The Salvia divinorum Research and Information Center - Shroomery

Erowid Salvia Vaults : "Sage Wisdom" by Robert Campbell
and faith seems imperative in being able to make contact with the plant's deeper essence. `
Account "When I exhaled, I received a flood of colorful visions, swirling patterns of light against a dark space-like
background. This swirl formed a tunnel, which led from somewhere in front of me to "behind" my eyes. By
thinking about it, I could move my perspective a little bit. My peripheral vision and imagination were filled with
what seemed like two beings. One was old and male, one was young and female. They were encouraging me to
look straight through the tube and align my center of vision with it. They were saying 'a little to the right, comeon,
don't wait until you are dead to see this. It is great!'"
On Breaking Through As mentioned earlier, many people attempt to smoke Salvia divinorum and fail to achieve
any noticeable effects. One can only speculate as to why this occurs. It is certainly possible that smoking
technique may be responsible for the success some enjoy, yet as the technique is so simple this is not very
probable. It is more likely that the Salvia experience is simply a very fragile trance, and those who are more open
to it are likely to experience deeper effects. It is possible that prior exposure to novel psychic states aids in the
attempt to access the Salvia dimension, yet several seasoned explorers have nonetheless reported failure. It
seems that as with Cannabis, many people simply need to "learn" to receive the effects by performing several
attempts, usually achieving success after four or five.
It is also suspected that some leaf samples are either less potent to begin with, or that they lose potency when
not stored properly. Upon securing some particularly potent leaves and realizing their effectiveness, they were
shared with several people interested in the plant's effects. After being informed of proper technique, a nearly
uniform success rate was achieved, with several of the experimenters reporting utter amazement at the power of
the plant.
Conclusions and Further Precautions Taking into account the frequency of "hit or miss" experiences reported
with Salvia divinorum, it is not surprising that it has remained relatively unknown for so long. Many have
speculated that Salvia is not psychoactive in any way, but that it merely acts as a placebo. Others have argued
that Salvia is only mildly psychoactive, and that its effects are usually exaggerated. However, with the successful
isolation of salvinorin A, Salvia's psychoactivity can no longer be doubted.
The effects of pure salvinorin A are quite intense. When smoked, the amount of salvinorin A that would fit into a
glob on the tip of a needle could easily put a grown man into near catatonia in seconds. The effects fade within
minutes, but since such a small amount is needed to produce such an enormous effect, many are wary that
some under-cautious explorer will overestimate the necessary dosage. Although no lethal overdoses have been
reported from Salvia or salvinorin A, many still fear that widespread distribution of pure salvinorin A will inevitably
lead someone into an overdose or a bad accident. Let us hope this is not the case. Salvia divinorum makes a
lovely house plant, and is currently perfectly legal to both cultivate and possess. Your respect for the plant and its
responsible usage will ensure that it stays this way.
The accounts of Salvia divinorum ingestion were taken from the Lycaeum Trip Report Archive, which can be
located at http://www.lycaeum.org. Note that these reports are taken out of context, and the serious researcher
would do well to read the originals in their full form.
Robert Campbell is an ethnobotanical explorer specializing in collecting information regarding hyperspatial
entities and intelligences. He can be reached by e-mail at: mantid@neuron.net.
©Copyright Resonant Media, 2000. All rights reserved.
Last Modified - Mon, Oct 30, 2000 Used by Erowid with Permission of TRP
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