Salvia Divinorum is a perennial psychoactive plant local to Oaxaca, Mexico. It has been used for hundreds of years due to the strong visionary states it induces (mainly by the Mazatecs, which some of their culture is even based off salvia experiences, but I will cover this later) and has, in the recent years, been brought back to USA and other western countries after scientists discovered its atypical psychoactive properties. The history of this plant is not well known, and there is no definitive answer about its origin.

Salvia Divinorum (Diviner's Sage, Maria Pastora, or just Salvia) has a native habitat of only about 80 square feet in Oaxaca, Mexico and has been growing there for hundreds of years. It has large oval leaves and a hollow, square stem. Salvia Divinorum rarely flowers unless it is in its original habitat but it has been proved possible to trick it into flowering using artificial lighting. The flowers are white, curved and covered with hairs. The plant has to be pollinated either by birds or human activity, and rarely produces viable seeds. Salvia Divinorum loves humid and hot climates, it does not tolerate frost or cold temperatures and does not do well in dry climates (unless acclimated, which can take months to accomplish). The cultivation of Salvia at home is relatively simple as it does not require strong lights (the plant prospers in shade or partial sun) and can be a good houseplant which does not require a lot of care once the acclimation phase is over. They need to be watered often (sometimes as much as once a day) and are really sensitive to lack of water, and also thrive by being sprayed with water to keep the relative humidity higher. Obtaining cuttings is very simple and does not require the use of any rooting hormone: simply cut with a sharp blade, place in water, and within a few days it will grow long stringy white roots. Salvia is very sensitive at first and requires a lot of care, but it is very hardy and can grow back from a rotten stem if taken care of properly. Typical growth rates are 1 or 2 sets of leaves per week. Each Salvia leaf can contain between 150 and 600 micrograms of Salvinorin A.

Salvia contains a few of nature's most potent psychoactive substances, diterpenoids, which are classified as Salvinorins; these are not alkaloids, as they miss a nitrogen atom. Salvinorin A is a potent kappa-opioid and D2 receptor agonist and is active at doses starting from 200 micrograms. This compound accounts for about 0.18% of dried plant material, and is the only salvinorin that is confirmed to be psychoactive. Salvia also contains a few other salvinorins which have no proven psychoactivity and will not be covered here. There seems to be some sort of "reverse-tolerance" or increased sensitivity after each use of Salvia Divinorum, which can lead to being able to "break through" directly from salvia leaves instead of extracts (over some time). Salvinorin A has a very low addiction potential and is not harmful physically.

Upon inhalation or ingestion of enough Salvinorin A, the user may start to feel reality shifting, collapsing, or have a strong feeling of falling or being pulled from all sides at once, and if the conditions are right, you will "break through" into salvia's world. The concept of "I" is completely gone, you are barely aware of what you are and that you are inside a human body, your thoughts or memories may become external objective bubbles, and feels as if you are swimming in an ocean made of all your thoughts or memories. Lower doses tend to not get past that stage and make the user turn into a common household object (such as being a washing machine or the leg of a table), but if you smoke or ingest enough salvia, you may feel as if you are in a few overlapping realities at once, feel as if you are part of a giant game (or play, which is also another common reccuring theme), or encounter entities. You may be severly dilusionned during this stage and might experience impossible things. The trip duration varies from 3 to 6 minutes, and is very intense up to the very end. Salvia Divinorum can feel like a strong dissociative throughout the trip and even has some dissociation lingering after the trip is over, but effects quickly dissipate after 15-30 minutes.

Salvia Divinorum has very common effects for mostly everyone, the trips are very similar, with the same overall themes and entity contact. It has been hypothesized that Salvia shows everyone the same things, but it is interpreted differently by each of us.

Entity contact happens very often upon inhalation of enough Salvia, and seems to be similar for mostly everyone. The first kind of entities you might encounter are groups of small dark elves which often carry objects or rush toward you and pull you around; they do not mean any real business and are often encountered on lower doses. The next kind of entities are the reality rollers. They appear as tall golden mazatecs warriors made of square "boxy" blocks and are constantly walking mechanically, either "rolling" reality (one interesting effect of salvia is it often sends the user "out" of reality, and appears to them as a flat surface over which they are) or patrolling. Reality rollers seem to both guard certain secrets and archive the past to keep the Wheel turning. They rarely say anything interesting and generally warn the user that they are not allowed to be there. One may also feel a strong empathic connection to a single entity or a group of them during the trip, these are often the "higher ones", with which you never come in contact directly but communicate their emotions through you and feel what you feel, under rare circumstances they make speak directly to the person. The last and main entity may be Salvia itself/herself, but people only rarely come across it/her or only feel its/her presence surrounding them.

Salvia has various common themes such as feeling as if you are part of a giant play or game, a wheel spinning, rolling of flat reality frames, mazatec warriors or symbols, seeing reality being ripped apart, thinking the world ended, turning into a household object, feeling as if you're part of a giant chain, as well as many others. Its themes being so common combined with being used for visions by the Mazatecs might be what caused a lot of their culture to be inspired from Salvia Divinorum visions.

Salvia Divinorum has been used in low doses by psychonauts as anti-depressant with very encouraging effects, and seems to help with anxiety, insomnia and a few other conditions. There is also speculation it may help with certain kind of physical pains. Salvia Divinorum has also traditionally been used (in low doses) as diuretic, and to treat diarrhea, anemia, headaches and rheumatism.

Salvia Divinorum can be potentiated by various drugs. Some of the most popular combos are DXM (which both reduces pre-trip anxiety and intensifies the duration as well as effects) and Salvia, ketamine and Salvia, LSD and Salvia, Psilocybin mushrooms and Salvia, which all intensify the effects of both drugs and can typically be easily overwhelming. Some other popular combinations are ones where it is mixed with benzodiazepines or alcohol to reduce pre-trip anxiety and have a generally more laid-back trip. GABAergic drugs do not affect the intensity of a Salvia trip unlike with more common psychedelics.

Salvia Divinorum is currently not scheduled under the Controlled Substances Act or any Federal Law in the USA and Canada, but many states within the U.S. have recently scheduled or are considering scheduling. Australia, Belgium and other various countries have also already banned it. For a full list please see http://www.erowid.org/plants/salvia/salvia_law.shtml.

Salvia Divinorum put into music.
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/773033/salvia.mp3 - by monoliath
Salvia Divinorum on Erowid
http://www.erowid.org/plants/salvia/salvia.shtml

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