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🌕 When the Veil Grows Thin, Part II: The Red Queen’s Elixir — Safe and Sacred Medicine of Amanita Muscaria
- Renee Boje
- 2 days ago
- 13 min read
✨ Introduction: The Spirit of the Red Queen as Medicine
In the first telling, we walked ever so gently with the Red Queen through the golden woods of Samhain - learning to meet her in reverence, to harvest her as priestesses of old once did beneath moonlight and mist. Yet, like so many of Mother Nature's magical creations, her story does not end at her harvest.
For Amanita Muscaria is not only a threshold spirit; she is also a Queen of alchemy - guiding us to transmute her wild fire into gentleness, her danger into devotion, her rawness into remedy. She is a living symbol of the sacred art of transformation - that which refines, redeems, and restores balance between spirit and matter.
Throughout the ages, women of the Old Ways, such as the Völva of the North, the Siberian Shamankas, and the Herbal Priestesses of the Birch Forests learned her language of transformation. They knew that Amanita’s power must be tamed through warmth, patience, and prayer. And so, they created safe, sacred medicines - not for intoxication, but for healing, dreaming, divination and communion with the unseen.
You may find further writings on this lineage of divine feminine fungal communion in my earlier blog posting:👉 Entheogenic Mushrooms: A Sacred Communion with the Goddess
🍄 I. The Alchemy of Transformation
Within the Red Queen’s sacred body dwell two distinct spirits - ibotenic acid and muscimol - each representing a different aspect of her medicine.
Ibotenic acid is her untamed aspect, the fierce initiatrix whose energy can stir nausea, disorientation, or unease when the mushroom is consumed raw or unprepared. It is the bright, electric force that awakens but does not yet soothe - the test before the teaching.
Her red cap, radiant as the flames of a flickering fire, holds the greatest concentration of this wild spirit known as ibotenic acid. It is within her crimson skin - the thin outer layer of the cap - and the ivory gills beneath, that the bulk of her active compounds reside. The stem, by contrast, carries far less of her potency - a reminder that not all parts of the Queen hold equal power.
And what of the white dots that adorn her crown like stars in the night sky? These are the remnants of her universal veil - the soft cocoon that once enclosed her before she emerged from the soil. Though they share the same tissue as the cap and may contain trace amounts of her active chemistry, they are mostly symbolic her jeweled adornments, bearing little of her potency but much of her magic.
The ancients saw them as the faery pearls of protection, a sign that her spirit has awakened and is ready to teach. In dreams I have seen beautiful faeries descend from the Stars themselves and sprinkle stardust upon the Red Queens who transformed the stardust into white stars upon her red caps mirroring the shimmering constellations blessing the Amanitas, each night, from above
Because this raw form of her chemistry can unsettle the body, our ancestors learned to approach her with both wisdom and care. Through the sacred arts of drying and gentle heat, ibotenic acid undergoes a natural alchemical shift, transforming into muscimol - the calmer, visionary aspect of her spirit that soothes, centers, and opens the dreaming gates.
Muscimol, by contrast, is her transmuted essence - the serene presence born of transformation. Through this simple but vital process of heat and time, the Red Queen’s fiery nature softens into moonlit grace.
This alchemy is not only chemical but spiritual: the mushroom mirrors the path of the priestess herself, who learns that true power is refined through the art of surrender - that fire’s purification becomes wisdom through patience, and that transformation requires time and sacred space for integration.
As an entheogen that brings deep transmutation to those who tread her path with reverence and respect, the Red Queen commands that we, too, do our inner work: the transformation of impulse into wisdom, of shadow into light.
🔥 II. The Ancient Ways of Preparation
The ancient priestesses treated their mushrooms as holy beings, not ingredients. They dried the caps beside the hearths, above wood stoves, sometimes threading them upon linen cords to hang over gentle heat until they darkened to wine-red and the scent turned sweet and earthy.
These rites were known to the wise women and herbalists of the North - the seeresses, folk healers, and shamankas of the birch and pine forests that stretch across the northern realms of Europe and Siberia. Among them were the Siberian shamans who honored the Amanita as a sacred bridge between worlds, and the Norse völur - priestesses of Freyja and the ancient practice of seiðr - who understood the mushroom’s power to open the gates of vision and transformation.
To them, the Red Queen was no mere plant spirit but a living emissary of the Goddess - her chemistry a mirror of the soul’s own alchemy. Their recipes, songs, and prayers formed what might be called a living grimoire - a body of wisdom not confined to parchment, but passed from hand to hand, heart to heart, through the warmth of the hearth and the breath of devotion. Each generation added its own layer of knowing, keeping the Red Queen’s medicine alive as a conversation between spirit and time.
Once dried, the Amanita could be safely stored or prepared in small doses for medicine. Below are traditional, safe ways known to these wise women - offered here for education and harm reduction, never for recklessness or abandon.
🍄 The Sacred Tea (Decarboxylated Brew)
A single serving of the Red Queen’s tea begins with one small to medium dried cap - about 1 to 1.5 grams of her crimson flesh, harvested and dried with care.
Bring 1 ½ to 2 cups (350–475 ml) of pure spring water to just below a boil - around 80–85 °C / 175–185 °F. Never let the water boil, for boiling drives away her gentler spirit and can make the brew harsh upon the body.
Add the dried cap to the hot water and allow it to simmer very gently for 15 to 30 minutes, uncovered, as the scent deepens and the color turns a soft amber-rose. This slow warmth continues the sacred alchemy, converting ibotenic acid into the calmer, visionary essence of muscimol - the Queen’s transmuted spirit.
Strain the tea through a fine cloth or sieve into a cup you’ve blessed with breath and intention. Begin with 1 to 2 tablespoons (15–30 ml) only - no more - and sip slowly, listening with your whole being. Wait at least an hour before deciding if another sip is needed.
This is not only a potion to be consumed, but a communion to be entered. The priestesses of old would sip in silence by hearthlight, asking the Red Queen for dreams, insight, and healing of body and soul.
“Sip with intention,” whisper the fae.“The Red Queen speaks in the sacred silence, for those with ears to listen.”
🌿 A Note on Safety & Modern Wisdom
The Red Queen’s medicine is both ancient and potent - a spirit deserving of the utmost respect. Though her chemistry transforms through drying and gentle heat, Amanita muscaria remains a powerful entheogen, and each body meets her differently.
🌕 Begin with the smallest dose - even less than a gram of dried cap - and commune with her only in calm, safe, sacred spaces.
🔥 Never consume her raw or fresh. Untransformed ibotenic acid can cause nausea or disorientation.
💧 Hydrate and rest; her effects may last 6–8 hours and often bring deep sleep and vivid dreams.
🌲 Do not mix with alcohol or other psychoactive substances. The Red Queen prefers to speak alone.
⚖️ Know your local laws, so you can safely guard your birthright to commune with all that Mother Earth has provided for the expansion of the consciousness. She is legal in many regions, yet restricted in others.
💫 Listen to your body and intuition. If unease arises, ground yourself - warmth, water, and rest restore balance.
Remember: this is entheogenic communion, not consumption. To sip her tea is to enter dialogue with an ancient intelligence - one that teaches patience, humility, and the sacred rhythm of transformation.
“Reverence is the oldest form of protection,” whisper the faeries. “Walk softly, and the Queen will walk with you.”
✨ Anointing Oils & Balms
When the Red Queen’s wisdom is ready to move from within the spirit to upon the skin, her essence may be carried in sacred oils - offerings of warmth, devotion, and touch.
The ancient priestesses understood that medicine lives not only in what is swallowed, but also in what is anointed - through the sanctity of skin and the slow, luminous act of tending the body as temple.
They would place 1 to 2 grams of finely crumbled dried Amanita cap into a vessel containing 100 milliliters (about ½ cup) of carrier oil - traditionally olive, birch, or pine. The mixture could rest by the hearth or in sunlight for a full moon cycle (about 28 days), or be warmed gently for several hours over low heat (no more than 60 °C / 140 °F).
In this way, the Queen’s soothing presence infused into the oil, creating balms to ease aching muscles, calm nerves, and anoint the third eye before rites of dreaming or divination.
Optional additions from the old ways:
🌹 3-5 drops of essential oil of rose or pine for blessing and purification.
🌿 A small pinch of dried birch leaf, mugwort, or yarrow to strengthen grounding and open the dreaming path.
“Where the tea teaches through stillness,” whisper the old ones, “the oil teaches through the art of sacred touch and anointment - the hand becomes the wand, the body the altar, and the skin the scripture of the soul.”
Used externally and always in small amounts, these sacred oils were never mere ointments, but living prayers - part of the living grimoire of the Red Queen’s lineage. Through them, the priestesses learned to bridge heaven and earth, spirit and flesh, remembering that transformation must be both felt and embodied.
🌬️ The Smoke of Blessing
There are moments when the Red Queen’s spirit wishes not to be swallowed or worn, but offered to the air as perfume for the faeries - the Red Queen's essence rising as sacred smoke to cleanse, consecrate, and awaken remembrance.
In the Northern forests, the wise women and shamans placed small fragments of dried Amanita muscaria upon glowing embers, or mixed them with sacred herbs to create the Smoke of Blessing - not to inhale deeply, but to waft gently through space, inviting the faery and ancestral presence to draw near.
To prepare this blessing incense:
Begin with ¼ gram (about a pea-sized piece) of fully dried Amanita cap, crumbled finely.
Add ½ teaspoon of dried herbs such as birch leaf, juniper, mugwort, pine resin, or yarrow - each chosen for its purifying or visionary nature.
If desired, bind the herbs together with a drop of honey or pine sap, rolling them lightly into a pellet, or sprinkle them loosely upon a charcoal disc or fire-safe dish.
Light the mixture and let the smoke rise in gentle curls - never to be inhaled, only breathed around you as offering and blessing. Sweep it through the home, around the body, or over an altar to clear stagnant energy and open the dreaming pathways.
“In smoke, she dances,” whisper the fae.“Each spiral a prayer, each spark a star returned to heaven.”
The scent of Amanita’s smoke - earthy, sweet, and strange - awakens deep ancestral memory. It is said that in the shimmering light of her rising breath, the veils grow thin, and the presence of the Goddess may be felt as a hush in the air, a shimmer in the unseen.
As with all her forms, use sparingly and with respect. Even her smoke carries potency. Let your intention be your filter, and your heart your guide.
“The Red Queen asks for reverence, not mastery. To honor her is to remember - we are all made of the same fire, rising, transmuting, and returning to light.”
🌿 The Glycerite of the Hearth
For those who seek a more modern preservation aligned with her gentler aspect, a glycerite may be made:
Combine 1 part decarboxylated Amanita powder (1 gram) with 5 parts vegetable glycerin (5 ml) and 1 part water (1 ml).
Warm the mixture gently in a water bath at 60 °C / 140 °F for 1–2 hours, stirring with care.
Strain and store in a dark glass vial.
Use only externally - a single drop rubbed onto pulse points or temples before meditation or dreamwork.
“Not all potions are meant to pass the tongue,” whisper the fae. “Some are songs for the skin... a balm for the soul.... prayers suspended in sweetness.”
⚖️ Words of Caution and Wisdom
Before crafting any preparation of Amanita muscaria, remember that this is sacred work - and safety is a form of devotion.
If you choose to create elixirs or infused preparations, follow these foundational guidelines:
Always dry and decarboxylate your Amanita first. This sacred transformation - through gentle heat or simmering - converts ibotenic acid into muscimol, her calmer, visionary essence.
Never use alcohol to extract her. Alcohol preserves ibotenic acid and prevents this transformation, keeping her in her raw and untamed form.
Do not consume tinctures made with vodka, rum, or other spirits. Such preparations can cause nausea, confusion, or physical distress.
If storing Amanita-based preparations, use honey, vegetable glycerin, or infused oils - never ethanol or high-proof spirits.
Work only in sacred, grounded space - warm, calm, and without distractions. This medicine mirrors your state of mind.
Alcohol-based tinctures of Amanita muscaria should never be ingested, for they preserve the untransformed ibotenic acid and can cause sickness or confusion. The old ways understood this balance - that the Red Queen’s essence must first be tamed by fire before being held in any vessel.
If you encounter modern recipes that call for soaking raw or dried Amanita in vodka or spirits, let discernment be your protection. True alchemy requires not only ingredients, but understanding, timing, and reverence.
“Fire first, then honey,” whisper the ancients.“ That which is wild must be softened by warmth before it can heal.”
🌿 III. The Ethics of the Red Queen’s Medicine
To walk with Amanita muscaria is to walk between worlds - one foot in the seen, the other in the unseen. With that crossing comes both a blessing and a responsibility.
Never gather or brew without knowledge. Never offer her to another without consent, education, and clear intention. And never approach her seeking escape - for she is not a means to flee reality, but a mirror to refine it.
This is entheogenic communion, not consumption. The Red Queen asks us to become guardians of her wisdom, protectors of her rightful use, and teachers of safe practice. Her spirit thrives where reverence, preparation, and patience dwell - and falters where haste or hubris enter in.
The priestesses and shamans of old knew that power without humility corrupts both the vessel and the vision. To carry her medicine is to carry a lineage - one of prayer, fire, and transformation - and to remember that the way we treat the medicine reflects the way we treat Mother Earth herself.
When approached with respect and correct preparation, her gifts are profound:🌕 gentle euphoria and grounding in the body🌙 release from pain and tension✨ deep, restorative sleep and vivid dreams🍄 emotional healing and ancestral connection🕊️ communion with the fae and the spirits of the forest
But when abused, rushed, or misunderstood, she turns fierce - not out of cruelty, but correction. Her bitterness is a shamanic teaching, showing us where we have strayed from balance, from gratitude, from right relationship.
To walk with her is to remember: the path of the Red Queen is not one of intoxication, but initiation.
“Walk with her as you would approach the Goddess herself,” whisper the faeries. “With devotion, discipline, and love.”
“For those who honor her with wisdom,” they add, “the Red Queen becomes not a poison, but a prayer - a living bridge between heaven and earth.... where the one's with gossamer wings become our guide”
🍄 The Blessing of the Red Queen
And so, beloved seeker of the twilight path, we come to the end of this telling - yet truly, it is only the beginning.
For the Red Queen is not a relic of the past nor a myth lost to the mists; she is alive in every forest glade, in the shimmer of the dew, in the pulse of Mother Earth as she dreams beneath her womb.
To walk with her is to remember that all true medicine is born of relationship - fire and patience, knowledge and humility, devotion and discernment. Through her alchemy, we are invited to become the vessel: to transmute our own wildness into wisdom, our haste into reverence, our curiosity into prayer.
Her tea teaches stillness. Her oils teach sacred anointment. Her smoke teaches surrender. Her elixirs teach sweetness born of restraint. And her silence - ah, her silence - teaches everything those with ears to hear shall be truly blessed to receive.
May you walk her path with open eyes and steady hands. May your heart be a clean chalice for her mysteries. And may you never forget that sacred work, like sacred medicine, begins not with taking - but with deep sacred listening.
“The fire is the teacher,” whisper the ancients. “The heart is the altar. The body, the prayer. And the Red Queen - she is both flame and fungi blessed
-Written by Renee Boje, with Love & Devotion for the Red Queen and her Faery Queendom
🌿 Join the Living Magic
If your heart stirs with the whispers of the forest and you long to walk the path of sacred reciprocity with the Green and Fungal Realms ✨ you are being called....
🌸 Plant Priestess Initiation — Introductory Ceremony
Would you like to learn more about the hidden queendom of the plant and mushroom spirit medicines of Mother Earth - and how to commune with them in reverence, ceremony, and song?
I invite you to my 🌸 Plant Priestess Initiation Introductory Ceremony, a sacred circle where we open the gateways to the unseen, awaken our senses to the voice of the living Earth, and remember what it means to walk as Priestesses of the Green Flame.
🌿 Plant Priestess Introductory Ceremony ✨Saturday, October 25th · 11 AM–5 PM · Wilson Creek, BC
Join us for a sacred day of sisterhood, song, and ceremony as we open our hearts with Cannabis as our plant ally and awaken our creative flow within this first introductory ceremony.
Includes:• Written teachings on the heart-opening properties of Cannabis & divine feminine mysteries• Medicine songs & shamanic drumming• Guided creative flow & sharing circle• Closing 1-hour sharing circle + potluck feast
This is being offered at a discounted asking sliding scale donation of $55 - $111 & is a $250 value. It serves as the first gateway in our 6-month Plant Priestess Journey which continues with the exploration of variety of a variety of Plant Spirit Medicines as our guiding light (Nov–Apr we take a break in December).
🌿 More Info & Reserve your spot:🔗 plantspiritmedicine.net/plant-priestess-training
❤️ Questions or to book a discovery call: Text Renee at 604-346-7376
You are invited to join us in a magical ceremony while the veils between the worlds are thin...
🌒 Samhain Priestess Ceremony: Honoring Freja
When the veil thins, ancestors and angels whisper. Join us Sun, Nov 2 | 1–3 PM, Wilson Creek, followed by a feast and sharing circle. We will call forth Freja, Mistress of Seiðr - radiant Goddess of Love, Rebirth, and Magic.
Together we will:• Drum & sing invocations - Consecrate Plant Spirit Medicine Sacraments• Practice Seiðr divination• Commune with our ancestors in light• Feast, share, & root our magic!
💛 Donation: $55–$111📧 plantspiritfairy@gmail.com | 📱 604-346-7376
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