Amanita muscaria
'The most misunderstood 'shroom of them all.' (The Bus 6.11)
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ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED (1.43) 1 SEPTEMBER 2022
The Stop
Amanita muscaria (also known as fly agaric or fly amanita) is a toxic mushroom found in forests, pastures and fields in the temperate and boreal regions of the Northern Hemisphere. One of the most well-known mushrooms in the world,1 the large fungus is usually bright red with white ‘warts’ and a white underside. A source of ibotenic acid - which both attracts and kills flies - its cap was traditionally broken into saucers of milk and used as an insecticide - the source of its name.2
The Amanita muscaria fungus is also a source of the hallucinogenic chemical bufotenine,3 and has been used for religious purposes throughout history, particularly in Asia.4 Evidence of the mushroom’s ancient use as an intoxicant is found in linguistic analyses of northern Asian languages from around 5000 - 3000 BCE. Additionally, in Hinduism’s Rig Veda5 there is mention of an intoxicating drink - soma - which some scholars6 believe contained Amanita muscaria.
In Hindu mythology, soma was consumed by the gods to gain immortality until it was stolen by Agni - the fire-god - and given to the human race.7 The intoxicating liquid became a ‘fundamental offering of the Vedic sacrifices’8 and was ‘believed to give strength and long life to gods and men: it was the drink of immortality.’ Despite some theories identifying Amanita muscaria as the source of soma’s power, this remains unproven and a point of debate. However, what is known is that the ‘plant [was] pressed between stones, and the juice was filtered through sheep’s wool and then mixed with water and milk.’ The accompanying ritual was very specific - soma was offered first to the gods before the remainder was consumed by the priests and sacrificer - and had powerful hallucinogenic9 effects as reflected in this passage from the Rig Veda: ‘We have drunk the soma; we have become immortal; we have gone to the light; we have found the gods. What can hatred and the malice of a mortal do to us now? The glorious drops that I have drunk set me free in wide space.’ (8.48.3)
It is important to note that, though Amanita muscaria has been used for millennia by humans to get ‘closer to the divine,’10 this particular fungus is only one of hundreds in the Amanitaceae family - some of which are among the world’s deadliest mushrooms. These include the pure white destroying angel (Amanita virosa), which is so toxic that potentially ‘just a piece … in a soup from otherwise edible species [could] kill everyone who eats the soup,’ and the death cap (Amanita phalliodes) which is ‘responsible for most fatal mushroom poisonings worldwide.’11 Consequently, it's important to use common sense: NEVER eat a mushroom unless you know EXACTLY what it is - and that requires knowledge of mycology you can’t get from books - much less webpages and mushroom-identifying apps - alone.
The Detour
Today’s Detour is to an article from Lapham’s Quarterly about the history of fumigating library books - not to kill the insects which would destroy them - but as a way of ensuring the germs and contagions of the ‘great unwashed’ didn’t get passed on to … better people.
The Recommendation
Today’s Recommendation is Brave New World by Aldous Huxley (1932). One of the defining texts of the dystopian fiction genre, Huxley’s novel is set in 2540 where society ‘revolves around science and efficiency … emotions and individuality are conditioned out of children at a young age, and there are no lasting relationships because ‘every one belongs to every one else.’’ In a connection to this issue’s topic, people continually use a supposedly consequence-free drug called soma to essentially anaesthetise themselves to life. It all seems to work perfectly until an outsider to this world suddenly appears.
From the back: Far in the future, the World Controllers have created the ideal society. Through clever use of genetic engineering, brainwashing and recreational sex and drugs all its members are happy consumers. Bernard Marx seems alone [in] harbouring an ill-defined longing to break free. A visit to one of the few remaining Savage Reservations where the old, imperfect life still continues, may be the cure for his distress …. Huxley’s ingenious fantasy of the future sheds a blazing light on the present and is considered to be his most enduring masterpiece.
The Sounds
Today’s playlist is an assortment of tracks which have ended up on repeat over the last few days - two old, three new: ‘Overture From I Am Curious, Orange’ (The Fall, 1988), ‘Expand’ (Flock, 2022), ‘Point Me Toward the Real’ (Ezra Furman, 2022), ‘stoned’ (Tomberlin, 2022) and ‘Don’t Come Around Here No More’ (Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, 1985). Enjoy!
The Thought
Today’s Thought is from The Living Mountain by Nan Shepherd. A Scottish Modernist writer and poet, Shepherd (1893-1981) is best known for this profound, meditative memoir of walking in the Cairngorms.12
‘Books work from the inside out. They are a private conversation happening somewhere in the soul.’
If you have a thought on this Thought - or any part of today’s issue - please leave a comment below:
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Amanita muscaria are found all over children’s literature, fairy tales and comics - ‘think of any fairy tale illustration of elves or goblins sitting on or under a toadstool, and most likely the cap of such a fungus will be bright red with white spots.’ It’s the mushroom the Caterpillar in Alice in Wonderland sits upon and gives bits to Alice to eat, a few Smurf houses are made from them and its image was so common in Victorian and Edwardian England that it appeared on Christmas cards to symbolise good luck; its ‘colours are thought to have been the inspiration for Santa Claus's red and white suit.’
To explain the subtitle: I have a t-shirt on which a couple of dozen mushrooms are printed, one of which is an Amanita muscaria. While on holiday in Holden Beach, NC this summer I was wearing it when I picked up a few things from the local Food Lion. The checkout guy mentioned he liked my shirt - especially the Amanita. I mumbled something about it being misunderstood and he suddenly became alive - ‘Most misunderstood ‘shroom of them all, man! Such a shame, such a shame …’ He shook his head, told me to have a nice day and I took my bag and left with a smile. Sources for today’s Stop include: Fly Agaric (Woodland Trust), Fly Agaric (Britannica), Amanitas (Erowid), Fly Agaric (Trees for Life UK), Soma (Britannica), Zaehner, R. C. Hinduism. Oxford: OUP, 1988, Doniger, Wendy. The Hindus: An Alternative History. Oxford: OUP, 2009, and Brave New World (Britannica).
Bufotenine is ‘more commonly sourced from toad poison.’
Ingestion of the fungus is a very common cause of mushroom poisoning - either ‘accidentally by children or purposefully by people seeking a hallucinogenic experience.’ Though ingestion of the mushroom results in ‘nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea, excessive salivation, perspiration, watering of the eyes, slowed and difficult breathing, dilated pupils, confusion, and excitability,’ the effects usually pass within 12 hours and death is rare.
From the Sanskrit for ‘The Knowledge of Verses,’ the Rig Veda is the oldest of Hinduism’s sacred books, composed orally around 1500 BCE and written down about 300 BCE.
Including Gordon Wasson of psilocybin fame (see The Bus Issue 1.25 (30 June 2022))
To confuse things, over time the drink soma becomes identified as the deity Soma - a ‘strange being who is both plant and god.’ The personified deity Soma became known as the ‘master of plants … healer of disease, and the bestower of riches.’
These ancient pre-Hindu worshippers would offer sacrifices to their gods, hoping they would be ‘grant[ed] abundant numbers of cattle, good fortune, good health, long life, and male progeny, among other material benefits.’
Given the context, the preferred word is ‘entheogenic.’ Literally meaning ‘god within,’ an entheogen is a psychoactive substance used in a religious or spiritual context.
In addition to its use in ancient India there is evidence that Amanita muscaria was used by various groups in Northern Europe - including Celtic Druids and Viking Berserker warriors - and by the inhabitants of north-eastern Siberia (where the shaman would ingest the mushroom so the celebrants could drink his urine for the entheogenic effects). In addition to providing the colours for Santa, the idea of flying reindeer (the animals are known to be ‘attracted to the [mushroom’s] euphoric effects’) is believed to have its origin in consumption of the fungus.
The names sort of give their toxicity away.
For more information, see: Nan Shepherd.