Psilocybe Illinois
" 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 Statistics On Shrooms 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 ; 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 aeruginascens Inocybe aeruginascens 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 several members of a family eat the mushrooms together: it is not uncommon for a father, mother, children, uncles, and aunts to all participate in these transformations of the mind that elevate consciousness onto a higher plan. The kinship relation is thus the basis of the transcendental subjectivity that Husserl said is intersubjectivity.
The mushrooms themselves are eaten in pairs, a couple representing man and woman that symbolizes the dual principle of procreation and creation. Then they sit together in their inner light, dream and realize and converse with each other, presences seated there together, their bodies immaterialized by the blackness, voices from without their communality.
In a general sense, for everyone present the purpose of the session is a therapeutic catharsis. The chemicals of transformation of revelation that open the circuits of light, vision, and communication, called by us mind-manifesting, were known to the American Indians as medicines: the means given to men to know and to heal, to see and to say the truth. Among the Mazatecs, many, one time or another during their lives, have eaten the mushrooms, whether to cure themselves of an ailment or to resolve a problem; but it is not everyone who has a predilection for such extreme and arduous
psychotropic consumption Poland experiences of the creative imagination or who would want to repeat such journeys into the strange, unknown depths of the brain very frequently: those who do are the shamans, the masters, whose vocation it is to eat the mushrooms because they are the men of the spirit, the men of language, the men of wisdom. They are individuals recognized by their people to be expert in such psychological adventures, and when the others eat the mushrooms they always call to be with them, as a guide, one of those who is considered to be particularly acquainted with these modalities of the spirit. The medicine man presides over the session, for just as the Mazatec family is paternal and authoritarian, the liberating experience unfolds in the authoritarian context of a situation in which, rather than being allowed to speak or encouraged to express themselves, everyone is enjoined to keep silent and listen while the shaman speaks for each of those who are present. As one of the early Spanish chroniclers of the New World said: "They pay a sorcerer who eats them the mushrooms] and tells them what they have taught him. He does so by means of a rhythmic chant in full voice."several members of a family eat the mushrooms together: it is not uncommon for a father, mother, children, uncles, and aunts to all participate in these transformations of the mind that elevate consciousness onto a higher plan. The kinship relation is thus the basis of the transcendental subjectivity that Husserl said is intersubjectivity. The mushrooms themselves are eaten in pairs, a couple representing man and woman that symbolizes the dual principle of procreation and creation. Then they sit together in their inner light, dream and realize and converse with each other, presences seated there together, their bodies immaterialized by the blackness, voices from without their communality. In a general sense, for everyone present the purpose of the session is a therapeutic catharsis. The chemicals of transformation of revelation that open the circuits of light, vision, and communication, called by us mind-manifesting, were known to the American Indians as medicines: the means given to men to know and to heal, to see and to say the truth. Among the Mazatecs, many, one time or another during their lives, have eaten the mushrooms, whether to cure themselves of an ailment or to resolve a problem; but it is not everyone who has a predilection for such extreme and arduous experiences of the creative imagination or who would want to repeat such journeys into the strange, unknown depths of the brain very frequently: those who do are the shamans, the masters, whose vocation it is to eat the mushrooms because they are the men of the spirit, the men of language, the men of wisdom. They are individuals recognized by their people to be expert in such psychological adventures, and when the others eat the mushrooms they always call to be with them, as a guide, one of those who is considered to be particularly acquainted with these modalities of the spirit. The medicine man presides over the session, for just as the Mazatec family is paternal and authoritarian, the liberating experience unfolds in the authoritarian context of a situation in which, rather than being allowed to speak or encouraged to express themselves, everyone is enjoined to keep silent and listen while the shaman speaks for each of those who are present. As one of the early Spanish chroniclers of the New World said: "They pay a sorcerer who eats them the mushrooms] and tells them what they have taught him. He does so by means of a rhythmic chant in full voice."several members of a family eat the mushrooms together: it is not uncommon for a father, mother, children, uncles, and aunts to all participate in these transformations of the mind that elevate consciousness onto a higher plan. The kinship relation is thus the basis of the transcendental subjectivity that Husserl said is intersubjectivity.
The mushrooms themselves are eaten in pairs, a couple representing man and woman that symbolizes the dual principle of procreation and creation. Then they sit together in their inner light, dream and realize and converse with each other, presences seated there together, their bodies immaterialized by the blackness, voices from without their communality.
In a general sense, for everyone present the purpose of the session is a therapeutic catharsis. The chemicals of transformation of revelation that open the circuits of light, vision, and communication, called by us mind-manifesting, were known to the American Indians as medicines: the means given to men to know and to heal, to see and to say the truth. Among the Mazatecs, many, one time or another during their lives, have eaten the mushrooms, whether to cure themselves of an ailment or to resolve a problem; but it is not everyone who has a predilection for such extreme and arduous experiences of the creative imagination or who would want to repeat such journeys into the strange, unknown depths of the brain very frequently: those
Psilocybe Cyanescens Tutorial
who do are the shamans, the masters, whose vocation it is to eat the mushrooms because they are the men of the spirit, the men of language, the men of wisdom. They are individuals recognized by their people to be expert in such psychological adventures, and when the others eat the mushrooms they always call to be with them, as a guide, one of those who is considered to be particularly acquainted with these modalities of the spirit. The medicine man presides over the session, for just as the Mazatec family is paternal and authoritarian, the liberating experience unfolds in the authoritarian context of a situation in which, rather than being allowed to speak or encouraged to express themselves, everyone is enjoined to keep silent and listen while the shaman speaks for each of those who are present.As one of the early Spanish chroniclers of the New World said: "They pay a sorcerer who eats them the mushrooms and tells them what they have taught him. He does so by means of a rhythmic chant in full voice."several members of a family eat the mushrooms together: it is not uncommon for a father, mother, children, uncles, and aunts to all participate in these transformations of the mind that elevate consciousness onto a higher plan. The kinship relation is thus the basis of the transcendental subjectivity that Husserl said is intersubjectivity. The mushrooms themselves are eaten in pairs, a couple representing man and woman that symbolizes the dual principle of procreation and creation. Then they sit together in their inner light, dream and realize and converse with each other, presences seated there together, their bodies immaterialized by the blackness, voices from without their communality. In a general sense, for everyone present the purpose of the session is a therapeutic catharsis. The chemicals of transformation of revelation that open the circuits of light, vision, and communication, called by us mind-manifesting, were known to the American Indians as medicines: the means given to men to know and to heal, to see and to say the truth. Among the Mazatecs, many, one time or another during their lives, have eaten the mushrooms, whether to cure themselves of an ailment or to resolve a problem; but it is not everyone who has a predilection for such extreme and arduous experiences of the creative imagination or who would want to repeat such journeys into the strange, unknown depths of the brain very frequently: those who do are the shamans, the masters, whose vocation it is to eat the mushrooms because they are the men of the spirit, the men of language, the men of wisdom. They are individuals recognized by their people to be expert in such psychological adventures, and when the others eat the mushrooms they always call to be with them, as a guide, one of those who is considered to be particularly acquainted with these modalities of the spirit.
The medicine man presides over the session, for just as the Mazatec family is paternal and authoritarian, the liberating experience unfolds in the authoritarian context of a situation in which, rather than being allowed to speak or encouraged to express themselves, everyone is enjoined to keep silent and listen while the shaman speaks for each of those who are present.
As one of the early Spanish chroniclers of the New World said: "They pay a sorcerer who eats them the mushrooms and tells them what they have taught him. He does so by means of a rhythmic chant in E Shrooms full voice."
History Of Shrooms Most recreational Magic Mushroom Spore Syringe users of Psilocybe cubensis (when grown in vitro) require a dosage
ofeat Inocybe aeruginascens
Macroscopically, it is extremely difficult to distinguish from Psilocybe semilanceata. Unlike the latter species, however, Psilocybe pelliculosa will grow in forests on wood chips and sawdust. Beug and Bigwood were able to furnish analytical proof in support of the claim that Psilocybe pelliculosa is weaker in its psychotropic effects than comparable species. Psilocybe pelliculosa contains about 30-50% of the amount of psilocybin found in Psilocybe cyanescens (slang names: Blue wavy, Cyan, Grandote), a species common across the Pacific Northwest. It fruits primarily in parks, forming partial fairy rings. This species did not become popular among users until the mid-1970s. species still fruits most abundantly in the fall. A New Psychoactive Mushroom Mushroom Trips as a Popular Sport Several additional Psilocybe species have been found in the Pacific Northwest, even though the taxonomic classification of most of these species remains inadequate, despite the fact that monographs such as those by P. Stamets offer quite detailed descriptions of the psychotropic mycoflora. In the mid-1970s, Guzman and Ott reported a rather spectacular event concerning the spread of a "new" mushroom species. During the fall of 1972, large numbers of a strongly bluing gilled mushroom with a distinct ring pattern were found at the University of Washington in Seattle. The fruiting bodies were found growing on bark mulch, which came from a central distribution point and which had been spread widely across the campus by gardeners. Due to the bluing reaction, students at the university assumed that the mushroom contained psilocybin, a belief that was confirmed later on. The sudden appearance of massive numbers of fruiting bodies quickly inspired students at the university to use the mushrooms as a hallucinogen. In my opinion, it is still uncertain if the mushroom really appeared spontaneously, or whether it fruited on bark debris simply because the substance had previously been mixed with spawn derived from fruiting bodies that originated elsewhere. In any case, in 1976, the mushrooms were named Psilocybe stuntzii Guzman & Ott (slang name: "blue veil" or "stuntzees", (see Figures 54 and 71). Today, the species can be found growing on bark and on lawns in parks, on golf courses, football fields and gardens in numbers so large that it is considered the second most important species in terms of usage, after Psilocybe semilanceata. In addition, Panaeolus subbalteatus is another regionally important mushroom species (slang name: "red cap"), even though its users believe it to be slightly more poisonous than the Psilocybe species. Still, the mushroom is used quite frequently, because it begins to fruit during the spring. The Psilocybe species, on the other hand, do not appear until fall and continue to grow into early winter, when temperatures consistently drop below freezing, which inhibits further fruiting of the spe It has been suggested by an Australian physician that the general public in Australia, as well as members of its drug using subculture,
, and who gorge
themselves on our tax dollars.
I met Jochen Gartz shortly after the fall of
the Berlin Wall at the third symposium of Shrooms And Drug Test the
European College for the Study of Consciousness
(ECSC) in Freiburg, Germany. Our encounter was
my first contact with a researcher from the former
East Germany. Jochen Gartz's enthusiastic lecture
was a truly consciousnessexpanding event, his
words breaking down traditional borders and
crossing over into new territory. The magic
mushrooms spoke through him - with no trace of
dogma or ideology - in
the tradition of true anarchy that is the hallmark of
mushroom magic. What I heard was unbelievable.
Jochen spoke of a "new" psychedelic mushroom
and its migration. The mycelia had spread in
concentric circles outward from Leipzig, jumping
all political borders. Finally, when the mycelia
reached West German soil, the hated Berlin Wall
crumbled. Could there possibly be a connection
between the evolution of the magic mushroom and
the evolution of our consciousness? Could a
mushroom have contributed to the resolution of
our political conflicts?
In the past, politicians, even popes, had
their own jesters and magicians, who functioned as
pressure release valves in the machinations of
political power struggles. It is obvious that a
country whose chancellor is being pelted with
eggs, urgently needs a new breed of magician who
are able to readjust reality. But today, no aspiring
magician should go about this task without this
book as a guide for the wondrous journey into the
realm of magic mushrooms.
Christian Rdtsch
Figure 5 - "Anthropomorphic Beings Engaged in Mushroom Dance"
10,000-year-old rock drawing in Tassili, Sahara (Algeria)
CHAPTER 1
I BELIEVE THE TIME HAS COME FOR A COMPREHENSIVE REVIEW OF NEW
FINDINGS FROM THE FIELDS OF MYCOLOGY, TAXONOMY AND NATURAL
PRODUCTS CHEMISTRY
When R.G. Tea Magic Tea Wasson, R. Heim and A.
Hofmann began their interdisciplinary research
program to study the Mexican species of
mushrooms and their usage in Mexican
mushroom cults, their efforts culminated in a
1958 landmark report that described the isolation,
molecular structure and synthesis of the
mushrooms' active ingredients: psilocybin and
psilocin.
Several years later, these substances
were also identified in a species of mushroom in
Europe, Psilocybe semilanceata, which became the
first in a series of newly discovered species. Since
then, psychoactive mushrooms from other genera
have been reported with increasing frequency.
As part of my analytical work dedicated
to the identification of naturally occurring
chemicals, I had the good fortune to be part of a
research team that studied alkaloids found in a
variety of mushroom species. Now I believe the
time has come for a comprehensive review of
new findings from the fields of mycology,
taxonomy and natural products chemistry.
Wasson and his successors have already provided
detailed accounts pertaining to the history and
study of the Me
ure of Psilocybe Psilocybin Illinois semilanceata
(with sclerotia formation).
Figure 48 - Inocybe aeruginascens on grassy soil
Figure 49 - Psilocybe cubensis on horse manure and rice.
portions of mycelia whose texture is somewhat
like wool. The kind of viruses known to appear in
champignon cultures Mtb
mushroom spores illinois law Mtb - where they have already
caused a lot of damage - have so far not been
found in cultures of the Psilocybe and Panaeolus
species.
It is safe to say that we currently know a
great deal about the nutritional requirements of
Psilocybe cubensis. To a lesser extent, such
information is available about other species as
well.
Armed with this knowledge, future
researchers may well discover new insights into
physiology of these species, as well as the
biochemical changes that occur during fruiting.
In my experiments, it has already been
established that the process of differentiation
whereby mycelia are transformed into sclerotia or
fruiting bodies is linked to increased production
of psilocybin as well as psilocin, especially in
Psilocybe cubensis.
Due to the relatively complex
methodology and the type of equipment needed to
isolate and maintain sterile cultures, it appears
unlikely that cultivation of Psilocybe cubensis
mushrooms by laypersons will significantly
heighten the mushroom's popularity or widen its
area of distribution anytime soon.
However, since the early 1980s, growing
numbers of mycophiles in North America and
Europe have successfully used "natural outdoor
cultivation" to fruit Psilocybe cyanescens and
similar species. This process involves selection of
natural wood substrates striated with mycelia
(rhizomorphs) that usually turn blue in response
to handling.
The mycelia are then transferred onto
fresh wood chips or commercial mulch (not from
cedar trees). After several months of growth, the
mycelia fruit during the fall season.
Figure 50 - Surface culture of Inocybe aeruginascens on a liquid nutrient medium.
Figure 51 - Panaeolus subbalteatus on cow dung and rice.
Figure 52 - Psilocybe cubensis on wet newspaper.
CHAPTER 7
PSYCHOTROPIC MUSHROOM SPECIES
AROUND THE WORLD
Figure 53 - Psilocybe cubensis on compost.
Figure 54 - Psilocybe stuntzii (grasslands variety) from British Columbia.
Figure 55 - Giant
psilocybe
psilocybe mushroom sculpture from Kerala, India. There is considerable debate among
experts about the significance and purpose of the sculpture.
Figure 56 - Magic mushrooms & water buffalo t-shirt from Thailand,
designed for the Western tourist market.
CHAPTER 7.
1
SPOTLIGHT ON NORTH AMERICA AND HAWAII
In 1961, V.E. Tyler became the first
investigator to report the detection of psilocybin in
Psilocybe pelliculosa (Smith) Singer & Smith,
a North American mushroom species. One year
later, two research groups, working independently,
discovered psilocybin, as well as psilocin, in
samples of Psilocybe baeocystis Singer & Smith
from the Pacific Northwest region of North
America. Additional chemical and taxonomic
findin
It was invented by a Life Magazine editor in l957 ( see Wasson, l957). Psilocybe cubensis is known in Australia as "golden tops", "gold tops" or sometimes "gold caps." The Australian epithets may have been given to this species by members of a local, drugusing group of surfers which PSILOCYBIN GROW PSILOCYBIN BOXES frequented the Gold Coast region of Eastern Australia; however, some of these names have apparently been used to describe several different species of Psilocybe by users in Australia (see Allen, 1997). As mentioned above, Psilocybe cubensis is not known to occur in New Zealand. Those who ingest Copelandia cyanescens, known in Australia and New Zealand as "blue meanies", also refer to this species as "Blue Legs", "golden tops" or "gold caps". The latter two nicknames, as well as "dimple tops" and "cone heads", are common terms applied to Copelandia cyanescens in the Hawaiian Islands; and some of these same popular names have also been used by visiting surfers from both New Zealand and Australia, to describe the macroscopic characteristics of Copelandia cyanescens. These same surfers visiting Hawaii's North Shore have reportedly ingested mushrooms prior to surfing, as do many of the locally based surfers in Australia and NZ. 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 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 ; 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
eat Inocybe aeruginascens @ 9/7/2010 5:04:48 PM
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 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 of "magic mushrooms" in Australia and NZ. Those who ingest Copelandia cyanescens, known in As they say, ʼTis the season to be pickingʼ, but make
by A. Hofmann, Sandoz Pharmaceuticals
manufactured about 2 kg (ca. 4.4lbs) of
pure psilocybin for scientific research purposes.
The results of pharmacological testing
soon revealed psilocybin as an alkaloid
mushroom spores illinois law that was
perfectly safe for human subjects under controlled
experimental conditions. Despite this evidence, the
anti-drug legislative framework of the mid1960s
firmly established an "official mycophobia", a
misguided, yet entrenched policy that
mushroom spores illinois law still prevails
today and effectively prevents the scientific
investigation of promising potential applications
for psilocybin and other alkaloids. At the same
time, mycological and biochemical
research studies have shown that psilocybincontaining
mushrooms thrive all over the world
and can be found on all continents. These
mushrooms are no different from any other
mycoflora and must not be excluded from
scientific investigation because of their alkaloid
content.
In addition to overall variations in value
systems across cultures, individuals tend to
develop their own personal attitudes towards
mushrooms in general. Oftentimes, the evolution
of specific opinions about mushrooms can be
traced back to childhood events, even though such
early experiences seldom account for the
development of prevailing biases and value
systems later in life.
I recall an incident from my Field Guide To Magic Mushroom own
childhood, which occurred when I was about five
years old. I was playing in a grassy meadow, when
a girl pointed to a brown mushroom and earnestly
explained that it was inedible and poisonous.
While I have never forgotten this encounter, I did
grow up to become a devoted mushroom
enthusiast. On the other hand, a different
childhood event has left me with the vivid memory
of discovering a landfill virtually covered with
vast numbers of gilled bluing mushrooms and the
sense of awe I experienced contemplating this
sight. In general, the unusual characteristics of
these mushrooms are most likely responsible for
strong impressions formed early in life, which then
may develop into various attitudes or beliefs later
on.
An enduring personal interest in
psychotropic mushroom species can serve to
amplify or diminish mycophobic as well as
mycophilic dispositions, depending on the
influence of other factors. After all, judgments
about the benefit or folly Magic Growing Mushroom Guide of deliberately altering
one's state of consciousness are also colored by
individual preferences, biases and opinions.
The following chapters are meant to
illustrate this diversity of attitudes towards
psychotropic mushrooms. Descriptions of planned
and involuntary experiments with specific
mushroom species offer convincing evidence that
the effects of psychoactive mushrooms are open to
many possible interpretations.
CHAPTER 3
THE CURRENT STATE OF KNOWLEDGE ABOUT
EUROPEAN SPECIES
Figure 7 - Distribution pattern of Psilocybe cyanescens across Europe and North Africa
(according to Krieglsteiner).
Black dots indicate approximate locatio
xican mushroom species, so that
these materials need not be repeated in this
context. However, Danger Of Magic Mushroom 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
eat Inocybe aeruginascens 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 Statistics On Shrooms 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
This Psychotropic Consumption Poland Magic Mushroom Growing Guide document provides complete directions Psychotropic Consumption Poland for Mushrooms Net Psychotropic Consumption Poland cultivating psilocybin
In addition, many early users of "magic mushrooms" in Australia may have first become aware of their mind-altering and visionary effects by reading the published literature or the many news items appearing in the popular Australian press during the late l960's and early l970's. These news items often described both accidental and deliberate intoxication's which resulted from the ingestion of several varieties of "magic mushrooms". For example, in 1972, one local newspaper report provided an account regarding the use of these mushrooms by young teenagers at a local high school in Brisbane: "...children at a suburban school are getting high on mushrooms called 'Gold Tops.' The mushrooms are common along the Brisbane River near Toowing High School, and children in search of `kicks' have been experimenting with them (Unsigned, 1972)." It would be very obvious to anyone who read this above mentioned news item, when it appeared in print, that those searching for hallucinogenic mushrooms would be able to find them if they so desired. There is yet another factor that may have played a significant role in promoting interest in the use of psychoactive mushrooms in Australia and NZ. Some drug users or mycophillic individuals may have read or heard of R. Gordon Wasson's personal account of his adventurous rediscovery of an hallucinogenic mushroom cult among the Mazatec Indians of Southern Mexico. Dr. Wasson reported the ceremonial use of certain mushrooms as divinatory substances among the Mazatecs and other native peoples in Oaxaca, Mexico (see Wasson, 1957). This journalistic report of Wasson's research expedition appeared in an international edition of Life Magazine in the late l950's, providing many drug users and others with the incentive to seek out, find, and eventually experiment with these mushrooms. was followed by a very vivid sensation of the soul in flight, coupled with feelings of euphoria.When looking out the window into the dark night of a forest landscape, visions of strange patterns and formations occurred, which were deeply impressive and seemed to impart an inkling of eternity. At the end of four hours, the effects had dissipated without dysphoria or any type of somatic side effect. A control experiment for comparison purposes was performed using 0.8 g of dried Psilocybe semilanceata. The onset of symptoms was much more sudden, including a heavy flow of tears, so that there was an initial phase of anxiety. Only in a later phase of the experience was it possible to perceive ornaments in the form of "underwater streamers", and to appreciate the aesthetically enhanced nature of these visions. The regular pattern of. involuntary intoxications is a good indicator for the large scope of expansion of Inocybe aeruginascens into new habitats during the 1980s. For example, at the time of the initial intoxications - when the species was still restricted to a few easily quantifiable collections - the mushrooms had spread from Potsdam to the location known in 1982, and from there moved on to several other locations in the vicinity, where more than 150 mushrooms were found (see Figure 34). Symbiosis With Trees Starting in late May 1984, fruiting bodies of the species could be found in abundance at countless new locations across the Brandenburg region of Germany. They tend to grow near the roots of different deciduous trees (Populus, Tilia, Quercus, Betula), on lawns in parks and gardens, at the edges of trails and in the paved margin areas of tree-lined sidewalks (where they may even grow on bare, sandy soil) as well as amongst the greenery of residential areas in the suburbs and communities in and around Berlin. Herein lies the most marked difference between Inocybe aeruginascens and other European psychotropic mushroom species: Inocybe aeruginascens grows only in areas of human development. Their prime locations are in the middle of villages and towns, where they grow locally much like other Inocybe species. They may temporarily produce mass quantities of fruiting bodies, in those locations that are typical habitats for the edible varieties of the fairy ring mushroom. So far, the most abundant crop of fruiting bodies was observed in 1987, due to very wet weather conditions, which allowed the mushrooms to thrive. The following years were comparatively dry and the species hardly fruited at all. It wasn't until 1990 that a few mushrooms re-emerged at the classic location in Potsdam. Despite 1989 having been a bad year for mushrooms, it was the year when Inocybe aeruginascens was found for the first time at four locations in and around Rostock, a city located on the Eastern German coast, which is famous for its wet climate. Finding the mushrooms at these locations is evidence for a mu