense and the article reads absurd and exaggerated like the hallucinations that one can feel under the effects of the Amanita muscaria which is wonderful and brilliant ethnomycology from Peter McCoy. 

The triple goddess conceived as a virgin, as a bride mother, and finally as a chnotic crone is a constant motive present in the ancient world cultures and its relations to a and ancient mushroom goddess are possible and should not be discarded. 

Something to consider about the ancient celtic goddess Brigid is how her cult has perpetuated in time because of religious syncretism. Brigid in the ancient roman conquest initiated by Julius Caesar was possibly adopted by the romans in the form of the warrior Brigantia. In words of the author: "It is thought that the Romans found similarities between Brigantia and their own warrior goddess Minerva, as surviving statues of Brigantia despict her wearing a helmet, hosting wings, and holding a spear, all of which are Minervan features.

When the christians arrived to celtic regions christianizing celtic believes the celtic goddess Brigid was turned into Saint Brigid mantaining all her pagan attributes. This happens a lot with may of the actual catholic saints adored worldwide. You can track behind them a pagan origin. 

A noteworthy detail in the illustration featured in this article based on a british statue of Brigantia is that Peter McCoy interprets the Minervan symbols as references to the Amanita muscaria mushroom.

I would suggest also that the spear that is holding Brigantia also resembles the hallucinogenic mushroom Psilocybe semilanceata.

In the classic book "The Golden Bought" by anthropologist J. G. Frazer the author concludes that the golden bought is in reality  is mistletoe but its relations with the Oak and the Fly Agaric makes us question if in reality the golden bough maybe was the Amanita muscaria mushroom.

This chapter is very interesting and more research around an ancient mushroom goddess must be done. There is a lot of resemblance between the Venus of Willendorf statue and an Amanita muscaria in its egg stage. 

The Goddess Mycellium comparison is really wonderful. 

Venus of Willendorf as shown at the Naturhistorisches Museum in Vienna, Austria, in January 2020
Photo by Bjørn Christian Tørrissen
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Venus_of_Willendorf_-_All_sides.jpg

Chapter 14
Mail-Order Mushrooms: An Interview with Mark Niemoller by Kevin Feeney and Mark  Niemoller



This chapter transcribes the interview that Kevin Feeney conducted with Mark Niermoller by electronic means during the summer of 2018. 

Mark Niemoller is the founder of the company JLF: Poisonous Non-Consumables that had its origins in the mid to late 80s. They started selling dried mushrooms of the Amanita muscaria species and over time they increased their catalog and offered products of ethnobotanical interest in a very original way.

Eventually the company had to close due to legal problems that led its founder to a lawsuit from which he came out well. The company operated until 2005 but actually its decline began in 2001 after a severe police raid.

This chapter in one way or another showss the risks to which suppliers of ethnobotanical products are exposed in the United States and how rigorous the laws can be against these products of natural origin.

The JFL: Poisonous Non-Consumables product catalog was brilliantly conceived. Their sales policies were clear. Everything they sold was forbidden to consume.

JFL: Poisnous Non-Consumables collective is a legend of postmodern ethnobotany and will be always remembered.

This article is a masterful example of current ethnomycology.

Chapter 15
Glückspilz: The Lucky Mushroom by Kevin Feeney



The article is about the relationship of the Amanita muscaria mushroom with good luck. It is a widespread belief in much of Europe and especially in Germany that Fly Agaric is a symbol of good luck.

In Germany the Amanita muscaria mushroom is commonly known by two names: Fliegenpilz and . In words of the author: "The first of these names is easy to explain as it is a direct translation of fly agaric or fly mushroom, and highlights and association between flies and Amanita muscaria that has been recognized since before 1256 AD, when the folk practice of using Amanita muscaria as an insecticide in Europe was observed and recorded by Albertus Magnus in his De vegetabilibus." 

In Colombia, the peasants of the deparment of Santander have insecticidal uses with the Fly Agaric and another widespread belief among the peasants of the deparment of Boyaca is that when lighning strikes the earth an Amanita muscaria will suddenly apear next day. All this in Colombia, South America. There is even an edible mushroom species called by the peasants of Boyaca "Hongo de Rayo" that translated to english means Mushroom of the Lightning. 

In a great display of talent and ethnomicology we learn from Kevin about the use of a talisman in the shape of Amanita muscaria by a Nazi military division in World War II. The author inquires about the possible origins and symbols of this war garment.

Apparently the belief of the Amanita muscaria as a symbol of good luck in Alemanita also influenced the mushroom to become a symbol of Christmas in Europe. Today in Colombia the Amanita muscaria has become a very common motif in Christmas decorations.

The chimney sweep interpreted as a traveler between the worlds and the chimney as an interdimensional portal is an idea that personally seems fantastic to me and reminds me of Mario Bros trip to the world of mushrooms through a tube. Mario Bros is a plumber in the video game.

Apparently the Amanita muscaria as one of the symbols of Christmas has spread throughout the world.

This chapter introduces us to the next one: 

The translation into english of an old german Fairy Tale published first in the year of 1910.

Der Glückspilz: Ein Neues Märchen.

Chapter 16
The Lucky Mushroom: A New Fairy Tale Story Original Verses by Marie Meissner Illustrations by Karl Schicktanz Adapted by Sandra Grecki

The protagonists of this story are quite well known throughout the world. Hansel and Gretel but the adventure that happens to them in this story is totally different from the one that has spread everywhere that includes a witch and a house made of sweets and chocolate.

In this version of events Hansel and Gretel get lost in the enchanted forest and are helped by Rapunzel but here we find the German version that differs totally known throughout the world as a girl with long hair.

In this version of events Rapunzel is a fantastic being with a white long beard that wears a red cloak, who lives deep in the forest inside a Fly Agaric accompanied by many animals that in one way or another may represent the Amanita muscaria fungus in its animal shamanic manifestations.

Rapunzel is the same Fly Agaric. 

The children spend the night in Rapunzel's mushroom house.

Rapunzel helps them return home after meeting the king of the forest who is also a clear anthropomorphization of the Amanita muscaria. In their adventures in the enchanted forest the children collect a clover and a piglet that are symbols of good luck like the mushroom. The story has a happy ending and the children happily return home to their parents.

Commentary for Part II: Religion, Culture & Folklore (Raven´s bread and the Holy Grail of Fairy Tales)

Clark Heinrich's research on the Amanita muscaria is some of the most profound that has been carried out. The relationship he makes between the mushroom and the Catholic religion is groundbreaking. In his book Magic Mushrooms in Religion & Alchemy the author reveals secrets of the Amanita muscaria that the academy had missed in its meticulous analyzes. R. Gordon Wasson was very interested in Heirich's research but they could not meet.

He indicated the relationships of a cult of Amanita muscaria present in the symbology expressed by Matthias Grünewald in his Isenheim altarpiece and how all these issues spread throughout the Catholic religion,  where mushrooms are found hidden in stained glass windows inside churches and in paintings exhibited in art museums throughout Europe.

It has been suggested that the Catholic religion was founded on the ashes of the spiritual beliefs of the ancient Roman Empire and primitive Christianity.

It is probable that the Catholic Church was founded on the basis of a mushroom cult where the main sacrament was the Amanita muscaria.

John Allegro suggested that Jesus Christ was a mushroom and that the ancient Jews practiced fertility cults inspired by the Amanita muscaria.

The idea that the holy grail is the Fly Agaric is widespread in the ethnomicological community. It is said that Joseph of Arimathea takes the holy grail to England but other versions claim that the holy grail reaches European territory. This is the basis of the Chivalric Literature and the Arthurian romance. It is said that King Arthur is based on a Roman soldier who revolts against the Empire and joins the communities of the British Islands in their fight for freedom.

According to legend, the holy grail was the cup used by Jesus Christ and his disciples at the Last Supper to drink the wine.

The characters in the Arthurian romance seem to be under the influence of hallucinogenic mushrooms all the time. Lancelot, Galahad and Percival appear to be in the middle of a psychedelic journey while Merlin and Morgana had bemushroomed them all.

In the spanish chivalric romance Amadis de Gaula the mushroom allegories are evident.

One starts to think and the Amanita muscaria could be the basis of European fairy tales. Snow White and Sleeping Beauty may be under the influence of Fly Agaric. Alicia is under the effects of hallucinogenic mushrooms in Wonderland.

In the Japanese anime series that are shown on television we find psychedelic mushrooms. They appear in an episode of the famous animated series Cowboy Bebop.

In the Japanese anime series that are shown on television we find psychedelic mushrooms. They appear in an episode of the famous animated series Cowboy Bebop. In the graphic novel BATMAN: Arkham Asylum the Amanita muscaria mushroom is mentioned.

Amanita muscaria is a part of our popular culture. It´s literally everywhere.

What makes Super Mario Bros grow in the famous video game

In the Vatican City there is a relic preserved in the Basilica of Saint Peter.

The chair of Saint Peter has a decoration that resembles a mushroom.

It even has the stylized details indicated by R. Gordon Wasson.

The bread that the ravens bring to the prophet in the Bible ... The magical bread of the angels could be the Amanita muscaria.

The Holy Grail.

Saint Peter Chair in the Vatican City
This photograph was taken by Dnalor_01
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Rom,_Vatikan,_Petersdom,_Cathedra_Petri_(Bernini)_4.jpg

                        

Saint Peter Chair Mushroom Detail
Photo retrieved from http://stpetersbasilica.info/Altars/Cathedra/Cathedra-altar.jpg

This is the cover art for Super Mario Bros.. The cover art copyright is believed to belong to the distributor of the video game, Nintendo, or the publisher, Nintendo or the developers, Nintendo.

Part III: Archaeological Evidence

Chapter 17
Mushroom Effigies in Archaeology: A Methodological Approach by Giorgio Samorini

In this chapter Giorgio Samorini establishes the basic indications to determine if an archaeological find can suggest uses of honos in a ritual context or if on the contrary it is a simple speculation. By establishing a series of rules, the author brilliantly creates a kind of guide to determine if archaeological discoveries are really proof of uses of fungi by ancestral cultures or simple hypotheses.

Wasn't R. Gordon Wasson himself threatened for seeing mushrooms everywhere? Personally, I think that the rules are to be broken and Colombian researchers have the ability to determine that our ancestors used hallucinogenic mushrooms in ritual contexts and we do not need the approval of foreign academic authorities. All in all it was just another brick in the wall.

With respect to Kerala, the relationships established by the author between the representations of mushrooms in stone and the species of Boletus and Amanita are astonishing.

Something that caused me curiosity in this article is the reproduction of a rock art drawing that was found in Siberia that resembles the constellation Orion. Just a coincidence?

The ancient Sumerians saw in the sky the Orion constellation as a hunter fighting a Bull (The Constellation of Taurus). This connects the Orion and Taurus constellation with Vedism, Mithraism, and a cult of the Amanita muscaria.

Ancient Sumerians called the Orion constellation  by the name Uru-anna (Light in the sky).

The relationships between the ancestral cults of the Amanita muscaria and the Orion constellation should not be discarded and deserve further investigation.

In recent years, the researcher Rn Vooght has become known for his ideas that relate the constellation of Orion with the use of different entheogens in ancient cultures. His book The Spirit in the Sky deals with these issues in a complete and profound way.

In a personal communication with Rn Vooght after showing him the rock engraving in Siberia and it´s resemblance with the Orion constellation he answers the following: Nothings off the table buddy. The large black dot in the bottom left corner of the image may also be symbolic of Sirius too.

In previous communications I told him the idea that the Orion constellation makes your think abour a giant shaman in the sky holding a mushroom instead of a bow. 

Chapter 18
Beyond the Ballgame: Mushrooms, Trophy Heads, and the great Maya Collapse by Carl de Borhegyi

This article explores the relationships between the ball games practiced in pre-Hispanic Mesoamerica and relates them to a Quetzalcoatl mushroom cult and human decapitation sacrifices to propitiate the deities and maintain natural balance and cosmic order.

The author continues the investigations initiated by his father Stephan de Borhegyi who was a great friend of R. Gordon Wasson with whom he had an extensive correspondence.

Stephan de Borhegyi was the first to suggest that the mushroom-shaped stone statues found in excavations mostly in Guatemala and El Salvador are evidence of a practical mushroom cult in pre-Hispanic Mesoamerica.

The author in a show of erudition and being a great connoisseur of the subject exposes his ideas about this mysterious subject.

Carl de Borheyi is a specialist in Mesoamerican indigenous culture.

His hypothesis regarding a cult of the Amanita muscaria practiced by the ancient Mayans is fantastic and has a very credible basis to be considered true.

The conclusion in the words of the author is:"I believe an Amanita muscaria mushroom cult may still survive in remote areas of Highland Guatemala, where the mushroom grows in abundance. I also believe there is now clear evidence that the Amanita muscaria mushroom is a symbol of equal antiquity."

More research around this topic needs to be done.

Commentary for Part III: Archaeological Evidence (Amanita muscaria in Colombian Archaeology)

The pieces in the collection at the Museo del Oro in Bogotá, Colombia are famous throughout the world. Several of the objects kept in this museum suggest the possibility that the indigenous people of pre-Hispanic Colombia knew and used hallucinogenic mushrooms.

In private collections and museums around the world you can also see objects made by the indigenous people of pre-Hispanic Colombia that suggest uses of mushrooms.

When the pieces can possibly suggest the Amanita muscaria mushroom, the archaeological evidence is rather scarce and to this we will add that the current academy presumes that the Fly agaric  was introduced and was not found in Colombia in pre-Hispanic America.

However, there is a particular object found in recent times that can represent the Amanita muscaria and I will expose it below:

Muisca Mushroom-Stone. Museo de Arqueología de Soacha. This statue was found in the proximities of  Bogota, Colombia. Photo courtesy by: Andrés Ayala

I leave to the personal criteria of the readers of this literary review if these particular piece of Colombian indigenous art represents the Fly agaric mushroom or if perhaps it could represent something else.

Part IV: Diet & Cuisine

Chapter 19
The Fly Amanita by Frederick Vernon Coville

The article originally published in 1898 tells us about the edibility of the Amanita muscaria. At that time it´s gastronomic use was known in some parts of Europe. The author is surprised to find a similar use in the United States, specifically in Washington D.C among some of the African American families.

Something curious in this article is that it treats the Fly agaric as if it were a plant. Something common in those times when fungi and plants were classified in the same way in nature. The racial connotations highlighted by the author in the article are also curious and from a bygone era but still remain in some sectors of the American population.

Vinegar as an element to detoxify the mushroom and make it edible is documented in this writing.

Very interesting.

In Mexico the mushroom is still used for culinary purposes today.

Chapter 20
Amanitas in the Family: "Brownie Seats for Dinner... Again?" by Danny Curry

The author briefly recalls how in his childhood the Amanita muscaria was part of the family diet in Ohio.

In his childhood it was very common to go out to collect mushrooms for gastronomic purposes. The edible species that are commonly collected were part of the author's family diet but in the fall season the hunt of Amanita muscaria for the table became the protagonist.

The author's family named Brownie Seats the mushrooms belonging to the species Amanita muscaria var. guessowii. This in reference to the elves of Scottish folklore.

A beautiful chapter. Lovely.

The way the family of the author cooked the mushrooms was boiling and rising them twice.

Then they where breaded and fried but the mother of the author also had different preparations for the mushroom.

A detailed and beautiful brief account.

Chapter 21
Cooking with Fly Agaric by Kevin Feeney

This chapter is literally delicious.

Kevin brings us the results of his wonderful research on the nutritional values ​​of Amanita muscaria.

It is surprising to learn that the Fly agaric mushroom is a great source of Vitamin D and its nutritional values ​​equal the gourmet mushrooms traditionally found in supermarkets and that we are used to eat in restaurants.

Kevin teaches us to prepare the mushroom for strictly culinary uses in addition to giving us the way to take advantage of all the resources of the Fly Agaric for our medicinal and psychedelic interests.

At the end of this chapter the reader will find a great variety of recipes and gastronomic uses of the Amanita muscaria that surprise for their diversity of uses that include soups, pizza, sushi and a large number of kitchen applications that remain for the imagination of those who dare to try this delicious mushroom in their culinary preparations.

Commentary for Part IV: Die & Cuisine (The Taboo Against Eating the Amanita muscaria)

Amanita muscaria in Villa de Leyva, Colombia Photo Courtesy of Juan Camilo Rodríguez Martínez

In some Colombian peasant communities the use of edible mushrooms is common at certain times of the year. Among the peasants in the vicinity of Arcabuco in Boyaca, Colombia, the use of more than 30 edible species of mushrooms has been documented, but there is a certain taboo around the Amanita muscaria and the members of these communities would never consider this mushroom as a recipe in their gastronomic preparations.

This taboo is even present among the most experienced psychedelic users eager for new experiences and trying new substances. Many will avoid the Amanita muscaria and those who have had some experience with it have been negative and with results of intoxication.

Although the mushroom has culinary uses, these are not well known and there are rather few places in the world where the use of the Fly Agaric as a food source has been documented.

Likewise, how to prepare it correctly to obtain its medicinal benefits and a psychedelic experience are a secret that very few know.

Could this taboo be the origin of mycophobia? We ask ourselves this and the answer could be yes and it may be that this reverential fear of Fly agaric has spread to the other members of the kingdom of funga.

Personally, I have never tried this mushroom for culinary purposes but it is now on my to-do list.

Part V: Pharmacological & Physiological Effects

Chapter 22
Amanita muscaria Chemistry; The Mystery Demystified? by Ewa Maciejczyk

The author is very specialized in the subject of chemistry. In this article she reveals the chemistry of the Amanita muscaria.

The article focuses mainly on the compounds responsible for causing the hallucinogenic effects in the mushroom and also those that cause pigmentation in the Fly Agaric.

The name of the mushroom probably comes from its use as an insecticide in ancient times but it is also presumed in the relationship that was established in ancient times with flies as the cause of magical insanity.

Among scientists there is a hypothesis that suggests that the Amanita muscaria in one way or another kills flies and digests them by feeding on it, but this has not been proven. However, this has already been verified in other species of fungi that use insect carcasses as sources of proteinaceous material.

The first chemical investigations around this fungus were carried out for the first time in 1869 but it was not until 1964 that Ibotenic Acid and Muscimol were reported as the components responsible for the hallucinogenic effects.

It is presumed that other compounds that have not yet been discovered may also be responsible for the psychedelic effects caused by this mushroom when it is prepared properly for this purpose.

Maybe something related to a tryptamine?

Could any component in Amanita muscaria promote the production of an endogenous tryptamine in the human body?

That is beyond my knowledge. 

Just wild suggestions. 

Chapter 23
Re-examining the Role of Muscarine in Fly Agaric Inebriation by Kevin Feeney & Tjakko Stijve

In this article the authors reexamine the role that muscarine plays in the inebriations caused by Amanita muscaria.

Analyzing numerous anecdotal experiences with Fly agaric and academic papers in addition to internet pages, the authors draw the conclusion that muscarine plays a fundamental role in the inebriation by Fly Agaric or some other muscaroid agent could be involved in the hallucinogenic effects of the Fly agaric. 

Also analyzing certain stories from Siberian and Croatian folklore, the authors conclude that the effects caused by muscarine related to excessive salivation and events represented in ancient legends can be associated.

The previous relationship could be extended to other oral traditions of ancient societies.

More research is necessary.

Chapter 24
Agaricus Muscarius: The use of Fly Agaric in Homeopathy by Kevin Feeney & Bill Mann



The basic principle of homeopathic medicine is: "likes cures like" and in words of the authors: "and by determining what symptoms a particular substance causes, throught the process of a" proving ", the homeopath discovers aht ailements can be treated with that substance (or poison.)".

In the introduction Kevin introduces us to the basic concepts of homeopathy and introduces us to the case of a young patient who is treated by his homeopath (Bill Mann) with the Amanita muscaria mushroom.

Personally, it is one of the most original and controversial articles presented in this book and it is truly fascinating to read. The descriptions of the symptoms and dreams of the patient by the homeopath are detailed and the Amanita muscaria  still called in homeopathic circles (Agaricus muscarius) proves to be an effective medicine for the ailments of the patient who is the protagonist of this chapter.

The reader is introduced literally in the chapterof how wonderful and realistically narrated it is. In one way or another, the patient suffers from a certain anxiety disorder characterized by an addiction to sex and an insecurity reflected in the fear of the future and of being a victim of cancer.

Homeopathy is a system of alternative medicine created in 1796 by Samuel Hahnemann

Homeopathy is considered a pseudoscience.

Since 1828 Amanita muscaria has been used as a medicine in homeopathic practices with successful results.

Simply amazing. 

Chapter 25
Agaricus Muscarius by Horace P. Holmes

The article was originally published in 1894 in a journal specializing in homeopathic medicine.

The author briefly exposes the different medical applications of the Amanita muscaria here called Agaricus muscarius.

The solution prepared with Fly Agaric mushrooms seems to be very effective for stomach disorders of different types since the author prescribed Agaricus Muscarius to one of his patients with excellent results. He intuits that Amanita muscaria may have anticancer properties.

It also appears to be effective for eyelid twitching and can be used for various skin ailments like burning, itching, redness and swelling among others.

Other very interesting medicinal applications of Agaricus Muscarius is the one referred to as being used against Chorea.

Another use that can be given to Agaricus Muscarius is for sexual dysfunctions. In one way or another aphrodisiac properties are attributed to it.

It is a very advanced and interesting article for its time that can serve as the basis for rigorous current scientific research.

Could Amanita muscaria become a Panacea of ​​the future and a source of pharmaceutical drugs produced in the laboratory? Time will tell.

Chapter 26

Fly  Agaric as Medicine: From Traditional to Modern Use by Kevin Feeney

This chapter presents the results of a study based on personal medicinal uses of Fly Agaric. Basically the survey method was used, but a number of people participating in the study were also interviewed, which included people from various parts of the world.

For me it is one of the most complex chapters in the entire book. The introduction of this research makes an ethnographic journey tracking the medicinal uses of the Amanita muscaria. The use of this fungus as a source of medicines has been recorded in places like Scandinavia, Eastern Europe and Russia; as well as in some tribes of Siberia.

In one way or another I find it very interesting how some home uses of Amanita muscaria in some of these patients seem to confirm the latest scientific research where the benefits of some compounds of the Amanita muscaria mushroom have been verified.

The Muiscas indigenous tribe in Colombia use an ointment in a medicinal way made from the Amanita muscaria.. There is not much information about it and it has not been determined if this is a medicine of pre-Columbian heritage or if it is a medicine that has been devised in recent times.

In a personal interview with Clark Heinrich, he says that it has anti-pain properties. Moisturize a couple of dried Amanita muscaria in little water until they look like sponges. Rub the red side on the armpits and neck. Do it constantly.

The medical application of Amanita muscaria in cases of anxiety and depression seems to be promising and with long-term beneficial effects.

It also appears to be very effective for addiction treatment. Psilocybin mushrooms also prove to be very effective in treating addictions. There is a large field of promising research regarding entheogens and their applications in current psychedelic therapy.

It also appears to protect the brain from neuronal damage and memory loss. It could have anticancer and antitumor applications.

More research needs to be done on this.

Chapter 27
How to make Medical Preparations (Preparing Fly Agaric as Medicine)

 

Here Kevin teaches us how to prepare the Fly agaric mushroom for medicinal uses and the variety of products that can be obtained and the uses that the Amanita muscaria mushroom can have is surprising.

The correct way to make the tea and prepare the Amanita muscaria decoctions is taught by Kevin to the readers who after having read this chapter will be left with the desire to try an infusion and taste the Soma for themselves.

The tinctures made with this mushroom and alcohol are something new and the concentration obtained from the active compounds of the Amanita muscaria is quite high for use in drops.

At the end of this chapter there is a small section dedicated to its use as an insecticide. Among the farmers of Santander, Colombia, this use of Amanita muscaria is quite common. The canopy of the Fly agaric is placed on a jar with milk. This will attract flies that will get dizzy and fall into the liquid solution where they will drown. This information was given in personal communication to the author of this literary review by Giovanni Moreno Villamizar.

Great information of general interest is given to the reader in this article including topical uses and the like.

Chapter 28
The Experience by Kevin Feeney

Cataloging the Amanita muscaria among the classic psychedelics is practically impossible. The effects of Fly Agaric give this mushroom a unique position among entheogens and something that makes its categorization impossible are also the unpredictable and varied effects that can be obtained in an experience with Amanita muscaria.

Most of the people who come to this mushroom are in search of a psychedelic experience since there are very few people who know its usefulness in gastronomy.

In most cases, people who consume Amanita muscaria in the search of a hallucinogenic experience all they get is an upset stomach that generally passes after a few hours and after vomiting a couple of times. A classic case of poisoning that has no greater risk and does not represent greater risks if the amount ingested was small or moderate.

In the present chapter the author exposes the most common symptons after consumption of Amanita muscaria. 

It is true that the symptoms are unpredictable and invariable but when there is a successful psychedelic experience there are certain common symptoms in all those who manage to achieve an hallucinogenic trip with this mushroom.

Looping, Echopictures/Frame reduction, Size Distortion, Vacillations between Vigor and Lassitude, Feelings of Strenght, Visionary Dreams, Loss of Coordination, Amnesia/Blackouts, Dissociation, Muscle Twitching, Nausea and Vomiting, Imperviousness to Pain and Muscarinic symptons are some of the most distincting features of an Amanita muscaria experience.

Many of the testimonies compiled in this article give different accounts of the different symptoms experienced by the users of Amanita muscaria but they have in common in describing the experience as unique and different from that obtained with the classic and typical psychedelics.

 

This type of variation in its effects makes it impossible to categorize the Amanita muscaria as a classic psychedelic and gives a unique dimension to its experience.

In a personal interview done online to Clark heinrich in the past he said the following: The visionary experience between the two mushrooms is completely different. (Between the Amanita muscaria and the Psilocybin mushrooms. As I have told you before), Psilocybin brings one into matter through sumptuous visions. The Amanita takes the person out of matter towards a happiness without form and light -or-, towards a pronounced darkness and emptiness.

Chapter 29
The Formula? by Kevin Feeney

Kevin closes the book with this little chapter surrounding Amanita muscaria prepariations done with the purpose to achieve an hallucinogenic effect. The basic beverages made from the Fly Agaric that are obtained boiling the dry specimens in water and drinking the resulting liquid are given. Kevin also gives us his possible solution for Soma, the mythical drink that inspired the vedic poets and even a smoking blend is revealed at the end.

A very informative chapter. A little section is dedicated to the urinating practice. The practice of boiling the orine seems to potentiate the convertion of Ibotenic Acid into Muscimol. I think there is not a last word around this issue and we cant discard that the resulting urine of a person that ingested Amanita muscaria will have higher concentrations of Muscimol.

The recipes given are very interesting. The Siberian Blueberry Drink has an ethnomycological basis and it seems its still used by the Koriaks in Siberia.

Personally, I can't stop wondering what the result of boiling the mushroom heads directly in the milk with some blueberries would be. And at the end I would add some honey to sweeten it.

On a personal communication with Clark Heinrich before the finishing of this book review he said the following: "Fly agaric was soma, at least during the time of the ninth mandala. There are proofs in verse, but people don't understand the meanings. The soma recipe is in the Rig veda."

Commentary for Part V: Pharmacological & Physiological Effects (Amanita muscaria trip reports)

Amanita muscaria subsp. flavivolvata Photo Courtesy by Juan Camilo Rodríguez Martínez

Amanita muscaria trip report #1

This happened many years ago ... I was about 20 or 21 years old ... We went camping with two other friends on the outskirts of Bogotá ... At that time my interest in mushrooms began to wake up and I had traveled a couple of times to look for mushrooms Psilocybe cubensis and successfully experimented with them.

I remember it was early in the morning and i found a gigantic Amanita muscaria on a patch full of many of the Fly agaric mushrooms... We sampled the mushroom fresh with one of my friends and the I proceeded to fry them.

I proceeded to fry them in oil on a frying pan. Just the mushroom canopies. I discarded the stems by throwing them away and served the the fried mushrooms to my friends and we ate them

30 or 40 minutes we were vomiting and after having vomited we fell into a deep sleep of about 3 or 4 hours.

When we woke up we were full of euphoria and charged with energy. Night had already fallen in the place. We didn't sleep all night how stimulated and happy we felt running all over the place. The celestial map was perfectly drawn in the sky. The constellations drawn perfectly in the night sky.

Personally, I remember some visual hallucinations where I could see some magical elves with funny hats that when I got closer they dissolved and turned into fungi. That night I saw many Amanita muscaria. The place is full of them. It is the Alto de Pionono in Sopo ... A town on the outskirts of Bogotá, one of the closest to the Colombian capital.

An unforgettable night.

Amanita muscaria trip report #2

Here I remember a time when camping with a friend we found some Amanita muscaria mushrooms. We peeled the red skin from the mushrooms and dry it. We smoke it.

The effects did not last more than 5 or 10 minutes but were characterized by manifestations of macropsia in the visual field.

I saw myself as a giant. My legs and arms looked gigantic.

My thoughts became outlandish as well. Everything quickly returned to normal

Amanita muscaria trip report #3

My most memorable experience with Amanita muscaria was a few years ago camping alone in the proximities of Villa de Leyva, in Boyaca, Colombia.

I collected the mushroom early in the morning in the morning. I took it into the house of a woman peasant personal friend of mine and at that time not long ago I had read Clark Heinrich's book and was inspired by his writings.

I placed the fly agaric head directly into the fire after discarding the stipe. The fungus gradually lost moisture and turned from red to orange. A kind of golden disc from which I made a small ball.

I placed the fly agaric head directly into the fire after discarding the stipe. The mushroom gradually lost moisture and turned from red to orange. A kind of golden disc from which I made a small ball. I swallowed it with a little freshly milked milk that the peasant gave me.

All this process was made with a single cap.

It was in a very quiet place free from any kind of external disturbance. Approximately 40 minutes after ingestion I began to lose the coordination of my movements and felt that I was wobbling which forced me to lie down.

I began to feel a kind of spasms and convulsions throughout my body. My legs wouldn't stop shaking. I did not feel nauseous at any time and there was no desire to vomit.

Then I lit a marijuana cigarette to soften the high of the Amanita muscaria.

I was lying on the ground super relaxed looking at the sky and the visuals began.

It is one of the most hallucinogenic and psychedelic experiences I have ever experienced in my life.

Certain multicolored geometric figures began to be drawn in the sky. Geometric figures that resembled doors in shades of pink, violet and blue that formed one after another as they dissolved into the sky. This phase of the hallucinogenic trip reminds me of the LSD experience.

Religious thoughts dominated my thinking and I couldn't stop thinking about the Virgin Mary and my soul had entered a contemplative mode of spiritual meditation.

The effect lasted for about 4 hours and I slowly came back to reality.

That same morning I had found some specimens of Psilocybe cubensis growing very close to where I found the Amanita muscaria.

At nightfall I ate the Psilocybe cubensis and around dawn when they kicked in, I remembered that I hadn't even gone to the bathroom since the morning and that the Amanita muscaria was still in me.

That night was totally trippy. I was able to observe in my mind the wars fought by the Spanish and the Muisca indigenous people at the time of the conquest. Absurd thoughts dominated my head. I could not fall asleep until dawn because if I fell asleep I would die irretrievably. At one point I actually felt that I was dying and a spaceship from space manned by angelic beings of light would collect my soul and take it to outer space to a galaxy far from earth.

Something extraordinary that night that happened during the course of the events that I have just narrated is the following: I felt possessed by certain circular patterns surrounding the environment that dominated my body and every 20 minutes or so I had to turn my whole body on a circular way spreading my arms and hands to their full extend and this was repeated over and over again until the effect progressively diminished and I fell asleep soundly.

When I woke up the next day I felt as if I had been reborn.

The sun shining high.

The sky was so beautiful. 

I felt in a fairytale.

________________

Recommended Bibliography:

The Sacred Mushroom and The Cross by John Allegro

Magic Mushrooms in Religion & Alchemy by Clark Heinrich

The Golden Bough by  J. G. Frazer

Soma, Divine Mushroom Of Immortality by R. Gordon Wasson

The White Goddess by Robert Graves 

Identificación De Los Hongos: Comestibles, Venenosos, Alucinantes y Destructores De La Madera by

Gastón Guzmán 

The Hallucinogenic Fungi of Colombia by Juan Camilo Rodríguez Martínez with John W. Allen

Soma & The Muiscas: The Colombian Mushroom Cults by Juan Camilo Rodríguez Martínez 

The Spirit in the Sky by Rn Vooght

A Study of Cultural Bias in Field Guide Determinations of Mushroom Edibility Using the Iconic Mushroom, Amanita muscaria, as an Example by William Rubel and David Arora

The author of this book review holding Amanita muscaria subsp. flavivolvata
Photo Courtesy of Juan Camilo Rodríguez Martínez

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Special thanks: Kevin for sending me the book, and Donnie Lewis for helping me bring it to Colombia, Clark Heinrich for his wisdom and teachings around Amanita muscaria and his guidance in the writing of this document , Genevieve Gates for the advice,  Alan Rockefeller for sharing me the paper regarding Amanita muscaria edibility by William Rubel and David Arora some years ago, Rn Vooght for his time,  and my parents Guillermo Rodríguez and Leonor Martínez de Rodríguez for their support all these years and for always setting a good example on me.

All the photos in this article taken from the book of Kevin Feeney except when noted.

Soma as Agni, god of fire Photo Courtesy by Clark Heinrich