On the Right Hand of God
A Partial History of the Sacred Fungi

Contents

Introduction

About OTRHOG

Part One
    The Fungus Among Us

Part Two
    The Written Word
    Tree of Life
        Royal Robes
        Cultural Amnesia
        Gift From God
    Pissed off Warriors
    Cults, Secret Societies & Hellfire
    Saints, Superheroes & Chimneysweeps

Part Three
    Naked in the Desert

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."
Ruck, Hofman, Wasson
The Road to Eleusis(2)

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.


Royal RobesBack to Top


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.


Cultural AmnesiaBack to Top

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."

Oss and Oeric
Psilocybin Magic Mushroom Grower's Guide(9)


Gift From GodBack to Top

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."

Dr. Evan Schultes
Hallucinogenic Plants(10)

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.


©2005 jim cranford