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Macrodosing magic mushrooms unlocks deeper consciousness and growth. This guide covers set & setting, safe prep, dosage ranges (250 mg–3.5 g), integration, risk management, and ceremonial use—your essential manual for a transformative, secure trip.
As you might suspect, macrodosing is the act of taking a dose of magic mushrooms that exceeds microdosing. Of course, macrodosing is nothing novel, it’s just the word that’s relatively new. People have been tripping for years.
Keeping it high-level, macrodosing on psychedelics introduces opens you up to deeper portals into your consciousness, being, and existence.
Macrodosing should never be approached uninformed which is why we’ve created this 101 manual. Proper preparation and integration are integral to creating a safe experience. Macrodosing is special and sacred to many, allowing for deep inner exploration and growth.
If you have any questions about macrodosing that the below does not cover, please send us a note at herbalshroom@proton.me. We’re always here to help.
Can I macrodose if I’m already microdosing?
You bet. If you’ve got a regular microdosing protocol on the go it’s no problem to have a macrodose day.
Can I take magic mushrooms with my prescription medication?
James Fadiman has created a list for drug interactions with magic mushrooms.
Can you take magic mushrooms while on SSRIs?
SSRIs or MAOIs have been consistently reported to reduce the effects of magic mushrooms. While the most common anecdotal report is that these prescriptions reduce the effects of magic mushrooms, there’s no evidence suggesting that mixing the two is necessarily dangerous.
Can I combine alcohol and mushrooms?
Generally, not a good idea and not something we encourage.
How long does a macro trip take to kick in?
You can expect 1-2 hours before things kick in.
How long will a macro trip last?
4-6 hours is most common. You can expect a multi-staged experience.
Some ideas for integration include: journaling, meditating and discussing your experience with loved ones. To learn more about integration, keep reading below.
First things first:
Okay, let’s get into it!
Before heading into your trip it’s important to be aware of your mental state – both your mood that day and your overall mental state in your life. These can be amplified when using higher doses of psychedelics. This is not meant to intimidate, but simply make you aware of the types of thoughts that may come forward so that you’re prepared. Interestingly enough, even when uncomfortable feelings arise, if you approach them with curiosity, this can lead to a cathartic release of emotions in a beautiful way.
If you’re setting an intention, what do you hope to learn? Understand? Resolve? Given that powerful thoughts may come forward, setting an intention can be incredibly useful for personal growth and healing.
Now, it’s also important to note that while intentions are useful as general guides, don’t be surprised if the mushrooms show you something else. Allow it all to happen and trust the process. Keep your expectations and heart open to the journey. One last word, taking magic mushrooms to enjoy yourself is also an intention!
Another important factor in shaping your trip is your physical environment. Humans are sensing beings – meaning that your trip will be impacted by things like being cozied up indoors, being on the windy seaside, listening to soothing music or prayers, smelling incense, being in the dark, in crowded spaces and so many other experiences.
Prior to your trip, here are a few important things to factor in:
Your dose can vary greatly based on your individual physiology and on the experience you’re after.
That being said, there are some general guidelines to magic mushroom doses. Please approach with care, always start low and go slow. If this is your first time taking a macrotrip, there’s no pride in mushrooms, take it easy for your first time by sticking to 250mg – 500mg of magic mushrooms. There’s always a next time to go higher.
MICRO (50mg – 250mg) – This is a microdose — so low it is safe for any time use (including during work, if you’re a parent, etc.). You will not experience any hallucinations. It is best known for its impact on things like mood, focus, and memory.
SOCIAL (250mg – 500mg) – Keeping things light and giddy, this is an easy dose to give you some subtle feels, without a full trip vibe. You can expect to feel warm and fuzzy and for your visuals to get slightly enhanced. This dose is very approachable.
LIGHT (500mg – 1g) – High enough you can feel a warm glow, but low enough you’re still present in your body. Experiment with this dose before you are in a social situation, however. Some people “feel it” more than others.
COMMON (1g – 2g) – Now we’re getting into the types of “trips” you’re likely used to hearing about. This dose offers consistent sensorial accentuation, enhanced visuals, deep thinking and a nice body high.
DIVER (2g – 3.5 g) – After 2g you can expect strong interactive thought patterns, visual and auditory hallucinations, diminishing ego, heightened sense of self, perspective changes.
STRONG (3.5g – 5g – done under supervision) – This dose should be done with deep intention and preparation for transcendental thoughts and out of body experiences. You can also expect fractals and sacred hallucinations, time and space distortion, and ego dissolution.
HEROIC (5+g – done under supervision) – Beyond 5g you can expect a completely dissolved sense of self, blinding visual hallucinations, out of body experiences, intense catharsis, primordial information downloads. We would not recommend approaching this high of a dose to anyone who is not experienced with using psychedelics.
Note: consuming magic mushrooms on a full stomach of food will diminish its effects.
Many find that during a psychedelic trip, special information was shown to them. Maybe it made sense, maybe it didn’t. Either way, get curious, this is where integration comes in.
Integration looks like the internal shift of old patterns and beliefs. While this growth is important and enriching, we also acknowledge it can also be uncomfortable. But hey, change is often not a comfortable experience.
There are many practices you can approach to help unpack your trip and explore the lessons that were shown to you. When doing so, ask yourself “why”, feel for tensions in your body and focus on what that energy may be trying to say, replay the vision or feeling and question what it could mean. Here are some exercises to use during your integration.
Most importantly, be patient. Sometimes the lesson hits later than you’d imagined. Trust these lessons will come as they’re meant to and once you realize them, strive to incorporate these lessons into your everyday life.
Do not take magic mushrooms if:
If you are arranging a trip sitter, or trip sitting for someone, the key objective should be to cultivate a comfortable, kind and secure environment. This means both people trusting one another with open communication in a safe space.
A trip sitter is someone who is present for another person(s) on a psychedelic journey. This person is not a guide. Sitters should encourage the tripper to trust, let go and be open to the experience.
Before a psychedelic trip, personal fears or paranoias can be reviewed with the sitter and a plan may be made regarding how to handle any troubling feelings.
This Double Blind article goes into beautiful detail about how to trip sit, take a read!
Ooof, we’ve been there, but should note that these challenging trips are not “bad” trips like they say in the movies.
First things first, to help set yourself up for success, it’s important to plan your set and setting. This can dramatically reduce the chance of a challenging experience and is why we emphasize it so much. You can read more about set and setting above.
Now that that’s out of the way, you should know that any thoughts or feelings that arise during a magic mushroom experience are likely trying to tell you something. In fact, many have noted that an emotionally challenging experience was ultimately positive and healing upon reflection. This is an important perspective to channel before heading into any trip.
Knowing this, in the case that challenging emotions do arise, there are integration tools that can lead to this transformational growth and mental cleansing. If you’re caught in negative thought loops, the best recommendation is to “surrender and let go”. Approach your thoughts with curiosity, acceptance and compassion rather than shame or resistance. Another effective way to manage your mood is to change the scenery, music or lighting.
For more information on navigating a challenging trip, check out this article by Double Blind.
Traditionally, psychedelic mushrooms have been used by indigenous groups to communicate with spirits, access divine information and heal ailments. For example, carved stone mushroom effigies have been found throughout Mexico and Central America dating back to 1000 BC. There are also cave murals in Algeria and Bulgaria depicting psilocybin mushrooms that date back to Neolithic times.
Indigenous cultures would use magic mushrooms to manage their relationships with one another, the environment and make decisions that would affect the health and happiness of the group. Using the power of expanded states of consciousness, native peoples would strengthen their connection with the local plants and animals needed for survival.
In Western cultures, the Mazatec are famously associated with psychedelic mushrooms. This is because the first noted Westerner, Gordon Wasson, went to experience psychedelic mushrooms from Marina Sabina in 1955. He documented his experience in Time magazine. More on that here.
Today, we can be inspired by the still living traditions to reach back into each of our own ancestral lineages. We all have a lineage, we all come from somewhere. So whether it’s the land we were born on, or our blood lineage, there’s something there for every culture. What’s important is that we honour the medicine and sacred practices with respect, curiosity and openness.
