Botanical Guides
Ayahuasca & Entheogenic Consciousness Expanding Plants
Ayahuasca, or Banisteriopsis Caapi, is one of an infinite number of sacred, entheogenic plants. The term entheogen means to "awaken the divine from within". A vast number of entheogens have been used throughout history for inducing vivid, prophetic, and lucid dreams, exploring other planes of existence and then for simply expanding consciousness. A large number of the world’s entheogens originate from Africa, though ayahuasca comes from South America. The culture of Africa has been wholly integrated with nature for as long as history has been recorded there, so entheogens can be considered as a critical part of our human, spiritual evolution from the beginning. Aside from Africa, entheogenic plants have been prized, studied, and used all around the world in diverse techniques of spiritual development and experiment.
Ayahuasca has often been referred to as The Spirit Spine. This is the name given to the sacred root by indigenous, South American shamans who have consumed the Banisteriopsis Caapi vine for centuries. They consider the vine to contain vast amounts of divine knowledge. These shamans of the Amazon and Peru make a magical brew using the root of this entheogenic plant, and combine it with other plants that enhance its properties. The brew, or tea, is consumed to induce heightened states of consciousness where shamans are able to communicate with the spirit world, explore divine mysteries and heal.
Aside from the shamans’ use of Ayahuasca, there is pure science behind this tea. The root contains compounds known as "harmala" and "harmaline". These compounds, perfected and created by nature, interact with additional compounds created by other plants to enhance the root properties. The effects felt are actually manifested by interacting with other compounds that already exists within the human brain (and within many other plants, animals, and insects).
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