ANCESTRAL CEREMONIES
Learn More About Sacred Medicine Rituals
You have many options when it comes to choosing how to experience psychedelic medicines. The most compelling reason to choose a plant medicine retreat over a DIY approach, or working with a solo guide or therapist in a clinical setting is simple: Experiencing medicine within sacred rituals and ancestral ceremonies.
There is simply no substitute or better way to meet Ayahuasca, San Pedro, and Kambo than in ceremony led by trained, experienced shamans and compassionate facilitators, sitting around a fire with others. We do the work together, we heal together, we sing together, and we grow and expand our consciousness together as a family.
We say there is a Psychedelic Renaissance because there is a revival of interest and knowledge around the old ways of working with medicines. Renaissance means to birth again. Psychedelics are not something new, they have been around for thousands of years. The skill, understanding, and knowledge has been passed down, person to person, in an unbroken lineage for hundreds of generations.
Within the structure and container created by the ceremony, every detail is intentional – from the arrangement and placement of the altar, the keeping of the fire, the flow of the medicine, to the way we conduct ourselves while in ceremony – each part has a purpose.
What is Ceremony?
AND WHY DOES IT MATTER?
Most of us understand ceremony through the lens of special occasions. A ceremony is, in plain terms, making a big deal out of a life milestone, an accomplishment, an experience, or a transformation.
Ceremony is the physical representation of an energetic event, a way that we mark importance and meaning. We prepare ourselves for the occasion, presenting ourselves at our best, and putting our attention and energy toward creating a special place and time for something new to be born.
Temazcal
SWEAT LODGE CEREMONY
We open and close the retreat with a temazcal, or sweat lodge ceremony. Temazcali is a Nahuatl (Mexico) word that means “house of heat.” The temazcal ceremony is a powerful purification ritual that is an integral part of larger ancestral ceremonies and rituals lasting many days or weeks. The temazcal is medicine in itself, and can offer deep healing with or without the addition of the master plants.
While the retreat consists of 4-5 ceremonies with medicine, the entire retreat is also a ceremony! The sweat lodge will act as the opening and closing of our time together, setting the mood and purpose, and providing focal points for you to mark the special occasion of embarking on a journey of growth and transformation.
You will experience 3 temazcales in total – opening, closing, and one plant medicine journey in the sweat lodge with San Pedro.
Maloka Ceremony
AYAHUASCA, SAN PEDRO, MUSHROOMS
The maloka is a ceremonial space where we come together around a sacred fire and heal as a family. We sit in a circle with the altar and fire at the center because this way, everyone is equal. Sometimes these ceremonies take place outdoors in a circle, and there is no maloka present, but the intention and energy are the same.
A maloka ceremony is like coming together on a spiritual spaceship going on a cosmic journey through consciousness. Everything is prepared, and you are in good, capable hands with your facilitators and shamans holding the space, caring for the family, and keeping the fire. You are safe and secure to go as far within yourself as you need to go.
Kambo Ceremony
SACRED FROG MEDICINE OF THE AMAZON
Kambo ceremony is a bit different than the other medicine ceremonies, and as such, has a different feel and flow that our full group experiences. It is the shortest of all the ceremonies, and the time with the medicine is no longer than 30 minutes, although the effects can last longer. It is a more personal experience and we do it in small groups of a few guests at a time.
Kambo can be a powerful clearing and releasing tool that opens the pathways for the plant medicines to work more easily and thoroughly. Click here to learn more about Kambo and schedule a session with John Steiner, Kambo Practitioner based in Asheville, North Carolina.
LIFE IS A SACRED CEREMONY
Plant medicines teach us how to live from our hearts, savoring each moment with gratitude and joy.
Ayahuasca and San Pedro show us that life is always happening for us, and that every day can be filled with intention, compassion, and ritual. We can learn to call into existence whatever we want in life.
Join us in Ecuador and experience the magic of ancestral ceremony with powerful plant medicine shamans and experienced, loving guides.
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