A brief history of the spiritual uses of mushrooms

Humans have a deep history of association with fungi, spanning many cultures and across several continents. Our ancestors picked fungi for food, they used them as medicines and as commodities, such as tinder to light fires, as strops to sharpen spears and as insulation in prehistoric dwellings. Some fungi were even revered by our ancestors for their mind-blowing powers and were an integral part of many rituals and spiritual practices through the ages.

The most obvious use for fungi is as a foodstuff, and evidence from various prehistoric sites demonstrates that our ancestors were using various types of mushrooms in this way. In the mountainous Cantabrian region of Spain, prehistoric dental deposits discovered in the El Miron caves suggest our ancestors ate bolete mushrooms similar to the Penny bun (Boletus edulis), a mushroom widely used in the modern day as the basis for mushroom soups. From more recent history, Egyptian hieroglyphs indicate that fungi such as mushrooms and truffles were routinely consumed by royalty.

But fungi were used as far more than just food. Mushrooms such as the fly agaric (Amanita muscaria) and the liberty cap (Psilocybe semilanceata) have been widely used in spiritual practices for generations, thanks to their hallucinogenic properties. Some of the earliest examples of fungi being used in this way come from prehistoric cave art in Algeria. The art, drawn on the sandstone walls of the Tassili caves, shows dancing figures holding mushrooms that are emitting rays of light.

There are also drawings of mushroom "gods", depicted with mushrooms emerging from their bodies. The hallucinogenic properties of fungi continued to play an important role in cultural practices in the early Bronze Age, with enigmatic mushroom shaped stones found in Guatemala, El Salvador and some parts of Mexico. The stone carvings feature "gods" in the shape of the liberty cap and the fly agaric mushrooms. 

Stone carvings from Greece indicate that mushrooms also played an important role in Greek mythology. A stone carving of the Greek goddess Persephone, being reunited with her mother Demeter after a period of exile in the underworld, features them both holding mushrooms, possibly symbolising rebirth or perhaps in reverence to the hallucinogenic properties of certain mushrooms, which some believe influenced ancient Greek spiritual practices.

Even the 3,500-year-old Hindu text "Rig Veda" mentions an elixir called "soma"—thought to give immortality and strength to those who consume it. Made from "a red plant with no leaves, blossoms or roots, but with meaty stems", this was likely not a plant at all, but instead the fungus Amanita muscaria, with its red cap and white flecked spots. 

With the Bronze Age came the use of copper and tin to make bronze implements, and it appears our ancestors were using fungi to help them maintain these artifacts. Two species of fungi, the birch polypore (Fomitopsis betulina) and the hoof fungus (Fomes fomentarius), were carried by Ötzi the Iceman: the 5,000-year-old neolithic traveller whose mummified body was discovered preserved in ice in 1991. Ötzi and his fellow travellers had probably been using the birch polypore to sharpen spears and axes, or as a medical tool, to stem blood flow following a wound.

The hoof fungus was likely used as tinder to light fires, thanks to its spongy tissue (hence why it is also called the tinder fungus). The Khanty people of Western Siberia also have a long history of association with this fungus, burning the fungus at the entrance to burial chambers as the smoke was thought to protect the living from the evil influences of those who had passed.

Archaeological excavation of a 5,000-year-old settlement on the west coast of Scotland revealed dwellings made of stone and insulated with shells, bones, clay and the remnants of a fungus—the brown puffball (Bovista nigrescens). Just like the hoof fungus, puffballs can be used as tinder to light fires, and fire can be carried inside smouldering puffballs, transforming them into fugal lanterns, lighting the way on dark evenings. Puffballs also have medicinal properties and were probably used to stem blood flow from open wounds, in the same way as the birch polypore. At this same settlement, carved stone balls were excavated, and whilst their significance is unknown, they may be a nod to the puffballs—a valued commodity to these isolated coastal communities.

The reverence of fungi shown by our ancestors is not just appropriate because of the use of fungi in human lives, but also because without them, we would not be here. It was fungi that allowed plants to colonise land 500 million years ago, and plants still depend on them today. Most plants have fungi attached to their roots that supply the plant with water and nutrients and offer protection from soil pathogens, in return for sugars supplied by the plant. Fungi are essential for recycling dead plant material and in so doing releasing nutrients that plants can use again for growth.

Today we are beginning to rediscover our ancestral past; we are appreciating the value of fungi in sustaining our planet, in providing us with foods, with medicines, building materials and enzymes. We are even beginning to realise the potential value of fungal hallucinogens for the controlled treatment of mental health conditions such as anxiety and depression. Maybe our deep rooted history with fungi is about to mushroom…

Fungi: Discover the Science and Secrets Behind the World of Mushrooms by Lynne Boddy and Ali Ashby (DK, £25) is available now