The Salvia divinorum Research and Information Center - Shroomery

tripzine.com : Sage Wisdom: Salvia divinorum Branches Out , by Robert Campbell
"Diviner's Sage" or "Diviner's Mint."
In Plants of the Gods, Hofmann and Schultes describe
Salvia as "a perennial herb 3 ft (1 m) tall or more, with
ovate leaves up to 6 in. (15 cm) and finely dentate along
the margin. The (white flowers, bluish in old age) borne
in panicles up to 16 in. (41 cm) in length, are
approximately 5/8 in. (15 mm) long."
Account
" ... A typical element of the Salvia experience seems to
be spirals and recursions. During one song, I was in a
kind of tube which wound into a spiral and became more
and more complex in more and more dimensions. I was
completely stuck in this thing and thought I'd never be
able to escape. Then the song stopped, and I was free."
Traditional Usage
Little is known about Salvia's traditional use as an
entheogen. It has been suggested as the most likely
candidate for pipiltzintzintli, an ancient Aztec shamanic
preparation. Some researchers dispute this claim,
believing that pipiltzintzintli is in fact Cannabis sativa. At
any rate, the Mazatec Indians of Oaxaca, Mexico, are the
only people known to use Salvia in curing rituals at the
present time (with the exception of recent
experimentation by Western enthusiasts).
In the autumn of 1962, R. Gordon Wasson, (famous for
having brought the ritual use of psilocybian mushrooms
into the public eye with his Life magazine article), and
the noted chemist Albert Hofmann took part in an
expedition attempting to secure a sample of the magical
plant for chemical analysis. The Mazatec curanderas
(shamans) who had helped Wasson find the famous
mushrooms were again very generous, and introduced
the plant to Wasson and Hofmann's party. After securing
the leaves, it was agreed that a velada (divining
ceremony) would be held. Hofmann presents the details
of this ceremony in a wonderful essay entitled "Ride
Through the Sierra Mazateca in Search of the Magic Plant
'Ska Maria Pastora.'"
http://www.tripzine.com/features.asp?id=salvia (2 of 11) [04.09.01 10:22:33]