The Divine Experience: Psychedelics, Ancestors, and the Origins of Myth

Psychadelic Temple

Abstract

The influence of psychedelic substances on the formation of ancient myths and religious beliefs has fascinated scholars across disciplines. This paper investigates evidence suggesting psychoactive plants and fungi, often consumed ritually, shaped our ancestors’ genuine experiences of the divine and supernatural. We examine archaeological, literary, and anthropological insights into the Eleusinian Mysteries, Soma, kykeon, and other potential links between psychedelics and the origins of myth.

Introduction

Humanity’s timeless quest for meaning has led to the use of psychoactive substances to achieve altered states since prehistory . The desire to access profound truths about existence, the nature of consciousness, and our place in the cosmos seems ingrained in the human spirit. Across cultures and millennia, psychoactive plants and fungi have been revered for their ability to radically transform perception and induce mystical states of unity, transcendence, and visionary encounters. Ingesting these substances has allowed our ancestors to transcend ordinary consciousness and experience dimensions of reality they genuinely believed to be realms of spirits, gods, and divine revelations.