Shamanism is an ancient religion that has been practiced in various cultures throughout the world, from the Americas, to Africa, to Asia–on all five continents. Shamans act as intermediaries between this world and the spirit worlds. Shamans are purportedly able to alter their consciousness to travel to other realities in order to bring back valuable information and guidance to heal people and heal the world.

Shamans in the upper Amazon region of South America have been preparing a sacred medicinal tea for thousands of years for the purpose of healing of psychological problems, connecting to divinity, and receiving spiritual guidance. In Ecuador and Peru, this brew is called “ayahuasca” in the Quechua language. “Aya” means “spirit,” while “huasca” means “vine.” Ayahuasca tea is known by other names in other regions.

How Ayahuasca Tea Is Made

The main and consistent ingredient in every ayahuasca brew is the ayahuasca vine itself. This is combined with leaves from at least one other plant that varies based on the effects a shaman would like to achieve.  These effects can include soul travel, telepathy, spirit communication, and visions. To make ayahuasca tea, shamans pound lengths of the ayahuasca vine with stone. They then boil the vine with leaves from another plant or plants in water for several hours.

Preparation of ayahuasca

How Ayahuasca Tea Is Used

Ayahuasca tea is never to be used recreationally but rather exclusively as part of a sacred ceremony. The shaman who conducts an ayahuasca ceremony must be a person of high integrity, who is acting from a place of pure intention, devoid of ego goals. The shaman creates a safe, supportive environment in which respect and reverence for the ayahuasca sacrament is of utmost importance. The goal of the ceremony is to help participants experience a state of elevated consciousness.

Shaman “Don” Cesario ready to lead an ayahuasca ceremony

Physical and Spiritual Components of the Ayahuasca Experience

Ayahuasca ceremonies are all-night affairs. The effects of the ayahuasca tea last for 5 to 10 hours. The experience of each individual varies according to his or her previous experience with the tea, level of consciousness, personality, emotional state, and intention, as well as the influence of the shaman facilitator.

After ingesting the bitter-tasting ayahuasca tea, one embarks on physical and spiritual experience. Use of ayahuasca is often a physically cathartic process that involves vomiting and diarrhea. This is interpreted as a positive indication that neuroses and negative thoughts are being purged from the body.

Shamans revere ayahuasca as a highly intelligent plant teacher. They often refer to the plant as Mother Ayahuasca, which conveys their deep respect for the plant. Participants in ayahuasca ceremonies often describe feeling an intelligent presence during their experience. Many have reported seeing this presence manifest in a vision as a headless woman.

Participants in ayahuasca ceremonies often describe being awoken to a grander reality than what is normally open to us. Initially, they notice a change in their sensory perceptions. Emotions become more profound. Touch and hearing become heightened. Some people start to feel like they are floating. People describe experiencing the mythological forces that created and are the foundation of all life. They often report intense visions of geometric patterns, gods, animals, snakes, and spirits. Jungle scenes often figure prominently in their visions, regardless of whether the individuals are of Indian descent or have lived in the jungle. Sometimes several individuals experience shared visions within a group setting.

Amazon jungle

After ayahuasca ceremonies, people often describe profound, life-altering effects. Many report that their consciousness was raised, expanded, and amplified so that they are now able to see the unity, oneness, and interconnectedness of all life. They report that the positive effects of their expanded understanding of the world and their expanded self-knowledge have profoundly transformative effects on their life.

Legality of Ayahuasca

The use of ayahuasca is legal in most countries in South America. In the United States, the growing of the ayahuasca plant is legal. However, brewing ayahuasca into a tea is illegal in America since the brew contains DMT, which is classified as a Schedule I drug under the Convention on Psychotropic Substances.

In the United States and in other countries, some people have fought and are fighting against the ban on the use of ayahuasca tea. The sacred use of ayahuasca in some churches has been upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court. Some Santo Damie and União do Vegetal (UDV) churches, which combine Christianity with indigenous practices, have been granted the right to use ayahuasca in religious ceremonies, pursuant to the Religious Freedom Restoration Act.

Other Interesting Information About Ayahuasca

It is interesting to note that drug addiction was virtually nonexistent in native cultures prior to contact with Europeans, although plants that are used in the preparation of ayahuasca tea are narcotics. Ayahuasca is non-addictive and seems to have no adverse health effects. There are even several treatment centers for drug addiction in South America that help addicts overcome their addiction to drugs through the use of ayahuasca.

For additional information about entheogens, you might enjoy these articles:

• Drug Ayahuasca, Church of Santo Daime Sacrament: Legality of Use of Yage Entheogen in Religious Ceremonies, Rituals

• Peyote Cactus in Native American Traditions: The Drug’s Uses, Effects, and Legality