Author and explorer Terence McKenna (November 16, 1946 – April 3, 2000) was an American philosopher, psychonaut, ethnobotanist, lecturer, and author. He spoke and wrote about a variety of subjects, including psychedelic drugs, plant-based entheogens, shamanism, metaphysics, alchemy, language, culture, technology, and the theoretical origins of human consciousness. He was called the “Timothy Leary of the 90s, one of the leading authorities on the ontological foundations of shamanism”, and the “intellectual voice of Rave culture”.