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Religion And Drugs
Many religions have expressed positions on what is acceptable to consume as a means of intoxication for spiritual, pleasure, or medicinal purposes. Psychoactive substances may also play a significant part in the development of religion and religious views as well as in rituals. The most common drugs in the historical religions are cannabis and alcohol. Neolithic In the book '' Inside the Neolithic Mind'', the authors, archaeologists David Lewis-Williams and David Pearce argue that hallucinogenic drugs formed the basis of neolithic religion and rock art. Ancient Greece Some scholars have suggested that Ancient Greek mystery religions employed entheogens, such as the Kykeon central to the Eleusinian Mysteries, to induce a trance or dream state. Research conducted by John R. Hale, Jelle Zeilinga de Boer, Jeffrey P. Chanton and Henry A. Spiller suggests that the prophecies of the Delphic Oracle were uttered by Priestesses under the influence of gaseous vapors exuded from the gr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Religion
Religion is usually defined as a social- cultural system of designated behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics, or organizations, that generally relates humanity to supernatural, transcendental, and spiritual elements; however, there is no scholarly consensus over what precisely constitutes a religion. Different religions may or may not contain various elements ranging from the divine, sacred things, faith,Tillich, P. (1957) ''Dynamics of faith''. Harper Perennial; (p. 1). a supernatural being or supernatural beings or "some sort of ultimacy and transcendence that will provide norms and power for the rest of life". Religious practices may include rituals, sermons, commemoration or veneration (of deities or saints), sacrifices, festivals, feasts, trances, initiations, funerary services, matrimonial services, meditation, prayer, music, art, dance, public service, or other aspects of human cultur ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ololiuqui
''Ipomoea corymbosa'' is a species of morning glory, native throughout Latin America from Mexico as far south as Peru and widely naturalised elsewhere. Its common names include Christmasvine, Christmaspops, and snakeplant. Description and names Known to natives of north and central Mexico by its Nahuatl name Ololiúqui (also spelled ololiuhqui or ololiuqui) and by the south eastern natives as xtabentún (in Mayan), it is a perennial climbing vine with white flowers, often grown as an ornamental plant. Its flowers secrete copious amount of nectar, and the honey that bees make from it is very clear and aromatic. It also grows in Cuba, where it usually blooms from early December to February. It is considered one of the main honey plants of the island. This plant is often used for purposes other than recreation, as natives of Mexico consider the powder produced from its seeds a tool for divination and communion with spirits. Because of the widespread use among native tribes, Coloni ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Peganum Harmala
''Peganum harmala'', commonly called wild rue, Syrian rue, African rue, esfand or espand,Mahmoud OmidsalaEsfand: a common weed found in Persia, Central Asia, and the adjacent areasEncyclopedia Iranica Vol. VIII, Fasc. 6, pp. 583–584. Originally published: 15 December 1998. Online version last updated 19 January 2012 or harmel, (among other similar pronunciations and spellings) is a perennial, herbaceous plant, with a woody underground root-stock, of the family Nitrariaceae, usually growing in saline soils in temperate desert and Mediterranean regions. Its common English-language name came about because of a resemblance to rue (to which it is not related). Because eating it can cause livestock to sicken or die, it is considered a noxious weed in a number of countries. It has become an invasive species in some regions of the western United States. The plant is popular in Middle Eastern and north African folk medicine. The alkaloids contained in the plant, including the seeds, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Psilocybe Cubensis
''Psilocybe cubensis ''is a species of psychedelic mushroom whose principal active compounds are psilocybin and psilocin. Commonly called shrooms, magic mushrooms, golden halos, cubes, or gold caps, it belongs to the fungus family Hymenogastraceae and was previously known as ''Stropharia cubensis''. It is the best-known psilocybin mushroom due to its wide distribution and ease of cultivation. Taxonomy and naming The species was first described in 1906 as ''Stropharia cubensis'' by American mycologist Franklin Sumner Earle in Cuba. In 1907, it was identified as ''Naematoloma caerulescens'' in Tonkin (now northern Vietnam) by French pharmacist and mycologist Narcisse Théophile Patouillard, while in 1941, it was called ''Stropharia cyanescens'' by William Alphonso Murrill near Gainesville in Florida. German-born mycologist Rolf Singer moved the species into the genus ''Psilocybe'' in 1949, giving it the binomial name ''Psilocybe cubensis''. The synonyms were later also as ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Amanita Muscaria
''Amanita muscaria'', commonly known as the fly agaric or fly amanita, is a basidiomycete of the genus ''Amanita''. It is also a muscimol mushroom. Native throughout the temperate and boreal regions of the Northern Hemisphere, ''Amanita muscaria'' has been unintentionally introduced to many countries in the Southern Hemisphere, generally as a symbiont with pine and birch plantations, and is now a true cosmopolitan species. It associates with various deciduous and coniferous trees. Arguably the most iconic toadstool species, the fly agaric is a large white- gilled, white-spotted, usually red mushroom, and is one of the most recognizable and widely encountered in popular culture, including in video games—e.g., the extensive use of a recognizable ''Amanita muscaria'' in the Mario franchise and its Super Mushroom power-up—and television—e.g., the houses in The Smurfs franchise. Despite its easily distinguishable features, ''Amanita muscaria'' is a fungus with several kno ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Soma (drink)
In the Vedic tradition, ''sóma'' (Devanagari: सोम) is a ritual drink of importance among the early Vedic Indo-Aryans. The Rigveda mentions it, particularly in the Soma Mandala. Gita mentions the drink in Chapter 9. It is equivalent to the Iranian haoma. The texts describe the preparation of soma by means of extracting the juice from a plant, the identity of which is now unknown and debated among scholars. Both in the ancient religions of Historical Vedic religion and Zoroastrianism, the name of the drink and the plant are not exactly the same.Victor Sarianidi, Viktor Sarianidi in The PBS Documentary The Story of India There has been much speculation about the most likely identity of the original plant. Traditional Indian accounts, such as those from practitioners of Ayurveda, Siddha medicine, and Somayajna called Somayajis, identify the plant as "Somalata" (''Sarcostemma acidum''). Non-Indian researchers have proposed candidates including the fly agaric, ''Aman ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rigveda
The ''Rigveda'' or ''Rig Veda'' ( ', from ' "praise" and ' "knowledge") is an ancient Indian collection of Vedic Sanskrit hymns (''sūktas''). It is one of the four sacred canonical Hindu texts ('' śruti'') known as the Vedas. Only one Shakha of the many survive today, namely the Śakalya Shakha. Much of the contents contained in the remaining Shakhas are now lost or are not available in the public forum. The ''Rigveda'' is the oldest known Vedic Sanskrit text. Its early layers are among the oldest extant texts in any Indo-European language. The sounds and texts of the ''Rigveda'' have been orally transmitted since the 2nd millennium BCE. Philological and linguistic evidence indicates that the bulk of the ''Rigveda'' Samhita was composed in the northwestern region of the Indian subcontinent (see) Rigvedic rivers), most likely between 1500 and 1000 BCE, although a wider approximation of 19001200 BCE has also been given. The text is layered, consisting of t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vedic
upright=1.2, The Vedas are ancient Sanskrit texts of Hinduism. Above: A page from the '' Atharvaveda''. The Vedas (, , ) are a large body of religious texts originating in ancient India. Composed in Vedic Sanskrit, the texts constitute the oldest layer of Sanskrit literature and the oldest scriptures of Hinduism. There are four Vedas: the Rigveda, the Yajurveda, the Samaveda and the Atharvaveda. Each Veda has four subdivisions – the Samhitas (mantras and benedictions), the Aranyakas (text on rituals, ceremonies, sacrifices and symbolic-sacrifices), the Brahmanas (commentaries on rituals, ceremonies and sacrifices), and the Upanishads (texts discussing meditation, philosophy and spiritual knowledge).Gavin Flood (1996), ''An Introduction to Hinduism'', Cambridge University Press, , pp. 35–39A Bhattacharya (2006), ''Hindu Dharma: Introduction to Scriptures and Theology'', , pp. 8–14; George M. Williams (2003), Handbook of Hindu Mythology, Oxford University Press, , p. 285 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ephedra (plant)
''Ephedra'' is a genus of gymnosperm shrubs. The various species of ''Ephedra'' are widespread in many arid regions of the world, ranging across southwestern North America, southern Europe, northern Africa, southwest and central Asia, northern China and western South America. It is the only extant genus in its family, Ephedraceae, and order, Ephedrales, and one of the three living members of the division Gnetophyta alongside ''Gnetum'' and ''Welwitschia.'' In temperate climates, most ''Ephedra'' species grow on shores or in sandy soils with direct sun exposure. Common names in English include joint-pine, jointfir, Mormon-tea or Brigham tea. The Chinese name for ''Ephedra'' species is ''mahuang'' (). ''Ephedra'' is the origin of the name of the stimulant ephedrine, which the plants contain in significant concentration. Description The family Ephedraceae, of which ''Ephedra'' is the only genus, are gymnosperms, and generally shrubs, sometimes clambering vines, and rarely, sma ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Entheogenics And The Maya
The consumption of hallucinogenic plants as entheogens goes back to thousands of years. Psychoactive plants contain hallucinogenic particles that provoke an altered state of consciousness, which are known to have been used during spiritual rituals among Mexican subcultures such as the Aztec, the Maya, and Inca. The Maya were indigenous people of Mexico and Central America that had significant access to hallucinogenic substances. Archaeological, ethnohistorical, and ethnographic data show that Mesoamerican cultures used psychedelic substances in therapeutic and religious rituals. The consumption of many of these substances dates back to the Olmec era (1200-400 BCE); however, Mayan religious texts reveal more information about the Aztecs and Mayan civilization. These substances are considered entheogens because they were used to communicate with divine powers. "Entheogen," an alternative term for hallucinogen or psychedelic drug, derived from ancient Greek words (, meaning "full of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lophophora Williamsii
The peyote (; ''Lophophora williamsii'' ) is a small, spineless cactus which contains psychoactive alkaloids, particularly mescaline. ''Peyote'' is a Spanish word derived from the Nahuatl (), meaning "caterpillar cocoon", from a root , "to glisten". p. 246. See peyotl in Wiktionary. Peyote is native to Mexico and southwestern Texas. It is found primarily in the Sierra Madre Occidental, the Chihuahuan Desert and in the states of Nayarit, Coahuila, Nuevo León, Tamaulipas, and San Luis Potosí among scrub. It flowers from March to May, and sometimes as late as September. The flowers are pink, with thigmotactic anthers (like '' Opuntia''). Known for its psychoactive properties when ingested, peyote has at least 5,500 years of entheogenic and medicinal use by indigenous North Americans. Description The various species of the genus ''Lophophora'' grow low to the ground and they often form groups with numerous, crowded shoots. The blue-green, yellow-green or sometimes r ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Peyote
The peyote (; ''Lophophora williamsii'' ) is a small, spineless cactus which contains Psychoactive cactus, psychoactive alkaloids, particularly mescaline. ''Peyote'' is a Spanish word derived from the Nahuatl (), meaning "caterpillar Pupa#Cocoon, cocoon", from a root , "to glisten". p. 246. See wikt:peyotl, peyotl in Wiktionary. Peyote is native to Mexico and southwestern Texas. It is found primarily in the Sierra Madre Occidental, the Chihuahuan Desert and in the States of Mexico, states of Nayarit, Coahuila, Nuevo León, Tamaulipas, and San Luis Potosí among scrub. It flowers from March to May, and sometimes as late as September. The flowers are pink, with thigmotactic anthers (like ''Opuntia''). Known for its psychoactive properties when ingested, peyote has at least 5,500 years of entheogenic and traditional medicine, medicinal use by Indigenous people of the Americas, indigenous North Americans. Description The various species of the genus ''Lophophora'' grow low to th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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