part, however, one of the fighters was given five strips of fly-agaric to consume. He was allowed to rest while it took effect, and then both fighters met again.
Except they didn’t, exactly. According to the expert I was speaking to (interestingly, over a lunch of mushroom paella), the fighter who had taken fly-agaric simply flew across the ring as soon as the bell rang, hardly even touching the ground, and threw his opponent so hard that he ended up on the floor outside the ropes. The intoxicated fighter never even broke a sweat and was not breathing at anything above normal levels when his opponent was counted out.
Usage and effects of fly-agaric
In the modern West, we have lost most of our ancient ceremonial practices and no longer believe in a ‘spirit world’. Consequently, fly-agaric (if it is considered at all) is regarded only as a dangerous and potentially poisonous ‘drug’, rather than a route to the divine.
In his book, Ploughing The Clouds, however, Peter Lamborn Wilson argues convincingly that fly-agaric is not only the sacred Soma referred to in the Rg Veda, but that it was used in many European countries and was also central to the Irish Keltic tradition of shamanism, which still continues in its basic form, today.
The mushrooms themselves, bright red with white spots, are gathered for ritual use in these traditions during the hottest months of the year – July and August – when they are most infused with the element of fire and the breath of the sun/Sky Father. The most powerful mushrooms, in fact, are said to dry themselves, ready to be picked for their communion with man. These are considered far ‘stronger’ than those picked early and