Potential Risks of Drinking Ayahuasca in South America
What is Ayahuasca?
Ayahuasca is a thick, brown, psychedelic tea concocted by combining two different plants that grow in the Amazon jungle. By brewing the Banisteriopsis caapi vine and the Psychotria viridis shrub the two substances activate one another, creating the psychedelic effect of the tea. Traditionally, Ayahuasca is served in a ceremonial setting by a well-trained shaman and has the potential to produce immense healing for the user. Westerners from all walks of life have begun to flock to various South American countries with the hopes of healing various ailments such as depression, childhood trauma, anxiety, the list goes on. Countless documentaries, articles and books have begun flooding the scene and boasting of the immense healing effects provided by the tea. Along with this, hundreds of Ayahuasca retreat centers have begun popping up throughout Central and South America and are flooded with thousands of tourists each year. Ayahuasca does possess astonishing potential to heal the user but unfortunately, some of the shaman’s serving the medicine are making it unsafe for participants to sit with the medicine.
The Potential Risks
While possessing powerful healing effects, Ayahuasca can also engrose the user in a very suggestible and vulnerable state. A high number of Ayahuasca retreat centers are located deep in the jungle. The combination of vulnerability, suggestibility, foreign language and territory, can mean that if the user isn't in the right hands, things can go very wrong. In South American countries the laws for rape are not as exigent in comparison to other countries and it is challenging to prove. Ayahuasca has been a predominantly male driven world with male shamans abusing their role as a trusted healer and guide. Leading to women learning the hard way that shamans are not always enlightened beings but normal and sometimes unsafe men.
My first time visiting Peru is when I first got an earful of the troubling stories happening in the medicine community. “My friend and her sister sat in an Ayahuasca ceremony in Iquitos and when the shaman tried to advance on my friend she grabbed her sister and ran out of the ceremony and into the jungle high on Ayahuasca.” Melissa explained with wide eyes. “You have to be careful and aware with who you sit in the ceremony with here.” Being young and naive I assumed everyone serving the psychedelic tea only had intentions to heal and serve others, not take advantage of them in their vulnerable state. Continuing on my own healing journey I have come to realize how common this is in the medicine community. With medicine ceremonies blowing up mainstream many shamans who have started from humble beginnings are reaching states of fame and fortune. As we have seen in similar circumstances, this can corrupt even those who initially had good intentions.
Kambo practitioner and sacred medicine musician Claudia Costa, who has been in the medicine community for over forty years, has spoken out against various shamans that have been known to abuse their power. “Many shamans try to lure vulnerable participants down to the amazon in order to take advantage of them. It’s important to know other men and women who have sat with this shaman personally and felt safe.” She has also been known to bring awareness to numerous medicine bearers in order to prevent them from continuing to inflict harm on those in search of healing.
Proper Precautions
When it comes to sitting with Ayahuasca it is fundamentally unwise and potentially injurious to engage sexually with anyone serving the medicine. It is easy to confuse the healing Ayahuasca produces with the shaman who served it. Going on a profound inner journey with the medicine may lead you to believe that you possess a deep connection with the shaman, despite even really knowing them. This may lead participants to feeling more open and vulnerable which produces an easy target for a shaman with bad intentions.
Working with Ayahuasca has been proven to have profound healing effects. But with anything, there is always a contrast of light and dark. Fortunately, there are ways to work with the medicine and remain safe. Do your research before sitting in any ceremonies, even ones happening outside of South America in the underground scene. Speak to participants who have personally sat with the shaman you are considering working with. It may be best to have a friend join you on your journey to South America that way you can have support during your process. Pay attention to the humbleness of the shaman and steer clear of a medicine bearer who seems overly boastful. Even if you do experience moments of attraction towards your shaman, remember not to act on them. And if a shaman does make sexual advances on you, pre or post ceremony, it would be smart to no longer sit in ceremony with them and seek out other options.
