Agaricus muscarius
-VERMEULEN Frans,
Agar.
Fear makes fools of two kinds of men: the one who is afraid of nothing, and the other who is afraid of everything.
[McKenzie]
Signs
Amanita muscaria. Fly Agaric. N.O. Agaricaceae [Fungi].
KINGDOM FUNGI Fungi have been traditionally grouped with plants, but they are as distinct from vascular plants as they are from animals. Fungi have no motile cells at any stage of their life cycles and no direct evolutionary connection with the plants. Unlike green plants and algae, which contain chlorophyll, fungi are unable to synthesize their energy requirements from sunlight. They are all heterotrophs, like animals, meaning that they depend for their nourishment on organic matter already produced by other organisms. Therefore fungi are now placed in a distinct kingdom. The cell wall of fungi is composed of chitin, a polysaccharide that is never found in plants, but that is the principal component of the exoskeleton of insects and crustaceans. The durability of chitin allows certain fungi to break through asphalt and to uproot paving stones. Most fungi reproduce both sexually and asexually. Occasionally asexual reproduction occurs by fragmentation of the hyphae [thread-like cells], but most reproduction is through the spreading of asexual spores by wind or water. Hyphae grow by elongation at the tips and also by branching. The resulting profusion of hyphae is called the mycelium. Abundant development of mycelium may result in the formation of large fruiting structures such as mushrooms and puffballs. Other types of massive hyphal structures enable some fungi to exist under difficult conditions or to spread to suitable nutritional sources. Fungi typically obtain nutrients by secreting digestive enzymes termed exoenzymes into the food source and absorbing the smaller organic molecules that are released. Although mainly terrestrial, fungi also live in water or other media that contain organic substances. 1
CLASSIFICATION Fungi can be divided into three categories based on their relationship to their immediate environment. Parasitic fungi feed on living organisms; saprophytic fungi subsist on dead or decaying matter; mycorrhizal fungi form a symbiotic or mutually beneficial relationship with the rootlets of plants [mostly trees]. Most mycorrhizal fungi are host-specific, they grow only with one kind of tree. About four-fifths of all vascular plants form associations between their roots and fungi; these associations play a critical role in plant nutrition and distribution. A. muscaria belongs to the third category. Parasitic fungi attack living organisms. They are the most important single cause of plant diseases; well over 5000 species of fungi attack economically valuable crop and garden plants, as well as many wild plants. Certain fungi attack living trees, causing enormous losses to the world's timber crop. Other fungi are the cause of serious diseases in humans and domestic animals.
FUNGI "Fungi are those plants which are colourless; they have no green chlorophyll within them, and it is this green substance which enables the higher plants to build up, under the influence of sunlight, the starches and sugars which ultimately form our food. Having no chlorophyll, fungi cannot use the energy of the sun and must therefore adapt another method of life. They either live as parasites on other living plants or animals, or they live on decaying matter ... Fungi differ from flowering plants in their chemical influence upon the air. They absorb oxygen and exhale carbonic acid, performing the same office in this respect as animals, which they most resemble in chemical composition. The odours they emit in decay are more like putrescent animal than vegetable matter ... Their office in the organized world is to check exuberance of growth, to facilitate decomposition, to regulate the balance of the component elements of the atmosphere, to promote fertility and to nourish myriads of the smaller members of the animal kingdom ... Certain of the species represent a danger to our existing food supply; the parasites on wheat, rye [Secale], corn [Ustilago] and on potato plants [Solanum tuberosum aegrotans] have of recent years been of study by scientific agriculturists ... Yet many of them perform useful and even beneficent functions, such as yeasts ... In ancient times the eating of fungi was a common practice. The Romans especially favoured the Boleti."2
FUNGUS PHYSIOLOGY Fungi require free oxygen and large amounts of water and of carbohydrates or other carbon sources for growth. Sugars such as glucose and levulose are usable by most fungi, but the use of other carbon sources depends on the ability of the fungus to produce suitable enzymes. Some of the mycorrhizal fungi may use nitrogen from the atmosphere, but all of the others depend on nitrates, ammonium salts, or other inorganic or organic nitrogen compounds. Other elements necessary for fungus growth include potassium, phosphorus, magnesium, and sulphur. Traces of iron, manganese, copper, molybdenum, zinc, and gallium and small amounts of growth substances also are necessary. Some fungi are at least partially deficient in one or more of these growth substances. The enzymes of fungi enable them to act upon a variety of substances. A group of enzymes, called the zymase complex, permits yeasts to carry on alcoholic fermentation. Glycogen, a substance related to starch and dextrin, is the most common reserve carbohydrate of fungi.
DECOMPOSITION Fungi are nature's recyclers, the soil's replenishers. In recent years many fungi have been discovered in polluted rivers and streams. These fungi participate in the natural decomposition of sewage. In feeding on dead or decaying matter, fungi reduce complex organic compounds to simpler building blocks. Thereby, plants can re-use them. Thus, fungi are life-destroyers as well as givers. "Their activities are as necessary to the continued existence of the world as are those of the food producers. Decomposition releases carbon dioxide into the atmosphere and returns nitrogenous compounds and other materials to the soil where they can be used again by plants and eventually by animals. It is estimated that, on the average, the top 20 centimetres of fertile soil may contain nearly 5 metric tons of fungi and bacteria per hectare. As decomposers, fungi often come into direct conflict with human interests. Equipped with a powerful arsenal of enzymes that break down organic products, fungi are often nuisances and are sometimes highly destructive. This is especially true in the tropics, because warmth and dampness promote fungal growth; it is estimated that during World War II less than 50 per cent of the military supplies sent to tropical areas arrived in usable condition. Fungi attack cloth, paint, cartons, leather, waxes, jet fuel, insulation on cables and wires, photographic film, and even the coating of the lenses of optical equipment - in fact, almost any conceivable substance. The importance of fungi as commercial pests is enhanced by their ability to grow under a wide range of conditions. The qualities of fungi that make them such important pests also make them commercially valuable. Many fungi, especially the yeasts, are useful because of their ability to produce substances such as ethanol and carbon dioxide, which plays a central role in baking."3
POISON "Evil-smelling fungi are always to be regarded with distrust. It is a suspicious sign of dangerous qualities, if a fungus on being cut or bruised quickly turns deep blue or greenish, also if it is noticed that a small piece broken from a freshly-gathered fungus when tasted leaves, instead of an agreeable, nutty flavour, a sharp tingling on the tongue, or is in any way bitter ... The poisonous Amanitas should not be very liable to be mistaken for the mushroom, since the top of the cap is usually coloured, from yellow through shades of orange to red or occasionally olive brown."4
AGARICACEAE The Agaricaceae order of gill-bearing Fungi comprises about 4,600 species. Some members are poisonous, as the Amanitas [Fly and Deadly Agarics], whereas others, as Agaricus, Cantharellus, etc., are among the best edible species.
DISTRIBUTION Amanita muscaria is a typical species of the northern latitudes. At lesser latitudes it is present particularly in the mountain areas. It has a preference for acidic soil and is common in birch and pine woods, where it grows from the roots of these host trees.
NAME The name Agaricus probably comes from Agari, a district in Sarmatia. It was applied by Dioscorides to a peculiar drug supplied by the Polyporus of the Larch, which was of considerable repute. The specific name is derived from musca, a fly. It has names that link it with flies in many European languages, e.g. vliegenzwam in Dutch, flugsvamp in Swedish, tue-mouche in French, Fliegenpilz in German, moscario in Italian, and mukhomor in Russian. The name derives from its former use in Germany as an insecticide. The first to record this was the Dominican Bishop of Regensburg, Albertus Magnus, who died in 1280. The generic name Amanita derives from the Gr. amanitai, meaning 'fungi without any details'.
FLY AGARIC The cap of A. muscaria is of a brilliant scarlet, studded with scattered white scales, fragments of the universal veil [volva] in which it was wrapped when young. During rainy weather the cap is sticky. Poison extracted from it was once used for the destruction of flies and other insects; hence its name. In the Autumn, it may be found in damp parts of birch and pine woods, either solitary or scattered to densely gregarious or in large rings.
SYMBOLISM The fly agaric has been a symbol of luck and happiness since ancient times. It is given as a good-luck charm, esp. at Christmas and New Year's. Ott, author of Pharmacotheon, has suggested that some of the imagery of Santa Claus is related to the Siberian shamanic rituals surrounding fly agaric. Santa Claus's ascent of the chimney echoes Siberian festivals in which the shaman would climb the central post that held up the roof of the winter dwelling and exit via the smokehole; his clothing of red and white reflects the colours of the fungus; his flight through the sky is shamanic; modern mythology places Santa's homeland as Lapland, the region in northern Scandinavia that is also the homeland of the reindeer. The 'take off' for the shamanic journey to the Otherworlds was in several traditions around the world symbolically represented by the shaman climbing a birch pole, at the top of which he might flap his arms like a bird's wings. An interesting point here is that the birch tree has a symbiotic relationship with the fly agaric. According to the famous ethnomycologist R. Gordon Wasson, chimney-sweeps in central Europe regard the fly agaric as their own emblem. German names as Glückspilz [lucky mushroom] and Narrenschwamm [jester's mushroom] testify to folk knowledge of the intoxicating potential of the cosmopolitan fly agaric. An ancient Indian manuscript calls Soma "the son of the thunder". The association of Amanita with thunder and lightning was not uncommon, e.g. with the Mayas.
FOLKLORE The popularity of the mushroom-loving garden gnome is as persistent as widespread. Garden gnomes seem to fulfil the same purpose as the Germanic Alrauns; they are placed as symbols of good luck and guardianship, and, frequently perched on mushrooms, pose like protectors of the lawn or fish pond. The fly agaric is linked with spirits in Siberia and parts of Europe, and also in Japan, where it represents flying spirits of the forest that sometimes appeared as long-nosed humans and alternatively took the form of birds. "In Germany, fairy rings were supposed to be caused by witches dancing on Walpurgis Nacht [May Day Eve]. In general, they were the work of fairies. In Wales, if a fairy ring were found in a field, the landowner left it well alone. The rings were linked with fertility and doom. Cattle could not eat grass from the rings, but Welsh mountain sheep were said to thrive on grass growing in these circles. It was believed that crops grown on the site of plowed fairy rings would be rich and abundant, but the farmer would from then on be under the threat of great personal and spiritual danger from the wrath of the fairies. A large body of Welsh folktales describes the fate of the mortals who entered the ring. The usual pattern of these tales is that the trespasser finds within the ring a group of spirits dancing and is forced to dance with them. The land of the spirits operates on a different time scale to the world of earth, a concept reflected in Europe and also Japan. A moment of fairy time represents an aeon of mortal time. In the Welsh tales, the mortals are finally released and allowed to return home. Upon reaching their houses, they find strange people living there. The disoriented travellers are offered bread. Upon eating this food, the passage of time that they have been away manifests itself in their bodies, and they crumble to dust. 5
MAGIC MUSHROOMS From ancient times hallucinogenic mushrooms were, and continue to be used both for healing and for divination. Among the Central-American Indians 'magic mushrooms' are eaten by special sages, who may also prescribe them as a cure for certain illnesses. The general effect of the consumption of these magic mushrooms, such as Psilocybe, Stropharia and Amanita, is a period of slight muscular uncoordination or inebriation, followed by a feeling of well-being and enjoyment, explosions of laughter, and ending in deep sleep.
CONSTITUENTS The main active principle of A. muscaria is ibotenic acid, which is converted by the human body into muscimol, a more powerful form that passes out in the urine. [The Inuit Eskimos are known to collect urine and drink it for its secondary hallucinogenic effect.] The ash is rich in potassium and phosphorus. A. muscaria is notable for its ability to extract vanadium and selenium from the soil. Dried fly agarics increase in potency, as drying causes decarboxylation of ibotenic acid to the much more potent muscimol.
HALLUCINOGEN Amanita muscaria played a major role as a hallucinogen in the New World, although its use in the Old World, particularly among the northern people, was known far longer. "Some 3,500 years ago, Aryan peoples swept down from the north into the Indus Valley of India, bringing with them the cult of soma, a god-narcotic of vegetal origin. ... The cult eventually died out, and for some obscure reason, the original holy plant was forgotten. For more than 2,000 years the source of soma has been a mystery. During the past century, more than 100 suggested identifications of the identity of the original soma have been offered. Amongst the most widely mentioned 'identifications' have been Sarcostemma viminale and Periploca aphylla [Asclepiadaceae], Rheum spp. [Polygonaceae], Peganum harmala [Zygophyllaceae], and Ephedra spp. Cannabis sativa has also been suggested. None of the solutions fit the descriptions offered in the vedas. ... On the basis of meticulous and scholarly study of the vedas and extensive interdisciplinary research, Wasson has recently identified the original soma as A. muscaria, an identification that apparently satisfies all of the many intricately interlocking pieces of direct and indirect evidence - including even a reference in the Rigveda to ceremonial urine drinking." [Evans Schultes] In spite of Wasson's massive evidence, McKenna puts forward another fungal candidate for soma: Stropharia cubensis [one of the psilocybin mushrooms]. McKenna argues that fly agaric doesn't provide "reliable ecstatic experiences" and that the "rapturous visionary ecstasy that inspired the Vedas and was the central mystery of the Indo-European people as they moved across the Iranian plateau could not possibly have been caused by A. muscaria."6
EFFECTS "The plant is not so much a lethal poison as an intoxicant and narcotic, though it has in rare cases caused death. The Vikings used it in order to 'go berserk'. In the prohibition era in the USA its use was said to be as effective as bootleg liquor, and less expensive. The usual method of taking the fungus is to roll it into a bolus and swallow it without chewing. The desired effect ensues in one or two hours and is evidenced by giddiness, a flushed visage, cheerfulness of spirit, uncontrolled speech and behaviour, passing on occasion into complete loss of consciousness. Sometimes violent muscle spasms occur, or the effects are quite ludicrous; if a subject under the influence steps over a piece of straw or a small stick he takes a stride or a jump, as if clearing the trunk of a tree; a talkative type talks at random and may disclose secret matters; one fond of music constantly bursts into song."7 It has been observed that persons under the influence of fly agaric are able to answer questions from people around them, but only about things that are connected to their delusions. "The most absurd things occur at such fly agaric feasts. Musical talents sing constantly, some people chatter, laugh, and tell their secrets to everybody, whereas others behave as if they are under the influence of hashish. Their concept of space disappears and they make big leaps to step over a blade of grass or other small objects. Often muscular strength is particularly increased."8
FRENZY In ancient Greece the dionysia - orgiastic festivals - were staged in the honour of the God Dionysus [Bacchus]. Inebriating, aphrodisiac beverages were passed around and the participants sang and danced until their bodies quivered in ecstasy. It finally ended when everybody fell to the floor completely exhausted. If the wine was of a good "bouquet" it contained additives such as: oleander sprouts, juniper branches, wormwood, mandrake fruit or roots, and possibly belladonna, hellebore, aconite, opium, and hashish. But if the wine was of a particular good bouquet, Greek sources are silent about the one plant that was singularly predestined for the wine of Dionysus: the fly agaric. It could really elicit the frenzy required for his mysteries. "It has been suggested that the ancient berserker of Scandinavia, who went on periodic orgies of killing, intoxicated themselves into a mad frenzy possibly by ingesting fly agaric, but there is not a shred of evidence for and much against this theory."9
INTOXICATION Many words of the Finno-Urgic language group referring to intoxication, ecstasy and drunkenness are traceable to words meaning fungus or fly agaric. Among Siberian tribes, the Creator Himself was connected to the fly agaric. He asked Existence for help to lift a heavy load. This deity told him to eat fly agaric; he did so and was able to lift the load with ease. Following the myth, the Siberians also recommended the mushroom for heavy physical labour. The natives of Eastern Siberia like the small specimens best: "Big fungi are not so obedient as small ones, they may deceive; small fungi are stronger than big ones but more submissive." The mushroom can be taken in many different ways: dry under the tongue, in warm or cold milk / water, together with other herbs, or chewed by the woman, then made into a sausage for the man to swallow. Even smoking of the fungus has been reported. The mushrooms can also be soaked in fruit juice, and then preferably the juice of the bog bilberry [Vaccinium uliginosum]. This juice is said to increase the psychoactive effects of A. muscaria. Epilobium angustifolium, or fireweed, was also used as an additive. The psychoactivity of Amanita is seasonally determinant. The most powerful ones are picked in the middle of August when the season is beginning. In mushrooms picked in September the narcotic and physical effects seem to be predominant whereas in August the 'visionary' and psychedelic effects are more highlighted. "Drowsiness is also a common phenomenon. In fact, those who ingest A. muscaria frequently fall asleep ['swoon'], to awaken hours later with little or no memory of their experiences. There is no 'hangover' effect as with alcohol. Since muscimol passes out through the urine, Siberian users 'recycled' their A. muscaria by drinking their own urine. ... Treatment of muscimol poisoning is largely supportive - reassuring the victim that the effects are temporary. In the mistaken belief that muscarine was the principal toxin, older texts prescribe atropine as an antidote. Atropine, however, is likely to exacerbate the effects of ibotenic acid/muscimol."10
EXPERIMENTS In a study of the fly agaric, the Italian mycologist Antonio Bianchi reported on personal experiences with the Amanita muscaria taken from European samples. "We have had a very small number of experiments [six times] with a small group [five people]. ... Group interaction has been found to be meaningless because the effect of the drug is very individual and each person wants to be alone with himself. ... Another very important aspect of this mushroom is diet [fasting before taking it]: light food two or three days before and a day of fasting help to reduce the nausea in the first stage and to permit a 'relaxed' course. ... The experience with Amanita muscaria can be split into three stages: a first stage when the physical symptoms of nausea and vomiting predominate [vomiting is very rare while a strong sense of nausea is always present]; a second stage when the narcotic effect predominates, and a third when there could be visions and hallucinations. ... One person in the first session reported in the passage between stage 1 and stage 2 a 'profound sense of spiritual insight with a dreamlike feeling of a religious identity with my deep self.' This is the only religious feeling which has been reported. More common were changes in body perspective with a feeling of being split in two, with a part of himself remaining on the left side of his body. Dizziness and a sense of being disoriented, with some difficulty in motor coordination, were very common in the third stage. In all cases this experience occurred in a dreamlike state, which is the most important aspect of stage 3: a state in which a person is experiencing reality as an inner world with a strong feeling of introspection. ... The sense of ego was maintained throughout the experience. ... People experienced a particular kind of imagination where thoughts were immediately transformed into images. This has happened to six people. During the Amanita experience people complained of a lack of attention with a high involvement in inner images and sensations and great difficulty in directing concentration. No effects were reported on memory, which was unimpaired in all throughout the experience. Nobody has reported feelings of irritation, anger, shame, guilt or other negative feelings. Sexual feelings and also sensations of love, joy and bliss were absent. Some people remember a marked sense of detachment and no emotional involvement. Control of the experience, thought and image was very reduced because of the absence of volition: the person accepted this situation with detachment and absence of any criticism. I think that the most powerful quality of Amanita muscaria is this sense of silent talking to oneself; the kind of internal dialogue where a person has the feeling of important revelations about his life, a feeling which is maintained for a long time after the experience. More research into this is needed, particularly with selected groups of people: I think this mushroom could have a lot to teach us about ourselves." 11
PROVINGS •• [1] Hahnemann - 11 provers; method: unknown.
•• [2] Lembke - self-experimentation; method: mother tincture in doses increasing from 10 drops to 2 drams over a period of 12 days.
•• [3] Adler - 20 provers [18 males, 2 females], 1863-64; method: 13 trials with [mother] tincture in [increasing] doses ranging from 4 to 400 drops, every 1 to 5 days, over 11 to 150 days; 3 trials with 1x dil.; 4 trials with 2x dil.; 1 trial with 6x dil.; 1 trial with 10x dil. Some provers experimented with various potencies.
[1] Northington and Schneider, The Botanical World. [2] Grieve, A Modern Herbal. [3] Raven et al, Biology of Plants. [4] Grieve, ibid. [5] Morgan, Toads and Toadstools. [6] McKenna, Food of the Gods. [7] Gibson, Studies of Homeopathic Remedies. [8] Ernst von Bibra, Plant Intoxicants. [9] Schultes, The Botany and Chemistry of Hallucinogens. [10] Arora, Mushrooms Demystified. [11] Festi and Bianchi, Amanita muscaria : Mycopharmacological Outline and Personal Experiences, PM and E Vol. 5.
Affinity
SPINAL AXIS [OCCIPUT; NERVES; lumbar region]. Peristalsis. Heart. Circulation. Respiration. Chest. * Right side. Left side.
Modalities
Worse: Air [COLD; FREEZING; OPEN; stormy weather]. Exhaustion [mental; coition; debauchery]. Alcohol. PRESSURE. TOUCH. Morning. Daytime. During menses. After motion. After eating. Before thunderstorm.
Better: Gentle motion. Evening.
Main symptoms
M DISTURBED SENSE OF PERSPECTIVE.
[every little problem is exaggerated; small holes appear like frightful chasms; self-esteem, reciting his exploits; delusions of grandeur; exalted strength].
Compare: Defective accommodation [of the eye].
• "In a minute or two the Caterpillar took the hookah out of its mouth and yawned once or twice, and shook itself. Then it got down off the mushroom and crawled away into the grass, merely remarking as it went, 'one side will make you grow taller, and the other side will make you grow shorter.' 'One side of what? The other side of what?' thought Alice to herself. 'Of the mushroom,' said the Caterpillar, just as if she had asked it aloud; and in another moment it was out of sight."
[Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland]
Unrestrained. Uninhibited.
Fearless; thoughtless; reckless.
c Talks without listening.
c Speaks without thinking, revealing secrets.
[The Dutch have the same word for fungus ["zwam"] as for raving or twaddling ["zwammen"].]
c Nosy, inquisitive, curious.
• "I go from one extreme to the other - I am either very excited or very low. ... I can't keep friends because I get too intimate with them. I start delving into all their problems. I get too friendly. I want to see them all the time and then after about four or six weeks I lose interest in them completely."1
c Fights without fear; with increased strength.
• "Fearless, menacing, mischievous frenzy; also, frenzy which causes the patient to assail and injure himself, with great exertion of power." [Allen]
• "He is intoxicated with fearless frenzy; forming bold and revengeful projects." [Allen]
• "My dreams have a continuous theme over and over. I'm always fighting with someone. I'm always the good guy. I'm always defending and helping people. Hand-to-hand combat. Sometimes I feel very confident; sometimes fearful because there's more than one combatant. In real life it's not a problem because I'm a martial artist. I'm dangerous, so two or three opponents are no problem."2
c Disturbed awareness of body.
• "She felt so light, that it seemed as though she could run as never before."
• "It seems as if the whole body were gradually diminishing." [Allen]
c As if distant.
• "Noise like a distant tea-kettle beginning to boil, and heat in head."
• "As of a clock striking at a great distance."
• "Sound as if a nail were being driven into a board at a distance." [Allen]
c Exalted strength.
• "This man has an absolutely superhuman quality about him. It was inconceivable to me that any one person could have done so many things in one lifetime. Activities that would exhaust the average person gave him still more energy. He seemed to have a ceaseless yearning for the experiences of life."3
• "The key to this remedy is in its clumsiness. It is as if some kind of mismatch has occurred between the body and the vital force that give it life: either the vital force is in good order and the body is disabled, not allowing the full expression of the energy within, or the body is in good order but the internal energy is too intense. ... These individuals throw themselves wholeheartedly into action, but the body can't keep up with what they want to do. This is, for example, a remedy for tennis elbow [hitting too hard], or for pulled muscles occurring in sports. ... He has realized that up to now, in all his activities, he has always set his goals so high he could not attain them." [Grandgeorge]
M FEAR of CANCER; preoccupied with death, dying, graveyards, etc.
• "Their biggest fear is about their health and there is always a bizarre connection with death. An Agaricus person will go to all the funerals in the neighbourhood." [Vithoulkas]
M Great interest in weird subjects.
• "Also when I was a teenager I used to sit up through the night talking with my father about things like reincarnation, UFO's, ghosts and things like that. Recently I have felt that I wanted to die - to see what it is like. I want to leave my job and become a prison warder because I want to find out why they are in prison. But after about two months I would probably be bored with that job."4
• "I am absolutely fascinated by dying. I love ghost stories and I am fascinated by the supernatural and reading about it. I am really interested in near-death experiences. When I was a child I loved ghost stories and was very interested in my grandmother's experiences with dying people as a nurse - I would always ask her about it."5
• "The only kind of book I like to read is a book about horror. The book must be really gory to be enjoyable. Even when I was a child that was the sort of book I liked. They don't frighten me at all. I like looking at operations on TV - it's out of curiosity - I like to see how things work."6
M INDOLENCE in the MORNING.
Dulness - do not want to depart from their daily routine.
• "Some patients when going on with their own usual vocation are pretty smart, but if you put some new idea before them, something not in the routine of their work, they are perfectly idiotic. This is especially noticeable in the morning. He can't take in anything new in the morning, but he is able to take in new ideas and is bright in the evening, like the effect produced by alcoholic beverages." [Kent]
• "Very much out of humour all day, and disinclined to answer when asked questions; great indifference to everything; great selfishness; great forgetfulness." [Hoyne]
Brightening up in the EVENING.
Great loquacity, jumps from one subject to another [but does not answer].
[Intoxication with Fly Agaric is characterized by cheerfulness and loss of self-control, which is followed by lassitude and depression; compare the effect of stimulants such as tea, coffee and alcohol.]
M Great disinclination to speak.
• "Without being ill-humoured. He compels himself to speak, but answers in few words, though otherwise cheerful. It seems as if he could not find the words to express himself. Self-absorbed mood." [Hahnemann]
Compare: "Group interaction has been found to be meaningless because the effect of the drug is very individual and each person wants to be alone with himself." [experiment Bianchi; see above]
• "Even though he shows loquacity, jumping from one subject to another, he is usually very quiet while visiting the doctor. In general, in many cases where Agaricus is suggested, the patient speaks about himself with great difficulty to the doctor. ... He is unwilling to talk to the doctor about his inner world. A person who doesn't want to confess his sins, even in front of the gates of hell, will speak of himself with great difficulty."7
M Hyperactive, clumsy children.
• "Fingers fly open spasmodically while holding things."
NO fear [climb the highest tree, etc.].
And Growing pains.
Or: • "Nervous girls prior to puberty who have convulsions from being scolded, from excitement and shock, late in mental development." [Kent]
Nervous children who constantly lick their lips, giving rise to vesicles filled with yellow serum.
Growing pains in children [hyperactive, fearless and awkward].
G Suitable for persons with light hair, lax skin and musculature, and pallor of face.
Speech is apt to be jerky and indistinct [from trembling of the tongue].
• "The patient is frequently light complexioned, aged, with a sluggish circulation, or a drunkard with gastric disturbances and headaches." [Blackwood]
G NERVOUS PERSONS WITH SCANTY URINE.
G TUBERCULAR miasm [wide variety of symptoms].
G COLD.
Very sensitive to cold air.
Cold air strikes through the whole body
Sensation as if frozen.
Coldness in small spots. Sensation as if a chunk of ice was resting on the head.
Hugs the fire.
Cold drinks <. c Frostbite and chilblains and burning/itching, redness, swelling, and < heat. G Sun [sunlight and/or sun heat] <. [vertigo; headache; dimness of vision] G Profuse, cold and oily perspiration. G Great sexual desire. • "There is a lascivious desire to kill." G < [after] COITION. [spasms; lumbosacral backache] • "Useful for the symptoms which come on after coition in young, nervous married women, hysterical fainting after coition." [Kent] G Irregular, uncertain, INVOLUNTARY and exaggerated movements; reaches too far, staggers, steps too high, drops things, etc. • "Grimacing around the mouth as they are getting ready to say something" [Morrison]. • "As the patient looks at you there is a pendulum-like action of the eyes, they go back and forth all the time; they oscillate, though he tries his best to fix his look on you." [Kent] G Trembling, TWITCHING, jerking, spasms; here and there. [< EYELIDS, face or tongue] G Chorea before thunderstorms; > DURING SLEEP.
G Epilepsy from suppressed eruptions.
G SPASMS [local].
< Cold; mental exertion. > Sleep.
And Spine sensitive to touch [esp. cervical region and dorsal region between scapulae].
G Pains BURNING/ITCHING [esp. skin]; as if frozen.
• "Burning, itching and redness of areas of skin. Scratching of pruritic areas gives some relief, but parts scratched become icy cold and itching spreads to other areas." [Gibson]
Sensation of icy-cold needles.
G Pains stitching; splinter-like [in particular in facial neuralgia].
G Pains and coldness, tingling or insensibility.
G SMALL AREAS.
[pains, esp. headache; itching, burning; coldness; muscular twitching]
• "The Agar. patient has spells in which a little muscle of the face or a few fibres of a muscle with quiver for a few minutes and stop, and then in another part of the face the same thing, an eyelid will quiver, and then another set of fibres, sometimes so bad as to nearly drive him crazy." [Kent]
P Shooting frontal headache.
Extending to root of nose.
< Mental exertion. And Heaviness in occiput. And Tendency to fall backwards. P Hay fever: itching in nasopharynx and ears, < menses. Compare: • "In the nose we have irritation, spasmodic sneezing and discharge of pure water from the nostrils, but without inflammatory symptoms. In other words, all the appearances of a fresh and severe cold in the head that soon passes off only to return again two or three times during the day or for several days." [Pierce] Sudden attacks of coryza. P Epistaxis. • "Epistaxis in old people, esp. when of a passive character, requires Agaricus. In blowing the nose, blood comes out of it, early in the morning, immediately after rising; this is followed by violent bleeding of the nose." [Hoyne] P Sciatica or lumbago. < Sitting; touch; stooping [= feeling as if back would break]. > Lying on back.
P Paralytic weakness in the lower limbs soon after becoming pregnant.
[1] Hardy, Morbidly inquisitive : Three cases of Agaricus, HL 1/98. [2-3] Reichenberg-Ullman, The Case of the Dream Warrior; IFH 1995 [Two cases of fearlessness and exalted strength.] [4-6] Hardy, ibid. [7] Loukas and Tsamaslidis, Agaricus muscarius, HL 1/94.
Rubrics
Mind
Anxiety > breathing deeply [1]; > perspiration [1; Calc.]. Audacity [1]. Confusion > eating [1]. Curious [1]. Desires death [1*]. Delirium with exaltation of strength [2]. Delusion arms don't belong to her [1]; he is a great person [2]; obliged to confess his sins at gate of hell [1/1]; legs don't belong to her [2; Bapt.]; that she could run as never before [1/1]; of being smaller [1]; of being under superhuman control [1]. Dulness > evening [1]. Egotism, reciting their exploits [1/1]. Exaggerating [1]. Fear of suffocation at night [1]. Frenzy causing him to injure himself [1; Lyss.]. Loquacity but answers no questions [2/1]; changes quickly from one subject to another [1]. Memory active in evening [1]. Mischievous [2]. Mistakes in speaking < after exertion [1/1]. Mutilating his body [1]. Makes many bold plans [1/1]; revengeful plans [1/1]. Reveals secrets [1; Hyos.]. Runs about in most dangerous places [1/1]. Talks of war [1; Bell.; Hyos.]. Threatening [1; Choc.; Tarent.]. Throws things at persons [1; Bell.; Tub.]. Vertigo From heat of sun [2]. On looking at moving objects [2; Con.]. Head Sensation as if something were alive in head, as if brain were an anthill [1/1]. Pain, when holding the breath [1/1]; > moving head, must move head to and fro [2]; > urination [1].
Eye
Twitching of lids before thunderstorm [2/1].
Vision
Objects seem brighter [1]. Dim < sunlight [1]. Loss of vision, decreasing gradually when walking in open air [1/1*]. Objects become pale after looking long [2; Rhus-t.]. Ear Noises, of a locomotive, when lying down [1*], > rising [1*].
Nose
Obstruction on stooping [1/1]. Smell, acute, sensitive to odour of vinegar [1/1]. Sneezing during sleep [1*], in sunshine [1].
Mouth
Salivation during nausea [1*]. Sweetish taste when smoking [1].
Stomach
Appetite wanting after coition [2/1]. Eructations while smoking [1]; tasting like apples [1/1]. Heartburn after meat [1; Ferr-p.]. Trembling sensation on lying down [1; Cocc.]; from noise [1]. Vomiting from smoking [1].
Abdomen
Feeling of flatulent distension while smoking [1*].
Rectum
Diarrhoea from heat of sun [1; Camph.; Carb-v.].
Urine
Copious during diarrhoea [1]. Scanty in nervous women [2/1].
Male
Sexual desire increased after sleep [2/1].
Female
Itching intolerable [2]; in vagina after coition [1; Androc.; Nit-ac.]. Bearing-down pain in uterus > lying [2]; at end of or after menses [2/1].
Larynx
Sensation of constriction in larynx < singing [2/1]; on falling asleep [2]. Chest Palpitation when lying on back [1]; from tobacco [1]. Shocks through region of heart while lying [2/1]; from noise [2]. Limbs Jerking of single fingers [1*]. Separated sensation, lower limbs, head of femur [1*]; pelvic bones from sacrum [1*]. Sleep Sleeplessness from restlessness in legs [1]; before thunderstorm [1; Sil.]. Perspiration Oily at night [2]. Profuse after coition [2/1]. Skin Itching after coition [2/1]; > after exertion [1/1]; after mental exertion [2/1].
Generals
Convulsions from suppression of milk of mother [2; Mill.]; during thunderstorm [1; Gels.]; > vomiting [1/1]. Faintness from odours, of perfume or vinegar [1/1]. Frosty weather < [2]. * Repertory additions [Hughes]. Food Aversion: [1]: Bread; drinking; eggs; meat; roasted meat; wine. Desire: [3]: Alcohol. [2]: Whiskey. [1]: Beer; bread and butter; cold drinks; eggs; garlic; salt food. Worse: [2]: Alcohol; cold drinks. [1]: Beer; bread and butter; coffee; cold food; dry food; meat; plums, prunes; stimulants; tobacco; vinegar, smell of; wine, smell of. Better: [1]: Alcohol; coffee; cold drinks; hot food; wine.
Agar.
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| Agaricus muscarius |
[McKenzie]
Signs
Amanita muscaria. Fly Agaric. N.O. Agaricaceae [Fungi].
KINGDOM FUNGI Fungi have been traditionally grouped with plants, but they are as distinct from vascular plants as they are from animals. Fungi have no motile cells at any stage of their life cycles and no direct evolutionary connection with the plants. Unlike green plants and algae, which contain chlorophyll, fungi are unable to synthesize their energy requirements from sunlight. They are all heterotrophs, like animals, meaning that they depend for their nourishment on organic matter already produced by other organisms. Therefore fungi are now placed in a distinct kingdom. The cell wall of fungi is composed of chitin, a polysaccharide that is never found in plants, but that is the principal component of the exoskeleton of insects and crustaceans. The durability of chitin allows certain fungi to break through asphalt and to uproot paving stones. Most fungi reproduce both sexually and asexually. Occasionally asexual reproduction occurs by fragmentation of the hyphae [thread-like cells], but most reproduction is through the spreading of asexual spores by wind or water. Hyphae grow by elongation at the tips and also by branching. The resulting profusion of hyphae is called the mycelium. Abundant development of mycelium may result in the formation of large fruiting structures such as mushrooms and puffballs. Other types of massive hyphal structures enable some fungi to exist under difficult conditions or to spread to suitable nutritional sources. Fungi typically obtain nutrients by secreting digestive enzymes termed exoenzymes into the food source and absorbing the smaller organic molecules that are released. Although mainly terrestrial, fungi also live in water or other media that contain organic substances. 1
CLASSIFICATION Fungi can be divided into three categories based on their relationship to their immediate environment. Parasitic fungi feed on living organisms; saprophytic fungi subsist on dead or decaying matter; mycorrhizal fungi form a symbiotic or mutually beneficial relationship with the rootlets of plants [mostly trees]. Most mycorrhizal fungi are host-specific, they grow only with one kind of tree. About four-fifths of all vascular plants form associations between their roots and fungi; these associations play a critical role in plant nutrition and distribution. A. muscaria belongs to the third category. Parasitic fungi attack living organisms. They are the most important single cause of plant diseases; well over 5000 species of fungi attack economically valuable crop and garden plants, as well as many wild plants. Certain fungi attack living trees, causing enormous losses to the world's timber crop. Other fungi are the cause of serious diseases in humans and domestic animals.
 |
| Agaricus muscarius |
FUNGUS PHYSIOLOGY Fungi require free oxygen and large amounts of water and of carbohydrates or other carbon sources for growth. Sugars such as glucose and levulose are usable by most fungi, but the use of other carbon sources depends on the ability of the fungus to produce suitable enzymes. Some of the mycorrhizal fungi may use nitrogen from the atmosphere, but all of the others depend on nitrates, ammonium salts, or other inorganic or organic nitrogen compounds. Other elements necessary for fungus growth include potassium, phosphorus, magnesium, and sulphur. Traces of iron, manganese, copper, molybdenum, zinc, and gallium and small amounts of growth substances also are necessary. Some fungi are at least partially deficient in one or more of these growth substances. The enzymes of fungi enable them to act upon a variety of substances. A group of enzymes, called the zymase complex, permits yeasts to carry on alcoholic fermentation. Glycogen, a substance related to starch and dextrin, is the most common reserve carbohydrate of fungi.
DECOMPOSITION Fungi are nature's recyclers, the soil's replenishers. In recent years many fungi have been discovered in polluted rivers and streams. These fungi participate in the natural decomposition of sewage. In feeding on dead or decaying matter, fungi reduce complex organic compounds to simpler building blocks. Thereby, plants can re-use them. Thus, fungi are life-destroyers as well as givers. "Their activities are as necessary to the continued existence of the world as are those of the food producers. Decomposition releases carbon dioxide into the atmosphere and returns nitrogenous compounds and other materials to the soil where they can be used again by plants and eventually by animals. It is estimated that, on the average, the top 20 centimetres of fertile soil may contain nearly 5 metric tons of fungi and bacteria per hectare. As decomposers, fungi often come into direct conflict with human interests. Equipped with a powerful arsenal of enzymes that break down organic products, fungi are often nuisances and are sometimes highly destructive. This is especially true in the tropics, because warmth and dampness promote fungal growth; it is estimated that during World War II less than 50 per cent of the military supplies sent to tropical areas arrived in usable condition. Fungi attack cloth, paint, cartons, leather, waxes, jet fuel, insulation on cables and wires, photographic film, and even the coating of the lenses of optical equipment - in fact, almost any conceivable substance. The importance of fungi as commercial pests is enhanced by their ability to grow under a wide range of conditions. The qualities of fungi that make them such important pests also make them commercially valuable. Many fungi, especially the yeasts, are useful because of their ability to produce substances such as ethanol and carbon dioxide, which plays a central role in baking."3
POISON "Evil-smelling fungi are always to be regarded with distrust. It is a suspicious sign of dangerous qualities, if a fungus on being cut or bruised quickly turns deep blue or greenish, also if it is noticed that a small piece broken from a freshly-gathered fungus when tasted leaves, instead of an agreeable, nutty flavour, a sharp tingling on the tongue, or is in any way bitter ... The poisonous Amanitas should not be very liable to be mistaken for the mushroom, since the top of the cap is usually coloured, from yellow through shades of orange to red or occasionally olive brown."4
AGARICACEAE The Agaricaceae order of gill-bearing Fungi comprises about 4,600 species. Some members are poisonous, as the Amanitas [Fly and Deadly Agarics], whereas others, as Agaricus, Cantharellus, etc., are among the best edible species.
DISTRIBUTION Amanita muscaria is a typical species of the northern latitudes. At lesser latitudes it is present particularly in the mountain areas. It has a preference for acidic soil and is common in birch and pine woods, where it grows from the roots of these host trees.
NAME The name Agaricus probably comes from Agari, a district in Sarmatia. It was applied by Dioscorides to a peculiar drug supplied by the Polyporus of the Larch, which was of considerable repute. The specific name is derived from musca, a fly. It has names that link it with flies in many European languages, e.g. vliegenzwam in Dutch, flugsvamp in Swedish, tue-mouche in French, Fliegenpilz in German, moscario in Italian, and mukhomor in Russian. The name derives from its former use in Germany as an insecticide. The first to record this was the Dominican Bishop of Regensburg, Albertus Magnus, who died in 1280. The generic name Amanita derives from the Gr. amanitai, meaning 'fungi without any details'.
FLY AGARIC The cap of A. muscaria is of a brilliant scarlet, studded with scattered white scales, fragments of the universal veil [volva] in which it was wrapped when young. During rainy weather the cap is sticky. Poison extracted from it was once used for the destruction of flies and other insects; hence its name. In the Autumn, it may be found in damp parts of birch and pine woods, either solitary or scattered to densely gregarious or in large rings.
SYMBOLISM The fly agaric has been a symbol of luck and happiness since ancient times. It is given as a good-luck charm, esp. at Christmas and New Year's. Ott, author of Pharmacotheon, has suggested that some of the imagery of Santa Claus is related to the Siberian shamanic rituals surrounding fly agaric. Santa Claus's ascent of the chimney echoes Siberian festivals in which the shaman would climb the central post that held up the roof of the winter dwelling and exit via the smokehole; his clothing of red and white reflects the colours of the fungus; his flight through the sky is shamanic; modern mythology places Santa's homeland as Lapland, the region in northern Scandinavia that is also the homeland of the reindeer. The 'take off' for the shamanic journey to the Otherworlds was in several traditions around the world symbolically represented by the shaman climbing a birch pole, at the top of which he might flap his arms like a bird's wings. An interesting point here is that the birch tree has a symbiotic relationship with the fly agaric. According to the famous ethnomycologist R. Gordon Wasson, chimney-sweeps in central Europe regard the fly agaric as their own emblem. German names as Glückspilz [lucky mushroom] and Narrenschwamm [jester's mushroom] testify to folk knowledge of the intoxicating potential of the cosmopolitan fly agaric. An ancient Indian manuscript calls Soma "the son of the thunder". The association of Amanita with thunder and lightning was not uncommon, e.g. with the Mayas.
FOLKLORE The popularity of the mushroom-loving garden gnome is as persistent as widespread. Garden gnomes seem to fulfil the same purpose as the Germanic Alrauns; they are placed as symbols of good luck and guardianship, and, frequently perched on mushrooms, pose like protectors of the lawn or fish pond. The fly agaric is linked with spirits in Siberia and parts of Europe, and also in Japan, where it represents flying spirits of the forest that sometimes appeared as long-nosed humans and alternatively took the form of birds. "In Germany, fairy rings were supposed to be caused by witches dancing on Walpurgis Nacht [May Day Eve]. In general, they were the work of fairies. In Wales, if a fairy ring were found in a field, the landowner left it well alone. The rings were linked with fertility and doom. Cattle could not eat grass from the rings, but Welsh mountain sheep were said to thrive on grass growing in these circles. It was believed that crops grown on the site of plowed fairy rings would be rich and abundant, but the farmer would from then on be under the threat of great personal and spiritual danger from the wrath of the fairies. A large body of Welsh folktales describes the fate of the mortals who entered the ring. The usual pattern of these tales is that the trespasser finds within the ring a group of spirits dancing and is forced to dance with them. The land of the spirits operates on a different time scale to the world of earth, a concept reflected in Europe and also Japan. A moment of fairy time represents an aeon of mortal time. In the Welsh tales, the mortals are finally released and allowed to return home. Upon reaching their houses, they find strange people living there. The disoriented travellers are offered bread. Upon eating this food, the passage of time that they have been away manifests itself in their bodies, and they crumble to dust. 5
MAGIC MUSHROOMS From ancient times hallucinogenic mushrooms were, and continue to be used both for healing and for divination. Among the Central-American Indians 'magic mushrooms' are eaten by special sages, who may also prescribe them as a cure for certain illnesses. The general effect of the consumption of these magic mushrooms, such as Psilocybe, Stropharia and Amanita, is a period of slight muscular uncoordination or inebriation, followed by a feeling of well-being and enjoyment, explosions of laughter, and ending in deep sleep.
CONSTITUENTS The main active principle of A. muscaria is ibotenic acid, which is converted by the human body into muscimol, a more powerful form that passes out in the urine. [The Inuit Eskimos are known to collect urine and drink it for its secondary hallucinogenic effect.] The ash is rich in potassium and phosphorus. A. muscaria is notable for its ability to extract vanadium and selenium from the soil. Dried fly agarics increase in potency, as drying causes decarboxylation of ibotenic acid to the much more potent muscimol.
HALLUCINOGEN Amanita muscaria played a major role as a hallucinogen in the New World, although its use in the Old World, particularly among the northern people, was known far longer. "Some 3,500 years ago, Aryan peoples swept down from the north into the Indus Valley of India, bringing with them the cult of soma, a god-narcotic of vegetal origin. ... The cult eventually died out, and for some obscure reason, the original holy plant was forgotten. For more than 2,000 years the source of soma has been a mystery. During the past century, more than 100 suggested identifications of the identity of the original soma have been offered. Amongst the most widely mentioned 'identifications' have been Sarcostemma viminale and Periploca aphylla [Asclepiadaceae], Rheum spp. [Polygonaceae], Peganum harmala [Zygophyllaceae], and Ephedra spp. Cannabis sativa has also been suggested. None of the solutions fit the descriptions offered in the vedas. ... On the basis of meticulous and scholarly study of the vedas and extensive interdisciplinary research, Wasson has recently identified the original soma as A. muscaria, an identification that apparently satisfies all of the many intricately interlocking pieces of direct and indirect evidence - including even a reference in the Rigveda to ceremonial urine drinking." [Evans Schultes] In spite of Wasson's massive evidence, McKenna puts forward another fungal candidate for soma: Stropharia cubensis [one of the psilocybin mushrooms]. McKenna argues that fly agaric doesn't provide "reliable ecstatic experiences" and that the "rapturous visionary ecstasy that inspired the Vedas and was the central mystery of the Indo-European people as they moved across the Iranian plateau could not possibly have been caused by A. muscaria."6
EFFECTS "The plant is not so much a lethal poison as an intoxicant and narcotic, though it has in rare cases caused death. The Vikings used it in order to 'go berserk'. In the prohibition era in the USA its use was said to be as effective as bootleg liquor, and less expensive. The usual method of taking the fungus is to roll it into a bolus and swallow it without chewing. The desired effect ensues in one or two hours and is evidenced by giddiness, a flushed visage, cheerfulness of spirit, uncontrolled speech and behaviour, passing on occasion into complete loss of consciousness. Sometimes violent muscle spasms occur, or the effects are quite ludicrous; if a subject under the influence steps over a piece of straw or a small stick he takes a stride or a jump, as if clearing the trunk of a tree; a talkative type talks at random and may disclose secret matters; one fond of music constantly bursts into song."7 It has been observed that persons under the influence of fly agaric are able to answer questions from people around them, but only about things that are connected to their delusions. "The most absurd things occur at such fly agaric feasts. Musical talents sing constantly, some people chatter, laugh, and tell their secrets to everybody, whereas others behave as if they are under the influence of hashish. Their concept of space disappears and they make big leaps to step over a blade of grass or other small objects. Often muscular strength is particularly increased."8
FRENZY In ancient Greece the dionysia - orgiastic festivals - were staged in the honour of the God Dionysus [Bacchus]. Inebriating, aphrodisiac beverages were passed around and the participants sang and danced until their bodies quivered in ecstasy. It finally ended when everybody fell to the floor completely exhausted. If the wine was of a good "bouquet" it contained additives such as: oleander sprouts, juniper branches, wormwood, mandrake fruit or roots, and possibly belladonna, hellebore, aconite, opium, and hashish. But if the wine was of a particular good bouquet, Greek sources are silent about the one plant that was singularly predestined for the wine of Dionysus: the fly agaric. It could really elicit the frenzy required for his mysteries. "It has been suggested that the ancient berserker of Scandinavia, who went on periodic orgies of killing, intoxicated themselves into a mad frenzy possibly by ingesting fly agaric, but there is not a shred of evidence for and much against this theory."9
INTOXICATION Many words of the Finno-Urgic language group referring to intoxication, ecstasy and drunkenness are traceable to words meaning fungus or fly agaric. Among Siberian tribes, the Creator Himself was connected to the fly agaric. He asked Existence for help to lift a heavy load. This deity told him to eat fly agaric; he did so and was able to lift the load with ease. Following the myth, the Siberians also recommended the mushroom for heavy physical labour. The natives of Eastern Siberia like the small specimens best: "Big fungi are not so obedient as small ones, they may deceive; small fungi are stronger than big ones but more submissive." The mushroom can be taken in many different ways: dry under the tongue, in warm or cold milk / water, together with other herbs, or chewed by the woman, then made into a sausage for the man to swallow. Even smoking of the fungus has been reported. The mushrooms can also be soaked in fruit juice, and then preferably the juice of the bog bilberry [Vaccinium uliginosum]. This juice is said to increase the psychoactive effects of A. muscaria. Epilobium angustifolium, or fireweed, was also used as an additive. The psychoactivity of Amanita is seasonally determinant. The most powerful ones are picked in the middle of August when the season is beginning. In mushrooms picked in September the narcotic and physical effects seem to be predominant whereas in August the 'visionary' and psychedelic effects are more highlighted. "Drowsiness is also a common phenomenon. In fact, those who ingest A. muscaria frequently fall asleep ['swoon'], to awaken hours later with little or no memory of their experiences. There is no 'hangover' effect as with alcohol. Since muscimol passes out through the urine, Siberian users 'recycled' their A. muscaria by drinking their own urine. ... Treatment of muscimol poisoning is largely supportive - reassuring the victim that the effects are temporary. In the mistaken belief that muscarine was the principal toxin, older texts prescribe atropine as an antidote. Atropine, however, is likely to exacerbate the effects of ibotenic acid/muscimol."10
EXPERIMENTS In a study of the fly agaric, the Italian mycologist Antonio Bianchi reported on personal experiences with the Amanita muscaria taken from European samples. "We have had a very small number of experiments [six times] with a small group [five people]. ... Group interaction has been found to be meaningless because the effect of the drug is very individual and each person wants to be alone with himself. ... Another very important aspect of this mushroom is diet [fasting before taking it]: light food two or three days before and a day of fasting help to reduce the nausea in the first stage and to permit a 'relaxed' course. ... The experience with Amanita muscaria can be split into three stages: a first stage when the physical symptoms of nausea and vomiting predominate [vomiting is very rare while a strong sense of nausea is always present]; a second stage when the narcotic effect predominates, and a third when there could be visions and hallucinations. ... One person in the first session reported in the passage between stage 1 and stage 2 a 'profound sense of spiritual insight with a dreamlike feeling of a religious identity with my deep self.' This is the only religious feeling which has been reported. More common were changes in body perspective with a feeling of being split in two, with a part of himself remaining on the left side of his body. Dizziness and a sense of being disoriented, with some difficulty in motor coordination, were very common in the third stage. In all cases this experience occurred in a dreamlike state, which is the most important aspect of stage 3: a state in which a person is experiencing reality as an inner world with a strong feeling of introspection. ... The sense of ego was maintained throughout the experience. ... People experienced a particular kind of imagination where thoughts were immediately transformed into images. This has happened to six people. During the Amanita experience people complained of a lack of attention with a high involvement in inner images and sensations and great difficulty in directing concentration. No effects were reported on memory, which was unimpaired in all throughout the experience. Nobody has reported feelings of irritation, anger, shame, guilt or other negative feelings. Sexual feelings and also sensations of love, joy and bliss were absent. Some people remember a marked sense of detachment and no emotional involvement. Control of the experience, thought and image was very reduced because of the absence of volition: the person accepted this situation with detachment and absence of any criticism. I think that the most powerful quality of Amanita muscaria is this sense of silent talking to oneself; the kind of internal dialogue where a person has the feeling of important revelations about his life, a feeling which is maintained for a long time after the experience. More research into this is needed, particularly with selected groups of people: I think this mushroom could have a lot to teach us about ourselves." 11
PROVINGS •• [1] Hahnemann - 11 provers; method: unknown.
•• [2] Lembke - self-experimentation; method: mother tincture in doses increasing from 10 drops to 2 drams over a period of 12 days.
•• [3] Adler - 20 provers [18 males, 2 females], 1863-64; method: 13 trials with [mother] tincture in [increasing] doses ranging from 4 to 400 drops, every 1 to 5 days, over 11 to 150 days; 3 trials with 1x dil.; 4 trials with 2x dil.; 1 trial with 6x dil.; 1 trial with 10x dil. Some provers experimented with various potencies.
[1] Northington and Schneider, The Botanical World. [2] Grieve, A Modern Herbal. [3] Raven et al, Biology of Plants. [4] Grieve, ibid. [5] Morgan, Toads and Toadstools. [6] McKenna, Food of the Gods. [7] Gibson, Studies of Homeopathic Remedies. [8] Ernst von Bibra, Plant Intoxicants. [9] Schultes, The Botany and Chemistry of Hallucinogens. [10] Arora, Mushrooms Demystified. [11] Festi and Bianchi, Amanita muscaria : Mycopharmacological Outline and Personal Experiences, PM and E Vol. 5.
Affinity
SPINAL AXIS [OCCIPUT; NERVES; lumbar region]. Peristalsis. Heart. Circulation. Respiration. Chest. * Right side. Left side.
Modalities
Worse: Air [COLD; FREEZING; OPEN; stormy weather]. Exhaustion [mental; coition; debauchery]. Alcohol. PRESSURE. TOUCH. Morning. Daytime. During menses. After motion. After eating. Before thunderstorm.
Better: Gentle motion. Evening.
Main symptoms
M DISTURBED SENSE OF PERSPECTIVE.
[every little problem is exaggerated; small holes appear like frightful chasms; self-esteem, reciting his exploits; delusions of grandeur; exalted strength].
Compare: Defective accommodation [of the eye].
• "In a minute or two the Caterpillar took the hookah out of its mouth and yawned once or twice, and shook itself. Then it got down off the mushroom and crawled away into the grass, merely remarking as it went, 'one side will make you grow taller, and the other side will make you grow shorter.' 'One side of what? The other side of what?' thought Alice to herself. 'Of the mushroom,' said the Caterpillar, just as if she had asked it aloud; and in another moment it was out of sight."
[Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland]
Unrestrained. Uninhibited.
Fearless; thoughtless; reckless.
c Talks without listening.
c Speaks without thinking, revealing secrets.
[The Dutch have the same word for fungus ["zwam"] as for raving or twaddling ["zwammen"].]
c Nosy, inquisitive, curious.
• "I go from one extreme to the other - I am either very excited or very low. ... I can't keep friends because I get too intimate with them. I start delving into all their problems. I get too friendly. I want to see them all the time and then after about four or six weeks I lose interest in them completely."1
c Fights without fear; with increased strength.
• "Fearless, menacing, mischievous frenzy; also, frenzy which causes the patient to assail and injure himself, with great exertion of power." [Allen]
• "He is intoxicated with fearless frenzy; forming bold and revengeful projects." [Allen]
• "My dreams have a continuous theme over and over. I'm always fighting with someone. I'm always the good guy. I'm always defending and helping people. Hand-to-hand combat. Sometimes I feel very confident; sometimes fearful because there's more than one combatant. In real life it's not a problem because I'm a martial artist. I'm dangerous, so two or three opponents are no problem."2
c Disturbed awareness of body.
• "She felt so light, that it seemed as though she could run as never before."
• "It seems as if the whole body were gradually diminishing." [Allen]
c As if distant.
• "Noise like a distant tea-kettle beginning to boil, and heat in head."
• "As of a clock striking at a great distance."
• "Sound as if a nail were being driven into a board at a distance." [Allen]
c Exalted strength.
• "This man has an absolutely superhuman quality about him. It was inconceivable to me that any one person could have done so many things in one lifetime. Activities that would exhaust the average person gave him still more energy. He seemed to have a ceaseless yearning for the experiences of life."3
• "The key to this remedy is in its clumsiness. It is as if some kind of mismatch has occurred between the body and the vital force that give it life: either the vital force is in good order and the body is disabled, not allowing the full expression of the energy within, or the body is in good order but the internal energy is too intense. ... These individuals throw themselves wholeheartedly into action, but the body can't keep up with what they want to do. This is, for example, a remedy for tennis elbow [hitting too hard], or for pulled muscles occurring in sports. ... He has realized that up to now, in all his activities, he has always set his goals so high he could not attain them." [Grandgeorge]
M FEAR of CANCER; preoccupied with death, dying, graveyards, etc.
• "Their biggest fear is about their health and there is always a bizarre connection with death. An Agaricus person will go to all the funerals in the neighbourhood." [Vithoulkas]
M Great interest in weird subjects.
• "Also when I was a teenager I used to sit up through the night talking with my father about things like reincarnation, UFO's, ghosts and things like that. Recently I have felt that I wanted to die - to see what it is like. I want to leave my job and become a prison warder because I want to find out why they are in prison. But after about two months I would probably be bored with that job."4
• "I am absolutely fascinated by dying. I love ghost stories and I am fascinated by the supernatural and reading about it. I am really interested in near-death experiences. When I was a child I loved ghost stories and was very interested in my grandmother's experiences with dying people as a nurse - I would always ask her about it."5
• "The only kind of book I like to read is a book about horror. The book must be really gory to be enjoyable. Even when I was a child that was the sort of book I liked. They don't frighten me at all. I like looking at operations on TV - it's out of curiosity - I like to see how things work."6
M INDOLENCE in the MORNING.
Dulness - do not want to depart from their daily routine.
• "Some patients when going on with their own usual vocation are pretty smart, but if you put some new idea before them, something not in the routine of their work, they are perfectly idiotic. This is especially noticeable in the morning. He can't take in anything new in the morning, but he is able to take in new ideas and is bright in the evening, like the effect produced by alcoholic beverages." [Kent]
• "Very much out of humour all day, and disinclined to answer when asked questions; great indifference to everything; great selfishness; great forgetfulness." [Hoyne]
Brightening up in the EVENING.
Great loquacity, jumps from one subject to another [but does not answer].
[Intoxication with Fly Agaric is characterized by cheerfulness and loss of self-control, which is followed by lassitude and depression; compare the effect of stimulants such as tea, coffee and alcohol.]
M Great disinclination to speak.
• "Without being ill-humoured. He compels himself to speak, but answers in few words, though otherwise cheerful. It seems as if he could not find the words to express himself. Self-absorbed mood." [Hahnemann]
Compare: "Group interaction has been found to be meaningless because the effect of the drug is very individual and each person wants to be alone with himself." [experiment Bianchi; see above]
• "Even though he shows loquacity, jumping from one subject to another, he is usually very quiet while visiting the doctor. In general, in many cases where Agaricus is suggested, the patient speaks about himself with great difficulty to the doctor. ... He is unwilling to talk to the doctor about his inner world. A person who doesn't want to confess his sins, even in front of the gates of hell, will speak of himself with great difficulty."7
M Hyperactive, clumsy children.
• "Fingers fly open spasmodically while holding things."
NO fear [climb the highest tree, etc.].
And Growing pains.
Or: • "Nervous girls prior to puberty who have convulsions from being scolded, from excitement and shock, late in mental development." [Kent]
Nervous children who constantly lick their lips, giving rise to vesicles filled with yellow serum.
Growing pains in children [hyperactive, fearless and awkward].
G Suitable for persons with light hair, lax skin and musculature, and pallor of face.
Speech is apt to be jerky and indistinct [from trembling of the tongue].
• "The patient is frequently light complexioned, aged, with a sluggish circulation, or a drunkard with gastric disturbances and headaches." [Blackwood]
G NERVOUS PERSONS WITH SCANTY URINE.
G TUBERCULAR miasm [wide variety of symptoms].
G COLD.
Very sensitive to cold air.
Cold air strikes through the whole body
Sensation as if frozen.
Coldness in small spots. Sensation as if a chunk of ice was resting on the head.
Hugs the fire.
Cold drinks <. c Frostbite and chilblains and burning/itching, redness, swelling, and < heat. G Sun [sunlight and/or sun heat] <. [vertigo; headache; dimness of vision] G Profuse, cold and oily perspiration. G Great sexual desire. • "There is a lascivious desire to kill." G < [after] COITION. [spasms; lumbosacral backache] • "Useful for the symptoms which come on after coition in young, nervous married women, hysterical fainting after coition." [Kent] G Irregular, uncertain, INVOLUNTARY and exaggerated movements; reaches too far, staggers, steps too high, drops things, etc. • "Grimacing around the mouth as they are getting ready to say something" [Morrison]. • "As the patient looks at you there is a pendulum-like action of the eyes, they go back and forth all the time; they oscillate, though he tries his best to fix his look on you." [Kent] G Trembling, TWITCHING, jerking, spasms; here and there. [< EYELIDS, face or tongue] G Chorea before thunderstorms; > DURING SLEEP.
G Epilepsy from suppressed eruptions.
G SPASMS [local].
< Cold; mental exertion. > Sleep.
And Spine sensitive to touch [esp. cervical region and dorsal region between scapulae].
G Pains BURNING/ITCHING [esp. skin]; as if frozen.
• "Burning, itching and redness of areas of skin. Scratching of pruritic areas gives some relief, but parts scratched become icy cold and itching spreads to other areas." [Gibson]
Sensation of icy-cold needles.
G Pains stitching; splinter-like [in particular in facial neuralgia].
G Pains and coldness, tingling or insensibility.
G SMALL AREAS.
[pains, esp. headache; itching, burning; coldness; muscular twitching]
• "The Agar. patient has spells in which a little muscle of the face or a few fibres of a muscle with quiver for a few minutes and stop, and then in another part of the face the same thing, an eyelid will quiver, and then another set of fibres, sometimes so bad as to nearly drive him crazy." [Kent]
P Shooting frontal headache.
Extending to root of nose.
< Mental exertion. And Heaviness in occiput. And Tendency to fall backwards. P Hay fever: itching in nasopharynx and ears, < menses. Compare: • "In the nose we have irritation, spasmodic sneezing and discharge of pure water from the nostrils, but without inflammatory symptoms. In other words, all the appearances of a fresh and severe cold in the head that soon passes off only to return again two or three times during the day or for several days." [Pierce] Sudden attacks of coryza. P Epistaxis. • "Epistaxis in old people, esp. when of a passive character, requires Agaricus. In blowing the nose, blood comes out of it, early in the morning, immediately after rising; this is followed by violent bleeding of the nose." [Hoyne] P Sciatica or lumbago. < Sitting; touch; stooping [= feeling as if back would break]. > Lying on back.
P Paralytic weakness in the lower limbs soon after becoming pregnant.
[1] Hardy, Morbidly inquisitive : Three cases of Agaricus, HL 1/98. [2-3] Reichenberg-Ullman, The Case of the Dream Warrior; IFH 1995 [Two cases of fearlessness and exalted strength.] [4-6] Hardy, ibid. [7] Loukas and Tsamaslidis, Agaricus muscarius, HL 1/94.
Rubrics
Mind
Anxiety > breathing deeply [1]; > perspiration [1; Calc.]. Audacity [1]. Confusion > eating [1]. Curious [1]. Desires death [1*]. Delirium with exaltation of strength [2]. Delusion arms don't belong to her [1]; he is a great person [2]; obliged to confess his sins at gate of hell [1/1]; legs don't belong to her [2; Bapt.]; that she could run as never before [1/1]; of being smaller [1]; of being under superhuman control [1]. Dulness > evening [1]. Egotism, reciting their exploits [1/1]. Exaggerating [1]. Fear of suffocation at night [1]. Frenzy causing him to injure himself [1; Lyss.]. Loquacity but answers no questions [2/1]; changes quickly from one subject to another [1]. Memory active in evening [1]. Mischievous [2]. Mistakes in speaking < after exertion [1/1]. Mutilating his body [1]. Makes many bold plans [1/1]; revengeful plans [1/1]. Reveals secrets [1; Hyos.]. Runs about in most dangerous places [1/1]. Talks of war [1; Bell.; Hyos.]. Threatening [1; Choc.; Tarent.]. Throws things at persons [1; Bell.; Tub.]. Vertigo From heat of sun [2]. On looking at moving objects [2; Con.]. Head Sensation as if something were alive in head, as if brain were an anthill [1/1]. Pain, when holding the breath [1/1]; > moving head, must move head to and fro [2]; > urination [1].
Eye
Twitching of lids before thunderstorm [2/1].
Vision
Objects seem brighter [1]. Dim < sunlight [1]. Loss of vision, decreasing gradually when walking in open air [1/1*]. Objects become pale after looking long [2; Rhus-t.]. Ear Noises, of a locomotive, when lying down [1*], > rising [1*].
Nose
Obstruction on stooping [1/1]. Smell, acute, sensitive to odour of vinegar [1/1]. Sneezing during sleep [1*], in sunshine [1].
Mouth
Salivation during nausea [1*]. Sweetish taste when smoking [1].
Stomach
Appetite wanting after coition [2/1]. Eructations while smoking [1]; tasting like apples [1/1]. Heartburn after meat [1; Ferr-p.]. Trembling sensation on lying down [1; Cocc.]; from noise [1]. Vomiting from smoking [1].
Abdomen
Feeling of flatulent distension while smoking [1*].
Rectum
Diarrhoea from heat of sun [1; Camph.; Carb-v.].
Urine
Copious during diarrhoea [1]. Scanty in nervous women [2/1].
Male
Sexual desire increased after sleep [2/1].
Female
Itching intolerable [2]; in vagina after coition [1; Androc.; Nit-ac.]. Bearing-down pain in uterus > lying [2]; at end of or after menses [2/1].
Larynx
Sensation of constriction in larynx < singing [2/1]; on falling asleep [2]. Chest Palpitation when lying on back [1]; from tobacco [1]. Shocks through region of heart while lying [2/1]; from noise [2]. Limbs Jerking of single fingers [1*]. Separated sensation, lower limbs, head of femur [1*]; pelvic bones from sacrum [1*]. Sleep Sleeplessness from restlessness in legs [1]; before thunderstorm [1; Sil.]. Perspiration Oily at night [2]. Profuse after coition [2/1]. Skin Itching after coition [2/1]; > after exertion [1/1]; after mental exertion [2/1].
Generals
Convulsions from suppression of milk of mother [2; Mill.]; during thunderstorm [1; Gels.]; > vomiting [1/1]. Faintness from odours, of perfume or vinegar [1/1]. Frosty weather < [2]. * Repertory additions [Hughes]. Food Aversion: [1]: Bread; drinking; eggs; meat; roasted meat; wine. Desire: [3]: Alcohol. [2]: Whiskey. [1]: Beer; bread and butter; cold drinks; eggs; garlic; salt food. Worse: [2]: Alcohol; cold drinks. [1]: Beer; bread and butter; coffee; cold food; dry food; meat; plums, prunes; stimulants; tobacco; vinegar, smell of; wine, smell of. Better: [1]: Alcohol; coffee; cold drinks; hot food; wine.
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