Ancestral Wisdom
Haoma, also known as Soma in RgVeda, is the sacred Potion of Truth and Immortality extracted and concocted by the Pagan and Zoroastrian priests of Ancient Iran, known as Magi™ (Magai – plural of Mogus) for the ritualistic and ceremonial pursuit of spiritual insight and Vohu Manah, “The Good Mind“. Haoma held a divine role in both Persian and Hindu cultures as more than just the “Water of Life” but was even worshiped as a god, capable of bestowing strength and health to those who consumed it.
Zoroastrianism
Friedrich Nietzsche selected him as the eponymous protagonist of his magnum opus Thus Spoke Zarathustra because he believed him to be the first of wisdom to establish a moral system, that eventually evolved into Judeo-Christian morals [1]. As compared to the polytheistic religions that originated in the Indus Valley, Ancient Iran and Mesopotamia, Zoroaster teachings were:
– There is one God and that is Pure Consciousness
– Humans have free will to choose between Good vs. Evil
– Practicing altruism, for the sake of goodness without hope of reward
– Bringing happiness into the world with Good Thoughts, Good Words, and Good Deeds
According to legend, Zoroaster was conceived after his father and mother consumed a mixture of Haoma and milk, and was thus born instilled with the spirit of this sacred plant.
What is Haoma?
Old Avestan texts (the Zoroastrian Bible), Gatha dating back to 1700 to 1200 BCE describe the preparation of this holy drink by the Magi, priests who had religious, medical, and scientific duties [2]. Magi consumed Haoma in ritual traditions to attain a meditative dreamlike state in which they could see an insightful vision of the realm of the afterlife, in pursuit of earthly wisdom. In fact, Zoroaster received his revelation about the one true God (called Ahura Mazda) through a vision at the age of 30 during the ceremonial preparation of Haoma.
In one of the most important Zoroastrian texts, the Book of Arda Viraz, Viraz as the most righteous man, is selected by Magi to consume a mixture of Mang (Henbane) and Haoma in order to receive a vision of the realm of afterdeath during a troubling time of Persia. Believed to be an early inspiration for Dante Alighieri’s Divine Comedy [3], Viraz embarks on a 7 day out-of-body journey led by two spirit guides where he saw the souls of the blessed and the wicked prior to meeting the one true God and understanding the power of his love. Viraz returned with a reinforced message of piety and benevolence.
There is debate as to the identity of these ancestral plants [4], though evidence suggests that Mang/Bang is Black Henbane while Haoma is derived from Espand (also known as Wild Rue, Harmel, or Peganum Harmala).
Ritual Traditions
The use of intoxicating substances for knowledge of the ancient secret of dying before death is common throughout history and across cultures, from haoma/soma with the Zoroastrians of Persia and the Vedics of India, to langdang with the Daoists of Ancient China, to ayahuasca with the shamans of the Amazon and ergot-laden wine consumed by early occult Christians of 4th century Eleusis [5]. These substances have played an important role in human development and societal progress, not least of all for their social role in regularly bringing people together to engage in a joint ceremonial tradition [6].
Similar to early Christian traditions at the time of the Eleusinian Mystery, in Zoroastrian tradition it was women who held the venerable role of gathering the plants for preparation of haoma – notable given Zoroaster’s message about respecting spiritual equality of both men and women [7]. And similar to early Amazonian tribes where it was the shamans that would bear the responsibility of consuming medicine when villagers were sick [8], haoma consumption was restricted to the elite caste of priests (Magi), who were the only ones with a good mind seen as suitable for receiving and sharing insights from their journeys.
It was the same Magi, referred to as the Wise Men in Christian theology, who mastered the science of astrology to announce Jesus’ birth as king of the Jews and followed the guiding star to Bethlehem, where they gifted two other psychoactive medicinal plants (frankincense and myrrh). The wisdom of the Magi has not been forgotten, and their lessons persist today about forming good thoughts to spread happiness through good words and good deeds. We created Magi’s nootropics to revive their ancestral wisdom for all to discover personal insights in pursuit of a good mind.
References
- [1] Higgins, Kathleen. Nietzsche’s Zarathustra. 1st edition, Lexington Books, 2010.
- [2] Flattery, David S., and Martin Schwartz. Haoma and Harmaline: The Botanical Identity of the Indo-Iranian Sacred Hallucinogen “Soma” and its Legacy in Religion, Language, and Middle Eastern Folklore. 1st edition, University of California Press, 1989.
- [3] Haug, Martin and Edward William West. The Book of Arda Viraf. 1st edition, The Government of Bombay, 1872.
- [4] Riedlinger, Thomas J. “Wasson’s Alternative Candidates for Soma.” Journal of Psychoactive Drugs, vol. 25, no. 2, 1993, pp. 149-156. https://doi.org/10.1080/02791072.1993.10472245
- [5] Muraresku, Brian C. The Immortality Key: The Secret History of the Religion with No Name. 1st edition, St. Martin’s Press, 2020.
- [6] Merlin, M.D. “Archaeological evidence for the tradition of psychoactive plant use In the old world.” Economic Botany 57, 295–323 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1663/0013-0001(2003)057[0295:AEFTTO]2.0.CO;2
- [7] Stausberg, Michael, et al. The Wiley Blackwell Companion to Zoroastrianism. 1st edition, John Wiley & Sons Ltd, 2015.
- [8] Herndon, Christopher N., et al. “Disease concepts and treatment by tribal healers of an Amazonian forest culture.” Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine, 2009; 5: 27. doi: 10.1186/1746-4269-5-27