September 15, 2021

Plants of the Gods: S2E6. Albert Hofmann, Richard Schultes and Gordon Wasson: The Holy Trinity of Ethnomycology, plus the two women who must be added to the Pantheon!

35 minutes

The birth of the Psychedelic Renaissance is often attributed to Richard Schultes' research on peyote and magic mushrooms in the 1930's. Nonetheless, it was his collaboration with both Gordon Wasson and Albert Hofmann that brought this indigenous wisdom and chemistry to a wider world. At the same time, the equally extraordinary contributions of Valentina Wasson and Maria Sabina merit equal recognition and appreciation. Allen, John W. “Mushroom Pioneers.” Www.erowid.org/Library/Books, 2002. De Rios, Marlene Dobkin. “María Sabina: Her Life and Chants.” Journal of Psychoactive Drugs, vol. 14, no. 3, 1982, pp. 259–260., doi:10.1080/02791072.1982.10471940. Erowid, www.erowid.org/. Estrada, Alvaro. María Sabina, Her Life and Chants. Ross-Erikson, 1981. Forte, Robert. Entheogens and the Future of Religion. Park Street Press, 2012. Furst, Peter T. Hallucinogens and Culture. Chandler & Sharp Publishers, Inc., 1997. Johnson, Cody. Magic Medicine: A Trip through the INTOXICATING History and Modern-Day Use of Psychedelic Plants & Substances. Fair Winds Press, 2018. Letcher, Andy. Shroom: A Cultural History of the Magic Mushroom. Ecco, 2007. Pfister, Donald H. “R. Gordon WASSON: 1898-1986.” Mycologia, vol. 80, no. 1, 1988, p. 11., doi:10.2307/3807487. Riedlinger, Thomas J. Sacred Mushroom Seeker: Essays for R. Gordon Wasson. Dioscorides Press, 1990. Schultes, Richard Evans, and Siri Von Reis. Ethnobotany: Evolution of a Discipline. Timber Press, 2008. Schultes, Richard Evans. “Plantae Mexicanae II, the Identification Of TEONANACATL, a Narcotic Basidiomycete of the Aztecs.” Botanical Museum Leaflets of Harvard University, vol. 7, no. 3, 1939, pp. 37–54. Schultes, Richard Evans. “Teonanacatl: The Narcotic Mushroom of the Aztecs.” American Anthropologist, vol. 42, no. 3, 1940, pp. 429–443., doi:10.1525/aa.1940.42.3.02a00040. Sheldrake, Merlin. Entangled Life: How Fungi Make Our Worlds, Change Our Minds & Shape Our Futures. Random House, 2021. Wasson, Gordon. “The Death of Claudius, or Mushrooms for Murders.” Harvard Botanical Museum Leaflets, vol. 23, no. 3, 1972, pp. 101–128.

...more