The name Ayahuasca comes from Quechua, a widely spoken South American language found throughout the Amazon. Aya means "soul" or "spirits", and huasca means "vine". Ayahuasca therefore translates to "vine of the soul" or "vine of the spirits". In the Shipibo language the name for ayahuasca is Oni (pronounced Ooni) which means 'knowledge' or Oni Kobin which means 'cooked / prepared knowledge'. It is also known by many other names: yaje, caapi, Daime and Hoasca.
Ayahuasca is a doctor spirit who can rid the body of physical impurities, the mind of emotional problems and the soul of spiritual issues that have accumulated over one's lifetime.
Ayahuasca is a teacher who can lead one into a lifelong journey of deep personal transformation, and closer connection to the Divine within each one of us.
Spirituality is at the core of the ayahuasca experience. Purification and cleansing of body, mind, and spirit in an ayahuasca ceremony can be the beginning of a process of profound personal and spiritual discovery and transformation. This process can continue, even if one never drinks ayahuasca again.
It is essential to set out your intention clearly, and to approach the work with commitment, determination and respect for the Medicine.
There will be two healers in each of the three ceremonies.
Each guest will receive two personal icaros (known as “ventiada”) during each ceremony. The ventiada is an icaro that varies based on your personal energy, and the healers will know how best to direct it.
Then you will have the creative freedom to express your own form of icaro, whether with an instrument or voice, or feel free to simply relax and surrender to the energy that is being created in the space around you.
The first ceremony will be a (relatively) gentle introduction to ayahuasca, and a preliminary cleansing of any energetic blockages you may have that prevent full surrender to the experience.
The second ceremony will go deep into the cleansing work that ayahuasca will guide you though: emotional, physical, and spiritual. This work takes different forms for everyone.
While the second ceremony will open you up (like a spiritual open heart surgery), the third ceremony will continue the work and then seal you back up, facilitating a smooth integration back into your daily life.
Ayahuasca will continue to work in your psychology for many months afterward – the realizations and energetic changes you experience will continue to benefit you, but may take some time to fully integrate.
The last ceremony is designed to make this process as simple as possible.
What will the ceremonies be like?
What is Ayahuasca?
