Ayahuasca literally means death vine or soul vine. Imbibing it makes deep connections to one's soul, overcomes the fear of death, and in so doing activates the power of prayer. Prayers and sacred songs are therefore essential to the healing experience. Used correctly in ceremony, ayahuasca brings about deep healing from the soul level. It is also a powerful purgative. It will bring out and release negative impulses from the unconscious, suppressed emotions, daemons and negative energies. These are drawn into the stomach and vomited.

The healing experience lasts four hours, and involves emotional release, vomiting, visions and a powerful spiritual connection. The plant spirit works with the shaman in a cocreative capacity, and so it is important that the shaman has taken it many times, and gone through thorough purification, and has a high degree of integrity. The shaman and plant spirit work together to bring about powerful spiritual healing. The preparation of the medicine takes 16 hours, and sacred songs are sung by the shaman to the ayahuasca continually throughout this period.

Songs are learned from the plant spirits during a spiritual retreat known as a dieta, in which the shaman lives alone in the jungle for 10 days living on one plant alone, until the spirit of the plant appears and teaches it songs. Only in this way do the songs have power.

People may take ayahuasca for many reasons. Usually it is to make a breakthrough in their growth when they are stuck. Ayahuasca pushes them through whatever it is they could not face alone. They may have a hard time facing it, but once they have taken the ayahuasca they cannot hold back, so they go through the difficult issue and out the other end, and completely heal it. It can be used for physical, emotional or mental healing, curing addictions, or making profound breakthroughs in spiritual growth.

Ayahuasca is generally taken at night, as visions are clearer in the dark. It must be taken on an empty stomach, so nothing is eaten after lunchtime. It is okay to drink water.

It is usual to mix the ayahuasca with chakruna, which is a DMT-containing plant. This makes the visions more colourful. Other plants are also used during the ceremony. Palo Santo is burned as incense during the initial purification rite, and tobacco is blown over participants towards the end of the ceremony. Natural jungle tobacco has a powerful spirit. It can drive away negative energies and spirits as well as ground and integrate the healing. The ceremony ends late at night, and the participants can go to sleep while healing continues in their dreams.

AYAHUASCA

AYAHUASCAROS PREPARING FOR CEREMONY

CHAKRUNA

PREPARING MEDICINE

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