Revisiting Wasson’s Soma: Exploring the Effects of Preparation on the Chemistry of Amanita Muscaria

This meta-analysis (n=525) analyzed the effects of Amanita Muscaria (or fly agaric) with regards to inebriation, nausea, and vomiting, sampled across various sources of self-reported ingestion. The dried mushroom caused less nausea and vomiting than when it was consumed fresh, which supports the notion that the preparation methods described for Soma in the Rig Veda may have been a means of reducing the toxicity of Amanita Muscaria, in accordance with Wasson's theory over the identity of Soma.

Authors

Feeney, K.

Published

September 20, 2011

Journal of Psychoactive Drugs

meta Study

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Abstract

Introduction: In 1968 R. Gordon Wasson first proposed his groundbreaking theory identifying Soma, the hallucinogenic sacrament of the Vedas, as the Amanita muscaria mushroom. While Wasson's theory has garnered acclaim, it is not without its faults. One omission in Wasson's theory is his failure to explain how pressing and filtering Soma, as described in the Rig Veda, supports his theory of Soma's identity. Several critics have reasoned that such preparation should be unnecessary if equivalent results can be obtained by consuming the raw plant, as is done with other psychoactive mushrooms.Methods: In order to address these specific criticisms over 600 anecdotal accounts of Amanita muscaria inebriation were collected and analyzed to determine the impact of preparation on Amanita muscaria's effects.Discussion: The findings of this study demonstrated that the effects of Amanita muscaria were related to the type of preparation employed, and that its toxic effects were considerably reduced by preparations that paralleled those described for Soma in the Rig Veda. While unlikely to end debate over the identity of Soma, this study's findings help to solidify the foundation of Wasson's theory, and also to demonstrate the importance of preparation in understanding and uncovering the true identity of Soma.

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Research Summary of 'Revisiting Wasson’s Soma: Exploring the Effects of Preparation on the Chemistry of Amanita Muscaria'

Introduction

In 1968 R. Gordon Wasson proposed that Soma, the sacramental agent of the Vedas, was the mushroom Amanita muscaria. Feeney revisits this proposal by focusing on a frequently voiced gap in Wasson's account: the Rig Veda describes a multi-stage preparation involving pressing and filtering Soma, but Wasson did not explain how those steps would be necessary or meaningful if Soma were a mushroom. Critics have argued that elaborate extraction would be unnecessary for a psychoactive fungus and that no known preparation reliably reduces Amanita muscaria's unpleasant effects. Feeney sets out to test whether preparation style influences Amanita muscaria's effects, particularly nausea and vomiting, which are central to criticisms of its sacramental suitability. To ground that empirical work, the paper summarises the mushroom's basic chemistry as understood: the primary putative active compounds are ibotenic acid and its decarboxylation product muscimol, with muscarine as a cholinergic constituent producing peripheral physiological effects but not believed to cause psychoactivity. Dehydration (drying) promotes decarboxylation of ibotenic acid to muscimol, and differing solubilities and thermal stabilities of these compounds provide a pharmacological rationale for expecting preparation to matter. The study therefore compiles and analyses anecdotal accounts to determine whether preparation methods comparable to the Rig Veda’s “celestial” (drying) and “woollen” (straining) filters are associated with reduced toxic effects.

Methods

Feeney compiled over 600 anecdotal accounts of intoxication and poisoning attributed to Amanita muscaria or the closely related Amanita pantherina. Sources included journals, newspaper reports, toxicology records and online reports. From these accounts the study categorised preparation methods into five groups: (1) fresh/raw (mushrooms eaten without preparation), (2) dried (air or oven dried), (3) tea with solids consumed (hot or cold water extractions where the solids were also eaten), (4) tea with solids removed (water extractions strained before drinking), and (5) cooked (oven or stove preparation that did not achieve dehydration). Within each preparation category the reports were coded for three outcomes: nausea, vomiting, and inebriation. The analysis focused on whether preparation style predicted the frequency of nausea and vomiting, because these effects are central to claims that Amanita muscaria is too unpleasant for sacramental use. Logistic regression was used to test associations between preparation type and the binary outcomes; the reported regression analyses used a sample of N = 525 cases for the chi-square tests. The investigators noted that anecdotal evidence for urine-recycling (Wasson’s proposed third "human body" filter) was insufficient for statistical analysis.

Results

Feeney reports systematic differences in nausea and vomiting by preparation type. Descriptive trends showed lower frequencies of both nausea and vomiting for dried preparations compared with fresh mushrooms, and the lowest frequencies when the mushroom was consumed as a strained tea (tea with solids removed). Logistic regression confirmed that preparation type was a significant predictor of nausea (chi-square (4, N = 525) = 15.19, p < .01) and of vomiting (chi-square (4, N = 525) = 39.87, p < .001). In the regression models the only preparation that significantly reduced the odds of nausea versus fresh consumption was strained tea: this preparation reduced the odds of nausea by 53% (p < .05). For vomiting, two preparation types had significant effects: eating dried mushrooms reduced the odds of vomiting by 64% relative to fresh mushrooms (p < .01), and drinking a strained tea reduced the odds by 86% (p < .001). A tea in which the solids were consumed showed a non-significant tendency to reduce vomiting by 63% (p < .10). Cooking (non-dehydrative heat) did not show a significant impact on nausea or vomiting in these data. Finally, preparation type did not significantly alter the likelihood of experiencing psychoactive effects (chi-square (4, N = 525) = 1.60, p > .05), suggesting that reduced emetic/toxic effects could be achieved without loss of reported inebriation.

Discussion

Feeney interprets the findings as supportive of Wasson’s account of Soma preparation. The reduction in vomiting associated with dried mushrooms is consistent with the idea that a "celestial filter" (drying) promotes decarboxylation of ibotenic acid to the more water-soluble and thermostable muscimol, thereby altering the balance of compounds that produce nausea and emesis. This pharmacochemical explanation aligns with ethnographic taboos against eating fresh Amanita muscaria among Siberian groups who traditionally use the mushroom. Straining of water extracts—the putative "woollen filter"—was associated with the largest reductions in nausea and vomiting, which the authors argue is compatible with the Rig Vedic description of pressing and filtering as a purifying process rather than merely as a way to render a fibrous plant ingestible. Feeney notes that strained teas would still contain ibotenic acid and muscarine but appear to eliminate additional components responsible for severe toxicity; the data suggest that at least some emetic factors are non-water-soluble or are removed by repeated extraction/straining. The paper also acknowledges contrasting evidence of culinary detoxification (parboiling in successive waters) reported elsewhere, which can abolish both toxic and psychoactive effects and therefore suggests more complex interactions among compounds. Several limitations are emphasised. The dataset is composed of heterogeneous anecdotal reports that varied in detail and quality, and dose information was frequently missing, making it difficult to disentangle preparation effects from dose effects. The authors also lacked systematic information on diet, set and setting, and did not distinguish degrees of nausea (mild to severe), grouping all cases together. Because these limitations could influence the observed associations, Feeney treats the findings as suggestive rather than definitive. The study's conclusion is that preparation matters: methods paralleling the Rig Vedic filters reduce the nauseating and emetic properties of Amanita muscaria while retaining reports of inebriation, thereby strengthening one aspect of Wasson’s theory without resolving the broader debate over Soma’s identity.

Conclusion

Feeney concludes that the effects of Amanita muscaria are related to preparation style and that preparations resembling those described for Soma in the Rig Veda—drying and straining—are associated with substantially reduced nausea and vomiting while preserving reported psychoactive effects. These findings are presented as filling a specific gap in Wasson’s original proposal: the ritual steps of pressing and filtering can be pharmacologically meaningful rather than merely ceremonial. The author emphasises that this evidence does not settle the Soma question but does strengthen the foundation of Wasson’s theory by demonstrating the importance of preparation in interpreting Amanita muscaria's effects.

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SECTION

In 1968, R. Gordon Wasson first proposed his ground breaking theory identifying Soma, the hallucinogenic sacrament of the Vedas, as the classic spotted fairy tale mushroom -Amanita muscaria. While Wasson's theory is compelling on many levels he neglected to explain how the pressing and filtering of Soma, as described in the Rig Veda, supported his theory of Soma's identity. This omis sion has led to several criticisms of his theory, including: ( 1) that such an elaborate process of extraction and prepara tion should be unnecessary if Soma were a mushroom; and (2) that no procedure of preparation is known to reliably reduce or eliminate the often unpleasant effects of Amanita muscaria. In order to address these specific criticisms over 600 anecdotal accounts of Amanita muscaria inebriation and poisonings were collected and analyzed to determine the impact of preparation on Amanita muscaria inebriation. The findings of this study demonstrated that the effects of Amanita muscaria were related to the type of prepara tion employed, and that the often-toxic effects of Amanita muscaria were considerably reduced by preparations that paralleled those described for Soma in the Rig Veda. Before addressing this analysis, however, it is important to establish a foundational understanding of the chemistry of Amanita muscaria, as it is currently understood, and to understand Wasson's ideas around preparation and the criticisms that have been leveled against this portion of his theory. The pharmacology of Amanita muscaria is not entirely understood. Two primary compounds, ibotenic acid and mus cimol, are known to occur in pharmacologically active levels and are partially, if not entirely, responsible for Amanita muscaria 's psychoactive effects. Another notable constituent of Amanita muscaria is muscarine. Muscarine is a cholinergic agonist which produces significant physiological changes in Feeney sufficient doses, but is not known to produce psychoactive effects and does not contribute to the psychoactivity of Ama nita muscaria. Muscazone, a compound related to ibotenic acid, has also been reported from Amanita muscaria, but may simply be a by-product of procedures used to isolate ibotenic acid. The psychoac tivity of muscazone is unknown, but is considered doubtful. There is also evidence that the degradation of ibotenic acid results in the production of another, as of yet unidentifi ed, compound. lbotenic acid is the most abundant of the principal compounds, and easily degrades into muscimol through the loss of a carboxyl group. Dehydration of the mushroom is the easiest way to promote decarboxylation of ibotenic acid to muscimol. It has been suggested that heating or cooking may also promote degradation of ibotenic acid due to its low stability. Jonathanhas found that ibotenic acid decarboxylates to muscimol when exposed to acidic conditions, and suggested that ibotenic acid may be converted to muscimol in the acidic environment of the stomach. Interestingly, most ibotenic acid passes through the system unmetabolized and may be reingested in the form of urine to prolong its psychoactive effect. Ibotenic acid is a water soluble compound, but is apparently difficult to dissolve in cold water. Dr. Scott, a specialist on mushroom toxins, detailed the following effects from his experiments with pure ibotenic acid: unsteadiness, dizziness, narrowed field of vision, mild visual spasms, muscular twitches, and sleep. Dr. Chilton reported no actual hallucinations from his experiments. According to Chilton, 53 mg was suf ficient to produce psychoactive effects, while a dose of 93 mg produced a strong inebriation, including a brief bout of vomiting. Peter G. Wa ser, a Professor at the University of Zurich, has also reported on his experimentation with a low dose of ibotenic acid. With 20 mg, Wa ser ( 1979) reported experiencing flushing, lassitude, and sleep. The psychoactivity of ibotenic acid has been pegged at I mg/kg, making Waser 's dose a very light one. It is not clear whether ibotenic acid itself is psychoactive, or whether the psychoactivity is caused purely by the decarboxylation product of ibotenic acid, muscimol. Muscimol is fi ve to 10 times more potent than ibotenic acid, and is likely the primary contributor to the psychoac tive effects of Amanita muscaria intoxication. Muscimol is a salt and is very soluble in water. It is also a thermostable compound, and will not degrade with cooking or boiling. There is some uncertainty as to whether muscimol occurs in fresh specimens of Amanita muscaria, or whether it only appears once drying and decarboxylation of ibotenic acid commences. There is still heavy speculation that other, as of yet unidentified, compounds may contribute to the intoxicating properties of Amanita muscaria. The echopictures experienced by Waser under the influ ence of muscimol have also been described by others after having ingested Amanita muscaria mushrooms, supporting the idea that muscimol is the primary inebriating agent. One individual described his experience as follows: As I sat on the toilet watching [my son] splash in the tub I had the most peculiar visual experience ... As I watched him, say laying belly down, my mind captured this image so it remained in my perception, till another motion, say my son sitting upright, caught my attention, of which the new image would appear. The whole effect was sort of a still frame slide show, where an image would remain in perception till a new one burst from the center of the old one (ChemBob 2005). Other symptoms known to be caused by muscimol include altered auditory and visual perception, visual dis turbances, loss of equilibrium and mild muscle twitching. Unlike ibotenic acid, only trace amounts of muscimol pass through the urine unmetabolized. Discovered in 1869, muscarine was the first compound isolated from the Amanita muscaria mushroom, from which the compound derives its name. It was originally thought to be the active intoxicating agent, a notion that has long been abandoned. Muscarine, however, does produce notable physiological changes, typically characterized by excessive perspiration and salivation, blurring of vision, abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting and diarrhea. These effects usu ally develop within 15 to 30 minutes after ingestion, but symptoms may take up to an hour to occur in some cases. Muscarine is both water soluble and thermostable, and does not degrade with cooking or heating.

WASSON ON PREPARATION

The Rig Veda speaks of three fi lters used to purify and prepare Soma for sacramental use.has iden tified these three filters as: (I) a celestial filter, or fi lter of sunlight; (2) a fi lter of woolen cloth; and (3) the human body. Wasson fo cuses predominantly on the first and third filters, providing varying degrees of support for his Soma theory. This section provides an overview of Wasson's thinking on these three filters and also examines the criticisms leveled against this portion of his theory. The fi rst filter, according to Wasson, is a "celestial fil ter," which purifies Soma with sunlight. Was son explained that Soma "catches the sun's rays on its back and holds them there, where they filtre the Soma juice into the plant" Wa sson's theory is that the filter of sunlight represents drying or dehydration of the Soma plant, a process that is essential in the preparation of Amanita muscaria in Siberia. Among the Kamchadal of the Kamchatka peninsula, it is be lieved that Amanita muse aria that have been sun dried while still in the ground are the most potent, while the Koryak and other Siberian peoples consider fresh Amanita muscaria to be toxic). These views are likely connected to the change in chemistry of the mushroom through the dehydration process, which increases the strength of the mushroom through decarboxylation of ibotenic acid to the more potent muscimol. Providing additional support to Wasson's interpretation ofthe first filter are complementary verses from the Rig Ve da that suggest Soma is in a dry state before application of the second filter, when Soma is mixed with water and strained through a woolen cloth. The following passages suggest that when mixed with water the Soma plant swells in size, a characteristic absent in most fresh plants but familiar to some dried plants, particularly dried mushrooms. Mushrooms are exceptional among plants and vegetables in their ability to reconstitute from a dried state, swelling both significantly and rapidly when soaked in water. 8.9. 19: When the swollen stalks were milked like cows with [full] udders .... 9.74.9: Clarifying Soma, when you are sated with waters your juice runs through the sieve made of wool. The second filter is a filter of lamb's wool, used to strain and remove the solids of the Soma plant in order to produce the sacramental beverage. Wasson expended little time examining this filter, stating that it "presents no problems," presumably because this filter is described directly and without any ambiguity). Wasson's failure to examine the significance of this stage of the purifying process has led to several criticisms of his work. Professor Johnchallenged Wa s son on this omission, pointing out that "if the Soma-plant had been a mushroom, it would be strange that the elaborate Ve dic process of pounding out and fi ltering the juice should have been necessary. Why should the plant not have been simply eaten?" David Stophlet Flattery, who proposed that Soma is the plant Peganum harmala, also argued that such preparation should be unnecessary if equivalent results can be obtained "by simply chewing the plant materials, as is the case with psychotropic mushrooms". While Brough and Flattery make a good point, their challenge is based on incorrect assumptions. The first as sumption is that Amanita muse aria shares similar chemical properties with Psilocybe mushrooms, which allow it to be eaten fresh or dried without preparation. The active com pounds in Psilocybe mushrooms (psilocybin and psilocin), however, have never been isolated from Amanita muscaria, do not contribute to its intoxicating effects, and are com pletely irrelevant to understanding the pharmacology of Amanita muscaria. While it is true that Amanita muscaria, like Psilocybe mushrooms, can produce psychoactive effects when eaten fre sh or dried, it does not fo llow that the phar macology ofthe two mushrooms would be similarly affected by the extraction process described for Soma. The second assumption is that the Soma plant cannot simply be eaten, which appears to be based on a bias towards identifying Soma as a woody or fi brous plant (such as Ep hedra or Sar costemma), which would require water extraction in order to render the drug consumable. Both of these assumptions ignore passages in the Rig Veda that suggest that Soma can be consumed "pressed" or "unpressed." More importantly, however, are indications in the Rig Veda that Soma that has not been pressed is inferior to Soma that has been pressed, suggesting that there is some chemical change that occurs during the extraction process. 6.41 .4: Soma when pressed excels the unpressed Soma, better, for one who knows, to give him pleasure. 7.26. 1 : Soma unpressed ne'er gladdened liberal Indra, no juices pressed without a prayer have pleased him. The passages above suggest, regardless of what Soma's true identity is, that pressing and extracting Soma alters the chemistry of the sacrament in some beneficial way. While it has typically been presumed that the "pressing" of Soma is used to extract an active agent from a benign but indigest ible plant, hymns describing the ritual preparation of Soma repeatedly speak of Soma being cleansed or purifi ed by the water employed during pressing. For example: 9.62.6: The beautiful plant beloved of the gods, [the Soma] washed in the waters, pressed by the masters, the cows seasonwith milk. 9. 109. 17: The prize-winning Soma has flowed, in a thousand drops cleansed by the waters, mixed with the milk of cows. 9.2.5: The ocean [of Soma] has been cleansed in the waters; mainstay of the sky, the Soma in the filtre, he who is favour able to us.

JOURNAL OF PSYCHOACTIVE DRUGS 502

Revisiting Wasson's Soma The focus on cleansing and purifying Soma through pressing and straining would suggest that Soma is not pressed for the sake of rendering it in a consumable form, as seems to be assumed by Brough, Flattery and others, but rather for eliminating impurities and/or toxic qualities that would otherwise be present in the Soma plant. While Was son was unable to explain the significance of the second fi lter as applied to Amanita muscaria, this study seeks to illustrate how this step may provide further support for his theory. The third filter, as proposed by Wasson, is the human body. Wasson advanced his proposition for the third fi lter by citing the traditions of urine drinking in Siberia and by relying on limited Ve dic references to urine, including the fo llowing passages from the Rig Veda: 9.74.4: The swollen men piss the flowing [Soma]. 8.80.3: In the belly of Indra the inebriating Soma clarifies it self. Wasson went on to explain that "the Soma juice that is drunk by 'lndra' and 'Vayu' in the course of the liturgy is filtered in their organisms and issues forth as sparkling yellow urine, retaining its inebriating virtue but having been purged of its nauseating properties". From a pharmacological perspective Wasson may indeed be correct. While ibotenic acid, one of the mushrooms active constituents, passes in the urine unmetabolized, it is likely that other components of Amanita muscaria that contribute to nausea and vomiting, such as muscarine, have been metabolized (filtered) into inactive by-products. This biological process would leave a fairly pure extraction of ibotenic acid in the consumer's urine. Unfortunately, there were an insufficient number of anecdotal reports on urine consumption to provide a proper analysis of the third fi lter in Wasson's theory. Pharmacology aside, Wasson's assertion that the third fi lter is the human body and that mushroom-infused urine is the purest form of Soma has been challenged on two substantial grounds. First is that Wasson's interpretation assumed that "priests appointed to impersonate lndra and Vayu" urinate the intoxicating Soma, despite a lack of evidence "in the whole of the Rigveda that priests ever impersonate the gods in any capacity". The second argument relies on the mere paucity of references to urinating Soma in the Rig Veda, as well as the ambiguity of these rare passages. As noted by one detrac tor, "the verb to urinate is used in connection with the word soma only twice in the Rig Veda". While Was son's interpretation of the third fi lter is intriguing, other more feasible explanations present them selves in the text of the Rig Ve da. Milk is frequently spoken of as being mixed with pressed Soma or used to further purify Soma, as in the fo llowing passages: Frequent reference is also made to purifying prayers that were recited over the Soma bowl prior to consumption of the sacred beverage. For example: 9. 1 13.2: Pressed with sacred words, with truth and faith and ardour, 0 drop of Soma, flow for lndra. 9.74.9: Polished by the poets, Soma who brings supreme ec stasy, be sweet for Indra to drink. The addition of milk to Soma and the recitation of prayer during the preparation of Soma are well described steps in the Soma ceremony, as illustrated by the passages above, and either process would make a more plausible candidate for the third fi lter than recycled urine, as proposed by Wasson.

METHODS

Accounts of Amanita muse aria inebriation and poison ings were collected in order to analyze variations in the reports of nausea and vomiting, symptoms often associated with Amanita muscaria inebriation/poisoning, by style of preparation. The hypothesis was that each of the first two filters identified by Wasson, the celestial and woolen filters, when applied to Amanita muscaria would produce a sub stantial reduction in the incidence of nausea and vomiting. Such a showing would address criticisms that the elaborate preparation of Soma is unnecessary when applied to Ama nita muscaria, and that the effects of Amanita muscaria are too unpleasant to warrant a sacramental status like that of Soma. Over 600 accounts of inebriation and poisoning with . h . I either Amanita muscaria or Amamta pant erma were compiled. These accounts were collected from journals, newspaper articles (Seattle Ti mes 2006), toxicol ogy reportsand various websites Vomiting 37% (15) 17% () 18% () 7% () 45% () 21% (108) Inebriating 81% (33) 77% () 80% () 79% () 84% (The anecdotal accounts of Amanita muscaria experi ences described a variety of preparation types, including: (1) fresh/raw, (2) dried, (3) tea with solids consumed, (4) tea with solids removed, and (5) cooked. In the fresh category only reports where mushrooms were consumed without preparation (i.e., eaten as is) have been included. The dried category included reports where mushrooms were air or oven dried. The tea with solids consumed category included all water extractions (hot and cold) of dried mushrooms where the mushroom solids were also consumed. The tea category included all water extractions (hot and cold) of dried mush rooms that were strained before consumption. The cooked mushrooms category consisted of reports where mushrooms were prepared by oven or stove, but were not cooked to a dehydrated state. Within each category the reports were examined for frequency of the following symptoms: nausea, vomiting, and inebriation. The resulting differences between each category were then examined through application of logistic regression to determine whether there was a statis tically significant relationship between preparation style and effects of the mushroom. Unfortunately, insufficient anecdotal evidence was available on Amanita muse aria and urine recycling to analyze the properties of recycled urine in terms of nausea and vomiting.

RESULTS

Considering Table, there appear to be some clear trends in the frequency of nausea and vomiting depending on how the mushroom is prepared. Both nausea and vomiting decreased when the mushroom was consumed dried rather than fresh. Vo miting appeared to stay about the same when dried mush rooms were prepared as tea (with solids consumed), but again both nausea and vomiting decreased when the mushroom was consumed as a tea rather than dried or as a tea with solids consumed. While these numbers appeared significant, the difference in population sizes between preparation types made it difficult to come to any conclusions without applying some method of statistical analysis. The data listed in Ta ble 1 were analyzed using logistic regression to determine whether any of the differences in frequency of nausea and vomiting among preparations were truly significant. The results of this analysis showed that type of preparation was a significant factor in predict ing the likelihood of nausea (x 2 (4, N = 525) = 15.19, p < .0 I); and that preparation type was also a significant factor in predicting the likelihood of vomiting (x 2 (4, N = 525) = 39.87, p < .00 1). While the frequency of nausea appeared to decrease when dried preparations were used instead of fresh prepara tions, the only preparation type that had a significant effect on the odds of experiencing nausea was tea with solids removed. A preparation of tea reduced the odds of experi encing nausea over a fresh preparation by 53% (p < .05). Changes in preparation type had a more substantial effect on the frequency of vomiting experienced during Amanita muscaria inebriation; still, only two preparation types had a significant effect on the odds of experiencing vomiting. Eating dried mushrooms reduced the odds of vomiting over a fresh preparation by 64% (p < .0 I). Drinking a tea also reduced the odds of experiencing vomiting over a fresh preparation by 86% (p < .00 1 ). While not statistically significant, a preparation of tea (with solids consumed) tended to show reduced odds of experiencing vomiting over a fresh preparation by 63% (p < .10). Finally, a comparison ofthe different preparation types showed no significant variation in the likelihood of expe riencing psychoactive effects (x 2 (4, N = 525) = 1.60, p > .05), indicating that while preparation may have infl uenced the frequency of nausea and vomiting, preparation did not have a similar effect on the production or frequency of psychoactive effects.

DISCUSSION

The change in Amanita muscaria's effects when the mushroom was prepared similarly to Soma, as described in the Rig Ve da, was remarkable. Results of the current study showed a significant reduction in the odds of vomit ing in consumers of dried preparations as compared to those who consumed the mushrooms fresh. This result serves as an example of how the dehydration process can cause statistically significant changes in the toxic effects of Amanita muse aria, and supports Was son's theory that the first filter used in purifying Soma was a celestial filter, or filter of sunlight. According to the current understanding of Amanita muscaria 's chemistry, the biggest difference between fresh and dried Amanita muscaria is in the levels of ibotenic acid and muscimol present. Because the drying process decarboxylates ibotenic acid to muscimol, dried preparations have lower concentrations of ibotenic acid than do fresh specimens. This chemical change may account for the differences in the prevalence of vomiting between fresh and dried preparations. The difference in effects between fresh and dried specimens of Amanita muscaria is also sup ported by the taboo against eating fresh Amanita muscaria mushrooms among several Siberian groups with a traditional use of this mushroom). The differences in ill effects between dried preparations and preparations of tea showed that when applying Soma's second filter, a filter of woolen cloth, a significant change in the effects produced by Amanita muse aria also occurred. This change could certainly be perceived as beneficial, and could also explain why "Soma unpressed ne'er gladdened liberal Indra". Perhaps unsurprisingly, preparations of the tea in which the solids were consumed shared a similar prevalence of vomiting when compared to dried preparations. This suggested that a component of the mushroom that contributed to the effect of vomiting re mained in the mushroom after a hot or cold water extraction. This information seemed to indicate that at least one of the compounds responsible for producing nausea and vomiting was not destroyed by high temperatures (as many prepara tions were boiled) and was not water soluble. Strained tea still contained ibotenic acid and muscarine, both of which are known to produce symptoms of nausea and vomiting, but the severely toxic components seem to have been removed. Because of the purported difficulty of dissolving ibotenic acid in cold water, a cold water extraction may have lower concentrations of ibotenic acid than hot water extractions, and thus reduce the risk of vomiting even further. Complicating our understanding of Amanita muscaria 's pharmacology, however, is a recent article bythat reveals a history of culinary use of this mushroom by scattered populations throughout the world. The most common method of detoxi fy ing this mushroom has been to parboil it in several changes of water, which eliminates all negative and inebriating effects. This would seem to suggest, assum ing both methods are valid, that any compound contributing to nausea and vomiting that remains in the mushroom after boiling does not itself produce these results but does so only by acting in concert with Amanita muscaria's water soluble components. More research is needed to determine the specific chemical changes that render water extractions of Amanita muscaria less toxic than the dried mushroom. While there is no indication in the Rig Ve da that Soma is cooked, a comparison between fresh and cooked preparations of Amanita muscaria has been included in order to address an observation made by Wasson during his unsuccessful experiments with Amanita muscaria. Wasson observed one of his colleagues, Rokuya Imazeki, become inebriated after cooking the mushroom caps over an open fire. He and his colleagues were at a loss to explain why Imazeki had become successfully inebriated while the others had not, and could only conclude that cooking had something to do with it). While it has been suggested that cooking might cause ibotenic acid to break down due to its instability, the results here suggested that cooking Amanita muscaria did not significantly impact the chemistry of the mushroom as it related to the production of nausea or vomiting. The results also showed that none of the preparation types, in cluding cooking, were significantly more likely to produce psychoactive effects than any other preparation type. This suggested that inebriation may be produced through any of the discussed preparations and that the successful experience of Wasson's colleague was likely a function of dose rather than preparation.

LIMITATIONS

The anecdotal reports used for this study were collected from a variety of sources, and the extent of details provided varied from source to source. As a result, the data used were not entirely uniform and may have been incomplete in some instances. One limitation resulting from the varia tion in detail is a lack of information on dose and how dose impacted the experiences of nausea, vomiting, and inebria tion among preparation types. Without this information it is difficult to gauge how much preparation style, as opposed to dose, contributed to variance in the frequency of nausea and vomiting. Similarities in the frequency of inebriation among preparation types suggested some uniformity of dosage across types, perhaps indicating a limited impact of dose on the analyzed sample. Even with accurate dosage information, however, there remain difficulties in making comparisons among preparations, such as comparing dos ages of fresh and dried mushrooms. Direct data collection with uniform questions would help to clarify the impact of preparation versus dose on the occurrence of nausea and vomiting. The results were also limited by a lack of information on diet and variations in set and setting, factors that may have accounted for some of the differences in reactions among the surveyed reports. Another potential limitation is that no distinction was made between degrees of nausea. As a result, Revisiting Wasson's Soma individuals with mild stomach discomfort were grouped together with those who experienced violent illness. A closer inspection may have shown that preparation also predicted the degree of nausea experienced by the consumer.

CONCLUSION

It has been over 40 years since the publication of Wasson's Soma: Divine Mushroom of Immortality, and in that time his theory identifying Soma as the Amanita muscaria mushroom has remained one of the most viable proposals to date. One failure of Wasson's, however, was to demonstrate how the preparation of Soma, as described in the Rig Veda, supported his identification of Amanita muscaria. The research presented above fills this gap by demonstrating that the effects of Amanita muscaria are related to the type of preparation employed, and that the optimal effects of Amanita muscaria are produced through preparations that parallel those described for Soma in the Rig Ve da. Wasson's theory is further supported by a read ing of the Rig Veda that interprets the preparation of Soma as not merely an extraction process, but also a purifying process, since the techniques of Soma preparation when applied to Amanita muscaria not only extracted the active principles of the mushroom but also significantly reduced the presence of its nauseating and emetic properties. While this effort in no way closes the door on the debate over the identity of Soma, these findings help to solidify the founda tion of Wasson's theory, as well as demonstrate the utmost importance of preparation in understanding and uncovering the true identity of Soma.

NOTE

I. Amanita pantherina is a close relative of Ama nita muscaria, producing the same symptoms as Amanita muscaria poisoning and containing the same primary com pounds: ibotenic acid, muscimol and muscarine.