R. Gordon Wasson (September 22, 1898 – December 23, 1986) was an author, amateur researcher and banker. In the course of his self-funded research, he made significant contributions to the field of ethnobotany. September 22 is the 265th day of the year (266th in leap years). ... 1898 was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... December 23 is the 357th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (358th in leap years). ... 1986 is a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The word author has several meanings: The author of a book, story, article or the like, is the person who has written it (or is writing it). ... Ethnobotany is the study of the relationship between plants and people: ethno is the study of people and botany is the study of plants. ...

Wasson's studies in ethnomycology began during his 1927 honeymoon trip to the Catskill Mountains when his wife Valentina Pavlovna Guercken chanced upon some edible wild mushrooms. Fascinated by the marked difference in cultural attitudes towards the fungus in Russia compared to the United States, the couple began research which led to the writing of Mushrooms, Russia and History published in 1957. In the course of their investigations, they mounted expeditions to Mexico to study the religious use of mushrooms by the native population, and became the first westerners to participate in a Mazatec sacred mushroom ritual. In 1957, they published a Life magazine article (Seeking the Magic Mushroom), bringing knowledge of the existence of psychoactive mushrooms to a wide audience for the first time. Through his collaboration with Roger Heim, the mushrooms were subjected to scientific study, and Albert Hoffman, using material grown by Heim from specimens collected by the Wassons, identified the chemical structure of the active compounds, psilocybin and psilocin. Two species of mushroom, Psilocybe wassonii Heim and Psilocybe wassonorum Guzman were named in honor of R. Gordon Wasson. Hoffman and Wasson were also the first westerners to collect specimens of the Mazatec hallucinogen Salvia divinorum, leading to its description as a new species, and bringing it into cultivation outside of Mexico. Catskill Escarpment and Blackhead Range as seen from Overlook Mountain The Catskill Mountains, a natural area in New York State northwest of New York City and southwest of Albany, are not, despite their popular name, true geological mountains, but rather a mature dissected plateau, an uplifted region that was subsequently... Basidiocarps (mushrooms) of the fungus Leucocoprinus sp. ... Divisions Chytridiomycota Zygomycota Glomeromycota Ascomycota Basidiomycota Yellow fungus For the fictional character, see Fungus the Bogeyman. ... 1957 was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Fishers of men; Oil on panel by Adriaen van de Venne (1614) Religion—sometimes used interchangeably with faith or belief system—is commonly defined as belief concerning the supernatural, sacred, or divine, and the moral codes, practices, values, and institutions associated with such belief. ... Mazatec girl preparing Salvia divinorum leaves on a metate (Photo taken in 1962 by R. Gordon Wasson) The Mazatec are an indigenous people who inhabit an area of the state of Oaxaca in southern Mexico, close to the border with Puebla and Veracruz. ... Magic mushrooms are also known as sacred mushrooms, psychedelic mushrooms, and, more generally, hallucinogenic mushrooms. ... A ritual is a formalised, predetermined set of symbolic actions generally performed in a particular environment at a regular, recurring interval. ... 1957 was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Hallucinogenic drugs or hallucinogens are drugs that can alter sensory perceptions, elicit alternate states of consciousness, or cause hallucinations. ... Chemical structure is the arrangement of atoms within a molecule, usually linked by covalent bonds. ... A compound is an area of land that is surrounded by fences, walls, or barbed wire and is used for a particular purpose, especially an area containing buildings and where the entry and exit of people is controlled. ... Psilocybin (4-phosphoryloxy-N, N-dimethyltryptamine) is a psychedelic alkaloid of the tryptamine family. ... Psilocin is a mushroom alkaloid and derivative of the psychedelic hallucinogenic drug psilocybin. ... Binomial name Salvia divinorum Salvia divinorum (also known as diviners sage, ska María Pastora or simply salvia) is a psychoactive plant, a member of the sage genus and the Lamiaceae (mint) family. ...

Experiences with the magic mushrooms apparently had a profound effect on Wasson, and fungi remained a persistent theme in his work. His next major contribution was a study of the ancient Vedic intoxicant Soma, which he proposed was based on the psychoactive Fly Agaric (Amanita muscaria) mushroom. This was published in 1967 under the title Soma: Divine Mushroom of Immortality. His attention then turned to the Eleusinian Mysteries, the initiation ceremony of the ancient Greek cult of Demeter and Persephone. In The Road to Eleusis: Unveiling the Secret of the Mysteries (1978), co-authored with Albert Hofmann and Carl A. P. Ruck, it was proposed that the special drink "kykeon", a part of the ceremony, contained psychoactive ergoline alkaloids from the fungus Ergot (Claviceps spp.). Magic mushrooms are also known as sacred mushrooms, psychedelic mushrooms, and, more generally, hallucinogenic mushrooms. ... Divisions Chytridiomycota Zygomycota Ascomycota Basidiomycota The Fungi (singular: fungus) are a large group of organisms ranked as a kingdom within the Domain Eukaryota. ... The adjective Vedic may refer to The Vedas, the oldest preserved Indo-Aryan texts. ... A psychoactive drug or psychotropic substance is a chemical that alters brain function, resulting in temporary changes in perception, mood, consciousness, or behaviour. ... Soma (Sanskrit), or Haoma (Avestan) (from Proto-Indo-Iranian *Sauma) was a ritual drink of importance among the early Indo-Iranians, and the later Vedic and Iranian cultures. ... Binomial name Amanita muscaria Amanita muscaria is a basidiomycete mushroom of the genus Amanita. ... 1967 was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Eleusinian Mysteries were annual initiation ceremonies for the cult of Demeter and Persephone based at Eleusis in ancient Greece. ... Dêmêtêr (or Demetra) (DEH-MEH-ter) (mother-goddess or perhaps distribution-mother) is the Greek goddess of agriculture, the pure nourisher of youth and the green earth, the health-giving cycle of life and death, and preserver of marriage and the sacred law. ... Bust of Persephone In Greek mythology, Persephone (Greek Περσεφόνη, Classical Greek Persephónē, Modern Greek Persefóni) was the queen of the Underworld, the Kore or young maiden, and the daughter of Demeter. ... 1978 was a common year starting on Sunday (the link is to a full 1978 calendar). ... Dr. Albert Hofmann Dr. Albert Hofmann (born 11 January 1906) is a prominent Swiss scientist and best known as the father of LSD. He was born in Baden, Switzerland, and studied chemistry at the University of Zurich. ... Kykeon was the drink used at the climax of the Eleusinian Mysteries to break a sacred fast. ... Chemical structure of ergoline Ergoline is a chemical compound whose structure serves as the skeleton for a diverse range of alkaloids and synthetic drugs. ... An alkaloid is a nitrogenous organic molecule that has a pharmacological effect on humans and other animals. ... Ergot refers to either the Claviceps fungus, an infection of cereals with the fungus, or the disease in humans and animals that eat the fungus. ...

Books

• R. Forte (ed.; contributions from R. G. Wasson and others) 1997 Entheogens and the Future of Religion ISBN 1889725013
• T. J. Riedlinger (ed.) 1990 The Sacred Mushroom Seeker: Essays for R. Gordon Wasson ISBN 0892813385
• R. G. Wasson, S. Kramrisch, J. Ott and C. A. P. Ruck 1986 Pesephone's Quest: Entheogens and the Origins of Religion ISBN 0300052669
• R. G. Wasson 1980 The Wondrous Mushroom: Mycolatry in Mesoamerica ISBN 007068443X
• R. G. Wasson, A. Hoffman, C. A. P. Ruck 1978 The Road to Eleusis: Unveiling the Secret of the Mysteries ISBN 0-15-625279-1 (original edition, out of print) 1998 edition: ISBN 0-915148-20-X
• R. G. Wasson 1976 Maria Sabina and Her Mazatec Mushroom Velada ISBN 015157202X
• P. T. Furst (with contributions from Wasson and others) 1972 Flesh of the Gods: The Ritual Use of Hallucinogens ISBN 0881334774
• R. G. Wasson 1968 Soma: Divine Mushroom of Immortality ISBN 0-15-683800-1
• R. G. Wasson and V. P. Wasson 1957 Mushrooms, Russia and History
• R. G. Wasson 'The Last Meal of the Buddha' Journal of the American Oriental Society, Vol. 102, No. 4. (Oct. - Dec., 1982), pp. 591-603.

This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ... Dr. Albert Hofmann Dr. Albert Hofmann (born 11 January Swiss scientist and best known as the father of LSD. He was born in Baden, Switzerland, and studied chemistry at the University of Zurich. ...

External Links

• Seeking the Magic Mushroom, Life Magazine 1957
• The Road to Eleusis, Wasson's contributions online
• R. Gordon Wasson archives (incl. biography) at Harvard University Herbaria
• Erowid R. Gordon Wasson Vault