The Eleusinian Mysteries were a very secretive religious initiation that required strict vows of silence to be taken in order to participate. One thing scholars do know, is that part of the ritual entailed the consumption of a magical potion called Kykeon. 

The Mysteries focussed on the abduction of Persephone, daughter of Demeter, by Hades, King of the Underworld. Hades was infatuated with Persephone and with the permission of Zeus, kidnapped her and took her to live in the Underworld. Demeter was so distraught at the disappearance of her daughter that she neglected her duties while searching for her. The land became barren, plants didn’t grow, drought and famine soon followed. Zeus recognising that things were getting out of control gave permission for Persephone to return to her mother, on condition that she hadn’t consumed any food or drink while trapped with Hades. Unfortunately Persephone had eaten some pomegranate seeds and therefore broke the rules. As punishment for this trespass, she was forced to spend half the year with her mother, and the other half with Hades in the Underworld, where she would rule as queen. 

The Eleusinian Mysteries focussed on this myth and in particular on Persephone’s ascent from the Underworld. The myth explained the cycles of the seasons and the birth, life, death, and rebirth of nature. What made the mysteries so unique was the expansion of this idea to the afterlife. Humans are born only to die, yet the mysteries challenged this belief by teaching about the eternal nature of spirit and the cycles of human lifetimes. 

One of the ways of making this truth more tangible was the consumption of Kykeon at the height of the secret rites. Nobody knows for sure what the psychoactive compound was, maybe even more than one was taken. Different theories have focussed on Demeter as the Poppy Goddess, Psilocybin has been mentioned, as well as DMT from the Acacia tree. Most scholars tend to consider Ergot as the most likely source, a fungus that grows on barley, closely related to LSD. 

The mysteries also dealt with the personal transformation of the individual, dying to the old self in order to be reborn into the new. The loss of innocence, suffering through the pain and inevitable change that living entails, only to rise like the Phoenix from the flames of consciousness.

Some of the oldest examples of the First Fruits festival can be traced to the temples of Demeter and Persephone in Ancient Greece. People would offer all kinds of produce from the successful harvest for the upkeep of the Temple and continued blessings of fertility. This was also mentioned in the Old Testament as a ritual practiced in Solomon’s Temple. 

Christians adapted the festival and in Anglo Saxon England it was changed to LoafMass, Lammas. The first wheat of the harvest was used to bake bread, then taken to the church to be blessed and consumed as the bread of the Eucharist, body of Christ. Peasants would also provide 1 of every 10 eggs, chickens, new born lambs and a tenth of the grain as tithes. 

By solely focusing on Christ’s birth, life, death, and resurrection, the church has robbed humanity of its purpose. Spiritual self development and growth. By placing all their faith on something on the outside to save them, many have forgotten how to save themselves. 

George Wilson – The Spring Witch – 1880.