May 29, 2020 - Cannabis residues have been found on an altar in an ancient desert temple in Israel.

March 20, 2025 - Many religions have expressed positions on what is acceptable to consume as a means of intoxication for spiritual, pleasure, or medicinal purposes. Psychoactive substances may also play a significant part in the development of religion and religious views as well as in rituals.

The Philistine culture (Iron Age, ca. 1200-604 BCE) profoundly impacted the southern Levant's cultural history, agronomy, and dietary customs. Nevertheless, our knowledge of the Philistines’ cultic praxis and deities, is limited and uncertain. Here, we combine archaeological data with a ...

June 1, 2020 - The ancient Israelites may have used cannabis to get high as part of their religious ritual, according to Israeli researchers who found residue of the drug at a nearly 3,000-year-old shrine.

1 week ago - Ayahuasca, referred to as Daime within the practice, which contains several psychoactive compounds, is drunk as part of the ceremony. The drinking of Daime can induce a strong emetic effect which is embraced as both emotional and physical purging. União do Vegetal (UDV) is a religious society ...

March 13, 2025 - One of the most revered and significant rituals in many religious traditions is the Holy Sacrament. This sacred practice serves to deepen our spiritual connection, nourish our souls, and create a space for reflection and communion with the divine.

June 1, 2019 - The Ointment and the Incense are herbal preparations used by the priestly caste to facilitate a direct experience of the Israelite God. A wide variety of psychoactive components are found in these preparations, including GABA-receptor agonists and modulators, opioid receptor agonists, and other ...

August 25, 2024 - Explore the power of nature's gifts. Discover 7 sacred plants used in spiritual rituals worldwide, and learn how these revered botanicals can enhance your spiritual practices and connect you to ancient traditions.

Psychoactive plants that induce a form of altered states of consciousness (hallucinogen-induced ASC (H-ASC)) have been widely used during the religiou…

July 1, 2016 - There has been little rigorous research on the spiritual content of ayahuasca sessions, despite the tribal use of this herbal concoction and the existence of three Brazilian churches in which ayahuasca is considered a sacrament.

The answer to that question is marijuana. Hemp as originally used in religious ritual, temple activities, and tribal rites, involved groups of worshippers rather than the solitary individual. The pleasurable psychoactive effects were then, as now, communal experiences.

March 7, 2019 - The Ointment and the Incense are herbal preparations used by the priestly caste to facilitate a direct experience of the Israelite God. A wide variety of psychoactive components are found in these preparations, including GABA-receptor agonists and modulators, opioid receptor agonists, and other ...

Drugs Used in RitualsCertain plants have long been known to humans as having psychoactive effects—they produce changes in a person's thoughts, sensations, and behavior. Drugs made from such plants played important roles in many societies before the modern age.

Some Jewish people are connecting with their faith and God through use of psychedelics and say ancient history proves this is not new.

April 18, 2023 - Lavender for sleep. Rosemary for clarity. Rose for love. Those are the basics, according to the Internet. But there is so much more to herbalism, and the use of herbs, especially in the Jewish tradition. The modern terminology of herbalism is defined by Wikipedia as "the study of pharmacognosy ...

April 14, 2025 - Certain religious groups utilize cannabis in their spiritual practices. These groups may view the plant as sacred, believing its use can facilitate altered states of consciousness conducive to spiritual experiences, such as communion with the divine or deeper self-reflection.

The healing power of herbal medicine is deep in our ancestral bones · Perhaps herbal medicine has spoken to you before: while gardening, going on nature walks, making a cup of tea, or even in your dreams. Perhaps you’ve learned how to make a botanical drink or a decadent skincare product

December 12, 2024 - Did my ancient Hebrew ancestors use psychotropic substances? Probably not, but the grammar of the visionary experience is similar.

June 5, 2023 - An excerpt adapted from 'Cannabis: Lost Sacrament of the Ancient World' by Chris Bennett.

Herbal medicine is a prominent complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) modality in Israel based on the country's natural diversity and impressive cultural mosaic. In this study, we compared cross-cultural perspectives of patients attending ...