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Entheogens are psychoactive substances used in spiritual and religious contexts to induce altered states of consciousness. Hallucinogens such as the psilocybin found in so-called "magic" mushrooms have been used in sacred contexts since ancient times. Derived from a term meaning "generating the divine from within", entheogens are used supposedly to improve transcendence, healing, divination and mystical insight.
Entheogens have been used in religious rituals in the belief they aid personal spiritual development. Anthropological study has established that entheogens are used for religious, magical, shamanic, or spiritual purposes in many parts of the world. Civilizations such as the Maya and Aztecs used psilocybin mushrooms, peyote, and morning glory seeds in ceremonies meant to connect with deities and perform healing. They have traditionally been used to supplement diverse practices, such as transcendence, including Folk healer, divination, meditation, yoga, sensory deprivation, asceticism, prayer, trance, rituals, chanting, imitation of sounds, hymns like , , and ecstatic dance.
In ancient Eurasian and Mediterranean societies, scholars hypothesized the sacramental use of entheogens in mystery religions, such as the Eleusinian Mysteries of ancient Greece. According to The Road to Eleusis, psychoactive kykeon brews may have been central to these rites, aimed at inducing visionary states and mystical insight. (1978). 9780151778720, Harcourt. ISBN 9780151778720 These interpretations emphasize entheogens as central to religious practices in antiquity.
In recent decades, entheogens have experienced a resurgence in academic and clinical research, particularly in psychiatry and psychotherapy. Preliminary clinical research indicates that substances such as psilocybin and MDMA may be useful in treating mental health conditions like depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, and anxiety, especially in end-of-life care.Richards, William A. (2009). "The Rebirth of Research with Entheogens: Lessons from the Past and Hypotheses for the Future." Journal of Transpersonal Psychology, vol. 41, no. 2, pp. 139–150. These developments reflect a broader reevaluation of entheogens not only as sacred tools but also as potentially transformative therapeutic agents.
The psychedelic experience is often compared to non-ordinary forms of consciousness such as those experienced in meditation, near-death experiences, and mystical experiences. Ego dissolution is often described as a key feature of the psychedelic state often resulting in perceived personal insight spiritual awakening, or a reorientation of values. Though evidence is often fragmentary, ongoing research in fields like archaeology, anthropology, psychology, and religious studies continues to shed light on the widespread historical and contemporary role of entheogens in human culture.
The term hallucinogen was deemed inappropriate owing to its etymological relationship to words relating to delirium and insanity. The term psychedelic was also seen as problematic, owing to the similarity in sound to words about psychosis and also because it had become irreversibly associated with various connotations of the 1960s pop culture. In modern usage, entheogen may be used synonymously with these terms, or it may be chosen to contrast with recreational use of the same drugs. The meanings of the term entheogen was formally defined:
In 2004, David E. Nichols wrote the following:
These traditional uses often involve carefully controlled ceremonial contexts that emphasize the sacred and transformative nature of the entheogenic experience. For example, the Native American Church incorporates peyote in its religious ceremonies, while indigenous Amazonian cultures use ayahuasca in shamanic rituals.
Most of the well-known modern examples of entheogens, such as Ayahuasca, peyote, psilocybin mushrooms, and Ipomoea tricolor are from the native cultures of the Americas. However, it has also been suggested that entheogens played an important role in ancient Indo-European culture, for example by inclusion in the ritual preparations of the Soma, the "pressed juice" that is the subject of Book 9 of the Rigveda. Soma was ritually prepared and drunk by priests and initiates and elicited a paean in the Rigveda that embodies the nature of an entheogen:
The kykeon that preceded initiation into the Eleusinian Mysteries is another entheogen, which was investigated (before the word was coined) by Carl Kerényi, in Eleusis: Archetypal Image of Mother and Daughter. Other entheogens in the Ancient Near East and the Aegean include the opium poppy, datura, and the unidentified "lotus" (likely the sacred blue lily) eaten by the Lotus-Eaters in the Odyssey and Narcissus.
According to Ruck, Eyan, and Staples, the familiar shamanic entheogen that the Indo-Europeans brought knowledge of was Amanita muscaria. It could not be cultivated; thus it had to be found, which suited it to a nomadic lifestyle. When they reached the world of the Caucasus and the Aegean, the Indo-Europeans encountered wine, the entheogen of Dionysus, who brought it with him from his birthplace in the mythical Nysa, when he returned to claim his Olympian birthright. The Indo-European proto-Greeks "recognized it as the entheogen of Zeus, and their own traditions of shamanism, the Amanita and the 'pressed juice' of Somabut better, since no longer unpredictable and wild, the way it was found among the : as befit their own assimilation of agrarian modes of life, the entheogen was now cultivable." Robert Graves, in his foreword to The Greek Myths, hypothesises that the ambrosia of various pre-Greeks tribes was Amanita muscaria (which, based on the morphological similarity of the words amanita, amrita and ambrosia, is entirely plausible) and perhaps psilocybin mushrooms of the genus Panaeolus. Amanita muscaria was regarded as divinity food, according to Ruck and Staples, not something to be indulged in, sampled lightly, or profaned. It was seen as the food of the gods, their ambrosia, and as mediating between the two realms. It is said that Tantalus's crime was inviting commoners to share his ambrosia.
Among the amaXhosa, the artificial drug 2C-B is used as entheogen by traditional healers or amagqirha over their traditional plants; they refer to the chemical as Ubulawu Nomathotholo, which roughly translates to " Medicine of the Singing Ancestors". The Nexus Factor - An Introduction to 2C-B Erowid Ubulawu Nomathotholo Pack Photo by Erowid. 2002 Erowid.org
Datura wrightii is sacred to some Native Americans and has been used in ceremonies and rites of passage by Chumash, Tongva, and others. Among the Chumash, when a boy was 8 years old, his mother would give him a preparation of momoy to drink. This supposed spiritual challenge should help the boy develop the spiritual wellbeing that is required to become a man. Not all of the boys undergoing this ritual survived. Momoy was also used to enhance spiritual wellbeing among adults. For instance, during a frightening situation, such as when seeing a coyote walk like a man, a leaf of momoy was sucked to help keep the soul in the body.
The mescal bean Sophora secundiflora was used by the shamanic hunter-gatherer cultures of the Great Plains region. Other plants with ritual significance in North American shamanism are the hallucinogenic seeds of the Ungnadia and jimsonweed ( Datura stramonium). Paleoethnobotany evidence for these plants from archaeological sites shows they were used in ancient times thousands of years ago.
For thousands of years, the genus Anadenanthera, particularly A. peregrina (yopo or cohoba) and A. colubrina (willka, vilca, cebil), has been central to ritual practice across the continent. Its seeds are traditionally processed into powdered snuff tablets and used by Native American groups such as the Yanomami, Sikuani, and Piapoco. Among the Piaroa (hüottüja) of the Upper Orinoco, A. peregrina is known as Ñuá and used via nasal inhalation. In Andean areas, A. colubrina—known by names like willka, vilca, or cebil—is used in smokes or ritual beverages such as "llampu," documented among the Wichí, Huari peoples and Ayacucho communities.
The vine Banisteriopsis caapi, often combined with plants like Psychotria viridis or Diplopterys cabrerana, forms a visionary decoction known regionally as ayahuasca, yagé, natem, oni, orunampa, or kamarampi—among over 40 indigenous names across Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, and Brazil. User groups include the Shipibo-Conibo, Siona language, Inga language, Kofan people, Asháninka, and Shuar peoples. Its ceremonial use supports healing, divination, dream‑work, and communal harmony, guided by singing icaros and led by experienced practitioners called ayahuasqueros or taitas.William R. Anderson (2004). Malpighiaceae. In: N. P. Smith et al., eds. 2004. Flowering Plants of the Neotropics. Princeton. Pp. 229–232. Anderson, W. R. 2013.
The Coca leaf ( Erythroxylum coca) holds deep medicinal, ritual, and cultural significance for indigenous peoples across the Andes and Amazonian regions. Traditionally, coca is chewed or prepared as mambe, a fine powder made by roasting and mixing coca leaves with alkaline ash (often from Cecropia or yarumo trees), which is traditionally combined with Ambil, a sticky paste made of tobacco. Among groups such as the Uitoto, Muinane, and Andoque people, mambe is consumed during ceremonial gatherings to support dialogue, memory, and spiritual clarity. The plant is regarded as a sacred ally that fosters connection and communication rather than intoxication.
Among the Piaroa (or Hüottüja) people of the Venezuelan Amazon, Malouetia sp.—known as dädä—plays a central role in ceremonial life. It is considered the most important sacred medicine within their tradition, surpassing all others in ritual significance. Administered in highly codified contexts, its use involves periods of fasting, purification, and spiritual preparation. The plant is reserved for complex communal rituals aimed at restoring social balance, receiving guidance from ancestral spirits, and deepening cosmological understanding. The dädä ritual is unique to the Piaroa, and no other indigenous group is currently known to maintain this tradition at a comparable scale or regularity.
Rapé is a ceremonial snuff primarily made from Nicotiana rustica (mapacho), often blended with alkaline ashes to enhance nasal absorption. It is used by numerous Amazonian peoples. The ashes derive from trees such as Theobroma, Cecropia, or murití; their inclusion alkalinizes the mixture and potentiates the tobacco’s effects. Administration is typically performed by a shaman or specialist who blows the powder into the recipient's nostrils, although it can also be self-administered using short tubes. (1992). 9780553371307, Bantam. ISBN 9780553371307
A ritual use by the Quechua people involves drinking guayusa infusion to have foretelling dreams for successful hunting expeditions.
Trichocereus macrogonus var. pachanoi has a long history of being used in Andean traditional medicine. Archaeological studies have found evidence of use going back two thousand years, to Moche culture, Nazca culture, and Chavín culture. In 2022, the Peruvian Ministry of Culture declared the traditional use of San Pedro cactus in northern Peru as cultural heritage.
In Hinduism, Datura stramonium and cannabis have been used in religious ceremonies, although the religious use of datura is not common, as the primary alkaloids are strong deliriants, which causes serious intoxication with unpredictable effects.
Also, the ancient drink Soma, mentioned often in the Vedas, appears to be consistent with the effects of an entheogen. In his 1967 book, Wasson argues that Soma was Amanita muscaria. The active ingredient of Soma is presumed by some to be ephedrine, an alkaloid with stimulant properties derived from the soma plant, identified as Ephedra pachyclada. However, there are also arguments about the botanical identity of soma–haoma suggesting it could have also been Harmal, cannabis, Atropa belladonna, or some combination of any of the above plants.
Dacians were known to use cannabis in their religious and important life ceremonies, proven by discoveries of large clay pots with burnt cannabis seeds in ancient tombs and religious shrines. Also, local oral folklore and myths tell of ancient priests that dreamed with gods and walked in the smoke. Their names, as transmitted by Herodotus, were " kap-no-batai" which in Dacian was supposed to mean "the ones that walk in the clouds".
The growth of Roman Christianity also saw the end of the two-thousand-year-old tradition of the Eleusinian Mysteries, the initiation ceremony for the cult of Demeter and Persephone involving the use of a drug known as kykeon. The term 'ambrosia' is used in Greek mythology in a way that is remarkably similar to the Soma of the Hindus as well.
A theory that naturally-occurring gases like ethylene used by inhalation may have played a role in divinatory ceremonies at Delphi in Classical Greece received popular press attention in the early 2000s, yet has not been conclusively proven.
Mushroom consumption is part of the culture of Europeans in general, with particular importance to Slavic and Baltic peoples. Some academics argue that the use of psilocybin- and/or muscimol-containing mushrooms was an integral part of the ancient culture of the Rus' people.
John Marco Allegro argued that early Jewish and Christian cultic practice was based on the use of Amanita muscaria, which was later forgotten by its adherents, but this view has been widely disputed.
Kava or kava kava ( Piper Methysticum) has been cultivated for at least 3,000 years by a number of Pacific island-dwelling peoples. Historically, most Polynesian, many , and some Micronesian cultures have ingested the psychoactive pulverized root, typically taking it mixed with water. In these traditions, taking kava is believed to facilitate contact with the spirits of the dead, especially relatives and ancestors. (2025). 9781420023374, CRC Press. ISBN 9781420023374
There are no known uses of entheogens by the Māori of New Zealand aside from a variant species of kava, although some modern scholars have claimed that there may be evidence of psilocybin mushroom use. Natives of Papua New Guinea are known to use several species of entheogenic mushrooms ( Psilocybe spp, Boletus manicus).
Pituri, also known as mingkulpa, is a mixture of leaves and wood ash traditionally chewed as a stimulant (or, after Drug titration, a depressant) by Aboriginal Australians widely across the continent. Leaves are gathered from any of several species of native tobacco ( Nicotiana) or from at least one distinct population of the species Duboisia hopwoodii. Various species of Acacia, Grevillea and Eucalyptus are burned to produce the ash. The term "pituri" may also refer to the plants from which the leaves are gathered or from which the ash is made. Some authors use the term to refer only to the plant Duboisia hopwoodii and its leaves and any chewing mixture containing its leaves.Silcock JL, Tischler M, Smith MA. "Quantifying the Mulligan River Pituri, Duboisia hopwoodii ((F.Muell.) F.Muell.) (Solanaceae), Trade of Central Australia." Ethnobotany Research & Applications. 2012; 10:037-044. Retrieved 30 April 2015.
Entheogens used in the contemporary world include biota like peyote (Native American Church), extracts like ayahuasca (Santo Daime, União do Vegetal).
Entheogens also play an important role in contemporary religious movements such as the Rastafari movement.
In the West, some modern Buddhist teachers have written on the usefulness of psychedelics. The Buddhist magazine
/ref> Some teachers such as Jack Kornfield have suggested the possibility that psychedelics could complement Buddhist practice, bring healing and help people understand their connection with everything which could lead to compassion.Kornfield, Jack; "Bringing Home the Dharma: Awakening Right Where You Are", excerpted at / Kornfield warns however that addiction can still be a hindrance. Other teachers such as Michelle McDonald-Smith expressed views which saw entheogens as not conducive to Buddhist practice ("I don't see them developing anything").
While Benet's conclusion regarding the psychoactive use of cannabis is not universally accepted among Jewish scholars, there is general agreement that cannabis is used in talmudic sources to refer to hemp fibers, not hashish, as hemp was a vital commodity before linen replaced it.Roth, Cecil. (1972). Encyclopedia Judaica. 1st Ed. Volume 8. p. 323. . Note, the second edition of the Encyclopedia Judaica no longer mentions Sula Benet but continues to maintain that hemp is "the plant Cannabis sativa called kanbus in talmudic literature", but now adds, "Hashish is not mentioned however in Jewish sources". See p. 805 in Vol. 8 of the 2nd edition. Lexicons of Hebrew and dictionaries of plants of the Bible such as by Michael Zohary (1985), Hans Arne Jensen (2004) and James A. Duke (2010) and others identify the plant in question as either Acorus calamus or Cymbopogon citratus, not cannabis.Lytton J. Musselman Figs, dates, laurel, and myrrh: plants of the Bible and the Quran 2007 p73
The historical picture portrayed by the Entheos journal is of fairly widespread use of visionary plants in early Christianity and the surrounding culture, with a gradual reduction of use of entheogens in Christianity. Conjuring Eden: Art and the Entheogenic Vision of Paradise , by Mark Hoffman, Carl Ruck, and Blaise Staples. Entheos: The Journal of Psychedelic Spirituality, Issue No. 1, Summer, 2001 R. Gordon Wasson's book Soma prints a letter from art historian Erwin Panofsky asserting that art scholars are aware of many "mushroom trees" in Christian art. Wasson and Allegro on the Tree of Knowledge as Amanita , Michael S. Hoffman, Journal of Higher Criticism, 2007
The question of the extent of visionary plant use throughout the history of Christian practice has barely been considered yet by academic or independent scholars. The question of whether visionary plants were used in pre-Theodosius I Christianity is distinct from evidence that indicates the extent to which visionary plants were utilized or forgotten in later Christianity, including heretical or quasi-Christian groups, Daturas for the Virgin , José Celdrán and Carl Ruck, Entheos: The Journal of Psychedelic Spirituality, Vol. I, Issue 2, Winter, 2002 and the question of other groups such as elites or laity within orthodox Catholic practice. The Hidden World: Survival of Pagan Shamanic Themes in European Fairytales, by Carl Ruck, Blaise Staples, Jose Alfredo Celdran, Mark Hoffman, Carolina Academic Press, 2007
The Peyote Way Church of God believe that "Peyote is a holy sacrament, when taken according to our sacramental procedure and combined with a holistic lifestyle".
Ceremonies – trabalhos (Brazilian Portuguese for "works") – are typically several hours long and are undertaken sitting in silent "concentration", or sung collectively, dancing according to simple steps in geometrical formation. Ayahuasca, referred to as Daime within the practice, which contains several psychoactive compounds, is drunk as part of the ceremony. The drinking of Daime can induce a strong vomiting effect which is embraced as both emotional and physical purging.
In its sessions, UDV members drink Hoasca Tea for the effect of mental concentration. In Brazil, the use of Hoasca in religious rituals was regulated by the Brazilian Federal Government's National Drug Policy Council on January 25, 2010. The policy established legal norms for the religious institutions that responsibly use this tea. The Supreme Court of the United States unanimously affirmed the UDV's right to use Hoasca tea in its religious sessions in the United States, in a decision published on February 21, 2006.
Beginning in 2006, experiments have been conducted at Johns Hopkins University, showing that under controlled conditions psilocybin causes mystical experiences in most participants and that they rank the personal and spiritual meaningfulness of the experiences very highly.
Except in Mexico, research with psychedelics is limited due to ongoing widespread drug prohibition. The amount of peer review on psychedelics has accordingly been limited due to the difficulty of getting approval from institutional review boards. Furthermore, scientific studies on entheogens present some significant challenges to researchers, including philosophical questions relating to ontology, epistemology and objectivity.
In recent decades, entheogens have been revisited in clinical research for their potential therapeutic benefits. According to Richards (2009), studies have shown promise in treating depression, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and anxiety associated with terminal illness using substances such as psilocybin and MDMA.
This modern research highlights a shift toward integrating the traditional spiritual insights associated with entheogens into clinical practice, promoting healing and psychological growth.
For the individual, the court must determine
If these two elements are established, then the government must prove
This test was eventually all-but-eliminated in Employment Division v. Smith 494 U.S. 872 (1990) which held that a "neutral law of general applicability" was not subject to the test. Congress resurrected it for the purposes of federal law in the federal Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) of 1993.
In City of Boerne v. Flores, 521 U.S. 507 (1997) RFRA was held to trespass on state sovereignty, and application of the RFRA was essentially limited to federal law enforcement. In Gonzales v. O Centro Espírita Beneficente União do Vegetal, 546 U.S. 418 (2006), a case involving only federal law, RFRA was held to permit a church's use of a DMT-containing tea for religious ceremonies.
Some states have enacted State Religious Freedom Restoration Acts intended to mirror the federal RFRA's protections.
Peyote is listed by the United States DEA as a Schedule I controlled substance. However, practitioners of the Peyote Way Church of God, a Native American religion, perceive the regulations regarding the use of peyote as discriminating, leading to religious discrimination issues regarding about the U.S. policy towards drugs. As the result of Peyote Way Church of God, Inc. v. Thornburgh the American Indian Religious Freedom Act of 1978 was passed. This federal statute allow the "Traditional Indian religious use of the peyote sacrament", exempting only use by Native American persons.
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