Amanita Muscaria

Note: The Drawing was made by me to illustrate this.

Amanita Muscaria

Amanita muscaria also commonly known as fly agaric, to be used in the process of decoction for killing flies, it is also linked to a sacred drink of the Indo-Aryan, as it is described in the book of the Vedas, the scriptures of Hinduism, among other names that are assigned, such as "witch's egg".

It is certainly the oldest known hallucinogenic plant, used since immemorial times as an intoxicant, for very primitive and tribal peoples. The Rig veda, the first of the Vedas, tells of three filters that are essential to the preparation of the sacred drink:

- the filter of sunshine in the mushroom, carrying the sacred power; woolen cloth where the juice of the mushroom was squeezed and, finally, the human body. The last barrier was thus, the human mind.The Indo-Aryans picked the mushrooms during the full moon, and posteriorly this was filtered and mixed with water, milk or honey, and drunk during the ritual.

The active ingredient of the mushroom, when fresh, is the ibotenic acid, however, the mushroom when dried, is highly psychoactive, as the muscarine evaporates and the ibotemic acid becomes muscimol. The fungus causes motion sickness and nausea when ingested, followed by visual hallucinations, auditory and psychic excitement. After a few hours in this condition, the person enters a state of lethargy and deep sleep. Later the person does not remember having lived that situation.
The administration of this mushroom may, however, have adverse consequences if misused - eating more mushrooms than recommended can be fatal, although they were rare the deaths associated with the use of this mushroom. The Koryaks, tribal people of northwestern Asia, as a standard dose, had three mushrooms - one large and two smaller ones.
Amanita muscaria is recognized as a food of the spirit, which contributes to the evolution of the etheric body. It is also known as "the flesh of the Gods," and hence be used in initiation rituals, for example, in Koryaks.
Using this mushroom, in shamanic Ritus, will allow to go into the world tree or tree of life, visiting the gods and spirits during the shamanic trance. In this sense, this mushroom in Siberia is often called the "mushroom of light."