GRGR(6) LSD & mushrooms

[Lorentzen / Nicklaus]

rj schrieb:
> Well, that ol' Amanita Muscaria that Osbie bakes into cookies and smokes
> as joints (93, 112) is pretty much LSD in one of its purer, more organic
> guises. Pynchon certainly seems to know what to do with the stuff. That
> particular mushroom is known colloquially as Fly Agaric, and it is the
> one that was (is?) used by northern shamans -- Finnish magi, for example
> -- to transcend the physical realm and achieve the "altered states of
> consciousness so central to their magic." These involved "flying
> astrally or ... shape-shifting". Although the origins of Santa Claus are
> from Saint Nicholas, the way he is depicted is as a Finnish magus, and
> he drives a magic reindeer-driven sled, like Vainamoinen, the central
> figure of the _Kalevala_. (NELSON, Robert. Finnish Magic_. St Paul:
> Llewellyn, 1999, Ch 1.)


Not to forget Psylocybe semilanceata & its less frequent relatives. Though LSD 
turns longer & is in many ways the stronger substance (- one time it took me to 
the Saviour's throne ...), magic mushrooms give you a deeper relation to nature 
& its elementary spirits. Especially when you take them in the natural 
environment you collected them. Northern Germany, its woods & its waters. This 
special relation starts when you begin to look for them. Walking above certain 
sheep & cow meadows in early autumn, generally you first see no mushroom at all, 
no matter how hard you try. Then there is this special moment when you detect 
the first one. You knee down to pick it up carefully, - & suddenly there are 
dozens of them shining up golden in the grass. It's like ESP. You're on trip at 
once, just because you've moved inside their field. Beautiful. 
Regarding LSD in literature, I'd like to add "Illuminatus!" by Shea/Wilson and 
"Die Reise" by Bernward Vesper. 

Berauscht, KFL ///::: PS: How do you dry Amanita Muscaria? Last year I collected 
some, but the next day they were melted to juice. Contact me offlist, if you 
like!