The use of psychedelic substances for medicinal and spiritual purposes dates back to ancient times. We know that the Indigenous peoples of the Americas have used psychedelic plants, such as peyote, for ceremonial and healing purposes for centuries.
The active ingredients in these plants, such as mescaline, were first isolated and synthesized by researchers in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. LSD (lysergic acid diethylamide), a synthetic psychedelic drug, was first synthesized in 1938 by Swiss chemist Albert Hofmann.
The unconscious mind is a vast unmapped territory of feelings, thoughts, urges and memories that sit just outside our awareness. Luckily, our intrepid Garden Fellows are at the forefront of exploring it, and they're taking you with them on the journey.
Take a wander through human imagination, creativity & the designed world around us
Explore Planet Earth’s diverse environments & ecosystems, from rainforests to cities
Look back on key events, trends & people to shed new light on the world we live in today
Focus your attention inwards to one of the most complex systems of all: the human body
Immerse yourself in the world of words, written & spoken, from mythology to the media
Ask the knotty questions about knowledge, reality, existence, morality & what we believe
Delve into what drives us as humans, from communication & memory to thought & emotion
Journey through the natural world and the experiments & observations that illuminate it
Examine the ties that bind us as communities and the customs & structures we create
Investigate the most exciting applications of the cutting edge of research & thinking