Peganum Harmala, Zoroastrian Mysteries, and Magic Carpets

Ancient Persian sky gods and psychoactive plants in Middle Eastern myths, sacred rituals, and legendary tapestries

Midjourney AI: An intricate Persian carpet design incorporating elements of Peganum harmala, a hallucinogenic plant with a beautiful flower

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

Peganum harmala is likely the ancient Indian soma, and the Persian haoma, of immortality. Further, the psychoactive plant plays a formative role in the flying carpet myth from the Middle East. A mystical tapestry has emerged from the Zoroastrian religion of Persia (and near Hindu culture).

An article by Missouri State University notes Peganum harmala, or wild rue, is “hallucinogenic and is the original source of red dye used in Persian rugs.” According to another article by Colgate University, the plant is culturally interwoven with the prized textile:

“A few days prior to the New Year, a special cover is spread on to the Persian carpet or on a table in every Persian household… Nearby is a brazier for burning wild rue, a sacred herb whose smoldering fumes ward off evil spirits.”