Tripping on LSA from Hawaiian Baby Woodrose

Author: Elena Experience expert (psychedelics and psychoactive & medicinal plants), blogger, passion for healthy food

Somewhere down in the valley we heard the sound of a bell. We looked at each other: were we almost in the inhabited world? Only now did I realize how soaked we were. R looked like a drowned cat. I started to giggle and looked up. The drops fell like soft pinpricks on my face. 

The text above is a snippet of my experience with Space Trips. It took place a week ago and seems like a dream. When I think back on it, I remember all sorts of little anecdotes, but also many indescribable moments that I am going to translate into a coherent story as best I can for this blog. 

Picking wild garlic in the birch forest

It all started with a forage harvesting walk. If you didn't already know: all around us, especially now in spring, it's teeming with delectable and medicinal wild plants, which you can use for free in the kitchen. R and I are both completely captivated by 'the edible wild plants book', which we took with us on our trip. That book was in my bag, along with some fruit, a French baguette, tapenade, my Opinel, water, cell phone, raincoat and oh yeah, an unopened pack of Space Trips, consisting of four capsules. 

At the beginning of the hike, I made a big mistake by saying, "I'm very hot and I don't feel like lugging around so much. I'll hide my coat behind this tree and we'll pick it up later." With beaded drops of sweat I walked on in my thin t-shirt. It was a beautiful blooming spring day and everything was buzzing with life. 

We are currently somewhere at the beginning of the Pyrenees, and every walk is a solid work-out. Having sore muscles on my calves and buttocks is starting to get used to. 

During a short break on a rock, R and I figured out at about the same time that this was the time to take the capsules. 

I removed the packet from my bag and gave each one two capsules. After a moment of contemplation, we swallowed them down with some water.

Suddenly we were walking through a beautiful beech forest. The trunks were thick and the heavy branches bore pale green, delicate leaves. Hidden in a clearing, some wild garlic peaked. For the uninitiated among us: wild garlic is popular among pickers, you can make delicious pesto with it and it is super healthy. When we reached the spot the plant appeared to grow around us in massive quantities. Score!

While picking, the effects began to take shape very gradually. I had fasted that morning, and pretty soon (after half an hour) I felt the capsules being absorbed by my body and the world around me changing.

What are Space Trips?

A blend of several natural ingredients provides a combination between a psychedelic effect and energy. The main ingredient is LSA, derived from an extract of Hawaiian Baby Woodrose (Argyreia nervosa). This climbing plant with beautifully colored flowers contains hallucinogenic seeds. An LSD-like substance is extracted from these seeds. 

The plant's name has to do with its history. In Hawaii, it became known for its psychedelic properties and used as a way to expand the mind. Today, the plant is popular in the garden because of its beautiful appearance. Psychonauts are also fans of it, as a legal entheogen. 

LSA (d-lyserine zucramide) is very similar to LSD in chemical structure. It is an ergot alkaloid. Yet LSA produces significantly different effects than LSD and is less potent. But make no mistake! Just like Magic Truffles and magic mushrooms, you are dealing with a powerful natural psychedelic!

Effects of LSA 

• Change in time awareness
• Sharper senses
• Distortions in sound and vision
• Visuals
• Extreme mental awareness

A trip with LSA usually lasts about 6 to 8 hours, after that the effects ebb away but an afterglow remains that can last from a few hours to a whole day (or night). 

Purging negativity like ayahuasca?

Oh dear. There I was, leaning against a tree. Suddenly I had a heavy feeling and an uncomfortable, oppressive nausea. This effect, which can often occur in the beginning of a trip, is also called "body load”. By saying to myself, "Elena, you're just experiencing body load right now," I felt the initial panicky feeling go away. 

Instead, I continued to feel nauseous, but no longer tried to push it away. After a few unsavory vomiting noises, during which I found myself in a strange position that was comfortable in that moment, I suddenly felt very relieved. I felt like I had released something that was deep inside me (meant figuratively, because I didn't actually throw up). 

A few minutes later, R and I were hopping along the path. He had done rapé and felt how he was getting sucked more and more into the trip. I wouldn't be able to tell you exactly what we were talking about, but it went deep. 

Merging telepathically

After a while, it seemed like we could read each other's minds. As if invisible tentacles moved from our bodies to each other and connected us intimately. It was very nice to walk hand in hand, but sometimes too intense. Then we would walk behind each other for a while and maybe think the same things. It didn't feel weird or claustrophobic at all. We were alike anyway, so it didn't matter. 

The giant trees around us were majestic creatures with so much wisdom.

Many were intertwined, making two trees one organism. 'How beautiful,' I thought. 'How sad.'

Later I wondered if trees could also experience some kind of muscle pain. This in response to the strange positions some had wriggled into. 

Getting lost and coming home 

Then came the inevitable moment when we felt lost. And then it started to rain. Very interesting to note how strongly the weather affects your state of mind. We were immediately less at ease and R even started to feel a little anxious. He decided to eat a piece of bread, but that didn't 'help'. It was still raining, we were still lost, and he was nauseous on top of it. 

R decided to lay down on the path. The drops splashed apart on his face. He no longer looked worried, but looked up at the sky in fascination. "Wow, when I lie like this, I can't see my own body. So am I still there?"

To try it out, I lay down next to him and looked at the sky. Never in my life had I observed so intensely how raindrops actually fall toward the earth. It all seemed to move just a little bit slower, allowing me to watch such a shiny moist water element up close until it burst somewhere. 

Later we were walking side by side, soaked. R luckily had brought an extra sweater that I could put on. Still, of course, I thought myself stupid for leaving that coat there. 

It occurred to me that we'd better check Google Maps to see where we were. It was very difficult to operate a small screen with wet fingers and I hated working with such an electronic device. I felt like we were fiddling with the cell phone for an hour, before I just barely smashed the thing against a rock and decided that we would walk some more. 

Three steps further we recognized a fork and saw signs. Our hearts leapt up: we were right! I chuckled at myself and my fierce emotions. 

R recognized the tree where I had hidden my coat and triumphantly pulled out the sodden piece of cloth. 

Soon we were getting closer and closer to home. It was already evening, we were about 6 hours into the trip and I had a very gratifying feeling. A warm shower, clean clothes and cuddling in bed: I was looking forward to that! Quickly we ran inside before one of the other residents would see us. 

In our room, we realized that we were still far from ‘normal’. Everything was still heartily psychedelic. Maybe not so much in visual effects, as with magic mushrooms, but I was in a kind of hyperspace with lightning-fast thoughts jumping from me to R and back again. When he went to take a shower I was alone for a moment to experience a kind of new calm. It was quiet. Outside, the frogs in the pond started croaking and it was getting dark. I lay under the blanket and felt how heavy my body was.

An LSD-like night train

You probably think the trip is over and R and I would be sleeping soundly. But no, it wasn't over yet. Both of us were in a twilight between waking and sleeping, with so much happening that I would need a whole book to write it down. There were many loops, during which I kept repeating a thought pattern. The croaking of the frogs outside in the pond also played a big part. It became a story where the frogs had organized a meeting to make plans about their future. They were tired of their home, their pond, being "cleaned" every day by those giants. They also wanted revenge on the cat, which had gotten hold of one of their kind. Their croaking became emotional when they started talking about this. 

Anyway, so that's how I lay fantasizing all night and it was impossible to fall asleep. I wanted to, but the door to the dream world remained closed. 

Until very early in the morning, when I apparently dozed off, during which time I again experienced all sorts of things. When I woke up after that little hour of sleep, I was surprisingly fit and thought, "How nice that I am in this strange world!"

Elena Experience expert (psychedelics and psychoactive & medicinal plants), blogger, passion for healthy food

Elena studies Organic and Biodynamic agriculture because, besides psychedelics and psychoactive & medicinal plants, she also has a passion for healthy food. Learning about the endocannabinoid system, different cannabinoids and terpenes is super interesting.

More about Elena