From Lovecraft to Lennon: Psychoactivity, Occultism, and Otherworldly Phenomena

Supernatural threads across sci-fi, rock & roll, and ancient psychedelia

Midjourney AI: A vivid, psychedelic collage featuring key figures such as H. P. Lovecraft, Aleister Crowley, and John Lennon.

This is an excerpt from Sky Gods and the Recipe for Immortality: The secret influence of psychoactivity over science, society, and the supernatural.

H.P. Lovecraft, who significantly influenced modern supernatural myths, often referenced a mythical text from Renaissance occultist John Dee, called The Necronomicon. In the late 1970s, a book claiming to be the true Lovecraftian document sold nearly a million copies via a pseudonymous author named Simon.

Simon’s Necronomicon provided instructions for summoning supernatural entities with a psychedelic potion made from morning glory seeds (which contain an LSD analog used by American tribes for centuries) — enabling “flight unto the Aethers.”

Morning glory flower via Davidakik

An article by the U.S. Forest Service explains ancient morning glory use by native tribes:

“The shamans used it to induce powerful visions without the psychedelic effects. The early Spanish missionaries and diarists of the 1600s describe its…