Mystical Connections Between Ancient Monotheism, Psychedelics, and Modern Science

From Pharaoh Akhenaten to William Burroughs, psilocybin mushrooms, and the sacred lotus

Midjourney AI: A detailed ancient Egyptian scene, with pharaoh Akhenaten wearing a mushroom-shaped crown, standing beside a flourishing garden of psychoactive plants

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

Many psychoactive substances are frequently depicted in Egyptian history and religious symbolism. A famous carving depicting Akhenaten, a legendary pharaoh who invented a proto-monotheist religion, shows what appear to be Psilocybin mushrooms in the bottom right corner:

Akhenaten petroglyph from ancient Egypt

The famous petroglyph inspires supernatural questions as the figures look highly alien with elongated heads and slender bodies. Akhenaten rose to power over the Egyptian civilization by claiming direct contact with a solar deity referred to as Aten.

Were such psychedelic revelations facilitated by psilocybin mushrooms? A group of international researchers once noted at a Conference on Fungal Conservation in the Middle East:

“Ancient Egyptians believed that the mushrooms were plants of…