THE THIRD WAVE PODCAST
THE PSYCHEDELIC GOSPELS
PSYCHEDELIC MUSHROOMS IN EARLY
CHRISTIANITY
WITH DR JERRY BROWN
HTTPS://THETHIRDWAVE.CO/JERRY-BROWN/
PODCAST SUMMARY
Jerry Brown, PhD, author of Psychedelic Gospels, joins us to talk about psychedelic
mushrooms in early Christian society. We hear about the evidence for psychedelic
use that exists in Christian art, and how the Inquisition could have resulted in the
destruction of these psychedelic traditions. Jerry also shares his vision of a future
with freedom to practice psychedelic use as part of our basic religious rights.
PODCAST HIGHLIGHTS:
The Amanita muscaria mushroom was used by Siberian nomads and its use
spread to early Christianity
Use of psychedelic mushrooms was probably targeted by the Inquisition
Amanita muscaria is the most likely identity of the ‘soma’ mentioned in
many ancient texts.
Jerry was professor of anthropology at Florida International University for the past
39 years, and ran a course entitled “Hallucinogens and Culture.” Unsurprisingly,
his classes were always popular.
Jerry’s course covered the indigenous use of psychedelic plants, including Amanita
muscaria; the famous fly agaric mushroom. This red and white-spotted mushroom
was used mostly by Siberian nomads, who noticed their reindeer acting strangely
after eating the mushrooms.
It was on a visit to Scotland that Jerry and his wife Julie became interested in how
psychedelic mushrooms might have been used in Christian tradition. Upon seeing
the famous Amanita muscaria mushroom engraved upon fertility symbols in
Rosslyn Chapel, Jerry and Julie set out across the world to discover how deeply
psychedelic mushrooms were set in Christian art.
They found symbols of psychedelic mushrooms spread throughout Europe and
India, as far back as 300AD and throughout the Middle Ages. There’s evidence to
suggest that both Amanita muscaria and Psilocybin mushrooms were used in
secret rituals throughout Christianity.
During the Inquisition of the Middle Ages, herbal medicines and midwifery were
clamped down on, and treated as witchcraft. It’s believed that the Inquisition was a
large factor in the gradual decline of psychedelic symbols from Christian art.
Jerry hopes that we won’t see another Inquisition-style crackdown on psychedelic
ritual. He envisions modern psychedelic centers, where anyone can go to explore
psychedelics in the presence of trained guides. He thinks that this time, a
psychedelic renaissance is unstoppable.
SHOW LINKS:
Jerry and Julie’s book, The Psychedelic Gospels
Soma by Gordon Wasson – investigating a mythical and mysterious psychedelic
found in many ancient cultures
Food of the Gods by Terence McKenna – looking at psychedelic plants and their
usage throughout human history
The Road to Eleusis by Gordon Wasson – unveiling the secretive psychedelic rituals
of ancient Greece
THIS WEEK IN PSYCHEDELICS:
A new App has been designed to help people grow their own cannabis
Oregon could be voting on legal psilocybin as soon as next year
ANSWERING YOUR QUESTIONS:
LSD Flashbacks: Only around 5% of people report LSD flashbacks – and they’re
usually harmless.
The LD50 of Psychedelics: estimated 12mg of LSD, 17g psilocybin, 400g
alcohol and 3g nicotine (all extrapolated from rat). It’s important to remember that
LD50 is not as meaningful as the ratio of effective dose to lethal dose; which puts
LSD and psilocybin as some of the safest drugs in existence.
Psychedelics and Neuroplasticity: for more on this topic, listen to our interview
with Neuroscientists Dr Zach Mainen.
1 COMMENT
1.
Vince on June 14, 2017 at 10:15 pm
I have seen the images and they do make a compelling argument.However this
really has not gone far enough back to the origins of Christianity,it may have
evolved at a much later date.1st century Christians were a whole different breed to
the Middle Ages.Christiniaty started as an offshoot to Judaism,very devout
followers of Jesus,more likely to be filled with spiritual awakening and meditation
than drugs.See Gospel of Thomas as an flavour of what they believed in before the
Catholic Church came along,Elaine Pagels desribes their spiritual beliefs very well
in this book.
Divinity is within us,we just need to see it,you don’t need hallucinogenic drugs to
get it.
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