Can magic mushrooms really help you understand bitcoin? That’s what one German billionaire says. But it’s not why the Aztecs and the hippies were such fans A potential cure for depression? Cultivated magic mushrooms. Photograph: Nigel Dodds/Alamy A potential cure for depression? Cultivated magic mushrooms. Photograph: Nigel Dodds/Alamy Mon 26 Apr 2021 11.23 EDT Last modified on Mon 26 Apr 2021 12.59 EDT Name: The shroom boom. Age: Ancient rock art in Castilla-La Mancha in Spain suggests that Psilocybe hispanica, one of the mushrooms that contains the psychoactive compound psilocybin, was taken in religious ceremonies as long as 6,000 years ago. Oh, I thought it was