Pisces' Mushroom: Psilocybe
Pisces season is here. As we journey with each mushroom think about the qualities and healing effects they have and how can we integrate them more into our lives. Whether that be through ritual, ingestion or just learning and building more awareness about their incredible capabilities and role they play in our world.
When we time the embodiment of each mushroom with the energies of the sky, this alchemizes a deeper connection and understanding of the earth and our physical vessels.
Mushrooms are nature's alchemists and we get to dive deep into our next fungi below. Also, refer to the Astrological Planner as your navigational tool throughout the year where you will find an intro to each and fungi archetype for each zodiac season.
Psilocybe (Psilocybe Cubensis)
Psilocybe cubensis is a multidimensional, transformational portal in the shape of unassuming amalgamations of mycelia. Tiny gateways to the Great Mystery and spiritual revelation, Psilocybe is an evolutionary gift that quantum leaps us forward, connects, heals, and expands our perceptions of reality.
It is psychotropic, hallucinogenic, and works in the psycho-spiritual realms, opening the mind, creating new connections in our brains, expanding our inner-worlds, transcending the physical body, and unearthing inherent wisdom. Like Neptune, it is outside of physicality, but its by-products are emotional, spiritual, mental revelations, and transcendental Earth medicine when used with intention and integrity.
Traditionally used for eons for spiritual connection, religious healing, divination, ritual, inspiring visions, physical endurance, creativity, and communicating with spirit.
Main modern use:
Psychotherapy, therapeutic healing, alternative treatment for depression, anxiety, and end of life, mystical experiences, deeper spiritual connection.
PLANET:
NEPTUNE - Governs dissolution, merging, calming, oneness, pineal gland function, endorphins, cerebrospinal fluid.
SIGN:
PISCES - Quantum physics, dreaming, euphoria, ethereal realms, spiritual connection, and creativity are just some Pisces' world. Pisces rules the feet, toes, heels, blood (with Mars, Moon, Aquarius), lymphatic system, immune system, duodenum (with Virgo).
Pairing notes:
Opening gateways. Neptune governs the pineal gland / third eye, oneness, the ineffable and the undefinable. Pisces as a mutable water sign rules other realms, emotional, spiritual, and energetic bodies. This shroom can also be paired with Gemini (rules mind; thinking, communicating), Sagittarius (rules expansion, seeking, learning, beliefs), Aquarius (rules big picture thinking, futurist).
If you are interested in medicinal mushrooms to deepen your relationship with Aquarius this season check out Shiitake and Reishi from Feral Fungi. Use code MAGICOFI for 20% off at check-out!
Magic of I. doesn’t earn any commission for referring these products, we simply love supporting other businesses doing great things and passing that on.
Alchemist, Ethnobotanist, Mycologist & Spagyricist, Jason Scott, shares his wisdom of Agarikon and Aquarius below.
Psilocybe & Neptune
Wisdom in the Deep Blue Ocean
Common Name: Psilocybin, Magic Mushrooms
Latin Name: Psilocybe cubensis
Family: Hymenogastraceae
Tastes: Sweet, Salty
Affinities: Nervous System, Cognition
Energetics: Cool & Moist
Planetary Rulership: Neptune, Mercury, Saturn, Jupiter
The Depths of the Ocean
Pisces resides in the looming depths of the sea, surrounded by potential and tempted by escape. Mysticism, spirituality, dreams, and possibility exemplify the potential. The pitfalls of these gifts are the tendency to succumb to inherent sensitivity and to retreat from their true potential rather than delve into it and experience it fully.
While humanized through the zodiac, Pisces is reflected deeply in the most potent botanical and mycological allies. Through fungi, we find the psilocybin-containing species, of which there is a multitude. There are more than 180 species of fungi that contain Psilocybin and psilocin across multiple different genii.
Each genus and species could be investigated; this article will discuss one of the most ubiquitous figures in 'Magic Mushrooms,' which is Psilocybe cubensis.
Psilocybe mushrooms take us into the same depths lorded over by Neptune and occupied by Pisces. In the Nahuatl language of the Aztecs, psilocybin mushrooms are called Teonanácatl, which translates to "flesh of the Gods." Whether it be a journey to the depths of the soul, both human and worldly, or a glimpse into the vision of the gods, one thing is sure: These potent fungi contain a key that pushes the boundaries of our consciousness.
As with other boundary-dissolving plants and fungi, Psilocybe cubensis breaks down the doors of perception and expands our awareness. It opens the mind and spirit to the unending possibility of the universe and where we fit into it. Psilocybin illuminates the gleaming potential inherent in Pisces.
Psilocybin shows us the dream of the world, the magic, the mystery; it shows us the potential written into the center of creation and allows us to look at it fully aware and to face it wholly and completely. Here in the realm of the mushroom, escapism is difficult though still possible.
While that potential exists, it doesn't necessarily imply positivity because, in those places where the deepest parts of ourselves confront us, we are forced to reconcile things that are sometimes challenging and sometimes uncomfortable. If we are not ready to face these parts of ourselves, of our reality, we are violently thrown into an inferno of our own making.
The "bad trip" emanates from this personal hell that arises from fear of reconciliation, of a cognitive and spiritual distance between ourselves and the message hidden within these powerful little beings. In abused states, just like our Pisces, they can lean toward escapism.
Instead of listening to the lessons, applying them, and working with them in the most tangible aspects of our lives, we can be allured by seemingly infinite wisdom. Mushrooms, not inherently good or bad in and of themselves, can become just as distracting from our dreams and goals as they can be illuminating to them.
Psilocybin-containing mushrooms have been chiefly explored and expressed through anecdotal experience. Modern research points to the efficacy of synthetic Psilocybin used in therapeutic settings while disregarding the rest of the mushroom and, more importantly, the spirit of the mushroom.
To approach the subject holistically, it is essential to consider the anecdotal and historical use and the modern constituent-based therapeutic use. There is value to both models, with the former being less 'hard science' but more aligned with our qualitative experience and the latter being more 'hard science' but rooted in a less tangible qualitative analysis.
Psilocybe cubensis, Magic Mushrooms, show great potential in helping to nourish the nervous system and nerve & mood imbalances such as nerve pain, memory, migraines, trauma, depression, and anxiety. This wide degree of therapeutic potential speaks to the mysterious way psilocybin mushrooms elucidate healing.
Along with Psilocybin, cubensis also contain some of the following compounds: Psilocin, Baeocystin, Norbaeocystin, Norpsilocin, Aeruginascin, and B-carbolines. So far as we can tell, Psilocybin is not the chemical that is actively affecting the brain. Instead, it is metabolized by the body and broken down into the active compound psilocin.
The blue bruising notoriously associated with these little magic fungi is due to the oxidation of psilocin. Psilocin is processed through the body, into the blood, and then into the brain, where it acts on a receptor responsible for neurological benefits. For what little we know about Psilocybin and psilocin, we know even less of the other constituents that we are aware of.
What we know for sure is the innumerable tales and anecdotal stories of how Psilocybe cubensis and other psilocybin-containing mushrooms are attributing to the quality of life in many individuals. From those suffering from impenetrable migraines to deep seeded trauma to those looking to spark their creativity and outlook on life.
When considering ethical applications, the chasm between uses is large and somewhat tricky territory. Still, one thing is for sure: Mushrooms are making a booming entrance into mainstream consciousness from a longstanding position on the margins. And now that the damn has broken, they are here to stay.
Microdosing, taking small amounts daily (50-150mg of dried mushrooms), has found its way into even the most unsuspecting landscapes, from the ground floor of big tech to the kitchen cabinet of modern stay-at-home mothers. Taking small amounts of the mushrooms seems to help nourish the nervous system, stave off depression and anxiety, and to bring a sense of hope and reconciliation to daily life and patterns.
Larger doses of these mushrooms notoriously push the limits of daily reality and unleash the potential to address more profound levels of healing and spiritual development. They also open the door to landscapes that can be challenging, scary, and sometimes even dangerous to navigate without a proper shepherd.
With all the complexity in their potential, one thing is for sure; psilocybin mushrooms are hitting their stride and becoming more prevalent in many different aspects of our lives. A trend that isn't going anywhere anytime soon.
Doctrine of Signatures in Psilocybin
Psilocybe cubensis (or any version of magic mushrooms, but especially Psilocybe spp.) are a prized jewel of the forest. Or the beach. Or the cow pasture. They are a beacon of hope, transformation, and potential growing out of the manure. A better metaphor couldn't have been schemed from anywhere else.
To the uninitiated, these powerful little fungi that have the potential to show you gods could easily be mistaken for any other LBM (little brown mushroom) that pops up in your yard, at the park, or in the forest. As such, they are easily overlooked, and their potential needs to be noticed by most who lay their eyes on them.
For those who know, they are a powerful little secret that is elusive until you see them. And then they pop up everywhere, revealing themselves in a previously overlooked abundance.
The form of magic mushrooms is generally varied, but there are a few common factors, mainly present in Psilocybe cubensis. These mushrooms leave behind spores that are often purple in tint and have a cap with an umbo (a rounded knob/perturbance) that is sometimes surrounded by a ring-shaped depression and are notorious for their blue bruising.
The cap is often golden-brown, relinquishing to a pale white at the edge, with a universal veil that remains either intact or pulled back around the stem as the cap continues to open. Cubensis are a pan-tropical species of mushroom that can be found in similar zones throughout the world.
Some visual cues point to a strong association with Saturn, such as the umbo on the top of the cap, with the weblike mycelia resembling the nervous system striking a solid resemblance with Mercury.
The experience of capacity for linguistic diversity, neurodevelopment, and diversity, synesthesia (hearing color, seeing sound, etc.) can be strongly correlated with Mercury. Realizing the boundaries of our humanity, potential, and cognitive capacities resonates with Saturn.
Neptune points to visions, dreams, potential, and boundary dissolving to understand where we start and begin and what that means. Neptune is also represented by the potential for escapism, for being lost in the aspects that take us away from our daily experience and reality.
The beauty in the vision, the colors, and the stories ring true of Neptune but also have close relations to Venus and Mercury. These relationships give psilocybe cubensis a correspondence as diverse and difficult to pigeonhole as the experience they illicit.
Adorning Pisces
Psilocybe cubensis is a double-edged sword for Pisces. On the one hand, they illuminate the positive scope and potential of what Pisces embodies: the dream, vision, hopes, and desires. The depth and sensitivity of the soul, the world, and the universe. On the other hand, in its negative aspect, it can get stuck there, disregarding the body and the work left to do in the world.
Psilocybe adorns Pisces with its potential and empowers Pisces to find the wisdom held deep within. The ocean's depths where Pisces resides are the same world where magic mushrooms assume their power. In that space, there is an infinite possibility for healing. For wisdom. For growth and understanding.
This mushroom (or really class of mushrooms) pushes the boundaries of the world as we know it, from the intimacy of our relationship with ourselves, to how we relate to others and systems and organizations. Through that potential restructuring, there is a strong affinity to the revolutionary power latent in Pluto.
The association with Neptune can be the guiding light in what could and is fast becoming a 'dark night of the soul' for larger social systems and structures. Where there is darkness and decay from failing systems that evolved out of broken perspectives, transmutation occurs. There exists hope.
Within that hope, Pisces helps us find our altruistic nature, allows us to tune in to our spirituality and connection to something more profound than ourselves, and allows us to blossom into our power and deepest self in a way that illuminates that for others.
Other Pisces-Supporting Fungi
Shiitake, Oyster, Reishi.
If you are interested in medicinal mushrooms to deepen your relationship with Aquarius this season check out Shiitake and Reishi from Feral Fungi. Use code MAGICOFI for 20% off at check-out!
Magic of I. doesn’t earn any commission for referring these products, we simply love supporting other businesses doing great things and passing that on.
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