Ep. 95: Spiritual Impulses, the Ecological Self & a Cultural History of the Magic Mushroom (feat. Dr. Andy Letcher)

Today on the Mushroom Hour Podcast we have the distinct privilege of being joined by Dr. Andy Letcher. Dr. Letcher is a writer, performer and scholar of religion who began life as an ecologist, completing his D.Phil in Ecology at Oxford University. After a spell as an environmental activist during the 90s, especially during the anti-roads protests, he moved across to the humanities, completing a PhD at King Alfred’s College Winchester. He is an expert on contemporary alternative spiritualities, especially modern Paganism, neo-shamanism and psychedelic spiritualities. He is especially interested in the tangled and sometimes tortuous relationship between science and spirituality, and in so-called dark green religion. He has written papers on: the distribution of mammals across continents; fairies; mysticism; and psychedelic spirituality. Andy is also the author of the comprehensive work “Shroom: A Cultural History of the Magic Mushroom” that examines enthnomycological research, legends and myths surrounding humanity’s relationship with psychoactive fungi.   

TOPICS COVERED:   

• Ecologies, Environmentalism and Cries to the Moon
• What is Spirituality?
• Sensory and Cultural Inputs Birthing Religious Traditions
• Defining the Self
• Exploring “Semi-Permeable Self”, “Ecological Self”, “Community Self”
• Consciousness Fields, Panpsychism & Animism
• Symbiosis and Sympoiesis
• Are Psilocybe Mushrooms Guiding Human Culture?
• Are Psychedelics Going to Save Us from Ourselves?
• What does a Psychedelic-Informed and Ecologically Self-Aware Society Look Like?
• How Large a Role did Psychedelics Really Play in Ancient Cultures, Religions, Rites and Secret Societies?
• Are We Part of the Most Psychedelic and Mycologically Inspired Culture Ever?
• We are the Mushroom People   
• Psychedelics in Druidry and Other Future Research   

EPISODE RESOURCES:   

• Andy Letcher Website: http://andy-letcher.blogspot.com/   
• Andy Letcher Writings: https://independent.academia.edu/AndyLetcher  
•  "Shroom: A Cultural History of the Magic Mushroom": https://www.amazon.com/Shroom-Cultural-History-Magic-Mushroom/dp/0060828293  
• Schumacher College: https://campus.dartington.org/schumacher-college/   
• William Blake: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Blake   
• Victor Turner: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victor_Turner   
• Terence McKenna: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terence_McKenna   
• Carl Jung: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carl_Jung   
• Donna Haraway: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donna_Haraway   
• Huston Smith: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Huston_Smith