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Aya Plants Banisteriopsis Caapi, Mimosa Hostilis, Yopo, Syrian Rue, etc.

Aya plants are used in a concoction named Ayahuasca.  Aya plants are sacred and used in ceremonial, psychoactive tea originally used by Amazonian shamans.

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    Syrian Rue (Peganum Harmala) – Whole Seeds from Morocco
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    • What Is Ayahuasca?

    Ayahuasca is a sacred, ceremonial, psychoactive tea originally concocted and consumed by Amazonian shamans. In traditional contexts, its purposes are: 

    • Medicinal — diagnostics and healing of illnesses 

    • Divinatory — ascertaining answers to questions and locating missing objects or people 

    • Magical — energetic protection and waging spiritual warfare, and 

    • Entheogenic — crossing over to otherworldly realms and communicating with deities. 

    Ayahuasca use has deep-rooted ritualistic traditions among indigenous and mestizo communities of Peru, Ecuador, Brazil, Colombia, and Bolivia. Over the last few decades, though, it has also become widespread among Western psychonauts and seekers of healing and growth, who typically consume the brew in plant medicine retreats in the Amazon or with a traveling facilitator passing through, or based in their region. 

    Many generations ago, indigenous curanderos of the Amazon rainforest brewed together two plants, creating an entheogenic tea that would forever transform the health and lives of many around the world. 

    The ayahuasca pronunciation sounds just like reading out its name as transcribed from the indigenous Quechuan languages: aya waska. Aya means “spirit,” “soul,” “the dead,” or “ancestors,” and waska translates to “rope” or “liana,” making both the brew’s and the plant’s name “Vine of the Soul.” 

    Both the ayahuasca tea and the ayahuasca plant are also known by many names depending on the local region or culture. Some of these names include: yagé or yajé (Cofán people), caapi (Tupí-Guaraní people), cipó (União do Vegetal church), daime (Santo Daime church), bejuco de oro (Colombia), hoasca (Brazil), natem (Shuar people), shori (Yaminawa people), uipa (Guahibo people), pindê or pilde (Tsachila people), and many others. 

    Caapi Vine

    The bark of this sacred vine contains a number of alkaloids with mild psychotropic properties, which are also responsible for the brew’s purgative effects. 

    In many indigenous preparations, especially the ones shared with the whole community, B. caapi is also the only ingredient, the accent being more on the cleansing effects of the brew than on the ayahuasca visions. 

    Shamans also often drink vine-only brews, as their years of training enable them to experience the full range of the brew’s effects just through the vine. 

    However, from both the scientific and indigenous standpoints, it’s the vine that appears to hold a more significant role and power within the context of ayahuasca experiences.  

    More than 80 different medicinal plants have been recorded as potential admixtures in indigenous ayahuasca tea recipes, their role being to modulate the brew’s taste or effects. 

     

     

    For instance, Mapacho is a Master Plant almost always used in conjunction with ayahuasca. Shamans typically blow its smoke at the ceremony participants in order to perform cleansings; however, as an admixture of the brew itself, it can amplify the purging and intensify visionary experiences. 

    Other botanical additions can include bobinsana, which can make the brew more stimulating and heart-opening; kana, an aromatic plant used to sweeten the taste of yagé in Colombia; and brunfelsia and remo caspi, which have the potential to deepen and prolong the brew’s effects. 

    The Culture of Ayahuasca Use

    The ayahuasca tea has a rich and diverse history of traditional use among indigenous and mestizo peoples of the Amazon basin, with its origins dating back at least several centuries, and potentially even longer. 

    Traditionally, the consumption of ayahuasca was primarily the duty of the village shaman, who would undergo extensive training and dieting for months or years in order to grow a strong connection with the spirit of the vine and become a masterful navigator of the ayahuasca journey. 

     They would consume the brew ritually for the purposes of healing, divination, and magic. At times, they would administer it to patients or share it with community members in group cleansing or social bonding ceremonies. 

    Shamanic Healing

    Among the primary intentions in shamanic ayahuasca use are the diagnosis and treatment of serious illness. Indigenous Amazonian belief holds that negative energies, in the form of “tsentsak” (magic darts), can be sent by sorcerers or malevolent entities, causing various psychophysical illnesses, some of which may be life-threatening. 

     The shaman’s role is to drink ayahuasca, enter the spirit world, identify the source and effects of this affliction, and gain the knowledge needed to heal it. Ayahuasca would convey to them the proper course of treatment using other medicinal plants or impart guidance on how to dispel the dark energy or defend their patient from the malevolent entities. 

    In some cases, the patient may also be required to drink ayahuasca to cleanse themselves of toxins and release the negative energies underlying their condition. The spiritual effects of ayahuasca, including encounters with spirits and deities and the enhanced insight it can catalyze, may contribute to a positive transformation and bolster the patient’s resilience in their battle against illness. 

    Divination

    Shamans also employ ayahuasca to tap into otherworldly intuition and provide guidance on various matters of communal life, such as locating missing items or individuals, identifying culprits of misdeeds, and devising agricultural and hunting strategies to ensure the prosperity of their village. 

    Cultural Rituals

    While in some indigenous communities ayahuasca consumption is reserved for the shaman and the severely ill, in others the brew is available to all residents. 

    For instance, the Awajún in Peru have traditionally held ayahuasca ceremonies as rites of passage for their youth. The Tukanos in Colombia have used ayahuasca in communal rituals involving music playing, singing, and dancing. In Brazil, hoasca has been widely used in a similar communal manner by syncretic religions of Santo Daime, UDV, and Barquinha. 

    Spiritual Healing

    It seems that ayahuasca use aimed at spiritual and psychological self-healing, like what we find in contemporary plant medicine retreat centers, only really emerged in the second half of the 20th century.  

    Reportedly, it started in Peru, where indigenous and mestizo villagers moving from the jungle to the growing town of Iquitos found themselves destitute and unable to adapt to and prosper in this unfamiliar, urbanized environment. 

    They sought help from local shamans, who would hold group ayahuasca ceremonies for them. In these collective healing gatherings, participants had the opportunity to gain clearer insights into their situation and how to work toward overcoming their unfavorable circumstances. 

    Ayahuasca Retreats

    Toward the end of the 20th century, with growing numbers of Global North denizens visiting the Amazon to experience the brew, ayahuasca ceremonies had started being adapted to cater to the needs of foreign visitors. 

     Nowadays, particularly in Peru, large numbers of plant medicine retreat centers offer guests not only ayahuasca ceremonies, but also a variety of other plant medicine rituals, as well as flower baths, cleansings, and, at times, Eastern mindfulness-cultivating activities such as yoga and meditation. 

    Ayahuasca Religions

    Ayahuasca also plays a central role in two large syncretic religious organizations, Santo Daime and União do Vegetal, which originated in Brazil in the 20th century and now have followers worldwide. 

    These churches are so well-established that they have received legal exemption on religious grounds for practicing their rituals in the USA and Canada. 

    The Ethics of Evolving Tradition 

    Throughout the last century, ayahuasca has transitioned from its traditional use in the Amazon to a global phenomenon, drawing the interest of science, alternative healing practitioners, artists, and individuals seeking healing, spirituality, and inspiration. 

    With all the lives it has transformed for the better, however, it’s important to also consider the ethical and environmental challenges associated with its popularity. These include the impact of tourism and capitalism on the many local communities which have become part of the ayahuasca market and overharvesting of ayahuasca vine for ceremonies and international shipping in certain areas of the Amazon. 

    This is why everyone engaging in ayahuasca use is encouraged to approach the consumption of this sacred medicine with humility and respect, ensure that it was sourced sustainably, and, if possible, engage in reciprocity with the indigenous cultures which have safeguarded it for hundreds of years. 

    As the effects intensify, some participants may express their inner states in different ways. Emotional releases can involve moans of pleasure, sobs of sorrow, childlike laughter, or sighs of remorse. These expressions can be viewed as energetic offerings sent out by individual participants, contributing to the energetic space that the shaman oversees. 

    The Guide's Spaceholding 

    The ceremony shaman or facilitator manages this collective experience by harnessing the power of their spiritual allies. They chant prayers, perform cleansings, shake the chakapa, and sing sacred icaros, songs bestowed upon them by the plant spirits which they commune with during their shamanic training. 

    Icaros are powerful, magical melodies which, during the mareación, can feel like they open portals to different realms, weaving together a blueprint of a multiverse that participants can explore. They can also serve as an anchor, guiding back the souls of the drinkers to the shaman’s protected space if they wander too deep into darker spiritual realms. 

    Additional Servings 

    After several waves of ayahuasca visions and spiritual journeying, the shaman may offer additional doses to those who desire a deeper experience or those who have not felt much effect. 

    Ayahuasca first-timers are advised to resist the temptation to consume more, even if what they had experienced was minimal. Trusting the shaman’s judgment in estimating the appropriate dose could be wiser than attempting to fulfill their expectations of the journey with a second dose — this can lead to a compounded, overwhelming, and potentially darker experience. 

    Not reaching some desired level of ayahuasca visions or insights during a session does not mean that nothing had occurred; sometimes, ayahuasca works subtly in the background, clearing space for future, more profound experiences. 

    The Final Cleanse 

    As the collective mareación dissolves, the shaman may individually invite each participant for a deeper cleansing. Once ayahuasca has coursed through the body and reconfigured the soul of the drinker, the curandero can more easily locate and remove any blockages and negative energies. 

     This process, known as chupa, entails extracting these energies by ‘sucking’ them out. Like sopla, this is one of the breath-rooted techniques shamans commonly employ for cleansings. If conducted properly, it may feel like a heavy burden has been extracted and dispelled into oblivion. 

    The Decompression 

    Following the final cleanse, the participants are typically dismissed. The heightened sensitivity to light that ayahuasca affords its drinkers allows them to perceive an awe-inspiring abundance of stars in a clear night’s sky. This presents an opportunity for a short respite and gentle contemplation on what had just transpired. 

    Unlike the aftermath of some other psychedelics, falling asleep after an ayahuasca journey is usually effortless. The body is fatigued, the mind is drained, and the consciousness gently drifts away into vivid and intense dreams, which may feel like the extension of the ayahuasca visions experienced during the ceremony. 

    Where to Buy Ayahuasca Plants Legally? 

    Here at Maya Ethnobotanicals, we offer a range of traditional medicinal plants which have been used by indigenous peoples for a variety of purposes since ancient times. 

    Our products are organically grown, sustainably harvested, and sourced through fair trade, and we sell them with the intention to promote ethnobotanical enthusiasm throughout the world. 

    We do not advocate for the use of any of our products in illegal ways, nor do we ship any of our botanical samples to countries where they are illegal. We strongly advise our customers to inform themselves thoroughly about their local regulations before placing an order.