The Mayan mushroom stones are small stone sculptures dating back as far as 1000 BCE. They depict figures emerging from the stalks of mushrooms. Most scholars now believe they are the oldest surviving artifacts of organized psilocybin ceremony in the Americas. For most of the 20th century, they sat in museum drawers, miscategorized or ignored. The tradition that made them was severed by colonization.
What we’re tending
The Temple is commissioning living artists to recover, reinterpret, and continue this lineage. Sculpture, painting, textile, glasswork. The pieces will live in our sanctuaries, travel to gatherings, and be used in worship. Some will be reproductions, faithful to the originals. Some will be new work, made by contemporary artists in dialogue with the ancestors.
This is doctrine made visible. Our worship is older than our church. The mushroom stones are proof.
What we need
- Artists working in stone, ceramic, glass, textile, or paint who want to be commissioned
- Researchers who can deepen our scholarship on the existing record
- Donors who want to fund specific commissions and see their work shown
- Indigenous community members who want to advise on doing this respectfully