What is a Psychedelic?

A psychedelic is a substance—be it a plant, mushroom, extract, powder, or chemical molecule—that, when consumed, induces a non-ordinary state of consciousness. This psychedelic experience is typically distinct from those produced by other psychoactive substances, manifesting in changes in perception, mood, and cognitive processes.

The word “psychedelic” was coined by psychiatrist Humphrey Osmond in 1956 (while corresponding with writer and philosopher Aldous Huxley), and is derived from the Greek words, psychḗ meaning 'life-soul' and/or 'mind', and dēleín meaning 'to manifest', 'to reveal', 'to expose'. So basically 'to reveal the (life)soul', but also, 'to reveal the mind', depending on which definition of 'psyche' you adhere to.

Aldous Huxley had previously suggested “phanerothyme”, derived from the Greek words, phaneroein meaning 'to make manifest or visible', and thymos meaning 'breath-soul', thus 'to reveal the (breath)soul', but Osmond's psychedelic proved to be far more popular (and easier to remember).

Because the word “psychedelic” carries so much cultural baggage from the psychedelic era of the late 1960s and early 1970s (for better, or for worse), and also because many consider psychedelics to inherently be strong potentiators of transformative spiritual experiences, the word “entheogen” was proposed in 1979, derived from the Greek words, éntheos meaning 'full of the god, inspired, possessed', and genésthai meaning 'to come into being', thus to 'bring godly inspiration into being', or to 'generate the divine within', although the word “entheogen” is typically used to refer to substances with a long tradition of ceremonial use, and can include substances which would not typically be considered to be psychedelics, such as tobacco, datura, or cannabis.

The most well known or “classic psychedelics”, are LSD, mescaline, and psilocybin containing mushrooms, although other entheogens are also considered to be psychedelics such as morning glory seeds, Ayahuasca, and Iboga, and a wide range of various tryptamines, phenethylamines, and lysergamides, including NN-DMT, 5-MeO-DMT, 4-ACO-DMT, and 2C-B. Although commonly mentioned when discussing psychedelics, and also used in psychedelic therapy, MDMA is not technically a psychedelic, and has been classified as an empathogen and/or entactogen.