Visual Effects of Psychedelics

Visual acuity enhancement is a heightening of the clearness and clarity of vision. This results in the visual details of the external environment becoming sharpened, to the point where the edges of objects are perceived as extremely focused, clear, and defined. The experience of acuity enhancement can be likened to bringing a camera or projector lens that was slightly blurry into focus.

Visual acuity enhancement is often accompanied by other coinciding effects, such as colour enhancement and increased pareidolia. It is most commonly induced under the influence of mild dosages of psychedelic compounds, such as LSD, psilocybin, and mescaline.

Colour enhancement is a perceived intensification of the brightness and vividness of colours in the external environment. During this experience, reds may seem “redder”, greens may seem “greener", and all colours will likely appear much more distinct, complex, and visually intense than they comparatively would during everyday sober living. At higher levels, this effect can sometimes result in seeing colours that are perceived as surreal or seemingly impossible.

Colour enhancement is often accompanied by other coinciding effects such as visual acuity enhancement and increased pareidolia. It is most commonly induced under the influence of mild dosages of psychedelic compounds, such as LSD, psilocybin, and mescaline. However, it can also occur to a lesser extent under the influence of certain stimulants and dissociatives such as MDMA, ketamine, or 3-MeO-PCP.

Increased pareidolia is an increase in a person's ability and tendency to recognise patterns (usually faces) within vague stimuli.

This innate ability that human beings possess in everyday life is referred to by scientific literature as pareidolia and is a well-documented phenomenon. Common examples of this include spotting faces in everyday objects, such as the front of a car, or seeing different objects in clouds.

During this experience, pareidolia can be significantly more pronounced than it would be during a sober state. For example, remarkably detailed images may appear embedded in scenery, everyday objects may look like faces, and clouds may appear as fantastical objects, all without any visual alterations taking place.

Increased pareidolia is often accompanied by other coinciding effects, such as visual acuity enhancement and colour enhancement. It is most commonly induced under the influence of mild dosages of psychedelic compounds, such as LSD, psilocybin, and mescaline.

After images are visual perceptions that continue to appear in one's vision after exposure to the original image has ceased.

During this experience, moving objects can produce a trail of overlayed, still images behind their path of motion. This creates a series of overlayed images of a moving object across one's visual field that progressively fade away. For example, common manifestations of this effect include seeing faded images left in the path of moving objects or being able to see a residual image of the external environment for several seconds after one closes their eyes.

After images are often accompanied by other coinciding effects, such as tracers and drifting. It is most commonly induced under the influence of moderate dosages of psychedelic compounds, such as LSD, psilocybin, and mescaline.

Colour shifting is when objects within the environment fluidly shift and change their colour through a continuously repeating cycle. For example, moss on a rock could visibly shift from green, to red, to blue, to any other colour, and then back to green again in the style of a smooth and seamless animated loop. It is particularly strong and likely to occur if the objects original colour was bright or out of place.

Colour shifting is often accompanied by other coinciding effects, such as colour enhancement and colour replacement. It is most commonly induced under the influence of moderate dosages of psychedelic compounds, such as LSD, psilocybin, and mescaline.

Depth perception distortions are alterations in how a person perceives the distance of various objects within their visual field. During this state, the various layers of scenery can become exaggerated, skewed, or completely rearranged.

An example of this could be the swapping of layers in a given environment, in which objects in the background begin to appear as if they are in the foreground and objects in the foreground appear as if they are in the background. In other instances, the same distortion is applied to the entire visual field, such as everything appearing small and distant or large and near. Another example is the complete loss of depth perception. This occurs when the different sections of a scene appear to unify into a flat 2-dimensional image regardless of their actual distance from each other and the observer.

Depth perception distortions are often accompanied by other coinciding effects, such as perspective distortions and drifting. They are most commonly induced under the influence of moderate dosages of psychedelic compounds, such as LSD, psilocybin, and mescaline.

Drifting is the experience of the texture, shape, and general structure of objects and scenery appearing progressively warped, melted, and morphed across themselves. These alterations gradually increase in intensity as a person stares, but are temporary and will reset to their normal appearance the moment a person double takes.

At lower levels, drifting will manifest as a subtle bending or morphing of the textures and objects within a person's external environment. At higher levels, drifting becomes powerful enough to drastically alter and transform the shape of specific objects within a person’s external environment.

The particular style of this visual effect depends on the continuously changing direction, speed, and rhythm of the distortion. This results in a small variety of different manifestations which includes morphing, breathing, melting, and flowing.

Drifting is often accompanied by other coinciding effects such as texture liquidation and tracers. It is most commonly induced under the influence of moderate dosages of psychedelic compounds, such as LSD, psilocybin, and mescaline.

Recursion is a visual distortion that alters the appearance of one's external environment by repeating specific sections of itself across itself in a self-similar fashion. It results in the appearance of fractal-like patterns that often zoom into or away from the original image. This effect typically occurs spontaneously and rarely sustains itself for more than several seconds.

Recursion is often accompanied by other coinciding effects, such as geometry and symmetrical texture repetition. It is most commonly induced under the influence of moderate dosages of psychedelic compounds, such as LSD, psilocybin, and mescaline.

Symmetrical texture repetition is the perception of textures becoming mirrored repeatedly over their own surface in an intricate and symmetrical fashion that is consistent across itself. This maintains the same level of detail no matter how closely one attempts to look at the distortion and tends to remain most prominent within one's peripheral vision. It usually manifests itself in rough textures, such as grass, carpets, tree bark, and asphalt.

Symmetrical texture repetition is often accompanied by other coinciding effects, such as increased pareidolia and transformations. This can result in the appearance of an array of abstract forms and imagery embedded within the symmetry. It is most commonly induced under the influence of mild dosages of psychedelic compounds, such as LSD, psilocybin, and mescaline.

Tracers are the experience of visual trails of varying lengths and opacity being left behind moving objects in a manner that is similar to those found in long exposure photography. They will usually manifest as exactly the same colour of the moving object producing it or can sometimes be a randomly selected colour of their own. A relatively consistent way to reproduce this visual effect is to simply move one's hand in front of their face or throw an object under the influence of a moderate dose of psychedelics.

At lower levels, tracers typically manifest as partially transparent trails that disappear quickly and drag closely behind moving objects. At higher levels, tracers become mostly solid in appearance and almost completely opaque with increasingly distinct edges. They also become slower to fade from a person’s vision and can remain for up to several seconds.

Tracers are often accompanied by other coinciding effects, such as drifting and after images. They are most commonly induced under the influence of mild dosages of psychedelic compounds, such as LSD, psilocybin, and mescaline.

Texture liquidation is the experience of the texture, shape, and general structure of objects and scenery appearing progressively simplified, smudged and stylized in such a way that one's external environment begins to take on the general appearance of a painting or cartoon.

Texture liquidation is often accompanied by other coinciding effects, such as visual acuity enhancement and drifting. It is most commonly induced under the influence of moderate dosages of psychedelic compounds, such as LSD, psilocybin, and mescaline.

Environmental patterning is the experience of certain textures or objects, such as carpets, clouds, and dense vegetation, drifting into increasingly complex geometric patterns that are clearly comprised of the original material they are manifesting from. These structures can be symmetrical in nature, but often include form constants, fractals, and disorganised geometric patterns.

Environmental patterning is often accompanied by other coinciding effects, such as symmetrical texture repetition, geometry, and drifting. It is most commonly induced under the influence of moderate dosages of psychedelic compounds, such as LSD, psilocybin, and mescaline.

Geometry is the experience of a person's field of vision becoming partially or completely encompassed by fast-moving, colourful, and extremely complex geometric patterns, form constants, shapes, fractals, and colours.

Geometry is rarely motionless and is generally extremely fast-moving and self-changing in its shape and style. During this process, the geometry naturally drifts across the visual field while fluidly transitioning through many distinct states and forms.

At lower levels, geometry will display itself as a translucent sheen that is overlaid onto the person's environment and closed eye vision. At higher levels, the geometry will become increasingly complex and intense until it has begun to block out and replace the external world. The visual perception of a person's environment begins to be replaced by geometry, with objects and scenery either transforming into complex geometric structures or simply being blocked out and covered by them.

Geometry is often accompanied by other coinciding effects such as internal hallucinations, environmental patterning, and drifting. It is most commonly induced under the influence of moderate dosages of psychedelic compounds such as LSD, psilocybin, and mescaline.

Magnification is the experience of distant details within one's visual field appearing magnified and closer than they actually are. This can give the perception that one is seeing objects from greater distances than is usually possible within everyday life.

At its lower levels, this can allow people to see nearby objects (such as within reaching distance) as much closer than they really are, resulting in the perception that their visual capabilities have been somewhat enhanced. At its higher levels, this can induce the perception of seeing distant objects as if they were right in front of the user despite their distance. These distances can range from several feet to hundreds of meters. Alternatively, it can also result in states in which a person's vision will zoom into the minute details of a small object, allowing them to see it from a perspective similar to that of a microscope. Since this is almost certainly a physiological impossibility, it suggests that higher level magnification may actually be a seamless hallucinatory state in which the details of distant visual input are predictively simulated in a realistic and convincing manner.

Magnification is often accompanied by other coinciding effects such as visual acuity enhancement and increased pareidolia. It is a rare effect that is most commonly induced under the influence of moderate dosages of psychedelic compounds, such as LSD, psilocybin, and mescaline.

An autonomous entity is the experience of perceived contact with beings that appear to be sentient and autonomous in their behaviour. They will frequently act as the inhabitants of a perceived independent reality. Although many entities seem largely unaware of a person’s presence, they are often precognizant of a person's appearance into their realm and usually choose to interact with them in various ways. The behaviour of a typical entity can vary wildly and seems to depend heavily on one's current emotional state. For example, while many entities will act as loving beings, teachers, or healers in certain contexts, they are equally capable of acting as indifferent, uncaring or even malicious tormentors.

Entities under the influence of psychedelics usually appear as if they are comprised of condensed psychedelic geometry. They can take any form, but certain archetypes are present and commonly include:

Humans, shadow people, bodiless super intelligent humanoids, aliens, elves, animals, giant spheres, insectoids, beings of light, anthropomorphic beings, plants, conscious inanimate objects, fictional characters, cartoons, robotic machines, gods, demigods, goddesses, bio-mechanical intelligences, hooded figures, demons, indescribable monstrosities, spirits, angels, shamans, ghosts, souls, ancestors, fantastical or mythological beasts, glitch creatures and more.

This experience is often accompanied by other coinciding effects, such as geometry, internal hallucinations, and delusions. It is most commonly induced under the influence of heavy dosages of hallucinogenic compounds, such as psychedelics, dissociatives, and deliriants.

Transformations are the experience of a perceived visual metamorphosis that specific parts of one's external environment undergo as they shapeshift into other objects. For example, people who experience this effect will often report seeing parts of their environment shifting into completely different things. These transformations have a huge variety of potential artistic styles and differing levels of detail, realism, and animation.

These hallucinations are progressive in nature. They form from patterns or objects and their appearance fluidly drifts into an entirely new form over several seconds. This is caused and enhanced by a separate visual effect known as increased pareidolia, which can cause vague stimuli and objects to transform into incredibly detailed versions of what they were already perceived as.

At lower levels, the process of transformation can require some minimal amount of focus and concentration to sustain. Losing concentration for an instant can cause the image to fade away or shift into another image. Holding the eyes still will usually increase the intensity of the progressive transformation. However, this becomes completely unnecessary at higher levels.

Transformations are often accompanied by other coinciding effects, such as drifting, increased pareidolia and external hallucinations. They are most commonly induced under the influence of moderate dosages of psychedelic compounds, such as LSD, psilocybin, and mescaline.