Ebook The Wondrous Mushroom : Mycolatry in Mesoamerica MOBI, DOC
9780872865921 English 0872865924 "From now on any comprehensive study of Ancient Mexican civilization must start from (and with) your discoveries." - Octavio Paz "The late Mr. Wasson is the Abraham of the reborn awareness in Western civilization of the presence of the shamanically empowering mushroom." - Terence McKenna In 1957 Life magazine created a sensation by publishing an article about the experiences of a JP Morgan executive who took mind-altering mushrooms with a shaman woman in Mexico. The story captured the imagination of a generation, inspiring waves of intellectuals, artists, and seekers to travel in search of the mushrooms and the indigenous healer, Maria Sabina. Today, Gordon Wasson is credited with having triggered the psychedelic revolution and his influence lives on through the growing community of people who study indigenous spirituality, sacred plants, and their role in personal transformation. In celebration of Wasson's pioneering work, we present a reprint of his classic The Wondrous Mushroom , an in-depth study of shamanic realities, mushrooms, and traditions connecting contemporary practices to pre-Conquest art, architecture, and culture. The book begins with Wasson's first experiences taking mushrooms, going into a wealth of details about sacred indigenous ceremonies, culture, and practices. The Wondrous Mushroom reflects a lifetime of studies, personal experiences, and reflections on shamanism, culture, community well-being, healing, and spiritual strength. Long out of print, this new edition is a must-have for anyone interested in the history of psychedelics. Gordon R. Wasson (1898-1986) founded the field of "enthnomycology" and was considered the preeminent authority on the use of psychoactive mushrooms., In 1957 LIFE Magazine created a sensation by publishing an article about the experiences of a JP Morgan executive who took mind-altering mushrooms with a shaman woman in Mexico. The story captured the imagination of a generation, inspiring waves of intellectuals, artists and seekers to travel in search of the mushrooms and the indigenous healer, Maria Sabina. Today, Gordon Wasson is credited with having triggered the psychedelic revolution and his influence lives on through the growing community of people who study indigenous spirituality, sacred plants and their role in personal transformation. In celebration of Wasson''s pioneering work, we present a reprint of his classic, The Wondrous Mushroom, an in-depth study of shamanic realities, mushrooms, and traditions connecting contemporary practices to pre-Conquest art, architecture and culture. The book begins with Wasson''s first experiences taking mushrooms, going into a wealth of details about sacred indigenous ceremonies, culture and practices. The Wondrous Mushroom unveils a lifetime of studies, personal experiences and reflections on shamanism, culture, community well-being, healing and spiritual strength. Long out of print, this new edition is a must-have for anyone interested in the history of psychedelics. "From now on any comprehensive study of Ancient Mexican civilization must start from (and with) your discoveries." -Octavio Paz "The late Mr. Wasson is the Abraham of the reborn awareness in Western civilization of the presence of the shamanically empowering mushroom." -Terence McKenna "The great gift of Wasson''s explorations & writings in The Wondrous Mushroom was their revelation for many of us of one of the deep sources of poetry as a visionary quest & spiritual resource. The central figure here was the Mazatec shaman Mar�a Sabina, whose poetic practice, rooted in ancient Mexican traditions, Wasson first brought to light, & with it an unprecedented insight, contemporary & historical, into the poetry & the traditions themselves. That City Lights Books, with its own history as a major poetic resource, should now restore this work for us is both totally appropriate & incredibly welcome."--Jerome Rothenberg, poet and author of Technicians of the Sacred and Shaking the Pumpkin "R. Gordon Wasson''s The Wondrous Mushroom is at once the most accessible, comprehensive and factually grounded of his many excellent books on the history and cultural uses of psychoactive mushrooms. It focuses especially on so-called magic or sacred mushrooms that have been used in secret religious rites by indigenous peoples in Mexico and parts of Central America since ancient times. Anyone not yet familiar with the history and practice of these rites, which were ''discovered'' and then widely publicized by Wasson and his wife Tina in the mid-1950s, will find reading this richly detailed account of their groundbreaking research both informative and an adventure. They''ll also find Wasson''s prose not only elegant and erudite but also clear and engaging, often striking a tone best described as conspiratorial. City Lights Books deserves praise for reviving this classic work of literary science for a new generation of sacred mushroom book seekers." --Thomas J. Riedlinger, Editor, The Sacred Mushroom Seeker: Essays for R. Gordon Wasson "The fact that ''magic mushrooms'' are now being shown to have great value in medicine and psychology owes much to the pioneering work of Gordon Wasson in Mexico over fifty years ago. The Wondrous Mushroom, long out of print, tells the fascinating story of Wasson''s adventures taking the psychedelic mushroom himself and the many remarkable discoveries that followed. Now a whole new generation of readers will get to see why these mushrooms are considered not only magical but spiritual, and why many consider Wasson to be the father of ethnomycology., The author's May 1957 LIFE article describing his encounter with a Mexican shaman woman triggered the psychedelic revolution. This book offers an illustrated, in-depth exploration of the history and cultural meanings of the shamanic use of psychedelic mushrooms in contemporary and ancient Mesoamerican culture.
9780872865921 English 0872865924 "From now on any comprehensive study of Ancient Mexican civilization must start from (and with) your discoveries." - Octavio Paz "The late Mr. Wasson is the Abraham of the reborn awareness in Western civilization of the presence of the shamanically empowering mushroom." - Terence McKenna In 1957 Life magazine created a sensation by publishing an article about the experiences of a JP Morgan executive who took mind-altering mushrooms with a shaman woman in Mexico. The story captured the imagination of a generation, inspiring waves of intellectuals, artists, and seekers to travel in search of the mushrooms and the indigenous healer, Maria Sabina. Today, Gordon Wasson is credited with having triggered the psychedelic revolution and his influence lives on through the growing community of people who study indigenous spirituality, sacred plants, and their role in personal transformation. In celebration of Wasson's pioneering work, we present a reprint of his classic The Wondrous Mushroom , an in-depth study of shamanic realities, mushrooms, and traditions connecting contemporary practices to pre-Conquest art, architecture, and culture. The book begins with Wasson's first experiences taking mushrooms, going into a wealth of details about sacred indigenous ceremonies, culture, and practices. The Wondrous Mushroom reflects a lifetime of studies, personal experiences, and reflections on shamanism, culture, community well-being, healing, and spiritual strength. Long out of print, this new edition is a must-have for anyone interested in the history of psychedelics. Gordon R. Wasson (1898-1986) founded the field of "enthnomycology" and was considered the preeminent authority on the use of psychoactive mushrooms., In 1957 LIFE Magazine created a sensation by publishing an article about the experiences of a JP Morgan executive who took mind-altering mushrooms with a shaman woman in Mexico. The story captured the imagination of a generation, inspiring waves of intellectuals, artists and seekers to travel in search of the mushrooms and the indigenous healer, Maria Sabina. Today, Gordon Wasson is credited with having triggered the psychedelic revolution and his influence lives on through the growing community of people who study indigenous spirituality, sacred plants and their role in personal transformation. In celebration of Wasson''s pioneering work, we present a reprint of his classic, The Wondrous Mushroom, an in-depth study of shamanic realities, mushrooms, and traditions connecting contemporary practices to pre-Conquest art, architecture and culture. The book begins with Wasson''s first experiences taking mushrooms, going into a wealth of details about sacred indigenous ceremonies, culture and practices. The Wondrous Mushroom unveils a lifetime of studies, personal experiences and reflections on shamanism, culture, community well-being, healing and spiritual strength. Long out of print, this new edition is a must-have for anyone interested in the history of psychedelics. "From now on any comprehensive study of Ancient Mexican civilization must start from (and with) your discoveries." -Octavio Paz "The late Mr. Wasson is the Abraham of the reborn awareness in Western civilization of the presence of the shamanically empowering mushroom." -Terence McKenna "The great gift of Wasson''s explorations & writings in The Wondrous Mushroom was their revelation for many of us of one of the deep sources of poetry as a visionary quest & spiritual resource. The central figure here was the Mazatec shaman Mar�a Sabina, whose poetic practice, rooted in ancient Mexican traditions, Wasson first brought to light, & with it an unprecedented insight, contemporary & historical, into the poetry & the traditions themselves. That City Lights Books, with its own history as a major poetic resource, should now restore this work for us is both totally appropriate & incredibly welcome."--Jerome Rothenberg, poet and author of Technicians of the Sacred and Shaking the Pumpkin "R. Gordon Wasson''s The Wondrous Mushroom is at once the most accessible, comprehensive and factually grounded of his many excellent books on the history and cultural uses of psychoactive mushrooms. It focuses especially on so-called magic or sacred mushrooms that have been used in secret religious rites by indigenous peoples in Mexico and parts of Central America since ancient times. Anyone not yet familiar with the history and practice of these rites, which were ''discovered'' and then widely publicized by Wasson and his wife Tina in the mid-1950s, will find reading this richly detailed account of their groundbreaking research both informative and an adventure. They''ll also find Wasson''s prose not only elegant and erudite but also clear and engaging, often striking a tone best described as conspiratorial. City Lights Books deserves praise for reviving this classic work of literary science for a new generation of sacred mushroom book seekers." --Thomas J. Riedlinger, Editor, The Sacred Mushroom Seeker: Essays for R. Gordon Wasson "The fact that ''magic mushrooms'' are now being shown to have great value in medicine and psychology owes much to the pioneering work of Gordon Wasson in Mexico over fifty years ago. The Wondrous Mushroom, long out of print, tells the fascinating story of Wasson''s adventures taking the psychedelic mushroom himself and the many remarkable discoveries that followed. Now a whole new generation of readers will get to see why these mushrooms are considered not only magical but spiritual, and why many consider Wasson to be the father of ethnomycology., The author's May 1957 LIFE article describing his encounter with a Mexican shaman woman triggered the psychedelic revolution. This book offers an illustrated, in-depth exploration of the history and cultural meanings of the shamanic use of psychedelic mushrooms in contemporary and ancient Mesoamerican culture.