{"product_id":"sacred-mushroomholy-grail-the-long-lost-origin-of-our-most-intriguing-legend-9780988412248","title":"Sacred Mushroom\/Holy Grail: The Long-lost Origin of Our Most Intriguing Legend","description":"\u003cp\u003eTerry Atkinson's study presents a fresh and startling theory about the true origin of one of our most enduring legends - the quest for the Holy Grail. Many authorities agree that the core theme of this seductive story, through all its metaphoric mutations over the centuries, is humanity's unrelenting desire for spiritual transcendence - for a state of heightened consciousness. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eOur modern concept of the Grail dates from the 15th Century story of the chalice from Christ's Last Supper, brought to the British Isles and then buried or somehow lost, and the subsequent holy mission of King Arthur's knights to retrieve the icon. But in traditional cultures of past millennia, where the legend originates, the goal of this sacred quest was a religious encounter of a different order. Our ancestors sought to reveal the presence of the divine being within through a mind-expanding experience rooted in nature. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eEvery version of the Grail legend features near-impenetrable coded references to its entheogenic origins - the ritual use of naturally occurring psychedelics to reach transcendence. Approaching the subject like a detective solving an ancient mystery, the author employs textual forensics to explain for the first time the meaning behind several aspects of the story that have puzzled scholars for centuries. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eUnlike such works as \u003ci\u003eHoly Blood, Holy Grail\u003c\/i\u003e (whose theory was used as the basis of \u003ci\u003eThe Da Vinci Code\u003c\/i\u003e), Atkinson's book delves deeply into Grail literature from the 12th Century, particularly the very earliest written work, Chr tien de Troyes' \u003ci\u003eParsifal\u003c\/i\u003e. Launching a detailed investigation of the legend's intriguing fish symbolism and examining the key role of shamanism in Celtic and other ancient cultures, the author also uses clues drawn from Grail scholar Jessie Weston's \u003ci\u003eFrom Ritual to Romance, \u003c\/i\u003e the classic study that inspired T. S. Eliot's \u003ci\u003eThe Waste Land\u003c\/i\u003e. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe Grail is more real than most recent explicators and fabricators imagine, but in a very different way from that assumed by the old-school searchers. The author's astonishing conclusion is that the hallucinogenic mushroom \u003ci\u003eAmanita muscaria\u003c\/i\u003e is the long-lost secret origin of the legend. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eTerry Atkinson has had a long career as a journalist, columnist and editor. For the \u003c\/i\u003eLos Angeles Times\u003ci\u003e he created and edited the \u003c\/i\u003e\"Home Tech\"\u003ci\u003e section and wrote several columns including \u003c\/i\u003e\"L.A. Beat\"\u003ci\u003e and \u003c\/i\u003e\"Sound and Vision.\"\u003ci\u003e For the L.A. Times Syndicate he wrote the weekly feature \u003c\/i\u003e\"Sound Advice.\"\u003ci\u003e His work has also appeared in other publications, including \u003c\/i\u003eRolling Stone\u003ci\u003e and \u003c\/i\u003eAmerican Film\u003ci\u003e. Atkinson's wide range of interests led to the discoveries revealed in \u003c\/i\u003eSacred Mushroom\/Holy Grail: The Long-lost Origin of Our Most Intriguing Legend.\u003ci\u003e He lives in Portland, Oregon.\u003c\/i\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Jorvik Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50924989284626,"sku":"9780988412248","price":13.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_fa829a8f-6f1d-43ad-810e-201468c30ee8.jpg?v=1738974523","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/sacred-mushroomholy-grail-the-long-lost-origin-of-our-most-intriguing-legend-9780988412248","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}