Amanita Muscaria: The Fly Agaric Mushroom
Fly amanita (Amanita muscaria) was one of the first three plants to be domesticated for their psychoactive properties by early Eurasian groups. Ample evidence exists that it had an important place in traditional European folklore, medicine and religion. However, fly agaric seems to have disappeared from its central role in shamanistic ritual, perhaps because of its mind-altering effects on humans or resistance on part of native shamans against what might have been perceived as a loss of power within the group. Another possibility is that fly agaric’s visionary reputation among Siberian tribes led missionaries to discredit it as the “devil’s …