Revisiting Wasson’s Soma: Exploring the Effects of Preparation on the Chemistry of Amanita muscaria

R. Gordon Wasson’s theory identifying the Vedic Soma as the Amanita muscaria mushroom has been criticized for failing to explain how pressing and filtering Soma, as described in the Rig Veda, supports his theory of Soma’s identity. Several critics have reasoned that such preparation should be unnecessary if equivalent results can be obtained by consuming the raw plant, as is done with Psilocybe mushrooms. In order to address these criticisms, anecdotal accounts of Amanita muscaria inebriation were collected and analyzed to determine the impact of preparation on Amanita muscaria’s effects. The findings of this study demonstrated that the effects of Amanita muscaria were related to the type of preparation employed, and that its toxic effects were considerably reduced by preparations paralleling those described for Soma in the Rig Veda. While unlikely to end debate over the identity of Soma, this study’s findings help to solidify the foundation of Wasson’s theory.