Jochen Gartz - Magic Mushrooms Around the ... - preterhuman.net

semilanceata played an important role as a
psychotropic agent in the region (see Figure 58,
Chapter 7.4).
In light of medieval accounts describing
the practice of witchcraft, it is interesting to note
that a subjective sensation of flying or levitation is
among the commonly reported effects of
psilocybin intoxication.
Berserk Rage of Nordic Warriors
In the course of the ideological power
struggle between Christianity and the remnants of
pagan religions that worshipped Nature, many
sources of knowledge were lost. The aggressive
repression and eradication of pre-Christian
customs all but destroyed the continuity of
Europe's original cultural heritage, along with
much historic evidence documenting early cultural
practices, including the usage of plants and
mushrooms for the purpose of temporary
alterations of consciousness.
Some authors went so far as to blame the
fly agaric mushroom for proverbial fits of "berserk
rage" attributed to Nordic warriors. Many accounts
detailing this phenomenon allude to a "deception
of the eyes" (i.e. visual hallucinations). After the
Nordic legal system banished the practice of
"going berserk", it disappeared quite suddenly
during the 12th century. At about the same time,
Saxo Grammaticus speculated that the Berserkers
may have used magical potions.
It is just as plausible, however, to suggest
that the hallucinogen of choice among early
Nordic cultures was Psilocybe semilanceata, a
mushroom species quite common in Norway.
Neither Amanita muscaria nor Psilocybe
semilanceata are generally known to cause states
of intense rage. However, given the historic
context, it is possible that, at the time, people had
already begun to internalize negatively biased
distortions and the demonization of psychoactive
mushrooms and their effects, in order to justify the
creation of new laws intended to destroy repulsive
pagan customs such as the ritual use of mindaltering
plants.
It is important to note the existence of
ancient Northern European rock drawings that
depict various mushroom themes, along with the
discovery of bronze-age vessels decorated with
mushroom-related artwork. The drawings often
include renditions of zoomorphic entities as well
as mushrooms. Significantly, they predate any
reports and speculations about the Berserkers by
over 2,000 years.
These ancient images suggest the
evolution of early European mushroom cults - a
cultural practice that most likely vanished during
the early Iron Age, as did many other customs and
social practices from that era. Still, the discovery
of ancient Northern European mushroom cults is a
powerful piece of evidence supporting the notion
that psychoactive mushroom usage has been
continuous throughout history.
In addition, a traditional Swedish custom
has survived to the present day, revealing an early
knowledge of a certain mushroom believed to
evoke "visions of spirit entities". As part of
summer solstice celebrations, a poisonous
mushroom species ("Baran") was cast into the
bonfires. Even though nothing is known about this
fungus today, the ritual burning of a poisonous
mushroom was intended to weaken the powers of
goblins and other evil spirits. The mushrooms
were viewed as symbolic incarnations of noxious
spirits. The mushrooms' ritualistic destruction by
fire thus destroyed the powers of evil and
mischievous spirits. The assumption that some
mushrooms are physical links to the intangible
powers of the spirit world may have evolved from
ancient fragments of knowledge about the
psychoactivity of specific types of mushrooms.
There are a number of written reports
about psychotropic mushrooms that date back to
the late Middle Ages. While this collection of
documents includes a variety of different sources
from several countries, they provide remarkably
similar descriptions of psychoactive mushrooms
and the general nature of their effects.
Love Potions Brewed from Bolond Gomba
Clusius (1525-1609), for example, the
great physician and botanist, discovered "bolond
gomba" in Hungary. This mushroom was known
under the German name "Narrenschwamm"
("fool's mushrooms"). It was used in rural areas,
where it was processed into love potions by wise
men or "javas asszony". At about the same