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The Encyclopedia of Psychoactive Plants
Ethnopharmacology and Its Applications
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The Encyclopedia of Psychoactive Plants
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$21299
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Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?
The most comprehensive guide to the botany, history, distribution, and cultivation of all known psychoactive plants.
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Description
He discusses their ritual and medicinal usage, cultural artefacts made from these plants, and works of art that either represent or have been inspired by them. The author begins with 168 of the most well-known psychoactives—such as cannabis, datura, and papaver—then presents 133 lesser-known substances. Additionally, he covers plants known as "legal highs," plants known only from mythological contexts and literature, and plant products that include substances such as ayahuasca, incense, and soma.
The text is lavishly illustrated with 800 colour photographs—many of which are from the author's extensive fieldwork around the world—showing the people, ceremonies, and art related to the ritual use of the world's sacred psychoactives.
Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?
The Encyclopedia of Psychoactive Plants by Christian Rätsch is hailed as a comprehensive and authoritative reference on psychoactive plants, extensively researched and beautifully illustrated. Reviewers praise its meticulous detail covering over 400 substances, complete with information on scientific naming, cultural significance, and chemical properties. It is regarded as essential for anyone interested in the cultural and scientific aspects of psychoactive plants, offering insights into altered consciousness across various cultures.
Book Details
INFORMATION
ISBN: 9780892819782
Publisher: Inner Traditions Bear and Company
Format: Hardback
Date Published: 25 April 2005
Country: United States
Imprint: Park Street Press,U.S.
Illustration: 797 color photographs and 645 b&w illustrations
Contributors:
- Foreword by Albert Hofmann
Audience: General / adult, Tertiary education, Professional and scholarly
DIMENSIONS
Spine width: 46.0mm
Width: 216.0mm
Height: 279.0mm
Weight: 3153g
Pages: 944
About the Author
Christian Rätsch, Ph.D. (1957 – 2022), was a world-renowned anthropologist and ethnopharmacologist who specialized in the shamanic uses of plants for spiritual as well as medicinal purposes. He studied Mesoamerican languages and cultures and anthropology at the University of Hamburg and spent, altogether, three years of fieldwork among the Lacandone Indians in Chiapas, Mexico, being the only European fluent in their language. He then received a fellowship from the German academic service for foreign research, the Deutsche Akademische Auslandsdienst (DAAD), to realize his doctoral thesis on healing spells and incantations of the Lacandone-Maya at the University of Hamburg, Germany.
In addition to his work in Mexico, his numerous fieldworks have included research in Thailand, Bali, the Seychelles, as well as a long-term study (18 years) on shamanism in Nepal combined with expeditions to Korea and the Peruvian and Colombian Amazon. He also was a scientific anthropological advisor for expeditions organized by German magazines such as GEO and Spektrum der Wissenschaften (Spectrum of Sciences).
Before becoming a full-time author and internationally renowned lecturer, Rätsch worked as professor of anthropology at the University of Bremen and served as consultant advisor for many German museums. Because of his extensive collection of shells, fossils, artifacts, and entheopharmacological items, he had numerous museum expositions on these topics.
He is the author of numerous articles and more than 40 books, including Plants of Love, Gateway to Inner Space, Marijuana Medicine, and The Dictionary of Sacred and Magical Plants. He is also coauthor of Plants of the Gods, Shamanism and Tantra in the Himalayas, and Witchcraft Medicine and was editor of the Yearbook of Ethnomedicine and the Study of Consciousness. A former member of the board of advisors of the European College for the Study of Consciousness (ECSC) and former president of the Association of Ethnomedicine, he lived in Hamburg, Germany.
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