The Rig Veda, the earliest sacred text of the ancient Indo-Europeans, includes dozens of hymns in praise of this psychedelic plant which, when drunk, takes its subjects to the realm of the gods. But, in the later Hindu tradition, soma is declared to have been lost, and its use abandoned. The botanical identity of soma remains one of the great unsolved mysteries of the ancient world. Blue Tide tells the story of the search for soma, and uses a diverse range of approaches—travel and ethnography, science and narrative history, detective story and first-person drug experiences—to examine the question of its nature and identity. The search takes the author from drug rituals in Brazilian churches to the high Indus Valley in the Himalayas. In doing so, it sheds light not just on the identity of soma but on the broader mystery of the original relationship between psychedelic drugs and religion. Both claim to offer the key to experiencing the divine, and their histories are characterized by struggle and conflict.
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"BLUE TIDE, more than any other book I've read, satisfactorily answers the plethora of queries concerning the history of drugs as a means to soul searching, attaining spiritual enlightenment, and getting off one's face. Read it before you get high. Read it before you die" -- Howard Marks, author of MR. NICE
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Fascinating Gonzo search for the original mind-blowing drug.,
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This review is from: Blue Tide: The Search for Soma (Paperback)
This unorthodox book combines anthropological detective story, cultural history, pharmaceutical research as the author recounts his quest to find Soma, the original drug used in ancient religious rituals for attaining altered states of ecstasy... a drug that may be extinct. We are taken on a wild and enlightening journey through the annals of myth, religion and altered states of reality. This was not about just searching for the ultimate high, but a genuine philosophical quest to understand the ineffable, and the means ancient peoples used to attain it. Highly recommended.
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Inside This Book
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First Sentence:
In the beginning, there was soma. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
search for soma, original soma, botanical identity, blue tide, fly agaric, mushroom use, psilocybin mushrooms, soma plant, plant drugs Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Moreau de Tours, Central Asia, Santo Daime, Golden Age, Gordon Hillman, Middle East, Peganum Harmala, Marco Polo, Rig Veda, Drug of the Assassins, Negev Bedouin, New World, Syrian Rue, Hom Yasht, Native American Church, South American, Aldous Huxley, Arda Wiraz Namaq, Eleusinian Mysteries, Fatimid Caliphate, Master Irineu, Near East, Sir William Jones, Zoroaster's Gathas New!
Books on Related Topics | Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
In the beginning, there was soma. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
search for soma, original soma, botanical identity, blue tide, fly agaric, mushroom use, psilocybin mushrooms, soma plant, plant drugs Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Moreau de Tours, Central Asia, Santo Daime, Golden Age, Gordon Hillman, Middle East, Peganum Harmala, Marco Polo, Rig Veda, Drug of the Assassins, Negev Bedouin, New World, Syrian Rue, Hom Yasht, Native American Church, South American, Aldous Huxley, Arda Wiraz Namaq, Eleusinian Mysteries, Fatimid Caliphate, Master Irineu, Near East, Sir William Jones, Zoroaster's Gathas New!
Books on Related Topics | Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Citations (learn more)
2
books
cite this book:
- 1900: A Fin-de-Siecle Reader (Twentieth Century Classics) by Various in Front Matter
- Tripping: An Anthology of True-Life Psychedelic Adventures by Charles Hayes in Back Matter
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