{"id":2923,"date":"2022-09-20T09:58:14","date_gmt":"2022-09-20T13:58:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/poisonersapothecary\/?p=2923"},"modified":"2022-09-20T09:58:14","modified_gmt":"2022-09-20T13:58:14","slug":"christian-ratsch-undying-contributions-to-the-poison-path","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/poisonersapothecary\/2022\/09\/20\/christian-ratsch-undying-contributions-to-the-poison-path\/","title":{"rendered":"Christian R\u00e4tsch, Undying Contributions to the Poison Path"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

The Poison Path is a philosophy that takes focus on poisonous and psychoactive plants, their spiritual and occult uses in magic and ritual.\u00a0 There are few who have contributed more to this study than anthropologist Christian R\u00e4tsch.\u00a0 <\/strong>He will be missed, but he left us with lifetimes of research and information.<\/p>\n

The Undying Contributions of the Late Christian R\u00e4tsch<\/strong><\/p>\n

On the 17th<\/sup> of September, 2022 author, lecturer and ethnobotanist Christian R\u00e4tsch<\/strong> (Hamburg, Germany) died of a stomach ulcer that he had been dealing with himself for years.\u00a0 R\u00e4tsch<\/strong> leaves behind wife and fellow author Claudia M\u00fcller-Ebeling.<\/p>\n

Christian R\u00e4tsch, Ph.D., is a world-renowned anthropologist and ethnopharmacologist who specializes in the shamanic uses of plants. He is the author of\u00a0Marijuana Medicine<\/em>\u00a0and coauthor of\u00a0Plants of the Gods, Shamanism and Tantra in the Himalayas,<\/em>\u00a0Witchcraft Medicine<\/em>, and\u00a0The Encyclopedia of Psychoactive Plants<\/em>. He lives in Hamburg, Germany, and lectures around the world.\u00a0 He has served as president of the German Society of Ethnomedicine. (Inner Traditions\/Bear & Company)<\/p>\n

\"\"
Encyclopedia of Aphrodisiacs<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Ethnobotanical Contributions<\/strong><\/p>\n

R\u00e4tsch<\/strong> was one of the single most important authors of ethnobotanical research, the Poison Path, the Psychedelic Renaissance and poisonous\/psychoactive plant lore.\u00a0 He earned a doctorate studying Native American cultures living and studying with indigenous cultures.\u00a0 As a child he became interested in shamanic practices and the study of plants.\u00a0 He worked closely with indigenous plant spirit medicine, preserving an extensive body of traditional lore.\u00a0 He also experimented with various psychedelic substances since a young age, and eventually became friends with LSD researcher Timothy Leary.\u00a0 He is the founder and co-editor of The Yearbook of Ethnomedicine and the Study of Consciousness.\u00a0 <\/em><\/p>\n

His work was something that I discovered early on in my Poison Path studies, because he was one of the only authors at the time to not only take an interest in poisonous and psychoactive plants but also provide the reader with extensive history, folklore and chemical information from a practical and academic standpoint.\u00a0 His book Witchcraft Medicine<\/em>: Healing Arts, Shamanic Practices and Healing Plants<\/em>, was the first work of his that I read, a complete ethnobotanical history of European psychedelic practices in the context of witchcraft.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Encyclopedia of Aphrodisiacs<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Plants of The Gods <\/strong><\/p>\n

Originally published in 1979, this book was a precursor to the megalithic Encyclopedia of Psychoactive Plants<\/em>.\u00a0 Originally written by Richard Evans Schultes and Albert Hoffman, all three titans in their own right. World-renowned anthropologist and ethnopharmacologist Christian Ratsch provides the latest scientific updates to this classic work on psychoactive flora by two eminent researchers.<\/p>\n

The Encyclopedia of Psychoactive Plants<\/strong><\/p>\n

In my opinion, the single most important modern day compendium of ethnobotanical information in the Western Hemisphere.\u00a0 The book is over 900 pages long with 797 color photographs and 645 black and white drawing.\u00a0 It is a comprehensive tome on sacred plant knowledge from around the world.\u00a0 Accessible and all in one place, this is one of the few books that provides ALL of the available information!<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Other titles by Christian R\u00e4tsch<\/strong><\/p>\n

Encyclopedia of Psychoactive Plants <\/em><\/p>\n

Plants of Love: The History of Aphrodisiacs and A Guide to their Identification and Use<\/em><\/p>\n

Encyclopedia of Aphrodisiacs<\/em><\/p>\n

Gateway to Inner Space: Sacred Plants, Mysticism, and Psychotherapy<\/em><\/p>\n

Marijuana Medicine: A World Tour of the Healing and Visionary Powers of Cannabis<\/em><\/p>\n

He has written extensively, books and article in German.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

A Permanent Impact <\/strong><\/p>\n

The work of Christian R\u00e4tsch has been invaluable in my own studies of psychoactive and poisonous plants.\u00a0 The tireless work and attention to detail that was required to bring such a tome of knowledge into manifestation is no-doubt divinely driven.\u00a0 While the world has lost an amazingly curious mind, he has left behind a body of work that will continue to grow, evolve and influence those of us continuing this work.\u00a0 I would have loved to have meet you Christian, and thank you for your contribution but I have a feeling we will meet one day.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

You can visit his website but it is all in German www.christian-raetsch.de\/<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

On the 17th of September, 2022 author, lecturer and ethnobotanist Christian R\u00e4tsch (Hamburg, Germany) died of a stomach ulcer that he had been dealing with himself for years.\u00a0 R\u00e4tsch leaves behind wife and fellow author Claudia M\u00fcller-Ebeling.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2804,"featured_media":2926,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35,124,602,507,422,74,5],"tags":[2008,1999,2002,1813,2005,6],"class_list":["post-2923","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-current-events","category-featured-practitioners","category-green-magic","category-magical-herbalism","category-pagan-authors","category-recommended-reading","category-the-poison-path","tag-anthropology","tag-christian-ratsch","tag-encyclopedia-of-psychoactive-plants","tag-ethnobotany","tag-plants-of-the-gods","tag-poison-path"],"yoast_head":"\nChristian R\u00e4tsch, Undying Contributions to the Poison Path<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"On the 17th of September, 2022 author, lecturer and ethnobotanist Christian R\u00e4tsch (Hamburg, Germany) died of a stomach ulcer that 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