Among Buddha, Muhammed, and others, Jesus remains the most prolific religious figure in modern history. However, itās important to note that Bible stories are but one interpretation of his life and times. There are many other theories on his lifeās happenings than what exists inside the Christian churchās teachings. Was Jesus into psychedelics? Some say yes.
The Mystic
Was Jesus Christ sent to Earth to forgive us of our sins? Well, that one might be up for debate depending on the audience. We do know that Jesus was a profoundly spiritual man who devoted his life to delivering messages of love and peace. Long before mankind turned him into the figurehead of the worldās largest religion, Jesus was the original hippie. With his long hair, beard, robe, and sandals, he not only looked the part but walked the walk. He communed with beggars, prostitutes, lepers, and adulterers. Society ignored these people, or publicly stoned them to death for their āsins.ā And Jesus loved them.
He was a mystic, a seer, a lover of all humanity. However, he wasnāt entirely well-liked throughout his community. Not thrilled with his claims to be āthe son of God” .Maybe Jesus had experienced scenarios that brought him so close to God that he became one with Source.
Feasting on Fungi
Mushrooms have been around for millennia, dating back to some of the earliest civilizations in the world. They were likely a common food source during Jesusā time on Earth. They grow wild across the globe, so itās not unusual to assume that Israelites were feasting on fungi. It is likely safe to say that they picked up pretty quickly which mushrooms were great to munch on for nutrition, versus which ones had them seeing burning bushes.
Considering the likelihood that time was on their side, thought devoted to spiritual evolution was left to the imagination. The Israelites were looking for a deeper spiritual system than what the Romans were offering in their many gods and goddesses that they borrowed from the Greeks. Jesus filled that role from the moment he was born. His entire life story was something magical. From the narrative of his immaculate conception to being born in a stable in Bethlehem, walking on water and healing the sick, he was a miracle worker. And then, as his ultimate act, he was resurrected from the dead before āascendingā into heaven.
Now, give this a thought for a moment. The notion of rising from the dead insinuates that Jesus may have been one of the first people to explore the concept of life after death. Not the whole heaven and hell scenario, but the theory that we have all been here before. Furthermore, the idea that we will be again. For those that have experience with psychedelics, this is not a far-fetched concept.
Mushrooms in Christianity
One of the most sacred Christian holidays is Christmas, the birth of Christ. The correlation between ancient shamanic practices and what we know to be āthe spirit of Christmasā points to images of mushroom collection in the old world. Take, for example, the harvesting of the Amanita muscaria mushroom by the Siberian tribe called the Evenki. Now, the Evenki were hunters and gatherers, and they also just so happened to ride reindeer. Amanita muscaria grow only underneath evergreen trees. As the Evenki harvested the mushrooms, theyād lay them to dry on the branches of the trees. Round, bright-red mushrooms were drying all across the evergreens just like Christmas decorations. Read more about the connection to Christmas in the Shaman Claus.
Psychedelic Jesus
From visions of Jesus himself, to encounters with āSourceā, we know that many entheogens produce profound otherworldly, spiritual awakenings. Therefore, it is plausible to assume that Jesus himself was consuming psychedelic substances. Furthermore, this may have led to his awakening as the putative son of God, and led him on his lifeās mission to connect humanity in the name of love, forgiveness, and unity.
While itās impossible to verify that Jesus did in fact eat psilocybin mushrooms, there is compelling evidence to suggest that he in fact did. Early shamans used psychedelics for healing, and Jesus was known as a powerful healer. For example, there is the story of Jesus healing a leper. In The Great Canterbury Psalter, a masterpiece of medieval poetry and prayers, this story is different than the version in the Bible. Here, the leper holds a scroll in his left hand, which translates as āMaster, if you want you may cleanse me,ā but rather than pointing the scroll at Jesus, he points to Jesusā scroll. Jesusā scroll says, āI want to be cleansed.ā Similarly, the author of The Great Canterbury Psalter used other instances of psychedelic mushrooms. It is thought that perhaps this story indicates Jesus has realized the healing powers of the magic mushrooms.
Entheogens in Christian Art
Art from the ancient world has revealed much information about the culture of past civilizations. Before most people could read and write, they used art as the primary form of communication to share their stories. Consequently, these images became their history books. Thus, weāve learned about rites of passage, formalities of war, and social customs through ancient artwork. Additionally, we have seen evidence of the use of magic mushrooms in Christian art, perhaps indicating their knowledge of entheogensā connection to the divine.
Palm Sunday
In the book The Psychedelic Gospels: The Secret History of Hallucinogens in Christianity, authors Jerry B. and Julie M. Brown detail evidence of entheogens in Christian artwork. Their anthropological research trip to churches throughout Europe and the Middle East proved fruitful. The chief aim of this journey was to challenge the traditional understandings of Judeo-Christian religion. During a tour of the Church of Saint Martin in France, Julie first noticed the detailed, wall-length fresco of Jesus entering Jerusalem. There, above the men welcoming Jesus were five psilocybin mushroom caps. Consistent with Romanesque style, the mushroom caps were as large as the menās heads, indicating their importance in the artwork.
Everything about the artwork indicated it was, in fact, Jesus riding through the gates of Jerusalem on a donkey during Passover. This is the holiday we now refer to as Palm Sunday. The fresco also depicts an angel purifying a man (thought to be the prophet Isaiah) with a mushroom, suggesting that it may have been psilocybin that inspired his prophetic visions. Additionally, the curious discovery of mushrooms is hidden in plain sight, even ornately decorating clothing.
āWe contemplated the incontrovertible facts portrayed in the wall paintings before us: the pictorial fusion of Jesus entering Jerusalem with the purification of Isaiah; Jesus with arms outstretched toward the large psilocybin mushrooms in the Entry; the joyful youth cutting down mushrooms with a long knife on the towers of Jerusalem over the scene of the Last Supper; the otherworldly expressions of Jesus and his disciples leaning on the table; and the orderly row of mushrooms cleverly hidden in the hems of the disciples.ā
The Mushroom Tree
Just west of the Church of Saint Martin is the famous Plaincourault Chapel. Here, mushrooms are much more obvious. In a piece entitled Temptation in the Garden of Eden, there are a man and a woman with a tree between them. The tree bears a striking resemblance to a tall-stemmed psilocybin mushroom, with several smaller mushrooms growing out to the side from the main stem. As with the mushrooms in the artwork at the Church of Saint Martin, these were in the Romanesque style as wellāwith the mushrooms much larger than the heads of Adam and Eve on either side.
Christian Mysticism
Mysticism is the belief that through surrender, devotion, and spiritual contemplation, you may commune with a deity, god, or be filled with spiritual knowledge. After Jesusā death, the evolution of Christianity expanded rapidly across the globe. Early Christians had a strong desire to connect with the spirit of Jesus, as Christianity itself was a religion of the spirit. Undoubtedly, the longing to commune with Christ led to the writing of the Christian Bible, the writing of the Bible being a kind of holy communion in itself.
Whatās In a Name?
The Bible references plant medicines that appear to be cannabis. Kneh bossem, kaneh-bosm, and kannabos are mentioned in the Book of Exodus and the Hebrew Bible as sacred plants used in holy anointing oil and sacred practices. The use of cannabis in religious ceremonies is evidenced throughout the world. Many anthropologists and etymologists have confirmed that they believe this to be true.
Mysticism evolved with religion, but proof of even the earliest stories in the Hebrew Bible give clues to the use of entheogenic substances. A psychoanalyst and research reader in the department of the Study of Religion at the University of Toronto, claims that the meaning of words has changed much since the time of Christ. He points to evidence that manna was actually an entheogen. Manna was the holy bread that sustained the Israelites as they wandered through the desert for 40 years. The Israelites claimed that manna was a gift from God. This points to an instance where early Jewish mysticism also indicates the use of psychedelics.
Amen
The connection between psychedelics and spirituality cannot be denied. While perhaps not publicized or condoned within the church, there is ancient evidence pointing to the use of psychedelics to commune with the divine and connect to Source. Did Jesus personally consume them?
