Salvia is one of the oldest known herbs, used by people the world over salvia has been known for its healing properties for centuries. Commonly called as sage, salvia has been used by tribal people the world over to cure various ailments. The salvia leaf is the source of a powerful psychoactive ingredient and is perhaps one of the oldest used herbs. In fact peyote is only one of the many herbs that Mazatec Shamans have used to induce a state of altered reality. Since salvia is not addictive it is considered much safer to use when compared to other addictive psychoactive drugs like LSD.



Salvia is legal in the United States, and cases of salvia abuse are not uncommon there has been strong criticism of salvia legalization for the same reason. It is rather unfortunate that people are abusing what was once a drug designed to help people that were unwell or were spiritually not in tune with themselves. The Mexican Mazatecs were one of the first people to use sage in North America. The Native American shamans have since perfected the process of using the salvia effectively.

Popularly know as Diviner's Sage, Magic Mint, Mar'a Pastora and Sage of the Seers salvia is used not just for purely spiritual and hallucinogenic experiences. Milder forms of Salvia have been used as a diuretic and have been used to treat ailments like diarrhoea, anaemia, headaches, rheumatism and other ?semi-magical? diseases like swollen bellies. The most useful of salvia species is Salvia Divinorum.

The Salvia Divnorum plant grows to be almost a metre high and has characteristic white flowers. The leaves are considerably larger in size when compared to other species of Salvia and hence Salvia Divnorum is immensely popular with people that use salvia. Another interesting aspect of salvia is that the salvia plant is partly sterile. And the most popular methods of propagating Salvia Divnorum are through cutting and layering of the plant. It is also believed that the Mazatec's were one of the first to actually cultivate salvia in large amounts and hence the plant is currently believed to be purely a cultivated species rather than a wild one.

Native American Shamans boil salvia leaf extracts to make a tea like concoction, the preparation is usually given to a person prior to a cleansing ritual or if a person is believed to be unwell spiritually. The importance of Salvia in Native American culture is undeniable and many people believe that this is the reason why Salvia is legal in most states of the US. From the view of drug users Salvia has been used as a legal alternative to psychogenic drugs like LSD, however the effects of salvia are considerably more spiritual when compared to LSD. Shamans believe that salvia extracts help a person reach a spiritual plane where a person can interact with himself and also find answers to inner conflicts that are troubling him. In fact this is the reason why Shaman's call the Salvia induced state as a cleansing ritual where a person can face his inner demons and purge them.

Effects of salvia

Unlike LSD salvia is a much safer drug; both LSD and salvia are known to induce a trance like state where the person consuming the drug shows a state of altered consciousness. Since salvia has a powerful psychoactive agent people often undergo an out of body experience. The trance like state is usually filled with childhood memories and flashes of past life events. Also much like cannabis, salvia too can have effects like slurry speech, impaired co-ordination and uncontrolled laughter. In fact the reason why shamans actually looked after a person when he was having a spiritual experience was to make sure no harm came to the person. It is the psychedelic experience that shamans believe helps a person face his fears and cleanse his spirit as salvia detaches a person from his body.