Entheogens are shamanic plants that include magic mushrooms, ayahuasca and salvia divinorum. I don’t call these helpers 'hallucinogens' because that makes it sound like the visions they bring are hallucinations. And I certainly don’t call them 'drugs' simply out of respect. The name entheogen comes from the ancient Greek Entheos literally means "the divine within” or more loosely translated simply "inspired". The Greeks used it as a term of praise for poets and other artists. The Greek Genesthai means "to cause to be". So an entheogen is "that which causes divine inspiration".

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I appreciate that many people are against working with plants in this way, as they feel it’s too uncontrollable and unpredictable. We all walk our own path and on this point opinions differ: I can only tell you of my own experiences, which I feel have been valuable.

There are many entheogens and I worked regularly with psilocybin ('magic mushrooms') before they became illegal in the UK. More recently I have worked with ayahuasca and salvia divinitorum. Given that ingesting psilocybin is currently illegal, it seems pointless to say much about my past experiences with them; I don't feel able to speak about ayahuasca, so that leaves salvia divinorum.

Salvia divinorum is a very powerful entheogen that I have worked with several times. Salvia divinitorum, also called 'Diviners sage', is legal herb used to induce altered states of consciousness. Grown in the Oaxaca region of Mexico, it is used by Mextec Indians both as a medicine (to treat respiratory problems and pathological grief), and as a vehicle to enter other dimensional realities. Mextec shamans have long revered the plant and there are suggestions that it may have been used by the ancient Aztecs.

  • Salvia divinitorum can be smoked or taken by mouth.
  • The herb is legal, safe and has no unpleasant after-effects.
  • The immediate effects are short-lived, usually lasting no more than 10 to 20 minutes.

When I work with salvia divinorum I smoke the dried leaf of the plant. The journey is usually quite short – maybe 10 minutes – and I’m always left with a lovely after-glow for about a half an hour. The experience is different for everyone, but my journeys have a certain consistency. I’ve visited the same yellow and terracotta space and met the same calm, benevolent beings each time. Things I would expect to fear are not fearful - it’s as if fear doesn’t exist there. I’ve been taught strange words by the salvia beings when they want to explain concepts to me that aren’t familiar in this reality.

It’s quite hard to explain this kind of work, so I’ll simply share my personal notes from typical salvia divinorum journeys. Make of these what you will, but I believe the plant is a tool that allows me to open my awareness to an other-than-human world that that can teach me new perspectives on my understanding of reality.

external link Salvia divinorum session 1

external link Salvia divinorum session 3

For more information, contact me: adrian@gn.apc.org

Related sites:
external link Salvia divinorum information

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