Pharmako/Gnosis
  • Published: 1 January 2011
  • ISBN: 9781556438042
  • Imprint: North Atlantic
  • Format: Paperback
  • Pages: 408
  • RRP: $39.99

Pharmako/Gnosis

Plant Teachers and the Poison Path

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Anyone with an interest in the psychoactive and healing properties of plants and related substances will find Dale Pendell's Pharmako trilogy an entertaining yet profound overview of this emerging field. The series has rapidly assumed cult status as an unparalleled exposition of its subject, and this North Atlantic updated paperback edition will bring this underground classic to a wider readership than ever.

Delving deep into the world of psychoactive plants, including ayahuasca, Pharmako/Gnosis serves as a comprehensive and standalone guide. 

Celebrated by readers as a modern classic, this is a must-have for anyone interested in the science, history, and lore of psychoactive substances.

In this third and final volume of the Pharmako trilogy, Dale Pendell embarks on a captivating journey through the botanical and cultural landscapes of a diverse array of mind-altering "teachers." From plant-based psychedelic substances to their synthetic derivatives, Pendell illuminates each with an erudition and playful wit uniquely his own.

He delves into the worlds of traditional use and modern interpretations of substances such as:

  • Amanita muscaria
  • Ayahuasca (Banisteriopsis caapi)
  • Blowfish/Puffer Fish (Tetradontidae)
  • Bufo alvarius
  • Iboga (Tabernanthe iboga)
  • Jurema (Mimosa hostilis)
  • Ketamine
  • Kratom (Mitragynia speciosa)
  • Mescal Bean (Sophora secundiflora)
  • Morning Glory (Ipomoea, Rivea spp.)
  • Peyote 
  • Psilocybe (Teonanacatl)
  • San Pedro Cactus 
  • Tropane alkaloids
  • Peganum harmala

Pharmako/Gnosis offers more than a mere historical or pharmacological background of these substances. Pendell delves into the nuances of each substance's effect on consciousness with a poetic finesse, bringing to life our profound and intricate relationship with these potent compounds. He approaches the topic with genuine curiosity, acknowledging the transformative power these substances wield over individuals, societies, and cultures. The narrative, enriched by a wealth of quotations from acclaimed writers, is as intoxicating as the substances it explores, brewing a unique literary concoction.

Taking the reader beyond the confines of traditional scientific discourse, Pendell's distinctive narrative style weaves in personal experiences, anecdotal evidence, and a profound sense of the sacred, resulting in a reading experience that is as deeply engaging as it is informative.
  • Published: 1 January 2011
  • ISBN: 9781556438042
  • Imprint: North Atlantic
  • Format: Paperback
  • Pages: 408
  • RRP: $39.99
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About the author

Dale Pendell

Plant student Dale Pendell established himself as one of the foremost popular exponents of shamanic ethnobotany with his unprecedented Pharmako trilogy. A noted poet, he was the founding editor of the avant-garde magazine Kuksu and a cofounder of the Primitive Arts Institute and has led workshops on ethnobotany and ethnopoetics for the Naropa Institute and the Omega Institute. Pendell was part of the Oracular Madness theme camp at Burning Man for a number of years (his book Inspired Madness: The Gifts of Burning Man was published by Frog Books in 2006). Also an experienced computer scientist, he lives with his wife Laura in California’s Sierra foothills.

Also by Dale Pendell

The Great Bay
Inspired Madness
Pharmako/Dynamis
Pharmako/Poeia, Revised and Updated
See all

Praise for Pharmako/Gnosis

“Essential reading, a modern classic.”

—Stephen Silberman, Wired magazine

“The poet of plants . . . Pendell may be America’s answer to Blake, Coleridge,

and Wordsworth. . . .”

—Emily Green, Los Angeles Times

“Whereas all other drug encyclopaediaists are accompanied by excessive slyness, the seemingly free verse of Dale Pendell is constrained by compulsive accuracy, to paraphrase Zarathustra’s Hom Yost, by the (scruples) that drive forth truth.”

—David Flattery, author of Haoma and Harmaline

“A beat alchemist working textual DJ decks.”

—Erik Davis, Bookforum