Ayahuasca

(The Vine)

TrippyWiki score: 8.5/10

What is ayahuasca?

Ayahuasca is an ancient brew that contains high amounts of DMT (and 5-MeO DMT in some cases). On its own, DMT is not orally active, which is why shamans add MAOIs into the brew. Ayahuasca has been used for thousands of years by shamans all around the world and has recently become popular in modern society.

Why choose Ayahuasca over other psychedelics?

Ayahuasca…

Is a popular substance, therefore we have access to many studies and trip reports
Is legal in multiple countries
Isn’t as stigmatized as most other psychedelics
Will make you trip for 5-10 hours, which allows you to discover many lessons but the trip isn’t too long either
Doesn’t seem to cause any long-term damage to your organs and there is no known lethal dose
Won’t make you addicted unless you drink the brew just to have fun and see pretty colors

Long-term benefits & side effects

Many of the benefits will only occur if you follow the tips below.
Most (if not all) of the side effects are preventable and they will not happen if you follow the Safety checklist.

Ayahuasca…

Is an effective way to treat depression and PTSD
Makes you appreciate nature more
Can lower your levels of stress and anxiety, including social anxiety
Is being used to cure addictions
Helps you form positive habits, such as meditation and exercise
Increases neuroplasticity
Makes you more creative and open-minded
Helps you look at your life from a different perspective
Allows you to heal your childhood trauma and forgive people who’ve hurt you
Makes you more conscious and loving
Can help you transcend the fear of death
Gives you insights into the nature of reality
…

Is usually taken at ceremonies and some shamans aren’t helpful or trustworthy
Has led to self-harm by people who drank it in an unsafe environment
Will speed up the onset of schizophrenia if you’re genetically predisposed to it
Can cause HPPD and physical damage if you combine it with other substances (such as alcohol or stimulants)
Could cause you trauma due to bad set and setting
May lead to drug-induced psychosis if you’re predisposed to it
Can cause seizures in rare cases
Is illegal in many places and you might get arrested for using the substance
Will make you dislike the government and the way that our society functions
Might damage your teeth if you drink it on a regular basis
…

How to drink Ayahuasca

Administration

Always drink Ayahuasca on an empty stomach, stop eating at least 4-5 hours before taking the substance.

If you can, add some ginger to the drink to make it less nauseating.

Take your time when drinking Ayahuasca. The taste may be unpleasant and it doesn’t matter if you chug it down fast or take 10 minutes to drink it. The effects will be the same and drinking the brew slowly will make it easier on your stomach.

Dosage

How much Ayahuasca you should drink depends on many factors: your weight, how concentrated the brew is, how experienced you are with psychedelics, etc.

In ceremonies, shamans usually give you a low dose first. It is recommended to start small because you never know how you will react to the substance.

If you find the dose insufficient, you can then drink more and discover the ideal dose for you.

If you’re planning to make Ayahuasca on your own, the average oral dose for DMT is around 50 mg.

Safety checklist

Maximize the benefits

Keep in mind that integration is even more important than the trip itself. Taking psychedelics would be useless if you didn’t retain any lessons in your day-to-day life.

What will help you the most is contemplating about the experience – be it by journaling, thinking about the trip, or sharing your memories with a trusted friend.

Distracting thoughts can get in the way, which is why you want to spend the day after your trip without TV, social media, and other distractions.

If you can, spend time in silence and solitude. Meditate, go for a walk, contemplate the experience.

Duration

Onset = 20-60 minutes
Peak = 1-2 hours
Come down = 1-3 hours

You should notice the first effects within 60 minutes after you take the substance
You will reach the maximum effect around the 2-hour mark
The whole trip usually lasts for 5-7 hours
At heroic doses, your trip may last for even longer (up to 14 hours in rare cases)
If you eat food before you take the substance, it will take longer to kick in, your trip will be weaker and you’ll experience a lot more physical discomfort

What ayahuasca feels like

Drinking Ayahuasca feels nothing like smoking DMT. The experience is more comparable to eating a high dose of magic mushrooms.

Unfortunately, it is impossible to accurately describe an Ayahuasca trip through human language.

The psychedelic also affects each individual differently and no two trips are the same. Therefore, there is virtually no way to know what your trip will feel like.

However, some common short-term effects include:

Euphoria
Increased awareness and consciousness
Mindfulness, being present
Increased creativity and open-mindedness
Pain relief
Higher capability for love and compassion
Seeing life from a different perspective
Appreciating small things
Expanded sense of self
Feeling one with all that is
Higher energy
Stamina enhancement
Feeling your emotions more intensely
Memory suppression
Time distortion
Visual effects (enhanced colors, seeing patterns in everything, distortions, …)
Nausea, vomiting
Inability to focus
Worse thermoregulation
Increased heart rate
Difficulty urinating
Confusion
Anxiety, paranoia
Vulnerability

Nausea and vomiting are especially common for people who take Ayahuasca.

Of course, the higher dose you take, the more intense these effects will be.

With that said, the only way to truly know what Ayahuasca feels like is to drink it.

Unlike magic mushrooms, Ayahuasca will not give you a pleasant experience most of the time. Bad trips can happen very easily but you can prevent most of them by following the tips below.

Bad trips

Even though the experience can be extremely unpleasant, a “bad” trip isn’t always bad. It can actually be the most healing and insightful moment of your life!

During a “bad” trip, negative emotions are coming up from your subconscious mind. They have always been there whether you are aware of it or not. They have been damaging your life and a difficult trip is an opportunity to process these traumas and unpleasant feelings and let go of them.

The more painful the experience, the more you can heal.

So instead of calling bad trips bad, call them challenging.

If you understand that bad trips are awesome in the long-run, not only will you feel more comfortable diving into these challenging states, it will actually excite you!

Why they happen

The most common reasons for getting a bad trip are:

Tripping in an unsafe environment (in public, at a party, even nature doesn’t feel safe if you take higher doses)
Facing difficult times in your day-to-day life (a break-up, death of a loved one, …)
Rejecting to let go and trying to hold on to your ego and control the state
Being afraid of the trip (either because of the stigma around psychedelics or because you are not sure how pure your substance is)
Mixing the psychedelic with alcohol, weed, or other drugs
Expecting a bad trip (it can easily become a self-fulfilling prophecy)

How to cope with a bad trip

Do not perceive this experience as something bad, remember that facing these difficult emotions is extremely healing
Fully surrender to the experience, do not try to feel good
If you’re alone, call a trusted friend to come over and keep you safe

How to end a bad trip

In case you are not ready to face your inner demons yet, there are a few ways to end a bad trip.

One possible way is to put on music that is familiar to you. Another way is to switch up your location and move from one place to another. This can completely change your train of thought.

In case the trip becomes extremely challenging and there is no one around you to keep you safe, consider ending your trip with a trip killer.

Using a trip killer usually is not the best idea because the bad emotions will stay unresolved and you will get little to no benefits from the experience. With that said, using a trip killer is smarter than harming yourself.

The 2 best options that you have for ending a bad trip are Phenibut and benzodiazepines. Phenibut is generally safer but it can take a few hours to kick in and end your trip.

So to end a trip, use benzodiazepines. But again, only do it if there is no other way.

Interactions

Qualia Mind
This nootropic is comprised of 28 ingredients designed to support and maximize your brain function. These ingredients act synergistically and many of them will protect you from the neurotoxic effects of psychedelics. Qualia will also make your trips more pleasant and help you retain more benefits from them.
Herbs
Many herbs, such as ginger, can make ayahuasca much less nauseating. Herbs can also help calm you down. Herbal teas (chamomile, lemon balm, valerian root, …) are especially helpful.
Green tea
Tea makes you both more alert and calm at the same time. It also contains neuroprotective antioxidants, such as EGCG.
CBD
CBD has a calming effect.
Weed
Marijuana will intensify your trip. If you combine these substances, marijuana will also become more psychedelic for you.
Nitrous oxide
Nitrous oxide will multiply the intensity of your trip.
Dissociatives
Combining dissociatives with psychedelics won’t necessarily cause you harm but it can be confusing and lead to bad trips.
Benzodiazepines (Valium, Xanax, …)
Benzos will end your psychedelic experience within 40 minutes but using this method may cause you side effects in the long-run.
Alcohol
Alcohol minimizes all the potential benefits of a psychedelic experience. It also greatly increases your chance of having a bad trip.
SSRIs
Not only will these antidepressants greatly decrease the intensity of your trip, but they can also lead to long-lasting side effects.
Lithium
Combining psychedelics with lithium significantly increases the risk of seizures and psychosis.
Stimulants
The combination can easily lead to heart problems, even if you’re a healthy individual.
Tramadol
Combining the two can cause seizures.
St. John’s Wort
This combination may lead to serotonin syndrome.

Microdosing

LSD and psilocybin mushrooms are generally more suited for microdosing because they are easier to obtain and they don’t cause nausea nearly as much as Ayahuasca.

One reason you would want to microdose with ayahuasca instead of LSD or shrooms is that you can take Ayahuasca every day and you will not develop a tolerance to it.

So if you know how to make the brew on your own, taking a tiny dose of it every day can help you get many benefits without most side effects of Ayahuasca.

History of Ayahuasca

Legality

As of 2021, Ayahuasca is legal in Peru, Costa Rica, Brazil, Italy, Netherlands, and Romania.

You can also find legal Ayahuasca churches in Argentina, Belgium, Canada, the Czech Republic, England, France, Japan, Italy, Ireland, Mexico, Portugal, Spain, and Switzerland.

Where to get Ayahuasca

These are the ways you can get your hands on Ayahuasca, ranked from the safest to the least safe:

Become a research subject
If you are lucky enough to live in a country where Ayahuasca is legal, you might get a chance of joining a study on Ayahuasca.
Make Ayahuasca on your own
The ingredients that are used to brew Ayahuasca are usually legal to obtain although it isn’t always the case. More on how to brew your own Ayahuasca below.
Take Pharmahuasca instead
Pharmahuasca is easier to make than Ayahuasca. The effects are almost similar but Pharmahuasca tends to be clearer, less confusing, and less nauseating.
Attend a ceremony
The most common places to attend a ceremony include Peru, Brazil, and the Netherlands. However, being a part of such a ceremony usually costs $500 – $2000 and you may benefit from drinking the brew in your house more. Choose your shaman wisely if you decide to join a ceremony.
Take magic mushrooms instead
Magic mushrooms are a much better psychedelic for most people. They are easier to obtain, they don’t nauseate you nearly as much and the chance for a bad trip will be much lower. Other than that, shrooms are similar to Ayahuasca as far as their effects and benefits.

How to make Ayahuasca

What you will need

200 milliliters of white vinegar or ACV
3 liters of filtered water
160 grams of Mimosa Hostilis (shredded or powdered)
150 grams of Banisteriopsis Caapi (powder)

The process

Heat the water in a large pot until it is just about to reach boiling and then reduce to medium heat
Add vinegar and mimosa hostilis to the water and stir thoroughly
Cook this for 3 hours at low-medium heat. Do not boil!
Filter all the liquid using a hand towel or any other cloth. Squeeze as much liquid as possible from the Mimosa
Store the liquid in another pot and then repeat the entire process with fresh water and the same shredded Mimosa
Repeat the process again. It will leave you with 3 pots of mimosa-infused liquid
Combine all three pots of Mimosa water and cook on medium heat. Reduce it to 1.5 liters, and make it more concentrated
Put the water in the fridge and cool overnight
Filter the liquid in the morning to remove any excess particulate matter
Warm the liquid on the stove again, but do not boil
Add the Banisteriopsis caapi powder and stir for 15-30 minutes on low heat.
You’re done. The 1-liter brew contains approximately 28 doses.

FAQ

You will not develop any tolerance to Ayahuasca so you could technically drink it every day.

However, if you want to maximize the benefits, do not trip before you integrate all the lessons from your last trip.

Counter-intuitively, you might get more benefits by tripping less often.

That is why you may only want to trip once or twice a month or just a couple of times a year.

As your trips get more and more intense, you will not want to trip nearly as often anyway.

Ayahuasca’s psychedelic effects have been confirmed to come from its efficacy at the 5-HT_2A receptor as a partial agonist.

This inhibition of MAO-A allows DMT to diffuse unmetabolized past the membranes in the stomach and small intestine, eventually crossing the blood–brain barrier (which, by itself, requires no MAO-A inhibition) to activate receptor sites in the brain. Without RIMAs or MAOIs of MAO-A, DMT would be oxidized (and thus rendered biologically inactive) by monoamine oxidase enzymes in the digestive tract.

With that said, the only way to truly know what this psychedelic does to your brain is to try it yourself.

It is not about your age, it is about how mature you are.

Teenagers (and younger) generally aren’t responsible enough to take psychedelics but it isn’t always the case.

If you are under the age of 21, your brain is evolving at a rapid rate on its own. This means that when you take psychedelics, there is more potential for growth but the risks are also higher.

Most importantly, you need to trip in a safe, warm place where you feel comfortable.

If you know how to make Ayahuasca yourself, you do not need to attend a ceremony. It would cost you thousands of dollars and you will probably benefit more from taking it at home anyway.

If you decide to drink Ayahuasca at home, always have a trusted trip sitter take care of you.

If you are a mentally stable individual who does not suffer from psychosis or have a predisposition to schizophrenia, there is virtually no way you would develop any mental illnesses because of this psychedelic.

No.

DMT (the main psychoactive chemical) can be detected in your urine for around 24 hours after you’ve taken it.

With that said, you do not have to be afraid that anyone would test you for DMT or any other chemical found in Ayahuasca.

The taste of Ayahuasca depends on who you get it from because shamans usually mix multiple ingredients into it. Most people do not like the taste, some have a really hard time drinking the brew.

In the spiritual community, there are mixed opinions on this.

You will not be able to retain these states of consciousness unless you put in a lot of work in your “sober” life.

However, that doesn’t mean that psychedelics cannot be helpful. Reaching these temporary states on a substance and seeing that these states are obtainable can be motivating.

This is why psychedelics can help you build a daily practice of yoga and meditation – both of which will help you awaken.

Psychedelics also teach you to let go of your ego which will be essential for awakening.

So psychedelics can help you awaken. Indirectly, but they can.

Never. Ayahuasca is extremely nauseating on its own and can easily make you vomit. Stop eating at least 4-5 hours before you drink the brew. If you can, fast for a day or two before you drink it.

Yes. It would be optimal to first try gentler psychedelics, such as magic mushrooms or LSD but if you don’t want to do that, there is nothing wrong with taking Ayahuasca first.

Immature people who are not willing to follow the safety guidelines
People who suffer from psychosis
People who have a familial history of schizophrenia
Those who suffer from HPPD
People who are going through a manic phase of bipolar disorder
If you’re going through extremely challenging times, you can take psychedelics but the trips might be unpleasant, beware of that

A regular Ayahuasca ceremony costs anywhere from $500 to $2000, travel expenses not included. Underground ceremonies tend to be cheaper, they typically cost $200 to $250.

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