The Archaic Revival: Speculations on Psychedelic Mushrooms, the Amazon, Virtual Reality, UFOs, Evolution, Shamanism, the Rebirth of the Goddess, and the End of History [Paperback]

Terence Mckenna (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 8, 1992

Cited by the L.A. Weekly as "the culture's foremost spokesman for the psychedelic experience," Terrence McKenna is an underground legend as a brilliant raconteur, adventurer, and expert on the experiential use of mind-altering plants.

In these essays, interviews, and narrative adventures, McKenna takes us on a mesmerizing journey deep into the Amazon as well as into the hidden recesses of the human psyche and the outer limits of our culture, giving us startling visions of the past and future.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

McKenna's ( Invisible Landscape ) wild theories about how hallucinogenic experiences are the last best hope of a world gone mad are at the center of these essays and interviews, most previously published. McKenna interprets three decades of flying through the deepest and highest levels of consciousness, encountering extraterrestrials, unknown languages and "the Other," the self seeking new levels of interior human existence. Much of his experience comes from trips--physical and drug-induced--to and with Amazonian Indian shamans. McKenna is best when he describes the multicolored landscapes and backgrounds of his visions and their settings. Such description, though, is rare; the author serves mostly as millenarian missionary, predicting an apocalypse for the year 2012. He gives short shrift to the demonstrable healing properties of the Amazon drugs, neglecting the most persuasive data as to why natural hallucinogens ought to be taken more seriously. He opts instead to promote hallucination as a messianic panacea for the individual psyche, not unlike the New Agers and pop psychologists against whom he rails incessantly.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

McKenna has been exploring the "Wholly Other" for 25 years. In this spiritual journey, he ponders shamanism, buddhism, and enthnopharmacology. By the phrase "archaic revival," McKenna refers to a return to shamanism, which he believes can be enhanced by current scientific practices. The next level of spiritual transformation, he explains, is achieved by the intelligent use of psychedelics and should be performed only by thoughtful explorers rather than experimenters, scientific or otherwise. The ideas presented in this collection of interviews, speeches, and articles are radical even now, and will challenge the reader. There are many insights on current spiritual movements such as goddess worship, deep ecology, space beings, and virtual reality. Recommended.
- Gail Wood, Montgomery Coll. Lib., Germantown, Md.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: HarperCollins; 1st edition (May 8, 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0062506137
• ISBN-13: 978-0062506139
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (30 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #100,056 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

38 of 40 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A VALUABLE and IMPORTANT book to read, June 29, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Archaic Revival: Speculations on Psychedelic Mushrooms, the Amazon, Virtual Reality, UFOs, Evolution, Shamanism, the Rebirth of the Goddess, and the End of History (Paperback)

The above one-star review proves why it is necessary to read this book. Dismissing ideas because we may be ridiculed for taking them seriously is what landed us in this undeniable global mess. Whether or not shrooms are ETs or artifacts of ETs is not the issue. A quote of Terence's: "I like to show people how things can be seen differently, and if things can be seen THAT differently, in what other ways can they be seen differently", because staying the course is not working. Open-mindedness is Terence's message, and his convincing proof of the viability of his "crazy" ideas will go a long way toward opening you up to new ideas. Another quote: "It doesn't do you any good to know that in some computer somewhere there are equations that perfectly model or perfectly don't model something else. The only understanding of the universe that will do you any good is your own understanding, because it's you you have to live with, and it's you you have to die with.... the last dance you dance, you dance alone"

28 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Read this if you're interested in drugs or mysticism., June 1, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Archaic Revival: Speculations on Psychedelic Mushrooms, the Amazon, Virtual Reality, UFOs, Evolution, Shamanism, the Rebirth of the Goddess, and the End of History (Paperback)

This is a great book to read if you feel the least bit innundated by the whole UFO, alien, and/or E.T. hype. McKenna's view of UFO sightings and other related phenomena as an affect of a "Jungian" archetype of the collective unconscious derived from our modern feeling of oppression by science and objectivity is definitely a breath of fresh air in the midst of all these guys who claimed to have been abducted or have proof of alien existence.

Also interesting in this book is McKenna's view of human evolution as being facilitated by the discovery and use of psychedelic mushrooms. The only part about McKenna's views expressed in this book that I had a little bit of trouble with is his reluctance to validate mystical traditions of the world that don't or never have used psychedelic drugs as a part of their tradition. Terrance is definitely coming from a subjective realm in his description of his psychedelic experience (even though the experience can be confirmed to some degree by others who trip). Therefore, I believe that he should not discount non-psychedelic mystical traditions without having experienced the level of subjectivity that he obviously has with psychedelic drugs. Great book!!

20 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Some people would like all copies of this book burnt, May 8, 2005

By 

Mister Smyth (Albany, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Archaic Revival: Speculations on Psychedelic Mushrooms, the Amazon, Virtual Reality, UFOs, Evolution, Shamanism, the Rebirth of the Goddess, and the End of History (Paperback)

I enjoyed this book, as it is so much easier to read than McKenna's other works (some of which are as dry and technical as scientific journals) -- if you are interested in hearing what Mister McKenna has to say, definitely start with this one. The chapters mostly consist of essays which had been published in various new age magazines, as well as transcripts of several interviews with the author, so it all flows rather nicely. Terrence McKenna is widely acknowledged to be one of the world's foremost authorities on the shamanic use of botanical hallucinogens, and unlike Leary and Castenada, he is a true scholar, who apparently is speaking in earnest about a topic he feels is very important. Probably the most significant argument McKenna makes is that the Church and State have colluded in suppressing, penalizing, and attempting to actually eradicate anyone who proposes that the altered perception which occurs upon the ingestion of these alkaloids is, in fact, essential to understanding the true nature of the universe. He states that the Church does not want the average person to have direct access to "God", nor does the State want the average person to be shook out of their complacency and begin to ask difficult questions. These alkaloids are a catalyst which is clearly dangerous to the dominant power structure of our society -- thus they are prohibited. He makes a number of other amusing statements and observations as well. However, several times throughout this book, McKenna started to get rather bizarre (understandable), like when he was presenting computer generated graphs which purported to show exactly when the world would end (and we would all be "transformed into energy beings" or some such), and when he began singing the praises of DMT -- about the effects of which I've heard some rather horrible things (imagine being trapped in a H. R. Geiger painting). If you are serious about studying the multidimensional aspects of the world around you, check out this book, which states that the universe within one's mind is just as interesting, and perhaps even more accessible.