What is Salvia Divinorum?

Salvia divinorum, also called “diviner’s sage,” is a small leafy psychoactive plant that is commonly known for causing psychedelic experiences. As part of the sage family, Salvia has its originating roots in Oaxaca, Mexico where the plant was used by Mazatec indigenous people for healing and spiritual purposes.

History of Salvia divinorum

Although the story of Salvia is not readily available, it has been suggested that the plant was primarily used by the Mazatec shamans for spiritual healing and divination where a shaman would enter the supernatural world to discover the cause of an illness. In small amounts, Salvia divinorum would be prescribed to treat certain illnesses and conditions including diarrhea, headaches, anemia and other uniquely indigenous cases.

The history of Salvia continued without much attention until the 1930s where the plant was brought to attention in Western literature. It wasn’t until the 1960s that a botanist named Gordon Wasson conducted research and introduced the plant and its psychoactive nature to the West. More research was done in the 1990s by Daniel Siebert to confirm its psycho-activity followed by an increase in awareness of Salvia in modern culture.

The amount of use of Salvia is not widely recorded today but with the help of the internet, a market for selling salvia plants and leaves is establishing and growing, especially because the substance is legal in most regions including the United States.

Methods of Ingestion

Traditionally, salvia plants were extracted for their juices by the indigenous groups who would then make a tea infusion for drinking. Making a tea infused with salvia is currently possible, but most people resort to the two other common methods of ingestion: Smoking and chewing.

* Smoking Salvia: Many people smoke salvia for its effects on the body. The leaves of salvia plants are dried and made into a paste to smoke with a pipe. Salvia is often prepared with various concentration levels for smoking. Each measurement indicates the amount of natural leaves used in the preparation process. How potent a preparation is depends on the natural strength of the pre-processed leaf and how efficiently the extraction process is. The less smoke gets inhaled, the more powerful the effects will be.

* Chewing Salvia: Some people chew Salvia divinorum when it is prepared into a paste. A person chews the leaves of the salvia plant but the active component of salvia, which is salvinorin A, is not active when the substance is taken orally. For stronger and longer-lasting effects, many people keep salvia in their mouths to absorb its active chemical.

When it comes to chewing or smoking salvia, it depends on personal preference. Most people find that chewing the substance results in more consumption of the plant and longer effects.

Effects of Salvia divinorum

The psychoactive chemical in salvia is salvinorin A which causes a natural way of inducing hallucinations. The duration of an experience is generally short, lasting from a minute to maybe five minutes, and it depends on how the substance is ingested, potency and how the body reacts. The effects range from very mild to very extreme levels. Again, every experience is unique and has a few variables at play including method of use, strength of the salvia, sensitivity to the substance and the environment of the user.

Many salvia users have reported positive outcomes of their experiences such as insightful thoughts, better moods, relaxation and a heightened sense of the self. There have been instances of discomfort and uncontrollable movements. The effects of salvia are generally short term, but long term effects such as déjà vu is possible.

The effects of salvia can be grouped into three major levels:

Subtle and Mild: For subtle experiences, people tend to feel relaxed, calm and peaceful. There is a sense of reality with increased sensuality and sexuality and the user is often aware of his body. At this level, a person is able to meditate. A mild experience will begin to experience an altered state where there is a heightened sense of color, texture, sight, smell, sounds and space. People will begin to laugh and become playful and bodies will feel temperatures rise and drop with other twisting and turning forces.

Visionary: This middle level is when people begin to hallucinate with their eyes closed and the intensity will vary. People still have a sense of reality but can begin to feel detachment. For stronger hallucinations, there is more realism and people can gain enlightening insight. Even time travelling and past-life associations are possible here.

Immateriality: The strongest levels produce a lack of awareness of existence with intense hallucinations that cannot be distinguished from reality. Many people have divine connections or connections with nature in their visions. At worst, people begin to lose consciousness, immobility, loss of memory and severe shaking.

Traditionally, people have searched for significant insight and the divine in their use of diviner’s sage and many people now seek the meditative qualities of the substance. Salvia divinorum is a natural psychoactive substance that is often used for a personal experience that causes deep thoughts and reflective circumstances.