Mushroom notes

Family Agaricaceae: Strophariaceae; Stropharioideae Tribe, Mexicanae Section Forms and Varieties The following forms have been named (all nom. nud.!; Ott 1996): Psilocybe mexicana f. angulata-olivacea Heim et Cailleux Psilocybe mexicana f. distorta-intermedia Heim et Cailleux Psilocybe mexicana f. galericulata-convexa Heim et Cailleux Psilocybe mexicana f. galericulata-viscosa Heim et Cailleux Psilocybe mexicana f. grandis-gibbosa Heim et Cailleux Psilocybe mexicana f. navicula-viscosa Heim et Cailleux Psilocybe mexicana f. reflexa-conica Heim et Cailleux The variety Psilocybe mexicana var. longispora Heim, first proposed by Roger Heim, is now regarded as a synonym for Psilocybe aztecorum Heim (cf. Psilocybe spp.). Folk Names Alcalde, amokia, a-mo-kid (Chinantec), amokya, angelito (Spanish, "little angel"), a-ni, atkat, atka:t (Mixe), chamaquillo (Spanish, "little boy"), cuiya- jo-to-ki (Chatino), di-chi-to-nize (Mazatec), di-nize, hongo sagrado, kong, kongk (Mixe), konk, little bird, mbey-san (Zapotec), mexikanischer kahlkopf, mexikanischer zauberpilz, Mexican liberty cap, Mexican magic mushroom, nashwinmush (Mixe, "earth mushroom" or "world mushroom"), ndi-shi-tjo-ni-se (Mazatec), nize (Mazatec, "little bird"), pajarito (Spanish, "little bird"), piitpa, pi-tpa (Mixe), pi-tpi, pi:tpi, piule de churis,373 teonanacatl, teonanacatl (Aztec), teotlaquilnanacatl (Nahuatl) History Ethnohistorical sources indicate that teonanacatl, the "divine mushroom" or "flesh of the gods" (Psilocybe mexicana and other species of the genus Psilocybe), was being ritually consumed and used in religious ceremonies in Mexico before the arrival of the Spanish. During the colonial period, the indigenous use of the mushroom was forbidden and brutally suppressed by the Spanish Inquisition. In spite of this, the mushroom cult has survived underground even into the present day. The psychoactive use of Psilocybe mexicana in Indian shamanism was rediscovered at the end of the 1930s. In the late 1950s, it was found that the Mixe Indians of Coadan, Oaxaca, also used Psilocybe mexicana for shamanic purposes (Hoogshagen 1959). Psilocybe mexicana was the first mushroom in which Albert Hofmann discovered the LSD-like substances psilocybin and psilocin (Heim et al. 1958; Hofmann 1958, 1959). Distribution Psilocybe mexicana is found exclusively in Mexico (Michoacan, Morelos, Jalisco, Oaxaca, Puebla, Xalapa, Veracruz) and Guatemala (Stamets 1996, 129 f.**). It grows in subtropical forests at altitudes of 1,000 to 1,800 meters and is found in the vicinity of liquidambar (Liquidambar styraciflua 1.), oak (Quercus spp.), alder (Alnus spp.), and plane (Platanus lindeniana Mart. et Gall.) trees. Appearance Albert Hofmann noted that Psilocybe mexicana can be recognized by its cap, which resembles a typical Mexican sombrero. It can grow up to 10 cm tall and has small bell- or hat-shaped caps (3 to 5 cm in diameter). In Mexico, it fruits from June to September. Psilocybe mexicana can be confused with poisonous muscarinic Inocybe mushrooms, e.g., 1. geophylla (Sow. ex Fr.) Kummer (cf. Inocybe spp.). It is also very similar to the species Psilocybe semilanceata and Psilocybe pelliculosa and is often confused with them (cf. Psilocybe spp.). Psilocybe mexicana can be easily grown on a substrate of a Lolium species (cf. Lolium temulentum). The fruiting bodies can be consumed fresh or dried. Mexican Indians often ingest the mushroom together with honey or chocolate (cf. Theobroma cacao). In former times, the mushrooms were steeped in pulque and drunk (cf. Agave spp.). Carlos Castaneda's claim (1973*, 1975*) that these mushrooms are dried and then smoked for their psychedelic effects has been the subject of considerable controversy and is highly doubtful (Clare 1988**; Siegel 1981, 330*).374 Ritual Use The literature from the colonial period contains numerous texts that provide information concerning the mushrooms, their effects, and their ritual and/or medicinal uses. The Florentine Codex, an early colonial chronicle by the Franciscan missionary Fra Bernardino de Sahagun, written in Aztec, reports: Nanacatl. They are called teonanacatl, "flesh of the gods." They grow in the flatlands, in grass. The head is small and round, the stem long and thin. It is bitter and scratches, it burns in the throat. It makes one foolish; it confuses one, it distresses one. It is a remedy for fever, for gout. Only two, three are eaten. It makes sad, depressed, distressed; it makes one run away, become afraid, hide. He who eats many of them sees many things that scare him and that make him happy. He runs away, hangs himself, throws himself from a cliff, screams, is afraid. It is eaten with honey. I eat mushrooms; I take mushrooms. It is said of one who is haughty, impertinent, vain that: "He has bemushroomed himself' (Sahagun, Florentine Codex 11.7*) Another Aztec text by Sahagun provides a rudimentary description of the mushroom ritual: The first thing that one ate at such meetings was a black mushroom that they called nanacatl. It has inebriating effects, produces visions, and incites to obscene acts. They already take the thing early on the morning of the festival day and drink cacao before they arise. They eat the mushrooms with honey. When they have made themselves drunk with these, they begin to become excited. Some sing, others cry, others sit in their rooms as if they were deep in sorrow. They have visions in which they see themselves die, and this hurts them bitterly. Others see scenes in which they are attacked by wild animals and believe that they are being eaten up. Some have beautiful dreams in which they believe they are very rich and possess many slaves. But others have quite embarrassing dreams: they have the feeling of being caught while committing adultery or of being wicked forgers or thieves who are now facing their punishment. They all have their visions. When the inebriation that the mushrooms produce is over, they speak of that which they have dreamed, and one tells the other about his visions. (Sahagun 9) In his Historia de las Indias de Nueva Espane, the missionary Diego Duran noted several times that mushrooms were ingested at festivals and were "drunk like wine" ( = pulque; cf. Agave spp.), although they were mixed with chocolate (cf. Theobroma cacao) (Wasson 1980**). Today, Psilocybe mexicana is still used by shamans of the Mazatec, Mixe, Zapotec, and Cuitlatec in a manner that is quite similar to its pre-Spanish use (Hoogshagen 1959; Lipp 1990; Miller 1966; Ravicz 1961). Among the Mixe, the most important deity is the Earth Mother Naaxwin or Na:shwin (literally, "the eye of the earth"). The earth is regarded as the source of wisdom; the Earth Mother is omniscient and can see the past, present, and future. Since the mushrooms grow from the earth, they are regarded as extremely wise and full of knowledge. The Mixe originally believed that the mushrooms were born from the bones of primordial shamans and prophets. According to a different version of that belief, which was influenced by Christianity, the mushrooms are regarded as soothsayers because they are equated with the blood of Christ. It is said that as Jesus hung on the cross, blood flowed from his heart to the ground. Numerous flowers and edible mushrooms grew from this blood. Finally, the magic mushrooms emerged and supplanted the plants that had previously turned green. For this reason they are called na:shwin mux, "mushrooms of Mother Earth" (Lipp 1991, 187*). Accordingly, the messages of the mushrooms are known as the "voice of the Earth" (Mayer 1975,604**). Magic mushrooms are used primarily in ritual contexts by the mostly female shamans. They are eaten for divinatory purposes.375 They are used to recognize the causes of diseases, to predict the death and loss of family members, to locaiize lost objects, to uncover thieves and magicians, and to search for answers to familial problems. The mushrooms can also help in finding hidden treasures, discovering ruins, and experiencing ritual knowledge. The mushrooms normally speak Mixe, although they occasionally speak Zapotec as well (Lipp 1991, 187). Among the Mixe, the old preSpanish tonalamatl divination calendar is still in use. Some shamans use the mushrooms in conjunction with the calendar divination (Miller 1966). Magic mushrooms376 can be harvested only in summer. It is said that they grow only on sacred ground. When a person encounters a mushroom, he should offer it three candles, kneel before it, and speak the following prayer: Tum'Uh. Thou who art the queen of all there is and who was placed here as the healer of all sicknesses. I say to you that I will carry you from this place to heal the sickness I have in my house, for you were named as a great being of the earth. Forgive this molestation, for I am carrying you to the place where the sick person is, so that you make clear what the suffering is that has come to pass. I respect you. You are the master of all and you reveal all to the sick. (Lipp 1991, 189*) The collected mushrooms are carefully placed on the house altar or stored in the village church for three days. Incense (copal; cf. incense) is offered to them. They are consumed either fresh or sundried. For three days before ingesting the mushrooms, a person must remain abstinent from sex and refrain from eating poultry, pork, eggs, and vegetables. It also is forbidden to drink alcohol (mescal; cf. Agave spp.) or to use other drugs or medicines. During this time, a person should also refrain from agricultural activities. On the morning of the fourth day, he or she takes a bath and eats a light breakfast (of only foods made from maize; cf. Zea mays). He or she fasts for the rest of the day. On the morning after the session, the person must eat a large quantity of chili peppers (Capsicum spp.); he or she should abstain from meat and alcohol for the following month. The mushrooms are always eaten in pairs and also dosed in pairs: three pair for children, seven pair for women, nine pair for men (Lipp 1991, 189f.*). Sometimes only the caps are eaten (Mayer 1975, 604**). In each session, a person should eat mushrooms of just a single species, because mixing the species can result in unpleasant, i.e., threatening, visions. Two eggs are laid next to the mushrooms before they are eaten. At the same time, "copal"377 (incense; the resin of the palm Acrocomia mexicana Karw., from which palm wine is also obtained) is burned and a candle is lit. A prayer is offered to the mushrooms before they are eaten: Thou who art blessed. I am now going to swallow you so that you heal me of the illness I have. Please give me the knowledge I need, thou, who knows all of what I need and of what I have, of my problem. I ask of you the favor that you only tell me and divine what I need to know but do nothing bad to me. I do not wish an evil heart and wickedness. I only wish to know of my problems and illness and other things that you can do for me. But I ask you, please do not frighten me, do not show me evil things but only tell all. This is for the person with a pure heart. You can do many things, and I ask you to do them for me. I now ask your forgiveness for being in my stomach this night. (Lipp 1991, 190*) After the mushrooms are swallowed whole with water, one should be quiet. It is said that the mushrooms, like all other magical plants, do not like noise and will not speak if they feel disturbed. Normally the person who has eaten the mushrooms is accompanied by one or two friends or family members. They should pay attention to the things that the "bemushroomed" person says and fumigate him or her with copal smoke if problems arise. The visions that appear are shaped by culture. First one sees snakes and jaguars. After these have disappeared, the sun and the moon appear as a boy and girl, the children of the wind and the Earth Mother. Often, the "bemushroomed" person only hears voices that give advice, provide diagnoses, or ask about the reasons for ingesting the mushrooms. In these visions, most people obtain profound insights into their state of health and learn how they may become healthy and complete (R~itsch 1996). Artifacts Some pre-Columbian Aztec manuscript illustrations (tlacuilolli) depict scenes that are usually interpreted as mushroom rituals (Caso 1963). In particular, several pages in a manuscript that has become known as the Codex Vindobonensis Mexicanus I give the impression of an entheogenic ceremony. A number of figures, each holding two mushrooms (pairs!) in their hand, are shown sitting in a ritual arrangement (cf. R~itsch 1988a, 174f.*; Wasson 1983**). In the comic Azteken [Aztecs], by Andreas (1992), Mexican magic mushrooms are ingested in order to solve problems. Medicinal Use The Aztecs used teonanacatl as a medicine to treat fever and gout (R~itsch 1991a, 267*). Today, Mexican magic mushrooms are still used as a remedy for a number of illnesses, including stomach and intestinal disturbances, migraines and headaches, swelling, broken bones, epileptic seizures, and acute and chronic ailments. Most Indians who are not shamans avoid the mushrooms and ingest them in low (subpsychedelic) dosages only in cases of illness. They fear confrontation with the mushrooms, which speak to them and can reveal things that may be unpleasant (Lipp 1991, 187 f.*). Constituents In his "classic" analysis, Albert Hofmann found concentrations of 0.25% psilocybin and 0.150/0 psilocin by dry weight (Heim and Hofmann 1958; Hofmann 1960b). Fresh mushrooms contain more psilocin (Stamets 1996, 130**). Effects Timothy Leary (1920-1996), a consciousness researcher and former Harvard professor, took his first "trip" with the magic mushrooms of Mexico. He encountered the "divine mushroom" while he was staying in Cuernavaca, Mexico, in 1960. This event did not simply change his life and thought but also led to profound changes in society and in the ways that science looks at the world. One of the first effects that Leary noted during his historical experience· was that famous "cosmic laughter," especially about one's self and science: I laughed about my daily pomposity, that narrow-minded arrogance of the scientist, the impertinence of the rational, the glib naiVete of words in contrast to the unadulterated, rich, eternally changing panoramas that flooded my brain.... 1 surrendered to the joy, as mystics have done for centuries when they looked through the veil and discovered that the world-as plastic as it might appear-is actually a small stage setting that is constructed by our mind. There was a flood of possibilities out there (in here?), other realities, an infinite arrangement of programs for other scenarios of the future. (Leary 1986, 33f.*) At the peak of his mushroom encounter, Leary had a profound and mystical experience of the world: Then 1 was gone, off to the department for fantastic optical effects. The palaces of the Nile, the temples of the Bedouins, shimmering jewels, finely woven silk garments that breathed colors, of muso-emerald glistening mosaics, Burmese rubies, sapphires from Ceylon. There were jewel-encrusted snakes, Moorish reptiles whose tongues flickered, turned and reeled down into the drain in the center of my retina. Next there followed a journey through evolution that everyone who travels through their brain is guaranteed to experience. I slipped down the channel of recapitulation into the ancient production rooms of the midbrain: snake time, fish time, big-jungle-palm time, green time of the ferns. Peacefully I observed how the first ocean creature crawled onto the land. I lay next to it, the sand crunching under my neck, then it fled back into the deep green ocean. Hello, I am the first living creature. (34) This InItiatory experience permanently changed the academically trained scientist: The trip lasted somewhat more than four hours. Like most everyone who has the veil lifted, I came back a changed person.... In four hours at the pool in Cuernavaca, I learned more about the mind, the brain, and its structures than 1 was able to during the preceding fifteen years as a busy psychologist. (35) As they did for so many people before and after him, the mushrooms taught Leary something important (or would it be more appropriate to say that he discovered it through the mushrooms?): I experienced that the brain is an unused biocomputer that contains billions of unexplored neurons. I learned that normal waking consciousness is a drop in the ocean of intelligence. That the brain can be programmed anew. The knowledge about the functioning of our brain is the most pressing scientific task of our time. I was beside myself with enthusiasm, convinced that we had found the key we had been looking for. (35) For many scientists and psychonauts, the Mexican mushrooms-and later the European and North American species as well-became keys to other worlds, realities, and conceptions of life that opened the normally locked doors to an expanded, visionary, or cosmic consciousness. Since that time, many have passed through these "doors of perception" and allowed the overwhelming adventures of consciousness to flow into their thoughts and actions, their scientific theories and philosophical treatises.

Literature See also the entries for the other Psilocybe species and for psilocybin. Andreas. 1992. Azteken. Hamburg: Carlsen. Caso, Alfonso. 1963. Representaciones de hongos en los codices. Estudios de Cultura NcihuatI4:27-38. Heim, Roger, Arthur Brack, Hans Kobel, Albert Hofmann, and Roger Cailleux. 1958. Determinisme de la formation des carpophores et des sclerotes dans la culture du "Psilocybe mexicana" Heim, agaric hallucinogene du Mexique, et mise en evidence de la psilocybine et dans de la psilocine. Comptes Rendus des Seances de l'Academie des Sciences (Paris) 246: 1346-51. Hofmann, Albert. 1958. La psilocybine sur une autoexperience avec Ie Psilocybe mexicana Heim. In Les champignons hallucinogenes du Mexique, by Roger Heim and R. Gordon Wasson, 278-80**. Paris: Museum National d'Histoire Naturelle. ---. 1959. Chemical aspects of psilocybin, the psychotropic principle from the Mexican fungus, Psilocybe mexicana Heim. In Neuropsychopharmacology, ed. Bradley et al., 446-48. Amsterdam: Elsevier. ---. 1960a. Das Geheimnis der mexikanischen Zauberpilze geliiftet. Radio +Fernsehen, Schweizer Radiozeitung (1960), no. 4: 8-9. ---. 1960b. Die psychotropen Wirkstoffe der mexikanischen Zauberpilze. Chimia 14:309-18. ---. 1960c. Die psychotropen Wirkstoffe der mexikanischen Zauberpilze. Verhandlungen der Naturforschenden Gesellschaft in Basel 71:239-56. ---. 1961. Die Erforschung der mexikanischen Zauberpilze. Schweizerische Zeitschrift fur Pilzkunde 1:1-10. ---. 1964. Die Erforschung der mexikanischen Zauberpilze und das Problem ihrer Wirkstoffe. Basler Stadtbuch (1964): 141-56. ---.1969. Investigaciones sobre los hongos alucinogenos mexicanos y la importancia que tienen en la medicina sus substancias activas. Artes de Mexico 16 (124): 23-31. Hoogshagen, Searle. 1959. Notes on the sacred (narcotic) mushrooms from CoatIan, Oaxaca, Mexico. Oklahoma Anthopological Society Bulletin 7:71-74. Lipp, Frank J. 1990. Mixe concepts and uses of entheogenic mushrooms. In The sacred mushroom seeker: Essays for R. Gordon Wasson, ed. Thomas J. Riedlinger, 151-59. Portland, Ore.: Dioscorides Press. Miller, Walter S. 1956. Cuentos Mixes. Introduction by Alfonso Villa Rojas. Mexico City: IN!. ---. 1966. El tonalamtl mixe y los hongos sagrados. In Homenaje a Roberto]. Weitlaner, 349-57. Mexico: UNAM. Ott, Jonathan. 1996. Psilocybe mexicana Heim. Unpublished computer file. (Cited 1998.) R~itsch, Christian. 1996. Das Pilzritual der Mixe. In Maria Sabina-Botin der heiligen Pilze, ed. Roger Liggenstorfer and C. R~itsch, 139-41. Solothurn: Nachtschatten Verlag. Ravicz, Robert. 1961. La mixteca en et estudio comparativo del hongo alucinante. Anales del Instituto Nacional de Antropologia e Historia 13 (1960): 73-92.