Shamanic Herbs and Practices

Shamanism is a spiritual practice found around the world, having existing for centuries in tribes, ancestral communities and groups. The practice is not formalized as an ideology or a religion and is deeply rooted in the in the connection to the divine. Shamans throughout the years have created a sacred connection to the herbs and plants they use in their practices. The effects of the various plants used vary, but generally they are used as a tool to alter one's conscioussness, go beyond the physical and connect with the divine. 

Since the beginning of times people, clans, tribes and cultures have looked for ways to experience the divine or at least get closer to it. Through that search, shamans discovered the properties of some of the most potent mind-altering plants. Here are a few of those: 

Peyote

Peyote is a small spineless cactus, found and grown in the Southwest of the United States, Northern Mexico and Peru. Peyote's active ingredient is mescaline, a psychedelic compound, which also nowadays is being synthetically-derived. 

How to take peyote?

Peyote is usually dried and chewed, but can also be soaked in liquid and taken as a drink, put into capsules and also mixed and smoked together with tobacco. 

Peyote's Effect

Peyote is classified as a hallucinogen, thus it has the ability to alter one's visual field, perception of surrounding and reality. The actual effect depends on dosage and manner of taking the plant. People describe the effect as putting them into a dream-like state. Recent studies have shown that peyote as well as other hallucinogens can be used to treat mental health conditions such as bipolar disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, depression and more. 

Native Americans used peyote in ceremony not only to influence the mental state, but also to treat physical ailments. 

Ayahuasca

Ayahuasca is a plant-based psychedelic, extracted through prolonged heating or boiling of the banisteiopsis cap vine and the leaves of the psychotria viridian shrub. Other plants could also be involved in the preparation of the liquid. Ayahuasca's active chemical is DMT (dimethyltryptamine). 

How do you take Ayahuasca?

Ayahuasca is taken as a liquid, often following a bodily detox and always in the presence of a shaman or a guide. 

Ayahuasca's effect

The effects depend on person's size, shape, condition. They usually vary between 4-6 hours and may include vomiting and nausea, euphoria, introspection, anxiety and fear, intense visual and auditory hallucinations and increased body temperature. 

African Dream Root

Native to South Africa, the plant there is considered holy. It is usually taken as tea after being dried. It is known to induce healthy sleep and also to refresh the body.