Amanita Muscaria mushrooms are noted for his or her psychoactive properties, due to their containing the hallucinogenic chemicals ibotenic acid and muscimol. Also known as toadstools, these mushrooms have long been related to magic in literature. The caterpillar in Alice in Wonderland is portrayed as sitting on one as he smokes his suspicious pipe, and in animated cartoons, Smurfs have emerged to live in Amanita mushrooms. Obviously, circles of mushrooms growing in the forest are frequently referred to as fairy rings.
It’s been reported that as early as 2000 B.C. people in India and Iran were using for religious purposes a place called Soma or Haoma. Mushroom chocolate A Hindu religious hymn, the Rig Veda also describes the plant, Soma, although it isn’t specifically identified. It is believed this plant was the Amanita Muscaria mushroom, a concept popularized in the book “Soma: Divine Mushroom of Immortality” by R. Gordon Wasson. Other authors have argued that the manna from heaven mentioned in the Bible is really a mention of magic mushrooms. Images of mushrooms have already been identified in cave drawings dated to 3500 B.C.
In the church of Plaincourault Abbey in Indre, France is a fresco painted in 1291 A.D. of Adam and Eve standing on each side of the tree of understanding of good and evil. A serpent is entwined round the tree, which looks unmistakably like a group of Amanita Muscaria mushrooms. Could it be true that the apple from the Garden of Eden may actually have already been an hallucinogenic mushroom?
Siberian shamans are said to have ingested Amanita Muscaria for the objective of reaching circumstances of ecstasy so they may perform both physical and spiritual healing. Viking warriors reportedly used the mushroom during heat of battle so they may go into a rage and perform otherwise impossible deeds.
In the Kamchatka peninsula of Russia the medicinal use of Amanita Muscaria topically to take care of arthritis has also been reported anecdotally. L. Lewin, author of “Phantastica: Narcotic and Stimulating Drugs: Their Use and Abuse” (Kegan Paul, 1931) wrote that the fly-agaric was in great demand by the Siberian tribes of northeast Asia, and tribes who lived in areas where in actuality the mushroom grew would trade them with tribes who lived where it might not be found. In one single occasion one reindeer was traded for starters mushroom.
It’s been theorized that the toxicity of Amanitas Muscaria varies according to location and season, along with the way the mushrooms are dried.
Finally, it must be noted that the author of this informative article does not at all recommend, encourage nor endorse the usage of Amanita Muscaria mushrooms. It is thought that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration lists Amanita Muscaria as a poison. Some companies that sell these mushrooms refer in their mind as “poisonous non-consumables.”