13. The Question of Wine

In answering the resurrection question, perhaps another mystery of the ancient world may be solved. That being the question, “What on earth were they drinking and calling wine”? Ancient wine was radically different from modern wine in many ways; so this is really an interesting question.

First, it should be established that ancient wine was intoxicating. It was, ancient sources stating that four drinking cups of wine caused intoxication. These cups have been recovered in great numbers from archeological sites throughout the ancient world. The ones I have seen are about 4 to 8-oz. capacity. They are not usually much bigger than this but there are exceptions, of course. Consuming 16 to 32 oz. of modern wine would obviously cause intoxication. This modern wine is, however, consumed straight, and this is the major difference between modern and ancient wines. The ancients always cut their wine with water and not just a little water either. One part wine having two to ten parts water added. Exceptionally strong wine could even be cut twenty to one. The most common ratio mentioned being three to four parts water to one of wine. There is simply no way an alcoholic wine could be reduced with water in these ratios and still be active! So, if the ancient wine could not be alcoholic, what was it?

The addition of the water was considered essential to the process. Drinking undiluted wine was reputed to cause death, definitely another major difference between modern and ancient wine. The most common theory to explain this difference is shown below.

The technology of ancient wine making (open fermentation in crocks or vats) would only produce a six-percent alcohol content. This would be quickly reduced to acetic acid (vinegar). Ancient wine was produced exactly the same as modern vinegar. So, a stable vinegar solution was probably the basis of ancient wine. Vinegar is, however, not intoxicating. One explanation is that vinegar was used as a vehicle for carrying other drugs. Dried drug plants such as poppy (opium), datura, henbane, etc. being extracted with the vinegar. (With the possible exception of opium and ephedra, none of these other plants would really be pleasant in their effects.) Vinegar would then preserve these drugs in solution. This would allow bottling, transport and use months or years later. Drug plants, herbs and spices were also added to the wine in the mixing bowl when the water was added. Such drugged wine was probably used in the ancient world, and, before this rediscovery of the resurrection of Amanita Muscaria, a very logical conclusion.

The resurrection does, however, suggest a different scenario; simply add a given weight of dried Amanita Muscaria to your grape juice, etc. in an open crock. The antibiotic action of the herb suppresses competition for the juice. After a certain time, the juice is full of Amanita Muscaria chemicals. It may be possible to then bottle and transport without spoilage. The presence of a small amount of living Amanita Muscaria culture in the juice would also tend to inhibit spoilage.

The specimens can be left in the empty crock to resurrect and then grow. After this resurrection is dried, it can then be reused. After one or two growth cycles the culture would be completely unidentifiable as Amanita Muscaria. This culture may be capable of living through many generations of men; long enough that the culture’s true origin may be lost.

I believe that this is one of the main reasons for these sacred stories of the virgin birthed hero that does miracles; dies as a sacrifice; resurrects and becomes immortal; these are stories both sacred and wide spread and they contain a description of the only life form on the planet that would do this! This knowledge would allow starting a new wine producing culture from the wild source.

There was nothing more sacred in the ancient world than their wine. Wine was the one and only god worshipped by the entire ancient world; consumed by Greek, Roman, Jewish, Armenian, Celtic, Persian, Babylonian, etc. etc. a comforter of king and slave. Could there be a more Sacred knowledge to preserve for the future than this?

If Amanita Muscaria were really the source of the ancient wine, an extract would have to be capable of being diluted with water in a large ratio. To test this, ½ oz. of dried Amanita Muscaria specimens was extracted with 16-oz. grape juice; the extraction lasted 8 hours. The straight extract was sipped and produced the usual effects; the amount consumed being about 4 oz.

Then approximately 1 oz. extract was diluted with approximately 3-oz. water; this actually tasted better than the straight extract. Several ounces of the extract were consumed diluted in various ratios of 2 to 6 water to 1 of extract. To my great surprise, the addition of the water actually made a great difference in the effect. The usual Amanita Muscaria effects became instead purely psychedelic, very similar to Psilocybin or LSD!

This intoxication was much more pleasant than that produced by the straight extract; the dilution also seemed to increase the potency, exactly the opposite of every other drug extract on the planet, where dilution invariably leads to a weaker solution. Nothing in my years of researching Amanita Muscaria was as surprising to me as this transformation! It came completely unexpected and was a very enlightening experience. This experiment was repeated several more times with exactly the same result. The ancient emphasis on dilution was really a practical application of chemistry. I feel fairly confident in stating that Amanita Muscaria really was the source of at least some of the ancient wines.

In trying to understand this transformation, I have developed a theory; Muscimol is a very polar molecule, I believe the oppositely charged ends link up and form long chains or other structures, I also believe these chains are released by the dried specimen into solution. Water is also a polar molecule and the sudden addition of a large amount of water breaks these chains into individual units of Muscimol dissolved in water. The long chains having the effects of the Amanita Muscaria and the primary extract; while the dissolved individual Muscimol units having instead a psychedelic effect. This would explain the apparent increase in potency of the diluted solution. It is only a theory; but it is the best I can come up with, using only observed effects, a chemical structure diagram of Muscimol and reasoning.

This Amanita wine, after the addition of the water, was much more pleasant to me than anything alcoholic. In the ancient world this ability to be diluted and yet become stronger, would be another sign of divinity.

For details on creating an Amanita Muscaria wine culture under modern conditions see chapter 15.

Shortly after The Sacred Secret was published, I was studying Celtic mythology and the Magic cauldrons in these Myths and their relationship with the Holy Grail. I soon realized that the Resurrection of Amanita Muscaria solved the mystery of the Holy Grail, and after two years of research a separate little book was published titled “Natural Magic; Recreating the Grail” which is reproduced here in it’s entirety; please note: since it was a separate booklet some info is repeated.