Nexus - 1805 - New Times Magazine-pages

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century. Thus, although the once-mighty Aztec culture learned of the sacred Mexican mushrooms, sought to was eventually destroyed, the sacred mushroom _ find them and experienced them first-hand—tha continued to be used in and around Mexico throughou psilocybin (the as-yet-unnamed active constituent o he Spanish occupation. Yet despite the legendary the mushroom, pronounced "silla-sigh-bin") came to effects of this peculiar species of fungus, it wasn't unti the attention of the West. Once the sacred Mexican he middle of the 20th century that an outside mushrooms were discovered, ethnomycological science investigator finally consumed the mushroom and hence _ suddenly acquired a distinctly mystical edge, allowing i verified its alleged spiritual potential. to breach the domains of religion and psychology. | Transmitted solely by word of mouth from the time o also provided a new impetus to humankind's enduring he Spanish Conquest, detailed knowledge of the quest to access transcendental knowledge, and there revered mushroom had lain principally in the hands o can be no doubt that Wasson's discovery and vivid jealously guarding shamans or native healers, who were description of the effects of psilocybin were crucial in oath to disclose their botanical secrets to outsiders. | generating the subsequent cultural wave of psychedelic They feared, perhaps justifiably, that the sacred experimentation that soon followed in the 1960s. mushroom's supernatural power would be diminished — Moreover, the mushroom also reveals itself as the key to or be used profanely should the untrustworthy white —_ unveiling the secrets of consciousness and the hidden olk gain full admittance into its living mystery. _ riches of Nature. Theophany, mind and reality: these Therefore, the 1957 Life article in which the secret of the — three most profound of topics are all met in some way mushroom was openly through use of the exposed dramatically mushroom. symbolised the West's But, before we jump into bypassing of this longstanding the deep end, who, pray, was cultural security system. The Moreover, the mushroom this Wasson fellow, this sacred mushroom had been also reveals itself as the key financier-cum-adventurer? forcibly plucked from its + And how had he come to localised shamanic niche and to unveiling the secrets of penetrate the Earth's secret was now being presented to consciousness and the hidden psychedelic dimension? Who the western world in the form was he to bring news of of mass-circulated print, with riches of Nature. sacred fungi to the attention colour photographs and of the western world? specimen drawings to boot. In effect, Wasson's Life Despite exposure to the article was timed to coincide prying eyes of the West, the with the release of his status of the Mexican mushroom remained as lofty and magnum opus two-volume book Mushrooms, Russia and as tantalisingly ethereal as ever—more so, even, since History, co-written with his wife Valentina. This work the western psyche was just as stunned and awed by its _—_ fully reveals the extent of Wasson's longstanding transcendental visionary effects as were local Mexicans. interest in the cultural use of fungi and how he finally In the following decades, a psychedelic mushroom cloud came to be at the door of perception marked of fascination would slowly expand and loom beyond _ "psilocybin". Mexico, eventually extending its magical influence as far With only 512 handcrafted copies luxuriously bound away as Europe, but, at this initial stage in its sudden —_ and printed, Mushrooms, Russia and History [Pantheon, New growth, the strange mushroom remained a purely York, 1957] stands as a rare piece of art. Indeed, by the Mexican phenomenon. late 1970s its value had reached some US$2,500, making On the front cover of that auspicious edition of Life it the most valuable book in existence at that time whose magazine, the simple headline read "The Discovery of author was still alive. It is a highly polished book, written Mushrooms That Cause Strange Visions", a rather _ in a lively style that reflects the love of ethnomycology unusual claim from such a traditionally conservative borne by the Wassons. It represents the distilled wisdom magazine. The article was included as part of Life drawn from their extensive studies into the role that magazine's "Great Adventures" series, and was written various species of mushroom played in different cultures, by R. Gordon Wasson, vice-president of a Wall Street and it culminates in their discovery of the sacred banking firm, who, with the aid of his wife Valentina, | mushroom ceremonies still being conducted in Mexico— had spent some 30 years of part-time research creating a discovery important enough to warrant the further a new scientific discipline: ethnomycology, the study of — account in the more accessible pages of Life magazine. the cultural and historical use of fungi. Ethnomycology is clearly specialised and seemingly _ A Trail Begins remote from the affairs of modern culture. It was only The event that originally launched the Wassons on through the dedicated efforts of the Wassons—who __ their mushroom crusade was simple, almost trivial, yet use Moreover, the mushroom also reveals itself as the key to unveiling the secrets of A Trail Begins The event that originally launched the Wassons on their mushroom crusade was simple, almost trivial, yet 18 * NEXUS consciousness and the hidden riches of Nature. AUGUST - SEPTEMBER 2011 www.nexusmagazine.com