Etymology of “Psychedelic”

Without semantic development, the current revival of consciousness expanding and soul healing substances might not be happening. Words create our reality, and no man may have elevated “psychedelic” in public awareness more than Humphry Osmond. In fact, we owe thanks to the pioneering psychonaut, as Osmond coined the word “psychedelic.”

The Origin of the Word “Psychedelic”

Humphry Osmond (1917-2004) was an English psychiatrist and researcher. During WWII, he was a surgeon-lieutenant in the Royal Navy and served as a ship’s psychiatrist. After the war, Osmond worked at St. George’s Hospital in London. During his time working at St. George’s, Osmond heard about a fascinating discovery.

Osmond learned of Albert Hoffman’s discovery of LSD. LSD piqued Osmond’s interest, and his life soon took a trippy turn. Osmond’s psychiatric research drew the interest of Aldous Huxley. Huxley’s intrigue and passions led to forging a friendship with Osmond. The two men began to brainstorm new words to describe substances like LSD and mescaline.

Huxley proposed “phanerothyme” which combined the Greek words for “to show” and “spirit.” Huxley then coined a catchphrase- “To make this mundane world sublime, Take half a gram of phanerothyme.” Although an admirable effort, the word didn’t stick. Osmond bested Huxley.

Osmond created a portmanteau of two Greek words; the word psyche (for mind or soul) and deloun (for show). Thus the word psychedelic was born and his contribution to the modern lexicon went down in history. Not to be outdone by Huxley, Osmond invented his own turn of phrase: “To fathom Hell or soar angelic/Just take a pinch of psychedelic.”

Although the word psychedelic carries various definitions, denotations and connotations today, Osmond stated the term meant “mind manifesting.” This is the truest and simplest definition of psychedelic.

As the psychedelic movement of yesteryear churned forward, more high profile names like Huxley, Kesey, Leary and others overshadowed Osmond’s legacy. Many people don’t know the etymology of the word psychedelic, or the precision of the original definition. However, psychedelic nerds will never forget Osmond’s invaluable contributions to mind-manifesting, mental health.

Humphry Osmond- Psychedelic Pioneer

During his tenure as a ship’s psychiatrist during WWII, Osmond witnessed unspeakable horrors aboard ship that led to a decline in mental health. Sailors often tried to self-medicate with alcohol. Due to Osmond’s experiences aboard ship, he developed a strong interest in schizophrenia and alcoholism.

Regarding schizophrenia, Osmond wrote:

“Believing that you’ve become the center of the universe… in a sense may be true. But in an actual, practical sense of our four-dimensional world, this is a disaster of the first order. I mean, there are truths that are unuseful. And there are also truths for which a particular culture has no slot. We have no real slot for people who wish to become the center of the universe.” Schizophrenia: A New Approach, Humphry Osmond and John Smythies, 1952

Osmond’s interest in schizophrenia and alcoholism, and his newfound intrigue regarding LSD, helped him trailblaze a path into psychedelic therapy research. A serendipitous opportunity arose and Osmond moved to Canada in 1951. He landed in Saskatchewan and became clinical director, and later superintendent, of the Saskatchewan Mental Hospital in Weyburn.

Osmond conducted a prolific amount of psychedelic research while working in Saskatchewan, turning the area into a hotbed of psychedelic activity and academic progress during the 1950s. During his decade plus of psychedelic research, Osmond made a variety of contributions to the field.

Osmonds Notable Psychedelic Contributions

During Osmond’s tenure at the Saskatchewan Mental Hospital, Huxley reached out to him. He gifted Huxley mescaline, which culminated in the creation of the word psychedelic, and inspired Huxley to write The Doors of Perception. Osmond’s work revolving around the use of LSD and mescaline to treat schizophrenia and alcoholism resulted in a number of significant contributions.

• In treatment of nearly 2,000 people with alcohol use disorder, Osmond found 40-45% of those treated had stayed sober a year after their treatment.

• Osmond’s work inspired hospital reforms including hospital design changes and training psychiatric nurses to aid patients to avoid terrifying hallucinations. Comfort and empathetic care also became a prominent theme among staff.

• Osmond helped identify adrenochrome/adrenaline (and adrenaline’s chemical similarity to mescaline) as a potential cause of schizophrenia. Adrenochrome gained pop culture infamy thanks to the hyperbolic hallucinations of Hunter S. Thompson’s Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas.

• Revealed in the book Acid Dreams, Osmond’s work also drew the interest of the CIA and MI6 in their search for a “truth drug” during the Cold War hysteria, which may have helped pave the way for MK Ultra.

One last notable contribution to psychedelic lore cemented Osmond’s legacy- the mescaline experiment with Christopher Mayhew.

The Christopher Mayhew Mescaline Experiment

During the height of the buzzing psychedelic scene in Saskatchewan in 1955, Osmond conducted a mescaline experiment with Christopher Mayhew, a British MP of the Labour Party. Osmond gave Mayhew mescaline and filmed the experience with the intention of airing it on the BBC.

Mayhew described the euphoria he felt, along with his altered perception of time. He also believed the experiment to be a true mystical experience. However, a committee of people deemed the experiment to be “invalid,” thus causing the BBC to never air it.

Osmond’s unorthodox experiment still resonates today. British author Graham Hancock has said “All politicians should be required to drink Ayahuasca 10 times before taking office.” To Osmond’s dismay however, his office hours were about to end.

The 1960s Ended the Golden Era of Psychedelic Research

When the 1960s arrived, cultural attitudes towards psychedelics began changing posthaste. Massive changes took place, including the emergence of Ken Kesey, Timothy Leary, the anti-war movement and the odd connections of hippies in Laurel Canyon.

Charles Manson may have been a CIA MK Ultra creation (read CHAOS by Tom O’Neill), Jim Morrison’s dad was in naval intelligence and involved in the Gulf of Tonkin incident, and the Lookout Mountain Air Force Station is located in Laurel Canyon (actor Jared Leto lives there now).

All the madness and the linking of psychedelics to the counterculture led to funding of psychedelic research drying up and Osmond having to shutter his work in Saskatchewan. After becoming the darling of mental health progress in the 1950s, Osmond found himself relegated to the fringes.

Humphry Osmond Paved the Way for the Psychedelic Revival

The link between psychedelics and violence, and LSD’s reputation as anti-authoritarian was too much to overcome for Osmond. Humphry didn’t care for the psychedelic hedonism of the counterculture and scolded Timothy Leary.

In Osmond’s eyes, psychedelics were “mysterious, dangerous substances, and must be treated respectfully.” He regretted lost research opportunities when the psychedelic ban dropped in the late 1960s.

After his groundbreaking work in Saskatchewan, Osmond became director of the Bureau of Research in Neurology and Psychiatry at Princeton University, New Jersey (1961-71). He then went to the University of Alabama School of Medicine (1971-92). Humphry Osmond died February 6, 2004 at the age of 86 in Appleton, Wisconsin.

Thanks to Osmond’s trailblazing work in psychedelic treatment for mental health, the psychedelic revival wouldn’t be experiencing half as much progress today. Moreover, we wouldn’t even have the word for it.