Carsten Höller (*1961 in Brussels) traces the myth of soma, a healing drink concocted by Vedic nomads in northern India during the second century BC. It promised insight, immortality, and entry into the divine sphere. The exact psychoactive ingredients of this drink are not absolutely certain. One of the substances favored by researchers is the fly agaric, a common, poisonous mushroom. This publication focuses on a collection of studies dating from the early eighteenth century to the present day which represent a variety of scientific disciplines and approaches. Soma makes that compendium of material available that serves as the scientific basis for Höller's artistic work, while at the same time inquiring into the exactitude of scientific insight.