Camp Gagnon - God & Psychedelics: DMT, Soma, Ayahuasca, Kykeon

Episode Date: January 19, 2025

PSYCHEDELICS & RELIGION! From ancient shamanic rituals to the Native American Church, psychedelics have played a fascinating role in spiritual practices throughout history. In this episode of Religion Camp, we explore the profound connection between entheogens and religious experiences across cultures. We'll dive into the mysteries of sacred plants, from the Eleusinian Mysteries of ancient Greece to modern scientific research on mystical experiences. Ever wondered why so many religions share similar visionary experiences? Pack your bags—we're going on a mind-expanding journey! Welcome to CAMP! 🏕️ 🏕️ FREE NEWSLETTER HERE: https://camp.beehiiv.com/ TIMESTAMPS: 00:00 Intro 1:01 Origins of Psychedelics In Religion 2:37 Moses and The Burning Bush 6:55 DMT + Toad Venom Ritual 14:42 The Aztecs + Peyote + Psilocybe Mexicana 21:49 Soma 30:08 San Pedro Cactus 35:49 The Oracle of Delphi 40:33 The Elusinian Mysteris + Kykeon

You know, religions are started through psychedelics. Recent research has sparked a controversial debate about the possible connection between this pivotal event of Moses speaking with God, himself, the great I am, and the use of a psychedelic substance. The Aztecs believe that consuming these mushrooms allow direct communication with the divine. Soma is described in the Vedic text as a plant-based drink with extraordinary properties said to induce ecstatic states, bestow immortality, and facilitate direct communication with the divine. The sacred drink was believed to bridge the gap between the human and divine realms, allowing participants to experience a taste of godhood.

Shiva, apparently, is the main drinker of Soma in some of the texts. The altered states induced by these substances were understood as journeys to other realms of existence where one could encounter gods and ancestors and other spiritual entities. Maybe God can use these psychedelics as a way to communicate with God. What's up, everybody, and welcome back to religion camp. That's right. This is the show where I sit here in my cozy little tent, and I delve into the most interesting, controversial and mysterious stories of all religions of all times. That's right, all the secret teachings that you didn't learn in Sunday school.

And today we are hybridizing two topics that I find absolutely fascinating. One is, of course, you know, discussing ancient religions, not only Christianity and Judaism, but, you know, religions that no longer exist, Aztec religions, old Greek religions, and of course, psychedelics. Mm-hmm. If you ever listen to Camp Gagnon, as I'm wearing this amazing Camp Gagnon hat, by the way, which is going to be released ideally this week. You can find that at Campgo. Camp Gagnon, we discuss a lot of psychedelic topics.

I've had many people on that are shamans of ayahuasca, Ibogaine, researchers that do MDMA therapy. And throughout the psychedelic journeys, many of these people have described seeing God, having spiritual experiences, being connected with the divine through these substances. And today, we're going to be going through all the stories, not only just in, like I said, the Bible, but across all religions, about how psychedelics may have influenced the early stories of many of our spiritual traditions. Now, again, let me just say, I'm not suggesting that necessarily, you know, religions are started through psychedelics, but these theories exist. and this is just merely an exploration as to why people believe that. So let's start with just a good old Bible story. All right, this comes to us from the Book of Exodus.

If you're a Jew, you also have this. It sounds so bad when you just say Jew. Like that is the religion. Y'all are Jews, okay? Shabbat Shalom. It's like saying Mexican. It just depends on how you say it, okay? So I'm not going to say it harsh.

I feel like I said it kind of harsh, okay? Jews. All right, I'm sorry, last one. If you're a Christian or a Jew, you have the book of Exodus. And in the book of Exodus, we hear about Moses and the Burning Bush. That's right. The biblical account of Moses and the burning bush is one of the most iconic stories in religious history. However, recent research has sparked a controversial debate about the possible connection between this pivotal event of Moses speaking with God himself, the great I am, and the use of

of a psychedelic substance. Again, not a belief that I hold, merely just exploring why this belief exists. The biblical account for the record does not mention any psychoactive substances. Some researchers have proposed theories linking this pivotal event to altered states of consciousness. So the story of Moses in the burning bush begins Exodus chapter 3 versus 1 through 17. The passage begins by saying, now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro, his father-in-law. which, for the record, a great name, Jethro. It's like a very, like, Amish name, I feel like. There's a lot of, like, Mormons, I feel like have Jethro,

and they just grabbed on to, like, the sickest Old Testament names. Like, you don't really meet them any Christians named Jethro. You know what I mean? Just like a regular prop. But every now and again, if you come across to Jethro, dab them up because he's got farmhands, all right? Basically, Moses was tending the flock of Jethro, the priest of Midian,

and he led the flock to the far side of the wilderness and came to Horib. the mountain of God. There, the angel of the Lord appeared to him in flames of fire from within a bush. Moses saw that though the bush was on fire, it did not burn up. Now, of course, many people have been like, oh, burning bush. I wonder what bush he was burning. And it's like a joke, people say. But apparently, there are actual academics and researchers that believe that this experience could have been some type of communication with a psychedelic substance. And let me also say, just because you have a psychedelic substance doesn't necessarily negate

that these experiences could have been spiritual. It's very possible, you know, it's not out of the realm of possibility that someone, not saying Moses, but someone maybe could do a psychedelic substance and have a spiritual experience. Maybe they are communicating with actual God, you know, I'm not saying that's out of the question. Benny Shannon, a professor of cognitive psychology at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, proposed a hypothesis based on his research into psychoactive plants and his personal experiences with ayahuasca, the plant used in South American religious rituals.

Shannon suggests that the vivid descriptions in Exodus could be interpreted as the effects of a psychedelic experience. He came to this conclusion due to the presence of acacia trees in the Sinai Peninsula, where this event is said to have taken place. Picture this, 1945, as Nazi Germany falls, American agents race against Soviet spies to capture the Third Reich's top scientists. The mission? Operation Paperclip. A classified program that would bring rocket scientists,

including Werner von Braun, to American soil forever changing the space race. Meanwhile, beneath the Vatican lies a labyrinth of shells stretching for 53 miles, holding secrets spanning two millennia, from Galileo's trial documents to letters from Michelangelo. In 1983, a researcher discovers a scroll that would challenge everything we know about medieval history. These aren't just made-up fairy tales. They are documented history you'll explore in today and history,

a newsletter that reveals the classified files and hidden archives that shaped our world. Experience history's greatest revelations, scan the QR code, or click the link below to join today in history. Now, acacia trees actually contain DMT, a powerful hallucinogenic compound, often referred to as the god molecule. Now, this may seem far-fetched, right? You know, the idea that this acacia tree that happens to be found in the region that happens to contain DMT is responsible for this, but this is where researchers will point this out. What would did Noah use to build the ark, Acacia. And what wood was the arc of the covenant made of before it was plastered in gold? Acacia. How did they carry it? Acacia. The acacia tree is mentioned 29 times in the Bible, so it's clearly

significant. But the biblical text itself provides no specific indication of drug use. Instead, it presents the burning bush as a direct manifestation of God. But it's a bit interesting, considering the DMT is known as the god molecule. Now, let the record show if you just burn an acacia tree, it's not necessarily going to get you high. You're not going to be doing DMT. But it is possible to extract DMT from the acacia tree. I don't know if I can even explain how,

because I'm probably going to get demonetized, but it's possible to pulverize the wood into a bark, or the wood or bark into like a fine powder. You could acidify the materials to release the DMT with a solution using a non-polar solvent. There's other ways that you could technically extract DMT from the acacia tree. But now DMT isn't just a part of the acacia tree. Some researchers have speculated that it's actually created in the brain.

I mean, I think that's fairly well known, is that DMT exists natively within our brains, and part of an ancient toad ritual also is another way that you can extract DMT. different ways that DMT can be created. So it's not just the acacia tree. DMT is one of the most potent and short-acting psychedelics known to science. A gentleman by the name of Dr. Rick Strassman published a landmark study in the 90s, which is often referred to as, quote, the spirit molecule project. And this opened the modern scientific door to understanding DMT's profound psychoactive effects. Since then, neuroscientists, psychologists,

and even anthropologists have continued to study this compound, noting its ability to induce vivid, often life-altering mystical experiences marked by a sense of unity, timelessness, and deep spiritual significance. I mean, even speaking to Mike Corey, who did an ayahuasca retreat in Central America, he spoke about it on the main podcast. He says this sort of a similar experience, again, ayahuasca containing DMT in it, which is effectively what's happening in the brain. He says that he had an experience with this bright white light.

He was no longer in his body. He was in sort of this ephemeral realm where, you know, he was communicating with God as he understood it to be. And he said the experience was profound for him. I know many other people that have talked about their experiences with DMT and having this spiritual communication with some type of cosmic consciousness or something to that effect. Now, DMT functions by binding to serotonin receptors in the brain. This is similar to other psychedelics like psilocybin and LSD, which also bind. to the same receptor, the 5H2A receptor. Users often describe rapidly entering a dreamlike or visionary state that can feel insanely real,

sometimes reporting interactions with entities or symbolic geometric realms. Sometimes people refer to these as machine elves, is how people kind of describe them, these like sort of mischievous little entities that kind of guide you through this experience. And then the geometric element, you know, a lot of people describe seeing like fractals and they believe that this is somehow the underpinning of society and, you know, our reality in general is that, you know, things are sort of created with these fractals that we see all throughout nature. Who knows? Some scientists have hypothesized that the human brain may produce these trace amounts of DMT endogenously in the penial gland, potentially causing, you know, many different phenomena, including, you know, like, near-death experiences? Is this what we see when we die? And some people even speculated this is what causes some of our dream states, although this remains a contested area of study. Despite the

continued research, DMT's precise neurological and physiological role has yet to be understood, which only adds to the mystique. A common thread amongst people who have taken DMT, like I mentioned before, is a sense of encountering this sort of ineffable wisdom or a force that feels greater than themselves. One participant in Strassman's study recounted traveling through vivid tunnels of kaleidoscopic colors and emerging in a realm filmed with loving light beings who communicated telepathically. Another user described a sensation of having their consciousness pulled from the boundaries of their body, providing them with insights into their life's purpose and a sense of connectedness to all living things. These accounts, although completely subjective and anecdotal,

share recurring themes of transcendence and spiritual awakening. Experiences that, you know, many describe as more real than everyday reality. Now, is this what happened with Moses? I don't know. I tend to not take this theory super strongly, personally. I don't know if, I feel like that would have been described, you know, I feel like in the Bible. I wonder if the biblical writers of the time would have said, oh, you know, by utilizing this concoct. they talk to God. I don't know if that would undermine God's connectivity. The fact that it's not

mentioned or the acacia trees effects were never mentioned directly through some type of, you know, psychedelic element. I don't know. I don't put a ton of a ton of credence into this idea. But regardless, DMT is found in these trees. Another place that DMT is found is it's found in in toad venom, specifically the Bufo Alvarius. That is a, that is wild, the Bufo. That shit sounds very sexual. The Bufo Alvarius, this is known as the Colorado River Toad, or the Sonoran Desert Toad. This DMT is derived from the poison that is secreted out of the glands on the back of the toad,

and when it's collected, dried, and vaporized or smoked in some ceremonial rituals, these people are able to have these hallucinogenic effects. The ritual surrounding Toad Venom usage has roots in many indigenous practices, particularly in some parts of North and Central America. The experience is known for being extraordinarily fast acting and often even more intense than the effects of the DMT that comes from Acacia. Within seconds, participants may feel their sense of self-dissolve and merge into this vast field of awareness sometimes leading to, you know, this profound reaction. In traditional

toad ceremonies, a trained facilitator or a shaman typically guides the participants through the process offering spiritual protection and helping them understand their experiences. And again, we see ritual elements, you know, such as like chanting and breathwork and sacred music going on during these ceremonies, whether found in plants or as part of shamanic bruise or derived from the poison of the Bufo Avarius, DMT has inspired curiosity in researchers, spiritual practitioners, and adventurers seeking to explore the outer frontiers of the mind.

Speaking of DMT, let's kick it all the way down to Central and South America and talk about the Aztecs. That's right. In the ancient landscape of ancient Mesoamerica, the Aztecs cultivated a deep reverence for psychedelic plants. The two that were most favored were peyote and the sacred mushroom known as Tiero Nauta cactyl, also known as the flesh of the gods. That is a literal translation, God's flesh.

And today we call these mushrooms the psilocybe Mexicana. And they are usually in higher elevations, which is why they're mostly known to be found in Mexico, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala. Which, I mean, look, if some of the migrants are bringing that in, I think it's fine. I think we should ask. We should be like at the board, be like, hey, you got any of that God's flesh? Do you get in here? That's fine with me. These were central to religious ceremonies and spiritual practices.

The Aztecs believe that consuming these mushrooms allow direct communication with the divine, particularly with Ketzel Kotel, the feathered serpent deity. The deity was associated with wisdom, knowledge, and the morning star, and was thought to have gifted these sacred fungi to humanity. The ritualistic use of these mushrooms and the peyote wasn't merely recreate. It was a profound spiritual journey in a way to gain insight and prophecy. Aztec priests would undergo extensive purification rituals before consuming these sacred plants. This might include fasting, bloodletting, and periods of sexual abstinence, you know, basically stuff that I do on a regular basis.

I might be an Aztec shaman. Well, who would have thought, right? All these years of sexual abstinence and not eating enough food. They had specialized knowledge about the preparation and dosage of these plants. ensuring their effective and safe use within ritual contexts. During the psychedelic experience, priests would use various techniques to guide and interpret the visions. This might include the use of codices, pictorial manuscripts, basically, ritual objects, or specific prayers that act as intermediaries between the mortal and divine realms,

while carefully guiding participants through these visions as well. This is still done to this day when, you know, if you do ayahuasca, typically you would be done with a shaman. and they can kind of guide you through the experience. The Aztec use of psychedelics was closely tied to their cosmology and understanding of the divine. Tiona Noctal, again, literally meaning God's flesh, was seen as a direct means of communicating with deities. The altered states induced by these substances were understood as journeys to other realms of existence where one could encounter gods and ancestors and other spiritual entities.

One of the major piece of evidence pointing towards the Aztec use of psychedelics is their deity Zatchapili. I mean, for the record, can we just say? these words are incredibly hard to pronounce. I mean, I've never said a word that started with X in my life. That is Zatapili. It was a word that starts with X. It's like, xylophone. Xylophone is the only one I can think of X-ray.

It's just like, all right, Zachapili. This was an Aztec deity that was known to the Aztecs as the god of summer, flowers, painting, dancing, love, creativity. I love these gods get all their little things. You know what I mean? Like they got all their little realm of X-Texecutive. That's a pretty good one. Summer, flowers, painting, dancing, love, and creativity. FIRE. Combined, he was the god of fun. Cute. Further nicknamed the Prince of Flowers. He's depicted as wearing animal skins, psychotropic flowers, and this mushroom, the Tieno na Nacto.

So on the actual depictions of this deity are these mushrooms. You can see some of the pictures here, the way that these mushrooms and flowers actually show up on the, you know, sculptures that we have. But many of these beliefs and the use of these psychedelics would be hindered by other religions, specifically Catholicism. Sorry about that. Francisco Hernandez di Toledo, a physician to the king of Spain, described mushrooms that caused a kind of, quote, madness and visions of wars and the likeness of demons. Another account by Motelina, who was likely a clergyman, described hellish visions, experienced by the natives who ingested the mushrooms, including threatening snakes and suicidal tendencies.

I mean, these priests were having a great time down there. No one ever talks about that. I love that they were like, hey, we heard that there's this mushroom that makes you see crazy shit. We didn't do it. Come on. What? That's crazy.

But apparently these people, when they do it, that's what they saw. This is basically the first Grateful Dead concert. They went down there, these priests were just like ripping mushrooms all the time. And they wrote back to like, We've got to ban this. And these accounts, basically, from these conquistadors, led to the condemnation and prohibition of mushroom rituals by the clergy. Spanish Inquisition labeled the use of these mushrooms as blasphemous,

calling them the devil's tool and driving the practice underground. But the integration of psychedelic mushrooms into Aztec religious life was so significant that it influenced their art, architecture, and even their cosmology. Mushroom stones and other artifacts depicting the mushroom's imagery have been found throughout Mesoamerica, again, displaying the central role that the plant played in the spiritual life of these ancient civilizations. I mean, just take a look at their calendar. Look at this thing.

Said the world was going to end in 2012. And maybe it did, to be honest with you. I mean, this looks like a DMT trip. Like, you could just see this, just flying through cyberspace being like, what the hell? And there's a ton of different sculptures and references in art in Mesoamerica. So there's these Aztec mushroom stones, as you can see here. fascinating. Look a little phallic if you ask me, but shout out to them.

Yeah, that is a good point. I mean, these things are a little. These are not little. These things look, these are big, right? These are big. These mushrooms are pretty big. That's an average size of a dong, I think. I don't think that's crazy to suggest that that's a normal.

That's fine. Anyway, all right, let's just change gears, all right, shall we? The Scotland Yard detective's hand trembled as he opened the letter. Dear boss, it began. On this day in 1888, Jack the Ripper's most infamous message arrived, taunting police with details that only the true killer could know. But what the letter revealed about the Ripper's true identity would remain hidden for decades. Now let's travel across the Atlantic, where 115 settlers vanished without a trace.

The lost colony of Roanoke abandoned homes, untouched plates of food, and a single word carved into a tree. Croatoan. To this day, it remains America's oldest unsolved mystery. These aren't ghost stories, they're real historical events from today in history, the newsletter that delivers history's most gripping mystery straight to your inbox, from unsolved crimes to unexplained disappearances, from ancient enigmas to modern conspiracies, ready to unlock history's greatest secrets. Scan the QR code now or click the link in the description to sign up for today.

And we're going all the way to India. Oh, yeah. The real India. Not the Indians we've been talking about. We're talking about all the way over there, depending on wherever you're sitting. In India, all right? The land of pools.

You've been seeing the pool videos? All these Indian dudes jumping in the pool? Oh, it's awesome. We've got to get one of those videos up. It's unbelievable. I mean, just the Indian immune system is undefeated. I saw a comment. Someone said the eighth winner of the world is the Indian immune system.

How many wonders are there? Nine? The 10th wonder of the world. That's what I'm supposed to say. Anyway, we're in India. All right, what's up, Indians? In the ancient Vedic traditions of India, we encounter a substance known as Soma. You might have heard of Soma because it's been found in Brave New World by Aldous Huxley, a great book.

Soma is a drink of such significance that it's both a deity and a drink itself. It's mentioned in the Rig Veda, one of the first. of the four sacred canonical Hindu texts, you know, Hindus might know as Zhruti. It's known to us as the Vedas. The Rig Veda dedicates its entire ninth book to the praise and the powers of Soma. Soma is described in the Vedic text as a plant-based drink with extraordinary properties said to induce ecstatic states, bestow immortality, and facilitate direct communication with the divine. That's right. The effects of Soma consumption are described in terms that suggest profound altered states of consciousness, including expanded awareness, exhilaration, and mystical insights.

So the Rig Veda says this. We have drunk the Soma. I'm not going to do the accent. I know some of you all wanted me to do an Indian accent. That's racist. I'm not going to be. You can imagine it if you want. If that's really what you want right now, that's up to you. I would never do that. That crosses my line. But just you can imagine the accent and just enjoy. All right? That's yours. We have drunk the soma. We have become immortal. We have gone to the light. We have found the gods.

What can hostility do to us now? And what the malice of a mortal. Oh, immortal one. So you guys obviously know what that means. If you don't know what that means, you're a fucking idiot. I don't really know exactly what that means. It sounds like they're drinking soma and they feel they've become immortal. They found the gods.

They're kicking it with the deities themselves. The exact identity of. of the Soma plant has been the subject of intense debate amongst scholars and stoners. Both of them are like, where is this plant, dude? We got to find it. Some theories suggest it may have been a mushroom containing psychoactive compounds, while others propose it was made up of various plants that are native to the Indian subcontinent. Regardless of its exact identity and how it's created, the descriptions of Soma's effect in the Vedic text very clearly indicate a substance capable of inducing an awesome time. In chapter 9,

verse 20 of the Bhagwan Gita, it said that, quote, those who perform actions, desiring fruit from these actions, and those who drink the juice of the pure Soma plant, are cleansed and purified of their past sins. Those who desire heaven, attain heaven, and enjoy its divine pleasure by worshiping me through the offering of sacrifices. Thus, by performing good action,

one will always undoubtedly receive a place in heaven where they will enjoy all of the divine pleasures that are enjoyed by the deities. That sounds pretty sick to me. I mean, wow, those are cleansed and purified of their past sins. I mean, it's just kind of like describing a good trip. Like, ask anyone that's ever done mushrooms. They're like, if you go into it in a bad headspace,

you're trying to think of negative stuff, you're going to have a bad time, but you go into it, you're pure, you're fasting, you're a virgin, you're going to have a great time. So all that to say, they figured out how to trip well. It's said that the priests, These at the time would carefully extract the juice from the Soma plant, mix it with other ingredients, probably like lime or something,

and offer it to the gods before consuming it themselves. The sacred drink was believed to bridge the gap between the human and divine realms, allowing participants to experience a taste of godhood and gain profound spiritual insights. I mean, the plant described in Rigveda is Vanaspati, meaning the evergreen golden one. resplendid with a thousand branches. Seems pretty sweet.

It's even said that it has yellow stems that immediately give the juice and crushing the stems or seeds between stone produces a celestial song that rises to the sky, symbolizing its sacred and powerful nature. I mean, Shiva, apparently, is the main drinker of Soma in some of the texts. Imagine that. Some verses mention mixing the thick juice extracted from the Soma plant with barley flour. This has led some authors to theorize that Soma could be maybe a type of beer. Maybe it's just a nice bud light.

You know, maybe that's all it is. I've had a couple of budlights in my time that may be like, yeah, this is, there's God in this can. All right, let me just put it that way. That's the way they should market that shit. Be like, yeah, this is, you want to get close to God? Dilly, dilly. So they suggest that barley flour may have been used as a thickener or a softer and make the plant's potential unpleasant juices easier to ingest, which that's always annoying.

You'll talk to people that do mushrooms and they'll be like, oh, it tasted so bad. It's like, bro, you're about to blast off into the sky. And you're like, uh, it didn't like how it tasted. Like, what? It's supposed to taste bad. Who cares? Like, you're, like, I can't imagine being like, I would have like a transcendent experience where I meet God. But like, I don't want to have a weird aftertaste.

Bro, you're going into the cosmos. Like, just deal with it. It's just, I don't know. I have all these friends that are like, oh, I put it in a sandwich. eat it it's a mushroom mushrooms taste bad that's the point of mushrooms mushrooms are by far the worst food for the record like there's if nothing about a mushroom is good that has the worst texture has the worst flavor and people are like no no these mushrooms are good it tastes like uh you know whatever it's in it tastes like pie you're like bro then just take them out just

have pie like why are you trying to trick this mushroom in it tasting like something that's not this is dumb that's a sidebar what what does mushrooms can take vitamin d you call outside, bro. Just get some sun. Like, this is crazy. Oh, we got to, the mushrooms, the psychedelic ones. I mean, those will blast you off. But now, Soma is a sacred plant. Okay. I don't want to be undermining the sacred nature of Soma, all right? Hindus, Indians, I'm not coming for your thing. All right. I'm just, I'm just riffing. But it is a sacred plant in the Vedic development of soda. I said soda. Come on, bro. It's not soda. Sometimes, I don't know, man, I see some Indians around

Brooklyn that are crushing soda. That is like their new soma, dude. You give an Indian a doctor pepper. They're like, I'm a doctor. Anyway, the development of soma at a mystical and spiritual level required purification of body, senses, and mind. It was not simply an intoxicant.

Soma at a yogic level refers to the crown chakra or a thousand petal lotuses of the head, which is opened by Indra and releases a flood of bliss throughout the body. This inner soma is the main subject of the Vedic hymns, though outer somas were also important. So again, many people, again, I've talked to people that are deep in a meditation and they say that through meditation, they can have these psychedelic experiences.

And perhaps that they're able to meditate in such a way that they're able to release this, quote, internal soma. Which is very interesting. I mean, shout out to the Indians. They've been on it for a while with a lot of, you know, like understanding science and stuff. Like the way that, like, early Vedic texts describe like space in the cosmos is like amazing. but the fact that they even understood like, oh yeah, there's internal soma and external soma, which we now know, you know, there's DMT that's endogenous to the brain that we create, but then there's exogenous DMT that's found in plants and stuff. Soma means body in Greek.

I wonder what that is. I mean, the Aztecs called mushrooms flesh of the gods. So I wonder if Soma's like, you know, body of God or something like that. It's very interesting. Very, very interesting. All right. We're going back to Peru. That's right, South America.

We're going to talk about the San Pedro cactus. You ever heard of that? The San Pedro cactus. This is found in Peru, and pre-Incan civilizations developed a profound relationship with this cactus, also known as Huachuma. I'm not even going to look that one up. I think that's, I think I nailed that one. Huachuma. This is a plant that contains the psychoactive compound mescaline, the same compound found in peyote.

This cactus, known scientifically as etchinopsis peteno. I think I killed that one too. Has been a cornerstone of Andean shamanic practices for a millennia. Archaeological evidence suggests that the ritual use of San Pedro dates back to at least 3,000 years, with some of the first traces being found in chaven culture around 1,000 BC. And continuing throughout various pre-Columbian civilizations, the cactus was revered for its ability to induce visionary states, facilitate healing, and connect the human world with what

the realm of spirits and ancestors. Sound familiar? I think you're noticing a trend here. In Indian cosmology, San Pedro is believed to hold the keys to the kingdom of heaven, much like St. Peter in the Christian tradition. This belief underscores the cactus's role as a mediator between earthly and divine realms.

Shaman's known as curranderos use San Pedro in elaborate healing ceremonies to diagnose and treat various ailments, both physical and spiritual. The shamans prepare the cactus by slicing and boiling it to create a potent brew. This ceremony typically takes place during night, but sometimes can even happen during the day, with participants gathering around an altar called a mesa,

surrounded with sacred objects. The shaman then guides the experience using various techniques, such as chanting, rattling, and the use of erroneous plants to direct the visionary journey. This is much like the shamans that use ayahuasca or iBogaine, and the effects of San Pedro are described, as profoundly transformative. Again, just like ayahuasca or psilocybin,

participants report experiences of expanded consciousness, empathy, and a deep sense of connection with nature in the cosmos, and often report seeing animal spirits, ancestral guides, or natural deities. I've even heard from people just on a personal level that ayahuasca, DMT, can show you a more maternal or feminine energy and that peyote or mescaline or San Pedro can show you

a more masculine energy. So they call it Mother Ayahuasca and, you know, Father Meskolin is how I've heard it described. Again, I don't know. This is just what people have told me. If any of you have ever experienced this, I'd love to know what you think. Please comment below. Is one of them more feminine, one of them more masculine? Who's to say? The accounts of these experiences are much like that of ayahuasca, right? Many people say that San Pedro is a much milder experience, though. While ayahuasca may show you your inner demons and force you to face them, San Pedro oftentimes can show you your inner child. and allow you just to kind of chill, kind of play with your inner kid. It's kind of sick, right?

If I did San Pedro, I'd just be playing Switch probably. I'd be jumping on there, just playing Mario Kart or some shit, playing Zelda. That's really all my inner child wants to do. Just hang out. If I got to chill with my inner child, I'd be like, I'd just be me right now. But hey, you want to tell jokes on the internet

and go play video games? I'd be like, yeah, that's exactly what I want to do. Now, these two experiences are obviously two very different journeys, but at the end of each, there is a similar destination, some type of experience with the unknown, some type of cosmic deity. There's also almost always a feeling of being watched over by someone or something.

Some people even report actually seeing or coming into contact with these spirit beings. Some healers believe that the Holy Spirit gains control over the San Pedro Cactus to facilitate the healing vision and protect the patients from evil sorcerers' curses. Others describe the spirit's arrival as a non-native person, an Incan princess or prince or sometimes even a cat. In 1632, a Jesuit priest and historian, Father Aneo Oliva, reported that they, the indigenous peoples,

drank San Pedro with great ceremonies and songs, and as it is very strong. After they drink it, they remain without judgment and deprived of their senses, and they see visions that the devil represents to them. And consistent with them, they judge their suspicions and the intentions of others. The use of San Pedro has persisted into modern times, with traditional healers in Peru and other Indian countries continuing to employ the cactus in their practices. So again, San Pedro is just another psychedelic that, again,

has a ton of spiritual and religious significance to the indigenous people that utilize it. And it's always interesting that, you know, you have these priests coming from Europe that come over and see it and they're like, whoa, this is the devil, which I get, right? Like if you haven't ever done this stuff, like if they don't have it in Spain, you'd be like, we got to stop this. But it just is interesting to me. I don't know. If I was a priest, if I can get both sides is what I'm saying. If I was a native person doing this, I'd be like, this shit is awesome. This is God. But if I was a priest coming over and I would see these people having visions, I'd be like, whoa. So I don't know. I don't know what the right move is because part of me is like maybe God can use these. psychedelics as a way to like communicate with God but also I don't really mess with it I'm not really I'm not really a big like you know I've done mushrooms a couple times I'm not like out here just like you know blasting off every weekend just seems like a lot all right let's switch it up let's talk about the oracle of Delphi in short basically it was a shrine that existed in ancient Greece where a typically a young girl a pithia am I pronouncing that right pithia pithia I have a Greek guy in here

Christos, thank you. Apithia basically was a priestess that would answer your questions. So, you know, military people, merchants, they would go to this woman and they would ask her questions that she would answer with sage wisdom, advice, sometimes much of it even being prophetic. Now, what's fascinating about the Oracle of Delphi is the actual geography in which it lies. Now, the Oracle of Delphi was at the Temple of Apollo, at Delphi, the ancient city in Greece, and it existed directly on two major fault lines that intersected directly beneath the temple. These fault lines could have allowed gases to rise from deep within the earth, causing a hallucinatory state. Chemical analysis of spring water and rock formations at the site has detected the presence of ethylene,

a sweet-smelling gas known to produce a narcotic effect characterized by a sense of euphoria and disassociation. Now, here's a fun. fact. Modern science wasn't the first to discover this vapor rising from the ground. Ancient accounts, including those by Plutarch, who served as a high priest at Delphi, observed that the Pythia's divine powers appeared to be associated with vapors from the current of spring waters that flowed under the temple. He described these vapors in his work. The work is obviously called on the obsolescence of the oracles. And he says that a prophetic spirit came from the ground that could affect the soul and create a prophetic temperament.

Plutarch noted that the emission of vapors in the temple chambers were slight and unpredictable, which he suggested led to the decline of the Oracle itself. And just like today's scholars, he mentioned that the vapors had a sweet smell, similar to expensive perfume. The process of harnessing these altered states for prophecy likely involved a few steps. The pithia would undergo purification rituals, again, including fasting and bathing in the sacred Castilian spring, then seated on a tripod above a fissure on the temple floor, the pithia would inhale the rising vapors. The confined space of the chamber would have concentrated the gases enhancing their effects. In this altered state, the pithia would deliver her prophecy, often in the form

of cryptic or rambling riddles. Priests would then interpret the ramblings, translating them into more coherent prophecies. While this might not seem religious outright, the Oracle of Delphi was seen as a prestigious and divine figure whose knowledge came straight from Apollo himself. As the intermediary between the gods and humans, her prophecies influenced religious belief, rituals, and practices across the Greek world. Kings, generals, state representatives often sought her counsel on matters of war and even religious festivals. Individuals seeking personal guidance, solutions to disputes, advice on, you know, health, family, spiritual questions, they all went to her. While priests, priests, pre-sense,

and those involved in the religious institutions approached her for insight into religious practices and interpretations of divine will. So imagine that. You're just a merchant. You're going through ancient Greece. You hear about this, you know, this, this Oracle. And you're like, man, I've been having some problems. My bitch wife is just bugging me.

Like, should I leave her? What do I do? Da, da, da, da. You go to this Oracle. You go into a room. There's this girl that's probably like 19 years old. She's sitting on a, like, a tripod is what they said. imagine that is she just sitting right there on like a camera and you just walk in and you ask a

question and then she just goes sniff some something this ethylene vapor that's coming out of the ground and then just starts rambling this crazy like just literally just tripping out just drugged out saying some wild shit and then you got to be like well that was worth you know a thousand dollars that was worth all of my life savings to go ask this question and then a priest is like no no no what she really meant is that your wife, you guys should work it out. Like, what? That's just, it's insane. Like nowadays, if you want to talk to a crazy bird, just go to a rave.

Like, that would be so much cheaper. You just go to any rave, just go to EDC and just be like, hey, what's in my future? And some guy would be like, dude, you're going to be famous. Buy my album. Like, that's basically what, like, it's crazy. Like, that's what people were doing in ancient Greece. And somehow they invented everything. So maybe there's something to it.

it, right? I mean, they invented the Olympics. That's probably where that came from. They're like, hey, let's see which race is the fastest. Probably some Oracle came up with that. All right, let's change gears, shall we? And while we're in Greece, let's stay right there. We're going to talk about the Elysian mysteries. All right, I mispronounced that word also. Elucinian. When looking back at the history of Western civilization, we encounter the Elysinian mysteries, one of the most secretive and influential religious rites of ancient Greece. At the heart of these mysteries lay the consumption of this mysterious brew, Kikion, which many scholars believe contained psychoactive ingredients and is said to have induced a profound, altered state of consciousness.

The Emil Pidae were a family of priest that Elusis, who maintained the Elysinian mysteries during the Hellenic era, they were known as the priests of Elusis and acted as guardians of this divine concoction while playing a crucial role in facilitating the mystical experiences that were at the heart of these ceremonies. The priests were responsible for the careful preparation of Kikian, following secret recipes of rituals passed down through generations. This process was likely imbued with religious significance with each step, again, accompanied by prayers or invocations. The consumption of Kikian was a central part of the Elycinian mysteries, carefully timed and integrated into larger ceremonial structures. Priests would oversee this process, ensuring that initiates consumed the brew at the appropriate moment and in the appropriate manner, acting.

much like a shaman would. The priests also carefully controlled the environment in which these mysteries took place. This included the use of dramatic reenactments, specifically designed architectural spaces, and manipulation of light and sound to enhance this mystical experience. As initiates entered altered states, the priest would guide them through a series of symbolic revelations. This might have included the unveiling of sacred objects,

the performance of secret rituals, or even the communication of esoteric teachings. The Elycinian mysteries were held annually for nearly two millennia and were initiation ceremonies for the cult of Demeter and Parsiphany. The initiates would often report a loss of fear of death and a new sense of purpose in life after performing these rights, showing that participants had gone through a transformative experience, offering insight into the nature of life, death, and rebirth. Kikian is actually mentioned in Homer. In the Homeric text, the Iliad describes it has, is consisting of Premnian wine, barley, and grated goats cheese.

Sounds wonderful. I mean, that's Pramnian wine, barley, and goats cheese. That sounds, I mean, that would wreck my stomach. I already know. Like, I get an upset tummy just, like, with just a little bit of dairy, and I couldn't even imagine. Like, I got to be on full oat at this point. But if you crush some wine, barley, and goats cheese,

they need to serve that Buffalo Wild Wings, too. That sounds awesome. While we don't really know how they made the Kikion for ritualistic purposes, much evidence suggests that it may have contained ergot. This is a fungus that grows on grains and contains LSD-like compounds. Now, again, LSD is a synthetic version of this ergo, which is naturally occurring. This is the same fungus that scholars believe fueled the Salem witch trials. Yeah. The influence of the Ellicinian mysteries extended far beyond Greece.

Initiates included philosophers like Plato, rulers like Marcus Aurelius, Alexander the Great, and possibly, again, possibly, early Christian figures like Clement of Alexandria. The profound experiences induced by Kikian were said to not only remove the fear of death, but offered glimpses into this divine realm, fundamentally shaping the spiritual and philosophical outlook of many influential thinkers. The secrecy surrounding these, quote, mysteries was so well maintained that even today we can only speculate about the full nature, of the rituals. This secrecy adds to the idea that these rituals and the knowledge gained from performing these rituals helped influence modern religion. The idea of, quote, secrets in ancient times wasn't just knowing something others didn't. They could be shaped into being a divine revelation that only a select few could obtain by performing these rituals, leading many people to connect

those who have performed the Ellicinian Mysteries with having divine knowledge. Another strange connection between the Ellicinian mysteries and religion is the idea of a communion. The Kikion in this sense represents the transformation of the spiritual, symbolizing purification and communion with the divine, while also representing life, death, and rebirth. Christians partake in the Catholic tradition in the Eucharist, which is literally the body of Christ transformed through transubstantiation into this physical sense that is known as, you know, known as. a piece of bread. And again, this is based off of the Last Supper, which is found in the Gospels. Now, this ritual serves as a form of communion with Jesus and, you know, a reminder in communication with Christ himself and his sacrifice, death, and resurrection. Early Christian Eucharistic traditions were similarly held in private, you know, typically because they were being persecuted by the Romans, often in house churches, with only baptized believers being allowed to participate, much like, you know, today, The only people that can receive the Eucharist are practicing Catholics that have gone to confession

that are not in a state of moral sin. Like the Kikian, the Eucharist emphasizes this spiritual nourishment and connection to the divine. Now, many people have tried to make the claim that the Last Supper is some type of psychedelic ritual. I myself, as a Catholic, don't believe this. But it is an interesting theory that Christ said, you know, this is my body. Eat of this and you'll have eternal life. It obviously has this very powerful, not only symbolic, but a literal.

use within, you know, Catholic tradition. And many people have tried to make the claim that perhaps this is some type of, you know, psychedelic experience. Eh, I'm not convinced. But it is an interesting theory to sort of kick around. So that's Kikian. And like I said, this was very popular in ancient Greece and kind of permeated through a large swath of, you know, southern Europe, likely even into, you know, the Middle East,

potentially. And as we've seen through all of these stories, the- things that stand out to me are the use of these psychedelics, typically in ritual or ceremonial practices, typically with some type of shaman or spiritual guide to take you through the experience. I find that to be very interesting, that all of them typically, even into today, all of these ritualistic psychedelic experiences have some type of leader or a guide, which is pretty crazy job that that was just someone's role back in the day. Like, yeah, let's just trip, let's roll pretty hard, let's see something. Maybe we see God for real. Maybe we see what we think God is.

through the creation in our mind that's being kicked on by these psychoactive substances. Well, that's just, you know, maybe even sometimes let's just have a good time. Like, I wonder what that would have even been like, dude. Like, you're a guy in 2000 BC and you're just walking around the world with like a, you know, your flock of sheep or something. And one day you're just hanging out. And the next day you're blasting off into cyberspace, seeing, you know, machine elves and deities. They didn't even have Pink Floyd.

It's like, dang, that sucks. So you couldn't even jam out while you're doing it. I couldn't even imagine. I bet you they had a version of music that went so hard that we didn't even have. That would be wild. Some people ask, if you had a time machine, what would you go do? Would you stop Hitler? Would you go see, I don't know, Jesus?

What would you do? For me, I don't know. Top five things, I'd probably go back and just enroll in a cave somewhere with the hallucinians. I'd go check out a mystery with Alexander the Great. Imagine you're doing ecstasy with Alexander the Great in a cave somewhere, seeing God. I mean, that is, that's a. time right there. Anyway, this has been an expiration of ancient psychedelic rituals and how they impart their way into not only the gods of old, but the gods of now. And potentially why some people

think that, you know, our modern religions may have been influenced by the use of these psychoactive substances. Again, I remain unconvinced, but I do find it a fascinating theory. I'm curious what you guys think. Have you ever done a psychedelic substance, mushrooms DMT, LSD, anything like that? And have you seen anything that you find that? You find. spiritual, did you come out of it with a new profound appreciation for life itself? Or did you sort of just be like, you know what? That was a weird thing that happened. Made my concert more fun.

I went and stared at a picture for a while. I'm curious to know what you think. Please comment below. As always, subscribing to this channel helps us grow a ton and also makes me feel good. And it's cool to show my mom and be like, hey, look, I got 15,000 people there are listening to, you know, me talk about religion and stuff. I'm basically a priest. I've done what she always wanted, all right?

Anyway, thank you all so much for tuning in. We'll be back next week. See you Sunday. Peace be with you. If you've made it to the end of this episode, you are clearly someone who understands that beneath every historical event lies a deeper truth waiting to be uncovered. You're the type of person who knows that real history is more fascinating than any fiction.

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