The red and white spotted fly agaric mushroom is a symbol of luck and happiness. It’s also a hallucinogen. Ancient Druids referred to this mushroom as the Flesh of the Gods because they believed it granted a direct communication with the Earth. Dried fly agarics were consumed or smoked or even absorbed through the skin in ointments or in sweat lodges. This was reserved for shamans and deemed too dangerous for the common folk. Mushrooms grow very rapidly, appearing to spring up out of nowhere and under the right conditions will grow in a ring or an arc. This sudden appearance of a ring of mushrooms was (and still is) referred to as a faery ring and is thought to be evidence of faeries dancing in the ring the night before. It is said that you should not enter a faery ring, lest you fall asleep and wake up trapped in the faery realm. Other lore states that you may be compelled to dance until you collapse or drop dead.
