Dream Alchemy: Exploring 14 Herbal Oneirogens 🌱🐑
Want to experience more vivid dreams? Or boost your ability to lucid dream? Check out these 14 visionary dream herbs.
Oneirogens are a class of substances that enhance dreaming.
In shamanic communities, plants and fungi with oneirogenic activity have been used to connect with the spirit world, dead ancestors, and gods for thousands of years. The practice was used to receive prophetic information, heal, or seek higher levels of spiritual awareness.
The visionary dreams these substances produce range from hyper-realistic to abstract or even alien experiences. They're used to facilitate lucid dreaming and uncover hidden aspects of the psyche.
Here are the most common dream herbs, along with a look at their safety and effects.
What Are Oneirogens Used For?
The most common reason people use oneirogens today is to facilitate lucid dreaming — which is a type of dream state in which the dreamer is aware that they're dreaming.
While in a lucid dream, the dreamer can influence their experience through thought alone. You can decide to fly through the air, teleport somewhere, or even practice a skill.
Others use oneirogens for creative inspiration or exploration of the psyche.
In other cases, chemical oneirogens such as diphenhydramine (DPH) or dextromethorphan (DXM) are abused as a source of escapism — often to the detriment of their health.
Historical Applications of Oneirogens & Dreaming
In the past, oneirogenic herbs and fungi were primarily used for healing and divination. Many cultures believed that dreams were the best method of receiving prophetic information from higher beings. They were often used as an oracle for seeing glimpses of the future or as a source of wisdom when faced with difficult decisions.
This phenomenon can't be isolated to any specific culture. Virtually all civilizations throughout history have held beliefs or rituals surrounding symbolism in dreams.
The practice of using dreams and dream-inducing herbs for divination is referred to as 'oneiromancy.'
Examples of oneiromancy throughout history:
The Christian Bible — Abraham, Abimelech, Jacob, King Solomon, Paul, and many others were all provided unique insight or instructions through a dream.
Mesopotamia — The Epic of Gilgamesh features numerous examples of prophetic oneiromancy. Part of the epic was even inscribed on a so-called "dream tablet."
Ancient Greece — A dream book called Oneirocritica, written by Artemidorus, is one of the oldest recorded treatises on dream analysis. Sigmund Freud even mentioned it in his revolutionary book "Interpretation of Dreams."
Ancient Rome — Hypnos, the god of sleep, and his sons were thought to bring dreams to the people of Earth. Each son brought a different kind of dream: Morpheus (dreams of other people), Icelus (dreams of animals), and Phantaseus (dreams of inanimate objects). Hypnos was the son of Nyx (night) and twin brother of Thanatos (death).
Ancient Egypt — It was believed that the best source of receiving prophetic information came from dreams, so ancient Egyptian civilizations would use various herbs or practices to incubate dreams. Blue lotus and sanctuaries referred to as "dream beds" were often employed.
First Nations — In some cultures, dreams of newborn children are delivered through dreams by an animal. Other cultures use the symbolism in dreams for divination, such as aiding in hunting, fishing, or farming.
List of Notable Dream-Enhancing Herbs
This list is just the tip of the iceberg — there are hundreds, if not thousands, of other species of plants and fungi with oneirogenic applications.
1. African Dream Root (Silene undulate)
Silene undulata is a small heat-resistant herb with a white flower native to the Eastern Cape of South Africa. The roots of the plant are dried, crushed, and mixed with water to facilitate lucid dreaming and enhance dream recall the following morning.
The Xhosa people refer to this plant as "undlela zimhlophe," which means something along the lines of "the path of white symbols."
Local indigenous cultures of the Eastern Cape region, including the Xhosa and Zulu peoples, consider this plant sacred for its ability to enable communication with the spirit world through dreams. However, this herb is rarely used alone. It's thought to be too powerful for novice users and should be balanced with other herbs.
Getting the combination right requires the care and attention of a trained shaman. If the mixture is imbalanced, it produces dark and disturbing dreams. A well-balanced mixture leads to a more enjoyable experience and unique insights. Unfortunately, the balance depends on the individual — there's no universal mixture that works for everyone.
2. Calea (Calea zacatechichi)
Calea zacatechichi and its close relative, Calea ternifolia, are hallucinogenic herbs from Mexico and Central America.
Calea has a long history of use among the Chontal Indians of Oaxaca, Mexico, for tapping into the power of dreams to receive divinatory information. It was also used for non-oneirogenic applications, such as treating gastrointestinal disorders and fevers.
Today, calea leaf is primarily used to facilitate lucid dreaming and enhance dream recall. People who take calea leaf before bed, either by smoking the dried leaf or brewing a strong tea, often report remembering dreams more easily and in more detail.
Calea is also known to make dreams feel more orderly or structured. There's less jumping around from place to place, and the dream's narrative tends to feel more cohesive.
Even while awake, the effects of calea are often referred to as being "lucid." Users often feel drowsy and faded, with some mild hallucinations that often stem from misidentifying shapes or objects in one's surroundings.
Unfortunately, and somewhat ironically, calea also has the tendency to interrupt sleep — users wake more easily during the night and tend to feel less refreshed the following morning. For these reasons, it's best to limit the use of calea to once or twice a week maximum.
Calea is illegal in the state of Louisiana (State Act 159) as well as in Poland — but no other countries have tried to ban it.
3. African Dream Bean (Entada rheedii)
Entada rheedii is a legume species native to South Africa, coastal regions of East Africa, Southeast Asia, and the Northeastern coast of Australia (including Queensland and Northern Australia).
Like other legumes, Entada rheedii produces large seeds covered in a thick protective coating. This coating allows the seeds to remain viable after floating in the water, allowing the seeds to spread across long distances.
The seed pulp is dried, ground, and smoked or eaten raw to enhance the vividness of dreams and facilitate lucid dreaming. In traditional African medicine, E. rheedii seeds were used to help shamans communicate with the spirit world as they slept.
The common name for this herb is the African Dream herb — however, this has led some to confuse it with a separate oneirogenic plant called Silene undulata — AKA "African Dream Root." We prefer the common name "African Dream Bean" for this herb instead to eliminate this confusion.
4. Blue Lotus Flower (Nymphaea caerulea)
The blue lotus flower was considered sacred by ancient Egyptian civilizations — a culture known for its love for dream-inducing herbs and rituals.
Some even believed humanity was born into existence from a lotus flower blossoming out of a sea of chaos.
Through the use of dream-inducing herbs like blue lotus flower, the ancient Egyptians believed dreams offered a means of communication between the living and the dead.
The blue lotus flower is smoked or vaped prior to going to bed to enhance one's capacity for lucid dreaming and to aid the user in falling asleep more readily.
Unlike other oneirogens — such as fly agaric, LSA, or Silene (African dream root) — blue lotus flower tends to induce clearer, less chaotic visions.
The dreamer is very often aware they're in a dream right from the beginning, rather than having to figure it out using other tactics like reality checks or WBTB techniques. This is a good thing because the sedative qualities of blue lotus make it especially difficult to wake up after you've fallen asleep.
5. Mugwort (Artemisia vulgaris)
Mugwort has long been associated with dreams and sleep. The botanical name Artemisia is derived from the Greek moon god Artemis. It's used to facilitate lucid dreaming, enhance the vividness of dreams, and assist in dream recall the following morning.
Some Native American cultures in the United States and Canada would burn mugwort before bed to facilitate sleep and ward off evil spirits after crossing over into the dream world.
There are several different ways of using mugwort to enhance dreams. Some prefer to smoke it with other herbs, such as tobacco or marijuana; others brew it into a strong tea to drink before bedtime. Alternatively, mugwort can be stuffed into a muslin bag and placed under the pillow at night.
6. Morning Glory Seeds (Ipomoea violacea)
Morning Glory Vine (Ipomoea violacea) is a common invasive species throughout North America and Europe. The seeds of this common garden variety contain a powerful psychedelic similar to LSD called LSA (lysergic acid amide).
The Aztecs and Mayan civilizations believed the spirit of morning glory could connect them with the underworld and were often used in ceremonies to induce trance-like states.
Unlike LSD, LSA from Morning Glory (and a related plant called Hawaiian Baby Woodrose) is a potent sedative. The psychedelic effects are similar, too, but have a much more lucid or dreamlike feel. Users feel "cloudy," as if their consciousness is being suppressed and objects appear larger or smaller than they really are.
LSA is also sedative and tends to cause users to fall asleep, where they then experience vivid and bizarre dreams.
Sometimes, these dreams are meaningful; other times, it's hard to make any sense of them. This is a similar experience noted for dreams associated with deliriants like datura or the fly agaric mushroom.
Mixing a morning glory tincture into some mugwort or Calea tea may help reduce some of the confusion and disorganization of these dreams.
7. Salvia Leaf (Salvia divinorum)
In the Sierra de Puebla region of Mexico, where salvia grows naturally, the Nahuatl Indians used a species of salvia called Xiwit to induce more vivid, visionary dreams.
While it's unclear precisely which species was used, it's believed to be the diviner's sage (Salvia divinorum), which is a formidable psychedelic when smoked and oneirogenic when consumed as a tea.
When it comes to using herbs to facilitate dreams, the effects need to remain active for a few hours or more. REM sleep doesn't start until about an hour and a half after falling asleep. Therefore, smoking salvia has little impact on sleep — the effects of salvia used this way rarely last more than 30 minutes in total.
For this reason, it's best to prepare a salvia tea or take salvia capsules prior to falling asleep in order to receive its oneirogenic effects. The dreams associated with salvia tend to be bizarre and hard to make sense of, but there's almost always some deeper knowledge embedded within these dreams if you're patient enough to spot it.
Salvia is respected as a wise plant teacher in the cultures that use it, but it's not the type of herb that comes right out with the answers. It tends to be cryptic and metaphorical, forcing you to ponder what it showed you for months or years at a time before it eventually clicks.
8. Galantamine (Snowdrops)
Galantamine is an alkaloid found in a variety of common garden species, including snowdrops (Galanthus spp.), daffodils (Narcissus spp.), and red spider lily (Lycoris radiata).
Recently, galantamine has become a popular supplement for lucid dreamers, and research suggests it may offer support for Alzheimer's disease.
Galantamine works by inhibiting an enzyme called acetylcholinesterase, which is responsible for breaking down the neurotransmitter acetylcholine. Because of the importance of acetylcholine in the formation of dreams, supplements like galantamine that boost acetylcholine are thought to enhance the vividness and the capacity to remember dreams upon waking.
This effect has been confirmed by double-blind crossover studies funded by the Lucidity Institute. The study found that 57% of participants who took galantamine had a lucid dream, compared to 14% who took the placebo control. Both groups used WBTB methods to induce lucid dreaming.
9. Yerba Maté (Ilex paraguariensis)
Yerba maté is a large caffeine-rich tree from South America.
Caffeine is a surprisingly effective tool for inducing lucid dreams, but it comes with some caveats. It works by taking yerba maté capsules right before falling asleep —however, you must fall asleep before it kicks in, or you may not be able to fall asleep. This oneirogen is not recommended for anybody who has a hard time falling asleep at night.
If you can fall asleep before the caffeine kicks in, you're more likely to experience vivid, intrepid, and memorable dreams.
You can use any caffeine-containing herbs for this, but yerba maté is a good option because it contains other phytochemicals, such as theobromine, that eliminate some of the anxious side effects that could lead to nightmares.
Caffeine also works well in combination with WBTB methods for lucid dreaming. Keep some capsules filled with yerba maté beside your bed and take them as soon as your alarm goes off. Remain awake for about 15 minutes before going back to sleep again.
10. Damiana (Turnera diffusa)
Damiana is native to Mexico and parts of Central and South America. It's primarily used as an aphrodisiac, antidepressant, anxiolytic, and for treating headaches.
This potent aromatic herb also has a long history of inducing more vivid dreams — specifically sexual or romantically-inspired dreams. You'll find this ingredient in a lot of elixirs aimed at enhancing one's libido or sexual desire, and its effects complement many of the other herbs on this list.
Damiana goes very well when mixed with Calea zatechichi in the form of a tea as it helps reduce the bitter flavor and can add a sensual component to the dreams.
It also works well in smoke mixes alongside tobacco, marijuana, salvia leaf, mugwort, or blue lotus flower.
On its own, damiana can enhance the vividness of dreams but isn't as useful for inducing lucid dream states as other herbs on this list.
11. Fly Agaric Mushroom (Amanita muscaria)
Amanita muscaria (AKA the "Mario Mushroom" or "the fly agaric") is one of the most recognizable mushrooms on Earth. Yet few people know how powerful this mushroom truly is or how to use it.
This mushroom is psychedelic yet shares nothing in common with the magic mushrooms you're probably familiar with. Its active ingredients work by interacting with the muscarinic receptors.
The result of this interaction is a psychedelic high unlike anything else. Even while awake, the effects of this mushroom are best described as "dreamlike" and bizarre. You won't hallucinate or see swirling shapes and patterns like LSD or psilocybin — but it's clear that you're under the influence of a psychedelic nonetheless. The size and distance of objects and perception of time can become significantly altered, and everything around looks "odd" or out of place.
The real hallucinations appear after you've gone to sleep for the night. Users experience significantly more vivid and chaotic dreams that don't appear to follow any specific narrative or order. Sometimes, these dreams are positive; other times, they're disturbing or frightening.
Fly agaric can be used to induce lucid dreams through the DILD method (dream-induced lucid dreaming). The dreams this mushroom produces are so absurd the user is more likely to realize they're in a dream and become conscious.
12. Syrian Rue (Peganum harmala) ⚠️
The seeds of Syrian rue (Peganum harmala) contain a variety of active alkaloids with psychoactive and oneirogenic effects. Its chief ingredients include a set of harmala alkaloids closely related to the active ingredients in the ayahuasca vine (Banisteriopsis caapi). These compounds aren't psychedelic on their own but instead work to prevent the breakdown of other psychoactive tryptamines, such as DMT.
Syrian rue should be used with caution; high doses appear to be toxic. This herb is best used in smaller doses alongside other sleep herbs to make them stronger. The seeds are often mixed with Calea, morning glory, or Hawaiian baby woodrose in the form of tea. Some people will mix P. harmala seeds with Mimosa hostilis or Psychotria viridis as a simple tincture for a mild dream-inducing ayahuasca.
13. Datura Leaf (Datura spp.) ⚠️
Datura (AKA jimsonweed) is a genus of seven wild plant species in the Solanaceae (nightshade) family. The seeds of all species of datura have powerful deliriant and anticholinergic properties and are NOT considered safe to use. However, the leaves are sometimes smoked or consumed as tea to facilitate lucid dreaming.
Be very careful with this plant. Taking too much can be extremely dangerous.
As an anticholinergic deliriant, datura can cause complete inhibition of the parasympathetic nervous system, leading to dehydration, inability to urinate, and heat exhaustion — not to mention the absolute insanity that comes along with using deliriants. Making matters worse, the effects of datura can last as long as three days — so it's not a ride you can easily get off once you've climbed aboard.
Delirium is defined as an inability to interface with reality. Those affected lose the ability to tell what's real and what's a hallucination.
Despite the negative attributes of datura, it's considered sacred by Native American cultures, including the Chumash, Luiseño, and Kumeyaay. Datura is respected as a wise teacher and is often used in right-of-passage ceremonies and divination.
Getting the dose right for this herb is essential, and there are plenty of safer herbs for the oneironaut to try first. Datura is only recommended for people with a solid understanding of the safe use of psychoactive herbs and who understand and accept the risks of using this plant. Even then, it's safer to take only a small amount of datura leaves by either smoking or drinking as a tea — skip the seed pods entirely.
14. Iboga (Tabernanthe iboga) ⚠️
The active ingredient in Tabernanthe iboga and several related species of African plants is a compound called ibogaine. This compound is powerfully psychedelic but also potentially dangerous.
Iboga is often referred to as oneirogenic for its ability to induce dreamlike hallucinations. However, there's a key difference with iboga that makes it distinct from every other herb on this list.
Instead of inducing these dreamlike hallucinations while asleep, iboga causes dreamlike hallucinations while the user is still awake. It essentially tricks the brain into thinking it's asleep, but the mind remains awake and conscious — users become fully lucid.
Interestingly, studies have found that ibogaine actually reduces the amount of time spent in REM sleep — which is the stage of sleep where lucid dreams occur.
Upon closing one's eyes, vivid and rapidly changing dreamlike hallucinations flash across the eyes, each one carrying powerful emotional responses depending on the individual context of the hallucination. The experience is often suggested to feel as though one is watching a slideshow of one's entire life — forcing users to face both the positive and negative aspects of one's history and psyche.
It's also important to note that ibogaine can be dangerous and has resulted in deaths in the past.
Further Reading
The Art of Lucid Dreaming (Tripsitter)
How to Create a Dream Journal (Tripsitter)
Exploring Consciousness with Lucid Dreams (Interview with Stephen LaBerge)
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