An Entheogen

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12/5/2014 Entheogen - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Entheogen 1/23 Flowering San Pedro, an entheogenic cactus that has been used for over 3,000 years. [1] Today the vast majority of extracted mescaline is from columnar cacti, not vulnerable peyote. [2] Entheogen From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia An entheogen ("generating the divine within") [4] is a chemical substance used in a religious, shamanic, or spiritual context [5] that may be synthesized or obtained from natural species. The chemical induces altered states of consciousness, psychological or physiological (e.g. bullet ant venom used by the Satere-Mawe people). Entheogens can supplement many diverse practices for transcendence, and revelation, including meditation, yoga, and prayer, psychedelic and visionary art, chanting, and music including peyote song and psytrance, traditional medicine and psychedelic therapy, witchcraft, magic, and psychonautics. Entheogens have been used in a ritualized context for thousands of years; their religious significance is well established in anthropological and modern evidences. Examples of traditional entheogens include psychedelics like peyote, psilocybin mushrooms, and ayahuasca, psychedelic-dissociatives like Tabernanthe iboga, atypical psychedelics like Salvia divinorum, quasi-psychedelics like cannabis and Ipomoea tricolor, deliriants like Amanita muscaria. Traditionally a tea, admixture, or potion like ayahuasca or bhang have been compounded through the work of a shaman or apothecary. With the advent of organic chemistry, there now exist many synthetic drugs with similar psychoactive properties, many derived from these plants. Many pure active compounds with psychoactive properties have been isolated from these respective organisms and chemically synthesized, including mescaline, psilocybin, DMT, salvinorin A, ibogaine, ergine, and muscimol. Semi-synthetic (e.g. LSD used by the New American Church) and synthetic drugs (e.g. DPT used by the Temple of the True Inner Light and 2C-B used by the Sangoma) have also been developed. [6] Cannabis is considered a quasi-psychedelic drug but modern cannabis strains (e.g. Sharkberry Cream) have been bred to intensify the psychedelic characteristics. Cannabis is the world's most widely used psychedelic drug and part of the cannabis culture, while medical cannabis have contributed to the development of modern drug paraphernalia like the vaporizer used by hospitals. More broadly, the term entheogen is used to refer to any psychoactive drugs when used for their religious or spiritual effects, whether or not in a formal religious or traditional structure. This terminology is often chosen to contrast with recreational use of the same drugs. Studies such as Timothy Leary's Marsh Chapel Experiment and Roland Griffiths' psilocybin studies at Johns Hopkins (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3537171/) have documented reports of mystical/spiritual/religious experiences from participants who were administered psychoactive drugs in controlled trials. Ongoing research is limited due to widespread drug prohibition; however, some countries have legislation that allows for traditional entheogen use. Contents

Transcript of An Entheogen

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Flowering San Pedro, an entheogenic

cactus that has been used for over

3,000 years.[1] Today the vast

majority of extracted mescaline is

from columnar cacti, not vulnerable

peyote.[2]

EntheogenFrom Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

An entheogen ("generating the divine within")[4] is a chemical substance

used in a religious, shamanic, or spiritual context[5] that may besynthesized or obtained from natural species. The chemical inducesaltered states of consciousness, psychological or physiological (e.g. bulletant venom used by the Satere-Mawe people). Entheogens cansupplement many diverse practices for transcendence, and revelation,including meditation, yoga, and prayer, psychedelic and visionary art,chanting, and music including peyote song and psytrance, traditionalmedicine and psychedelic therapy, witchcraft, magic, and psychonautics.

Entheogens have been used in a ritualized context for thousands of years;their religious significance is well established in anthropological andmodern evidences. Examples of traditional entheogens includepsychedelics like peyote, psilocybin mushrooms, and ayahuasca,psychedelic-dissociatives like Tabernanthe iboga, atypical psychedelicslike Salvia divinorum, quasi-psychedelics like cannabis and Ipomoeatricolor, deliriants like Amanita muscaria. Traditionally a tea,admixture, or potion like ayahuasca or bhang have been compoundedthrough the work of a shaman or apothecary.

With the advent of organic chemistry, there now exist many syntheticdrugs with similar psychoactive properties, many derived from theseplants. Many pure active compounds with psychoactive properties havebeen isolated from these respective organisms and chemicallysynthesized, including mescaline, psilocybin, DMT, salvinorin A, ibogaine, ergine, and muscimol. Semi-synthetic(e.g. LSD used by the New American Church) and synthetic drugs (e.g. DPT used by the Temple of the True Inner

Light and 2C-B used by the Sangoma) have also been developed.[6] Cannabis is considered a quasi-psychedelicdrug but modern cannabis strains (e.g. Sharkberry Cream) have been bred to intensify the psychedeliccharacteristics. Cannabis is the world's most widely used psychedelic drug and part of the cannabis culture, whilemedical cannabis have contributed to the development of modern drug paraphernalia like the vaporizer used byhospitals.

More broadly, the term entheogen is used to refer to any psychoactive drugs when used for their religious orspiritual effects, whether or not in a formal religious or traditional structure. This terminology is often chosen tocontrast with recreational use of the same drugs. Studies such as Timothy Leary's Marsh Chapel Experiment andRoland Griffiths' psilocybin studies at Johns Hopkins (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3537171/)have documented reports of mystical/spiritual/religious experiences from participants who were administeredpsychoactive drugs in controlled trials. Ongoing research is limited due to widespread drug prohibition; however,some countries have legislation that allows for traditional entheogen use.

Contents

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Laboratory synthetic mescaline.

Mescaline was the first psychedelic

compound to be extracted and

isolated from nature (from peyote).[3]

1 Etymology

2 Entheogens

2.1 Biota

2.2 Chemicals

3 Controversial entheogens

3.1 Religious use

3.1.1 Alcohol

3.1.2 Kava culture

4 Usage

4.1 Use and abuse

4.2 Cultural use

4.2.1 Africa

4.2.2 Americas

4.2.3 Asia

4.2.4 Europe

4.2.5 Middle East

4.2.6 Oceania

4.3 Religious use

4.3.1 Prohibition

4.3.2 Judaism and Christianity

5 Archaeological record

6 Classical mythology and cults

6.1 Assassins

7 Research

8 Legal status of entheogens

8.1 Australia

8.2 United States

9 Literature

10 See also

11 References

12 Further reading

13 External links

Etymology

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The neologism entheogen was coined in 1979 by a group of ethnobotanists and scholars of mythology (Carl A. P.Ruck, Jeremy Bigwood, Danny Staples, Richard Evans Schultes, Jonathan Ott and R. Gordon Wasson). The termis derived from two words of ancient Greek, ἔνθεος (entheos) and γενέσθαι (genesthai). The adjective entheostranslates to English as "full of the god, inspired, possessed", and is the root of the English word "enthusiasm." TheGreeks used it as a term of praise for poets and other artists. Genesthai means "to come into being." Thus, anentheogen is a drug that causes one to become inspired or to experience feelings of inspiration, often in a religious

or "spiritual" manner.[7]

Entheogen was coined as a replacement for the terms hallucinogen and psychedelic. Hallucinogen waspopularized by Aldous Huxley's experiences with mescaline, which were published as The Doors of Perception in1954. Psychedelic, in contrast, is a Greek neologism for "mind manifest", and was coined by psychiatrist HumphryOsmond; Huxley was a volunteer in experiments Osmond was conducting on mescaline.

Ruck et al. argued that the term hallucinogen was inappropriate owing to its etymological relationship to wordsrelating to delirium and insanity. The term psychedelic was also seen as problematic, owing to the similarity insound to words pertaining to psychosis and also due to the fact that it had become irreversibly associated withvarious connotations of 1960s pop culture. In modern usage entheogen may be used synonymously with theseterms, or it may be chosen to contrast with recreational use of the same drugs. The meanings of the term entheogenwere formally defined by Ruck et al.:

In a strict sense, only those vision-producing drugs that can be shown to have figured in shamanicor religious rites would be designated entheogens, but in a looser sense, the term could also beapplied to other drugs, both natural and artificial, that induce alterations of consciousness similarto those documented for ritual ingestion of traditional entheogens.

— Ruck et al, 1979, Journal of Psychedelic Drugs[8]

Entheogens

Biota

In essence, all psychoactive drugs that are biosynthesized in nature by cytota (cellular life), can be used in anentheogenic context or with entheogenic intent. To exclude non-psychoactive drugs that sometimes also are used inspiritual context, the term "entheogen" refers primarily to drugs that have been categorized based on their historicaluse. Toxicity does not affect a drug's inclusion (some can kill humans), nor does effectiveness or potency (if a drugis psychoactive, and it has been used in a historical context, then the required dose has also been found).

High caffeine consumption has been linked to an increase in the likelihood of experiencing auditory hallucinations. Astudy conducted by the La Trobe University School of Psychological Sciences revealed that as few as five cups of

coffee a day could trigger the phenomenon.[9]

Commonname

FaunaPsychoactiveconstituent(s)

Regions/Cultures of use

Colorado

River toad Bufo alvarius

5-MeO-DMT and

bufotenin

Controversial interpretation of Mesoamerican

art.

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River toad Bufo alvarius bufotenin art.

Bullet antParaponera

clavataPoneratoxin

Used by the Satere-Mawe people in their

initiation rites 20 times.

Hallucinogenic

fish

Primary Siganus

spp.Unknown

Common

nameFlora

Psychoactive

constituent(s)Regions/Cultures of use

African dream

rootSilene capensis

Possibly triterpenoid

saponinsXhosa people of South Africa.

AyahuascaBanisteriopsiscaapi

Harmala alkaloidsSouth America; people of the AmazonRainforest. UDV of Brazil and United States.

Use within ayahuasca.

Blue lilyNymphaea

caeruleaNuciferine and aporphine Possibly ancient Egypt and South America.

Angel's

trumpetBrugmansia spp. Tropane alkaloids

South America, sometimes used as part of

ayahuasca.

Bolivian torchcactus

Echinopsis

lageniformis syn.Trichocereus

bridgesii

Mescaline South America

Cannabis Cannabis spp.THC and other

cannabinoids

Rastafari movements and other groups (see

entheogenic use of cannabis)

ChalipongaDiplopterys

cabrerana

DMT, 5-MeO-DMT and

bufotenin

Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru as part of

ayahuasca.

Harmal Peganum harmala Harmala alkaloids Turkey and the Middle East.

Hawaiian

baby

woodrose

Argyreia nervosa Ergoline alkaloids

Psychoactive, but may not have been used as

an entheogen. Native to India. Traditional usage

possible but mainly undocumented.

Henbane Hyoscyamus niger Tropane alkaloidsAncient Greece and witches of the MiddleAges.

Peruvian torchcactus

Echinopsisperuviana syn.Trichocereus

peruvianus

Mescaline Pre-Incan Chavín rituals in Peru.

IbogaTabernanthe

ibogaIbogaine

Bwiti religion of West Central Africa. Used by

Western nations to treat opioid addiction.

Morning glory Ipomoea tricolor Ergoline alkaloids Aztecs

Morning glory Ipomoea violacea Ergoline alkaloids Mazatec[10]

Datura Native Americans: Algonquian and Luiseño.

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Jimson weedDaturastramonium

Tropane alkaloidsNative Americans: Algonquian and Luiseño.

Sadhus of India. Táltos of the Magyar(Hungary).

JuremaMimosa tenuiflora

syn. M. hostilis

DMT and harmalaalkaloids-ott claims to have

taken bark alone and is

active

Northeastern Brazil

PeyoteLophophora

williamsiiMescaline Native American Church, Oshara Tradition

Chacruna Psychotria viridis DMT

UDV of Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, and the

Brazilian church. Santo Daime have used it aspart of ayahuasca.

Ska MaríaPastora

Salvia divinorum Salvinorin A Mazatec

San Pedro

cactus

Echinopsis

pachanoi syn.

Trichocereus

pachanoi

Mescaline South America

Christmasvine

Turbinacorymbosa syn.

Rivea corymbosa

Ergoline alkaloids Mazatec[10]

Virola Virola spp.DMT, 5-MeO-DMT and

bufoteninSouth America

VilcaAnadenanthera

colubrina

DMT, 5-MeO-DMT and

bufoteninSouth America

YopoAnadenanthera

peregrina

DMT, 5-MeO-DMT and

bufoteninSouth America

Common

nameFungi

Psychoactive

constituent(s)Regions/Cultures of use

Fly agaricAmanita

muscaria[11] Ibotenic acid and muscimolSiberian shamans. Scandinavia. Possibly theSoma drink of India.

Magic

mushrooms

primarily Psilocybe

spp.

Psilocybin and psilocin;

baeocystin and

norbaeocystin (some

species)

Mazatec

Chemicals

Many man-made chemicals with little human history have been recognized to catalyze intense spiritual experiences,and many synthetic entheogens are simply slight modifications of their naturally occurring counterparts. Somesynthetic entheogens like 4-AcO-DMT are theorized to be prodrugs that metabolize into the natural psychoactive,

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similar in nature to how the synthetic compound heroin is deacetylated by esterase to the active morphine. Whilesynthesized DMT and mescaline is reported to have identical entheogenic qualities as extracted or plant basedsources, the experience may wildly vary due to the lack of numerous psychoactive alkaloids that constitute thematerial. This is similar to how pure THC is very different than an extract that retains the many cannabinoids of theplant such as cannabidiol and cannabinol.

Some dissociative drugs including ketamine, PCP, and DXM are known to cause clinical psychologicaldependence, chemical dependence, and NMDA receptor antagonist neurotoxicity (NAN), when used chronic. Tothe contrary, ibogaine, another dissociative drug found in Tabernanthe iboga, is a notorious exception that doesnot produce those side-effects, it has, in fact, been used as a treatment for chemical dependence. Also, ketaminepsychedelic therapy (KPT) have been used for preparation for death (thanatological, death-rebirth

psychotherapy)[12] chemical treatment against alcoholism, pain therapy, and to increase intelligence.

Commonname

Synthesisprocess

Full name

LSDSemi-synthetic

Lysergic aciddiethylamide

New American Church believed "LSD is the true Christ".[13]

2C-B Synthetic2,5-dimethoxy-4-

bromophenethylamine

2C-B is used by the Sangoma over their traditional plants.[6]

Although acting strongly as an empathogen-entactogen, 2C-Bis notably psychedelic in a unique way. Although some users

feel the 2C-x series are better suited for recreational

purposes, 2C-B is consistently excluded as an exception and

is an exceptional example for its class.[14]

DPT Synthetic Dipropyltryptamine

DPT is used as a religious sacrament by the Temple of the

True Inner Light who believes that DPT and other entheogens

are physical manifestations of God.[15]

MDMA Synthetic3,4-methylenedioxy-N-

methylamphetamine

Small doses of MDMA are used as an entheogen to enhance

prayer or meditation by some religious practitioners.[16]

Psilocybin Synthetic -The Mazatec curandera María Sabina was celebrating a

mushroom velada with pills of synthetic psilocybin named

Indocybin synthesized by Albert Hofmann.[17]

YohimbineSynthetic or

extracted-

Yohimbine is an alkaloid naturally found in Pausinystaliayohimbe (Yohimbe), Rauwolfia serpentina (IndianSnakeroot), and Alchornea floribunda (Niando), along withseveral other active alkaloids. There are no references tothese species in traditional use to induce past memories, mostlikely because their alkaloid content is too low; However,laboratory extracted yohimbine, now commonly sold as sportsupplement, may be used in psychedelic therapy to facilitaterecall of traumatic memories in the treatment of post traumatic

stress disorder (PTSD).[18]

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Controversial entheogens

L. E. Hollister's criteria for establishing that a drug is hallucinogenic is:[19]

in proportion to other effects, changes in thought, perception, and mood should predominate;

intellectual or memory impairment should be minimal;

stupor, narcosis, or excessive stimulation should not be an integral effect;

autonomic nervous system side effects should be minimal; and

addictive craving should be absent.

Common recreational drugs that cause chemical dependence have a history of entheogenic use. Perhaps becausethey could not access traditional entheogens as shamans were very secret with their sacraments who regarded non-visioning sacraments as hedonistic. The drugs mentioned here have occasionally been used by some shamans butthey are psychoactive drugs that are not classified as hallucinogens (psychedelic, dissociative or deliriant). Thesedrugs are not researched chemicals for psychedelic therapy as they have low therapeutic index.

Common

nameSource

Psychoactive

constituent(s)Regions/Cultures of use Problematic use

Alcoholic

beverages

(e.g. wine)

Ethanol

fermentation

Primarily ethyl

alcohol

Used in rituals and worshipped by the

Egyptians and the Greeks. Used (in the

form of Communion wine) by Catholics

and other Christian sects.

Physical dependence

Coca

Erythroxylum

coca &

Erythroxylum

novogranatense

spp.

Primarily cocaine

Coca has been a vital part of the

religious cosmology of the Andeanpeoples of Peru, Bolivia, Ecuador,

Colombia, northern Argentina, and

Chile from the pre-Inca period through

the present. In addition, coca use in

shamanic rituals is well documented

wherever local native populations have

cultivated the plant. For example, the

Tayronas of Colombia's Sierra Nevadade Santa Marta use to chew the plant

before engaging in extended meditation

and prayer.[20]

The alkaloid contentof coca leaves is low,

between 0.25% and

0.77%.[21]

This means thatchewing the leaves ordrinking coca teadoes not produce theintense high(euphoria,megalomania,depression) peopleexperience withcocaine. However,even if it wouldproduce such effect,the next problemwould be cocainedependence.

Piper Kava cultures are the religious and

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Kava Pipermethysticum

Kavalactones Kava cultures are the religious and

cultural traditions of western Oceaniawhich consume kava.

Anxiolytic

Khat Catha edulis

For centuries, religious leaders haveconsumed the leaves to stay awake

during long nights of prayer.[22]

Khat can produce

mild-to-moderate

psychological

dependence (less

than tobacco or

alcohol).[23]

Mapacho

(South

America)

and thuoclao (thuốc

lào)

(Vietnam)

Nicotiana

rustica

Comparatively

high levels of

MAOI beta-

carbolines

A common admixture of Ayahuasca in

some parts of the Amazon.

Uncured tobacco

contains nicotinewhich is addictive

Opium

poppy

Papaver

somniferumMorphine

The opium poppy was a magical ritual

plant among the Germanic tribes.[24] Physical dependence

Religious use

Drugs, including some that cause physical dependence, have been used with entheogenic intention, mostly in ancienttimes.

Alcohol

Alcohol has sometimes been invested with religious significance.

The present day Arabic word for alcohol appears in The Qur'an (in verse 37:47) as الغول al-ġawl, properly meaning

"spirit" or "demon", in the sense of "the thing that gives the wine its headiness."[25] The term ethanol was invented1838, modeled on German äthyl (Liebig), from Greek aither (see ether), and hyle "stuff". Ether in late 14c. meant"upper regions of space," from Old French ether and directly from Latin aether, "the upper pure, bright air," fromGreek aither "upper air; bright, purer air; the sky," from aithein "to burn, shine," from PIE root *aidh- "to burn" (see

edifice).[26]

Celtic polytheism

In ancient Celtic religion, Sucellus or Sucellos was the god of agriculture, forests and alcoholic drinks of the Gauls.

Ancient Mesopotamian religion

Ninkasi is the ancient Sumerian tutelary goddess of beer.[27]

Dionysian Mysteries

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Dionysos, or Bacchus, was

known as the god of wine and

ritual madness in Greek

mythology ("Bacchus" by

Michelangelo 1497).

In the ancient Greco-Roman religion, Dionysos (or Bacchus) was the god ofthe grape harvest, winemaking and wine, of ritual madness and ecstasy, ofmerry making and theatre. The original rite of Dionysus is associated with awine cult and he may have been worshipped as early as c. 1500–1100 BCby Mycenean Greeks. The Dionysian Mysteries were a ritual of ancientGreece and Rome which used intoxicants and other trance-inducingtechniques (like dance and music) to remove inhibitions and socialconstraints, liberating the individual to return to a natural state. In his Laws,Plato said that alcoholic drinking parties should be the basis of anyeducational system, because the alcohol allows relaxation of otherwise fixedviews. The Symposium (literally, 'drinking together') was a dramatisedaccount of a drinking party where the participants debated the nature oflove.

Osiris

Egyptian pictographs clearly show wine as a finished product around 4000BC. Osiris, the god who invented beer and brewing, was worshipedthroughout the country. The ancient Egyptians made at least 24 types ofwine and 17 types of beer. These beverages were used for pleasure,nutrition, rituals, medicine, and payments. They were also stored in the

tombs of the deceased for use in the afterlife.[28] The Osirian Mysteriesparalleled the Dionysian, according to contemporary Greek and Egyptianobservers. Spirit possession involved liberation from civilization's rules andconstraints. It celebrated that which was outside civilized society and areturn to the source of being, which would later assume mystical overtones.It also involved escape from the socialized personality and ego into an ecstatic, deified state or the primal herd(sometimes both).

Other

Some scholars have postulated that pagan religions actively promoted alcohol and drunkenness as a means offostering fertility. Alcohol was believed to increase sexual desire and make it easier to approach another person forsex. For example, Norse paganism considered alcohol to be the sap of Yggdrasil. Drunkenness was an importantfertility rite in this religion.

Many Christian denominations use wine in the Eucharist or Communion and permit alcohol consumption inmoderation. Other denominations use unfermented grape juice in Communion; they either voluntarily abstain fromalcohol or prohibit it outright.

Judaism uses wine on Shabbat and some holidays for Kiddush as well as more extensively in the Passoverceremony and other religious ceremonies. The secular consumption of alcohol is allowed. Some Jewish texts, e.g.the Talmud, encourage moderate drinking on holidays (such as Purim) in order to make the occasion more joyous.

Kava culture

Kava cultures are the religious and cultural traditions of western Oceania which consume kava. There aresimilarities in the use of kava between the different cultures, but each one also has its own traditions.

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Usage

Use and abuse

Entheogens have been used by individuals to pursue spiritual goals such as divination, Ego death, egolessness, faithhealing, psychedelic therapy and spiritual formation.

There are also instances where people have been given entheogens without their knowledge or consent (e.g.

tourists in Ayahuasca),[29] as well as attempts to use such drugs in other contexts, such as cursing, psychochemicalweaponry, psychological torture, brainwashing and mind control; CIA experiments with LSD were used in ProjectMKUltra, and controversial entheogens like alcohol are often mentioned in context of bread and circuses.

Cultural use

Entheogens have been used in various ways, e.g. as part of established religious rituals, as aids for personal spiritual

development ("plant teachers"),[30][31] as recreational drugs, and for medical and therapeutic use. The use ofentheogens in human cultures is nearly ubiquitous throughout recorded history.

Naturally occurring entheogens such as psilocybin and DMT (in the preparation ayahuasca), were, for the mostpart, discovered and used by older cultures, as part of their spiritual and religious life, as plants and agents that wererespected, or in some cases revered for generations and may be a tradition that predates all modern religions as asort of proto-religious rite.

One of the most widely used entheogens is cannabis, entheogenic use of cannabis has been used in regions such asChina, Europe, and India, and, in some cases, for thousands of years. It has also appeared as a part of religionsand cultures such as the Rastafari movement, the Sadhus of Hinduism, the Scythians, Sufi Islam, and others.

Africa

The best-known entheogen-using culture of Africa is the Bwitists, who used a preparation of the root bark of

Tabernanthe iboga.[32] Although the ancient Egyptians may have been using the sacred blue lily plant in some oftheir religious rituals or just symbolically, it has been suggested that Egyptian religion once revolved around theritualistic ingestion of the far more psychoactive Psilocybe cubensis mushroom, and that the Egyptian White

Crown, Triple Crown, and Atef Crown were evidently designed to represent pin-stages of this mushroom.[33]

There is also evidence for the use of psilocybin mushrooms in Côte d'Ivoire.[34] Numerous other plants used inshamanic ritual in Africa, such as Silene capensis sacred to the Xhosa, are yet to be investigated by westernscience. A recent revitalization has occurred in the study of southern African psychoactives and entheogens

(Mitchell and Hudson 2004; Sobiecki 2002, 2008, 2012).[35]

Americas

Entheogens have played a pivotal role in the spiritual practices of most American cultures for millennia. The firstAmerican entheogen to be subject to scientific analysis was the peyote cactus (Lophophora williamsii). For hispart, one of the founders of modern ethno-botany, the late-Richard Evans Schultes of Harvard Universitydocumented the ritual use of peyote cactus among the Kiowa, who live in what became Oklahoma. While it was

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used traditionally by many cultures of what is now Mexico, in the 19th century its use spread throughout NorthAmerica, replacing the deadly toxic mescal bean (Calia secundiflora) who are questioned to be an entheogen atall. Other well-known entheogens used by Mexican cultures include psilocybin mushrooms, morning glories(Ipomoea tricolor and Turbina corymbosa), and Salvia divinorum.

Indigenous peoples of South America employ a wide variety of entheogens. Better-known examples includeayahuasca (most commonly Banisteriopsis caapi and Psychotria viridis) among indigenous peoples (such as theUrarina) of Peruvian Amazonia. Other entheogens include San Pedro cactus (Echinopsis pachanoi, syn.Trichocereus pachanoi), Peruvian torch cactus (Echinopsis peruviana, syn. Trichocereus peruvianus), andvarious DMT-snuffs, such as epená (Virola spp.), vilca and yopo (Anadenanthera colubrina and A. peregrina,respectively). The familiar tobacco plant, when used uncured in large doses in shamanic contexts, also serves as anentheogen in South America. Also, a tobacco that contains higher nicotine content, and therefore smaller dosesrequired, called Nicotiana rustica was commonly used.

Entheogens also play an important role in contemporary religious movements such as the Rastafari movement andthe Church of the Universe.

Datura wrightii is sacred to some native Americans and has been used in ceremonies and rites of passage byChumash, Tongva, and others. Among the Chumash, when a boy was 8 years old, his mother would give him apreparation of momoy to drink. This supposed spiritual challenge should help the boy develop the spiritual

wellbeing that is required to become a man. Not all of the boys undergoing this ritual survived.[36] Momoy was alsoused to enhance spiritual wellbeing among adults . For instance, during a frightening situation, such as when seeing acoyote walk like a man, a leaf of momoy was sucked to help keep the soul in the body.

Asia

The indigenous peoples of Siberia (from whom the term shaman was borrowed) have used Amanita muscaria asan entheogen.

In Hinduism, Datura stramonium and cannabis have been used in religious ceremonies, although the religious useof datura is not very common, as the primary alkaloids are strong deliriants, which causes serious intoxication withunpredictable effects.

Also, the ancient drink Soma, mentioned often in the Vedas, appears to be consistent with the effects of anentheogen. In his 1967 book, Wasson argues that Soma was Amanita muscaria. The active ingredient of Soma ispresumed by some to be ephedrine, an alkaloid with stimulant and (somewhat debatable) entheogenic propertiesderived from the soma plant, identified as Ephedra pachyclada. However, there are also arguments to suggest thatSoma could have also been Syrian rue, cannabis, Atropa belladonna, or some combination of any of the aboveplants.

Europe

Fermented honey, known in Northern Europe as mead, was an early entheogen in Aegean civilization, predating theintroduction of wine, which was the more familiar entheogen of the reborn Dionysus and the maenads. Its religioususes in the Aegean world are bound up with the mythology of the bee.

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Dacians were known to use cannabis in their religious and important life ceremonies, proven by discoveries of largeclay pots with burnt cannabis seeds in ancient tombs and religious shrines. Also, local oral folklore and myths tell ofancient priests that dreamed with gods and walked in the smoke. Their names, as transmitted by Herodotus, were"kap-no-batai" which in Dacian was supposed to mean "the ones that walk in the clouds".

The growth of Roman Christianity also saw the end of the two-thousand-year-old tradition of the EleusinianMysteries, the initiation ceremony for the cult of Demeter and Persephone involving the use of a drug known askykeon. The term 'ambrosia' is used in Greek mythology in a way that is remarkably similar to the Soma of theHindus as well.

A theory that natural occurring gases like ethylene used by inhalation may have played a role in divinatoryceremonies at Delphi in Classical Greece received popular press attention in the early 2000s, yet has not been

conclusively proven.[37]

Mushroom consumption is part of the culture of Europeans in general, with particular importance to Slavic andBaltic peoples. Some academics consider that using psilocybin- and or muscimol-containing mushrooms was an

integral part of the ancient culture of the Rus' people.[38]

Middle East

It has been suggested that the ritual use of small amounts of Syrian rue is an artifact of its ancient use in higher dosesas an entheogen (possibly in conjunction with DMT containing acacia).

Philologist John Marco Allegro has argued in his book The Sacred Mushroom and the Cross that early Jewish andChristian cultic practice was based on the use of Amanita muscaria, which was later forgotten by its adherents.Allegro's hypothesis that Amanita use was forgotten after primitive Christianity seems contradicted by his own view

that the Plaincourault Chapel shows evidence of Christian amanita use in the 13th century.[39]

Oceania

In general, indigenous Australians are thought not to have used entheogens, although there is a strong barrier ofsecrecy surrounding Aboriginal shamanism, which has likely limited what has been told to outsiders. A plant that theAustralian Aboriginals used to ingest is called Pitcheri, which is said to have a similar effect to that of coca.Pitcheri was made from the bark of the shrub Duboisia myoporoides. This plant is now grown commercially andis processed to manufacture an eye medication. There are no known uses of entheogens by the Māori of New

Zealand aside from a variant species of Kava.[40] Natives of Papua New Guinea are known to use several species

of entheogenic mushrooms (Psilocybe spp, Boletus manicus).[41]

Kava or kava kava (Piper Methysticum) has been cultivated for at least 3000 years by a number of Pacificisland-dwelling peoples. Historically, most Polynesian, many Melanesian, and some Micronesian cultures haveingested the psychoactive pulverized root, typically taking it mixed with water. Much traditional usage of kava,though somewhat suppressed by Christian missionaries in the 19th and 20th centuries, is thought to facilitate contact

with the spirits of the dead, especially relatives and ancestors.[42]

Religious use

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Prohibition

Some religions forbid, discourage, or restrict the drinking of alcoholic beverages for various reasons. These include:Islam, Jainism, the Bahá'í Faith, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), the Seventh-dayAdventist Church, the Church of Christ, Scientist, the United Pentecostal Church International, Theravada, mostMahayana schools of Buddhism, some Protestant denominations of Christianity, some sects of Taoism (FivePrecepts (Taoism) and Ten Precepts (Taoism)), and Hinduism.

The Pali Canon, the scripture of Theravada Buddhism, depicts refraining from alcohol as essential to moral conductbecause intoxication causes a loss of mindfulness. The fifth of the Five Precepts states, "Surā-meraya-majja-pamādaṭṭhānā veramaṇī sikkhāpadaṃ samādiyāmi." In English: "I undertake to refrain from fermented drinkthat causes heedlessness." Technically, this prohibition does not include other mind-altering drugs. The Canon doesnot suggest that alcohol is evil, but believes that the carelessness produced by intoxication creates bad karma.Therefore, any drug (beyond tea or mild coffee) that affects one's mindfulness be considered to be covered by thisprohibition.

Judaism and Christianity

Many Christian denominations disapprove of the use of most illicit drugs. The early history of the Church, however,

was filled with a variety of drug use, recreational and otherwise.[43]

The primary advocate of a religious use of cannabis plant in early Judaism was Sula Benet, also called SaraBenetowa, a Polish anthropologist, who claimed in 1967 that the plant kaneh bosm קנה-בשם mentioned five times

in the Hebrew Bible, and used in the holy anointing oil of the Book of Exodus, was in fact cannabis.[44] The

Ethiopian Zion Coptic Church confirmed it as a possible valid interpretation.[45] The lexicons of Hebrew anddictionaries of plants of the Bible such as by Michael Zohary (1985), Hans Arne Jensen (2004) and James A.

Duke (2010) and others identify the plant in question as either Acorus calamus or Cymbopogon citratus.[46]

Kaneh-bosm is listed as an incense in the Old Testament. It is generally held by academics specializing in thearchaeology and paleobotany of Ancient Israel, and those specializing in the lexicography of the Hebrew Bible thatcannabis is not documented or mentioned in early Judaism. Against this some popular writers have argued that there

is evidence for religious use of cannabis in the Hebrew Bible,[47] although this hypothesis and some of the specificcase studies (e.g., John Allegro in relation to Qumran, 1970) have been "widely dismissed as erroneous, others

continue".[48]

According to The Living Torah, cannabis may have been one of the ingredients of the holy anointing oil mentioned

in various sacred Hebrew texts.[49] The herb of interest is most commonly known as kaneh-bosm (Hebrew:נה-בשם This is mentioned several times in the Old Testament as a bartering material, incense, and an ingredient in .(קholy anointing oil used by the high priest of the temple. Although Chris Bennett's research in this area focuses on

cannabis, he mentions evidence suggesting use of additional visionary plants such as henbane, as well.[50]

The Septuagint translates kaneh-bosm as calamus, and this translation has been propagated unchanged to mostlater translations of the old testament. However, Polish anthropologist Sula Benet published etymological argumentsthat the Aramaic word for hemp can be read as kannabos and appears to be a cognate to the modern word

'cannabis',[51] with the root kan meaning reed or hemp and bosm meaning fragrant. Both cannabis and calamus arefragrant, reedlike plants containing psychotropic compounds.

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In his research, Professor Dan Merkur points to significant evidence of an awareness within the Jewish mysticaltradition recognizing manna as an entheogen, thereby substantiating with rabbinic texts theories advanced by thesuperficial biblical interpretations of Terence McKenna, R. Gordon Wasson and other ethnomycologists.

Although philologist John Marco Allegro has suggested that the self-revelation and healing abilities attributed to thefigure of Jesus may have been associated with the effects of the plant medicines, this evidence is dependent on pre-Septuagint interpretation of Torah and Tenach. Allegro was the only non-Catholic appointed to the position oftranslating the Dead Sea scrolls. His extrapolations are often the object of scorn due to Allegro's non-mainstreamtheory of Jesus as a mythological personification of the essence of a "psychoactive sacrament". Furthermore, theyconflict with the position of the Catholic Church with regard to transubstantiation and the teaching involving validmatter, form, and drug — that of bread and wine (bread does not contain psychoactive drugs, but wine containsethanol). Allegro's book The Sacred Mushroom and the Cross relates the development of language to thedevelopment of myths, religions, and cultic practices in world cultures. Allegro believed he could prove, throughetymology, that the roots of Christianity, as of many other religions, lay in fertility cults, and that cult practices, suchas ingesting visionary plants (or "psychedelics") to perceive the mind of God, persisted into the early Christian era,and to some unspecified extent into the 13th century with reoccurrences in the 18th century and mid-20th century,as he interprets the Plaincourault chapel's fresco to be an accurate depiction of the ritual ingestion of Amanitamuscaria as the Eucharist.

The historical picture portrayed by the Entheos journal is of fairly widespread use of visionary plants in early

Christianity and the surrounding culture, with a gradual reduction of use of entheogens in Christianity.[52] R. GordonWasson's book Soma prints a letter from art historian Erwin Panofsky asserting that art scholars are aware of many

"mushroom trees" in Christian art.[53]

The question of the extent of visionary plant use throughout the history of Christian practice has barely beenconsidered yet by academic or independent scholars. The question of whether visionary plants were used in pre-Theodosius Christianity is distinct from evidence that indicates the extent to which visionary plants were utilized or

forgotten in later Christianity, including so-called "heretical" or "quasi-" Christian groups,[54] and the question of

other groups such as elites or laity within "orthodox" Catholic practice.[55]

Daniel Merkur at the University of Toronto contends that a minority of Christian hermits and mystics could possiblyhave used entheogens, in conjunction with fasting, meditation, and prayer.

Archaeological record

R. Gordon Wasson and Giorgio Samorini have proposed several examples of the cultural use of entheogens that

are found in the archaeological record.[56][57] Evidence for the first use of entheogens may come from Tassili,Algeria, with a cave painting of a mushroom-man, dating to 8000 BP. Hemp seeds discovered by archaeologists atPazyryk suggest early ceremonial practices by the Scythians occurred during the 5th to 2nd century BC, confirmingprevious historical reports by Herodotus.

Classical mythology and cults

Although entheogens are taboo and most of them are officially prohibited in Christian and Islamic societies, theirubiquity and prominence in the spiritual traditions of various other cultures is unquestioned. "The spirit, for example,need not be chemical, as is the case with the ivy and the olive: and yet the god was felt to be within them; nor need

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its possession be considered something detrimental, like drugged, hallucinatory, or delusionary: but possibly instead

an invitation to knowledge or whatever good the god's spirit had to offer."[58]

Most of the well-known modern examples, such as peyote, psilocybin mushrooms, and morning glories are fromthe native cultures of the Americas. However, it has also been suggested that entheogens played an important rolein ancient Indo-European culture, for example by inclusion in the ritual preparations of the Soma, the "pressed juice"that is the subject of Book 9 of the Rig Veda. Soma was ritually prepared and drunk by priests and initiates andelicited a paean in the Rig Veda that embodies the nature of an entheogen:

Splendid by Law! declaring Law, truth speaking, truthful in thy works, Enouncing faith, King Soma!...O [Soma] Pavāmana (mind clarifying), place me in that deathless, undecaying world wherein the lightof heaven is set, and everlasting lustre shines.... Make me immortal in that realm where happiness andtransports, where joy and felicities combine...

The kykeon that preceded initiation into the Eleusinian Mysteries is another entheogen, which was investigated(before the word was coined) by Carl Kerényi, in Eleusis: Archetypal Image of Mother and Daughter. Otherentheogens in the Ancient Near East and the Aegean include the opium poppy, datura, and the unidentified "lotus"(likely the sacred blue lily) eaten by the Lotus-Eaters in the Odyssey and Narcissus.

According to Ruck, Eyan, and Staples, the familiar shamanic entheogen that the Indo-Europeans broughtknowledge of was Amanita muscaria. It could not be cultivated; thus it had to be found, which suited it to anomadic lifestyle. When they reached the world of the Caucasus and the Aegean, the Indo-Europeans encounteredwine, the entheogen of Dionysus, who brought it with him from his birthplace in the mythical Nysa, when hereturned to claim his Olympian birthright. The Indo-European proto-Greeks "recognized it as the entheogen ofZeus, and their own traditions of shamanism, the Amanita and the 'pressed juice' of Soma — but better, since nolonger unpredictable and wild, the way it was found among the Hyperboreans: as befit their own assimilation of

agrarian modes of life, the entheogen was now cultivable."[58] Robert Graves, in his foreword to The Greek Myths,hypothesises that the ambrosia of various pre-Hellenic tribes was Amanita muscaria (which, based on themorphological similarity of the words amanita, amrita and ambrosia, is entirely plausible) and perhaps psilocybinmushrooms of the Panaeolus genus.

Amanita was divine food, according to Ruck and Staples, not something to be indulged in or sampled lightly, notsomething to be profaned. It was the food of the gods, their ambrosia, and it mediated between the two realms. It issaid that Tantalus's crime was inviting commoners to share his ambrosia.

The entheogen is believed to offer godlike powers in many traditional tales, including immortality. The failure ofGilgamesh in retrieving the plant of immortality from beneath the waters teaches that the blissful state cannot betaken by force or guile: When Gilgamesh lay on the bank, exhausted from his heroic effort, the serpent came andate the plant.

Another attempt at subverting the natural order is told in a (according to some) strangely metamorphosed myth, inwhich natural roles have been reversed to suit the Hellenic world-view. The Alexandrian Apollodorus relates howGaia (spelled "Ge" in the following passage), Mother Earth herself, has supported the Titans in their battle with theOlympian intruders. The Giants have been defeated:

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Mandala-like round window above the

altar at Boston University's Marsh

Chapel, site of Marsh Chapel

Experiment

When Ge learned of this, she sought a drug that would prevent their destruction even by mortal hands.But Zeus barred the appearance of Eos (the Dawn), Selene (the Moon), and Helios (the Sun), and

chopped up the drug himself before Ge could find it.[59]

Assassins

The legends of the Assassins had much to do with the training and instruction of Nizari fida'is, famed for their publicmissions during which they often gave their lives to eliminate adversaries.

The tales of the fida’is’ training collected from anti-Ismaili historians and orientalists writers were confounded andcompiled in Marco Polo’s account, in which he described a "secret garden of paradise". After being drugged, theIsmaili devotees were said be taken to a paradise-like garden filled with attractive young maidens and beautifulplants in which these fida’is would awaken. Here, they were told by an "old" man that they were witnessing theirplace in Paradise and that should they wish to return to this garden permanently, they must serve the Nizari

cause.[60] So went the tale of the "Old Man in the Mountain", assembled by Marco Polo and accepted by Josephvon Hammer-Purgstall (1774–1856), a prominent orientalist writer responsible for much of the spread of thislegend. Until the 1930s, von Hammer’s retelling of the Assassin legends served as the standard account of theNizaris across Europe.

Research

Notable early testing of the entheogenic experience includes the MarshChapel Experiment, conducted by physician and theology doctoralcandidate, Walter Pahnke, under the supervision of Timothy Leary andthe Harvard Psilocybin Project. In this double-blind experiment,volunteer graduate school divinity students from the Boston area almostall claimed to have had profound religious experiences subsequent to theingestion of pure psilocybin. In 2006, a more rigorously controlledexperiment was conducted at Johns Hopkins University, and yielded

similar results.[61] To date there is little peer-reviewed research on thissubject, due to ongoing drug prohibition and the difficulty of gettingapproval from institutional review boards.

Legal status of entheogens

Australia

Between 2011 and 2012, the Australian Federal Government wasconsidering changes to the Australian Criminal Code that would classify any plants containing any amount of DMT

as "controlled plants".[62] DMT itself was already controlled under current laws. The proposed changes includedother similar blanket bans for other substances, such as a ban on any and all plants containing Mescaline orEphedrine. The proposal was not pursued after political embarrassment on realisation that this would make the

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official Floral Emblem of Australia, Acacia pycnantha (Golden Wattle), illegal. The Therapeutic GoodsAdministration and federal authority had considered a motion to ban the same, but this was withdrawn in May 2012

(as DMT may still hold potential entheogenic value to native and/or religious peoples).[63]

United States

In 1963 in Sherbert v. Verner the Supreme Court established the Sherbert Test, which consists of four criteria thatare used to determine if an individual's right to religious free exercise has been violated by the government. The testis as follows:

For the individual, the court must determine

whether the person has a claim involving a sincere religious belief, and

whether the government action is a substantial burden on the person’s ability to act on that belief.

If these two elements are established, then the government must prove

that it is acting in furtherance of a "compelling state interest," and

that it has pursued that interest in the manner least restrictive, or least burdensome, to religion.

This test was eventually all-but-eliminated in Employment Division v. Smith 494 U.S. 872 (1990), but wasresurrected by Congress in the federal Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) of 1993.

In City of Boerne v. Flores, 521 U.S. 507 (1997) and Gonzales v. O Centro Espírita Beneficente União doVegetal, 546 U.S. 418 (2006), the RFRA was held to trespass on state sovereignty, and application of the RFRAwas essentially limited to federal law enforcement.

As of 2001, Arizona, Idaho, New Mexico, Oklahoma, South Carolina, and Texas had enacted so-called "mini-RFRAs."

Literature

Many works of literature have described entheogen use; some of those are:

The drug melange (spice) in Frank Herbert's Dune universe acts as both an entheogen (in large enough

quantities) and an addictive geriatric medicine. Control of the supply of melange was crucial to the Empire, as

it was necessary for, among other things, faster-than-light (folding space) navigation.

Consumption of the imaginary mushroom anochi [enoki] as the entheogen underlying the creation of

Christianity is the premise of Philip K. Dick's last novel, The Transmigration of Timothy Archer, a theme

that seems to be inspired by John Allegro's book.

Aldous Huxley's final novel, Island (1962), depicted a fictional psychoactive mushroom — termed "moksha

medicine" — used by the people of Pala in rites of passage, such as the transition to adulthood and at the

end of life.

Bruce Sterling's Holy Fire novel refers to the religion in the future as a result of entheogens, used freely by

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the population.

In Stephen King's The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger, Book 1 of The Dark Tower series, the main

character receives guidance after taking mescaline.

The Alastair Reynolds novel Absolution Gap features a moon under the control of a religious government

that uses neurological viruses to induce religious faith.

A critical examination of the ethical and societal implications and relevance of "entheogenic" experiences can

be found in Daniel Waterman and Casey William Hardison's book Entheogens, Society & Law: Towards

a Politics of Consciousness, Autonomy and Responsibility (Melrose, Oxford 2013). This book includes a

controversial analysis of the term entheogen arguing that Wasson et al. were mystifying the effects of the

plants and traditions it refers to.

See also

Betty Eisner

Entheogenic use of cannabis

Hallucinogenic fish

Heffter Research Institute

Sacred herbs

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(https://www.erowid.org/chemicals/ethylene/ethylene_history1.shtml). Ethylene Vault. Erowid.org. Retrieved

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38. ^ "Drugs in ancient Russia - Research" (http://www.narkotiki.ru/research_5281.html).

39. ^ Allegro, John Marco (1970). The Sacred Mushroom and the Cross: A Study of the Nature and Origins of

Christianity within the Fertility Cults of the Ancient Near East. Hodder and Stoughton. ISBN 0-340-12875-5.

40. ^ "Macropiper Excelsum - Maori Kava" (http://www.entheology.org/edoto/anmviewer.asp?a=67). Entheology.org.

Retrieved 2013-01-13.

41. ^ "Benjamin Thomas Ethnobotany & Anthropology Research Page" (http://www.shaman-australis.com/~benjamin-

thomas/). Shaman-australis.com. Retrieved 2013-01-13.

42. ^ Singh, edited by Yadhu N. (2004). Kava from ethnology to pharmacology. Boca Raton: CRC Press.

ISBN 1420023373.

43. ^ The Chemical Muse: Drug Use and the Roots of Western Civilization by D. C.A. Hillman Ph.D.

44. ^ Rowan Robinson, The Great Book of Hemp, Health & Fitness, 1995, pg. 89

45. ^ "Marijuana and the Bible= Erowid.org" (http://www.erowid.org/plants/cannabis/cannabis_spirit2.shtml). 2002-

03-01.

46. ^ Lytton J. Musselman Figs, dates, laurel, and myrrh: plants of the Bible and the Quran 2007 pg. 73

47. ^ Dan Merkur The Mystery of Manna: The Psychedelic Sacrament of the Bible (2001); James D. Dure, Manna

Magic Mushroom of Moses : Manna Botanical I.D. of a Biblical Sacrament (self published, 2000)

48. ^ Merlin, M. D. "COVER ARTICLE: Archaeological Evidence for the Tradition of Psychoactive Plant Use in the

Old World". Economic Botany 57 (3): 295–323. doi:10.1663/0013-0001(2003)057[0295:AEFTTO]2.0.CO;2

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Further reading

Old World". Economic Botany 57 (3): 295–323. doi:10.1663/0013-0001(2003)057[0295:AEFTTO]2.0.CO;2

(http://dx.doi.org/10.1663%2F0013-0001%282003%29057%5B0295%3AAEFTTO%5D2.0.CO%3B2).

49. ^ Kaplan, Aryeh. (1981). The Living Torah New York. p. 442.

50. ^ Sex, Drugs, Violence and the Bible (http://www.amazon.com/dp/1550567985), by Chris Bennett and Neil

McQueen, 2001, Forbidden Fruit Publishing.

51. ^ "kanehbosm" (http://www.njweedman.com/kanehbosm.html). Njweedman.com. Retrieved 2013-01-13.

52. ^ Conjuring Eden: Art and the Entheogenic Vision of Paradise (http://entheomedia.org/Issue%20one.htm), by Mark

Hoffman, Carl Ruck, and Blaise Staples. Entheos: The Journal of Psychedelic Spirituality, Issue No. 1, Summer,

2001

53. ^ Wasson and Allegro on the Tree of Knowledge as Amanita (http://www.egodeath.com/WassonEdenTree.htm),

Michael S. Hoffman, Journal of Higher Criticism, 2007

54. ^ Daturas for the Virgin (http://entheomedia.org/Entheos_Issue_2.htm), José Celdrán and Carl Ruck, Entheos: The

Journal of Psychedelic Spirituality, Vol. I, Issue 2, Winter, 2002

55. ^ The Hidden World: Survival of Pagan Shamanic Themes in European Fairytales

(http://www.amazon.com/dp/1594601445), by Carl Ruck, Blaise Staples, Jose Alfredo Celdran, Mark Hoffman,

Carolina Academic Press, 2007

56. ^ Giorgio Samorini, "The ‘Mushroom-Tree’ of Plaincourault", Eleusis: Journal of Psychoactive Plants and

Compounds, n. 8, 1997, pp. 29-37

57. ^ Giorgio Samorini, "The ‘Mushroom-Trees’ in Christian Art", Eleusis: Journal of Psychoactive Plants and

Compounds, n. 1, 1998, pp. 87-108

58. a b Staples, Danny; Carl A.P. Ruck (1994). The world of classical myth : gods and goddesses, heroines and

heroes (http://csp.org/chrestomathy/world_of.html). Durham, NC: Carolina Academic Press. ISBN 0-89089-575-9.

59. ^ Pseudo-Apollodorus, Bibliotheca (http://www.theoi.com/Protogenos/Gaia.html). Circa 2 A.D. pp. 34–39. Check

date values in: |date= (help)

60. ^ Hodgson, Marshall G.S. (2005). The Secret Order of Assassins: The Struggle of the Early Nizârî Ismâʻîlîs

Against the Islamic World (http://books.google.com/books?id=GU7uAAAAMAAJ). Philadelphia: University of

Pennsylvania Press. ISBN 978-0-8122-1916-6. Retrieved September 15, 2010.

61. ^ R. R. Griffiths; W. A. Richards; U. McCann; R. Jesse (2006-07-07). "Psilocybin can occasion mystical-type

experiences having substantial and sustained personal meaning and spiritual significance"

(http://www.springerlink.com/content/v2175688r1w4862x/fulltext.pdf) (PDF). Psychopharmacology 187 (3):

268–283. doi:10.1007/s00213-006-0457-5 (http://dx.doi.org/10.1007%2Fs00213-006-0457-5). PMID 16826400

(https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16826400). Retrieved 2011-02-03.

62. ^ "Consultation on implementation of model drug schedules for Commonwealth serious drug offences"

(http://www.ag.gov.au/www/agd/agd.nsf/Page/Consultationsreformsandreviews_Consultationonimplementationof

modeldrugschedulesforCommonwealthseriousdrugoffences). Australian Government, Attorney-General’s

Department. 24 June 2010.

63. ^ http://connection.ebscohost.com/c/articles/79564875/aussie-dmt-ban

Harner, Michael, The Way of the Shaman: A Guide to Power and Healing, Harper & Row Publishers, NY 1980

Rätsch, Christian; "The Psychoactive Plants, Ethnopharmacology and Its Applications"; Park Street Press;

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External links

The Vaults of Erowid (http://www.erowid.org/) (Erowid)

Entheogenreview.com (http://www.entheogenreview.com) Quarterly publication that served as a

clearinghouse for current data about the use of visionary plants and drugs.

Council on Spiritual Practices Entheogen Project (http://www.csp.org/about.html)

Religion and Psychoactive Sacraments: An Entheogen Chrestomathy

(http://csp.org/chrestomathy/a_title.html)

Manual for Ibogaine Therapy (http://www.ibogaine.desk.nl/manual.html) Contributing Authors : Marc

Rätsch, Christian; "The Psychoactive Plants, Ethnopharmacology and Its Applications"; Park Street Press;

Rochester Vermont; 1998/2005; ISBN 978-0-89281-978-2

Roberts, Thomas B. (editor) (2001). Psychoactive Sacramentals: Essays on Entheogens and Religion San

Francisco: Council on Spiritual Practices.

Roberts, Thomas B. (2006) "Chemical Input, Religious Output—Entheogens" Chapter 10 in Where God and

Science Meet: Vol. 3: The Psychology of Religious Experience Westport, CT: Praeger/Greenwood.

Roberts, Thomas, and Hruby, Paula J. (1995–2003). Religion and Psychoactive Sacraments: An Entheogen

Chrestomathy http://www.csp.org/chrestomathy [Online archive]

Stafford, Peter. (2003). Psychedelics. Ronin Publishing, Oakland, California. ISBN 0-914171-18-6.

Carl Ruck and Danny Staples, The World of Classical Myth 1994. Introductory excerpts

(http://www.csp.org/chrestomathy/world_of.html)

Huston Smith, Cleansing the Doors of Perception: The Religious Significance of Entheogenic Plants and

Chemicals, 2000, Tarcher/Putnam, ISBN 1-58542-034-4

Daniel Pinchbeck,"Ten Years of Therapy in One Night"

(http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2003/sep/20/booksonhealth.lifeandhealth), The Guardian UK (2003), describes

Daniel's second journey with Iboga facilitated by Dr. Martin Polanco at the Ibogaine Association clinic in Rosarito,

Mexico.

Giorgio Samorini 1995 "Traditional use of psychoactive mushrooms in Ivory Coast (Côte d'Ivoire)?" in Eleusis 1

22-27 (no current url)

M. Bock 2000 "Māori kava (Macropiper excelsum)" in Eleusis n.s. vol 4 (no current url)

Plants of the Gods: Their Sacred, Healing and Hallucinogenic Powers by Richard Evans Schultes, Albert

Hofmann, Christian Ratsch - ISBN 0-89281-979-0

John J. McGraw, Brain & Belief: An Exploration of the Human Soul, 2004, AEGIS PRESS, ISBN 0-9747645-0-

7

J.R. Hale, J.Z. de Boer, J.P. Chanton and H.A. Spiller (2003) Questioning the Delphic Oracle, 2003, Scientific

American, vol 289, no 2, 67-73. (http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?articleID=0009BD34-398C-1F0A-

97AE80A84189EEDF)

The Sacred Plants of our Ancestors by Christian Rätsch, published in TYR: Myth—Culture—Tradition Vol. 2,

2003–2004 - ISBN 0-9720292-1-4

Yadhu N. Singh, editor, Kava: From Ethnology to Pharmacology, 2004, Taylor & Francis, ISBN 0-415-32327-4

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Emery, Geerte Frenken, Sara Glatt, Brian Mariano, Karl Naeher, Dr. Martin Polanco, Marko Resinovic,

Nick Sandberg, Eric Taub, Samuel Waizmann and Hattie Wells

Trips Beyond Addiction (http://jari.podbean.com/2013/01/14/trips-beyond-addiction-special-program-for-

living-hero-w-jari-chevalier-radio-show-at-wgdrorg/) (Jan 2013) Living Hero Radio Show and Podcast

special. The voices of ex-addicts, researchers from MAPS and Ibogaine/Iboga/Ayahuasca treatment

providers sharing their experiences in breaking addiction with native medicines

Cross-cultural Perspectives on the Uses of Stimulants as Entheogens (http://www.youtube.com/watch?

v=NHbA_uTrRHE) Des Tramacchi's lectures in Entheogenesis Australis 2010 symposium.

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Entheogen&oldid=635173094"

Categories: Entheogens Psychedelics, dissociatives and deliriants Religious behaviour and experience

Shamanism

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