Shamanic Quest for the Spirit of Salvia: The Divinatory, Visionary, and Healing Powers of the Sage of the Seers

It has taken five years since the publication of J. D. Arthur's remarkable "Peopled Darkness" for another work on Salvia D. to appear, but "Shamanic Quest" (SQ) is a worthy successor and a must-read for those interested in the herb. The title is quite specific; the book deals with (mainly modern) shamanic practice focusing on Salvia D. Hence, a particular belief system is espoused from the onset, namely the shamanic view that regards the world--plants included, of course--as inhabited by spirits or intelligences whose alliance and advice can be sought for influencing human affairs. In large part, this is not necessarily opposed to the scientific viewpoint, but often enters areas where the latter dare (and perhaps should) not tread. Still, regardless of the reader's philosophical or religious orientation, SQ can be enjoyed and read profitably as a shamanic teacher/practitioner's detailed notes on the use of and "dialogue" with a powerful visionary plant. The author discusses the experiences and insights of several salvianauts, including participants in his shamanic workshops, friends and acquantainces, and anonymous posters on the Web. He spends several pages on his personal sessions and how they might relate to his private life (especially his own failed marriage). Techniques learned from his previous work with ayahuasca and San Pedro, such as "dieting" the plant and "intention", as well as traditional approaches by Mazatec curanderos, form the basis of his shamanic praxis. Agreeing with Arthur that Salvia speaks in the language of dreams, Ross Heaven weaves common threads through the fabrics of various experience reports and attempts to describe the ally's "nature", language, and "teachings". For example, Salvia "the Shepherdess" often stands out as a sort of Shiva or Kali, destroyer of egos and illusions, showing us the ultimate futility of everything, except perhaps love. The book concludes with a brief dictionary of symbols and their possible meanings in the context of the Salvia World. For me, this book was an engrossing and quick read, and is worth re-reading for the many fascinating trip reports alone. Despite my scientific and agnostic background, I came out with some useful tips on how the herb can be used to improve one's personality and daily life. Here we have a fine fourth entry to my short list of essential books on Salvia D., specifically: 1. "Salvinorin: The Psychedelic Essence of Salvia Divinorum" by D.M. Turner (1996); 2. "Salvia Divinorum and Salvinorin A: The Best of the Entheogen Review" (Expanded Second Edition 2002); 3. "Peopled Darkness" by J.D. Arthur (2008; reprinted in 2010 by Park Street Press as "Salvia Divinorum") . [Some might add Martin Ball's "Sage Spirit" (2007), which I thought somewhat lacking in substance.]

Very good book.Great insights into salvia & shamanism.Highly recommended

Finally a book on salvia from somebody experienced in working with a variety of plant teachers. I have been interested to read someone who can experientially compare ayahuasca / San Pedro with salvia. I would have like more compare and contrast with psylocibin mushrooms as well as smoked DMT but he mainly only used the former. The salvia vision was so unexpected and powerful that even though I have only had a handful of experiences with Ska Maria, I have been fascinated about all things salvia and have read everything I could find on the subject. This is the best book regarding salvia I have read to date. He gives good insight in how to approach this plant teacher and what it is like to actually meet the spirit of this plant, "the Shepherdess, Ska Maria, Friend" and have a dialogue with "her". No amount of preparation will get you ready for an encounter with the salvia space, but I highly recommend interested parties to do their homework anyway. You will be astounded. I also liked that he showed the motifs of salvia and some of the common themes of a salvia experience such as the the rotation of a cosmic wheel that folds one into the salvia space. I was surprised by how many memes were shared by those who make the journey. She has a lot to teach, but she doesn't suffer fools well. If you come at her without intent or you smoke too much, you may not remember anything or she may show you something terrifying. This plant is unlike any other, she is extremely powerful and she will answer your questions in a brutally straight forward way. This book is an excellent primer. Good job, Mr. Heaven.

This is one of the better books I have read on plant medicines, and I have read a lot! Ross is really honest and upfront about his personal experience, as well as the process of working with plants - sometimes I could feel the plant working on me just from reading the book. The intensity and awe-inspired fear that comes when working with plants was especially noticeable - and I think that fear is an important part of respecting the plant. I could relate very much to Ross's experiences, having worked with other plants in the past, and in a lot of ways, I feel like I learned as much about myself as I did about Salvia while reading this book. There is also more then enough info in the book to start working with the plant safely if the reader wishes - I have just started this journey myself (with excellent and insightful results so far). I highly recommend the book for anyone interested in this plant or plant medicines in general - a very great read!

Great read. So many personal first hand accounts. Great quotes from many different sources. I am gonna need to read this one again! Hoping to find leaves. The smoke is really beyond describing, but he does it! I thought I was the only one, but their are others!

Thank you for the deal. AAAAA+++++

excellent.

Livro super esclarecido, ainda mais sobre um tema não muito estudado... Adorei e recomendo para quem está estudando a sálvia e seus usos.

Excellent. I heard about this book from another text called 'Salvia Divinorum a User's Guide' and have to say it was an excellent follow-up read! Highly recommend!

While the previous testimony book from J.D. Arthur was informative enough and certainly amongst the best, this one from R. Heaven exceeds all previous information I read on the subjects. The author has thoroughly researched and experienced the plant and delivered documented information with numerous and very clear users experience with wom he has worked; it also comes with various recommandations on how to use, or not use, salvia. His descriptions and also assumptions on the "spirit of the plant" are just fascinating. Very amazing reading.

Ross starts out with the misguided notion that he is going take Salvia in order to write a book revealing Salvia's secrets, and to gain the favour of a woman he fancies. There is some quite unnecessary and compromising criticism of his ex-wife, and tedious accounts of his pursuit of the younger woman. The best accounts of Salvia's world are ripped straight from Erowid or other writers such as Siebert. Salvia needs a Mckenna, and Heaven doesn't deliver.