A Method for Using Salvia divinorum as an "Oracle"

by "Sage Student"

(This site is created and maintained by Daniel Siebert)


Many people who have used Salvia feel they have learned valuable lessons from it. Often these lessons occurred accidentally. However some people deliberately consult Salvia as an "oracle" to get advice, or insight, regarding specific problems. Undoubtedly, there are many ways to do this.

The following is a detailed description of one such method. It is a modern method, which differs from the traditional Mazatec method (on which it ultimately is based). It is stated as an algorithm—an operational procedure spelled out clearly—so that you can follow the steps outlined, to see if they work for you.

Although you need not hold particular beliefs to use this method, serious intent is necessary. Needing to make an important decision is an essential precondition for consulting Salvia-As-Oracle. So wait until you have an important problem confronting you before testing this algorithm. If you consult Salvia about something trivial you should not expect much.

As used here, oracle does not mean "a fortune telling method". Instead, it means "a way of discovering important insights by means other than just reasoning". Consulting Salvia typically involves encountering the non-rational. But, in the method outlined here, conscious sober reasoning is required before consulting Salvia. Think of it as doing your share of the work.


ARE YOU READY TO MEET THE ORACLE?

You can use this checklist to see if you are ready. If all these statements fit, you probably are.

1.) You have an important decision confronting you, but are not clear what to do.
2.) You have taken time to think the issues through carefully while sober.
3.) You want to see the issues in a new light, and to clarify issues involved.
4.) You have the courage needed to confront the mysterious and unsettling.


METHOD

Materials Needed:

  • Salvia (preferably to be taken as chewed quid, swallowed infusion, or sublingual soft extract, rather than smoked or vaporized).
  • A notebook and pencil (or a tape recorder).

    • Setting required:

  • Time free of interruptions. Put the dog out. Turn off the phone. No visitors.
  • Safe semi-darkened (or totally darkened) room, with a couch or bed to lie on. Some outdoor settings may work well, if safe and private.
  • Any sitter present should have worked with Salvia themselves. They should be instructed by you in what you want them to do or say, and how active you wish them to be. Clarify whether they will take notes, touch you, speak to you etc.

    • PROCEDURE

    Follow these six steps in order. Do not skip any.

    Step 1: While sober, think the issue through as logically as possible. Be businesslike, and as honest with yourself as you can be. You may have already done this. If so, do it again. Consider options. Consider consequences. Consider values. Take your time doing this thoroughly. You will be laying a foundation without which Salvia cannot work.

    Step 2: Take Salvia. You don't need the strongest trip possible to get meaningful answers. Avoid the "macho ingestion syndrome". It will most likely interfere with your using Salvia as an oracle.

    Step 3: While chewing the quid, and afterwards, lie down, thinking about the decision confronting you. Frame it as a question, or as a request to Salvia, to help you evaluate options and consequences, both for you, and for others. Do not ask Salvia to help you discover unknown facts, but rather to help you see inter-relationships and possibilities that you are unaware of.

    Step 4: Still holding the question in mind, open yourself to the reality-bending force of Salvia. This is when Salvia may help you reframe everything. As you learn the lesson put it into simple words that you will be able to remember later. This putting into words is VERY important. Speak them to your sitter, speak them into a tape recorder, or tell them to yourself out loud, or sub-vocally. If you don't put your insights into words at this stage, you may forget the whole lesson.

    Step 5: While the trip is wearing off, keep the lesson you learned firmly in mind. Focus on the simple words you spoke in step 4. Focusing on Salvia's message throughout the transition phase will help you later recall it once sober. If you can do so at this stage, expand your thoughts about this message and write them down to refer to later, or speak them into a tape recorder.

    Step 6: When sober review your notes. And think about the issue yet again, this time applying whatever lessons you've learned while "besaged". Clearly formulating your thoughts in writing is very helpful for clarifying everything post-Salvia. Do this soon after the inebriating effect of Salvia wears off. As with working with dreams, the longer you wait the more you will forget.


    RESULTS

    Results will vary. But you might be surprised at how your decision has been reframed.