Mushrooms, Myth and Mithras: The Drug Cult That Civilized Europe

Carl Ruck

City Lights Books, Feb 24, 2021 - Religion - 174 pages

This illustrated book traces the history of an unlikely force in the shaping of Western civilization: the use of psychedelic mushrooms, namely by a secret society called the cult of Mithras. Nero was the first emperor to be initiated by the group’s “magical dinners,” and most of his successors embraced the ritual as a source of spiritual transcendence. The cult was officially banned after the Conversion, but aspects of their rituals were assimilated or co-opted by Christianity, and the brotherhoods persist today as secret societies such as the Freemasons. This is a fascinating exploration of a powerful force kept behind the scenes for thousands of years.

Contents

• Entheogens and: 9
• Preface Also Sprach Zarathustra: 21
• one The Entheogenic Eucharist: 27
• two Becoming One with God: 41
• three The Water Miracle: 67
• four Death by Bulls Blood: 77
• ofPerseus: 87
• six Attis under the Same Cap: 101
• seven Pater Magister Sacrorum: 119
• eight A God for the End ofTime: 135
• nine The Bread ofHeaven: 151
• eleven Freemasonry and the Survival: 197
• Envoi: 227
• Appendix The Mirgia Mushroom Among: 235
• Bibliography: 283
• About the Authors: 292

About the author

Carl Ruck is best known for his work in mythology and religion on the sacred role of entheogens as used in religious or shamanistic rituals. His focus has been on the use of entheogens in classical western culture, as well as their historical influence on modern western religions. He currently teaches at Boston University. Mark Alwin Hoffman, with degrees in Religious Studies and Philosophy from San Diego State University and based in Taos, New Mexico, is editor of Entheos: The Journal of Psychedelic Spirituality. He has written on shamanism, ancient religions, early Christianity and the role of visionary sacraments in western mystery tradition. Jose Alfredo González Celdrán is a professor of ancient Greek based in Murcía, Spain, and is the author of Las Puertas de Moeris, an historical novel, and Homres, Dioses, y Hongos (Men, Gods, and Mushrooms) on the role of psychoactive mushrooms in myth and religion, as well as essays in collaboration with an archaeologist on entheogens.

Bibliographic information

• Title: Mushrooms, Myth and Mithras: The Drug Cult That Civilized Europe
• Author: Carl Ruck
• Contributors: Mark Alwin Hoffman, Jose Alfredo González Celdrán
• Publisher: City Lights Books, 2021
• ISBN: 0872868524, 9780872868526
• Length: 174 pages
• Subjects: History / Ancient / General; Religion / Spirituality