National Mushroom Month: September

No roots, fed by mycelia

NATIONAL MUSHROOM MONTH: All through September, National Mushroom Month celebrates the wide variety of "mushrooms" (the fruiting bodies of fungal mycelia) that are available.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture also takes advantage of the opportunity to educate people on the versatility mushrooms offer, including their many health benefits.

As a result, mushrooms are gaining more and more appreciation as we learn more about them.

#NationalMushroomMonth

To fully celebrate the heritage of mushrooms (shrooms, toadstools, Easter eggs, fun guys in the garden...), we must first learn about the Mushroom Capital of the World.

Located just outside Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, one will find a small town known Kennett Square. Surprisingly, this small Pennsylvanian borough produces over one million pounds of mushrooms a day.

Each year Kennett Square holds the annual Mushroom Festival starting with a parade.

Visitors also enjoy tours of mushroom farms or visit vendors to buy food and other goods.

'Shroom Science

Scientifically, mushrooms belong to the fungi kingdom (not plant, not mineral, not animal).

Fungi grow from carbon and energy from dead plants (particularly the cellulose sugar and chitin proteins from husks) and animals. Interestingly, this has helped scientists to conclude mushroom DNA is more similar to humans than it is to plants, as previously thought.

Through the study of mushrooms, scientists learn more about fungi, especially identifying whether they are single-cell or multicellular organisms.

Mushrooms contain many useful nutrients. Because of this, mushrooms are an excellent source of vitamins (particularly Vitamin D, which significantly increases when cut mushrooms are placed in the sun). Eating mushrooms is a great way to naturally get copper, fiber, potassium, protein, selenium, Vitamin B, and zinc into the human body.

Why do hippies take 'shrooms like acid?

Hippie bust to trip on acid (arptravels.com)

As scientists continue to study mushrooms, there is hope of discovering more medicinal uses -- such as treating depression, PTSD, phobias such as an intense fear of death, and other mental conditions, as with LSD, which is a fungus called ergot that grows on rye). These discoveries only add to the many benefits of mushrooms.

Mushrooms are either edible (nutritious, entheogenic) or inedible (toxic, poisonous). We find edible mushrooms in cuisine throughout the world. Almost all mushrooms available at the store are cultivated and safe rather than wildcrafted (foraged) and risky. These types of mushrooms are available year-round.

The most common cultivated mushroom are the white button, flavorful cremini (just a baby portobello), earthy adult portobello, shiitake, tasty tree oyster, maitake, but most mushroom eat (particularly in the form of mushroom soups) contains no soup at all but the more reliable mycelia).

"There are old mushroom hunters, and there are
bold mushroom hunters, but no old-bold ones."

Inedible mushrooms are often found popping up in the wild, though many also grow in backyards and moist front lawns. However, it can be difficult to determine whether a mushroom is poisonous or safe to eat. It takes more than a guidebook; it takes an expert. There are no reliable shortcuts, hacks, or rules of thumb to depend on. For example, some think mushrooms that have red on the cap or stem are known to be poisonous, or that stems that bruise purple are hallucinogenic, but it is nowhere near that easy to tell. Avoid eating mushrooms with white gills, a skirt, or a ring on the stem -- or anything else until knowing with certainty that it is safe for consumption. Not all poisonous mushrooms are deadly; many might just cause a stomachache or voiding. But often there are no symptoms just liver damage leading to death days later. Because wild mushrooms are hard to identify, leave identification of wild mushrooms to professional mycologists and mushroom hunters and foragers.

Eating poisonous mushrooms, even if not deadly (like the famous fly agaric Amanita muscaria, can and often makes eaters very sick. It can possibly kill a person based on their personal constitution or susceptibilities. So, when in doubt, throw it out. Save it for examination rather than consumption. More

• Mushroom hunting, urban foraging, and survival training: SchoolofSelf-Reliance.com

Driving Under the Influence (of Shrooms)

Tales from the Trip (Comedy Central)

Phish concert at Alpine Valley Music Theatre, Wisconsin, July 2003, lights by Chris Kuroda

.

(Animated) Road-tripping on shrooms with my family (featuring Rosemary "Rosebud" Baker) | Tales from the Trip Pothead culture, marijuana addiction, glassblowing major, Phish as white gypsies reliving the glory of the Grateful Dead, traveling around the country so people can get high and enjoy their long jams.

• What are "magic mushrooms"? Psilocybin

Girls Who Like Boys Who Like Boys with Sahil

Rosemary "Rosebud" Baker (born March 16, 1985) is an American comedian, actress, and writer. Based in New York City, she is known for her dark humor based on personal and often satirical stories. In 2010, she worked as an actress in independent films, non-union TV projects, and off-Broadway. She later began appearing in a recurring role on the Hulu series Life & Beth. In 2013, she received praise for her performance in the critically acclaimed independent film Turnabout. Baker started her career in stand-up in 2014 by performing at open mics throughout NYC. In 2021, her debut comedy special, Whiskey Fists, premiered on Comedy Central. She became a writer for the HBO Max television series That Damn Michael Che in 2020 and a writer for Saturday Night Live from 2022 to 2025. Her second comedy special, The Mother Lode, was released on Netflix on Feb. 18, 2025. More

Ten drugs the ancients were addicted to

(Health with Henry) Ten ancient drug [addiction] epidemics that erased entire civilizations

Greeks and other ancients used 'drugs'?

Roman emperors list: Complete timeline and chronology of rulers for coin buying

Stopping the DMN (default mode network)

(WATIVY) Ancient humans got high on purpose: Scientific evidence is everywhere across continents and has been for a long time. They just didn't want to talk about it.

• (Animated) Shrooms made Olivia Alexander feel like she died in a disco ball Earth | Tales From the Trip
• Ancient Greco-Roman cemetery discovered in Egypt’s Nile Delta (Greek Reporter)
• The unknown wife of ancient Greek philosopher Pythagoras

(Professor Historian) Every drug used in ancient civilizations

The Chemical Muse: Drug Use and the Roots of Western Civilization

Greco-Roman Culture Explained: How Ancient
Greece and Rome Shaped Our World

Dr. D. C. Ammon Hillman has 4.6 out of 5 stars (with 154 reviews). [It's] "The last wild frontier of classical studies," says The Times (UK).

The Chemical Muse uncovers decades of intentional academic misdirection and obfuscation (cover up) to reveal the long history of the widespread drug use in ancient Greece and Rome.

• Greco-Roman Mystery Schools used entheogens as their sacraments during pre- and Christian rites to meet and converse with the God and the many ancient gods

My eyes are red from weeping.

In the city-states that gave birth to Western civilization, drugs were an everyday element of a free society. Often, they were not just available, but vitally necessary for use in spiritual and religious ceremonies, medicine and healing, and war and violence campaigns.

Their proponents and casual users existed in all socioeconomic classes, from the common foot soldier to the emperor.

Citing examples in sacred myths, medicine, and literature, Dr. Hillman shows how drugs (psychedelic gateways to potential creativity or breakdowns) have influenced and inspired artists, philosophers, and politicians whose ideas have formed the basis for civilization as we know it.

Many of these ancient texts may seem well-known, but Dr. Hillman shows how timid, prudish translations have left biblical scholars and readers of the classics in the dark about the reality of drug use in the Classical world.

Dr. Hillman's argument is not simply "pro-drug." Instead, he appeals for an intellectual honesty that acknowledges the use of drugs in ancient societies despite today's conflicting social mores about them.

In our modern world, where academia and university life often get politically charged, The Chemical Muse offers a unique and long overdue perspective on the contentious topic of drug use and freedom of thought. More

• Pamir Plateau
• Tassili n'Ajjer Plateau, Mushroom Cave, Algeria, Africa
• Ethnobotany
• Stoned Ape Theory/Hypothesis
• Eleusinian Mysteries (psychedelic Greek cult)
• Ritual psychedelic use: peyote cave of SW Texas
• Peyote (buttons growing on small cactus plant)
• Entheogens
• Default Mode Network
  

Jesus, 'The Psychedelic Christ' (Wm. Henry)

Works, books by William Henry

The Psychedelic Christ recovers a forgotten possibility: that early Christianity preserved an [entheogen assisted mystery school] initiatory technology of transformation — centered on the [drug] Son of Man, the light body, and a sacramental [consumption of a] catalyst that was later suppressed, symbolized, or lost.

Drawing on the [official, canonical Christian] Gospels, the Dead Sea Scrolls, Essene mysticism, Egyptian and Greek mystery [school] traditions, and modern neuroscience, William Henry explores the hypothesis that Jesus' teachings about being "born from above" and entering the Kingdom of God were not theological abstractions — but references to an experiential, embodied transformation.

• Early Christian Church and Psychedelic Sacrament with William Henry (Coast to Coast AM)

• What is a "psychedelic" drug?
• Entheogens reveal the divine within
• Psychoactive drugs, hallucinogens

What was once practiced became believed. What was once entered became explained. This book is an invitation to remember.

• 

  American mythologist William Henry

  Why Jesus called himself the Son of Man more than any other title — and what this reveals about human possibility
• The light body tradition hidden in plain sight across Christianity, Egypt, Tibet, and the mystery [cults] schools
• How the resurrection was meant to serve as a template for transformation, not merely an object of worship
• The Essene technology of perfection — and Jesus' possible role as its restorer
• Why the lost sacrament may be returning at the exact moment humanity faces a new threshold. More
• Watch Morph: The Secret of Light Body Activation | Gaia

CIA stopped peaceful, psychedelic, free love generation: They had to, or people would be free

(Secrets And Mysterys) The CIA, LSD, the Grateful Dead, and

the man who changed the 1960s: The Owsley Stanley Story

Doing LSD with pornstar Riley Reid

(Animated) Riley Reid's trip on three double tabs* (150 mcg) of acid got her stuck in a time glitch (loop) ~ Tales From the Trip.

Ram Dass' guru Neem Karoli Baba took LSD

The nature of the ego | Terence McKenna

• Entheogens
• LSD is a magic mushroom substance synthesized from Ergot
• What is "acid"? (drugfree.org)
• Psychedelics
  
• Hallucinogens
• Counterculture
• Mind or soul- manifesting
• DMT: dimethyltryptamine
• 5-MeO-DMT (Bufo, toad venom)

LA's Santa Monica, by Venice, is home of MS' Linkin Park (this park)

• *Acid was called "LSD-25," referring to a standard dosage of 25 micrograms (mcg, μg) because it is very potent per tab or tablet (blot, dot, drop, etc.). This would make three double tabs about 150 mcg. But ask Riley or see Sidney Cohen (1959), "The therapeutic potential of LSD-25," A Pharmacologic Approach to the Study of the Mind, p. 251–258.
• VIDEO: Lost Cannabis of the Silk Road: The Stans
• What's an "Entheogen"? Cannabis? (archaeological record)

Buddhism and entheogenic psychedelics?

Dalai Lama on using psychedelics

WATCH: (dalailamawisdom) Dalai Lama Q&A on using psychedelics

• Riley Reid (Animated); Mike Shinoda; DalaiLamaWisdom; Editors, Wisdom Quarterly

What psychedelic did ancient Greeks use?

(StoneAgeMan) This fungi (ergot) was kept secret for 2,000 years: Here's what we know now

• 

  Psychedelic ancient Greece (freepik.com)

  The surprising link between LSD and Greek mythology | Psychedelics Integration
• Ergot, a fungus that grows on grain, yields LSD
• Eleusinian Mysteries (ancient drug use)
• Bad (synthetic) drugs vs. good entheogens
• Dr. Gabor Mate distinguishes "drugs" that obtund (like alcohol) and substances that elevate consciousness; yet, we call both of these opposite experiences getting "high"
• Cult drug use: Greco-Roman mysteries

Of course the ancients used drugs

The Chemical Muse: Drug Use and the Roots of Western Civilization by Dr. D. C. Ammon Hillman has 4.6 out of 5 stars (with 146 ratings).

"The last wild frontier of classical studies" (The Times UK).

The Chemical Muse uncovers decades of misdirection and a coverup to reveal the history of widespread drug use in ancient Rome and Greece.

(Tommy's PodCast) Chemical Muse | Dr. Ammon Hillman (TPC #1,513)

In the city-states that gave birth to Western civilization, drugs were an everyday element of a free society.

Often, they were not just available but vitally necessary for use in medicine, spiritual-religious ceremonies, and war campaigns.

Their proponents and users existed in all classes, from common soldiers to emperors. Citing examples in myths, medicine, and literature, Dr. Hillman, Ph.D., shows how drugs have influenced and inspired the artists, philosophers, and even politicians whose ideas have formed the basis for civilization as we know it.

What is "consciousness"?

(Weekend University) Effects of psychedelics on conscious level | Prof. Seth

Many of these ancient texts may seem well-known, but Dr. Hillman shows how timid, prudish translations have left scholars and readers in the dark about the reality of drug use in the Classical world.

Dr. Hillman's argument is not simply "pro-drug." Instead, he appeals to intellectual honesty to acknowledge the use of drugs in ancient societies despite today's conflicting social mores.

In the modern world, where academia and university life are often politically charged, The Chemical Muse offers a unique and long overdue perspective on the contentious topic of drug use and freedom of thought. More

A Magic Mushroom Christmas: Tripping

(StoneAgeMan) Why we got it wrong: Fly Agaric 101: The Magical Mushroom (Amanita muscaria)

Why we got it wrong: Fly Agaric 101: The Magical Mushroom (Amanita muscaria)

 

(StoneAgeMan) This is the Fly agaric (Amanita muscaria), aka the mushroom from Super Mario Brothers. It’s famous, yet I think the general consensus is that no one should ever eat it, never. That’s probably the safest thing to do, but it has been used for thousands of years by our ancestors.

CONTENTS

• 0:00 - Intro
• 1:03 - The legend of Santa Claus and Amanita urine
• 2:21 - Mushroom hunt
• 2:52 - Mushroom time-lapses
• 2:42 - When are changes updated?
• 3:06 - Amanita and mycorrhizal associations
• 3:52 - Identification of Amanita muscaria.
• 5:17 - Amanita chemistry
• 6:20 - Decarboxylation
• 7:07 - What the mushroom does
• 8:11 - Conclusions

Big thanks to all current and future patrons who are helping fund this science and filmmaking outreach via Patreon: bit.ly/2Sfmkph. "Amanita Dreamer" can be found at: amanitadreamer.net. (Big thanks to her help in this series). Remember to follow on Instagram: untamedscience.

• SHAMAN: Shaman Claus: A Siberian Santa Story
• Amanita muscaria vs. psilocybin effects: experience, duration, dosage (Cheech & Chong's Global)

Amanita, Fliegenpilz (wiki)

Ever wonder, "Is Amanita muscaria psychedelic?" The short answer is yes. Also known as the Fly agaric mushroom, it has psychoactive properties that can alter perception and mood. This intriguing fungus interacts with brain and body to produce unique effects. The answer about it being psychedelic is more nuanced.

What is a safe dosage for first-time users? Are there risks or side effects associated with this mysterious entheogen. Guidance on preparing for an experience that is responsible use that understands the potential legal implications is also covered.

What is it, where does it come from?

Dude, it's totally grove if you prep set 'n setting

Amanita is often recognizable by its vibrant red cap with white spots and is a mushroom species native to temperate and boreal regions of the Northern Hemisphere.

This fascinating fungus has a rich history tied to nature and culture because it is known for its psychoactive properties.

How does it affect brain and body?

Aware Project: rethinking psychedelics

It contains two primary active compounds, ibotenic acid and muscimol. These chemicals interact with the brain's neurotransmitters, specifically targeting the GABA (gamma-aminobutyric acid) receptors. This interaction can lead to various effects, including changes in perception, mood, and consciousness. Some may experience euphoria, a dream-like state, or heightened sensory experiences. More: magicdoze.com

• Is Amanita muscaria psychedelic? Unveiling the mysteries of this LEGAL Fly agaric (shamanic) mushroom (Magic Doze)

(Dark Mode) Fly agaric (Amanita muscaria) mushroom: proper preparation and trip report

Another world in woods with green beings

UPDATE: They had green skin - and no one knew where they came from | The Why Files

We live on the Emerald Isle, too (Ireland)

WOOLPIT, England - The story of the green children of Woolpit concerns two [Fairy] children of unusual skin color who reportedly appeared in the village of Woolpit in Suffolk, England, sometime in the 12th century, perhaps during the reign of King Stephen (r. 1135–1154). The odd children, found to be brother and sister, were of generally normal appearance except for the green color of their skin. They spoke in an unknown language and would eat only raw broad beans. Eventually, they learned to eat other [surface human] food and lost their green color, but the boy was sickly and died around the time of his and his sister's baptism. More

• Green Children of Woolpit
• Foundlings, Changelings, Irish Aos Sí, Pixies
• Forest Fairies (pixies), br.pinterest.com; 42 (Thoughty2 video); Eds., Wisdom Quarterly

Psychedelic Cowboys: Shrooms in Old West

VIDEO: How cowboys discovered magic mushrooms on the American frontier

What did cowboys and hippies see in fungi?

(MSN/Footprints of The Frontier) Hidden beneath the legend of the Wild West lies a story few historians dare to tell -- the forgotten connection between cowboys and magic mushrooms.

What's that on those cowpies, Casey? - Shrooms!

As European settlers invaders, loggers, and ranchers spread westward, psilocybin mushrooms* flourished in their wake, sprouting in wood chips, cattle pastures [on dung], and mining camps across the frontier. While whisky fueled the saloons, some frontiersmen and Indigenous healers quietly turned to the “flesh of the gods” for vision, healing, and escape. These fungi spread along the same trails as the pioneers, forming a psychedelic undercurrent to the age of expansion. It’s a chapter of the American frontier buried by religion, shame, and time — until now.

"Magic" mushrooms?

Indoor cultivation of Psilocybe cubensis

Psilocybin "magic mushrooms" (psilocybin-containing mushrooms, commonly known as shrooms [1]) are a type of entheogenic, psychedelic (mind-making), hallucinogenic mushroom and a polyphyletic informal group of fungi that contain the prodrug psilocybin, which turns into the psychedelic psilocin upon ingestion [2].

The most potent species are members of genus Psilocybe, such as P. azurescens, P. semilanceata, and P. cyanescens, but psilocybin has also been isolated from approximately a dozen other genera, including Panaeolus (including Copelandia), Inocybe, Pluteus, Gymnopilus, and Pholiotina [2].

Psychedelic Gymnopilus luteoviridis

Among other cultural applications, magic mushrooms are used as spiritual medicine (early psychology) and foolishly as recreational drugs [2].

Shrooms were used ritualistically in pre-Columbian [before Columbus] Mexico, but claims of their widespread ancient use are largely exaggerated and shaped by modern idealization and ideology [3].

Natural occurrence

Natural occurrence. Non-psilocybe species of psilocybin mushroom include Pluteus salicinus, Gymnopilus luteoviridis, and Panaeolus cinctulus, formerly called Panaeolus subbalteatus. In a 2000 review on the worldwide distribution of psilocybin mushrooms... More

• Footprints of The Frontier via MSN, 11/11/25; Pat Macpherson, Dhr. Seven (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly Wiki edit

Magic mushrooms science (Meadow)

Medical doctor explains psilocybin therapy

I remembered I was spirit experiencing a body.

(Dr. Tracy Townsend MD) Sept. 16, 2025: In this video Dr. Tracy Kim Townsend -- a licensed medical doctor, psilocybin facilitator, and co-founder of Meadow (the world’s first legal psychedelic medicine practice founded by a physician) breaks down:

• What psilocybin is,
• How it works in the brain, and
• Why leading researchers are calling it one of the most promising medicines of our time.

Dr. Tracy Kim Townsend speaks to fellow psychonauts on microdosing

⏱ TIMESTAMPS:

• 00:00 - Intro — What is psilocybin?
• 02:10 - History and cultural use of psilocybin mushrooms
• 04:30 - Psilocybin vs. antidepressants: key differences
• 07:20 - Brain science — serotonin, default mode network, neuroplasticity
• 11:00 - Research highlights: Johns Hopkins, NYU, Imperial College
• 14:30 - Integration: why the weeks after matter most
• 17:50 - My personal journey with psilocybin as a physician

DISCOVER:

Mental resonance imaging of the DMN

• What psilocybin is and the history of its use in healing and ceremony

• How psilocybin affects the brain, including serotonin receptors and the default mode network (DMN)

• Why psilocybin is non-addictive and ranked the least harmful substance in a UK drug harm study

• Breakthrough FDA designations and research from Johns Hopkins, NYU, and Imperial College London

• The difference between psilocybin and antidepressants (SSRIs) in how they impact emotions

• Neuroplasticity and why integration after a journey is key for lasting transformation.

✨Curious if psilocybin therapy might be right for you?

• Visit meadowmedicine.org to schedule a discovery call today.

✨ Key studies referenced:

• Johns Hopkins: Psilocybin for Major Depressive Disorder (JAMA Psychiatry, 2020)

• Johns Hopkins: Long-term follow-up, showing benefit out to 12 months (Journal of Psychopharmacology, 2022)

• Psilocybin vs SSRIs in Treatment-Resistant Depression (NEJM, 2022)
• UK Drug Harms Study (Lancet, 2010)

📖 Want a simple, physician-created reference? Download our Free Mushroom Dosing Guide here: meadowmedicine.org/dosing...

📌 NOTE: This video is for educational purposes only. It is not medical advice.

🔔 Subscribe for more down-to-earth education about psychedelics, psilocybin therapy, and holistic healing: ‪@TracyTownsendMD‬ 💬 Have questions about psilocybin? Drop them in the comments.

• Sensationalist influencer Cleo Abram, 2024; Tracy Townsend MD, Sept. 16, 2025; Pat Macpherson, Dhr. Seven, CC Liu (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly