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{{Short description|Psychoactive substances that induce spiritual experiences}}
{{Hatnote group|{{about|psychoactive substances in a spiritual context|general information about them|Psychoactive drug|and|Hallucinogen|the musical group|Entheogenic (band)}}
{{for|religious views on drugs|Religion and drugs}}
{{For|comparison of entheogens|List of substances used in rituals}}
{{distinguish|Ethnogenesis}}
}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2020}}
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'''Entheogens''' are [[psychoactive substance]]s used in spiritual and religious contexts to induce [[altered states of consciousness]]. Hallucinogens such as the [[psilocybin]] found in so-called "magic" mushrooms have been used in sacred contexts since ancient times. Derived from a term meaning "generating the divine from within" entheogen have been used to facilitate transcendence, heaving, divination and mystical insight. <!--<ref name="CR-epp">Rätsch, Christian, ''The Encyclopedia of Psychoactive Plants: Ethnopharmacology and Its Applications'' pub. Park Street Press 2005</ref><ref name="CR-epp"/><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Souza |first1=Rafael Sampaio Octaviano de |last2=Albuquerque |first2=Ulysses Paulino de |last3=Monteiro |first3=Júlio Marcelino |last4=Amorim |first4=Elba Lúcia Cavalcanti de |title=Jurema-Preta (Mimosa tenuiflora [Willd.] Poir.): a review of its traditional use, phytochemistry and pharmacology |journal=Brazilian Archives of Biology and Technology |date=October 2008 |volume=51 |issue=5 |pages=937–947 |doi=10.1590/S1516-89132008000500010 |doi-access=free }}</ref> --> 

Entheogens have been used in various ways, including as part of established religious rituals and as aids for personal spiritual development.<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal |url=http://www.kentupper.com/resources/Entheogens+$26+Education--JDEA+2003.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071009175718/http://www.kentupper.com/resources/Entheogens+$26+Education--JDEA+2003.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-date=2007-10-09 |title=Entheogens & education: Exploring the potential of psychoactives as educational tools |author=Tupper, K.W. |journal=Journal of Drug Education and Awareness |year=2003 |volume=1 |issue=2 |pages=145–161 |issn=1546-6965 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |url=http://www.csse.ca/CJE/Articles/FullText/CJE27-4/CJE27-4-tupper.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20041229092745/http://csse.ca/CJE/Articles/FullText/CJE27-4/CJE27-4-tupper.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-date=2004-12-29 |title=Entheogens and existential intelligence: The use of plant teachers as cognitive tools |author=Tupper, K.W. |journal=Canadian Journal of Education |year=2002 |volume=27 |issue=4 |pages=499–516 |doi=10.2307/1602247 |jstor=1602247 }}</ref> Anthropological study has established that entheogens are used for religious, magical, shamanic, or spiritual purposes in many parts of the world. Civilizations such as the Maya and Aztecs used psilocybin mushrooms, peyote, and morning glory seeds in ceremonies meant to connect with deities and perform healing. They have traditionally been used to supplement many diverse practices geared towards achieving [[Transcendence (religion)|transcendence]], including [[Folk healer|healing]], [[divination]], [[meditation]], [[yoga]], [[sensory deprivation]], [[asceticism]], [[prayer]], [[trance]], [[rituals]], [[chanting]], [[Imitation of sounds in shamanism|imitation of sounds]], [[hymns]] like [[peyote song]]s, [[drum]]ming, and [[ecstatic dance]]. 

In ancient Eurasian and Mediterranean societies, scholars have hypothesized the sacramental use of entheogens in mystery religions such as the Eleusinian Mysteries of ancient Greece. According to Ruck, Wasson, and Hofmann in ''The Road to Eleusis'', psychoactive kykeon brews may have been central to these rites, aimed at inducing visionary states and mystical insight.<ref>Carl A. P. Ruck, R. Gordon Wasson, and Albert Hofmann, ''The Road to Eleusis: Unveiling the Secret of the Mysteries'', Harcourt, 1978.</ref> These interpretations emphasize entheogens not merely as tribal tools, but as central to high religious practices in antiquity.

In recent decades, entheogens have experienced a resurgence in academic and clinical research, particularly in psychiatry and psychotherapy. Clinical studies suggest that substances such as psilocybin and MDMA may assist in treating mental health conditions like depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, and anxiety, especially in end-of-life care.<ref>Richards, William A. (2009). "The Rebirth of Research with Entheogens: Lessons from the Past and Hypotheses for the Future." ''Journal of Transpersonal Psychology'', vol. 41, no. 2, pp. 139–150.</ref> These developments reflect a broader reevaluation of entheogens not only as sacred tools but also as potentially transformative therapeutic agents.<!-- END: Added content to lead -->

The psychedelic experience is often compared to non-ordinary forms of consciousness such as those experienced in [[meditation]],<ref name="Millière-2018">{{Cite journal|last1=Millière|first1=Raphaël|last2=Carhart-Harris|first2=Robin L.|last3=Roseman|first3=Leor|last4=Trautwein|first4=Fynn-Mathis|last5=Berkovich-Ohana|first5=Aviva|date=2018-09-04|title=Psychedelics, Meditation, and Self-Consciousness|journal=Frontiers in Psychology|volume=9|page=1475|doi=10.3389/fpsyg.2018.01475|issn=1664-1078|pmc=6137697|pmid=30245648|doi-access=free}}</ref> [[near-death experience]]s,<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Timmermann|first1=Christopher|last2=Roseman|first2=Leor|last3=Williams|first3=Luke|last4=Erritzoe|first4=David|last5=Martial|first5=Charlotte|last6=Cassol|first6=Héléna|last7=Laureys|first7=Steven|last8=Nutt|first8=David|last9=Carhart-Harris|first9=Robin|date=2018-08-15|title=DMT Models the Near-Death Experience|journal=Frontiers in Psychology|volume=9|page=1424|doi=10.3389/fpsyg.2018.01424|issn=1664-1078|pmc=6107838|pmid=30174629|doi-access=free}}</ref> and [[mystical experience]]s.<ref name="Millière-2018" /> [[Ego dissolution]] is often described as a key feature of the psychedelic state often resulting in perceived personal insight spiritual awakening, or a reorientation of values.<ref name="ReferenceA">{{Cite journal|last1=Letheby|first1=Chris|last2=Gerrans|first2=Philip|date=2017-06-30|title=Self unbound: ego dissolution in psychedelic experience|journal=Neuroscience of Consciousness|volume=2017|issue=1|pages=nix016|doi=10.1093/nc/nix016|issn=2057-2107|pmc=6007152|pmid=30042848}}</ref> Though evidence is often fragmentary, ongoing research in fields like archaeology, anthropology, psychology, and religious studies continues to shed light on the widespread historical and contemporary role of entheogens in human culture.

==Terminology and etymology ==
The term '''entheogen''' was coined in the late 20th century as a more neutral and respectful alternative to terms like "hallucinogen" or "psychedelic." According to Ruck, Wasson, and Hofmann in ''The Road to Eleusis'' (1978), the word is derived from the Greek words ἐν (en, "within"), θεός (theos, "god"), and γεννάω (gennao, "to generate"), meaning "generating the divine within." This term emphasizes the spiritual and religious contexts in which these substances have traditionally been used, distinguishing them from purely recreational or pharmacological classifications.<ref>Ruck, Carl A. P.; Wasson, R. Gordon; Hofmann, Albert. ''The Road to Eleusis: Unveiling the Secret of the Mysteries''. Harcourt, 1978.</ref> The Greeks used it as praise for poets and other artists. ''Genesthai'' means "to come into being". Together, the term ''entheogen'' refers to a substance that "generates the divine within," typically producing feelings of inspiration, religious ecstasy, or spiritual insight. 

The term ''entheogen'' was coined in 1979 by a group of [[ethnobotany|ethnobotanists]] and scholars of [[mythology]] (including [[Carl A. P. Ruck]], Jeremy Bigwood, Danny Staples, [[Richard Evans Schultes]], [[Jonathan Ott]] and [[R. Gordon Wasson]]). Its is derived from two words of [[Ancient Greek]], {{lang|grc|ἔνθεος}} ({{lang|grc-Latn|éntheos}}), meaning "full of the god" or "inspired" and {{lang|grc|γενέσθαι}} ({{lang|grc-Latn|genésthai}}), meaning "to come into being". The adjective {{lang|grc-Latn|entheos}} translates to English as "full of the god, inspired, possessed", and is the root of the English word "[[enthusiasm]]". The Greeks used it as praise for poets and other artists. {{lang|grc-Latn|Genesthai}} means "to come into being". Together, the term ''entheogen'' refers to a substance that "generates the divine within," typically producing feelings of inspiration, religious ecstasy, or spiritual insight.

Ruck et al. argued that the term ''[[hallucinogen]]'' was inappropriate owing to its etymological relationship to words relating to delirium and [[insanity]]. The term ''[[psychedelic]]'' was also seen as problematic, owing to the similarity in sound to words about [[psychosis]] and also because it had become irreversibly associated with various connotations of the [[Counterculture of the 1960s|1960s pop culture]]. In modern usage, ''entheogen'' may be used synonymously with these terms, or it may be chosen to contrast with [[recreational drug use|recreational use]] of the same drugs. The meanings of the term ''entheogen'' was formally defined by Ruck et al.:

{{blockquote|In a strict sense, only those vision-producing drugs that can be shown to have figured in shamanic or religious rites would be designated entheogens, but in a looser sense, the term could also be applied to other drugs, both natural and artificial, that induce alterations of consciousness similar to those documented for ritual ingestion of traditional entheogens.|Ruck et al., 1979, ''Journal of Psychedelic Drugs''<ref>
{{Cite journal |author = Carl A. P. Ruck |author2 = Jeremy Bigwood |author3 = Danny Staples |author4 = Jonathan Ott |author5 = R. Gordon Wasson |title = Entheogens |journal = Journal of Psychedelic Drugs |url = http://jeremybigwood.net/JBsPUBS/JBScientific/Entheogens/index.htm#Entheogens |date = January–June 1979 |volume = 11 |issue = 1–2 |pages = 145–146 |pmid = 522165 |doi = 10.1080/02791072.1979.10472098 |url-status  = dead |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120716231328/http://jeremybigwood.net/JBsPUBS/JBScientific/Entheogens/index.htm#Entheogens |archive-date = 16 July 2012 |df = dmy-all|url-access = subscription }}</ref>|}}

In 2004, [[David E. Nichols]] wrote the following:<ref name="Nichols, David 2004">{{cite journal | vauthors = Nichols DE | title = Hallucinogens | journal = Pharmacology & Therapeutics | volume = 101 | issue = 2 | pages = 131–181 | date = February 2004 | pmid = 14761703 | doi = 10.1016/j.pharmthera.2003.11.002 }}</ref>

{{Blockquote|Many different names have been proposed over the years for this drug class. The famous German toxicologist Louis Lewin used the name phantastica earlier in this century, and as we shall see later, such a descriptor is not so farfetched. The most popular names{{snd}}hallucinogen, psychotomimetic, and psychedelic ("mind manifesting"){{snd}}have often been used interchangeably. ''Hallucinogen'' is now, however, the most common designation in the scientific literature, although it is an inaccurate descriptor of the actual effects of these drugs. In the lay press, the term ''psychedelic'' is still the most popular and has held sway for nearly four decades. Most recently, there has been a movement in nonscientific circles to recognize the ability of these substances to provoke mystical experiences and evoke feelings of spiritual significance. Thus, the term ''entheogen'', derived from the Greek word {{lang|grc-Latn|entheos}}, which means "god within," was introduced by Ruck et al. and has seen increasing use. This term suggests that these substances reveal or allow a connection to the "divine within." Although it seems unlikely that this name will ever be accepted in formal scientific circles, its use has dramatically increased in popular media and internet sites. Indeed, in much of the counterculture that uses these substances, entheogen has replaced psychedelic as the name of choice, and we may expect to see this trend continue.}}

==Historical and cultural use==
{{Main|History of entheogenic drugs}}

{{See also|Entheogenic drugs and the archaeological record}}

Entheogens have been used in various cultures worldwide, primarily in religious or healing ceremonies..<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Carod-Artal|first=F.J.|date=2015-01-01|title=Hallucinogenic drugs in pre-Columbian Mesoamerican cultures|journal=Neurología (English Edition)|language=en|volume=30|issue=1|pages=42–49|doi=10.1016/j.nrleng.2011.07.010|pmid=21893367|issn=2173-5808|doi-access=free}}</ref> [[R. Gordon Wasson]] and [[Giorgio Samorini]] have proposed several examples of the cultural use of entheogens that are found in the archaeological record.<ref>{{cite journal |first1=Giorgio |last1=Samorini |title=The 'Mushroom-Tree' of Plaincourault |journal=Eleusis |issue=8 |year=1997 |pages=29–37 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |first1=Giorgio |last1=Samorini |title=The 'Mushroom-Trees' in Christian Art |journal=Eleusis |issue=1 |year=1998 |pages=87–108 }}</ref> Hemp seeds discovered by archaeologists at [[Pazyryk burials|Pazyryk]] suggest early ceremonial practices by the [[Scythians]] occurred during the 5th to 2nd century BCE, confirming previous historical reports by [[Herodotus]].<ref>{{Cite book|title=The Amazons : lives and legends of warrior women across the ancient world|last=Mayor|first= Adrienne|year=2014|isbn=9780691147208|location=Princeton|pages=147–149|oclc=882553191}}</ref> As detailed in Ott's ''Pharmacotheon'' (1993), substances such as ayahuasca in South America, psilocybin mushrooms in Mesoamerica, and peyote in North America have long-standing traditional uses for spiritual communication, healing, and ritual.<ref name=":0" />

These traditional uses often involve carefully controlled ceremonial contexts that emphasize the sacred and transformative nature of the entheogenic experience. For example, the Native American Church incorporates peyote in its religious ceremonies, while indigenous Amazonian cultures use ayahuasca in shamanic rituals.<ref name=":0" />

Most of the well-known modern examples of entheogens, such as [[Ayahuasca]], [[peyote]], [[psilocybin mushroom]]s, and [[Ipomoea tricolor|morning glories]] are from the native cultures of the Americas. However, it has also been suggested that entheogens played an important role in ancient Indo-European culture, for example by inclusion in the ritual preparations of the [[Soma (drink)|Soma]], the "pressed juice" that is the subject of Book 9 of the ''[[Rigveda]]''. Soma was ritually prepared and drunk by priests and initiates and elicited a paean in the ''Rigveda'' that embodies the nature of an entheogen:{{citation needed|date=March 2019}}

{{blockquote|Splendid by Law! declaring Law, truth speaking, truthful in thy works, Enouncing faith, King Soma!... O [Soma] Pavāmana (mind clarifying), place me in that deathless, undecaying world wherein the light of heaven is set, and everlasting lustre shines.... Make me immortal in that realm where happiness and transports, where joy and felicities combine...}}

The [[kykeon]] that preceded initiation into the Eleusinian Mysteries is another entheogen, which was investigated (before the word was coined) by Carl Kerényi, in ''Eleusis: Archetypal Image of Mother and Daughter.'' Other entheogens in the Ancient Near East and the Aegean include the [[Papaver somniferum|opium poppy]], [[Datura stramonium|datura]], and the unidentified "lotus" (likely the [[Nymphaea caerulea|sacred blue lily]]) eaten by the Lotus-Eaters in the ''[[Odyssey]]'' and ''[[narcissus (mythology)|Narcissus]]''.

According to Ruck, Eyan, and Staples, the familiar shamanic entheogen that the [[Proto-Indo-Europeans|Indo-Europeans]] brought knowledge of was ''[[Amanita muscaria]]''. It could not be cultivated; thus it had to be found, which suited it to a nomadic lifestyle. When they reached the world of the Caucasus and the Aegean, the Indo-Europeans encountered wine, the entheogen of [[Dionysus]], who brought it with him from his birthplace in the mythical [[Nysa (mythology)|Nysa]], when he returned to claim his Olympian birthright. The Indo-European proto-Greeks "recognized it as the entheogen of Zeus, and their own traditions of shamanism, the Amanita and the 'pressed juice' of Soma{{Snd}}but better, since no longer unpredictable and wild, the way it was found among the [[Hyperborea]]ns: as befit their own assimilation of agrarian modes of life, the entheogen was now cultivable."<ref name="Ruck and Staples">{{cite book|last=Staples|first=Danny|title=The world of classical myth : gods and goddesses, heroines and heroes|year=1994|publisher=Carolina Academic Press|location=Durham, NC|isbn=0-89089-575-9|url=http://csp.org/chrestomathy/world_of.html|author2=Carl A.P. Ruck|access-date=9 May 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120415105236/http://csp.org/chrestomathy/world_of.html|archive-date=15 April 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref> [[Robert Graves]], in his foreword to ''The Greek Myths,'' hypothesises that the ambrosia of various pre-[[Greeks|Hellenic]] tribes was ''Amanita muscaria'' (which, based on the morphological similarity of the words amanita, amrita and ambrosia, is entirely plausible) and perhaps [[psilocybin mushroom]]s of the genus ''[[Panaeolus]]''. ''Amanita muscaria'' was regarded as [[divinity|divine]] food, according to Ruck and Staples, not something to be indulged in, sampled lightly, or profaned. It was seen as the food of the gods, their [[ambrosia]], and as mediating between the two realms. It is said that [[Tantalus]]'s crime was inviting commoners to share his ambrosia.

== By region ==
{{See also|Regional forms of shamanism}}

=== Africa ===

The best-known entheogen-using culture of Africa is the [[Bwiti]]sts, who used a preparation of the root bark of ''[[Tabernanthe iboga]]''.<ref>[http://ibogaine.desk.nl/fernandez.html Bwiti: An Ethnography of the Religious Imagination in Africa] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060628094315/http://www.ibogaine.desk.nl/fernandez.html |date=28 June 2006 }} by James W. Fernandez, Princeton University Press, 1982</ref> Although the ancient Egyptians may have been using the [[Nymphaea caerulea|sacred blue lily]] plant in some of their religious rituals or just symbolically, it has been suggested that Egyptian religion once revolved around the ritualistic ingestion of the far more psychoactive ''[[Psilocybe cubensis]]'' mushroom, and that the Egyptian [[White Crown]], Triple Crown, and [[Atef]] Crown were evidently designed to represent pin-stages of this mushroom.<ref>{{Cite journal |url=http://shroomer.cz/upload/Hubicky_v_Egypte.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091222064142/http://shroomer.cz/upload/Hubicky_v_Egypte.pdf |archive-date=22 December 2009 |title=The entheomycological origin of Egyptian crowns and the esoteric underpinnings of Egyptian religion |author=S.R. Berlant |journal=Journal of Ethnopharmacology |volume=102 |issue=2005 |pages=275–88 |year=2005 |doi=10.1016/j.jep.2005.07.028 |pmid=16199133|s2cid=19297225 }}</ref> There is also evidence for the use of [[psilocybin mushroom]]s in [[Ivory Coast]].<ref>{{cite journal|last=Samorini|first=Giorgio|title=Traditional Use of Psychoactive Mushrooms in Ivory Coast?|journal=Eleusis|year=1995|volume=1|pages=22–27|url=http://www.museocivico.rovereto.tn.it/pubblicazioni.jsp?ID_LINK=111250&area=3|access-date=8 May 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140508061641/http://www.museocivico.rovereto.tn.it/pubblicazioni.jsp?ID_LINK=111250&area=3|archive-date=8 May 2014|url-status=dead}}</ref> Numerous other plants used in shamanic ritual in Africa, such as ''[[Silene capensis]]'' sacred to the [[Xhosa people|Xhosa]], are yet to be investigated by western science. A recent revitalization has occurred in the study of southern African psychoactives and entheogens (Mitchell and Hudson 2004; Sobiecki 2002, 2008, 2012).<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ethnobotany.co.za/index.php/publications-and-writing/ethnobotanical-research |title=Ethnobotanical Research |publisher=ethnobotany.co.za |access-date=13 January 2013}}</ref>

Among the amaXhosa, the artificial drug 2C-B is used as entheogen by traditional healers or [[Xhosa people#Folklore and religion|amagqirha]] over their traditional plants; they refer to the chemical as ''Ubulawu Nomathotholo'', which roughly translates to "''Medicine of the Singing Ancestors''".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.tacethno.com/info/2cb/2cbhistory.html#South%20Africa |title=2CB chosen over traditional entheogen's by South African healers. |publisher=Tacethno.com |date=27 March 2008 |access-date=15 May 2012}}</ref><ref>[http://www.erowid.org/chemicals/2cb/2cb_article1.shtml The Nexus Factor - An Introduction to 2C-B] Erowid</ref><ref>[http://www.erowid.org/chemicals/show_image.php?i=2cb/ubulawu_pack.jpg Ubulawu Nomathotholo Pack] Photo by Erowid.  2002 Erowid.org</ref>

==== East Africa ====
[[File:Harar Chat qat.jpg|thumb|Khat leaves of [[Harar]]]]

For centuries, religious leaders have consumed the [[khat]] leaves to stay awake during long nights of prayer.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.ogina.org/issue5/issue5_culture_of_khat_ezekiel.html|title=New Features}}</ref>

=== Americas ===
{{See also|Aztec use of entheogens|Entheogenics and the Maya}}
Entheogens have played a pivotal role in the spiritual practices of most American cultures for millennia. The first American entheogen to be subject to scientific analysis was the [[peyote]] cactus (''Lophophora williamsii''). One of the founders of modern ethno-botany, [[Richard Evans Schultes]] of [[Harvard University]] documented the ritual use of peyote cactus among the [[Kiowa]], who live in what became Oklahoma. While it was used traditionally by many cultures of what is now Mexico, in the 19th century its use spread throughout North America, replacing the [[toxic]] [[Calia secundiflora|mescal bean]] (''Calia secundiflora''). Other well-known entheogens used by Mexican cultures include the [[alcohol (drug)|alcohol]]ic [[Aztec]] sacrament [[pulque]], ritual tobacco (known as 'picietl' to the Aztecs, and 'sikar' to the [[Maya people|Maya]] (from where the word 'cigar' derives)), [[psilocybin mushroom]]s, morning glories (''[[Ipomoea tricolor]]'' and ''[[Turbina corymbosa]]''), and ''[[Salvia divinorum]]''.

''[[Datura wrightii]]'' is sacred to some Native Americans and has been used in ceremonies and [[rite of passage|rites of passage]] by Chumash, Tongva, and others. Among the Chumash, when a boy was 8 years old, his mother would give him a preparation of ''momoy'' to drink. This supposed spiritual challenge should help the boy develop the spiritual wellbeing that is required to become a man. Not all of the boys undergoing this ritual survived.<ref name=Garcia>{{cite book | author=Cecilia Garcia, James D. Adams | title=Healing with medicinal plants of the west - cultural and scientific basis for their use | publisher=Abedus Press| year=2005 | isbn=0-9763091-0-6}}</ref> ''Momoy'' was also used to enhance spiritual wellbeing among adults. For instance, during a frightening situation, such as when seeing a coyote walk like a man, a leaf of ''momoy'' was sucked to help keep the soul in the body.

The mescal bean ''[[Sophora secundiflora]]'' was used by the [[shamanic]] hunter-gatherer cultures of the [[Great Plains]] region. Other plants with ritual significance in North American shamanism are the hallucinogenic seeds of the [[Ungnadia|Texas buckeye]] and jimsonweed (''[[Datura stramonium]]''). [[Paleoethnobotany|Paleoethnobotanical]] evidence for these plants from archaeological sites shows they were used in ancient times thousands of years ago.<ref>{{cite book |title=Shamanism: An Encyclopedia of World Beliefs, Practices and Cultures |date=2004 |publisher=ABC-CLIO |page=18}}</ref>

==== South America ====
[[File:Colcoca02.jpg|thumb|left|Coca leaves]]

The [[Tairona]] people of Colombia's [[Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta]] chewed the [[coca]] plant before engaging in extended meditation and prayer.<ref name="banrep.gov.co">{{cite web |author=Museo del Oro, Banco de la República |url=http://www.banrep.gov.co/museo/eng/expo_bogota3c.htm |title=Museo del Oro, Colombia |language=es |publisher=Banrep.gov.co |access-date=2012-11-09 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130511180916/http://www.banrep.gov.co/museo/eng/expo_bogota3c.htm |archive-date=11 May 2013 |df=dmy-all }}</ref>

[[Nicotiana rustica]] is used in the [[Amazon rainforest|Amazon]] by Mapacho,<ref>{{cite book | date = 1992 | title = Food of the Gods: The Search for the Original Tree of Knowledge - A Radical History of Plants, Drugs, and Human Evolution | publisher = Bantam | isbn = 0-553-37130-4 | page = 196 | chapter = Shamanic Tobaccos}}</ref> and tobacco shamans known as tobaqueros.<ref>{{cite web|title=Meeting The Tobacco Spirit - Reality Sandwich|url=http://realitysandwich.com/217970/meeting-the-tobacco-spirit/|website=Reality Sandwich|date=27 March 2014 }}</ref>

A ritual use by the [[Quechua people]] involves drinking [[guayusa]] infusion to have foretelling dreams for successful hunting expeditions.<ref>{{cite book|title=Notas de un botánico en el Amazonas y los Andes|last=Spruce|first=R.|publisher=Colección Tierra Incógnita|year=1996|location=Quito, Ecuador}}</ref>

[[Trichocereus macrogonus var. pachanoi|''Trichocereus macrogonus'' var. ''pachanoi'']] has a long history of being used in Andean [[traditional medicine]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Bussmann |first1=Rainer W |last2=Sharon |first2=Douglas |date=2006-11-07 |title=Traditional medicinal plant use in Northern Peru: tracking two thousand years of healing culture |journal=Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine |volume=2 |pages=47 |doi=10.1186/1746-4269-2-47 |doi-access=free |issn=1746-4269 |pmc=1637095 |pmid=17090303}}</ref> Archaeological studies have found evidence of use going back two thousand years, to [[Moche (culture)|Moche]] culture, [[Nazca culture]], and [[Chavín culture]]. In 2022, the Peruvian Ministry of Culture declared the traditional use of San Pedro cactus in northern Peru as [[cultural heritage]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-11-17 |title=Declaran Patrimonio Cultural de la Nación a los conocimientos, saberes y usos del cactus San Pedro |url=https://elperuano.pe/noticia/197142-declaran-patrimonio-cultural-de-la-nacion-a-los-conocimientos-saberes-y-usos-del-cactus-san-pedro |access-date=2024-10-04 |website=elperuano.pe |language=es}}</ref>

=== Asia ===
{{references|section|date=April 2025}}
[[File:Salvia divinorum - Herba de Maria.jpg|thumb|alt=Three short green plants in a pot filled with soil. There are many oval-shaped green leaves and no flowers.|Salvia divinorum ([[Herba de Maria]])]]
The indigenous peoples of [[Siberia]] (from whom the term ''shaman'' was borrowed) have used ''[[Amanita muscaria]]'' as an entheogen.

In [[Hinduism]], ''[[Datura stramonium]]'' and cannabis have been used in religious ceremonies, although the religious use of datura is not common, as the primary alkaloids are strong [[deliriants]], which causes serious intoxication with unpredictable effects.

Also, the ancient drink [[Soma (drink)|Soma]], mentioned often in the [[Vedas]], appears to be consistent with the effects of an entheogen. In his 1967 book, Wasson argues that Soma was ''[[Amanita muscaria]]''. The active ingredient of Soma is presumed by some to be [[ephedrine]], an alkaloid with stimulant properties derived from the soma plant, identified as ''[[Ephedra (medicine)|Ephedra]] pachyclada''. However, there are also [[Botanical identity of soma–haoma|arguments]] about the [[botanical identity of soma–haoma]] suggesting it could have also been [[Harmal|Syrian rue]], [[cannabis (drug)|cannabis]], ''[[Atropa belladonna]]'', or some combination of any of the above plants.{{citation needed|date=May 2014}}

==== West Asia ====
The earliest credible evidence of either coffee drinking or knowledge of the coffee tree appears in the middle of the 15th century, in Yemen's [[Sufi]] monasteries.<ref name="Bennett">{{cite book|first1=Bennett Alan|last1=Weinberg|first2=Bonnie K.|last2=Bealer|title=The world of caffeine|year=2001|pages=3–4|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Qyz5CnOaH9oC&q=coffee+goat+ethiopia+Kaldi&pg=PA3 | isbn=978-0-415-92723-9 | publisher=Routledge}}</ref> The Sufi monks drank coffee as an aid to concentration and even spiritual intoxication when they chanted the name of God.<ref>{{cite news|last1=McHugo|first1=John|title=How a drink downed by Arab mystics went global|url=http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-22190802|work=BBC News|date=18 April 2013}}</ref>

=== Europe ===

Fermented honey, known in Northern Europe as [[mead]], was an early entheogen in [[Aegean civilization]], predating the introduction of wine, which was the more familiar entheogen of the reborn [[Dionysus]] and the [[maenad]]s. Its religious uses in the [[Aegean Sea|Aegean]] world are intertwined with the [[Bee (mythology)|mythology of the bee]].

[[Dacians]] were known to use cannabis in their religious and important life ceremonies, proven by discoveries of large clay pots with burnt cannabis seeds in ancient tombs and religious shrines. Also, local oral folklore and myths tell of ancient priests that dreamed with gods and walked in the smoke. Their names, as transmitted by [[Herodotus]], were "''[[kap-no-batai]]''" which in Dacian was supposed to mean "the ones that walk in the clouds".

The growth of Roman Christianity also saw the end of the two-thousand-year-old tradition of the [[Eleusinian Mysteries]], the initiation ceremony for the cult of [[Demeter]] and [[Persephone]] involving the use of a drug known as [[kykeon]]. The term 'ambrosia' is used in Greek mythology in a way that is remarkably similar to the ''Soma'' of the Hindus as well.

A theory that naturally-occurring gases like [[ethylene]] used by inhalation may have played a role in divinatory ceremonies at [[Delphi]] in [[Classical Greece]] received popular press attention in the early 2000s, yet has not been conclusively proven.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.erowid.org/chemicals/ethylene/ethylene_history1.shtml |title=History : Oracle at Delphi May Have Been Inhaling Ethylene Gas Fumes |work=Ethylene Vault |publisher=Erowid.org |access-date=31 March 2013}}</ref>

Mushroom consumption is part of the culture of Europeans in general, with particular importance to [[Mushroom picking in Slavic culture|Slavic and Baltic peoples]]. Some academics argue that the use of [[psilocybin]]- and/or [[muscimol]]-containing mushrooms was an integral part of the ancient culture of the [[Rus' people]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.narkotiki.ru/5_5281.htm|title=НАРКОТИКИ.РУ &#124; Наркотики на Руси. Первый этап: Древняя Русь|website=www.narkotiki.ru}}</ref>

=== Middle East ===

It has been suggested that the ritual use of small amounts of [[Harmal|Syrian rue]]{{by whom|date=December 2020}} is an artifact of its ancient use in higher doses as an entheogen (possibly in conjunction with [[Dimethyltryptamine|DMT]]-containing acacia).{{Citation needed|date=May 2010}}

[[John Marco Allegro]] argued that early Jewish and Christian cultic practice was based on the use of ''[[Amanita muscaria]]'', which was later forgotten by its adherents,<ref name="ref1">
{{cite book
 | last = Allegro
 | first = John Marco
 | year = 1970
 | title = The Sacred Mushroom and the Cross: A Study of the Nature and Origins of Christianity within the Fertility Cults of the Ancient Near East
 | publisher = Hodder and Stoughton
 | isbn = 0-340-12875-5
}}</ref> but this view has been widely disputed.<ref name="Taylor2012">{{cite book |author=Taylor, Joan E. |title=The Essenes, the Scrolls, and the Dead Sea |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XWIMFY4VnI4C&pg=PA305 |year= 2012 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-955448-5 |pages=305}}</ref>

=== Oceania ===
In general, [[indigenous Australians]] are thought not to have used entheogens, although there is a strong barrier of secrecy surrounding Aboriginal shamanism, which has likely limited what has been told to outsiders.

[[File:Kava.JPG|thumb|left|A sign showing a "Kava licence area" at [[Yirrkala]], in the [[Northern Territory]] of Australia]]
[[Kava]] or ''kava kava'' (''Piper Methysticum'') has been cultivated for at least 3,000 years by a number of Pacific island-dwelling peoples. Historically, most [[Polynesian culture|Polynesian]], many [[Melanesia]]n, and some Micronesian cultures have ingested the psychoactive pulverized root, typically taking it mixed with water.  In these traditions, taking kava is believed to facilitate contact with the spirits of the dead, especially relatives and ancestors.<ref>{{cite book|editor-last=Singh|editor-first=Yadhu N.|title=Kava from ethnology to pharmacology|year=2004|publisher=CRC Press|location=Boca Raton|isbn=1420023373}}</ref>

There are no known uses of entheogens by the [[Māori people|Māori]] of New Zealand aside from a variant species of kava,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.entheology.org/edoto/anmviewer.asp?a=67 |title=Macropiper Excelsum - Maori Kava |publisher=Entheology.org |access-date=13 January 2013}}</ref> although some modern scholars have claimed that there may be evidence of psilocybin mushroom use.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://erowid.org/library/books_online/magic_mushrooms_aunz/magic_mushrooms_aunz5.shtml.|title=Psilocybian mushrooms in New Zealand |publisher=Erowid.org}}</ref> Natives of [[Papua New Guinea]] are known to use several species of entheogenic mushrooms (''Psilocybe'' spp, ''Boletus manicus'').<ref name="ref2">{{cite web |url=http://www.shaman-australis.com/~benjamin-thomas/ |title=Benjamin Thomas Ethnobotany & Anthropology Research Page |publisher=Shaman-australis.com |access-date=13 January 2013}}</ref>

[[Pituri]], also known as mingkulpa,<ref>{{cite journal | doi=10.22605/RRH4044 | title=The Pituri Learning Circle: Central Australian Aboriginal women's knowledge and practices around the use of Nicotiana SPP. As a chewing tobacco | year=2017 | last1=Ratsch | first1=Angela | last2=Mason | first2=Andrea | last3=Rive | first3=Linda | last4=Bogossian | first4=Fiona | last5=Steadman | first5=Kathryn | journal=Rural and Remote Health | volume=17 | issue=3 | page=4044 | pmid=28780876 | doi-access=free }}</ref> is a mixture of leaves and wood ash traditionally chewed as a [[stimulant]] (or, after [[Drug titration|extended use]], a [[depressant]]) by [[Australian Aboriginal|Aboriginal Australians]] widely across the continent. Leaves are gathered from any of several species of native tobacco (''[[Nicotiana]]'') or from at least one distinct population of the species ''[[Duboisia hopwoodii]]''. Various species of ''[[Acacia]]'', ''[[Grevillea]]'' and ''[[Eucalyptus]]'' are burned to produce the ash. The term "pituri" may also refer to the plants from which the leaves are gathered or from which the ash is made.<ref name=Ratsch>{{Cite journal|title = The pituri story: a review of the historical literature surrounding traditional Australian Aboriginal use of nicotine in Central Australia.|last1 = Ratsch|first1 = A|date = 2010|journal = Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine|doi = 10.1186/1746-4269-6-26|pmid = 20831827|last2 = Steadman|first2 = KJ|first3 = F|last3 = Bogossian|pmc=2944156|volume=6|pages=26 | doi-access=free }}</ref> Some authors use the term to refer only to the plant ''Duboisia hopwoodii'' and its leaves and any chewing mixture containing its leaves.<ref name=Silcock>Silcock JL, Tischler M, Smith MA. [http://journals.sfu.ca/era/index.php/era/article/viewFile/589/381 "Quantifying the Mulligan River Pituri, ''Duboisia hopwoodii'' ((F.Muell.) F.Muell.) (Solanaceae), Trade of Central Australia."] ''Ethnobotany Research & Applications''. 2012; 10:037-044. Retrieved 30 April 2015.</ref>

== In religion ==
{{see also|Religion and drugs}}
[[File:Huautla de Jimenez.jpg|right|thumb|[[Huautla de Jimenez Mazatec language|Mazatec]] people performing a Salvia ritual dance in [[Huautla de Jiménez]]]]

Shamans all over the world and in different cultures have traditionally used drugs, especially [[Psychedelic drug|psychedelics]], for their religious experiences. In these communities the absorption of [[Psychoactive drug|drugs]] leads to dreams (visions) through sensory distortion. The psychedelic experience is often compared to non-ordinary forms of consciousness such as those experienced in [[meditation]],<ref name="Robin L 2018">{{Cite journal|last1=Millière|first1=Raphaël|last2=Carhart-Harris|first2=Robin L.|last3=Roseman|first3=Leor|last4=Trautwein|first4=Fynn-Mathis|last5=Berkovich-Ohana|first5=Aviva|date=2018-09-04|title=Psychedelics, Meditation, and Self-Consciousness|journal=Frontiers in Psychology|volume=9|page=1475|doi=10.3389/fpsyg.2018.01475|issn=1664-1078|pmc=6137697|pmid=30245648 |doi-access=free }}</ref> and [[mystical experience]]s.<ref name="Robin L 2018"/> [[Ego dissolution]] is often described as a key feature of the psychedelic experience.<ref name="ReferenceA"/>

Entheogens used in the contemporary world include biota like [[peyote]] ([[Native American Church]]<ref name="calabrese">{{cite journal |last1=Calabrese |first1=Joseph D. |title=Spiritual healing and human development in the Native American church: Toward a cultural psychiatry of peyote |journal=Psychoanalytic Review |date=1997 |volume=84 |issue=2 |pages=237–255|pmid=9211587 }}</ref>), extracts like [[ayahuasca]] ([[Santo Daime]],<ref name="santos-et-al">{{cite journal |last1=Santos |first1=R. G. |last2=Landeira-Fernandez |first2=J. |last3=Strassman |first3=R. J. |last4=Motta |first4=V. |last5=Cruz |first5=A. P. M. |title=Effects of ayahuasca on psychometric measures of anxiety, panic-like and hopelessness in Santo Daime members |journal=Journal of Ethnopharmacology |date=2007 |volume=112 |issue=3 |pages=507–513 |doi=10.1016/j.jep.2007.04.012|pmid=17532158 }}</ref> [[União do Vegetal]]<ref name="de-rios-and-grob-2005">{{cite journal |last1=de Rios |first1=Marlene Dobkin |last2=Grob |first2=Charles S. |title=Interview with Jeffrey Bronfman, Representative Mestre for the União do Vegetal Church in the United States |journal=Journal of Psychoactive Drugs |date=2005 |volume=37 |issue=2 |pages=181–191 |doi=10.1080/02791072.2005.10399800|pmid=16149332 |s2cid=208178224 }}</ref>).

Entheogens also play an important role in contemporary religious movements such as the [[Rastafari movement]].<ref>{{cite journal |last=Chawane |first=Midas H. |year=2014 |title=The Rastafarian Movement in South Africa: A Religion or Way of Life? |journal=Journal for the Study of Religion |volume=27 |number=2 |pages=214–237 }}</ref>

=== Hinduism ===
{{main| Entheogenic use of cannabis}}

[[Bhang]] is an [[cannabis edible|edible preparation]] of [[cannabis (drug)|cannabis]] native to the [[Indian subcontinent]]. It has been used in food and drink as early as 1000&nbsp;BCE by [[Hindu]]s in [[ancient India]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/httpmunchies-vice-comarticlesthe-bhang-lassi-is-how-hindus-drink-themselves-high-for-shiva/ |title=The Bhang Lassi Is How Hindus Drink Themselves High for Shiva |author=Staelens, Stefanie |website=Vice.com |date=10 March 2015 |access-date=August 10, 2017}}</ref>
The earliest known reports regarding the sacred status of cannabis in the [[Indian subcontinent]] come from the [[Atharva Veda]] estimated to have been written sometime around 2000–1400 BCE,<ref>{{cite book |title= Forces of Habit: Drugs and the Making of the Modern World |last= Courtwright |first= David |year= 2001 |publisher= Harvard Univ. Press |isbn= 0-674-00458-2 |page= 39 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=GHqV3elHYvMC&q=Forces+of+Habit&pg=PP10}}</ref> which mentions cannabis as one of the "five sacred plants... which release us from anxiety" and that a guardian angel resides in its leaves. The [[Vedas]] also refer to it as a "source of happiness", "joy-giver" and "liberator", and in the ''Raja Valabba'', the gods send hemp to the human race.<ref name=pmid7024492>{{cite journal |last1=Touw |first1=Mia |title=The Religious and Medicinal Uses of Cannabis in China, India and Tibet |journal=Journal of Psychoactive Drugs |date=January 1981 |volume=13 |issue=1 |pages=23–34 |doi=10.1080/02791072.1981.10471447 |pmid=7024492 }}</ref>

=== Buddhism ===
It has been suggested that the ''[[Amanita muscaria]]'' mushroom was used by the Tantric Buddhist [[mahasiddha]] tradition of the 8th to 12th century.<ref>{{cite journal | author = Hajicek-Dobberstein | title = Soma siddhas and alchemical enlightenment: psychedelic mushrooms in Buddhist tradition | volume = 48 | issue = 2 | date = 1995 | journal = Journal of Ethnopharmacology | pages = 99–118 | doi = 10.1016/0378-8741(95)01292-L | pmid = 8583800 }}</ref>

In the West, some modern Buddhist teachers have written on the usefulness of psychedelics. The Buddhist magazine ''[[Tricycle: The Buddhist Review|Tricycle]]'' devoted their entire fall 1996 edition to this issue.<ref>Tricycle: Buddhism & Psychedelics, Fall 1996{{full citation needed|date=November 2020}} https://tricycle.org/magazine-issue/fall-1996/</ref> Some teachers such as [[Jack Kornfield]] have suggested the possibility that psychedelics could complement Buddhist practice, bring healing and help people understand their connection with everything which could lead to compassion.<ref>Kornfield, Jack; "Bringing Home the Dharma: Awakening Right Where You Are", excerpted at {{cite web |url=http://www.jackkornfield.com/psychedelics-antidepressants-spiritual-practice |title=Psychedelics and Spiritual Practice - Jack Kornfield |access-date=28 May 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141005190548/http://www.jackkornfield.com/psychedelics-antidepressants-spiritual-practice |archive-date=5 October 2014 |df=dmy-all }}/</ref>{{self-published inline|date=August 2016}} Kornfield warns however that addiction can still be a hindrance. Other teachers such as Michelle McDonald-Smith expressed views which saw entheogens as not conducive to Buddhist practice ("I don't see them developing anything").<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Stolaroff |first1=M. J. |title=Are Psychedelics Useful in the Practice of Buddhism? |journal=Journal of Humanistic Psychology |volume=39 |issue=1 |year=1999 |pages=60–80 |doi=10.1177/0022167899391009 |s2cid=145220039 }}</ref>

=== Judaism ===
{{main|Cannabis and Judaism}}
[[File:Arad Debir 2.jpg|right|thumb|The shrine at Tel Arad, where the earliest use of cannabis in the Near East is thought to have occurred during the Kingdom of Judah]]

The primary advocate of the religious use of cannabis in early Judaism was Polish anthropologist [[Sula Benet]], who claimed that the plant ''kaneh bosem קְנֵה-בֹשֶׂם'' mentioned five times in the Hebrew Bible, and used in the [[holy anointing oil]] of the Book of Exodus, was cannabis.<ref>Benet, S. (1975). "[https://www.קנאביס.com/wp-content/PDF/EARLY-DIFFUSION-AND-FOLK-USES-OF-HEMP-SULA-BENET.pdf Early Diffusions and Folk Uses of Hemp]", in Vera Rubin; Lambros Comitas (eds.), ''Cannabis and Culture''. Moutan, pp. 39–49.</ref> According to theories that hold that cannabis was present in Ancient Israelite society, a variant of [[hashish]] is held to have been present.<ref>Warf, Barney. "High points: An historical geography of cannabis." Geographical Review 104.4 (2014): 414-438. Page 422: "Psychoactive cannabis is mentioned in the Talmud, and the ancient Jews may have used hashish (Clarke and Merlin 2013)."</ref> In 2020, it was announced that cannabis residue had been found on the Israelite sanctuary altar at [[Tel Arad]] dating to the [[8th century BCE]] of the [[Kingdom of Judah]], suggesting that cannabis was a part of some Israelite rituals at the time.<ref>{{Cite journal|url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/03344355.2020.1732046|doi = 10.1080/03344355.2020.1732046|title = Cannabis and Frankincense at the Judahite Shrine of Arad|year = 2020|last1 = Arie|first1 = Eran|last2 = Rosen|first2 = Baruch|last3 = Namdar|first3 = Dvory|journal = Tel Aviv|volume = 47|pages = 5–28|s2cid = 219763262|url-access = subscription}}</ref>

While Benet's conclusion regarding the psychoactive use of cannabis is not universally accepted among Jewish scholars, there is general agreement that cannabis is used in talmudic sources to refer to [[hemp]] fibers, not hashish, as hemp was a vital commodity before linen replaced it.<ref>Roth, Cecil. (1972). ''[[Encyclopedia Judaica]]''. 1st Ed. Volume 8. p. 323. {{oclc|830136076}}. Note, the second edition of the ''Encyclopedia Judaica'' no longer mentions Sula Benet but continues to maintain that hemp is "the plant Cannabis sativa called kanbus in talmudic literature", but now adds, "Hashish is not mentioned however in Jewish sources".  See p. 805 in Vol. 8 of the 2nd edition.</ref> Lexicons of Hebrew and dictionaries of plants of the Bible such as by [[Michael Zohary]] (1985), [[Hans Arne Jensen]] (2004) and [[James A. Duke]] (2010) and others identify the plant in question as either ''[[Acorus calamus]]'' or ''[[Cymbopogon citratus]]'', not cannabis.<ref>Lytton J. Musselman ''Figs, dates, laurel, and myrrh: plants of the Bible and the Quran'' 2007 p73</ref>

=== Christianity ===
{{for|non-psychoactive use of wine|Sacramental wine}}
{{see also|real presence of Christ in the Eucharist}}

Scholars such as [[Ammon Hillman]] suggest that a variety of drug use, recreational and otherwise, is to be found in the early history of the Church.<ref>The Chemical Muse: Drug Use and the Roots of Western Civilization by D. C. A. Hillman PhD{{page needed|date=August 2016}}</ref>

The historical picture portrayed by the ''Entheos'' journal is of fairly widespread use of visionary plants in early Christianity and the surrounding culture, with a gradual reduction of use of entheogens in Christianity.<ref>[http://entheomedia.org/Issue%20one.htm Conjuring Eden: Art and the Entheogenic Vision of Paradise] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070814121831/http://www.entheomedia.org/Issue%20one.htm |date=14 August 2007 }}, by Mark Hoffman, Carl Ruck, and Blaise Staples. Entheos: The Journal of Psychedelic Spirituality, Issue No. 1, Summer, 2001</ref> R. Gordon Wasson's book ''Soma'' prints a letter from art historian Erwin Panofsky asserting that art scholars are aware of many "mushroom trees" in Christian art.<ref>[http://www.egodeath.com/WassonEdenTree.htm Wasson and Allegro on the Tree of Knowledge as Amanita] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070814053612/http://www.egodeath.com/WassonEdenTree.htm |date=14 August 2007 }}, Michael S. Hoffman, Journal of Higher Criticism, 2007</ref>

The question of the extent of visionary plant use throughout the history of Christian practice has barely been considered yet by academic or independent scholars. The question of whether visionary plants were used in pre-[[Theodosius I|Theodosian]] Christianity is distinct from evidence that indicates the extent to which visionary plants were utilized or forgotten in later Christianity, including heretical or quasi-Christian groups,<ref>[http://entheomedia.org/Entheos_Issue_2.htm Daturas for the Virgin] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070906191000/http://www.entheomedia.org/Entheos_Issue_2.htm |date=6 September 2007 }}, José Celdrán and Carl Ruck, Entheos: The Journal of Psychedelic Spirituality, Vol. I, Issue 2, Winter, 2002</ref> and the question of other groups such as elites or laity within orthodox Catholic practice.<ref>[https://www.amazon.com/dp/1594601445 The Hidden World: Survival of Pagan Shamanic Themes in European Fairytales], by Carl Ruck, Blaise Staples, Jose Alfredo Celdran, Mark Hoffman, Carolina Academic Press, 2007{{page needed|date=August 2016}}</ref>

=== Peyotism ===
[[File:Flowering San Pedro cactus.jpg|thumb|upright|alt=text|Flowering [[Echinopsis pachanoi|San Pedro]], an entheogenic cactus that has been used for over 3,000 years.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Rudgley|first1=Richard|title=The Encyclopedia of Psychoactive Substances|url=http://www.mescaline.com/sanpedro/|publisher=mescaline.com|access-date=21 May 2015}}</ref> Today the vast majority of extracted mescaline is from columnar cacti, not vulnerable [[peyote]].<ref>{{cite iucn |author=Terry, M. |year=2017 |amends=2013 |title=''Lophophora williamsii'' |volume=2017 |page=e.T151962A121515326 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2017-3.RLTS.T151962A121515326.en |access-date=29 October 2018}}</ref>]]

The [[Native American Church]] (NAC) is also known as ''Peyotism'' and ''Peyote Religion''. Peyotism is a [[Native American religion]] characterized by mixed traditional as well as [[Protestant]] beliefs and by sacramental use of the entheogen [[peyote]].

The Peyote Way Church of God believe that "Peyote is a holy sacrament, when taken according to our sacramental procedure and combined with a holistic lifestyle".<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://peyoteway.org/|title=The Peyote Way Church of God » Overview|website=peyoteway.org}}</ref>

===Santo Daime===
[[Santo Daime]] is a [[Syncretism|syncretic]] religion founded in the 1930s in the Brazilian [[Amazon rainforest|Amazonian]] [[States of Brazil|state]] of [[Acre State|Acre]] by Raimundo Irineu Serra,<ref>[http://www.mestreirineu.org/galeriamestre.htm Mestre Irineu photos]</ref> known as [[Mestre Irineu]]. Santo Daime incorporates elements of several religious or spiritual traditions including [[Folk Catholicism]], [[Kardecist Spiritism]], African [[animism]] and [[Indigenous peoples of Brazil|indigenous]] South American [[shamanism]], including ''[[vegetalismo]]''.

Ceremonies&nbsp;&ndash; ''trabalhos'' (Brazilian Portuguese for "works")&nbsp;&ndash; are typically several hours long and are undertaken sitting in silent "concentration", or sung collectively, dancing according to simple steps in geometrical formation. Ayahuasca, referred to as [[Daime]] within the practice, which contains several psychoactive compounds, is drunk as part of the ceremony. The drinking of Daime can induce a strong [[vomiting|emetic]] effect which is embraced as both emotional and physical purging.

===União do Vegetal===
[[União do Vegetal]] (UDV) is a religious society founded on July 22, 1961, by José Gabriel da Costa, known as [[Mestre Gabriel]]. The translation of ''União do Vegetal'' is ''Union of the Plants'' referring to the sacrament of the UDV, Hoasca tea (also known as ayahuasca). This beverage is made by boiling two plants, Mariri (''[[Banisteriopsis caapi]]'') and Chacrona (''[[Psychotria viridis]]''), both of which are native to the Amazon rainforest.

In its sessions, UDV members drink Hoasca Tea for the effect of mental concentration.  In Brazil, the use of Hoasca in religious rituals was regulated by the Brazilian Federal Government's National Drug Policy Council on January 25, 2010.  The policy established legal norms for the religious institutions that responsibly use this tea.  The Supreme Court of the United States unanimously affirmed the UDV's right to use Hoasca tea in its religious sessions in the United States, in a decision published on February 21, 2006.

[[File:Peyote Drummer.jpg|thumb|right|upright|A Native American peyote drummer (c. 1927)]]

===Thelema===
{{main|Thelema}}

The Thelema ceremony calls for five officers: a Priest, a Priestess, a Deacon, and two adult acolytes, called "the Children". The end of the ritual culminates in the consummation of the [[eucharist]], consisting of a goblet of wine and a [[Cake of Light]], after which the congregant proclaims "There is no part of me that is not of the gods!"<ref>{{Cite web |title=Liber 15 – The Gnostic Mass |url=https://sacred-texts.com/oto/lib15.htm |access-date=2023-08-31 |website=sacred-texts.com |archive-date=2023-08-17 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230817171155/https://sacred-texts.com/oto/lib15.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>

== Research ==
{{also|Eleusinian Mysteries|Soma (drink)}}
[[File:Marsh-chapel-window.jpg|thumb|left|[[Mandala]]-like [[Rose window|round window]] above the altar at [[Boston University]]'s Marsh Chapel, site of [[Marsh Chapel Experiment]]]]

Notable early testing of the entheogenic experience includes the [[Marsh Chapel Experiment]], conducted by physician and theology doctoral candidate [[Walter Pahnke]] under the supervision of psychologist [[Timothy Leary]] and the [[Harvard Psilocybin Project]]. In this [[double-blind]] experiment, volunteer graduate school divinity students from the Boston area almost all claimed to have had profound [[religious experience]]s subsequent to the ingestion of pure [[psilocybin]].{{citation needed|date=February 2021}}

Beginning in 2006, experiments have been conducted at [[Johns Hopkins University]], showing that under controlled conditions psilocybin causes [[mystical experience]]s in most participants and that they rank the personal and spiritual meaningfulness of the experiences very highly.<ref name="Griffiths">{{cite journal | title = Psilocybin can occasion mystical-type experiences having substantial and sustained personal meaning and spiritual significance | journal = Psychopharmacology | date = 7 July 2006 | author = R. R. Griffiths |author2=W. A. Richards |author3=U. McCann |author4=R. Jesse  | volume = 187 | issue = 3 | pages = 268–283| doi=10.1007/s00213-006-0457-5 | pmid=16826400| s2cid = 7845214 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|author1=MacLean, Katherine A.|author2=Johnson, Matthew W.|author3=Griffiths, Roland R.|title=Mystical Experiences Occasioned by the Hallucinogen Psilcybin Lead to Increases in the Personality Domain of Openness|journal=Journal of Psychopharmacology|date=2011|volume=25|issue=11|pages=1453–1461|doi=10.1177/0269881111420188|pmid=21956378|pmc=3537171}}</ref>

Except in Mexico, research with psychedelics is limited due to ongoing widespread [[Prohibition (drugs)|drug prohibition]]. The amount of [[peer review|peer-reviewed research]] on psychedelics has accordingly been limited due to the difficulty of getting approval from [[institutional review board]]s.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Nutt|first1=David J.|last2=King|first2=Leslie A.|last3=Nichols|first3=David E.|title=Effects of Schedule I Drug Laws on Neuroscience Research and Treatment Innovation|journal=Nature Reviews Neuroscience|volume=14|issue=8|pages=577–85|year=2013|doi=10.1038/nrn3530|pmid=23756634|s2cid=1956833}}</ref> Furthermore, scientific studies on entheogens present some significant challenges to researchers, including philosophical questions relating to [[ontology]], [[epistemology]] and [[objectivity (science)|objectivity]].<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Tupper|first1=Kenneth W.|last2=Labate|first2=Beatriz C.|title=Ayahuasca, Psychedelic Studies and Health Sciences: The Politics of Knowledge and Inquiry into an Amazonian Plant Brew|journal=Current Drug Abuse Reviews|volume=7|issue=2|pages=71–80|year=2014|doi=10.2174/1874473708666150107155042|pmid=25563448}}</ref>

In recent decades, entheogens have been revisited in clinical research for their potential therapeutic benefits. According to Richards (2009), studies have shown promise in treating depression, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and anxiety associated with terminal illness using substances such as psilocybin and MDMA.<ref name=":0" />

This modern research highlights a shift toward integrating the traditional spiritual insights associated with entheogens into clinical practice, promoting healing and psychological growth.

== Legal status ==

===By entheogen===
* Psychoactive ''Amanita'' mushrooms: [[Legal status of psychoactive Amanita mushrooms|Legal status of psychoactive ''Amanita'' mushrooms]]
* Ayuahuasca: [[Legal status of ayahuasca by country]]
* Psychoactive cactus: [[Legal status of psychoactive cactus by country]]
* Cannabis: [[Legality of cannabis]] ([[Template:Global cannabis legalization table|Global cannabis legalization table]])
* Ibogaine: [[Legal status of ibogaine by country]]
* Psilocybin mushrooms: [[Legal status of psilocybin mushrooms]]
* ''Salvia divinorum'': [[Legal status of Salvia divinorum]]

===By country or territory===

Some countries have legislation that allows for traditional entheogen use.{{citation needed|date=December 2020}}

====United Nations====
{{Main|Convention on Psychotropic Substances}}

====Australia====
{{Main|Dimethyltryptamine#Australia}}

Between 2011 and 2012, the [[Australian Federal Government]] was considering changes to the [[Criminal law of Australia|Australian Criminal Code]] that would classify any plants containing any amount of DMT as "controlled plants".<ref>{{cite web|title=Consultation on implementation of model drug schedules for Commonwealth serious drug offences|url=http://www.ag.gov.au/www/agd/agd.nsf/Page/Consultationsreformsandreviews_ConsultationonimplementationofmodeldrugschedulesforCommonwealthseriousdrugoffences|date=24 June 2010|publisher=[[Attorney-General's Department (Australia)|Australian Government, Attorney-General's Department]]|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111107074102/http://www.ag.gov.au/www/agd/agd.nsf/Page/Consultationsreformsandreviews_ConsultationonimplementationofmodeldrugschedulesforCommonwealthseriousdrugoffences|archive-date=7 November 2011|df=dmy-all}}</ref> DMT itself was already controlled under current laws. The proposed changes included other similar blanket bans for other substances, such as a ban on any and all plants containing mescaline or ephedrine. The proposal was not pursued after political embarrassment on realisation that this would make the official [[List of Australian floral emblems|Floral Emblem of Australia]], ''[[Acacia pycnantha]]'' (golden wattle), illegal. The Therapeutic Goods Administration and federal authority had considered a motion to ban the same, but this was withdrawn in May 2012 (as DMT may still hold potential entheogenic value to native or religious peoples).<ref>{{cite journal |title=Aussie DMT Ban |journal=American Herb Association Quarterly Newsletter |date=Summer 2012 |volume=27 |issue=3 |page=14 }}</ref>

==== United States ====
In 1963 in ''[[Sherbert v. Verner]]'' the [[Supreme Court of the United States|Supreme Court]] established the Sherbert Test, which consists of four criteria that are used to determine if an individual's right to religious free exercise has been violated by the government. The test is as follows:

For the individual, the court must determine
* whether the person has a claim involving a sincere religious belief, and
* whether the government action is a substantial burden on the person's ability to act on that belief.

If these two elements are established, then the government must prove
* that it is acting in furtherance of a "[[compelling state interest]]", and
* that it has pursued that interest in the manner least restrictive, or least burdensome, to religion.

This test was eventually all-but-eliminated in ''[[Employment Division v. Smith]]'' 494 U.S. 872 (1990) which held that a "neutral law of general applicability" was not subject to the test. Congress resurrected it for the purposes of federal law in the federal [[Religious Freedom Restoration Act]] (RFRA) of 1993.

In ''[[City of Boerne v. Flores]]'', 521 U.S. 507 (1997) RFRA was held to trespass on state sovereignty, and application of the RFRA was essentially limited to federal law enforcement. In ''[[Gonzales v. O Centro Espírita Beneficente União do Vegetal]]'', 546 U.S. 418 (2006), a case involving only federal law, RFRA was held to permit a church's use of a DMT-containing tea for religious ceremonies.

Some states have enacted [[State Religious Freedom Restoration Acts]] intended to mirror the federal RFRA's protections.

[[Peyote]] is listed by the United States DEA as a [[Controlled Substances Act#Schedule I controlled substances|Schedule&nbsp;I]] controlled substance.  However, practitioners of the [[Native American Church|Peyote Way Church of God]], a [[Native American religion]], perceive the regulations regarding the use of peyote as [[Religious discrimination in the United States#Peyote usage|discriminating]], leading to religious discrimination issues regarding about the U.S. policy towards drugs. As the result of ''[[Peyote Way Church of God, Inc. v. Thornburgh]]'' the [[American Indian Religious Freedom Act]] of 1978 was passed.  This federal statute allow the "Traditional Indian religious use of the peyote sacrament", exempting only use by Native American persons.

== In literature ==
Many works of literature have described entheogen use; some of those are:
* The drug [[Melange (fictional drug)|melange]] (spice) in [[Frank Herbert]]'s [[Dune (franchise)|''Dune'' universe]] acts as both an entheogen (in large enough quantities) and an addictive [[geriatric]] medicine. Control of the supply of melange was crucial to the Empire, as it was necessary for, among other things, [[faster than light|faster-than-light]] (folding space) navigation.{{Citation needed|date=May 2010}}
* Consumption of the imaginary [[mushroom]] ''anochi'' [enoki] as the entheogen underlying the creation of Christianity is the premise of [[Philip K. Dick]]'s last novel, ''[[The Transmigration of Timothy Archer]]'', a theme that seems to be inspired by John Allegro's book.{{Citation needed|date=May 2010}}
* [[Aldous Huxley]]'s final novel, ''[[Island (Huxley novel)|Island]]'' (1962), depicted a fictional [[psychoactive mushroom]]{{Snd}}termed "[[moksha]] medicine"{{Snd}}used by the people of Pala in rites of passage, such as the transition to adulthood and at the end of life.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Gunesekera|first1=Romesh|title=Book of a Lifetime: Island, By Aldous Huxley|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/reviews/book-of-a-lifetime-island-by-aldous-huxley-6295203.html|website=Independent UK|date=26 January 2012|access-date=30 January 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | pmc= 2779438 | pmid=17486431 | doi=10.1007/s11019-007-9059-1 | volume=10 | issue=2 | title=Brave New World versus Island--utopian and dystopian views on psychopharmacology | journal=Med Health Care Philos | pages=119–28 | last1 = Schermer | first1 = MH| year=2007 }}</ref>
* [[Bruce Sterling]]'s ''[[Holy Fire (novel)|Holy Fire]]'' novel refers to the religion in the future as a result of entheogens, used freely by the population.<ref>{{cite book |last=Sterling |first=Bruce |title=Holy Fire |date=1997 |page=228|title-link=Holy Fire }}</ref>
* In [[Stephen King]]'s ''[[The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger]]'', Book 1 of ''[[The Dark Tower (series)|The Dark Tower]]'' series, the main character receives guidance after taking [[mescaline]].{{Citation needed|date=May 2010}}
* The [[Alastair Reynolds]] novel ''[[Absolution Gap]]'' features a moon under the control of a religious government that uses neurological viruses to induce religious faith.{{Citation needed|date=May 2010}}
* A critical examination of the ethical and societal implications and relevance of "entheogenic" experiences can be found in [[Daniel Waterman]] and [[Casey William Hardison]]'s book ''Entheogens, Society & Law: Towards a Politics of Consciousness, Autonomy and Responsibility'' (Melrose, Oxford 2013). This book includes a controversial{{according to whom|date=December 2020}} analysis of the term entheogen arguing that Wasson et al. were mystifying the effects of the plants and traditions to which it refers.{{page needed|date=December 2020}}

== See also ==
* [[List of Acacia species known to contain psychoactive alkaloids]]
* [[List of investigational hallucinogens and entactogens]]
* [[List of plants used for smoking]]
* [[List of psychoactive plants]]
* [[List of psychoactive plants, fungi, and animals]]
* [[List of substances used in rituals]]
* [[N,N-Dimethyltryptamine]]
* [[Psilocybin mushrooms]]
* [[Psychedelic therapy]]
* [[Psychoactive Amanita mushrooms|Psychoactive ''Amanita'' mushrooms]]
* [[Psychoactive cacti]]
* [[Psychology of religion]]
* [[Religion and alcohol]]
* [[Scholarly approaches to mysticism]]

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== Further reading ==
{{refbegin|colwidth=30em}}
* Harner, Michael, ''The Way of the Shaman: A Guide to Power and Healing,'' Harper & Row Publishers, NY 1980
* Rätsch, Christian; "The Psychoactive Plants, Ethnopharmacology and Its Applications"; Park Street Press; Rochester Vermont; 1998/2005; {{ISBN|978-0-89281-978-2}}
*{{cite book|last=Pegg|first=Carole|title=Mongolian Music, Dance, & Oral Narrative: Performing Diverse Identities|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gKRrVu0fBn8C&pg=PA141|access-date=13 August 2012|year=2001|publisher=U of Washington P|isbn=9780295981123}}
* Roberts, Thomas B. (editor) (2001). ''Psychoactive Sacramentals: Essays on Entheogens and Religion'' San Francisco: [[Council on Spiritual Practices]].
* Roberts, Thomas B. (2006) "Chemical Input, Religious Output—Entheogens" Chapter 10 in ''Where God and Science Meet: Vol. 3: The Psychology of Religious Experience'' Westport, CT: Praeger/Greenwood.
* Roberts, Thomas, and Hruby, Paula J. (1995–2003). ''Religion and Psychoactive Sacraments: An Entheogen Chrestomathy'' https://web.archive.org/web/20071111053855/http://csp.org/chrestomathy/ [Online archive]
*{{cite encyclopaedia|encyclopedia=Shamanism: An Encyclopedia of World Beliefs, Practices, and Culture|volume=1|editor1-first=Mariko Namba|editor1-last=Walter|editor2-first=Eva Jane|editor2-last=Neumann Fridman|publisher=ABC-CLIO|year=2004|isbn=9781576076453|article=Yellow Shamans (Mongolia)|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=X8waCmzjiD4C&pg=PA650|pages=649&ndash;651|first=Ippei|last=Shimamura|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140715123341/http://books.google.com/books?id=X8waCmzjiD4C&pg=PA650|archive-date=2014-07-15}}
* {{cite journal|last1=Tupper|first1=Kenneth W.|title=Entheogenic Education: Psychedelics as Tools of Wonder and Awe|journal=MAPS Bulletin|volume=24|issue=1|pages=14–19|year=2014|url=https://www.maps.org/news-letters/v24n1/v24n1_p14-19.pdf}}
* {{cite journal|last1=Tupper|first1=Kenneth W.|title=Entheogens and Existential Intelligence: The Use of Plant Teachers as Cognitive Tools|journal=Canadian Journal of Education|volume=27|issue=4|pages=499–516|year=2002|url=http://www.csse-scee.ca/CJE/Articles/FullText/CJE27-4/CJE27-4-tupper.pdf|doi=10.2307/1602247|jstor=1602247|access-date=2 February 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150923211602/http://www.csse-scee.ca/CJE/Articles/FullText/CJE27-4/CJE27-4-tupper.pdf|archive-date=23 September 2015|url-status=dead}}
* {{cite journal|last1=Tupper|first1=Kenneth W.|title=Entheogens & Education: Exploring the Potential of Psychoactives as Educational Tools|journal=Journal of Drug Education and Awareness|volume=1|issue=2|pages=145–161|year=2003|url=http://www.kentupper.com/resources/Entheogens+$26+Education--JDEA+2003.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071009175718/http://www.kentupper.com/resources/Entheogens+$26+Education--JDEA+2003.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-date=2007-10-09}}
* [[Peter Stafford|Stafford, Peter]]. (2003). ''Psychedelics''. [[Ronin Publishing]], Oakland, California. {{ISBN|0-914171-18-6}}.
* Carl Ruck and Danny Staples, ''The World of Classical Myth'' 1994. [https://web.archive.org/web/20120415105236/http://csp.org/chrestomathy/world_of.html Introductory excerpts]
* [[Huston Smith]], ''Cleansing the Doors of Perception: The Religious Significance of Entheogenic Plants and Chemicals'', 2000, Tarcher/Putnam, {{ISBN|1-58542-034-4}}
* Daniel Pinchbeck,[https://www.theguardian.com/books/2003/sep/20/booksonhealth.lifeandhealth "Ten Years of Therapy in One Night"], The Guardian UK (2003), describes Daniel's second journey with Iboga facilitated by Dr. Martin Polanco at the Ibogaine Association clinic in Rosarito, Mexico.
* [[Giorgio Samorini]] 1995 "Traditional use of psychoactive mushrooms in Ivory Coast?" in ''Eleusis'' 1 22-27 (no current url)
* M. Bock 2000 [http://www.lycaeum.org/eleusis/en/articles/bock.shtml "Māori kava (''Macropiper excelsum'')"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170108152938/http://www.lycaeum.org/eleusis/en/articles/bock.shtml |date=8 January 2017 }} in ''Eleusis - Journal of Psychoactive Plants & Compounds'' n.s. vol 4 (no current url)
* ''Plants of the Gods: Their Sacred, Healing and Hallucinogenic Powers'' by [[Richard Evans Schultes]], Albert Hofmann, Christian Ratsch - {{ISBN|0-89281-979-0}}
* John J. McGraw, [http://materialreligions.blogspot.com/2014/09/hallucinogensentheogens.html ''Brain & Belief: An Exploration of the Human Soul''], 2004, AEGIS PRESS, {{ISBN|0-9747645-0-7}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20070926222546/http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?articleID=0009BD34-398C-1F0A-97AE80A84189EEDF J.R. Hale, J.Z. de Boer, J.P. Chanton and H.A. Spiller (2003) Questioning the Delphic Oracle, 2003, Scientific American, vol 289, no 2, 67-73.]
* ''The Sacred Plants of our Ancestors'' by [[Christian Rätsch]], published in [[Tyr (journal)#Volume 2|TYR: Myth—Culture—Tradition Vol. 2]], 2003–2004 - {{ISBN|0-9720292-1-4}}
* Yadhu N. Singh, editor, ''Kava: From Ethnology to Pharmacology'', 2004, Taylor & Francis, {{ISBN|0-415-32327-4}}
{{refend}}

==External links==
* {{Commons category-inline|Entheogens}}

{{Psychedelics}}
{{Hallucinogens}}
{{Spirituality-related topics}}
{{New Age Movement}}
{{Witchcraft}}
{{Chemical classes of psychoactive drugs}}

[[Category:1979 neologisms]]
[[Category:Entheogens| ]]
[[Category:Religious practices]]
[[Category:Shamanism]]
[[Category:Indigenous spirituality]]
[[Category:Drug classes defined by psychological effects]]
[[Category:Drugs with non-standard legal status]]
[[Category:Drug culture]]