Herbal Allies For Entheogenic Fungi
- Logan Keister
- Oct 29
- 26 min read
By Logan Keister
5/9/2023
My first sources of information regarding psilocybin came from stories from my dad who had wandered cow pastures in Florida for cubensis, from Carlos Casteneda, trip reports on Erowid, and the musings of other teenage peers gleaning knowledge from their Dead head mommas and papas. When I first took psilocybin at age 16, all that research faded away as I was presented with the most mind-altering substance I had ever encountered. Though I learned a lot before going on the trip, nothing could have prepared me for what I experienced. Nothing can completely prepare you. However, there is a lot you can do to make sure you get the most out of your medicine journey. This guide is addressed to my 16-year-old self, in hopes that others going into it for the first time may find some sound guidance.
1.Dosage
This guide is for those interested in taking a medium to large dose of psilocybin (5 grams or more). This is not focused on micro-dosing or other smaller doses, though the framework still applies. Individuals who are interested in going deep with this medicine, either journeying solo, with a close friend, or in a group setting will find this guide helpful.
When embarking upon such a strange voyage, it is important to prepare yourself. One must take into account the whole set and setting they are putting themselves into and create awareness around making it a more pleasant extrasensory experience. Much is focused on creating a comfortable external environment, but when it comes to creating the right internal environment, some of us desire more tools than just meditation, intention, and prayer. This is where our herbal allies come in to give us other tools we can use to get more positive outcomes from our psilocybin experiences.
Many herbal allies can help us, whether it's through finding ways to assimilate the mushrooms better for easier digestion, helping to ground one down before or after the experience, or even potentizing and bringing one deeper into the experience. I hope this guide gives people an idea of how to work with herbs in conjunction with psilocybin, as well as how to create a more conducive setting for the experience.
“Heroic Doses”
Why do I set my level at 5 grams or more? Famous author and psychonaut Terrance Mckenna created this idea of a “Heroic Dose” of psilocybin to be any dose over 5 grams. This was based on his own personal experience.
Psilocybin potency varies widely by species, strains of the same species, age of the material, size of mushrooms, caps v.s. stems, substrate mushrooms were grown from, and your own unique ability to metabolize psilocybin into an experience. Due to all these factors, I think it is impossible to determine what one would consider a heroic experience, based purely on the weight of the mushroom material. For this reason, I judge the experience on the experience itself.
Though I would not choose the term “heroic dose,” since it is a popular term I will use it, but define it in my own way. I define it in more subjective terms as a dosage of psilocybin that causes one to lose their sense of individual identity. This is what many describe as “ego death.” When one is no longer in control of their thoughts, they surrender to the experience and forget their name and identity for a while. Many describe it as feeling like a near-death experience. The term tripping captures this as it feels as if someone has taken a trip to a place far away from mundane reality.
Though lower doses can often be more pleasant and gentle, there is a reason that the Johns Hopkins trials used very high doses of pure psilocybin for their terminal cancer patients, to help prove psilocybin's efficacy for depression. The researchers understood from previous studies on its therapeutic usage that the majority of positive outcomes, such as dealing with addiction, depression, or anxiety, were achieved when a large enough dose was administered to induce a “heroic” or a “mystical experience.”
How does one define a mystical experience? Researchers have created a list of thirty questions and answers that one can fill out to judge the quality of a Mystical Experience.
Click on this link if you want to take the mystical experience questionnaire:
You can use this link to see research dosages utilized to induce the mystical experience:
2. Set and Setting
Solo
The solo experience is done alone. The majority of my experiences have been done this way and it has many benefits. One is that you are uninhibited by other people who may distract you from your own individual experience, leading to greater introspection. One con is that if you are new to psilocybin, it can be helpful to have someone you trust with more experience to help guide you.
If it is your first time trying psilocybin and you are by yourself, don’t start with a heroic dose. Eat a gram or two at most and get a feel for the medicine before you jump off the high dive all alone. If you are seeking a heroic first experience, I’d recommend a sitter or a group you can trust.
Sitter
A sitter is when you have an experience while accompanied by a good friend or another trusted person. This can be good for first-timers who may feel more assured having someone there to help look out for them and hold space. This person can either be sober or you can take the medicine together. Having a shared experience can help build a deeper connection with that person. However, if both of you are inexperienced, it is best if one takes a smaller dose or stays sober to allow the other more assurance as they engage with a larger dose.
It is important that the sitter understand that psilocybin is a nontoxic substance with no reported overdoses. If one is having a more difficult experience and worries that they may be receiving dangerous health effects from the mushrooms, you can assure them that they are safe and help them to relax. Some find the mushrooms hard to digest. This can be alleviated by grinding the mushrooms finer before eating them, making them into tea, or taking them with herbs that help with digestion or nausea. Other than their potent mind-altering capabilities, they are essentially physically harmless.
Being a sitter does not mean being a babysitter. Give the person space to be uninhibited so they can have their own internal experience. As long as they are warm, comfortable, have water, a place to lie down, and can make it to a bathroom if they need it, then they have all they need. If the person is having a difficult experience, you can be there to help comfort them but understand that high doses are generally uncomfortable for even experienced users. Your goal is to let them surrender to the discomfort, not to completely pull them out of it. I and many others can attest to the uncomfortable moments often being the most healing.
Group:
A group experience can be anything from two or more people to a whole ceremonial space full of people, and even extend out to a whole festival or concert of people. If it's just a few people then the guidelines of the sitter should suffice. If one is leading a larger group in a ceremony, then training becomes more important.
A group setting or ceremony, when done right, with integrity, care, respect, and a deep relationship with the medicine can be profound. I have been blessed that all of the ceremonies I participated in were carried out by practitioners who had training in indigenous communities, had many years of experience, and could hold prayers and songs that brought about an experience I could not have provided for myself.
One must always be cautious because I have heard of many others who haven’t been as lucky or maybe as cautious as I am. When you are under the influence of such a powerful medicine you don’t have your whereabouts and are much more sensitive to the influences of those around you. This sensitivity can be a powerful tool to connect a group together in a collective deep healing process. It also puts one at risk of being taken advantage of emotionally, financially, physically, sexually, or spiritually.
If you can, ask others who have sat with a particular practitioner what their experience was like. It's good to get multiple opinions if you can since not everyone will resonate well with every ceremony. The ceremonies I went to were fairly disciplined. You were required to stay in your space and hold a noble silence for participants throughout the majority of the ceremony. I know of others who host ceremonies that are more of a “free for all” that some love but others have found overwhelming.
The Five Senses
The psilocybin experience enhances sensory input, making it more important to consider all five senses before engaging with an experience. Life is always unpredictable, but the more thoughtful we are about creating a relaxing sensory space, the easier introspection becomes.
Hearing:
What sounds are coming from the surrounding environment? Many, myself included, often seek secluded spaces out in nature where one can set up a warm dry space to lie down and not worry about being disturbed by other people's noises. Campgrounds can be great sometimes, but you always run the risk of having people nearby making noise which in most cases is fine but if that noise is unsettling music, a loud generator, or arguing, it could be distracting or feel overstimulating. Remember that things that seem mildly annoying while sober such as a leaf blower can become overstimulating while tripping.
I like to find a space away from other people where I am free to make cathartic noises, cry, laugh, or sing without worrying about alarming anyone. If you have your own home this is easier to achieve. If you share a house, let the other occupants know you are going to be tripping that day, and see if they can keep the space peaceful for you.
Music can be extremely healing and conducive to a psilocybin journey. If you are a musician, playing under the influence of medicine can feel divine, or if you are journeying with singers and musicians, all the better.
Listening to recorded music can be a great way to facilitate a journey. I prefer playing music out loud but headphones can work just as well. Just be sure that it is easy to access the music. It can be hard when your perceptions are so altered that doing something that is usually simple like finding an album on your device or setting a needle on the record can become an overwhelming task. Set it up so you can just press play and enjoy.
Smell:
Out in the woods or in the desert, one is surrounded by wonderful healing aromas. One can use incense or smudges as well if one feels called. I enjoy burning various species of Mugwort (Artemisia spp.) and Sage (Salvia spp.). I recommend avoiding strong colognes, perfumes, laundry detergents, and synthetically fragranced products as they can be quite overpowering while on the medicine.
Touch:
You may feel and touch whatever you choose, just make sure you always have a warm dry comfortable secluded place you can get to. It may be hard to change clothing and put on new layers so make sure you are suited up to be warm enough.
Holding hands, hugs, cuddling, and other forms of affection can be nice when done at the appropriate time with a trusted person. In general, I recommend giving yourself space for your own internal introspection or offering that space to others. Generally, I recommend avoiding touching others who are tripping unless they ask for a hug or similar form of touch explicitly.
Sight:
Whether you are looking out at a beautiful natural setting, staring into some cosmic artwork, or into the eyes of a loved one, your sensory perception will be significantly altered during the trip. The most important thing I have found for deep journeying is darkness. I have taken large doses earlier in the day and found that the light of day could be overstimulating. That is why the majority of psilocybin ceremonies are held after sunset. Once the dark of night falls and you turn off or dim the lights substantially, it is much easier to relax in the space. One exception is the light around the fire. Fire has much to teach.
Taste
This is not foodie medicine like cannabis and I recommend not eating for at least 2 hours or more before journeying. Pure clean water is all you will need. Some enjoy fasting the day of or starting the fast the day before the journey. Others prefer having one small protein-rich meal early in the day, which I find is the best option for most. It is good to go into the journey slightly hungry so that your stomach isn’t too full to digest the mushrooms, but not so hungry that it's causing you stress. Once the medicine takes effect the feeling of hunger will be completely gone for the next 6-10 hours. Being more sensitive, you do not want to feel a massive meal slowly crawling through your gut while you are in that headspace.
Most herbal medicines are best tasted before or after the experience and not during. Pungent flavor can help to warm digestion and prevent nausea before the trip. The bitter flavor helps with the elimination and grounding down afterward. The sweet flavor may be used in small quantities to improve the flavor of the mushrooms such as in the case of sweetened mushroom chocolates. I know some who enjoy a small taste of sweet fruit during the journey if they’re experiencing low blood sugar during the journey. The sour flavor helps with assimilation, like citrus which is full of vitamin C which helps to improve the metabolization of psilocybin. The salty flavor helps to balance our electrolytes before or after the journey, especially if you purge during it. Remember to stay hydrated!
Tea or Food?
The easiest way to consume psilocybin is simply eating fresh or dried mushrooms as they are. The more you take the time to chew them up thoroughly, the easier they will digest. Some don’t like the taste of mushrooms and prefer adding them to food like chocolate. Chocolate is great and has a long history with psilocybin, but one should not overeat or mix psilocybin with more difficult-to-digest foods.
Tea is wonderful for a few reasons. First, it will absorb into the system faster and be eliminated faster. This leads to a slightly shorter trip that comes on stronger and quicker. Second, it is very easy to digest compared to eating raw mushrooms, making this the ideal option for those who have trouble digesting psilocybin comfortably. Third, it improves the flavor, making it more agreeable to most. Fourth, you can add many of the herbal allies mentioned in this essay to tailor it as you choose.
To make tea, take the amount of psilocybin you wish to consume and chop or grind it up as finely as you can. The more it is broken down, the more surface area is exposed to allow the water to extract it. You can either pour hot water, just below boiling temperature, over the top and allow it to steep for 30 minutes to 2 hours, then strain and drink. My preferred method is to put the ground mushrooms into a pot of water on the stove and let it slowly simmer below boiling for 15 minutes to 45 minutes. Once it is done simmering you can either strain out the mushrooms and drink the tea, or my preferred method is to drink the tea without straining it. This way you consume the entire mushroom and it is still easier to digest than eating them raw. Some don’t like drinking a hot thick mushroom slurry as I do and prefer to strain them. It comes down to your own personal preference.
Herbal Allies
Nervine Relaxants
I was invited to a ceremony in a large ballroom. A strange place for a ceremony but I knew the practitioner well and the sight of trees and the sound of birdsong outside was welcoming. I felt comfortable and saw familiar faces. One of which came up to me as if my presence alone had blown a great dark cloud from around her face.
“I am so happy to see a familiar face here!” she explained to me “This is my first ceremony and I am quite nervous to try this medicine for the first time. Seeing someone else I know and trust here makes me feel a bit better, but I’m still anxious.”
I told her that I had sat with this particular individual on several other occasions and had full trust in them. She still seemed nervous so I reached into my bag and pulled out some Chinese Mugwort (Artemisia argyii) and handed it to her. She held it close to her face and breathed in its pungent fragrance. Her eyes fluttered and her shoulder dropped as she held it close to get another whiff. She thanked me because that aroma gave her more assurance than my words ever could. This is where our herbal allies really shine.
This category of herbs is best taken before or after the psilocybin experience in my opinion. These herbs help to relax the nervous system, help the person to calm down, relieving tension and anxiety. When going into what could potentially be one of the most intense experiences of your life, it is natural for many to feel some anxiety going into it.
Calming nervines help one to enter into the experience in a more relaxed state, making it easier to ease into the trip. The goal is not to get oneself heavily sedated and sleepy before the experience but to help one relax into a more meditative state that will be conducive to getting the most out of the experience.
If one has physical pain in the body, many of these herbs also help to relieve tension and ease pain. The more comfortable one feels in their body and mind going in, the more likely they are to have a more positive experience coming out. This category of herbs can also be useful at the end of a journey to help ground back down and get some much-needed rest.
My all-time favorite calming nervine to take before journeying is Passionflower (Passiflora incarnata). Not only is it a fairly strong relaxant nervine, but it also has a mild MAOI effect, which helps to enhance the effects of psilocybin. The perfect blend for calming the psyche while simultaneously potentizing the experience. Though caution must be taken with some MAOI-containing botanicals with certain medications and foods, passionflower isn’t too strong so contraindications are uncommon, but one is encouraged to find out for themselves if certain medications may have an adverse reaction.
Besides Passionflower, it is hard to go wrong with any of the common calming nervines. I love Skullcap (Scutellaria lateriflora) to ease anxiety and pain, and Chamomile (Matricaria chamomilla) when anxiety is accompanied by irritable digestion. Blue Vervain (Verbena hastata) when anxiousness is accompanied by stiffness or pain, especially in the neck and shoulders. Wood Betony (Stachys betonica) for those who seem like they are always tripping even when sober and need to ground down back to their center (solar plexus remedy). Herbs with calming nervine aromas like Mugwort (Artemisia spp.), Rose (Rosa spp.), and Lavender (Lavendula angustifolia) are wonderful allies to keep close by for the occasional whiff. California poppy (Eschilozia californica) is great when mild physical pain or irritation is making relaxation difficult.
Damiana (Turnera diffusa) is a gentle nervine relaxant that increases the sensation of touch. Some find it to feel very pleasurable due to increased sensitivity of the skin from blood flowing towards the periphery. It works on dopamine receptors as well, increasing pleasurable feelings and sensations. This has given it a reputation as an aphrodisiac herb. It can be a wonderful relaxing nervine to take before using psilocybin to enhance the connective feeling towards bodily sensations. Those who seem to not like Damiana describe it as making them overly sensitive to touch and that they already feel too sensitive. These people tend to respond better to sedating nervines which turn down the feeling of excess sensitivity like Kava Kava (Piper methysticum).
Pedicularis spp., California Poppy (Escholozia califonica), and Hops (Humulus lupulus) are wonderful for the comedown phase. When the journey is nearing its end and you are desiring a long-awaited sleep, these stronger hypnotic sedatives really do the trick. Valerian (Valeriana spp.), is my personal favorite for this purpose, just be sure you're not the roughly 1 out of 10 people who find valerian to have an opposite stimulating effect on them. Be sure your first experience with Valerian is before your journey, so you know if you will be like most who find it to be relaxing like myself, and not the rare few who find it to be overstimulating to the nervous system.
I generally recommend against using nervines while on the medicine because in most instances they won’t be of much use. If your intention is to bring down the intensity of the experience, it's often not effective to use calming herbs as the psilocybin tends to overpower them. Besides your intention going in shouldn’t be to numb the experience down to make it comfortable, the intention should be for healing. Once you are under the influence, your best option is to focus on your breath and surrender to the experience.
In some rare circumstances, where a person is loud, erratic, and becomes a danger to themselves or others, a sitter or group member may administer certain herbs to help calm that person down from a manic state. Speaking to herbalists who work at festivals where tripping people become too erratic such as a Rainbow Gathering have recommended these herbs to me.
Pulsatilla (Anemone spp.) is a classic remedy traditionally used for panic or anxiety attacks. It seems to have an anti-adrenergic effect which helps to turn down a hyperactive adrenaline response. This herb is caustic and can cause blistering of tissues if administered in a higher dose. This is an herb that only a trained practitioner should use and only in very small drop dosages or significantly diluted into a formula. Sevensong recommends 1-5 drops every 15 minutes until the person stops externalizing the experience erratically. It helps to internalize the experience more and take them out of the “fight or flight” mode but does not sober them up. Others have used homeopathic Pulsatilla or Rescue Remedy Flower Essence in a similar fashion and don’t run the risk of overdose that way.
Valerian (Valeriana spp.) is a great nervine sedative if the person isn’t stimulated by it normally. I found it can work at sobering up from a mild to medium dose of psilocybin, but it isn’t as effective for the heavily dosed individual. I have heard similar reports of Devil’s Club (Oplopanax horridus) of it sobering people out of mild to medium doses of psilocybin.
Monotropa uniflora is one I know of that some practitioners have used in an emergency situation where one is being erratic and dangerous while tripping. It does not stop the trip but helps to stop the person from externalizing their trip to disruptive or dangerous levels. I strongly recommend against using this herb as it is sensitive to overharvest. It is a mycoheterotroph that survives by parasitizing fungi under the soil. Because of this it does not make chlorophyll to photosynthesize and appears a ghostly white, almost translucent color, gathering all of its carbon sugars from fungal mycelium. This very delicate niche it occupies means it does not propagate readily and is at risk of overharvest.
Carminatives and Bitter Tonics
These herbs are used to improve digestion, assimilation, and elimination of psilocybin. The carminatives are our pungent and aromatic herbs. These herbs assist digestion by stimulating blood flow through the GI tract due to light irritation from their volatile oils making contact with our epithelial GI tissues. The increase in blood flow throughout the digestive system warms digestion and leads to a fuller digestive process. If one experiences bloating and gas, these herbs help to stimulate flatulence relieving those symptoms.
My favorite carminative to take with psilocybin is Ginger (Zingiber officinale). Not only is Ginger a wonderful warming digestive remedy, but it also helps to relieve symptoms of nausea. If one is prone to nausea and has trouble digesting psilocybin comfortably, I recommend making a psilocybin tea with some fresh ginger added. It is easier to drink psilocybin as a tea than to eat them whole, it also improves the flavor. I know of a practitioner who serves her psilocybin tea with Ginger for those reasons and has had no reports back of nausea from participants in her ceremonies.
Bitters are grounding, cooling, and help to stimulate the liver and digestion. These are best taken at the end of the journey. They help us to ground down back into our bodies and cleanse the last of the medicine from our system. My favorite is taking a few drops of some Oregon Grape (Mahonia nervosa) after I have come down from my peak and am settling back into a more normalized state of consciousness. It feels very grounding and connects you back with your stomach, which after many hours without food, starts to grumble with hunger. Mentally you may feel tired and ready for sleep, but there is just enough medicine still active in your body that you can’t fully rest yet. The stimulation of the liver helps to process the rest of the medicine so that you can get back to the ground state sooner. Use any of your favorite bitter liver stimulant herbs like Burdock (Arctium lappa) or Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale).
Nootropic/Cerebral Circulatory Stimulants
This category of herbs that we often see marketed as Nootropics for enhancing focus, memory, and cognition. Many of these herbs such as Ginkgo biloba, Gotu Kola (Centella asiatica), Bhrami (Bacopa monnieri), and Rosemary (Salvia rosmarinus) increase focus by stimulating circulation towards the brain as well as the extremities. I have used elixirs with these herbs and others in this category designed with the intention of enhancing the psychedelic experience. After trying them a few times and hearing about others' experiences with them, I was blown away by how clear all our senses were going in and how much focus they gave during the trip.
It is not surprising that many of the herbs utilized for enhancing the sensory experience, and adding calm and focus during psilocybin trips are also utilized in Ayurvedic medicine for the purpose of clearer meditation. Herbs like Gotu Kola (Centella asiatica), Brahmi (Bacopa monnieri), and Tulsi (Ocimum tenuiflorum) have been used for centuries for meditation purposes. Since the purpose of meditation is to be focused, while simultaneously being calm, herbs that can help to facilitate such a state are immensely useful for entheogenic states.
MAOI
This is a more sensitive category of herbal allies that must be approached with caution depending on what herb, and what preparation and dosage one is working with. MAOI stands for Monoamine oxidase inhibitor. This enzyme prevents the enzyme monoamine oxidase from functioning.
Monoamines come into the diet in foods such as aged cheeses, meats, beer, and other ferments. Tyramines are a class of monoamines that are contained in psychoactive compounds such as DMT found in the ayahuasca vine Banisteriopsis caapi. Since our bodies contain monoamine oxidase enzymes in our gut, when we consume a substance that contains DMT orally, our bodies use the monoamine oxidase enzymes to degrade the DMT compound, rendering it inert. If one takes enough of a monoamine oxidase inhibitor though, it will inhibit the enzyme monoamine oxidase that would normally degrade the DMT, but now that it’s inhibited the DMT stays in the gut and is absorbed in its psychoactive form.
Ayahuasca is a brew that contains two plants, one being the DMT-containing portion, and the other being an MAOI. When consuming the DMT portion by itself like with (Banisteriopsis caapi) there will be very little psychoactive effect when consuming a liquid extract. When it is combined with the MOAI portion like (Psychotrya viridis), the brew becomes psychoactive as the MAOI prevents the breakdown of DMT. That is why many ayahuasca practitioners recommend avoiding MAO-containing foods like cheese, beer, and aged meats days before and after the experience.
Psilocybin is almost perfect in this way. It does not require an MAOI to be orally active. However, consuming an MAOI in conjunction with psilocybin will strongly enhance its effects. Some even use the term”Psilohuasca” when combining the two. If taking a stronger MAOI with psilocybin, I recommend following an “ayahuasca diet” and following many of the same guidelines regarding avoiding Monoamine-containing foods.
MAOI drugs were more popular at one point and used as an antidepressant. They have fallen out of favor due to all the strict dietary guidelines. Some find it more depressing when they can’t eat any of their favorite foods. I do not recommend that anyone take psilocybin in conjunction with MAOI drugs. This is an article on herbal allies after all. You run a greater risk of medical complications using an MAOI drug or other pontent extract such as Seratonin Syndrome.
Passionflower (Passiflora incarnata)
Passionflower is a mild MAOI and is considered safe for most people. One should check beforehand if they may have any contraindications taking Passionflower with certain medications. Since it is a mild MAOI, making a strong quart jar of Passiflora tea before a trip is a great way to calm down as it is a potent nervine relaxant, and it will strengthen the effects and length of the psilocybin trip to some degree. It is mild enough that one does not need to follow strict dietary guidelines like an ayahuasca/monoamine-free type diet or be concerned with it making the trip extremely potent.
There are Passionflower extracts on the market though that may be potentially altered to be more potent, so exercise caution when working with a passionflower extract. I recommend just using fresh or dried plant material in a tea or tincture and avoiding the high-potency extraction methods that are marketed unless you have enough knowledge of their manufacturing process and the potency of the product, or make it and test it first on yourself.
Cacao (Theobroma cacao)
This is one of the few herbal allies that are both old as the Aztecs, Mayans, and other ancient American civilizations, and yet has remained a popular admixture in our contemporary culture. Growing up among the deadheads and hippies inhabiting the Willamette Valley, mushroom chocolates have been the most popular admixture with psilocybin. Most felt that it was the best way to not only make psilocybin more palatable but actually to make it taste good. It is also a mild MAOI.
Cacao contains the alkaloid theobromine which gives it much of its bitter taste. Theobromine stimulates heart muscle, relaxes bronchial smooth muscles in the lungs, and plays an important role in the transmission of intracellular signals. Many experiences this stimulation of the heart muscle and relaxation of the respiratory system as a very heart-opening experience. Many love this combination because it helps us to center our journey in the heart and bring out feelings of love. It is no wonder its history of cultivation can be traced back as far as 4,000 years ago. Adding a small amount of Cayenne (Capsicum annum) to the Cacao is a traditional mesoamercan way to prepare Psilocybin. Cayenne is a potent circulatory stimulant, helping to move the blood and increase circulation of the medicine.
The relaxation of respiration is another benefit of cacao. When one is under the influence of a large dose of psilocybin, our conscious reality which we normally have some degree of perceived influence over fades and we are forced to surrender to whatever comes up for us. The one thing we can still have some feeling of control over in that moment is our breath. Return to your breath and breathe through whatever experiences come up for you. Herbs like Cacao that help one to connect to the breath and to the heart are very useful.
Syrian Rue (Peganum harmala) is much more potent than other MAOI plants like Passiflora. I have purchased it online before and made a couple of tablespoons into some tea before and found it to be quite potent. I tried the same thing with a different batch and barely noticed any effect from it. It is one of the few herbs I do not grow or forage myself and have found the quality on the herbal marketplace to be quite mixed, and usually of low quality. If you intend to use Syrian Rue, follow an MAOI or Ayahuasca-type diet a few days before using it and gauge the strength of your Syrian Rue by mixing it with lower doses of psilocybin to see what works for you.
Note: I recommend those new to psilocybin avoid strong MAOI-containing plants with psilocybin unless it is prepared by an experienced practitioner who knows the strength.
Psilocybe cubensis is the most widely cultivated species of psilocybin mushroom species across the world. For decades they have been cultivated on sterilized grain, straw, compost, dung, or other decaying materials. The mushrooms are harvested while the medium that the mushrooms grew their mycelium through is thrown away. Recent research shows that psilocybin mycelium contains substantial concentrations of beta-carboline alkaloids which are a class of MAOIs. This means that the mycelium can be mixed with the fruiting mushrooms to help potentiate their effects. I hope that more growers of psilocybin will begin to utilize this MAOI effect from their mycelium and include it in certain preparations.
Neuro Trophorestoratives
St. John's Wort (Hypericum perforatum) is a traditional remedy for the nerves, including nerve pain, nervous exhaustion, and as a vulnerary wound healing herb for cuts, burns, and infections. Its use as a neurotrophorestorative, an herbal action that describes an herb that helps nourish and replenish an overburdened nervous system suffering from nervous exhaustion and overburdened by stress. I describe it as liquid sunshine, an herb that helps to increase endogenous reserves of serotonin and dopamine and grows with bright golden flowers upon sunny disturbed areas. Its use in Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), a depressive state brought on by lack of sunlight during the cooler months in certain climates, gives us an idea of what kind of mental state it works for. It does not work very well for more extreme cases of depression, but can offer support in more mild depressive mood issues quite effectively in my experience.
Hypericum can potentiate the effects of psilocybin by increasing endogenous serotonin reserves available for use. It is best taken as a tincture, 10-60 drops (1-3 droppers), 1-3 times daily, 5-7 days a week, at least a week or two before the experience. As a tea 1tsp to 1 tbsp daily, steeped 15 minutes to an hour. Since it increases CYP450, a phase II liver detoxification enzyme in the liver, contraindications with certain medications must be observed. If you are taking any medications, make sure none of your medications have any reported contraindication with St. John’s Wort (Hypericum perforatum).
Some people I met in Ayahuasca circles experienced a state of depression after using Ayahuasca in ceremony. I theorize that the way that psilocybin works through serotonergic receptor sites is similar to Ayahuasca, making them feel depleted as they gain a large tolerance to the substance a few days or more after a strong experience. Anyone who has tried eating mushrooms the next evening after a good dose the evening before will find that they often need double the dose to receive half the effect.
Here I see Hypericum as a useful remedy as a neurotrophorestorative to help replenish serotonin and replenish the nervous system after the hyperactive nervous state induced by Psilocybin. It combines well with other neurotrophorestorative herbs like Milky Oats (Avena sativa), Skullcap (Scuttelaria lateriflora), Lions Mane (Hericium erinaceus), and Reishi (Ganoderma spp.). These herbs would all pair very well in conjunction with regular microdosing of Psilocybin. I recommend using neurotrophorestorative herbs for a couple of weeks or more before the experience to help build up the nervous systems reserves, and to take them after a strong experience to help replenish.
Microdosing Protocol
0.05 up to 0.2 grams of dried psilocybin mushrooms taken daily, 3-5 days a week. Or if you are like me, weigh it out a few times and when you get an idea of roughly what that weight range looks like, then you can just eyeball it from there. Herbs aren’t like purified pharmaceutical drugs which require exact measurements for highly potent compounds. They vary drastically from mushroom to mushroom. As I mentioned before, psilocybin loses a lot of potency when stored for too long, even when stored properly in a tightly sealed container away from excess heat and light. The idea with microdosing is that the dosage should feel non-perceptible to just barely perceptible, where it does not significantly alter your sensory inputs. One way to gauge dosage is to buy some mushrooms and start with 0.1 grams and see how you feel an hour or two later. If you feel a mild perceptual shift you can either stick with that dose or try half (0.05 grams) of that next time. If you feel nothing try taking 0.2 grams and see if that feels comfortable.
Cannabis sativa
There are both benefits as well as drawbacks to working with cannabis in conjunction with psilocybin depending on what your relationship with cannabis is like. Being both calm and clearheaded is ideal so if you are someone who does not use cannabis often then you probably won’t gain many benefits from using them together.
For some, cannabis is a medicine they rely upon to support them through chronic pain, nausea, anxiety, insomnia, cancer treatment symptoms, and a variety of other ailments. For some cannabis is something that is used habitually when no immediate health concern is present and may mask underlying symptoms that need a more holistic way to be addressed.
If your intention is to work on your habits through this experience, including Cannabis, then it is recommended that you should try to abstain from Cannabis. However if you have a relationship with Cannabis as an ally be it medically, culturally, or spiritually, I am all for it. I remember many a fine joint rolled after a long journey to help induce a long awaited sleep-induced trance. I also remember coming out of powerful medicine experiences and no longer feeling the need to smoke Cannabis habitually as I had before. It is for you to decide based on your own unique relationship with this medicine.
Conclusion
Once we have assessed our own internal state and done all we can to address our senses through our external environment, we can now turn to our herbal allies to support us along the way. We can find our bitter, aromatic, carminative, and digestive tonics to help us assimilate or eliminate the medicine more effectively. We can also reach for our nervine relaxant herbs when we need to ground in or ground down before or after a psilocybin experience. Then we have our Nootropics, Cerebral Circulatory Stimulants, and our MAOI herbs which help to guide us to a clearer, more focused, and deeper experience. When we feel depleted after an experience we can use some neurotrophorestorative herbs to build us back up.
The herbs you work with the most tend to be the most grounding, so I encourage you to work on building relationships with plants by working with them and finding which ones may provide the support you need when engaging with one of our favorite fungal allies, Psilocybe. I encourage everyone to work with the plants I mentioned, but see if any of your own personal herbal allies not mentioned here fit into any of these categories. It is through engaging in familiar activities in new ways where we help to gain collective wisdom.
Materia Medica:
Cacao, Theobroma cacao
Cayenne, Capsicum annum
Cannabis sativa
Bhrami, Bacopa monnieri
Tulsi, Ocimum tenuiflorum
Gotu Kola, Centella asiatica
Rosemary, Salvia rosmarinus
Valerian, Valeriana spp.
Gingko, Ginkgo biloba
Tobacco, Nicotiana spp.
San Pedro, Trichocereus spp.
Passionflower, Passiflora incarnata
Skullcap, Scutellaria lateriflora
Ghost Pipe, Monotropa uniflora
Devils Club, Oplopanax Horridus
Milky Oats, Avena sativa
St. Johns Wort, Hypericum perforatum
Reishi, Ganoderma spp.
Lions Mane, Hericium erinaeus
Syrian Rue, (Peganum harmala)
Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale)
Citations
Scapagnini G, Davinelli S, Di Renzo L, De Lorenzo A, Olarte HH, Micali G, Cicero AF, Gonzalez S. Cocoa bioactive compounds: significance and potential for the maintenance of skin health. Nutrients. 2014 Aug 11;6(8):3202-13. doi: 10.3390/nu6083202. PMID: 25116848; PMCID: PMC4145303.
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