Gods flesh
n the U.S.)
contribute to the therapeutic process; they may
even be the sole source for future progress.
Under these conditions, stereo music also
significantly deepened the intensity of the
experience. It appears that these kinds of specific
experiences may also account for the remarkable
success of treating terminal patients with LSD to
ease their fears in the face of death and to reduce
even the most severe forms of pain. In many such
cases, symptoms disappeared entirely, and relief
from pain and anxiety that continued even after the
drug's acute effects had worn off. A book by S.
Grof provides a compassionate analysis of such
successful treatments, which serves to underscore
the fact that systematic efforts to investigate these
particular therapeutic benefits have only just
begun. So far, LSD has been the most widely
studied substance in terms of easing the suffering
of terminally ill patients, as well as dipropyltryptamine
(DPT), a synthetic drug structurally
similar to psilocybin that is active only when
administered by injection.
Below, a young woman from Switzerland
gives a detailed account of her second mushroom
experience. Her first experiment, with Psilocybe
cubensis, had already introduced her to the realm
of mystical experiences. For her second journey,
she used 20 Psilocybe semilanceata mushrooms as
part of a group ritual and achieved transcendence.
A remarkable feature of her
account is that the presence of an experienced
guide was needed to realize the full potential of
this visionary quest.
"1 sat down next to another participant,
seeking to connect with others in preparation for
my journey. We proceeded to eat the fresh
mushrooms. The room grew quiet and lovely
music began to play. The mushrooms's effects
came on much faster than they did during my first
experiment. Twice I tried to establish closer
contact with my fellow participant, but he was
very nervous, and no source of reassurance for
me. I was seeking my spiritual companion, but did
not find that person among the present group. I
became a figure in a long, white robe, wandering
aimlessly among the columns (Greece?), still
searching.
My gaze lingered briefly on the wall next
to the door and I saw faces and figures appear
and vanish, but they did not hold my interest. It
was hopeless. I continued my aimless roaming,
and I was on the material plane, which I wanted
to leave - had to leave. Suddenly, I found myself
with one of the guides, who wanted to help me. I
stared off into the distance, longing to be free of
the material plane, but unable to do so. For a long
time, I failed to connect with the guide; our two
worlds were just too different. Suddenly I sensed
that he wasn't able to look at me directly. The path
by which to reach me runs through my eyes,
because only they are truly alive. I asked
him to help me on my way and invited him to look
into my eyes. I felt as if all life energy was
draining from my bo ecialize in the study of Psilocybes,
despite the fact that Psilocybe semilanceata is the
most common and conspicuous species among the
Psilocybes. Also, mushroom lovers whose
interests are not purely scientific (see Chapter 7.4)
do not usually preserve their knowledge for
posterity in the form of distribution maps.
However, there is one map from 1986, which
shows the distribution pattern of Psilocybe
semilanceata across Germany (see Figure 20, p.
28).
Almost no published information is available
about locations where Psilocybe species have
been found in eastern Germany. During my own
field trips, I have discovered Psilocybe
semilanceata specimens in various locations, such
as near my hometown of Mansfeld in the Vorharz
Mountains, in the marshlands of Duben as well as
in other eastern German marshland areas. In
addition, friends who are also mycologists have
told me about finding the mushrooms in other
parts of the country. A book published in 1952 is
among the rare sources that includes details about
specimens discovered in the southeastern state of
Saxony (see Figure 16, p. 23).
The Psilocybe species grow most
abundantly on wet pastures surrounded by forest
areas. In my experience, Psilocybe semilanceata
grows in most of Germany's forestlands. The
species fruits during the fall, from late September
through October. It favors acidic soil and grassy
terrain alongside trails or around the edges of
forest lands. Specimens are generally clustered in
small groups of 30 mushrooms or less. Deer
droppings or other animal feces are usually
present at those locations, even though the
mushrooms never grow directly on top of dung.
Occasionally, extremely stunted specimens may
be found in the mountains by the side of the road.
The soil below older cow pastures provides
an excellent medium for extensive mycelial
growth. In some locations, large areas yield an
abundance of fruiting bodies, mirroring the extent
of mycelial saturation in the soil. Given adequate
moisture, maximum yields can be expected, if the
pasture was grazed at least once during the weeks
before fruiting season. However, the mushrooms
also thrive under similar conditions on horse and
sheep pastures. Such grassy areas inside forests
are usually grazing areas for deer, who provide
the soil with additional fertilization. However,
Psilocybe semilanceata does not grow in locations
where artificial fertilizer has been used. Such
pastures are often flanked by creeks or swamp
lands, which saturate the soil with water. During the
summertime, the warm climate in these wet areas
provides an excellent environment for optimal
mycelial growth. In Germany, the mushroom's
habitat ranges from the coastal areas to
mountainous regions, where the species has been
found at altitudes of up to 1,720 m (5,160 ft) above
sea level (MTB-8443, 1985). In the former
Czechoslovakia, samples have been collected at
altitudes ranging from 330 to 1,000 m (1,000 -
Magic Picking Mushroom
This Coin Information Find Shrooms document provides complete directions for cultivating psilocybin
a have been reported from
the following countries: Finland, Norway,
Sweden, Denmark, Germany, Switzerland,
Austria, The Netherlands, Belgium, France,
Russia, Poland, the former Czechoslovakia,
Hungary, Romania, Scotland, England, Wales,
Italy and Spain.
Unfortunately, there are no comprehensive
maps detailing the species's
distribution pattern. Traditionally, mycologists
have often neglected relatively tiny species, such
as Psilocybe semilanceata, that tend to share their
habitats with other, more prominent species. The
sarcastic phrase "The mushrooms occur in
abundance wherever mycologists abound" is
particularly pertinent in reference to the Psilocybe
species. Prior to the discovery of psilocybin, the
Psilocybe genus languished in the literature,
shrouded in obscurity. To this day, few
189. Psilocybe semilanceata Fr. Worthless]
The cap is uniformly conic to bell-shaped, with a pointy or obtuse center forming
an almost wart-like protrusion; initially, caps are often taller than they are wide, margins
are bent and curved inward; later on, width of cap is 1.5-4 cm. Hygrophanous; coloration
is a dirtyish olive-brown when wet, with translucent striate margins; at the center,
coloration is ocher or greenish-yellow against an overall shade of smudgy pale yellow and
oftentimes some greenish stains; only the margins are banded by a darkcolored, watery
stripe around the edge. No stripes or banding evident when mushrooms are completely
dried. Lacking a veil, caps are thin-fleshed, bald, with an easily separable pellicle that
remains gelatinous-sticky for a long time, turning shiny when dry.
Gills are olive brown to blackish purple brown in color, with the edges often
remaining white, gill spacing is quite crowded; gill attachment is either roughly linear or
mostly adnexed; up to 3.5 mm wide; attached at the stem only, fully detached later on.
Spores are elongated to ellipitical in shape, smooth and large, measuring 12-16 u
by 6-8,u. Color of spore dust is blackish purple brown.
Stem is very slender, almost uniformly thin and always twisted, 6-12 cm long and
1.25-2 mm thick, yellowish or whitish in color; areas subjected to pressure develop bluishgreen
stains. Stems are silky smooth and roughly at the center, cortinate fibrils appear like
remnants of a veil, which is brittle and lined with a white fibrous cord of wool-like
texture.
When dry, the flesh of the cap is colored pale yellow, while the stem's flesh is
ocher brown in color, especially towards the bottom. It is odorless and its flavor is mild.
The mushroom grows from August to October, frequently in gregarious clusters, and can
be found in pastures and along roadways, growing on dung that has undergone complete
decomposition. It is not a particularly rare species.
Figure 11(above) This excellent description of Psilocybe semilanceata by Michael & Schulz
(1927) is shown here as originally published in German, with an English translation.
Mycologists sp
magic mushroom magic
It has been suggested by an Australian physician that the general public in Australia, as well as members of its drug using subculture, first became aware of the visionary properties of these psychoactive mushrooms by a visiting surfer(s), who came from either New Zealand or the United States (Hawaii) and most likely provided ethnomycological information to local surfers (McCarthy, 1971).
This physician reported that the use of psychoactive mushrooms, as well as 21 other drugs "was well demonstrated during a survey on drug abuse that was conducted in Southern Queensland during l969." This survey relied on interviews of 51 people belonging to "the `surfer' subculture local beach resorts". In Inocybe Haemacta this report, the doctor believed that "although the survey involved surfers and their female friends, there is no suggestion that the use of these drugs is confined to this group, which constitutes but a proportion of our (Australian) young drug taking community." It is thus likely that word-of-mouth communication made a significant contribution to the increasing use
Laughing Jims
of "magic mushrooms" in Australia and NZ. This document provides complete directions for cultivating psilocybin ecialize in the study of Psilocybes,
despite the fact that Psilocybe semilanceata is the
most common and conspicuous species among the
Psilocybes. Also, mushroom lovers whose
interests are not purely scientific (see Chapter 7.4)
do not usually preserve their knowledge for
posterity in the form of distribution maps.
However, there is one map from 1986, which
shows the distribution pattern of Psilocybe
semilanceata across Germany (see Figure 20, p.
28).
Almost no published information is available
about locations where Psilocybe species have
been found in eastern Germany. During my own
field trips, I have discovered Psilocybe
semilanceata specimens in various locations, such
as near my hometown of Mansfeld in the Vorharz
Mountains, in the marshlands of Duben as well as
in other eastern German marshland areas. In
addition, friends who are also mycologists have
told me about finding the mushrooms in other
parts of the country. A book published in 1952 is
among the rare sources that includes details about
specimens discovered in the southeastern state of
Saxony (see Figure 16, p. 23).
The Psilocybe species grow most
abundantly on wet pastures surrounded by forest
areas. In my experience, Psilocybe semilanceata
grows in most of Germany's forestlands. The
species fruits during the fall, from late September
through October. It favors acidic soil and grassy
terrain alongside trails or around the edges of
forest lands. Specimens are generally clustered in
small groups of 30 mushrooms or less. Deer
droppings or other animal feces are usually
present at those locations, even though the
mushrooms never grow directly on top of dung.
Occasionally, extremely stunted specimens may
be found in the mountains by the side of the road.
The soil below older cow pastures provides
an excellent medium for extensive mycelial
growth. In some locations, large areas yield an
abundance of fruiting bodies, mirroring the extent
of mycelial saturation in the soil. Given adequate
moisture, maximum yields can be expected, if the
pasture was grazed at least once during the weeks
before fruiting season. However, the mushrooms
also thrive under similar conditions on horse and
sheep pastures. Such grassy areas inside forests
are usually grazing areas for deer, who provide
the soil with additional fertilization. However,
Psilocybe semilanceata does not grow in locations
where artificial fertilizer has been used. Such
pastures are often flanked by creeks or swamp
lands, which saturate the soil with water. During the
summertime, the warm climate in these wet areas
provides an excellent environment for optimal
mycelial growth. In Germany, the mushroom's
habitat ranges from the coastal areas to
mountainous regions, where the species has been
found at altitudes of up to 1,720 m (5,160 ft) above
sea level (MTB-8443, 1985). In the former
Czechoslovakia, samples have been collected at
altitudes ranging from 330 to 1,000 m (1,000 -
xican mushroom species, so that
these materials need not be repeated in this
context. However, certain aspects concerning the
more recent uses of these mushrooms as well as
their conditions of growth will receive more
detailed attention in later chapters.
The main purpose of this book is to
inspire further study of these mushrooms,
particularly basic research efforts and medical
applications of magic mushroom ingredients.
The extensive bibliography will help
scientists and other interested mycophiles to
further immerse themselves in this complex area
of study.
Jochen Gartz
Figure 6 - Bronze doors with mushroom motif entitled "Trial and
Judgment" at Hildesheim Cathedral, Germany (ca. 1020).
CHAPTER 2
REFLECTIONS ON THE HISTORY
AND SCIENTIFIC STUDY OF MAGIC MUSHROOMS
It is remarkable that cultures native to the
American continent knew about a relatively large
number of natural mind-altering substances
compared to early cultures that evolved in Europe
or Asia. Botanical evidence does not support the
notion that Europe is home to fewer hallucinogenic
plants than other regions. Furthermore, the
growing number of recently discovered European
mushroom species containing psilocybin indicate a
flourishing psychotropic mycoflora in Europe
similar to those found in other countries.
It is unlikely that early European cultures
learned less about local plants and mushrooms
through usage and experience than cultures
elsewhere in the world. Most likely, early cultural
knowledge of European psychoactive plants and
mushrooms was lost or destroyed at some time in
history, probably as early as several hundred years
ago.
The discovery that the fly agaric
mushroom (Amanita muscaria) was known for its
psychoactive properties in Siberia invited the
conclusion that this mushroom was used as a
psychotropic agent in medieval Europe as well. In
fact, there is very little evidence from the Middle
Ages to indicate widespread knowledge of the
effects of specific mushrooms on human
consciousness. However, I believe that past reports
on psychoactive mushrooms were causally linked
to Amanita muscaria simply because this was the
only known psychotropic mushroom in Europe at
that time.
While the usage of Amanita muscaria
among Siberian tribes has generated reports of
spectacular hallucinations, European accounts of
fly agaric intoxications do not generally include
descriptions of such intensely hallucinatory
effects.
Accordingly, the potent hallucinogenic
effects of specific Psilocybes and related species
are likely to have had a much more significant
influence on early European cultures than the
delirium-like visions induced by Amanita
muscaria, a species that is also known to induce
unconsciousness and severe somatic side effects.
This hypothesis is corroborated by data from
comprehensive field studies conducted in Mexico.
I believe that historic accounts including those
described below - indicate a knowledge of ulinary
mushroom bears no
resemblance, either in size or form, to Inocybe
aeruginascens. Overall, however, these
unfortunate cases have also contributed to our
understanding of mushroom biochemistry.
In this context, I want to emphasize
once more that the hallucinogenic varieties
among the Inocybes can easily be mistaken for
those muscarine-producing Inocybe species
that are extremely poisonous.
As part of his investigation of the
Psilocybe genus, Guzman noted a common
trait among the hallucinogenic species, in
addition to the bluing reaction: a flour-like
smell or taste. Apart from the inherent
subjective nature of our sense of smell and
taste, a common odor is a trait that definitely
does not apply to the European species (also
see Chapter 3.2).
Mycophile or Mycophobe?
There are reports from the Western
United States about people with expert
knowledge of Psilocybe semilanceata -
devoted mushroom hunters who can identify
the species with drill and accuracy. At the
same time, however, these experts cannot
identify easily spotted common table
mushrooms, nor are they able to differentiate
the Agaricus species (champignons) from other
mushrooms, even when these species grow on
the same pasture. Such individuals, then, are
not interested in species other than Psilocybe
semilanceata. In my opinion, this attitude
reflects a rare combination of mycophilia and
mycophobia.
A mushroom's spore dust provides
important information needed to determine
identity. A spore print is left by the gills when
the cap is placed on black or white paper
(depending on spore color). As the process
takes several hours, a glass vessel must be
placed over the cap to prevent drying. While
useful, information obtained from spore
analyses has its limitations, For instance,
spores derived from mushrooms belonging to
different genera may have the same color, but
reveal basic differences under the microscope.
There is also a high degree of similarity among
spores from different Psilocybe species. Thus,
the only way to prevent grave errors and
potentially deadly intoxications is to rely on
experienced experts for mushroom
identification, a process that must include
analysis of available ecological data.
CHAPTER 5
THE BLUING PHENOMENON AND METOL
TESTING: REALITY VS. WISHFUL THINKING
As previously discussed in Chapters 3.1
and 3.7, the bluing reaction is characteristic
of species that produce psilocybin. Still, for
unknown reasons, some species or samples
belonging to a genus that usually turns blue
may not always change color, regardless of
psilocybin content. Among the species that I
have examined, Psilocybe bohemica
displayed the most impressive bluing
reaction. The caps of this species stain very
quickly in reaction to pressure. Other species,
such as Psilocybe cubensis (Earle) Sing.
have stems that develop very intensely blue
stains, while their caps do not exhibit the
bluing reaction. By contrast, Psilocybe
The Mazatec Indians, who have a long tradition of using the mushrooms, inhabit a range of mountains called the Sierra Mazateca in the northeastern corner of the Mexican state of Oaxaca. The shamans in this
Picture Of Shrooms Psychedelic Shrooms essay are all natives of the town of Huautla de Jimenez.
Psilocybe Gallery Psilocybe Gallery Shrooms Properly speaking they are Huautecans; but since the language they speak has been called Mazatec and they have been referred to in the previous anthropological literature as Mazatecs, I have retained that name, though strictly speaking, Mazatecs are the inhabitants of the village of Mazatlan in the same mountains.
INTRODUCTION
Mind-altering (psilocybine Mushroom Fairy Portabella Mushroom containing) mushrooms have been traditionally used in religious healing and curing ceremonies by native peoples in Mesoamerica for more than 3,000 years.
Today, the recreational use of hallucinogenic fungi by Westerners is widespread, especially in various regions of the United States, Canada, Mexico, Caribbean, Great Britain, Europe (especially in the Netherlands), Semilanceata Spores Scandinavia, South America, Southeast Asia, India, Bali, Samoa; Australia and New Zealand. The modern, non-traditional use of
hallucinogenic mushrooms has been stimulated, by media reports in newspapers, magazines, word-of-mouth communication, the
World Wide Web and Internet, and also by the scholarly and popular journal publications of the renown ethnomycologist R. Gordon
Wasson, (Harvard psychologist Timothy Leary, traveler Jeremy Sanford, health guru Andrew Weil, and others (see Allen , Merlin &Jansen, 1991).This field guide reviews the history of both the accidental and purposeful use of psychoactive mushrooms in Australia and New
Zealand. Information in this guide has been gathered from personal experiences in Australia by the author and from reports in the scientific literature, news items appearing in the popular press, and personal communications with Australian and New Zealand (NZ)
professionals (Unsigned 1970; O'Neill, 1986).
went in waves. Increasingly, all colors in her
immediate surroundings coalesced into shades of
green. The hallucinations were fearsome; the heads
of monsters became visible and a wall opened up
into an abyss. There was a succession of human
figure with animal heads. The next day, everything
was back to normal. The oldest child (age 14) also
saw her parents' hair color turn green, had dilated
pupils and watched geometric shapes appear on the
wall. The youngest child
(age 11) experienced cramps and lost
consciousness.
In 1960, Singer and Guzman suggested
that Panaeolus cyanescens might contain
psilocybin, because of the intense blue staining
they had observed. It wasn't until after the
intoxications in Menton had been publicized, that
a research team working with A. Hofmann
detected 0.2% of psilocybin in the mushrooms.
Considering the powerful effects, however, this
concentration appears to be too low to cause such
impressive reactions. Later on, Sandoz
Laboratories reported the level of psilocybin in
dried samples as 0.8%, along with 1.2% psilocin.
The level of psilocin, however, may have been
falsely elevated by the presence of serotonin and
its derivates in the mushroom sample that was
being tested.
According to Stijve, a mushroom sample
collected by J.W. Allen in Thailand contained
0.4% - 1.05% of psilocin, with only trace
amounts of psilocybin; serotonin was present in
large amounts, comparable to concentrations
found in all Panaeolus species.
Apparently, Panaeolus cyanescens
produces more psilocin than psilocybin. Still, I
was able to detect 0.4% of psilocybin in mycelia
cultivated on malt agar, with no other indole
compounds present.
Discussion of the Panaeolus species
would remain incomplete without pointing out
that those subjectively terrifying psychoses
reported in 1965 cannot be attributed to a specific
mushroom ingredient, but were likely
precipitated by the circumstances (set and setting)
surrounding the incident. The effects described by J.
Allen in Hawaii after eating 20 specimens paint a
different picture altogether:
With radio music playing softly in the
dark, euphoria began to come on in waves. After
20 minutes, visions became so intense that I tried
to close my eyes. Whenever 1 did close my eyes,
my eyelids felt as if they were being sprayed from
the outside. Colors were sharp and clear, but
I always quickly opened my eyes again. Colors
were dancing like laser beams to the rhythm of
the music. The stars in the sky assembled in
clusters that reached all the way into my soul. I
was a little scared at the idea that the ocean
water might rush up all the way into our hut.
Other than that, feelings of euphoria were
overwhelming. At times, I was overcome by fits of
laughter. That night, I slept like "a prince ". The
following morning I gathered up my belongings
and had to walk back across the pasture where I
had collected the mushrooms the day before. I
noticed a lot o
magic mushroom @ 3/12/2010 6:08:07 PM
CATTLE AS A POSSIBLE DISPERSAL MECHANISM FOR PSYCHOACTIVE DUNG FUNGI
One may ask the question, "how did these mushrooms arrive in Australia and New Zealand?" Well some species may be endemic,that is, they were already there naturally. Other species such as the above described dung-inhabiting mushrooms most likelyappeared after the introduction of cattle on the subcontinent.The first livestock to arrive in Australia were brought from the Cape of Good Hope in1788, and included 2 bulls and 5 cows, along with other domesticated farm animals. Byl803, the government owned approximately 1800 cattle, most of which were importedfrom the Cape, Calcutta, and the west coast of America.
It was during this period thatsome of the visionary mushrooms mentioned in this field guide probably first appeared inAustralia (Unsigned, 1973).
According to Australian mycologist John Burton Cleland(1934), "fungi growing in cow or horse-dung and confined to such habitats, must in thecase of Australia, all belong to introduced species". It is believed to have been the SouthAfrican dung beetle which may have actually spread the spores. According to Englishmycologist Roy Watling of the Royal Botanic Gardens in Glasgow, Scotland, "it must beremembered that fungi can change substrate preferences and there are coprophilousfungi on kangaroo droppings etc." Some mycologists who have studied the "magicmushrooms" in Australia and NZ claim that the "use of P. cubensis as a recreational drugtends to confirm the belief that [some] farmers in early times [may have] added one or two basidiomes [gilled mushrooms] to
growingMagic mushrooms at home
a mealto liven it up [and still do] Margot & Watling, 1981).
"
CATTLE AS A POSSIBLE DISPERSAL MECHANISM FOR PSYCHOACTIVE DUNG FUNGI
One may ask the question, "how did
Magic Mushroom Grow Kits these mushrooms arrive in Australia and New Zealand?" Well some species may be endemic,that is, they were already there naturally. Other species such as the above described dung-inhabiting mushrooms most likelyappeared after the introduction of cattle on the subcontinent.The first livestock to arrive in Australia were brought from the Cape of Good Hope in1788, and included 2 bulls and 5 cows, along with other domesticated farm animals. Byl803, the government owned approximately 1800 cattle, most of which were importedfrom the Cape, Calcutta, and the west coast of America. It was during this period thatsome of the visionary mushrooms mentioned in this field guide probably first appeared inAustralia (Unsigned, 1973). According to Australian mycologist John Burton Cleland(1934), "fungi growing in cow or horse-dung and confined to such habitats, must in thecase of Australia, all belong to introduced species". It is believed to have been the
Effects Articles Effects Articles Of Articles Magic Articles Mushroom SouthAfrican dung beetle which may have actually spread the spores. According to Englishmycologist Roy Watling of the Royal Botanic Gardens in Glasgow, Scotland, "it must beremembered that fungi can change substrate preferences and there are coprophilousfungi on kangaroo droppings etc." Some mycologists who have studied the "magicmushrooms" in Australia and NZ claim that the "use of
Cubes P. cubensis as a recreational drugtends to confirm the belief that some] farmers in early times may have] added one or two basidiomes gilled mushrooms] to a mealto liven it up and still do] Margot & Watling, 1981)."
CATTLE AS A POSSIBLE DISPERSAL MECHANISM FOR PSYCHOACTIVE DUNG FUNGI
One may ask the question, "how did these mushrooms arrive in Australia and New Zealand?" Well some species may be endemic,that is, they were already there naturally. Other species such as the above described dung-inhabiting mushrooms most likelyappeared after the introduction of cattle on the subcontinent.The first livestock to arrive in Australia were brought from the Cape of Good Hope in1788, and included 2 bulls and 5 cows, along with other domesticated farm animals. Byl803, the government owned approximately 1800 cattle, most of which were importedfrom the Cape, Calcutta, and the west coast of America. It was during this period thatsome of the visionary mushrooms mentioned in this field guide probably first appeared inAustralia (Unsigned, 1973). According to Australian mycologist John Burton Cleland(1934), "fungi growing in cow or horse-dung and confined to such habitats, must in thecase of Australia, all belong to introduced species". It is believed to have been the SouthAfrican dung beetle which may have actually spread the spores. According to Englishmycologist Roy Watling of the Royal Botanic Gardens in Glasgow, Scotland, "it must beremembered that
cow shrooms
fungi can change substrate preferences and there are coprophilousfungi on kangaroo droppings etc." Some mycologists who have studied the "magicmushrooms" in Australia and NZ claim that the "use of P. cubensis as a recreational drugtends to confirm the belief that some farmers in early times [may have added one or two basidiomes gilled mushrooms to a mealto liven it up and still do Margot & Watling, 1981)."
CATTLE AS A POSSIBLE DISPERSAL MECHANISM FOR PSYCHOACTIVE DUNG FUNGI
One may ask the question, "how did these mushrooms arrive in Australia and New Zealand?" Well some species may be endemic,that is, they were already there naturally.
Other species such as the above
Cubes described dung-inhabiting mushrooms most likelyappeared after the introduction of cattle on the subcontinent.The first livestock to arrive in Australia were brought from the Cape of Good Hope in1788, and included 2 bulls and 5 cows, along with other domesticated farm animals. Byl803, the government owned approximately 1800 cattle, most of which were importedfrom the Cape, Calcutta, and the west coast of America. It was during this period thatsome of the visionary mushrooms mentioned in this field guide probably first appeared inAustralia (Unsigned, 1973). According to Australian mycologist John Burton Cleland(1934), "fungi growing in cow or horse-dung and confined to such habitats, must in thecase of Australia, all belong to introduced species". It is believed to have been the SouthAfrican dung beetle which may have actually spread the spores. According to Englishmycologist Roy Watling of the Royal Botanic Gardens in Glasgow, Scotland, "it must beremembered that fungi can change substrate preferences and there are coprophilousfungi on kangaroo droppings etc." Some mycologists who have studied the "magicmushrooms" in Australia and NZ claim that the "use of P. cubensis as a recreational drugtends to confirm the belief that some farmers in early times may have added one or two basidiomes gilled mushrooms to a mealto liven it up and still do Margot & Watling, 1981)."
xican mushroom species, so that
these materials need not be repeated in this
context. However, certain aspects concerning the
more recent uses of these mushrooms as well as
their conditions of growth will receive more
detailed attention in later chapters.
The main purpose of this book is Magic Mushrooms to
inspire further study of these mushrooms,
particularly
Physiology Of Psilocybe Cyanescens
basic research efforts and medical
applications of magic mushroom ingredients.
The extensive bibliography will help
scientists and other interested mycophiles to
further immerse themselves in this complex area
of study.
Jochen Gartz
Figure 6 -
Liberty Caps Bronze doors with mushroom motif entitled "Trial and
Judgment" at Hildesheim Cathedral, Germany (ca. 1020).
CHAPTER 2
REFLECTIONS ON THE HISTORY
AND SCIENTIFIC STUDY OF MAGIC MUSHROOMS
It is
Mushroom Identification Effects Of Magic Mushroom remarkable that cultures native to the
American continent knew about a relatively large
number of natural mind-altering substances
compared to early cultures that evolved in Europe
or Asia. Botanical evidence does not support the
notion that Europe is home to fewer hallucinogenic
plants than other regions. Furthermore, the
growing number of recently discovered European
mushroom species containing psilocybin indicate a
flourishing psychotropic mycoflora in Europe
similar to those found in other countries.
It is unlikely that early European cultures
learned less about local plants and mushrooms
through usage and experience than cultures
elsewhere in the world.
Most likely, early cultural
knowledge of European psychoactive plants and
mushrooms was lost or destroyed at some time in
history,
growing magic mushrooms in manure probably as early as several hundred years
ago.
The discovery that the fly agaric
mushroom (Amanita muscaria) was known for its
psychoactive properties in Siberia invited
Game Shrooms the
conclusion that this mushroom was used as a
psychotropic agent in medieval Europe as well. In
fact, there is very little evidence from the Middle
Ages to indicate widespread knowledge of the
effects of specific mushrooms on human
consciousness. However, I believe that past reports
on psychoactive mushrooms were causally linked
to Amanita muscaria simply because this was the
only known psychotropic mushroom in Europe at
that time.
While the usage of Amanita muscaria
among Siberian tribes has generated reports of
spectacular hallucinations, European accounts of
fly agaric intoxications do not generally include
descriptions of such intensely hallucinatory
effects.
Accordingly, the potent hallucinogenic
effects of specific Psilocybes and related species
are likely to have had a much more significant
influence on early European cultures than the
delirium-like visions induced by Amanita
muscaria, a species that is also known to induce
unconsciousness and severe somatic side effects.
This hypothesis is corroborated by data from
comprehensive field studies conducted in Mexico.
I believe that historic accounts including those
described below - indicate a knowledge of
Most recreational users of Psilocybe cubensis (when grown in vitro) Magic Mushroom Spore Magic Mushroom Spore require a dosage of
Erowid Mushroom Mellow Those who
Magic Mushroom Drawing ingest Copelandia cyanescens, known in
xican mushroom species, so that
these materials need not be repeated in this
context. However, certain aspects concerning the
more recent uses of these mushrooms as well as
their conditions of growth will receive more
detailed attention in later chapters.
The main purpose of this book is to
inspire further study of these mushrooms,
particularly basic research efforts and medical
applications of magic mushroom ingredients.
The extensive bibliography will help
scientists and other interested mycophiles to
further immerse themselves in this complex area
of study.
Jochen Gartz
Figure 6 - Bronze doors with mushroom motif entitled "Trial and
Judgment" at Hildesheim Cathedral, Germany (ca. 1020).
CHAPTER 2
REFLECTIONS ON THE HISTORY
AND SCIENTIFIC magic mushroom drawings STUDY OF MAGIC MUSHROOMS
It is remarkable that cultures native to the
American continent knew about a relatively large
number of natural mind-altering substances
compared to early cultures that evolved in Europe
or Asia. Botanical evidence does not support effects of magic mushrooms the
notion that Europe is home to fewer hallucinogenic
plants than other regions. Furthermore, the
growing number of recently discovered European
mushroom species containing psilocybin indicate a
flourishing psychotropic mycoflora in Europe
similar to those found in other countries.
It is unlikely that early European cultures
learned less about local plants
easy magic mushroom growing kits
and mushrooms
through usage and experience than cultures
elsewhere in the world. Most likely, early cultural
knowledge of European psychoactive plants and
mushrooms was lost or destroyed at some time in
history, probably as early as several hundred years
ago.
The discovery that the fly agaric
mushroom (Amanita muscaria) was known
Psilocybe Bohemica for its
psychoactive properties in Siberia invited the
conclusion that this mushroom was used as a
psychotropic agent in medieval Europe as well. In
fact, there is very little evidence from the Middle
Ages to indicate widespread knowledge of the
effects of specific mushrooms on human
consciousness. However, I believe that past reports
on psychoactive mushrooms were causally linked
to Amanita muscaria simply because this was the
only known psychotropic mushroom in Europe at
that time.
While the usage of Amanita muscaria
among Siberian tribes has generated reports of
spectacular hallucinations, European accounts of
fly agaric intoxications do not generally include
descriptions of such intensely hallucinatory
effects.
Accordingly, the potent hallucinogenic
effects of specific Psilocybes and related species
are likely to have had a much more significant
influence on early European cultures than the
delirium-like visions induced by Amanita
muscaria, a species that is also known to induce
unconsciousness and severe somatic side effects.
This hypothesis is corroborated by data from
comprehensive field studies conducted in Mexico.
I believe that historic accounts including those
described below - indicate a knowledge of and
familiarity with psychotropic mushrooms in
Europe that is most likely derived from usage of
Psilocybes and related species, rather than
experience with Amanita muscaria. However, it is
extremely difficult to reject or confirm this
hypothesis, due to the lack of conclusive data
available for analysis today.
Bwyd Ellylon: A Feast
e shrooms of Fairies in
Celebration of the Spirit World
Tales of ritualistic mushroom usage have
found their way into the realm of myths and
legends. For instance, one legend describes a
peculiar poisonous mushroom in Wales (British
Isles) with the strange name of Bwyd Ellylon,
which was considered a delicacy by fairies feasting
in celebration of the spirit world. Psilocybe
semilanceata is the most important psilocybincontaining
mushroom in Europe and it thrives in
parts of Great Britain, where the mushroom grows
abundantly all across the Welsh countryside during
fall season.
I would like to thank G. Samorini for
pointing out that the Inquisition was unusually
cruel and vicious in the Alpine valleys of
Valcamonica, Valtrompia and Valtellina (located
in the provinces of Brescia and Sandrio in
Northern Italy). Many books chronicle countless
witch burnings in that region, with particular
emphasis on the
Mushrooms South Africa witches' meetings at the "Monte
del Tonale", located at an altitude of 2000 m (ca.
6,000 ft). Field research has shown that plants of
the nightshade family ("witching herbs") do not
grow
Shrooms Psychoactive How To Shrooms How at this altitude; even the fly agaric mushroom
is rarely found
Psilocybe Baeocystis How To Take Shrooms there. By contrast, pastures in the
area abound with Psilocybe semilanceata during
the fall. Given this historical context, it would
seem likely that Psilocybe
semilanceata played an important role as a
psychotropic agent in the region (see Figure 58,
Chapter 7.4).
In light of medieval accounts describing
the practice of witchcraft, it is interesting to note
that a subjective sensation of flying or levitation is
among
Magicmushroomshop the commonly reported effects of
psilocybin intoxication.
Berserk Rage of Nordic Warriors
In the course of the ideological power
struggle between Christianity and the remnants of
pagan religions that worshipped Nature, many
sources of knowledge were lost. The aggressive
repression and eradication of pre-Christian
customs all but destroyed the continuity of
Europe's original cultural heritage, along with
much historic evidence documenting early cultural
practices, including the usage of plants and
mushrooms for the purpose of temporary
alterations of consciousness.
Some authors went so far as to blame the
fly agaric mushroom for proverbial fits of "berserk
rage" attributed to Nordic warriors.
Many accounts
detailing this phenomenon allude to a "deception
of the eyes" (i.e. visual hallucinations).
After the
Nordic legal system banished the practice of
"going berserk", it disappeared quite suddenly
during the 12th century. At about the same time,
Saxo Grammaticus speculated that the Berserkers
may have used mag
own
cause of death and disease, bloated stomachs and
insanity. Beliefs such as these have survived to
the present day. They persist, for example,,, as
figures of speech, s
Magic Spore Picture Mushroom Mushroom Magic u c h as the slick Austrian
description of a societal misfit as someone "who
ate those madness-inducing mushrooms."
But, there is another, very different,
magic mushroom legacy as well.
Flesh of the Gods for Devil Worshippers
The Old World. Mycenaean civilization
began with a mushroom trip -Mushrooms were
an ingredient in the ambrosia of Dionysus.
Porphyrius, the fourth century Latin poet and
contemporary of Emperor Konstantin, knew
that magic mushrooms were the children of the
gods.
WHO WAS THE FIRST MAGICIAN?
A quasi-cannibalistic ritual, the act of eating the
children of the gods unlocked one's power to
experience the truly divine.
But not all
mushrooms enable human beings to enter the
realm of divine consciousness. This magic power
resides in only those fungi known as "fool's
mushrooms", which were considered poisonous
and believed to be the spawn of the Devil
throughout the late Middle Ages and well into
modern times.
The New World: The Aztecs in Mexico
referred to a number of small, inconspicuous
mushrooms as teonartacatl, or "flesh of the
Gods.
" These sacred mushrooms were eaten
during the course of rituals intended to contact
the Gods in order to learn about the world and the
realm of the divine. These magic mushroom
rituals thoroughly spooked the Catholic
Spaniards. The mushroom eaters, commonly
thought of as Devil worshippers, were hounded
by the Inquisition. Still, all good things survive
the tests of time, so the cult of magic mushroom
eaters did not become extinct. Like mycelia
underground, the cult continued to flourish, and
at the proper time in recorded history, in 1957,
the fruit of the fully grown mushroom re-surfaced
to draw widespread public attention. Valentine
and Gordon Wasson became the heroes of the
modern neo-mycophilic movement.
Back to the Old World: The revelations
and insights gained from the use of psychoactive
mushrooms were so magically wonderful, that
our native European "fool's mushrooms" - which
were gene ;
Mario Shrooms Location Magic Mushroom considered inedible - had to be
recognized as closely related to the magic
mushrooms of Mexico, the flesh of the Aztec
Gods. The souls of magic mushrooms in Mexico
and Germany are essentially made from the same
substance: psilocybin.
Jochen Gartz has made an extraordinary
contribution to the field of mycology by embracing
Germany's magic mushrooms and the scientific
study and testing of these fungi. The research
efforts upon which this book is based require
nothing less than a fearless, brave and courageous
consciousness, free of prejudice and mycophobia.
I
am convinced that a researcher's consciousness
infused by the spirit of the magic mushroom is
capable of far deeper scientific insights than we
can ever expect from the usual ivory tower
academics, isolated from reality
Dosages for Psilocybe australiana Guzmán & Watling, Psilocybe eucalypta Guzmán &