Timothy Leary: The Embodiment of the Trickster Archetype

The psychologist Timothy Leary was (and still is) a controversial countercultural figure. He can be credited with introducing many young people to LSD and mind expansion, which spelled good news to some and bad news to others. When you open your mind, you may not always like what falls in. Leary became an evangelist for…

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Quakerism and Psychedelics

It is hard to find much information on the connections between Quakerism (or the Religious Society of Friends) and psychedelic use. This is in contrast to discussions on the (actual or possible) influence of psychedelics on other religions, including Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, and animistic religions. Unlike these other traditions, there are no signs…

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Psychedelic Research Did Not Stop in the 60s Solely Due to Drug Prohibition

There is a common narrative in psychedelic culture that early psychedelic research – which flourished in the 50s and 60s – was abandoned in the 60s because of then US President Richard Nixon’s ‘War on Drugs’. However, while drug prohibition was certainly a contributing factor, it was not the sole reason why psychedelic research slowed…

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