Let me blow your mind for a second.

There’s a real theory backed by ethnomycology, anthropology, and Siberian shamanic tradition that Santa Claus isn’t just a whimsical invention...

...but a mythologized echo of ancient mushroom-shamans, filtered through centuries of folklore and Christianity.

Long before Santa, elves, and flying reindeer entered pop culture, Siberian shamans were the original winter travelers; moving between worlds, delivering sacred gifts, and guiding communities through the darkest time of the year.

Their sacrament of choice? The unmistakable red-and-white Amanita muscaria mushroom.

Over time, as pagan solstice rituals were absorbed into Christian tradition, the shaman didn’t disappear; he was rebranded.

His ecstatic rituals softened into folklore.

His entheogenic medicine became “gifts.”

His spirit journeys became flight.

And his once-feared power was transformed into a jolly, benevolent figure we now call Santa Claus.

To understand Santa, you have to understand the mushroom.

What is Amanita muscaria?

Amanita muscaria, also known as Fly Agaric (named for its historical use as a fly repellent), is one of the most iconic mushrooms on Earth. It shows up everywhere: Viking berserkers, the sacred Soma of ancient India, Japanese Tengu spirits, Alice in Wonderland, and even Super Mario’s power-ups.

But this isn’t your average “magic mushroom.”

Compared to psilocybin-containing species, Amanita muscaria is chemically and experientially worlds apart. Its primary active compounds—ibotenic acid and muscimol (the most psychoactive)—work on GABA and glutamate systems [1,2], not serotonin like psilocybin. [3]

When properly prepared and consumed, Amanita muscaria can produce effects such as:

• Wave-like shifts between sleepiness and alertness
• Dream-like illusions and hallucinations
• Euphoria and deep feelings of peace
• Laughter, giggles, and giddiness
• Macropsia (objects appearing larger or smaller)
• Loss of balance, clumsiness, altered proprioception
• Sensations of flying or floating
• Spontaneous movements and muscle twitching [4,5]

Centuries of misinformation have painted this mushroom as simply “poisonous.” While it can cause uncomfortable side effects (more so than psilocybin), it has also been a revered psychoactive sacrament across cultures for thousands of years.

And here’s where things get really interesting...

One of the central figures of the Christmas tradition, St. Nikolaus himself, may have been inspired by this very mushroom.

Below are the five strongest connections ever proposed between Santa Claus and the iconic red-capped, white-spotted psychoactive mushroom. Let's dive in.

1) Siberian Shamans = Early “Santa” Figures

In Siberia, where the Santa Claus myth originates, shamans, often dressed in red and white robes mirroring the colors of the Amanita muscaria cap (and Santa’s iconic suit), would collect fly agaric mushrooms and carry them in reindeer-skin sacks.

During winter solstice rituals (the second-to-last week of December, aligning exactly with Christmas time), they traveled by reindeer sleigh to deliver these mushrooms to the villagers.

But in the depths of Arctic winter, snowdrifts often blocked doorways, forcing shamans to enter through the smoke hole at the top of the yurt. Essentially, the proto-chimney.

Santa coming down the chimney coincides with this exact access point.

And just like St. Nick soaring across the night sky, Siberian shamans were viewed as intermediaries between heaven and earth... travelers between worlds, bearing gifts from the other side.

2) Gifts Under the Christmas Tree

Amanita muscaria grows symbiotically at the base of evergreen trees, such as pine, birch, spruce, and fir... You know, like the iconic Christmas tree? The mushrooms often appear in dense clusters or perfect circles known as “fairy rings.”

And the fungi seem to emerge as if by magic, without seeds, like ancient ideas of spontaneous or even virgin birth. Bright red caps dotted in white, they look uncannily like gifts waiting beneath a tree.

In Siberian cultures, these mushrooms were highly prized, and this imagery may still linger today. Our modern tradition of placing presents under the Christmas tree mirrors the sight of sacred mushrooms gathered at the base of evergreens.

But there’s another curious overlap. Fly agaric becomes less toxic when dried, as heat converts ibotenic acid into the more psychoactive muscimol, through decarboxylation.

To dry them, shamans would hang the mushrooms on tree branches or place them in stockings near the fire. Ornaments on branches and stockings by the hearth.

3) Flying Reindeer

In Siberia, there are longstanding stories of reindeer actively seeking out Amanita muscaria. After eating the mushrooms, the reindeer become visibly intoxicated: stumbling, leaping, and behaving as if they’re “flying.”

There are also ethnographic accounts of shamans drinking the urine of these mushroom-fed reindeer. Why? Because reindeer naturally metabolize the more toxic ibotenic acid into muscimol (kind of like the process of drying the mushroom on the tree or by fire), creating a cleaner, stronger effect for the shaman.

There’s something deeper going on here, too. If the shaman relied on the reindeer for access to the visionary experience, it mirrors how Santa depends on his reindeer for travel across the sky.

Adding another layer, Boston University classics professor Carl Ruck has noted that Rudolph’s glowing red nose closely resembles the Fly Agaric's iconic red cap. The idea of that radiant nose guiding Santa through darkness may be a parable for how entheogenic mushrooms were believed to guide humans through inner darkness as well.

4) Flying, Transcending Reality, & Tripping Balls

Consuming Amanita muscaria is often reported to produce sensations of flying, spirit travel, and leaving the body altogether. And then there are the beings.

Many people describe encounters with small entities such as forest spirits, gnomes, elves, or other “little helpers” during fly agaric experiences.

Santa soaring through the sky with the help of his Little Helpers starts to look a lot like a mythologized mushroom journey. These visionary states may have shaped the idea of Santa’s supernatural ability to traverse the world in a single night.

You also can’t ignore Santa himself.

The classic depiction—rosy red cheeks, booming laughter, boundless cheer—lines up eerily well with commonly reported effects of Amanita muscaria. Flushed skin, warmth, euphoria, spontaneous laughter. Some would argue Santa isn’t just jolly by personality… he’s symbolically intoxicated.

5) Winter Solstice Rituals

At the Winter Solstice, the darkest point of the year, many pre-Christian cultures marked a death-and-rebirth moment. The sun “dies,” pauses, and is reborn as the days begin to lengthen again.

This liminal window was believed to thin the veil between worlds, making it an ideal time for spirit travel, divination, healing, and gift exchange.

In Siberian traditions, shamans stepped into this role. They consumed or distributed Amanita muscaria as medicine, vision-inducing sacraments, and spiritual gifts, moving between households to deliver them during solstice ceremonies. In doing so, the shaman functioned as a mediator between worlds—human and spirit, darkness and light.

Santa is essentially this role Christianized and mythologized:

• He appears once a year at the darkest time
• He traverses the sky (otherworldly travel)
• He enters homes through liminal portals (chimneys)
• He delivers symbolic gifts tied to renewal and joy
• He embodies abundance, warmth, and rebirth amid winter scarcity

When Christianity absorbed solstice festivals, Santa became the folk container for these older ritual functions; a palatable, magical figure carrying forward ancient themes of renewal, generosity, and contact with the unseen.

So… is Santa a psychedelic mushroom?

Not literally.

But the Santa we know today appears to be woven from much older threads: mushroom medicine, shamanic symbolism, reindeer behavior, and winter solstice ritual.

When you line it all up—the red-and-white garb, the flying reindeer, the chimney entry, the gifts under the evergreen, the solstice timing, the role of a liminal gift-bringer traversing worlds—it stops feeling random and starts feeling ritualized.

There may never be a smoking gun proving Santa was consciously modeled after Amanita muscaria. But these parallels are too coherent, too culturally consistent, to dismiss as coincidence.

To me, Santa looks less like a modern invention and more like an ancient Winter Solstice shaman archetype, dressed up for a new era. Carrying forward humanity’s oldest themes of rebirth, generosity, altered states, and communion with the unseen.

What do you think?

Have a Merry Christmas,
Onjae