Pharmako/Gnosis
Plant Teachers and the Poison Path
by Dale Pendell
(Volume III of the Pharmako trilogy)
The bestselling magical fusion of science, poetry, history, and philosophy.
Delving deep into the world of psychoactive plants, including ayahuasca, Pharmako/Gnosis serves as a comprehensive and standalone guide.
In this third and final volume of the Pharmako trilogy, Dale Pendell embarks on a captivating journey through the botanical and cultural landscapes of a diverse array of mind-altering "teachers." From plant-based psychedelic substances to their synthetic derivatives, Pendell illuminates each with an erudition and playful wit uniquely his own.
He delves into the worlds of traditional use and modern interpretations of substances such as:
Amanita muscaria
Ayahuasca (Banisteriopsis caapi)
Blowfish/Puffer Fish (Tetradontidae)
Bufo alvarius
Iboga (Tabernanthe iboga)
Jurema (Mimosa hostilis)
Ketamine
Kratom (Mitragynia speciosa)
Mescal Bean (Sophora secundiflora)
Morning Glory (Ipomoea, Rivea spp.)
Peyote
Psilocybe (Teonanacatl)
San Pedro Cactus
Tropane alkaloids
Peganum harmala
Pharmako/Gnosis offers more than a mere historical or pharmacological background of these substances. Pendell delves into the nuances of each substance's effect on consciousness with a poetic finesse, bringing to life our profound and intricate relationship with these potent compounds. He approaches the topic with genuine curiosity, acknowledging the transformative power these substances wield over individuals, societies, and cultures. The narrative, enriched by a wealth of quotations from acclaimed writers, is as intoxicating as the substances it explores, brewing a unique literary concoction.
Taking the reader beyond the confines of traditional scientific discourse, Pendell's distinctive narrative style weaves in personal experiences, anecdotal evidence, and a profound sense of the sacred, resulting in a reading experience that is as deeply engaging as it is informative.
About the Pharmako trilogy, Revised and Updated edition
Anyone with an interest in the psychoactive and healing properties of plants and related substances will find Dale Pendell's Pharmako trilogy an entertaining yet profound overview of this emerging field. The series has rapidly assumed cult status as an unparalleled exposition of its subject, and this North Atlantic updated paperback edition will bring this underground classic to a wider readership than ever.
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Table of Contents
PREFACE
Pharmakon: On Poisonous Knowledge
Plant Teachers and the Path of Eve
PHANTASTICA
visionary plants
The Phantastica
Morning Glory: Ipomoea violacea
On Receiving Visitors
The Genus Psilocybe: Teonanácatl
Keeping House with Demons
Examination by the Board of Discipline
On Traveling Companions
Das Mutterkorn The Making of Delysid
Entr’acte
The Luminosity of Sentient Dimensions
The Great Psychedelic Baseball Experiment
On Responsible Use
Mescal Bean: Sophora secundiflora
Peyote: Lophophora williamsii
San Pedro Cactus: Trichocereus spp.
On Circles
How to Make a Talking Stick
Ayahuasca Dreams
Banisteriopsis caapi
Jurema: Mimosa hostilis
The Two-Dragon Problem
The Poison of Dreaming Peganum harmala
Ground State Training
Splitting the Hair: Dialogue on
the Great World Systems
The Great Toad Mother Bufo alvarius
The Spagyric Art Tryptamines & their Kin
The Topology of the Between DMT
DAIMONICA
here there be dragons
The Daimonica
Toloache, Flying Herbs,
and the Witch’s Garden Tropane alkaloids
On Elementals O2, CO2, Xe
The Art of Necromancy Ketamine
The World’s Most Famous
Mushroom Amanita muscaria
Iboga and the Ghost Dance Tabernathe iboga
THE FOOL
swimming upstrean
The Fool & The Lie
Mountain Blues/Blue Mountains
The Hallucinogenic Properties of Maize
The Fool’s Journey
APPENDIX
the cauldron
Blowfish, Puffer Fish,
Kratom and the
Art of Dimensional
Smuggling Tetradontidae
Sundry Mitragynia speciosa
Misc spp.
References
Credits
Supplemental Notes, 2010
Index
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Paperback Edition
408 pages. Printed card cover.
ISBN: 9781556438042
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Press, reviews, endorsements
"Essential reading, a modern classic."
Stephen Silberman, Wired magazine
"The poet of plants . . . Pendell may be America's answer to Blake, Coleridge, and Wordsworth. . . ."
Emily Green, Los Angeles Times
"Whereas all other drug encyclopaediaists are accompanied by excessive slyness, the seemingly free verse of Dale Pendell is constrained by compulsive accuracy, to paraphrase Zarathustra's Hom Yost, by the (scruples) that drive forth truth."
David Flattery, author of Haoma and Harmaline
"A beat alchemist working textual DJ decks."
Erik Davis, Bookforum
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About the Author
Plant student Dale Pendell established himself as one of the foremost popular exponents of shamanic ethnobotany with his unprecedented Pharmako trilogy. A noted poet, he was the founding editor of the avant-garde magazine Kuksu and a cofounder of the Primitive Arts Institute and has led workshops on ethnobotany and ethnopoetics for the Naropa Institute and the Omega Institute. Also an experienced computer scientist, he lives with his wife Laura in California’s Sierra foothills.
