#  2024 Conference Anthology 

 



##  Psychedelic Intersections: 2024 Conference Anthology 

 

 

       ![horizontal linked pattern](/sites/g/files/omnuum4346/files/styles/hwp_21_9__1920x825/public/2025-01/11.png?h=35dd630d&itok=_DWK5auF) 

 

 



 

 



 

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*Psychedelic Intersections: 2024 Conference Anthology* presents interdisciplinary research from scholars and practitioners working at the crossroads of psychedelics, religion, medicine, race, Indigeneity, law, and the underground, history, anthropology, and beyond. Edited by Jeffrey Breau and Paul Gillis-Smith, the *Anthology* expands on research presented at the 2024 “Psychedelic Intersections: Cross-cultural Manifestations of the Sacred” conference. Both the *Anthology* and the Psychedelic Intersections conference are part of the Center's larger [Psychedelics and Spirituality](https://cswr.hds.harvard.edu/research-programming/transcendence-transformation/psychedelics-spirituality) initiative.

The *Anthology* features an interview with keynote speaker Luis Eduardo Luna and 19 original research essays organized into five research tracks (Ancient Traditions, Indigenous Traditions, Medicine, Race, and the Underground). It opens with a foreword by the Center's Faculty Director Charles Stang and an introduction by Jeffrey Breau and Paul Gillis-Smith, the Center's Program Leads for Psychedelics and Spirituality.

Each chapter of the open-access *Anthology* can be accessed digitally below. Alternatively, [download the complete *Anthology* as a printable PDF](https://cswr.hds.harvard.edu/sites/g/files/omnuum4346/files/2025-02/2.3.25%20PICA%20vol%201.pdf).



 

##  Introductory Chapters 

 



  [### Foreword: Psychedelics, Spirituality, and “the West”

 ](/publications/psychedelic-intersections/foreward-psychedelics-stang)Charles Stang

 

   ![A black and white rendering of a Roman lighthouse in Alexandria, Egypt](/sites/g/files/omnuum4346/files/styles/hwp_16_9__480x270/public/2025-01/iStock-655814418.jpg?itok=Dn4O6vvw) 

 

 

 

  [### Introduction: Crossroads of Psychedelic Studies

 ](/publications/psychedelic-intersections/introduction-2025)Jeffrey Breau and Paul Gillis-Smith

 

   ![Backlit spiral of rainbow stained glass](/sites/g/files/omnuum4346/files/styles/hwp_16_9__480x270/public/2025-01/iStock-663794682.jpg?itok=7hGosTjD) 

 

 

 

  [### Religion of the Garden: An Interview with Luis Eduardo Luna

 ](https://cswr.hds.harvard.edu/publications/psychedelic-intersections/religion-of-the-garden-interview-luna)Luis Eduardo Luna

 

   ![Close up of a cannabis plant](/sites/g/files/omnuum4346/files/styles/hwp_16_9__480x270/public/2024-12/iStock-2160462571.jpg?itok=dxI8e3Xg) 

 

 

 

  

 

 

 

##  Ancient Traditions 

 



  [### From Messiah to Mushroom: A Brief History of John Marco Allegro’s The Sacred Mushroom and the Cross

 ](/publications/psychedelic-intersections/messiah-to-mushroom-smith)Geoffrey Smith

 

   ![black and white sketch of psychedelic mushroom](/sites/g/files/omnuum4346/files/styles/hwp_16_9__480x270/public/2025-01/geoffrey%20smith.jpg?itok=mcaxOiP8) 

 

 

 

  [### God’s Pharmacy: On the Use of Entheogens in Jewish Mystical Traditions

 ](/publications/psychedelic-intersections/gods-pharmacy-sierka)Anna Sierka

 

   ![Photo of fruits of Semecarpus anacardium. It is a deciduous tree. The nut is ovoid and smooth lustrous black. In Ayurveda, the fruit is considered a rasayana for longevity and rejuvenation](/sites/g/files/omnuum4346/files/styles/hwp_16_9__480x270/public/2024-11/iStock-524264919.jpg?itok=RJZB1lrw) 

 

 

 

  [### The Soma Question: Interrogating the History of Psychedelics with Sanskrit Mantras

 ](/publications/psychedelic-intersections/soma-question-gerety)Finnian Moore Gerety

 

   ![Picture of Soma bush in the desert](/sites/g/files/omnuum4346/files/styles/hwp_16_9__480x270/public/2025-01/finnean%20gerety%2C%20photo%20credit%20goes%20to%20Denys%20Vynokurov.jpeg?itok=ItVtkAlV) 

 

 

 

  

 

 

 

##  Indigenous Traditions 

 



  [### Xochipilli: Psychedelic Plants, Song, and Ritual in Aztec Religion

 ](/publications/psychedelic-intersections/romero-xochipilli-psychedelic)Osiris González Romero

 

   ![Statue of Xochipilli](/sites/g/files/omnuum4346/files/styles/hwp_16_9__480x270/public/2024-09/Aztec_Stone_Xochipilli%2C_God_of_Music%2C_Song%2C_%26_Dance_%289756266225%29.jpg?h=d6b3b2c1&itok=QQKwm-cf) 

 

 

 

  [### Intersections with Indigeneity in Psychedelic Buddhism

 ](/publications/psychedelic-intersections/simonds-intersections-indigeneity)Colin Simonds

 

   ![A colorful psychedelic hand with a tangle of vibrant strands growing from it palm.](/sites/g/files/omnuum4346/files/styles/hwp_16_9__480x270/public/2024-10/iStock-intersections-indigeneity-psychedelic-buddhism_hero.jpg?itok=3CGHnViY) 

 

 

 

  [### Psychedelic Atmospherics

 ](/publications/psychedelic-intersections/psychedelic-atmospherics-gearin)Alex K. Gearin

 

   ![Oil paintings of Jesus and Kali by the Quechuan artist Ruvexan Flores, 2019, overlaid at an evening ceremony at Pachamama Temple, outside Yarinacocha, Peru, 2019. ](/sites/g/files/omnuum4346/files/styles/hwp_16_9__480x270/public/2024-12/gearin%20paintin_0.jpg?itok=9L7Og8IU) 

 

 

 

  

 

 

 

##  Medicine 

 



  [### Toward a Psychedelic Theodicy

 ](/publications/psychedelic-intersections/psychedelic-theodicy-mosurinjohn)Sharday Mosurinjohn

 

   ![scientist putting mushrooms in a clear plastic bag](/sites/g/files/omnuum4346/files/styles/hwp_16_9__480x270/public/2025-01/sharday%20mosurinjohn.jpg?itok=Wfnb9_8e) 

 

 

 

  [### Psychedelic Projections: Hidden Narratives Shaping Psychedelic Medicine

 ](/publications/psychedelic-intersections/psychedelic-projections-king)Franklin King IV

 

   ![An organized flat lay of various entheogens](/sites/g/files/omnuum4346/files/styles/hwp_16_9__480x270/public/2025-01/iStock-1204207110.jpg?itok=IYagGijz) 

 

 

 

  [### Facilitating the Sacred: The Role of Chaplains in Psychedelic Law and Policy

 ](/publications/psychedelic-intersections/facilitating-the-sacred-litman)Victoria Litman

 

   ![Wood panelled empty courtroom](/sites/g/files/omnuum4346/files/styles/hwp_16_9__480x270/public/2025-01/pexels-zachary-caraway-646894910-17630959.jpg?itok=JGAdB9Tu) 

 

 

 

  [### Relationality in Psychedelic Facilitation Training Programs

 ](/publications/psychedelic-intersections/relationality-psychedelic-programs-meadow)Moana Meadow

 

   ![Abstract network pattern](/sites/g/files/omnuum4346/files/styles/hwp_16_9__480x270/public/2024-12/iStock-1161520421.jpg?itok=HmqCoVQi) 

 

 

 

  

 

 

 

##  Race 

 



  [### The Interconnection of Psychedelic Spirituality, Social Justice, and BIPOC Therapist Engagement in Psychedelic-Assisted Therapy

 ](/publications/psychedelic-intersections/psychedelic-social-justice-oglesby-beaussant)Candace Oglesby and Yvan Beaussant

 

   ![Group members holding hands](/sites/g/files/omnuum4346/files/styles/hwp_16_9__480x270/public/2024-12/iStock-1479095520.jpg?itok=McefpGcn) 

 

 

 

  [### Spiritual Promiscuity, Psychedelic Interdependence, and The First World Congress of Sorcery

 ](/publications/psychedelic-intersections/spiritual-promiscuity-gonzalez)Julián Sánchez González

 

   ![Dark horizon line between planet and space](/sites/g/files/omnuum4346/files/styles/hwp_16_9__480x270/public/2024-12/iStock-1971122203.jpg?itok=oh2m11M5) 

 

 

 

  

 

 

 

##  The Underground 

 



  [### Manufacturing the Entheogenic Underground

 ](/publications/psychedelic-intersections/entheogenic-underground-stoddard)Brad Stoddard

 

   ![picture of wood panelled courtroom](/sites/g/files/omnuum4346/files/styles/hwp_16_9__480x270/public/2025-01/brad%20stoddard.jpg?itok=OkBW41Yo) 

 

 

 

  [### The Legal Definition of Religion in the Context of Modern Religious Exercise with Psychedelics

 ](/publications/psychedelic-intersections/legal-religious-exercise-hoots)Allison Hoots

 

   ![legal scales and gavel](/sites/g/files/omnuum4346/files/styles/hwp_16_9__480x270/public/2025-01/pexels-sora-shimazaki-5669602.jpg?itok=Vx37rSES) 

 

 

 

  [### Soul Quest Ayahuasca Church of Mother Earth v. the DEA

 ](/publications/psychedelic-intersections/janik-soul-quest-vs-dea)Tarryl Janik

 

   ![raw ayahuasca](/sites/g/files/omnuum4346/files/styles/hwp_16_9__480x270/public/2024-12/iStock-1194248787_0.jpg?h=c2d0d3fd&itok=v_VWViMo) 

 

 

 

  [### A Post-Cringe Theory of Psychedelic Spirituality in the Rave Scene

 ](/publications/psychedelic-intersections/post-cringe-psychedelics-lhooq)Michelle Lhooq

 

   ![Picture of stage at a rave scene](/sites/g/files/omnuum4346/files/styles/hwp_16_9__480x270/public/2025-01/pexels-jacobmorch-426976.jpg?itok=W_WrAMn3) 

 

 

 

  [### With Best Intention: Psychedelic Intention-Setting Rituals as Rites of Sacralization

 ](/publications/psychedelic-intersections/best-intention-breau)Jeffrey Breau

 

   ![Pyramid structure at burning man festival](/sites/g/files/omnuum4346/files/styles/hwp_16_9__480x270/public/2024-12/sasha-matveeva-Nj4zQmmHpWA-unsplash%20%281%29.jpg?itok=NstYroMg) 

 

 

 

  [### Beyond Counterculture: Towards a People’s History of Psychedelic Networks

 ](/publications/psychedelic-intersections/beyond-counterculture-greer)Christian Greer

 

   ![mushroom mycelium](/sites/g/files/omnuum4346/files/styles/hwp_16_9__480x270/public/2024-12/iStock-1468440614.jpg?itok=MwYDuJVv) 

 

 

 

  

 

 

 

 [ Download the entire Anthology arrow\_circle\_right ](https://cswr.hds.harvard.edu/sites/g/files/omnuum4346/files/2025-02/2.3.25%20PICA%20vol%201.pdf) 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

*Psychedelic Intersections: 2024 Conference Anthology* operates under the[ Creative Commons License CC-BY-NC](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/). Under Creative Commons license, authors retain copyright to their articles. A CC-BY-NC license enables reusers to distribute, remix, adapt, and build upon the material in any medium or format for noncommercial purposes only, and only so long as attribution is given to the creator. All authors publishing in the *Anthology* have accepted these terms of publication.