R. Gordon Wasson
American banker, ethnomycologist and author who helped introduce Western audiences to psychedelic and ritual uses of mushrooms (notably Mazatec psilocybin use and studies of soma/Amanita muscaria), best known for the 1957 Life article "Seeking the Magic Mushroom."
Books
This list of books are ONLY the books that have been ranked on the lists that are aggregated on this site. This is not a comprehensive list of all books by this author.
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1. The Road To Eleusis
Unveiling the Secret of the Mysteries
A detailed investigation arguing that the secret of the Eleusinian Mysteries was a psychoactive component in the ritual drink, synthesizing evidence from classical literature, archaeology, botany and chemistry to propose that an ergot-derived or similar entheogen produced the visionary experiences central to initiation; the book evaluates textual descriptions of rites, analyses possible ingredients and pharmacology, and considers how such a sacrament shaped ancient religious practice and our modern understanding of ritual, consciousness and the role of psychoactive plants in sacred traditions.
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