Amanita Muscaria

(Fly Agaric)

TrippyWiki score: 3.8/10

What is Amanita muscaria?

Amanita muscaria is a psychedelic mushroom that has been used by multiple Siberian, European, and Amerian tribes for religious purposes. Muscimol, Fly Agaric’s main psychoactive compound, produces sedative and deliriant effects.

Why choose Amanita over other psychedelics?

Fly Agaric…

Doesn’t cause physical or psychological addiction
Isn’t as stigmatized as most other psychedelics
Grows in nature, therefore it is easy to get your hands on it
Is completely legal in most countries, including the US
Is natural, therefore there is little to no risk of the mushroom being cut with other drugs
Has been used for centuries and appears to be physically safe if taken correctly

Long-term benefits & side effects

Many of the benefits will only occur if you follow the tips below.
Most (if not all) of the side effects are preventable and they will not happen if you follow the Safety checklist.

Amanita…

Is one of the most effective ways to treat depression and PTSD
Has a calming effect at lower doses and can lower your levels of stress and anxiety
Might increase neuroplasticity
Makes you more creative and open-minded
Can be used for treating sore throat and arthritis
Helps you look at your life from a different perspective
Can lower joint pain and other types of physical pain if used as a tincture
Makes you more conscious and loving
Can help you transcend the fear of death
Gives you insights into the nature of reality
Makes you appreciate nature more
Is a source of nutrients and calories
…

Might not actually be Amanita Muscaria and can instead be a deadly species (although Fly Agaric is easy to identify and there is no look-alike)
Has led to self-harm by people who took it in an unsafe environment
Might speed up the onset of schizophrenia if you’re genetically predisposed to it
Can cause HPPD and physical damage if you combine it with other substances (such as alcohol or stimulants)
Could cause you trauma due to bad set and setting
Might lead to drug-induced psychosis if you’re predisposed to it
Is illegal in many places and you might get arrested for getting involved with the substance
Might cause long-term damage to your liver and kidneys, especially if you prepare the substance incorrectly
Can cause seizures if you don’t prepare it well
Can be neurotoxic if you don’t prepare it well
…

How to take amanita

Administration

Amanita is taken orally but before you do it, you have to convert ibotenic acid (a neurotoxic chemical that causes most of the potential harm) into muscimol.

The conversion can happen in the kidneys, which is why an animal or a human that eats Fly Agaric will have muscimol in his urine. This means that one way to trip on Amanita Muscaria would be drinking the urine of someone who ate the mushroom.

You could eat the mushroom yourself and then drink your urine but the ibotenic acid would damage your organs, especially your kidneys. So not only is this method nasty but also quite dangerous.

Fortunately, there is another way.

1) Dry the mushroom (this already reduces ibotenic acid content)
2) Throw dried Amanita into a pot with water and 2-5 teaspoons of apple cider vinegar
3) Cook on low heat for 3 hours
4) Drink the liquid

To reduce nausea, add some ginger and lemon water to the mix.

Dosage

1-5 grams dried = Light dose
5-10 grams dried = Regular dose
10-25 grams dried = Strong dose
25+ grams dried = High dose

One average cap is equal to around 2-3 dried grams.

The stem contains considerably less muscimol than the cap.

From August to September, Fly Agaric has the highest amount of muscimol and from October to December, the mushroom is less psychoactive.

Always start low and increase the dose slowly.

High doses are not recommended because, at such doses, Fly Agaric can cause both short-term and long-term harm.

Keep in mind that the higher the dose you take, the more important it is to be in a safe environment.

Safety checklist

Maximize the benefits

Keep in mind that integration is even more important than the trip itself. Taking psychedelics would be almost useless if you didn’t retain any lessons in your day-to-day life.

What will help you the most is contemplating about the experience – be it by journaling, thinking about the trip, or sharing your memories with a trusted friend.

Distracting thoughts can get in the way, which is why you want to spend the day after your trip without TV, social media, and other distractions.

If you can, spend time in silence and solitude. Meditate, go for a walk, contemplate the experience.

Duration

Onset = 30-120 minutes
Come up = 30-60 minutes
Peak = 1-2 hours
Come down = 3-5 hours

You should notice the first effects within 40 minutes after you take the psychedelic
You will reach the maximum effect around the 2-hour mark
The whole trip usually lasts for 5-10 hours
At heroic doses, your trip may last for even longer (up to 20 hours in rare cases)
If you eat before your trip, the substance will take longer to kick in

What does Amanita feel like?

At lower doses, the mushroom can feel euphoric and sedating, comparable to drinking alcohol.

It is common to experience a drowsy, dream-like state on moderate-high doses of amanita.

At high doses, Fly Agaric works as a dissociative. Users often report out-of-body experiences.

By no means is the experience always pleasant. Some users report having terrifying trips similar to what you may experience on datura.

Other common short-term effects include:

Increased creativity and open-mindedness
Mindfulness, being present
Calmness
Pain relief
Seeing life from a different perspective
Appreciating small things
Higher energy
Increased awareness
Stamina enhancement
Sedation, sleepiness
Feeling your emotions more intensely
Memory suppression
Time distortion
Visual effects (color enhancement, distortions)
Increased salivation
Getting stuck in a thought loop
Confusion
Nausea
Headache
Inability to focus
Increased body temperature
Increased heart rate
Worse thermoregulation
Difficulty urinating
Anxiety, paranoia
Vulnerability

The higher dose you take, the more intense these effects will be.

With that said, it is impossible to accurately describe the experience through human language.

The psychedelic affects each individual differently and no two trips are the same. Therefore, there is virtually no way to know what your trip will feel like.

The only way to truly know what amanita feels like is to try amanita.

More often than not, the experience is going to be unpleasant. Bad trips are common on Flying Agaric. There are, however, ways you can lower the chance of a bad trip happening.

Bad trips

Bad trips often happen because people take the substance irresponsibly. If you take this psychedelic the right way, there is a much lower chance you will get a bad trip.

In case you still do, that’s good! A “bad” trip isn’t always bad, it can actually be the most healing and insightful moment of your life!

During a “bad” trip, negative emotions are coming up from your subconscious mind. They have always been there whether you are aware of it or not. They have been damaging your life and a difficult trip is an opportunity to process these traumas and unpleasant feelings and let go of them.

The more painful the experience, the more you can heal.

So instead of calling bad trips bad, call them challenging.

If you understand that bad trips can be awesome in the long run, not only will you feel more comfortable diving into these challenging states, it will actually excite you!

Why they happen

When it comes to Fly Agaric, bad trips can happen even if you do everything right.

With that said, some common reasons you have control over are:

Tripping in an unsafe environment (in public, at a party, even nature doesn’t feel safe if you take higher doses)
Facing difficult times in your day-to-day life (a break-up, death of a loved one, …)
Rejecting to let go and trying to hold on to your ego and control the state
Being afraid of the trip (either because of the stigma around psychedelics or because you are not sure how pure your substance is)
Mixing the psychedelic with alcohol, weed, or other drugs
Expecting a bad trip (it can easily become a self-fulfilling prophecy)

How to cope with a bad trip

Do not perceive this experience as something bad, remember that facing these difficult emotions is extremely healing
Fully surrender to the experience, do not try to feel good
If you’re alone, call a trusted friend to come over and keep you safe

How to end a bad trip

In case you are not ready to face your inner demons yet, there are a few ways to end a bad trip.

One possible way is to put on music that is familiar to you. Another way is to switch up your location and move from one place to another. This can completely change your train of thought.

Trip killers, such as benzodiazepines, may not work with Amanita Muscaria. In addition to that, the combination can cause irreversible damage to your body.

Interactions

Qualia Mind
This nootropic is comprised of 28 ingredients designed to support and maximize your brain function. These ingredients act synergistically and many of them will protect you from the neurotoxic effects of psychedelics. Qualia will also make your trips more pleasant and help you retain more benefits from them.
Ginger
Ginger greatly reduces nausea if you consume it along with the mushroom.
Herbs
Herbs can help calm you down. Herbal teas (chamomile, lemon balm, valerian root, …) are especially helpful.
Green tea
Tea makes you both more alert and calm at the same time. It also contains neuroprotective antioxidants, such as EGCG.
CBD
CBD has a calming effect.
Magic mushrooms
Little is known about this combination. Even though it is probably safe, be careful with combining the substances together.
Weed
Marijuana will likely intensify the trip.
MDMA
Combining the substances may and may not be dangerous. Proceed with caution.
Nitrous oxide
Combining the substances may and may not be dangerous. Proceed with caution.
Dissociatives
Combining amanita with other dissociatives won’t necessarily cause you harm but it can be confusing and lead to bad trips.
Benzodiazepines (Valium, Xanax, …)
Combining the substances may and may not be dangerous. Proceed with caution.
Alcohol
Alcohol minimizes all the potential benefits of the experience. It also greatly increases your chance of having a bad trip.
SSRIs or MAOIs
Combining the two can lead to long-lasting side effects.
Lithium
Combining psychedelics with lithium significantly increases the risk of seizures and psychosis.
Stimulants
The combination can easily lead to heart problems, even if you’re a healthy individual.
Tramadol
Combining the two can cause seizures.
St. John’s Wort
This combination may lead to serotonin syndrome.

Microdosing

Experts on Amanita Muscaria believe that taking low doses of the mushroom is more beneficial than taking high doses. In addition to that, it is also a lot safer.

It is believed that taking tiny doses of Fly Agaric can calm you down and reduce anxiety.

Some speculate that microdosing with fly agaric is more beneficial than microdosing with LSD or magic mushrooms.

Amanita can also be used in a form of tincture to relieve joint pain.

The downside is that amanita is not that popular and not many people are using it, therefore we don’t have enough data on its effectiveness and safety.

How to microdose

Boil the dried mushroom in water with 2-5 spoons of apple cider vinegar on low heat for 2-3 hours.

Then, put the water into your fridge and drink 0.25 dried grams worth of it every 3-5 days.

0.25 grams is not a definitive number, nor is 3-5 days. These are just an estimation of what a good microdose would be.

Since we have almost no data available on microdosing with Amanita, you will have to experiment yourself and find out what dosage is best and how often you should take it.

Legality

Amanita Muscaria is legal in most countries, including the US.

In Australia, Romania, Thailand, The Netherlands, and a few other countries, Amanita is illegal to pick, sell, possess, or consume.

Where to find Amanita Muscaria

Amanita can be found all over the Northern temperate and subpolar climate, especially in forests. It mainly grows during autumn but you can also find it in the summer and winter.

FAQ

Whether or not amanita is safe to take on a regular basis remains unclear. Users do seem to develop tolerance to the substance if they take it daily. To make sure you are safe, do not take Fly Agaric more than once a month or stick to tiny doses of it.

Amanita Muscaria mainly affects an inhibitory neurotransmitter GABA. Specifically, muscimol is a selective agonist for the GABA_A receptor. This leads to sedative and deliriant effects.

With that said, the only way to truly know what this psychedelic does to your brain is to try it yourself.

Most importantly, you need to trip in a safe place where there are no strangers around.

Tripping at home is safer and better for personal growth while taking these mushrooms outside will help you develop a strong connection with nature.

Never trip outside if you’re alone and/or you’re taking a high dose.

If you are a mentally stable individual who does not suffer from psychosis or have a predisposition to schizophrenia, there is virtually no way you would develop any mental illnesses because of taking the psychedelic.

It is estimated that the drug stays in your blood for up to 24 hours and in your urine for 3-4 days.

With that said, nobody will ever test you for amanita.

Some say Amanita is sweet and delicious while others say that the taste is horrible so the taste depends on the way you prepare the mushroom.

As of 2021, there has not been a single death reported because of Amanita Muscaria. It would take around 15 medium caps to reach the lethal dose. That, however, doesn’t mean that the mushroom doesn’t cause long-term damage. If prepared incorrectly, amanita will damage your kidneys and liver.

Keep the dried mushroom in a cold dark place, preferably with no air.

If you don’t do this, Amanita will lose potency within a few weeks or months.

When you store the mushroom well, it will last for years or even decades.

Amanita can be extremely nauseating so it is recommended not to eat too much before you take it. With that said, eating a little bit of food 2-3 hours before the trip can make the experience more pleasant.

Immature people who are not willing to follow the safety guidelines
Those who prioritize their physical health
People who suffer from psychosis
People who have a familial history of schizophrenia
Those who suffer from HPPD
People who are going through a manic phase of bipolar disorder
If you’re going through extremely challenging times, you can take psychedelics but the trips might be unpleasant, beware of that

The preferred option would be a dehydrator. If you cannot get your hands on one, cut the mushrooms into tiny pieces and place them on heating. Wait until the mushroom is crispy.

If you happen to live in a country where Amanita is legal, you can buy it from the internet.

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