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Nillion
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Ancient sacred use of Fungi 4
#28621240 - 01/14/24 04:18 PM (13 days, 14 hours ago) |
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I have no clue where discussion of the ancient use and history of sacred Fungi goes in this forum, but because my claims here pertain to what I believe is a religious practice and because they are my own theories, I think this is the best spot for them for now.
Evidence for Egyptian use of mushrooms:

This is claimed to be an example of a basket of mushrooms or of mushrooms being cultivated in Ancient Egypt.
Note the shape of the container:

This is not a basket or a case of mushrooms being grown. It is a jar like this:
 Which is also from ancient Egypt.
These kinds of jars are typically associated with wine. I believe that this image depicts Hathor holding a jar of mushroom wine or tea and that the mushrooms are to illustrate what is in the jar. I believe that these were a form of Psilocybe mushroom and that the use of these sacred fungi is far more ancient than is often supposed.
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Nillion
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Re: Ancient sacred use of Fungi [Re: Nillion] 3
#28621256 - 01/14/24 04:37 PM (13 days, 14 hours ago) |
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Next!
In the Mahabharata there is a story about a man named Utanka. In the story I believe is a refference to Psilocybe cubensis mushrooms as Amrita. The Hindu iconography shows gods and goddesses holding a pot with Amrita in it. I believe this is the exact same thing as the Egyptian depiction in the comment above.
There is a claim that certain mushroom pillar designs in Hindu Temples are of Amanita muscaria. They are not. They are Psilocybe cubensis and they are associated with Elephant Dung. I'm working on getting some images from the temple to illustrate this, but it is a challenge at the moment.
However, lets go to the actual text:
Quote:
Utanka thus commanded, took his departure. And as he was passing along the road he saw a bull of extraordinary size and a man of uncommon stature mounted thereon. And that man addressed Utanka and said, 'Eat thou of the dung of this bull.' Utanka, however, was unwilling to comply. The man said again, 'O Utanka, eat of it without scrutiny. Thy master ate of it before.' And Utanka signified his assent and ate of the dung and drank of the urine of that bull, and rose respectfully, and washing his hands and mouth went to where King Paushya was.
Eating the dung of the bull... drinking the urine... Is it literal? The text indicates that it is not literal. Note though that some Hindu people do eat cow poop because of passages like this.
The Bull of Extraordinary size in this is not a bovine:
Quote:
And when I was on the road I also saw a bull with a man mounted thereon, by whom I was endearingly accosted thus, 'Utanka, eat of the dung of this bull, which was also eaten by thy master?' So I ate of the dung of that bull according to his words. Who also is he? Therefore, enlightened by thee, I desire to hear all about them.'
"And his preceptor thus addressed said unto him, 'The two damsels thou hast seen are Dhata and Vidhata; the black and white threads denote night and day; the wheel of twelve spokes turned by the six boys signified the year comprising six seasons. The man is Parjanya, the deity of rain, and the horse is Agni, the god of fire. The bull that thou hast seen on the road is Airavata, the king of elephants; the man mounted thereon is Indra; and the dung of the bull which was eaten by thee was Amrita. It was certainly for this (last) that thou hast not met with death in the region of the Nagas; and Indra who is my friend having been mercifully inclined showed thee favour. It is for this that thou returnest safe, with the ear-rings about thee. Then, O thou amiable one, I give thee leave to depart. Thou shall obtain good fortune.'
The Hindu texts are loaded with symbolism and allegory in layers. The Bull is not Bovine but a Pachyderm. Eating of the dung is the allegory for the eating of the fruit that grows from the dung, the sacred mushroom Psilocybe cubensis.
Moreover, after he does this Utanak enters a fantastic world:
Quote:
Now, Utanka, recollecting the words of the Queen, pursued the Serpent, and began to dig open the hole with a stick but was unable to make much progress. And Indra beholding his distress sent his thunder-bolt (Vajra) to his assistance. Then the thunder-bolt entering that stick enlarged that hole. And Utanka began to enter the hole after the thunder-bolt. And having entered it, he beheld the region of the serpents infinite in extent, filled with hundreds of palaces and elegant mansions with turrets and domes and gate-ways, abounding with wonderful places for various games and entertainments.
The tunnel that leads to what the kids call hyperspace today. Many of us are familiar with the visual effect of flying through the tunnel of color to the fantastic infinite realm filled with elegant things of ornate shapes and colors. Here is is the land of the Nagas. In this realm Utanka sees moving patterns and shapes and images and later he asks his master to explain them. This is like the hyperspace reports of today, with moving patterns, entities and more.
I believe this strongly indicates that Amrita was a drink prepared from Sacred Fungi of the genus Psilocybe and the most likely candidate, given the art in the temples, is Psilocybe cubensis which occurs on the dung of both Elephants and Cattle, which are both sacred animals in Hindu tradition.
Edited by Nillion (01/14/24 04:40 PM)
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Nillion
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Re: Ancient sacred use of Fungi [Re: Nillion] 3
#28621836 - 01/15/24 07:53 AM (12 days, 23 hours ago) |
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I don't just believe that the temple art was inspired by Sacred Fungi. I believe that it was made so that individuals could take sacred fungi and then look at the art and it would come to life, in a manner of speaking. Giving it motion and flow and transformation.
This use of Sacred Medicine to make temple art come alive was also widespread in South America and Mexico. It may be awhile before I get to that topic, if I do, and it is not as mushroom specific, but mushrooms were among the sacred medicines involved in that as well.
The history of sacred medicines is of great interest to me.
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Nillion
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Re: Ancient sacred use of Fungi [Re: Nillion] 2
#28621283 - 01/14/24 05:11 PM (13 days, 13 hours ago) |
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https://www.fungiofegypt.com/history.html
Quote:
In the Egyptian Book of the Dead, the Papyrus of Ani (Budge 1967), mushrooms are called “the food of the gods,” or “celestial food” and “the flesh of the gods.”
It has been claimed that Egyptians believed that Osiris, the blue God and King of the Dead gave mushrooms to humanity.
Note that the term "flesh of the gods" is the literal translation of Teonanacatl, the Aztec name for the fungi.
Check this out:

In this image, from an Aztec Codex, we have a blue man, aka a dead man, holding mushrooms in one hand and a scepter of authority in the other. This is the the King of the Dead.
In this image the seated figure is divining something in the fire, using the mushrooms. The box becomes unsealed, as it were and the King of the Dead reveals the information through the fire scrying after the eating of the mushrooms.
Blue God King of the Dead associated with mushrooms. Note that Osiris is also blue.
So are bruised mushrooms and in both cultures the fungus are known as the Flesh of the Gods.
Think we can find a blue Hindu God or Goddess associated with Indra?
This is not a coincidence, but I don't think we are ready for that topic. Lets just stick to the fungi for now!
Edited by Nillion (01/14/24 05:14 PM)
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Nillion
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Re: Ancient sacred use of Fungi [Re: Nillion] 2
#28621812 - 01/15/24 07:30 AM (12 days, 23 hours ago) |
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Mushroom pillar from India.
Some claim this represents Amanita, I disagree. I believe the patterning showing the rooms with figures engaged in various activities surmounted by flowing designs, columns and archways refers to the psychedelic experience.

As for the identity of the mushroom... look in the hands of these two figures:

The wide cap and short stem is rather consistent with wild type Psilocybe cubensis growing on elephant dung.

Lets go to another example of Vedic sacred art that I believe indicates inspiration from the psychedelic activity of sacred fungi of the genus Psilocybe:

The identification of the mushroom as Amanita is entirely inconsistent with the art and ancient texts.
Amrita was a Psilocybe preparation.
Edited by Nillion (01/15/24 07:42 AM)
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Nillion
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Re: Ancient sacred use of Fungi [Re: Nillion] 2
#28622445 - 01/15/24 05:43 PM (12 days, 13 hours ago) |
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Its one of the temples in Karnataka associated with the Hoysala empire: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hoysala_architecture
But I don't know precisely which temple the column is found in. I obtained the images from a friend whom I have had conversations with about this topic, but neither they nor I have the name of the temple at this time.
However the Hoysala architecture is spectacularly psychedelic in appearance and I suspect that if one went through various photos of the works that multiple depictions of sacred fungi can be found in the art.
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GenesisCorrupted
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Re: Ancient sacred use of Fungi [Re: Nillion] 1
#28621489 - 01/14/24 08:32 PM (13 days, 10 hours ago) |
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Make sure to talk about the ancient shamanic practices around the Amanita muscaria.
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syncro
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Re: Ancient sacred use of Fungi [Re: Nillion] 1
#28621873 - 01/15/24 08:32 AM (12 days, 22 hours ago) |
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I just had deja vu seeing this part of the pillar, could have sworn I saw it yesterday. I've been reading in magical histories but now not finding the likeness. Btw what's the source of the pillar? What/where is it?
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spinvis
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Re: Ancient sacred use of Fungi [Re: CHUCK.HNTR] 1
#28630876 - 01/22/24 10:30 AM (5 days, 20 hours ago) |
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Some books related to the topic, recommended!
Andrija Puharich - The Sacred Mushroom R. Gordon Wasson - The Wondrous Mushroom Terence McKenna - Food for the Gods Richard Evans Schultes, Albert Hofmann, Christian Rätsch - Plants of the Gods Michael J. Harner - Hallucinogens and Shamanism John Marco Allegro - The Sacred Mushroom and the Cross
The mushroom, the cactus, the vine, etc all are a part of our history.
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Nillion
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Re: Ancient sacred use of Fungi [Re: Nillion]
#28621518 - 01/14/24 08:56 PM (13 days, 10 hours ago) |
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I won't be and have zero interest in Amanita from every possible perspective including historical accounts.
I welcome others who have an interest in it making contributions to this thread though.
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GenesisCorrupted
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Re: Ancient sacred use of Fungi [Re: Nillion]
#28621521 - 01/14/24 08:58 PM (13 days, 10 hours ago) |
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:reserved 4 🍄
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NoviceCultivator
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Re: Ancient sacred use of Fungi [Re: syncro]
#28622831 - 01/15/24 11:41 PM (12 days, 7 hours ago) |
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Can you tell me why I got completely kicked out of the server over there at the other side discord???
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syncro
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Re: Ancient sacred use of Fungi [Re: Nillion]
#28622885 - 01/16/24 02:42 AM (12 days, 4 hours ago) |
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They being Shiva temples presumably, with the image at the top of the pillar, I first thought of a lingam adorned.
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Nillion
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Re: Ancient sacred use of Fungi [Re: Nillion]
#28622975 - 01/16/24 06:14 AM (12 days, 56 minutes ago) |
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You may be right.
It appears that it may be carved from Soap stone, which is consistent with the Hoysaleswara Shiva temple but more information is needed to be certain.
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CHUCK.HNTR
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Re: Ancient sacred use of Fungi [Re: Nillion]
#28628371 - 01/20/24 10:11 AM (7 days, 21 hours ago) |
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Quote:
Nillion said:
Note that the term "flesh of the gods" is the literal translation of Teonanacatl, the Aztec name for the fungi.
Check this out:

In this image, from an Aztec Codex, we have a blue man, aka a dead man, holding mushrooms in one hand and a scepter of authority in the other. This is the the King of the Dead.
In this image the seated figure is divining something in the fire, using the mushrooms. The box becomes unsealed, as it were and the King of the Dead reveals the information through the fire scrying after the eating of the mushrooms.
Blue God King of the Dead associated with mushrooms. Note that Osiris is also blue.
So are bruised mushrooms and in both cultures the fungus are known as the Flesh of the Gods.
Think we can find a blue Hindu God or Goddess associated with Indra?
This is not a coincidence, but I don't think we are ready for that topic. Lets just stick to the fungi for now!
Did you read an archeological or anthropological explanation of this? The box the blue entity is coming out of looks to me to the “mandible” piece to represent how to consume the mushrooms “buccaly” it’s been deciphered in the Mixtec Mushroom Codex but looks different. Curious what text you read about the image you posted.
-------------------- "What is the practical application of a million universes?" -Alan Watts
   
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spinvis
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Re: Ancient sacred use of Fungi [Re: spinvis]
#28630894 - 01/22/24 10:39 AM (5 days, 20 hours ago) |
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Hanshan - The Collected Songs of Cold Mountain - 25;
Quote:
Calligraphy unrestrained, physique robust enough - alive, a body with limits, dead, a ghost with no name. It's been like this since ancient times. What else can you do? Join me inside the clouds. I'll teach you magic mushroom songs.
Hanshan - The Collected Songs of Cold Mountain - 290;
Quote:
Relaxing below Cold Cliff The surprises are quite special Taking a basket to gather wild plants Bringing it back loaded with fruit Spreading fresh grass for a simple meal Nibbling on magic mushrooms Rinsing my ladle and bowl in a pool Making a stew from scraps Sitting in sunshine wrapped in a robe Reading the poems of the ancients
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