by Peter Lamborn Wilson

The Rig Veda, written in India about 1500 BC, praises a holy plant called Soma, which, when consumed, grants the drinker an experience of enlightenment and ecstasy. In PLOUGHING THE CLOUDS, Peter Lamborn Wilson investigates the possibility of a Soma cult in ancient Ireland, tracing clues in Irish (and other Celtic) lore. By comparing Celtic folktales, romances, epics and topographic lore with the Rig Veda, he uncovers the Irish branch of the great Indo-European tradition of psychedelic shamanism, and even reconstructs some of its secret rituals. He uses this comparitive material to illuminate the deep meaning of the Soma-function in all cultures: the origins of 'poetic frenzy,' and the link between intoxication and inspiration.

'PLOUGHING THE CLOUDS is the best thing of its kind since Robert Graves' THE WHITE GODDESS'-Dale Pendell

150 pages, 6x9, paperback