Calea zacatechichi – Dream Herb
The Chontal Indians of the Oaxaca region in Mexico have used C. zacatechichi, which they call Thle-pelakano (meaning Leaf of God) for centuries as a medicine that clarifies the senses and allows the medicine man to receive divinatory messages while dreaming and to see visions through their dreams. The plant has been tentatively identified adorning Aztec statues of Xochipilli.
Psilocybe semilanceata – Liberty Cap
Ritual use of psychedelic mushrooms in general can be dated back to the Neolithic age (9500 BCE) where cave art from northern Italy depicts mushrooms being used for shamanic purposes and sacred ceremonies. There is also anecdotal evidence of Alpine nomads revering the mushroom and calling it the ‘dream mushroom.’ Women in Spain who were accused of witchcraft near the end of the Middle Ages also apparently used this species of mushroom as a visionary aid.
Caesalpinia sepiaria – Yun Shih
For centuries this plant has been rumored to possess magical properties. In China, Yun-Shih has been used as a medicine to treat many different ailments. It was also written about in ancient Chinese herbal medicine books that claimed that the flowers “contain occult powers” and that they allowed “one to see spirits but make one idiotic if consumed in excess.” The medicinal books also claimed that the flowers “produce levitation of the body and promote communication with the spirits.”
Brunfelsia grandiflora – Manaca
The indigenous peoples of the Amazon have used Manaca for ritual healing ceremonies, and in magical and religious observances. The shaman of the Kofan Indian tribe drink a tea made from the roots and root bark of the plant to see into the body of an ill patient. The plant allows them to understand the nature of the ailment and to help heal the patient.
Brugmansia sanguinea – Blood-Red Angel’s Trumpet
Mestizo shamans have used the Blood-red Angel’s Trumpet as a sacrament in their burial ceremonies and grieving rituals. It was believed that widows would be gently lulled into the afterworld by consuming a hallucinogenic maize beer, Chicha, while they were being buried alive with their deceased husband. Chicha was made from corn, tobacco and the Sanguinea flowers and allowed to ferment. Modern day shamans use this traveling plant to communicate with their ancestors as well as the animal spirit world, to diagnose disease, find lost objects, prophesize and to predict the future.
Brugmansia aurea – Golden Angel’s Trumpet
For millennia, shamans have used the Golden Angel’s Trumpet as a sacrament in their rituals and ceremonies. It was believed that by consuming a tea made from the flowers the shaman could communicate with the spirit world, to fight evil forces and forge a spiritual union with their ancestors. Tribes such as the Canelo, Chibcha, Choco, Guambiano, Ingano, Jivaro, Kamsa, Mapuche and Muisca have used this plant to call on the dead, predict the future, discipline unruly children, and it was even given to children in the belief that during their intoxicated stupor they were more likely to find gold.
Botany of Peyote (Lophophora williamsii)
Until the 1950s there had been no careful and extensive botanical studies of peyote. Plants which were brought into the chemist’s laboratory—or the horticulturist’s greenhouse—had little or no documentation, available only at the site of collection, about the place of origin or other important characteristics.
Banisteriopsis caapi – Ayahuasca
Ayahuasca is the name given to both the central ingredient of a South American Indian psychoactive potion (a species of the Banisteriopsis genus) and the potion itself. Almost invariably other plants are mixed together with the jungle vine Banisteriopsis; about a hundred different species are known to have been added to the potion at different times and places.
Argyreia nervosa – Hawaiian Baby Woodrose
Hawaiian Baby Woodrose seeds are perhaps one of the least understood of modern-day entheogens and exotic botanicals. There is much controversy in regards to its true place in shamanic and traditional history outside of its native culture and home; India. Beautiful woody, flowering vine that grows well in full sun on a trellis. The leaves are large, downy and have velvety white hairs.
Argemone mexicana – Prickly Poppy
There is little documented evidence regarding the psychoactive properties of this plant, although there are two important and reliable reports. First, in India (one of the places this plant is common to) it is called pharamgi dhattura specifically because of its psychoactive properties. Secondly, there are numerous accounts of the freshly dried leaves being smoked as a Marijuana(Cannabis) substitute. There is even scattered evidence that Argemone mexicana has been used as an aphrodisiac, but no solid evidence has been found to support this use.
Areca catechu – Betel Nut
Betel nuts have been used as a narcotic for thousands of years. The practice is thought to have started in south-east Asia and there is archaeological evidence to support this view. The Spirit Cave site in Thailand has yielded palaeobotanical remains of Areca catechu and Piper betel. Traditional consumption is a combination of Areca catechu, Piper betel, and edible lime, which have all since found at the same location. This is circumstantial evidence for the practice of betel chewing in prehistoric times.
Carnegia gigantea – Saguaro
The Papago peoples hold the saguaro cactus sacred, and believe that it arose from drops of sweat that fell from the eyebrows of their god I’itoi and condensed in to pearls. According to another of their myths, the cactus was a little boy who got lost in the desert and fell in to a hole. He emerged as a cactus. Due to this myth, the Papago bury the placenta of a newborn child next to saguaro cacti to ensure long life.
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