— The Field Guide

Deep dives into psilocybin, magic mushrooms and the practice of tripping well.

A peer-reviewed editorial library covering psilocybin science, magic mushroom strain reviews, dosage protocols, integration therapy, harm reduction, and the cultural lineages that preserved this medicine. Every entry is written by a credentialed specialist and sourced from peer-reviewed literature.

11 entries 9 categories Weekly publishing cadence
— Browse all entries

Articles

Filter by category — science, dosage, strain reviews, integration, or culture — to narrow your reading. Every post links to a long-form deep dive with citations and practical takeaways.

Lemon Tek: The Science Behind Faster, Stronger Magic Mushroom Trips.

Lemon Tek: The Science Behind Faster, Stronger Magic Mushroom Trips.

Why lemon-tekking changes onset and intensity, what's actually happening chemically, and how to do it safely if you choose this method.

Albino Penis Envy (APE): Respecting the Strongest Magic Mushroom.

Albino Penis Envy (APE): Respecting the Strongest Magic Mushroom.

Everything you should know before trying APE — its genetics, potency, dosing considerations, and why this strain demands extra respect from experienced users.

The Day After: Integrating a Psilocybin Experience Into Daily Life.

The Day After: Integrating a Psilocybin Experience Into Daily Life.

Practical, therapist-informed steps for processing insights from a magic mushroom session while they're still fresh — journaling, rest, and gentle reflection.

The Default Mode Network: The Neuroscience Behind Psilocybin's Effects.

The Default Mode Network: The Neuroscience Behind Psilocybin's Effects.

How psilocybin quiets the brain's default mode network to produce ego dissolution — and what the latest fMRI research reveals about why it matters for mental health.

Microdosing 101: A Practical Guide for American Psilocybin Beginners.

Microdosing 101: A Practical Guide for American Psilocybin Beginners.

Everything a first-time microdoser needs — dose ranges, popular schedules, what to expect, and the published evidence behind magic mushroom microdosing.

The Psychedelic Renaissance Keeps Promising More Than It Can Prove.

The Psychedelic Renaissance Keeps Promising More Than It Can Prove.

Johns Hopkins built the labs, the FDA handed over its fast-track label, and the money arrived in trucks. Here is what psilocybin science has actually proven, and what it still hasn't.

Shrooms Got a Rebrand. Acid Never Did.

Shrooms Got a Rebrand. Acid Never Did.

Somewhere along the way, magic mushrooms became a wellness product with good branding, while LSD stayed stuck in 1969. Same schedule, same felony, wildly different reputations.

What "Set and Setting" Actually Means, and Why the Phrase Won't Die.

What "Set and Setting" Actually Means, and Why the Phrase Won't Die.

"Set and setting" is the most repeated phrase in psychedelics and the least understood. It is not a vibe. It is the closest thing the field has to a seatbelt, and even seatbelts have limits.

Why Fungi Bother Making Psilocybin at All.

Why Fungi Bother Making Psilocybin at All.

The mushroom did not evolve to expand your consciousness. It evolved to mess with insects in a pile of dung. The real origin story of psilocybin is stranger than the trip.

The Banker Who Blew Maria Sabina's Cover.

The Banker Who Blew Maria Sabina's Cover.

A J.P. Morgan vice president ate mushrooms in a Mexican village in 1955, wrote it up for a magazine, and accidentally kicked off the psychedelic era. It did not end well for the woman who let him in.

— Editorial standards

How the Field Guide is written.

Every entry passes through the same three-step editorial process — literature review, peer cross-reference, harm-reduction review — before it reaches your screen.

01

How we research

Every Field Guide entry begins with a structured literature review. Our team reads the original peer-reviewed studies — not press releases — and cross-references findings against MAPS, Johns Hopkins, Imperial College, and Compass Pathways data. Anecdotal claims are explicitly labelled as such.

02

Peer-reviewed sources

Citations link directly to PubMed-indexed journals wherever possible. When we summarise emerging research, we link to the preprint and note which phase of validation the work has reached. We never present early-stage findings as established science.

03

Harm reduction first

Every dosage guide, strain profile and integration article includes contraindications, drug-interaction warnings, and crisis-support resources. We assume readers will act on the information — so we make it safe to act on.

— Authors

Who's writing the Field Guide.

Dr. Maya Chen

Lead Researcher

Pharmacology PhD with a focus on serotonergic psychedelics. Translates peer-reviewed psilocybin research into practical, harm-reduction-first guidance.

North Star Research Team

Editorial Collective

Our in-house team of mycologists, dosage analysts, and integration coaches. Every collective post is reviewed by at least two specialists before publishing.

Sara Whitfield, RP

Integration Therapist

Registered psychotherapist with 12 years of psychedelic integration practice. Writes our mental-health and integration-focused Field Guide entries.

Field Guide Editors

Strain & Culture

Long-form essayists, working growers, and field collectors. Cover strain reviews, cultivation history, and the cultural lineage of magic mushroom medicine.