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The Sacred Mushroom and The Cross
Where did God come from? What do the bible stories really tell us? Who or what was Jesus Christ? This book challenges everything we think we know about the nature of religion. The ancient fertility cult at the heart of Christianity. The living power of cultic rites and symbols. The sacred mushroom as the emblem and embodiment of divinity. The secret meaning of biblical myths. The language of religion that links us to our ancestors. The Sacred Mushroom and the Cross sets out John Allegro's quest through a family tree of languages to find the truth about where Christianity came from.
622 pages, Kindle Edition
First published May 18, 1970
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 232 reviews
January 31, 2014
For such a dry book, this one really got my imagination going. Allegro is the philologist who translated The Dead Sea Scrolls. After initial acclaim, he was ostracized for carrying that work to its conclusion.
He keeps the book very much on topic. It would be extremely easy to find several rabbit holes to go down. His only concern is the words. He is not a psychedelic proponent like Terrance McKenna. He is not a biblical scholar or a Christian. He only wants to understand the oldest languages that we know about and they just happen to be used to write these religious and Greek myths.
His work is very well researched. Half of the book is bibliography. That being said, the work is incomplete. He lays some very solid groundwork for what could be an entire new field of study. There are a lot of asterisks. The sheer number of references and the obvious intentional obfuscation is compelling.
Imagine people in 5314 AD trying to make sense of a 2014 text message that was intentionally obfuscated like one that might be used to arrange a drug deal. If they are only armed with a Webster's dictionary, good luck to them.
If you ever have a psychedelic experience and you are at all familiar with biblical myths, you get the vague feeling that this must be what they were talking about. Allegro shows you with the language that it is exactly what they were talking about. It makes more sense that our ancestors believed that having mushroom fueled orgies in the woods would transfer their powers of biological fertility to their crops than for them to have been scared of a bearded man in the sky. It also shines light on to the potential reasons the first Christians were persecuted so by the Romans.
I'm glad I read it, but it drags a bit. I found myself ready for it to be over towards the end. It started to remind me of this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t96R1...
He keeps the book very much on topic. It would be extremely easy to find several rabbit holes to go down. His only concern is the words. He is not a psychedelic proponent like Terrance McKenna. He is not a biblical scholar or a Christian. He only wants to understand the oldest languages that we know about and they just happen to be used to write these religious and Greek myths.
His work is very well researched. Half of the book is bibliography. That being said, the work is incomplete. He lays some very solid groundwork for what could be an entire new field of study. There are a lot of asterisks. The sheer number of references and the obvious intentional obfuscation is compelling.
Imagine people in 5314 AD trying to make sense of a 2014 text message that was intentionally obfuscated like one that might be used to arrange a drug deal. If they are only armed with a Webster's dictionary, good luck to them.
If you ever have a psychedelic experience and you are at all familiar with biblical myths, you get the vague feeling that this must be what they were talking about. Allegro shows you with the language that it is exactly what they were talking about. It makes more sense that our ancestors believed that having mushroom fueled orgies in the woods would transfer their powers of biological fertility to their crops than for them to have been scared of a bearded man in the sky. It also shines light on to the potential reasons the first Christians were persecuted so by the Romans.
I'm glad I read it, but it drags a bit. I found myself ready for it to be over towards the end. It started to remind me of this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t96R1...
November 17, 2012
Heavy going and really this man is a scholar. The fact is it ended his career because people prefer a simple lie to a complicated truth.
I thought the book was astounding.
I thought the book was astounding.
August 13, 2011
Wow. John Marco Allegro was the only non-Catholic member to help translate The Dead Sea Scrolls, and when he found the Sumerian glyphs that represented mushrooms and peered deeper into the text, he underwent an existential reforming, radically changing and casting off his Protestant beliefs. Yet as I read this amazing scholar's main work, I couldn't help but think that he was pressing his new-found dogma too hard, and that it would fall upon deaf ears. While the book has inspired many to look deeper into the amanita muscaria mushroom, I believe it is doubtful that any Christian deeply rooted in their beliefs could look at this book as anything more than the ravings of a demon possessed mad man. Were the stories in the old testament truly hidden messages to initiated shamans? Allegro points out that early Priests did not want to give up the secret ingredients to their sacramental potions that could contact the spirit world, so they hid them in stories that the main public could appreciate while novice Priests could understand a deeper meaning. "To them who have ears, let them hear," spoke Christ. As scrolls are eaten in a book of Eziekial, and a coin is found in the mouth of a fish, Allegro asserts that all these were obviously pointing to the Amanita Muscaria... not to mention the mushroom shaped penis. However, the book is a fascinating read to anyone who is open to new ideas, however absurd they may be. It is important to remember that Allegro was the foremost Sumerian scholar and that he was able to see the scrolls first hand.
December 9, 2015
This book is not an "easy read" in any sense of the phrase, but it is a book that cannot be denied.
Originally published in May of 1970, it was attacked and buried - out of print for nearly 40 years!
It's author - John M. Allegro - with Masters degrees in Ancient Languages, Hebrew, and Ancient Studies - he was THE MAN asked to translate the Dead Sea Scrolls!
Yet this book ended his career.
This book was the result of 15 years of research and study, and yet critics dismissed it without even justifying their dismissal.
No critic was as qualified as Allegro, so all they could say is "I'm not qualified to comment on the philology, but those who are disagree with Allegro..."
In the end, you have to read this book for yourself and form your own opinion.
If you take the time, it will blow your mind!
Originally published in May of 1970, it was attacked and buried - out of print for nearly 40 years!
It's author - John M. Allegro - with Masters degrees in Ancient Languages, Hebrew, and Ancient Studies - he was THE MAN asked to translate the Dead Sea Scrolls!
Yet this book ended his career.
This book was the result of 15 years of research and study, and yet critics dismissed it without even justifying their dismissal.
No critic was as qualified as Allegro, so all they could say is "I'm not qualified to comment on the philology, but those who are disagree with Allegro..."
In the end, you have to read this book for yourself and form your own opinion.
If you take the time, it will blow your mind!
July 22, 2008
Astoundingly absurd. The quest to find references to the amanita muscaria in Sumerian hidden in the Greek text of the New Testament must have originated in a little personal testing of the mushroom.
December 17, 2009
When taking my first Hebrew Scriptures course, our professor, Grinnell College Chaplain Dennis Haas began a lecture with a display of this book, saying how he had been shocked by its thesis that the roots of Judaism and Christianity were in a psychedelic fertility cult. John Allegro, its author, he noted, was a very well respected scholar, one of the first involved in the study of the Qumran scrolls. That such an expert could make such claims was quite upsetting.
Years later, having gotten two degrees in religion and having read some of Allegro's other work, I returned to this book, hoping that I now knew enough to evaluate it.
I did not. To critically appropriate Allegro's arguments one must be master of a whole host of ancient languages, beginning with Sumerian, the oldest written language known. Although I'd picked up some Greek, I'd not even begun to study Hebrew, not to mention the other, older languages.
What I could appreciate, however, was Allegro's defense of the notion that much of what appears to be obscure and outrageous ancient religious literature is, in fact, experientially based and relevant to the concerns of real life. In other words, the use of psychotropic plants could certainly result in strong beliefs about other worlds or dimensions, even of other sentiences, and fertility is certainly of major concern to all agricultural communities.
While this book will be beyond most readers as it was for me, most of Allegro's other works are quite accessible.
Years later, having gotten two degrees in religion and having read some of Allegro's other work, I returned to this book, hoping that I now knew enough to evaluate it.
I did not. To critically appropriate Allegro's arguments one must be master of a whole host of ancient languages, beginning with Sumerian, the oldest written language known. Although I'd picked up some Greek, I'd not even begun to study Hebrew, not to mention the other, older languages.
What I could appreciate, however, was Allegro's defense of the notion that much of what appears to be obscure and outrageous ancient religious literature is, in fact, experientially based and relevant to the concerns of real life. In other words, the use of psychotropic plants could certainly result in strong beliefs about other worlds or dimensions, even of other sentiences, and fertility is certainly of major concern to all agricultural communities.
While this book will be beyond most readers as it was for me, most of Allegro's other works are quite accessible.
June 15, 2011
I picked this up at a garage sale, TG I didn't pay very much for it. I later found out that this book was the downfall of Allegro and ruined his professional reputation. The man was a brilliant ancient linguist, but really went off the deep end with this one. Many people believe he deliberately wrote this sensationalistic book to generate badly needed money. I do know he was instrumental in bringing the errors (or perhaps deceptions) concerning the Dead Sea Scrolls interpretation to light, and for that I am grateful to him. But this book? Perhaps he only wrote it after having partaken of the mushroom himself.
See http://books.google.com/books?id=ZLSj...
It will give you leads to articles about what his colleagues thought of this book.
Now let me be clear about one thing. I am open to the concept of Summarian origins for many old testament stories. But rather than deception, I think perhaps the old testament writers simply believed it was the universal truth & felt no need to credit any foreign sources. But veiled references to secret ceremonies with "knowledge"from having partaken in a hallucinogenic substance? No.
See http://books.google.com/books?id=ZLSj...
It will give you leads to articles about what his colleagues thought of this book.
Now let me be clear about one thing. I am open to the concept of Summarian origins for many old testament stories. But rather than deception, I think perhaps the old testament writers simply believed it was the universal truth & felt no need to credit any foreign sources. But veiled references to secret ceremonies with "knowledge"from having partaken in a hallucinogenic substance? No.
July 2, 2019
This book starts with a hefty dose of genitally themed etimology before going into cults and mushtooms.
Is it interesting? Yes.
Do you learn multiple ways to say "penis" in various ancient languages? Yes.
But it also is hard to follow and needlessly long.
Skip about 100 pages after the first mention of "celestial semen" it'll make it a lot easier.
Is it interesting? Yes.
Do you learn multiple ways to say "penis" in various ancient languages? Yes.
But it also is hard to follow and needlessly long.
Skip about 100 pages after the first mention of "celestial semen" it'll make it a lot easier.
October 3, 2026
The main points of this book could fit on the back of a napkin and this should've been an 11 hour read. 🤦 Took 15 chapters of fence-sitting to finally hear the author's opinions; most of this book was failed attempts to conflate fertility cults to mushrooms. 🍄
It's clear the author knows his stuff with regard to linguistics and history, but the "back-of-cover" teaser vastly over hyped this and set expectations for a more exciting read than this sad, stale excuse of a book. 🫠
It's clear the author knows his stuff with regard to linguistics and history, but the "back-of-cover" teaser vastly over hyped this and set expectations for a more exciting read than this sad, stale excuse of a book. 🫠
April 16, 2023
You know how when the song Mellow Yellow came out, lots of people thought it was coded instructions for smoking banana peels? The thesis of this book is that, in a similar vein, the New Testament and parts of the Old Testament were written to share coded information about the safe use of mushrooms.
That might sound insane, but the book is well researched and makes a compelling case. Most of the evidence presented is linguistic. the Dead Sea Scrolls have allowed scholars to trace the etymology of some Greek and Aramaic words that we previously didn't have roots for. The author has found dozens of instances where this new etymological context uncovers possible references to mushrooms. Some of these are in names like Barjona, Iscariat, and even Yahweh. Others are in word play. For example, when one of the apostles says he teaches "Christ crucified, a stumbling block for the gentiles and a folly for the Jews", the author shows how 'stumbling block' and 'folly' can both be puns for mushroom names.
Overall I found it really interesting, although it took some large logical leaps in some places. The only reason I am not giving it 5 stars is because it's very dense and it would take a PhD in linguistics to fully evaluate the author's claims, so I'm left not really knowing how much of the book to believe. It gave me a lot to think about though.
That might sound insane, but the book is well researched and makes a compelling case. Most of the evidence presented is linguistic. the Dead Sea Scrolls have allowed scholars to trace the etymology of some Greek and Aramaic words that we previously didn't have roots for. The author has found dozens of instances where this new etymological context uncovers possible references to mushrooms. Some of these are in names like Barjona, Iscariat, and even Yahweh. Others are in word play. For example, when one of the apostles says he teaches "Christ crucified, a stumbling block for the gentiles and a folly for the Jews", the author shows how 'stumbling block' and 'folly' can both be puns for mushroom names.
Overall I found it really interesting, although it took some large logical leaps in some places. The only reason I am not giving it 5 stars is because it's very dense and it would take a PhD in linguistics to fully evaluate the author's claims, so I'm left not really knowing how much of the book to believe. It gave me a lot to think about though.
Did Not Finish
July 26, 2021The Sacred Mushroom 🍄 and the Cross couldn't possibly be more interesting. It is more readable now after Brian Muraresku's "Immortality Key", but I got to admit that I have no idea what to do with it. It's a work of philology, a controversial one at that, and I'm in no position to judge. I remember seeing a 'documentary' on YouTube when I was like 17, which for about 3 hours, documented mushroom symbology in various parts of the Catholic Church and beyond.. Obviously, given its effects, it is almost impossible that mushrooms aren't involved in the foundations of various, if not most, religions. Is the bible a cryptic work hiding the secrets of a mushroom cult tho? Which went undiscovered for like 2000 years until -some dude- unravels it single-handedly? Possibly......? I don't know. However it was rather scholarly, would be interested in seeing what author authors and scholars has to say about this book.
May 15, 2024
All hail the mighty penis.
I think this book mentions the word Penis close to a thousand times and I laughed every time because I listened to the audio book.
I sought this book out because I've been interested in the history of religion, and ancient cultures. There is a lot of controversy around this book when it was released and it took me until about the last 3rd to understand why, as the author questions based on the evidence presented in this book, the truth of the Bible and the aim of the new testament to deliberately deceive its audience.
I am in no position to argue for or against anything presented here. The last third of the book was the most interesting. I think I was hoping for a little bit more insight into how the use of these ancient mushrooms impacted the mindset of the users, and less about how the mushrooms themselves were viewed and worshiped.
3 stars due to no fault at all of the material, just a personal gauge of how interesting I found the content to be. I understand the place this book holds in history and it's relevance, but that aspect of the books story is more fascinating than the content here. For a linguistics fanatic though, this is probably a 5 star penis......
I think this book mentions the word Penis close to a thousand times and I laughed every time because I listened to the audio book.
I sought this book out because I've been interested in the history of religion, and ancient cultures. There is a lot of controversy around this book when it was released and it took me until about the last 3rd to understand why, as the author questions based on the evidence presented in this book, the truth of the Bible and the aim of the new testament to deliberately deceive its audience.
I am in no position to argue for or against anything presented here. The last third of the book was the most interesting. I think I was hoping for a little bit more insight into how the use of these ancient mushrooms impacted the mindset of the users, and less about how the mushrooms themselves were viewed and worshiped.
3 stars due to no fault at all of the material, just a personal gauge of how interesting I found the content to be. I understand the place this book holds in history and it's relevance, but that aspect of the books story is more fascinating than the content here. For a linguistics fanatic though, this is probably a 5 star penis......
August 30, 2020
The reading experience was a 1 star experience but because I respect the man and his ideas, I'll bump it up to 2
If you're not in the linguistics field or have no interest in ancient communities and their writings and just thought that mushrooms are cool and the idea of psyhadelics being at the root of religions was cool - don't do it, watch a video or something.
It's filled with ancient word spellings and how those words changed trough the ages and got combined into different words and it's more boring than it sounds. And he makes it sound that 90% of the ancient words are somehow connected with fertility (Everything resembles a penis/vagina/intercourse/ect.) and a mushroom resembles both a penis and a vagina, so, in a sense, 90% of the words are related to mushrooms. And that's the book, stretched trough 200 pages. Even got quite annoyed at a few parts, because it seemed like the guy was just pushing it a bit too much.
And suuure, you could find a deeper meaning there and maybe everything connects quite nicely and the book ain't just how everything somehow resembles a penis and/or a mushroom. But damn is that deeper meaning hard to find when one can barely get trough a chapter without dying of boredom. Certainly not a casual read!
If you're not in the linguistics field or have no interest in ancient communities and their writings and just thought that mushrooms are cool and the idea of psyhadelics being at the root of religions was cool - don't do it, watch a video or something.
It's filled with ancient word spellings and how those words changed trough the ages and got combined into different words and it's more boring than it sounds. And he makes it sound that 90% of the ancient words are somehow connected with fertility (Everything resembles a penis/vagina/intercourse/ect.) and a mushroom resembles both a penis and a vagina, so, in a sense, 90% of the words are related to mushrooms. And that's the book, stretched trough 200 pages. Even got quite annoyed at a few parts, because it seemed like the guy was just pushing it a bit too much.
And suuure, you could find a deeper meaning there and maybe everything connects quite nicely and the book ain't just how everything somehow resembles a penis and/or a mushroom. But damn is that deeper meaning hard to find when one can barely get trough a chapter without dying of boredom. Certainly not a casual read!
June 17, 2012
I have been a fan of Allegro for some time so I was already aware of his theories before reading this book. I did enjoy it, but some parts were a struggle to get through, especially the many Sumerian and Semitic names for fungus! I believe there is a lot of truth in his ideas, however like so many of the alternative thinkers out there, he starts to see his theory in every aspect of Abrahamic spiritualism. I enjoyed his opinions on the early Islamic movements in connection to magical shrooms very much, and I loved learning some Sumerian language. However I do not think he has ever taken shrooms, I think if he did the book would have been very different. I think maybe too much focus is put onto the amanita muscaria mushroom, and although it causes some effects, it is nowhere near as powerful as some of the other fungus known to our prehistoric shamans. Through the use of 'drugs' in our diet at the earliest part of our history a new world outlook was born, art and religion can trace its origins to such a time, The Sacred Mushroom and the Cross is a good book to read if you are interested to see how this very ancient knowledge lingered before becoming lost in translation.
March 21, 2010
One day people will look back on this book and realize that it was the beginning of the revelation of the true history of RELIGION and Christianity!!! .........one day.
March 9, 2024
Really hard to know how to proceed after this. It’s either potent material for devil’s advocacy, or something I now need to study for the rest of my life.
April 7, 2021
An extremely difficult book to get through. The concept is great, but even though the book is intended for the general reader, it fails to accomplish that. Any unique idea or point that the author tries to make, is soon bogged down by a technical linguistic explanation. The author is so specialized (in ancient Sumerian linguistics) that the reader has to take his word for it when he shows his evidence. There are many references, but the general reader, myself included, is not given the tools to connect the information to the concepts in the text.
The general idea is simple to grasp: current religions- or cults as they are accurately referred to, are products of older fertility cults. The proof of this thesis, lies in the ‘clues’ the writers of the religious included in their transcriptions of the bible. Many of the names and events can, supposedly, be traced back to the names of mushrooms or fertility cult rituals. The idea seems feasible, but again, much of the book is just supporting this claim with drawn out, linguistic explanations that tire out the reader.
It also highlights how easy it is to draw wildly different ideas from the inchoate mess that is the bible.
The general idea is simple to grasp: current religions- or cults as they are accurately referred to, are products of older fertility cults. The proof of this thesis, lies in the ‘clues’ the writers of the religious included in their transcriptions of the bible. Many of the names and events can, supposedly, be traced back to the names of mushrooms or fertility cult rituals. The idea seems feasible, but again, much of the book is just supporting this claim with drawn out, linguistic explanations that tire out the reader.
It also highlights how easy it is to draw wildly different ideas from the inchoate mess that is the bible.
Read
February 6, 2009In this book, the author goes back to the roots of civilization in Sumeria to trace the use of psychedelic mushrooms as tools for divine revelation, and breaks down the original language of the Bible to show, among other things, the story of Jesus to be a thinly-veiled, word-play filled chronicle of merits of the sacred mushroom.
It deals heavily with ancient languages, religions, and drugs, so if you're interested in any combination of those things, I totally recommend this book. Obviously, this book ruffled a lot of feathers when it arrived on the scene, so there's books written to debunk what's brought up, so there seems to be a whole lot to explore regarding this subject.
Also, WHY THE FUCK ISN'T THIS BOOK IN PRINT!? Do people ever bootleg books like they do records? I could print a new edition of this book, market it to head shops, etc. and make a fortune, 'cause I don't think many people, especially young folk interested in mind-expanding substances, are aware of Allego's suggestions.
It deals heavily with ancient languages, religions, and drugs, so if you're interested in any combination of those things, I totally recommend this book. Obviously, this book ruffled a lot of feathers when it arrived on the scene, so there's books written to debunk what's brought up, so there seems to be a whole lot to explore regarding this subject.
Also, WHY THE FUCK ISN'T THIS BOOK IN PRINT!? Do people ever bootleg books like they do records? I could print a new edition of this book, market it to head shops, etc. and make a fortune, 'cause I don't think many people, especially young folk interested in mind-expanding substances, are aware of Allego's suggestions.
December 8, 2019
TL;DR: everything is a penis.
In more serious note, it's an interesting theory how religious and cultural merits were inspired by psychedelic experiences from magic mushrooms. However, the more you progress with the book, the more it seems like the author got obsessed with 'you see what you want to see' syndrome. There are a lot of relations drawn and conclusions made about things, that really lack any evidence, except for justification of specific world view.
In more serious note, it's an interesting theory how religious and cultural merits were inspired by psychedelic experiences from magic mushrooms. However, the more you progress with the book, the more it seems like the author got obsessed with 'you see what you want to see' syndrome. There are a lot of relations drawn and conclusions made about things, that really lack any evidence, except for justification of specific world view.
August 22, 2023
Honestly fuck this book just read Immortality Key by Brian Murescu or Food of the Gods by Terrence McKenna. Those books are much quicker to the point and are far more engaging.
In Sacred Mushroom and the Cross I had the impression that Allegro was just fully making shit up on pretty much every page. Lots of unexplored assumptions taken for granted which make it hard to read without feeling like your brain may be rotting out.
In Sacred Mushroom and the Cross I had the impression that Allegro was just fully making shit up on pretty much every page. Lots of unexplored assumptions taken for granted which make it hard to read without feeling like your brain may be rotting out.
September 2, 2025
Uhm what did I just read
July 18, 2025
oh was i going to rate the "new testament was an encoded document and early christianity was a cult surrounding usage of amanita muscaria and also every single word ever really means The Sumerian Mushroom Phrase or penis or vulva" book anything less than five stars? fucking utterly obsessed with this, i love made up bullshit totally insane scholarship especially when it comes to ancient history. this rocked. sorry to the fertility-cult-of-ancient-times people, i believe some of your beliefs but you do just go a bit far!
here is what i have Learned:
- the Mushroom represents castor's penis holding up his brother pollux's womb. in fact many mythic and biblical brothers are represented by the mushroom, including cain and abel as well, where cain represents the cap and abel the stem. this is obvious because cain represents the womb and abel the penis. because of the etymology of their names. and the mushroom is the image of the penis holding up the burden of the vulva. so clearly this means brothers. well i'm on board!
- the cross represents The Mushroom
- all ancient gods had names that either meant penis or vulva. or mushroom
- dionysus was actually originally a god of the Mushroom
- ancient mentions of hellebore were actually talking about the Mushroom. ancient mentions of hashish were actually talking about The Mushroom. why? Ummmmm. seven days. well you see the seven days
- the crown of thorns on jesus' head = circumcised penis = the little crown or ring around the stem of a fully grown mushroom = the headdress certain priests in the bible wear
- Egypt = the Mushroom . because there are two parts of it
- fist of thomas in jesus' wound = penis in vagina = hip socket = axe joint = mushroom
- again i must stress that he believes castor and pollux are a "mushroom pair" and says "since castor and pollux are basically mushroom demons" (we CANNOT assume this) because well obviously these twins represent penis in vagina sex. Obviously
- divorce also means mushrooms
- "Christ" actually means "smeared with semen"
- again, every single word and character in the new and old testament and a lot of greek texts are either descended from or related to the Sumerian Mushroom Word, or are a pun on the Sumerian Mushroom Word. because early christianity wqas a fly agaric cult. even though he admits there's likely fully no actual mentions of mushrooms in the new testament
- every word either means The Mushroom or the penis or the vulva, but you see the penis and vulva represent the Mushroom and the Mushroom represents the penis and vulva
- god is dead, everything is penis, and jesus was a mushroom (i swear he didn't even talk about jesus as much as i expected him to. so many tangents. i literally couldn't explain to you how jesus christ specifically represents amanita muscaria)
- thank god there is a leo abse of early christian studies
btw apparently amanita muscaria didn't even grow in the middle east during this period.
for some reason he ends the book talking through bits of Revelations that talk about everyone dying and then going 'Strange, for a religion that claims to preach universal love, hm?' like a reddit atheist. WHAT THE FUCK DOES THAT HAVE TO DO WITH THE MUSHROOM???
listened to the audiobook at work, and it actually made me more productive. utterly obsessed with how the narrator had the most cynical, disapproving, disbelieving tone he possibly could while reading all of this bullshit. i wish he actually read out what the sumerian words sort of sounded like though, rather than the letters in order, because i can't visualise the words like that quickly enough and so allegro sounded even more insane than he is already. i would be lying if i said there was nothing here that i don't think is of value, though, as the stuff around wasted semen and christianity is undoubtedly true, and some of the ideas about seed and god and rain and semen and mushrooms i found sort of interesting.
highly HIGHLY recommend! i will not be putting this on any of my nonfiction shelves.
here is what i have Learned:
- the Mushroom represents castor's penis holding up his brother pollux's womb. in fact many mythic and biblical brothers are represented by the mushroom, including cain and abel as well, where cain represents the cap and abel the stem. this is obvious because cain represents the womb and abel the penis. because of the etymology of their names. and the mushroom is the image of the penis holding up the burden of the vulva. so clearly this means brothers. well i'm on board!
- the cross represents The Mushroom
- all ancient gods had names that either meant penis or vulva. or mushroom
- dionysus was actually originally a god of the Mushroom
- ancient mentions of hellebore were actually talking about the Mushroom. ancient mentions of hashish were actually talking about The Mushroom. why? Ummmmm. seven days. well you see the seven days
- the crown of thorns on jesus' head = circumcised penis = the little crown or ring around the stem of a fully grown mushroom = the headdress certain priests in the bible wear
- Egypt = the Mushroom . because there are two parts of it
- fist of thomas in jesus' wound = penis in vagina = hip socket = axe joint = mushroom
- again i must stress that he believes castor and pollux are a "mushroom pair" and says "since castor and pollux are basically mushroom demons" (we CANNOT assume this) because well obviously these twins represent penis in vagina sex. Obviously
- divorce also means mushrooms
- "Christ" actually means "smeared with semen"
- again, every single word and character in the new and old testament and a lot of greek texts are either descended from or related to the Sumerian Mushroom Word, or are a pun on the Sumerian Mushroom Word. because early christianity wqas a fly agaric cult. even though he admits there's likely fully no actual mentions of mushrooms in the new testament
- every word either means The Mushroom or the penis or the vulva, but you see the penis and vulva represent the Mushroom and the Mushroom represents the penis and vulva
- god is dead, everything is penis, and jesus was a mushroom (i swear he didn't even talk about jesus as much as i expected him to. so many tangents. i literally couldn't explain to you how jesus christ specifically represents amanita muscaria)
- thank god there is a leo abse of early christian studies
btw apparently amanita muscaria didn't even grow in the middle east during this period.
for some reason he ends the book talking through bits of Revelations that talk about everyone dying and then going 'Strange, for a religion that claims to preach universal love, hm?' like a reddit atheist. WHAT THE FUCK DOES THAT HAVE TO DO WITH THE MUSHROOM???
listened to the audiobook at work, and it actually made me more productive. utterly obsessed with how the narrator had the most cynical, disapproving, disbelieving tone he possibly could while reading all of this bullshit. i wish he actually read out what the sumerian words sort of sounded like though, rather than the letters in order, because i can't visualise the words like that quickly enough and so allegro sounded even more insane than he is already. i would be lying if i said there was nothing here that i don't think is of value, though, as the stuff around wasted semen and christianity is undoubtedly true, and some of the ideas about seed and god and rain and semen and mushrooms i found sort of interesting.
highly HIGHLY recommend! i will not be putting this on any of my nonfiction shelves.
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February 5, 2023One of our favorite books from the veritable genre of "who was the real historical Jesus" literature! Read the text version a few years ago, and just finished this superbly presented audiobook version. When we saw that this was published on audiobook, we were worried that the abundance of philological nomenclature might make for messy listening, but alas- we have the legendary Martin Swain in our ears again (have listened to his reading of Being and Time, Psychological Types, and Psychology of the Unconscious) and he absolutely killed it; amazing work.
Allegro's work has been harshly criticized and dismissed in academia, often called sensational despite its undeniable rigor.. but you can probably guess why: the conclusion of this work is essentially to say that the Jewish and Christian religions are by no means indigenous to the Dead Sea area, but are rooted in previous Sumerian psychedelic mushroom cults, and so really undermines the "right of first occupancy" arguments relied upon by zionists.. Obviously, we don't speak Aramaic or ancient Hebrew much less Sumerian, so we can't evaluate the particular philological arguments deployed here. Nonetheless, we resonate deeply with the overall picture painted by Allegro- of previous rural remedial herbal folk cultures of the previous aeon, subsisting in the Levant into historical times and encoding their lore into exoteric texts intended for use in the mystery cults that dominated the axial age and evolved into what we came to call Christianity. Makes sense to us! And now we can say we're vibin' with Jebus when we sip mushroom tea xD
Allegro's work has been harshly criticized and dismissed in academia, often called sensational despite its undeniable rigor.. but you can probably guess why: the conclusion of this work is essentially to say that the Jewish and Christian religions are by no means indigenous to the Dead Sea area, but are rooted in previous Sumerian psychedelic mushroom cults, and so really undermines the "right of first occupancy" arguments relied upon by zionists.. Obviously, we don't speak Aramaic or ancient Hebrew much less Sumerian, so we can't evaluate the particular philological arguments deployed here. Nonetheless, we resonate deeply with the overall picture painted by Allegro- of previous rural remedial herbal folk cultures of the previous aeon, subsisting in the Levant into historical times and encoding their lore into exoteric texts intended for use in the mystery cults that dominated the axial age and evolved into what we came to call Christianity. Makes sense to us! And now we can say we're vibin' with Jebus when we sip mushroom tea xD
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February 2, 2026I’m not entirely sure how to begin reviewing this book. It is clearly well-constructed and thoroughly researched, which makes it difficult to dismiss outright, even given how controversial its claims are.
My main takeaway from this book, and from any work that deeply dissects historical records, is a lingering sense of uncertainty. I’m left wondering how anyone can truly know what to believe. When history is filtered through layers of language, symbolism, interpretation, and time, what does certainty even look like?
Allegro makes claims that are genuinely earth-shattering, and my instinctive refutations rely on other interpretations that I ultimately cannot prove either. While this book is widely rejected by scholars, and I understand why, it raises a deeper question for me: why do we choose to accept one explanation over another when neither can be personally experienced or definitively verified?
My main takeaway from this book, and from any work that deeply dissects historical records, is a lingering sense of uncertainty. I’m left wondering how anyone can truly know what to believe. When history is filtered through layers of language, symbolism, interpretation, and time, what does certainty even look like?
Allegro makes claims that are genuinely earth-shattering, and my instinctive refutations rely on other interpretations that I ultimately cannot prove either. While this book is widely rejected by scholars, and I understand why, it raises a deeper question for me: why do we choose to accept one explanation over another when neither can be personally experienced or definitively verified?
July 18, 2023
It was very heavy on linguistics and spent too little time developing the argument as a whole. I think this book is a great foundation for other research into this topic.
March 10, 2022
The writing is extremely difficult to follow. Very interesting though...
September 11, 2024
Allegro was one of the experts asked to help translate the dead sea scrolls. His ability to communicate his knowledge of ancient language development is admirable. However, his theory concerning the development of Christianity is wildly indefensible. Not every pun is a tool to hide secret cult rituals.
July 27, 2026
Rogan just talks abt this nonstop. unreadable. Couldn’t get through the end. Just talks abt fertility cults and reads like a philological essay. I don’t buy that he read it either.
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September 16, 2025Absolutely incredible? Yes. Completely unfounded? Also yes. I kind of wish it was all true.
November 24, 2022
Very compelling hypothesis about Mushrooms in Sumer supported by linguistic evidences, but to me it felt like too much at some point. There are so many linguistic references and at the end most of them are either a Penis, a Vulva or something related to them or fertility.
But since I have had my own Psychedelic experience, I can imagine how it might have worked out for ancient people tripping on Mushrooms and actually experiencing God like entities and forming a religion out of it.
PS: I read it through a poorly compiled eBook that I found for free, so I could not properly get the references in the book. Because of that, I am sure I missed a lot of information being conveyed. Also I did not read bible before, so all the old and new testament references were totally unfamiliar to me.
But since I have had my own Psychedelic experience, I can imagine how it might have worked out for ancient people tripping on Mushrooms and actually experiencing God like entities and forming a religion out of it.
PS: I read it through a poorly compiled eBook that I found for free, so I could not properly get the references in the book. Because of that, I am sure I missed a lot of information being conveyed. Also I did not read bible before, so all the old and new testament references were totally unfamiliar to me.
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