Plants of the Gods: Their Sacred, Healing, and Hallucinogenic Powers

•Numerous new and rare color photographs complement the completely revised and updated text.

•Explores the uses of hallucinogenic plants in shamanic rituals throughout the world.

•Cross-referenced by plant, illness, preparation, season of collection, and chemical constituents.

•First edition sold 33,000 copies.

Three scientific titans join forces to completely revise the classic text on the ritual uses of psychoactive plants. They provide a fascinating testimony of these andquot;plants of the gods,andquot; tracing their uses throughout the world and their significance in shaping culture and history. In the traditions of every culture, plants have been highly valued for their nourishing, healing, and transformative properties. The most powerful of those plants, which are known to transport the human mind into other dimensions of consciousness, have always been regarded as sacred. The authors detail the uses of hallucinogens in sacred shamanic rites while providing lucid explanations of the biochemistry of these plants and the cultural prayers, songs, and dances associated with them. The text is lavishly illustrated with 400 rare photographs of plants, people, ceremonies, and art related to the ritual use of the world's sacred psychoactive flora.

In addition to his work in Mexico, his numerous fieldworks have included research in Thailand, Bali, the Seychelles, as well as a long-term study (18 years) on shamanism in Nepal combined with expeditions to Korea and the Peruvian and Colombian Amazon. He also was a scientific anthropological advisor for expeditions organized by German magazines such as GEOand Spektrum der Wissenschaften(Spectrum of Sciences).

Before becoming a full-time author and internationally renowned lecturer, Rtsch worked as professor of anthropology at the University of Bremen and served as consultant advisor for many German museums. Because of his extensive collection of shells, fossils, artifacts, and entheopharmacological items, he has had numerous museum expositions on these topics.

He is the author of numerous articles and more than 40 books, including Plants of Love, Gateway to Inner Space, Marijuana Medicine,and The Dictionary of Sacred and Magical Plants.He is also coauthor of Plants of the Gods, Shamanism and Tantra in the Himalayas,and Witchcraft Medicineand is editor of the Yearbook of Ethnomedicine and the Study of Consciousness.A former member of the board of advisors of the European College for the Study of Consciousness (ECSC) and former president of the Association of Ethnomedicine, he lives in Hamburg, Germany.

Their Sacred, Healing and Hallucinogenic Powers

Preface

Introduction

1. What are Plant Hallucinogens

2. The Plant Kingdom

3. Phytochemical Research on Sacred Plants

4. Geography of Usage and Botanical Range

5. Plant Lexicon

6. Users of Hallucinogenic Plants

7. Overview of Plant Use

8. Fourteen Major Hallucinogenic Plants

9. Mainstay of the Heavens

10. The Hexing Herbs

11. The Nectar of Delight

12. St. Anthony's Fire

13. Holy Flower of the North Star

14. Guide to the Ancestors

15. Beans of the Hekula Spirit

16. Seeds of Civilization

17. The Magic Drink of the Amazon

18. Ayahuasca Analogs

19 Trumpets of the Angels

20. The Tracks of the Little Deer

21. Little Flowers of the Gods

22. Diviner's Sage

23. Cactus of the Four Winds

24. Vines of the Serpent

25. Semen of the Sun

26. Gateway to Dreamtime

27. Chemical Structures of Hallucinogens

28. Uses of Hallucinogens on Medicine

Epilogue

Picture Credits

Bibliography

Acknowledgments 

Index