Ancient Egyptians Grew Psychedelic Mushrooms

Some scholars believe the ancient Egyptians grew psilocybin mushrooms on barley and that the Eye of Horus may have been the cap of an entheogenic mushroom.

3100 B.C.E. - 332 B.C.E.

The Egyptians grew Psilocybe cubenesis on barley. They believed the god Osiris personified entheogenic mushrooms. Also, the plant known as Eye of Horus may have been the cap of an entheogenic mushroom.

Stephen Berlant theorizes in this paper that that Egyptian White and Triple Crowns were early forms of Psilocybe cubensis which the Egyptians grew on barley. Also, he says the god Osiris personified psilocybin and other entheogenic mushrooms. Finally, he speculates that the plant known as the Eye of Horus was an entheogenic mushroom cap.

In Mushrooms and Mankind, James Arthur says that the pillars of tombs in ancient Egypt are shaped like giant mushrooms, some like Amanita and some like Psilocybe. In the Egyptian Book of the Dead, mushrooms are called “the food of the gods,” “celestial food,” and “flesh of the gods.”