My new book Magic Medicine is now available!

Magic Medicine is an armchair adventurer's guide to all substances psychedelic. From ayahuasca to LSD you'll find it in the 23 fascinating chapters of this illustrated hardcover. With mind-blowing facts and lore about psychedelic fish, "mad" Himalayan honey, and even the pitch-bending "audio hallucinogen" DiPT, even veteran trippers will learn something new. Click here to learn more!

spirituality
Psychedelics and Witchcraft -- The Truth About Hallucinogenic "Hexing Herbs"

Psychedelics and Witchcraft — The Truth About Hallucinogenic “Hexing Herbs” The Sordid History of Deadly Nightshade, Mandrake, and Henbane

Were “hexing herbs” really used by witches in medieval times? Are they for healing, cursing, or consorting with the Devil? Learn all about the sordid history of Deadly Nightshade, Mandrake, and Henbane in today’s post. This text appeared in the original manuscript of Magic Medicine, my new book about the most fascinating psychedelics on the planet, but was cut for length. So this a sneak peek into the finished book, which covers 23 different plants, fungi, fish, and synthetic substances, from ayahuasca and 2C-B to “mad honey” and hallucinogenic sea sponges. Origins and Background Throughout human history, few...
'Magic Medicine' Author Featured on Psychedelic Milk

‘Magic Medicine’ Author Featured on Psychedelic Milk Cody Johnson Talks About Awe, Hallucinations, and Tripping in Narnia

Have you heard of Psychedelic Milk? You should definitely check it out. Psychedelic Milk is a podcast hosted by Ed Liu, all about alternative medicine for scientific healing purposes and spiritual growth. As you might have guessed, he often discusses psychedelics, but dives into all kinds of tangents from Taoist spirituality to flow states. Ed’s always searching for something fresh, and he’s produced over a hundred episodes of high-quality conversations with a range of sparkling personalities. Ed invited me on his show, and I’m happy to announce that I’m featured on Episode 109:  Magic Medicine with Cody Johnson |...
Michael Pollan Opens Up About His Powerful Psilocybin Trip on Stephen Colbert's Late Show

Michael Pollan Opens Up About His Powerful Psilocybin Trip on Stephen Colbert’s Late Show Pollan tried LSD, Psilocybin, and 5-MeO-DMT for his New Book

It sure seems like psychedelics are finally going mainstream. Michael Pollan, the author of The Omnivore’s Dilemma and The Botany of Desire, turns his attention to psychedelic science and medicine in his latest book, How to Change Your Mind: What the New Science of Psychedelics Teaches Us About Consciousness, Dying, Addiction, Depression, and Transcendence. Pollan went on The Late Show to talk about tripping and the ego with Stephen Colbert. As an “immersion journalist,” Pollan decided to try LSD, psilocybin, and 5-MeO-DMT — a compound from the venom of the Sonoran desert toad — as research for his book. About his psilocybin trip, Pollan says:...
First Peek at My New Book 'Magic Medicine'

First Peek at My New Book ‘Magic Medicine’

It’s finally here! Two years ago I started researching and writing Magic Medicine: A Trip Through the Intoxicating History and Modern-Day Use of Psychedelic Plants & Substances. After much tweaking and editing, the first printed copy is here! (The public release date is June 5th.) From the very beginning, I wanted the book to more than just fascinating in its subject matter — I wanted it to be a beautiful object, something you would be proud to have on your nightstand or bookshelf. I wanted a book that would demand your attention and spark conversations, a book you could not help but...
Zig Zag Zen: An Interview with Author Allan Badiner

Zig Zag Zen: An Interview with Author Allan Badiner The Intersection of Psychedelic Spirituality and Buddhist Practice

This article by Jennifer Bleyer first appeared in the MAPS Winter Bulletin 2017. Buddhism and psychedelic use have been linked since at least the 1950s, when influential thinkers and writers such as Allen Ginsberg, Jack Kerouac, and Alan Watts experimented with both as avenues toward understanding the mind. The tacitly acknowledged connection took a leap forward in 2002 with the publication of Zig Zag Zen: Buddhism and Psychedelics, a collection of essays, interviews, articles edited by Allan Badiner, which examines the two realms and their similarities and differences. A new edition of Zig Zag Zen was published in...
The Sun is Always Shining

The Sun is Always Shining A Harvard psychologist and Buddhist scholar discusses the nature of awareness and self

In this incredible, low-key little video (just shy of 3 minutes), Dr Dan Brown, discusses the nature of awareness and self. Dr. Brown is a Harvard clinical psychologist and Tibetan Buddhist scholar, and the video is made complete with ink and pencil animations by Claudia Biçen and music by Marcus Ostermiller. Fans of Alan Watts will definitely appreciate it.  Liked this post? Subscribe to my RSS feed to get much more! Or enter your email address for weekly updates: Share this:
A Reverend's Moving Sermon About Psychedelics and Religion

A Reverend’s Moving Sermon About Psychedelics and Religion

“If I Could Change Your Mind,” preached by Reverend Mike Young at The First Unitarian Church of Honolulu on 5 November 1995. If, on some Sunday morning, I would step up here into the pulpit and announce to you that I had an experience available to you, that you could come to the church on a given Saturday afternoon and spend with me between six and eight hours and I guarantee — virtually guaranteed at least almost guarantee; well, pretty certainly guarantee; oh, a good chance — that you would experience a total transformation of your own mind,...
My Share of Sacramental LSD

My Share of Sacramental LSD Wiccans Celebrate a Lunar Eclipse

My first experience with taking LSD in a ritual context took place in 1980 in a Wiccan community in Northern California. But the event, an observance of the eclipse of the full moon, was by no means my first experience with psychedelics. For the previous 14 years, I had used such psychedelics as LSD and psilocybin as part of a spiritual practice, often during the four years when it seemed to elevate my marriage into a cosmic union; and less often after my 1970 divorce, when I attempted — with very limited success — to reach acid light...
Religious Leaders Tripping on Magic Mushrooms for Science

Religious Leaders Tripping on Magic Mushrooms for Science

Among traditional cultures, psychedelic plants and fungi have long been viewed as spiritual medicines. Indeed, why partake of sacraments such as mushrooms, ayahuasca, or peyote cacti if not for their spiritual power? Yet in the West, where “spirituality” has long been conflated with religion — and where few sacraments aside from communion wafers and a bit of wine are acknowledged — these visionary plants have been viewed with suspicion. That’s all changing. Among progressive scientists, psychedelics are now all the rage. Psilocybin, the active component of “magic” mushrooms, has shown promise in pilot studies for a wide range of applications,...
"Getting Higher": A Conversation with Author and Occultist Julian Vayne

“Getting Higher”: A Conversation with Author and Occultist Julian Vayne

Julian Vayne is the author of Getting Higher: The Manual of Psychedelic Ceremony — a guide for exploring the use of psychedelic substances in the contexts of spirituality, self-transformation and magic. It’s out now, via the incredible independent publisher, Psychedelic Press UK. I caught up with Julian about why, exactly, psychedelic explorers would want to get even higher, and what it means to be a warlock in the information age.   Hi Julian, thanks very much for joining me. I know I’m not supposed to judge a book by its cover, but I have to say Getting Higher looks fascinating....
Deleted "Avatar" Scene Shows Hallucinogenic Vision Quest

Deleted “Avatar” Scene Shows Hallucinogenic Vision Quest

Did you know the script of James Cameron’s Avatar, the 3D blockbuster from 2009, originally called for a full-on psychedelic vision quest? The scene must have gotten cut fairly late in production, because it was filmed with live actors and animation had already begun. The CGI renders were left in a blocky, unfinished state, but it’s easy to tell what’s going on. Titled “The Dream Hunt,” the scene is a fascinating glimpse into the spirituality of Pandora’s native Na’vi culture. The main character, Jake Sulley, agrees to take part in the initiation ceremony, in which he must take potent psychedelics in...
Psychedelics in American Religious Experience

Psychedelics in American Religious Experience

How important are psychedelics in the religious experience of the United States? We know drugs like LSD and psilocybin can occasion powerful, life-changing experiences of awe and renewal. We also know psychedelics have been used by millions of people since the 1960s. But no one has ever tried to count the number of people who’ve had psychedelic-related mystical experiences. I ran a survey of over 6,000 people to get an answer. Background: Walter ‘Wally’ Pahnke and psychedelic mysticism Fifty-one years ago, a massive 9.2 Richter scale earthquake shook Alaska. At the same time, Wally Pahnke was experiencing another...