Religious hallucinogens are psychotropic drugs used in the religious, witchcraft, or spiritual spheres.
In ancient religions, there were clergy who were specifically responsible for "communicating with the gods", and not only that, they would also let the believers take homemade "magic medicine" or "holy water" at large religious ceremonies to guide them to meet the "gods" or "heaven" that appeared in front of them.
The so-called "miracle drug" or "holy water" is a religious hallucinogen that has been used for thousands of years in various religious rituals, including: black feather jade, psychedelic mushrooms, unsulphideed tobacco, marijuana, dead vine water, sage, tricolor morning glory and poison fly umbrella.
With the advent of organic chemistry, humans have produced many synthetics with the same effect. Active substances in these plants have also been extracted, such as mescarline, psilocybin, dimethyltryptamine, diterpene lactone, iberg, wheat and spiterpenol.
Broadly speaking, religious hallucinogens can refer to all hallucinogens that are used in the religious or spiritual sphere. The term is in contrast to drugs, which in some countries limit the development of religious hallucinogens because of drug control, while in others the traditional use of religious hallucinogens is not prohibited.
"entheogen" is a new word coined in 1979 by a group of human botanists and mythologists, including Carl A.P. Lark, Richard Evans Schulst, Jonathanott, and R. Gordon Watson, taken from two ancient Greek words "?νθεο?" (entheos) and "γεν?σθαι" (genesthai). The former means "inspired, enchanted", the English root of "enthusiasm", and the latter means "formation".
The term was coined in place of "hallucinogen" (hallucinogen) and "psychedelic" (hallucinogen). The former was popularized by Aldous Huxley and published in The Gates of Perception in 1954.
The latter is a new Greek word meaning "spiritual embodiment" coined by psychiatrist Humphrey Osmond, who at the time was a volunteer for Osmond's Muscalin experiment.
Lark and others decided that neither word was appropriate, so Lark formally defined "entheogen": "Strictly speaking, only drugs used in witchcraft or other religious rituals that can produce visual illusions are called entrheogens, but in a broad sense, can also refer to other natural or artificial drugs used in rituals that affect consciousness."
In addition to religious uses, religious hallucinogens also have their uses in secular societies, such as drugs, medicines, etc.
One of the most famous religious hallucinogens is cannabis, which has been recorded in China, India and Europe, as well as in the Rastafali movement, Hindu ascetics, Scythians, Sufi Islam, and a number of other cultures.
Africa
One of the well-known African religious hallucinogen cultures is the bwiti people, who use the root bark of tabernantheiboga, a oleander family, as a raw material for religious hallucinogens. The use of blue water lilies and psilocybin mushrooms has also been recorded in Egypt. There is evidence that Ivorians use psychedelic mushrooms.
Americas
The first scientifically analyzed religious hallucinogen in the Americas was udon, which has been recorded by the Chiovans of North America. The Amazon basin of South America uses dead vine water as a religious hallucinogen.
Asia
The indigenous people of Siberia use poison fly umbrellas. Chinese witches and Taoists use marijuana to get to theoss. Taoist monks take a lot of dansha, so that they are poisoned by mercury or arsenic, which will also cause the illusion of theosophy. In Hinduism, mandala flowers and cannabis are often used in religious ceremonies, although the former are uncommon because they are too potent and can cause severe poisoning.
Suma, a drink drunk during early Indian Brahmanical rituals, was also a religious hallucinogen. The active ingredient may be ephedra, but it may also be a mixture of camel, hemp, belladonna, or any of the above.
Europe
Religious hallucinogens in the Aegean civilization can be traced back to the use of mead. Religious hallucinogens occupy an important place in the Eleutherin secrets, and some scholars believe that the attraction of the Eleuthers secrets comes from the hallucinogenic ingredients contained in the mysterious drink "kykeon".
Oceania
It is generally not believed that Aboriginal Australians have ever used religious hallucinogens. New Zealand's Maori use kava pepper, which is actually common in vast areas from Melanesia to Polynesia, such as Fiji, Tonga, Samoa, and elsewhere. Indigenous Papua New Guineans use several hallucinogenic mushrooms.
Related research
One of the early famous religious hallucinogen-related experiments was the Marshchapelexperiment experiment, a double-blind experiment in which volunteers almost all claimed further religious experience after taking psilocybin. In 2006, a more rigorous trial was conducted by Johns Hopkins University and yielded the same results.