I were walking wee Archie on Big Moor when i came across a line of Fly Agaric
I asked Danny @eastern_moors_partnership if he knew if these were edible ?
Instead of a straight answer i got something about ‘drinking reindeer piss after the reindeer have eaten these mushrooms’. 🤷♂️
I just wanted to know if they’re edible or not, i wasn’t planning on necking a glass of reindeer piss 🥃🦌❌.
Turns out that indigenous peoples such as the Sami of Scandinavia do (or at least did according to folklore) seek out reindeer that had eaten Fly Agaric and drink their urine.
Reindeer are known to seek out Amanita Muscaria, possibly attracted to its psychoactive properties. When reindeer consume the mushroom, the toxic compounds are broken down in their digestive system, allowing them to safely metabolize the mushroom and ‘potentially experience altered states of consciousness.
The urine contains the psychoactive compounds from the mushroom, which the Sami used in their shamanic rituals.
Taking you further down the ‘things you might see after a swift half of mind-altering reindeer piss’, the red and white colours of Santa Claus are believed by some to originate from the colours of the Fly Agaric, and the depiction of Rudolph & Co. flying through the air is believed by some to originate from post reindeer piss drinking hallucinations.
What i always want to know in tales like this is what was the first person to find out about these hallucinogenic properties doing drinking reindeer piss anyway ???
P.S. if you consume Fly Agaric you may experience its hallucinogenic qualities or its quite poisonous qualities. You choose. (The general advice is don’t).
P.P.S thanks Danny 🤯