As such, these entheogens were considered sacred. Prior to Wasson, ceremonies from various cultures, where the entheogen was not known, were usually assumed to be psychoactive plants. One of the first example of Wasson's work in this area involved what was called Soma in the Rig Vedas , the Sanskrit hymns and songs that became the foundation for Hinduism. Soma was assumed to be a plant for many years until Wasson. Amanita muscaria is thought to be Soma Wasson presented a very detailed account of his findings, tracing all descriptions of Soma, and concluded that Soma was a mushroom and specifically, Amanita muscara , the fly agaric.
Soma is one of the few entheogens that is looked upon as a god rather than a sacred mediator.
With time, the cult eventually died out and although the religious ceremonies continued, the use of A. muscaria was substituted with a plant, and the identity of the original Soma was eventually forgotten. The difficulty in obtaining this species is one reason why it was thought to have been discontinued. In its place, other plants, devoid of psychoactivity, were substituted. Although it appears that A. muscaria may have been the oldest of the hallucinogens used, and may possibly be the most widely used, the cryptic symbolism used in the Rig Veda made determining the identity of Soma a puzzle for two thousand years. It was not until 1967, that a number of interdisciplinary studies were carried out, that brought together substantial evidence that demonstrated that Soma was a mushroom rather than a plant, and that it was A. muscaria .