What are magic mushrooms and magic truffles?

Magic mushrooms are the world's oldest psychedelic and can induce profound but transitory changes in perception, mood, and thought.

Many different species of mushrooms naturally produce psilocybin and other psychoactive substances and are therefore all grouped together under the term magic mushrooms, psychedelic mushrooms, or just simply "shrooms".

One of the most well-known species of magic mushrooms is Psilocybe cubensis, which is easy to cultivate and native to various regions around the world. When consumed, magic mushrooms induce a state of altered consciousness that often come with long-term positive effects and are commonly referred to as “tripping.”

Preliminary studies suggest that magic mushrooms may have therapeutic effects for a range of conditions, including depression, anxiety, ADHD, addiction, and PTSD. Additionally, there is a trend of taking mushrooms of truffles in tiny, regular dosages instead of one big one.

Microdosing, or taking small, sub-perceptual doses of psilocybin, has gained popularity as a way to enhance creativity, productivity, and overall well-being. However, it's important to note that using magic mushrooms comes with potential risks, including a risk of psychological distress or adverse effects on mental health.

Magic fungi are the oldest psychedelic in the world and have been used for millenia and are growing exceedingly popular today. 

Magic Truffles are simply a different product of the same organism that produces those mushrooms, growing underground instead of above the surface. As such their effects are largely the same. 

On the other hand, magic truffles are the underground sclerotia of certain species of fungi, including Psilocybe mexicana and Psilocybe tampanensis, that also contain psilocybin. Truffles are usually consumed raw, but can also be dried and ground into a powder or mixed with other foods or drinks. Both magic mushrooms and truffles can produce altered states of consciousness, including vivid sensory experiences, altered perception of time and space, and profound changes in mood and thought. These substances have been used for spiritual, therapeutic, and recreational purposes, and have gained increasing interest in recent years due to their potential therapeutic benefits. However, it is important to note that the use of these substances can also carry risks and should be approached with caution and informed decision-making.

Some fungi have the ability to create fantastic, visionary experiences that are deeply impactful to the user.

The Effects of Magic Mushrooms

Magic Mushrooms are widely popular for their amazing psychedelic qualities coupled with potential health benefits.

The effects of mushrooms and truffles are almost identical and are largely caused by them containing psilocybin (and in the case of fresh specimen, psilocin).

The effects tend to kick in after about 20-60 minutes and can last as long as 3-6 hours, being the strongest during the first 2 hours.
They often wear off "in waves", so be sure to give yourself ample time between the trip and any other activity.

How exactly your experience plays out is very personal and different for every person. It is heavily influenced by your mood, personality and life experiences - as well as your surroundings and who you're with.

Physical effects:

• visual distortions, eg strong colors and hyperacute vision
• heightened senses (stronger smell, touch, hearing, vision and taste)
• outburst of creativity
• Feeling of lightness / heaviness in the body
• Cold hands and feet

 

 Mental effects:

• temporary "opening" of the mind, consciousness expansion
• increased empathy
• strong emotions, improved connection to the subconscious
• sometimes also dizziness, muscle weakness and queazy stomach, prepare your set and setting diligently beforehand!

For most people, a mushroom journey is a wondrous and magical experience. However, the drastic change of perception can also frighten some people and cause resistance that may then escalate the feeling of discomfort.
This is only made worse by the often used and little understood term "bad trip". More about that later, it is first important to understand dosage.

 

How many mushrooms should you take?

How strongly a dose acts is highly dependent on each individual.

The following dosage recommendations are approximations of an average and don't necessarily apply at all times.

Dosage	Dry Mushrooms	Fresh Truffles
Microdose	0.05 - 0.2g	0.5 - 1.5g
Museum dose	0.1 - 0.5g	2 - 3g
"twilight zone"	0.6-1g	3 - 4g
Minidose	1.1 - 2g	4 - 6g
Medidose	2 - 3.5g	6 - 10g
Macrodose	3.5 - 5g	10 - 25g
Shamanic dose	+ 5g	+ 20g

 

Microdoses are supposed to be sub-perceptual and not warp perception.

Anything up to and including a Minidose is likely to come with light physical effects. Movement, shapes and patterns, laughter and intense experience of what is going on around you. 

If there are latent emotions looking for an outlet, they may already become apparent for you through a minidose. So for beginners without supervision of an experienced guide, it is a good idea to start small.

What is set and setting?

This term describes the mindset and surroundings for your journey.

Probably the most important things to take into consideration are:

1) Safety

Choose a secure and private environment. Taking mushrooms in the park only sounds good until you find yourself surrounded by strangers and wondering if you can safely make it home through traffic to go to the bathroom.

2) Good company

You'll want to have people around that you trust.
If you don't have any friends close that you can share the experience with you or have looking after you, that can also mean going on the journey alone.

3) Take your time

Being in a hurry will add to the stress you're feeling by making you ask yourself "will I be beack to normal in time?"

The easiest way to avoid this is to do it on a day where you have nothing else to do, ideally with the next day off as well.

4) Empty stomach

Taking your truffles or mushroom on an empty stomach can greatly enhance how clean and intense your experience feels.

If hunger becomes too strong, it may also become a distraction.

5) Clean, comfy clothing

When your senses are heightened, things that normally don't even register can suddenly become a huge nuisance. Choose comfortable clothing (ideally cotton or any soft fabric) and keep it cool with the perfume on the day of your journey. 

Scented candles can also be genuinely annyoing.

 

Do you need a Tripsitter?

A sitter is someone sober that makes sure you are safe during your journey.

Their main task is to put you at ease, knowing that no matter how much you lean into the experience, there is someone there to keep you from playing with candles or wandering into traffic.

Having a tripsitter is recommended especially for beginners. The person you choose should be someone you are comfortable with, who understands the basics about mushrooms enough to keep their cool as they watch over you.

 

Don't combine psychedelics with other psychoactive substances.

Whatever emotion comes up, psychedelic mushrooms and truffles will make them feel you many times stronger.

This is the main reason that combining them with alcohol, weed or other drugs can go wrong. It can really mess up your experience. Even if you are very experienced with these other substances and feel like you could handle them under any circumstance, it is important for you to first collect experience before even attempting to combine them.

 

How can you avoid a bad trip?

The term bad trip is often used to describe any sort of experience that comes with emotions such as sadness, anger or fear. Basically normal emptions that may come up on any normal day, but will be felt more strongly.

This sort of experience can be easily ameliorated by accepting and giving into the emotion to let it pass through you. 
Reading about this in a sober state however is a very different thing from actually going through with it in the thick of the moment. Therefore it's good practice for you to spend a moment during preparation considering that the contents of your trip are the contents of your mind. Nothing foreign is introduced by the mushrooms, everything you see and feel is already inside you and becoming visible. 

Read more about that in 

That being said, there are actual horror trips in which one may feel trapped and surrounded by malevolent intent. These are almost ALWAYS brought on by an unsafe environment and can be avoided very easily by carefully choosing the time and place for your journey according to the guidelines above.

 

psilocybin / psilocin

serotonin

baeocystin

norbaeocystin

 

Entourage effect: like a symphony

 

psyche-delic = mind-revealing

en-theo-gen = god within

 

They're commonly known as magic mushrooms, but can actually be many different species, some of which can create truffles as well as mushrooms. They grow all over the world.

Set and Setting

Careful preparation before using the mushrooms is essential.

Both outer circumstances and inner mindset play an important role and must be considered beforehand, as the effects may last for 4-8 hours and render you incapable of normal risk assessment.