(updated 5/20/2007)
Lady Salvia is a tricky subject. She keeps those that are just looking for a quick "high" from getting to Her. That is why many people use it once or twice and then abandon it, wondering why it didn't work. This is also where the stories of certain people being "immune" to Salvia come from.
There are important things to remember...
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Reverse Tolerance
This is the most misunderstood, or not even known about, aspect of Salvia.
Salvia is reverse tolerant. When you use it, you become more sensitive to it. If you smoke a bowl or two of raw leaf every other night or so for 2-3 weeks, you will start to see that you need less and less until finally you only need a hit or two of raw leaf. This is why extracts are overrated...they are for those that want to just blast through this and rush Lady Salvia into giving up Her wisdom. However, She is smarter than that. Most who try this end up just having an amnesiac sort of trip where they learn nothing, or end up thinking they are a doorknob or something such as that.
One method of achieving a reverse tolerance that has been tested and approved by this poster, was revealed by cpw1971. Take one small hit of Salvia, and wait about 20 minutes. Now have your smoking session. That one hit will work in some of this reverse tolerance and make your breakthrough easier.
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Your leaf
It is important to get a good quality leaf. There are many vendors that sell Salvia, and differentiating between them can be difficult. Salvinorin-A breaks down when exposed to light, so with dead leaves no longer producing Salvinorin-A (since they are dead :-) ), if left in sunlight they will lose potency. Some also can get moldy and lose potency. As you can see there are a number of ways for dried leaf to lose potency, and only a proper vendor will understand this.
I'm not going to advertise here for a specific vendor, but feel free to PM me and I'll give you some information.
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Set and Setting
I find it important to meditate to clear your mind and focus on the Lady for at least 5 minutes, if not more, before going to meet Her.
I usually strip down to just my undergarments, or nothing at all. I go into a room that has a light on the nightstand within easy reach. I make sure the room is completely pitch black with the light out, and that all LED's are blocked or covered. An LED is a light emmiting diode, such as the little green or red lights on VCR, clocks, etc. I want the room to basically be light-proof when I turn the light off.
I find this is important to me because sometimes my eyes drift open when on a voyage, and if there is no light at all, I don't notice the difference. Of course, at higher doses, I am not aware of my eyes in a physical sense.
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Smoking Method
To smoke Salvia, get a good butane torch lighter. This is important so that the Salvinorin-A (psychoactive chemical in Salvia) is all burned and turned into smoke. However, I should also note there that some people prefer to just use a normal lighter. Some feel that the butane lighter makes the smoke a bit too "hot". In the end, this is a matter of personal preference. I do find with the butane lighter that the smoke is hot, but I always swallow after taking in the hit. This re-moistens my throat, taking away the harsh feeling.
Load a bowl and have another one or two ready to go. Take one large hit, holding the flame over the leaf while you inhale. Hold this in 20-30 seconds, and then let it out. Take only one breath in between hits, and take a second hit and hold it in again. While you hold it in, load or get the next bowl ready. Repeat this for the second bowl. Set the bowl down carefully on your night stand as you may be feeling rubbery and strange by now. Turn off the light and lay back with your eyes closed and enjoy what Lady Salvia has in store for you, even if it is minimal. Remember, She likes to get acquainted with her new subjects first in many cases.
The best method for using Salvia, bar none, is a vaporizer. The one that has been personally tested is the Cannon Vaporizer. It can be found at the Vapor Warez site. Salvinorin-D has a high combustion temperature, and so getting a vaporizer that gets hot enough (much hotter than needed for marijuana or tobacco) is imperative so you do not waste your money. This one, I know for a fact, gets hot enough. When using a vaporizer, you MUST have a sitter present for the first couple of times, no matter how experienced you are. A much smaller amount of pure, plain leaf will have a much larger effect. For a trip report of my first attempt using this vaporizer, can be found here.
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Quidding
Quidding is taking about 3 leaves and rehydrating them in water for about 10 minutes, and then rolling it into a ball and chewing it a bit like gum. You let the juice collect in the back of your throat, and swallow only when it become uncomfortable. After about fifteen minutes, swallow the quid and spoon another 3 leaves out and roll them up, and chew them for fifteen minutes or so, and then swallow the quid. By this time the effects should be coming on and be felt to a good degree.
Quidding is similar in effects to smoking, but lasts about an hour instead of a few minutes. It's effects come on slower and go away slower, so it is less of a "flash" experience.
However, Quidding is an art form, and having a high level of reverse tolerance will help quite a bit.
There is a good recipe at entheology.org by Druid Dream involving Bicardi, Chamomile, and Ginger. It takes care of the bitter taste that some say they don't enjoy, but to me the rum is worse, as I'm not a big alcohol (sp?) drinker. The ginger is nice though, and the taste of Salvia leaf is nice to me.
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Sitter
The first couple of times you try Salvia, try and have someone quietly sitting in the room with you, or in a room adjacent to the one you are in. This will help avoid any problems you may encounter during your first few trips into Salvia Space. I, and 99% of the people I talk to never have a problem. Most tend to lay there still while having the experience. Some, I have heard, will try and move around. Whatever happens, it is imparative that the sitter knows the experience will only last a few minutes, tops. This is also a good reason to use the smoking method for a while until you are well aquainted with the Lady.
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Salvia as an Antidepressant
While it is still unknown, there are indications that Salvia may have great use as an antidepressant. The main active compound, Salvinorin-A, has a very similar chemical makeup to many prescription antidepressants. I, for one, am bipolar and suffer from depression. I have found that the regular use of Salvia has worked as a sort of self-medication for my depression. I refuse to take synthetic medications, as my bipolar is rather mild; however, through the use of Salvia this becomes even less of an issue.
Here are some preliminary reports and anecdotal stories. Due to the claustrophobic and "drug" demonizing culture we live in, there has been little research into this very valuable chemical.
http://www.sagewisdom.org/jclinpsych.html
http://www.sagewisdom.org/jclinpsych.html (read under Longterm section)
http://www.salvia-divinorum.com/forum.htm (fourth paragraph)
http://www.maps.org/news-letters/v13n1/13118han.pdf
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I hope this has been informative and helpful!
Remember, treat Lady Salvia with respect, and She will respect you! If you are going for a quick high, this isn't the place to go.
Also, check out Sagewisdom for invaluable information on the chemicals of Salvia, the botany, methodology, etc. of Salvia.
Edited by myndreach (05/20/07 07:57 AM)
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You are certainly correct on the first part about the reverse tollerance.
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