The Folklore of the Fly Agaric: Witches, Shamans and Cunning Folk

Fly agaric (Amanita muscaria) is one of the most iconic and mysterious mushrooms in folklore. Discover its connection to witches, shamans, cunning folk, and the spirit world — and how it came to symbolize magic, liminality, and transformation.

The Red-Capped Spirit of the Forest

Fly agaric is perhaps the most recognizable mushroom in the world, the red cap with white specks that looks plucked from the pages of a fairytale. Botanists call it Amanita muscaria, but in the lore of the forest, it is much more than a fungus. It is a guardian of thresholds, a symbol of altered states, and, for witches and shamans, a tool for traveling between worlds.

Fly Agaric in Shamanic Tradition

Long before it became a fairytale icon, Amanita muscaria was used in shamanic rites across Northern Europe and Siberia.

🍄 Siberian Shamans: Reindeer-herding tribes such as the Koryak and Chukchi are said to have consumed fly agaric to enter trance states. Through these altered states, shamans would communicate with spirits, diagnose illness, and guide souls.

🍄 The Spirit Horse: In some accounts, the mushroom was seen as a steed or vehicle, carrying the shaman’s soul into the Otherworld, a striking parallel to the European lore of witches “riding” to the sabbat. 🍄 Gift from the Gods: Some traditions held that fly agaric was a divine gift, linking the human and spirit worlds. Its red cap was a mark of its potency and danger.

These practices positioned Amanita muscaria as a liminal ally, one that opened the door between the living and the dead.

Fly Agaric and the Witch’s Flight

European folklore often speaks of witches flying through the night sky to attend their sabbats, but what carried them there? Some scholars suggest that “witch’s flying ointments” may have contained entheogenic plants or fungi, including fly agaric.

🍄 Ecstatic Flight: Rather than literal flight, witches may have entered trance states through the use of such ointments, journeying in spirit to the sabbat.

🍄 The Red Cap’s Role: While mandrake, henbane, and belladonna are more commonly cited, fly agaric’s history of use as a visionary tool makes it a likely candidate in some regions.

🍄 The Sabbath Vision: Fly agaric’s ability to create dreamlike states could explain tales of witches meeting spirits, familiars, and even the Devil himself.

Whether or not every witch used Amanita muscaria, its reputation as a “witch’s mushroom” is well-deserved, it marks the places where magic gathers and spirits walk.

Cunning Folk and Hedge-Riders

In British and European folk magic, cunning folk were the village witches, herbalists, and healers, and some were known as hedge-riders, those who could cross the boundary between worlds.

🍄 Spirit Work: The cunning folk might have used fly agaric as part of necromancy, ancestor veneration, or spirit-led healing rites.

🍄 Threshold Guardian: In some lore, finding fly agaric near a house was seen as a sign of powerful spirit activity, either protective or dangerous, depending on the story.

🍄 Dream Charms: Pieces of dried mushroom might have been used as charms for dreams, visions, or protection against malevolent spirits.

For the cunning folk, the mushroom’s value was likely less about consumption and more about its spiritual presence, a signpost that the Otherworld was near.

Fly Agaric and the Fae

Fly agaric’s connection to fairy lore is perhaps its most enduring association.

🍄 Fairy Rings: Amanita muscaria often grows in rings, which were believed to be faerie dance circles. Stepping into one was said to transport a mortal into the faerie realm, a thrilling but dangerous prospect.

🍄 Offerings and Warnings: Some traditions saw the mushrooms as offerings from the fae, while others saw them as warnings to stay away. 🍄 Liminal Marker: To this day, finding fly agaric can feel like stepping into a place where the veil is thin, where the ordinary world blurs at the edges.

The Poison Path

Fly agaric is both beautiful and dangerous, a true poison path ally. Its folkloric role has always carried this duality: it can bring visions or madness, wisdom or death. Witches, shamans, and cunning folk knew that to work with it was to court risk, and that its spirit demanded respect.

Today, most witches work with fly agaric magically rather than ingesting it, keeping dried caps on their altars, using it in spell jars, or calling upon its spirit in rituals of threshold crossing, fae magic, and transformation.

Fly agaric is not a gentle plant ally, it is a trickster, a guide, and a teacher. Its red cap is a warning and an invitation: enter if you dare. For witches, shamans, and cunning folk, it has always been a key to the Otherworld, and to the deeper mysteries of the self.

My own personal connection to this fungi is long and complex, I have worked with it in many ways, always harvesting my own with respect and care. If you wish to begin working with the Amanita Muscaria you must first learn about it, what it looks like, where it grows. Then spend time with it, ask questions and listen carefully for answers. Lastly leave offerings, treat it as you would any other plant ally. In my experience the Amanita doesn’t ask for much, just respect and to pick up litter as you forage, an afternoon collecting rubbish is not only time well spent but it is an excellent way to honour the spirits of the land.

Happy foraging