Oneirogen
Oneirogen, from the Greek oneiros meaning "dream" and gen "to create," describes a wide array of psychoactive plants and chemicals ranging from normal dream enhancers to intense dissociative or deleriant drugs. When taken an oneirogenic dosages, these compounds are said to have little to no effect on waking consciousness, and will not exhibit their effects until the user falls into a natural sleep state. The effects experienced with the use of Oneirogens may include Microsleep, Hypnagogia, Fugue states, REM, Hypnic Jerks, Lucid dreams, and even out-of-body experiences.
Many dream-enhancing plants such as Dream Herb (Calea zacatechichi) and African Dream Herb (Entada rheedii), as well as the hallucinogenic Diviner's Sage (Salvia divinorum), have been used for thousands of years in a form of divination through dreams called Oneiromancy, in which practitioners seek to receive psychic or prophetic information during dream states.
Examples
- Artemisia vulgaris (mugwort)
- Calea zacatechichi (the "dream herb")
- Entada rheedii ("African dream bean")
- Galantamine
- Syrian rue
- Silene undulata ("African dream root")
- Datura
- Diphenhydramine