The Tree of Life
Almost every religion has a sacred tree as one of its most ancient symbols. This "tree
of life", was very important to the Sumerians. It symbolized growth and strength
as well as furnishing them with firewood, building materials and (most important
of all) the place most likely to find their sacred mushroom. In that part of the world, the Amanita muscaria attaches
itself to the root of the white birch, its host tree, and cannot fruit without one.
The ancients tended to find divinity in their natural resources, a practice that
we would do well to copy today, and they probably would have valued the tree for the wood
itself. Although many trees could provide wood, the white birch became known as the
tree of life.
The reason for this tree's fame lies in the fact that two very important fungi chose
the white birch for their host. First, was the sacred mushroom. The second was the
shelf fungus Fomes fomentarius. It was probably under a white birch, blessed with
both fungi, that the ancestors of the Sumerians first learned to make their own fire. Although
these ancients had probably "captured" fire many times, there was a time when they
had to learn to make a fire on demand. A person or group that could master such a
feat could claim great power.
The main clues to how this was accomplished are found in the word groups that describe a wide
range of activities, including shamanism, fire, mushroom inebriation and the mushrooms
themselves. The shaman was the one who used the mushroom to communicate with the
god. It was these early priests that first used the fire drill to make fire. They chose
to name the various parts of the fire drill after the similarly shaped parts of their
mushroom god. The "whorl" was held in the left hand and became the bearing for the
"axle" whose lower end fit in a depression in the base. This depression is where the heat
was generated by the friction of the spinning drill. This drill was powered by a
leather thong that was wrapped around the shaft and secured on its end to a stick
bent in the shape of a bow. Even the curve of this bow receives a mushroom name referring
to the curve of the cap of the Amanita when viewed from the side. When the bow was
pulled back and forth, the axle would spin very rapidly and soon send smoke curling
up from the base. Now, this is where the second fungus comes in. There needs to be something
that will burst into flame at the lowest possible temperature. "The best tinder for
this purpose in northern Eurasia has always been the dried Fomes fomentarius,".1 Wasson
It may be looked at as a very lucky coincidence that these three important elements
for the making of fire were in such a cozy relationship, but none-the-less, the ancients
took it very seriously and bestowed the title of "tree of life" on the white birch. When it was cut down, it became the center pole for their lodges or the yule log.
Our Christmas tree is an extension of those ancient beliefs.
"...for the fire that Prometheus stole from Zeus is metaphorically described
as both a flower and a drug, the origin of all human science."
It is hard for us in this modern world, with our instant heat at the flick of a switch,
to appreciate the importance of fire to the ancients. Especially in the colder climates,
survival was just not possible without it. The hearth was the center of the ancient life, providing warmth and food, as well as a place for social encounters. As
the people became more advanced, fire made possible new technologies. In short, fire
made civilization possible. In those days, they still understood the importance of
fire and knew who they should thank for it.
It was the chief of the tribe who was the "shepherd" to his "flock" and evolved into
the lord of the manor and eventually, the king. He carried many symbols of his high
office, that of a communication with God, either through his own contact or that
of his official "mediator", who might be a magician, witch doctor or a priest. From the
top, we have the crown. This symbol of supreme office is traceable by its ancestry
to have originated as an imitation of the "crown" of tiny white "spikes" that adorn
the Amanita muscaria. His scepter is representative of the mushroom when it is in its phallic
state. Oh, I said from the top and forgot his canopy. The king's throne was a chair
that was covered with a canopy that represented the cap of the fungus. Both the "sunshade" and the "palm fan" that some attendant is constantly waving, are shown by their
nomenclature to be symbolic of the sacred fungus. The royal robes of kings, their
"vesture of grand occasion", red to purple in color, with some white fluffy trim
and maybe some spots. Again, the roots of these words give them away as being of mushroom
origin; but also the color scheme and the names for the colors, show who they were
meant to suggest. These symbols of the "divine right of Kings", are ALL making the
statement that this king has inherited his right to be the spokesman for a hallucinogenic
fungus! When the cultures from around the World are compared, we find that these
symbols for the supreme offices are very similar. In fact, one might say universal.
The construction of the king's throne, with its canopy, evolved into the first temples
whose mushroom parts were blown up to gigantic proportions. The stype of the mushroom
grew until it became the pillars that supported the triangular canopy of the first "architecture". The temples of the Greeks and Romans were virtual stone mushroom
forests that formed one solid canopy. The column, the arch and all of the symbolic
decorations covering these ancient buildings are shown by their nomenclature to be
of the same origin. This is an extension of the beliefs of the Sumerians who thought of the
heavens as a giant mushroom. Of course, the names of the gods who inhabited these
temples, Jupiter, Zeus, Mars, Dionysus, Hercules, Castor and Pollux, all of them,
have been traced to their plant source, the Amanita muscaria. And the ones that these gods
were supposed to banish, you know the infidels, the ones who worshipped Baal, or
Lucifer? You guessed it. They were "mushroom gods", too. And the witches? You bet.
They lived out in the woods and knew where to find the power plants.
The dome became the ultimate symbol of governmental authority through a steady transition
from its beginning as the canopy over the "chief's" chair in the forest. It also
becomes apparent with the study of these word roots, that if we were to remove all
of the words that started out as a description of some part of the sacred fungus or
some attribute of its use, we might not have any language left but a few grunts and
groans.
We find that many of the natural phenomena that were worshipped by the ancients were
held in such awe partly because of their shape. The volcano, when belching fire into
its own cloud takes on the shape of a giant mushroom.3 Allegro All kinds of storms, from tornadoes to hurricanes assume this shape. There were also many less impressive things
that became associated with the mushroom cults because of their shape. The Palm tree,
viewed from a distance looks like a mushroom. The date palm was also revered as Tree
of Life in the desert where it was one of the few contenders for the honor. The language
shows that the palm fronds laid out in front of Jesus on Palm Sunday were symbolic
of his role as a mushroom deity.
The word roots tell us that many other concepts central to Christianity, such as the
Lord's Prayer,4 Allegro the Ten Commandments5 Allegro and The Trinity, have come to us from fungus
origins.
Here is a partial list of the gods and folk heroes that have names indicating that
they originated with the worship of hallucinogenic fungi: Indra, Thor, Zeus, Hercules,
Dionysus, Castor and Pollux, Allah, Soma, Agni, Chrestus, Joseph, Lazarus,
Cain and Able, Mars, Apollo, Lucifer, Hades, Jupiter, John the Baptist, Ra, Athena, Hermes,
Atlas, Adonis, Bacchus, Baal, Helen of Troy, Nemesis, Jason of the Argonauts, Jehovah,
Yahweh, Peter and Paul, Joshua, Issachar, Isaac, Samuel, Jonah of the whale, Jesus, Moses, and Judas Iscariot.
Many of the great epic quests of history have been shown to be searches for the Sacred
Fungus. The "golden fleece"6 Allegro that Jason and the Argonauts set out to find is none
other than the Amanita muscaria. The Silver Chalice was one of those famous urine
drinking vessels.
The Old Testament Story of the "Coat of many Colors"7 Allegro is based on a mis-translation
of a term that meant "many colored or spotted". The traditional Greek translators
took the first choice. The alternate version, "spotted", referred to the "freckles" that adorn the robes of kings and the "vesture of grand occasion" of our fungus
friend.
The myth of the Phoenix8 Allegro that is reborn from its own ashes is based on the
"immortality" of the Sacred Mushroom.
One of the big questions that all of this raises is, how could such important information
as the identity of god be forgotten by the people? There were several factors that
may have contributed to this "cultural amnesia". There is the fact that the Amanita muscaria may not fruit every year and usually only a few fruits are born on each
mycelium. By cutting down the white birch trees for yule logs and center poles for
their lodges they were reducing the likely spots for more mushrooms. The more the
people prospered, the fewer mushrooms would be available per capita.
History tells us that there have been many calamities that have beset humanity since
those days and the resulting migrations could have left the people far from the forests
that provided the home for their god. And finally, conquering armies have a habit
of slaughtering mushroom cults and cultures. An example is the Jewish revolt of 66
AD, which we will cover later. Cortez imposed the death penalty on mushroom trippers
when he conquered Mexico. To societies that didn't practice them, the rituals of
the sacred mushroom must have seemed to come straight from the devil and its worshippers
weren't fit to live. At any rate, within a few generations the true identity of the
Holy Plant was lost.
All of this contributed to the priesthood making the mushrooms tabu to lay people
and probably trying to hide the identity of their patron drug. Some evidence for
this can be found in the fact that folk tales throughout Europe and the Near East
insist that a horrible death is certain for anyone who even picks one, let alone eats it. Only
sorcerers and witches were thought to be powerful enough to deal with their magic.
One tale claimed that the only way to pick one and live was to tie a rope to the
mushroom and to the tail of a dog. When the dog was released, he ran off, pulling out the
mushroom. The dog would inherit the curse and surely die, while the clever mushroom
hunter would be safe. The tale didn't say what possible use a person could have for
such an evil plant.
We also find that many names once used to describe the Sacred Fungus being used to
refer to some other plant. Many of these plants are also drug plants that have some
other resemblance to the fly-agaric. Although none are as potent, they may be red
in color or have a phallic shape or have spots. Apparently, in times of shortage of the
real thing, the priests would substitute the available plant with the greatest resemblance.
"The archeological evidence shows clearly: Man was at home with the concept of
the sacred long before he possessed writing, agriculture, civilization, or science...possibly
even preceding his earliest use of tools, fire, even language itself."
It is only natural that objects are named for their resemblance to other known objects.
It should not be surprising that the inventor of the wheel, for example, would name his creation after a plant that when it is fully erect and expanded looks exactly
like a wheel and axle. It shouldn't surprise anyone that the inventors of the fire
drill and the writing tablet chose similar names for their discoveries. The tongue
and yoke, the bow and arrow, the spear and lance, swords and knives, all owe their nomenclature
to the sacred fungus. The sheer number of important inventions and discoveries that
received these fungus names indicates that these inventors probably held this fungus in great esteem. In fact, the core of the Sumerian language is so dominated
by mushroom terminology that it would seem that the inventor of language itself may
have been a lover of the mushrooms.
You can ask just about anyone in the World where we obtained fire, and they will tell
you. Ask any religious person who gave us the wheel, or the source of any of man's
inventions for that matter, and you know what their reply will be. The oral and written tradition is consistent on this point. In every case, the legend of how the discovery was made says, "It
was a gift from God". If you were to ask an Aryan priest, in 2500 BC, he would answer
the same. "It was God, the giver of all things." He would then point to the ground
beneath his sacred Tree of Life, indicating the lowly fungus growing there. "And it
was His Son, this little fellow right here, who brought the gift to us."
"Psychic powers have also been attributed to hallucinogens and have become an
integral part of primitive religions. All over the world hallucinogenic plants are
used as holy mediators between man and his gods."
Questions posed:
Could it have been the visions created by the drug, or possibly the shape of the
mushroom itself, or a combination of both, have "inspired" these ancient inventors? Could there be some stimulation of creative abilities involved? These drugs seem to have influenced the founders of our civilization and it's religions. Is this simply chemical stimulation? Have we been
worshipping the senseless hallucinations of ancestors long dead? In due time we will attempt
to answer these questions.
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Sources
Click on Author to return to quoted text.
1 Wasson, Soma, Divine Mushroom of Immortality, Harcourt, Brace and Jovanovich, New York, 1967, p 169.
2 Ruck/Hofman/Wasson, The Road to Eleusis, Harcourt Brace and Jovanovich, New York, 1978, p 99.
3 Allegro,The Sacred Mushroom and the Cross, Doubleday, New York, 1970, p 139.
4 Allegro,The Sacred Mushroom and the Cross, Doubleday, New York, 1970, p 157.
5 Allegro,The Sacred Mushroom and the Cross, Doubleday, New York, 1970, p 195.
6 Allegro, The Sacred Mushroom and the Cross, Doubleday, New York, 1970, p 118.
7 Allegro, The Sacred Mushroom and the Cross, Doubleday, New York, 1970, p 131.
8 Allegro, The Sacred Mushroom and the Cross, Doubleday, New York, 1970, p 95.
9 Oss/Oeric, Psilocybin: Magic Mushroom Grower's Guide, Berkeley, And/Or Press, 1976, p 11.
10 Schultes, Hallucinogenic Plants, Golden Press, New York, 1976, p 7.
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