Entada Rheedii #
| Binomial / Botanical Name | Entada Rheedii |
| Street Names | African Dream Herb; Snuff Box Sea Bean; Cacoon Vine; Dream Bean |
| Major Active Compound | Unclear |
| Indigenous Source | Indian Ocean Countries |
| Form | Dried Seeds |
| RoA | Smoked, Oral |
| Personal Rating On Shulgin Scale | ++ |
SUBJECTIVE EXPERIENCE #
Entada Rheedii has a long history of use for a variety of purposes, but most notably by indigenous tribes in Africa to communicate with ancestors (‘the spirit world’) by inducing vivid or lucid dreams.
Entheology.com describes its traditional use thus: “…the inner meat of the seed is either consumed directly, or chopped, dried, mixed with other herbs like tobacco, and smoked just before bedtime” whilst the South African National Biodiversity Institute states simply that “To induce these vivid dreams, dried seeds are powdered and smoked in a pipe before bedtime.”
Not wishing to experience the effects of tobacco or other plants, I elect to smoke it stand-alone. I also elect to eat a small amount.
The exact source of my own supply is unknown. I purchased it from one of my usual online vendors some years ago, but I am unable to recall which. The sealed silver packet is clearly labelled and as I open it I find that the creamy coloured nut has been ground into an extremely fine almost fluffy powder.
Whilst I found no indications of toxicity or related issues during research, I did find a post referring to allergy. With this in mind I pre-test a small dab on my tongue. All is clear.
Regarding oral dosage, one bean is frequently cited as sufficient. Given the nature of my supply this really doesn’t help me much: how big is a nut? After deliberation I decide to go for 1 gram.
I am in good condition, but do have a bit of a cold. For the record, I haven’t been dreaming much recently.
At 9:30pm I weigh 1g and swill it down with water. It tastes a little odd, but not bad, and it morphs into a sort of slimy feel as I swallow it.
I now fill the bowl of my hand bong, step outside, and take a couple of large hits. This isn’t so terrible, but it has a sort of woody tang as I inhale. I am smoking a nut after all, so I shouldn’t be surprised at its slightly unusual quality.
On sitting back at my desk I immediately notice a mild sort of heady strangeness and possibly enhanced clarity of vision. I could be imagining this, as it is only a hint, but a minor change of disposition appears to be evident. I was tired, but this seems to have drifted into a more sedated dreamy and more pleasant sleepiness.
I retire to bed just before 10pm. On hitting the pillow I drop asleep quickly and easily.
I awoke at 7am. Did I dream? Indeed I did.
I dreamed constantly all night, waking (with a dry mouth) on at least three distinct occasions with dreams still spinning in my head. The dreams were lengthy, vivid and recallable, although not necessarily pleasant. For the periods during which I was half-awake I was aware that I was dreaming and allowed this to continue in something of a twilight zone.
This is a genuine oneirogen; possibly the most effective I have tested to date. A remaining question, however, is which RoA is most effective? As I used both methods (oral and smoking) I cannot answer this, although the fact that I was still dreaming early morning does tend to suggest oral was in play at that point.
Note that I encountered a number of sources which stated that for significant impact it is necessary to repeat the exercise over a number of nights. My experience runs counter to this, which is not to say that the dreams don’t become even more vivid and lucid over subsequent occasions.