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R. Gordon Wasson
R. Gordon Wassson is responsible in great part for our modern understanding of entheogenic plants and mushrooms, as used traditionally in societies all over the world.
His work began with his wife, Valentina Pavlovna, when they discovered a mutual curiosity about the origins of cultural attitudes toward mushrooms: why some European cultures view mushrooms as disgusting, inedible, and other peoples delight in gathering and consuming a wide variety of mushrooms: some food, some medicine, and some magical...
The two came up with a hypothesis, that religion is an echo of ritual entheogenic use.
Amanita Muscaria, Wasson believed, was Soma, the Vedic "Food of the Gods", and enjoyed the status of the world's most beloved sacrament.
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