red22
Bluelighter
- Joined
- Nov 23, 2009
- Messages
- 1,200
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The name ayahuasca is from Quechua, a South American Indian language: huasca means “vine” or “liana” and aya means “souls” or “dead people” or “spirits.” Thus “vine of the dead,” “vine of the souls,” or “vine of the spirits” would all be appropriate English translations. It is however slightly misleading as a name, since the vine Banisteriopsis caapi is only one of two essential ingredients in the hallucinogenic brew, the other one being the leafy plant Psychotria viridis, which contains the powerful psychoactive dimethyltryptamine (DMT). It is the DMT, derivatives of which are also present in various other natural hallucinogens, including the magic mushroom of Mexico, that provides visionary experiences and thus access to the realm of spirits and the souls of deceased ancestors.
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Ralph Metzner. Sacred Vine of Spirits: Ayahuasca. 1999, 2006. Park Street Press. ISBN: 9781594770531 Introduction, pg. 1
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I have been researching and talking to people about Aya since 2006, and its been part of my full time job since 2012. Most people I meet do not think Ayahuasca is just DMT, but maybe you meet different people then I do. I would rather use words correctly and as most people I know use them, rather then trying to use them incorrectly or ignorantly. Spreading ignorance doesnt really help anyone, correcting ignorance is much more useful.
Your Ralph Metzner quote is very ignorant and shows why he is a bad resource to learn from. There is only one required plant in Ayahuasca - many tribes never use viridis even if they add a DMT admixture so he is spreading misinformation that you are repeating. I recommend getting better more accurate resources for learning from.
Quoting 2 old resources from decades ago doesnt really prove "what most people say" it just tells us what two outdated resources say. Pretty silly to argue over though, so I am just gonna dip out now. You can use words inccorrectly if you want to, but I am not going to.
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MapachoCura, 2024-02-18, reddit
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Ayahuasca is the Quechua word for a vine known to Western people by its most common Latin name, Banisteriopsis caapi, historically used by many indigenous Amazonian tribes for shamanism, sorcery, divination, and healing. For those who drink ayahuasca, the vine is often perceived as a plant spirit that engages the mind, body, and spirit into a dialogue of personal understanding and healing. The primary ingredient in an ayahuasca brew is the vine Banisteriopsis caapi, commonly revered as the mother of all plants. Other plants are added to the vine brew, typically those containing DMT, such as Psychotria viridis or Diplopterys cabrerana, and also many other plants not containing DMT, called admixtures, whose capacities are considered to be activated by the ayahuasca vine. In the Amazon, there is no traditional understanding of the existence of DMT per se, just that adding DMT-containing plants such as Psychotria viridis will give the ayahuasca brew more ‘light’ and visionary depth. Yet, the vine is considered to be the primary component of the brew, and the DMT-containing plants and other plants are typically considered to be admixtures to the vine brew. It is possible to drink a strong brew containing only ayahuasca vine and still experience a visionary state, although DMT containing plants are normally required for stronger visionary states. (4. Ayahuasca. Introduction to Ayahuasca)
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The drive to increase the DMT content in ayahuasca brews was largely instigated in the 1980s, when researchers such as Jonathan Ott and Terence McKenna went to the Amazon and could not find ayahuasca brews that would give them visions. DMT dosages that modern day ayahuascaros give to the gringos are in no way representative of the traditional usage of ayahuasca, where the visionary qualities of the medicine are respected, but not considered primary. (4. Ayahuasca. The Religion of Ayahuasca)
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I think that more and more people will increasingly understand that a vine heavy brew, with relatively small amounts of DMT, is about the best preventive medicine a human being can ever take. (4. Ayahuasca. The Religion of Ayahuasca.)
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Articulations: On the Utilisation and Meanings of Psychedelics. Julian Palmer. 2014. Anastomosis Books. ISBN: 9780992552817
Drinking Ayahuasca without DMT is Powerful and Traditional. Matteo Politi, PhD. March 31, 2020. kahpi.net
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While some scientists might describe the Ayahuasca experience as merely an oral DMT experience activated by a beta carboline MAO inhibitor, this description is not accurate, for the healing processes at work within the medicine are far more complex, unquestionably due to the ayahuasca vine which is responsible for the transformative power of the Ayahuasca experience. One could easily point to the name of the medicine to know that it is the vine that gives the brew its power, and this idea is supported by nearly every culture that uses ayahuasca in the Amazon Rainforest.
Here is a quote from Richard Evans Shultes, one of the earliest pioneers in ayahuasca research, describing merely the effects of the vine alone: “To this day, the natives of the north-west Amazon in Brazil and Colombia use the Banisteriopsis drink for prophetic and divinatory purposes and also to fortify the bravery of male adolescents about to undergo the severely painful yurupari ceremony for initiation into manhood. The narcosis amongst these peoples, with whom I have taken caapi on many occasions, is usually pleasant, characterized by visual hallucinations in color, which initially is very often a shade of blue or purple. In excessive doses, it is said to bring on frighteningly nightmarish visions and a feeling of extremely reckless abandon, although consciousness is not lost nor is use of the limbs unduly affected”.
Even though all ayahuasca vines are botanically classified as Banisteriopsis caapi, the curanderos classify them further, in reference to their effects. An example is cielo ayahuasca, which means sky or heaven ayahuasca, implying that its effect is of bringing one to celestial realms
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The name ayahuasca is from Quechua, a South American Indian language: huasca means “vine” or “liana” and aya means “souls” or “dead people” or “spirits.” Thus “vine of the dead,” “vine of the souls,” or “vine of the spirits” would all be appropriate English translations. It is however slightly misleading as a name, since the vine Banisteriopsis caapi is only one of two essential ingredients in the hallucinogenic brew, the other one being the leafy plant Psychotria viridis, which contains the powerful psychoactive dimethyltryptamine (DMT). It is the DMT, derivatives of which are also present in various other natural hallucinogens, including the magic mushroom of Mexico, that provides visionary experiences and thus access to the realm of spirits and the souls of deceased ancestors.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Ralph Metzner. Sacred Vine of Spirits: Ayahuasca. 1999, 2006. Park Street Press. ISBN: 9781594770531 Introduction, pg. 1
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I have been researching and talking to people about Aya since 2006, and its been part of my full time job since 2012. Most people I meet do not think Ayahuasca is just DMT, but maybe you meet different people then I do. I would rather use words correctly and as most people I know use them, rather then trying to use them incorrectly or ignorantly. Spreading ignorance doesnt really help anyone, correcting ignorance is much more useful.
Your Ralph Metzner quote is very ignorant and shows why he is a bad resource to learn from. There is only one required plant in Ayahuasca - many tribes never use viridis even if they add a DMT admixture so he is spreading misinformation that you are repeating. I recommend getting better more accurate resources for learning from.
Quoting 2 old resources from decades ago doesnt really prove "what most people say" it just tells us what two outdated resources say. Pretty silly to argue over though, so I am just gonna dip out now. You can use words inccorrectly if you want to, but I am not going to.
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MapachoCura, 2024-02-18, reddit
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Ayahuasca is the Quechua word for a vine known to Western people by its most common Latin name, Banisteriopsis caapi, historically used by many indigenous Amazonian tribes for shamanism, sorcery, divination, and healing. For those who drink ayahuasca, the vine is often perceived as a plant spirit that engages the mind, body, and spirit into a dialogue of personal understanding and healing. The primary ingredient in an ayahuasca brew is the vine Banisteriopsis caapi, commonly revered as the mother of all plants. Other plants are added to the vine brew, typically those containing DMT, such as Psychotria viridis or Diplopterys cabrerana, and also many other plants not containing DMT, called admixtures, whose capacities are considered to be activated by the ayahuasca vine. In the Amazon, there is no traditional understanding of the existence of DMT per se, just that adding DMT-containing plants such as Psychotria viridis will give the ayahuasca brew more ‘light’ and visionary depth. Yet, the vine is considered to be the primary component of the brew, and the DMT-containing plants and other plants are typically considered to be admixtures to the vine brew. It is possible to drink a strong brew containing only ayahuasca vine and still experience a visionary state, although DMT containing plants are normally required for stronger visionary states. (4. Ayahuasca. Introduction to Ayahuasca)
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The drive to increase the DMT content in ayahuasca brews was largely instigated in the 1980s, when researchers such as Jonathan Ott and Terence McKenna went to the Amazon and could not find ayahuasca brews that would give them visions. DMT dosages that modern day ayahuascaros give to the gringos are in no way representative of the traditional usage of ayahuasca, where the visionary qualities of the medicine are respected, but not considered primary. (4. Ayahuasca. The Religion of Ayahuasca)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
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I think that more and more people will increasingly understand that a vine heavy brew, with relatively small amounts of DMT, is about the best preventive medicine a human being can ever take. (4. Ayahuasca. The Religion of Ayahuasca.)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Articulations: On the Utilisation and Meanings of Psychedelics. Julian Palmer. 2014. Anastomosis Books. ISBN: 9780992552817
Drinking Ayahuasca without DMT is Powerful and Traditional. Matteo Politi, PhD. March 31, 2020. kahpi.net
----------------------------------------------------------------------
While some scientists might describe the Ayahuasca experience as merely an oral DMT experience activated by a beta carboline MAO inhibitor, this description is not accurate, for the healing processes at work within the medicine are far more complex, unquestionably due to the ayahuasca vine which is responsible for the transformative power of the Ayahuasca experience. One could easily point to the name of the medicine to know that it is the vine that gives the brew its power, and this idea is supported by nearly every culture that uses ayahuasca in the Amazon Rainforest.
Here is a quote from Richard Evans Shultes, one of the earliest pioneers in ayahuasca research, describing merely the effects of the vine alone: “To this day, the natives of the north-west Amazon in Brazil and Colombia use the Banisteriopsis drink for prophetic and divinatory purposes and also to fortify the bravery of male adolescents about to undergo the severely painful yurupari ceremony for initiation into manhood. The narcosis amongst these peoples, with whom I have taken caapi on many occasions, is usually pleasant, characterized by visual hallucinations in color, which initially is very often a shade of blue or purple. In excessive doses, it is said to bring on frighteningly nightmarish visions and a feeling of extremely reckless abandon, although consciousness is not lost nor is use of the limbs unduly affected”.
Even though all ayahuasca vines are botanically classified as Banisteriopsis caapi, the curanderos classify them further, in reference to their effects. An example is cielo ayahuasca, which means sky or heaven ayahuasca, implying that its effect is of bringing one to celestial realms
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