An alternative theory to the alternative theory is that the cult of the Eleusinian Mysteries didn't die when the Sanctuary of Eleusis was destroyed by Alaric in 396, but survived to the present as a decentralized, clandestine organization, practicing the Mysteries in secret every year in various parts of the world. McLean, as an initiate of this cult, of course couldn't make an open reference to it, but used "rye" as a euphemism for the kykeon, the psychedelic potion central to the Mysteries, that was made from rye that had been intentionally infected with ergot.