Plants of the Gods: Their Sacred, Healing, and Hallucinogenic Powers

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(as of Jul 24, 2025 13:30:46 UTC – Details)

World-renowned anthropologist and ethnopharmacologist Christian Ratsch provides the latest scientific updates to this classic work on psychoactive flora by two eminent researchers.

• Numerous new and rare color photographs complement the completely revised and updated text.

• Explores the uses of hallucinogenic plants in shamanic rituals throughout the world.

• Cross-referenced by plant, illness, preparation, season of collection, and chemical constituents.

Three scientific titans join forces to completely revise the classic text on the ritual uses of psychoactive plants. They provide a fascinating testimony of these “plants of the gods,” tracing their uses throughout the world and their significance in shaping culture and history. In the traditions of every culture, plants have been highly valued for their nourishing, healing, and transformative properties. The most powerful of those plants, which are known to transport the human mind into other dimensions of consciousness, have always been regarded as sacred. The authors detail the uses of hallucinogens in sacred shamanic rites while providing lucid explanations of the biochemistry of these plants and the cultural prayers, songs, and dances associated with them. The text is lavishly illustrated with 400 rare photographs of plants, people, ceremonies, and art related to the ritual use of the world’s sacred psychoactive flora.

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Inner Traditions

Books for the Spiritual & Healing Journey

Founded in 1975, Inner Traditions • Bear & Company is one of the largest and oldest publishing houses in the world devoted exclusively to the subjects of spirituality, the occult, ancient mysteries, new science, holistic health, and natural medicine. Happily nestled in the Green Mountains of Vermont for more than 30 years, the company now has over 2,000 titles in print.

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Publisher ‏ : ‎ Healing Arts Press
Publication date ‏ : ‎ November 1, 2001
Edition ‏ : ‎ 2nd
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Print length ‏ : ‎ 208 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0892819790
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0892819799
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.9 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 7.75 x 0.6 x 10.5 inches
Best Sellers Rank: #59,758 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #28 in Customs & Traditions Social Sciences #116 in Herbal Remedies (Books) #341 in Mental & Spiritual Healing
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