Wasson's work revolutionized the understanding of the origin of religion. (December 2007) Please do not remove this message until the dispute is resolved. Please see the discussion on the talk page. The neutrality of this article is disputed. Ruck, it was proposed that the special potion ' kykeon', a pivotal component of the ceremony, contained psychoactive ergoline alkaloids from the fungus Ergot ( Claviceps spp.). In The Road to Eleusis: Unveiling the Secret of the Mysteries (1978), co-authored with Albert Hofmann and Carl A. His attention then turned to the Eleusinian Mysteries, the initiation ceremony of the ancient Greek cult of Demeter and Persephone. This was published in 1967 under the title Soma: Divine Mushroom of Immortality. His next major contribution was a study of the ancient Vedic intoxicant Soma, which he proposed was based on the psychoactive Fly Agaric ( Amanita muscaria) mushroom. Hofmann and Wasson were also the first westerners to collect specimens of the Mazatec hallucinogen Salvia divinorum, leading to its description as a new species, and bringing it into cultivation outside of Mexico.Įxperiences with the magic mushrooms apparently had a profound effect on Wasson, and fungi remained a persistent theme in his work. Two species of mushroom, Psilocybe wassonii Heim and Psilocybe wassonorum Guzman were named in honor of R. Through his collaboration with Roger Heim, the mushrooms were subjected to scientific study, and Albert Hofmann, using material grown by Heim from specimens collected by the Wassons, identified the chemical structure of the active compounds, psilocybin and psilocin.

In 1957, they published a Life magazine article ( Seeking the Magic Mushroom), bringing knowledge of the existence of psychoactive mushrooms to a wide audience for the first time.

They became the first westerners to participate in a Mazatec sacred mushroom ritual. In the course of their investigations, they mounted expeditions to Mexico to study the religious use of mushrooms by the native population. Fascinated by the marked difference in cultural attitudes towards the fungus in Russia compared to the United States, the couple began field research which led to the writing of Mushrooms, Russia and History published in 1957. Wasson's studies in ethnomycology began during his 1927 honeymoon trip to the Catskill Mountains when his bride, Valentina Pavlovna Guercken, a pediatrician, chanced upon some edible wild mushrooms. Several of his books were self-published in illustrated, limited editions and have never been reprinted. In the course of independent research, he made contributions to the field of ethnobotany, botany and anthropology. Robert Gordon Wasson (Septem– December 23, 1986) was an author, amateur researcher and banker. Better weighing performance in 6 easy steps

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