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Written by Michael S. Smith
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Wednesday, 24 December 1997 |
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Page 6 of 6
Last Thoughts
I can't help but reiterate to the reader that just because some modern people cannot seem to consistently feel the same effects from A. muscaria as is postulated the ancients did in no way should lessen the theory of A. muscaria being the divine Soma of the 4000 year old Rigveda and one of the world oldest religious tools. As is well know shamanism didn't just mean kicking back after the ingestion of an entheogen, the way which many moderns work with entheogens. Instead archaic man was very proficient in many techniques to alter their state of awareness, and these no doubt where used in combination with the mushroom, thereby altering the purely psychopharmacological effects of the mushrooms alkaloids. Modern man is also much more familiar with strong synthetic chemical hallucinogens. In our age of LSD Psilocybin, and DMT we can't help but feel that anything less that the experiences these produce could be considered powerful. But to the ancient Siberians, whose familiarity with stronger entheogens was nonexistent, a Amanita experience, which can induce both heaven or hell, would certainly take on Godly proportions. Might it even be possible that as the earliest waves of archaic man past over the present day Americas they brought with them their Amanita traditions, nesting in a few spots such as the Pacific Northwest, Canada, the Great Lakes region, Mexico, and Guatemala, and that some sought out new allies in Psilocybe species, Yage, and Ebena. Our reference for a Godly entheogenic experience has changed from that of archaic mankind. Many believe this mushroom lacks entheogenic value, but history has shown that it has long been valued by mankind, throughout Europe, Siberia, and in the Americas. I think it is unwise to compare our western philosophical understanding of A. muscaria to that of the religio-magical experiences of the ancients. This is a powerful mushroom that deserves our respect and attention for possibly being the ancient source for that which makes us human.
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