Where Does Ayahuasca Come From and What Does the Word Mean?

Discovered in South America’s Amazon Basin centuries ago, Ayahuasca has been used by tribes in the region to heal traumas, seek wisdom and even enter adulthood. The name Ayahuasca is a compound word in the language Quechua. The first half, aya, means ancestors or soul and the second half, huasca (spelled wasca in Quechuan), means rope or vine. The most common translation for the word is “vine of the soul.”

About Rythmia’s Ayahuasca Ceremony

Originating from within the Amazon, especially in Peru, Ayahuasca has a rich history connected to the indigenous Costa Ricans. The ceremony is conducted with a brownish tea, Caapi, a combination of a creeping plant that grows in the jungle and plant leaves with hallucinogenic properties. This combination of plants allows the release and activation of DMT within your brain.

Under the close guidance of a Shaman, in a large well-lit room with mattresses for each individual taking part in the ceremony, all individuals partaking in the journey will drink their tea together. The shaman will walk you through the process of connecting deeply to higher intelligence and facilitating the space for a deep understanding of one’s true self. The Ayahuasca ceremony itself lasts approximately five hours, a whole evening dedicated to yourself.

Native to the Amazon, Ayahuasca is legal there, and all events held are authorized. In America, the Ayahuasca scene is still largely underground and misleading. It is rare you find a shaman at these private ceremonies, and often these suburban shamans are not properly trained. An unprepared and poorly trained shaman is a danger to his patients.

You will encounter the Divine, impossibility, the mystery of boundlessness - whatever you wish to call it – that which is beyond the restrictive sight of the mind. You must also be open to the sentiment that the Divine/infinite/mystery can not be experienced in a manner that will be comprehensible to your brain. The infinite is limitless, while your mind is still constrained.

The icaros, sung by a Shaman, are crucial to the flow of the ceremony. The songs boost the visual effects of the Ayahuasca while also demonstrating the immense influence music can have on your brain and wellbeing.

Ayahuasca is always referred to in the feminine because individuals have reported that the voice of greater intelligence they hear throughout the journey is a woman. The medicine speaks straight to you, and she tells you exactly where your priorities and focus must lie in your life.

Inexpressable, ineffable, beyond the construct of language, the experience will be impossible to convey in its entirety to anyone. Some find describing the experience intimidating, as well as laborious. You may also come to the conclusion that everything perceived by your five senses was a constructed fabrication.

Years of therapy and rehabilitation in the span of hours seems to be a common way to sum it up. Returning ceremony participants be warned: each time they experience the divine/infinite/mystery, it will be a different journey. Each experience is like a small drop of water in the ocean, completely unique but a part of something greater.

Adhering to the suggested diet prior to the ceremony will ease your purging session later. The fewer toxins– (salt, sugar, alcohol, high levels of caffeine, etc.) you have trapped in your body, the less it has to cleanse. The medicine expands the toxins and pollutants that have been built up over the years. Purge buckets will be provided, it is likely that you will purge a lot. If your body is clean, however, then there will be nothing to remove.

Plant medicine allows the subjective self to open up and merge with its soul. Following the ceremonies, most participants feel they have acquired a new outlook on the mundane truth. The ceremony includes deconstructing the current foundation of your psyche and then rebuilding it with your intent and new priorities in play. This is a very intense method of merging the conscious and subconscious mind- if you are looking for your purge, rewiring, and perspective change, Rythmia is the place to experience it.

When searching for a safe ceremony space, it is crucial to check that your Shaman is authentic, as they will be your guide and have your psychological and emotional well-being in their hands. It is always important to research the event, and for those in charge, personal safety should come first.

At Rythmia, the resident Shaman is the well-renowned Taita Juanita. The title of Taita is revered, and receiving it takes time to learn the traditional ethics of Ayahuasca medicine. Taita Juanita has decades of experience, earning the title in his early teens, a rare accomplishment that speaks to his Shamanistic instincts.

The most important element in preparing for an Ayahuasca retreat or any trip abroad to experience plant medicine is safety and research. At Rythmia, we have the resources and amenities needed to make your healing as effective, safe, and comfortable as possible. For more information and details regarding medical certification, vegan/vegetarian meals or medical screenings, please visit Rythmia .