Amanita Muscaria (Fly Agaric)

['Coatl]

Good work Entropymancer.

BTW, don't eat the Amanitas in Australia! (*Edit*- Looks like you already noted that!)

...And yes, Siberian Amanitas are the best!

 

[Ginkgo]

Thank you again, Entropymancer! I wasn't aware that there were so different effects between the countries, but that doesn't surprise me. I once ordered Amanita resin from a north-american vendor, all I got was tons of sweating and nausea, no psychedelig effects or euphoria whatsoever. It is good to see that this (in my experience) ugly mushroom has been separeted into a new species instead of just a sub-species, I hope the vendors and the community follow up on this.

I live in Norway, the A. muscaria here is absolutely wonderful. Both the geographical location and the wonderful effects kept in mind, I think it might be the same strain or atleast very close to the one in Siberia. The Amanita season is starting in about one month here, in two to three months it is high-season (pun intended). I will be able to send you some of this beatiful mushroom for free if you are interested, Entropymancer.

 

[MalargueZiggy]

Good information in this thread guys.

Am I right in thinking drinking your urine would work to save other chems as well, e.g mdma? Why do people say it's important for fly agaric in particular?

--> Any idea on what kind of Fly Agaric you'd be getting in England? They sell it in head shops, pre-dried.

My real problen with this is convincing my gf that the side effects could be avoided. At the moment she's really against the idea, but I'm intrigued by it.

 

[Entropymancer]

Good information in this thread guys.

Am I right in thinking drinking your urine would work to save other chems as well, e.g mdma? Why do people say it's important for fly agaric in particular?

Yep, you can drink your urine to recycle any drug that the kidneys can efficiently clear from the bloodstream before the liver gets involved in metabolizing it. This includes both MDMA and psilocin.

The reason that urinary drug recycling has only been associated with the fly agaric is mostly a matter of circumstance... and reindeer seem to be the cause of it! Here's an excerpt from a monograph I'm writing:

Reindeer are a crucial resource in many parts of northern Siberia where the mushrooms are used, so the indigenous people are familiar with reindeer's habits and behaviors. It is well-known that reindeer love fly agarics, and become inebriated after eating them, just as humans do. It might well be that humans in the region thousands of years ago first learned of the mushroom's psychoactive effects effects by watching the reindeer.

But reindeer also have a great thirst for human urine, especially in the wintertime, presumably because it contains essential minerals lacking from their meager diet. This is well-known by the locals, who will urinate as a means of rounding up reindeer that have strayed from the herd, and the reindeer apparently even fight over which gets to lap up the yellow snow. It is not so far-fetched to imagine that the connection between the reindeer, the mushrooms, and human urine somehow led to the discovery that the urine of one who has eaten the fly agaric is nearly as potent as the fly agaric itself. (Letcher 2007) Perhaps some reindeer were observed to be intoxicated after drinking urine from a celebration where the guests were drinking mushroom liquor. Or perhaps some shaman, inebriated by the mushrooms and channeling the spirit of the reindeer, decided to consume his own urine in immitation, and found the property that way. This is all simply speculation, but the pieces seem to fit. Nowhere else in the world does the practice of drinking urine seem to be catching on, although contemporary reports indicate that the occasional intrepid psychonaut isn't averse to trying it.

Any idea on what kind of Fly Agaric you'd be getting in England? They sell it in head shops, pre-dried.

I'd assume they're probably local, but who knows. For whatever reason, I've consistently found that mushrooms ordered online are much less enjoyable and much less reliable than ones I pick myself. I don't know what the difference is. Some people say it's the bond you form with the mushroom when you pick it, but I'm not generally inclined towards metaphysical explanations. But regardless, I always recommend anyone who lives where they grow should try harvesting their own (a whole lot cheaper that way too). Keep an eye out for them when they come in season (late August/early September in the UK if I recall right)

My real problen with this is convincing my gf that the side effects could be avoided. At the moment she's really against the idea, but I'm intrigued by it.

There's no real way to be sure without trying. What you might want to do is get enough for 3 doses, powder them all together (to make the material as homogenous as possible), and try one dose yourself. If there's no side-effects, there's enough left for the two of you to dose together.

While I enjoy the heavy dissociated dream/fugue state occasionally, maybe once a year, I really like the mushrooms best as a daily tonic... low doses (1-2 Tbsp fresh, or 1-2 tsp dry) are nicer than coffee as a relaxing pick-me-up and mood-lifter!

 

[Leap]

I'm lucky enough to have a stomach that accepts Aminita for the most part. I'll get the burps some, and a very slight tinge of nausea, then it's into A.M. bliss.

Intoxicating. Wonderful. Let's me drift into a pleasant (though sweaty) nap, and wake up to a world that seems softer, brighter, and just a little more saturated in color. Not intense at all in my experience, just pleasant.