The Recurring Dream of Mushrooms and the Temple Door

Proudly written by Callan Hansen

Feburary 25th, 2025

I’ve had this same recurring dream for about two years now, and every time, it sticks with me like it’s more than just a dream. It doesn’t feel random or meaningless. It feels like I’m stepping into another reality—one that’s vivid, surreal, and strangely familiar, like I’ve been there before and I’m only just returning.

It always starts the same way. I'm walking through some kind of forest or bush area, sometimes the local domain, sometimes somewhere completely unfamiliar, but it always has the same energy—tall trees, thick grass, the feeling of being deep in nature, isolated but not in a bad way. Then, I come across it. The door.

The first time I ever encountered it, I was in the dream with my mum and one of her friends. We were walking together when her friend showed us something half-hidden in the overgrowth. It was the massive, round concrete door—ancient-looking, covered in green moss and symbols that seemed important, though I never quite knew what they meant. Her friend led us to it, as if she already knew what was behind it, even though in waking life, she’s never talked about mushrooms or psychedelics. That moment has always stuck with me, because why her? Why was she the one to show me this door?

Once I step through, what's behind it is always incredible—mushrooms. Not just any mushrooms, but all kinds, growing in strange and beautiful ways, scattered all over this hidden space. But the one that always gets me the most excited is the red Amanita mushroom. Every single time, I feel this overwhelming rush of excitement, like I’ve finally found something I’ve been searching for forever. I’m usually with friends or family in these dreams, and I’m always explaining to them how important these mushrooms are, how incredible it is that we’ve found them. It’s not just about the mushrooms themselves—it feels bigger than that, like they hold some kind of knowledge or meaning I don’t fully understand yet.

The weirdest part? The insane sense of déjà vu. Every time I find myself in this place, it’s like I’ve been there before—many times. It’s like this mushroom temple exists outside of time, just waiting for me to come back.

Last night, though, the dream changed. This time, I didn’t just find Amanitas—I found all sorts of weird, alien-looking fungi. Long, stringy ones, strange glowing ones, things I’ve never seen before. It was wild. So vivid. I could almost feel the texture of the mushrooms just by looking at them. It felt so surreal, like a place I had forgotten existed—somewhere distant yet deeply familiar.

I don't know exactly what it all means, but it definitely feels like it means something. Even though I’ve never actually used mushrooms in my life, they’ve always felt deeply significant to me, especially with my experiences with Salvia divinorum. They feel like a gateway—something hidden, something ancient, something I keep being drawn back to. And every time I return to that door, I feel like I’m just one step closer to figuring it all out.