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Ethnobotanicals (9)
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I’ve been trying a few different new entheogens over recent months, so I thought I’d share my experiences with some of them.
Dan Shen 10x
Dan Shen is one of the most important plants in Chinese medicine, and has widespread use in Asian countries. Traditionally, Dan Shen has been used to improve bodily functioning, as well as to treat haemorrhage, dysmenorrhoea, miscarriage, swelling, insomnia, and hepatitis. Dan Shen provides a head/heart calming benzo like effect, without notable muscle relaxation. This makes it generally non-euphoric, but it goes very well with other sedatives, increasing their effects of calmness. It’s also no doubt useful for anxiety. It’s also a liver enzyme inhibitor (CYP450), so be careful it may potentiate things like alcohol or opiates. And Dan Shen also has a tonic healing effect on the liver, which is backed up by a fair bit of science.
Prickly poppy 10x
Prickly poppy is a non-opiate relative of the opium poppy. It was sacred to the Aztecs, who knew it as “Nourishment of the dead”. Which perhaps makes sense considering the nature of it’s effects. It’s a non-euphoric, but quite mentally and physically relaxing feeling similar in some ways to opiates. It was offered to the Gods as a sacrifice, and one god in particular, Tláloc, used this plant, as one of the three psychoactives associated with him. While there is nothing euphoric about this plant, its relaxing effects are uniquely useful, and may be somewhat useful as a stopgap for depression or anxiety (some of the chemical components of prickly poppy, are established as anti-depressant in studies). Nourishment of the dead indeed.
Chocolate extract 25x
I have covered this in a recent article, but thought I’d mention it here again briefly. Chocolate extract is stimulating (more so than caffeine, or an energy drink), and mildly mood boosting. A pleasant pick me up with a number of notable synergies.
Red poppy
Like prickly poppy, this is a non-opiod relative of the well known opium poppy. This is also known as corn poppy, and is the poppy of Anzac day. It’s effect are perhaps comparable to chamomile, a mild effect, but useful for anxiety and relaxation. Both of those (chamomile and red poppy) are often combined with lotus. The best thing about red poppy is that either as a tea, or in a smoking mix, it tastes just delicious..
Baybean 50x
Baybean, even in 50x extract form, is a plant that’s effects are hard to pin down. It’s best used in a combination, as a potentiator. But on its own, it provides “trippy” effects similar to cannabis, but without actual cannabinoid or euphoric effects. Would be interesting to try other combos, with it. Reputedly synergizes with salvia, and I would not be surprised if it interacts with other psychedelics. Historically it has more use as a medicine, topically for pain. There is also some indication it was used as a cannabis substitute, but judging on the effects, probably more in the sacramental or introspective sense.
As its holiday season, I thought people might like a little article on our old friend chocolate :)
The first people to use the Cacao plant were the Mayans. The word Cacao originated from the Mayan word “Ka’kau”. Theobroma is Greek for “food of the gods”.
According to the mythology, the god Hunahpú gave cacao to the Maya after they were created. The Mayans celebrated an April festival to celebrate the Ka’kau god, Ek Chuah, offering him Cacao and animal sacrifices. They used cacao both everyday, and as a ritual sacrament.
There’s a variety of ancient recipes with chillies, vanilla, peanut butter, honey and flowers. The Mayans made a frothy drink, and perhaps also an alcohol distilled from the white pulp. The Mayans placed a very high trade value on the beans; it was one of the privileges of nobility to drink chocolate. The Aztecs went to place chocolate in similar high regard.
The Spanish took the drink, and added spices for a cold beverage. It was when it spread through the European continent that it became more like the fattier sweetened drink version we know today. The industrial revolution however is what brought the actual chocolate bar.
Chocolate contains a heady mix of psychotropic compounds. Having experienced the 25x extract of Cacao Theobroma at reasonable dose, I can tell you that the most prominent psychoactive effects are the phenylethylamine, and theobromine – giving one a clean -stronger than coffee- stimulant effect if you take the extract (PEA is in bodybuilding products and in modern NZ party pills, and theobromine is related to caffeine. There’s also caffeine in here as well).
There are also other neurotransmitters – Serotonin, dopamine, and anandamide (the brains own THC), as well as FAAH inhibitors that increase its mild cannabinoids effects, and MAO inhibitors that let more of feel good neurotransmitter chemicals into the brain; such that the overall effect of these additional compounds is a pleasant mildly euphoric mood boost along with the stimulation. Bet some of you didn’t know chocolate was a stimulant with a decent kick in its pure form! (Sugar may change the effects of course).
A lot of modern people enjoy the extract form, with coffee for a wake up (beats coffee alone), or with a cannabinoid smoke, or certain opiates for complimentary synergies.
Not many supermarket foods come so dense with mind altering compounds – nor so many brain vital nutrients. Of course cacao also has anti-oxidant properties, and some other nutrients.
I have not been growing my lotus for long, and I only really have one healthy plant (the other two aren’t faring so well) but I thought I’d share my journey so far, with the curious amongst the TripMe website viewers.
It’s a fascinating and difficult plant to grow. The seed only sprouts in a certain temperature, similar to the human body temperature. The plant itself flowers similarly. It is the only plant to do this, lotus tries to maintain its temperature just so. Blue lotus also opens its flower petals at dawn, and closes them at sunset (though ive yet to see this myself) – So it’s quite a remarkable plant.
This first part with growing from seed is getting them to germinate, which is a little work. First you have to nick the seed coating. I did this by filing the hard seed coating against concrete (you can use sandpaper), until I could see a change in colour (the outer coating is black, inside is crème/white).
Then you need to put your seeds into a 2L soft drink bottle, and fill the bottle with warm (not too hot or cold, use your hand to check temperature) water, and shake the bottle every time you walk past it. This is so that the warm water soaks right into the seed, activating its growth. This stage is involves a bit of care to get them sprouting, usually its about a week.
Soon you have some little sprouts that need to be gently placed in your pond. Your pond should have a layer of sand, on dirt, and then visually fairly clear water. This can be done with patience and a hose in a bucket or anything large enough for the leaves to grow in (mine may well be replanted, or cuttings taken due to this). You don’t want to cover the sprouts but then they can also come lose – I used some small pebbles to anchor them down in the pond bed.
Within a few weeks, you’ll have the sprouts reaching up with little leaves, that open up and start growing as you might expect.
Here’s mine as of today (unfornately only one of three good starts made it):
Unfortunately wind and weather has made all but one of my lotus’s do less than favourably. But hopefully my one little buddy will keep growing, and if so, I will clone him, and I plan to get some more seeds in there as well over the summer. You live and learn.
My experience has shown me a few things well worth noting –
1) It’s really easy for the seeds to come lose from the pond bed early on, and rather fatal if u miss it, sadly. You want them sheltered from weather a little, as well as firmly grounded. Those pebbles are good advice.
2) Shallower is better than deep when it comes to initial survival (just a few inches of water is enough).
Hopefully I can update you guys with successful progress along my way to some flowers.
Ethno Review: Wild Dagga aka Lion’s Tail, or Leonotis Leonurus
Written by Drael
It’s used in Africa when pot is absent and sold in many stores as plant cannabis alternative. It’s also used in Africa as a medicine. It’s quite common in gardens here in New Zealand, and over the world in similar climates. You've probably seen it around in the summer, its quite distinct. It smells and tastes like hell, kinda sour or herby, especially any flowers, either as a smoke, or worse as a tea. The tea is virtually unbearable to drink. Good quality leaves smoked seems to be the most palatable means of consumption- freeze dried leaf is the best product I’ve tried. The flowers were worse tasting.
The effects are hypnotically relaxing in a manner similar in vague ways to cannabis, but non-euphoric, mostly just mentally relaxing. A tea is stronger in effects, but again horribly bitter. A nice enough relaxing herb, and nothing really at all like pot: has it’s own unique qualities which in itself might be somewhat interesting, admitly, only if it tasted better, even as a smoke. Perhaps some extract or even isolate might be better, to avoid the taste issue, and up the strength.
This also has a noticeable effect on dreams, creating more emotional and vivid dreams. Might also have some synergies with other plants and substances. But I cannot personally get over the taste, even with the most refined plant product, nor are the effects noteworthy enough to warrant it.
So you might have noticed, I’ve been taking a small break from tripme. Well in my time off I got to know some ethnobotanical plant friends better. One, ive tried before, the fabulous but subtle, blue lotus. One was a stranger to me, fresh chewed saffron. I also re-aquinted myself with flavored tobacco shisa, and chocolate, fish and nuts but thats another story, lol.
Blue lotus is a nice soothing tea, a great smoking additive, but comes into its own with the addition of booze, and good company. Ive never had it socially before, and it works great to lower those inhibitions. Really shines here, the effect on social interaction is perhaps more obvious than the effects themselves, if your unfamiliar with them. If you make a tea, the extract is much better tasting for this use than the flowers. Would love to try this socially more often. Seems the perfect match, drinks, friends and lotus tea. Its also great for just chilling. Beats chamomile any day for anti-stress.
Saffron is an odd experience to chew. It tastes strongly spicy, though not in a chilli way more minty. But a few balls of good thread, well chewed, you do get a noticeable effects. Not bad for cheap at the Iranian dairy. It also lightens the spirit, like lotus, but its a slightly inebriated feeling, more heady and less serene. Sort of a mild drunk feeling, with high spirits. Seemed to add to already present drunkness. Theres even slight motor co-ordination issues noticed after some consumption. Warrants further experimentation, and the saffron we tried wasnt really very high quality at all.
Both are mild yes, so not for hard-heads, but worth a go, in my opinion. And interesting as common legals.
Will have more news, articles & intellectual masturbation for you all now I’m back again!
These are some of staple culturally important psychedelic plants, for Entheogen collectors (Although they are equally popular in regular gardens).
Morning Glory and one of its relatives are two of the core sacred Entheogens of the Aztecs, who used it in shamanic healing rituals, and as an anesthetic and for medicine. It was also used for a variety of magical ointments.
The Aztecs believed that these plants were a means of connecting the Sun Gods, some believing a highly evolved spirit lived within the plant. The seed preparation was crushed by a 10-15 year old virgin, to allow the seeds to “speak”. The shaman would then imbibe the potion, and “die as a person, to be reborn as a Shaman”, then able to speak with the Gods.
Read more HERE.
Its kind of nice to know, there's legal psychoactive stuff just lying around the place. While I wouldn’t touch nutmeg with a barge pole, there are some here, I reckon, that are worth a spin - and hopefully some a few people haven't heard of.
Kanna is a popular African ethnobotanical once used by the Hottentot tribe. Its effects are mostly subtle - yet some can acheive stronger feelings from it, and others enjoy its properties as an instant mood tonic. Kanna is an anti-anxiety agent, mild stimulant, and mood enhancer, and yes sometimes under the right conditions even quite euphoric.
There’s a hypnotic plant called Blue Lotus, which proves to be a repeatable experience, at least for some of the people who try it, including myself.
Its also a very attractive looking flower and was a sacred plant for ancient Egyptians. For them, it represented creation, because the flower opens at dawn, and closes at night. They used Blue Lotus, mixed into wine, both for parties and sacred rituals.
You can smoke it, you can make a tea, and for those methods it has an enjoyable flower taste. If you extract with alcohol, of some form, the taste is slightly bitter. You need 3-5 flowers, or about 5 grams worth for a tea or extraction.
Smoking is less effective than the other two methods, and the effects are much more subtle generally unless you also consume alcohol. I found it easy and effective to mix a tea, and then have a few drinks afterwards rather than fussing with soaking in alcohol.
When alcohol is thrown it the mix, there is at times a noticeable body buzz. The physical feeling is perhaps a bit like a mild opiate body effect. Its pleasant enough, when its there, which is more at the start. At the same time, there’s a hypnotic mental relaxation. This makes you content to sit doing nothing, thinking nothing, listening to music, watching TV, or the stars.
Simply, your mind is relaxed and more empty. For me, it makes the world seem slightly magical somehow, a sort of sense of appreciation. But perhaps that’s just the sense of mental calm you can get.
I certainly can see why it was so important to the Egyptians, and I consider it at least worth a try, if it sounds like your thing, keeping in mind its a pretty mild buzz. Its also a very nice ethnobotanical to have in your collection, for the cool background and peace inspiring appearance.
