Fairies, Magic Mushrooms, and the Path to Ascension

To view the complete chapter on this subject from my book, please visit my Patreon Page. If you resonate with this blog entry & are interested in diving deeper in exploring the history & magic of plant spirit medicines, please visit my crowdfundr website, where your can learn more about the book I am currently working on, Entheogens & the Goddess, and discover the ways in which you can support the birth of this passion project.

In the liminal spaces where the veil between worlds thins, where twilight lingers and the air is thick with the whispers of unseen beings, there lies a sacred partnership as old as time itself, a bond between the fae and the entheogenic mushroom. For centuries, these twin guides of the unseen have beckoned humanity into the realms of spirit, expanding the mind, dissolving illusion, and revealing the interconnected web of life. The fairies, guardians of nature’s sacred essence, and the magical fungi, keys to transcendent vision, share a deep and ancient connection woven through the myths, folklore, and spiritual traditions of countless lands. Their gifts offer us a return to the enchanted realms, where wisdom flows like a river and where the lost song of Mother Earth may once again be heard.

The Fairies and the Fungi: Ancient Bonds of Enchantment

From the ancient groves of the Celts to the shamanic traditions of Siberia, fairies and mushrooms have danced together in the hidden folds of reality. In European folklore, fairy rings - those naturally occurring circles of mushrooms that dot the misty meadows, have long been seen as portals to the Otherworld, places where the fae gather in moonlit revelry. To step inside a fairy ring was to risk being whisked away into their luminous kingdom, lost in a trance of timeless ecstasy. Many who wandered into these enchanted circles would return days or even years later, changed, touched by visions of wonder and filled with the blessings of Mother Nature.

In Ireland, it was believed that the fairies who danced within these circles were tricksters and that if one were to disturb the fairy circles in any way bad luck would follow them.

Also in Irish folklore the communion with the sacred mushrooms is described as “going away with the faeries” or being “off with the pixies.”

Many scholars believe that Ireland was the birthplace of a religion founded upon entheogenic mushrooms. In a book by author Peter Lamborn Wilson called “Ploughing the Clouds”, he describes Indo-Europeans partaking in entheogenic plant spirit medicines in their religious rites and it is his belief that these religious ceremonies were the origin of pagan religions that sprang up across Ireland.

Author and poet Shonagh Home says, “As the faerie faith in Ireland goes back many centuries, I speculate there were people other than the artistic/literate classes who were also familiar with psychoactive mushrooms. Our ancestors had extensive knowledge of the plants and fungi of their region and their inherent properties. It stands to reason that those who ingested psychoactive mushrooms, whether accidentally or purposefully, experienced the shimmering imagery and its attending inhabitants that many who have ingested the mushroom today are familiar with. This harkens to the faerie worlds of Tír na nÓg.”

Shonagh also pointed out in European folklore that “There are numerous Irish stories that speak of magical substances that confer special knowledge and the ability to speak poetically. There is a definite connection in the Irish stories between the ingestion of a special substance and poetic brilliance.”

Shonagh also spoke highly of one of my favourite things to make called Mead. Mead is a honey wine that is usually infused with fruits and herbs. The vikings called mead the “Nectar of the Gods” as they believed mead was a portal to the realm of the gods & goddesses

Mead was often spiked with entheogenic herbs and Shonagh believes the Druids most certainly would have included entheogenic mushrooms in their special mead brews. Shonagh writes, “The druids trained for 20 years in subjects such as law, astronomy, philosophy, poetry, medicine, music, geometry divination, and magic. It is probable that specific substances were used to induce high trance states to receive poetic inspiration and messages from the gods.

In Norse and Germanic traditions, the Amanita muscaria, with its vivid red cap and white speckles, was believed to be a gift from the gods, a sacred key to unlocking the doors of perception. Many of these traditions spoke of fairy-like beings who dwelled within the mushrooms themselves, tiny spirits who whispered secrets to those daring enough to partake in the sacred communion. The connection between the fae and entheogenic mushrooms is not merely a poetic allegory, it is a lived reality, a thread binding the material and the mystical.

In the frost-kissed realms of Siberia, where the whispering winds weave secrets through the ancient birch and pine, the fae of the tundra dance between worlds, their essence entwined with the sacred Amanita muscaria. These luminous spirits, draped in veils of shimmering snowlight, are said to guide seekers into the realms of divine wisdom, their presence heralded by the crimson-capped mushrooms that dot the forest floor like embers of an unseen fire. To those who honor the Old Ways, these enchanted fungi serve as a bridge between the mortal and the mystical, opening the veiled gates of prophecy, trance, and celestial communion. The priestesses of the wild know this well, for in the embrace of the sacred mushroom, the soul may soar, the veil may part, and the voice of the fae may be heard in the breath of the wind, whispering the lost songs of the Earth.

Expansion of Consciousness: The Faerie Gift and the Fungal Key

Fairies and mushrooms share a purpose: they seek to awaken humanity to the greater reality that pulses beneath the surface of the mundane. The fae, wild and untamed as the wind, do not bow to human reason; they exist in a world where time flows differently, where nature is revered, and where the song of the earth still echoes in the bones of all living things. Likewise, the magic mushroom, when ingested with reverence, unshackles the mind from its rigid constraints, allowing one to see the world as it truly is interwoven, alive, and suffused with spirit.

To commune with fairies is to embrace the wonder of nature, to see the living presence in stone, river, and tree. To walk the path of the mushroom is to shatter the illusion of separation, to awaken the soul to the vast intelligence that permeates all things. Through their gifts, both fae and fungi offer humanity the means to remember, to see with ancient eyes, to dream with the heart of the earth itself.

Healing the Earth Through the Expansion of Consciousness

The human world has grown deaf to the voices of the enchanted realms, caught in the spell of industry, greed, and destruction. The earth cries out, her forests felled, her rivers poisoned, her creatures driven to extinction. Yet, in the wisdom of the fae and the mushrooms lies a path to salvation. When we awaken from the slumber of disconnection, when we see the living spirit in all things, we can no longer turn away from the suffering of the land.

The fairies have long been the protectors of the wild places, guardians of ancient groves, crystal waters, and sacred stones. They are the soul of the earth itself, whispering through the rustling leaves, guiding those who dare to listen. The mushrooms, too, are healers, not only of the spirit but of the soil, mycelial networks that bind the living world together, cleansing and renewing life with each breath. Through their communion, we come to understand that our fate is not separate from that of the world. We are threads in the same web, voices in the same song.

By embracing the wisdom of the fae and the fungi, humanity can begin the work of restoration. The expansion of consciousness is not merely a personal journey; it is a collective awakening, a return to balance, a remembering of the sacred contract between humankind and the earth. Through reverence, ritual, and sacred communion, we can rekindle the old ways, rebuild the bridges between worlds, and step once more into the light of enchantment.

Walking the Path of the Enchanted

To walk the path of the fairies and the mushrooms is to walk the path of devotion to the earth, to the unseen, to the ancient wisdom that hums beneath our feet. It is a path of surrender, of stepping beyond logic and into the great mystery, where wonder and wisdom are one. To those who feel the call, the invitation is clear: honor the land, tend the wild places, listen to the whispers in the wind. Seek the sacred mushrooms with reverence, not as tools for escape but as allies for awakening.

In the embrace of the enchanted, we may find our way home to ourselves, to the earth, and to the great luminous dance of all creation. The fairies and the fungi stand at the threshold, their hands extended, their song rising through the roots and leaves and soil of Mother Earth. Will we listen? Will we step forward? The path is open, and the time of remembering has begun.

To view the complete chapter on this subject from my book, please visit my Patreon Page. If you resonate with this blog entry & are interested in diving deeper in exploring the history & magic of plant spirit medicines, please visit my crowdfundr website, where your can learn more about the book I am currently working on, Entheogens & the Goddess, and discover the ways in which you can support the birth of this passion project.

Blessed be!

Written with Love & Devotion by Renee Boje

References

• Allegro, John M. The Sacred Mushroom and the Cross. Hodder & Stoughton, 1970.

• Ruck, Carl A. P. The Mushroom and the Bride. City Lights Publishers, 2018.

• Wasson, R. Gordon. Soma: Divine Mushroom of Immortality. Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1968.

• Rätsch, Christian. The Encyclopedia of Psychoactive Plants: Ethnopharmacology and Its Applications. Park Street Press, 2005.

• Schultes, Richard Evans, and Albert Hofmann. Plants of the Gods: Their Sacred, Healing, and Hallucinogenic Powers. Healing Arts Press, 1992.

• Harner, Michael. The Way of the Shaman. HarperOne, 1990.

• The Anarchist Library. (n.d.). Peter Lamborn Wilson - Irish Soma. Retrieved from https://theanarchistlibrary.org/library/peter-lamborn-wilson-irish-soma

• Foraging Course Company. (n.d.). Fairy Rings - Myth and Nature. Retrieved from https://www.foragingcoursecompany.co.uk/post/articles-fairy-rings

• Meehl Foundation. (n.d.). Magic Mushroom Sacraments of the Celts. Retrieved from https://meehlfoundation.org/magic-mushroom-sacraments-of-the-celts

• Ogham Gifts. (n.d.). Fairy Rings: Myth and Nature. Retrieved from https://ogham-gifts.com/fairy-rings-myth-and-nature

• Wikipedia. (n.d.). Entheogen. Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Entheogen

• Woodland Trust. (2019, August). What is a Fairy Ring?. Retrieved from https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/blog/2019/08/what-is-a-fairy-ring