SHAMANIC PLANTS

Psychoactive shamanic plants have been used for millenia both by shamans and spiritual seekers alike. Interestingly, these plant species appear to “communicate” — once ingested — with animals, including humans, at the neurological level by having their psychoative molecules attach to specific brain receptors. Shamans have claimed that there is an intelligence embedded within the plant — its spirit — which is able to communicate, depending on the intent and psychic skills of both shamans and seekers.

Through my research into modified states of consciousness, I have experiments with a few of these, and have had similar experiences as those described in the literature associated with these subjects.


Ayahuasca (Banisteriopsis caapi vine & Psychotria viridis leaves): Also known as yagé or “the vine of the soul,” is a tea brewed from the Banisteriopsis caapi vine, native to the Amazon region. Most often, the leaves of the Psychotria viridis bush are also added to the brew. Shamans from different regions have their own recipes, which may include the addition of various other plants, depending on the nature of what the shaman needs to treat in a client. (About a hundred different species have been cataloged that have been used as admixture plants.) Contemporary psychonauts usually prefer their ayahuasca “neat,” brewed only from B. caapi and P. viridis. The visionary effects from ayahuasca are due to the chemical N,N-dimethyltryptamine (DMT), which comes from the P. viridis plant.

Ayahuasca Brew

DMT is normally destroyed in the human gut by an enzyme called monoamine oxidase (MAO). This enzyme serves the function of protecting one’s body from chemicals in some foods that might otherwise be toxic, by breaking them down. Hence the need for other chemicals inthe brew: the harmala alkaloids that come from B. caapi, which are MAO inhibitors.  These chemicals “short circuit” the MAO that would otherwise destroy the DMT before it reaches the brain. It is important to remember that the MAO normally in one’s system is there to protect  one’s body from toxins. Hence, certain cautions must be taken if one uses a MAO inhibitor, so that toxic chemicals are not consumed at a time when the body is unable to break them down.

There are quite a few foods that should be avoided by people who are under the acute effects of a MAO inhibitor, as well as many drugs that need to be avoided, such as stimulants, narcotics, and antidepressants, among others. Health concerns about such undesirable combinations primarily relate to dangerous hypertension, or to hypotension, or to an overabundance of serotonin in one’s system. This latter situation is known as “serotonin syndrome.” Pharmaceuticals that are also MAO inhibitors or selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRI), such as many antidepressant drugs, should usually be discontinued at least thirty days before consuming ayahuasca. Combining ayahuasca with the wrong foods or drugs could produce adverse side effects or be even be fatal. Those interested in taking ayahuasca should further research what foods and drugs one needs to avoid taking in combination with an MAO inhibitor. DMT is not unique to the chemistry of plants— it is also foundin the human brain, where it may function as a neurotransmitter. Rick Strassman, MD, author of DMT: The Spirit Molecule, believes that DMT may be present in the brain during some of the most important experiences that a human can have. Strassman theorizes that the pineal gland could be responsible for manufacturing DMT.(The pineal gland has been associated in literature of the paranormal with the third eye, clairvoyance, and psychic powers.)

Banisteriopsis caapi vine

Psychotria viridis bush

Salvia divinorum leaves

Salvia divinorum: Also known as the "diviner's sage" Salvia divinorum is a psychoactive plant from the mint family. It has been used for hundreds of years by Mazatec shamans in Mexico. Traditionally, native people either drink a mixture of fresh leaves and water or they eat fresh leaves. However, it turns out that the plant is not terribly active when consumed via the stomach. Modern psychonauts have discovered two more effective methods: 1) Chewing the leaves (fresh or dried) as a quid but retaining them in the mouth,which allows for buccal absorption of the plant?s active chemistry, or 2) Smoking the dried leaves, which allows for absorption via the lungs. Both of these methods have been improved even further by contemporary researchers. There are now commercially available alcohol-based sublingual tinctures that more rapidly absorb when held in the mouth, and dried leaves used for smoking that have been enhanced with extracted material. These smoking extracts are the 5X- and 10X-style products on the market, which are five or ten times more potent than plain dried leaf. While the active chemicals found in most psychedelics are alkaloids (meaning that they contain nitrogen), the primary psychoactive compound in Salvia divinorum is a neoclerodane diterpenoid chemical named salvinorin A. The pharmacological method of action for salvinorin A was only recently discovered. Strangely, it activates the kappa opioid receptors (opioid receptors are those that narcotic drugs usually act on). Other neoclerodane diterpenoids have also divinorum: salvinorins B through F and divinatorins A through C. Salvinorins B and C were tested for psychoactivity in humans, and they were not found to be active at the doses tried. Nothing is currently known about the psychoactivity of the other salvinorins and divinatorins in humans. Threshold effects from salvinorin A have been produced from as few as 100 micrograms (taken buccally mixed in a solution of acetone and DMSO), and fully active vaporized doses of the pure compound generally run around 500 to 1000 micrograms, making salvinorin A the most potent natural psychoactive drug known. (NOTE: those are micrograms, not milligrams! 1 milligram = 1000 micrograms.)