HEAL 242 – (Mushrooms as Medicine) Amanita Muscaria: the Witch’s Mushroom
With David Samas
@ Woolsten-Steen Wiccan Seminary
8 Thursdays 1/8-3/26, 6pm Pacific time, Online
To register for just this elective: Registration
Are you interested in the healing potential of plant medicine or its ancient roots in shamanic cultures? This class will introduce you to shamanic healing in the context of Amanita Muscaria, the world’s most famous mushroom. Amanita’s list of achievements includes freedom from pain and permanent shits in the nervous system which effect anxiety and childhood trauma, support healthy boundaries and help us manifest the lives we wish to live. You’ll learn about dosing and what to expect when using this legal, non-toxic mushroom.
In this course you will learn to identify, prepare and administer Amanita Muscaria for the purposes of spiritual healing. Students will also encounter tools and techniques from Shamanism, somatic therapy, and kitchen witchery which support Amanita practitioners.
While there will be a lot of information shared in this course, we will be leaning into experiential learning by practicing together every week. Some exercises will be shamanic, other weeks we will make potions and brews. The descriptions for each week are under the heading for that week and there you can find what we will be doing and what you might like to bring.
There is no requirement to take medicine at any time in this course; The teachers, staff and administration do not recommend the use of any delicious, wild harvested herbal supplements of any kind, no matter how much forest magic they may contain. However, should you chose to, you are welcome to make amanita tea with us in class 3 and follow the microdosing protocols we lay out. These mushrooms are NOT hallucinogenic and do not show up on mandatory drug tests. Our guide in this course has worked with hundreds of people on a wide variety of doses over 20 years and has never seen any ill effects. We understand that these mushrooms are widely considered highly toxic even though the North American Mycological Association has stated that there were “no reliably documented cases of death from toxins in these mushrooms in the past 100 years”.[65]
OPTIONAL: you may choose to (or not to) take sacrament alongside this curriculum. Amanita Muscaria is legal in all states except Louisiana, and can be obtained from Amentara @ https://www.amentara.com/. Christian is a lovely human and has good prices and quick domestic shipping. ( https://www.amentara.com/product/amanita-muscaria-fly-agaric-caps-15g-usa/) Use code AMA10 for 10% off.
You will want 15-30g of dry caps and it can be helpful to have some way of making 1ml ice cubes (often this is a silicone candy mold like this)
A Drum/Rattle and a journal are recommended
To register for just this elective: Registration
Week 1: Introduction: In this class we will learn about Amanita Muscaria as a sacrament and medicine; be introduced to shamanism as a technology for working with plant spirits; and take our first shamanic journey together.
Week 2: History and Mythology: Dip into the lore of Amanita Gods; understanding Amanita chemistry; a comparison to other plant medicines and in-class time to draw an Amanita
Week 3: Microdosing Protocols: In this class we will explore basic principles and protocols for microdosing plant medicine, why we might microdose at sub-perceptual levels, and what to expect if we choose to experience it.
For those following along with medicine we will be cooking our first batch of tea together. For those who are not using the medicine at this time, we will be calling the spirit of amanita into a tea brew of your choice. Some witchery will occur.
Week4: Potions and Preparations: In this class we will discuss and demonstrate a host of recipes and spells for mojo bags, oil extractions/topicals, dry uses, tea blends, fermenting and culturing, and smoking blends. We will practice a shamanic method for empowering the medicine.
Week 5: Macrodosing and Psychedelic Assisted Therapy: We’ve come to the use of functional, noticeable doses, which stacks really well with massage, hypnosis and gestalt practice. We will be exploring soul medicine through awareness and visualizations.
Week 6: Mastering Time and Space: This week we explore Amanita Muscaria’s capacity for time travel and manifestation. We will focus on Amanita’s practical concretizing capacity, her sensitivity to intention, and on understanding the causes and uses of time loops and alternate timelines. We will be practicing list magic and will lear more about forming an intention.
Week 7: The Hero’s Journey: In our penultimate class we will discuss hero dosing in a ceremonial context. Neither I nor anyone at the WSWS is recommending you hero dose; this should never be done without a sober sitter. We will discuss why more isn’t always better. As ceremony is the container for prayer we will spend some time looking at and constructing a prayer.
Week 8: Immersion and Integration: Let’s take a look at process magic and sustained dosing of a fully converted Amanita Muscaria brew. While we talk about integration, we will have the opportunity to make a ginger soda from cultured ginger, fruit juice and an option to include Amanita tea for the mystical “full conversion”. Students will get a chance to share about their experiences with Amanita and her spirit.
To register for just this elective: Registration
