Ever wonder why Santa Claus wears a red and white suit, owns flying reindeer and works with magical elves? Researchers believe these are examples of the influence of psychedelic mushrooms on Christmas tradition. Ethnobotanist and mystic Terence McKenna writes, “An example of how a very ancient folkway being incorporated into our culture without even realizing it is provided by discussing Amanita Muscaria.” Amanita muscaria is a red and white colored psychoactive basidiomycete fungus and mushroom with potent hallucinogenic properties. Popularized images of Amanita muscaria in faery tales and books like Alice in Wonderland had their origins in tribal belief systems pre-dating Christianity. Psychedelic mushrooms played a central role in pagan …show more content…
To attain a trance state, shamans would often ingest psychedelic substances like Amanita muscaria. John Rush explains that “Up until a few hundred years ago, these practicing shamans or priests connected to the older traditions would collect Amanita muscaria (the Holy Mushroom), dry them and then give them as gifts on the winter solstice.” Amanita muscaria has a symbiotic relationship with pine trees and only grows beneath certain species of trees, specifically conifers, such as pines, firs, redwoods and spruces. According to writer James Arthur, “People bring pine trees into their houses at the winter solstice, placing brightly colored (red-and-white) packages under their boughs, as gifts to show their love for each other . . . because, underneath the pine bough is the exact location where one would find this 'Most Sacred ' substance, the Amanita muscaria, in the wild." Traditionally, mushrooms were dried for consumption by hanging them on pine tree branches to catch the sunlight or, they were hung in front of the fireplace. Both of these methods have become symbolized by hanging ornaments on a pine tree and hanging (red and white) stockings on the …show more content…
A tree is, in essence, luminous electromagnetic energy, though only perceivable under the influence of psychedelics. Jesus Was a Mushroom There is evidence that Christianity itself was influenced by Amanita muscaria. In his book The Sacred Mushroom and the Cross (1970), John M. Allegro makes the claim that Jesus did not exist as an historical figure but was code for Amanita muscaria, a code invented by early Christians tripping on psychedelic mushrooms. Though disparaged at the time, Allegro’s theories are now being re-evaluated, in light of new evidence, and his books are back in print. Inspired by Allegro, cannabis activist and author Jack Herer painstakingly interpreted biblical text as mushroom cipher. According to Herer, the Middle East was not always a desert and millions of cedar trees once populated Lebanon. He sites an obscure “crusade against the Cedars of Lebanon” which dwindled the population down to a mere 400 trees. Botanists have misclassified the “cedars” of Lebanon, which Herer asserts are actually members of the pine family. And of course, it is the pine which shares a symbiotic relationship with Amanita