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The Church of the Only Begotten Son

Sacraments · Index

Sacred Plants A–Z

Looking up a plant or substance by name? This index points each common name, scientific name and familiar alias to the church’s study page for that sacrament’s history and teaching.

How to use this index

Each entry lists the names people search for — common names, scientific names and familiar spellings — and links to the page that covers that plant’s religious history and, where the church has spoken, the church’s own words. The church teaches the use of “sacred holy herbs and substances by sacrament,” and its Official Lawful Notice speaks of “ALL ‘Earth-Based’ Sacred Sacraments… Plant, Herb, Mineral, Metal & Fungus,” for members only.23

These pages are study pages. They do not describe how to obtain, grow, prepare or use any substance, and they do not claim that membership makes possession legal. See also Entheogenic church and Religious freedom.

A

  • Amanita muscaria

    Amanita muscaria

    Also searched as: fly agaric, fly amanita, muscimol mushroom, ibotenic acid mushroom, amanita

    The red-and-white fly agaric of Siberia, the Soma debate and the Plaincourault fresco.

  • Ayahuasca

    Banisteriopsis caapi + Psychotria viridis

    Also searched as: yagé, yage, hoasca, daime, vine of the soul, ayahuasca tea, ayahuasca brew

    Amazonian sacrament, Santo Daime, União do Vegetal and the O Centro RFRA case.

B

  • Banisteriopsis caapi

    Banisteriopsis caapi

    Also searched as: caapi, ayahuasca vine, yagé vine, mariri

    The vine in classic ayahuasca; see the ayahuasca and DMT page.

  • Blue lotus

    Nymphaea caerulea

    Also searched as: blue water lily, Egyptian blue lotus, Nymphaea caerulea, sacred blue lily

    The blue water lily of ancient Egypt, rebirth symbolism and recent chemical finds.

C

  • Cannabis

    Cannabis sativa / C. indica

    Also searched as: marijuana, marihuana, hemp, weed, THC, CBD, cannabinoids, cannabis sativa, cannabis indica

    Tel Arad altar, kaneh bosm, holy anointing oil and cannabis scripture study.

  • Chacruna

    Psychotria viridis

    Also searched as: Psychotria viridis, chacrona, amiruca

    DMT-containing leaves traditionally brewed with Banisteriopsis caapi.

D

  • DMT

    N,N-Dimethyltryptamine

    Also searched as: N,N-DMT, N,N-dimethyltryptamine, dimethyltryptamine, spirit molecule

    The tryptamine in ayahuasca leaves; history and religious-freedom cases.

E

  • Ergot

    Claviceps purpurea

    Also searched as: Claviceps purpurea, ergot fungus, ergot of rye

    The grain fungus in the contested theory of the Eleusinian kykeon.

F

  • Frankincense

    Boswellia spp.

    Also searched as: olibanum, Boswellia, frankincense resin

    Temple incense of the ancient Near East; found with cannabis at Tel Arad.

H

  • Haoma

    Also searched as: homa, Zoroastrian haoma

    The Avestan counterpart of Vedic Soma; identity debated.

I

  • Iboga

    Tabernanthe iboga

    Also searched as: ibogaine, Tabernanthe iboga, Bwiti sacrament

    West-Central African shrub; sacrament of Bwiti initiation in Gabon.

K

  • Kaneh bosm

    Also searched as: qeneh bosem, kaneh-bosm, sweet calamus debate, fragrant cane

    Hebrew phrase in Exodus 30; contested cannabis reading of the anointing oil.

  • Kykeon

    Also searched as: Eleusinian kykeon, Eleusis drink, barley drink of Eleusis

    Sacred barley drink of the Eleusinian Mysteries; ergot theory contested.

M

  • Manna

    Also searched as: bread from heaven, manna of Exodus, gather the manna

    Biblical manna and the church’s charge to gather and distribute according to need.

  • Mescaline

    Mescaline

    Also searched as: 3,4,5-trimethoxyphenethylamine, mescalin

    Principal alkaloid of peyote and San Pedro; ancient American sacrament history.

  • Myrrh

    Commiphora spp.

    Also searched as: Commiphora, myrrh resin, biblical myrrh

    Resin of the holy anointing oil and of ancient Near Eastern worship.

P

  • Peyote

    Lophophora williamsii

    Also searched as: Lophophora williamsii, peyote cactus, peyote button, mescal button, hikuri

    Mescaline cactus of the Chihuahuan Desert; Native American Church and AIRFA.

  • Psilocybin mushrooms

    Psilocybe spp. (and related genera)

    Also searched as: psilocybin, magic mushrooms, sacred mushrooms, psychedelic mushrooms, shrooms, Psilocybe, Psilocybe cubensis, teonanácatl, teonanacatl, mushroom powder, psilocin

    Sacred mushrooms in Mesoamerica, Christian art, Cana teaching and mystical-experience research.

S

  • San Pedro

    Echinopsis pachanoi

    Also searched as: Huachuma, Wachuma, Echinopsis pachanoi, Trichocereus pachanoi, Saint Peter cactus

    Andean columnar cactus named for St. Peter; mescaline sacrament of the Andes.

  • Soma

    Also searched as: Vedic Soma, Soma drink, Rig Veda Soma

    Sacred drink of the Rig Veda; proposed as fly agaric, ephedra or Syrian rue.

  • Syrian rue

    Peganum harmala

    Also searched as: Peganum harmala, harmel, espand, harmala, harmine, harmaline

    Middle Eastern plant of incense and the haoma/Soma identification debate.

Questions and answers

What sacred plants does this church write about?

This A–Z lists plants and substances that appear in the church’s own teaching or in the study pages that set that teaching beside history — including psilocybin mushrooms, Amanita muscaria, cannabis, peyote, San Pedro, ayahuasca, DMT, manna, Soma, kykeon, Syrian rue, blue lotus, iboga, frankincense and myrrh.

Does the church use every plant on this list?

The church’s Official Lawful Notice says it utilizes “ALL ‘Earth-Based’ Sacred Sacraments and medicinal substances — Plant, Herb, Mineral, Metal & Fungus,” for members only under a Certified Religious Leader. Individual pages explain history and, where the church has spoken, its own words. This website does not say which substance is offered in any given ceremony.

Do these pages tell how to obtain or use a plant?

No. They cover names, history, religious use and the church’s teaching. They do not describe dosing, preparation, growing, buying or sourcing, and they are not medical or legal advice.

Sources

  1. Sacraments and Sacred Plants — The Church of the Only Begotten Son
  2. Official Lawful Notice — The Church of the Only Begotten Son
  3. Declarations and Beliefs, Part Two — The Church of the Only Begotten Son
  4. Ruck et al., “Entheogens”, Journal of Psychedelic Drugs 11:1–2 (1979)

Scholarly claims about sacred plants in history are summarized with their sources, and contested claims are marked as contested. The church’s own beliefs are quoted exactly and linked to the page where they appear.

Page

Religious freedom

The First Amendment, RFRA, RLUIPA, AIRFA, free-church status and Colorado law.