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book1968

Soma

Summary

Soma: Divine Mushroom of Immortality (1968) by R. Gordon Wasson argues that the mysterious soma drink in the Vedic Rigveda was prepared from the Amanita muscaria mushroom, initiating the scholarly debate on psychedelic origins of ancient religion.

Core Contribution

Initiated the academic debate on entheogenic origins of ancient religion through Vedic soma identification.

Key Spikes & Highlights

  • Vedic religion
  • soma
  • entheogens
  • mushrooms

Historical Influences

Vedic scholarship mycology

Intellectual Lineage

R. Gordon Wasson Vedic studies ethnomycology

Allied Works

The Road to Eleusis Persephone's Quest

Contemporaries & Peers

The Road to Eleusis

Minds Influenced

Entheogen research Vedic studies

Intellectual Posterity

No conceptual posterity found.

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