Persephone's Quest: Entheogens and the Origins of Religion

Rating:
Summary: Correcting Joseph Pierre's Error
Review:

The title is taken from Greek mythology. Persephone was the daughter of Zeus and Styx, or, in the more usual tradition, the daughter of Zeus and Ceres (Demeter). Pluto carried her off while she was in the midst of gathering flowers and made her his wife, and she became the queen of the under world. She symbolizes the changes of the seasons, and particularly the return of Spring.

This book is about mushrooms, particularly mind-altering mushrooms, which the author, R. Gordon Wasson, refers to as "entheogens," a word he himself coined, meaning substances which chemically induce religious experiences.

In 1926, Wasson married a Russian physician, Valentina Pavlovna, in England. He was himself a journalist employed by the New York Herald Tribune at the time. His wife introduced him to mushrooms, which in those days were little used by Americans who looked down on them as "toadstools", but were enthusiastically embraced as a food by Europeans, who were far more knowledgeable about them.

Somewhere along the line, the couple became persuaded that entheogenic mushrooms, particularly the Amanita Muscaria, known colloquially as the 'fly agaric', was the original 'Soma' of legend, used by the Greek oracles and others in rituals.

This book traces Wasson's single-minded pursuit of evidence to buttress his theory in his travels throughout the world, in the Americas as well as Europe and even Siberia. It is a scholarly attempt to make the case that mind-altering mushrooms may have been responsible for mankind's most primitive religious feelings, leading to the very beginnings of religion as we know it today.

He traces their religious use in Mexico, Central and South America, India (where they have fallen out of favor), China, Siberia, Europe, and of course ancient Greece.

This book is a scholarly work, heavily footnoted (but without an index) and illustrated liberally with photographs and artwork. It is clear that Wasson was very single-minded in his interest, to the point where some of his conclusions may be attributed more to enthusiasm for his subject than objective science.

He does not dwell on the preparation of the Amanita Muscaria, which apparently can be quite toxic if not prepared carefully and with knowledge.

Unfortunately, perhaps, the book has become something of a "cult book" for some modern recreational drug users. I have seen some internet websites, in which contributors refer to Wasson as an authority on "'shrooms," and where the language used indicates other than academic interest.

Apparently the Fly Agaric mushroom is the original source of the chemical psilocybin, the mind altering drug that induces hallucinations on a par with those experienced under the influence of d-Lysergic Acid Diethylamide-25 (LSD).

Joseph Pierre,
Author of THE ROAD TO DAMASCUS: Our Journey Through Eternity

Rating:
Summary: Excellent
Review: A great read when read in balance with other books such as Terence McKenna's Food of the God's, Clark Heinrich's Magic Mushrooms, and James Arthur's Mushrooms and Mankind. Wasson's contributions to understanding the world's religions, and shamanism is inestimable. His open minded and non prejudicial approach to other societies was a breath of fresh air for his time.

For the record to those interested in Amanita muscaria as an entheogen:

Let's step away from the hysteria for a moment. The Amanita does contain Ibotenic Acid and Muscimol. As the other reviewer mentioned, the Ibotenic Acid is decarboxylated (converted) into Muscimol when roasted or dried, and passed thru the body. Ibotenic acid is mildly toxic. There are reports of Muscarine (a poison) being found in European species at 0.0003% which is too small an amount to effect a toxic reaction. The amount of Muscarine in American species has not been studied, and could be higher.
These mushrooms should not be eaten raw. Many mycology books WRONGLY list Amanita muscaria and pantherina as poisonous.

Here are the facts from Pharmacotheon by Jon Ott:
"Deaths following the ingestion of Amanita muscaria have not been documented sufficiently to permit the conclusion that this is a lethal mushroom when ingested by healthy persons. In two cases of ingestion of considerable quantities of both raw and cooked mushrooms, the patients experienced some discomfort but recovered quickly and completely."

I suggest buying a copy of Ott's book (if you can find one $80 to $200) and read the details on the research. Many enjoy it's use, and many others don't. My personal experiences with this substance have been for the most part good. I have consumed up to 60 grams by in Tea. The Amanita muscaria is also well known in Germany and other countries for its effectiveness in treating certain health problems.


Rating:
Summary: Persephone's Quest : Entheogens and the Origins of Religion
Review: Although I only gave it 4 stars, this book is actually outstanding. I did not give it the highest evaluation because, although R.G. Wasson's material was monumental, some of the other material included did not seem of the same caliber. Wasson's perspective is really a must read for anyone interested in this subject. He was not only extremely intelligent, but he also had an innate ability to phrase his ideas in a manner that really conveyed a total picture of what he was discussing. His perspective of calling them "personal experiences rather than hallucinations" really describes his intelligent attitude of pioneering. He had the insight to realize that he was discovering a new frontier that no one had the understanding to call true, false or imaginary. He was aware of the power of people using psychoactive materials and did not try to fit all of this into a politically correct literary structure that the current autorities of his era would accept. He provides his own, somewhat negative, perspective of Dr. Timothy Leary "and those of his ilk". He did not agree with the psychedelic crowd about using these materials for entertainment and believed that there was something inherently sacred about them. Although he was the first person of modern civilization to discover and document the use of the Psilocybin mushrooms of Central America he realized there was a difference between the effects of these mushrooms and the Amanita Muscaria which has no Psilocybin and apparently produced effects that spawned a number of the major religions of the world. I recommend this book to anyone who would like REAL information concerning psychoactive experience.

Rating:
Summary: Persephone's Quest : Entheogens and the Origins of Religion
Review: Although I only gave it 4 stars, this book is actually outstanding. I did not give it the highest evaluation because, although R.G. Wasson's material was monumental, some of the other material included did not seem of the same caliber. Wasson's perspective is really a must read for anyone interested in this subject. He was not only extremely intelligent, but he also had an innate ability to phrase his ideas in a manner that really conveyed a total picture of what he was discussing. His perspective of calling them "personal experiences rather than hallucinations" really describes his intelligent attitude of pioneering. He had the insight to realize that he was discovering a new frontier that no one had the understanding to call true, false or imaginary. He was aware of the power of people using psychoactive materials and did not try to fit all of this into a politically correct literary structure that the current autorities of his era would accept. He provides his own, somewhat negative, perspective of Dr. Timothy Leary "and those of his ilk". He did not agree with the psychedelic crowd about using these materials for entertainment and believed that there was something inherently sacred about them. Although he was the first person of modern civilization to discover and document the use of the Psilocybin mushrooms of Central America he realized there was a difference between the effects of these mushrooms and the Amanita Muscaria which has no Psilocybin and apparently produced effects that spawned a number of the major religions of the world. I recommend this book to anyone who would like REAL information concerning psychoactive experience.

Rating:
Summary: to clear the air
Review: If you are interested obtaing knowlege of the fly agaric muchroom, the soma of the anceint vedic culture of Idia, this is a good book to start with. Most of the information given is helpful and is approached from an analytical point of view. but since i'm wrighting this, it i'm going to clear up some of the mistakes made in the other reviews. The fly agaric mushroom is quite toxic. However, if heated and dried proparly the ibotenic acid (the toxic chemical) is changed to muscimol making it non toxic. Also there is no psilocybin contained in this mushroom. check out this book it's a good read

Rating:
Summary: Sweet Persephone!
Review: Wasson's text makes this book not only worthwhile, but a must read for anyone interested in the human link to higher knowledge.
His research is outstanding and puts a conclusive stamp on many beliefs concerning human culture.