The Alchemical My Co Logical Process

Growing Mushrooms As An Alchemical Process

by Johnathan Drake Cousins "Our precious stone is cast forth upon the dunghill, and that which is most worthy is made vilest of the vile." -From the The Golden Tractate of Hermes Trismegistus Do you consider yourself an amateur mycologist? Or are you a Thrice Greatest Alchemist? Perhaps a little of both? This article will shine light on how these two seemingly unrelated things; Alchemy and Mycology are so simpatico that one can use one to describe the other. Let us begin with a brief introduction to Alchemy, as well as a brief on the cultivation of mushrooms. From there we will get into the magical/technical side of Alchemy as well as the practice of growing fungi.

Alchemy: Past vs. Present Alchemy was supposedly founded by Hermes Trismegistus or the Egyptian God Thoth. I say supposedly because to some these two characters - Thoth and Hermes - are inseparable. Hermes was a Greek figure who was was reputed to be the author of a series of books jointly called "The Corpus Hermeticum" These were Egyptian-Greek texts that laid the basis for the Hermetic and Alchemical traditions. These books talked about the divine, mind, Alchemy, as well as other mysteries. Thoth on the other hand was an Egyptian God figure. However, Thoth was also an author of many works. Both of them were referred to as "Thrice Greatest" to refer to the perfection they had attained in Body, Mind, and Spirit. Both of them were also credited with the creation of The Emerald Tablet, a document that Alchemists used as their process. We could go

on about Thoth/Hermes all day, but just understand that both are attributed the creation of Alchemy as well as The Emerald Tablet. Perhaps you're familiar with Alchemy, or perhaps you don't understand the true meaning of Alchemy but have a slight idea. Alchemy's main goal was the production and stabilization of "The Philosopher's Stone". The story that present day schools teach is that Alchemy is a primitive form of chemistry in which chemically-naive people work on trying to turn the cheapest of metals - Lead - into one of the most valued metals, Gold. What isn't taught is that although The Alchemists did work with physical objects; such as trying to turn real lead into real gold, they understood the process to be occuring on all levels. At the level of the material world, as well as The Alchemist's own psyche or interior world. "As Above, So Below" is a lens of Alchemy that I invite you to view this essay through. Next we move onto the subject of mushrooms and how they have shown themselves through history.

Mushrooms For thousands of years mushrooms have fascinated some and repulsed others. One can easily see how mushrooms truly are what is referred to in Latin as The "Coincidentia Oppositorum", The Union of Opposites. Saprophytic mushrooms take something dead and turn it into new life; releasing their spores along the way. Terence McKenna, the great mushroom bard, once said that he considered the mushroom's position to be a Buddhist one. Saprophytic mushrooms do not harm, they help other organisms by breaking down decaying matter, and they provide food for other organisms. In true Hermetic tradition, the mushroom is neither male nor female but reproduces through it's spores. A perfect union of Male and Female. Mushrooms have fascinated many Ancient cultures, and unlike plants it was a long time before fungi could be cultivated. No doubt this added to their mystery and mercurial nature. Even today the number of species of mushroom that can be cultivated pales in comparison to the number that have not been cultivated. The first mushroom to be cultivated was Agaricus Bisporus, this is a mushroom commonly referred to as the White Button mushroom. We all know this in it's small button form, as well as it's more mature counterpart, portabellos. In the 1950's a man named R. Gordon Wasson along with his friend took part in a ceremony that no "white" man in recorded history had taken part in before. Wasson and Alan Richardson together with Curandera Eva Mendez were part of a velada or shamanic mushroom ceremony in which they took a species of mushroom called Psilocybe Caerulescens. After reporting for an article in Life the vision-inducing fungi were out of the bag. For good or for ill many started pilgrimages to Mexico to find the fungal sacraments and have the experience that Wasson described first hand. Others became interested in Shamanism and its sacraments - two such people - Terence and Dennis McKenna; actually changed the way that people could obtain the entheogenic fungi. Throughout the McKenna brothers books, True Hallucinations, The Invisible Landscape, and Psilocybin:Magic Mushroom Grower's Guide they recount the story of how they traveled to the Amazon in search of Ayahuasca but ended up stumbling onto the other-worldly

mushroom Stropharia Cubensis, or Psilocybe Cubensis as it is now called. Through experimenting with the mushroom and listening to the messages they received, they had stumbled onto the heart of the mystery. Through experimentation with growing the mushroom - that Terence beautifully reflects on in True Hallucinations - the brothers discovered that by growing mycelial networks on rye berries in mason jars (a method already developed for Agaricus species) and then fruiting out the mycelium, that they could create their own steady supply of "nature-approved Psilocybin". I encourage you to read the McKenna's' books and hear the whole story. Terrence says in Chapter 19 of True Hallucinations that when he was experimenting with growing the mushrooms, something turned his attention elsewhere and he ended up abandoning his efforts. He eventually goes back to his greenhouse, thinking that everything has taken a turn for the worse and that he needs to clean it. He walks in and exclaims, "...And there they were! By the dozens, by the hundreds, huge picture perfect specimens of Stropharia. The dark night of the soul had turned my attention elsewhere, and in that moment they had perfected themselves. I was neck deep in alchemical gold!..." The brothers found that not only did this method for growing Agaricus work with Psilocybe Cubensis, but that they grew even better than the Agaricus!

Other pioneers like the infamous Psilocybe Fanaticus with his PF Tek sought new methods for growing the mushrooms. Many in the OMC or Online Mushroom Community have experimented and shared their experiments in online forums. These explorers are like the McKenna brothers, putting their knowledge out there for the benefit of the community.This has lead to many discoveries, like learning that Psilocybe Cubensis isn't the only psychedelic mushroom that can be cultivated. There are a vast amount of species of vision-bearing fungi that have yet to be cultivated. One can already start to see how through their histories, Mycology and Alchemy have been an underground network of people, ideas, and sacred objects. I hope to teach you more about Mycology and Alchemy in the next half of this essay, which is more symbolic, metaphoric, and also a bit of a guide in order to learn these two methods. This is where we will extend the metaphors of Alchemy and the science of Mycology to bring them into a holistic totality.

The Alchemical Mycological Process - Inspired by The Emerald Tablet and The Online Mycological Community

Step 1. Calcination (The Burning Off)

cal·cine [kal-sahyn, -sin]

verb (used with object)1.

to convert into calx by heating or burning. In Alchemy, the whole point of the process is to perfect the self. In order to perfect the self one must be free of ego. Many Alchemists refer to this as a contamination of the self. So the first step of the Alchemical process is burning off this part of one's self. This is usually done by intense self examination and a humbling of the self.

In Mycology, one of the most important things is keeping your culture (the fungal network that you're growing) free of contamination. The whole process must be kept in a sterile enviroment at least until the end when fresh air and moisture can be introduced. In order to sterilize the "food" that you will be giving to the fungus you have to heat it under pressure for a time.

Step 2. Dissolution (Solution)

dis·so·lu·tion [dis-uh-loo-shuhn]

1.the act or process of resolving or dissolving into parts or elements.

The next step in Alchemy is dissolution which is the act of further reaching down into the "waters" of the unconscious. By taking what is left over of the psyche from the process of burning off and mixing it with the unconscious one can create new energies by releasing the force of the water that we've held back. The next step in growing mushrooms after sterilization of the growing medium is to inject (again under sterile conditions) a spore solution into the medium. The spore solution is made of sterile water and spores. When added to the sterile medium under sterile conditions the spores will start to germinate and grow their fungal networks or mycelium. Generating new life from the cooked grain and starting into the next process.

Step 3. Separation

sep·a·ra·tion [sep-uh-rey-shuhn]

noun1.

an act or instance of separating or the state of being separated. In Alchemy, once one has dived into the repressed or unconscious aspects of oneself, it is necessary once again to check that only that which serves you is left over. This process is separating the good from the bad, leaving the lead and saving the gold. In Mycology, the next step after inoculation (adding spores or a culture) is separating the good from the bad. The contaminated from the uncontaminated. The mycologist must look attentively to every jar and make sure that only the mycelium which is a white thread-like network of fibers is present. Ironically, the color of this step in Alchemy is green. However in mycology green is something you want to watch out for most of the time.

Step 4. Conjunction

conjunction[kuhn-juhngk-shuhn]

con·junc·tion [kuhn-juhngk-shuhn]

noun

2.the act of conjoining; combination.

In Alchemy, whatever is left over after separating the wheat from the chaff so to speak is combined together. This is also called the "Coincidentia Oppositorum" or the Union of Opposites. Bringing the seemingly unrelated together into a coherent whole. Psychologically it is combining the separate parts of the psyche into centeredness and totality. In Mycology, after your culture has colonized all of its medium it is ready to be combined with a larger food source, or a casing layer if fruiting out the culture as is. This once again needs to be done under sterile conditions. You combine the spawn with your larger substrate and keep it in a container that will allow it a small amount of sterile air exchange.

Part 5. Fermentation

"For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it." - Jesus Matthew 10:39

fer·men·ta·tion [fur-men-tey-shuhn]

noun1.

the act or process of fermenting. In Alchemy, the stage of fermentation begins with what esotericonline.net refers to as, "...Putrefaction of the hermaphroditic “child” from the Conjunction resulting in its death and resurrection to a new level of being." Essentially this step is opening yourself completely to the power or energy of the Universe, realizing that there is something greater than the Ego. In the Mycological process the ferment is taking the products of the conjuction (which temporarily die back) and letting them create new life by letting the mycellium grow through the substrate. After the substrate is completely coated in white mycellium, a casing layer is generally added. This helps stop the culture from losing moisture, as well as helping the mycellium produce mushrooms through evaporation near the casing layer.

Part 6. Distillation

dis·til·la·tion [dis-tl-ey-shuhn]

noun1.

the volatilization or evaporation and subsequent condensation of a liquid, as when water is boiled in a retort and the steam is condensed in a cool receiver.

In Alchemy, distillation is the refinement of the products of fermentation. It means to go deep into the mind or soul and break up and release anything that isn't part of the true self, which has been gifted through the ingression of higher spirit.

In Mycology, after the culture has been completely colonized and has had a casing layer applied, the next step is to add light and moisture. This is usually done with a humidifier that creates humid cool air. The light isn't always needed but some mushrooms need light to initiate pinning which is the formation of small mushrooms that will grow into larger ones.

Part 7. Coagulation

coagulate1.

to cause (a fluid, such as blood) to change into a soft semisolid mass or (of such a fluid) to change into such a mass; clot; curdle

In Alchemy, the final step of the process is Coagulation. This is taking all that has been gained and learned from each step and filtering it down to the essence. Interestingly enough, Alchemist's referred to this as The Philosopher's stone which was thought of as, "a Second Body of golden coalesced light, a permanent vehicle of consciousness that embodies the highest aspirations and evolution of mind." In Mycology, after giving the mycellium the right conditions the fruiting bodies rise up from the substrate and release their spores to start the process all over again. In the case of most Psilocybe species, this truly is a "Golden Body". In some cases with certain species of Psilocybe one can even grow "stones" or sclerotia which are hardened lumps of mycellium that form under the casing layer. In smart shops in Amsterdam, these are actually reffered to as "Philosopher's stones". And so with that last and final step we come once again full circle. The metaphors keep extending and I encourage you to pursue these ideas further. One can even see how this process can be repeated in the next steps. Calcination could be dehydration of fruiting bodies, and in the case of entheogenic fungi, diving down into the waters of the unconscious through ingestion. I hope that this article has shed light on these two disciplines and that you can better understand how these two methods are inter-twined. Definitions taken from dictionary.comThanks to Terence and his brother Dennis for their pioneering workThanks to the OMC and forums like Mycotopia and The ShroomeryThanks to all the Thrice Greatest Alchemical Mycologists. Notes Heremetic Corpus: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hermetic_Corpus Agaricus Mushroom: http://www.botany.hawaii.edu/faculty/wong/BOT135/Lect16.pdf Wasson Life Article: http://www.imaginaria.org/wasson/life.htm Alchemical Steps: http://www.esotericonline.net Cover image taken from: http://www.esotericonline.net/group/alchemy/forum/topics/alchemy-in-the-fungus-kingdom?commentId=3204576%3AComment%3A297431&groupId=3204576%3AGroup%3A21 credit given to Thomas Lyttle