What is Ayahuasca?

Spirit of The Vine

Ayahuasca.

Sacred Ceremony

Amazonian Basin Elders

Ancestral Traditions

Ayahuasca Brewing The Amazon Tena Ecuador by Aya de La Vid

Master Plant Teacher

Historical and Amazonian Traditions

Ayahuasca has deep roots in the Amazon, where it is revered as a sacred plant medicine. Indigenous groups across the Upper Amazon (in present-day Peru, Brazil, Ecuador, Colombia, and beyond) have used ayahuasca in ritual contexts for centuries, if not millennia. In Quechua, the word ayawaska translates to “vine of the soul” or “vine of the ancestors,” reflecting the belief that the brew allows communication with spirits and ancestors. Traditionally, the ayahuasca vine itself is considered a teacher plant – a conscious entity that can impart wisdom, healing, and guidance.

Ethnographic records and oral histories indicate that Amazonian shamans (known variously as ayahuasqueros, curanderos, vegetalistas, or healers) employ ayahuasca for a range of sacred purposes. Most commonly, it is used in healing ceremonies to diagnose and treat illness, not only on a physical level but also addressing spiritual or psychosomatic ailments. During ceremonies, which often take place at night in communal huts or malocas, shamans consume ayahuasca (and sometimes give it to participants) and enter a visionary trance. In this state, they sing sacred songs called ícaros to guide the experience, communicate with plant spirits, and effect healing. They may perform rituals to extract negative energies, retrieve lost soul fragments, or divine the causes of a patient’s troubles.

Historically, ayahuasca ceremonies have also been used for purposes beyond healing: community bonding, initiation rites, seeking visions for decision-making (divination), enhancing hunting abilities, and even resolving conflicts or preparing for war in certain cultures. The brew, as anthropologist Luis Eduardo Luna notes, serves as an “instrument to gain access to information from unseen realms as well as the social and natural environment”. In indigenous worldview, the boundary between the physical and spiritual is thin, and ayahuasca is a bridge between humans and the spirit world – a way to consult with plant teachers, ancestor spirits, and the deeper consciousness of nature.

Despite regional variations, a common thread across Amazonian traditions is that ayahuasca is approached with deep reverence and strict protocols. Elders teach that the spirit of the plant demands respect, humility, and purity from those who seek its vision. This is one reason the ayahuasca dieta (a period of dietary and behavioral preparation) is such an integral part of the tradition – it is a form of showing respect and commitment to the spirit of ayahuasca (and, practically, it purifies the body and sharpens the mind for the experience).

Archaeological and historical evidence supports the long-standing use of ayahuasca or its components. While the exact antiquity of the combined brew is debated, researchers have discovered a 1,000-year-old shaman’s ritual bundle in the Andes containing residue of both harmine (from B. caapi) and DMT (likely from chacruna or a similar plant). This suggests that ancient practitioners were already intentionally combining plants to induce visionary states – essentially an early form of an ayahuasca-like practice. The first Western records of ayahuasca date back to the 19th century, when naturalists like Richard Spruce observed its use among indigenous tribes in Brazil and Peru. Since then, interest in ayahuasca has spread globally, but its heart remains in the Amazon, where indigenous knowledge continues to guide its ceremonial use.

Today, Ayahuasca ceremonies are not only conducted by indigenous and mestizo shamans but also by organized spiritual communities (such as Santo Daime, União do Vegetal, and churches like ACF) around the world. ACF recognizes ayahuasca as a sacrament central to our spiritual practice, carried out with trained facilitators under safe and ethical conditions. In all settings, honoring the source traditions is paramount. This means acknowledging the intellectual and spiritual ownership of the indigenous peoples who have safeguarded this medicine, and approaching the ceremony with the same sacred intent and ethical conduct that they have long maintained. Cultural respect is woven into every aspect of preparation – from learning about the brew’s heritage to practicing humility and gratitude for the opportunity to partake in this ancient communion.

Ayahuasca Brew Ingredients Banisteriopsis caapi and Psychotria viridis by Tony Westbrook of Aya de La Vid.

The Vine:Banisteriopsis Caapi,

"Banisteriopsis caapi, also known as, caapi, soul vine, or yagé (yage), is a South American liana of the family Malpighiaceae. It is commonly used as an ingredient of ayahuasca, a decoction with a long history of its entheogenic (connecting to spirit) use and its status as a "plant teacher" among the Indigenous peoples of the Amazon rainforest."

The Leaf: Psychotria Viridis,

also known as chacruna, chacrona, or chaqruy in the Quechua languages, is a perennial, shrubby flowering plant in the coffee family Rubiaceae. It is a close relative of Psychotria carthagenensis (a.k.a. samiruka or amiruca) of Ecuador. It is commonly used as an ingredient of ayahuasca, a decoction with a long history of its entheogenic (connecting to spirit) use and its status as a "plant teacher" among the Indigenous peoples of the Amazon rainforest.

"Shot way back in 2004,

this shows the process to make the sacred brew ayahuasca."

How many millions of people are estimated to drink ayahuasca?

"It is estimated that between one and two million people will drink ayahuasca in 2021. This estimate is based on the number of people who have reported using ayahuasca in surveys and studies, as well as the number of people attending ayahuasca ceremonies. ...

The estimate of one to two million people drinking ayahuasca in 2021 is based on research conducted by the Global Ayahuasca Project, which surveyed more than 4,500 people from 90 countries who had used ayahuasca.The survey found that around 1.2 million people had used ayahuasca at least once before, and the researchers estimated that number could increase to 1.5 to 2 million in 2021. Additionally, the Global Ayahuasca Project estimated that over 300,000 people will attend ayahuasca ceremonies in 2021."

How Ayahuasca Works

"A basic introduction to brain regions, "

"Part 1 of 3... It's a wonderful overview of ayahuasca medicine coming from some of the world's leading minds and advocates for psychedelic reform"

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