firedrum
Rising Star
The following report is a story told through the eyes of Youseff, a fictional character.
Introduction:
In preparing for my first ayahuasca and DMT experience, I had abstained from foods high in tyramine for 5 days and from food altogether for 30 hours before the ceremony. I also had refrained from any mind altering substances for 3 days prior.
I had 8g of ground Syrian Rue and 20g of powdered Acacia maidenii bark material to be divided between 2 people.
I had chosen these amounts based on many reports I had read, most of them on Mimosa hostilis and B. caapi or Syrian rue, as it is difficult to find many reports on acacia’s, which is all I have access to where I live. From “Ayahuasca Analogues (Ott, 1994)” I found that Acacia maidenii (AM) had an alkaloid content of 0.36% and Mimosa hostiles (MH) of 0.57%. Many online reports stated that a dose of 10g of MHRB was relatively strong and 5g was moderate, based on these I decided to use 10g of AMB which I thought would equate to roughly 7g of MHRB.
Set and setting:
I had set up a fire drum for the ceremony in the backyard along with a mattress and made a long playlist consisting of psychedelic dub. We had no other people around and were lacking a sitter which facilitated in my decision to go for a moderately lower dose. In the end I believe this had been a good decision as I did not know what to expect for our first time and not having a sitter had initially raised some fears and prohibited me to “let go” throughout the experience.
Preparation:
I had placed the ground Syrian Rue in one pot and the AMB in another. To both of these I added 4 cups of tap water and 1/8 cup of bottled lemon juice. I boiled them on low heat for 45 minutes and allowed another 45 minutes cooling before draining through a coffee filter into two separate bowls. I took the material that remained in the filter and repeated the process another 2 times. Once this was complete, I cleaned the pots out and poured the 2 brews back into their respective pots be boiled down to a consumable amount. This final boil took roughly 50 minutes. I would like to note that during the boiling I had done so with lids on both the pots, I read a report where someone had bought this up, and at the time I hadn’t thought of this as an anomaly, but doing so may have produced a variable in the result. The result of boiling was 1.5 cups of both the Syrian Rue and the AMB for each of us.
Result:
T+ 0:00: We began consuming the Rue, this took roughly 10 minutes due to the foul taste and the quantity of the brew.
T+ 0:30: We began drinking the AMB, this also took about 10 minutes but the brew was more bearable than the Rue. We lit the fire and sat on the mattress and waited.
T+ 1:00: I started feeling mild euphoric rushes, best described by a general “haziness” of everything similar to that of a mild psilocybin trip; they would come and go and were long in between. I noted this to my friend who had also began feeling this sensation.
T+ 1:30: Still we were felling the haziness, it seemed prolonged now but with without an increase in intensity, we had decided to smoke some cannabis at this time.
T+ 1:50: Small bout of diarrhoea. Haziness still felt with no increase in intensity, albeit my friend noted that during and after the joint he started feeling mild rushes which coincide with an onset of psychedelics and is not the result of cannabis acting alone. I agreed with this description. We smoked another joint at this time.
T+ 2:20: We broke our fast on a packet of Salt ‘n’ vinegar chips and a glass of orange juice, this didn’t affect the experience in any way.
T+ 2:50: We had a small bowl of pasta and decided that the experience was unlikely to intensify beyond this point. We smoked another joint, put the fire out and left to go out.
I will note that while we were out the haziness persisted with me throughout the evening; however it was only detectable upon concentrating on an object and would be slightly stirred up with any cannabis.
I believe that I had achieved some level of success with this experience. Other than the haziness, there were no other major sensations experienced. I had felt a tiny detriment to my balance and I recall collecting firewood being a slightly more difficult task than it would be normally. I knew that it would not turn to a psychedelic or spiritual experience after about T+ 1:30 with the absence of the need to purge. I knew that this was an integral part of the ayahuasca experience. However in retrospect, one is more prepared to judge where adjustments would be made in order to reach a full ayahuasca experience. I had read on “Ayahuasca Analogues (Ott, 1994)” that 3g of Rue + 20g of Acacia phlebophylla leaves (similar DMT levels to that of Acacia maidenii bark) was a good recipe for a 3.5h trip. Ott also prepared analogues differently than one would prepare ayahuasca using MHRB. He recommended rapid boiling without an excess of water in 30% lime solution for both the Rue and the bark. The haziness that was felt could be contributed to the consumption of the Syrian rue. As it was also our first experience with this plant, we were unable to differentiate if this sensation was caused by the bark or the rue, however on a previous occasion we had smoked some of the shredded bark rolled with tobacco and felt barely detectable hallucinogenic or hazy effects.
Conclusion:
Although a deep ayahuasca experience wasn’t achieved, I believe this introductory attempt was successful as it provides a stepping stone and a confidence which can only be achieved through experience. First and foremost I believe that the amount of AMB used was too small. I intend the next dose to be 4g Syrian Rue + 20-30g of AMB each. I believe also that I had prepared the dose to coincide with the many reports I had read on MH, rather than that of the Ayahuasca Analogues. I believe this approach was integral in the variables produced as I had not paid the Acacia respect in its own right, rather choosing to follow the path of the tried and true Mimosa hostiles. On further analysis I believe that I also need to change the method of preparation, for example, to follow Ott’s instruction on a less prolonged boiling time and an increase in lime to water ratio. I will also use fresh lemon juice or vinegar next time and boil without the lids, any little adjustment that may assist in achieving a deeper ayahuasca experience.
Authors note:
For all the explorers out there (experienced and novice) who have read this report, I invite you to input any advice or similar experiences you may have had with Acacias in Ayahuasca analogues. I intend to continue to try to achieve a greater result in my next attempt and could not have achieved such a result without the aid and interaction of the explorer community. For this I thank you and wish you the very best in all your travels.
Introduction:
In preparing for my first ayahuasca and DMT experience, I had abstained from foods high in tyramine for 5 days and from food altogether for 30 hours before the ceremony. I also had refrained from any mind altering substances for 3 days prior.
I had 8g of ground Syrian Rue and 20g of powdered Acacia maidenii bark material to be divided between 2 people.
I had chosen these amounts based on many reports I had read, most of them on Mimosa hostilis and B. caapi or Syrian rue, as it is difficult to find many reports on acacia’s, which is all I have access to where I live. From “Ayahuasca Analogues (Ott, 1994)” I found that Acacia maidenii (AM) had an alkaloid content of 0.36% and Mimosa hostiles (MH) of 0.57%. Many online reports stated that a dose of 10g of MHRB was relatively strong and 5g was moderate, based on these I decided to use 10g of AMB which I thought would equate to roughly 7g of MHRB.
Set and setting:
I had set up a fire drum for the ceremony in the backyard along with a mattress and made a long playlist consisting of psychedelic dub. We had no other people around and were lacking a sitter which facilitated in my decision to go for a moderately lower dose. In the end I believe this had been a good decision as I did not know what to expect for our first time and not having a sitter had initially raised some fears and prohibited me to “let go” throughout the experience.
Preparation:
I had placed the ground Syrian Rue in one pot and the AMB in another. To both of these I added 4 cups of tap water and 1/8 cup of bottled lemon juice. I boiled them on low heat for 45 minutes and allowed another 45 minutes cooling before draining through a coffee filter into two separate bowls. I took the material that remained in the filter and repeated the process another 2 times. Once this was complete, I cleaned the pots out and poured the 2 brews back into their respective pots be boiled down to a consumable amount. This final boil took roughly 50 minutes. I would like to note that during the boiling I had done so with lids on both the pots, I read a report where someone had bought this up, and at the time I hadn’t thought of this as an anomaly, but doing so may have produced a variable in the result. The result of boiling was 1.5 cups of both the Syrian Rue and the AMB for each of us.
Result:
T+ 0:00: We began consuming the Rue, this took roughly 10 minutes due to the foul taste and the quantity of the brew.
T+ 0:30: We began drinking the AMB, this also took about 10 minutes but the brew was more bearable than the Rue. We lit the fire and sat on the mattress and waited.
T+ 1:00: I started feeling mild euphoric rushes, best described by a general “haziness” of everything similar to that of a mild psilocybin trip; they would come and go and were long in between. I noted this to my friend who had also began feeling this sensation.
T+ 1:30: Still we were felling the haziness, it seemed prolonged now but with without an increase in intensity, we had decided to smoke some cannabis at this time.
T+ 1:50: Small bout of diarrhoea. Haziness still felt with no increase in intensity, albeit my friend noted that during and after the joint he started feeling mild rushes which coincide with an onset of psychedelics and is not the result of cannabis acting alone. I agreed with this description. We smoked another joint at this time.
T+ 2:20: We broke our fast on a packet of Salt ‘n’ vinegar chips and a glass of orange juice, this didn’t affect the experience in any way.
T+ 2:50: We had a small bowl of pasta and decided that the experience was unlikely to intensify beyond this point. We smoked another joint, put the fire out and left to go out.
I will note that while we were out the haziness persisted with me throughout the evening; however it was only detectable upon concentrating on an object and would be slightly stirred up with any cannabis.
I believe that I had achieved some level of success with this experience. Other than the haziness, there were no other major sensations experienced. I had felt a tiny detriment to my balance and I recall collecting firewood being a slightly more difficult task than it would be normally. I knew that it would not turn to a psychedelic or spiritual experience after about T+ 1:30 with the absence of the need to purge. I knew that this was an integral part of the ayahuasca experience. However in retrospect, one is more prepared to judge where adjustments would be made in order to reach a full ayahuasca experience. I had read on “Ayahuasca Analogues (Ott, 1994)” that 3g of Rue + 20g of Acacia phlebophylla leaves (similar DMT levels to that of Acacia maidenii bark) was a good recipe for a 3.5h trip. Ott also prepared analogues differently than one would prepare ayahuasca using MHRB. He recommended rapid boiling without an excess of water in 30% lime solution for both the Rue and the bark. The haziness that was felt could be contributed to the consumption of the Syrian rue. As it was also our first experience with this plant, we were unable to differentiate if this sensation was caused by the bark or the rue, however on a previous occasion we had smoked some of the shredded bark rolled with tobacco and felt barely detectable hallucinogenic or hazy effects.
Conclusion:
Although a deep ayahuasca experience wasn’t achieved, I believe this introductory attempt was successful as it provides a stepping stone and a confidence which can only be achieved through experience. First and foremost I believe that the amount of AMB used was too small. I intend the next dose to be 4g Syrian Rue + 20-30g of AMB each. I believe also that I had prepared the dose to coincide with the many reports I had read on MH, rather than that of the Ayahuasca Analogues. I believe this approach was integral in the variables produced as I had not paid the Acacia respect in its own right, rather choosing to follow the path of the tried and true Mimosa hostiles. On further analysis I believe that I also need to change the method of preparation, for example, to follow Ott’s instruction on a less prolonged boiling time and an increase in lime to water ratio. I will also use fresh lemon juice or vinegar next time and boil without the lids, any little adjustment that may assist in achieving a deeper ayahuasca experience.
Authors note:
For all the explorers out there (experienced and novice) who have read this report, I invite you to input any advice or similar experiences you may have had with Acacias in Ayahuasca analogues. I intend to continue to try to achieve a greater result in my next attempt and could not have achieved such a result without the aid and interaction of the explorer community. For this I thank you and wish you the very best in all your travels.
