Soma: Divine Mushroom of Immortality

Description

Soma: Divine Mushroom of Immortality is R. Gordon Wasson s groundbreaking investigation into the identity of the mysterious Soma plant praised in the ancient Rigveda. Through a meticulous synthesis of philology, comparative religion, botany, and ethnomycology, Wasson advances the provocative thesis that Soma was not a plant in the traditional sense, but rather the visionary Amanita muscaria mushroom.

This richly illustrated work delves into Vedic hymns, Siberian shamanic rituals, and Indo-European religious patterns to argue that Soma was a sacred entheogen, central to ancient Indo-Aryan rites of immortality and divine communion. Blending rigorous scholarship with spiritual insight, the book stands as a seminal contribution to the field of entheogenic studies and remains a cornerstone text for those exploring the sacramental use of psychoactive substances in antiquity. Its implications ripple far beyond the Vedas, offering a lens through which to reevaluate the role of visionary plants in the earliest religious traditions of humanity.

Author

R. Gordon Wasson

Author Info

R. Gordon Wasson (1898 ?1986) was a pioneering ethnomycologist whose work transformed modern understanding of psychoactive plants in human culture and religion.

Trained in literature and banking, Wasson devoted his life to uncovering the sacred roles of mushrooms across world traditions, most notably through his respectful encounters with the Mazatec curandera María Sabina and his identification of psilocybin mushrooms in indigenous Mexican rituals. His interdisciplinary approach blended classical scholarship with field research, giving rise to a new scientific and spiritual appreciation for entheogens. With Soma, Wasson turned his attention to the Indo-European past, illuminating a long-forgotten sacrament once central to humanity s search for the eternal.

His work laid the foundation for the modern psychedelic renaissance and continues to inspire scholars, seekers, and mystics alike.
ISBN-13

LoC# 68-11197

Publisher

Harcourt Brace Jovanovich

Publication Date

1968

Edition

1st Edition

Binding

Hardcover

Condition

Used – Very Good

Page Count

380 pages