The Mother of All Plants

History of Ayahuasca

This highly divine and intelligent plant is said to be around over 2,500 years old. She is an amazonian visionary plant that has been used in sacred ceremonies throughout the upper regions of the Amazon, Peru, Colombia, Ecuador and Brazil. Some would say this is plant dates back even to 5,000 years ago. However, the origins of this plant is often contested among different cultures because at one point in time the Amazonian people did not use written language and there is a lack of archaeological evidence. Moreover, the traditions and knowledge of this ancient medicine were passed down through oral traditions from generation to generation. Ayahuasca originates from the Quechua language, of the Incan Empire. The Quechua peoples lived in the Andean highlands from Ecuador to Bolivia. When the word is broken down, Aya means soul or ancestors and huasca means vine or rope. When put together the word signifies, “vine of the soul”.

The medicine was used by tribal communities for a variety of reasons, for healing medicine, religious ceremonies or tribal rituals. This sacred medicine was used to treat physical, mental and spiritual crises. Additionally, the medicine has found to help with emotional, physical healings, enhance spiritual growth and foster a connection with our ancestors and spirits. The medicine was also often used as a tool in guiding one in the direction and calling of their journey in this lifetime.

What is Ayahuasca?

Ayahuasca is a visionary plant brew composed of two main ingredients that are native to the Amazon forest, the Bainsteriopsis Capi vine and psychotria viridis. Together they make a psychedelic and entheogenic spiritual brew. The capi vine is also referred to as jagube, or yage. The B. caapi vine contains MAO inhibitors which promote the psychedelic effects to materialize and the P. viridis plant contains DMT bringing forth the psychedelic experience. This brew allows for an altered state of consciousness that often gives one an experience of hallucinations, visions, and an altered perception of reality, opening the eyes beyond what the mind can see.

For more information on the science behind this brew please feel free to dive into the articles I have posted below.

  • https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-017-05407-9
  • https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0361923016300454
  • https://www.imperial.ac.uk/news/193993/ayahuasca-compound-changes-brainwaves-vivid-waking-dream/
An interview by Don Howard Lawler from SpiritQuest Sanctuary in Iquitos, Peru

Who Preforms & Leads an Ayahuasca Ceremony?

In the Peruvian, Shipibo tradition there are two different kinds of healers and it is important to establish the difference as they both carry a different types of responsibility as healers in the Ayahuasca ceremony tradition. The first is an Ayahuasquero, someone who is given the task of preparing, brewing and cooking this ancient medicine. They do not hold the responsibility of conducting the ceremonies. Traditionally, an Ayahuasquero does not have the means to work directly with guests and manage any heavy entities, spirits or energies that may arise in ceremony. If an Ayahuasquero does find themselves to be conducting a ceremony, it is said that medicine can not reach it’s maximum potential for healing. This is why it is important to have a Curandero present in ceremony. A Curandero is a known as a healer, one who works directly with the plants, and spirits. In the Shipibo tradition a culture a true Curandero is known as an Onanya, one who has knowledge. How is this knowledge obtained? Receiving the title of an Onanya comes after extensive studies and building a relationship with the plant for an average of 10 years. Studying with these sacred plants involve many dietas and on average around 20% of apprentices graduate because the plants will truly test the essence of you are and take you to some of the darkest places of your soul, even to the experience of having an “ego death” and not everyone is ready to embrace this type of experience.

What Entails an Ayahuasca Ceremony?

This divine ceremony traditionally takes place at night. Shamans or a Curandero traditionally conduct this ancient practice.
As an individual partaking in a ceremony, it is essential to come with an intention. It is vital to living life with an intention and not expect anything in life. Setting an intention will help facilitate and be the overall guideline for your journey in the ceremony. However, medicine will always show you what you need to see, not what you want to see. So the most important thing is to show up with an open mind and be.
Before any ceremony, the Shaman will bless the medicine and ask the plants to use this sacred medicine for healing. After the blessing is complete, the Shaman will invite the participants to come up to the altar to drink this sacred medicine.
The ceremony usually lasts from 6-8 hours. Every person’s experience is entirely different and unique to that individual. Common experiences are, but are not limited to the following:
-Purging: a physical or emotional release such as vomiting, diarrhea, crying, laughing, body shakes, shivering, yawning, etc.
Although purging is common, it doesn’t mean that you will experience all of these things.
-Visions: Having visions are very common, and usually, when the medicine is showing you a vision, for example, of past trauma, you become an observer of this event and are not attached to the emotional side of it. The medicine is beautiful in that often, these visions help bring you back to a place of understanding so you can accept the situation, forgive, and let go. And other times, they carry profound lessons and messages depending on what the medicine would like to show that individual.
-Pintas: Colorful, bright, geometric shapes and patterns
-Consult: There are different perspectives on what a consult means, but the most common ones are having a direct conversation with the spirit of the medicine (Mother Aya), your higher consciousness, or God.

From my experience, they are a few things to remember in going into any plant ceremony. First, go in with an open heart and be open to the infinite possibilities of what the medicine can show you. Do not go into a ceremony with any expectations. Just as in life, things do not always go as expected. Some of the best experiences of our lives are when we are open, letting go of any expectation—secondly, TRUST. Trust the process of life and the medicine. The medicine has your best interest, and your soul would not be sitting in ceremony or even reading this if it knew you were not ready for change.
Yes, change can be uncomfortable, but change is what allows for growth and expansion. We must move out of our comfort zone to embody the infinite possibilities life wants to give us. The medicine is an ancient plant with abundant wisdom, knowledge, and information. It truly has your best interest and will always show and give you what you need, not what you think you need. This is all about surrendering and trusting the process. It is essential to let go of control and be okay with the unknown. Finally, remember what is coming is going. I do not believe in having a “good” or “bad” journey. It just is. Often one will tend to label a journey as “bad” for several reasons. It is possible the things that will come upon one’s journey are difficult to process, or maybe it was the first time they remember a traumatic event that happened in their life, or they are seeing a part of themselves they are not ready to face. It is a part of the process to face the uncomfortable aspects of ourselves and lives that we do not love and learn how to give them compassion and love, so we can be an observer of them, forgive, and let go. This is the only way to move on. We all have a shadow side. Without the light, there would not be the dark. Yes, it may not be easy to face or acknowledge it, but this is why it is important to remember that what is coming is going. Nothing in life is permanent. If you keep pushing and shoving the things that the medicine is trying to show you, the medicine will continue to show you, and the effects of resisting it will only get harder. The medicine brings up the emotions, feelings, traumas, and events in your life that need to be healed because they have not been addressed. They want attention and be recognized with love to be released and free. When you remove them, you are also releasing yourself and letting go of the things that are not serving you, and holding you back in life. Finally, remember that you are safe, and sometimes the medicine will push you to your limits, but she will never hurt you. If something on your journey comes up and you feel scared, I recommend returning to your breath, placing one hand on your heart and the other on your stomach, and repeating the affirmation, “I am love, I am light, and I am safe.” This medicine is just an experience, allowing you to do some deep healing to return to the true essence of who you are, a pure soul.

A documentary about guests who traveled to SpiritQuest Sanctuary in Iquitos, Peru to drink medicine

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