Magic mushrooms contain a compound called psilocybin that, when ingested, is converted into psilocin.  This chemical activates serotonin receptors in your brain, triggering vivid hallucinations, a sense of euphoria, and changes in your perception of space and time.

Our doses refer to the amount of magic mushrooms per capsule or square of Star Bar. 

In a nutshell, classical psychedelics like magic mushrooms cause parts of your brain to communicate that normally don’t communicate.  This often leads to creating new positive connections.

Depending on the experience you’re after, your dose can vary greatly.  Dosage will also vary person-to-person as psychedelics are a highly individualized experience.

That being said, there are some typical guidelines to magic mushroom doses.  Again, the experience will be different for everyone so please only use this as a general guide.  If you opt to go with a higher dose be mindful of your set, setting and safety prior to your trip. Please note that the mg refers to the amount of magic mushroom in a dose, versus psilocybin. 

MICRO (50mg – 400mg) – This dose is 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.  You can read more about microdosing here.

MUSEUM (400mg – 1g) – This would be your social dose.  High enough you can feel a warm glow, but low enough you’re still fully present and sociable.  Experiment with this dose before you are in a social situation, however.  Some people “feel it” more than others.  

COMMON (1 – 2g) – Now we’re getting into the types of “trips” you’re likely used to hearing about.  This light dose offers consistent sensorial accentuation, enhanced visuals, deep thinking and a nice body high.

DIVER (2 – 3.5 g) – After 2g you can expect interactive thought patterns, visual and auditory hallucinations, diminishing ego, heightened sense of self, perspective changes.

STRONG (3.5 – 5g – done under supervision) – This dose should be done with deep intention and preparation for transcendental thoughts and outer 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, outer 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.

As in die?  No.  According to the Global Drug Survey “Magic mushrooms are one of the safest drugs in the world”.  You may experience nausea, fatigue, headaches or you may mentally feel distressed.  If this happens to you, know that this feeling won’t last forever.  Breathe, change your setting, tell a guide/friend how you’re feeling and continue to remind yourself that this feeling will pass.  If you’d like to read more about how to manage an uncomfortable trip, here is a great article.

When you’re not doing a specific task, a part of our brain called the default mode network (DMN) takes over.  Think of daydreaming — it’s mindless, automatic thinking.

The DMN has been found to be particularly overactive in certain mental health conditions such as depression, anxiety, and obsessive disorders – this can be harmful because the automatic thought patterns occurring can be distressing (eg. “I’m not thin enough.”, “I’m a failure.”, “I’m an embarrassment.”, etc.).

When you take psilocybin, activity within the DMN is significantly decreased while connectivity in the rest of the brain increases.  This shift has particularly strong therapeutic potential as it allows users to change negative thought patterns.  The individual is able to slow down and work though what they’re feeling.

To explore this further, we encourage you to investigate the following:

• This study by Imperial College London that assessed the impact of psilocybin-assisted therapy on twelve patients with severe depression.  The results demonstrated that psilocybin-assisted therapy was able to dramatically reduce their depression scores.
• This follow-up study that suggests the therapeutic impact of psilocybin is linked to its ability to ‘reset’ the DMN. 
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Finally, this study investigates how psychedelics produce increases in psychological flexibility – offering further explanation as to why psychedelic users see decreases in depression and anxiety.

Magic mushrooms are capable of revealing deep personal insights, transcendent realizations, and indescribable connections to the world around us.  This can lead to long-lasting changes in our outlooks and be a powerful tool in working through things like trauma, depression, or anxiety.  This is why we love mushrooms.  It’s also why we recommend checking off “the big three” before your trip:

Set – Aka your mindset. Are you coming into the experience expecting a challenging encounter or do you have a constructive intention in mind? What questions do you want answered?  What would you like to explore?  Sero’s formulations have been created specifically to guide uplifting experiences, but this does not negate the importance of your mindset.

Setting – This refers to your environment.  Are you in a comfortable space?  Who are you with – an experienced guide or close friends?  Do you have everything you need for a good experience?  Your setting can impact your energy and headspace.

Dose – Be intentional with your dosing.  Do you want a subtle, feel good trip (250mg – 1g)?  Or would you like to start the deeper dive (going to 1g and beyond).  Depending on the dose, that deep dive inside your psyche can be very revealing, but it’s important you have the tools to handle that.  We’ll do our best to share everything we know.

Paul Stamets is a speaker, author, mycologist, medical researcher and entrepreneur who has dedicated his career to the mushroom.  He is an industry leader in fungi: habitat, medicinal use, and production. 

Paul is known for a dosing protocol recommendation of five days on, two days off.  Again, when it comes to protocol some experimentation may be required to figure out what works best for you.

In the world of microdosing, Paul is credited with developing a nootropic PSI-vitamin complex that is formulated for epigenetic neurogenesis.  This formula, made up of Psilocybin, Lion’s Mane mushrooms and Niacin is known for promoting memory and cognition, and supporting the regeneration of neurons responsible for visual and auditory functioning.  Our microdosing stack Connect Four follows Paul’s same recipe.

Dr. James Fadiman is a psychologist, writer and co-founder of the Institute of Transpersonal Psychology, later called Sofia University.  He is well known and celebrated in the community for his extensive work in the field of psychedelic research, specifically in microdosing.  His book ‘The Psychedelic Explorer’s Guide: Safe, Therapeutic and Sacred Journeys’ is an excellent resource for anyone wanting to dive in.

Dr. Fadiman’s dosing protocol for magic mushrooms is to take one dose, every three days.

MAPS stands for Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies.  Founded in 1986, MAPS is a non-profit research and educational organization that develops medical, legal and cultural contexts for people to benefit from the careful uses of psychedelics and marijuana.  We highly recommended following their Instagram and supporting MAPS Canada.

Therapsil is a non-profit coalition in Canada that advocates for legal access to psilocybin therapy for palliative care.

Therapsil created history on August 4th, 2020 when four Canadians battling incurable cancer were approved by the federal Minister of Health to use psilocybin therapy in the treatment of their end-of-life distress.  These four patients marked the first individuals to receive a legal exemption from the Canadian Drugs and Substances Act, under Section 56, to access psilocybin therapy.  Therapsil is actively accepting new patients experiencing end of life distress seeking an exemption.  Support Therapsil by following their Instagram.