My father Stephan F. de Borhegyi, was the first Maya archaeologist to propose that hallucinogenic mushroom rituals were a central aspect of ancient Maya religion. He based this theory on his identification of a mushroom stone cult that came into existence in the Guatemala Highlands and Pacific coastal area around 1000 B.C. along with a trophy head cult associated with human sacrifice and the Mesoamerican ballgame. He supported this theory with a solid body of archaeological evidence along with historical evidence provided by ethno-mycologist R. Gordon Wasson and others.

R. Gordon Wasson’s identification of the Vedic god Soma, as the Amanita muscaria mushroom has not won universal acceptance by Vedic-Hindu scholars. Soma’s true identity over time has been forgotten, but Soma was a sacred plant worshiped as both a god and holy beverage by a people who called themselves Aryans, who introduced their Soma religion into India and the Indus Valley civilization around 1500 B.C. The religion of the Aryans was based on the observance and celebration of certain celestial laws which they believed were necessary to venerate in order to keep the world in balance. This balance was maintained through the acts of ritual sacrifice and the offering of Soma, a hallucinogenic drink. After closely examining the archaeological and historical evidence, we find many parallels between the ancient Vedic religion of East India with the mythology’s and religion of the Americas.

If the identification of Soma, the ritual beverage of the gods described in the Rig Veda is in fact the Amanita muscaria mushroom, as proposed by Wasson, then there can be little doubt that the Amanita muscaria mushroom was indeed the model of the numerous small stone sculptures known as Maya “mushroom stones.”

Out of the ten Rig Veda books, one hymn book is devoted entirely to Soma. The Vedas state that the god-plant Soma and was found in the mountains and that the intoxicating juices from Soma were expressed from the flesh of the plant using “Soma-stones.” The juices of Soma were then filtered through wool into large jars. In like manner, mushroom stones, when they have been found in situ in the course of archaeological excavation, are often accompanied by stone grinding tools known as manos and metates. Accounts of mushroom ceremonies still in practice among the Zapotec Indians of Mexico confirm the use of these tools in the preparation of hallucinogenic mushrooms for human consumption. Though separated by vast distances, it is tempting to conclude that these manos and metates are, in fact, the same as the sacred stones described in the Rig Veda that were used to prepare the intoxicating drink known as Soma.

The visual evidence I present at mushroomstone.com ORIGIN OF A MUSHROOM RELIGION: SOMA IN THE AMERICAS, of a divine Amanita mushroom cult in the New World before the arrival of Columbus points directly to the cult of Soma, the divine mushroom worshiped and venerated in the Vedas which constitute the basic sacred literature of Hinduism. There composition may have started before 2000 B.C. even before the Aryans entered India (Wing-Tsit Chan,1969, p.13). The Amanita muscaria mushroom, or Soma religion likely absorbed or superseded the minor religious beliefs it encountered in the Americas.

The great religions of Asia in essence, are fundamentally derived from Vedism, the Vedas being the sacred texts, that were introduced into the subcontinent (invasion from Iran?) around 1500 B.C. by the Aryans (Sanskrit for noble) a so-called invasion that postdated the Harappa/Indus civilization.

The Amanita muscaria mushroom, identified by R. Gordon Wasson as the god Soma from the Rig Veda, is I believe the metaphorical key to decoding the esoteric religions of the Americas including Easter Island.

Vedic worshipers partook in the Soma ritual because it reportedly produced a divine sense of power and inspiration. They believed that the gods themselves joined in the ritual drinking. By pleasing the Vedic gods with sacrifice, song, drink and food, the devotees hoped to gain the support of nature and win favor with the gods. Sacrifice in both religions was both a symbol of fear and one`s affection towards the gods

The Vedic gods of East Indian philosophy are in many ways very similar to the pantheon of gods of Mesoamerica, for they too derived much of their strength from the sacrifices of men. Vedic Hinduism and the religions of Mesoamerica both believed in a three-tiered cosmos, with celestial gods traveling back and forth from the heavens to the Underworld, and saw a triadic unity in their gods (Hindu triad, and Palenque Triad) that was essentially related to cosmic forces such as wind, rain-lightening, and fire, and the unity of creation, preservation, and destruction creating the cycle of life, death, and rebirth.
Mesoamericans believed in four great eras or world periods that ended in cataclysm prior to this world, the fifth and final world in which they lived. The idea of four previous worlds that were periodically destroyed is also shared by early Vedics, Hindus, Buddhists, and Persian Zoroastrians.

Soma was an integral part of Vedic religion where it was drunk by the priesthood during sacrifices, and verses in the Rig Veda refer to Soma as the “single eye”, the eye of the sun, symbolism, that can be clearly seen in the iconography at the ruins of Teotihuacan in highlands of Mexico, at the temple of Quetzalcoatl-Tlaloc and priesthood of the Feathered Serpent (the disembodied eye). The intoxication and ecstasy of Soma induces supernatural vision, similar to that of the Mexican god Tlaloc (a mushroom god) whose goggled eyes represent the vision of divine immortality and his paradise of Tlalocan. Those who died in battle were taken to the paradise of Tlaloc called Tlalocan. Like the Vedic god Indra, Tlaloc is also a god associated with lightening and warfare. Known today as “Tlaloc warfare”, the goal of this warfare was not to go into battle and kill, but to bring home as many captives as possible for later sacrifice (Soma sacrifices) to the gods.

I believe strongly from my own research, that this “Tlaloc Warfare” also known as “Venus Star Wars”, was conducted under the influence of hallucinogenic mushrooms, and like the Vedic god Indra who consumed Soma before battle, those who consumed mushrooms before battle experienced the effects of supernatural strength and vision which made them feel invincible in battle.

For more on the cult of the mushroom read BREAKING THE MUSHROOM CODE: by Carl de Borhegyi at mushroomstone.com