Getting Ready For Your Journey

Luke Sholl

Veteran Cannabis Journalist & CBD Expert

Luke Sholl

Last updated: November 6, 2024

These powerful lifeforms often help people see life in a more positive way, inspiring them to take a leap of faith and discover who they really are. However, you shouldn't take magic mushrooms lightly. You’ll need to pay careful attention to set and setting to maximise the chances of a positive and productive experience.

Check out the guide below to optimise your psychedelic voyage.

Personal conditions

Think of psilocybin mushrooms as an amplifier of your own mental state. Like in a magnifying glass, all your worries could become bigger and scarier while under influence of magic mushrooms. If you are not in a good head space, you should refrain from using magic mushrooms, or at the very least find an experienced professional or shaman that could take you safely through the mushroom trip.

You probably wouldn't try to climb a mountain or take a 30km forest hike without a proper rest beforehand. The same applies to tripping in your mind. Mushrooms work best in a well rested, fresh body. If you are new to magic mushrooms, better avoid loud, packed places, such as parties and night clubs – you will find the experience much more pleasant, if taken in a comfortable, relaxing place.

We advise you to take them early, so that you could go to sleep at your usual time. If you want to end up in your bed around midnight, it is a good idea to eat the truffles sometime around or before 18:00. Some people, though, prefer taking mushrooms late in the evening, to enjoy the calm and quietness only to be found in the middle of the night.

Setting

Magic Mushrooms are best enjoyed in a familiar environment. The usual first choice, especially for inexperienced trippers, is home – usually the safest and most comforting space. All kinds of outdoor places, such as gardens or pastures, might also bring new stimulus to the experience, provided they are safe. What you should better avoid, is a crowded, past-paced and noisy downtown kind of places – better enjoy the harmony and beauty of the nature.

Contacting the “real world” is definitely not advised, especially during your first trip. Best switch off your mobile, computer and all the social networking stuff. In order to enjoy the full visual potential of magic mushrooms, ensure that at least for a part of the trip, you end up in a dark room. It works best with high doses of shrooms.

Going out

If you decide to enjoy your mushrooms outdoors, you should prepare yourself properly. Apart from the backpack, you should also fill your head with some “food for thought”. Movies, books, some topics to think over – gather all that, relax, and hit the road. Walking through the woods, meditation, breathing practice etc all make a good springing board for a deep, spiritual mushroom trip.

Trip company

Though it is often a good idea to have a company while tripping, too much of the good thing can also be detrimental. Most trippers say two to four people works best. If you decide to take mushrooms in a group, it is best if all of you reach the same dimensions (which doesn't mean taking the same dose). If one of you is new to mushrooms, it might be a good idea if someone stays either sober or take a smaller dose. Avoid taking mushrooms with people you don't fully trust or feel uncomfortable with. No one, under any conditions, should be coerced into taking them. Tripping together should be a common decision, agreed on and discussed earlier.

Some people prefer to take mushrooms alone, making the trip more personal and insightful – however, this is not advised to those using mushrooms for the first time.

Trip sitter

Getting yourself someone to assist you during the whole experience is advised either if you are new to mushrooms, or planning to take a higher dose. The trip sitter should remain sober throughout the whole session, to provide you any help or support you might need. Simple things, such as getting a glass of water of a blanket, could be beyond your capabilities if experimenting with higher doses. The sitter should not, however, interfere with the trip itself – he or she could stay in another room, remain silent and be only a good ghost, a mushroom equivalent of a guarding angel.

The best trip sitting is a passive one, being there just in case. If you start feeling like drifting towards a bad trip, you may always turn to him for support. 

Interactions with other drugs

Magic mushrooms don't mix well with other drugs, with the exception of marijuana. If you want to enjoy them to the fullest, best do it on their own. Cannabis could be considered, as some people report it relieving the queasy feeling that is sometimes caused by mushrooms. That is, however, a choice that you will have to make on your own, preferably once you have some basic experience with both mushrooms and cannabis.

Learning your ways

As every other kind of human activity, tripping is something that could be learned and that needs practice and experience for the best results. Learning what sort of things could be done, and what you should rather avoid, takes time. You must accept, that you won't be able to take full control of what is going to happen with your mind, and it is pointless to waste your energy on trying to influence it. Fighting the inevitable will only get you frustrated and introduce negative vibes into the experience.

“Got a ticket, have a ride” - once you take the mushrooms, you won't be able to stop the trip happening. Even if you find the experience unpleasant, especially if you are new to mushrooms, the first and general rule is – DON'T PANIC. Whatever you do to 'refresh' your mind – sticking your head in the bucket of ice cold water, or something equally stupid – won't do the trick and might only cause trouble.

If you are overwhelmed by the train of thought induced by the drug, find a comfortable couch and just sit back, just as you planned. Walking out will only give you further stimulus, which will make the trip even more intense. If you feel like it is going too far, first seek help with your trip sitter. If you don't have one, try thinking of someone who has experience in psychedelics. Calling your family in the middle of the night won't really do any good – if they don't know the way psychedelic drugs work, they won't be able to help you, and scaring them off might only cause more panic.

Video: Getting Ready For Your Journey

The Important Things To Remember While Taking Magic Mushrooms

What you should not do with magic mushrooms:

• using them with strangers
• using them in a strange, unknown and unfamiliar place
• using them while not feeling well
• using them as a way of spending free time
• experimenting with them while still being a teenager

Magic mushrooms can lead you to some unexplored dimensions and places in your mind, that you didn't even knew existed. Tripping through this world should remain safe and pleasant.

In order to ensure that, make sure that you:

• take your time – hurry is not a good companion for tripping
• prepare yourself properly – mushrooms are to be enjoyed rested, with a clear mind
• eat them on empty stomach
• find some trusted, relaxing space for tripping
• think about engaging a trip sitter (sober guardian)
• consider taking a day off afterwards, to allow your body and mind to rest and analyse the trip?