Fly - Agaric Mushroom

Having taken out my girlfriend's Christmas decorations from storage I discovered revealed two Scandinavian druidlikemen accompanied by a fly Agaic mushroom. This got me thinking about how this iconic mushroom appears in our cultural anthropology. After all for most people. this is the quintessential toadstool. How did we relate as a people to this example of Irish wildlife?

One wonderful festive link is that the red and white of Santa Clauses coat has been linked to the colours of the mushroom. This tentative link is a nice idea in isolation. More prevalent in modern day ,The most obvious example of this magic mushroom in the media   is from the Supermario game or watching the TV series the smurfs. However I wanted to find an earlier and more primal link between our islands culture and this beautiful toadstool.


In Irish folklore, the species has been associated with a notion of 'Celtic' Druidism. Druids were said to fast for 3 days before taking this mushroom. Part of the poisonous effect was to cause stomach cramps and therefore expel any water or food. The psychoactive active substance then took effect bringing on hallucinations. This is not advised for a modern advocate,but it does show the deep link we have with this little fungus. The research continues.