PLANTS OF THE GODS by Richard Evans Schultes, Albert Hofmann & Christian Ratsch
$29.95
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 "plants of the gods," 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 these 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.
A specialist in cultural use of psychoactive plants, Christian Ratsch is the author of numerous books, including Marijuana Medicine, The Dictionary of Sacred and Magical Plants, and the forthcoming Encyclopedia of Psychoactive Plants. A resident of Germany, he is currently serving as the president of the German Society for Ethnomedicine. Richard Evans Schultes (1915 - 2001) was a Jeffrey Professor of Biology and Director of the Botanical Museum at Harvard University (Emeritus). Albert Hoffmann, discoverer of LSD, is a retired research biochemist who lives in Switzerland.