Many people are familiar with the Holy Medicine of the Holy and Divine Mother Ayahuasca. Generally, the Holy Medicine is made by a combination of the Holy Banisteriopsis Caapi Vine, and Leaves from the Psychotria Viridis or from the Diplopterys Cabrerana. The Holy Banisteriopsis Caapi or Holy B. Caapi is the Holy Plant with the Monoamine Oxidase Inhibitor (MAOI), which allows the DMT from the other Holy Plants to become orally active.
Most Western Scientists have considered the DMT to be the main active ingredient in the Holy Medicine of the Holy and Divine Mother Ayahuasca. Some scientists have also assumed that neither of these plants are active on their own. However, neither of these assumptions are true. The Holy B. Caapi Vine is actually active without any admixture of DMT containing Holy Plant.
The Holy and Divine Mother Ayahuasca has provided the secrets of making the Holy Medicine to the Shamans in the Amazons and possibly in other regions of the world. In the Peruvian Amazons, the communities often refer to the Holy Banisteriopsis Caapi Plant simply as ‘Ayahuasca’ – as the Holy Plant allows to meet the Holy and Divine Mother Ayahuasca.
The Holy B. Caapi Vine contains harmaline, harmine, and tetrahydroharmine- all of which are MAOIs and beta-carbolines. The Holy B. Caapi Vine is the only necessary alchemical ingredient in the Holy Medicine besides water. A watery preparation of Holy Medicine of this single ingredient is regularly used among many indigenous groups in Peru, where it is consumed as a ritual when children turns into adults.
In indigenous practice, it is believed that the key role of the Holy Medicine is to teach humans about other Holy Plants and open up the medicinal potentialities of other Plants. Because of this, some Amazonian tribes have hundreds of different admixtures- while some of them are used to manipulate the effects of the Holy Medicine according to the intention of Shaman, or many other admixtures are just added when the Shaman feels the need to learn the purpose or medicinal use of any other Plant. By adding a bit of a specific Plant in the Holy Medicine, the Holy and Divine Mother Ayahuasca teaches the Shaman more about the potentialities of the specific Plant which was mixed with the Holy Medicine with the Holy B. Caapi Vine.
While DMT is undoubtedly a highly potent and powerful substance, capable of providing vivid visions which is said to open up portals to enter new dimensions, it was incorrect assumptions by early researchers to assume that the Holy Medicine containing the Holy Banisteriopsis Caapi Vine is simply a liquid form of DMT. Pioneering ethnopharmacologists are reconsidering the extraordinary potentials of the Holy B. Caapi Vine in affecting consciousness and medicine. Dennis McKenna was the first to propose that β-Carbolines, the alkaloid contained in the Holy B. Caapi Vine, are Monoamine Oxidase Inhibitors (MAOI) which allow DMT enter the bloodstream and cross the blood-brain barrier. However, he also acknowledged that β-Carbolines have some very interesting properties on their own, and their pharmacology and chemistry may be a new research frontier which will gain more attention in the future.
Traditionally the Amazonians have always highlighted the dominant role of the Spirit of the Holy B. Caapi Vine compared to other ingredients of the Holy Medicine.
Although the DMT can adds a lot more visuals to the whole experience, making the experience brighter, intense and powerful, some communities prefer and advocate for the Holy B. Caapi Vine based Holy Medicine, without any DMT admixture, which allows to meet the Holy and Divine Mother Ayahuasca. They feel the visuals of DMT are too intense or distracting for many
The Holy B.Caapi Vine based Holy Medicine has been found sufficient as the medium for the Holy and Divine Mother Ayahuasca to communicate with Shamans and communities in the Amazons, and possibly other communities, throughout history. Indeed, in the Holy B. Caapi Vine based Holy Medicine, humanity may learn their future and receive guidance in life.
Is the Holy B. Caapi Vine psychoactive?
It can be said that the Holy B. Caapi Vine is psychoactive and also can be said that it is not. There are three main alkaloids in the Holy B. Caapi Vine, known as the ‘harmala alkaloids’ such as harmaline, harmine, and tetrahydroharmine. Before the alkaloids were named, The Holy Medicine of the Holy and Divine Mother Ayahuasca started to gain popularity in traditional communities for assisting the users in developing telepathic powers, and harmine was named ‘telepathine’ originally. Though it has not been scientifically verified, these potent alkaloids were acknowledged early on as having unique effects.
These alkaloids are ‘reversible MAOIs,’ which means that they inhibit the enzymes that break down DMT so when an MAOI such as the Holy B. Caapi Vine and a DMT containing plant such as the Psychotria Viridis or the Diplopterys Cabrerana are combined in a making a Holy Medicine, the DMT is allowed to enter the bloodstream and gain access to the Central Nervous System in the Human Body.
Though MAOIs on their own are not considered Psychedelic, the harmala alkaloids are recognized to be psychoactive at certain doses; not as intensely as when they are combined with DMT. For instance, the tetrahydroharmine in the Holy B. Caapi is also a serotonin reuptake inhibitor and has some slight psychoactive effects. Overall, usually the psychotropic aspects of the Holy B. Caapi Vine based Holy Medicine is known to be much milder, less intense, and more etheric than a Holy Medicine containing DMT.
Consuming Holy Banisteriopsis Caapi Vine as an initiation ritual
Rites of passage are very common among the indigenous cultures. In the Awajun culture, these rites are usually led by the father or some adult family member, demanding both spiritual and physical preparation that can last from one night to a few days. At the end of the ceremony, the young boy is considered an adult.
The Awajun community organises Sacred Ceremonies called “Purgahuasca” where the Holy B. Cappi Vine based Holy Medicine which is consumed in a collective ritual for both boys and girls as part of their initiation into adult life, which starts at their age of ten. They consider the Sacred Ceremonies as very important to define for the vision and future vocation of their children.
Effects of consuming only the Holy B. Caapi Vine based Holy Medicine
The Sacred Ceremony “Purgahuasca” involves drinking the Holy Medicine which contains very large quantity of the Holy B. Caapi Vine. The effects of this Holy Medicine is very strong but not as visually intense as the Holy Medicine which contain DMT, and is known to give the participants opportunity to reach into the deeper states of their mind with vast awareness.
At physical level
Usually, the Sacred Ceremony of “Purgahuasca” lasts around 3 hours and is accompanied by the blowing of tobacco smoke, playing of Ikaros, and other energetic procedures performed by the Shaman on the participant’s body depending on their reaction to the Holy Medicine and based on the needs of the participant as felt by the Shaman during the Sacred Ceremony.
The Sacred Ceremony “Purgahuasca” provides a powerful purging effect and also influences visions. The latter effect is very interesting, considering the fact that the Holy Medicine at the Sacred Ceremony “Purgahuasca” only contains the Holy B. Caapi Vine based Holy Medicine without admixture of any DMT. The Holy Medicine at the Sacred Ceremony “Purgahuasca” incites a state of dizziness, normally controlled and with awareness, which is known as a state of ‘mareación’. This state also induces physical discomfort, sweating, shivering, a sensation of heat, vomiting, and sometimes diarrhea.
At psychological level
At an emotional level, it is very common to see participants connecting with deep emotions of grief or sadness where they often end up crying. In some cases, they may express their anger, even physically, but in a controlled way. Usually, the deep emotions, unwanted feelings, and experiences which participants often hide, or which remain repressed within themselves, can emerge slowly. Spiritual experiences often gradually arise afterward, spoken in insight or dreams when participants are in rest which are said to arise as the result of connecting with the deeper spiritual dimensions of their life.
Some participants of Sacred Ceremonies, who may have encountered obstructions during their experience with the Holy Medicine which contain DMT admixture and was not able to receive much profound information due to the visual distractions, may be able to experience stronger effects with this Holy B. Caapi Vine based Holy Medicine. Some participants have referred to their experience from the Holy B. Caapi Vine based Holy Medicine as the best experience they have had in regards to the level of higher dimensional and spiritual information they have received and deeper understandings they have gained for their personal healing and improvement.
Potential of Holy B. Caapi Vine alkaloids in modern therapy
Nowadays, researchers have started to work with new drugs from the β-Carboline alkaloids, which are also contained in the Holy B. Caapi Vine. Though the classical explanation of the role of this Holy Plant in the Holy Medicine has been connected to the MAO inhibitory activities, the renewed attention about a broader role and potential of β-Carboline in mental health research has led to the publication of many new researches. These alkaloids rich in the Holy B. Caapi Vine are considered promising tools for the treatment of depressions. They exhibit sedative, anti-depressant, hypnotic, anxiolytic, and anticonvulsant activities. Most importantly, they are showing promising beneficial effects against neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.
These recent studies indicate how important the Holy B. Caapi Vine is for healing and self-improvement, and that the Holy B. Caapi Vine is much more than a helper to get DMT into the bloodstream. These studies also provided enough validation to the many indigenous convictions about the medicinal and healing aspects of the Holy B. Caapi Vine.
Conclusion
The Holy B. Caapi Vine has been revered by the various communities throughout the ages, and the Holy Medicine made only from the Holy B. Caapi Vine has allowed the Amazonian and other communities to meet with the Holy and Divine Mother Ayahuasca and receive Her healing, guidance and knowledge to improve their lives and ways of living.
The Holy and Divine Mother Ayahuasca has also taught the different communities about many other plants, including providing the knowledge of adding DMT containing plants like the Psychotria Viridis and Diplopterys Cabrerana to the Holy Medicine, to be able to achieve the Psychedelic effects, besides providing knowledge about other beneficial and medicinal Plants to the Shamans and the communities of Amazons and other regions.
Some communities and individuals prefer the Holy B. Caapi Vine based Holy Medicine and have noted that the effects of their experiences are much more subtle compared with Holy Medicine containing DMT admixtures. Some communities only consume the Holy B. Caapi Vine based Holy Medicine and never add any other admixtures such as DMT. Some communities prefer to consume the Holy Medicine with both DMT admixture and without it, depending on the intention. Some communities have switched to consuming Holy B. Caapi Vine based Holy Medicine only. One mutual reason for which some of the communities have switched to consuming only the Holy Medicine from the Holy B. Caapi Vine seems to be that they have discovered the visions can be distracting or overly intense from the Holy Medicine containing DMT admixture. The Holy B. Caapi Vine based Holy Medicine allowed them to consume more Holy Medicine without being overwhelmed by the visions.
With more research and experimentation in coming days, the Holy Medicine based on the Holy B. Caapi Vine will surely be made available to the mass people. Since MAOI is legal, as opposed to DMT is which is considered illegal in many countries, making the Holy Medicine based solely on the Holy B. Caapi Vine shall assist humanity in attaining balanced body, mind, and spirit without being overwhelmed by the visual effects imparted by DMT, while at the same time benefiting from being empowered by the Holy B. Caapi Vine based Holy Medicine which allows them to meet the Holy and Divine Mother Ayahuasca. Her healing shall be received by the masses easily in this way.
New Startups are coming up with such aims, namely ‘Medihuasca’.
References:
- Dennis J. McKenna, G.H.N. Towers, F. Abbott. (1984). Monoamine oxidase inhibitors in South American hallucinogenic plants: Tryptamine and β-carboline constituents of Ayahuasca. Journal of Ethnopharmacology, [online] Volume 10(2), p. 195-223. Available at: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/0378874184900035 [Accessed 4th May 2021]
- Ferraz CAA, de Oliveira Júnior RG, Picot L, da Silva Almeida JRG, Nunes XP. (2019). Pre-clinical investigations of β-carboline alkaloids as antidepressant agents: A systematic review. Fitoterapia, [online] Volume 137, p. 104196. Available at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/31175948 [Accessed 4th May 2021]
- Francuski, X. (2018). Ayahuasca and Depression: Amazonian Tea Rapidly Helps Severely Depressed Patients. [online] Kahpi. Available at: https://kahpi.net/ayahuasca-tea-rapidly-helps-severe-depression/ [Accessed 4th May 2021]
- Santos, RG. (2016). Indigenous and mestizo use of ayahuasca. An overview. ResearchGate, [online] Available at: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/307462153_1_Indigenous_and_mestizo_use_of_ayahuasca_An_overview [Accessed 4th May 2021]
- www.facebook.com/Medihuasca
