Mushrooms, Myths & Mithras

by Ruck, Carl A. P.

• ISBN13: 9780872864702
• ISBN10: 0872864707
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2011-07-26
• Publisher: City Lights Books

Summary

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.

Table of Contents

Prelude: The First Supper: Entheogens and the Origin of Religion	p. 9
Preface: Also Sprach Zarathustra	p. 21
The Entheogenic Eucharist of Mithras	p. 27
Becoming One with God	p. 41
The Water Miracle	p. 67
Death by Bull's Blood	p. 77
Mushrooms, Gorgons, and the Spring of Perseus	p. 87
Attis under the Same Cap	p. 101
Pater, Magister Sacrorum	p. 119
A God for the End of Time	p. 135
The Bread of Heaven	p. 151
The Drama in the Sky	p. 177
Freemasonry and the Survival of the Eucharistic Brotherhoods	p. 197
Envoi	p. 227
Appendix: The Mirgia Mushroom Among the Mithraic Yezidi	p. 235
Notes	p. 239
Bibliography	p. 283
Index	p. 287
About the Authors	p. 292
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