Mushroom Mysteries. The Magic Mushroom in Traditional Culture through the Example of the Ritual Practices of Shamans in Siberia and the Far North.

The book «Mushroom Mysteries» is a scientific study of the role of the red fly agaric in the mythology and ritual practices of shamans in Siberia and the Far North. This topic has not received enough attention from specialists before, and now this gap has been filled. The material for the book was collected by the author over many years and includes virtually all known folklore and ethnographic data on this issue, as well as the author's own field research. It thoroughly examines myths about the creation of the world, where the Fly Agaric is created as one of the first to protect the land from evil spirits; it discusses legends about fly agaric girls-forest beauties who lure travelers into their land; it presents numerous stories about the journeys of shamans into the otherworldly realms of hidden areas of consciousness. It also analyzes the stages of intoxication from the mushroom and describes methods of its use in folk medicine.