Argyreia nervosa : LSD's organic little brother
Background
Long before Dr. Albert Hofmann discovered LSD in ergot, the fungus growing on rye, people around the globe consumed plants that contained lysergic acid amide (LSA), an alkaloid with psychedelic effects closely related to LSD, for medicinal and religious purposes. I'm primarily talking about the seeds of flowering plants from the family Convolvulaceae.
- Argyreia nervosa seeds (also known as Hawaiian baby woodrose) have been an integral part of Indian Ayurvedic medicine. Although, not originally used for the psychoactive effects, Argyreia nervosa seeds contain the highest concentration of psychoactive compounds in the whole Convolvulaceae family. This blogpost is about my experiences with these seeds.
- Ipomea tricolor (known as tlitlitzin) and Rivea corymbosa (known as ololiuqui) seeds were used by Mesoamerican shamans as a religious sacrament.
Intake
The seeds of Argyreia nervosacan be chewed, but it's likely that you'll break your teeth that way, so I recommend you do what I did. I took 8 seeds (no effects) and two days later 14 seeds (effects reported below), put them in a mortar and crushed them until nothing but a light brown powder was left, put the powder in a teabag. Then I poured myself a glass of water, took an anti-emetic pill and drank half of the glass. This step is optional but I definitely recommend it as The teabag was put in the remaining water and left to soak for around 10 minutes.
It was just enough to put on Daft Punk's Random Access Memory LP (2013) and listen to the first two tracks on side one of the first disc.
left to right: seeds of the Ipomea tricolor, seeds of the Argyreia nervosa
Enchanted by the music, I raised my glass filled with the infused drink (can you call that a tea?) to my lips and drank it all in one go. In comparison to the Calea Zacatechichi tea, this drink was almost pleasant. It only had a slightly nutty taste and an even fainter aftertaste. Not that unpleasant, but far from delicious. I waited anxiously for what was now to follow ...
left: LSD, right: LSA;the difference is just a -methyl(CH3) and two -ethyl(C2H5) groups
My Experience: A mild trip
As someone, with previous experience with psychedelics, I have to say that I was thoroughly underwhelmed by the trip. I was excepted to jump into an entirely different state of consciousness with intense visual and auditory hallucinations, outlandish CEV (closed-eye-visuals) and a very different mindspace. Everything that was known from my previous psychedelic experiences. In terms of visuals however, disappointed is an understatement. I can't report any kind of visual hallucination whatsoever. I even stood in front of the mirror to look at myself. My imagine in the mirror didn't change in the slightest, which was quite disappointing. However, I am quite impressed by the auditory hallucinations. I was just listening to an Ambient/ New Age playlist on my phone (I can't handle vinyls when I'm tripping) and I could feel how my body became the music. My breath transformed into the wavy tone of synthesizers. It felt like music manifested itself into a great blissful wind that I was exposed to without shelter. It was one of the few times when I transcended just listening to the music and actually feel it... at least my own interpretation of it.
What about headspace? My thoughts are slightly clouded, but not much else. My creativity isn't greatly boosted nor am I impaired because of the trip. The fact, that there's not terribly much to say about this trip says it all. Just like the fact, that I'm writing this 2 hours after . I want to apologise in advance for any tense-mistakes I made.
I do not promote the use of Psychedelics, nor do I condone it. I merely report my experiences to those interested. But if you want to use psychedelics, your own safety comes first! Watch my video on 'How to SAFELY take LSD (or any Psychedelics)'
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