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Subscribe now Isidro Lucitante, a healer of the indigenous Cofan ethnic group, gets ready for an ayahuasca ceremony in Avie village, in Lago Agrio, Sucumbíos Province, Amazon region, Ecuador. Isidro Lucitante, a healer of the indigenous Cofan ethnic group, gets ready for an ayahuasca ceremony in Avie village, in Lago Agrio, Sucumbíos Province, Amazon region, Ecuador.
Image: PEDRO PARDO/AFP via Getty Images

Ayahuasca, a sacred drink made from the stem and leaves of a tree vine, has many names: psychedelic brew, hallucinogenic tea, mood medicine and more. It is even known as a teacher or a healer for its reported ability to help a person turn inward and come into alignment with past traumas.

The plant and the rituals associated with it have deep roots in South American shamanic traditions. But in the past few decades, stories about the spiritually enhancing magic of ayahuasca have made their way to Europe and North America.

Lauded for its transcendent healing powers by celebrities such as Lindsay Lohan, athletes such as Aaron Rodgers and successful businessmen such as Elon Musk, the psychotropic allure of the plant now calls to hundreds of thousands of non-indigenous consciousness-seekers globally. More and more ayahuasca retreats are popping up around the world.

Indigenous peoples in South America — primarily in Peru, Brazil and other parts of what is considered the Upper Amazon — have been using ayahuasca for medicinal and religious purposes since at least 900 BC. Hieroglyphic paintings depict the use of the sacred brew in a ceremony from the period of 900-250 BC. Western interest in ayahuasca, however, has created some challenges for local indigenous communities. DYING TO AWAKEN

Peruvian Shaman Gilber Réategui conducts an ayahuasca ceremony for tourists in Caserio Nueva Luz de Fatima, Peru.
Image: Manuel Medir/Getty Images

Anthropologist of shamanism Michael Winkelman describes ayahuasca as a “psychoindicator”, a substance that integrates emotion and thought processes.According to Western scientific interpretations, the primary function of the substance allows a stripping away of a person’s egocentric, conscious understanding of […]

Ayahuasca tourism: the trouble with travelling to trip