As the festive season approaches, SENTIA is delighted to explore the enchanting connection between Amanita muscaria – the only natural GABAergic Hallucinogen – and the traditions of Christmas.
When someone visualise a mushroom, the first image that comes to mind is this fascinating fungus, with its white body and red and white speckled cap. Also known as the Fly Agaric, it has a rich history of cultural significance and has been associated with the spirit of the holiday season for centuries.
In northern European cultures, Amanita Muscaria has a notable presence in Christmas traditions, appearing on German and Scandinavian Christmas cards alongside “nisse” figures (Gnomes or elves) – small, Santa-like beings who bring gifts.
But what is the origin of this intriguing association?
As the holiday season approaches, let us take a moment to appreciate the fascinating connections between nature and culture, and the unique ways in which different elements come together.
Amanita and the Christmas tree:
Amanita mushrooms have a symbiotic relationship with several species of pine, spruce, and fir trees, and are often found beneath them—we don’t know the exact nature of this relationship, but it seems a pre-requisite for the emergence of the mushroom, deliberate human cultivation has never succeeded.
This relationship is re-created in Christmas decorations in Northern Europe, with Fly Agaric decorations often hanging from Christmas trees.
Siberian mythology describes a “heavenly hunt” where shamans ride on reindeer sleighs through the clouds—amanita is deeply woven into the religious cultures of Siberian tribes, many of whom herd reindeer. Reindeer are also known to feed on amanita.
Amanita was found in many ritual “smudges” (concoctions used to ward off evil influences) used during the midwinter and the winter solstice in European paganism.
Santa’s elves are Germanic “nisse,” and the Koryak of Kamchatka report seeing wapaq or “mushroom spirits” while using amanita, they are said to be “half as tall as men, who usually ask why the person has eaten the mushroom” —similar to reports of “beings” present in ayahuasca and DMT hallucinations
But human use of Amanita Muscaria goes back far further than Christmas celebrations, to pagan shamanism and pre-history.
The Sacred Mushroom
Some anthropologists speculate that Amanita Muscaria is the fabled “soma” mentioned in the ancient Hindu Rig Veda, a work dated to at least 3500 years ago.
Ancient Zoroastrian texts also mention a similar substance.
Amanita Muscaria has likely been used in the northern hemisphere in Eurasia for 10,000 years—versions of Amanita are found in Japan and the Americas and evidence suggests its use there since ancient times.
Website: https://sentiaspirits.com
Instagram: @sentiaspirits
