What’s in it for me? Discover the surprising connection between psychedelics and religion.
During the Eucharist, Christians are invited to sip the sacramental wine.
It’s a ritual that the author, Brian Muraresku, has taken part in many times.
But he finds the experience a little bit…well, underwhelming.
He understands the symbolism of the Eucharist, but where's the feeling?
One day, Muraresku became intrigued by an idea, first put forward by renegade academics in the 1970s.
What if the original Eucharist was a more powerful experience?
Maybe the wine drunk by early Christians was no ordinary wine, but something containing hallucinogenic substances.
Drugged wine would have given people the spiritual experience they were seeking.
There’s a possible precedent, too.
The Christians might have been copying the ancient Greeks.
According to one theory, the Greeks drank hallucinogenic wine during religious rituals.
Even Plato participated.
It all sounds pretty far-fetched, we know.
But before you dismiss the theories as the ramblings of a drug-user, consider this: Muraresku is a lawyer and a scholar who’s never used psychedelic drugs.
So keep an open mind, as you join him on his quest.
He wants to find out what really went on in the sanctuaries and churches of ancient Greece and Rome.
Although we don’t have time to look at all the evidence in-depth, this Blink will give you an overview of the theories, and some of the key pieces of evidence.
And even if you’re not completely converted, Muraresku’s findings might just make you reassess your views on drugs and religion.
So, are you ready to take a trip?
Dinah is a grandmother, a New Yorker, and an atheist.
Psychedelic drugs can lead to transformative experiences.
She’s adamant that she doesn’t believe in God.
But one day, she had an amazing, life-changing experience that gave her a whole new perspective.
“I felt this overwhelming love,” she says.
“It was like being immersed in God’s love.
” The cause of this epiphany?
A dose of psilocybin, the psychedelic compound found in magic mushrooms.
Dinah took part in a study conducted by John Hopkins University on the effects of psilocybin.
As a cancer patient in remission, she hoped the drug would help her overcome her fear and anxiety.
And it did.
For Dinah, just one dose of the psychedelic was transformative.
It worked wonders for the others, too.
70% of participants in the study rated their single dose of psilocybin either as the most meaningful experience of their lives, or as one of the top five.
For many people, it seems that psychedelic experiences can be something truly profound.
So, as scientists research the use of psychedelics as a potential treatment for depression and anxiety, another question is emerging.
Could hallucinogenic substances be a path to spiritual experiences?
After taking psilocybin, Dinah felt an all-encompassing sense of love, and a dissolution of the self.
She realized that each moment is an eternity, with no beginning or end.
Was Dinah’s experience a spiritual breakthrough?
It certainly sounds like one.
Other users of psychedelics have described similarly transformative experiences.
In fact, an Economist article about psilocybin even went so far as to call it “The God Pill.
” It’s a big claim, suggesting that God or enlightenment can be found in the form of a drug.
But according to the author, Muraresku, it’s worth considering – now more than ever.
Traditional religion is in decline.
Huge numbers of people now identify as spiritual-but-not-religious – according to one study, 27% of all Americans.
In the west, people seem to be hungering for spiritual experiences that organized religions can’t provide.
What if those experiences could be accessed in the form of a psychedelic drug?
It’s an exciting prospect, isn’t it?
Like Dinah, maybe we could all benefit from “the God pill.
” One dose of psilocybin, and you could potentially experience a form of enlightenment.
If psychedelics are legalized, we might just be heading towards a new kind of religion.
Religious rituals in Ancient Greece may have involved the use of psychedelics.
But actually, maybe the connection between spirituality and psychedelics is not so new.
According to some experts, we’ve been here before.
It’s time to journey back to Ancient Greece… Not far from Athens was Greece’s spiritual capital – a religious sanctuary known as Eleusis.
For millennia, pilgrims flocked there to take part in mysterious rituals – rituals so mysterious, they are known to this day as the “Eleusinian Mysteries.
” Participants weren’t allowed to reveal any details of their experiences, and the punishment for indiscretion was death.
So, we don’t know exactly what went on, but we do know that it was something big – something life-changing.
After his visit to Eleusis, Plato wrote cryptically of experiencing “the holiest of Mysteries” while in “a state of perfection.
” Pilgrims are said to have experienced visions, and lost their fear of death.
It’s believed that during an all-night vigil, initiates drank a sacramental elixir known as kukeon.
And the ingredients of that drink might just be the key to solving the mystery of Eleusis.
In the 1970s, three researchers came up with a theory, which they published in a book called The Road to Eleusis.
According to Robert Gordon Wasson and his co-authors, the visions that pilgrims experienced at Eleusis were most likely caused by a powerful psychedelic.
The kukeon that they drank was laced with a hallucinogenic substance.
That would explain why people left Eleusis feeling as though they had learned some universal truth, and been permanently transformed.
Not unlike Dinah from New York after her dose of psilocybin.
But Wasson’s hypothesis received a pretty lukewarm reaction, to say the least.
“As perverse as it is unconvincing,” sneered one critic.
Insinuating that the Ancient Greeks – the founders of western civilization – sat around getting stoned, Plato included…well, that was a step too far.
The Road to Eleusis was generally either mocked or ignored.
But years later, at least one person was paying attention – the author, Muraresku.
After reading the book, he found himself wondering…What if the theory was right?
Maybe Ancient Greek rituals really did involve the consumption of psychedelic substances.
But before we start looking for evidence and answers, let’s just pause for a moment.
Let’s say for the sake of argument that the Ancient Greeks used psychedelics.
So what?
Well, it has some pretty significant implications.
First off, if the founders of western democracy used psychedelics, maybe it’s time for us to reassess our own relationship with drugs.
And second, there’s a good chance that the pagans weren’t the only ones using mind-altering substances.
It might be time to find out what was going on in the early days of Christianity.
When the first Christians drank wine as part of the Eucharist…what kind of wine were they drinking, exactly?
Clearly, Muraresku had a lot of investigating to do.
Evidence suggests that the Greeks added hallucinogenic substances to their drinks.
And it wouldn’t be easy.
His research took twelve years, as he talked to countless experts, and explored museums and archaeological sites across Europe.
He even managed to get access to the hidden archives of the Louvre and the Vatican.
But his first key discovery centred on an obscure archaeological site in Catalonia, Spain.
The town of Mas Castellar de Pontós was built by the Greeks.
Archaeologists found some intriguing remains on the site, including religious statues, and a subterranean room used for sacred rituals.
Certain elements of these findings suggest that Eleusinian rituals took place here.
That’s significant in itself, but it gets even more interesting.
While excavating a temple, archaeologists found a human jawbone and a small chalice.
And when these relics were scientifically tested, they revealed the presence of ergot – a fungus with hallucinogenic properties.
So, to sum up – there’s evidence that humans were consuming a hallucinogenic drink in a ritual setting, in a temple with possible connections to the Eleusinian Mysteries.
Pretty compelling, right?
But Muraresku wanted more evidence.
Specifically, he wanted to know about wine.
Did the Ancient Greeks drink “psychedelic wine,” spiked with hallucinogenic substances?
Well, it’s pretty clear that whatever it was they were drinking, it bore little resemblance to the wine we drink today.
The wine in Ancient Greece was powerful stuff.
In contemporary texts, it’s often described as being seriously intoxicating and mind-altering.
So what gave ancient wine its kick?
During his investigations, Muraresku discovered evidence suggesting that the Greeks did in fact add something to their wine.
In the archives of the Louvre, there’s a Greek vase which appears to show a mixing ritual.
The vase is decorated with an image of a priestess holding a mysterious herb or fungus, which she’s about to add to the wine.
Of course, there’s no way of knowing for sure whether this plant is psychoactive or not.
But another piece of evidence is very specific indeed.
Dioscorides was a Greek physician and pharmacologist, who wrote an encyclopedia filled with herbal cures and recipes.
In the volume dedicated to “wines and vines,” there are nearly 60 detailed recipes.
And many of them include instructions for mixing wines with nightshades.
These are potentially poisonous plants that can cause hallucinations.
Dioscorides recommends adding black nightshade to wine, as in his words, it produces “not unpleasant visions.
” So there you have it.
An Ancient Greek recipe for hallucinogenic wine.
After considering all this evidence, Muraresku was convinced that he had the answer to his first question.
Did the Ancient Greeks consume drugged wine during religious rituals?
It certainly looks like it.
But whether or not this tradition continued in the early days of Christianity…well, that would be a little bit more challenging to prove.
Originally, the Eucharist may have involved the use of hallucinogenic wine.
The Holy Communion, or the Eucharist, is one of the most important rituals in Christianity.
During the Last Supper, Jesus Christ invited his followers to eat the bread and drink the wine in his memory.
And for centuries, this moment has been reenacted in churches across the world.
But for Muraresku, who was raised Catholic, this symbolic ceremony has always seemed a little hollow.
You sip the sacramental wine, and then what?
Where’s the experience?
So, the author found himself wondering about the Eucharist in the early days of Christianity.
What if the wine was drugged?
The original ceremony might have resembled the hallucinogenic rituals of the Greeks.
Perhaps that’s how it was meant to be.
Drinking hallucinogenic wine would have been a powerful experience – something much more impactful than the modern-day ritual.
Maybe the Christians continued the pagan tradition of the Greeks, and that was part of the appeal for converts.
It’s a definite possibility.
After all, there’s no denying the connections between paganism and Christianity.
The same religions were being practiced at the same time, in the same place – Rome.
In the early days, Christianity borrowed imagery, themes and even rituals directly from paganism.
But Muraesku was looking for something more specific.
Was there concrete proof that Christians continued the pagan tradition of hallucinogenic wine, at least to begin with?
Well, sorry to disappoint you, but no.
There’s nothing concrete.
At least, not yet.
However, there are definitely some intriguing clues.
We may not be able to prove the hypothesis of the psychedelic Eucharist, but we can’t rule it out either.
So, let’s look at some of the evidence – the discoveries that the author found particularly convincing.
During a trip to Rome, Muraresku examined some little-known frescoes and mosaics in Christian tombs.
What made these artworks so interesting was not just the pagan symbolism, but the wine connection.
For instance, in the Vatican, right beneath St Peter’s Basilica, is a tomb with some of the earliest Christian mosaics.
These mosaics are dominated by a very specific symbol – vines.
For Greek-speaking Romans, the vine was inseparable from Dionysus, the god of wine and ecstatic experiences.
Muraresku suspects that there's nothing coincidental about the imagery, and its association with a very particular kind of wine and worship.
Another key finding was an ancient Roman farmhouse near Pompeii, known as the Villa Vesuvio.
Some vessels unearthed on the site were scientifically tested, and the results were startling.
One vessel contained grape seeds along with a mixture of mind-altering substances, including a blend of opium, cannabis, and nightshades.
Bizarrely, the vessel also contained the skeletons of lizards, frogs, and toads.
Of course, we don’t know exactly what the contents of this vessel were used for.
The concoction may have been medicine, rather than ritual wine.
Nonetheless, it’s evidence of something.
In the age of Christ, the ancient Italians made a hallucinogenic drink.
The existence of the vessel means that the psychedelic Eucharist could have taken place.
At last, the pieces of the puzzle are starting to come together.
It’s time to dig deeper, while reassessing our attitude towards psychedelics.
But there are more pieces out there, just waiting to be uncovered.
Muraresku is convinced that the evidence exists.
Ancient cups used in early Christian rituals could be tested for traces of hallucinogenic substances.
With advances in technology, and more interdisciplinary collaboration between researchers, who knows what we could find?
Of course, not everyone shares Muraresku’s enthusiasm for proving the psychedelic Eucharist theory.
If it turned out to be true, it would have massive ramifications for Christianity.
It would change our understanding of the faith’s foundations, and force the church to reassess one of their most important rituals.
If concrete evidence emerged, the Vatican probably wouldn’t be too happy.
But who oversees the vast archives and the ancient catacombs which are potentially full of crucial evidence?
That’s right – the Pope.
And if anyone knows how to keep a secret, it’s the Catholic Church.
So Muraresku isn’t optimistic about getting definitive answers any time soon.
In the meantime, though, we have extremely compelling evidence that our ancestors used psychedelics.
That in itself is a big deal.
As a society, it’s time to reflect, and ask ourselves – “If the Greeks used psychedelics to trigger spiritual breakthroughs, why shouldn’t we?
” Besides, scientists have now developed safe, effective ways to deliver profound experiences, through substances like psilocybin.
Muraresku invites us to imagine the possibilities, if psychedelics were legalized… And imagine this.
One day, researchers manage to prove the psychedelic Eucharist theory.
Here it is, they say – definitive proof that the wine in the original Eucharist was indeed hallucinogenic.
Then what?
Muraresku has a plan of sorts.
He’s made a pact with Carl Ruck, the only surviving author of The Road to Eleusius.
As soon as the news breaks, they’re going to book the first flight to Rome.
After meeting up with Pope Francis, the three of them will head to the tombs under St Peter’s Basilica.
And there, deep underground, they’re going to invite the Pope to join them for a glass of hallucinogenic wine – the Eucharist as it was meant to be.
As it was in the beginning.
Final Summary
We still don’t know for sure whether or not the early Christians drank hallucinogenic wine during the Eucharist.
But it’s certainly plausible, especially as we now have clear evidence of hallucinogenic drinks in the ancient world.
Recent scientific research suggests that hallucinogens can have significant, long-lasting benefits – something that our ancestors already knew.
So let’s keep an open mind about psychedelics.
In the right circumstances, they can lead to profound experiences.
Perhaps the best way to achieve spiritual awakening is not through going to church, but through a dose of psilocybin.
And at last, maybe the moment has come to return to our roots, and kick-start the psychedelic revolution.