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CAILLEUX R
Trois essais d'ingestion avec les Psilocybes hallucinogenes. (Three experiments on the ingestion of hallucinogenic mushrooms of the Psilocybe genus.)
IN: HEIM R, WASSON R G, Les champignons hallucinogiques du Mexique, ed., Museum nation.hist.natur., Paris; (1958) p 283
Description of personal experiments in which fruit bodies of hallucinogenic mushrooms were taken by mouth: 0.25 and 0.5 Gm. of fruit bodies from Psilocybe mexicana Heim; 2 Gm. of fruit bodies from Psilocybe semperviva.

CERLETTI A
Teonanacatl und Psilocybin (Teonanacatl and Psilocybin)
Deutsche med.Wchnschr. 84:2317 (1959)
The introductory part of this study reviews the history of the Mexican hallucinogenic fungi from the first description of Psilocybe mexicana by an European (Bernardine de Shagin) in the 16th century to the most recent research of the Americans V.P. and R.G. Wasson and the French mycologis, Heim. The next part deals with the chemistry of the substances contained in Psilocybe mexicana. These were isolated and their structure elucidated in our laboratories. The relation of Psilocybin and Psilocin to other 'psychopharmaca' with an indole structure (LSD, serotonin, bufotenin) is shown by means of formulae. In the third part of the study, the pharmacology of Psilocybin is discussed. In the last part, the effect on human beings is described. At the end of this part, therapeutic use of LSD is also mentioned and similarities and differences between Psilocybin and LSD are sketched.

DELAY J, PICHOT P, LEMPERIERE T, NICOLAS-CHARLES P, QUETIN A M
Etude psycho-physiologique et clinique de la Psilocybine. (Psychophysiological and clinical studies of Psilocybin).
IN: HEIM R, WASSON R G, Les champignons hallucinogiques du Mexique, ed., Museum nation.hist.natur., Paris; (1958) p 287
Qualitatively, the effects were similar in normal subjects and mental patients. If they were more marked in normal subjects, this was possibly due to better powers of self-observation. MENTAL SYMPTOMS: were more frequent in normal subjects than in mental patients except for the recall of forgotten experiences (noted in about 30% of each group). SOMATIC SYMPTOMS: the frequency of changes in heart rate, blood pressure, respiration and pupil reflexes and of facial reddening and sweating was identical in the two groups. Changes which were more frequent in normal subjects than in mental patients were tremor, feeling of weakness, drowsiness, headache and gastro-intestinal disturbances. Mental factors were involved in these changes to a great extent.

HOFMANN A
Rapport sur une auto-experience avec le Psilocybe mexicana Heim. (Report on a personal experiment with Psilocybe mexicana Heim.)
IN: HEIM R, WASSON R G, Les champignons hallucinogiques du Mexique, ed., Museum nation.hist.natur., Paris; (1958) p 278
Ingestion of 32 dried specimens of the myshroom Psilocybe mexicana Heim. elicited physical and psychical symptoms analogous to those observed by Heim after ingestion of the fresh mushrooms. This personal experiment by Hofmann, therefore, indicates 'that the active principle is preserved on drying the Psilocybe mushrooms and that the fractions obtained on extracting the dry mushroom with chemical agents can be tested without danger on man.' In further experiments, a test was developed by means of which extracts containing the active substance can be differentiated from inactive extracts. This human test was the starting point in the isolation of the pure active principle in crystalline form - a substance which was given the name Psilocybin.

Hofmann, A. 1990.
Ride Through the Sierra Mazateca in Search of the Magic Plant Ska Marķa Pastora.
In: T. Riedlinger (Ed.) The Sacred Mushroom Seeker: Essays for R. Gorden Wasson.
Portland, Oregon: Dioscorides Press.

HOFMANN; WASSON; RUCK
The Road to Eleusis
The Road to Eleusis
Summary: A secret religion existed for 2,000 years in Greece (until the christians displaced it around 400 AD). The initiation was open to anyone who spoke Greek and hadn't committed murder, once in their life. After 6 month long preporatory rituals, members walked to Eleusius whereupon they underwent secret rituals. The rituals remained secret until the 1970's. Wasson, an ethnomycological scholar and former banker (and the first white to trip on shrooms with the mexican indians) proposed the following explanation of the Eleusian mysteries to Hoffman, an ergot-alkaloid expert chemist, and Ruck, a greek scholar: The Secret of the ritual involved the personal visions induced by drinking the grain decoction administered to the inititiates. The domestication of grains permitted the development of greek civilization; it also brought ergot fungus (of St. Anthony's fire infamy). The thin book contains their argument for the use of the ergot fungus in Eleusian rites, Wasson providing some backround on the use of mushrooms and grains and their role in the culture; Hoffman on the psychoactivity of ergot strains; and Ruck on the mythological and cultural backround of the sect. Evidence includes: Hoffman dosed himself with large (ergot-derived) doses of obstestric compounds to assay their hallucinogenic potential, and found them to possess such activity. The Eleusian temple site still remains, but there is no room to view theatric performances, just rows of tripping initiates, further supporting their argument. An interesting read, and its neat to think that the culture that more or less lead to the western industrial one had psychedelic rites. (Various greek prominant figures attended the rituals, including Plato).

Mushrooms, Russia, and History. R. Gordon and Valentina Pavlovna Wasson. Pantheon Books, Inc. 333 - Sixth Ave. New York 14, NY. copyright by author 1957. copy number 37 of volume 1. photocopy. excerpts only on the subject of psychoactive mushrooms. (velobound in anthology "Sacred Mushrooms". Unfortunately does not contain the chapter on toads). [box v1]

Persephone's Quest: Entheogens and the Origin of Religion. R. Gordon Wasson, Stella Kramrisch, Jonathan Ott, and Carl A.P. Ruck. Yale University Press. New Haven and London. 1986. hardcover. 258 pages. $32.50. [large box 2m]

Riedlinger, Thomas J. (ed.).
The Sacred Mushroom Seeker: Essays for R. Gordon Wasson.
Portland, OR: Dioscorides Press. (1990)

Smith, Huston.
Wasson's Soma: A Review Article.
Journal of the American Academy of Religion 40(4):480-499. (1972)

Soma: Divine Mushroom of Immortality. R. Gordon Wasson. Ethno-mychological Studies 1. Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, Inc. paper edition. no date of publication. 380 pages with color plates. paperback [box 3m]
hardcover-smells strongly of mold.

Teonanacatl: Hallucinogenic Mushrooms of North America: Extracts from the Second International Conference on Hallucinogenic Mushrooms held October 27-30, 1977 near Port Townsend, Washington. Psycho-mychological Studies No. 2. edited by Jonathan Ott and Jeremy Bigwood, with contributions by R. Gordon Wasson, Albert Hofmann, Andrew Weil, Richard Evans Shultes. Madrona Publishers, Inc. Seattle. 1978. velobound with 29 color plates. [Box v2]

The Road to Eleusis: Unveiling the Secret of the Mysteries. R. Gordon Wasson, Carl A. Ruck, Albert Hofmann. Ethno-mychological Studies No. 4. A Harvest / HBJ Book. New York, London.1978. paperback. 126 pages. $4.95. [box 1m-L]

The Sacred Mushroom Seeker: Essays for R. Gordon Wasson. Ethnomychological Studies No. 11. edited by Thomas J. Riedlinger. Foreword by Richard Evans Schultes. Historical, Ethno- & Economic Botany Series Volume 4. Dioscorides Press. Portland, OR. 1990. 20 color plates. (velobound in anthology "Sacred Mushrooms"). [box v1]

The Wonderous Mushroom: Mycolatry in Mesoamerica. R. Gordon Wasson. Ethnomychological Studies No. 7. McGraw Hill Book Co. New York, St. Louis, San Francisco. 1980. paperback. 248 pages. $12.95. 2 copies. [box 6m]

WASSON R G
Inquiry into the origins of the religious idea among primitive people.
Botanical Museum Leaflets; 19(7)
[NO ABSTRACT] Plants and the origin of religion. Mushrooms. Shamanism.

WASSON R G
The last meal of the Buddha
Journal of the American Oriental Society; 102(4) pp 591-603
[NO ABSTRACT] The Buddha's last meal was a plate of mushrooms called 'putika'.

WASSON RG; HOFMANN A; RUCK CA
The road to Eleusis : unveiling the secret of the mysteries
The road to Eleusis : unveiling the secret of the mysteries. Harcourt, Brace, Jovanovich, 1978 BL795.E5
SUBJECTS: Eleusis, Eleusinian mysteries, Claviceps paspali, Ergot alkaloids

WASSON RG
The Role of 'Flowers' in Nahuatl Culture: A Suggested Interpretation.
Botanical Museum Leaflets, Harvard University (1973) Vol.23 No.8 p305-324
SUBJECTS: Statue of Xochipilli in Museo Nacional de Anthropologia in Mexico City, psychedelic plants, Mesoamerica, Aztecs, Mushrooms.

WASSON, R GORDON; WASSON, VALENTINA
Mushrooms, Russia and History.
Mushrooms, Russia and History. Pantheon Books, 1957 pp 376-377
We have suggested that divine mushrooms played a vital part in shaking loose early man's imagination, in arousing his capacity for self-perception, for awe, wonder and reverence. They certainly made it easier for him to entertain the idea of God.

WASSON, R GORDON
Soma: divine mushroom of immortality
Soma: divine mushroom of immortality. Harcourt Brace Jovanovich (1971) BL1215.S6
SUBJECTS: Soma, Mushrooms, Religion

WASSON, R GORDON
The role of 'flowers' in Nahuatl culture: A suggested interpretation.
Journal of Psychedelic Drugs; 1974 Jul-Sep Vol 6(3) 351-360
Suggests that references to 'flowers' by Nahuatl poets are allusions to hallucinogenic mushrooms. Nahuatl symbols and literary references are interpreted in this light.

WASSON, R GORDON
The wondrous mushroom : mycolatry in Mesoamerica
The wondrous mushroom : mycolatry in Mesoamerica. McGraw-Hill, 1980.
SUBJECTS: Mexico, Mushroom Ritual

Wasson, R. Gordon & Daniel H. H. Ingalls.
R. Gordon Wasson on Soma and Daniel H. H. Ingalls' Response.
An Essay of the American Oriental Society, No. 7. (1971)

Wasson, R. Gordon, Carl A. P. Ruck, & Albert Hofmann
The Road to Eleusis: Unveiling the Secret of the Mysteries.
New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich. (1978)

Wasson, R. Gordon, George Cowan, Florence Cowan, & Willard Rhodes.
Maria Sabina and Her Mazatec Mushroom Velada.
New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich. (1974)

Wasson, R. Gordon, Stella Kramrisch, Jonathan Ott, & Carl A. P. Ruck.
Persephone's Quest: Entheogens and the Origins of Religion.
New Haven: Yale University Press. (1986)

Wasson, R. Gordon.
Mushrooms and Japanese Culture.
The Asiatic Society of Japan, Transactions, 3rd Series, 2:5-25. (1973)

Wasson, R. Gordon.
Retrospective Essay.
In: Estrada 1981, 13-20. (1981)

Wasson, R. Gordon.
Soma: Divine Mushroom of Immortality.
New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich. (1967)

Wasson, R. Gordon.
The Divine Mushroom: Primitive Religion and Hallucinatory Agents.
Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society 102(3):221-223. (1958)

Wasson, R. Gordon.
The Hallucinogenic Fungi of Mexico: An Inquiry Into the Origins of the Religious Idea Among Primitive Peoples.
Psychedelic Review 1(1):27-42. (1963)

Wasson, R. Gordon.
The Hallucinogenic Mushrooms of Mexico: An Adventure in Ethnomycological Exploration.
Transactions of the New York Academy of Sciennces 21:325-339. (1959)

Wasson, R. Gordon.
The Last Meal of the Buddha.
Journal of the American Oriental Society 102/4, 591-603. (1982)

Wasson, R. Gordon.
The Mushroom Rites of Mexico.
Harvard Review 1:7-17. (1963)

Wasson, R. Gordon.
The Role of 'Flowers' in Nahuatl Culture: A Suggested Interpretation.
Journal of Psychedelic Drugs 6(3):351- 360. (1974)

Wasson, R. Gordon.
The Wondrous Mushroom: Mycolatry in Mesoamerica.
New York: McGraw-Hill Book Company. (1980)

Wasson, R. Gordon.
Traditional Use in North America of Amanita Muscaria for Divinatory Purposes.
Journal of Psychedelic Drugs 11(1-2):25-28. (1979)

Wasson, Valentina Pavlovna & R. Gordon Wasson.
Mushrooms, Russia and History, 2 vols.
New York: Pantheon Books. (1957)

All About Salvia divinorum is a hypertext document by Bill White covering Salvia divinorum, a member of the mint family with hallucinogenic properties. Salvia divinorum is a member of the mint family (Lamiaceae), which includes around 700 New World species. S. divinorum has been used by curanderos (healers) of the Mazatec Indians in Oaxaca, Mexico, as a ritual hallucinogen. It has white flowers with purplish calyces and spikes (occurring for about a week). It closely resembles many other mints. It is extremely bitter. Its active principle is the diterpene salvinorin A. Traditionally, S. divinorum leaves are chewed, smoked, or taken as an infusion; the result is a hallucinogen classified (by the curanderos) as somewhat weaker than morning glory seeds and psychedelic mushrooms. Salvinorin A, on the other hand, is extremely potent (200 to 500 micrograms) when vaporized and inhaled. S. divinorum was first introduced into the United States in the early 1960's by Hofmann and Wasson, who were researching Mexican hallucinogens at the time (morning glories and mushrooms). It was identified as a new species. Considerable effort was made to extract the active principle; however, it proved difficult. In the 1980's the active principle, salvanorin A, was identified. It is unique among plant-derived hallucinogens due to its very high potency and its nature (most psychoactive principles of plants are alkaloids). Experimentation with S. divinorum is often not successful for a variety of reasons. Because of this, its status as a hallucinogen is occasionally questioned. However, since the extraction of the active principle, and experiments with the same, its potency has been firmly established.