Christian Rätsch (1957-2022)

Christian Rätsch (right) with his wife and coauthor Claudia Müller-Ebeling (photo by
L Hong To Rtai คู่มือ 2022)

Christian Rätsch, Undying Contributions to the Poison Path

by Coby Michael, author of The Poison Path Herbal

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

The Undying Contributions of the Late Christian Rätsch

On the 17th of September 2022 author, lecturer, and ethnobotanist Christian Rätsch (Hamburg, Germany) died of a stomach ulcer that he had been dealing with himself for years. Rätsch leaves behind wife and fellow author Claudia Müller-Ebeling.

Ethnobotanical Contributions

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

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. His book Witchcraft Medicine: Healing Arts, Shamanic Practices, and Healing Plants was the first work of his that I read, a complete ethnobotanical history of European psychedelic practices in the context of witchcraft.

Plants of the Gods

Originally published in 1979, Plants of the Gods was a precursor to the megalithic Encyclopedia of Psychoactive Plants. Originally written by Richard Evans Schultes and Albert Hofmann, who are also titans in their own right, Christian Rätsch provides the latest scientific updates to this classic work on psychoactive flora by two eminent researchers.

The Encyclopedia of Psychoactive Plants

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

Other titles available in English by Christian Rätsch

The Encyclopedia of Aphrodisiacs

Pagan Christmas: The Plants, Spirits, and Rituals at the Origins of Yuletide

Marijuana Medicine: A World Tour of the Healing and Visionary Powers of Cannabis

Shamanism and Tantra in the Himalayas

Ayahuasca: Rituals, Potions, and Visionary Art from the Amazon

Plants of Love: The History of Aphrodisiacs and a Guide to Their Identification and Use

Gateway to Inner Space: Sacred Plants, Mysticism, and Psychotherapy

A Permanent Impact

The work of Christian Rätsch has been invaluable in my own studies of psychoactive and poisonous plants. The tireless work and attention to detail that was required to bring such a tome of knowledge into manifestation is no-doubt divinely driven. 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.

I would have loved to have met you Christian and thank you for your contribution, but I have a feeling we will meet one day.

Originally published on Poisoner’s Apothecary blog on Patheos, Sept. 20, 2022.