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Set Controls for the Heart of the Sun
2C-E
Citation:   Zepster. "Set Controls for the Heart of the Sun: An Experience with 2C-E (exp44909)". Erowid.org. Nov 23, 2005. erowid.org/exp/44909

 
DOSE:
20 mg oral 2C-E (powder / crystals)
BODY WEIGHT: 67 kg
I am a relatively experienced user of psychedelics, having taken lsd, mushrooms, salvia divinorum, mescalin and 2c-b over the last 8 years or so, usually about 4 times a year. This was my first time with 2c-e, so I made sure that I was alone (I always take psychedelics alone) and that there was a calm and peaceful atmosphere in my apartment. My reasons for taking psychoactive substances are mainly spiritual -- I follow a shamanic pagan path, which involves various types of meditative and visualisation techniques that help me to both centre myself and to dissolve my ego. Usually at every quarter festival (Imbolc, Beltane, Lugnasadh and Samhain) I use a psychoactive substance to help me explore certain inner realms that I have been unable to reach through meditation or visualisation. I was a bit out with the timing for this experience (a week before Lugnasadh) but I felt as though I needed some insights having recently lost a very close friend to a pointless suicide. I took 20mg from a vial of 100mg at 18.00 (on an empty stomach), one hour after taking two travel-sickness pills. 2c-e has a peculiar, but not unpleasant taste.

T + 1.00. As some other reports have indicated this substance has quite a long coming up time. After an hour I had a tingling feeling in my head and very slight nausea but nothing else.

T + 1.45. But when it comes up it does so very quickly -- within the space of about 5 minutes there were tracers and moving walls in the visual range and with eyes shut there were dream-like images that are quite astoundingly real. I always spend much of my time during an entheogenic experience with eyes closed, as I'm more interested in allowing the drug to prise open parts of my subconscious than to see lots of crazy things. Visuals are for light relief! The nausea had subsided by now.

T + 2.00. This substance has a metallic quality to it. If I'm smoking weed or taking salvia divinorum or mushrooms there is an overwhelming 'vegetative' quality to the experience. With 2c-e it is more like being on a burnished steel spaceship. It's not a bad feeling, but I get the impression that the drug does not 'care' about me in the same way as non-synthesised psychedelics. And it is different from lsd and mescalin -- somehow more powerful, as though it is further up the entheogenic hierarchy. I was still lying on my sofa after 2 hours and with eyes shut it is like being in a dream over which I have a lot of control. The images come from my subconscious but once out in the open I can mold them to my own uses. At this stage I was asking a fairy, who looked strikingly similar to an ex-girlfriend, whether I could work with the depression that I had felt since the death of my friend 2 months ago. She was cool and distant, but also allowed me to talk to her -- something I haven't been able to do with anyone since his death. I had the intense feeling that she understood in the deepest way possible.

T + 3.00. After closed-eye reflection I finally got up off the sofa and walked unsteadily to the kitchen, The kitchen window overlooks the garden and it was by now just becoming twilight. Woah! I have never experienced anything like this. The garden was alive -- kind of like a cartoon, but somehow more 'real' than anything I've ever seen. The leaves of plants were shimmering with their own inner light, as if each one was alive and feeling every current of air that passed over it. I spent the next hour walking around the garden or sitting on a chair in the garden. I found that I was able to reach a very deep meditative state by concentrating on a part of a bush or plant. The emotional reaction was extremely peaceful. And all the while the plants in the garden were so alive. It was at this point that I began to lose track of time. I'd kept a close eye on the clock from my position on the sofa, but now time was becoming less meaningful.

T + 4.00-6.00 (?). The drug reached a plateau during this time, but I'm not at all sure of the timing. I stayed in the garden and either closed my eyes or concentrated on nearby plants or silhouetted trees. During this time the internal dream-like images are constantly at me -- it seemed that the drug wanted to ensure I was getting value for money! The overwhelming impression was always one of peacefulness, but that 2c-e was merely acting as a catalyst that was able to help me reach over the rigid emotional boundaries I have set up for myself. It seemed to use the intensely realistic dream-like images to force me to confront emotional issues. With eyes open and looking at silhouetted trees in the half-distance I could see moving wisps above the trees against the dark mauve night sky. This was magical, but only lasted a few minutes. Fairies?

T + 6.30. The next door neighbour came out banging a tin to get her cat in. I spoke to her briefly (I think it was coherent), but felt very uncomfortable in the presence of another human, so I made my way back inside and spent another hour or so lying on the sofa and feeling myself come down.

T + 7.00. Very sleepy -- went to bed and fell asleep almost at once. Vivid dreams but nothing special.

For me, 2c-e is an inward-looking drug. The strongest impression is of a detached but interested intermediary who wants me to delve deeper into previously hidden emotions. The more time I spend with my eyes closed the more rewarding the experience. Whether it was because of my situation at the time or not, I got the sense that the drug is more concerned with my human emotions in the here and now, rather than with any spirituality. But that could probably change with whatever mood I may be in. The visuals are not as startling as lsd, but they do have a deep sense of beauty -- the wisps about the trees filled me with an aching joy. There also seem to be some after-effects. Apart from a crackling headache the next morning, I have been experiencing movement in my peripheral vision for several days after the experience. I had this once before with mescalin, but this is a little more persistent. I get the distinct impression that 2c-e is having a bit of a joke with me -- and perhaps trying to get me to remember the messages and feelings of understanding that I experienced while on the drug. I will certainly take this substance again -- maybe next Lugnasadh.

Exp Year: 2005ExpID: 44909
Gender: Male 
Age at time of experience: Not Given
Published: Nov 23, 2005Views: 29,905
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2C-E (137) : Entities / Beings (37), General (1), Alone (16)

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