Christian Rätsch Libros

This comprehensive guide covers the botany, history, distribution, and cultivation of 414 psychoactive plants and related substances. It explores how culturally sanctioned use of these plants can provide insights into the nature of reality and includes 797 color photographs along with 645 black-and-white illustrations. Throughout history, plants have been valued for their nourishing, healing, and transformative properties, with the most powerful ones often regarded as sacred. The author details the botany, history, and preparation of over 400 psychoactive plants, discussing their ritual and medicinal uses, as well as cultural artifacts and art inspired by them. The text begins with 168 well-known psychoactives, such as cannabis and datura, and expands to include 133 lesser-known substances, “legal highs,” and plants from mythological contexts. Additionally, it covers products like ayahuasca, incense, and soma. Lavishly illustrated with images from the author’s global fieldwork, the book showcases the people, ceremonies, and art associated with the ritual use of these sacred psychoactives.

Drawing on eighteen years of field research, this work offers an in-depth exploration of shamanism through the lens of various tribes in Nepal's Himalayan kingdom. It presents a unique and comprehensive overview that highlights the diverse practices, beliefs, and cultural significance of shamanism in this region, making it an essential resource for understanding these spiritual traditions.

"In the traditions of every culture, plants have been highly valued for their nourishing, healing, and transformative properties. The most powerful of those plants, which are known to transport the human mind into other dimensions of consciousness, have always been regarded as sacred. In this book, the world's most renowned authorities on psychoactive flora provide a fascinating and moving testimony of these "plants of the gods," tracing their use throughout the world and their significance in shaping history and culture. Of the ninety-one hallucinogenic plants beautifully illustrated and characterized in their lexicon, the authors elaborate in vivid detail on fourteen that have had profound significance for human beings. Drawing on fourteen years of field work, Dr. Richard Evans Schultes describes pilgrimages made to gather the sacred plants as well as the rites, prayers, songs, and dances associated with their use. His accounts are augmented by Dr. Albert Hofmann's lucid explanations of the biochemistry of these psychotropic substances. The text is accompanied by numerous illustrations, more than on hundred of which are in full color. Included are rare photographs - many published here for the first time - of plants and the people who have used them as well as ceremonies, sculpture, paintings, pottery, and weavings related to the ritual use of these sacred hallucinogens" -- Back cover

Cannabis has accompanied the development of human culture from its very beginnings. Christian Ratsch profiles the medicinal, historical, and cultural uses of cannabis throughout the world and includes remedies and recipes for using cannabis to treat specific conditions.

Exploring the intersection of botany and human experience, this guide delves into the pharmacological properties and cultural significance of erotically stimulating substances throughout history. It examines their use in rituals and personal practices, offering insights into how these substances have shaped human sexuality and culture from ancient times to modern day. The comprehensive approach ensures a deep understanding of both the plants themselves and their multifaceted roles in society.

Dieses Buch eröffnet einen erstaunlichen Zugang zu einem faszinierenden Bereich unserer Kultur- und Medizingeschichte: zur Heilkunst der Hexen, der verbotenen, geächteten, staatlich und kirchlich unterdrückten „alternativen“ Medizin. Hexenmedizin ist wilde Medizin, sie ist unkontrollierbar und entzieht sich der herrschenden Ordnung. Sie macht Angst, denn sie entscheidet über Leben und Tod. Hexenmedizin ist Kult - schamanischer Heilkult um heilige, das heisst wirkungsvolle Pflanzen. Sie macht mehr als nur gesund: sie bringt Lust und Erkenntnis, Rausch und mythische Einsicht. Die Autoren nehmen uns auf eine Erkundungsreise mit, die zum Ursprung der Heilkunst, durch die antike Mythologie zur kirchenamtlich bestätigten Heilerin der Menschheit und von dort weiter zur Verkörperung der Sinnlichkeit und schliesslich zur Giftmischerin und Heilerin führt. Das Buch öffnet die Tür zum verdrängten, unterdrückten Wissen der Hexenmedizin und zeigt Wege, wie die heiligen Pflanzen unserer Ahnen wieder genutzt werden können.

Atlas aromatických rostlin, používaných k vykuřování a léčivému vdechování.

Obsáhlá obrazová publikace o halucinogenních rostlinách celého světa.

Autor představuje rostliny v jejich mystické a mýtické dimenzi. Byliny antiky jsou rostliny bohů, polobohů, démonů a smíšených bytostí.